Rani's cargo transport, the Wanderer, sped all across the plains of Jharona before reaching Dessoux, where the crystal blue waters of the planet kissed the sunny shores of the port city. The Wanderer was a sleek vehicle separated into two parts: a boxed-in driver's seat fit for two and a dark gray durasteel trunk. Despite its appearance as a speeder, the small transport had hyperdrive installed for intergalactic trips. The Wanderer slowed when a run-down building came into view. It stopped just short of the cracked pale walls surrounding the compound.

Just about a minute later, a Weequay appeared on one of the turrets and demanded, "Who goes thar?!" Rani rolled down her side window and leaned over it. She shouted, "I'm Rani, Rani Captague! Captain Rhayme and I have met before. If you don't believe me, I have the insignia to prove it." She pressed a button on her control panel and a hologram flashed from the lens on the front of the truck. The Weequay's eyes widened as he saw the Captague emblem - the Aurebesh letter "C" in a circle with wings - flickering in front of the transport.

He then laughed, "Well, I'll be…A genuine Captague! Er, come on in, miss. Captain Rhayme will be delighted to see ya!" Just after he disappeared, the double doors slid open, allowing Rani entry. She gladly drove her vehicle into the base.

In the open area that the pirates had made their great hall, vagabonds and cutthroats were feasting and laughing. The Weequay guard stepped inside and said, "Captain, Ms. Rani Captague's here to see ya." Captain Rhayme straightened in her chair and said, "Really? Send her in." The Weequay ushered Rani inside and Rhayme remarked, "Well, well, well. I didn't expect you to drop by. How's your grandma these days?"

Rani answered, "She's doing okay in retirement." Rhayme leaned forward, "Taking on the family business, huh? I thought merchants didn't deal with pirates such as me and my loyal crew." The human girl said, "As I understand with pirates, they steal, raid, and plunder. I've only heard about your recent venture hours ago. It was a daring heist, I must say."

The captain looked at her after she finished sipping her whiskey, "It was lucky on our part. A Separatist ship just dropped in from out of nowhere. To us, it was like gold from heaven. We've got a lot of valuable stuff here that the Republic could use…if they're willing to strike a deal with us. We even have a rare Belbullab-22 starfighter on our hands. Judging by the custom-made adjustments, it must belong to someone very important."

"I know…because it's mine."

The pupils in the pirates' eyes shrunk as soon as they heard that menacing voice. A grim shadow cast itself from the door to the edge of Lassa's table. Rhayme's heart skipped a beat when she saw the metallic general known as Grievous enter the hall. The captain didn't know how to respond to an imposing figure such as he, but she calmed herself and asked Rani in a smooth voice, "Why, Rani, I didn't know you were joining the Separatists." Grievous almost wished that the young girl would, but Captague firmly gave her answer, "You shot down his ship, so I'm only helping him get off Jharona so it doesn't get pulled into the war." Grievous pulled out two lightsabers and ignited them as he said, "I'll give you two options: hand over my starfighter or be eliminated."

Lassa, keeping her fear contained, simply said, "All right. We'll give your starfighter back…on the condition that we keep the rest of the loot we took from the ship." Grievous scoffed, "Do whatever you wish with it. It is useless to me."

The pirates hauled the Soulless One out into the open just minutes later. Grievous decided to spare the Blood Bone Order because killing them would be a waste of time. After all, he had to meet with Count Dooku before the general was declared MIA. While Grievous was checking for any damage the pirates might have done to his ship, Rani walked up to him and said, "When you return to the war, please don't mention how I helped you." Grievous chuckled, "Believe me, I would much rather not say anything about how I was saved. That would not bode well for my reputation."

Rani knew how much his ego meant to him, so she gave a small smirk of acknowledgment. When he looked at her playful face, he felt something spark within him. He was a fearsome general and had committed many war crimes, yet Rani found it in her heart to help him. In truth, Grievous was too prideful to even say 'thank you'. Instead, he simply nodded and jumped into his starfighter. Before the viewport slid onto the cockpit, Grievous said to her, "I hope our paths don't cross again. I'd hate to be the one in distress all the time."

