The Bad Batch | Together Again

Together Again

We’re going too fast. I grip onto the side of the railcar door tightly, my senses going into overdrive from the immense roar of the wind and the loud metallic screeching of the sky rail. The outside is a continuous blur of white, and as my grip on Omega’s wrist loosens, a split second thought enters my mind and I am nearly petrified. The prospect of losing another one of my own sends me into a panic, finally giving into the emotions that I've pent up since Tech fell.

We’re plummeting back to the compound when I catch Echo out of my peripheral attempting a last ditch effort to take control back over the railcar, aggressively plugging into the scomp link.

No time

NO TIME

The compound is metres away. I snap around and dive for Omega, her terrified expression is burned into my memory as I take her down onto the floor, covering her body with my own.

This kid, this strong and amazing kid. She’s ours and mine. Seeing Omega so fucking scared breaks my heart, because what kind of father figure am I if I can’t protect her from danger, no less…death. The regrets eat away at me, for not forcing her to get on that ship with Cut, for being selfish and taking her in anyway. For loving this kid so much that it would kill me to give her away.

My brothers and I are somewhat hardened when it comes to death and the afterward. But today? There was no running from this. We’re more than a squad, more than what outsiders see us as. Tech making this sacrifice breaks me apart, and I can’t begin to imagine what our kid is going through right now. She isn’t a soldier…she isn't fucking a soldier; so why is she here?

She has absolutely no protection that will absorb the impact of this crash, and before I can even tell her to hold onto me, the last thing I feel is being thrown to the back of the railcar. The metal bars give out at the force of the crash and I'm sent flying out of it. The sensation of the empty space within my arms and a heavy slab of concrete slamming onto my abdomen is the last piece of clarity I manage to hold on to before my HUD shuts down.

I start gaining consciousness fast. With my genetic enhancements and years of intense training on Kamino, crash recovery is something I'm familiar with.

But Omega is not.

A pained moan breaches as the pain radiates across my ribs. and I know the crash has severely busted them up. My HUD is a little staticky, but I start to make out the heavy smoke, the ruins and the twisted and groaning metal.

I sit up, stuttering in my movements as concrete slips off of my armour and dust billows when I push the heavy slab off my body. It flips over and breaks off as I push myself to lay on my side. I let my arm rest across my ribs, adding a light pressure as I struggle to stand on my two feet; But fail at multiple attempts.

“Tech?” A girl’s voice calls out.

A few moments later I see a shadow fall to the ground, dirt billowing up into the air. My damaged HUD is speckled with glitches, and I'm struggling to paint a clear picture of my surroundings.

In my state of shock, I force my myself to remember that Tech isn’t here and try to recall who was instead. Echo, Wrecker and Omega need to be accounted for.

Panic starts to seep back into my being when I notice Omega did not land anywhere near me after rolling my head left and right, taking in the crash site.