General Grievous: Prove Your Worth

by GeneralPen0412

Tired of General Grievous' failures and supposed incompetence, Count Dooku gives his supreme commander an ultimatum and one final chance to prove himself to the Separatists. When a chance transmission comes through will it be enough to save the CIS cyborg from certain impending doom or lead to his imminent destruction?

7. Chapter 7

Greetings to all.

Just want to say thanks to everyone who viewed the story, hope that you enjoyed it, because in the end that is all that really matters.

Anyway there is only one more chapter to go after this, so a lot to look forward to. Already started on my next set of Fanfiction's and I already have an idea for a few more one off short Star Wars story involving Darth Sidious and another revolving around Darth Bane. Let me know what you think!

Of course before any of that takes place, I would like to focus upon finishing this story.

So as they say: lets get to it.

Disclaimer: As always I do not own any of the canonical Star Wars Characters!

Chapter 7: The Battle for Kalee Part 4 – The Final Encounter!

The tent stank of burning woodpine and spruce blood mixed in with the unmistakeable stench of raw meat. The large campfire at its epicentre (the main source of light and its only real source of heat) filled the large canvas dwelling with a mild orange glow and a radiating warmth. It was getting dark outside, and although Kalee's climate made the nights relatively warm it never hurt to take necessary precautions. The canvas dwelling was constructed out of refined tree trunks and tanned hides. There was little furniture inside, just as series of cushions and animal hides to serve as seating and bedding, and the walls were decorated with simple, yet moderately dangerous (to anyone who didn't know how to handle them) instruments dedicated to the art of war.

The majority of these were weapons, but there were also the tartan garbs of Kaleesh kolkpravis, positioned upon a large ovular stone which had been rolled into the spacious dwelling with some difficulty. On another equally large stone, stationed in the other corner were several hollowed out skull masks, one mumuu and a number of smaller karabbac ones, neatly laid out to reduce the risk of damage that would have came if they had been left on the floor. All of this indicative of a race dedicated to the art of war, and more than a fitting dwelling for a Kaleesh warlord.

One of the girls was playing with one of his wives karabbac masks. Seizing it from its dwelling she held the oversized object in front of her face and began dancing around behind it, making odd crooning noises for the entertainment of her younger siblings. Quite a few of the adult females were watching this and laughing as well. Altogether there were forty individuals within this one dwelling but the families most important member lay at the heart of the foundation.

The only fully grown male within this shelter, he was crouched down, poised on the tips of his toes close to the edge of the fire. His golden eyes cast curiously in his daughters direction for a moment, taking in what she was doing but was unable to find the same level of elation that the greater number of his wives and other children found in it. After a moments lingering, his eyes turned back towards his main focus; towards the object now wrapped up in his arms. The infant was the latest addition to his already expansive family, freshly born the night before. Qymaen Jai Sheelal was a serious individual but even so that didn't stop a small portion of love showing as he gazed down at the new born with a twisted expression that any Kaleesh would have recognised as a smile. Gently he took a hold of a small loose portion of the hide now binding the infant and tucked it round him, making sure that his son was kept warm. The boy was small and fragile at the moment, but his father had high hopes for him. One day this boy would grow up to be a proud strong warrior like he had been, at least if he had anything to say about it.

"You're dreaming my love", a voice startled him from his private thoughts. He looked over as someone approached him from the side; the boys mother had come to sit by him. She smiled lovingly at him but to the untrained eye this was almost impossible to see, as the majority of her face was concealed beneath her karabbac skull mask, which even now in the safety and comforts of her own home she refused to take off, making her the only being in the room to do so. Crossing her legs underneath her she stationed herself parallel to him, her deep brown eyes staring warmly into his harsh golden ones. "You've been crouched here for quite some time now my beloved. Is everything alright?"

A smile split his features once again, she always did worry to much. "Nothing you need concern yourself about" her husband said reassuringly, his raspy tone made his voice sound much harsher than it actually was. "I was just dwelling on private matters, that is all".

This evasively but none the less truthful response seemed to appease her curiosity. "Yes we have both had a lot to think about recently" his wife agreed. She lent against him, resting her arm against his and her head upon his shoulder, he in turn rested the side of his head graciously against the dome of her skull mask as she reached out and gently cupped the head of the sleeping baby. She sighed contently but he remained stationary and silent. His eyes traversed the dwelling once again, a few of the other occupants had seen what was happening and were watching them curiously. A number of his wives, who were not tending to the needs of his children or else occupied by some small occupying task caught his stare and lovingly smiled in their husbands direction. The majority of the youngsters however seemed jealous of the fact that they were no longer getting the same amount of attention that their father had given them before the birth of their new baby brother.

'Silly children' Qymaen thought to himself quietly, they did not realise how lucky they were, even amongst this fabled of Kaleesh tribes. A deadly obstacle to the Huk occupation of Kalee, Qymaen had inherited and proven himself worthy to take up leadership of this small community upon the death of his father; he had been little more than a teenager at the time. Yet despite this he did had only officially taken up command several years later, when he was a fully grown adult, shortly after the death of Ronderu, mainly to keep himself occupied and divert attention away from his grief (though he was only partially successful in this endeavour). During that time the privileges of his station came to him, and as was a typical Kaleesh custom he took up several wives and sired a number of children with each and everyone of them. None of the children were over the age of twelve.

To prevent inbreeding the majority of these suitors came from outside Qymaen's native territory, a difficult transition at first though they quickly adjusted and came to be accepted amongst the gatherings of Grievous' blood family. His eyes turned towards the wife that was now leaning against him. This particular female had found the situation very hard going, gaining the wrathful stares from a few of the other local members when she first arrived. Even now a few people still maintained this hostility (save for the four young vestiges of her own offspring) though the majority of these were quietened once people learned just exactly who she was mated too.

If you were a stranger looking upon her at first glance there appeared to be no real distinction between her or any other of Qymaen's wives due to her trappings and styles being no different than any of the other Kaleesh wives. Upon looking closely however, one would realise that she was not as tall as any of the others and her frame appeared to be a lot less solid almost brittle in comparison. She was also a bit more bulbous in the chest area when compared to any of the others, and this was just one factor that highlighted the distinction between her and any of the other female members, not just of this family unit but also this whole tribe. Her hair also was lot long and bushy like any of the other females, but short and straight, tied up in a bun amid the tangles of her skull cap.

For Qymaen jai Sheelal however, these factors were of little consequence, irrelevant as such for she was as faithful and loving to him as any of the other females in his life had been.

Except perhaps for Ronderu!

Qymaen couldn't help it, his mind had wandered to her once again, as it had done every day since her demise. Whenever he had a free moment he always thought of her and all that they had done together. He thought of her ...

Ronderu, his companion through so many battles under Kalee's blazing sun.

Ronderu, whom he had shared so many nights with under the stars gathered around a camp fire.

Ronderu, the one person in this whole forsaken system that shared his ambitions and as such allowed him to connect with her in a way that she had not permitted anyone else to do so before him. A deep, mutual connection that transcended all forms across the physical plane.

Ronderu, who died alone, slain on the battlefield whilst he could do little more than watch helplessly, held up as he was and unable to get to her in time.

Ronderu, whom he had missed every day since her demise, whose lose he had never been able to come to terms with or ever truly fill, despite taking so many wives and siring so many children. All were insignificant compared to her.

Ronderu, who he grieved for everyday and would continue to do so everyday for as long as he should live.

Ronderu, the Kaleesh demi-god, the figure cloaked in myth, a figure who died as she lived, in mysterious circumstances. A warrior who had gone unavenged ...

... until now!

Qymaen didn't know what it was but the birth of his son seemed to have reignited a kindling within own his own heart, and from that had come a sense of clarity and understanding. No one here would ever equate the feelings he had once felt for Ronderu, and despite the lavishes of this lifestyle, it was not for him. He was a soldier, a leader of warriors not families. Yet despite this he loved each and everyone of the people under this dwelling, that would never change.

Now he knew what he had to do! The Huk menace was still out there, and something about this youngest infant had made him realise that. Their ever standing threat was still out there and until they were driven back, no Kaleesh would ever be truly safe.

"Beloved ..." something about it must have shown on his face, for his family was now staring at him in a curious manner. Even the children seemed to have realised that something was rattling their father. Qymaen jai Sheelal smiled contently, his body brisling with excitement as he stood up to his full, moderately imposing height, clutching the infant tightly to him for one last time, his face set and his eyes blazing with purpose.

"I have to go" he said simply. There was a flurry of movement as the females rose to their feet looking tense, and around them the children all stiffened.

"Beloved ..." the closest of his wives repeated as she too rose in unison with the others. He turned to her, gently holding out the infant. She took him graciously and after making sure he was alright turned back to look at her husband. Qymaen did not meet her stare not straight away, his firm almost evil stare was focused on the child in her arms, whose hide he readjusted and head he stroked one more time before finally turning to face her.

"Make sure he is ok" he said seriously to her. "Make sure that they are all kept safe ok?!" he turned to face the remainder of his wives making sure they all received the same instruction. They turned to gaze apprehensively at each other, still not quite sure what was going on.

"Is everything alright my husband" a voice asked apprehensively from the crowd, the voice of one of his Kaleesh wives.

"No, its not" Qymaen said seriously, "and it never will be. Not as long as the Huk menace remains at large". Turning away from his wives his gaze turned downwards until he found the closest of his onlookers. "Children, could you do daddy a big favour please and fetch my wargear!" The eighteen individuals old enough to understand this instruction gasped in astonishment, their faces lit up with elation. They had never been allowed to touch any of their fathers war materials up until now under penalty of severe punishment, now he was actually giving them permission to do it.

As one they hurried off to the right side of the dwelling, and began arguing among themselves as to which objects to carry over. By the time it took Qymaen jai Sheelal to relieve himself of his day old itchy hide trappings garnishing a Kaleesh leader they were all stood before him, holding out the various linens, cloths and sharp instruments that he required. Their mothers uttered out pleas of care but otherwise remained stationary. Qymaen bared his teeth, and his lips curled outwards in the animalistic style of a Kaleesh smile. "Daddy's little soldiers aren't you" he said proudly, chuckling as he saw the wide receptive smiles that greeted this compliment.

With his children's aid Qymaen jai Sheelal prepared himself for the task at hand. All was silent in the shelter as the alpha male was dressed in the garbs of war, aided by his children. The traditional arm bands and limb bindings were attached to his hands and feet, upon which he wore no gloves or sandals. He then pulled on a under tunic dyed red in the traditional colours of his tribe, over which he placed a spindly collaboration of worn hides and bindings which served as battle armour. After this he threw a long floor length cape over his shoulders and bound it in place. He inspected his weapons carefully, making sure each was tested and well set for the duty it had yet to perform. As he tucked the last of his swords back into its proper holdings Sheelal couldn't help but contemplate how good it felt to be dressed in his military garb once more.

"Uh ah" Qymaen shook his head as two of the remaining children held out the most important artefact's of his military attire, "What has daddy forgotten to do? What should every Kaleesh do before he dresses him or herself in the full attires of war?" Most of the children didn't answer but the two eldest offspring's hands shot straight up. He pointed to the girl who was practically jumping up and down to gain his attention. "You haven't offered up a prayer to the gods or the ancestors yet!"

The older Kaleesh chuckled humorously. "Indeed I haven't!" As Qymaen knelt down by the fire in traditional Kaleesh custom offering up a muttered prayer to the gods and ancestors requesting their aid and guidance in the coming battle, the girl smirked triumphantly at her brother, gleeful at the fact that she had answered her fathers question and not him. The boy looked nothing short of outraged but said nothing and just glared contemptuously at his father. Once finished with his offerings, Qymaen struck his chest with a balled up fist and then stood up, accepting his bone mask and the bindings that would form his skull cap from his children.

He didn't put them straight away however, turning instead to look upon his wives who were still watching his inquisitively. "You must make sure the children are safe while I am gone" he told them. "I shall make sure that enough kolkpravis are left behind to marshal an effective resistance should any problems occur."

"What do you mean? Qymaen what is this all about, why are you abandoning us like this?" one of the females asked, voicing what all ten of them were thinking.

Qymaen's eyebrows furrowed, "I am not abandoning you, I am seeing to my duty that is all". When none of them responded he chose to elaborate, "Do you remember those reports we received earlier, about the events that befell the Andula tribe?"

The females nodded and the children's fear intensified. The Andula, a band of Kaleesh closely affiliated to their own had been caught up in a Huk raid a few nights ago. The other tribes had been unable to reach them in time. The insectoids took a huge bounty in terms of booty and slaves, but otherwise it was a massacre.

"This is only the beginning" Qymaen jai Sheelal was saying darkly, "and it will not stop there. These soulless savages will not stop until every Kaleesh is either enslaved or lies dead at their feet. They want this planet and so far all we have done is cower and hide in the shadows. It is a game that cannot last forever, more insectoids are going to come, they will to invade and rive across every sector of this system like flies rooting round for a piece of Bantha dung. Unless we stop them ..."

He put the mask to his face, its bony sutures extended backwards behind his ears for support, as Qymaen gathered up the red strip and began to wind it around his cranium. "The Kaleesh will need a strong leader to held them stand against the invaders ..."

"Which is why you feel the need to go" one of the females completed for him.

He nodded stiffly "Who else better to lead them than one who has fought them off in droves before. As I said I will leave enough warriors to make sure this tribe is safe. Move into the Steppes if you have to but make sure you get away to a place where the insectoids cannot find you". He had finished winding the cloth around his head now and straightened upwards once more to show off his full intimidating pose.

"Aside from this every other man and woman capable to bear arms shall come with me. I will rally the other tribes to do so as well, journey across the whole planet if I have too but I will not put up with this trespass on our worlds any longer. We shall drive the Huk insectoids back from our world and then take the fight to them. Let us see how they like to feel intimidated, to be fearful for their lives, spend many sleepless nights walking about on patrol whilst our forces set up squadrons around their camp ready to ambush them. You hear that kids, soon Daddy will make sure that you need not be afraid of anything ... except me of course!"

"YAY!" the children cheered in unison, though they didn't really understand the full concept of what their father was saying. The females did however, and each one of them exchanged gracious smiles, each one happy to be the wife of the man who had finally realised what had to be done to stop the soulless ones from pilfering their lands. As one they marched forwards and exchanged the traditional farewell hugs and kisses with their husband.

"Good luck my dear"

"May the God's bestow their blessings upon you"

"If anybody can do this you can, beloved"

When the last female approached, the one clutching his new born son, she did not clasp him as he clasped her lest she disturb the baby. Instead she simply leaned up and (with some difficulty due to her own face plate) kissed the side of his skull mask. "We are all behind you in this beloved, in both body and spirit" she told him serious. "This will be a day long remembered in our tribe. The day when the great Qymaen jai Sheelal rode out to meet the Huk head on than risk cowering in the shadows any longer!"

This acknowledgment brought about an unexpected reaction from her husband whose muscles tightened, and body shivered as if he had been stung. "Don't call me that!" he said seriously. The eyes of everyone turned to gaze upon him once more, "Qymaen jai Sheelal has ceased to exist as far as I am concerned. I have seen to much suffering, felt to much pain, taken to many lives to be referred to by that title any longer. Besides ..." and his tone quietened some what so that it came out as little more than a deadly whisper "if any of the insectoids knew this name, they might be able to use it to track down our tribe. That way they would be able to use you lot to get to me, which is something that I do not want to happen". The threat behind this proclamation was very real and as such none of the other individuals dared to think that this statement was a cleverly versed lie on Qymaen's part.

He cared about them just enough to not tell them the full scale of that truth, and to go out to ensure the safety of their lives. Aside from this he felt no real connection or bondage to any of them. None of them equated to Ronderu and they never would, as far as he was concerned. Like the snake shedding its skin, it was time to let go of his past and look towards the future. Time to stop running from his grief, turn about and face it. Cast off the shackles of his old life, and embrace a new identity, one that not only acknowledged his suffering but also wrought it upon others.

His final parting to his family was with these words. "From this day onwards, call me ... Grievous!"

---

Grievous stood at the forefront of the Separatist entourage, a deadly force composed of both organic and mechanised components, unlike anything the galaxy had seen up until this point. In the whole of creation there was no one, absolutely no one, better to lead them than a commander composed of both of these aspects. Kalee was different than any other battle Grievous had fought on so far throughout the clone wars.

Here the principles that garnered the Republic and the Separatist forces, here at least there was just him and his army. An army now poised on the cusp of victory. A victory that would not only liberate the planet but also relieve it of the infestation that the presence of the hated Huk insectoids seemed to utilise. His people would at long last, finally be free from their control.

A Roggwart grunted behind him, but Grievous found it quite easy to ignore him. His eyes turned downwards and he found himself starring at the grass stalks poking upwards from between his taloned feet. He brought his mechanical hands up into view as well, what sounded like a sigh emanating from his vocal receptors.

Would they be free though? The Kaleesh had been on the cusp of victory once before, their planetary defences and their culture had seemed to be at peace, only for the insectoids to pull a cowardly trick that had cost the Kaleesh dearly. It had cost them everything: their homes, their way of life, and in numerous cases their lives.

Including them. He didn't know what made him do it, but for some odd reason as the army made its transition from Banen to this position, past the massacre at Stabolaz and the burnt out husk of what had once been Liberty bastion, he could not help but dwell on what had once been, of the life he had left behind. He'd had no contact with them since he left the tribe to serve as the IGBC's enforcer. He had witnessed their demise first hand, knew that the majority of his family had perished, he had witnessed this first hand, but since then he did not bother to find out what became of them, had not even attempted to find out if the credits he received from his pay were directed towards phantoms, nor did he try to find out if any of them still survived after he returned before the disastrous consequences on the Martyr.

His apparent death had left the Kaleesh vulnerable, even though Sk'ar his ever loyal companion had done his best to maintain and protect the Kaleesh culture, it had not been enough. Years later with the galaxy divided and at war the insectoids saw this as the opportunity to reclaim what had been denied them up to that point. They had got their colony worlds as a result of their deception but it wasn't enough. They wanted revenge on the race that dared to defy them, that chose to stand up to them rather than give in to what they saw as their inevitable right: the life of slavery.

Grievous had no contemplation about how much the Jedi or the Republic soldiers knew about this but that was not his concern. They had chosen to attack his people alongside the hated Huk enemies, just as many decades ago the profaned peace holders and the political figure heads that guided them had imposed harsh irreparable sanctions that decimated the Kaleesh populace. There was no curse in any language or action they could take that would atone for such misgivings, except perhaps their death at Kaleesh hands.

Would it be enough though? Once matters were resolved here how long would it take for the insectoids to realise their invasive forces had been decimated? How much longer would it take to assemble another army, and gain the approval of the senate in order too ...

No! he thought to himself, you are getting ahead of yourself here. You have already taken the necessary steps to insure that any senatorial issues shall be dealt with. Focus on the here and now!

Yes, as soon as TS-192 contacted him, he would be able to monitor any problematic issues imposed by the Senate, which he could then deal with accordingly. His problems were with the here and now! He turned his gaze upwards once again to look out across the vast landscape before him. Confined by the expansive peaks of numerous mountains the terrain stretched out before him, giving way from narrow gulley's and claustrophobic passageways to an more open expansive grassy plain, with numerous trees dotted across the landscape.

And there just visible upon the horizon, in the semi darkness brought on by the twilight was the apex of their destination. A tall, flat surfaced structure composed of weathered brown stone. The Shrupak Temple! The most sacred of Kaleesh monuments, an ancient construction dedicated to its name sake warrior who once dominated the Kaleesh tribes, many millennia ago, who successfully drove Sith invaders off of their world and subsequently led his people into a golden age of prosperity.

This site rested upon at the gateway to the Ausez steppes, beyond which lay the Jenuwaa Sea. It was here that the Kaleesh found a direct lineage to their God's and their ancestors, and now this site lay in Republic hands. Grievous' mind twisted his thoughts consumed with rage once more. It was a well known factor that the Republic had utilised this site as its primary base of operations of for the Kalee campaign, a campaign that had by all means been costly and well fought, even before his arrival.

The time had now come to finish that job. The mainstay of the army lay with him now, with smaller splinter groups sent off to deal with the other vestiges of the Republic's now meagre resistances. Thanks to Sk'ar's successfully interrogative methods Grievous knew what awaited his forces here at Shrupak. There were three Jedi, several Republic generals, Yam'rii military leaders and a Senatorial figure no less, who required his attention, alongside a token force of grunts and other marines now sparsely outnumbered by his own forces. These forces required his attention, and who was he to keep them waiting?

Without turning he spoke to the ever loyal figure now poised at his side. "Begin to unload the transports and tell the troops to form up! We make the rest of this journey on foot!"

---

Everything was quiet on the space front now, to quiet for TS-192's liking. Up here the last vestiges of Republican resistance had been totally wiped out, the wrecked out hunks of the two star destroyers lay as broken sarcophagi. Their charred out remains still trailed tendrils of smoke but a quick scouring by expeditionary crews confirmed little to almost no survivors. The two remaining Star Destroyers had been left intact and now travelled across the planets surface alongside their new compatriots of the CIS armada. Both as the tactical droid understood it had been awarded to the hulking brute Sk'ar testimonial to his triumph over his species enemies, and as such had been renamed, as the Blood Spiller and Vengeance's Blade.

The fact that his own accomplishments had earned him little more than a grateful word from the cyborg was of little consequence to the Fleet of Rightful Conquest's overseer, as a droid worldly possessions were of little consequence to him. In the wake of the victory there had been a series of small operations that demanded his attention. Scuttling the Republic ships and dealing with the survivors had merely been the easy part. After this status reports needed to be taken in order to initiate proper repairs and a head count was needed to determine just how many forces the Separatist forces had lost.

Altogether these had been trifling matters, despite the ferocity of the full scale battle the Separatist forces had done reasonably well, they had lost just under two tenths of their army and the majority of the cruisers had sustained only minimal damage, which droid engineer's and technicians were now seeing to. The Steph An Rul had required a tremendous amount of attention, and even now the tech pilots were not entirely sure if the ship would ever function properly again. Yet this was nothing more than a minor hindrance when the capture of the two star destroyers was taken into account, not to mention the amount of fighter ships that the cruisers contained.

These ships were being utilised by space trained battle droids and a series of Kaleesh initiates keen to learn the art of piloting and space battle. Under careful tutelage these cadets as they were now called were being put through their paces, and it was not uncommon to see vast squadrons of these new fighter pilots zooming across the variable vectors of space in plotted training routes and patrol lines. The site might have even pleased TS-192 if he had been capable of feeling such emotions.

Right now though the only thing on the T Series Tactical droids mind was how to occupy himself. There was only so many times you could patrol a planet before even a droids focal receptors anticipated the unmistakeable boredom behind such repetitive actions. The recent task Grievous had assigned to him had been carried out of course, was still being carried out as far as he was aware, but no further action could be taken until they received a response.

He contemplated as he stared out of the viewport at the black reaches of space and at the planet below him, that it wasn't just the task that was the difficult but the anticipation of waiting for such an order to be received and directed. The longer that took, he realised the more frustrated Grievous would become, and now was not a time to agitate the cyborg any further. It had taken him fifteen agonising minutes to reason with the droid overseer that the orders he was giving did not in any fashion contradict or clash with Dooku's primary directive. The ferocity of the exchange coupled with his own correlation of this claim had led the T Series droid to agree to Grievous' command, lest he wind up no better than any other individual that tended to cross Grievous.

It was just the waiting that was frustrating, that however was about to end. A loud beeping chime caught his attention and turning to see what the commotion was, TS-192 realised that his patience was about to be rewarded. "Establish a communication line, get me in contact with Lord Grievous immediately!"

---

They watched him from a distance, confident that it was safe to do so. His back was to them, the long black cape billowed out behind him as a small gust stirred it from the mouth of the gulley. Around them the rest of the army was now stirring, dismounting from the transport ships, kolkpravis and droid alike. With the journey time cut down, and their energies now conserved the Separatist combatants were already determined to end this conflict here upon Kalee.

Yet even so the majority of the fighters ignored the prosperities and the relatively peaceful tranquillities of the space around them. War served as a routine of life here in the Wild Spaces, and to put it quite frankly the Kaleesh were just keen to have someone shooting at them again. Already a small band of their comrades were off fighting the bastions at Beta and Gamma stations alongside their droid allies. Theirs however was the highest honour: they had been selected, they would serve under Grievous in the most highly charged act of the campaign the liberation of Shrupak itself.

Together they would free it from insectoid control under the leadership of a true leader, their real leader, a Khagan.

