Bad Batch episode: Confined

Featured songs:

1. "Far Apart" from MLP G3

2. Estrellita Dónde Estás (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star in Spanish)

___________________________

Somewhere in the galaxy far away, some of Mariverde's troops were entering the atmosphere of a planet much darker and stormier than Kamino.

"Shuttle 135 to Tantiss base. Do you copy?" said a trooper

"Affirmative 135. What is your status?" Ground control responded.

"On final approach, but visibility is limited."

"You are cleared for landing. Stay on course."

Except, the lightning storm wasn't exactly planning on letting the ship reach its destination, that being shown as it got hit!

"Mayday! Mayday! Or systems are unresponsive. Do you copy?"

The storm was too rough even for humans to be out there, much less moths, even magical ones, which was why they didn't try transforming. But without the ability to restore power, their ship crashed!

___________________________

There were at least four troops who survived the crash. It was raining really hard outside.

One of them contacted the base for help.

"We have to get moving," said one troop. "There are creatures in this jungle."

"Relax. The.... what were they called? Lurcas hounds! They keep them at bay." said another troop.

"Not this far out. We need to-"

Suddenly, there was the sound of a creature growling. It wasn't looking good for the troops.

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Meanwhile, Dr. Hemlock approached ground control at their console to ask them why the shuttle hadn't arrived on schedule.

"Sir, the vessel crashed in sector four." said one troop. "Should I send a recovery team?"

Blaster fire and troops screaming could be heard over the comm. Hemlock gave a negative response to the request for a recovery team, and pressed the button to deactivate the call.

"If they're past the perimeter, then they're as good as dead," said Hemlock.

And he left.

___________________________

Omega, on the other hand, stared out a window as the sun finally came out. She was crying, but not because the sun was beautiful. It had been so long since she'd seen her family. She wondered if they were still looking for her.

Omega changed a little physically since disappearing. She appeared to have gotten a little taller, and her hair got a lot longer. It now was almost as long as Qui-Gon's hair.

Outside the window, Omega could see green mountains and blue skies filled with white clouds. It reminded her of Naboo.

Omega sighed as she climbed down from the cot she stood on. The room was gray, just like the outfit she wore now... and her mood. The one colorful thing she did have was her necklace, which she kept hidden under her clothes.

Suddenly, Emerie entered the room, Omega jumping and kicking the woman in the stomach. That was pretty much the reaction she gave every time the door opened, thinking it was another doresho troop.

"Good morning, Omega." Emerie gasped. "How are you... feeling today?"

"Like a prisoner. I want to leave," said Omega angrily.

Emerie caught her breath and said...

"Prisoner? Omega, you are no such thing. It will take time to adjust, but you will acclimate. It is far safer in here than out there."

"My family will come for me. All of ours will."

"Come. We have much to do." Emerie said.

___________________________

Omega picked up a small box from under her bed and followed Emerie.

Omega wasn't the only one escorted either. She spotted Crosshair and some other clones being escorted in the opposite direction she was walking in.

In another room, Omega could see Rory and Mila. Mila started to show in her pregnancy, and she was being inspected by some doctors. And Rory was being scanned. In another room, Comedia was also being scanned, and she was roped into place. She was whinnying like crazy.

___________________________

Emerie brought Omega to another room, where there was a clone laying unconscious on a seat.

Emerie took the clone's hand and took a blood sample. Myra and the boys were all kept on seats too. All of them looked like they'd been sedated.

Omega had seen this before. Ever since she and her friends arrived, all of them were forced through some sort of routine.

Every day, all of them were fed a very strict diet and made to take some kinds of pills, and the guys and the girls were separated, all of them being forced to perform strict workout, and every few weeks, the girls would be checked a little more thoroughly before they and their boyfriends were taken to "The Room" and then a couple weeks later, the girls had to take a pregnancy test.

None of the kids had any idea what was going on aside from Mariverde apparently trying to get them pregnant for some reason. Whatever the reason, it couldn't be anything good.

"Now I need to take a blood sample from you." Emerie said.

"From me? Haven't you taken enough DNA samples?"

"The samples are used for various research projects. All of us serve a purpose here. It won't hurt."

Omega reluctantly sat on the chair.

