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99’s death had hit his squad hard. They had just finished an especially hard campaign in Kaller when the telegram came. It was a heart attack, but his death was swift. He didn’t suffer. The funeral had already taken place a couple of weeks ago, and the legal matters were being taken care of. And that was that. None of his brothers had bothered discussing it. They still had a war to win; 99’s death wouldn’t change that. It wasn’t until General Kenobi’s victory at Utapau and the end of the war did the reality of the situation sink in. It was ironic, really. Hunter and his brothers had all survived one of the most brutal wars in history, only to lose their uncle to the one thing they couldn’t fight: time. After packing what little they possessed, they had decided to head to Cid’s to look for work. None of them were in a rush to go home, and besides, they needed the money. Which is how Hunter found himself with a bloody nose in a back alley of some washed out little town (if you could even call it a town), fist fighting with their latest bounty.“Is that all ya got, bluebelly?” The rodian man wheezed. He was slow, and from the looks of it, could stand to go easy on the grits. He staggered forward, throwing a weak punch to Hunter’s already bloodied face. Hunter dodged, jabbing him hard in the ribs, then sending him sprawling with a well-place kick to the knees. The man made no move to get back up. Hunter took a moment to catch his breath, watching the man for any signs of movement.“You’re getting sloppy.”Hunter turned around to see his younger brother leaning against a wall, looking smug.“You’re one to talk. At least I didn’t wipe out in Akiva.” He wiped the blood from his mouth. “And next time, tell me about the bodyguard before I start fighting, not after.”“Now where’s the fun in that?” Crosshair sauntered toward the man’s unconscious form and prodded him with his boot. “We found the spice in his room. Wrecker and Tech already sent word to the Pykes.”“Good. We’ll go ahead and meet them at the rendezvous.” Hunter swept the hair out of his face and grinned. “It’s your turn.”Crosshair glared at him for a beat before seemingly accepting his fate. Cursing under his breath, his brother grabbed the man’s wrists and hoisted him over his shoulders with a grunt. Dusting himself off, Hunter started walking to their horses. “Wrecker and Tech get everything else?”“See for yourself.”Hunter rolled his eyes. Turning the corner, he found his other brothers loading their supplies onto their wagon. Crates of food, first aid, and whiskey filled just over half of the space.“Hey look! They got ‘im!” Wrecker’s voice boomed. “You owe me 2 credits Tech.”Sighing, Tech reached into his pockets and dropped the credits into his brother’s giant palm. “It was not likely they were going to succeed. We were told this Ordo was difficult to catch.”“Nice to know you have faith in us, Tech.” Hunter reached into one of the crates and grabbed some rope.“I was simply stating a fact. Previous attempts to catch him by others suggested that our attempt would go similarly.”Crosshair dumped the unconscious man in the remaining space in the wagon. Wordlessly, Hunter bound the rodian’s wrists and ankles.“Yeah, well it didn’t,” Wrecker plopped the last crate into the wagon. “Now let’s get outta here, I’m starving!”“We’ll eat after we meet with the Pykes. They don’t like waiting, and I don’t want to get on their bad side.”Wrecker groaned but said nothing. Nobody needed to be reminded of what happened to those who crossed the Pykes. After checking over their cargo one last time, Tech climbed into the wagon, and the others saddled up on their horses. Not long after leaving, his brothers started bickering. About what, Hunter had no clue. He had learned to tune them out since they were young. It didn’t matter anyways. He knew they were just nervous. Heck, they all were. This was their last mission before finally heading home. After a long two years, they finally scraped up enough money (for what they still weren’t sure) and decided to make the trip to their hometown. It would be their first time seeing their home after 99’s death. After the war. They were ready though. It had been long enough. “You’re sure this is him?” The Pyke looked at them suspiciously.“We wouldn’t have brought him if we weren’t.”The Pyke narrowed his icy-blue eyes. Grabbing the back of the man’s shirt, he yanked him into an upright position and inspected his unconscious form.“And the spice?”Hunter motioned Wrecker forward. His brother held out two large canvas bags and set them on the ground. The two other Pykes came forward and roughly opened the bags. One ran the spice through his fingers, testing the texture of it. The other sniffed it, and once they both finished their tests, they gave their leader confirmation.Seemingly satisfied, the head Pyke grabbed a small leather pouch from around his belt and tossed it to Hunter.“Pleasure doing business with you.” He motioned to the other two, and after they dumped their victim’s body on one of their horses, the leader tipped his hat and rode off into the horizon.Hunter waited until they were completely out of sight, and then released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He turned to his brothers. “Let’s get outta here.”Cross sneered. “Finally.”The trip to Felucia Springs would be both the longest and shortest trip of Hunter’s life. Every little movement set him on edge; the rustle of the tall grasses, the occasional owl, and even the tumbleweeds rolling harmlessly across the trail. His brothers were surprisingly quiet, not even bothering with their normal bickering. Wrecker was fidgeting with his reigns and checking and double checking that Hunter and Crosshair’s mares were properly secured to the wagon. Tech was engrossed in some book, muttering to himself. Crosshair was laying in the back of the wagon, hat covering his face and snoring lightly. Eventually, Hunter started to relax, letting the sounds of wildlife wash over him as the sun faded into a drowsy dusk. The steady clip-clopping of the horses and the gentle hum of cicadas made it hard for Hunter to keep his eyes open, and soon he found himself wavering. Not long after, they decided to make camp and continue travelling in the morning. They spread out their meager bedrolls and soon had a small fire glowing and crackling at their feet. Thanks to Tech, a delicious aroma danced on the breeze as a stew bubbled over the open flames. The tension from their earlier meeting with the Pykes had been forgotten, and the anticipation of their trip had dissolved as food filled their bellies. Laughter and conversation filled the air, and the stars shone like gems in the midnight sky. Wrecker had even brought out his harmonica, somehow managing to coax a tune out of the battered little thing. It was a nice picture; one Hunter would desperately miss. These past two years had been difficult, adjusting from the war and dealing with their great-uncle’s death. His brothers could be irritating, stubborn, impulsive, and overall just plain difficult. There were some days that Hunter had almost wanted to give up and strike out on his own. But he could be every bit as pig-headed, if not more, and they always put up with him (Although “putting up” with him usually resulted in a bloody nose or two). Moments like these, well, they reminded him that there was no place he would rather be. Or at least they would have, if only his brothers could leave a good thing be for more than five seconds.“Tech,” Hunter growled, “I thought you checked everything!”“It was Wrecker’s job to ensure the purchase of our ammo. I merely checked my list of items.” Tech adjusted his glasses with a disdained sniff. “Wrecker assured me he had acquired the necessary materials.”“Hey! You never said anything about hot lead! You just said to get ammunition.”“That,” Tech rolled his eyes, “is what ammunition means, Wrecker.”“How was I supposed to know?! Nobody calls it that!”"Okay, Okay, just hold on." Hunter pinched his brow. “We’ll just have to make another stop. Cross, what’s the nearest town?”Crosshair pulled out a rumpled square of paper from the inside of his coat, unfolding it into a large map. He looked over it for what seemed like an eternity, glaring as if the ink offended him.“Kamino.” He spat.The brothers froze. Any warmth that had been in the atmosphere was gone, replaced with a frigid feeling that made the hairs on Hunter’s neck stand on end.“There’s gotta be somewhere else Cross.” Hunter sent a silent prayer to the universe. Anywhere but Kamino.“There isn’t. The only other town is Ord Mantell, but we can’t make it that far.” He shot a pointed look at Wrecker. “Not with the Tusken dog parties.”The big man avoided their gazes and sheepishly rubbed his head. Letting out a long sigh, he looked back up with a pained resolve.“’S my fault we don’t have any rounds. I’ll go. You guys can stay here.”Hunter groaned internally. As much as he hated Kamino, he wasn’t about to let his little brother face that wretched place alone. They had been through too much together, suffered too much together. Judging from the expressions on his brothers’ faces, they felt the same. Besides, it would only be a quick supply run. They would be in and out. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.“No, Wrecker.” Hunter groaned and ran a hand over his face. “We’ll go with you.”Wrecker perked up a little and gave him a small nod.Tech let out a long sigh. “We had better get some sleep then. We can leave at first light.”
