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Omega started to trip a step, but she was instantly stabilized by Hunter’s firm hand on her shoulder. She looked up, watching as Hunter tilted his helmet at her in that gently chastising way of his. “Careful, Omega. Watch where you’re going.”
Omega winced. “Sorry, Hunter. It’s just…” She paused, lifting the torch in her hand to the ceiling of the cave and parting her lips in awe as various crystals sparkled above their heads. “It’s so beautiful.”
“And dangerous.” Hunter squeezed her shoulder. “Keep your eyes on the way ahead, not the ceiling.”
“Hunter is correct.” Despite Tech agreeing with Hunter’s words, he didn’t once look up from his datapad as they pushed even further into the dark cave. “We are still unaware of what may live inside this cave, or if there are any raiders present. That is before the issue of the cave’s own dangers, particularly the size of its stalagmites.”
Omega flashed her torch towards the side Hunter wasn’t walking on. Tech was right, as always; huge stalagmites jutted out from the ceiling, walls, and floor of the cave, save for the narrow walkway Hunter, Tech, and Omega were taking to wherever Tech could mine the mineral Cid had sent them after.
“But Echo and Wrecker are looking out for raiders.” Omega blinked up at Tech and Hunter. “Right?”
Tech spared her a glance. “They are, although their post outside the mouth of the cave would make it quite difficult for them to dispatch any raiders who are already inside.”
Hunter shook his head. “We should be fine. I’m not sensing any major life forms.”
Omega instantly relaxed at that. She went back to looking around the cave, though this time, she listened to Hunter and kept her focus on the way ahead. She could still see some of the gems and minerals sparkling around them, which was enough to satisfy both her curiosity and her wonder as they continued onwards.
The three of them walked on in silence until Tech’s datapad suddenly chimed. Before he could announce whatever it was, though, Hunter suddenly froze in his steps and used his arm to keep Omega from stepping forward any further. She furrowed her brow and looked up at him.
“This cave’s been getting picked apart for years. Look.” Hunter flickered his torch downward, and Omega nearly gasped as she followed the guiding light.
If they had gone just a few steps further, they would have fallen down a steep decline that, like Hunter had said, was a result of what had to be years of mining. Omega wrapped her hand around Hunter’s wrist as if it would grant her more stability and peered down in awe.
“Yet it continues to produce more of the desired mineral.” Tech waved his datapad at them. “There is plenty for us to mine.” He tilted his helmet at the decline. “If we can make our way down without issue.”
Hunter sighed and set his torch on his belt. He gently eased his wrist out of Omega’s grasp, offering her an apologetic look even through his helmet, and reached for the equipment on his pack. “Tech, you and I will make our way down there. Omega, stay up here.” He nodded at her. “Keep your eyes peeled, and watch our backs.”
Omega returned his nod dutifully and saluted him. “Got it.”
She took her new role seriously, unstrapping her bow from her back and facing the way from which they had just come while Hunter and Tech set up their climbing equipment. Hunter handed her a spare lantern from his pack, illuminating the space in a way that freed up both her hands, and knelt down in front of her.
Hunter set his hand on her shoulder. “We shouldn’t be too long. If you get the feeling that something’s off, use your comm and let us know. Okay?”
Omega set a hand over his. “Okay.” She offered him a grin as his hand slid from her shoulder. “Have fun, and be careful!”
Tech exhaled deeply from where he stood with their climbing equipment. “While ‘fun’ is not to be expected on such an endeavor, we will certainly be cautious.”
That was good enough for Omega. She watched as they eased their way down, waiting until they were completely out of sight to turn back around towards the distant mouth of the cave.
They had wandered in far enough that the cave’s entry point, where Wrecker and Echo were standing guard, wasn’t even visible anymore. Omega tried not to let that unnerve her as she looked around, though she did grab her bow just a bit tighter.
There was definitely a lot to look out for, but Omega found herself growing very bored very quickly. Patrolling the nearby area wouldn’t be a bad idea, right? Omega figured that things, or maybe even people, could be hiding in the shadows, and it was best to make sure they weren’t hiding and waiting to launch a surprise attack.