"Can you at least tell me where my brothers are?" Omega asked.

Emerie prepared the tool to take the blood sample.

"I don't know," said the doctor.

Omega looked away as the blood sample was taken. She was curious about something else though.

"If you're a clone like me, how come I never saw you on Kamino?"

"Because I was sent elsewhere until Dr. Hemlock took me under his wing. He saw potential on me, like Nala Se sees in you."

Omega looked down.

"I never knew that I had a sister. A biological one." Omega looked at her friends. "What about my friends?"

"Mariverde sees potential in all of them and in you."

According to Emerie, Comedia and Rory were the only two so far who'd successfully gotten pregnant, which was why Crosshair and Remix only got tied up instead of being able to see their girlfriends (well, technically Remix was the one out of the two who was officially dating one of the girls, but you get the gist).

"Why is she doing this?"

"She hasn't explained her entire plan." Emerie said. "As long as you don't question her too much, you survive."

Emerie finished collecting Omega's blood sample, which she placed in a little test tube that she placed on a tray holding a few more. She instructed Omega to bring the blood samples to Nala Se in the lab.

___________________________

Omega started to carry the tray with the test tubes down the hall, when she saw Comedia being pulled down the hall rather stubbornly. The alicorn's stomach was slightly larger, indicating Emerie was telling the truth. Comedia really was pregnant.

Omega did not want to imagine how Master Mundi would freak out learning his daughter got pregnant at age fifteen.

Comedia's eyes clearly said to Omega that things did not look good here, but she was being escorted to a room that was extremely clean. It appeared Mariverde intended for these kids to have babies, and she chose the youngest candidates possible to ensure very healthy births. Having seen her aunt during her second pregnancy, that explained the diet and exercise to Omega, but what was Mariverde planning to use the babies for? The kids wondered about it every day.

Omega thought about Mona then. Could Mariverde be doing this because she wanted to create a replacement for Mona?

Unfortunately, Omega didn't have time to ask Comedia any questions, as she was urged to enter the lab.

___________________________

Nala Se took a blood sample from a tray carried by a droid and placed it into a machine, when Omega entered with the ones Emerie gave her.

Nala Se thanked Omega for the delivery and had the samples scanned.

"Omega, your sample was taken?" asked the Kaminoan.

"Uh-huh. Emerie said it was routine." Omega replied.

However, Nala Se didn't put Omega's sample into the other machine. Instead, she discarded it, and the same went for Vince, Myra, Benni, and Comedia's blood samples.

"Why are you discarding it?" Omega asked, confused.

"Tell no one. It is safer this way."

Omega suddenly had the sense Nala Se knew something she didn't.

"This research... it's not like we did on Kamino, is it?"

"No, it is not."

Now Omega was more confused.

"I don't understand. Why did they bring me here? Why did they bring my friends here?"

"You, specifically, to ensure that I cooperate. As well as your two female friends."

"Which ones?"

"The green horse and the loud one."

Myra and Comedia, Omega concluded.

"Mariverde seeks the reproduction of a genetic M-count, as well as that of a GBC-count, but the experiments on the specimens have yet to yield the desired result."

"What specimens?" Omega asked. "You mean the clones?"

"No. Not the clones."

Suddenly, Dr. Hemlock entered with a troop.

"How nice to see you reunited with your trusted assistant," said the doctor. "I'm sure Omega's presence here will only strengthen your efforts. Shall we head to the vault?"

Before Omega could step forward, Nala Se stopped her and instructed the girl to see to her remaining chores.

And so, Omega was alone again.

___________________________

Nala Se and Dr. Hemlock exited the lift and approached a door two more troops were guarding. That led them to a much bigger room with more guards, and then to another door with lasers every couple feet.

___________________________

Meanwhile, Omega was working in what looked like a pound of some kind, in which there were lurca hounds. She was absolutely disgusted with the conditions of this place, especially when the troops shocked the poor hounds with a stick.

Omega recalled when she spent the weekend volunteering at the shelter where Vince worked a few months back. The conditions were a million times better than this, and she believed if Vince could see how badly these poor animals were being treated, he'd give the troops a real football tackle.

