The Bad Batch: Oneshots

Intruder

     Omega sat on the ramp of the Marauder as she waited for Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair to return. They had gone to retrieve medical, rations and supplies. Normally she would have wanted to go with them, but the city was too dangerous for children Tech had stated. Echo had allowed her to sit on steps, but only the steps. Maybe he was being too overprotective, but to her the behavior was normal amongst her brothers. Sighing, she went back inside the ship, stumbling across Echo staring at the star charts.

She plopped down in the chair next to him, watching as he plotted new courses every five minutes until even that became too repetitive, even for her. She began spinning around in the chair, a squeaking sound filling the air after each turn due to the condition of the metal dating back to the clone wars.

Echo stopped his business for a minute. "Bored?" he asked, stopping her in front of him as she spun.

"There's nothing to do," Omega responded with a defeated tone to which Echo gestured to her room. "What about your studies?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Already finished them, plus the extra that Tech made me read." She paused, wondering if he would be easy to persuade. "Since I finished, can I please go out for a little bit?"

Echo sighed, giving her a stern look. "Omega, we already discussed this," he reminded her.

"I don't mean far, just around the port, with the ship in sight—" she tried again.

"No, Omega. The others will be back in an hour or so. I'm sure you can find something to occupy yourself for that long." Echo gave her a pat on the shoulder before she dramatically slumped back down into her seat.

Omega resumed her spinning. She counted to sixty, finally stopping as she began to make herself feel nauseous. She attempted to walk in a straight line, failing as she tripped over a wrench that Tech had left carelessly laying around.

"You okay over there?" Echo asked without looking back, not too concerned since he didn't hear any yelps of pain.

"I'm fine," the young girl responded, picking herself up. "I'm going back outside—to the ramp," she added quickly, scurrying off.

Omega placed her arms on a step above from where she was sitting, letting her legs rest lazily on a few she skipped. She gazed up at the sky. Ships passed just overhead, blocking out the sun, presenting shade for a few seconds before it flew on. Something about it was peaceful to her. Omega closed her eyes for a brief second, taking in a fresh breath of air when the warmth she was feeling mere moments ago was suddenly gone. In the sky, directly above was a different kind of ship she had never seen before. It looked almost like a plate.

"Uh, Echo?" Omega called, catching the attention of the cyborg. "What's that?"

Echo made his way out, looking in the direction of Omega's finger pointing to something in the sky. His heart started thumping in his chest. Pirates.

"Get inside, now." He shooed the girl back into the ship. His protective instincts kicked in as the saucer lowered down to where the Marauder was. He hurried into the cockpit, sending a distress signal to Hunter, immediately rushing back to check on the current situation. He quickly shut the doors, taking his blaster in hand.

"Echo, what's going on?" Omega asked fearfully.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. I need you to hide for me, okay? Take your bow with you," he instructed.

"But what about you?" She looked at him, not willing to leave until she knew that he would be safe.

"I'll be alright, we just might be getting some unwanted guests s—" He was thrown off balance as the Marauder shook. There was a loud banging on the sliding doors. "Hide, Omega." Echo withdrew his blaster, taking shelter behind the wall near the entrance.