Officially, Nan Latourain had invoked her Right of Denial, surrendered her lightsaber, and turned her back on the Jedi Order during the first few months of the Clone Wars. But in reality, she had merely gone deep undercover, into a mission so secret that no one outside Tholme and the Jedi Council knew about it.
Now, Djinn Altis has been let in on her secret because Nan is taking advantage of her official status as a civilian to go with him on this critical mission that the Jedi have been forbidden from undertaking. Perhaps her original assignment is complete, or perhaps the Jedi have told her to abandon it in favor of this more crucial task, but either way, the enigmatic Muun has no interest in revealing that to Djinn. Despite her rather unique position, Nan wears very conventional brown Jedi robes and has a generic-looking lightsaber at her side. Nonconformity is one of the few things that Muuns loathe more than misused finances. She sits straight upright, hands in her lap, eyes closed, and meditating dutifully.
By contrast, Djinn is less formal but certainly not relaxed, with a bowed head resting in his hands. Mistakes have been made, and he knows it. He knows he must do this, but he can't escape the nagging anxiety that they're only about to make things much worse.
His mission has now been made mostly known to the rest of the Altisian Jedi. He has explained to them that he is taking a small starship, the Klatooinian Healer, to pick up an old friend, Nan Latourain, and go find Kuallue, who seems to be wrestling with the Dark side in the midst of his grief. None of that is false, but he made sure to omit all details about his trip to Coruscant and his blessing from the Jedi Council.
Djinn reflects back on everything that led Kuallue to this point, trying to find what went wrong and where he went wrong, but there are just too many gaps. Latourain said she had known of Kuallue while he was in the Order, but she never knew him like Djinn did. For her, this mission is about investigating Keldon and killing Grievous. Hopefully, the latter should be a blue milk run, with the Separatist forces surrounded and outnumbered.
However, once they finally drop out of hyperspace and into the Bandomeer System, it's not at all what they expected. The massive Praetor-class battlecruiser in the atmosphere below has its shields up and is firing upon a vast swarm of starfighters. This isn't just a pacified planet undergoing a drawn-out siege… Something is happening!
"Look," Nan remarks, pointing to one of the data readouts, "That's right over where Selbar is!" That is the worst kind of emergency, and it's the kind of one that the Jedi feared the most. Selbar is Grievous's hideout, and if that area needs a sudden swath of reinforcements, it can only mean that something dramatic is happening. Are we too late?
As they get close, the Klatooinian Healer is picking up readings on more and more starfighters dogfighting below, near the massive Praetor-class that hovers over Selbar. He squints down at the city below and asks, "Nan, are you getting any reading on that shield?"
"It's down," she reports, "and I think the Separatists are evacuating."
Djinn rubs his forehead in thought, remarking, "But their big ships are staying put on the ground. We need to get in contact with someone and find out where Kuallue and Grievous are." As he speaks, he reaches out with the Force, trying to find his lost friend. Part of him doesn't want to see what Kuallue has become, but he knows that he has to do this.
Kuallue, or at least something resembling the Celegian he once knew, is directly below them, aboard the mammoth Praetor-class battlecruiser. His grief has festered, and he has embraced a new hatred that Djinn has never seen out of him before. He doesn't stand firmly for light like he once did. Instead, he is on a razor's edge, dancing between the two extremes, like a body caught between the gravities of a black hole and a bright star. All he needs is a slight pull in the right direction…
As their ship races down to meet Kuallue, Djinn hardly even notices the hail from the Praetor, which identifies itself as the Kalpana. "Djinn, they're contacting us," Nan announces, snapping him out of his thoughts.
He taps a button on the console, and a distinctly Core Worlds voice demands, "Civilian vessel Klatooinian Healer, you must leave this airspace immediately due to military operations over Selbar. Please return to orbit, redirect your traffic to Hercht J. Karrak Spaceport in Bandor, or leave the system. If you do not comply, we will be forced to open fire."
"We need to speak to Kuallue," Djinn supplies, trying to add a touch of Force suggestion into his tone.
For a few seconds, they get no response. Finally, the operator responds, "We are willing to allow any arrivals that he requests. Unfortunately, Kuallue is quite occupied right now. Please maintain your current altitude, and we will respond within the next two standard hours."
Djinn sighs. We don't have that kind of time. Maybe I can reach out to Kuallue telepathically and get him to speed this up. Just before the connection cuts out, Latourain blurts, "We have a clearance code!"
Djinn looks at her curiously, raising an eyebrow. I thought the point of her being her was so that she wouldn't be using her official Jedi status. However, if she's willing to get her order in trouble for Kuallue's sake, he certainly isn't about to turn that down.
"Please transmit."
She reaches into her utility belt for a small data chip, which she then inserts into the Klatooinian Healer's console. He presses a button to mute their transmitted audio. "I thought you weren't using any official Jedi tools?"
Latourain smiles and replies, "Who said I got this from the Jedi?"
"What, so you're going to tell them that you're stealing clearance codes while you're affiliated with my organization?" he asks.
"Code accepted; you may proceed to hanger J9-B."
"It's easier to ask forgiveness than ask permission," shrugs Latourain, "Also, 'stealing' isn't exactly the right word either."
