#*face palms*

He ignored the aching in his legs and the branches knocking against his helmet. His lungs hurt as he struggled for breath. He kept running. Whatever that was, it certainly wasn't normal and he was desperate to get as far away from it as he possibly could, as quickly as he could. He could still remember the sensation under his skin as it's eyes stared into him, like his blood had begun to freeze, ice crystals carving away at the inside of his veins. Like his lungs were filling with water and his head with fire. Like his flesh was beginning to slide from this body. He'd managed to turn, to escape, to run. He had to warn the others.

Suddenly, he collided with something solid and tumbled to the ground, dirt making its way into the crevices of his armour. He panicked and scrambled up, pointing his blaster at the thing he had just made contact with.

"What the kriff, Hardcase?"

It was Jesse. Hardcase felt his shoulders slump in relief as he holstered his blaster and went to help his brother up off the floor. "Oh... thank the stars... it's you." He said, panting. His lungs struggled to pull in enough air now that he'd stopped running and he felt a strong ache in his chest. His legs felt like jelly beneath him and the forest was swaying slightly.

Jesse brushed dirt off plastoid before turning to look at his brother. Even though Hardcase couldn't see his face, he was fairly certain Jesse was glaring at him. He probably would've cared more if the world was spinning less and he could actually feel anything below his hips.

"What was that about, 'Case? All I wanted to do was get back to camp and the next thing I know I'm being body slammed into the ground!" Jesse winced and gripped his shoulder as he rotated it a little. "That's gonna leave a bruise." He complained.

"Sorry, Jess. It's just... there's something out there."

Jesse got tense, his head tilting towards Hardcase and concern bleeding into his voice. "What kind of something?"

"Ghosts."

Hardcase watched his brother's stance falter slightly. It was a little easier to concentrate now that his blood wasn't rushing in his ears as much.

"Ghosts? What? Like force ghosts?"

"No. Like spooky ghosts."

He knew at that point that he'd totally lost the other.

"Spooky ghosts."

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure!" Hardcase grew frustrated. "What? Do you not believe me now? You were all concerned like two seconds ago!"

"Yeah, because I thought you'd actually seen something. Ghosts aren't real, Hardcase! You know that!"

"What about force ghosts? You were literally just talking about force ghosts!"

"For kriffs sake that's not the same thing! Force ghosts exist. Other ghosts do not."

"I know what I saw."

"I think you know what you think you saw."

"Oh come on, Jess! Work with me here!" Jesse wasn't looking convinced. Hardcase felt anger bubble in his gut. "I am telling you, there's something out there!"

His brother just sighed and shook his head. "Look, tell you what. We'll head back to camp and tell the others. If the general thinks it's worth checking out, then we'll go and have a look, okay?"

Hardcase wasn't sure he wanted to go back there. Actually, no, he was definitely sure. He did not, under any circumstances, want to go back to that place. He wanted to leave and get as far away from this stars forsaken planet as possible, preferably back to his bed on Kamino, where he would be safe from whatever was out in these trees. But the others needed to know what was out there and if anyone would know how to handle it, it would be Obi Wan.

Hardcase trudged behind Jesse as they made their way through the forest. It took around ten minutes of walking in slightly uncomfortable silence before they began to see the glow of a campfire through the branches. They made their way into a small clearing, where the rest of the group were all sat in a circle, some on boxes and others on the floor, arms propped on knees or legs spread out in front of them.

"There you are!" Rex said cheerfully. "I was starting to get worried that we would have to send a search party out to go and find you two." He kept his tone light, but Hardcase knew that there had been at least a small amount of genuine worry there. He and Jesse removed their helmets and tucked them under their arms.

"Scouting go okay?" Kix asked, titling his head to look up at his brothers.

"Hardcase is seeing things." Jesse said as he dropped down to sit next to the fire.

Kix's eyebrows furrowed. "Anything to be worried about? Did he hit his head or something?"

"No." Said Jesse easily. "At least I don't think so. But he is seeing ghosts."

"Force ghosts?" Obi Wan asked inquisitively.

"That's what I wanted to know. But nope! No force ghosts, just spooky ones apparently.

"Spooky ones?" Cody looked a little bemused.

"Spooky ones."

