Grievous carefully made his way to a door that read in Aurebesh 'BACKSTAGE'. He disregarded the sign and entered the large room. He looked all around for any sign of the Separatist traitor, Lao Tapus. He saw various Rodians, Niktos, Twileks, and Ithorians, but no trace of the man he was looking for. Grievous mentally cursed, thinking he might've missed Lao. Suddenly, his golden eyes caught a glimpse of a person with reddish hair. Yes, it was Lao!

It's simple: just confront the traitor, arrest him, and take him to Dooku. Little did I know-

WHUMP!

When Grievous regained his senses, he saw that Lao was working with a Volpai. He slammed his fist on the floor when the two escaped.

An accomplice! I should've known that Tapus would have some help! Let's even the score now, shall we?

Grievous split his arms in half and raced through the door the two fugitives just went through. He ran down hallway after labyrinthine hallway until he no longer saw any sign of either Lao or his Volpai friend. In desperation, he walked down the nearest hallway until he found himself in an open area. He grasped his lightsabers to be ready when…

WHOOSH!

The general felt his right arms getting pulled and looked to see a cable with a magnetic hook being looped on his halved wrist. The same thing happened on his other arms and before he knew it, he was hoisted up in the air until he was three feet above the ground. He looked down to see Lao and his accomplice chuckling at the sight of the general dangling in mid-air.

Lao smirked, "Well, well, well. I think capturing a Separatist general will look good on my resume."

The Volpai shook his head, "Oh, no, no, no. I think killing him would be even better."

The man looked at his friend in shock and exclaimed, "Are you serious?! Count Dooku would be on my tail if he knew I killed his best general!"

The accomplice said, "Well, then, let me do the honors. You can escape the Separatists without any blood on your hands and I'll have one heck of a bounty for killing the great General Grievous."

Grievous's eyes narrowed as he growled, "You're a fool to think that you can get away with this."

The Volpai got out his gun and shrugged, "I'm just doing all of us a favor. I'll get the money, Lao gets his ticket to freedom, and you'll be put out of your misery." He pointed the gun at Grievous. "Any last words, general?"

Grievous closed his eyes and hung his head as he anticipated his inevitable demise. Just then, he heard footsteps racing up the hallway he had come from. His head shot up as soon as he heard Lao cry, "What-"

Before Lao could finish his sentence, the Volpai was thrown across the room by an unseen force. Grievous knew that technique all too well. After having witnessed it more than once, he saw that it was a Force push. He thought that Count Dooku or Asajj Ventress – who he had so very much despised - had come to rescue him, but he was absolutely stunned when he saw…

Rani?! It was Rani?! I was so shocked that I thought there might've been a Jedi or at least a Force-sensitive beside her. However, I could not deny the truth after what happened next.

After Rani had knocked out Lao with a long staff, she turned to Grievous and said uneasily, "I suppose you know by now." Grievous was in stunned silence until he blurted, "It was you?! It was only you?!" Rani nodded, "Yes." She stretched her right arm and used the Force to summon one of Grievous's lightsabers.

Grievous scowled, "Go ahead. Finish the job. It's what they would've wanted." Just then, the Volpai got to his feet and charged at Rani. She turned and used the Force to slam the alien hard against the wall. She faced Grievous again and said, "Is that what they would've wanted?"

Rani flew up to the cables that held Grievous and asked him, "How do you turn on a lightsaber?" Grievous scoffed, "Do I need to tell you this? You never told me you were Force-sensitive. For all I know, you could be a Jedi-in-training." Rani retorted, "I'm not a Jedi. Besides, I don't even know how to operate a lightsaber."

All the time she was talking, she was trying to activate the lightsaber. Just then, she pressed a button and a green blade ignited. Rani smiled, "Ah-ha!" As she was cutting the cables, Grievous sneered, "It seems like you do now." He grunted as he landed on his feet. When Rani landed and deactivated the lightsaber, she reached out to remove the cables from his wrists. Grievous, however, resisted and took off the cables himself.

Rani asked as he was tying the two fugitives with the cables, "So what happened?" Grievous shot off, "Does it matter?" The girl, feeling hurt by how Grievous was talking to her, only replied softly, "I just wanted to know why those men attacked you." The cyborg walked up to her and shouted, "Isn't it obvious?! They wanted me dead! The whole galaxy wants me dead! The only one who doesn't want me dead is you!

"If you wish to leave me alive, then I suggest you get out of my life as soon as possible. You're Force-sensitive, and I have no use for people like you. Understand?"

