Fixing Our Broken Pieces || The Bad Batch

Chapter 22: The Empire's Playground

"Scanners picking up a large structure directly beneath us."

The platform ascended to catch the Marauder, barely visible with only a few yellow lights around its side. Omega grabbed the padawan robe that Orla had passed down to her to shelter herself from the rain. Orla did the same with her cloak. They pushed through the howling wind until Tech asked how they were supposed to get into the city.

"The tube system," Omega stood over a circular platform until it opened up a carriage to take the group down.

"Come on," Omega said with a grin. She couldn't hide her pride, clearly impressing the rest.

They stood around a light-up circular table that reminded Orla of something inside the Jedi archives where she could search for holograms of Jedi through its database. The lift closed up, isolating them from the rain and down into the tube. Once it had gone deep enough Orla felt them shift to travelling horizontally where they could see the underwater. They passed through quickly where Orla watched the schools of fish pass them, she had never seen fish before this deep in the ocean.

"This type of underwater transport system is not documented on any schematics, Omega how did you know this existed?" Tech asked once Omega had finished typing in their destination coordinates.

"Nala Se, this tunnel leads to her private research lab, the others run throughout Kamino"

Echo could read Omega like a book, seeing her grief and heartache that he couldn't figure out.

"You uh, alright?" He tried his best to console her like Orla had consoled him when she asked about his anxiety attacks. He stopped feeling so alone after that.

"It doesn't matter, saving Hunter is what matters," she dismissed.

"But you matter too Omega, what's wrong?"

Omega sighed, "it's what's in her lab, you'll see."

They followed Omega's eyes up to the facility and the tube took them inside. The group prepared their weapons in case anyone had made it inside or Nala Se had given her secret up but it was empty.

"Looks like every Kaminoan lab to me," said Wrecker.

"Not exactly, most in Tipoca City don't know about it," Omega said, reviewing her memories of the place.

"Hunter's comm is still active, I'll pinpoint his location," Tech said and Echo also went off to do an errand. Omega walked off to one of the tubes while Wrecker asked what was so special about the lab.

"It's where I was created, you all were here," Omega explained which bewildered the other clones, "Your mutations were enhanced in this room. Experimental Unit 99 began right here, I was there."

The squad and Orla joined her by one of the tubes. Wrecker stammered in disbelief and asked Tech if it was true.

"How could I possibly know that?"

"It was only for a short time until you were sent off to be with the other clones," Omega said in a sad tone.

"Something's not right," Echo and Tech were gathered around one of the glowing computers, "all the central files have been whipped, there's nothing in the system."

Orla stood back, muddled, why are the Kaminoans whipping data? Or why is the Empire wiping data from Kamino? Was it part of the strange energy she felt earlier? She didn't have time to meditate over it, whatever was happening they needed to get Hunter out as soon as possible.

When Wrecker also expressed his concern a loud noise was made behind a dark corner. They retrieved their weapons, thinking it might have been the Empire but Orla couldn't sense anything living.

"Don't shoot, I am AZI-345211-" a medical droid appeared from out of hiding who Omega seemed to know.

"What are you doing down here?"

"I am in hiding, soldiers were deactivating droids and forcing key Kaminoan medical personnel onto transports. Those who resisted were eliminated. All clone troopers have been reassigned and transferred off-world with the exception of CT-9904." Crosshair. The droid was frightened if that was even possible. What caught her attention was that the Empire was evacuating Kamino along with the clones and every Kaminona scientist who knows where. This had to mean the end of the creation of the clones and was Kaminos' fate or at least this facility.

"I have a bad feeling about this," she said quietly looking towards one of the tubes that the clones had been created in.

"Crosshair's here," Wrecker groaned, he didn't want to keep having to fight his brother over and over. He was getting tired of it, why couldn't he just come home already? He missed him, maybe even more than the others. Sometimes he had cried over taking advantage of the very last moment they had together, Wrecker annoying Crosshair with his doll Lula.

"It's not safe here Omega, it's not safe," the droid pleaded with her but Omega was determined to find Hunter and so was everyone else.

"Found him, his comm is pinging from the central cloning platform," Tech updated. They raced out the automatic doors, Omega dragging AZI to join them.