Of the eleven bounty hunters who entered the tournament, six survived, Bane and Hardeen included among them. They went on to carry out the abduction plot, only for it to fail. Dooku returned with the news that Eval and all the bounty hunters had been captured. All except Hardeen, who had revealed himself to be none other than the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in disguise. It made Rain sick to her stomach to think that she'd been so close to one of her old generals and had failed to see through his disguise.
To think that I ever felt any remorse over his death!
The only good news to be had was that after Rain had given a full report to the Count concerning her mission, he seemed satisfied enough to give her a longer leash. But it appeared he still had some doubts about her, because he insisted on putting her under Grievous's command, most likely so the General could keep an eye on her on Dooku's behalf. Rain's spirits would have been dampened had she not been distracted by all that was going on. Nearly as soon as she had learned that she was being placed under Grievous' command, she also learned that she'd be heading straight for what was about to become a warzone. The Outer Rim planet of Dathomir looked to be very unwelcoming, its surface bathed in an eerie red glow from its central star. It never seemed to get any brighter, and the thick, rolling fog certainly didn't help. The planet was mostly overrun by vegetation, forests, and swamps, but when Rain saw the spindly trees and undergrowth more closely, she found they hardly looked alive at all. And there was one more thing that Rain was quick to notice. As soon as Grievous' ship had entered Dathomir's atmosphere, she felt a tremendous shift in the force. If anything, it only made her more unsettled.
As the cyborg general's landing craft touched down on the planet's surface, Rain glanced down at Grievous seated just to her right. The bridge was a small, somewhat cramped space, especially with the presence of the three B1 droids tasked with overseeing the control panels. So there she was, standing squished between a B1 and an extremely uncomfortable chair, her thoughts churning as she replayed Dooku's briefing in her mind. There was a clan of witches living on Dathomir who had defied the Sith Lord in the past. More than that, these witches were apparently kin to none other than Assajj Ventress.
And now we're here to slaughter them, Rain thought disgustedly, I guess following Ventress' death, it's only natural that the rest of her race should be wiped from existence.
Grievous stood suddenly, drawing Rain out of her pained thoughts.
"Establish a perimeter and get the droids in attack formation," he ordered raspily, "We'll burn a path through the forest right to their fortress."
He moved past Rain to watch as the B1s carried out their orders. After the General's army had been successfully deployed, he returned to his seat.
He's just going to sit there the whole time, isn't he? Rain realized as the minutes ticked away, It's not enough that he's killing these people but he won't even have the decency to go out there and face them himself!
"Sir," Rain said, unable to help herself, "Will we be joining the fighting at any point?"
Grievous stifled a cough, not sparing Rain a glance as he replied, "Such a foolish question, assassin. I hardly see the need nor the sense in my participating firsthand in such a meagre battle. Why do you think I was appointed as leader of the Confederate army? It was not so I could perform the tasks of my droids."
Rain pressed her lips into a firm line.
I can't take part in this cowardly act.
She cleared her throat, "Then perhaps I should—"
"I would advise you to remain where you are," Grievous cut in, "Count Dooku has placed you under my command. I believe it would be best if you stayed by my side."
Rain clenched her jaw tightly, sensing a threat beneath those words. As the moments slipped past, she felt her anger rising, and knew she was seconds away from calling the General a coward to his face.
"Sir." One B1 droid, standing by a small, square viewport which allowed him a view of the forest below, piped up. "There is heavy fighting along the eastern front. Reports indicate Ventress is leading the attack."
Rain deadpanned.
What did he just say?
"Send in the defoliator tank," Grievous instructed, clenching his fist, "We'll burn those witches to the ground."
Ventress is alive. Grievous knew about this, which means Dooku knew about this, which means...
She felt the color draining from her face.
Did I misunderstand him? He said Ventress had paid the price for her betrayal. But Ventress is still alive. So what price did she pay?
Rain's heart started beating faster.
More importantly, if she betrayed the Separatists and walked away alive, does this mean I might have a chance to do the same?
She took a deep breath.
But wait. She's HERE now. If I can find her somehow, if I can get her to talk to me—
"Sir!"
The B1 standing at the viewport turned to face Grievous again.
"Report," the General acknowledged, wheezing slightly.
"Our defoliator tanks have been destroyed. The enemy has reached our position. It is as we suspected. Ventress is leading the attack."
Rain glanced sidelong at Grievous. The General seemed to take a moment to mull over the new information. Then he stood.
"Assassin, come with me, but do not act unless I give you a direct order."
"Yes, sir," Rain replied readily.
"Lower the platform and summon my magnaguards," Grievous snapped at the B1s, "If Ventress is coming to me, than I intend to give her a proper greeting."