He tries to weigh whether or not the Republic will be willing to grant that forgiveness. It's hard to guess right now, especially because it will probably depend on if they can aid in defeating Grievous and the extent to which Kuallue will agree to work with them. He's apparently made himself quite influential with these folks, these same folks who look like they're bombarding a civilian city right now. Djinn can feel the devastation and the death below. It's a devastation that Kuallue is causing, or at least supporting. Which makes it all the more important that he carry out this mission and bring back his friend.
"You should not have come."
The voice in his head is undeniably the familiar telepathic contact of Kuallue. Yet it is different, as with his presence. Kuallue is becoming something that Djinn doesn't dare imagine. Yet, he has to stare into that future, because Kuallue is too blind to see it for himself. So Djinn sees it for him.
"The fact that you can't understand why I've come proves all the more that I must be here," Djinn counters.
"The fact that you can't understand what I'm doing proves all the more that you must leave," Kuallue responds.
Even as Djinn begins to form his explanation, he realizes that he is unheard. Kuallue is gone. Not completely dead, but almost. His presence in the Force is faint, and Djinn can no longer get through to him. He keeps trying to seek him out until the Klatooinian Healer is swallowed up by one of the Kalpana's hangar bays. He barely even notices the two lifeless Sheathipede-class shuttles hovering just outside one of the adjacent hangar bays.
Greeting them are two squads of clone troopers, their blasters ready. Once Djinn powers down the engines and makes his way toward their ramp, he makes sure to keep his hand close to his lightsaber hilt. Nan follows, equally cautious, and Djinn pulls open the door with a wave of his fingers.
If the clones are surprised to see a Jedi, they don't show it. They're all identical, but one of them steps forward to say, "Master Jedi, we will take you to Kuallue as requested. This way, please."
The clones take them down a few turns of forking hallways that all look more or less identical, but the troopers have little difficulty navigating. "Is Kuallue on the bridge?" Djinn asks, wondering how far of a journey they would have.
"No sir. He's actually on his way to a nearby hangar."
"What for?" Nan asks, glancing down one of the other halls that leads to what looks like a small hangar.
"We're preparing for the capture of General Grievous," the trooper announces, with the most genuine optimism that Djinn has ever heard from a clone.
Djinn raises an eyebrow skeptically, but the clone continues, "His shuttle is disabled, caught a tractor beam just outside, and we've been closely observing it. Our forces are congregating in hangar J7-C to let him in and put him in shackles. You got here just in time to witness the end of a battle that will be long remembered as the end of General Grievous."
Suddenly, Djinn Altis feels the unmistakable sensation of life being extinguished from the Force. He spins around to see two clone troopers fall to the ground wordlessly, activating his orange lightsaber in an instant. Beside him, Nan holds out her yellow blade in a Niman defensive stance. But the threat is nowhere to be seen. No sniper could ever be so quiet, and the bodies have punctures through their backs that could only be from vibroblades. Whatever attacked us has some incredible stealth. Could it be Dark side sorcery?
After another few seconds of confusion, one of the clones points to a strange-looking panel on the wall. "This isn't supposed to be here," he says, running his finger over the seams. It's too fine to be a lightsaber cut. Something else…
Another clone responds, "You're right. Something just cut a hole in our wall and put it back. Something that-"
His comment is interrupted by the sudden sound of metal-on-metal drilling, but this time coming from the wall on the other side of them. The clones spin, but the Force tells Djinn to keep his focus on the wall that they had been examining before.
Somehow, another section of durasteel is drilled out and pried open, all seemingly silent, while the sound appears to originate from the other side. The clones all have their backs turned when a storm of metal scraps and crimson blaster fire comes pouring out of the new hole, decimating the squad in an instant. Djinn tries to step in, but the quarters are so close that he hardly has any time to react to the shots from a strange droid, the likes of which he has never seen before. Resembling roughly a droideka, it has four spindly legs and two rapidly moving arms that seem to have vibroblades at the ends and blasters mounted to its forearms. A pair of red sensors at the top of its curving body eye down the two Jedi as it finishes with the clones.
Something about the rate of fire combined with its close distances and sudden changes in angle makes it very difficult to deflect, and neither of the Jedi can even think about a targeted redirection as they fall back. The droid doesn't pursue, but it keeps up with sending a steady stream of blaster fire at its last two foes. Altis also notices it using its feet to grab something off of the dead clones, but he can't tell what it is.
Eventually, the droid begins backing away, too, and it suddenly spins out of view down another hallway. "We're not its real target, are we?" murmurs Djinn.
"It has to be interested in Grievous," comments Nan, who strides towards where the droid ran off to. Djinn follows, seeking out Kuallue's presence in the Force. The Celegian is still ignoring him, but he can't erase himself completely.
"I can find Kuallue," Djinn suggests, pointing them down one particular hall, "and he'll be near Grievous."
"So, three Jedi against Grievous and one experimental droid. The numbers are in our favor," Nan notes.
"I'm a philosopher, you're a slicer, and Kuallue is an astronomer. I wouldn't get your hopes up."