The girl smiled, "You're strong enough to handle yourself. You don't need me." Grievous said in a calm voice, "I sincerely hope not." He then took off and headed into space. He couldn't help but take one last glance at Jharona before jumping into hyperspace. If he and Rani ever did meet again, he hoped it would be to purchase something. Then again, what in the galaxy could he possibly need?

It had been so long since I last saw her. Sometimes, I found myself wanting to see her again, but then I reminded myself that she would never get involved in the war. She was just a merchant. Well, an aspiring merchant. I, on the other hand, was a warlord. I found waging battles and killing enemies to be my calling. Rani hadn't even found hers yet!

Why would I ever need something from a simple girl like her?

After having won many battles, Grievous found it degrading to lose the Bothawui system to the Republic. He rendezvoused with a Separatist frigate and went straight to the bridge. Just as he sat down on the command chair, one of the droids told him, "General, we have word from our spies that General Skywalker had lost his astromech droid during the battle." Grievous found this information to be useful and began concocting a plan. He ordered, "Find any scavengers nearby the Bothawui system. I want to find that R2 unit so we can plunder its secrets! As for Skywalker, I think I have just the trap to use on him."

He soon contacted the spies on Milagro and told them to find a suitable astromech to serve as a spy for him. As they were showing the droids off to him – and he kept rejecting them – Grievous caught a glimpse of something moving across the viewscreen. He pointed at it and ordered, "There! On your right! I would like to see that droid!" Much to the chagrin of the astromech, the spies brought it forward to face Grievous on the screen. The general knew exactly who this droid was: R3-S6.

The spies said, "But, General, this R3 unit already belongs to someone. The owner is of neutral affiliation to the war." Though Grievous knew he would be stealing from the girl who once helped him, he growled, "I do not care! Reprogram it and then send it to me!" The spies obeyed and R3 tried to fight them as they led him away. As much as he hated the droid's attitude, Grievous couldn't help but feel a little guilty that he was doing this to Rani. However, he decided to ignore the feeling and focus on his plan.

R3 still tried to resist the spies to no avail. He was placed on a repair platform and was attached to several cords. While the Separatist spies were preparing to reprogram him, R3 sent out a distress signal. As soon as they knew what he was doing, they shut him off and began to work on him. Little did they suspect that one droid was watching the scene in horror.

Back on Jharona, Rani was busy making new crafts when an alarm went off. She rushed to her computer and found that R3 was sending a distress call before shutting off a few seconds later. She instantly knew that this meant trouble. The only way to find out was to go to Milagro herself.

She flew to the factory where R3 was undergoing repairs. She said to the Rodian in charge, "Hello. I've come to retrieve my droid, R3-S6." The head informed her, "I'm so sorry. Your astromech was beyond repair. It could not be saved. My sincerest apologies, miss."

Rani sadly nodded and said, "It's all right. I'm sure you did everything you could. Thank you." She walked back to her transport until she heard metallic footsteps. She turned to see a pit droid running up to her. The droid said, "Your astromech wasn't beyond repair. The mechanics were."

The girl looked at it in confusion and asked, "The mechanics?" The pit droid continued, "They were told to reprogram R3. He's…one of the Separatists now." Rani looked at the factory and deduced that there might be spies working as Republic mechanics. She returned her gaze to the droid and asked, "Do you know who ordered the mechanics to reprogram my droid?" The pit droid nodded as if afraid to say and then said slowly, "General Grievous."

Rani felt shock, anger, and betrayal all at the same time. Of course, she should've expected this from someone as ruthless as he was. She may have saved him from a watery grave, but that didn't guarantee that he would turn over a new leaf. Besides, he cared more about his war than any being, sentient and droid. That applied to R3 as well.