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Kamino hadn’t changed one bit. It had always been a large city, and with an endless supply of saloons, shops, and hotels, one could get lost very easily. As he and his brothers navigated the maze of streets, Hunter found himself struggling to focus. Hundreds of smells filled the air, along with the chatter of hundreds of people, many of which were not entirely sober. His already heightened senses were quickly being overwhelmed, and he could feel a headache beginning to form at the base of his skull. He didn’t even notice the giant pothole, and Tech had to catch him before he faceplanted in the middle of the road.“Just how far away is the store again?” Hunter half-moaned.“It is approximately three blocks away.” Tech gave him a knowing look. “We are almost there.”Crosshair scowled, squinting in the bright light of day. “We better be. If we stay here any longer, Wrecker’s gonna wind up losing the rest of our stuff.”To Wrecker’s dismay, they had opted to leave him with the wagon. Hunter and his brothers didn’t trust anyone not to steal what supplies they did have, and Wrecker’s towering form was sure to scare away any potential thieves without much fuss.“Go easy on him, Cross. It was an innocent mistake.”He huffed but said nothing. Luckily, he didn’t have to, because a few minutes later they were standing in front of the mercantile. The store looked exactly as he remembered; chipped, red paint on the door, a big, smudged glass window, and an unreadable sign hanging from the rafters. They frequented this store as kids, using what meager credits they had saved to buy as much candy as they could. Other times, they just wanted to look and see all of the things they could never hope to afford, toys parents would never buy them, and clothes they could never wear. These times were very few albeit; it was dangerous to dream. No one had wanted to adopt four rowdy boys, and any chances they had individually were squandered; all because they had refused to be separated. They had long given up hope and had resigned themselves to aging out of the orphanage, that is, until 99 came along. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Hunter led them into the store.The bell tinkled cheerfully as they entered, and the ancient floorboards groaned and creaked under their weight. While Tech and Crosshair headed straight for the ammunitions, Hunter let himself wander through the aisles, searching for something particular. After finding what he was looking for, he quickly headed towards the cashier, credits in hand.His brothers came out of the store hauling two wooden crates and looked around until they found him leaning against the railing chewing on a licorice stick.Crosshair quirked an eyebrow at him.Hunter shrugged. “For old times’ sake.”“I can’t believe you still like that stuff.”“I can’t believe you don’t. But don’t worry, I got some jellybeans too. Want some?”“Pass.”“Tech?”“I am with Crosshair.”“More for me then.”Hunter didn’t miss how Crosshair eyed his candy, despite his refusal. He eventually switched his candy for his brother’s crate and turned a blind eye when the sharpshooter tried to sneakily eat the little candies. Even someone like Crosshair couldn’t resist the power that was sugar and nostalgia. They fell in step, carving through the masses of people, sidestepping the drunks. They had almost reached their street when a commotion started behind them.“HEY! You watch where you’re goin’, rat.” The words were slurred and stilted. Turning around, Hunter found a incredibly drunk man towering over a small boy, the latter of which was hurriedly picking up spilled belongings and shoving them into a small burlap sack.“Your hearing not workin’, boy?” The man staggered forward. “I said, watch where you’re goin’. You. Bumped. Into. Me. Apologize.”A small crowd had gathered now, waiting to see what would happen. Hunter and his brothers held back, watching the scene unfold. The boy froze, still hunched over his bag. He mumbled something under his breath, unintelligible.“What was that? Speak up!” The man barked.“I said,” the boy looked up at the man, fire in his eyes, “It. Wasn’t. My. Fault.”The man’s face flamed, and his jaw tensed. Raising a fist, he grabbed the boy’s arm and yanked him closer. “Why you little-”Another hand darted out and grabbed his wrist mid-punch.Hunter looked him dead in the eye, voice dangerously low. “You heard the kid. Wasn’t his fault. Move along.”The man glared at him but slowly pulled back, the fight slowly seeping out of him. Hunter had just released his grip on the man’s wrist when, without warning, he turned and sent a blow to his face. He staggered backwards, and tried to regain his bearings. Fortunately for him, the man was extremely drunk, meaning he was very slow. Before the man could charge him again, he punched him squarely on the nose, hearing a satisfying crunch. The man was knocked flat on the ground, blood running down his face. He put his hands over his nose, moaning loudly. After a moment, he staggered to his feet. This time, he reached in his waistband and pulled out a knife. He heard several gasps from the crowd as they backed away. Hunter had to end this now or it would get ugly. The man roared and lunged towards him. Hunter dodged, the knife grazing his cheek. He grabbed the man’s arm and used his momentum to slam him face first into the ground. That seemed to do the trick; the man was out cold. Hunter pried the knife from his unconscious hands and tucked it in his belt.The crowd had started to dissipate, losing interest now that the fight was over. Hunter turned to the boy, who was now standing and clutching his bag.“You alright kid?”“Better than you.” The boy eyed him warily. “You didn’t have to do that. I can take care of myself.”Hunter looked at him. The boy had a small frame and wasn’t very tall. His light blonde hair peeked out from his threadbare cap, an unruly mop contrasting against his tan skin. But his eyes were the most striking. Honey brown, dark and intelligent. Studying Hunter, his surroundings. There was almost…something familiar about them. Hunter couldn’t quite place it.“A ‘thank you’ would’ve been fine.”“Took him long enough.” Crosshair was suddenly at his shoulder, carrying the crate Hunter had dropped earlier. Tech was right behind him. “You done playing hero? Wrecker’s waiting for us.”“Yeah, whatever.” He turned to the boy again. “See you around, kid.”The boy seemed surprised at this. “Wait! I’m sorry! Usually people ask for money, and I wasn’t sure…” He cleared his throat. “Um…thank you.”The brothers shared a look.“Don’t worry about it.” Hunter smiled, wincing as he did. The graze from earlier was stinging now, and he could feel blood running down his cheek. “Tech, we got bandages, right?”“That is correct. They are in the wagon, which is where we should be headed lest Wrecker get distracted.”“You can’t do that!” The boy looked sheepish as three sets of eyes focused on him. “I mean, it needs stitches. Otherwise, it’ll leave a nasty scar.” Suddenly, the boy’s face lit up. “I know! I can take you to someone who’ll stitch it up for free! Then we can call it even.” It had taken surprisingly little convincing to get his brothers to agree to let him go. The cut must look pretty bad, he thought with a smirk. Tech and Crosshair would meet up with Wrecker, then circle back to the clinic and wait for him outside.As they started walking, a thought crossed Hunter’s mind. “Kid, how exactly are you going to get me stitched up for free?”A wolfish grin spread across his face. “Let’s just say, the guy I’m taking you to owes me.”Hunter opened his mouth, then closed it. He didn’t want to know.The walk there was filled with the boy’s energetic chattering. Now that he had let his guard down, his demeanor had completely changed. He told stories of weird things he had seen behind the butcher shop, adventures he had gone on, and passionately described a teacher who he was convinced was a Force-witch. Hunter listened intently, enraptured by his enthusiasm, asking the occasional question. Soon, the boy began asking questions about him. Hunter didn’t like to talk about himself, and he didn’t want to bore the kid with bounties. He soon settled on talking about his brothers, and some of the hijinks they pulled when they were younger. He noticed a strange look cross the boy’s face when he mentioned his brothers’ names, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. They continued talking until the boy stopped in front of a building.