Omega's job here, however, was feeding the hounds before they were sent out on guard patrol. She'd wanted to get a dog, but this wasn't what she had in mind. Vince must really have missed his dog Maggie by now.

When no one was looking, Omega picked up a little something. Whenever Omega worked in the lurca hound cages, she occasionally found clean piles of hay, which she hid in her lunch box for later.

Omega was particularly fond of one lurca hound at the end of the hall.

"Hi, Batcher." Omega said.

The lurca hound, however, just growled.

"Still won't eat the food, huh? I don't blame you." Omega said. "My friend Vince, he worked in a pet shelter, and they got much better food, especially since he got his dad to make a donation for their kibble funding."

Omega took out some food from her lunch box.

"Here. I saved you some of mine."

Omega carefully held her hand out with the food, but Batcher growled and barked, startling Omega into falling back and dropping the treats on the floor. Luckily, they landed where Batcher could reach them. The lurca hound sniffed the treats, and he ate them.

Despite the hound's behavior, Omega shrugged it off.

"Better?"

Batcher just growled again.

Omega rolled her eyes. Then she looked to her right and promised Batcher she would bring him some more food the next day.

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After finishing with Batcher, Omega passed through the hall again, where she saw some cells where there were some clone troopers. She could see one shivering. Some were cold, some were coughing, and some just curled up in woe.

Omega couldn't help feeling sad for all these troops. But there was one in particular she was looking for. And finally, she found him.

Crosshair was laying down, resting.

"Crosshair." Omega whispered. "I tried to come earlier, but there were too many guards watching me."

Crosshair sighed. "You shouldn't be down here at all."

"Well, how else are we gonna plan an escape?"

"There is no escape." Crosshair said, sitting up. "I've already tried."

"Every stronghold has a weak point. Maybe I can convince Emerie to help. She's one of us."

"Not every clone is your ally. You trust too easily."

"Maybe you don't trust enough. Look, we have a family out there, and I know they're looking for us."

That was when Omega noticed Crosshair's right hand was shaking, which concerned the girl.

"Just... go... before you make things worse for both of us."

Omega was about to leave, but she turned back to Crosshair.

"There has to be a way out of here. I'll find it."

And then, Omega left.

___________________________

Omega scraped with a little tool on the wall in her cell. A little over five months she'd been trapped there. By now, Gabby and Lamenta had their ninth birthdays, no doubt. Omega thought more and more about her family every day. Every night, she would sing her father's lullaby "You'll Be in My Heart" to herself to calm herself down, and so she wouldn't forget her family.

For now, Omega got out her lunch box. She took a bite of a nugget and removed the bit that hid a compartment in which she kept the hay she stored.

Some of the hay, Omega took to secretly give to Comedia, who'd been craving hay since she got pregnant, but more of it, she used to make a tooka doll, like Wrecker's Lula. It was one of few things that helped her stay connected to her family.

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Meanwhile, Boba was pacing back and forth. Omega had been missing for months, and so had the others. The police were still searching, and so were the EHC. Thanks to Mariposa's talk with the board, she was able to gather other maricambas to begin searching in places doresho gypsies, as they chose to refer to the ones who chose a dark path. But still, no luck finding any clues.

Boba was so worried about his sister.

He couldn't stay in his room much longer, so he left, wanting to go out to the backyard again, when he heard his parents getting off the phone.

"Thank you. We will." Padme said, getting off the phone. "They've checked every hiding spot they could think of and still no clues."

"There's gotta be something! How many places could a crazed gypsy hide seven teenagers, a clone, a country mare, and a werewolf princess?" Anakin paused for a moment. "That has to be the weirdest thing I've ever said."

"I don't know, Ani. But if they don't find a lead soon, I'm worried they might give up."

Boba froze when he heard that. Now he really needed to run outside.

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Boba sat on a bench in the backyard garden and cried. He looked up at the stars above. Omega loved to see the stars at night. That became their special thing when Omega joined the family. Clear nights on Kamino were very rare, so since they lived where there were clear skies almost every night, they stargazed often. It just didn't feel the same without Omega.

"I'm not giving up on you, Omega." Boba said to the stars, and then he started to cry. He'd been praying desperately for a miracle every day and night, and it was getting harder and harder to keep faith the longer his twin was gone, and his friends too. "Wherever you are..."