Already the forces were mounting up, forming vast battalions so vast in number that they stretched the entire width of the valley opening. Warriors of all ages and origin were forming up preparing themselves. No vehicles would accompany them on this endeavour, just the Roggwart's. No further harm would come to the Kaleesh temple, if they could help it, and Grievous forces were determined to make sure this did not happen.

To almost everyone there, this was regarded as their highest priority. The two exceptions were Grievous himself who had another matter to sort out before he would risk advancing his forces. The other was a small band of Kolkpravis, a unit of six Kaleesh in all, four broad shouldered males and two slightly less muscular females. They stood isolated from the rest of their battalion, about twenty eight metres away from where Grievous was stood. They were watching the cyborg with intense curiosity, speaking to each other in hushed tones.

"Do you really think its him?" one of the two females was saying.

"It must be" one of the males replied. "We have seen him fight, and the way he rallied the forces at the start of this offensive. Do you remember the stories mother used to tell us? Who else could perform such a feat, no one else within living memory could ever fight like that."

"The Jedi could" another male reasoned.

The rest of the band glared at him, but he did not turn away. "I'm just saying is all. After all the legends are exaggerated! How can we be sure ..." There was reason in his words and so the others exchanged uncertain stares. Finally, one of the other males, the tallest and burliest male, made a deep grumbling noise in his throat whilst shaking his head.

"We can't be sure Dunsan, none of us can, but you were there weren't you? As Luran said you heard the proclamation he made at the start of this new offensive didn't you, we all did! Sk'ar himself has admitted that there is only one person in the whole history of his existence that has managed to best him in single combat like that. No one else has even been able to so much as scratch him, in all the time that we have known him, and believe me many have tried."

"I know that Rignan" the other man admitted "I know that, it's just that ... well ... It's been such a long time ..."

"Who else could unite the Kaleesh tribes in such a fashion?" the one named Rignan yelled rounding on his companion, speaking just loudly enough to draw the attention of a few onlookers. "Who else could have led an army smaller in both number and equipment against a vastly superior horde, a horde which I might add up until now has marched across this sector virtually unopposed. Is there anyone else you can think of who would be so bold as to unite them under his banner once again and find a way to outmanoeuvre them. Who else given its current legacy, would be so brave or foolhardy enough to take up the title of Khagan?"

The others had no answer to this. They stared at each other intently, seeming to accept the truth behind these words.

Finally Dunsan spoke but when he did it was with a hesitant, pointed whisper. "I understand that Huron, I understand completely. It's just that ... it's been so many years since we have had any hope like this. For all of these years we have grieved, each and every one of us has. We thought he had been eviscerated, yet still we clung on, held onto each other, united by these ... these false hopes. What if, what if this turns out to be another one of those disappointments? What if we approach him about this, and it - it turns out we got it all wrong?"

Another dramatic pause ensued once again, and even in their bone masks it was impossible to mistake the vestiges of doubt which crept over a few of their faces. Rignan was not one of them, he did not twitch uncomfortably or move a hand to clasp his mouth between his fingers like a few of the others did in a gesture of consideration. He turned to gaze at the younger a male with a fierce set determination now gleaming in his eye.

"No" he declared fiercely. "No, I do not think that is the case Dunsan, I don't. If we confront him and it turns out that we are wrong then so be it, but until then I will carry on believing it. You were all a lot younger than I was back then, you were only a baby when he left, so you never saw the hunting lessons, nor did you see the fierce amount of resolve he issued amongst the soldiers of our tribe, you do not remember the training sessions. I do, I was there, I watched him, I saw him train, watched him fight, saw it with my own eyes".

"I understand your concerns Dunsan, like I said you were tiny at the time and would not remember him. I know that it is him, I just know it is. Mother thinks so too!" he added poignantly, catching their attention. "That is why she and the others have remained close by all this time. He may have sent them and all the others away, without recognising them, in order to keep them safe but they are not such cowards as to run abandon the playing field. They do not run and hide like prey does from a hunter. They have been trailing us ever since always lurking and watching from safe proximity. I have been in contact with them, almost daily in fact and I have spoken with them in regards to such matter. They think the same way I do they, they are as certain I am. The moment they heard declaration they accepted it, just as much as I have!"

The others had no retort, Rignan was the eldest of the group, the only one who had any potential of remembering the man that now apparently hid behind the mask. They turned around once more to look at Grievous, the cyborg was still standing some distance away his back to them when Sk'ar approached. The metallic figure turned and exchanged a few words with his oversized comrade who pointed towards an isolated transport where a few bands of droids were standing.

Nodding Grievous made to move off. He had barely taken a step when perhaps sensing the presence of eyes watching him, he turned to look over at the group. The group stiffened, watching him tensely not sure how to react. Next to him Sk'ar noticed where Grievous was looking and a small grunt dipped his head in the units direction. Turning back to his master he muttered something which drew these cyborgs attention. The group were to far away to hear what the two commanders were saying, but whatever it was it must have been of major importance.

Grievous proceeded onwards, marching to his destination in several big strides Sk'ar right behind him, yet even so the cyborg did cast a conspicuous glance over one shoulder. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, but Rignan and his siblings couldn't help wondering perhaps if the cyborg had recognised any of them. If so, then it was unlikely that they would find out, not with the looming prospect of battle ahead.

"What should we do?" one of the sisters asked, turning to her eldest brother. "Should we confront him?"

The eyes of the small family turned towards Rignan, who stood watching Grievous with a meticulous intensity, his eyes never wavering from the cybernetic commander. His right hand extended outwards to clasp the hilt of the Lig blade still strapped to his side, and on his back the kolkpravis felt the weight of the Shoni spear that he often wielded in conjunction with single handed blade.

Rignan sighed resignedly, whispering words to his siblings that had once been drilled into him, so very long ago. "No. For now we must put it aside. Once the battle is over and Kalee is ours again, we shall allow ourselves to deal with the situation at hand."

---

With a resounding pop the shuttle dropped out of hyperspace coming to bear a short distance away from the asteroid field of the Mid Rim sector, known as the Scatterin. It was an unusual destination to find a space craft even at the best of times, and in what may have appeared to be a foolish / foolhardy manoeuvre, depending upon the interpretation, the shuttle made directly for the tightly packed space debris. The ship was of fairly large proportion, big enough to accommodate several people and could easily have been mistaken for the standard Nu Class attack shuttle it had once been, that was if you didn't take the new paint job and the extra turret mounts located at various intervals across its hull into consideration.

The spacecraft's interior had likewise been modified. Instead of troops the main cargo bay held a vast personalised armoury, whilst some of the smaller compartments had been outfitted with the luxuries and stations beneficiary of long interstellar travel. The cockpit itself had required the biggest modification however, the controls had been re-adjusted and outfitted to alleviate a single pilot and at this precise moment this was where the ships owner was stationed. He sat forward in the drivers seat, tapping at the computer screen so as to take manual control in a refined effort to reach his destination steering required a more hands on approach. His thick set frame resembled that of a tall humanoid, but his features were impossible to discern, clad as he was from head to foot in black and white plated armour. Upon his cranium he wore a helmet of similar design to an ancient Sith armament so that it resembled nothing short of a hollowed out humans skull. There were no lights on in the cockpits, save for those provided by the computer screens / terminals and the stars outside, but then again, the darkness was this persons ally.

He steered his ship through the asteroid nebula with relative ease, weaving in and out amongst the constantly shifting space rubble with the proficiency of one who had made the journey several times before. Emerging into a small space amongst mid sized asteroids and smaller comets, he angled the ship and adjusted the coordinates, making for a particularly large moon sized mound of mud coloured rock. He reached absent mindedly for the control panel, tapping a button that he knew would establish a communication link. Not once did he take his eye off the scenery outside. "CX1G" the hollowed voice emulated from behind the helmets vocal simulators, "open the bay doors, and prepare the landing pad for my
arrival."

"Yes master" the voice that responded was simple and mechanical, belonging to one would assume to be a female droid. The spacecraft's velocity slowed as it approached the moon sized oval, a faint blue shimmer at one of the tunnel entrances signified the deactivation of a shield of some kind. Making for that particularly dark looking enclave the ships decreased even more, entering an almost steady pace as (a few metres within the cave system) a large set of heavily black painted blast doors opened to reveal an illuminated passageway. These doors closed promptly in the ships wake, to anyone outside it looked as if this corridor simply led to another dead in the asteroids mass of tunnel systems. The shuttle itself navigated the now mechanically refined tunnel it had just entered, making for the truly majestic treasure which lay deep in the heart of the asteroid. As the tunnel reached its climax, it opened out into a large spacious cavern upon which sat a spacious landing platform.

Steering his ship towards it, the pilot engaged the ships docking procedures and set the landing gears down. Rising from his chair, he made for the exit ramp, not bothering to switch off the computer systems which began to deactivate themselves automatically. The ascension ramp opened as he approached, and as he descended several pit droids made their way forwards at a run. Chirping and miming to each other, they carried and dragged several repair nodules and spare part canisters towards the outlying shuttle. The figure ignored them, as he marched past, his heavy boots grinding against the stone flagged surface, black undertunic streaking out behind him as he made for the platforms solitary exit at a heavy stride.

He paused momentarily as the door swung open to reveal a simple glassed elevator shaft, its blue tinted lights casting over a reflective surface suitable enough to hold five or six people at any one time. At present the only occupant was a green plated protocol droid, which stood waiting attentively for her creator to come by. "Greetings master" she said with a courteous bow, side steeping so that he could take up the space right next to her. "It is good to see you alive and well at the present time. I take it that your most recent mission was a complete successful?"

The man merely inclined his head, "As good as can be expected, when dealing with the Hutt's I suppose!" he admitted. "Tell me, has the confirmation of my pay come through yet?" he inquired now looking directly at the droid for the first time as the lift doors slammed shut behind him.

The droid didn't answer him straight away, jarred slightly as the mechanisms sprang to life and the lift propelled itself downwards at a rapid descent, it took her a moment to regain her composure. "Woah, woah my apologies master" she said after she managed to retain her balance "it seems that I am still not used to these transport mechanisms, I shall upgrade myself accordingly". When he did not respond, but simply stared at her blankly she added, "In response to your question, the most recent updates indicate a negative response on that front. The beacon implanted within the package indicates that the Hutt families have been notified of your success, but so far no response or recognition has been received."

"Huh!" her master snorted irritably, thick black gloved hand tightening into a fist. "Damn Bantha sluggers. Well, I can't say that I am overtly surprised. What I will say is that they had better come up with the goods soon. It took me a lot of time and effort to kill that ensign and secure that information for them. I may not be a ruthless a bounty hunter, CX1G but I don't like being squandered." The droid notice how his fingers of his free hand coiled threateningly around the grip of his blaster pistol as he said this.

CX1G knew him well enough by now to realise that this was just the weariness and anger talking. In truth he had no intention of crossing arms with the Hutt's. As some of the richest and most powerful beings in the galaxy the Hutt's had conspicuous ways of making enemies disappear, and her master served as just one such mechanism in this regard. She knew that it had taken a lot of work, but in time he had proven to be such a powerful resource that in the end he had been able to approach the Hut's and in exchange for a vast fortune was able to set up shop here, deep with the reaches of the most forsaken landscape in the Mid Rim territories. As part of the deal, her master repaid their 'kind hospitality' with an annual rent and taking up the occasional job for them. In his profession it paid well to remain on good terms with the rulers of Hutt space, and unless he his mind had gone completely unstable, which the bio-readings indicated it hadn't then it was not worth making idle threats to individuals that would ensure that you ran away for the rest of your life.

"Oh I quite agree Master" the droid was saying, as the elevator now emerged from its cavernous confines into a spacious cavern which revealed the heavily constructed space station, which now dwelt in the heart of the asteroid. "However please do not let your current state affect your reasoning, I am sure that the Hutt's will come through shortly. Whilst we are waiting is their anything that I can get you? Does your armour require seeing too, or have any of your disguises been damaged?"

Her scans showed him breath a soothing sigh which allowed his breathing and heart rate to resume a more relaxed composure. "No not this time CX1G" he breathed, a sound of relief emanating from his helmets speech receptors. "Just draw me up a bath would you, heaven knows I need one. Oh and uhm" he fished around in the pocket of his trousers, next to his white padded belt. "See to it that this gets filed away in my trophy room won't you!" He tossed her a small chunk of turquoise armour plating. Thin, delicate and barely more than twenty centimetres wide, the shard was burnt out around the edges but still intact enough to make out the serial number etched across its surface.

Another grizzly testament to a successful bounty mission.

"It will be noted and catalogued along with the other trophies master" CX1G reassured him. At long last the lift reached its destination and came sputtering to a halt. "Excellent" came the simple reply as the man stepped out from the confining capsule into a much more spacious accommodation, CX1G following close behind.

The bounty hunter stretched, alleviating his aching muscles and yawned so loudly that anyone would think he had just woken from an overtly extensive hibernation. He traversed the lower levels of his home establishment, taking in the sites and smells of these peaceful surroundings. The station was heavily oversized, fit to adequately hold several hundred people if he, the overseer so desired it. At present though, he was the only real life form to be found upon the whole of this station, the pit droids cleaning and maintaining his craft didn't count and though CX1G kept things operating here she was no sentient being. He often liked to keep things this way, his was a solitary existence, except for those few occasions when he was not working and decided to otherwise entertain himself.

He descended into the lower most sections of the battle stations vast structure, this particular chamber was his most favourite cavern. The doors opened to reveal his personalised armoury. The room, which was several hundred metres wide and tall, was stacked to bursting point with tables and glass cabinets each one neatly holstering battle rifles, plasma pistols, combat weapons and just about any other type of weapon which could be thought of. Dotted here and there amongst the foil, a vast selection of military and political garbs, some of which were of Republic and Separatist origin lay fully assembled upon mannequins, ready to be taken down at a moments notice.

The figure chuckled to himself as he surveyed this vast horde. His name was ZuI Aras, he was a highly paid bounty hunter and spy, not just for the Hutt's but for many key and influential figures across the galaxy. He had fine tastes, and as this station demonstrated enjoyed the lavishing's of a successful lifestyle. Although many of these weapons were scavenged or acquired through some otherwise illegal means, he cared for everyone of them (or rather CX1G did so on his instruction) making sure that they were well maintained and primed. His was perhaps the perfect testimony to just how resourceful and prepared a bounty hunter actually should be. The fact that he often tended to take on high profile and often risky missions that most normal bounties hunters often tended not to ensured that each weapon saw action on a regular basis, enabling him to keep up this extravagant livelihood.

At the other end of the weapons array was a massive computer terminal built into the asteroids otherwise blank undecorated wall. Striding towards it ZuI placed his side arms delicately upon the spindly tables. CX1G who was still following in his wake broke off her pursuit just long enough to straighten them out, whilst her master continued forwards unabated. Upon reaching his destination the thickset man paused just long enough to turn on screens computer systems. As they whirred online he finally decide to allow himself the luxury of alleviating himself from his helmet. It came off with a small hiss and he stationed himself in one of the chairs before the terminals setting, finally revealing his face to the twilight atmosphere.

His features were harsh and eerie, almost terrifying. If you had not known him you might not have recognised him for his complexion was not one to be found at regular intervals even across a galaxy of trillions. Then again very few people had the same type of origin that he had. ZuI Aras was a Dathomirian / Umbaran hybrid, he was slightly taller than the average sized individual for the later half of his parent species, at around one metre eighty three tall . His name in fact means 'the Half Born' in native Dathomorian. In his early thirties he was still at the peak of physical condition as demonstrated by his heavy muscles. His facial features were more or less completely Umbaran, his bald head resembling near human proportions but with more sharply defined features than any humans or Dathomirian's for that matter. He had strikingly pale blue eyes and a prominent chin, which bore no stubble but was none the less well defined by the series of thick tattoos which traversed his face making it appear even more like a skull. These markings were jet black, which contrasted neatly to the opaque bone like skin, and were identical to the markings bore across his helmet, the colour schemes even matched.

Born to a Dathomirian nightsister ZuI had spent his early years and childhood raised on Dathomir, amongst the nightbrother's. There he learnt harsh realities of life out here on the outer rim. You had to be creative, uncompromising and brutally strong if you wanted to survive. So it was that he had learned how to fight, to prepare himself for the harsh tough life style that his home world demanded. Though ridiculed and often bullied relentlessly, ZuI had still proven himself to be a capable fighter, on more than one occasion. Such was his efficiency that it had been able to earn him his own set of Sith tattoo's, making him one of the few non-Dathomirian's to actually do so. Yet even so and despite this tremendous achievement, life on Dathomir had still not changed much, and given time it had somehow found a way to get even worse.

Every year a band of nightsister's including ZuI's own mother brought a series of initiates to the nightbrother camp where the young teenagers / early adults determined if any of the males were fit enough to serve as their mates. Now in his mid teens ZuI found himself on the end of ridicule of many of the females, as well as the men. He had gotten by at first due to his mothers sheer presence, but even so she had little influence amongst the higher officials of the clan including the witch mother Talzin, and so the mockery continued. When one particularly obnoxious female wouldn't keep a civilised tongue, even his mothers insistence could not temper his rage. Finally all the built up tension came full throttle and he snapped. Punching the girl from behind a brawl ensued, harsh comments and further blows were exchanged in which he learnt of his special immunity to the vast arrays of Dathomirian magic, protected no doubt by his hybrid origin.

The girl was intrigued enough at that point to offer to become his mate, which due to the harsh comments earlier he scornfully rejected. Spurred on by vengeance and blood lust the fight resumed, eventually culminating in the death of young adept. Killing the girl had been bad enough but to do so in front of the entire nightbrother clan and the witch mother, on a planet where females served as the dominant individuals, had done nothing short of earn him an automatic death sentence. Only the assistance from his mother had saved him, ZuI realised that now, making their way through the forest she led him to a particularly remote and isolated location, where, gods knew why, it just so happened that ZuI's father a frequent off world visitor to Dathomir, was waiting with a space worthy craft.

Despite fierce amounts of protest from both her child and her lover, ZuI's mother had refused to accompany them and eventually the two males were forced to abandon her, ZuI could do little more than watch as the ship took off leaving her behind at the mercy of the witch mother and her clan. They never heard from her again. Remorseful and repentant ZuI spent the remainder of his adolescence on Umbaraa. There he found a small measure of acceptance due to his appearance, and it was here under his fathers tutelage that he had been trained in the art of secrecy and infiltration, taught to utilise the world around him, to wield patience and guile as efficiently as any hand held weapon.

Thus it was that the young fighter became a full blown spy and assassin. Once his training was completed, ZuI decided to turn his lessons into a profession and utilise these skills to his advantage. So he became a bounty hunter. Though not as legendary as figures like Cad Bane, Aurora Sing or even the late Jango Fett he never the less had earnt himself a reputation as a man who took on high profile missions and as someone who had a tendency of getting the job done.

Setting his helmet down to one side ZuI noticed that a small side table had been placed on one side next to his chair, upon which lay a neat selection of simple sweets and snacks, alongside a large bottle of his favourite wine. He chuckled harmoniously to himself revealing several pointed sharp teeth as he set about sampling some of the delicious appetisers. "You spoil me CX" he called out hastily, amongst a mouthful of food. The droid flustered, if that was even possible but ZuI found it easy to ignore her comment which was drowned out as the sounds of the computers interactive AI, which had finally come to life. Crisp and clear, the simulated female voice offered her own greetings to her creator and started asking for directive.

"Have there been any updates on our latest endeavour?" ZuI inquired, taking a swig of wine from the glass now held in his hand. A second later the interface called up a profile, showing a picture of a well saturated human male in his early forties, wearing a set of turquoise plated armour. A red cross cut across the picture obscuring the mans features. "Affirmative! The subject has been terminated. The Hutt's send you confirmation for the arrival of their package" ZuI laughed at this, as he thought of the little trophy he had sent specially to the Hutt councillors to confirm his success. "The promised bounty of twenty thousand credits has now been transferred to your account." A second image appeared on the lower half of the screen, registering the bank credits, and recent intake in stock.

"Excellent. Well then that is that little matter resolved" ZuI said. Toasting himself, he drained the rest of his glass and then promptly ushered CX-1G to refill it. "So then" he asked casually, as he leant further back in his chair resting his feet up against the computer unit, "the only question is what to do now? Tell me are there any other bounties out there worthy of my attention? Tell me, what assignments are currently labelled in the data file?"

"Accessing bounty target files. Checking status ..." the computers announced as she used his details to tap into the limitless systems of the guilds interface, accessing a seemingly endless list of potential targets. She calculated the profiles at a phenomenal speed, weighing up each profile against his own in a matter of nano-seconds. Several of the files sifted off from the main stream, showing portrait photographs of individuals which had a particularly large number of credits listed against their names.

"A number of these bounties, match the statistics of your profile. I shall compile them into smaller files for you, which you can browse at your leisure". The hybrid dipped his head as the droid carried out its task. "Also your assistance has been requested on a small number of governmental systems in the outer and mid rim. Governors and politicians from a total of twelve systems have sent official requests, amongst other things they require data collection and the assassination of potential rivals".

"Huh" ZuI snorted, "greedy low lives, always seeking others to do the dirty work for them. Still, I shouldn't complain, that's the kind of work which provides men like me with a lively hood". He looked over his shoulder at CX1G who stood by considerately as he laughed at his own, though the droid was unable to comprehend this statement in the same manner that he could.

"I will add them to the list, alongside the other potential missions, Master. Should you require any further data details on any of the algorithms I shall be more than happy to assist you" the computer offered. Eyes closed and only half listening, ZuI simply nodded contently, caught up as he was in the luxury of having a belly full of wine and relaxing in a comfortable chair. It wasn't until the computer systems spoke again that he was thrown off balance and drawn out of his stupor.

"In coming transmission" ZuI's eyes shot open. "Master you are being hailed on a live frequency. Codes match that of Confederacy design"

"Confederacy ..." ZuI said, his voice sounded intrigued. He sat up, put his glass to one side and then stood to study the frequency for himself.

"Affirmative" the droid reconfirmed as CX1G watched contently in the background. "The data file indicates that the person involved is requesting you personally, origin of transmission is the Kadok region of the Wild spaces."

"The Wild Spaces, hmm" he said considerately, "now this could be interesting. I may take a neutral standing in this war but the Separatists do have a tendency to pay well. On the other hand they often tend to be no better than when dealing with the Hutt's, the number of times I have had to wait for them to come through. And the majority of those battle droids they saw fit to aid me with proved to me little more than cannon fodder rather than efficient soldiers" he reminded himself, weighting up the options.

"Uhm Master" CX1G said stepping forward slightly, "if I might be so bold. Perhaps it would be best to find out what type of mission this is before deciding to decline or accept it. That way all matters could be considered, the Separatist do have vast resources and if necessary I am sure they will be more than happy to provide appropriate assistance in the proposed transaction".

ZuI stared at her blankly for a moment, making the droid quiver wondering whether she had said the right thing, then his face broke out into an amused smile. "Always the voice of reason aren't you CX1G" he acknowledged making the droid 'fluster' again. "How lucky I am to have a protocol droid such as you at my command. You are right though, I suppose there is no harm in investigating the matter a little further. Computer patch me through!"

The A.I. bowed to his wishes at once. Across the cavern the lights dimmed and the main screen itself went blank, diverting all available power towards the small projection terminal set into the terminal. Lights lit up around the floor at ZuI's feet so as to create a perfect likeness for the recipients. With a small buzz the projection unit shimmered, and then came to life producing an oversized image of what appeared to be a droids upper body and torso. ZuI stared at it mildly.

"ZuI Aras, I presume?" the droid inquired.

"Yes" the man acknowledged, "and you are ... ?"

"My specification number and identity is not import" the droid admonished waving an arm about irritably, the other was tucked behind its back. "I am merely a representative of the Fleet of Rightful Conquest, set out on a mission for the benefit of the Separatist armada".

ZuI remained silent for a short time, before responding with a casual shake of his head. "Well seeing as how I have never heard of the Fleet of Rightful Justice or whatever you call it I don't see much point in your statement?"

"You are not meant to" came the emotionally blank reply "I was merely sent to contact you at the behest of my supreme commander. He wants to know if you are interested in taking up an exceedingly high profile mission. Rest assured I have already been made aware of your high standings amongst the bounty hunters guild and I can assure you that this mission is exceedingly life threatening."

ZuI continued to stare blankly up at the projection, contemplating every that had just been said. He wasn't entirely sure whether he like the droid or not but at the end of the day that didn't really matter. It was just a machine, a culmination of computer wiring and durasteel set to carry out its task, if not for the profession it was ultimately no different than CX1G was or even the artificial intelligence built into the computer systems. One thing was clear, he liked what the droid had just said. "Dangerous and life threatening aye! Hmm, sounds like my kind of mission!"