“This is it. Come on, I’ll introduce you!” The boy grabbed his hand and practically dragged him inside, leading him down a narrow hallway before stopping at the last door. He quickly knocked on the door, then let himself in before giving anyone a chance to answer.“Got another patient for you, A.Z.!”A man with reddish-blond hair glanced up from where he was studying at his desk. He looked to be in his early 20s, with a lanky build. He stood up, stretched, and let out a jaw-cracking yawn.“Have a seat, both of you.” The man didn’t seemed fazed by their arrival at all. He wordlessly rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands in a small basin besides his desk. Once he had finished, he fished out a pair of glasses from his breast pocket, adjusting them as looked he at Hunter for the first time. His eyes studied his face for a second, taking in the damage.“Nasty cut you got there, Mister…”“Hunter.” The man shook his hand.“I’m Aurthur Zebidiah Irwin.”The boy whisper yelled behind a hand in mock-secret, “I just call him A.Z.!”“I heard that.” The man rolled his eyes but smiled. “But yes, A.Z. works too. I take it you’re here to get patched up?”“Yes sir.”“Alright then. Let’s get to work.” “Hold still…halfway there.” A.Z.’s face was screwed up in concentration as his needle hovered over Hunter’s face. “You mind telling me how you wound up here?”“Just a run in with a drunk, is all.”“Uh huh.” He made another stitch, causing Hunter to wince. “What exactly did you get this poor sap into?” He made no move to turn around, but it was obvious he was addressing the boy.“It wasn’t my fault this time!”A.Z. paused his work and shot the boy a skeptical look.“Really!”“The kid’s right.”A.Z. snorted. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”They fell into an awkward silence as the man worked. Hunter looked around the small space to distract himself from the stinging of the needle. Faded floral wallpaper covered the walls along with several complicated medical diagrams. A small desk piled high with papers had been shoved in the corner to make room for the examination table Hunter was currently sitting on, along with a plain, wooden chair in the corner. The boy sat there, swinging his legs impatiently.“So… kid. What’s your name? I didn’t have the chance to ask earlier.”The boy sat up, brown eyes focusing on him. “I’m Omar.”“I take it this isn’t the first time you’ve run into trouble?”The man scoffed. “You can say that again. Kid’s in here every other day, and I’m not even counting for work.”Hunter looked at the boy from the corner of his eye.“You work here?”Omar shrugged. “Dr. Se lets me handle some of the minor cases so that she and A.Z can take care of the major ones.”“The crime here is bad, and we’re constantly overworked. Dr. Se thought it would be a good idea to train someone to help out with the little things; and since Omar is here anyways, we trained him.” A.Z said casually, although his tone seemed forced.“Yeah, right.” Omar jabbed a thumb in the man’s direction, a smirk on his face. “He was falling behind on his apprenticeship studies and needed someone to cover for him so Dr. Se didn’t find out.”A.Z’s face turned beet red as he spluttered. “I did no such thing! It was just… a mutually beneficial arrangement. You take care of the minor cases while I study, and I don’t charge you for being an idiot.”“Hey, it’s not my fault some people are such-”“So, uh, you live nearby?” Hunter said, abruptly changing the subject.Omar huffed in annoyance. “Around these parts, yeah.”Hunter waited for an elaboration, but none came.“In that case, know any good places for grub? It’s getting late, and knowing my brothers, they’re hungry.”The boy suddenly paled. “Wait, what time is it?”A.Z pulled out a pocket watch, and the answer had Omar jumping to his feet and making a mad dash for the door.“I’m gonna be late! Thanks again, Hunter!” He left, slamming the door behind him. An empty silence settled over the small office.A.Z. chuckled and turned back to stitching up Hunter. “Good kid. A shame though.”“What do you mean?”“He’s an orphan. Parents dumped him here when he was just a baby.” He sighed. “Dr. Se and I try to look out for him, but he always manages to get himself into trouble.”“Oh.” Hunter frowned. “That’s… too bad.”That was putting it mildly. There was only one orphanage in Kamino, and Hunter and his brothers had spent 10 miserable years there. Food was few and far in between, the caretakers cold, and the living conditions poor. Some people looked at them with pity, but never did anything. Others saw them as nothing more than street rats and treated them as such. Others ignored them entirely, too absorbed in their own worlds to give them as much as a glance. He and his brothers had only survived because they had each other. Whether it was doing odd jobs for credits, backing each other up in fights (which there was unfortunately a lot of), or even just giving comfort after a bad dream, they always had at least one constant in their lives; each other.Hunter’s heart suddenly ached for Omar, who had nothing and no one. Who more than likely would never be adopted. Who had no 99 to save him.When A.Z finished stitching him up, Hunter thanked him and left the clinic. Outside, his brothers waited for him in their wagon, ready to leave the town and bitter memories behind.They would kill him for it, but Hunter couldn’t just leave without a proper goodbye. He was going to find Omar, and at the very least let him know he wasn’t alone.
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“Not happening.”“C’mon Cross, I won’t take long.”“We weren’t supposed to come here to begin with, now you want to stay longer?”“It’s the least I could do for him.”“He’s not the one who fought off the drunk. You don’t owe him anything.”A light breeze drifted through the street, nipping at all of their hats as they talked in front of the clinic. The sun cast its final rays over the buildings, enveloping everything in a warm glow. Hunter knew his brothers would be difficult to convince, but convincing the second oldest was proving to be more of a challenge.“I believe Crosshair does have a point.” Tech interjected. “You prevented his injury, and in return he provided medical care. I would say you are even now.”Hunter sighed and rubbed the back of his head with his gloved hand. “I guess… but it wouldn’t right without saying goodbye an’ all.”“Aw, what the heck? Just let ‘im see the kid. He’s gonna go one way or the other.” Wrecker rumbled.Crosshair opened his mouth to respond, then closed it upon seeing that he wouldn’t win. Fishing out a toothpick from a pouch on his belt, he muttered, “You better make it quick.”It didn’t take long for them to find the orphanage. It stood right where they had left it, all those years ago. Despite his offer to go alone, his brothers had come with him. They said nothing of it, but Hunter knew that they didn’t want him to face their past alone. He looked up at the building. It was bigger than most in Kamino, seeing as it had to house all of the town’s unwanted children, which unfortunately were many. Most were there as a result of the drunks that constantly plagued the town, others of families lost to disease, crime, or natural disasters.The paint had long ago been worn down, and the windows were grimy, covered with smudges and small handprints. The porch creaked and groaned as they walked up its steps, threatening to buckle under their weight. Hunter led his brothers to the door, then quickly knocked. It was only after a tall, sickly-looking man opened the door did Hunter realize how odd they looked. Four grown men, two with tattooed faces, one with heavy scarring on his face, all armed, showing up at an orphanage. The man seemed to be thinking this too, as he only partially opened the door, a frightened expression on his face.