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Omega looked up at the night sky too; she was also thinking about stargazing with her twin. How she wished he were here now.

Omega:

I'm lost,

Boba:

I'm low

Omega:

Nowhere

Boba:

to go

Omega:

It hurts

Boba:

to know

Both:

we're far apart

Omega:

Wish I

Boba:

could see

Omega:

where she

Boba:

might be?

Omega:

Oh, why

Boba:

are we

Both:

so far apart?

Both Omega and Boba could only think about how much they missed each other. And they didn't know it, but one memory that came to both their minds was the day Omega saw a rainbow in the sky for the first time, and she and Boba tried running as fast as they could to see if they could find the end.

Friends need their friends

On each one the other depends

Like a rainbow lovely and rare

All the colors need to be there (Omega: to be there)

But then, both of them became sad again. How they wished they could hold each other's hands, even just for a moment, because twins shared a bond like no other sibling, so when they were apart for so long.... It really took a toll on them.

Omega:

I'm cold,

Boba:

Boo-hoo

Omega:

So sad,

Boba:

so blue

Omega:

Because

Boba:

we two

Both:

are far apart

Both:

Friends need their friends

On each one the other depеnds

Like a rainbow lovely and rare

All thе colors need to be there (Omega: to be there)

Omega:

Wish I

Boba:

could see

Omega:

where she

Boba:

might be?

Omega:

Oh, why

Boba:

are we

Both:

so far apart?

Omega:

I'm cold,

Boba:

Boo-hoo

Omega:

So sad,

Boba:

so blue

Omega:

Because

Boba:

we two

Both:

are far apart

Omega (tearfully):

Because

Boba (Tearfully):

we two

Both:

are far apart

For a while, both twins lay on their beds and cried on their pillows.

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Sometime the next morning, Omega was fast asleep in her cot, her hay doll by her side. Omega looked out her window. She could hear birds chirping.

Omega sighed. She sat down on her bed and hit her straw doll in her lunchbox before standing by the door waiting for it to open again. The door opened, but Omega saw Emerie hiding at the side; she was probably afraid Omega would kick her again. To be fair, Omega had taken karate before she was imprisoned here, and cheerleading didn't do too bad at increasing her physical abilities either.

Omega passed through the hall and spotted Crosshair again, and then her friends being put through the same routine as yesterday. The scanning, the healthy eating, the exercising, and testing too.

Eventually, it was time for Omega to feed the lurca hounds again.

___________________________

Omega approached Batcher's cage, and she was shocked to see that she was licking herself because she had a huge gash on her leg. Omega immediately called a droid called K9-X1 for help.

"What is the issue?" asked the droid.

"Batcher's hurt."

"LH-201 sustained injuries during the nightly patrol. If her wounds do not heal, the subject will be terminated."

"Then do something to help her!"

"I am not a medical droid. It is not a part of my programming."

The droid left. But Omega was determined to help Batcher. She quickly went to a medical box and grabbed something to help clean the wound. She approached Batcher with the medical tool, only for the hound to snap at her.

"Now, look. I need to clean your wound for it to get better." Omega said in a tone Padme used when she needed to put her foot down. "It'll only hurt for a second, so put those teeth away and behave."

So, Batcher held still while Omega carefully applied the ointment to the wound.

"See? That's not so bad."

___________________________

Later, Omega was next to Crosshair's cell, and she told him about what happened with Batcher.

"I dress Batcher's wounds as best as I could." Omega sighed. "At least she didn't bite me. That's progress, right? If she doesn't get better soon...Maybe I can steal a med kit from the lab or sneak Vince out and see if there's anything I can use-"

"Stop." Crosshair said. "What is your primary objective?"

"Escape."

"Then stop wasting time on lost causes. Forget the hound, forget me, and complete the mission."

"Hound is a highly offensive word to my people." said a new but familiar voice. "It was Rory."

"Rory!" Omega gasped.

Rory shushed Omega.

"How did you escape?" Omega whispered.

"Long story. But I'm sniffing out a weak point. As long as Comedia and I are pregnant, the guards won't harm us."

Crosshair froze when he heard Rory say she was pregnant. He hadn't been forced into that room with Rory in a couple months, so that could only mean...