"I take it you are interested?" the droid inquired.

The Umbaran hybrid tapped a finger to his chin considerately. "I might be ... just tell me one thing" he asked pointing at the droid. "This commander of yours, why does he want to hire me for this mission. Why not someone of more ... suitable" he spat, spitting out the word like a disdainful food morsel. "Why not request the help of someone more talented, like say: - Cad Bane or Aurora Sing for example?"

"He said and I quote 'that their loyalty is only goes as far as the credits are concerned. He needs someone who is efficient, and will carry on a task through to the end'. This is why he is requesting your assistance in person. Of course should you wish to turn down the offer in all likely these individuals you have listed will be contacted and the mission will go to one of them instead."

ZuI's lip curled. "No" he said quickly, shaking his head "no that will not be necessary!" An opportunity to take up a mission deemed unworthy for someone like the ruthless Cad Bane or the failed Jedi Aurora Sing. This was definitely a temptation worth pursuing. What was more the person behind the task had asked for him by name, his standing among the Separatists must be rising. "Tell your commander, that they have peaked my interest. Since you are as you put it a representative, I assume that I need to speak to this commander of yours at hand. If that is the case then I would like to do so if you don't mind."

The droid nodded. "Affirmative. Switching you through now!" It turned off to the side, casually extending one hand to touch some unknown mechanism. His image zoomed off to one side in a blur, to be replaced a moment later by a slightly more refined image of two further individuals. Like before only the head and torso of two vastly intimidating figures was revealed but it was sufficient enough to determine the differences between them. One was tall and seemed to be built of nothing but muscle. He wore no clothing save for a broad eagle shaped helmet across his head, and a long cape which billowed out behind him. His face was unfriendly and even though it appeared neutral, as far as ZuI could tell, it gave off the impression of a particularly disdainful being. The other figure shorter, and mechanical, his expression almost impossible to discern from beneath his skull shaped mask. Yet ZuI had seen and worked for this figure enough to times to instantly recognise who he was.

"General Grievous" he said with a pleasant smile. ZuI felt himself relax somewhat as he beheld a being that he could both sympathise with and acknowledge in a kinsman like manner, owing to the difficulties brought about by their hybrid / cybernetic nature. "It is an honour to hear from you again. Although I take it from your presence that this is not to be regarded as a social call".

"It never is, and I have no time for your jokes ZuI Aras, so I suggest you cut them to a bare minimum" the cyborg said simply, his harsh metallic voice portraying no level of amusement. Next to him the sentient beings face twisted into a dark evil expression which made him look even more like an animal than a sentient. ZuI's skull like face twisted with amusement.

"Of course, no offense was intended. Whose your friend, if I may be so bold to ask?" he said gesturing at Sk'ar, whose expression tightened even more.

"Insolent whelp!" the burly Kaleesh spat. A sharp, painful nudge in the ribs from Grievous quietened him down.

"It is not important" Grievous stated matter of factly, "as I said, I am not here to exchange pleasantries with you, ZuI Aras. Unlike you at the moment I am a busy man, with a battle to win and a planet to conquer. I am only taking time to contact you myself because I require your assistance in an important matter, and I am willing to pay you well for it."

ZuI folded his arms across his chest. "My statement is the same as always. I may be a neutral figure in this war but I will take on mission provided it pays well. However, on a side note the mission has to be exhilarating and dangerous. I am not your bog standard bounty hunter after all".

"That is fine, because I am not to use your words, 'a bog standard' commander" Grievous said, his tone narrowing. The brute next to him bared his teeth, arms folded across his chest to match the bounty hunters in a mocking gesture. From the unpleasant nature of his tone ZuI realised that first impressions had not gone down well and this figure, whoever he was, did not like him very much. The feeling was mutual, but of little consequence, besides there was no time to dwell upon such matters, because Grievous was speaking. "... I assure you that you will find that this mission covers all the relevant criteria of your personalised preferences, and I can promise you that if you can succeed there will be the potential of more work in it for you."

ZuI's interest peaked up. Acting as though he had heard the whole statement rather than just part of it, he gave Grievous invitation to continue. "I'm listening!"

"Are you familiar with an insectoid species known as the Yam'rii? If that name seems unfamiliar to you, they are sometimes referred to as the Huk, named after their home planet."

ZuI shook his head, "Sorry sir, can't say that I am to familiar with the name. In my profession you encounter creatures of every kind, mammalian, marsupial, amphibious, reptilian, I don't often tend to take note of which taxonomic species my victims belong too".

"It's alright" Grievous said, though the sharpness of his tone indicated otherwise. "I will have my droids transmit the details through to you alongside the official details." The assurance came as no surprise to ZuI who knew that Grievous liked to have efficient intel in order to get the job done. "This is the situation. The insectoids are an enemy of myself and my associate here" he said nodding towards Sk'ar who gave the cyborg what ZuI assumed to be his species version of a pleasant smile.

"Figures" ZuI stated. The big creature rounded on him, snarling furiously. By contrast Grievous didn't so much as twitch, though his eyes did follow the direction of his subordinate who leant in closer so that his image took up the entirety of the frame. The only reason ZuI didn't react was because he recognised this as an intimidating stance and knew that since many thousands of light years separated them, there was little more that this individual for all his strength and size could actually do to threaten him.

"Be silent you little wretch, you will speak when you are spoken too!" the figure said seriously. ZuI simply stared at him in a disinterested manner, arms still folded across his chest. At the other end of the line, a six finger hand coiled round the gargantuan figures shoulder and pulled him backwards. Still gripping his shoulder Grievous spoke seriously to his subordinate.

"And you keep a civilised tongue in front of those whom I am trying to commune into joining our cause. That is unless you wish to be on the receiving end of my anger! Is that what you want, Sk'ar?" The sharpness of his tone indicated no hint of bluffing and much to ZuI's amusement the taller figure quivered and obediently acknowledged, There was no need to tell who wielded the real power amongst these two individuals.

The smile quickly vanished from his face at what Grievous said next however. "I strongly suggest that do the same bounty hunter and pay close attention to what I have to say. If you wish to take on this job, I can only talk to you for a limited time, I have wasted enough of it already and can not afford any more distractions. Test my patience again and it will be the last time you ever hear from me in person. Rest assured though I have plenty of resources at my disposal and I can make life very difficult for you!"

It was ZuI's turn to frown and the one identified as Sk'ar's chance to smirk and sneer. "Very well. My apologise, to ... both of you" he said reluctantly glaring at Sk'ar. "Please carry on General ..."

"Listen very carefully to what I am about to say, I do not intend to repeat this. To put things simply, I am engaged in a matter which could upset the stabilisation of the exact area of space I am currently stationed at. The Yam'rii are just one of the individuals that will be affected by the actions I take on, and it is them that I am most concerned about". His eyes met Sk'ar's for an instant, before he carried on with his speech. "As such I have an interest in the goings on of some of particular individuals amongst the vast swarm that is their species. Senatorial figures to be precise. I am not sure whether you are aware of this but the insectoids were granted full Republic representation several years ago at the end of a particularly nasty war. They have been stationed there ever since. If so then they in the perfect position to contact their allies should the matters get out of hand here and as such they will make petitions to key senatorial figures in order to send a secondary invasion army. What I need is for someone to get on the inside and relay regular information to me as to the transactions of these insectoids, and whether they have a presence upon Coruscant or not. This is the task to which I am assigning you!"

There was a moments pause as all of this information sunk in. The representatives of both parties stared at each other for a short time, each waiting for the other to speak. In the end it was Grievous who broke the silence. "Well? Are you interested"

He had not lied, the mission was both challenging and exhilarating that much was clear. To any bounty hunter this was an opportunity to become the stuff of legend. The shadowy presence who infiltrated the Republics high command, and walked among their presence would become the stuff that people would tell their children for generations to come. If he accomplished and survived that mission of course. Despite himself ZuI hesitated, he might be a frill seeker but even he was not stupid. "Let me get this straight!" he said with a wave of his hand. "You want me to walk right in to the Republics main stay. Infiltrate the most heavily guarded base and observe the actions of some of the Republics most prestigious members? Is the Separatist council that desperate to win the war?"

Grievous and his associate Sk'ar exchanged a dark glance, which told him something was off. In the end Grievous admitted, "The Separatist council had no part in this transaction. This mission is to take place off the record. Aside from ourselves, no one else is to know about it until I deem it necessary".

Ahhhh, now it was getting interesting the Umbaran though to himself. Externally ZuI gave no physical reaction and contented himself enough to simply shrug. "I see, this is an infiltration mission. A private matter that you want dealt with. If it were assassination or otherwise you would have hired someone else to do your dirty work, but no you need my specific skill set. I take it none of these Senatorial figures are to be hurt in any way?"

Grievous shook his head. "No, not yet at any rate. Some useful information we have acquired will guarantee more work for you in the near future, if you relay all the viable intel through to me that is."

"I see, you are forgetting though, I still have to accept the mission first!" When the two onlookers glared at him, ZuI realised he was teetering very close to the line and decided the time had come to just settle argument. "To answer your question: yes though. I will go to Coruscant and sort out all the right details for you. For the right price of course!"

Noticing Sk'ar's reaction to this comment he simply shrugged. "Hey come on now, guys got to make a living. Now as I am sure you are aware General these high profile missions are going to cost you quite a few credits. Now don't worry I am not asking you to pay for my equipment or anything like that. I will however need compensations if any of my equipment is damaged, and the fuel I use. I'm also going to need a little extra, since this is going to be a particularly risky outlet to say the least. At an opening price, lets say ... six hundred thousand credits and I want a share of it paid in advance!"

"I will not pay you so much as a single credit until I receive confirmation that the job is done!" Grievous said simply.

ZuI frowned "Very well, I understand but that means its going to cost you a little more. Six hundred and fifty thousand, and I want reassurances that it will be expected, otherwise well ... This secret mission of yours might not just stay that way for much longer." Despite the clearly unveiled threat Grievous did not react. Sk'ar however leered menacingly in ZuI's direction, looking absolutely furious.

"You insolent worm. Who do you think you are to talk to Lord Grievous in such a fashion? You are nothing more than a gun for hire!"

"Maybe so, but I am the man who is going to walk into the Senatorial Building and get that information for him. Or perhaps you believe yourself capable of accomplishing such a feat?" Sk'ar said nothing but he snarled in ZuI's direction. A look from Grievous silenced him totally, causing him to retreat to his stand once more.

ZuI sniggered, "I thought not. A great hulking brute like you, they'd shoot you down before you even set one toe upon that furnished carpeting". It pleased him to see the creatures face twitch irritably. ZuI turned his attention back to Grievous. "I must say I am not overly impressed by your companions attitude towards me General. In fact I would go so far as to say he has touched a nerve with me. Just for that I am afraid I need to up the scales once more. Eight hundred thousand credits in total. That is my final offer! Take it or leave it!"

Grievous did not so much as blink, he stared stoically at the projection of his intended vesture for a long time. This was make or break time, either he would comply or he would cease the transmission. Finally the cyborg spoke, "I need you to infiltrate the Republic Senate and provide me with all the valuable intel you can muster in relation to the Huk senators whereabouts and doings. That is all I require. Monitor them for the next four galactic standard days and your contract with me will be fulfilled. My droids will provide the necessary communications channel in order to relay anything useful you might turn up. At the end of it, I will personally contact you. If you succeed in accomplishing all of this, you will be paid eight million credits!"

Both ZuI and Sk'ar stiffened and turned to look directly at the cyborg him. Within the asteroid station CX1G gasped in astonishment. "Eight - eight million?" ZuI repeated.

"Eight million" Grievous confirmed "regardless of whether or not the targets turn up. All I want is an update on their standings and if they are on Coruscant I want to know everything they get up to. As I said, we have (he gestured at Sk'ar) have gathered sufficient information that could prove vital to our cause in the long run. This could guarantee much more work in the future, provide an opportunity to earn some additional hard earned cash as you might say. That is what I have to offer you in exchange ZuI Aras! To use your phrase, take it or leave it!"

ZuI smiled, bearing his sinister teeth. He didn't so much as hesitate, that amount of credits was enough to make someone of his profession for life, so he rounded it off by slapping a fist into the palm of his free hand. "Mr Grievous sir, you've got yourself a deal. Send the details over to me and I will get right on it."

Grievous seemed satisfied. "See it to it that you do and keep in regular contact. I will have the droids transfer all the important information over to you now". The matter resolved and the transaction completed the image dissolved. Business came before pleasure as far as ZuI Aras was concerned and he did not so much as hesitate to start laying out necessary instructions. "Computer take note of all the information that General Grievous sends to us. Filter out all unnecessary files and have to data sent over to my ship. I would also like a hard copy saved onto a data pad for further reference as well. Tell the pit droids I want my ship up and running again and ready for action in the next hour".

The A.I. acknowledged this response and set about its work immediately, a jumble of data moving advantageous across the computers screen. ZuI turned to face the protocol droid. "Better change that bath into a shower CX1G. In the meantime, we should sort out the weapons cash, who knows what type of arsenal shall be required for this endeavour".

"Agreed, do you think any of your special acquisitions will be required on this most recent task of yours master" the droid asked, gesturing at the glass cabinets which held a vast array of uniforms and other garments.

"Hmm, I think I actually might. Though there may be an issue with expired tags I think I will be needing this trio" he said pointing to a nearby stand "I'll think about it and let you know. Oh and also prepare one of your delicious meals for me would you. Make sure it is prepared for extended travel."

ZuI knew that the task would not be easy but was certain that his determination and skills could win out. The decisions he made now would determine the success or failure of his mission to infiltrate the senate and spy on the insectoids.

And as to the level of that success ... well that's another story!

---

"KOSH E YAH! MAC TOO LEE" the vulture droid cried out, and the squadron dived. With the lead mount reposition his head, locking it back into attack position the unit re-entered the melee, dodging past salvos of plasma missiles and laser fire, which came at them from every direction, whilst also releasing deadly barrages of their own. Far below them a situation of carnage unravelled as the Separatist / Republic forces did battle with each other once again.

This however was not the foretold and anticipated skirmish that would come to pass at Shrupak, that confrontation though not far off had yet to come. This battle of wills took place close at hand, concentrated at the Republican Beta outpost, a feat which was also mirrored by the actions at Gamma station several kilometres away to the east. If one looked close it was also observed that Grievous was not to be found at the head of the battle.

"COME ON, YOU ROCK LAUNCHERS! GIVE THEM NO QUARTER!" a distinctly female voice barked. Perched on the hem of an AAT battle tank, the Kaleesh warlord pointed her spear forward at the remains of what but sixty minutes ago had been a full functioning Republican outpost, containing around two and fifty hundred clones, alongside a similar number of Yam'rii. Now however, the survivors on the Republics side were few and far between holed up in trenches, or else hunkered down in buildings as the enemy forces continued to advance. Though taking the occasional pot shots whenever possible the situation here at Beta station was becoming desperate. The few anti troop defensive auto turrets, which remained standing were doing what they could to hold the enemy back but with so many of them out of commission, and with droid units attacking from both a head on and aerial position the attempt was nothing short of a meaningless gesture.

The Separatist forces had entered the bases perimeter by now, marching purposefully past the dishevelled burnt out husks of anti troop turrets, and aiming for the few battalions left. Those at the forefront of the formation were the dwarf spider droids, whose ultraviolet optics enabled them to penetrate the smoke and pinpoint the Republic soldiers with relative ease. Their task was made easier by the fact that the majority of the soldiers had now realised the situation was lost, and were now trying to utilise the smoke screen as a means to mask their escape.

Behind the spiders came the AAT's, opening out in a shoe shaped formation as they continued to advance at a steady pace, their on board cannons and mounted turrets, lacking the same visibility capabilities as their automatic counterparts aimed wildly in all directions, their rounds blasting anything unfortunate enough to get in their way into smoking ruins and scattered shrapnel. Despite the risks the female warlord rode astride the curved cusp of the central tank, shouting out commands and ordering directions to anyone within ear shot. Around her the kolkpravis and battle droids which accompanied her were beginning to navigate the small channels now opening up between the AAT's as they made way for the battle line. All the while the HAG mortar tanks and Hellfire droids continued to bombard the now smouldering husk of Beta establishment with mortar screening and missile fire, whilst far above droid star fighters of all descriptions pummelled the remnants with repeater rounds and salvos of their own.

Beneath her mask, the warlord smiled, this was a site which would stay with her for the rest of her days, a scene of absolute carnage wrought upon their foes, a spectacle which demonstrated the true might of the Kaleesh people, a sign of total victory. This was her contribution, the mannerism in how she as a person could repay the kindness brought about by her beloved General, for the time being at least. When this war was over, and she was able to confront him, not as a general to her Khagan, but as so much more than that, she intended to make sure that the traditional Kaleesh demands were met. He had saved her life at the second start of this campaign after she had shamefully surrendered, she owed it to herself to set things right. She knew that everything she had was his, her life was his to command.

This was why when the final council of war took place, just short of the Kaleesh's departure for Shrupak, when Grievous had said that he needed a small entourage to take care of the enemy forces stationed at Beta establishment, she had stepped forward at once. Despite his unparalleled ferocity and uncompromising attitude when it came to dealing with enemy establishments, Grievous refused point blank to do anything which could bring potential damage to the sacred monument, but he had no reserve about doing the same to the hand made Republican stations at Beta and Gamma outlet. Instead he turned all of these resources (save for the Roggwart's which would accompany him) over to her, so that now, in conjuncture with the forces under KD67 who had offered to take similar action against the later of these respected offences, all of the tanks and star fighters which accompanied the Kaleesh on this endeavour were now dealing out the death blows to the Republic garrisons here or several miles away at Gamma station.

As for the Republic bastions, they had been unprepared for this kind of assault. The establishments initially erected here were meant to repel vast waves of troop deployments, and if necessary target the monstrous mounts which the Kaleesh sometimes rode by concentrating fire on the narrow entrances. In the past this had been a sound strategy, the Kaleesh were a technologically primitive species and there had been no real need for vastly defensive outposts. Not anticipating Grievous' arrival or the uncompromising slaughter which had taken place at Stabolaz had given the white clade / insectoid soldiers little time to upgrade their defences, so that when the enemy units arrived, all they simply had to do was hold back, wait until the mortar tanks, and missile units had pounded the station enough times to reduce any defences into twisted masses of shrapnel, and then finally advance upon the front lines. It was a costly mistake which had just cost several more battalions of the Republican banner their positions and their lives.

The retreat was now in full and earnest now, all across the station the surviving Republican soldiers were falling back. The clone troopers were doing their best to retreat at a steady pace, keeping their weapons angled, and trained upon their foes as even now they refused to turn their backs. It was a strategy, which did not serve them well, as it blotted out views of the dangers behind them. Collisions with rubble, collapses down potholes, newly created craters, and tripping over injured and fallen comrades were just some of the issues encountered along this route. By contrast the insectoids showed no such composure in the face of total defeat. Instead driven by that, the most primordial of instincts, the squadrons had broken into nothing short of a disorganised mob. Now each individual pushed and shoved its way forward leaving others behind in a desperate attempt to scramble, to escape the confining structures and make for the relative safety of Shrupak.

Huh, the crazy fools. Better to die here than face the wrath of our Khagan! the female thought to herself. It was true, at least as far as she was concerned. Already her droid associates were notifying her that KD67 had successfully liberated Gamma base from Republic hands and that General Grievous had begun the advance upon Shrupak. She envisioned the cybernetic leader, advancing through the sacred forests that surrounded the temples circumference, taloned feet carving up the earth as the Kaleesh and droid units marched in his wake, cloak billowing out behind him, lightsaber's already held firmly in hand.

All that remained now was to make this victory absolute.

"ALRIGHT YOU CUERS, TAKE UP FINAL BATTLE POSITIONS! AAT'S HEAD BACK DOWN, AND CUT OFF THE MAIN VALLEY. ANYTHING MOVES IN OR OUT OF THAT REGION BLAST IT TO SMITHEREEN'S. THE REST OF YOU TAKE UP POSITIONS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE PASSAGEWAYS. FROM NOW ON NOTHING GETS IN OR OUT OF THERE ALIVE. UNDERSTAND? GOOD NOW GET TO IT!"

---

The situation at Shrupak was one of tension, and comparative unease. Nobody was relaxing anymore, there was no laughter, very little going on in terms of movement and everywhere you looked the soldiers held their weapons tight, hands poised over the triggers or else clutched at the elongated shaft of spears, ready to bring the weapons round at a moments notice. Those soldiers not clutching at weapons twitched their curved talons on reflex, and even the Jedi had taken to holding their lightsaber's steadily in one hand. Those who afforded themselves the luxury of a seat waited for further developments. Each warrior held bated breath, not daring to say anything less it yield further misfortune.

The decimation of their fleet, and the greater part of their forces had been bad enough, now in the past few hours word had filtered through that the garrisons at Beta establishment and Gamma base had fallen. With the majority of their forces now slain the Republican soldiers had been reduced to barely more than a thousand fighting men. Moral was at an all time low, and to make matters worse scouting missions, stationed ahead further along the stationaries had reported that Grievous had been spotted leading an army many times the size of their own along the windy paths towards Shrupak.

No one here was foolish enough to misunderstand the objections behind this manoeuvre, this was why the silence endured save for the crackling of the small camp fires and the occasional shaky breath. The clones and Yam'rii insectoids realised what was about to happen, what Grievous intended to do. Yet the warriors kept their own piteous fears and quarrels of self doubt to themselves. Few of them wanted to comprehend the full gravity of the situation that lay before them, but since most of their minds had already given way to fear their was little else anyone could think of.

They were stranded on an alien world whose populace had sided with the Separatists. Help seemed to be an unlikely factor, as most of the transmissions had been relayed through the overlying conquest fleet, the troops now found themselves subjected to short range transmissions only. Air support and heavy artillery were limited and within the confined spaces that Shrupak offered were be more or less completely useless. There had been little chance of escape, since the Kaleesh blocked off the main accessible routes leading to Banen, so that the only choice now was to stay and fight.

At least they would not have long to wait. The Kaleesh advance was swift from what they had been told, in all likelihood Grievous' forces would be here in about an hour or so. There was nothing to do but dwell on their senses and await their fate.

The Jedi moved amongst the troops offering consul when and wherever they could, mainly in the form of reassuring words, friendly pats on the back and in some cases reassuring hugs in Sashi's example. These actions seemed to bring about some level of comprehension back among the human soldiers, who realised that in the end it was their duty to die for the Republic if necessary, and that they had been made aware of the dangers behind their profession, it was just up until now that they had not been able to dwell upon such matters. Spurred on by the slight regain of motivation, Commander Willis set about ordering his men about various things so as to keep their minds occupied, it was, as he said 'a factor of life that a troopers duty is to die, and if we must die this day, then by golly lads we'll so it right!'

The Jedi soon found that the insectoids were a little more challenging when it came to handling their emotions. A naturally aggressive species the Yam'rii did not seem to comprehend on best to handle a situation which revolved around the prospect of imminent death. It made the twitchy, skittish and overtly aggressive even to those who were supposed to be called allies. Koth and the other generals did their best but the light side of the force only went so far as to sooth a persons fears without direct interference, a fact which did not fit in with the principles or teachings of the Jedi Code.

General Mal and Senator Derm were also present amongst the masses, but stood isolated from the rest of the crowd. The Senator was muttering ramblings to himself and the General was snarling, indicating himself to be one of the few beings not to let fear cloud his reality. The manner with which he composed himself told him that he expected many of the other soldiers to do the same, though as he was most dissatisfied to note, many individuals from his own species cowered at the sight of him and turned away rather than look directly at him. Fear was a good motivator but only in the correct circumstances and this out setting was not one of them.

Mal did not concern himself with the well being of the human soldiers, they as far as he was concerned were half forms, not worth caring about. What was more, many of them seemed to have come to the same conclusion as their commander, that he was overtly responsible for this present situation and the downturn of the Republics forces fortune. Mal found it easy to ignore the harsh stares by throwing back verbal challenges, which the overtly loyal soldiers refused to answer too. Even Willis had backed down somewhat, though whenever he passed within the insectoids line of sight the blank helmet turned purposefully upon the tall green figure telling Mal that beneath the expressionless helmet, the human being inside was glaring at him.

Mal responded with evil glances of his own, only now as the clone commander retreated the dark expression remained and a snarl escaped his lips, because the Senator next to him would not shut up. Shortly after the information relays regarding Stabolaz, Mal had regained enough of his composure by then to put the Senator back in his place and turn him backwards into the snivelling coward that he was. Now though Mal was beginning to regret this, as he was tired of listening to the complaints.