"Oh jeez, really, 'Case? Ghosts?" Hardcase gritted his teeth as he looked over at Fives, who was sat in front of the crate Echo was on, his brother's legs on either side of him.

"Lay off him a little." Tup said. "He hasn't slept properly in like... three days."

"You haven't slept in three days?" Rex said, clearly alarmed.

"Oh, he has slept." Jesse chimed in. "Just not a lot."

Rex and Kix shared a look of concern, their gaze flicking over to Obi Wan, who seemed to be thinking, but not overly worried about the fact that Hardcase was apparently sleep deprived. And seeing dead people.

"Tired enough to start seeing ghosts?" Kix asked.

"Oh, probably."

"I can't believe you haven't slept in three days!" Fives exclaimed. "No wonder your eyes are deceiving you."

"You're one to talk." Echo said, poking his brother in the shoulder. "You once didn't sleep for seven."

"When was this?" Rex seemed even more panicked. He was ignored as the twins started bickering with each other.

"You're right! And you know what, Echo? It was awful. I started seeing colours!"

"You can always see colours, di'kut!"

"I meant tasting colours! ...or smelling them? I don't remember. But it wasn't good!"

"No wonder you don't remember. You hadn't slept in a week!" Echo said, shoving his brother in the head as Fives tried to bat his hand away.

"That's not as bad as the time one of the shinies had to go to the med bay because he accidentally ate glue." Jesse added.

Rex looked absolutely horrified. Cody leant over to whisper in his brother's ear. "How exactly is your battalion still alive?"

"I have no idea." Rex responded in despair.

"Hey, let's not forget the time you got stuck in the air vents and had to be rescued by Commander Wolffe!" Fives said, pointing an accusatory finger at Jesse. "He was definitely not happy about that one."

"Wolffe is never happy with anything."

"Of course he isn't! He has to keep rescuing clones from air vents!"

Rex just shook his head. "I want a new battalion. This ones full of defectives." Cody simply gave him a comforting pat on the back, although the grin on his face wasn't conveying much actual sympathy.

Hardcase's arm began to shake with the amount of force he was gripping his helmet with. They weren't listening. He finally snapped.

"Will you lot just listen to me for five minutes!"

Everybody turned to stare at him in shock, with the exception of Obi Wan, who simply looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Hardcase closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. He opened his eyes and looked at the Jedi.

"There's something out there, General. I don't know what exactly, but there is something out there and it isn't good."

"You just said it was ghosts!"

"Oh, shut up, Fives!"

"Don't tell me to shut up! You can't come in here on three days of no sleep and tell us that there are things that don't exist out there!"

Echo clearly felt the need to intervene as he held onto Fives' shoulder to prevent him from getting up. "Don't be an ass, Fives."

"He's the one-!"

"Calm down, all of you!" Silence fell over the camp as Rex's voice dissipated into the trees. "Stop acting like children. If there is something out there, we need to know what it is. What I do not need-" He turned to look at Fives and silence him before the protest he was about to make made it past his lips,. "Is a bunch of qualified soldiers arguing with each other! Now be quiet, and listen to what Hardcase has to say." Rex cast a stern look over the squad before nodding his head at Hardcase, encouraging him to continue.

"Err... thank you, sir." Hardcase gave a nervous cough. "Like I said, there's something out there. I don't know what it is, but I don't think it's safe. I think we need to get out of here."

"Hmm..." Obi Wan was tapping his finger on his chin. "Did this thing try to hurt you at all?"

Hardcase didn't really know how to answer that. He remembered the sensation, the awful, crawling, burning sensation. It had been terrible. But the thing hadn't actually tried to hurt him. It never even came near him. Yes, Hardcase had felt awful, but he was physically fine. The only injuries he had were from colliding with Jesse as he ran away. "Well... no."

"Hmmm..." Nobody said anything as the general continued his thinking. Fives glanced at Echo nervously, and then over at Jesse who just shrugged.

"I think we need to go and have a look. Together." Obi Wan finally said.

Well... that was the last thing that Hardcase had wanted to hear.

〰〰〰

The group marched through the forest, blasters at the ready. Obi Wan led the group, lightsaber held out in front of him as a light source and with the clones paired up behind him. Hardcase and Tup, Jesse and Kix, Fives and Echo, and then Rex and Cody at the back. They were getting closer and closer to the spot where Hardcase had seen the ghost and he could feel his hair standing on end. His blacks felt damp as he sweated nervously. He adjusted his fingers on his blaster and hunched up his shoulders, as if doing so would protect him from whatever was out there. He could see Tup glance over at him out of the corner of his visor.

