Axel knew something was wrong the minute he saw Molindi's balance falter. They hadn't been doing anything too strenuous; the Chitauri people were gathering up the last of the supplies they needed for the trek up the mountain. Rex and General Skywalker were loading instruments and smaller children onto carts for the adults to pull while himself and his commander were loading up the last of the food into packs for people to grab on their out of the village. Lindi had just finished up filling the last of her packs when her body stiffened and her eyes darted toward the direction of the treeline. 

"Lindi?" He questioned, not hesitating to follow her gaze and scan the edge of the jungle they'd fought their way through the day before. She lifted a hand to silence him; besides the sound of the villagers packing up and an occasional instrument being plucked there were no noises coming elsewhere. No breeze blowing through the leaves, no birds singing or rustle of flora being disturbed by any of the jungle-floor fauna. An eerie calm had covered the area, and a sudden calm on a planet overflowing with wildlife was never a good sign. He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. 

"I'll tell Etolga to get everyone moving, there isn't much time before trouble finds us again. Go inform Rex and the general that we'll need to keep an eye on the back of the herd when they finally break the treeline."

"The Tokep?" Lindi shook her head.

"No, this feels...different," Not once had her gaze wavered since she noticed the strange echo of nothingness. She placed a hand on her gut. "More monumental somehow, like a sudden shift of presence. I fear the queen and her soldiers may have found their way through the sewers." At that, Axel couldn't help but smirk.

"Let 'em come, those Tokep beasts will rip 'em to shreds before they get anywhere near here." Despite trying his best to be optimistic, it wasn't hard to see the wet bead of doubt drip down the side of his face. He wasn't sure what scared him more: the giant disintegrating tree monsters or the cannibal queen who had just sent a magical slug-blob to kill his commander from what seemed to be a whole other planet away. To say she was persistent would've been a bit of an understatement.

"Let's hope they at least keep each other occupied until we can get out of here, if the mountain can keep the Eletai safe from the Tokep then I think they'd be able to withstand an attack from whatever becomes left of the queen's guard." A nod of understanding was exchanged before she turned on her heel and began to quickly navigate her way through the bustling crowd of villagers.

Thanks to the outrageous height of the Eletai, Axel found himself having to climb up on one of the packed carts to see over their massive-eared heads.

It was crazy, now that he had the chance to think about it, how much his trust in Lindi had grown in such a small amount of time. How long had they been in the same squad? Less than a week? It had taken him twice as long to even start fully cooperating with his old squads; despite sharing the same blood it was still hard for him to connect with any of his brothers. He'd been so rash, brushing off their similarities upon their first conversation. And now there was no telling what their relationship would've been like without them. A few days ago he was questioning her every order, and now he didn't even bat an eyelash.

If she told him to jump, he'd ask how high and that fact alone was beginning to eat away at his stomach.

***

It was strange to see General Skywalker handle children; he seemed to be a natural at it. No wonder he'd been assigned to train younglings once he was finished with his time on the front lines. But Anakin's fun ended when he nearly dropped one of the babies, a sudden uneasy expression crossing his face and he whipped his head around as if someone had startled him. Rex had almost started laughing at the man's folly but knew better when he witnessed his friend's grimace.

"General? Is something wrong?" The clone asked, setting down the last instrument onto the cart beside them. General Skywalker passed the baby to their sister already seated in the wagon before turning back to his second in command.

"I just got a really bad feeling all of a sudden," He began and the wagon started its journey forward; the caravan was beginning to move. "Like a weird shift in the Force; something isn't right here."

"Is it those creatures again?"

"General! Commander Rex!" A familiar voice called out; it wasn't long until Axel appeared after. "The commander thinks Queen Asemdi and her guards may have found their way here through the tunnels under the city. We were loading up the food when the jungle became eerily silent; she believes it would be best if we kept watch on the back of the herd while we travel."

The jungle was a big place, packed with countless things that would either hinder their movement forward or kill them all entirely. But still, the thought of encountering the witches again after that little show with the slime-slug thing sent both a surge of hot anger to his chest and a tight shiver of fear up his spine.

"I knew something was up," The general stated. "Does Etolga know about this?" Axel nodded.

"Molindi ran ahead to tell her, I'm assuming that's why we've started moving now."

"Okay, we should probably split up for maximum coverage of the herd. We don't want to put all of our power in one place in case the front of the line is just as vulnerable." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as the three stepped to the side and out of the river of bodies walking past them. "We'll play it by shifts. You and I will hang out back here and keep a look out. Commander Rino and Rex will take the front so if we see anything back here, she can immediately inform Etolga." The two clones nodded and the group split up, Rex maneuvering his way to the front of the parade while Axel hung back.

Axel was used to this by now; the general wasn't exactly being subtle with his assignments of who did certain tasks with who. But this time, Axel felt something was off. The way General Skywalker's determined face changed to one of worry as soon as his second in command had disappeared ahead.

"Is there something else you want to say, sir?" Axel dared to ask as they walked, occasionally glancing back at the path behind them to ensure they weren't being followed by unsavory company. Anakin's expression didn't change as he rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a short sigh.

"Some things happened back on Twar that I probably should've mentioned earlier, but I'm unsure if revealing them now would do more harm than good." 

Axel raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of things?"

Anakin's gaze fell to the ground; the clone's stomach began to do somersaults. 

"There were... sacrifices that needed to be made in order for us to find the information we came here for," Though the general didn't seem like he'd be into the sacrificial scene when it came to his men, he didn't elaborate on the extent of the word "sacrifice" and Axel was already getting too nauseous to ask. Instead he gave the general a supportive pat on the shoulder.

"Rex is a big kid, he's used to a casualty here and there. It just comes with the job," He tried to reassure the man, but his words only made Anakin grimace.

"Rex isn't the commander that I'm worried about."

The hair on Axel's arms and neck stood up on end as his body instinctively began to brace itself for this kind of news. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, war was war and losses were just a part of that. After losing two squadrons in a row, he himself was still processing mortality and all the existential crap that came with it and Axel was fine with that. That was a normal burden to bare on a battlefield. But it wasn't a burden he wanted Molindi to deal with so soon after meeting and growing attached to her new boys.

Axel wondered if maybe this was for the best; this was only their second mission. She knew her troops but still needed time to really know them. It was probably better in the long run. The sooner she lost a man, the less time it would take to mourn and therefore making the process of moving on a little easier than it would've been if they'd been on a hundred missions together. It would hurt for everyone, but in the end they'd be alright. Axel cleared his throat.

"She's used to losing men, we all are. It'll be tough for a while but we'll help each other get through it. And JC has helped her process grief before, she can definitely help Molindi through it again." As the words left his mouth he could feel them solidify with certainty. He wasn't lying or wishfully thinking, he knew they could get past this together. "Which of the boys did we lose?"

Anakin didn't speak.

"Sir," Axel tried again, his heart starting to race in his chest even more as the general remained silently walking beside him, his face staring at their feet as they followed the herd in front of them. "Who in my squad is dead?" Thinking back to the last time they saw anyone else from their team, at the arena, Axel tried to recall if they had been missing any members from Varactyl squadron when the general came to rescue them but the three other troopers had been on the speeder-

Then the pieces clicked together. Axel's eyes widened and he felt his heart constrict so tight in his chest that he thought it would pop. General Skywalker didn't need to continue, the clone already knew, and the jedi didn't judge when the clone stumbled off the path and emptied his bowels of the breakfast they'd had only hours earlier. Any confidence he had held about getting through this together was gone. He'd seen how the loss of her lover still affected Molindi to this day; there was no telling what she'd do when she learned about this.

Out of all the people, why did it have to be the droid?