"This is bad! This is bad! This is bad!" the Senator kept relaying to himself in anticipative tones. "We should never have come here. We should have stuck with what we had been content with our lot, rather than risk the devastation that has been brought about by this campaign. Ah" he stopped twiddling the two talons at the end of his spindly arms and held the up to clutch the sides of his head. "I knew this was a mistake. I knew that I should never have listened to the likes of you and the other representatives but no the other Senators wouldn't allow it" General Mal's expression tightened further at the mention of this. The moment he knew was seconds away.

the Senator's voice was getting shriller, his pitch louder with every syllable tall, his perception more fearful. "Insisted I come along they did, thought it would be a great opportunity they did. Ha, ha, huh, huh, huh, ha. Great opportunity for what? To see our fleets wain. To watch our warriors wither and die at the hands of some incontestable being which doesn't seem to have any comprehension of the word mercy. Oh what horrors will he bring down upon us now. The savagery, the butchery that is due to unfolded. The unbridled furry of our enemies AAHHH... " The rest of his words were cut off as General Mal's patience finally ran out.

In a florid movement the green insectoid seized his more frail counterpart by the neck and pinned him against the outmost wall of the temple, reducing the cowardly insect to a shivering wreck. "If that is what you fear Senator, then let me be the first to assure you that the horrors this cybernetic quarry and his expansively Kaleesh entourage might do to you, is nothing absolutely nothing to the perils I shall inflict if you don't stuff a crab bowl in it".

The Senator flailed about, gasping for air, his weak two fingered hands clawing desperately against the single hand Mal used to prop him up with. "What - what else is there to do?" he stammered, "we - we cannot win this situation. Because - cause of your stupidity our forces have been decimated, our fleets destroyed. Our remaining resources been -" the pressure against his neck tightened somewhat and Mal pressed his face in closer.

"Are you saying I anticipated all of this to happening?" he asked, his tone threatening, features gapping open murderously at the Senator. "Are you saying that I expected the general to fail? That I ordered him to walk into a situation where there was a high likelihood that he would be ambushed in such mannerisms as he was and that death and destruction would follow in his wake?"

The honest answer to this last statement at least was yes! Derm still blamed him for the Soltark Romalta and all under his command, but as the general had pointed out he wasn't entirely to blame for that situation. Besides if Derm protested the matter, there was absolutely no doubt in the Senators mind that the General would kill him. If the Kaleesh didn't get to him first, maybe Mal would and Derm didn't think that was a viable alternative.

"Ah, eh, no General, no not at all" the Senator said in a hushed tone.

"I thought so" Mal hissed, his grip slackening and then fading all together. Derm fell to his knees gasping for breath, his counterpart stood over him surveying him like a disobedient child. Noticing that several other individuals were watching him now, including the three Jedi, Mal stooped down and appeared to tentatively ease the Senator into a standing position. In truth, he did so to as to whisper something in his ear, "Do not give me cause to doubt you again Senator, you have already proven yourself to be quite insolent these past few hours, if it carries on I shall need to take further action!" The Senator gazed at him with unmasked fear, knowing full well that despite the hives provocation his merciless subordinate would not hesitate to follow through with his threat and make it look like an unfortunate accident.

Mal straightened him up, and with the pretence of solidarity about him, leant inwards to brush some dust off the Senators garments. "Rest assured that I will get you of here alive, if the situation calls for it" the General reassured him, mandibles barely parting, his voice almost untellable. "Displease me however and believe me you will have nothing else to be concerned about."

Derm watched him fearfully, as turning to the sides Mal called forward two soldiers, with an authoritative gurgling cry. "The Senators nerves are tied" he proclaimed, loudly enough for the onlookers to hear. "He needs his rest. Take him back to his shelters, attend to any one of his needs, a nice warm meal might calm his nerves for example." The soldiers nodded and moving to either side of the Senator gently led him back in the direction of his personal quarters.

The smaller insectoid turned his head, just far enough for his yellow eyes to catch a glimpse of the Generals intimidating red ones. Even from this distance it was impossible to mistake the look of malice that emanated from behind the scarlet sockets. "Oh and one more thing" Mal called out, stopping the small party in its tracks, "see to it that a small battalion is left to guard the quarters entrances. I shall be along shortly to take personal command. Aside from myself no one else is allowed to enter. Save for high standing Republic officials of course."

---

The officials to which Mal was referring were watching this scene unfolded, stood in a huddled mass, in the wake of Shrupak's mighty form. They watched in absolute silence as the small brood led the quivering Senator, gently but briskly away. As they disappeared from view, General Mal turned to face them. He had no eyebrows with which to flex reassuringly at them, so instead contented himself to unleash what he saw as a reassuring snort, which sounded more like a disinterested gesture. With that the insectoid turned about and marched towards a battalion of his own men, all of whom moved forwards tentatively so as to obey his command. Commander Willis was of no doubt that this mission relayed in the most part to the Senators 'defence', more like imprisonment. A feat for which the Commanders integrity could not stand.

"Sir's, Ma'am" he said, nodding respectfully in the Jedi's direction, "request permission to do something about these actions? Just say the word and my men will arrest him on charges of insubordination!"

Eeth Koth didn't even take time to contemplate his answer. "No, thank you commander but right now discontent among the soldiers is the last thing we need."

"But Sir ..." Willis made to protest gazing rapidly between the led Jedi and the insectoid military leader, when a hand reached out and gently clasped his shoulder. It was Sashi that held him, and even in the twilight it was impossible to mistake the change in her normally graceful composure. Her eyes looked heavy in the faded light and there was a notable absence in her persona. The warm feeling that usually radiated through one being in her presence was gone, in its wake was a feeling of indifference. Soltark's death had hit her very hard, so that she now looked as he felt: tired and anticipative.

"It is no good interfering with Yam'rii politics commander" she said. Her voice was the only thing which had not changed, it was still as calm and soothing as daylight beating down upon ones bare skin. Despite her grievances she still had the uncanny ability to sooth ones anxiety and make one want to listen to her more intently. "However, unprecedented this may seem it is the Yam'rii's way of dealing with such matters and we have no right to interfere in such actions. Besides it would not be good for morale" she added tensely. "The situation here is already desperate, the courage of our own men hangs by a thread, and despite the differences between our fighting styles the Yam'rii have none the less proven themselves to be capable warriors when the situation calls for it. We will need their support over the coming hours, if we are to have any chance of survival".

Willis held his position but turned his head away from her, in order to gaze contemplatively at the ground. He was not foolish enough to recognise that the Jedi had grasped the fully reality of the situation that the Republic now found itself in. The position was lost, they all recognised that, but he had long since accepted that. A clone troopers duty was to lay down his life for the Republic and if necessary sacrifice himself for the ultimate ambition of peace. It was the same for the Jedi, which was why they were such insurmountable allies. The Yam'rii however, he recognised as cowards.

Though intimidating and deadly combatants. the insectoids were dissatisfied unless entering a battle field in large numbers, preferring to overwhelm an enemy under the sheer weight of a relentless swarm rather than through refined skill and years of combat training. This had been the case across the whole of the Kadok standing, and was one reason that the Republic had been able to make such rapid progress across the whole of the sector. Only at Kalee when they faced against an overwhelming tide had the advance been halted, and the army instead found itself relying on the Jedi's superior command, the clones fierce discipline and the Republics superior technological armaments in order to win the day.

Even so it was a feat which had cost the Republic soldiers and their allies dearly. Willis had viewed it as nothing short of a miracle that he and so many other men had been able to survive due in part to Yam'rii partition and sacrifice, an undertaking for which General Mal it seemed was all to uncaring about. Bloodthirsty and uncompromising the way in which Mal orchestrated his troops had dissatisfied the clone, but now owing to his role in the loss of so many men at Stabolaz, men who Willis had known and trained with since an early age, that disdain had turned into outright hatred.

Sashi's hand was still on his shoulder, but he made no attempt to shrug it off, as he turned to gaze upon the insectoid once more. "I'm sorry ma'am but I just can't stand it. I understand that they are key allies in this war but it does not shake off my unease." He paused, tuning in his sensors to make sure that their were no eves droppers listening in on this conversation. When he was certain that it was safe, Willis leant in a little closer, speaking directly to Eeth Koth.

"They are hiding something I know it" the clone commander whispered in a hushed voice. Sashi took her hand off his shoulder and stepped back away from him. She and Kolback gave him their undivided attention, as did Koth who blinked pensively, his eyes meeting Willis. The Jedi kept his expression neutral however, as did the others making it impossible for their trusted supporter to comprehend exactly what anyone of them was thinking.

"There's something strange going on here, surely you can see it" Willis continued, when no one moved to stop him. "The Huk Senator has been acting very twitchy these last few days"

"You mean ever since Grievous arrived?" Sashi corrected.

"Yes. Ever since the Kaleesh rebellion started, but especially since the events of yesterday, after the defeat at Liberty. He keeps on rambling as if he is expecting the Kaleesh to attack at any moment!"

"Fears manifests itself in many kinds of ways" Koth reasoned, imploring the teachings of his orders wisdom. "It brings out the best in some of us, and the worst in others." The Zarbak surveyed the insectoid carefully even as Mal began directing troops off as necessary, to various intervals across the soon to be battle ground. "Please do not let your personal feelings towards the General cloud your judgement of the situation Commander. I think that the longevity of this campaign is finally starting to get to him, and he is trying to deal with it the only way he knows how".

"These past few days have been stressing for all of us, yet even so it is not our duty to tell others how best to handle there emotions. We can offer guidance and wisdom, but little more. This is not the time to best deal with the teachings of a life time" Sashi reasoned.

"Yes, Ma'am I understand" the clone recognised, masking his discontent at their refusal to acknowledge that it was not the Senator he was talking about. He stated as much when he resumed his charade "but with respect this about the Senator. Mal's rage seems to be directed towards anyone and everyone these days since the events at Stabolaz. Ever since I ..." he hesitated.

"Since you accused him of being responsible for our armies downfall" Koth finished. Sashi turned away, and Koth felt sympathy well up inside him. He knew that she was feeling guilty for what had happened at Stabolaz, and the fact that she had not done more to stop the disastrous consequences which unfolded thus, despite the force telling her to otherwise do so. Koth knew that she was still blaming herself for Soltark's death but at their was little that could be done to ease her pain save for words and discipline.

Grief was not the way of the Jedi, no more than hostility with ones allies was supposed to be the conductive way of war, no matter what the trepidations or misgivings. "l am sorry Commander, I really am. The men of your command are among the finest I have ever seen through the whole of my career but I cannot let their sacrifice be in vain!"

"It doesn't have to be sir" Willis argued, "I want this war to end just as badly as any of you lot do sir, but that doesn't mean we should let an opportunity to quell any discontent we might have slide beyond our grasp. Especially if that information might bring about a swifter ending to this campaign".

"Your statement might be true but even so there is little we can do" a new voice added. Kolback had joined in the conversation, the normally speechless Anx finally saw fit to enter this part of the conversation. "The Jedi are guardians of the peace, and despite a war being on that situation has not changed. Without the authorisation from the Senate or proof in regards to deception on the Yam'rii's part there is little more that we can do. We must keep our own reservations to ourselves from now on in order to focus on the matter at hand."

Willis turned to stare at the Jedi guardian. The aliens elongated face was blank and emotionless save for the conviction behind his words, but from the nature of his expression it was clear to the commander that he at least thought along the same lines as he did. Even so it was obvious now that none of the trio was willing to take up any action in regards to his intuition. He hesitated, biting his lower lip considerately for a moment then turned back to Eeth Koth once more.

"Sir let me take a band of men, say around fifteen soldiers to question the Senator. We can afford him protection as we inquire as to what it is that General Mal is hiding. I promise you sir, guaranteed protection from my men might be enough to ..."

"No Commander!" Koth said seriously, "We need every advantage we can get in order to defend Shrupak effectively. As I said would be most unsatisfactory were we to do such things to provoke the Yam'rii in to rebelling against us. It would not suit us to be watching our backs whilst facing towards the enemy as well."

"But sir if I do this of my own accord ..."

"No commander, I am sorry but the answer is no!" Koth stated, his voice serious now, displaying the minute traces of irritation. "We can not afford any more distractions now commander, our priority has been and still is focused on the task of liberating this world. Therefore I am ordering you not as a commander but as a friend to put aside this train of thought and to focus on the situation at hand!"

Willis' retort died in his throat, his mouth still hanging open beneath his mask. "Sir I ..." he managed to say before his voice died away entirely. Much as he wanted to he could not disobey a direct order from a commanding officer. His was a life to serve and obey, not the other way around. Slowly and with a vast wave of discontent emanating from every fibre of his being, the clone commander nodded.

Koth nodded contently but otherwise seemed to be disengaged from the matter. For a while awkward silence ensued, as the commanders waited for someone to break the silence. Finally, Sashi said with a note of tension in her voice, " Commander have your troops been moved into position?"

"Yes ma'am" the clone commander replied, personal feelings forgotten to be replaced by an overwhelming sense of duty and purpose once again. "Sentries have been placed at regular intervals throughout the station and most of my men have been ordered to take up positions along the southern wall. We also have sharp shooters and monitoring stations keeping an eye on the pathway to Beta and Gamma stations, so that there will be so surprises on either of our flanks."

Sashi nodded, her gaze still not focused on any of the others. Instead she was facing skywards. "They're not coming from the flank" she said removing the hilts of the two lightsaber's from either side of her belt. "Koth look!" she pointed and the others followed her direction.

The darkness had given way slightly, an indication that dawn was no more than a few hours away. The sky was lit up with a series of dark shapes of various, which criss-crossed each other at regular intervals across the darkened horizon. After a moment the onlookers were able to recognise them as animals, fauna native to the jungles here upon Kalee, which included a variety winged reptiles, birds, and in some cases oversized insects. Petrified screeches followed the swarm in its wake as the creatures, both predator and prey made a unified dash from the forest canopy, making instead for various places of comparative safety beyond the Shrupak way.

You didn't need to be a regular visitor to this place to recognise that this was not a natural phenomenon. The vast swarm was not part some annual migration, rather than a terrified mass, retreating from something that had terrified them enough to make even the great predators fear for their lives. No single colossus would be capable of such an action, and that was not all.

Kolback stiffened, his head turning sharply in the direction of Shrupak's southern most point, away from the great pyramid itself, hand held out as Willis moved to question him. "Shh, do you hear something?" he asked, but though they strained themselves against the terrified screeches no one else was able to hear anything, though this was unsurprising. Anx morphology accounted for an acute sense of hearing, enabling Kolback to pick up vibrations insusceptible to most sentient lifeform's, and with the force to aid him these perceptions had been amplified to insurmountable levels, enabling him to pick sounds from several dozen yards away.

As such he was able to detect the slightest changes in the pitches of the forest canopy, even though a vast array of stone structures barricaded his way. "Animal's!" he said, hand reaching to rest on the central grip of his exceptionally long double bladed weapon. "Herbivores mainly" he added, "though I sense a few carnivores in their as well. They're scattering, retreating on mass, moving off in multiple directions, so as to try and confuse that which pursues, but does not yet hunt them."

"Grievous!" Willis gasped, blaster pistols already drawn "their here!"

"Not yet" Kolback corrected, "but it won't be long now!"

Koth unclipped his single blade from his belt. "Commander get your men ready for battle. The rest of you come with me, to the front lines, quickly!"

---

Grievous strutted across the shrubby terrain that marked the outermost limits of Shrupak's perimeter. The canopy overhead masked their approach but their was little that the Separatist tide could do to mask the sound of breaking foliage, or to cover up the shrieks and cries of terrified animals which scattered in every which way. Disgruntled the cybernetic general dismissed these matters, recognising that more important matters required his attention. Like the Republic soldiers, which awaited their attention. To small to orchestrate an effective gorilla war campaign, and to numerous to coordinate an effective escape, the dishonourable horde had chosen to hunker down and fight, waiting for the enemy for come to them. A conjecture for which Grievous and his entourage were all to happy to oblige.

He himself stood at the forefront, the rest of the army followed in his shadow. Grievous' MagnaGuard's stood ever dutifully by his side, alongside Bentilais san Sk'ar their long cloaks stretching back behind them. All seven of them clutched at the elongated two hand staffs held out before them, the MagnaGuard's already primed, violet electricity already crackling across its blunt ended surface. Sk'ar's hefty bronze weapon weapon glimmered whenever the canopy broke just enough for a ray of moonlight to shine down upon it. The Kaleesh's face was set, his features stretched in an expression of terrible glee.

Grievous' own fingers gently traversed the length of his own weapons. The two lightsaber's, propped in each hand slid graciously forwards, as he allowed them to tilt forwards before a quick whipping motion brought them back into heel. Clasping them firmly in the palms of his six fingered hands once more, Grievous contemplated on just how well these weapons had served him ever since he cam here. These trophies had successfully taken the lives of two successive Jedi and an endless number of clone / Yam'rii soldiers. Now they had one final task to perform before Grievous could even contemplate resting them amongst the vast stacks and shelves of the trophy hall which awaited him upon the fortress world of Vassek.

Interrogation's had revealed that three Jedi remained in charge of the feeble vestiges of what had once been a thriving Republic command. Communications had revealed that no Jedi were encountered, nor found among the fallen amongst the burning rubbles of what had once been the Gamma base and Beta outposts. That meant only one thing, the Jedi were here at Shrupak, waiting for him among the rest of their horde.

This was it now, the final step on the path to victory, the final test that would prove either his worth or failure to Count Dooku. Either way this would be the final stand upon Kalee. Whoever won this bought would take command of the system, and Grievous was determined to see it through. His horde had proven themselves more capable than any other army he had led throughout the entirety of the Clone Wars, he owed it to them to see the job done right. Kaleesh command values and Dooku's instruction demanded that he had to face the Jedi unaided. He had to best them by his own skills not through the aid of someone else.

Which was why as they neared the edge of the forest canopy Grievous issued one final instruction, aimed towards those who best accompanied him. "Take of the remaining battalions as best you can but leave the Jedi to me!"

---

The Republic soldiers took up position amongst the stone buildings and small hideaways that made up the outlet of the Shrupak temple. From the safety of his confines high up on a ridge overlooking the plateau, Senator Derm watched as these veterans of Kadok took what he knew to be their final stand. The enemy was coming, the thirty eight guards at his station, supervised by Mal himself were sworn to keep him confined, although given the severity of this situation Derm found that he didn't really care. He sighed, watching from his window as the soldiers prepared for the coming battle, he wondered why they even bothered; to him the Republic warriors were already doomed, they just hadn't died yet. Unable to watch this he turned away from the window and made back for the table, at the centre of the room.

Scout troopers, standardised clone soldiers and clone heavy weapons specialists mingled together amongst the tightly packed passageways, pressing themselves into every nock and cranny they could find, usually in the amount of two to three individuals. Yam'rii soldiers stood amongst the fray, combat weapons or else twitching talons apprehensively as they waited in the shadows, ready to spring at the slightest sound. Further afield other squadrons had taken up position across tightly packed alley ways, or else formed up as tightly packed squadrons across elongated streets. There job was to serve as decoys intent on drawing the Kaleesh enemies in, enabling their concealed comrades to spring their appropriated ambush.

Clone assassins had taken up shelter on as many building surfaces as possible, and wherever possible anti troop defensive platforms had also been set up, manned by a team of highly dedicated gunners. Despite all of these precautions, the clone / Yam'rii soldiers knew they were in for a tough fight. The narrow confines of Shrupak prevent the use of any heavy vehicles and it was for the same reasons that air support were also not an option. Of course the same disadvantage went to their enemies, but they had the advantage of greater numbers and reinforcements, a luxury which Koth and his men, did not have.

The moon, went behind a cloud, blotting out a good portion of the light. From the front lines Commander Willis peered tentatively round the corner of the building from which he and three other troopers had taken up positions. Pistols held over head, he was able to clarify that so far all was stable on the front lines. There was still no sign of the Kaleesh. Coming back around, he nodded reassuringly to the squadrons on his right, taking up shelter from an adjacent outcrop. They responded, and then returned to their vigil.

Jedi Master Kolback was standing a short distance away, hands clasped around the elongated shaft of his double bladed lightsaber. The ominous weapon was already activated, its shimmering blue blades casting an eerie spell over everyone surrounding it, and the Jedi was standing very tense, gazing off into the forest canopies. Surrounded by clone and Yam'rii troopers the Anx was an intimidating sight to behold, by any standards as far as Willis was concerned.

The Commander could only hope it would be enough, but only time would tell!

Until the battle begun, and their last chance for survival presented itself, there was nothing for anyone to do but wait.

The situation was very tense, but there was literally nothing that could be done about that until the deed was done. A fact which Kolback promised was not far off.

Hearts were racing.

Adrenaline was pumping.

Minds were set, and focused on but one single factor.

Survival!

The seconds dragged by. They became minutes ...

Then, at long last it happened!

As the troopers watched, with batted breath the first few waves of the Separatist juggernaut emerged out of the tree line, and into the open spaces separating the pillars of nature from those of sentient ingenuity. More came up behind up. The moon re-emerged making the onslaught a terrible sight to behold.

Illuminated by the light of the full moon, the Separatist war machine looked like nothing short of the famous phantoms and grim reapers of old legends. Beings incapable of feeling or emotion, whose only thought and desire was to destroy anyone and everything that did not look like them. Marching as if in slow motion they stood as one, a united front of both flesh and machine.

Metallic feet descended at the same time as organic ones. B1 battle droids and B2 war machines marched in steady progress, whilst Droideka's rolled up alongside the sinister looking creatures which the kolkpravis used as steeds. Kolkpravis and MagnaGuard's, perhaps the most intimidating aspect of this coalition horde marched in absolute silence, hands firmly held around the hilts of weapons. The skull mask and vacant mechanical expressions made them even more intimidating. Cloaks and hair, whipping out behind them, these forces continued to mount up, and at the spearhead of the juggernaut was a single commanding figure whose very existence incorporated both aspects as to his armies origin.

Flesh, and metal!

Willis took several deep reassuring breaths, trying to placate his fears, readying himself for what needed to be done. At the forefront of the Separatist offensive, Grievous activated the duel blades of his own lightsaber's. He gave no word, no order which had a comprehensible meaning, he simply made a distinct rumbling noise which emanated from his throat and then with a full intensity of purpose began to pick up the pace of his stride, breaking out into a full blown run as he charged towards Shrupak aiming for the Republic lines.

It was all that the vast horde needed!

With a fierce series of individual battle cries and the shriek of battle hungry monsters the Kaleesh broke all sense of formation as did the MagnaGuard's and Droideka's, though the remaining battle droids retained some small sense of cohesion. Grievous was the first to reach the perimeter, his mechanically augmented features enabled him to outstrip all of the others.

Willis and the rest of the concealed units held back, shrinking further into the shadows as the Kaleesh cyborg made his way past. A moment later several MagnaGuard's and a towering Kaleesh monster followed up the pursuit, never even realising that they had just past within arms reach, of potential would be victims. Dozens more Kaleesh / droid units followed suit, charging past Willis' hidden regiments as the sound of the first volleys were exchanged, there was a clash of lightsaber against lightsaber's and the scene of Shrupak filled with the screams of dying men.

The commander held his breath, heart hammering against his chest, as more Kaleesh entered the fray making for the encounters taking place beyond his hideaway. His mind was racing, as he comprehended his prey with calculating eyes, years of combat training kicking in as he surveyed the situation. Peering stealthily around the corner of his shelter, the Clone commander watched as yet more soldiers meandered past, unaware of his existence, even as he stood there.

Waiting for the perfect moment to strike!

Beneath the helmet Willis bit his lower lip anxiously, unleashing a small breath of apprehension. His muscles were tense but somehow he managed to work his face around into a snarl. Steeling himself up, and making sure the safety was locked off his pistol, Willis leapt out of his hiding place and straight into the fray.

The first creature he encountered was a thickset Kaleesh warrior, which continued to charge despite the fact that an enemy soldier had just materialised in front of him. Levelling his pistols Willis managed to dodge the incoming strike by dealing out a forward thrust of his own. It caught the kolkpravis square in the chest and Willis squeezed the trigger without even realising it. The Kaleesh dropped to the ground as yet more clone troopers burst from their hiding place, Huk insectoids hot on their heels.

---

The unexpected manoeuvre caught the Kaleesh soldiers temporarily off guard, as further waves of troopers from both sides threw themselves into the mixture. By now the screams of battle were raging in earnest, as across the station the Separatist found themselves locked in a fight for every street. Carefully placed Republic skirmishers succeeded in taking down more than a few kolkpravis and battle droids. The clone sharpshooters and defence turrets launched wave after wave of salvo fire against the advancing the Kaleesh lines further thinning out the front lines, whilst concentrated squadrons of both Yam'rii and human fighters held the enemy soldiers back, whilst Master Kolback succeeded in adopting a defensive position against General Grievous' rapid assault.