“Can… I help you?” He said after a beat. His eyes flicked nervously over their guns.“Yes, we’re looking for a boy.”The man’s eyebrows shot up. “To adopt?”“What? No,” Hunter’s face heated, “We’re looking for Omar. Just wanted to talk to him.”“Omar?” The man frowned. “We don’t have an Omar.”“Are you sure?” Hunter looked at the man skeptically. The caretakers at this particular orphanage had never been great with names. They often lost track of children, but whether it was from the sheer amount of children or apathy, he couldn’t say. Fortunately for him and his brothers, this made it relatively easy to sneak out during the day. Given his hasty retreat earlier, Omar had more than likely done the same.The man gave a small harrumph. “I suppose not. Come in.” The man opened the door and beckoned them inside. He was tall, almost as tall as Wrecker. As they passed through the door, Hunter could see dark circles under his round, watery eyes.“I’m Lama Su. And you are?”“I’m Hunter, and these are my brothers, Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair.”“A pleasure.”Lama Su took them down a long, narrow hallway, guiding them to orphanage’s parlor. He motioned for them to sit at a dingy dining table. After calling for one of the children, an uncomfortable silence blanketed the room.“Well, gentlemen,” Lama Su adjusted his glasses, “might I ask what business you have with one of our precious wards?”Hunter ignored the sarcasm. “Nothing much, the kid helped me out earlier and I just wanted to give ‘im my thanks before we left.”“Is that all? I’m sure any one of our children could prove…useful to you.”A sick feeling crept into his gut. He knew all too well what he was implying. The children here were often “adopted” by mining camps, gangs, and plantation owners. And that was if they were lucky. Before he could even respond, footsteps could be heard in the hall. A young girl timidly stepped into the room.“You called, Mr. Su-?” she stopped midsentence once she saw them. She instantly began to pale.Upon further inspection, Hunter realized why. At first glance, she was nearly unrecognizable. Her mop of blonde hair had been combed and styled into a neat updo, and her trousers had been exchanged for a pale blue dress. But there was no mistaking it: it was Omar.“Omega, please get our guests some water.”Snapping out of her shock, the girl hurriedly left the room. He glanced at his brothers; they had recognized her too. A minute later she returned, and Hunter could see that her entire demeanor had changed. Her head held high, jaw set, shoulders back, everything about her screamed determination. As she walked around the table, setting glasses and pouring water from a pitcher, she glared at them every time her back was turned to Mr. Su, daring them to out her.“Now, continuing our conversation from earlier. Omega, do we have an ‘Omar’ here?”“No, sir.”“Are you sure?” Hunter tried not to smile. “He’s about your age, and blond too.”“Yes sir, I’m sure.” She said through gritted teeth.“Hm. That’s too bad. We wanted to give him something before we left, but now…”That caught her attention.She perked up ever so slightly, and glanced at them skeptically.Mr. Su sighed. “Yes, a shame.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “However, if you’re interested in adopting, like I said-”Just then, a resounding crash came from the level above them, followed by the sound of wails and screams.Lama Su jumped to his feet, a murderous look on his face. “If you gentlemen will excuse me-” he rushed out of the room; his heavy footsteps could be heard running up the stairs.With Lama Su now out of sight, Omega immediately turned on the brothers, eyes wide. “What are you doing here?” She hissed.“I wanted to stop by before me and my brothers left, but I didn’t realize we were looking for someone who didn’t exist.”“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?”He chuckled. “No, kid. But what exactly are you doing dressing up like that anyways?”“It’s the only way I can make money. Because I’m a girl, the caretakers make me look after the little kids, so I’m not allowed to leave. If I look like a boy, it’s easier to sneak out and find work.”“Smart thinking. What’s the money for?”A stubborn expression crossed her face. “I’m going to use it to find my family.”“What family?” Crosshair interjected. “I hate to break it to you, kid, but you’re here for a reason. Best use that money to get out of this hell-hole.”“Crosshair!”“What? It’s true, isn’t it?”“Aw, leave the kid alone Cross, she’s been through enough.” Wrecker scolded.“While I do not entirely agree with Crosshair’s sentiment, he may have a point.” Tech turned to Omega. “It may be a better idea to use your money to leave Kamino first, before looking for your parents.”“I’m not looking for my parents. I’m looking for my brothers. Before they left, the older caretakers told me about them. They were here a couple years ago but were adopted and taken to Felucia Springs. That’s where I want to go. Even if I don’t find them… I’ll figure out something.”“Ha! No way, kid! That’s where we’re from!” Wrecker boomed. “We might even know some of you brothers!”“Really?” Her face lit up like a pine tree on Life Day. “Maybe you could help me!”A weird feeling started to creep into Hunter’s gut. This was too… coincidental. Brothers? Felucia Springs? Unless…Looking back at her, it finally clicked. The curve of her face, tan skin, her blonde hair. And her eyes. The ones that he saw every time he looked at his brothers. The ones that had seemed familiar to him, but for a reason he couldn’t place. Honey brown, dark, intelligent. Always aware of their surroundings.But he had to be sure.“Hey kid,” he said interrupting her and Wrecker’s excited chatter. “What did you say your name was again?”“Oh, yeah! I’m Omega, Omega Fett.”The room went dead silent.He looked at his brothers. They looked as shocked as he felt.Omega sensing the sudden tension, piped up. “What’s wrong?”“Nothing kid, just… I forgot to tell Mr. Su something. Could you get him for us?”-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lama Su slammed the book shut. “Well, that confirms it. I’ll give you gentlemen a couple of minutes to discuss.” And with that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.“So…” Hunter said, breaking the silence. “I guess this means that she’s… our sister.”Hunter could hardly believe it. It had only ever been him and his brothers. Now, all of a sudden they had a sister? How had they not known? If his math was correct, she would have been born only two years after they had been adopted by 99. That was recent enough for them to have been made aware of her existence. He also knew that there was no way 99 would have left her here, which meant that he didn’t know. The only (and most likely) option was that the orphanage made a mistake.“How is this even possible? I thought Jango was dead!”“Obviously not, Wrecker.” Tech rolled his, however he still looked pale. “Although, it is… odd to say the least. She was born 11 years after myself, which means that our father…”“Tech. Don’t. I don’t even want to think about it.” Wrecker moaned.“Forget that!” Crosshair spat. “What are we supposed to do now? She’s a kid. We can’t take her with us.”“We can’t just leave her, Cross. She’s our blood.”“What, and have her shot at with the rest of us? For kriff’s sake, Hunter, wake up! We’re bounty hunters.”“Not anymore, remember? We’re going home, Cross.”Crosshair said nothing, angrily staring at the wall.Force, Hunter didn’t want to play this card. But there was no way on Ashla’s green earth he was going to leave his little sister behind.“Crosshair.” His brother looked at him.“99 took us in when he didn’t have to. We all know that he wouldn’t have left Omega here if he had known about her, and he sure as hell wouldn’t want her to stay here. At the very least, do it for him.”A beat of silence.“Tch. Fine, for 99. But you guys are dealing with her, not me.”“All right!” Wrecker pumped his fists into the air. “It’ll be fun having the kid around.”Tech adjust his glasses. “In that case, I will prepare the cart and get more supplies. Wrecker, come with me.”After they left, a couple minutes or awkward silence passed before Lama Su returned with the confused looking girl in tow. “I have brought Omega. Have you made your decision?”Hunter eyed Crosshair. He frowned but said nothing.“We have. She’s coming with us.”“Very well. I’ll prepare the paperwork.”Lama Su practically ran out the door, happy to be free of one less child.“What’s going on?” Omega’s eyes widened. “What do you mean I’m coming with you?”“Well…about that…”“What is it?” Her eyes flicked back and forth between their faces.Hunter kneeled down in front of her and spoke slowly. “You know how I was telling you about my brothers earlier?”She nodded hesitantly.“Well, it turns out… they’re your brothers too. You’re our sister, Omega.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