There is a rather long list of problems that the now unshielded Separatists have to deal with, but the congregation of Republic forces to the east is now longer on it. In order to not become casualties of their own bombardment, the Grand Army had begun advancing down the steep cliffside from which they came. There was no other option for them, and that made it all too easy for Grievous to plan a counter, especially when the Republic provided the perfect blueprint. Not long ago, they destroyed the village of Met that had been hosting Babteer Pil by triggering an avalanche.
Grievous spent the last several days eager to initiate Protocol Met and turn Keldon's tactics against her, and the Republic's hasty downhill retreat is an all too perfect opportunity. Perhaps he could've done it sooner and spared some of his troops, but the Republic was more methodical in their ascent. Clones who had been scaling their way down via ropes whose ends were dug into the top of the cliff were the first to go, with their top ends of their lines suddenly going slack in the face of careful Separatist artillery strikes.
Grievous would love nothing more than to witness the perfect carnage of destruction with his own two eyes, but for now, he's stuck in the city center, having to settle for holographic representations. Of course, the majority of Republic forces weren't relying on mere ropes, and many had the advantage of magnetized feet, particularly the AT-TE walkers. Other clones were smart enough to climb with multiple lines, slowly moving their anchor point lower down. However, none of those tactics can save anyone once Grievous's plan reaches its second phase.
Once Grievous began to suspect that the Republic would attack this particular part of the wall, he sent miners to dig carefully arranged narrow tunnels just below the surface, approaching close to the cliffside. At the ends of those tunnels, they placed explosives, enough to take out a significant chunk of the upper cliffside in an instant. Now, the bombs are doing exactly that. But rocks don't just disintegrate; they fracture and become dislodged. Those boulders need to go somewhere, and that somewhere is directly down onto any of the Republic forces who dared to climb their way into Grievous's territory. Those near the top have a longer fall, and those closer to the bottom just have more weight being piled on top of them.
Nowhere is safe for the Republic, while the droids and Babteer Pil can look down triumphantly from the top. Further blasts from Separatist artillery keep the rockfall coming until their dominance of the eastern front is made complete. There is still the Republic camp further east, safely away from the cliffs, but it is now much less guarded. There are several ships waiting below which could be very useful if he could commandeer them, but that goal is still several steps away. Unfortunately, they weren't so completely idiotic as to leave no one in reserve.
One other bit of good news is that Mu's starfighters are performing well, and the Praetor-class above them has had to relocate west in order to pursue the shuttle that Grievous sent out with his decoy. In the initial battle from two months ago, the irregular fleet of Babteer Pil ships had struggles coordinating with Admiral Veem's flights of vulture droids, but Mu has clearly done a good job of establishing new communication protocols in preparation for this rematch.
They're massively outgunned in terms of capital ships, but their frequent strafing runs on the Kalpana are drawing fire away from vulnerable Selbar. The bad news for Grievous is that there's nothing to stop the bombardment from SPHA-Ts sitting to the south. The Republic forces defending the artillery, including clones and additional walkers, have stayed put for almost the whole time. We need to move them. And there's only one thing that could be important enough to draw their attention. Once again, Grievous contacts WanThir, whose holographic image now stands proudly.
"Excellent work, Palti," he greets.
"Your strategy was well-conceived, General," WanThir compliments, though his tone is sorrowful. For Grievous, this bombardment marks the loss of valuable facilities, resources, and personnel, but for WanThir, he is witnessing the destruction of his hometown. The Republic is taking something deeply personal from him and his soldiers. But today is not yet like the day that Ronderu died, because there is still something left to fight for and to salvage.
"We must prepare for an escape," Grievous orders, "but we'll need more ships. Take airspeeders and move the bulk of your forces down the north face of the cliff, preparing for a ground assault against the remains of the Republic camp such that we can commandeer their vessels. Any snipers can remain at the top."
WanThir nods slowly, but remarks, "It will take time to get our troopers down. The Republic will bring their own reinforcements from the south."
Grievous nods, replying, "They better. We need to draw them away from the SPHA-Ts, which I will be sending STAPs after." The Meerian considers skeptically. It will take some time, but it's really our only option.
"So, you don't actually want the ships, then? We're just a diversion?" WanThir nods, apparently ready to give the orders and battle against impossible odds so that Grievous can send speeders to disable the artillery that is destroying Selbar.
"I want both. The bombardment from the Kalpana is imminent." It's a bold goal, but his plan may actually be feasible. The destruction of the shield generators was an awful setback, but everything else has been going almost perfectly ever since then. It is like the ancient Kaleesh proverb:
The deepest descent precedes the ultimate ascension;
The birth of a god follows the death of a man.
For his people, it always understood that godhood came after death, but this is a principle that they get a foretaste of in this life. It is after the darkest moments, the deepest failures, and the heaviest losses that one can truly grow into something greater and achieve what they once thought to be impossible.
For Grievous, his darkest moment in many years was failing to defend that shield. But now, everything's coming together for what might be the most ingenious military tactic of his entire career. As his own speeder takes him to rendezvous with WanThir's forces at the bottom of the cliff, he looks up at the Kalpana hovering above. Those aboard that ship will decide our fate.