Blue blaster bolts tore through crimson hides.

Spears and talons punctured flesh and metal.

Eeth Koth deflected the blaster bolts that the incoming droid fighters threw at him.

Master Sashi cut and stabbed at the advancing foe, utilising the force to telekinetically hurl vast waves of enemy soldiers backwards into each other, resulting in further confusion to the Kaleesh's melee.

Meanwhile the confines of the Shrupak temple enabled Kolback Nil'bitmi to weather the assault of his foe. Adopting a soresu defensive style he was able to weather each and every one of the assaults Grievous levelled at him as the duel blue blades held back the multitude of strikes dealt by the green and blue set.

For the span of about twenty minutes the Republics small replicative ambush of what the Kaleesh had done at Stabolaz appeared to weather the assault. The confining walls and streets made it impossible to stretch out the forces effectively and for a short time it looked as though Koth's forces might even be able to beat back Grievous' assault. Sadly it wasn't to be.

Willis was the first to recognise that the turning point, granted a brief respite as yet another set of foes fell under barrage of his and his two companions assault rifles, they were able to watch as the dreams of victory faded in their entirety. Despite the effectiveness of the resistance and the bounty which had just been reaped in Kaleesh and droid lives, the fact remained that the Kaleesh still greatly outnumbered their foes. For every warrior felled another one stepped forward to take its place.

Having overcome the initial shock they had suffered at the hands of the Republics ambush, ambush the Kaleesh utilised the effective confines of the street to push further waves of warrior forward so that it was now the limited bands of Republic veterans who found themselves on the receiving end of the slaughter. The streets also served to protect the Kaleesh against the incoming waves of the forward facing turret stretches and clone assassins. Mounted in a forward facing arc their was little that the sharp shooters could do against an enemy which had already made it past the flanks.

What was more the Kaleesh held another advantage. Though not a single vehicle was to be found amongst the enemy line, did not mean that the Kaleesh had not come without heavy firepower. The great monstrous steeds, which the Kaleesh referred to as Roggwart's had made their way onto the battlefield. Despite repeated attempts to fell them, no fewer than twenty of the great leviathans were making their way across the Kaleesh lines, Separatist soldiers stepping aside in order to let the great beasts through.

There were three of them now, making a bee line straight for where Willis and his remaining soldiers were station, and although all clone soldiers were recognised for their bravery and loyalty, Willis knew it would be full hardy for any of his warriors to remain here now. The Kaleesh were gaining ground, the ambush was sprung and wasted. With waves of soldiers and imminent death bearing down upon him, Willis ordered the remaining clone and Yam'rii units under his command to fall back.

His voice was impossible to discern amongst the great cacophony of noise and only a few of the soldiers within the immediate vicinity were able to discern him. The two soldiers at his side were two such combatants, and they ushered the way through a large set of doors on a building nearby. Making their way through the blackened building and the burnt out shrine to a long dead warrior into a street less tainted by the stains of combat. Calling out to the soldiers occupying the streets Willis was able to coordinate an effect retreat seeing that many a soldier made it to relative safety further within Shrupak's confines.

But not all were so fortunate!

Other troopers unable to heed Willis' call in time, were felled on mass by the advancing tide. Pressed up against the walls, or else swept up into further melees it was all that the units could do as to take further scores of enemies with them, before they themselves succumbed. Even the advanced squadrons were finally giving ground, unable to supress the Kaleesh tide any further. The turret mounts and sharp shooters no longer able to utilise their weapons effectively found themselves under a fresh wave off assault. As the Separatists gained ground, several individuals broke off from the melee in order to level the playing field. Ascending the buildings from all angles, the soldiers had little chance of repelling them, before they were either shot down, slain where they stood, or else seized by the base of one limb and hurled / pulled down into the street melee's to meet an untimely end amid a sea of sharp edged swords and spears.

Even the famed skills of the Jedi could do little to steam the tide. Eeth Koth, currently detained by a trio of MagnaGuard's was forced back on the defensive as the droids made a series of repetitive strikes, which appeared to be aimed more of crippling him than actual killing. He ducked as one of the droids swung its deadly pole blade at him, its blunt end coursing through the air right where his head had been half a second ago. Anticipating his deception, the other two aimed simultaneous strikes at his sides. Koth managed to block one of the blunt instruments but was powerless as the second blade came crashing down into the central side of his left waist.

He wailed as purple electricity coursed through him, causing his body to suddenly become numb on one side. As his partners pulled backwards the third guard dealt the pained master a series kick to the mid section driving the wind out of him, and throwing him backwards several metres. The guards closed in weapons held aloft as they closed in. A ferocious shriek distracted them however when suddenly their vision was filled by a mass wave of greens and browns as a cluster of Yam'rii combat soldiers charged forwards cutting the droids temporarily off from the Eeth Koth.

Behind them, the Jedi master was pulled to his feet as a squadron of six clone troopers ushered round to protect him. Forming a protective barricade, five of the clone soldiers placed themselves between the Zarbak and the droids, their weapons raised and ready. "General, General, are you alright?" the sixth trooper who seemed to be the commander was saying. Koth wheezed struggling to regain his breath.

---

Master Sashi slashed the B2 battle droid in two. With the force enhancing her speed she ducked and spun underneath another advancing foe, using one of her green blades to cut through to cut slice off the gun mounting on his right forearm, and the second to pierce through his abdomen, compassing a full spin before the droid even hit the ground. Poised like a beast about to strike she rose upwards, deactivating her lightsaber's so as to hurl further advancing waves telekinetically away from her.

As Kaleesh and droid opponents were hurled in every direction about her she noticed the Roggwart duo cutting their wave through a swath of clone and Yam'rii troopers unfortunate enough to get in the mighty beast way. The two Kaleesh riders plunged elongated spears into the fray, skewering foes at a phenomenal rate, but this was nothing compared to the devastation that the mighty beasts were inflicting. Driven by blood lust the creatures were slashing wildly with their taloned appendages, and the attempts by the soldiers to surmount the beast did little more than to drive them into further agitation and frenzy. Droplets of blood coursed from slash marks made by Yam'rii talons and spearheads, whilst cauterised marks indicated where blaster bolts had been shrugged off either by the mounts armour, or its thick hides.

The steed on the left (Sashi's right) was driven on by pain as well. One of its eyes was punctured, a massive stream of blood streamed from the now useless jelly like orb. The shaft of the spear that dealt the wound was still stuck in socket, and every time it moved the beast wailed in further agitation. Its rider, though struggling to maintain control of the mighty beast utilised this to his advantage, steering the beasts fury, which enabled it to finally smash its way through the crumbling defences, allowing both rider and mount to spot the Jedi warrior.

Clone and Yam'rii troopers formed up around her as the solitary rider urged his steed forward, leaving his comrade and mounting soldiers to finish up the last feeble remnants of the previous encounter. Closing the gap at a furious pace, the kolkpravis lowered his spear, as the Clone troopers behind Sashi waited for the beast to enter optimum firing range and the Yam'rii hesitated as though deciding whether or not to flee. Ultimately neither side managed to engage each other in a melee.

Concentrating with all her might Sashi, was able to call upon the power of the force to telekinetically lift the fearsome creature several inches off of the floor. Driven into a panicked hysteria, the beast started thrashing about frantically, as the rider gripped the saddle and reigns in terror. They were systematically tossed backwards, as Sashi conjured up a force wave so powerful it hurled the three ton beast backwards as though he were a space dull.

With a sickening crunch the shrieking mount collided with the second Roggwart, which had just broken free of the combat zone. With a sickening crunch, both beasts crashed to the ground, both howling in absolute agony, as their bodies now blocked up the street. Unable to move fast enough the Kaleesh riders had been crushed under the ginormous weight of their own mounts, making all the more difficult for their comrades to shift the mighty beasts.

Sashi knew that this blockade was only temporary and that Separatist reinforcements would soon start converging on this area at all speed. So taking advantage of the situation, she took full command of the squad and within seconds a full retreat was on hand.

---

Day break had finally arrived across Kalee's eastern hemisphere. The colours of the heavens now shifted, as they gave way from the dark recesses of night, to the smooth pearly tendrils of grey which indicated dawns first light. Yet even so the warriors at Shrupak paid it little attention. All across the temples precinct the battle had degraded so that it was no longer a single unified conflict, which one might usually have expected to find in a galaxy divided by war. This was a case that called for matters to be decided by the skills of the individual rather than by the masses however, and more often than not long range shoot outs had been abandoned, replaced instead by regular instances of hand to hand combat, a feat which suited the Kaleesh and Yam'rii far more than it did the clone troopers or their droid counterparts.

As in any case there are always a few exceptions to this rule, and one such encounter took place in the recesses of the temples northern perimeters, not to far away from the glistening seas that stretched beyond the great pyramids northern perimeter. Rignan and his siblings stood united wherever they went across the battlefield. Together they had already succeeded in taking down scores of enemies, watching out for each other as siblings were supposed to do. Now they took part in a major engagement that was located on the northern most perimeter of Shrupak's complex.

Back to back Rignan and his eldest sister Amirna slashed and stabbed at foes, the pair of them each wielded Lig blades in conjunction with a Shoni spear. Not to far away their two elder brothers demonstrated their own proficient skills with a sword and spear respectfully, whilst the two youngest members of the family wielded outland rifles. Even now in the heat of battle, Rignan took the opportunity to nod at Dunsan as his baby brother pulled off a perfect head shot, before then returning to the fray. Blades descended, weapons discharged, and the enemy dead started to mount up. United together like this small family was strong, unassailable, and all but invincible. Just like he had once been!

The same could not be said for the invaders whose numbers were rapidly declining under the Kaleesh assault. The all Yam'rii unit, led by General Mal himself screeched in anguish and fury as more and more of their warriors were cut down. Desperately they tried maddening the pace and fury of their own assault. Talons were slashing through the air, spears descended in frenzied furry, and tall spindly figures towered over smaller, much more stocky ones. It did little to turn the scales however, for the Kaleesh were driven by a fierce desire to liberate their home world and gain vengeance for everything that had wrought upon them.

Hissing furiously Mal ascended, blood dripping from his gapping maw from where he had just torn his victims throat out. The fatally wounded the kolkpravis squirmed and writhed beneath him, mouth gurgling, as he thrashed about in what would be his death throws. The Huk general stood up to survey his foe with grim satisfaction before something tackled him from the side.

Mal and his aggressor rolled away from the body of the dying kolkpravis, as an entangled mass. Disentangling themselves Mal rose furiously to his feet and came face to face with a livid Bentilais san Sk'ar. Also standing the gargantuan warrior had somehow managed to maintain a hold of that vastly thick truncated instrument he called a weapon. In contrast Mal, wielded no weapon, his talons and teeth had served him faithfully enough up till now and he saw no reason for that to change now.

The creature bore down on him with the tenacity of a savage brute, his staff sailing through the air, crashing down in the exact position where Mal had been a moment ago, before he was able to side step the swipe. Even though tall by Yam'rii standards General Mal was still nothing in size when it was compared to this beast. He was however more agile and quicker of pace than this creature seemed to be. As such he managed to dodge the incoming instrument then with a furious hatred he leapt straight towards the goliath like a feline predator, trying to mount an oversized meal.

Thrown off balance Sk'ar dropped his weapon, then turned about so as to grapple hand to hand with his foe. The insectoids claws raked across his skin tearing open blood vessels as he somehow managed to grab a hold of the insects hands and hoist them away from him. Holding them out at arms length Sk'ar glared straight into the face of General Mal. The Kaleesh's face worked around into an expression of absolute loathing, and though his features prevented him from casting a similar expression it was no less obvious to him, that the feeling was all to mutual.

Pent up tensions exploded and the duo unleashed a savage war cry straight into the other ones faces. The insectoids shrill and noisy, the saurischian's hoarse and feral. Speaks of blood flew from General Mal's gapping maw, splashing the Kaleesh with the blood of a fallen comrade an act which did nothing short of irritate the Bentilais san even further. Snarling he tightened his hold intending to squeeze the life out of the insectoids limbs.

Howling in pain and fury Mal used his levitated height to position his feet over his adversaries thorax. Pushing backwards he gained some distance in their proximity so that now, Sk'ar's fingers were curdled around his wrists instead. Mal sank his two taloned fingers deep into the Kaleesh's palms and when that didn't work he began kicking him. The six pack Sk'ar had earnt due to years of combat training enabled him to hold off the majority of the pain for a given level of time, but eventually after a particularly nasty slash raked across his abdomen, even the hardened Izvoshra had to give way to pain in the end.

Unaware that the Kaleesh were now finishing of the last of his soldiers, and that a band of them were now moving off to comb the building which the band had been protecting, Mal leapt to his feet and charged Bentilais san once again, intent on bring what he perceived to be weakened adversary down. He underestimated the resilience of his opponent however and as he came around Sk'ar seized him tightly around the neck with his injured hand. Held at arms length again Mal's taloned fingers raked across the flesh of his opponents wrist draw yet more blood, and then when that didn't work sank his teeth firmly into the soldiers flesh.

Howling in fury Sk'ar brought his free hand around and smacked Mal straight in the face. The blow severely dazed the Yam'rii causing him to break his assault. Several of Mal's fangs broke off in the wound, adding to Sk'ar's pain and further fury. With a cry Sk'ar threw himself forward slamming Mal to the ground causing the insectoid to real from the impact, and held him there with the intent of totally subduing quarry. Refusing to give in Mal tried to retaliate, bringing his taloned fingers of his left hand up to rake at the Izvoshra's face. The claws scrapped across the cheeks, carving in further channels before a fierce set of jaws clamped around the chitinous wrist with such force that a few seconds later the sound of breaking chitin rang in Sk'ar's ears.

Mal screeched, and began thrashing about in agony, as Sk'ar released the now useless appendage. Deep intentions left by the force of Sk'ar's bite ensured that the wrist would never work properly for the insectoid again, though Sk'ar intended for there not to be a next time. With his adversary now totally subdued, Sk'ar intended to choke the life out of him. This had been a worthy opponent, a champion perhaps whose demise was certain to bring him further prestige and standing amongst his people.

"GENERAL!" a voice cried, and Sk'ar whipped around to see a small group of insectoids charging his way, intent on saving the cradled figure still thrashing wildly in his arms. Three seconds later however the band had dissipated, cut down as Rignan and his siblings came charging forward. As the last insectoid toppled downwards, Rignan and his entourage gazed down at Bentilais san who meet their gaze with an expressionless but intense stare.

"I told you that we were ready, and that we would find some way to repay our debt to you" Rignan told him.

Sk'ar's expression did not change, but he nodded gratefully towards the group. "I guess so" he said rising to his feet, Mal hanging limply in his arms. A quick surveillance told him that the Kaleesh had gained victory here. Aside from the one held in his grasp no insectoids remained standing. "Seems I was wrong to underestimate you" he said, speaking directly to Rignan and his siblings. "You've fought valiantly here today, you really are your fathers sons and daughters".

The groups smiles were interrupted by a trio of Kaleesh who approached from the side buildings which the insect swarm had been defending. "Hey boss, look what we found cowering away, inside the precinct" one of them said, as the other two dragged a trembling figure forward. They threw him down in the dirt at Sk'ar's feet, where crouched down on all fours he turned to gaze upwards into the face of his captor. Sk'ar's lips curled gleefully as he took note of the insectoids lavish robes, and the way he trembled in the wake of warrior that could so easily smash his face through.

"Ha, ha, ha. Senator Derm I presume" he said by way of greeting, "which means that you must be General Mal". The insects response was to struggle even harder as Sk'ar hoisted him up off the floor once again. A quick tightening of the hand latched around his throat however proved sufficient for the insectoid worm to cease his insufficient attempts at a struggle. Grinning from ear to ear, Sk'ar sneered as he gazed from one cowering insectoid to another, "Well isn't that interesting. Now I have the two most influential figures of the Yam'rii invasion force in my hands. Quite literally in fact. Isn't that just ... peachy".

---

Kolback Nil'bitmi fell backwards. His body crashed into the ground, with the assurances of finality. The wheezed as his body smacked down, for despite the ferocity of Grievous' melee, the Jedi knight was still alive. Now he reeled in pain, a broken husk resting at the taloned feet of General Grievous.

The bio droid general gazed downwards lightsaber's still operational, as he stared at the now broken body of his third failed adversary. Despite all the tenacity and strength behind his Form V Djem So strikes it was only now that Grievous had managed to best the Anx's Form III Soresu defensive. The Jedi here upon Kalee were good, but so far not good enough.

Two of them now lay dead, and two of them had yet to be encountered. The fifth and final one, now lay broken at his feet, barely conscious but otherwise still alive, though given the fact that his right arm and left leg had now been severed at the shoulder and hip joints, it was reasonable to say that the Jedi no longer posed any danger to either himself nor any of his entourage. As always when dealing with a Jedi adversary, Grievous contemplated killing him on the spot. It would be the most gracious thing to do after all.

Any encounter with a Jedi was risky and fraught with danger and Grievous was one of the few non force affiliated beings capable of evening the playing fields. His trophy room didn't get filled all by itself, yet even so one on one engagements with such beings on any level were tough and dangerous, and here for the first time since arriving in Kadok Grievous had paid the price. The left half of his torso had been shredded open, the durasteel plates being pulled backwards to expose the green synthskin concealed underneath.

The blow, dealt by a glancing hit from one of the duel blades had been subsequently expanded upon using the force, inspiring Grievous to level the playing field with a fresh series of uncompromising blows which ultimately severed the soldiers sword arm and leg. Now he was defenceless, utterly helpless, completely at the mercy of General Grievous.

One simple stroke was all that it would take to end the Anx's agony and torment, but even so, and despite every fibre of his being telling him to do so otherwise, Grievous decided against it. There was no sense of pity nor mercy to this act, it was simply the will of the Jedi slayer to see his adversary suffer in as many ways as possible, a simple killing however pleasurable would not surely suffice. Grievous wanted the Anx to witness everything, to watch as the entirety of his schemes failed upon the Kadok region. Why send the Anx to a simple grave, when the agony of living would more than suffice.

Count Dooku wanted victory in all forms, and Grievous had just succeeded in best three of the five Jedi sent to subjugate the forces here upon Kalee. Now only two remained and their fates were perhaps the most crucial to the otherwise successful accomplishments of his campaign. Dooku had once said that for one of Grievous' calliper, victory over Jedi Knights and Padawan's was to be expected, and so far this was all that Grievous had encountered, knights and Padawan's, interrogation from the prisoners had told him that much.

What he needed to do, in order to demonstrate the full validity of his value was to best these two remaining adversaries in open combat. Only then would he have his victory. Only by besting of a Jedi Master could he truly prove himself. It was a challenge that Grievous found himself more than willing to undertake.

Kolback withered underneath him, but Grievous paid the Anx little more attention: he was already dead anyway as far as Grievous was concerned, he simply hadn't died yet. Grievous turned to face the kolkpravis and MagnaGuard's which stood alongside, seeing as they were the only figures he trusted. "Make sure that he is kept alive long enough to witness the successful execution of his remaining friends. Use any methods necessary and be sure to carry him along with you if necessary, but remember I want him to remain alive. If anything should happen to him, I will execute the lot of you personally".

The guards nodded imperviously, then set about gathering Kolback Nil'bitmi into their arms. Forming up in a triangle they formed a defensive wall around the Jedi with one person supporting him on each side. With their trophy barely visible enough for everyone to see the group set of in General Grievous who had already set off in the direction of the Shrupak monument itself.

Even so the cyborg paused just long enough to extract an elongated duel twin lightsaber blade from the cold dead fingers, of a disarticulated hand.

---

Eeth Koth ran the Kaleesh warrior through, then made a mad dash in the opposite direct heading towards the confines of the great temple itself. He had managed to avoid the trio MagnaGuard's that had initially pursued him since the offset of the battle but not he feared without the sacrifice of his Yam'rii guards and the clones soldiers lives. Now he had run straight into a second Kaleesh ambush only this time he had to rely upon his own skills and sheer dumb luck in order to escape the battle field.

Everywhere he looked the situation was becoming more forlorn and hopeless. Despite the valour, dignity and sacrifice of his soldiers it was becoming clear now that the Separatists were going to win this engagement. The Republic was in full retreat towards the only place it might be able to hold out now, the confines of the temple of itself. Yet even so the vast majority of them never made it.

A squadron of B1's was hot on his heels discharging salvos which the Jedi Master was barely able to deflect or evade. Scenes of carnage passed by him. Kaleesh and droids were massacring soldiers in all directions. Only those who surrendered or who had lost there weapons were spared. For anyone else there was no mercy.

Red salvos tore through visors.

Sternums and carapace was being slashed open.

Soldiers were run through.

Impaled by sharpened instruments.

In one instance Koth thought he saw the body of Clone Commander Willis being hoisted into the air crying out in agony as he was forced to his knees and restrained hands placed behind his back. He had no time to wait and see whether his assumptions were correct or not. He was almost at the foot of the pyramid now and the unit on his heels was closing fast.

Rounding a corner he came almost face to face with an assortment of blaster rifles, all of which were levelled straight at him. He had but a second to realise what he was staring at, before he called upon the force to dive off to the side and get out of the way of the squadrons line of fire. With the General now safely out of the way the clone troopers under Sashi Betrini and Commander Willis opened fire upon the inbound enemy unit. At the discharge rate of two to three shoots per weapon all seventeen of the Jedi's B1 pursuers were deactivated, de-commissioned before they even had a chance to launch a retaliatory strike.

Koth scrambled to his feet, reactivating his lightsaber which was still clutched tightly in his hand. He noted that Sashi still had her weapon primed too. Of Kolback Nil'bitmi, General Mal and Senator Derm there was no sign. Koth stepped over the bodies of his fallen enemies knowing full well that there were more of them out there. What was more they would not be alone, there were fouler and more monstrous creatures at work here than just the B1 battle droids.

"Are you ok?" Sashi breathed as he approached. The Jedi master shook off her concerns with a reassuring nod and the faint vestiges of what might have been a smile. In truth however this was no time for joy. Though relieved to see that two of his most faithful compatriots were still alive, this was not the time or place to allow such joys to linger. He feared for the lives of his fellow senior officials and the lives of the men which still remained alive and fighting.

"Commander what is the situation?"

"It no good sir. The Kaleesh have breached the entirety of our perimeter, our men are falling back!"

Damn it Koth cursed inwardly as his worst fears were realised, out loud he said "Has there been any news from Master Kolback or General Mal?"

The clone shook his head, unable to bring himself to speak about his own anxieties. Koth took a moment to contemplate the validity of the situation. Sounds of further slaughter, fear and panic now echoed all around him. From his perceptions he sensed the advance of much worse things than the B1 battle droids, noticing how the few clone and Yam'rii soldiers not engaged in a fight were now fleeing for their lives. Those on the outer peripheries made a mad dash for the safety of the canopy, whilst those trapped in the centre of the fight made for the only source of refuge they could think of; that of the Shrupak temple itself.

"Koth" Sashi spoke, perhaps realising what he was thinking. "Koth its no good. We can't hold them back any longer! We have to accept it this system is lost!"

She was right, and there was no denying it. Their bastions were broken.

Their soldiers were either dead, dying or else being captured.

It had been a fools gambit to try and stay and fight here!

The Shrupak Temple was overrun!

Kalee, had fallen!

Yet even so the Zarbak did not allow his fear to consume him, fear was not the Jedi way. There was still one final gambit that had yet to be played. A situation which the Jedi might be able to utilise to their advantage, hopefully saving the lives of as many people as possible. "Commander!" he turned to the only person within this small bodyguard who had the effective means with which to carry out what he perceived would be his final instructions.

"Tell your men to disengage, tell anyone who can to flee into the wilderness, have the Yam'rii follow suit. For those who can make for the gunships. I am giving them authorisation to take off. Tell them to try and navigate the orbital armada and make for Republic controlled space. For those who cannot retreat fall back to the temple. We will try and hold out there as long as we can, in order to by the others some time!"

---

Willis sent out a coded retreat message, which passed across the intercoms. Throughout the establishment the clone and Yam'rii troopers began to fall back, carrying out what they determined to be course of action, relative to get themselves out of this situation alive. Grievous assumed this directive came from Eeth Koth himself. Cutting a path through further squadrons, alongside a swarm of Kaleesh, he noticed that those unoccupied, or else not caught up in the melee turned and ran towards the pyramid. So they intended to make a final stand, how quaint!