If Omega was anything, she was optimistic. After being surrounded by terrible people and witnessing terrible things all her life, the hope that that things would get better was often the only thing that got her through the day. She would spend her days working at the clinic, working as hard as she could to earn money to leave. She spent all her nights dreaming of what she would do when she left and what her brothers were like. So how was it, now that she had found her brothers and had finally left Kamino, she wasn’t happy?Leaning against the inside of the wagon, she wiped the sweat from her brow. She discretely glanced at each of her brothers. Tech sat in the front, steering the horses. He seemed to be the brains of the group and had the looks to match. With his vest, bow tie, and glasses, he could have easily passed as an official of some sort. Sitting next to him was Wrecker, who most definitely could not. Scarring covered the left side of his face, leaving him blind in one eye. He had the build of man who looked like he ate bison for breakfast, not even mentioning how tall he was. Had Omega not been aware of his playful personality, she would have been terrified of him. Crosshair, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. Stoically riding his horse, it was hard to get a read on him. While still fairly tall, he was on the lean side, with a permanent scowl etched into his face. Based on the rifle on his back and ammo belt strapped to his chest, she assumed he was a marksman. She didn’t get to look at his weapons for long, though. He must have felt her gaze, as his eyes suddenly met hers. She looked away, trying not to look embarrassed. Then, there was Hunter. There was no doubt about it; he was the leader. It was obvious with the way he carried himself, the way the others looked to him. If she didn’t know any better, she would say he was the one who decided to take her with them.It was emotional whiplash. One second, she didn’t know if she would ever escape Kamino and find her brothers. The next, and poof! She was on her way to Felucia Springs with them. Thinking about it now, her life goal had been accomplished, and she didn’t even have to do anything! But now…She knew her brothers cared about her on some level. They wouldn’t have taken her if they didn’t. But at the end of the day, they were still strangers to her. Sure, she had heard about them in the orphanage. But that was different than actually knowing them. They had spent their entire lives with each other, but her? They didn’t even know about her existence until yesterday. What would they even do with her? Would they let her stay with them? Would they put her with a different family? Did they even see her as family? Or did they just see her as a relative? As these doubts swirled in her mind, she thought about what Hunter had told her. That they were her brothers and wanted to take her to Felucia Springs. But what did that even mean?On the bright side, she had a whole pouch of untouched credits from her years of saving. Worst case scenario, she could get by for a little while until she figured something out.Until then, she would just have to wait and see. But little gods, it was awkward. There wasn’t exactly much to talk about other than, you know, the fact that they knew nothing about each other!It frustrated her to no end. On one hand, she wanted to know everything about them. When did they get out of the orphanage? What did they do for a living? Did they have a home somewhere? Do they have any other family? What was life like for them growing up?On the other hand, she felt it was too risky to ask questions. They might find it annoying and decide to dump her in the next town. Or worse, they might actually answer her.Before she could spiral any further, she tried to distracted herself.“Where are we going again?” She said, talking to no one in particular.“We are currently headed to Saleucami Falls.” Tech turned his head to look at her. “We will be there within a day.”“We’re meeting up with a friend of ours before we head back home. Now that I think about it,” Hunter mused, “it’s actually been a while since we’ve seen him.”“A while? It’s been forever! I bet the kids are all grown up now.”That got them talking. Omega said nothing, opting to just listen. She pulled her cap down over her eyes and crossed her arms. Their chatter mixed with the hot sun took its toll, and she slowly drifted off to sleep.--- By the time she woke up, it was dark. The wagon had stopped moving, and she could see that the horses had been tied to some trees in the distance. A fire flickered a couple of meters away, and she could vaguely make out the figures sitting around it. They were cooking something. Whatever it was, it smelled good. Stretching her arms out in front of her, she noticed a large jacket had been placed over her legs. She was about to call out for someone when she heard hushed voices.“-can you stop that already? You’re being too loud.”A particularly loud whisper answered back. “What? I ain’t doing nothing.”“Yes, you are. I wouldn’t be surprised if every animal in a 100-mile radius could hear you.”“It’s not my fault! We gotta have something to keep the fire going,” a particularly loud crack! echoed through the air. “And I don’t see any of you tryin’ to help.”This time a much quieter voice chimed in. “Wrecker, perhaps you should use the axe. That might help.”“Hey!”A chorus of voices shushed him.“Cross! Help me out here,” he said, trying but failing to lower his volume.“Alright, enough. Wrecker’s right. Even if he does sound like a nephila.”They continued to bicker for force knows how long. Omega would have been fine staying where she was, if it wasn’t for her growling stomach. The stupid thing. She didn’t think it was that loud, but the bickering faltered. She froze.“Wrecker, would you check the stew? I think it’s almost done,” Hunter said in a loud voice, obviously meant for her.“Wha- oh. Ok. I’M CHECKING THE STE- ow, what was that for?!”She rolled her eyes. No hiding it now. She clambered over the side of the wagon and clumsily hopped down. Rubbing her eyes she made her way towards the campfire.“Look who’s finally up. Ready to eat?”Omega grunted.“I’ll take that as a yes. Here you go.” Hunter handed her a steaming mug.Omega wrinkled her nose. It looked, well, it looked disgusting. There were a few suspicious chunks floating in a dirty brown broth, with a few soggy carrots thrown in the mix. But somehow, against all odds, it had the same amazing smell from earlier. Not wanting to be rude (yes, she did have some manners), she took spoonful into her mouth. Her eyes went wide, and not even a second later she was scarfing it down like she hadn’t eaten in days.“Wath- mph, ith this?”“That would be called Orn Taa Stew. Also, do not forget to breathe, choking would not be ideal.” Tech smiled.Omega could feel her face flush and forced herself to slow down.“No, not that-” she swallowed loudly, “what is it? I didn’t know food could taste like that.”“Ah. You are most likely used to the grits from Kamino. Most foods are made up of various meats and vegetables and have some type of flavor.”“Woah. Can I have some more?”“Yeah kid!” Wrecker guffawed. “Eat as much as you want!”Three mugs of stew later, Omega was having some serious regrets. Even after she slowed down, she felt like she was going to throw up. She wanted to eat more, eat as much as she could, but she had reached her limit. Groaning, she wrapped her arms around her stomach.Hunter sat down next to her and handed her a small piece of bread. She took it gratefully, nibbling on it and willing the nausea to go away.“Happened to us too. You’ll get used to it though. Flavor, I mean.”“Yeah.”They sat like that for the next couple of hours, Wrecker stoking the fire, Tech trying to read a book in the dim light, Crosshair passed out in the wagon, and Hunter next to her, watching the fire. Eventually, the heat from the fire and sounds of cicadas lulled her to sleep.--- When she finally woke up, she was in the wagon again. The sky was beginning to lighten, and a thin fog hovered over the ground.Sitting up, she found herself covered by a jacket again, only this time the owner was snoring in the wagon with her. Wrecker had somehow squeezed himself next to some crates at the foot of the wagon, head resting on his chest. She smiled to herself and draped the jacket back over him. Quietly crawling over some crates, she plopped down in the front seat next to Hunter.