It just so happened that Omega would also get some extra exploration time out of it, too. She had been progressing well in her training, after all, according to Hunter, especially in close-quarters combat. She could handle whatever was capable of jumping out of the shadows.
Hunter hadn’t sensed major lifeforms, anyway. That reassured Omega further as she stepped away from the lantern and began to peer into the rows and rows of stalagmites on her right side.
Omega had never seen anything like them. Some were long and sharp, while others were smaller and duller. She was still amazed at just how many there were. It was a wonder that there was even a clear walkway at all inside the cave. It had to have been carved out by other miners.
After studying the right side as much as she could, Omega made her way over to the left side, repeating the same process of scanning everything her eyes could possibly take in. She never wanted to stop learning; she only wished that Tech was still up here with her, helping her identify various formations in the rock and analyzing what the different shapes of the stalagmites might have meant.
Omega was about to step back towards her official post at the lantern when she saw something move in the shadows. She froze, holding her bow tighter as she crouched into a combat stance. Her heart started to race, the blood pounding in her ears, as she waited to see if it would move again.
“Hello? Hello?”
Omega’s voice was an echo that reverberated off the cave walls, making her wince quietly to herself. When she was met with nothing but silence, Omega pulled her bow back and narrowed her eyes.
“You can’t hide anymore! I can see you! Step out with—.”
Omega cut herself off with a gasp when the figure in the shadows suddenly moved far too quickly towards her. She fired off one shot, then two, but ultimately was forced to duck as some kind of creature flapped its wings just over her head. It swooped back up to fly towards the other side of the cave, letting out a squawk as it did so.
Omega grimaced and waited for more signs of life, but everything was still again. She eased herself with a breath and forced herself to think through the situation.
It was possible that she, Hunter, and Tech had been the ones to alert this creature, but she surely would have noticed it sooner if that had been the case. Instead… Omega began to wonder if someone else had caught its attention.
Omega figured it could have possibly been Wrecker or Echo, but surely, they would have commed that they were on approach before showing up. Either way, it wouldn’t hurt to check. Omega assumed that Hunter at least would appreciate the caution.
Omega held onto her bow with one hand as she grabbed her comm with the other. Just before she could activate it, though, she felt something light fall on her shoulder. Omega froze, looking down to watch as a few small pieces of rock bounced onto the cave floor. Omega’s eyes widened as she instantly looked up. She didn’t need her torch to see what the lantern was illuminating for her.
Those shots she had let off weren’t without their consequences. She had accidentally loosened some of the stalagmites, and even worse, they were all circulating where she was standing.
Omega let out a quiet gasp and tried to dart forward out of their path, but she was too late. Some of them started to fall, with the smaller ones breaking upon impact as the others maintained their shape and stuck into the softer rock beneath Omega’s feet. Omega continued to dodge them the best she could.
It was going to plan until a larger one fell right in front of her, forcing Omega to throw herself backwards onto the cave floor. She tried to push herself up as quickly as she could, but again, she was just too late.
Omega’s aim had improved, and this was both her luckiest and unluckiest shot, as one of the stalagmites managed to strike down into the center of her hand that was flattened upon the ground.
Omega gasped at the sharp pain that radiated up from her hand into the rest of her body. Still, she knew she had to move quickly, and so she tried to push herself up regardless—just to realize she couldn’t go anywhere. She looked over with her eyes somehow widened even more in her sudden panic.
She couldn’t move because her hand was trapped under the stalagmite. No, it was trapped inside it. No… because it hadn’t just pierced her. It had gone through… it was going through…
Omega ripped out a scream of horror before she could help it. The pain of it was blinded for now by both her shock and her adrenaline, something she had learned not only from her own time spent as a medical assistant but also from Tech’s additional studies as a part of her training, but the sight of it was arguably more horrifying than the pain would ever be.
She reached for her comm to call for Hunter, just to realize that she had dropped it in the chaos of the stalagmites falling around her. Omega searched around her and saw that it was just barely out of reach of her uninjured hand, laying casually on the cave floor as if it was taunting her.
