Though stunned by this revelation, Grievous managed to stammer, "You…Are you dead?" Rani said as she landed on the platform, "Nope. I'm still alive." After he got back on his feet, he grabbed Rani's hand. Even though he couldn't feel anything, he felt a pressure when squeezing Rani's hand. This was a good sign.

He then fingered her wings and the pressure he felt from them proved that they were real as well. Grievous stepped back and asked, "How is this even possible? You didn't have wings before!" Rani explained, "I usually keep them absorbed in my body until I spread them. I'm half-human, half-Diathim."

Grievous remembered what she had said about the Captagues the day he crash-landed on Jharona. He asked, "So the wayward son and the angel…" Rani nodded, "They're my parents." The cyborg was now confused. Didn't he see an image of a human couple when he was wandering through Rani's house? Unless…

He mentally face-palmed when he realized that the couple he saw wasn't her parents. Still, he was amazed that she had Diathim blood in her. To him, it made her remarkable. No wonder she had a good and kind spirit, but what about her willingness to fight? He assumed it might've come from her human genes.

The general then suggested, "Perhaps your wings can be used to your advantage."Rani shook her head, "No, I prefer to keep my wings a secret. I only use them either when no one's watching or if it's absolutely necessary." Grievous said, "Like when you fell off the platform?" There was an undertone of guilt in his voice because he didn't want to admit that he kicked her off there in the first place. Rani nodded, "Yes."

Grievous looked at her wings again and asked, "How do your wings appear and disappear, even without ripping your clothes?" Rani shrugged, "I guess it's a miracle that my wings don't rip my shirt. But I can show you how I absorb and spread them." She turned her back towards him and the wings touched each other before folding into her body. Almost an instant later, her wings popped back out again, but at a faster speed than when they were being absorbed.

He exclaimed, "Incredible! Given your appearance, I never would've guessed that you'd be at least a fraction of an angel!" Rani remarked playfully, "Oh, as if my altruistic nature wasn't enough?" Grievous said, "No, no! What I simply meant was that I didn't think that you'd actually have some Diathim in you. How did your father manage to win over someone like an angel?" Rani shrugged, "Well, since you now know that I'm part Diathim, I guess I might as well spill."

Grievous didn't have any extra seats in his lair, so he and Rani decided to talk in the trunk of the Wanderer. Thankfully, she had some crates for foodstuffs and her essentials, so she and the general each sat on one of them. She began to speak, "I call my ship the Wanderer for a reason. Years ago, my dad was that sort of person. He traveled the galaxy for mere adventure and a bit of education on the side. My grandma always financed his trips…on the condition that he sold her goods on the planets he visited. Of course, he always bought more than he sold.

"One day, he was traveling over Iego when pirates ambushed him and his crew. Dad was the only survivor and might not have been if someone hadn't rescued him. When he woke up, he gazed up at the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. He later told me that he considered himself lucky that he had met a real angel. The angel who saved him was my mother.

"She told me that when they met, she fell for him. She said it was his eyes that attracted her. Her family had no gripes about her falling in love with a human, but she wanted to make sure that he wasn't falling for looks alone. She invited him to stay on Millius Prime for a while and he accepted. He called his mother to let her know he was safe and told her he was planning to stay somewhere for a while. He thought that since the moon where Mom lived was a sanctuary, he wanted it to stay that way.

"The days soon turned into weeks and Dad found it harder to leave Mom and her family. The more time he spent with them, the more he looked beyond their beauty and learned more about them. As much as he wanted to return to wandering about the galaxy, he found he loved Mom more than his travels. Besides her beauty, there was her fiery personality and her funny wit. She was sort of unorthodox for an angel. Despite her charitable nature, she was curious about what lay beyond her home.

"Dad wanted her to come with him, but she knew that if she were to venture far from the safety of Millius Prime, certain people would extort her and never let her return. He knew then that he faced a choice: resume adventuring or stay with Mom. The angels decided to give him a test to reveal his true nature. When it was done, Dad simply said that he wanted to have an adventure…with Mom. She and her family rejoiced because it meant Dad wanted to stay with her and begin a new life with her.

"Dad's family attended the wedding and spread the news only as a rumor. They left it at that in accordance to Dad's wishes. My sister and I were born and raised on Millius Prime until we became of age. We left our home before the Clone Wars started, so we simply chose our new homes out of choice. I went to Jharona and she went to…Naboo."

Grievous only sat in silence until Rani said, "You don't seem very upset with the fact that my sister's living on a planet affiliated with the Republic." The cyborg looked at her and said, "Rani, I must confess. When you allowed me to explore your house, I also took the liberty of looking through some of your files." Rani nodded, "I know." Grievous looked at her in surprise until she explained, "I noticed that one of the holodisks in my bedroom was upside-down. I was worried that you'd send a fleet after me if what you found in my files alarmed you."

The general said, "Well, I only looked at a data file with your list of contacts and two with some humans. How are they related to you, exactly?" Rani answered, "Well, the disk you had upside down was of my Aunt Rodessa and Uncle Clive, and the other one must've been of my sister." Grievous remarked, "Ah. No wonder she looked a lot like you. I'm supposing you and your sister have taken your looks from only one of your parents." Rani smiled, "My dad, mostly, but we have Mom's hair color."

Amazing! She was part angel and I didn't realize it! How she graced my life was beyond me. I was very lucky to have been saved by her at all. Still, was I even worthy of having an angel – if only a half one – looking out for me, even after all I had done – and was still doing – in the war?

They resumed their training on the ground this time. Grievous didn't want to accidentally knock her off the platform again. Rani had absorbed her wings so they would not get injured during the session. She did fairly good in her training overall, but she still had a long way to go. She and Grievous agreed that she would stay at his lair for a while until he had important business to attend to. The general didn't want Rani sleeping out in her transport, so he invited her to sleep in his chamber…provided that she wouldn't pull a sneak attack on him. Rani accepted the offer, though she knew that their trust in each other was still a bit shaky.

The first night they slept in the same room, Grievous couldn't sleep. When she heard him groan, Rani asked, "Are you all right?" Grievous turned on his bed to face her and said, "No. I cannot sleep." She asked, "Do you want me to help you?" He felt embarrassed to request for such aid, but since she was half-Diathim, maybe she could. He sighed, "Perhaps you could sing something so I could rest my eyes."

Rani sat up in her sleeping bag and began thinking of every song she knew. When she finally settled on one, she started to sing, "Shades of night are falling…as the wind begins to sigh…and the world is silhouetted 'gainst the sky…Blue shadows on the trail…Blue moon shining through the trees…And the plaintive wail from the distance…comes a-drifting on the evening breeze…

"Move along, blue shadows…Move along…Soon the dawn will come and you'll be on your way…But until the darkness sheds its veil…there'll be blue shadows on the trail…

"Move along, move along, blue shadows… Move along, move along, move along, move along…Soon the dawn will come and you'll be on your way, on your way…But until the darkness sheds its veil…there'll be blue shadows on the trail…Shadows on the trail…"

Grievous looked at her with weary eyes and said, "That is a beautiful song. I thank you for singing it to me." Rani smiled, "You're welcome. I'm glad I could help." Grievous smiled behind his mask before drifting off to sleep.

What had I done to deserve a girl like her? Surely, I had to go back to fighting against the Republic, but what of Rani, this gracious being? Would she still forgive me after I commit crime after war crime? Sweet girl, I wouldn't blame her for suddenly turning her back on me. With someone as vicious as I was, it was only a matter of time before she despised me. The question was, 'when'?