“Morning.”“Morning. You sleep good?”“Yup.” She let out a yawn. “Are we almost there?”“Yeah, we’re actually on his property right now. We’ll be at his place in a couple of minutes. Speaking of which…” He wrestled one of his boots off, whirled around, and chucked it a Wrecker with lethal force.“Wrecker, wake up! We’re almost there.”Wrecker unfazed by the deadly boot, groaned and ignored him. Hunter turned to Crosshair, who nodded in reply. Without a word he led his horse next to them, and with greater force Omega could imagine, he unceremoniously kicked his brother off the wagon. Wrecker’s giant form landed with a thud, and a muffled oof! Came from behind them.“Is… is he ok?”“Don’t worry about him, he’s fine.” Hunter turned to look behind them. “He’s just impossible to wake up.”Omega could hear groaning and cursing in the distance.“Alright, alright, I’m up! Wait for me!” Wrecker jogged back to the wagon, practically throwing himself in.“About time.” Crosshair rolled his eyes. “We’re here.”Omega turned to see a wide clearing up ahead. There were rows and rows of crops visible in every direction, and towards the middle of the clearing she could make out a homestead and barn. The homestead was a decent size, with only one story and several windows. She could see several tools and trinkets scattered on the porch and outside the barn and even made out what looked like a child’s crude drawing peeking our from its spot from behind a windowpane. Hunter parked the cart and hopped down.Before Omega even had time to think, the door of the homestead flew open, and two little blurs shot towards them.“Uncles!” The little girl shrieked, jumping into Wrecker’s arms as he laughed. “You’re here! We missed you!”“Where have you been? Did you shoot any pirates? Did you fight anyone? When did you get to Saleucami?” The younger boy didn’t even seem to blink, unable to contain his excitement.The girl couldn’t have been any older than 9; the boy probably around 6. The had light brown skin, dark eyes, and dark hair. “Shaeeah! Jek! We missed you too,” Hunter said, scooping the boy into his arms. “We’ll tell you all about our adventures later. But first, where’s your dad?”“Daddy’s in the barn. I’ll go get him!” The girl, who Omega assumed was Shaeeah, wriggled out of Wrecker’s arms and bolted, hollering at the top of her lungs. After disappearing for a minute, she reappeared dragging a flustered looking man behind her.“Shaeeh what’s wrong? What’s-” The man stopped in his tracks the minute he saw them and his face broke into a wide smile. “I don’t believe it. Boys, is that you?”“You better believe it,” Hunter said with a smile. “Good to see you again, Cut.”The man jogged over to them and crushed Hunter in a bear hug. “Hunter! Wrecker! Tech! Cross! You should have told me you where coming, bastards.” As he made his way around the group, giving each brother a more bone crushing hug than the last, Omega quietly hopped down from the wagon. Standing tentatively behind Hunter, she studied the man closely. With a deep tan and sturdy build, it was easy to tell he was a farmer (if the crops hadn’t already given that away). He had smile and laugh lines etched deep into his face, and despite his tall frame, his presence gave off a sense of unadulterated joy. If the adoring looks his children gave him were anything to go by, Omega would say he seemed a decent man. But she could never be too careful, even if her brothers liked him. She had spent enough time on Kamino to know that even the most unassuming people could secretly be monsters.Almost as if he could hear her thoughts, he finally seemed to notice her. “Ah, who’s this?”“Oh, well it’s a funny story actually.” Hunter rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “This is Omega, our sister.”“Sister?” A weird look crossed the man’s face before turning back into a smile. “About time there was a girl in your family! Force knows you lot could use the common sense.”Chuckling, he extended his hand. “I’m Cut Lawquane, your brothers and I fought together in the war. It’s nice to meet you, Omega.”Omega took his hand and gave him a small smile.“Alrighty then, why don’t we head inside? I’ll make you all some drinks. You can put your horses in the barn.” He turned to his children, each one wrapped around Wrecker’s legs, giggling as he walked. “Shaeeah, Jek. Why don’t you give Omega a tour while me and your uncles catch up?”“Ok, dad!” The boy peeled himself off first and grabbed Omega’s hand, asking her rapid-fire questions. The girl flounced up next to her, leading them away from the house.“Do you like cows?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“So… she’s really your sister?”Cut went around the table, handing each of them a steaming mug of spice milk, a thoughtful look on his face.“Yes, we checked the orphanage’s records. We have confirmed that we have the same parents.” Tech shifted in his seat.“And she’s what, 11?” He plopped down in a chair at the head of the table. “With the age difference, that would mean-”Crosshair held up a hand. “Don’t even go there.”Cut laughed at Crosshair's obvious disgust. “So when did you find her? How, even? I thought you swore never to go back to Kamino.”“Well… we only found out two days ago.” Hunter sipped his drink.Cut choked on his drink. “Two days ago?!? You mean to tell me you just found that child two days ago?!?”“More or less.”As Hunter recounted the story, Cut’s brows furrowed in deep concentration. Once he finished, Cut let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair.“So she was in Kamino all this time, by herself? Well, that would explain the clothes and the fake name.”“Well yeah, she didn’t want to get caught outside the orphanage.” Wrecker stared into his mug. “Bad things would happen if she did.”“Of course, but it’s not just that. She’s a young girl, an orphan, and probably very weak. With all the saloons and their customers, she would be an easy target. On top of that, you said she worked? No one would hire a girl for the type of jobs she had, much less one her age.”They sipped their drinks in thoughtful silence.Hunter massaged his temple. The thought had crossed his mind. He had his suspicions about why she chose to dress the way she did, even though they already knew she was a girl. Though with the traveling, he didn’t get much of a chance to dwell on it. It still hadn’t completely sunk in yet that they had a little sister. He hated the thought though. Women in Kamino were treated little more than a commodity, exceptions being Dr. Se and the occasional merchant’s wife. Young girls were especially sought after; they had all seen that first hand. Girls in the orphanage would mysteriously disappear or be taken away by their adoptive “fathers” only to show up again on the streets as pleasure girls. Even the idea of Omega being near people like that made him sick to his stomach. He thanked the force that she was smart enough to disguise herself. Clearing his throat, Cut broke the silence.“Well, aside from that, what have you boys been up to? Last I saw y’all, you were just being shipped out to Kaller.”“Mainly just bounty hunting, with the occasional odd job here and there.”“I’ll say.” Wrecker leaned forward, a slightly feral grin on his face. “We got a lot of stories to tell ya’. Just wait ‘till I tell you about Cato Nemoidia.”“Wrecker, we agreed that what happened in Cato Nemoidia stays in Cato Nemoidia.” Tech raised an eyebrow. “But I suppose I’ll just have to tell him about the harmonica incident?”Wrecker gasped. “You wouldn’t.”“Bounty hunting, eh?” Cut rolled his eyes as the two started to bicker. “Thought you for sure were going to be rancher’s at 99’s.”Immediately the mood turned serious. Wrecker and Tech stopped bickering and they all seemed to deflate a little.“About that. It’s still our plan, we just… wanted to wait.”A look of confusion crossed Cut’s face while he waited for Hunter to elaborate.“99 died while we were in Kaller. We wanted to make a little money before we went back, but we ended up taking a little longer than anticipated. We were actually headed back home when we found Omega.”“I had no idea. I know it’s late but… I’m sorry for your loss. I know he meant a lot to you.”“We made our peace with it,” Crosshair said looking at the ground chewing a toothpick.“So you’re going back finally? Do you know what you’ll do when you get there?”“We were thinking about taking over the ranch. We sent a wire to our cousins a while back; turns out 99 left it to us. They’ve been taking care of it in the meantime.”Cut hummed thoughtfully. “That’s still quite the journey you got. Especially with a new addition to the family…”“I know, but it’s time we made our way back. It’s been long enough.”