The attack came- to no one's surprise. Technically, it was a counter-attack. Asajj, for reasons known only to her, likes to fight battles only in the most miserable, high-body count, inhospitable, and down-right uncivil, ways. Landing us in a swamp forced the clones to march through knee-deep muck for hours before encountering enemy troops. From my nice, relaxing view back at the home base, the whole thing was a pointless skirmish from start to finish. No one could move fast enough for rapid advancements, and no one could really find an advantage over the other. Heavy artillery was out of the question, since it would get stuck. Taking more than a handful of steps was out of the question too. Some droids became so inundated with muck that they could only shoot in one direction. After… oh, six or so hours of getting nothing done, Asajj called for a formal retreat.

Now, droids do not technically care about such trivialities, but if sometimes… sometimes it's like they almost have personalities.

"What a great attack! With a few more like it, we'll conquer even more mud!"

I laugh. The prisoners in the cells look up, disturbed. They could not hear the droids' chatter of course. I clear my throat, attempting to be professional about it.

A message blinks on my screen. It contains a picture depicting a blur; well, two blurs with flashing swords, "Ah! Yes! More Jedi scum to kill!"

I allow my machine to refine the image until it relates something much clearer.

Oh. Of course.

Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. I swear: the universe revolves around the two of them. How could they be here so quickly? And shouldn't Tano have sensed… ah. I get it now.

I walked over to her cell. I banged on the parasteel wall, "Jedi! Awaken!"

She groggily opened her eyes, "Wha- what?"

"Little Jedi…" I asked patiently, "Did you receive any visitors…?"

She swallowed hard. In my peripheral vision, I saw the other members of her delegation tense up. Interesting.

"...yes," She answered honestly.

It made sense. Obi Wan and Skywalker were here to visit her. And given that my Sith Master always seems to find a way to bring his pieces to bear against one another, he must have somehow known that the two Jedi would be here. But who could know about such a personal errand?! Especially considering the fact that… that I would have attacked a totally different way than Asajj Ventress. In a way that would have ensured that any foreign craft would be readily identified. I would have blasted Shili's largest cities, raining fire and death down on their heads. And, for some unfathomable reason, this was not in my master's plans.

I set a heavily defensive force into the swamp to repel the attack. There was no way, none at all that anybody would ever win a battle out there. It was muck, mud, sludge, and grime.

Of course, anyone who saw a jungle like that, furthermore fought in it previously, would have known that. So why send more troops in? Unless the attack is really a feint. Of course, with the deflector shield up, it was pointless to try and attack using ships; anything they tried to pierce our shield with would simply bounce off. The only way in or out of here was through something physical that could step through.

….I sighed. Jedi were quite predictable. Especially Skywalker. He sent his troops in to distract us and was now going on a lone mission to rescue Tano, hoping, unless I'm mistaken, that she will reconsider joining the Jedi Order.

Most of this is speculation, certainly, but… I've fought him often enough to know how he thinks.

I watch the droids on the screen engage the lager force. My mind was preoccupied with assembling a randomized defensive strategy. No doubt the young Jedi would try and figure out my defensive rounds. By making guards appear and disappear at random, I hoped to frustrate him.

Of course, once he was frustrated, he would go to Plan B. And that plan was always the same; make it up as we go along. Fortunately, Plan B usually doesn't last very long. This inevitably brings him to Plan C; attack, attack, and attack.

Within minutes, a small explosion echoes throughout the compound. I can only hope Obi Wan is there, because he would scold the younger Jedi for making such a scene.

…wow, I really do know these two way, way, way too well. Usually I've killed my opponents before learning this much about them.

I activate my defenses to attack him, going so far as to activate Public Announcement devices. It was only a matter of time until they learned I was here in the first place.

It takes less than a minute before Asajj herself appears to battle Skywalker. Kenobi is absent. That concerns me.

But not her apparently. She twirls and spins and hacks her heart's delight. I wait for Plan D; randomly attacking anything that causes a problem.

