[Network]

[soldiers_heart]

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[She...remembers this place. That's the fountain, and across the way should be the diner, and there's the library and hotel.

Turning a slow circle, she takes in her surroundings as memories start resurfacing in her mind, her initial shock dissipating with the growing familiarity.]

Temba...

[She's back. And if this is Temba, then maybe...!

Omega takes off running in spite of the heat, only slowing once she starts to near the flood plains, and more importantly the outpost overlooking it. Just seeing the latter is enough to spur her to run again, all the way up and through the doorway.]

Echo! Echo, I'm back-!


Network
[The young clone looks slightly different. Maybe a little older, or maybe it's just her hair. She'd accidentally activated the camera in her desperate tapping through things, and now the communicator bounces as she drops it on the bed, the video angle askew but just enough to catch her in the corner of the screen.

An extra poofy (and one might say plump) mothcat mrows curiously before fluttering up just enough to plop itself onto her lap, and Omega smiles weakly before wrapping her arms around him in a hug.]

Oh Tumble, you're here. But...he's gone, isn't he?

Comments

[video???]

[in_extremis]

[There's some crackling and fumbling from the other end of the line, too, and Tony is clearly ahead of himself before he properly has the camera out.]

--mega? You're here! Echo's still not...You went together. Is he not with you?

[video?! who are you]

[soldiers_heart]

[The girl nearly jumps, but she's just as quickly reaching over to grab the tablet.]

Tony?

[Her smile flickers at that news, and she shakes her head.]

...no. I didn't see him. I didn't know he'd left here too.

[She looks around the room.]

It doesn't look like we were gone too long. Nothing looks out of place anyway.

[in_extremis]

I didn't take anything. This time.

[Okay, not what she meant, move on quickly.]

It's only been...I don't know. Not that long. Has it? He probably just needs a little more time, doing whatever he's doing, you know, they don't like to bring us in too close together, so--you must have noticed that, really spread us out, security gates must be a nightmare.

[soldiers_heart]

[That gets a little laugh at least.

She hugs Tumble, shaking her head.]

I was hoping he'd still be here. But I guess that'd be selfish of me.

He left the squad just before I came back here.

[in_extremis]

It's not. Or--I don't know, if it is, he'd want you here, too, I bet. He'll be happy to see you, when he gets back.

What does that mean, left the squad?

[soldiers_heart]

Mn. I'll just have to make sure everything's kept in order until then.

Oh... He decided to go with Rex to work on helping other clones who want to get out from serving the Empire. He said he wouldn't be gone forever, but... I just thought our squad, my brothers, we would always be together.

[in_extremis]

That sounds like...Why didn't you all go?

[soldiers_heart]

Hunter's been wanting to stay out off the Empire's radar. They haven't been after us ever since the cloning facilities on Kamino were decommissioned, but Tech said they probably think we're dead since that's where we last were... Right before the orbital bombardment.

[Tipoca City hadn't been the greatest place, but it had still been the only home the clones had ever known.]

...I think Hunter just wants to do what's best for the squad to keep us safe.

[in_extremis]

That's your job then. So Echo has somewhere to go back to, to be safe, too, when he needs it. Nothing more important than that.

My...squad, back home, we have this thing, 'Once an Avenger, always an Avenger'. There's been a lot of times where I really thought it was over, there was no getting the band back together, and--well, luckily, I'm wrong about most things.

[soldiers_heart]

I guess so...

[She's still upset that he's left. But it seems like the others are fine with it, and she can't wrap her head around it. They've been through so much together, they're her family.

She sniffs, wiping the back of her hand across her eyes.]

What did you do when they were gone..?

[in_extremis]

Hey, listen--cats hate water, he looks comfortable.

[He's not even there and he still looks slightly uncomfortable, and definitely regretting the video that maybe he gets a little lazy about keeping focused on him so he can continue.]

I was sad. I was scared. I kept thinking about all of the things I should have done differently to stop it. Whatever you're feeling now, I mean, listen, it's been done, knock it off, get your own thing, you're not going to look as cool as I did doing it.

I had to focus on what I was in control of. That's a whole other--do you know what a prayer is? I don't pray, it's more of a poem, really. 'Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.' The first and last parts are tricky, but that middle one, that's got a lot of grip, helps you get a handle on them.

[soldiers_heart]

Sorry Tumble.

[She murmurs into the mothcat's furry little head. He doesn't seem to mind too much. In fact he looks to be asleep. Tumble's always been the laziest of her little patrol squad.

It's fine if Tony's not keeping the camera directed correctly. At least Omega's not staring at him. She wipes at her eyes again as she listens.

Tony's words sound almost harsh but she knows it's just the way he talks, how he always phrases things, and well, he isn't wrong. The things he says he's gone through aren't dissimilar at all to what she's been experiencing, and there's some strange, small comfort in knowing that someone's tread this path before.

Acceptance, courage and wisdom. She can't say that it isn't bad advice. It's difficult, but it makes sense. There's only so much within her control, maybe even less now that she's here again and not back with her brothers. At least she knows she won't be missing anything happening, but it won't stop her from missing them.]

Well...I guess I can't do much for them right now.

[in_extremis]

[That was evidently not the answer she was looking for. Maybe Tony should have saved that advice for an actual addict, not a lonely kid.]

I built a tower.

[That was what she had actually asked, after all. Sounded very stupid out loud, though, so now Tony's mostly talking into his hand.]

Massive one. Whole city block. Filled it with people. Are you alone right now? You shouldn't be. I can call Cayde, he probably isn't far. I'll call someone.

[soldiers_heart]

[Was that how Tony coped with people leaving? A tower seems... Well, it's not what she'd have thought of but she's not the one with expendable funds. Having people around, she can understand that sentiment though.]

Tumble's with me.

[She indicates the mothcat by giving him another hug, the light green fuzzball turning his face up to yawn before burrowing his head against her.]

[in_extremis]

That's great, you know, no one else was here to take care of him while you were out, Stardust, he's got a backlog of complaints to catch up on, you've got you work cut out for you. Who's taking care of you?

[soldiers_heart]

I hope the others are okay. It's gotten warmer, I'm sure.

[She blinks, glancing off-screen at the very empty hammock.]

...it's okay. I can take care of myself.

[in_extremis]

Uh-huh. I can eat a whole large pepperoni, extra cheese by myself. I wouldn't be your ideal man then, would I?

[soldiers_heart]

[Omega tilts her head at that, a little confused there, but she at least doesn't have to work out the food details to figure out what he's getting at.]

...where are you right now?

[Truthfully she doesn't want to be by herself, even with a mothcat.]

[in_extremis]

I'm--...I can be there. I'll be a little while. I've been busy.

[It might be obvious where he is as he angles the camera down finally, scanning over scattering of mechanical parts to focus on a robot sitting on the floor next to him. It didn't used to be that big, and definitely used to only carry a few seeds to care for a lawn, but it looks like it might be able to lift a boulder now.]

I know, I'm much more handsome in person, I won't apologize for the reminder.

[soldiers_heart]

[She finally smiles a little then.]

It's okay. I'll be here.