Omega’s entire body was shaking, yet she still fought her hardest to reach the comm. She couldn’t pull too hard on her wound—she at least still had enough wits about her to remember that—but Omega did everything else she could to try to reach it. She even tried kicking her feet out, grunting amidst her desperate sobs as she tried to catch her foot on the device.
Nothing worked. Omega’s chest heaved with gasping breaths and sobs when she finally stopped, the shaking somehow worsening now as she closed her eyes and tried to at least collect enough air to cry out instead.
“Hunter!” Omega hoped her echoing voice would work in her favor this time instead of against her. She let out another few hiccuping sobs before she gathered enough breath to yell even louder. “Hunter!”
She waited a beat, and then she heard it. Her comm chimed from where it continued to lay just out of her reach. “Omega, come in.” Hunter’s tone was clipped in hardly-concealed panic and concern. “What’s going on up there? Are you okay?”
Omega tried to yell a response, but her throat had tightened up just at the mere sound of Hunter’s voice. She could only continue to sob as her shaking body curled in on itself the best it could with her hand still stuck under the stalagmite on the cave floor.
Her silence served as her response. Hunter was quick with his own. “Stay where you are. I’m heading back up.”
The knowledge that Hunter was on the way eased something within Omega, despite the grim circumstances. She tried her best to recollect herself, as she had gotten herself into this situation in the first place, and she didn’t want to worsen Hunter’s inevitable worry for her. Omega closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, even as some of the adrenaline began to fade and the pain began to worsen.
Omega heard Hunter before she saw him. He had climbed back up in record time, and as Omega reopened her eyes, she saw the top of his helmet just starting to peak over the ledge. Omega sucked in a breath, paused as her voice shook, and spoke only when she was sure she actually could.
“I-I’m sorry, Hunter. I’m hurt, and it’s really bad this time.” The tears returned to Omega’s eyes, making the distant image of Hunter all but launching himself up onto the cave floor nothing but a blur. “I’m sorry. I really am.”
Omega’s withered resolve shattered even more as her words trailed off into softer cries. She watched as Hunter removed his helmet and took a step closer, his eyes doubling in size as he realized what he was looking at. He let out a string of curses he probably hadn’t intended on Omega hearing before he slid to his knees at Omega’s side and lifted his comm. “Tech, get up here. Now.”
“I will return in one moment. I am almost done with—.”
“No.” Hunter growled as his horrified gaze fixed itself upon the stalagmite within Omega’s hand. “I need you up here now.”
Something in Hunter’s tone was convincing enough for Tech. “Understood. I am en route.”
As Hunter lowered the comm, Omega found her voice again, speaking around her hiccuping sobs as she tried in vain to wipe away her tears with her good hand. “I’m sorry, Hunter. I-I didn’t know. I—.”
“Shhh. It’s okay.”
Hunter’s voice was gentler than Omega had ever heard it before. He held her face with both his hands, making her look him in the eye. Although his worry and panic for her were evident, Omega could also see the calmness and steadiness he was trying to project for her, the part of Hunter that had always soothed Omega like nothing and no one else ever could.
“You’re gonna be okay. I promise.” Hunter nodded and wiped her tears away the best he could with his thumbs. “I’m here now.”
Omega’s lips wobbled, but any new tears were solely from relief rather than any type of fear. Hunter’s gaze flashed with his own amount of relief before he let go of Omega to reach for his pack. Omega watched as he found his emergency medpac and dug into it, grabbing as much clean gauze as he could and gently yet firmly pressing it around Omega’s wound.
The pressure still made Omega gasp in pain. Hunter uttered a quiet yet meaningful apology and shifted so that only one hand was holding the gauze in place. He used the other hand to hold the back of Omega’s head, resting it upon his shoulder as she leaned against him the best she could in her current position.