I felt like I was about to break down at that moment. The feeling only worsened when I saw Rani leave in despair and on the verge of tears. A mix of emotions brewed inside of me like a storm: guilt, anger, and – most prominently – betrayal. How could I have known that Rani was Force-sensitive? What if she was a Jedi – or one in training – this entire time? I was so conflicted by my strong emotions that I decided to remain focused on the task Count Dooku sent me to do. As soon as I brought Tapus to custody, I would have no more of this…and Rani.

Grievous sent the captured traitor and his accomplice to the authorities. He growled when he guessed that Rani had left his cloak unattended in the private box. Just as he neared his box, he heard a familiar sound. He leaned towards the door and found that it was Rani singing.

He heard her voice sing, "Grievous, I am humbled, for tonight I understand…your people's blood was never meant to coat the Jedi's hands. You've suffered great injustice, so have thousands before you. I offer my own sympathy, and one long overdue. I am sorry…Grievous, I am sorry…Hear my song and know I sing the truth…Although you were bred to fight…I reach for kindness in your heart tonight…and if you can forgive, and if you can forgive…love can truly live…And if you can forgive, and if you can forgive…love can truly live…"

Curse it! It was happening again! My heart leapt for her tune and my emotions soared. I just had to remember why I wanted to hate her so much. But, as I soon found out…I couldn't...

Rani continued to sing, "Grievous, I am frightened, but I'll use this one moment…to tell you that what I said was everything that I meant…Through countless years of agony that to your heart I send…Your broken heart I'll mend…Your spirit I will tend…I am sorry… Grievous, I am sorry…Hear my song and know I sing the truth…Although you were bred to fight…I reach for kindness in your heart tonight…and if you can forgive, and if you can forgive…love can truly live…And if you can forgive, and if you can forgive…love can truly live…"

The door then opened and Rani looked behind her in the seat. Grievous took a few steps forward with a lightsaber in his hand. Rani feared what he might do…until he tossed it on the floor.

One doesn't normally throw one's weapon just like that lest it's an important gesture. In this case, tossing a lightsaber aside meant three things: "I forgive you", "I trust you", and…"I love you".

Grievous extended his hand in a gesture of goodwill. Rani, now wingless, rose from the seat and slowly walked towards him. Though reluctantly, she took his hand. He said as he placed his other hand on hers, "I…I am...so sorry for the way I treated you backstage. I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. I regret that now.

"I was so angry because you were Force-sensitive. I thought that you were a Jedi in secret and that you were going to kill me at my most vulnerable. But…I must ask…are you…really?"

Rani shook her head, "No, I'm not a Jedi. There's more to the Force than the Jedi and the Sith." Grievous then asked, "Then how do you wield the Force if you don't use it to fight?" Rani smiled, "There are others who use the Force more differently than the Jedi and the Sith do. There are the Nightsisters, the Dagoyan Masters…" Grievous finished for her, "…and shamans."

When Rani nodded, the general continued, "There are shamans on my homeworld who use the Force. They practice magic and perform rituals with the aid of the Force." The girl suggested, "Well, if you want to, you could maybe take me to meet them." Grievous turned away from her in shame and answered, "You must understand: I cannot go back to Kalee. Not now. Not when there's a war going on."

Because she had revealed her Force-sensitivity to Grievous, she had to say what she felt – both physically and emotionally. She said, "I think there's something more to this, isn't there?" Grievous scoffed, "How would you know?" Rani answered, "I can sense pain and guilt in you, but I also sense a deep secret you're not willing to divulge yet. And, if I'm not wrong, you're longing for something."

Grievous sighed, "I suppose I do yearn to return home, but I cannot. Not now, not ever." Rani took pity on him and said, "We've been to the moon of Kipla, remember? That's close to being like Kalee, isn't it?" Grievous eyed her suspiciously and asked, "How do you know what my homeworld is like, anyway?" Rani shrugged, "I did my research."

"I suppose that's why you chose it as a meeting place a while ago," Grievous said. She nodded, "Mm-hmm. I don't suppose you'll be too busy with the war to go camping with me some time. My agenda's mostly clear." Grievous was surprised at the invitation. He wanted to accept, but how would he find the time if he had the war to attend to? The last thing he wanted to do was turn her down, so he had to find middle ground somewhere.

"How about this?" he suggested. "We'll have a sort of code for when either of us are available or want to see the other." Rani said, "Okay, I'm cool with that."

By the time I left Cliope with Tapus in custody, Rani and I had already devised a code consisting of three numbers, each closely resembling a syllable in a three-to-four word phrase. It was a while before we used this code, but by then, I had recently fled Saleucami and was tired from the whole ordeal. Wanting to take advantage of being under the radar, I decided to take up on Rani's offer to go camping with her …providing that she wasn't busy all of a sudden. When I sent her Code 342 ("Free. Are you?"), she sent back Code 657, which meant "Yes, I am."