Chapter One

I am Grievous. You know me, of course you do. I am the most feared military leader in the galaxy. It is time to tell my story. And, strangely, it revolves around one person; Ahsoka Tano. Of all the Jedi who would spell my death, I find it surprising that it would be the padawan of Skywalker.

This is my story, the story of Qymaen jai Sheelal.

Before my rise to power, I was just a warrior; one of the greatest warriors in the universe, but not one known on a galactic scale, at least, not yet. It took the death of my love, Ronderu lij Kummar- for me to become Grievous.

I led my people against an onslaught of unending enemies named the 'Huk'. These invaders from the sky swooped down, determined to enslave my people. Generations rose from the primitive jungles, battling these creatures. For my people, nothing was as important as throwing off the impossibly overbearing yolk of the Huk oppressors. These advanced monsters had technology that far outstripped ours. It was almost unthinkable that we could ever prevail.

Then I came along.

Among my people, I am practically a god. There is no reasonable way of knowing how many Huk I have killed. Hundreds, thousands… perhaps I have killed millions. I lost count long, long ago. Whatever the number, it was never enough. Hive after hive was started, and my people destroyed them time and time again.

Then… one day, a day I will never forget- they fled. The Huk abandoned their bases and went into a period of inactivity. It was a wonderful day. My mate and I celebrated with our people. We were all confused, and excited.

Ronderu held me in her arms for the last time, "We shall have peace," She promised. I wondered in my heart what I would do next. The spirits of our ancestors had given my wife and I a common strength for battle. What would we do once the war was over?

….my fears were unrealized. The Huk killed her. And they continued to kill all my people. I took up the mantle of 'Grievous' and annihilated them.

I burned their homes, I burned their ships, I burned them. I drove them from Kalee with the fury of a god.

That was not enough for us, for me. I took an army to their home planet and burned that too!

Then came the Jedi- Scum. They destroyed us. We had no chance against their supernatural abilities, and so, once more, the Kalesh were driven to the point of extinction. I had to do something; seek out help among the stars that had sent us the horror of the Huk!

This began my work for the Separatist cause. And the reason I was still fighting for it to the day of my death. I had gotten work as an enforcer, flying to worlds far beyond my own. Sometimes… sometimes my love would be with me. I would think of her as the ship settled down on a planet. What if we had lived here instead? Would she still be alive? Would we have a home? A family? These thoughts never lead to any resolution, so I always brushed them from my mind.

The head of the IBC, San Hill, paid generously. I returned to my people, hopeful that we would at last, live in peace. Then came my accident.

Then pain, then more pain, then confusion, sorrow, and more pain… and then came the hate. I had disgraced my ancestors. I had lost my limbs in a fatal accident, and was just waiting for my body to slowly rot in the bacta. But my employer at the Intergalactic Banking Clan offered me a new life. It was not much of a choice; I was just a husk of what I was- so they gave me a husk to fill.

I became the General of the droid army.

But you knew all of this already. You have likely read books on me, or watched holovids. It matters not. All that matters is my quest for revenge, a quest I never realized I was on.

…..

Separatists across the galaxy attacked worlds further and further from Coruscant, drawing the clone army away from the Core Worlds. It was all going according to plan.

I sat on the deck of the Invisible Hand going over reports. Every few paragraphs, there was the insertion of one of two names; Obi Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker. They take up a lot of my time.

Of the two, Anakin is technically the more troublesome. He's more likely to blow something up, whether doing so is a good idea or bad. Kenobi is better in virtually every other way; smarter, more skillful. My master, Count Dooku, desired a trap for them. Specifically, he wanted to push Anakin towards the Dark Side.

Bah!

I know the 'Force' exists. I have known far too many Jedi to dispute that. But that is not something to live and die for. The spirits of my ancestors dwell on me. They watch and judge my every decision. I must never show weakness- ever. What kind of fool would believe in 'light' and 'dark' with the untold masses of your fathers and mothers screaming out for vengeance?!

I set down the data pad, sighing. The droids around me beeped and blooped contentedly.

…they were not warriors. Warriors lived and breathed for the battlefield. They should have souls, judgement. Using droids is beneath me. Servitude is also beneath me.

I replay the message from my master, even though I already know what it will tell me.

Skywalker, Ehosiq, war of attrition, dark side, yadda, yadda, yadda…

"…you will be working under Ventress Asajj," He looks at me pointedly when saying this, emphasizing 'under'. I would spit in disgust if I could. Ventress is a talented fighter, and, in terms of viciousness, her attitude exceeds my own in hatred for the Jedi. But she has one flaw, one insurmountable fault; she is a fool.

She is no general, has no thought as to how to win, or why. Sure, she understands victory, but she has no sense of goals. Her only existence is to kill others. And, ultimately, that will be her undoing.

I will kill her.

But right now, I have to work for her.