Omega closed her eyes and forced herself to find the words again. “Something flew at me. I-I shot at it. I didn’t realize… I didn’t mean to…”
“Omega.” Hunter was firm in the way Omega needed him to be. He held her just a bit tighter against himself. “It’s not your fault. You were just protecting yourself.” He let out a worried breath, and Omega felt the weight of his head against hers. “Just take some deep breaths for me. Alright?”
Omega nodded, closing her eyes and doing as Hunter instructed her to. She focused on her breathing, which was much easier than before now that she was in the safety of Hunter’s arms.
It wasn’t much longer before Tech was joining them. Omega heard his approach before she reopened her eyes to watch him get closer. He observed the situation as quickly as always, though Omega didn’t miss the way his eyes widened behind his goggles.
That was never a good sign. Omega let out a distressed whimper as she buried her face more against Hunter’s scarf and shoulder.
“This is…” Tech hesitated. Omega tried not to think about how much that unnerved her. “Graver than I was expecting.”
“Do what you can to at least get her out of here.” Hunter remained the calm yet steady voice of reason. He shifted slightly, but continued to hold Omega tight against himself as he lifted and activated his comm. “Echo, Wrecker, get back to the ship and prep for takeoff. We have to get back to AZI on Ord Mantell as soon as possible.”
“Why?” Echo’s question was sharp with fierce concern. “What happened? Who’s hurt?”
“It’s Omega.” Hunter’s voice was strained by something Omega couldn’t identify in the current haze of her pain and dwindling consciousness. “Now go.”
Echo and Wrecker’s silence on the other end of the line spoke for them. Omega wouldn’t have been able to focus on their words, anyway. The pain was getting worse now that the shock and adrenaline were both tapering off, and it took all her strength to even speak again.
When she did, her voice was merely a whimper. “It hurts, Hunter.”
“I know, kid. I know.” Hunter’s tone softened the way it had before, though it regained some of its characteristic urgency as he addressed Tech. “Do we have any hypos?”
Tech let out a soft breath. “We do, although I was hoping to avoid using them. The strength of this dosage is only meant for us, not for children such as Omega.”
Omega’s voice became a pitiful croak. “Please.”
That was enough to convince both of them. Tech handed one off to Hunter, who carefully used the hand that wasn’t still supporting Omega’s head to administer what he must have considered to be a safe amount of the hypo for Omega. Instantly, the sharpest bites of the pain melted away, and Omega’s grasp on reality started to slip away with it.
“There you go.” Hunter mumbled to her, the comforting rumble of his baritone lulling her towards rest even more. “You can rest. I’ll be right here, and this’ll all be over when you come back around.”
Omega nodded, or at least tried to, but the movement was too lazy to really mean anything. She closed her eyes and basked in the warmth and comfort of Hunter’s embrace, burying the pain beneath it all as she let herself fully fade into the awaiting darkness.
Omega had no idea how long it was until she started stirring again. She blinked against the brightness of wherever she was and tried to lift a hand to shield her eyes.
She was stopped by a gentle grasp that kept her arm where it was. Another hand brushed over her head, and as Omega’s head lolled over on the pillow, she looked to see Wrecker’s warm smile awaiting her.
“Hey, kid.” Wrecker gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “How ya’ feeling?”
Omega shrugged, her mind still fuzzy as she pushed through the fog of slumber. “Tired.”
Wrecker chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure. They were givin’ you the good stuff for a while there.”
Omega frowned, but her eyes quickly widened as she started to remember it all. The cave. The stalagmite. Her hand.
She looked down, but her entire hand was wrapped in gauze, completely hidden from sight. Omega’s chest tightened in panic as she looked back up at Wrecker, who offered her a comforting glance.
“It’s okay. AZI got ya’ all fixed up.” Wrecker brushed the hair back from her forehead again. “He said it’ll be completely healed in just a couple of weeks.”
While Wrecker’s reassurances did wonders to resolve Omega’s immediate anxiety, she still felt the weight of everything the same way she had inside that cave. Her vision started to blur, and though Wrecker was one of Omega’s safest spaces in the entire galaxy, there was one other person who had already given her his word.
I’ll be right here.