“True, but you boys could still use a breather before you really start your trip. Here’s an idea,” he said, a mischievous look in his eyes. “Why don’t you stay here for a couple days? I could use the help preparing for the harvest and with some repair work, and you could use the time to get… adjusted.”“Meaning?” Hunter looked at the man skeptically.“Brother, I’ve seen half-dead coon-bears with an energy rifle pointed at their snouts that looked better than you lot.”“…I can’t argue with you there.”“Oi, speak for yourself.” Wrecker snipped.“Great!” Cut stood up from his chair, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll go ahead and set up a place for you guys to stay. Suu’ll be thrilled once she finds out.”“Speaking of which, where is she?”“Oh, Suu? She went out to town to sell some of her fruits. She’ll be back around lunchtime. In the meantime, help me unload your stuff and we can get started on those repairs.” --- Cut certainly didn’t beat around the bush; Hunter and his brothers had been putting up and patching fences for the better half of the day. If Hunter didn’t know better, he would say Cut only wanted them to stay for the grunt work. But he did know better. Grunt work was only half of the reason.He glanced over at the sweaty mop of blonde hair to his right. Omega was dripping with sweat like the rest of them, carefully lining up the rails while Tech nailed them in place. After Shaeeah and Jek had finally wore themselves out dragging Omega all over the property, they resigned themselves to mucking out the stalls in the cool barn. Omega had opted to help with the fences, probably wanting a break from the rapid-fire questions. The girl turned out to be much stronger than he anticipated, managing to drag full-sized posts all by herself. Wrecker had shooed her away, insisting that he carry the posts so that she didn’t show him up. In reality, he probably just didn’t want her to hurt herself, but no one said anything. Tech then swiftly took over, instructing her to help him level the rails, leaving Cut to help Wrecker, and Crosshair and himself to dig holes for the posts. Omega lined up the rails with expert precision, which seemed to pique Tech’s interest.“Omega, have you built fences before? You seem to be familiar with this.”“Oh, fences? Yeah, I helped build them all the time in Kamino.” She wiped her forehead with a nearby rag. “You know the Tipoca Ranch right outside town? I even helped repair their fence once. The pay was terrible, though.”Tech chuckled as a sour look crossed the girl’s face. “I remember Tipoca quite well. That’s actually where Crosshair learned to shoot for the first time.”“You mean when he accidentally shot one of their bulls? Now that-” Wrecker dropped the post in one of the holes with a grunt. “-was priceless. You should’a seen the look on the foreman’s face! I though Crossy was a dead man.”Hunter rolled his eyes. “Accidentally. Sure.”“We’ve been over this, already. The bull walked in front of me at the wrong time, end of story.”“And it just so happened to be the mayor’s prize-winning bull?”“Yup.”Tech sighed. “And he wonders why we could never get a job there after.”"Wait a minute, is that why the foreman always told us not to shoot the cattle?" Omega's eyes widened. "I though he was joking!"After a beat they all burst out laughing. After grilling Omega for more details they started to share some of their stories about old jobs, and Omega would then tell them about what the same people were doing before she left. Hunter started to relax a little. Their little sister had been pretty quiet since they first took her from Kamino, very unlink their first encounter. It felt good to see her loosen up a bit. They continued to talk and laugh as they worked, all smiles as sweat dripped down their faces.It was about half past noon when Suu’s cart finally came rolling down the winding dirt road, a trail of dust kicked up behind her.“Who’s that?” Omega said, instantly alert.“Don’t worry, that’s just my wife, Suu.” Cut put down the post he was carrying and dusted off his pants. “Why don’t we all take a break? That way I can introduce you, Omega.”Omega seemed to relax a little at the offer. “All right, let’s go.”By the time they reached the homestead, the cart had already been parked, and it’s driver looked none too pleased. A lean woman hopped out of the cart. She had the same light brown skin and dark eyes as her children, with dotted swirls tattooed on her arms. Her long, dark hair was tied back with a bandana and ended in two braids. She wore the typical farmer’s trousers with knee high boots and an old shirt, but somehow still managed to look glamourous. With arms crossed, she glared at them.“Hey Suu, long time no see-”“Just what exactly do you think you are doing here?” Suu’s heavily accented voice interrupted.“I don’t-”“Two years, Hunter. Two years, and you only visit now?!” She jabbed an angry finger at them. “Do you know how much the children have been asking after you? Why didn’t you come sooner?”She then went on to scold them in her native language, a rapid triage of insults and accusations. Hunter hoped basic was the only language Omega knew, otherwise her cursing was about to become a lot more…creative. After about a minute or two of this, her husband finally decided to intervene.“Woah there, Suu.” Cut walked over to his wife, placing his hands on her shoulders and kissing her cheek. “The boys have just been busy is all.”“We missed you too, Suu.” Wrecker said chuckling.“Whatever you say.” She huffed.“Suu,” Cut chided. “Alright! Alright. It’s good to see you boys.” She rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Come in and I’ll make us lunch. Then you can tell me what happened in the two years you didn’t visit.”“About that, Suu, there’s someone we want you to meet first. Hey kid, come here for a second.”Omega slipped out from behind Wrecker, looking more than a little shy.“Suu, this is Omega, our sister. Omega this is Suu, Cut’s wife.”Omega tipped her cap. “Ma’am.”To her credit, any shock she might’ve had she kept to herself, most likely not wanting to make the girl uncomfortable.“Nice to meet you, Omega. I take it my children have already given you the grand tour?”“Yes ma’am.”“Call me Suu. In that case, let’s get you cleaned up before they drag you to the hay loft.”As they headed inside, Cut called his kids out of the barn. After a quick lunch, they soon started talking about their time after the war. Before they could get to deep into a conversation, Shaeeah pulled on her father’s sleeve.“Yes, Shaeeah?”“Daddy, since me and Jek finished our chores, can we go play now?” She looked at him with pleading eyes, and a vibrating Jek right next to her.“Alright. Just don’t wander off too far from the house.”“Ok! C’mon Jek, let’s go!” Shaeeah dragged Jek to the door, then stopped. “Omega, are you coming?”Omega looked at Hunter, who gave her a small nod. She smiled and darted out of the room with the kids. As he watched her leave, he sipped on some water. When he turned back to the group, he found Cut and Suu looking at him with strange expressions. Before he had time to think about it, Suu immediately began to bombard them with questions, and before long they had her filled in on the situation. They then began to talk about other things, he and his brothers talking about their bounty hunting, Cut and Suu about their farm. It turned out that Suu had been quite successful with selling her fruit as of late, which was good since Jek was about to join his sister at school. They stayed that way for a while, immersed in their stories from the last two years. Hunter hadn’t even realized how much time had passed until he heard little footsteps rushing towards the door.“Mom! Dad! We need help!” Shaeeah’s little voice was frantic.“Shaeeah, what happened?” Cut said, worry in his voice.“Omega went past the fence!”Without hesitation, they all jumped up from the table. Suu lunged for the rifle leaning against the wall as they sprinted out the door. They headed for the western part of the property, which bordered a dense wooded area. As they got closer, Hunter could see Omega just beyond the fence, standing in a half-crouch position across from what seemed to be a tusk-cat, poised to pounce.Hunter sprang over the fence, simultaneously pushing the girl behind him while whipping out his knife. As the cat lunged at him, a shot rang out. Then another, hitting right next to the beast. As it ran away, the shots followed it until it was out of sight. Hunter waited a minute before turning around and catching his breath.As he helped her back over the fence, he noticed his brothers holstering their guns, and further away, Suu climbing down from the roof of the homestead. Now that he had moment to register what happened, the adrenaline flooded out of him. Instead, he was left with an overwhelming sense of panic.