"Is it...?"

"Yes, Crosshair. It's yours. Look, you can stay if you want. You don't have to be in the baby's life if you don't want to, but I'm getting out. I'm not letting my pup become a pawn in some psycho woman's schemes."

Crosshair sighed. He didn't know what to think. He wasn't as sentimental as the rest of his brothers. He'd hardly even done much babysitting, let alone had a kid. And so far, the most normal of the Batch's pregnancies was from Tech's wife, who was a telepath. Now, here he was, learning he was gonna be a father to a baby with a girl who wasn't even his girlfriend. He didn't know what to think about fatherhood, but he did know Rory was right to worry about the baby's safety.

Omega was about to walk away, but Crosshair called her name.

"Focus on getting the others out. I belong here."

"None of us belong in here," said Omega.

As Omega left, Rory questioned Crosshair why he felt he belonged there.

"It's because of me that Maybelle put her life and freedom at risk, and now she's trapped too." Crosshair said.

Rory looked at Crosshair. She could smell the guilt on him, or maybe that was just sweat. No, it was guilt. Crosshair may not have been the most sentimental of the bunch, but no one could say he didn't care about his family deep down inside.

"I get it. The lone wolf kind, you portray yourself to be." Rory said. "Well, let me tell you... lone wolves are never truly the most powerful. In a pack, that's where the wolf is strongest. The only one that exists to the wolf is one pack."

Rory placed her hand where Crosshair held onto the bars of his cell door and got him to look into her bright eyes. Crosshair could swear he saw a slight purple glow come from her pretty blue eyes. Like a zing type of thing, and for some reason, he felt that same tinge in his eyes, which had him frozen for a moment.

___________________________

Omega sat in her cell once again, and she slept the night away, expecting the routine to be pretty much the same the next day, except, the next morning, Emerie arrived earlier than usual, and she wasn't alone. Two troops came in and scoured the room like they were looking for something.

"What's going on?" Omega hid her doll behind her back.

One of the troops dumped Omega's lunchbox.

"Surprise inspection. Standard procedure." Emerie said.

The troops thought the room was clear... until one of them snatched Omega's doll from behind her back. Emerie ordered the troop to bring it to her.

Emerie took the doll and said, "We've been over this before, Omega. Personal items are forbidden. I'll dispose of it."

"Don't!" Omega begged. "Please, Emerie."

"It is for your own good."

Omega could hardly stop herself from crying.

"Come. We have work to do."

Omega reluctantly followed Emerie out of the room for their usual routine.

___________________________

Meanwhile, Nala Se exited the vault with Dr. Hemlock.

"Mariverde should be pleased we accomplished such a successful transfer," said Nala Se.

"Not when the M and GBC-counts were severely diminished in the process," said Hemlock, displeased. "If we do not match or exceed the specimens' original count, it is a failure."

Nala Se was silent.

"If you cannot produce the desired results," said Hemlock. "I'll have to reconsider the freedoms I've given to your young assistant. I would hate to think you were intentionally delaying this advancement."

"You should not question my loyalty to science, Doctor."

"Of course. And we shall soon see if Mariverde is as understanding as I am.

___________________________

Comedia was being checked again. She was currently almost four months along in her pregnancy. As you've probably guessed, she was the first to get pregnant. So far, it appeared the foal was healthy, and so was the mother. Despite the traumatic experience that got her pregnant, Comedia couldn't say she didn't feel this natural bond and deep love growing in her for the foal that was growing inside of her. But, she couldn't help wondering what her adoptive father would say when and if he learned about this. Taking care of a baby was serious business, and she barely had a mother to take care of her when she was little. Emeraldi could only do so much a mother horse could do, being her big sister.

"Don't worry, little foal." Comedia said. "I'll take care of you, and I'll definitely do a better job than my own so-called mother did."

___________________________

Mila, on the other hand, was already nearly six months pregnant, and to her great surprise, during the ultrasounding, she overheard the doctors saying she was carrying more than one! But, they wouldn't tell her how many or if she was having boys, girls, or boys and girls.

Mila rubbed her belly affectionately and whispered to her babies, "Don't worry, mi hijos. Mami won't let that devil woman hurt you."

___________________________

Omega was in the lurca care station again.