At the same time, other reports came in telling him that the Jedi's followers were making a break for it. From what his armours communications relays told him, a small minority of the enemy entourage were attempting to breech the barricade and flee across the outer peripheries to what they presumed to be the relative safety of the forest canopy.

Grievous snorted. He instructed KD67 to unleash the Roggwart riders upon these dishonourable cowards, with specific instructions that he wanted no survivors. Situation resolved, he let the matter drop and focused his attention instead on the advancing horde. A whir of engines overhead caught his attention for a moment, and he turned to see three or four LAAT class gunships making a break for it. Moving away from the temple, the troop carriers crossed the sunlit horizon at barely comparable speed, making for Kalee's outer atmosphere, no doubt in a forlorn attempt to reach Republic controlled space.

Huh the fools, Grievous contended. It was as he said, a fools gambit. Grievous was no fool, he knew how to make sure that even this futile gesture met with catastrophic failure. "To all units it concerns; look to the skies" he said casually over his armour systems intercoms. With that he dismissed the matter as quickly as he had with the Republics retreat. The instructions he had just relayed were now being distributed to every droid fighter in the vicinity and it would only be a short while before the rest of the armada found out as well.

The last remaining tendrils of the Grand Armada's space fleet were about to be wiped out.

Now, Grievous was content to deal with the ground forces at his leisure.

---

The last of the Republics lines were barely forming up when the front wave of the Separatist mass arrived. Composed of barely two hundred warriors the Republic lines were stretched out in the wake of the great pyramid, forming a battle line merely two persons deep. One figure armed with a blaster rifle crouched down on one knee poised to take position whilst the other figure stood behind him / her with a second weapon held to bear.

The Kaleesh and droids had an assortment of weaponry also and were now pouring onto the scene, the tips of muzzles smoking, sharp tips of weapons stained with blood, broad leafed blades glistening in the early rays of dawns first light. Until now the Jedi's enemies were discharging their weapons indiscriminately, massacring anyone that did not make it to the 'safety' of the defensive lines in time. Now though, at an ungiven signal, the droids ceased firing. The confusion behind this manoeuvre caused the Kaleesh to stop shooting as well, as they looked wildly around for an explanation.

For a moment all was still, the two assailants stood staring doggedly at each other, the conflict between them seemed to be over. Yam'rii and clones gazed at each other curiously. Kaleesh gazed at battle droids demandingly. The few Roggwart's present on the scene grunted discontently, held back as they were by the content of their riders.

Eeth Koth straightened himself upwards into a tense standing position, his features tight, ready to spring at the slightest sound. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Master Sashi mirror his stance as she stood next to him, hands never wavering from the hilts of her lightsaber's, which she now held firmly. Koth only gave her a moments gaze before returning his attention to his adversaries. The outcome of the battle was a forgone conclusion at this point, but that did not matter as far as Eeth Koth was concerned. As the old saying goes: a battle not won until the last bullet is fired.

At last a reason behind this sudden intermission was provided in the form of a waking crowd. The Kaleesh and droids stepped aside to allow a solitary figure to advance. He did so at a strut, mechanical limbs creaking with each step, marching with the air of absolute authority and purpose. His gaze was intent and focus as he made his way through the ranks a trio of MagnaGuard's tailing at his heels.

Koth let the grip on his blade slacken somewhat, and felt tension rise up within him, as the all too familiar being came into focus. Yet even so the Jedi Master refused to let anger and vengeance cloud his judgement ore his reality. Instead the Jedi Master braced himself as the two Supreme Commanders came face to face.

"General Koth, so nice to see you again" the bio droid commented coming to a halt not far away from the position where the Jedi was standing.

"Grievous" Koth said darkly, brows furrowing, hand coiling around the hilt of his lightsaber. Like him the droid general already had his weapons in hand, only his blades were currently deactivated as he gazed contemplatively upon his prey.

"It's been so long since we have last seen each other, I see that little has changed since our last encounter however. Although I do notice that you have a new companion with you this time" Grievous added gesturing at Sashi who like wise stood ready to defend herself. The cyborg laughed at this gesture.

"I see that little has changed for you either General" Koth said in a casual tone, no trace of hostility present in his voice. "Though I must say I am surprised to find you all the way out here in Kadok. A bold move, and quite unexpected!"

Grievous stiffened, eyes blazing at the with fury even as they narrowed match his cold monotonic laugh. "I always take time to reacquaint myself with old enemies" he said coldly, eyes darting through the crowd as he spoke, enabling Koth to realise that Grievous was not just talking about him.

"Ah" the Jedi Master breathed, "I see. Now it becomes clear. In a galaxy divided by war, you saw it as the perfect opportunity to help the Kaleesh reinitiate the Huk Wars, bringing further devastation to this region of the galaxy". The Jedi twirled his lightsaber blade, pointing at accusingly at the cybernetic war hero, "A cowardly trick even by your standards!"

Behind him the infuriated mob started to beckon, gesturing in outrage at the Jedi Masters contempt. Only when Grievous raised a clenched duranium and durasteeled fist did the agitated crowd fall silent. "That is not the way I see it!" Grievous countered, his voice contorted with rage. "From what I gather, it seems that you and your entourage are the ones that attacked my people Koth. No doubt at the Yam'rii's behest. That makes you the instigators of this war. I cannot be held responsible for what has transpired here, not when I am leading the Kaleesh out on a rightful campaign of vengeance!"

A silence hung in the air at this comment. Koth and Sashi exchanged a startled glance, temporarily dumbfounded, by the concepts behind Grievous' revelation. In that instant all counter arguments, and reassessment of the facts were temporarily forgotten. "Your people?" Master Sashi breathed. "So this is what you used to be ... before you ... you became this!"

She almost seemed to pity him, a feat which brought Grievous' agitation to new heights. "Spare me the mockery of your sympathies Jedi. I am not interested in the condolences of any being, which played a role in the subjugation of my people. Who and what I may be was forfeited a long time ago. Now I live for only one thing. To see you die!"

Next to Sashi, Commander Willis leant in just close enough to effectively whisper into the Jedi's ear. "My men are ready to take position ma'am, and they have a clear line of fire. Just say the word and we will blast him right here and now."

Never taking her eyes off Grievous, Sashi edged over just slightly enough to mutter a reply. "Keep that option open" she said, barely moving her lips. "For now keep fire trained on him. Be ready to strike at any sign!" Nodding faintly Willis returned to a standby position as Koth reinitiated the conversation.

"Before you make any final moves General, you might want to consider the severity of the situation that you now find yourself standing in."

This statement was met with a laugh not just from the General but the Kaleesh entourage as well, and even the battle droids got in a verb or two. "What situation? I see no problem with the matter at hand!" Grievous contended. With a casual wave of his hand the crowds parted again making way for a small contingent of followers which Grievous casually made way for. "Your army has been more or less annihilated. You and the rest of its pitiful remainders are now surrounded with no chance whatsoever of escape, and as you can see ..." he gestured as Bentilais san Sk'ar and a group of Kaleesh kolkpravis dumped the barely conscious forms of Senator Derm, General Mal and Kolback Nil'bitmi onto the plateau at Grievous' feet. "Not even the political slash military figures of your armies leading parties remain safe. You are trapped on a hostile system, light years away from even the nearest sources of help. Tell me oh so wise Jedi what is there left for me to consider besides the total elimination of your forces."

"The safety of your people!" Sashi acknowledged. "You were right to assume that this liberation was carried out at the Yam'rii's behest. An official petition was made as a result of the devastation wrought upon the peoples of Oben, followed up by a series of similar attacks across the colony worlds. These unprovoked military actions are a direct breach of the terms established by the treaty following the conclusion of the Huk Wars more than a decade ago. As the main emissaries of those negotiations the Jedi order was obliged to intervene."

"We came here to bring peace and order back to this sector Grievous, at the behest of a Republic ally. Now you threaten to destabilise that instability even further!" Koth added.

"Is that so?" Grievous hissed discontently.

"Negotiate with us Grievous, and perhaps the Senate will be merciful towards both you and your people" Koth demanded, pointing his lightsaber in Grievous' direction once more.

"If you don't, you will do nothing except bring further torments and agonies down upon your people" Sashi warned. "Even if you manage to defeat us here, the Republic will soon learn of what transpired. They will send another army, a bigger one this time to deal with the situation at hand. Please" she said sincerely, "I implore you to think about the long term consequences of what your actions could bring down upon your home-world before it destroys everything that you hold dear. Think about your people, and they will have to endure".

"I don't need to think" Grievous responded, and all sets of eyes turned to gaze upon him. Amongst the rabble six sets of eyes gazed upon Grievous with a particular intensity, but so far none of them said anything.

The moment, they knew was seconds away!

"Foolish, naïve Jedi, it is thanks to you that my people found themselves in this situation in the first place, but that is not the only matter. You and your army has been deceived, right from the very beginning, before this campaign even started. That treaty you made reference to was built upon a lie and a dastardly trick, one which cost us everything. Now once again you played right into the Yam'rii's hands, enabling them to achieve their own selfish ambitions at the expense of our own rights and suffering."

The atmosphere in Shrupak suddenly became very tense. Across the field clone troopers cast suspicious glances sideways at those who were supposed to be their allies. Most of the insectoids hissed menacingly at Grievous, or else responded with snarls, with what one could only assume to be the utmost fury in regards to these wicked allegations. In one or two places however, it was impossible to mistake the way some of the insectoids shifted uncomfortably and gazed wearily at the Jedi onlookers. What did this mean? Was there some element of truth to Grievous' claim or were they just fearful that some of the mud might stick.

Whatever the case Grievous didn't give them time to dwell upon it!

"Negotiations are impossible, especially with me Jedi" the cyborg stated, hands uncoiling now as they split length ways to form, four separated arms. Delving into his cloak, the new set of limbs extracted a second lightsaber each and with a small hiss brought the new weapons to life. "You destroyed my peoples way of life once before. I will not allow you to do the same thing again. The time to rid Kadok of your otherwise trivial existence: has come!"

And with that, he charged!

Sashi and Koth were barely able to assume standby positions before Grievous was upon them. Hacking and slashing amid a multi-coloured array the cyborg began driving his opponents backwards, honing in on the offensive. Golden eyes narrowed, Grievous' gaze never faltered as the Jedi barely managed to keep pace under his relentless assault.

With unbridled fury the cyborg continued to hound them with multiple strikes reminiscent of the seventh lightsaber style, their florid attempts at Soresu barely able to contain the offensive. The Zarbak and the Human continued to adopt defensive styles, never hesitating to give ground continuously. It was the only way to avoid being skewered upon the end of these stolen lightsaber's.

With each passing second the combatants ascended Shrupak's structure. Grievous may have been stronger, and taller than either of his adversaries but the two organics were Jedi Masters, standing amongst the most powerful of their orders hierarchy. Plus they had the force to aid them, making them forces to be reckoned with.

Unable to break the assault the two Jedi moved simultaneously in opposite directions across the pyramids lateral surface, their connection to the force enabled them to move in synchronised fashion. Now they stood on either side of their opponent. The manoeuvre was not enough to stop Grievous, but it did mean having to divert attention to either side of the two flanks.

Grievous hissed irritably, as the Jedi repelled a second round of strikes, his blows glancing aimlessly off of their lightsaber's. He came at them from just about every conceivable angle but so far this strategy was proving useless. Sashi's two blades clashed and parried against his own, whilst Koth moved with precisioned skill so that his single blade came at such concentrated levels that it was able to meet each onset head on, deflecting potentially fatal blows offset.

Unable to break this staunch defence Grievous changed tactics, launching himself forwards, angling up for a new assault. Koth leapt backwards evasively, then met the charge head on whilst Sashi seeing an opportunity ducked out to one side, coming up alongside the cyborg. She launched in for another strike intending to cut Grievous across the back, with both blades. Yet without even looking, Grievous intercepted it, one single blade come down vertically. The strength behind it was enough to fix Sashi in place and only then did Grievous turn to stare at her.

An angry wheeze escaped him, and a pant escaped her lips from blatant exhaustion. Their eyes meet for only a fraction of a second, but as the golden eyes meet her brown ones Sashi recognised the true scale of the monster which now dwelt behind the mask. Once a proud and noble citizen of Kalee, Grievous had subsequently been transformed into a creature beyond all reason. The creature behind that assemblage of durasteel ad hard wiring was devoid of compassion and remorse.

Though reluctant to kill unless she could avoid it Sashi recognised that there was no choice in this matter. Grievous would never stop, and unless they dealt with him now, others were more than likely to suffer that same fate. As such Sashi abandoned all hope of reasoning and gave herself over to the force.

Returning to reality she realised Koth was held back in exactly the same mannerism that she was. Without saying a word to each other the two Jedi exchanged signified nods with each other then adopted new aggressive styles, launching attacks of their own. Working furious Grievous managed to repel the majority of the incoming fire, still fighting furiously between the two Jedi. However, as he made to step backwards, one of Sashi's blades wheeled its way past the cyborgs defences the tip managing to land a glancing blow upon his hip joint.

Grievous gasped as he lost his footing. From the internal systems in his armour he knew that the damage was not sufficient enough to actually severe the limb. Never the less it caused him to collapse for a moment as most of the circuitry temporarily short-circuited. The cyborg threw out hands to protect himself fists clashing sharply against the stone surface, extinguishing the lightsaber's in each of his two right hands exposing his chest particularly the damaged left side of his torso.

The two Jedi were upon him in seconds, weapons angled downwards to deal a fatal blow. Yet even now Grievous was not defenceless. He brought his two remaining blades around at just the right time and place to intercept all three of the Jedi's weapons, then throw them backwards with enough force to make them stagger as he rose hap-hazardly to his feet once again. His gate was stuttered, and he moved with a pronounced limb now.

Snarling, Grievous reactivated only one of his decommissioned weapons stowing the other one back into the dark recesses of his cloak. Staggering he brought the other weapons round in a full circle stretching the blades out before him as he took on the shape of one of his own defensive styles. Stretched before him like the blades of a lawn mower these rotations amounted to nothing short of an impenetrable defence.

None of Master Sashi nor Eeth Koth's blades were able to surmount this unstoppable barrage, but even so they had succeeded in their objective. Grievous was on the defensive!

---

Meanwhile, back at ground level the battle had surmounted to nothing short of its long overdue conclusion. Without Grievous or Koth left to temper their resolve, the two armies fell upon each other, entering what was nothing more than the final stages of the assault.

With Sk'ar leading them by order, the Kaleesh and their coalition forces fell upon the front lines in full force. Brave or foolhardy the highly trained disciplined forces of the Republic lines exchanged fire under the leadership of their legions commander, whilst the Yam'rii lowered their spears in defensive ranks. But even so the stand off had lasted only for a few seconds.

A few heart beats after the outcry the Kaleesh forces reached the front line.

Kaleesh batted aside all forms of resistance, which fell under a wave of bodies.

Droids hacked or slew their way through enemies under a wave of turbo / salvo fire, adding further to the dismay.

Kolkpravis wound behind the enemy lines, forming up in tightly knit bundles around individuals sufficiently capable enough to stave off death for the time being. Forced into submissive positions, these poor soldiers both clone and Yam'rii alike were forcedly stripped of their weapons, then forced upright enough, so as to be properly restrained, namely in the form of thick long lengths of cord, which was tied sufficiently tight enough to hold both sets of hands painfully behind the occupants back.

Despite all this Willis did not go down without a fight. Weapons stretched out before him, it had cost the elite kolkpravis a full six of their fighting men in terms of both injury ad fatality before any of the Kaleesh were able to bear down on the supreme clone commander. Met by a bellowing challenge the soldier turned about to see a unit of six kolkpravis bearing down on him as one. The two wielding Outland rifles stretched them out before them hoping to resolve this the old fashioned way.

Overcome by pain and fear Willis still refused to back down easily as he levelled his weapons in the direction of the oncoming foes. Before he could even get a shot in however one of the other soldiers in the unit charged forwards angling in low, so as to slice him across the quadricep with the sharp edges of a Lig blade. Collapsing to one knee Willis still straightened up, as if trying to reassume a defensive posture, only to be met with the flat side of a second Lig blade cutting across his forearm, causing the weapon to be cast aside and discharging aimlessly.

This motion was quickly followed up by a male Kaleesh at the front of the unit who stabbed the commander through the collar bone. The sharp angled tip of his Shoni spear severed through the armour, tearing through flesh, muscle and bone as it came on right through and came on out the other side. Unable to restrain himself Willis let out a shrill cry of pain, adding his own gale to the dying throng as he collapsed into the dirt.

Yet even so the legions commander was still alive. Surrounded by a wall of enemies who gazed reproachfully down at him. Then the unit parted to let a seventh figure through, this one taller than any of the others, and wielding a long bronze staff as thick as a tree's branch. Smiling down at the wounded soldier the kolkpravis congratulated his fellows on their success, telling them to restrain him, before setting out on other errands.

It was all Willis could do to allow himself to be lifted upwards into a crouching position, before his hands were brought round behind his back and the sinuous restraints were applied. He was then dragged off along with the other small remainder of the planets liberators in order to wait out the final stages of the outcome.

Save for the encounter between the two sets of commanders, the battle for Kalee was now over. All that the survivors had to do was wait for the outcome of that final encounter to be decided!

---

Grievous surmounted the final step of Shrupak's stairwell, and came out onto the flat levelled surface of the pyramids dorsal structure, bringing him a short reprieve. His right leg groaned irritably as the gears and leavers struggled to function properly, giving him a slanted stance. It had been a mistake to engage the Jedi with four lightsaber's in such a confined area, it had made him clumsy and more cumbersome. The two extra weapons had now been stashed away once again, but now with the playing field level he was ready to go all out with his two remaining weapons.

Grievous was no fool, he knew full well that Dooku had positioned spies amongst his army, spies that would be watching and recording his every move in order to send the full scope of his accomplishment / failure to the Separatists head of state. To make sure that the information on that datafile was of good value, Grievous knew that he had to come out on top! That was why there had been no droids or Kaleesh to aid him on any of his previous encounters, and was why there were none here now. This was his battle, and he had to win it!

The Jedi appeared over the surface of the stairs. With his six fingered hands locked around the hilt of the extended blades, Grievous charged out to meet them, once again.

His Makashi style offensive succeeded in catching the two Jedi Guardians off guard but within a few heart beats their Form V defences forced him into a retreat once more. Utilising Shien and Djem So respectively Koth and Sashi tried to turn the cyborgs attacks against him, using their small advantage in numbers to force the offensive. Grievous met the strikes with Niman, only to be forced backwards as Koth broke off so as to telekinetically hurl the cyborg across the playing field.

The two Jedi Masters were exhausted, and though the pair utilised the force to sooth the aching of their limbs and revitalise their energy reserves, the excursions under the blazing sun were beginning to take a heavy toll. The duo adopted defensive positions as Grievous used the momentum of the assault to land parallel on the ground. Scurrying towards them like a crab droid the cyborg leapt at them from eight feet away reigniting his lightsaber's and re-assaulting them with intensified ferocity.

This time it was the Jedi who gave ground, even as they launched counter offences of their own. Grievous held the Ataru and Shii-Cho attacks at bay, then with a sudden burst moved in closer. Koth stepped out of harms way dodging the swinging blade aimed at him. Sashi now left at Grievous' mercy was forced backwards linking both of her blades against the cyborgs own.

Grievous shoved her backwards, once more as Koth came charging in from the left blade held aloft for an intended Ataru strike. Grievous batted the blade aside with his right blade and then at the same time brought out his leg. Seizing a fist full of Jedi robes amongst his uninjured talons Grievous pivoted spinning about on his injured leg, hurling the Jedi Master head over heels across the battlefield. Caught completely off guard by the sudden manoeuvre Koth had no time to compose or redirect himself as he was thrown painfully seventeen feet away.

Lightsaber falling from his grasp the Zarbak rolled the last few feet before managing to come to a stop. Reposition himself on all fours, it took him several seconds to compose himself once more. He was shaken, his body drenched in sweet and was now winded. Though every fibre of his being wished to do so he knew there was no choice but to wait before re-engaging in the battle. A short distance away he heard the sounds of battle recommencing and turned to watch as Sashi engaged Grievous all by her lonesome. Panting heavily, it was all the Zarbak could do as he desperately turned to the light side to heal his aching injuries.

The conflict had brought Sashi and Grievous close to the pyramids proximal edge. Blades spinning, and focusing attention on each other, the two combatants were never the less able to maintain sufficient distance so as not to upset their footing. The exchange was a florid one, yet it was clear that Grievous was now dominating the battle. Though Sashi may have been more practiced and refined in terms of her lightsaber skills it was quickly becoming clear that she was no match for Grievous superior strength.

The cyborg forced her backwards, twirling his lightsaber's in a full three sixty arc. Sashi swatted at them, able to match his strike levels but not surpass them. Her attempts at Shii-Cho also yielded no real result. They drew away, gazing at each other. Grievous harshly, Sashi expressionlessly.

They re-engaged and this time it was Sashi who was on the offensive. Utilising Djem So she countered each of Grievous' blades with her own, sloping them off in harmless trajectories as she waited for a possible opening. The moment came when caught up in a defensive pit manoeuvre Grievous staggered upon his injured leg. Swinging her blades around she cuffed Grievous' green lightsaber aside and lunged furious at the cybernetic warrior with her own set.

The attack however caused Grievous to topple, collapsing into a crouching position shortly before her lunge. Sashi's attack missed only by a few centimetres, the motion causing her to stagger. Grievous sprang forward, the blue blade in his right hand fixing the humans firmly in place, as he forced he backwards. At the same time, Sashi straightened, as Grievous brought his second blade round to catch her from behind.

There was a small pop, Sashi gasped, and she stiffened as her body went into shock. The lightsaber's tumbled from her hands, deactivating before they crashed onto the pyramids surface. Sashi made no attempt to reach for them, as she collapsed flat on her chest, a hand flying to the cauterised wound, which now dwelt in the lower most section of her back.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Koth screamed, but it was already to late.

Grievous may not have been able to deal out the death blow as he had otherwise intended but his most recent strike insured that the female Jedi was taken out of the confrontation permanently. There was only so far that the Jedi healing arts could take her, and this was the type of injury which would permanently handicap the fabled warrior for the rest of her existence. Paralyzed from the waist down, and with no sense of feeling left within her legs whatsoever, Master Sashi Betrini was powerless to help herself as Grievous rose up and stood callously above her.

Gasping in agony, she gazed imploringly up at him, only to be met with a stoic silence. Grievous stooped down, seized her around the collar and pulled her upright. He then hurled her piteously over the temples edge, down the stone steps that had been used to ascend the great pyramid. Sashi tumbled towards a painful collision with the stair well, hands grasping helplessly at thin air, before she crashed and came to rest against the stone structure. Rolling down several further steps, her broken form was retrieved by a unit of kolkpravis, so as to be further added to the Kaleesh collective prisoners.

The notion pleased Grievous.

Four down, and only one to go!

He turned to face his adversary, to find the Zarbak getting to his feet and frowning furiously at him, the nearest thing Grievous would get to an emotional reaction out of this opponent. For a moment all was silent as the two combatants stared at each other. Not a word was exchanged just cold, serious glances.

Simultaneously they reactivated the energy weapons, and simultaneously they charged to meet each other. Their weapons fizzed ad crackled as the two exchanged glancing blows with each other, Koth iterating the fourth style of lightsaber combat, Grievous adopting the seventh. They lashed out, struck downwards, hacked and slashed at each other. Giving himself over to the force the Zarbak was able to keep pace with the enhanced movements of Grievous' cybernetic strikes.

Koth rotated in a full graceful arc blade slashing round offensively but simultaneously blocking a the double bladed strike that came his way. Grievous responded with no fewer than sixteen powerful strikes in the span of three seconds, Koth's lightsaber repelled them all. They disengaged Koth standing backwards, arms held out horizontally to the side, Grievous stooped because of his injured leg.

Spinning his blades once more the cyborg launched himself forwards, taking on a Djem So style attack. Koth intercepted it with Soresu then instantaneously changed to the Niman form, adopting a series of acrobatic pivots and feints that enable him to dodge the incoming blades. Infuriated Grievous rushed at him, and the Jedi master seized upon the opportunity.

"HUAH!" with a cry of exasperation, Koth paced himself backwards, swinging his blade forwards, at the one real weakness in Grievous' armour.