“Omega, what were you doing out there? Do you realize you could have been killed?!” Looking back, he said it pretty harshly. But at the time, all he could think about is what would have happened if he had been a second too late.“Easy.” Cut put a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of it. “She’s not a soldier.”He then crouched down in front of Omega, who still seemed to be in shock. “Let’s take a look, shall we?” He gently cupped her face and inspected it. “Are you ok?”“I was just- I was just trying to get the ball…” She furiously blinked back tears, and without a word Cut scooped her up and walked back towards the homestead, giving her promises of safety and more spice milk.The ball? Hunter scanned his surroundings until he spotted the beat-up looking toy outside of the fence. Oh. They must have been playing a game and the ball went over. Omega must have been trying to get it back for the younger kids.And he had just yelled at her.And she hadn’t even known about the tusk-cats.Damn him.He turned to his brothers, who looked as out of their depth as he felt. As they followed Cut back inside the house, Suu came around the corner of the house.“Forgot what a good shot you were, Suu. Thank you.”Suu patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Kids always find trouble, Hunter. It is our job to protect them when they do.”He could do nothing but nod.He still couldn’t help but feel guilty. What was he thinking? That was no way to talk to a kid; Cut was right. Instead of treating her like a child, he had treated her like a soldier. He thought those days were behind him, it had been two years since the war after all. But he guessed some things just stuck with you, no matter what. Maybe… maybe he wasn’t cut out for this.He pushed the thought away as he entered the house. --- Luckily, the next few days passed without incident. They had managed to finish the fence and now were working on fixing the homestead’s roof. Despite her insistence, Hunter had refused to let Omega so much as step foot on a ladder. He wasn’t taking any chances after the first day’s incident. With lots of grumbling, she eventually relented. Suu managed to convince her to help with her small orchard and other minor chores along with Jek and Shaeeah.As he hammered down planks, he watched Omega and the kids run towards the fruit trees. Hunter had noticed that Omega seemed to be more comfortable around the Lawquanes now, especially Cut. He had seemed to gain her trust after that first day. Any shyness she had before was gone now, and she bombarded the man with questions about the farm equipment, plants, and anything that intrigued her in the slightest. Cut, to his credit, answered every question with the patience of a Jedi master. Suu was no different, fussing over the girl and her clothes, braiding her hair, and practically dragging her to the kitchen to teach her how to make meiloorun puffs. Even the kids seemed happy to have another person to play with.Internally, Hunter couldn’t be more relieved. He still felt terrible about how he had yelled at Omega and Cut and Suu seemed to be much better at this than him or his brothers. But still, he felt a sharp twinge every time he saw Cut make her laugh.Lost in thought, he didn’t even notice his brother calling his name until something small and round hit him dead center in the forehead.“Hey, what was that-”“Water break,” Crosshair looked at him with annoyance. “You coming?”“I’m fine, I’ll keep working.”“Suit yourself.”Cut watched the rest of his brothers climb down the latter before plopping himself next to Hunter.“So…”“So what?”“Whatcha’ thinking?”“What do you mean?”“Don’t give me that. You’ve been acting like a hurt tooka for days. What’s going on?”“Omega seems to be doing good here.”“And…?”Hunter ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “You and Suu seem to be good for her. I don’t know if I’ll be any good at this. Maybe… she should stay here.”“Hunter, you know that Suu and I would be more than willing to take her in, but that’s not what you want and you know it.”“Of course that’s not what I want, but maybe it’s what she needs.”“Hunter, look at me.” Cut sighed deeply. “What she needs is her brothers. You’re not only her closest living family, but the only ones who have any idea what her life was like before. Are you going to be perfect? Hell no. But that’s just part of it. As long as you do your best, and show her you care, you’ll be fine.”“I guess you’re right, but I still hate how I yelled at her.”“Of course I’m right. And if it makes you feel better, I almost dropped Jek as baby.”“How is that supposed to make me feel better?” Hunter tried to suppress a smile but failed.“You’re happy now, aren’t you?”“Shut up.”Before Cut could respond, his brothers clambered back up on the roof. They went back to work, hammering plank after plank, the blazing sun beating down on them. After a couple of hours they finished repairing the roof and moved on to helping Cut with the harvesting. By the time they had finished cutting down and bundling who knows how many different kinds of wheat, Hunter was so sore he could hardly move. He was really glad 99 wasn’t a farmer.After they had cleaned themselves up, Suu announced that dinner was ready. Stiffly walking into the house, he was met with an aroma that instantly made his mouth water. The dinner table was covered with an impressive spread of spiced meats, breads, and other dishes. He even spotted what looked suspiciously like a Ryloth cheesecake.“Ya’ really went all out Suu!”“I figured since it’s you boys’ last night I would make something special.”Omega appeared from the kitchen, clearing her throat loudly.“We would make something special, I mean.” Suu chuckled.“Then what are we waiting for?” Wrecker cracked his knuckled. “Let’s dig in!”Hunter couldn’t recall the last time he had been this full. Three platefuls of food later, and there was still more than enough. Across the table, Wrecker continued to stuff his face like a rancor, already on his fifth plate. Tech and Crosshair fortunately had better manners than their brother, and opted not to eat like they were on the brink of starvation. As they continued to eat and talk, he noticed Omega quietly slip away from the table outside. He didn’t think much about it, but after a couple minutes and no sign of her, he decided to check and see if she was ok.Excusing himself from the table, he grabbed a lantern and walked outside into the cool, crisp night air. He found her sitting on the edge of the porch, fidgeting with something around her neck. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be some sort of silver pendent, but before he could look further she tucked it beneath her shirt. He sat down next to her, setting the lantern between them.“Hey.”“Hey.”“What are you doing out here?”“Nothing, just wanted some fresh air.”“Ah. Well, if you want any more food, you better hurry inside. I think Wrecker’s gonna eat Cut out of house and home.”The girl gave him a half-hearted smile but said nothing.“Is everything all right?”She paused, as if debating whether or not to speak. After a beat, she took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.“Why do you want to leave me here?”Hunter blinked. “What?”“I heard you talking to Cut on the roof earlier. You said it would be better for me here. So you’re just going to leave me?” Her voice cracked at the end, and looking closer he noticed that her eyes had a red tinge.“Wait, what? Omega, no.” He fumbled as he tried to think of the right words. “Omega, I told you that we were taking you with us and I meant it. It’s just that… well, Cut and Suu can give you something we can’t: a real family. All I was thinking was that you might be better off.”“What are you talking about?” The girl’s expression shifted from hurt to anger. “I worked my entire life just to find you guys. And you think I want to stay here? I like Cut, but he’s not my brother.”Her eyes softened. “This is where I want to be, Hunter.”For a minute Hunter couldn’t say anything. His throat tightened with a feeling he couldn’t explain.“If this is where you want to be,” he started, trying to keep his voice level, “then this is where you’ll stay.”At that they both said nothing. But they didn’t need to. As they watched the stars twinkling above them, he could feel both of their relief and happiness seeping into the night air.