Omega was walking down the corridor wiping her hands on her apron after a tiresome day in Nala Se's lab when she felt something whirring beside her. She whirled around to find nobody. So it was her imagination playing tricks on her.
All she needed right now, she sighed as she thought over it, was a warm bath, and sleep. She knew she could get anything if she asked for it, and she intended to do just that. She opened the candy bar she'd gotten from Emerie 'for being such a good assistant' and opened her jaws to bite in the sweet goodness-
"Mistress Omega!"
She dropped the bar.
"Who's that?" she tried to snarl, but a scared whisper emerged from her shaking lips. "Come out! I'm armed" she lied clumsily.
"Mistress Omega, it's me. AZI-345211896246498721347 at your service."
"AZI? It's you?" Omega wanted to clap for joy. "But how did you find me?"
"It was quite simple." The droid said, as if it were a mere fact. "At first, I entered the Marauder, to show the troopers I fled, but your brothers were so busy missing you that I could have sneaked out and nobody would've noticed. So I made my exit." He sounded guilty. "I tried sneaking on board the ship with the remaining troopers but when we landed, the troopers recognized I wasn't one of theirs, and they tried to make me leave. I started electrocuting them, and upon the commotion, Hemlock came. At first, he tried to shoot me, but he seemed to recognize me from my days working in Nala Se's lab. So he kept me for his uses in cloning, and I've been finding you ever since. He wouldn't even let me know that he had you. Thank the Maker!"
"Oh AZI! It's so good to see you again," she laughed with glee.
"But he's put restraining bolts on me, so I can't leave nor can I make any communication with the Batch," he added sadly. "However, I remember before leaving for Eriadu, I took Crosshair's homing beacon from your comm, and placed it inside mine. So, unless they have not noticed it yet, my signal must be giving our location away from intervals."
"What do you mean by intervals?"
"In case you haven't noticed, there is a jamming system which doesn't allow any signals to enter or exit. This field is removed only when a ship tries to enter or when Hemlock and his staff wish to establish communication. So, as of the past 5 days, the field went down for 1 hour daily at different times. This is the least communication they've ever done."
"That's good news, AZI. But, how are they supposed to know when to look? And, I think they'll take Crosshair's signal as a trap."
"Then we're doomed." AZI said, sadly. "I wonder if I can send out transponder signals."
"But the range's too long. We just have to hope they see it at the right time."
"You are correct."
They had returned to Omega's room.
"You coming?" Omega asked her little friend.
"Oh, no, thank you. I have to go and fix the circuits in the medical droids. I can't be given all the work now, can I?"
"Hmm. Bye." And she stepped in and glanced to her left swiftly. But the sight awaiting her stopped her in her tracks.
"Crosshair!" she screamed.
The clone lay on the floor, blood gushing in pools around him, his head and torso covered in what looked like cuts from blades, and his head revealed a fresh wound like he'd been hit with a hammer. His face had gone eerily pale.
She dashed out.
AZI was still in the next corridor, walking loftily, when Omega's scream startled him.