"Hey, Batcher." Omega smiled, she gave the hound a good scratching. "Look at you. You're almost at a hundred percent."

But then K9-X1 pulled Omega from the cage.

"Did you not read the standing schedule?" said the droid. "LH-201 has been slated for termination."

"What? Why? She'd healed." Omega said.

"The creature's recent domesticated disposition has been deemed a liability."

"But that's my fault, not hers." Omega said.

"It is protocol." the droid groaned.

But, Omega wasn't going to let anything happen to Batcher. With a bit of struggle, Omega managed to swipe K9-X1's tablet and get it working so she could free Batcher.

"Security alert." the droid alerted.

K9-X1 tried to stop Omega with a lightning rod, but Omega made a huge box fall on him, and used the rod to short him out.

With the droid out of commission, Omega managed to turn the red light on Batcher's collar green.

"Batcher, come!" Omega quickly removed the collar from Batcher's neck. "Now you need to run away and not come back, okay? And try not to bite anyone, okay?"

Batcher whimpered.

"I can't go with you yet." Omega told the hound. "I have to get my friends first."

Batcher whimpered, wanting to stay with her girl, but Omega commanded her to go now! And reluctantly, Batcher ran off.

"Breaking the rules, I see?" a new, but familiar voice.

Omega turned to see it was Hemlock.

"And releasing a weak lurca hound into the wild? I didn't know you were so cruel, Omega."

"Me? You were gonna terminate her, and you took my friends from their families!"

"And you believe your actions changed that outcome?"

Omega was silent. She believed at least Batcher had a fighting chance.

Hemlock approached Omega.

"Now, some rotations ago, one of our shuttles crashed just beyond this mountain. But that is not what killed them. No, it was the creatures that roam the jungle. Even our strongest lurca hounds struggle against what's beyond these walls. And your domestication of LH-201 only made her vulnerable."

"You don't know she won't survive. She deserves a chance." Omega glared at Emerie.

"Oh, the flawed logic of an idealistic child." Hemlock said. "Emotion and sentiment have no place within these walls. You would do well to remember that."

"Or what?"

"Doctor, perhaps I should return Omega to her room." Emerie stepped forward until Hemlock held up his hand.

"You have more to say?"

"I know you brought me here to make Nala Se cooperate." Omega said. "You need her. She won't work for you if you hurt me. And I don't Mariverde will be happy if you hurt my friends either since she clearly needs them for something."

Hemlock laughed and said, "Of course we're not going to hurt you, Omega. Your friend in the detention block, however, may not be as fortunate."

Omega knew immediately Hemlock was referring to Crosshair.

"Don't hurt Crosshair! He didn't do anything."

"Mariverde did have plans for CT-9904, and despite that he's served one purpose of producing a new specimen, but I am willing to make a few sacrifices if your misbehavior continues. Actions always have consequences. Sometimes not in the ways we imagine."

Hemlock ordered Emerie to return Omega to her room and restrict her access.

___________________________

Once again, Omega sat in her cell, her head cradled to her knees. She heard her door open, knowing it was Emerie.

"Go away." Omega said.

"Omega."
"Please, just...go."

Omega heard a light rustling sound before she heard the door closing. Then, she looked behind her and saw her doll sitting there. Omega immediately rushed over and picked up her doll. Emerie actually brought it back to her! Omega couldn't believe it. She hugged the doll, and then she heard the sound of a lurca hound howling in the distance.

Omega looked outside. She couldn't see Batcher, but she could hear her howls.

___________________________

The others, however, were far from okay. Everyone was separated in their cells, and none of them had a doll to comfort them. They had to settle for their pillows.

Mila was probably the saddest. The babies growing inside of her... they were the only family she had left, and if she stayed here, there was a huge chance Mariverde was going to take them away, and Mila may never see them again.

But Mila would make sure her babies at least knew their mother's voice. So, before she went to sleep for the night, she sang her unborn babies a little song.

Mila:

Estrellita ¿dónde estás?

Me pregunto qué serás

Esta noche allí estarás

Cual diamante brillarás

Estrellita ¿dónde estás?

Me pregunto qué serás

___________________________

Still sad, I know. But don't worry, things will pick up very soon.