"AAAGGGHHHH!" The cyborg shrieked as the refined tip of the lightsaber blade brushed up against his face plate, and then tore through it creating a long vertical slash right across his brow line. The edges were cauterised and still smoking, Grievous could feel the heat of the agitated metal sheering his flesh, and it caused him to stumble. Koth's blade came in a second time, this time aimed for a killing blow. Grievous stagger ultimately saved his life but once again the narrow point of the green lightsaber blade somehow managed to find the fine quarters of the skull like mask, so that this time as they made a fine vertical cross section, the entire left side of Grievous' face mask fell away, exposing the flesh beneath.

Grievous howled in agony, staggering backwards, casting aside the lightsaber in his left hand so as to put the cool durasteel palm over his ruined features. The skin was still itching from where the recent burns had agitated it, the mere touch of the warm tropical air agitating it further. Palm stretched across his face Grievous reopened his one remaining good eye, so as to gage Koth's bearings and position.

Taking advantage of the situation the Zarbak pressed home his advantage determined to end him as certainly as Grievous would have had their positions been reversed. One handed Grievous parried with Koth, successfully intercepting all his strikes, then lunged forward, striking the alien hard across the chest with a balled up fist. The force shield Koth had formed around himself saved his life but did not stop the pain coursing through him as several of his ribs were bruised and his sternum cracked.

They were both stooped now as they gazed at each other one last time. The Zabrak's mouth was hanging open, sweating profusely as he gulped down huge quantities of warm luxurious air. Grievous was panting also, in a feat which had nothing to do with exhaustion. His left eye was twitching irritably as his unhealed flesh was exposed to the elements of his home-world once more. The mere touch of Kalee's tropical atmosphere appeared to cause the remains of the battered creature behind the disguise more agony than anything that had transpired thus far.

Their eyes met, slitted stared straight into ovular ones. Time seemed to slow right down as they emitted simultaneous battle cries. They charged forwards at the same time, the Zarbak's long black hair streaming out behind him, Grievous' cape stretching out behind its master.

Their Makashi strikes meet each other simultaneously, enabling the duo to move up in close proximity to each other.

As their blades careened off harmlessly to one side, Grievous took the opportunity to strike Koth a painful blow to the shoulder with a karate style chop.

The Zarbak cried out in pain, and responded by locking both palms around the hilt of his lightsaber, throwing Grievous' one backwards.

Grievous used the momentum to curve the blade round in a graceful arc and bring it round in a manoeuvre intended to sever off both of the Zarbak's legs.

Koth gracefully jumped over the incoming strike and used it as an opportunity to kick Grievous hard in the chest.

Thrown back briefly Grievous recovered a few seconds later. Lightsaber now stretched out aimlessly to the side, he instead used this as an opportunity to come upwards with a second karate chop.

Koth gasped as Grievous' hand dealt him a hard painful slap to the right side of the face. Only the force shield saved his bones from sustaining any mortal injuries. He responded almost blindly by bring his blade upwards forcing the cyborg to retreat, a feat which gave him an opening. Shifting the grip of his lightsaber solely to his right hand the Zarbak utilised the palm of his left hand to create a small concentrated sphere of force energy, which he then promptly hurled into the small area of weakness he himself had created earlier.

Grievous howled, as the sphere smacked into the left side of his face. Head tilted upwards and to the side Grievous was blinking back stars as Koth followed this up with a second telekinetic strike which took him right to the edge of the pyramid step. His lightsaber fell from his hand and landed several inches away.

Blinking back the pain, Grievous extended his hand out towards it, his fingers just brushing the very edges of the refined hilt when a sudden movement caught his eye. Staring straight up into the sun, he was barely able to make out the sight and shape of Eeth Koth. The Jedi Master had hurled himself straight upwards into the air, legs tucked underneath him, eyes blazing with passion and purpose. Both of the Zarbak's arms were extended vertically above him, the palms fastened around the hilt of his lightsaber, which was now extending downwards as he leapt forwards to deal the final coup de gra.

Grievous' eyes furrowed and a growl escaped his vocal receptors. The cyborgs fingers locked around the hilt of the lightsaber blade. He brought the blade to life with a hiss and swung it round as he brought his uninjured leg up to intercept his adversary.

---

Far below at the base of the temples foundations, Bentilais san Sk'ar and the rest of the Separatist entourage, were barely able to discern two silhouetted figures which battled each other against the temples apex. Crouched on upon their knees the Republic survivors were granted a less conspicuous view, but those at the front, including Sashi, Kolback, Willis, Mal and Derm were among those few granted a clear visual. Rignan and his siblings stood clustered around one of these beings, watching in fixated interest as for a brief instant the two shadowy beings collided with each other.

Then one of them was sent tumbling down the temples edifice. The momentum carried the being right down, causing him to cart wheel several times as he collided painfully with the stone flagon on several occasions.

With a pain filled grunt the Zarbak came crashing down into mud that made up Shrupak's home soil. He was battered, bruised and seemed to temporarily have lost consciousness. Sk'ar and the surrounding kolkpravis / droids stiffened, as did the remaining Jedi prisoners and other commanders. Both of the Jedi Masters hands were missing, with cauterised stumps being left behind in their wake. Cut across horizontally the left hand had been severed at the elbow, whilst the right had been cut off at the forearm closer to the wrist.

Koth regained consciousness, trying to push himself upwards, but unable to do so because of the absence of his hands. He was forced instead to crane his neck upwards, and gaze upon his consorts and enemies with glazed bleary eyes. Once a great inspirational leader, and a profaned advocate of everything that the Jedi order now stood for, Eeth Koth had finally been reduced to nothing short of another casualty of this war.

The horrific nature of the injury did not cause the Kaleesh to celebrate, however. Holy men and warriors alike clutched at the staffs ad hilts of their weapons, gazing down awestruck at the being who had led the campaign which resulted in the brief acquisition of their home planet. Then the eyes relocated as a metallic figure descended the stone steps. Grievous was limping heavily now supporting the majority of his weight upon his one good leg. The Kaleesh were horrified by the state he was in, yet the Khagan kept himself tall and proud as much as possible.

Grievous came to a halt several feet above Koth's relative position, drawing in several deep, rasping breaths that had nothing to do with exhaustion. In the hushed silence that greeted him, it was only this sound which could be heard. All eyes were upon the cyborg general, a mixture of fear and anticipation stretching across every face though the former was found to be the primary spectacle of the day. Grievous ignored these stares as he gazed down upon his spectators friend and foe alone, the later being of more significant interest to him.

Here sat the profound proof of his conquest. The trophies of his war. Tokens of his victory. He had wrestled control back away from a Republic world, defeated a grand army upon a monumental and in this latest encounter had single-handedly bested not just one, but three Jedi, two of whom were masters.

He had achieved Dooku's assignment and avenged his people!

Seemingly unaware of what he was doing Grievous dug the six finger digits of his right had into the gap that separated the fractured face plate from his face. Digging the hard cold durasteel digits into the side was both painful and cumbersome but after he succeeded, he began to pull. Even with his enhanced vigour it took the better portion of his strength to peel the tightly sealed faceplate away. His body and armour system wailed in protest but Grievous ignored them, such was the intensity of his rage.

His rage at Koth, at the Jedi order, at the Yam'rii and the Republic, and for everything they had done.

His fury at Dooku and the other Separatist trash piles, and that they could ever doubt him.

With an almighty wrench and a sudden snap the durasteel plate broke away, and Grievous shrieked. The harsh bellowing cry echoed across the entirety of the valley struck terror into the hearts of everyone who heard it. Many took frightened steps backwards as Grievous stopped thrashing about, breathing heavily as he turned to look upon his vanquished adversaries his face exposed not just to them but to the real elements of his home world one last time.

Qymaen jai Sheelal choked on the humid air, blinking rapidly as he tried to hold back the agony he felt as the air touched the burnt unhealed flesh that dwelt beneath his mask. He had no teeth, no nose and no lowers jaw. What remained of his cranium was supported amongst a twisted mangle of electro wires and short circuitry.

Jedi, clone, Yam'rii, Kaleesh and battle droid alike jumped with fright and many of the females screamed. Once again many jumped back as the cybernetic figure stumbled forwards, his senses overcome by pain and torment. Only Sk'ar, Rignan, his siblings and a few other brave souls remained standing in their places.

"JEDI!" Grievous shrieked, and there was a note of madness in his voice as his tone, carried not just its metallic edge to it but also the remnant of a voice unheard for many long decades. An unforeseen relic to a by gone age.

"Curse you Jedi!" came the cracked barely discerable voice of the man behind the mask, as he glared upon his enemies hands balled up into fists. "Curse you and your stinking, cold back order. Curse the Republic that you claim to serve under and the stinking atrocities that you have committed in the name of justice. Damn you, for all of eternity!"

A wet slobbering cough cut off any further accusations. A hand flew to his throat as he tried to stem the breathing, but unable to do so he soon collapsed onto all fours. The Kaleesh and droids gasped and from within the crowds there came another cry.

"FATHER!" Rignan Jai Sheelal screamed as he and his siblings rushed forwards. They ran to Grievous' side clutching at his broken agonised form. The cyborg didn't even try to resist them as they reached out and supported him. He didn't even try to conceal his shame as one of Rignan's sisters turned aboutwards screaming at her associates to gather up some help.

---

Three hours later, The Shrupak Temple, Kalee.

Thus it was that after four days of brutal fighting the Second Battle for Kalee came to an conclusion. The previous conflict had seen the planets natives defeated ad the Republic being able to take the planet in the name of the Yam'rii movement after a major battle on planets the eastern hemisphere. Now however the positions of vanquisher and vanquished were reversed. Droid star fighters and tri droids now patrolled the sky in great swarms, whilst mortar tanks and other heavy support vehicles guarded the high plateau's. The droid and Kaleesh units had finally been granted some respite, but only a small percentage were taking the opportunity to rest or discuss what had transpired in the last 46 hours.

Kaleesh holy men stood atop the four corners of the great temple offering up great chorus' that drew civilians for miles around. The machines were ultimately indifferent of their achievement, seeing it simply as their duty to abide by Grievous' command. For the Kaleesh however a great sense of pride ad ease had finally returned to them. Though it was true that even before this conflict many of them had Separatist sympathies owing to the wrongs committed to them by the Republic, and the debt of gratitude they owed to the Intergalactic Banking Clan up until now there had been no need real need for them to fight in the Clone Wars. It had been the Republic, the Huk, the clones and the Jedi that had forced their hands. Now under Grievous' leadership, defeat had become victory and Kalee was safe once more, its people now fully rallied behind the Separatist cause.

As the small remainder of the Kaleesh populace continued to descend on mass, families were being reunited. Siblings exchanged pleasantries, parents embraced their sons and daughters, and condolences were being offered up to those who had lost family within the conflict. Amongst all the rabble the Kaleesh sought to remove any traces of the Yam'rii's presence here upon Kalee.

The small Republic base and its temporary instillations were being torn down. Statues and other sacred symbols were being restored to their rightful places and desecrated sites amended. The chants of the Holy men's main chorus could be heard for miles around as they praised their gods and ancestors for this great conquest, whilst at the same time smaller factions set about offering up small congregations honouring the brothers and sisters who had fallen in this conflict, ensuring that they were given full proper Kaleesh burial rites, so that they might finally be able to rest in peace.

Some Kaleesh were out hunting in the forests and steppes that surrounded the temple. Driven by bloodlust these warriors sought to find any foes that had been fortunate enough to escape the battle and make them pay for their last few actions with their lives. Yet more kolkpravis stalked the battleground with some Magna Guards, where clone and insectoid bodies now littered the field. They searched for survivors, with the intent of putting them out of their misery, no quarter would be given.

Any Huk and clones that had not been fortunate enough to die, or been able to find some means of escape were being held prisoner alongside their command. Sixteen thousand warriors had originally set out from the site of the Kaleesh's mortal enemies with the intent of 'liberating' all of the vital systems within the Kadok region. Now, only one hundred of the Republic soldiers (seventy Yam'rii, Derm and Mal among them, twenty seven clones including Willis and three of the Jedi) were known to have survived.

The rest of the ground troops along with their fleet had either been obliterated or soon would be.

As the sun rose higher into the sky, and the Holy men continued to glorify this triumph with song, three figures stood atop the temples great apex looking out over the terrestrial horizon. Bentilais san Sk'ar had his arms folded across his chest, a wicked smile dominated his features. On either side of him stood the two droid commanders, whose photo receptors followed them same trajectory as Bentilais san's eyes did. "Do you smell that droid's?" the organic asked as he drew in a deep relishing breath, which ended in a great sigh.

TS-192, and KD67 gazed curiously at him. "Uhm, we don't have breathing apparatus' sir and thus we don't understand what you are talking about."

Sk'ar rolled his eyes, his smile fading slight. "It was an expression, you dumb droid" he said coldly, cuffing the droid playfully in the arm. Well playful enough by his standards, for some of KD67 's circuits to be ruptured by the impact. "But allow me to elaborate on what exactly it is that you are missing out on" Sk'ar said, drawing another deep satisfying breath. ""That my friend's is the taste of victory and of a battle well fought! This conquest was both good and decisive, compared to the bygone triumphs of this planets ancient heroes!"

"Agreed" TS-192 nodded, "Count Dooku will be most satisfied by this accomplishment" he said whilst KD79 continued rubbing his arm as if hoping to get some feeling back into it.

Sk'ar frowned and otherwise shook his head, trust the droids to only regard this triumph as another exploit. He could understand why Grievous hated them. Still they had accomplished their task well and with minimal casualties all round. The time was now approaching for the Kaleesh to hold one final council of war, before the necessary offerings were given upwards to the Kaleesh higher powers.

"Come on!" he said matter of factly, "Lord Grievous wants us within the Great Crypt, one final time".

---

Grievous knelt before the statues of the gods and ancestors, specifically that of a female warrior with whom he had once shared an absolute soul defining experience. Only now he was not quite sure how he should feel. Until recently this room had been filled to bursting point with enemy control panels and monitoring used to communicate and guide the Republics now beleaguered forces across the desolate landscape. Now the operators were dead and the instruments had been discarded, this place was sacred once more. His damaged circuitry had been fixed and mended and a new mask had been restored.

The last time he had been into this centre his body had been intact and whole one last time. Now a different being crouched in the same mannerisms, right before the same statue that he had offered up his final prayers unto, never realising that he sat on the threshold of annihilation and that by the time he returned a new being would occupy that warriors standing. Qymaen jai Sheelal and General Grievous truly were one and the same but now as he gazed up at the honed, perfectly sculpted statue that marked the life and glory of Ronderu lij Kummar, he recognised that the former really had died that day and that General Grievous had been born in his entirety a short time afterwards.

It had taken a return journey to his home world for him to truly realise that. It had taken a full marshalling of the Kaleesh armies for Grievous to recognise his worth and prove his value in the eyes of the CIS commanders. For now the conflict was over, the hostilities that separated the two species had been seen through to their entirety. Within Grievous' mind however, a battle still raged.

His conquest was done, his ambition to Count Dooku had been achieved, logistically he had no reason to stay. But past events caused Grievous' mind to rebel against the callings, as these were his people he was dealing with and their drawn out enemies the Huk. Once, in a bygone period Grievous had triumphed on the field of battle against the Yam'rii insectoids before, pushing them back from his home world only to have the insectoids resort to debased treachery in order to see there ambitions through.

Now, several years later they had taken the opportunity to call upon their Jedi allies once more, to try and see if they could ascertain the full conquest of the Kadok regions once more. Grievous could not stand for that, his people were the ones on the defensive, their lives and cultures still teetered on the near brink of extinction as long as the Republic continued to support an ally that had won them over. Twenty years ago Grievous' people had been forced to suffer the irreparable consequences of an action based on a lie. Now the stage was set for the cycle to repeat all over again.

It was only a matter of time before the Republic bastions found out as to what had transpired here. Now, with full indisputable proof that the Kaleesh now operated within the CIS' ranks it was only a matter of time before the Republic sent another army to settle the discrepancies here in the Kadok region. Given what had happened the Jedi would be inclined to send a much greater division of the Republic's grand armada this time so as to protect the mutual interests of its staunch advocates, and this time Grievous could see no way that the remaining Kaleesh would be able to hold up against such overwhelming fire power and orbital armadas.

Something had to be done, and fast. Already the cybernetic General was figuring out a strategy, already the Kaleesh juggernaut was mobilising. The Kaleesh of Oben having heard about the triumph on their home world had defied Sk'ar's directive and marshalled an army against Yam'rii forces settled on the nearby worlds of Forlagne and Gorbraila. Sk'ar had admonished the action, and whilst Grievous had said nothing and simply retreated here to dwell upon the matter, now he commended it.

Grievous rose to his set, eyes blazing, vocal receptors unleashing the growl that eased out from beneath the metallic plates. His course was now clear! Due to the time discrepancies between the Kadok Regions and Serenno System Grievous knew that there was still four galactic standard days in which Dooku had given him to recognise his ambition. He clenched his fists. This was plenty of time in which to complete his conquest.

He had been given an opportunity and Grievous knew what he had to do with it!

A commotion outside, caught his attention. In the shadow of the doorway a small tussle had taken place. A small cluster of Kaleesh were trying to force their way past the Magna Guard sentries and gain entry into the chambers, and it was not the warlords. As such the Magna Guards continued to barricade their way and refused to back down.

"No and that is final! Aside from the warlords no one else is permitted entry, and seeing as how you do not qualify ..."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT!" a male voice shouted back. "We are the ones that kriffing brought him here, and he is tied to us in a mannerism which you are not even capable of understanding. We more than anybody else on this otherwise forsaken system have a right to see him. So let us through before I frigging reduce you to scrap metal!"

"Are you threatening me, kolkpravis?" IG-100 countered, bracing his electrostaff in close proximity to the young soldiers head. In a display of utter content Rignan Sheelal did not so much as flinch, though his fingers did coil menacingly around the aft of his own weapon. "Yes droid, I believe I am" he hissed easing the blade tenuously from the top most reaches of its scabbard.

"Enough of this!" a voice cut across them, and both parties stiffened. "IG-100, let them through" Grievous ordered. The humanoid droid turned slightly so as to look upon his commander. "But Sire, the warlords ..."

"Will have to wait" Grievous stated. "This is a personal matter, one that deserves resolving instantaneously. Allow these people safe passage and make sure to hold anyone else back until I have deemed it necessary".

IG-100 and his associate IG-208 waited one second, standing completely silent as their automated minds processed Grievous' latest directive. Then as one they bowed their heads in acknowledgement and sidestepped to let the interlopers past. A group of nine Kaleesh entered the foyer, four males and five females, Rignan at their head.

Together they formed a tight nit bunch, standing not three feet away from the figure whose life most of them had saved not a few short hours ago. Grievous met their gazes head on his own gaze was expressionless as ever, and his heart maintained a consistent pace and level of calm as he turned to each of the figures in turn. Their faces were hidden behind bone masks, but in eyes gleamed vestiges of real emotion.

Hurt. Anger. Longing. And Love!

The majority of them were armed, but then he realised these were the younger individuals, the ones who served among his army, with distinction from what he had seen. The other three were older now, their trappings indicative of figures unfit for battle and who served amongst the civilian ranks now, but still they held their heads high as they gazed upon him with an intensity he would not have thought possible of any being, not even his own.

Despite the severity of Rignan's insistence once inside the group remained quiet, unsure how to break the deftly silence. Grievous had no idea on how to approach the matter. Ever since his return, he had never in his wildest dreams expected this encounter.

Finally, it was the smallest member of the entourage, one of the older females that broke the silence. As she spoke Grievous noted how age had done little to make her stand out in the crowd, but that she still conducted herself in a manner befitting any worthy kolkpravis. "It has been ... so many years" she stated her voice slightly less vibrant from the last time he had heard it, "and until I heard what Rignan had said, and the way you defeated Bentilais san, I would not have thought it possible".

"Believe things however you want it to be, Ragne'jan" the metallic voice said, "it will not change anything after all".

The later half of this sentence was greatly ignored however. At the very mention of her name the woman had stiffened, now she drew a had back to the small head that concealed the dorsal half of her cranium, pushing it backwards and enabling her to take off her karabbac style mask once again. Age was indeed finally catching up to her; there were small creases in her face line, and her lustrous hair had streaks of grey in it. Still the way she smiled at him made it look as though the female human had been reborn all over again.

"It is you!" her lips trembled, then she broke into a run and threw her arms tentatively around his cold frame. "Oh my beloved!"

Grievous took a step backwards as she pressed her frame right against his cold one. His other two wives both of them Kaleesh also moved forward, their steps were more tentative but their eyes none the less benign and loving. The children hung back.

He recognised all of them by name: Ragne'jan, the mother of his two youngest children: Dunsan (whom Grievous had last seen as a baby) and his slightly older sister Heremnik.

Sharet'ea: the mother of his two eldest sons Rignan and Calmic.

And Herini: the mother of his son Jur'bay.

His sixth child: Frel'ana, his eldest living daughter had no mother. She had perished long ago along with the rest of his extensive family, leaving her only child to be raised by her father and remaiing clan mothers. Now at last, the decimated family was reunited once more.

Ragne'jan broke off the embrace, and gazed upwards recognising that he had not returned her signs of affection, nor reacted in any way. "Is everything ok, my beloved?"

Grievous turned to gaze down at her, his golden eyes met her brown ones. "Forgive me" he breathed after a moments hesitation, "it's just that ... I was not expecting to see any of you again. Especially not here of all places".

"We couldn't abandon our home world, especially not to those damned insectoids" Frel'ana countered, her voice rather cold and contemptuous as she addressed her father for the first time in decades. "Our pride as Kaleesh would not allow it" she continued. "It was our divine duty to join in the battle, we had to do right by the memory of our ancestors, and honour the sacrifice that those our bloodline made to ensure the safety and sanctity of every child of Kalee."

Grievous' chuckled, the first hint of emotion that he had give off since his re-encounter with his family. "Spoken like a true kolkpravis". The girl merely frowned, turning her head away from Grievous to gaze rather intently at her older brother, whose eyes narrowed I response to this comment. Grievous wasn't surprised to find this reaction didn't hurt him.

What puzzled him more than anything was the way in which Ragne'jan continued to remain in such close proximity to him, even the rest of his Kaleesh remained slightly backwards, providing the cybernetic being some small vestiges of personalised space. She remained close to him however, her frame stood only a few inches from his towering own. Now she was reaching up towards him, one hand coming to rest against the cold surface of his chest plate whilst another reached up to softly caress his check panel.

"Oh beloved what has happened to you?" she asked strenuously, "Your handsome face, your proud features ..."

"You have the Jedi to thank for it" Grievous admonished, his body becoming rigid as his fists tightened. The glare behind the eye intensified but still none of the other Sheelal's broke away from his stare. "It was they who sabotaged my craft, killed off the remainder of my Izvoshra, save for myself and Bentilais san of course. If not for the timely interventions of Count Dooku and what has come to be known as the Separatist armada, what little remained of me would have surely perished and be submersed upon the bottom of the Jenuwaa Sea."

Anger seemed to be the main course of action, in response to this speech as Ragne'jan nodded furiously, a menacing glint in her eyes as she dwelt, reminisantly on memoreies long since passed. "Yes Sk'ar suspected as much" she said through tight lips. "Once he made it back to shore, he came and found us, explained everything that had happened".

"Shortly after that he initiated the conquering of the planet Oben" Herini added.

"We fought alongside him during the conquest dearest" Sharet'ea explained, "he insisted that we do it in order to provide a better security and safety for our people. The campaign was fought in your name, dearest, meant to be a lasting tribute to your bravery and sacrifice. Sk'ar always said it was what you would have wanted most."

"Then Sk'ar is as rational as he is brave" Grievous acknowledged. "It seems I am in debted to him."

"More than you will ever understand" Rignan said coldly. Grievous turned to see that all six of his children were glaring at him a furious intensity. If he had been capable, he would have smiled inwardly, they really were his offspring.

"He took us in after that!" Rignan continued. "He had no wives or children of his own, no one to carry on his name sake, so he took us in. Raised us as if we were his own, did it in honour of you. He did everything for us. He taught us how to hunt, trained us in the art of war! Helped us survive when others had abandoned us".

"And you expect me to say that I regret all of that?" Grievous asked, his voice deathly cold, devoid of any kind of emotion. "Are you saying that you would rather take him as your father, if that is what you want to say then by all means admit to it. I cannot be blamed, and I have no intent of apologising for incidents which I had no control over."

