Chapter One: The New Sith
It was funny how things turned out. Grievous was originally a poor boy from a farmer's family on Kalee, now a powerful senator representing his planet in the Galactic Senate. Originally, he joined the military to escape the dull life of a farmer. He never thought he would go on to become a legendary warrior. The Kaleesh-Togruta war had dragged on for 17 years. This was enough time for Grievous to become a major military figure. Grievous had been such an intimidating figure in the war that many Togruta set up a colony on the planet Kiros just to escape him. The treaty of Shili ended the war and now both species were at peace and members of the Republic. But Grievous remained an important figure, as he represented his species in the Galactic Senate.
But then his life became dull. He abhorred peacetime. It made his life nothing but paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. Now things were looking up again. Now that the tensions within the Republic had broken into outright war with the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo, he could return to having the life of a warrior he felt nostalgic for.
He looked out a window of his flagship, The Queen of Kalee, a Venator-class star destroyer, as he pondered a thought that troubled him: it had been confirmed that a Sith Lord existed: Darth Maul. If this meant Darth Bane's ancient rule of two had succeeded, this would leave another Sith in existence. Who could this Sith be?
His thoughts were interrupted when Veltros Tor, Grievous' servant, came into his room. Veltros was a middle-aged man who was fairly tall, 6'2", to be precise, with pale skin that made him look sickly, and Jet-Black hair, showing a stark contrast, although his head was balding. He had blue eyes and yellowing teeth.
"Chancellor Palpatine is here," he announced.
"Bring him in,"
The chancellor entered the room and looked around Grievous' quarters.
"Is all this luxury really necessary? You spend most of your time on Coruscant."
"Why not? I have the money."
"Anyways, I bet you're wondering about the recent disappearance of former Jedi master Count Dooku."
"Yes. Last I heard, or last anyone has heard, as far as I'm concerned, is that he left the Jedi order after becoming disillusioned with it."
"Understandable, considering that his former apprentice was killed."
Grievous nodded. "I've heard rumors that he became a Gray Jedi, but I'm not sure how reliable the sources they come from are, and many of them are tabloid holo-papers. I don't think anyone knows for sure."
"Until now." Palpatine responded, in a voice that caught Grievous' attention.
"What do you mean?"
"Allegedly, he's been spotted on Takodana. People believe he's studying the dark ways of the force. I want you to find him."
"That will make me miss one of the senate's meetings."
"You can still attend via hologram."
"Who says they saw him?"
"Maz Kanata. She houses smugglers and other criminals in an ancient temple on the planet. She's been nicknamed the 'Pirate Queen'. Unfortunately, though, she's never technically done anything illegal, so we can't arrest her. But she may be of use in this situation."
Grievous went to the bridge and spoke to his men about the new mission.
"Set a course for Takodana."
"Aye, sir," said Captain T'zala Abrakar, Grievous' Zabrak second-in-command aboard The Queen of Kalee.
Grievous wondered if Dooku held a grudge against Zabraks, since one killed his former apprentice, Qui-gon Jinn. How would he react if he saw T'zala on board Grievous' ship?
The stars zoomed behind them and became blurs as the ship approached hyperspace. It looked like they were going through a tunnel in space.
A few days later, Grievous arrived at Takodana. Because Star Destroyers didn't land, Grievous took The Eagle, a YT-1300f freighter, to the planet he was accompanied by T'zala and his MagnaGuards. The first thing he noticed was how green the planet was. When he came to Maz Kanata's castle, he noted that there were dozens of flags flying around a large statue with outstretched arms that he believed to be of Maz Kanata. Grievous and his company were stared at, since Maz Kanata didn't exactly host stately officials accompanied by MagnaGuards and a Zabrak dressed in a uniform.
When he went inside, he found the woman who resembled the individual on the statue. She wore goggles and was short large-headed and orange-skinned. She looked humbler than she did in the statue, as it in no way implied that she was short, or orange skinned.
"Can I help you?" The figure asked.
"As a matter of fact you can," answered Grievous, "Are you Maz Kanata?"
"The one and only,"
"Rumor says you've spotted Count Dooku recently. Is this true?"
"Yes. I saw him in the forest while was taking a walk. He was… force-choking a Takodanian rabbit."
"I thought only dark-side force users could force-choke."
"I'm just as confused as you are. I don't know much more than you do."
Grievous made a worried glance at T'zala. Could Dooku be turning to the dark side?