There will no be living with her after this. Once she finds out I work for her she'll have me cleaning the garbage dump. Another thing; we hate each other, almost as much as we hate the Jedi.

Working under her will be almost unbearable. She is vain, foolish, and, in my honest opinion, one of the worst generals the galaxy has ever seen. A good general knows when to retreat, a great general knows how to retreat, Assaj Ventress does not believe in anything but attacking. It makes for predictable battles with high-casualties. That's not a problem until the enemy learns how to anticipate your attacks.

Kenobi and Skywalker know her. We will lose.

I can only hope they let me kill her, put her out of our collective miseries!

Still, I serve the Separatists. And they have commanded me to follow that crazed woman into battle, so their faithful general shall obey!

…until I get my revenge. Killing Kenobi has long been a dream of mine. He has managed to stay alive out of an interesting combination of skill, luck, and sheer will. As a general, he is sufficient to take me on, and win, which, truly, says much to his skill. As a duelist- he has survived me several times. That is more than several of his peers can say from their graves. But apart from killing Obi Wan Kenobi, I have long desired a different sort of revenge- vengeance against those who protected the Huk. After the Kaleesh burned their home-world, the Huk fled to Coruscant to plead their case. They appealed for help from the Senate, and those sniveling, whining wind-bags granted it. They sent their dogs, the Jedi to do their dirty work.

…I shall have my revenge on the Jedi. As a matter of fact, my master, Dooku, has promised their ultimate destruction will come soon! However… what of the cowardly administrators who sent the Jedi? As duelist, I recognize the death of a warrior as honorable. Each Jedi I fight dies honoring his or her ancestors. However, as a general, I recognize that power is often only in the hands of a select few. And for my revenge to be complete, I must strike down those who had a hand in my home's destruction.

…which is a problem. Although I am no stranger to politics (a necessary evil) I find myself lost in this labyrinth of schemes. The first people on my list were those who voted in favor of the Huk. But then I realized those who knew their constituent's evil would be the first to die, and also to die the messiest. From there, my research led me to dead end after dead end. Somehow, someone, some… master manipulator, managed to push this issue through. People who never agreed on anything suddenly rushed to the aid of the 'poor, impoverished' Huk. I spit in disgust. What is truly bizarre is how deep this manipulation went. No single race like my sworn enemies had this kind of political power.

Which raises the question; who would benefit from the Huk winning this war?

The only lead I have is an old message from the Trade Federation to the Naboo Senator's office asking for further instructions. The odd thing is that the senator at the time was Palpatine, who is currently the biggest enemy of the Trade Federation. How could I get at all close to him now?! Still, the time will come, after the Jedi have been crushed, that I will have Palpatine in my clutches, and will destroy him totally. It is only a matter of time.

A warning chime sounded in The Invisible Hand. I buckled in for the ride. The planet we were landing on was not well-defended. Apart from a few canons, we expected little in the way of resistance.

A rumble along the hull of the ship signaled the fact that our intelligence was, again, wrong. It seemed like this war never went the way either side expected. Almost as if the whole thing is a complete waste- worlds and systems consumed by a never-ending onslaught between two giants too big to lose, but also too large to stop.

Believe me, I have done the odds. The Separatists and the Republic have battled it out over and over and over. Neither side has a clear advantage.

Another rumble along the belly of the ship signaled a direct hit. I suppressed a weary sigh. You gotta be kidding me. On my read-out a ship roared past us; a Jedi cruiser. There was one right behind it, blasting us. They couldn't stop the invasion- not alone, but they could slow it down and signal for help. The urge to inform Ventress overcame me for a moment, before I released it. There was no reason for me to bother. She would hiss something about the force and ignore me. That was fine.

Finally, the counter-assault ceased when Ventress finally released the fighter drones. Fool. She should have done that right after we hit atmosphere to cripple any ships in the area.

So, we set down on Shili with minor damages. I hit the release on my belt, suppressing an intolerant sigh. Asajj had set us down in what is, perhaps, the absolute worst kind of area possible to be in. the ground is muck, surrounded by swamps. The terrain is, at best, manageable. Dense clouds often fall, creating cover at random intervals, and, worst of all, the people here are so backwards, they are considered the most backwards tribe on this blasted backwards backwater planet!

Really, I was just waiting for all of this to blow up in her face. Ventress needed to die, and soon.

"Tatical?" I asked out of habit. The droid beeped negatively. It's times like these that I wished I could use sarcasm.

Ventress' harsh voice popped up over the comm, "Grievous! I want you to secure the ground!"

I leaned in to reply, "I'm sure the mud hole you chose for us is going nowhere!"

I laughed hardily. Hey, maybe I do have a sense of sarcasm!

She growled her annoyance and spit out orders to the droids to unload. I laughed, figuring she would soon die at the edge of my lightsaber.

….not knowing I would die because of a Sith like her.