"Why hello there!"
Startled by the sudden appearance of his archrival, General Grievous practically leapt up from his chair and whirled around to face Obi-Wan Kenobi. His Magnaguards had activated their electrostaffs and faced off against the intruder. General Kenobi just raised his arms as if to say that he came in peace and bore no arms.
"Nice to see you again, General." Obi-Wan smiled coyly. "I can't say how delighted I am that our paths have crossed once again."
"General Kenobi!" The Cyborg's two arms split into two pairs, each wielding lightsaber hilts. Flicking the switches on the edges, the four luminous weapons that once belonged to the Jedi he slew, activated , giving the nest of the Patriot's Fist a green and blue hue. It stung Obi-Wan to know that those once belonged to Jedi who had once worked with. "You fail to realize that you are outmanned and outgunned approaching me in my ship. This would be your undoing. You have no army at your disposal nor do you have your fellow Jedi with you. As far as I am concerned, their numbers are dwindling as we speak."
Kenobi felt his body grow numb as if he were stuck in a Republic outpost on Hoth when the last sentence registered with him. "I don't understand. You mean to tell me that your droid army has the Republic on the retreat? I don't think I'll fall for that, General. I am afraid you are going to have to do better than that if you want to steal my resolve as you did with the lightsabers of my former colleagues. If I recall correctly, we had the Separatist droid army running with their tails tucked between their legs across the Galaxy."
General Grievous blinked his reptilian eyes twice before bursting out into a laugh if one considers a coughing metallic sound a laugh. "Foolish Jedi! I assume you haven't received the accounts of what is happening all over the galaxy now?"
"I am afraid I don't understand, General." Obi-Wan frowned as he stroked his beard, trying to comprehend what this meant. "You mean to tell me that the CIS has managed to turn the tide of the war against the Grand Army of the Republic?"
"Indeed." The cyborg confirmed. He glanced over to his Magnaguards and motioned to them. The droids deactivated their weapons and lowered them. "It seems that you aren't the only Jedi experiencing an insurrection from his clone army. You are one of the few fortunate enough to have your life intact."
"What?" The Jedi General felt his chest go icy cold with dread. "I ...can't..believe it. How did your forces manage to turn each Jedi's clone troopers against them?"
Obi-Wan wanted to believe that this was just a fabrication Grievous was using to psychologically toy with him and break his resolve. No way the clones would just turn against their Jedi generals, would they?
"Come with me and you shall see."General Grievous turned on his metallic talons,shining as white as ivory, and motioned for the Jedi to trail him. As he hesitated, one of the battle droids prodded him on with his blaster.
"Move it, sir. The general doesn't like to be kept waiting."
"You would best practice what you preach."Obi-Wan smirked.
It wasn't long when he had arrived in the control room of the Patriot's Fist. General Grievous was sorting several holograms of planets in the dark room, some flashing red. Intrigued and filled with a desire to learn of the meaning behind these, Obi-Wan Kenobi stepped forward. The Ka'leesh cyborg turned to glance at his rival. The blue and red lights of the holographic galactic map gleamed off his shiny white mask.
"You wanted me to supplement my statements with facts, here is the solid proof." He pointed at the red dots. "My sources have given me the information that every Jedi had their clones turn on them and there were only a few survivors. You might be thinking that this is some elaborate plot concocted by me and the rest of the Separatist council, but I can assure you I wasn't aware of this plot. If the CIS is behind it, then you should know I have no hand in this, despite the fact that I ordered the military staff to keep me informed of such things. Shame, I could have made sure this was executed more efficiently and wiped out you Jedi filth myself!"
Obi-Wan seemed at a loss from this startling discovery. So If he is not behind my clone army's betrayal, then who is? Is there an external force at play in the Clone Wars?
"You have no idea how much I want to slice you down and add your lightsaber to my collection, but I have some use for you after all." The cyborg's eyes bore into the Jedi's. It reminded Obi-Wan of a Battle Hydra.
"Well, that is pleasing to har." He chuckled. "May I ask what is the fate of Anakin Skywalker?"
Grievous's eyes flitted back to the holograms. "I believe I don't have much information on him although I am almost certain he is dead. Missing in action generally adds up to that result."
"I see." General Kenobi felt an all too familiar feeling tearing at his chest. It was as if a gundark was tearing its way out of his chest. He hadn't felt like this since Qui-Gon or Satine were killed.
"Sir!" A droid stalked inside and saluted. "Vruh'Kang has arrived with the Council."
"Good, tell him to bring our guests to the bridge."
"Roger roger!" The droid left to carry out his orders.
Grievous's gaze returned to Obi-Wan. "Well, it seems like you will be joining us in Mustafar."
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"Commander Cody, what is the status of your mission?"
Sitting at the side of the LAAT gunship alongside of what remained of the clones of the 212th and 2nd airborne, Cody glanced at back at the blue outline of the Chancellor's hologram. He was hoping to have wonderful news to bear the old man, but things took a turn against them when the Patriot's Fist had departed the planet as they were fighting off the droid forces. What's more? The locals, who had been displeased by their presence on their world, had taken up arms against them.
"We have yet to confirm General Kenobi's demise, but we were cut off by the ambush of the droids, not to mention that Utapau's locals sided with the Jedi and obstructed our efforts to take out Kenobi. What shall be done about them?"
There was an uncomfortable pause before Palpatine spoke. "Very well, it seems that we will need to subjugate Utapau. I am going to send a detachment of the 501st to assist you in putting these ungrateful locals in their place. In other news, did General Grievous escape from your clutches?"
Cody sighed wistfully. "Aye, my lord. That he did. You can thank the interference of the droids."
"Do you have any capital ships or forces within the vicinity?"
The clone commander glanced curiously at the Chancellor. "We had three on the atmosphere, but they are taking care of a small detachment of Separatist warships. In spite of that, Admiral Yularen has a Venator cruiser based on a nearby moon in case we need support .Should I notify him to watch for the Patriot's Fist?"
Palpatine chuckled. "Please, by all means. If you find Grievous, you find the Jedi. Be advised that you won't be alone in this hunt. I am sending a small squad of commandos to assist you in your search."
Commandos?
Cody gazed out the opening of the gunship at the lilac-colored sky of late afternoon Utapau. "May I ask which squad you'll send?"
Is Delta or Omega squad being diverted here?
"Beta squad is already on their way."
Well, it seems Obi-Wan has hitched a ride with the Separatist leaders to Mustafar. How will that play out for him? Also, it seems we will have Commandos on the scene soon. How will this affect everyone?
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