Chapter Text
WAIT FOR ME, I'M COMING (I'M COMING)
CHAPTER ONE
Due to the fact that at the time the Geneva Convention was drafted Omega’s were forbidden from serving in combat, relegating them to non-combative duties only in the few countries which allowed them to serve at all, no consideration had been given to how Omega’s should be treated when they become prisoners of war.
An amendment should have been made once this changed, the United Kingdom permitting the first Omega soldiers to train for combat positions in 1934, and one can only presume that it was assumed that any civilised nation would treat Omega’s with the respect and dignity that they deserved.
Sadly this wasn’t the case.
- an extract from ‘The Treatment of Omega Prisoners of War During World War Two’ by Professor Douglass Horner, Oxford University
~ * ~
“I don’t like this.”
Gale silently concurred with his co-pilot, his eyes darting back and forth as he watched the men ahead of them in the line being sent one way or another with a growing pattern.
A hand clutched at the back of his jacket nervously.
All too soon he and his crew reached the front of the line, their identity tags on display as he been ordered when they climbed down from the trucks which had brought them from the train yard to the seemingly endless prisoner of war camp.
“Name.”
“Cleven, Gale. Major.”
He added his rank on without prompting, earning a sneer from the German officer who nodded for the solider next to him to take a look at Gales identity tag just as he had every single man before them, the sneer growing when the soldier barked out,
“Omega!”
He wasn’t ashamed of his secondary gender, never had been no matter how much his father had tried to beat it out of him in the years following his traumatic presentation, and yet in that moment he would have given anything to be a Beta like most of his crew.
An order, barked in German and therefore incomprehensible for Gale and his fellow prisoners of war, saw him being shoved to the left and into a small holding pen.
He wasn’t surprised with the rest of his crew, one lone Alpha amongst Beta’s, were sent directly into the sprawling camp to their right, kicks and shoves forcing them on their way no matter how much they protested or tried to get back to Gale.
“It’s okay, boys!” he called out, forcing his voice to remain strong and calm even as his heart pounded within his chest. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Don’t count on it,” one of the other Omega’s in the holding pen with him grumbled angrily, glaring out at the German who was openly leering at him. “There’s only one reason these bastards have separated out all the Omega’s and you know it.”
Gale sighed, forcing the confident smile to remain in place until the last of his men was out of sight, whisked away by the camps previous occupants.
Only once they were gone did he allow his face to fall.
They’d been warned what capture would mean for each of them, Alpha’s, Beta’s and Omega’s alike, and no one had ever sugar coated what was likely to happen to them.
He only hoped he was strong enough to face whatever was ahead of him.
It took almost an hour to process the new arrivals, the gates being locked behind them with an ominous finality just as one of the trucks returned, reversing up to the entrance of the holding pen.
“In.”
More than one of the men let out frightened whimpers, some edging backwards away from the lowered tailgate, and Gale was worried what would happen if they refused.
“In!”
“Come on,” he murmured, stepping forwards with more confidence than he felt, taking one of the others by the hand and leading him to the truck. “No choice but to obey at this moment in time, gentlemen.”
There may come a time in the future when they can resist, can escape, but this was not that moment.
One by one he helped his fellow Omega’s onto the truck, noticing as he did so that he was the highest-ranking officer amongst them, before pulling himself up.
Two guards followed him, taking up their posts on either side of the truck as the tailgate was raised and locked into place, trapping them in the vehicle moments before it pulled forward, taking them away from the camp and their friends.
He hoped his men would be alright, that they wouldn’t do anything stupid without him there to keep an eye on them and provide a steady hand.
He hoped he was wrong about what the German’s had in store for him and his fellow Omega’s, that they weren’t being taken somewhere to be…to have…to…
It took them close to an hour to reach their destination, each passing minute feeling like a stab in the gut at the thought of how far he would need to go to reach his men should he ever manage to escape, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t remember how many turns there were, nor how many bridges they passed over before the road began to climb up into a dense woodland.
Unease settled over them like a blanket, all of them sharing the worried thought that perhaps they hadn’t been separated for…that…but to be killed and buried in the woods.
Gale swallowed thickly when the truck came to a sudden halt, his body swaying into the guard he had ended up sat beside and the young Omega on his other side.
“Out!”
The barked order accompanied the sudden appearance of more guards, each one aiming their rifles into the back of the truck even as the tailgate was dropped with a loud clang, allowing the two guards to exit first.
“Out!”
A hand grabbed hold of Gale’s collar, dragging him out of the truck so suddenly that there was no stopping himself from crashing to his knees, a shocked cry of pain escaping him before another hand yanked him up and shoved him away from the truck.
“Out! Now!”
One by one the Omega’s emerged, most under their own power but a few more receiving the same rough treatment as Gale, until finally they were all huddled together in front of what turned out to be a large building made of pale, red bricks and even paler timbers.
As they watched the front door opened, an officer stepping out in his best uniform, complete with brocade and medals, and made his way down the first few steps before stopping to loom threateningly over the group of American soldiers.
He sneered, highlighting a scar which passed from the corner of his eye to his jawline, and Gale wasn’t the only one to flinch back instinctively, fists clenched at his side.
“Welcome, meine herren, to Willa Sekwoja,” he greeted them, his voice every bit as cold as the expression in his eyes as he surveyed each of them in turn, his gaze lingering pointedly on a few of them, Gale included. “Do not be deceived by the quality of your accommodations for you are very much prisoners of war and will be treated as such. Escape attempts will not be tolerated.”
Gale knew full well they’d still happen.
It was a soldier’s duty to try and escape following capture, not only to return to the fight but to harass the enemy in whatever way they could.
“I am Oberführer von Schmidt,” the officer continued, absentmindedly bending what looked like a riding crop between his gloved hands as he introduced himself. “But for the duration of your stay you will refer to me as Alpha.”
Gale flinched.
He wasn’t the only one.
Whereas in the past it was expected that an Omega would greet every Alpha in such a formal way it was now accepted that only those who were closest to the Omega in question warranted such respect, namely their father and their mate.
There was only one person Gale had ever considered granting the title and he was safely in London, blissfully ignorant of Gale’s fate and safe from harm.
“Willa Sekwoja is a house of respite for our glorious soldiers, sailors and airmen and you, meine herren, will be expected to behave properly, to be silent and obedient unless spoken to, whilst making our guests stay every bit as pleasant as they require,” Schmidt explained, twisting the riding crop so that the leather creaked ominously as he openly leered down at the Omega’s. “In spite of what your pathetic Government has told you Omega’s are suitable for only two things, giving pleasure and bearing children.”
There it was.
The undeniable confirmation of the horrors in store for them.
“You are no longer soldiers. You are no longer combatants.”
I’m sorry, John…
“You are, simply, Omega’s.”