Chapter 16

Arakai slowly opened his eyes. He attempted to get off the bed only to discover that he had been strapped down to it. He scanned the room, taking note of the two doors on either side, the set of shelves across from him containing all his personal items, as well as the lack of a posted guard. He could feel vibrations coming from up the floor and shaking the bed. I'm on a ship. How did I get on a ship? He tried breaking free of the restraints but was unsuccessful. Where am I being taken? His mind was full of questions. Eventually, after several minutes of fussing, he slipped a hand out and reached over to free the other, followed by undoing the restraints on his ankles. Finally able to sit up, he began to look around for more clues as to what had happened. There was a sharp pain in his side. Where did that come from? He lifted his shirt to examine himself but found no bruising or evidence of foul play. Just then the door to his right opened and Captain Nox entered.

"Good morning, Mr. Remes," Nox greeted, "I see you've escaped your restraints."

"You mind telling me what the heck just happened?" Arakai began, "Where are you taking me?"

"Please, all will be explained shortly," Nox replied, "In the meantime, can I offer you a drink?"

A drink. There's something familiar about that. Arakai racked his memory for an answer. Last I remember I was having a drin- Drugged. The realization came quite quickly to him.

"No thanks," he answered.

"Really, I must insist," Nox pressured, "It is proper for a guest to share a-"

"I'm sure it is but if you don't mind, I think I'm done napping for the day."

"Very well," Nox seemed to spit, "You should learn to conduct yourself with good manners. Otherwise you may find yourself in more trouble than you already are."

"Last I checked, drugging 'guests' wasn't good manners."

"You may consider holding your tounge," Nox warned, "The General has a much shorter temper than me." With that Nox tased Arakai with an electro-prod. The shock temporarily paralyzed him allowing Nox to re-fasten the restraints to Arakai's limbs before leaving again. The General? What general? Arakai could tell it was shaping up to be a long day.

A few moments later the ship slowed to a stop. Arakai could hear clanking sounds coming from outside the hull. Did we land? The door opened again. This time Drimal entered the room.

"The paralyzing affect will only last a few minutes," he said while undoing Arakai's restraints, "You may feel slightly dizzy but it will pass."

"Where are we?" This was all that Arakai cared to know.

"We have just docked with the General's flagship, The Invisible Hand," Drimal explained, "You will be meeting him soon."

Why would a general have a flagship? Does he mean admiral?

"I hope he's more hospitable then you guys."

"I apologize for Captain Nox," Drimal stated, "He is not the most agreeable person."

"Well at least one of you knows how to treat a guest."

A few minutes passed and Arakai could start to move again. He tried to sit up but almost immediately flopped back down.

"You weren't kidding about the vertigo!"

Drimal laughed, "Don't move so quickly and it won't be as bad."

Arakai slowly sat up, this time stabilizing himself with his hands. He reached for his two 434 Deathhammers but was stopped by Drimal before he could pick them up.

"No weapons."

Ok, that's fair I guess. Next he reached for his holopad but again was stopped.

"No coms either?" he asked.

Drimal nodded, "I'm sorry, but to ensure the safety of both you and the General we cannot permit you to meet him while armed."

"Does this general have a name?" Arakai wondered aloud.

"Oh but of course," Drimal almost looked excited, "General Grievous."

"Grievous? Is that some sort of stage name?"

Drimal seemed annoyed at the comment. "Grievous is one of the finest generals in the galaxy. It would do you well to pay respect."

"Alright, alright, geez. Just making a joke man, lighten up."

"Come with me now," Drimal gestured towards the door. Arakai stood and followed him to the docking port where Nox and some other Neimoidians were waiting.

"The General will see you now," Nox said and opened the door. The next several minutes were spent following the Captain as he navigated his way to the bridge. Arakai was amazed at just how many battle droids there were on board. No wonder they made a clone army, he thought, otherwise the whole Republic would have been overrun. They continued making their way through various turbolifts and corridors until finally they entered the bridge.

In front of him stood a cloaked figure, with a head that looked like that of a robot. He was speaking to a hologram with his back to Nox and Arakai. Then, deactivating it, he turned to meet them.

Wow, Arakai thought, he's shorter than I expected.

"Greetings, General," Nox began, "This is the prisoner."

"Prisoner! I'm no prisoner! I'm here by my own choice!"

Drimal nudged him in his side communicating for him to be silent but the Grievous' attention had already been drawn to him.

"And who might you be?" he asked.

"My name is Arakai," he stated proudly, "Clan Remes, House Kryze. I'm come to enlist with the Confederacy of Independent Systems for the purpose of-"

"Kryze!?" Grievous cut him off, "I am fighting a war! I have no need for a pacifist!" He spat the word out with undisguised disdain.

"General, sir," Arakai tried to recover, "I may have been allied with Satine once, but make no mistake, I am a Mandalorian. I am more than prepared to do what is necessary in war."

"Then you had best be prepared to die!" Grievous raised his voice, "Mandalore is no ally of the Separatist Alliance and if you are with them then I will not hesitate to kill you!"

Grievous raised a blaster to Arakai's head. Instinctively, Arakai grabbed his hand twisting it against itself forcing him to drop the weapon. Then he picked it up for himself and aimed it at the General.

"You can't kill me that easily," he said confidently. But then he felt something pressed up against his side. Looking down he saw Grievous' other hand holding a lightsaber. Knowing he'd been outsmarted, he lowered the blaster and put his hands up.

"Before you kill me remember that Mandalore is a neutral system," Arakai tried to reason, "I'm not with the Republic."

Grievous growled, shoving the hilt deeper into Arakai's ribcage causing that sharp pain to return.

"Please, I swear, I'm here to enlist! Give me a chance and I promise you won't regret it!" At this point Arakai was practically begging for his life.

"Your skills are impressive," Grievous acknowledged, "But you lack experience." He reattached the weapon to its clip under his cloak. "You're lucky you convinced Dod of your intentions. Otherwise I would have gutted you here and now."

"Look, I know I haven't earned your trust yet, but I promise you, if you let me join up I can be of great service to the Alliance. I can fix your ships and droids, I can clean your weapons, but most importantly, I can fight. I have advanced training in martial arts, marksmanship, and piloting and I would be honored to put those skills to use for your worthy cause."

Grievous remained unconvinced. "Have you ever even seen a battle before?" he asked, "Do you know how to take a life? You're nothing but a peasant in search of glory, but you won't find it here!"

"Actually I have taken lives," Arakai's tone became more somber, "And I have seen battle. I lost Am- my wife during the attack on Alderaan. I'm not joining in search of glory; I want to avenge her death."

Grievous made no response. The entire bridge was silent for a painfully long time. A single tear escaped Arakai's eye as he remembered Amee. Drimal placed a hand on his shoulder in what was the only show of compassion he had received thus far.

"Go to Deralex," Grievous broke the silence, "Our forces there are in desperate need of fresh troops. I'm giving you command of a small company of droids. Prove to me that you're useful and I'll further consider your offer, Captain."

"Thank you," Arakai said softly, "I promise I won't let you down."

They left the bridge and headed back to the docking station.

"Congratulations on your promotion," Drimal whispered to him, "Welcome to the Confederacy."

Arakai smiled and boarded the shuttle, looking forward to the adventures that awaited him on Deralex.