Omega steadied herself enough to speak. “Where’s Hunter?”
Wrecker softened. “He’s just outside. No one wanted to wake ya’ up.” He paused, waiting to see if Omega would speak, and only went on when she stayed silent. “Do you want me to go get ‘im?”
Omega nodded. Wrecker returned the gesture, still smiling as he patted her head and stood from the crate he’d been sitting on. He headed towards the open hatch in the cockpit, leaving Omega alone for a few haunting moments. She didn’t like the solitude; it reminded her of how she was trapped in the cave, unable to get anywhere—even closer to the comm that could have hailed Hunter much more quickly than her echoing voice.
She was thrumming with anxiety by the time Hunter appeared. He wore a genuine smile for her, but Omega could also see the concern within his gaze as he took Wrecker’s previous place on the cargo crate.
“Hey.” Hunter’s voice was just as soft now as it had been in the cave, which already started to soothe Omega’s heightened anxiety. He ran his hand over her head the way Wrecker had, even if the motion was slightly different, just a bit more tender in a way Omega couldn’t really describe. “You okay?”
It was such a simple question, yet Omega found that she couldn’t answer it. Her throat had tightened up too much, and the tears were starting to spill over from her waterline. Instead of speaking, she reached out for Hunter, and he understood her the way he always had.
“I’ve got you.” Hunter let Omega wrap her arms around him, minding the thick bandage over her hand, and shifted so that he was now sitting alongside her on the Marauder’s bunk. “It’s okay. You’re okay now.”
Hunter continued to reassure Omega as she fell apart upon him, his hand running soothing circles over her back. Omega let his actions and his presence calm her, until her hiccuping sobs turned into nothing more than soft breaths. Still, Hunter didn’t stop what he was doing, instead waiting for Omega to speak up whenever she could.
When she did, her voice was muffled, and much quieter than usual. “I feel so stupid.”
Hunter hummed lowly. “Why?”
Omega shook her head as she lifted herself from Hunter’s embrace. She still stayed close enough for him to keep an arm around her shoulders as she used her sleeve to wipe her eyes. “Because.” Omega paused to take a deep breath. Her gaze narrowed on her lap as she watched her hand play with a loose string on the blanket that covered her. “It was such a stupid way to get hurt so badly.”
“I don’t know about that. We’ve all gotten hurt in stupider ways.”
Omega glanced up at Hunter, expecting to see some sort of evidence to the fact that he was lying to make her feel better. All she saw, however, was sincerity, and a genuine amusement lurking within his gaze as he undoubtedly recalled whatever instances he was recounting.
Omega couldn’t help the small smile that started to break out on her own lips. “How?”
Hunter huffed. “There are plenty of stories.” He let out a soft breath. “But before I tell them to you…”
Hunter paused to face Omega more seriously. His gaze flickered between her eyes.
“No one’s upset with you. We know it wasn’t your fault. You did exactly what we’ve trained you to do.” Hunter nodded. “Sometimes, things just happen. All that matters now is that you’re safe, and you’re okay.” He let out a soft sigh at that, as if he was only just reassuring himself of such. “Am I clear?”
Omega nodded, her eyes brimming with tears of relief that she kept to herself this time. “Yes, sir.”
Hunter chuckled at the name and returned her nod. “Good.” He invited her back against his side and shifted to grab a nearby canteen and ration bar that he handed off to her. “Have these, and I’ll tell you some stories of our stupidest injuries.”
Omega lifted her brow as she started to unwrap her ration bar with Hunter’s help, considering she was a hand down. “Will you start with yours first?”
Hunter fully laughed at her mischief, unable to hide the amused light in his eyes. “Sure, kid.” He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Whatever you want.”
Omega grinned for the first time since they had gotten inside that cave. There was nothing a Hunter story couldn’t soothe, especially when it promised to be about something funny enough to make Hunter smile.
Omega wouldn’t exactly say she was grateful for such a traumatic injury, but… anything that gave her a chance to spend this kind of quality time with her brother, the closest person she had to a parent, was well worth it, no matter how much it hurt in the short run.