At this Rignan completely lost his temper. "YOU WERE NEVER THERE!" he roared, ignoring the desperate silent pleas of his mother who tried to silence him, as he glared furtively at the man he had barely remembered, whom he had yearned for every day throughout his childhood and now felt like he hated with all his heart. "WE NEEDED YOU THERE, YOUR PLACE WAS HERE WITH YOUR FAMILY! YET YOU ABANDONED US! WE MOURNED YOU, EVERY SINGLE DAY, MOURED YOU AS IF YOU WERE DEAD. A PART OF US SECRETLY HOPED THAT YOU WERE, EVE THOUGH IT WAS NEVER CONFIRMED, A PART OF US HOPED IT WAS SO, SO THAT WE MIGHT GO ON. THAT IT MIGHT MAKE THINGS EASIER. ONLY NOW WE DISCOVER THAT YOU ARE ALIVE, HAVE BEEN ALIVE, ALL THIS TIME! GETTING ON WITH YOUR LIFE WITHOUT US!"

Grievous said nothing, he just stared blankly at his son. His attention was only diverted when another of his children bellowed forth her own rage. "WHY?" Heremnick screamed, "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US? WE ARE YOUR CHILDREN?! WE LOVE - LOVED" she hesitated at the words, and Grievous showed perhaps the tiniest slithers of hurt at this. "YOU WITH ALL OUR HEARTS. AND YET YOU ABANDONED US, AND YOU NEVER ONCE MADE ANY ATTEMPT TO CONTACT US SINCE THAT SHUTTLE INCIDENT!"

Again Grievous gave no response. Everyone was staring at him as Heremnick repeated her question, in that single word, tears glazing her golden eyes as her father remained stoically silent. Grievous realised that they had all been waiting for these answers for years, and yet even now, he didn't have one for them. He noticed Sk'ar and several other Kaleesh lurking in the backgrounds waiting at the entrance to this room, the warlords had finally come, but so far only two of them could be seen: Bentilais san who seemed to be deliberately obstructing the way of the other warriors, and a female Kaleesh that was staring rather intently at the situation.

Still the silence ensued, and grief appeared to settle over the Sheelal's. They gazed at each other not sure what to think, and Grievous shut his eyes contemplatively. "How can you live with yourself?" a female voice insisted. His daughter Frel'ana had finally found the chance to speak, "People talk of you as if you are some kind of hero: the great Qymaen jai Sheelal, the man who ultimately doomed his people, but turned back again, came back from the dead in order to save them. They speak as you as if you are a deity given form again, but here you are ... a coward, who can't even face his only family".

She sniffed, wiping away a stray tear that escaped from beneath her bone mask. Still Grievous did not speak nor did her look directly at her, so Frel'ana's grief intensified. "Well go on then tell us. What is it, what is your great secret?" she asked her voice becoming ever more cracked and hoarse. "How are you able to do it? How are you ... the great Qymaen jai Sheelal able to clamber out of bed each morning AND GO ABOUT LIVING WHEN SO MANY OTHERS HAVE DIED FOR YOU! WHEN YOU HAVE FORSAKEN EVERY LITTLE THING THAT HAD ANY DEFINITION, OR MEANING TO YOU?!"

"I don't!" Grievous admitted, opening his eyes and turning to face his daughter with an absolution that bordered on menacing. Frel'ana stepped backwards taking shelter alongside her brothers as Grievous continued to gaze at her. His voice was completely devoid of emotion, and as he pushed past his wives so as to advance and gaze upon his children, he showed no feelings except discontent and anger.

He stopped, no more than a few centimetres away from the daughter that had dared to question him, and found it did not please him to see her tremor beneath him. All eyes were upon him once more. When he spoke, his words were directed towards each and everyone of them, though his focus was intended directly for her.

"The fact of the matter is that Qymaen jai Sheelal, no longer exists. He has ceased to be more than a decade ago!"

"What are you saying?" Jur'bay insisted, suddenly forgetting to be angry and looking as flabbergasted as any of his siblings. "That name is everything to you, what you are, everything you have been. How can you go on living without being Qymaen jai Sheela-"

"Speak that name again in my presence and I will have you killed!" Grievous said, rounding on his son, with such angerisms that no one was left in any doubt to the seriousness behind this threat. Jur'bay flinched, quivering silently as Grievous turned to look back upon Frel'ana once more. "The fact of the matter is my dear daughter that the man you once cared for died along time ago. As you put it so aptly he did die within that shuttle crash all those years ago. It was at that time that everything in relation to my past life ceased to have any value or true meaning to me. Except perhaps for you, and your clan kin."

He paused, let those words seep through into every fibre of her being before resuming his dictation. "When I took upon the upgrades that turned me into the cybernetic being that I am now, it was the true clarity, a signification that I had become more powerful than I had ever dreamed of becoming, but it also signified the end of everything that I had once had. I don't feel anything the way I used to anymore, not the wind on my face, nor the void of space. Not even the warmth of another sentient's flesh. There was no going back, I can never be mortal again. The Jedi had taken everything me, turned me into an abomination, a living being brought from a nightmare, one that should never even be allowed to fester let alone maintain the travesty of existence. That is why I choose to maintain the title of 'Grievous' so that I could forever morn the lose for everything I once had. My home. My life. My family, both living and dead. That was the day I decided to protect my people, and what little I had left of my family by hiding away under the bearings of a false identity, and by never returning to the land I once held sacred. That way no one would be able to track you down, and harm you so as in order to get to me!"

He stopped, so as to let the clarity behind his literation sink in, then rounded it off by speaking these words. "So there you have it, my eldest predeta (daughter in the Kaleesh language)! That is the simple meaning behind everything that has happened in my life, up until this point. I never wanted to see any of you again, only so that I might protect you. Only now it seems that I have failed in my mission, the Jedi order still found an excuse to invade my home world at the behest of the emissaries of the Huk. I should have realised it was only a matter of time before the insectoids came crawling backwards in an attempt to reclaim what was denied of them so many years ago. Thus it was that I was drawn backwards, here to protect the prosperity and beings of my homeland. Now I intend to take what is rightfully ours ..."

The nine beings stared at him, all bleary eyed, their emotional levels running higher than they had ever been, bar from a few seconds ago. Grievous continued to stare upon Frel'ana, whose head was now bowed to him. Lifting up a hand Grievous gently tilted her chi upwards so that her golden eyes met his ones. He held it there for a short while before transferring the hand to her shoulder. "The only question remains, will you serve me as faithfully as you have these past few days. For despite the strain that now exists between us I do ... still ... love you my children, and I would give anything for you. I would have hoped that if you cannot love me as a being, then you may still love as a warrior."

"Je tra no bi nei, father!" (You will always have it, father!) Frel'ana declared, tears now spilling from her eyes, as she stepped forth and embraced him around his midsection, burying her head right under his chin. Grievous was caught off guard by this sudden movement. Ever the emotionless one, he was not known for his compassion or his kindness and as such was not sure how to react to this situation. It surprised him therefore as he slowly brought his arm around, and placed a comforting hand upon his eldest daughters shoulder.

There had been no deception behind that mark, and now he felt better about himself for saying that. It was perhaps a reiteration that he might otherwise have never have been able to convince himself of, unless he had made the journey back towards his home world. Perhaps this had been his true destiny all along.

The Kaleesh warlords had entered now, alongside the battle droids command, they stood in an organised rabble behind the Sheelal's waiting respectfully for their Khagan to finish with his personal business, before moving on to the final matters at hand. Grievous allowed the connection with his daughter to remain for a few more seconds then slowly broke off the embrace and gave her a small contemptuous nudge in the right iteration. Respectfully she bowed her head, brushed away the tears that now stopped streaming from her eyes and took up position alongside her siblings. Grievous noted that Rignan and the others now gazed upon him with a small measure of compassion and relevant levels of respect their anger all but forgotten, and now seemingly abated.

A shuffle told him that Ragne'jan and his two other wives had come up to take their rightful place on either side of him. Each one of them was smiling compassionately at their husband, with a look of warmth and compassion that he would never be able to truly return. His family matters now resolved Grievous turned his attention to his military staffing. "Is everything prepared?"

"Yes sir" Sk'ar confirmed, giving off a traditional Kaleesh salute. "The hunters returned a short time ago, bringing back the heads of plenty. As far as we can tell the last remaining remnants of the so called Grand Army has been swept away". There was a distinctive snigger amongst the patrons at this reference to the Republics lost entities.

"And the prisoners?"

"Gathered up and organised just as you instructed" a second warlord put forward. "The priests have prepared the sanctions and the offerings are ready to be made. The finest of our warriors have been assembled, and are ready to sacrifice the prisoners on your instructions".

"Of course the first and most prestigious offerings will be made by you, my Khagan" another female warlord reminded, bowing deeply at the waist to her cybernetic general.

"Of course" Grievous admitted, his voice flat and monotone, as he dwelt on the matter of hand. He now turned to the battled droids. "Have the logistics been counted up?"

"Yes sir" TS-192 acknowledged, with a small dip of the head. "All of the casualties have been accounted for. The incidences and encounters behind each and every battle have been added up and been compiled into the report which will be delivered to Count Dooku. The fleet is now preparing to depart on your instructions".

The Kaleesh turned to face Grievous. Though it was still a matter of time the fact that their saviour was about to leave them once more, obviously pained the vast majority of them. One female in particular, seemed very remorseful. The only being who did not react in anyway, was Grievous himself. "Is that so?"

"My Lord, you have now completed your mission. Count Dooku instructed you to liberate the planet in the name of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a matter which you have successfully accomplished here in Kadok. Logistically there is no need for you to stay here any longer than is necessary."

"As a matter of fact there is, a reason and a very good one at that" Grievous promptly corrected, causing the droid to fall silent. "We will return to the galaxy at large, but only once matters have been completely resolved here". The crowd continued to watch him with batted breath, realising that that was still ot to far away a few hours at the most. "Until then I guess there is nothing to do except ..."

"Wait! One second, please!" a voice proclaimed, and one of the female warlords stepped forwards, placing herself between Grievous and the hallway. She fell to one knee bowing deeply, as she turned her gaze down from the cyborg to gaze firmly at the heavily polished floor. "My liege, before we go on any further I have something that I would like to say". She maintained her position, never once shifting as she gazed at the cyborgs feet nor betraying any indication as to the reasons behind this motion.

She waited for Grievous' permission to speak, and only when he finally gave it, did she turn to faced him with a full look of longing and respect.

"My Lord, my name is Rutta sha Shevana, I am the leader of all warriors of the Shreopa clan. Several days ago, my people were among the last to surrender on the Kalvan planes following the conquest of our home world. It is a mark of shame, one that I shall have to live with for the rest of my days, but I found a chance at redemption under your leadership. At the very start of this campaign, you saved my life as I was about to be executed by that Yam'rii". Grievous gave no inclination as to ever taking part in the incident that she was saying. He remained stoically silent, his face bent towards the female with interest. After several seconds Rutta sha took this as an indication to carry on with her declamation.

"As part of my honour I am indebted to you now and forever. It is my living duty to repay this kindness with devotion and loyalty as would be demanded by any of our kind in order of the same transactions. Traditionally customs would dictate that I should marry you, given that my clan mate has long since passed, and that I sire as many children with you as possible I order to ensure the strong succession of both our remaining bloodlines. However ..." she stopped noticing the looks of horror and anger which spread across the other females faces particularly his remaining wives. " ... given everything that has just transpired I understand that this is no longer an option open to us. You are forever busy with your military duties, and I cannot replace that which has already been taken away from you, nor would I ever intend too. Never the less the debt must be repaid, which is why I think that I have come up with an alternative solution. When this campaign is over and the ceremony ended take me with you off of this world. Allow me to accompany you on your travels, so that I might serve you as faithfully as you have been able to serve your people this day. Let me provide you with the strongest of my warriors, and elite group of kolkpravis over one thousand strong. They will accompany you on whatever path you deem necessary for them, they will follow you into battle. If necessary they will follow you into death. Let this be our way of showing our gratitude to you. I beseech you, let us become an extension of your will and enable you to fight alongside your kin once again, as you always have done!"

Grievous straightened upwards an overwhelming sense of emotion coiling through him. To say that he was intrigued by this offering would be an understatement. An opportunity to led his people into battle once more, against the Republic. To command forces that were as uncompromising and charismatic as he was. To lead something far more creative, and worthy than any kind of battle droid was just the sort of thing that might be able to turn the tied of battle. This was an opportunity to good to be missed.

"What about the rest of you clan?" he inquired, wanting to be absolutely certain that he was doing the right thing by his people before taking his own selfish actions. "Will they not suffer without your leadership?"

The woman disregarded this question with a simple shake of her head. "Be not afraid my lord, for my people are strong in both will and character. Just as they will chose to be if you so wish of it. Besides, my sons have proven themselves in terms of both comradery and leadership. I have absolutely no doubt in saying that they will make fine warlords in my stead, and will ensure that more of my warriors remain ready to serve you, should you ever have need of them!"

"I most certainly will" Grievous proclaimed an excited edge, noticeable upon the fringes of his monotone. "The Kaleesh, are among the finest warriors of have ever encountered, and certainly more so than any of the battle droids that I have ever encountered. Notable examples stand with me in this very room " he said casting his eyes over his own children, a small note of pride evident in his voice. The adults flushed somewhat as Grievous stepped over his female charge who remained firmly on one knee as he stared straight into her eyes. "Are you willing to follow through with this proclamation?"

She did not so much as hesitate and dipped her head once more. "I most certainly am!"

"Then swear it!" Grievous proclaimed, extending out his right hand.

From her belt Shevena drew a dagger, and held out the palm of her otherwise free hand. Without hesitation she drew the edge across her open palm, wincing a little as the sharp edge tore through her skin. A trail of blood began to ooze out between her fingers and drip all over the floor. As the trail transformed into a small stream, she reached out and seized Grievous round by the wrist. "By the blood on this palm I pledge, my life and my fealty to you Grievous, our Khagan. It is to you that our tribe will now answer. We will serve, and if necessary, we will die for you, our Khagan!"

"It is done then" Grievous proclaimed, letting go of her hand. "Rise up Shevana, second in command to all at my disposal. It is to you that I shall now turn whenever a matter arises. With proper training you and your warriors shall become the finest soldiers amongst my army. I expect you to be as strong as you are reasonable. Do not ever let me down". She did as instructed a menacing glee protruding outwards from the features hidden beneath that bone mask.

She nodded, a fierce smile dominating her features as she rose to her feet once again. "I don't ever plan too" she admitted, and Grievous nodded. The matter was now resolved.

"Bentilais san" Grievous said, and the Khan stepped forward, falling respectfully to one knee and placing his hand upon the stone surface. "It is to you that I will entrust the security of my people" Grievous said placing a hand on the rim of Sk'ar's helmet. "Our people have flourished under your leadership once before, now I ask you to do the same again, only for the entirety of our species. You have proven yourself brave, stalwart and indomitable. I ask you to carry that task on until such a time comes that our people are no longer in danger, not only from the dangers presented here in Kadok but from the rest of the galaxy. I know that I am asking a lot of you, but I can think of no finer the person that I would have following on in my stead, and I know that you will find help from those that remain present here!" He nodded to the rest of the mob, who saluted enthusiastically. "Can I trust you, to led the rest? To look after everyone else until such a day comes when I am able to relieve you of that burden?"

"I most certainly am!" Sk'ar promised, turning to gaze up at his Khagan, with a look of honour and affection. "Then rise Lord Sk'ar, Khan and safeguard of all the Kaleesh peoples!"

Sk'ar did as instructed. "Khan I may be" he said bowing his head once more, "but we all know who the real saviour is here. You are and always will be my Khagan, Lord Grievous!" He reached out a massive hand and clasped Grievous' shoulder. "No traba, an as krill ah!"

Had it been anyone else, any other gesture Grievous might have been infuriated. Instead he found himself wishing he could smile as he reached out a clasped Bentilais sans shoulder with his own hand. "No krebe, na sil bo na!"

Sk'ar bowed his head and backed away once more. "Sir" the voice of TS-192 broke the serenity and reality returned.

"My Lord, the repair nodules have made all the necessary modifications to make the space fleet worthy once again. The nodule compiling the success of your mission is almost ready. It states that you have won a great victory against the Republic and saved your people once again. Also you have achieved it well within Count Dooku's time frame".

"The landing craft have begun descending and the droid armies are waiting to move on out at your instruction" KD79 added. "Would you like me to give the evacuation order?"

"No!" Grievous replied swiftly turning his marginally. "Not yet we are not done here."

The Kaleesh turned to look at him. "Then do you wish for me to contact Count Dooku so as to inform about your success?" TS-192 inquired.

"No! Don't do that either!" Grievous commanded. "There is no point, because the campaign isn't over!"

Everyone stiffened turning to look at him.

"What?" the battle droids gasped as conversation broke out between most of the automotons.

"Not over?"

"What is he talking about?"

"I thought we had been successful in Count Dooku's mission?"

"I don't want to die, I just had my armour systems repainted."

"SILENCE" Shevena roared, ad Grievous noticed how the droids fell silent almost instantaneously. If he had been capable he would have grinned maliciously, clearly Rutta Shevena was going to be a valuable ally to him after all. Turning back to him in a much more controversially and calm mannerism Rutta gazed inquisitively upon her Khagan. "What is the meaning of this my Lord, what do you mean that this campaign, is not yet over?"

Grievous placed his chin against his thorax, eyes blazing with intense purpose. "Listen very carefully. I have a plan. This is not the end of one campaign it is only the beginning …!"

---

"... for the Yam'rii threat is still out there. What has taken place will not end the hostilities, in fact it will only strengthen them" Grievous proclaimed. When he emerged out onto the planes of Shrupak, it was to find the vast majority of the Kaleesh populace gathered around before him. As one they had all bowed towards him and his hosts, then those gathered in the centres formed up around the surviving prisoners. Clone and Yam'rii alike were bound in subjugation as the Kaleesh stood over them, weapons drawn ready and waiting to deliver the killing blow.

Koth, Sashi, Kolback, Willis, Mal, Derm and a few other senior officials had been dragged out of the rabble and now dwelt upon the very edge of Shrupak. Surrounded by Kaleesh holy men they were set to be sacrificed to the Kaleesh gods as a tribute for this great slaughter. When they straightened up Koth however, so as to expose his neck and Grievous was handed a sacred dagger with which to perform the task, the cyborg simply coiled it around and handed it back. He said, that it was by no means a sacrilegious statement, only a necessity owing to the fact that the Kaleesh's campaign in Kadok had not reached its conclusion yet.

Now he addressed the entirety of the Kaleesh nation, just as he had addressed their warlords a short time ago.

"The Yam'rii will eventually discover what has transpired here, and when that time comes they will rely upon debased tricky to win this campaign, just as they did decades ago. Only this time they will send a much larger army in its wake. These hostilities will never cease, not until they have stripped us of everything that we hold dear and take everything of value and meaning."

His people exchanged glances unnerved by the realities that dwelt behind these words. "I have already taken the necessary steps to ensure that when this time arrives we are ready, and all set to deal with them. In the meantime, we still have the Huk armada's to worry about. Already they stand on the cusp of assembling another invasion fleet. Already they utilise our brothers and sisters as labourers of war making plans to reinvade, to colonize the world of Oban, just as they have done here. Already our people suffer and die at their hands so that they might make profits at our expense".

The crowd was really riled up now, and Grievous could sense he already had them in the palm of his durasteel hand. "What they do not realise is just how mistaken they are. We are not just some nerfing crab bluger that is going to sit idly by waiting for this conquest. We are the Kaleesh! Already, we the small forces here have defeated this grand army sent to do their dirty work. Already our Kaleesh brethren have mustered up the forces necessary to take the fight back to the Yam'rii stations established across the colony worlds, and do you know what I say to that. I SAY THAT THEY, HAVE GOT THE RIGHT IDEA!"

The Kaleesh people roared brandishing their fists. Excited battle cries followed in its wake and Grievous had to speak louder, so as to make himself heard. "It has been to long. To long have we waited in the shadows standing idly by and doing nothing, whilst the Huk flourished and prospered under the protection of the Galactic Republic and its perpetual operators within the Jedi order. That will not happen this day. The Senate is to busy, engaged in war. Its armies are scattered, conquering territories, fighting usurpers. The way is now open to us!"

"YA, YA, YA, YA!" came the consistent chant of the Kaleesh populace as Grievous rounded off his speech.

"The task ahead, will not be easy, but we have been given an opportunity to reclaim what is rightfully ours. Let us take the fight back to the enemy. Let us show these Jedi and their pawns the truth behind everything that has transpired behind these walls here for the past decade or so. Let us liberate those who have been conquered, take them out from under the whip and the heel of those who would make us slaves."

The Kaleesh brethren cheered, no longer simple tribal or farm folk but an entire nation of warriors ready to do battle under the leadership of their Khagan once more.

Grievous unhooked a handle of a lightsaber and held it aloft for all to see. "ARE YOU, WITH ME?!"

They held their own weapons aloft, chanting his name as Grievous gave a swish slashing movement and all remaining prisoners died shortly afterwards, leaving only the Jedi and his fellow officers to face the coming fire. Theirs was the duty to watch as Grievous carried out his threat, and brought conflict back to the entirety of the Kadok regions once more.

---

Four days later

All of his commanders were gathered with him now. On his right Sk'ar chuckled to himself, a look of mirthless pleasure on his face as he clenched his right fist so excitedly that his knuckles cracked. Ragne'jan stood on his left looking equally excited. The Kaleesh warchief's and his remaining family also stood around him watching and waiting for the site to unfold before them. To the groups right the Jedi and the survivors and Republic commanders knelt uncomfortably upon the durastain steel floor surrounded on all sides by MagnaGuard's and Kolkpravis, powerless do anything except look out of the straight view window in front of them.

For the moment all that anyone could see was the twisted blue swirls and hyperactive clouds that told everyone that the ship was currently travelling through hyperspace. It would stay that way for long. The grinding of motors and consistent steady buzzing of the ships engines told everyone that the ship was nearing its destination. With a barely noticeable jerk the ship entered real space once more, a moment later it was joined not just by the fleets other four Separatist style ships, but by the stolen cruisers and shuttles that Kaleesh army had gathered throughout its conquest. The ships surged forward towards the designated target that now lay before them.

Large and spacious the planet before them was mostly covered in dense green forest, though areas of barren wasteland did exist between them. Despite this hints of a vast array of advanced life was evidenced by the stream of starfighters and freighters coming and out of the planets surface. Few aboard the Vengeful Star had ever set foot on any of the core worlds, much less the Republic's so called capital of Coruscant, but if they could envision anything like it then this planet was as good a place to start as any.

Only this planets structures were not man made, but grown mainly artificially from the natural fauna, which had been tempered millennia ago to serve the wills and whims of the planets natives, the Kaleesh's hated foes. General Mal and Senator Derm both felt a looming sense of dread come over them as every fibre of their body seized up, and a cold chill enveloped them despite the ships relatively warm conditions. At long at last the Separatist forces had arrived, and were now within striking range of their home planet; Huk itself.

Grievous laughed coldly as he stared down at the spherical form of the object below him. It was from this planet that his hated foes had been spawned, from here that the plans had been raught, philosphies, treaties and ideologies that brought untold suffering upon his people. To him personally as well. Surely they must know that they were coming by now, and yet still he could see no more indications of a Yam'rii space fleet.

Huh, fools

Now the fate of tens of millions perhaps even billions rested on his call. TS-192 walked up beside him looking out of the window before turning back to his master. "We have arrived as you anticipated sir. The fleet is ready and waits for your command!"

There was no time to lose, he only had another eighteen hours to complete his work here and then transmit the news to Dooku, though he intended to wait for that, aiming to get it as close to the designated time that the bounty hunter had told him about. Right now though it was time to finish what had been started a long time ago, and bring the Huk War's to their final definitive conclusion.

"Send the star fighters down, tell them to clear a path for our landing forces then have sweep the system, then ravage the system. Destroy anything they come across" he ordered coldly. Ignoring Derm's pitiful but helpless scream and not turning around the cyborg spoke to TS-192. "Tell the troops to standby and wait for my command" the droid nodded as Grievous then addressed the remainder of his war chiefs.

"You will all accompany me down to the ship" he said directly. "Upon my command send forth all legions. Tell them to descend across the relevant hectares, they are to leave nothing standing. Have the primary units focus upon Scarab city. We do not stop the attack until the planet is desolated!"

"Sir, there are may be other species on the planet besides these Yam'rii how do wish for our warriors to proceed?" Sk'ar reminded him

Grievous narrowed his eyes, unmercifully. "Rescue any Kaleesh that you may find down there, but spare no one else" he said simply "Slay them all!"

End of Chapter 7

Authors note: I hope that you liked this chapter and enjoyed the battle scene.

Once again I apologise for the extensive delay but I think it turned out ok. Please let me know what you thought.

I can probably hear you are thinking: What does General Grievous have planned for Eeth Koth and the other Republic commanders?

Well you will have to wait and find out when the sixth and final chapter of this story is uploaded.