The Varactyl Squadron Commander (A Star Wars: The Clone Wars Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Sixty-Three

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.