She ushered the pit droid back inside before speaking to the Rodian manager again. She asked him, "Would it be possible to speak with the mechanics who had R3 last? I'm sure that my droid only had a slight malfunction, nothing major." The Rodian complied, "Of course. I'll take you to them."

The head of the factory led her to the work station where the mechanics were. The Rodian said to the group, "Gentlemen, this young lady requires an audience with you. She says it concerns her R3 unit." Just then, his commlink chirped. He turned to go as he said, "Excuse me. I have to take this in my office."

As soon as he left, Rani turned to the mechanics and said, "My droid, R3-S6, only needed his holoprojector adjusted, not to be reprogrammed." The mechanics stood in stunned silence as she continued, "I know you're Separatist spies working for General Grievous. He requested my droid, didn't he?" One of the spies spoke up, "We told him that the R3 unit already had an owner! He wouldn't listen and insisted that it'd be reprogrammed and sent to him."

Rani knew she had to confront Grievous, but how could she if he traveled across the galaxy on his campaigns? Then, she got an idea. She told the mechanics, "Contact Grievous for me or I will expose you to the Republic." The spies turned to each other, weighing their options. Finally, they sighed, "We might not be able to reach him for quite some time." She took out a small disk and said to the mechanics, "Here's my calling chip. When you get the chance to talk to him, call me so you can put me through.

"Do that and I will not turn you in." One of the spies asked her, "I don't understand. Why won't you?" Rani shrugged, "I'm neutral. I'm not going to involve myself in a war that only tears the fabric of society and morality apart."

It took a while before the spies were able to get hold of Grievous in his lair. Just as Rani entered her house, the hologram button was beeping. She pressed it and the image of one of the mechanics appeared. "We finally reached General Grievous," he said. "Shall I put you through?"

Rani nodded, "Yes, please. Thank you for doing this. One more thing, though: don't listen in on the conversation I'm about to have with the general unless you want to go to prison." The mechanic complied and patched Grievous's transmission through.

The general's golden eyes slit as he said, "I assume you know?" Rani leaned forward on her computer desk and said, "There's a reason I stay out of the war: people and droids get hurt, especially those dear to me." Grievous clasped his hands together as he continued, "Let's think of it this way: your astromech served a great cause by being my espionage droid. I suppose you could say that he was on both sides of the war rather than none like you." "You knew he was my droid and deliberately stole him from me even after all I did for you!" Rani argued.

"Droids can easily be replaced," Grievous said. "Just ask anyone." Rani fumed, "Even droids have personalities like sentients. The same sentients you mercilessly take their lives from." The cyborg said, "It's all a part of warfare, Rani. You have to take lives in order to achieve victory. Such was the case with your little R3 unit."

Rani's eyes widened until they narrowed as she said in a low tone, "With someone like you, it's a wonder you're still breathing while others are no longer existing." She then turned off the hologram before he had a chance to say anything.

To Grievous, the last sentence Rani had said suggested that she was really saying "I wish I never saved you." This stung him in an unfamiliar way, but it also sparked his anger.

Forget about her. She wasn't worth my time or my rage. She was no fighter and she had intended to stay out of the war. She meant nothing to me…or did she?

Soon after I spoke with Rani, I began to have disturbing dreams. These nightmares were often of either Rani killing me or the other way around. During the ones where I killed Rani, I had this inexplicable guilt, a feeling I couldn't explain. The dreams shook me so much that I began losing battles due to loss of focus. It was because of this that Count Dooku decided to test me by bringing Jedi into my lair. Though I succeeded in killing the Jedi Knight, I lost my pet, Gor, at the hands of Fisto.

After Dooku had chided me for failing to kill the Jedi Master, I was still reeling from the loss of my roggwart. My doctor droid could be repaired, but Gor could not. It was then that a familiar name came popping into my head, one who I remembered went through the same thing with her droid.

Rani…