When Rain stepped out into the open, she was immediately greeted by the sight of a tall, pale-skinned woman clad in grey, two red lightsabers clutched in her hands.
Ventress.
But what stood just behind Dooku's former apprentice was much more concerning. It was the most horrific army Rain had ever seen. They stood with their bodies slumped and crooked, their jaws stretched wide, their forms illuminated by an eerie green glow. They were all corpses.
Rain swallowed hard.
Well...I guess they're not called witches for nothing.
Despite Rain's unease, Grievous didn't seem at all fazed by the army of undead. His gaze was fixed on Ventress.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"Surprised?" she asked, signalling for her forces to come to a halt.
"Hardly," Grievous replied, likewise signalling for Rain and the two accompanying magnaguards to stand by, "You're the one I was sent here for."
So that was the plan all along. Is this Dooku's revenge?
"Then fight me alone," Ventress proposed, "Prove you're the greater warrior. If I win, your army leaves. If you win, the Nightsisters will surrender to you."
"General!" Rain blurted, "Let me do it."
If I let her win, I could save her people.
"No," Grievous said, causing Rain's small glimmer of hope to plummet, "I will show this witch that I have always been greater than her."
As he reached for his lightsaber collection, his mechanical arms split, allowing him to hold all four weapons in his claws. Laughing raucously, he aimed his sabers inward at Ventress, waiting for her to make the first move. When she remained motionless, Grievous advanced, spinning his lightsabers rapidly. When he was almost close enough to touch his opponent, Ventress released a shout. All six lightsabers melded together in a flash of bright color before breaking apart. Ventress circled around the General, parrying every strike he threw at her. Rain could feel the tension in the air.
Come on, she has to win!
As Ventress and Grievous locked blades again, Grievous seemed to tire of the stalemate.
"Enough of this!" he snapped, delivering a sharp kick to the Nightsister's abdomen.
Ventress flew backward, catching her balance just before she hit the lowered ramp of the landing craft. Rain stared at her wide-eyed, and in that split second, Ventress met her gaze.
Then the connection was broken, and the Nightsister was charging at Grievous for another attack. She brought both sabers down full-force.
"You think you can defeat me?" the cyborg general scoffed, "You're nothing!"
He forced Ventress back, but the Nightsister's resolve was undiminished. If anything, her enemy's words seemed to have the opposite intended effect. Ventress was now attacking twice as hard as before. Gradually, she began to gain ground, pushing Grievous right to the edge of the ramp. Rain saw her chance and took it. She reached through the force, pulling the cyborg off balance. Grievous fell, hitting the ramp with a resounding clang. Ventress pounced, bringing her lightsaber down on one of his arms and slicing it clean off in a shower of sparks. Then she raised her sabers for one last strike.
"Kill her!" Grievous shouted.
All surrounding droids immediately opened fire on the Nightsister. Ventress quickly switched to the defensive, deftly blocking the enemy fire. But the sheer number of blaster bolts flying at her proved to be too much, and she was struck in the shoulder. She gasped, instinctively clasping her injured arm. Rain stood watching, her fists tightly clenched.
Don't let her die like this.
Instantly, her wish was answered as Ventress' army of undead flew into action, tackling Grievous and throwing themselves in the line of fire so that their leader could escape.
This is my chance! I have to—
"Assassin!" Grievous shouted, jerking Rain out of her thoughts.
The General was throwing off corpse after corpse and cutting them down, but he was gaining no ground.
"I order you to kill Ventress!"
His words took a split second to click in Rain's mind. Then without a word of response, she sprang forward and struck up a pursuit. Ventress was heading deeper into the forest, leaving the battle behind completely. Rain's surroundings grew darker and darker as the trees grew thicker and blocked out more of what little light there already was. Rain slowed her pace, pausing to listen for a moment. There was not the slightest sound of footsteps, or anything to indicate that there was anyone nearby.
No, no, no, no, no.
A sudden ripple in the force caused Rain to turn just as two red lightsabers sprang to life behind her. Rain leapt back, narrowly avoiding Ventress' blades as she swung. A defiant light burned in the Nightsister's clear blue eyes, but Rain could tell that her injury was taking its toll. Ventress stood slightly hunched, the grip on her right saber slack.
"Let me guess," she hissed, "You're my replacement. So where did Dooku pick you up?"
Rain took a step back, trying to show she wasn't a threat.
"Dooku didn't find me," she explained, "I came to him."
Ventress watched her suspiciously.
"Then you made a mistake."
"Yes," Rain said quickly, "Yes, I did."
A flicker of surprise crossed the Nightsister's face.