I hate Plan D.

Seriously, it happens every single time!

Kenobi hated Plan D almost as much as I did. The only one who did like it was Anakin. Asajj was also a fan, which is one of the reasons I loathe her; she doesn't care who much damage is done, just as long as she gets what she wants.

My droids are all rushing to one area of the compound. I summon a handful to guard the entrance to the prison. If Kenobi is here, then he is here for prisoners, Ahsoka being his top priority, which will lead him to my cells, which will lead him to me.

No sooner were my guards in place than the master Jedi himself appeared to strike them down. In the past, I would feel something akin to self-congratulations. But now… well, it's all become far too predictable; they attack us, we attack them. Occasionally innocent civilians get caught in the cross-fire, blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda, "Curse you Jedi sum!"

"Blast you, Grievous!"

Then, the next day, we do it all over again. Well, not this time. Kenobi ran up the ramp, cutting down my internal security. I shut the blast doors behind him. He pauses for a moment, realizing he just stepped into a trap.

I go to Tano's cell.

"Wake up, little Jedi," I taunt. Her eyes are open, clear and focused. She can feel him, no doubt about it. She searches for meaning in mine. Obviously, my next plan is going to change the playing field quite a bit.

"Do you need to rest again?" She asked curiously.

"No," I chortle, "It's time for you to kill one of your old friends!" I hand her a lightsaber. She looked at it with confusion.

"…what?"

I pick her up and shove her towards the approaching Jedi Master.

"Kill Obi Wan, or I will kill your friends!" I snap my fingers and my guards deactivate the cell door. One of them strode forward and grasped a Togruta about his neck.

"You have three seconds!" I order, "One…. Two…."

"I won't do it," She answered calmly, "I'm not a warrior."

"Three!" I'm about to snap my fingers when she looks me in the eyes.

"Are you?"

I paused, "What?"

"You gave me your word as a warrior you would release the rest. Are you a warrior or not?"

…This was an excellent question. And I had a reply.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ahsoka screamed in pain as I activated the shock collar. She panted for a moment, catching her breath.

"Do not think to lecture me on honor, youngling!" I hit the shock again, on a higher setting. She doubled over, howling, "Now fight!"

"…no."

I sigh. So much for changing the field of battle! I pick up the small Togruta and toss her towards the intruder.

"Prepare to die, Jedi!"

I charge. We duel. Blah, blah, blah, you know how the song and dance goes. This time, I focus on using only one blade. In the past, I used the force of four to gain advantage, but this time, I just felt like mixing it up.

It didn't work.

I attack, he defends, he attacks, I defend.

"Release the hostages!"

"Consider it done! Droids, attack!" Of course, Kenobi rushes to their defense, hastily gaining himself a few wounds. I wait it out with Tano, "Don't worry," I assure her, "I'm releasing them."

One of my guards is too far away for Kenobi to stop, so I order him to retreat. After scrapping two Magnas, he's had enough, and cuts a hole in the floor.

…that'll be a hassle to clean up.

"Ahsoka!" He called, desperately, "Come with me!"

"I can't!" She cried, "Run!"

The rest of my guards closed in. The prisoners were already gone, running for their lives. I hit a camp-wide alert to let them go. I am, after all, a warrior of his word.

"I get so tired of this," I sigh. It was foolish of me to say that in front of Tano, but it's true: No one ever really wins, or loses. We just… circle, waiting for our masters to allow one of us to die.

Kenobi escaped… of course… then Anakin escaped… once again, of course. Asajj flew into a psychotic rage… is anyone out there surprised anymore? Just once, I want to do something unexpected, something that no one would suspect the general of the Separatists would do.

…what if I were to attack Coruscant itself?! That would get their attention!

I snicker at the thought of Palpatine, stricken by terror, as I loom over him, telling him I've figured out his grand scheme!

The image sticks with me. I decide to make plans.