Then they stopped.

"Is this the place?" Obi Wan asked, surveying the trees around them. There didn't seem to be an edge to the forest. It just continued on into the distance, endless.

Hardcase swallowed. His throat felt tight and his mouth was dry. He adjusted his hands again. They were clammy. He could feel his blacks clinging to his palms. "Yes." It was all he could get out.

"Okay. Spread out in your pairs. Hardcase and Tup, head north. Jesse and Kix, east. Fives and Echo, west. Rex and Cody, south. See if you can spot anything. Don't go far and come back here when you're done searching. Understood?" They all nodded. "Good. I'll stay here and keep look out." The pairs nodded again and headed off in their designated directions.

Hardcase's breathing was uneven. He was scared. More scared than he had ever been. He didn't want to encounter that thing again, nor did he want it to find any of his brothers either.

"You okay?" Tup asked.

Hardcase was tense. "Err... yeah. Just nervous, ya know?"

"Sure. I get it." Tup stopped and gave his brother a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. "Look, it's going to be okay. We'll do a quick scout and head straight back. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

Hardcase just tilted his head slightly as a reply, to which Tup gave his shoulder another squeeze.

As they started moving again, Hardcase couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. He knew Tup was just trying to help, but it was also clear that his brother didn't actually believe him. There was something out here. He knew it, even if no one wanted to take his word for it.

They marched onwards, stopping and spinning in a slow circle every now and then to check their surroundings. Nothing. The more they went on, the more nervous Hardcase grew. It was too still, too quiet. He didn't understand. There was supposed to be something here. They called off their search after twenty minutes and decided to head back to where Obi Wan was. Hardcase didn't know whether to be annoyed or relieved. There was nothing there. Nothing to be worried about.

And now his brothers were going to think he was even more crazy. Great.

When they got back to their original spot, only the twins were absent, although it didn't take long for them to appear through the trees.

"Find anything?" Rex asked.

"Nope!" Fives responded. "Just trees. A whole lot of trees." He sounded frustrated. Hardcase couldn't blame him. They had all been marched out to the middle of some dark woods to go hunting for a whole lot of nothing.

"Okay, well. The others didn't find anything either. If there is anything here it doesn't look like it's going to be making another appearance any time soon." Obi Wan looked at them all. "I say we head back to camp. We'll all get whatever sleep we can and then wait for a pickup tomorrow."

A chorus of "yes, sir!" echoed through the trees and they all made their way back to camp.

By the time the pick-up shuttle touched down just after sunrise, Hardcase was now four days down on sleep and feeling rather grouchy because of it. He was even starting to think he actually was insane. Maybe he had been seeing things before. The lack of severe injuries suggested that there had been no weird encounters (unless pinballing off his brother counted. Jesse was clearly unhappy about the extra set of bruises he'd acquired). They had found nothing, and nothing had tried to ambush them in the middle of the night. Hardcase knew because he hadn't been able to keep his eyes off the trees.

He sighed and slumped down in a seat, resting his head on the window. It felt cool and relaxing. It soothed his growing headache and put just enough pressure on his temple to distract him. Everything ached and he just wanted to go home. The armour was uncomfortable and still lined with dirt, his feet were covered in so many blisters they were practically a different shape, and his neck felt so stiff he was sure his muscles had ossified. Things had been weird on the way back to camp. He was either being coddled by concerned brothers who were almost certain he had lost at least 90% of his senses, or he was being snipped at by the other half who blamed him for the impromptu field trip that had left a couple of them left with twigs lodged in places they didn't want them.

Rex had looked like he was ready to leave all of them behind, hoping that the ghosts were in fact real and that they would take them somewhere where they couldn't give him any more grey hairs. Cody was also close to being sacrificed to a paranormal entity if Rex's tired stares were anything to go by.

As soon as everyone was seated, the craft started to rise, ready to start heading back towards Kamino. Finally. This planet could burn for all he cared. Hardcase opened his eyes and looked at the trees as they became smaller below them. He froze. His blood turned to ice.

There was a figure standing in the middle of the clearing they had just taken off from.