"What game are you playing with me?" she demanded.
"This isn't a trick. I have no intention of harming you."
"Then what do you want?" Ventress asked coldly.
Rain took a deep breath.
"I want to know how it is you're still alive. The Separatists don't take traitors lightly. So exactly what happened?"
"I'll tell you what happened," Ventress said, her face twisting in anger, "Dooku offered me training, and in return I devoted years of my life to him. He told me I was indispensable. Then he threw me away like trash, left me to die on the battlefield! And in an instant, everything I'd worked for, everything he'd promised me was ripped away from me! I had nothing left except for my sisters." Her gaze fell, her anger fading. "Now I'm losing them too."
Rain could feel the immense sense of loss emanating from the Nightsister. Somehow, it made her think of Mira.
"I'm...I'm sorry."
It was all she could say. Silence followed. Then Ventress dragged her gaze off the ground and back onto Rain's face, letting her arms fall to her sides.
"So now what?" she asked, "You going to run back to your masters empty-handed?"
"I don't intend to go back. I plan to run."
"Then you'll be dooming yourself," Ventress snapped, "I was lucky when I survived my intended death. But now I realize the Confederacy will never stop hunting me until I'm dead. If you run away, you'll end up with the exact same fate. If you have something or someone left to care about, they'll see to it that it's destroyed."
Mira, Rain thought, panic seizing her, If anything happened to her because of me I couldn't live with myself! I was such a fool!
A sinking sense of despair settled in the pit of her stomach. So this was it. It really was too late for her.
This life is the only option I have left if I ever want to see my sister again.
But Rain was no fool. She knew things could never again be the same between her and Mira. The days before the war, when loyalties didn't stand between them, were over for good.
Time seemed to slow as a new realization began to dawn on Rain. Her thoughts cleared, making her feel lighter than she had in a long time.
"Then I'll put an end to the war."
There was a quiet conviction in her words, one so strong that she almost felt that she'd never been more sure of anything in her life.
Well, almost anything.
Ventress laughed, "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"
"By discovering the identity of the man at the top."
"Sidious."
"What do you know about him?" Rain asked.
"Not much," the Nightsister answered slowly, "I only met him in person once, and his face was covered. After that, I never spoke to him directly."
That's right. It wouldn't have made sense for Ventress to know. But Dooku knows. And there must be others who know as well. Surely Grievous knows? All I need is some sort of clue, anything at all that could hint at who Sidious really is.
"Are you really going to try something so foolhardy?" Ventress asked.
"Yes. I am."
The Nightsister laughed softly, "Then I wish you luck."
Rain nodded, "And I you. But—" She hesitated briefly. "Perhaps before we part ways, you could point me in the right direction? I have no idea how to get out of these woods."
After Rain found her way back to the landing craft, she discovered that the battle had left her behind, along with the bodies of countless witches and the pieces of scrapped droids. Rain did her best to block out the utter devastation, but it hung over her like a cloud.
After boarding the ship, she was able to ascertain from the dutiful B1s maintaining their posts on the bridge that Grievous had pushed the fighting back to the Nightsisters' fortress and was already on his way back. All that was left was to await his arrival.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the main door flew open and the familiar clanking footsteps of Grievous reached Rain's ears.
As the battered cyborg general swept onto the bridge, one of the B1s piped up immediately, "General, we—"
"Assassin!" Grievous' reptilian eyes instantly locked onto Rain. "What news of Ventress?"
Rain straightened, her face hardening into an empty mask.
"She escaped."
A streak of grey flashed before Rain's eyes, followed by a thunderous clang as metal struck metal. Rain blinked at the sight of the General's fist buried into the ship's interior mere inches from her face. Her gut twisted as she realized what would have happened had Grievous aimed a little further to the left.
"How could you have let her escape?" Grievous snapped.
Rain's mouth felt suddenly dry as she tried to think of a response.
"I-I underestimated her. I am sorry."
The General's arm connected with Rain's abdomen, flinging her backward as effortlessly as a ragdoll. Rain hit the floor, a spark of pain igniting in her head. Panic seized her and she threw her arms out, trying to scramble to her feet as quickly as possible before Grievous could follow up his attack. But the General remained where he was, staring down at her coldly.
"An assassin that cannot kill is useless," he hissed. Turning to the droids, he barked, "Fire up the ship's engines!"
Rain made no move, staring fixedly at Grievous, afraid to take her eyes off him even for a second. She wrapped her arms around herself and dug her fingernails into the material of her sleeve, wishing she could still her own uncontrollable trembling.
How long is it that someone can put up with something they consider useless? she wondered nervously, How long does it take before they snap, and decide it's not worth the trouble?