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Omega had begged and begged, pestering Nala Se until she caved. She had seen them in their tubes, learned their numbers, watched them grow. Watched from afar as they formed their close knit band of brothers. Physically, they were 3 years old, and she, Omega was 6. Her body was developing at a normal humanoid rate while theirs was accelerated, their purpose in life to grow quickly, to train, to fight. Already, they were starting to change from children to adolescents, personalities separating, becoming different from each other.Maybe it was the fact that they were kept separate from the regular clones that drew her to them. From the beginning they were labeled as different, like her. Omega waited for them as they finished an intensely physical training session, watching them rough house with each other after. She stood as they exited the training room, a confident smile on her face. "Hello!" she said, meeting the eyes of CT-9901 who stood at the front of the group of boys. His eyes were dark, intense, but not unfriendly. "Who're you?" CT-9904 said, leaning around his brother, his arms crossed over his chest. His child's voice was raspy, his tone apprehensive. CT-9901 nudged him back protectively. "I'm Omega," she said, kneeling down to be their height. She smiled at them. "Nala Se wants me to instruct you in the course of field medicine this afternoon. Come on, I'll show you the library." She stood, watching as they decided amongst themselves and followed her.The brothers exchanged curious glances, following the older girl through unfamiliar hallways. Omega used her passcode to open the large doors, the room behind them enormous. CT-9902 stepped forward, adjusting the small goggles he wore as he gaped open mouthed at the information surrounding them. Row upon row, aisle upon aisle of stored data, lit dimly from behind, each section labeled according to its contents. "This...is...this is...." his small voice trailed off, unable to find the words for the sheer amount of knowledge before him. The data was passcode protected, he was disappointed to find, the older girl suddenly taking on a specific appeal. He watched with interest as she selected a few training manuals. Omega led them to a seating area and sat down in the center of a comfortable sofa. She tucked her legs up under her, kicking off her shoes first. CT-9901 sat to her right. He removed his boots, tucking his legs under himself at her side. His hair was longer than his brother's and it fell over his face. He moved it behind his ear absently.CT-9904 sat to her left, his feet remaining booted, touching the floor. He watched her shuffling through the datapads and pretended he wasn't interested. CT-9903 sat on the floor at her feet, his back to the sofa. Omega looked down at him, smiling. She could tell by the wide eyes he had trained on her that she had his full attention. CT-9902 couldn't sit down. He stayed close but scanned through the titles in the large room, filing away his questions. Omega watched him pacing and let him be, turning to her lesson.She read to them the details of injuries, of wound care, bandaging, bacta application. Of creature bites, of stings, of poisons, allergic reactions and their treatments. When she was finished, she adjusted her legs under her, sitting cross legged. CT-9901 adjusted his legs to sit cross legged beside her. CT-9904 had leaned closer to her and was resting his head against her shoulder. When she moved he sat up straight.CT-9902 had listened intently while continuing his cataloging of the room. Omega looked around at the guarded entrance and took a new, larger datapad from her stack. The pad had pictures, drawings of animals on it. She read from the page, her voice softer than it had been. She had found this datapad accidentally on her own one day and had come back several times to re read it. It was a story of mythical creatures, some half human, some entirely animal. A story about a door to another world. A story of good, of evil, of witches and magic. She spoke and they listened, her voice and her words enthralling. CT-9904 forgot to sit straight, leaning against her again. He chewed his lip as she read about the evil, the darkness. When she read of the boy who was turned from the light he clutched her sleeve.CT-9902 forgot about the information at his back and leaned behind her to listen closely.CT-9903 never took his eyes off her, gazing at her with adoration. When she paused, he spoke. "And then?" Omega ruffled his hair and he laughed, beaming at her.When she moved her legs again, feet going to the other side, CT-9901 did the same. He had leaned against her other shoulder and Omega had placed an arm around him. They watched the pictures as she scrolled, listening to the story. The afternoon moved to evening and their stomachs began to growl. Omega laughed. "It IS mess time." She turned the datapad off, the light on their faces dimming. She moved to stand and CT-9904 clutched at her briefly before letting go. "But...what happens next?" CT-9902 asked. "We can finish it tomorrow." Omega said, looking down at their small, hopeful faces. CT-9901, who hadn't said a word yet, opened his mouth and closed it again shyly, his eyes watching her solemnly. She brushed his hair behind an ear, out of his eyes and he blushed.Omega hoped she was telling them the truth, hoped Nala Se would allow her to continue their lessons with her. Before she led them out she knelt, pressing a spare passcode into the hands of CT-9902. "This is excellent," he said, putting it away safely. Four small boys followed the older girl through the halls until Nala Se intercepted them, stealing Omega away. Four pairs of eyes watched her go and hoped they would see her again.
