Chapter 338
**Dooku's Secret Base – Gwori System**
"General. We're launching. Our next destination is the Dentaal system. The scouts have reported the exact coordinates of the Republic squadron," the OOM droid reported in its flat, mechanical tone.
"Jump to hyperspace!" Grievous commanded, rubbing his metal palms together in anticipation — a habit that was meaningless now, but a habit nonetheless.
Soon, very soon, he would bring down his avenging lightsabers on the Republic ships. Now he had a trump card — his new ship.
When Count Dooku had summoned him to Pammant a month ago, Grievous had been somewhat irritated. Of course — he'd been content with low-level operations lately, zipping around the galaxy, serving more as a bogeyman than a real fighting force — and that only made him more savage. However, upon arriving on the Quarren-dominated planet, he realized it was just another part of the man's plan. Count Dooku was simply biding his time, and then he handed him the *Subjugator*.
The ship was created by the greatest minds of the Quarren and Sullustans in the Pammant shipyards' design bureau before the war, in the strictest secrecy. Much of the credit for the ship's creation went to a Sullustan named Ruggle Shmong, who approached the Count with the design three years ago. Work began promptly, in an atmosphere of utmost secrecy. After Geonosis, the *Subjugator* was assembled from prefabricated modules under the guise of Providence-class Dreadnoughts. Despite the simple disguise, the traditionally blind and deaf Galactic Republic intelligence missed this fact. And now, in his hands, lay the largest, most powerful, and most advanced warship in the Confederacy of Independent Systems' fleet.
The enormous ship was nearly five kilometers long and… yes, it was slow, both in normal space and in hyperspace — despite the sixteen enormous engines that propelled this behemoth. But its purpose wasn't to launch high-speed attacks on communications. Yes, the Quarren had never been able to produce armor plates thick enough to protect the ship, so they had to create three layers of thinner plates arranged in two rows. Yes, its shield was weak, but at nearly five kilometers long, that was an achievement. Yes, it didn't have as many guns as one would have liked — but the ship's artillery wasn't its highlight.
The *Malevolence*'s primary weapons were two ring-shaped pulse ion cannons of enormous power and size, positioned along the ship's sides. While ion cannons had been installed on combat starships for thousands of years, no one had ever built a cannon of such power or made them the primary weapon of a warship. In addition to the power of their shots, guaranteed to disable all onboard systems of a starship up to one and a half kilometers long, the new ion cannons had a larger area of effect, allowing them to engage multiple targets with a single shot. The cannons focused a powerful ion pulse, temporarily disabling or completely burning out the electronics of enemy ships, after which the helpless target was then fired upon with conventional weapons. Absolutely everything was disabled, from weapons and life support systems to communications systems.
The monstrous size of the cannons themselves necessitated a limited armament and shielding. However, the *Subjugator* by its size, armor, and firepower alone — even without its ion cannons — was a formidable opponent in a classic battle. The combined power of the forward-facing cannons was such that any Venator encountered would have been blown out of existence. Light laser cannons, acting as anti-aircraft weapons, were positioned along the entire hull of the massive cruiser — over 500 heavy cannons. A substantial air group provided additional protection for the heavy cruiser from fighters and bombers.
However, the ship was already very resilient: three captain's bridges, spaced widely apart, prevented loss of control if the crew in one of them died. But that wasn't the limit — the ship had several more auxiliary bridges, protected by robust armor.
The cyborg didn't care about any other details. Having accepted the ship, Grievous received detailed instructions on what to do next. First, he made a long journey on the ship, hiding like a nunda from any danger. His destination was Fondor. There, at the Techno Union shipyards, the ship was quickly outfitted with the missing components — the Quarren simply couldn't complete everything on time, and the ion cannon manufacturers were a full year behind schedule.
As soon as the ship was fully operational, Grievous took off. In less than three days, he attacked first Vanqor, then Ithor. Grievous was already reluctant to take prisoners or leave witnesses — and now this was a direct order from Dooku. The general didn't argue with this: no mercy for the enemy, especially the Jedi.
Now his path lay in the Dentaal system, after which he would head for Phu — from where he would attack. Then — then he would find a new target. And whatever it was, he would crush it.
So far he had only destroyed 11 ships: 3 Venators and 8 Pelta-class frigates. Small praise. Less than worthy. He wanted vengeance, and now he had a ship.
The Republic Jedi Dagon had first humiliated him on Hypori, where Dagon gave him grave injuries. Then at Lianna, where he destroyed Grievous' fleet and cost him his first major campaign against the Republic. Now the 12th Sector had a foothold in the Outer Rim, and soon more CIS planets would fall.
*Soon vengeance would be his.*
Grievous clenched his metal fists so hard the servos whined. The rage that had been simmering since Hypori boiled hotter with every passing second.
*That cursed Jedi… that scar-faced freak who dares call himself a general… he took my fleet, my glory, my arm… and now he thinks he can stop me?*
The cyborg's yellow eyes burned with hatred.
"I will tear him apart," Grievous growled to the empty bridge. "I will rip that smug Jedi apart with my own hands and mount his head on my flagship. Dagon Marek will beg for death before I'm done with him."
His cough echoed through the command deck like a death rattle.
The *Malevolence* surged forward, its massive ion cannons already charging.
The trap was set.
And Grievous was ready to spring it.
---
**Scene 2 – Dentaal System**
Admiral Adrian Varino stood on the bridge of his flagship, the Venator-class Star Destroyer *Pearl Dragon*, staring at the starfield with a mixture of boredom and quiet vigilance.
He was an Admiral of the Republic Navy, born on Naboo. Prior to being an admiral, he had also served in the Royal Naboo Security Force prior to the Clone Wars, as well as running several companies that he either inherited or had purchased.
The fourth-born child of Cornelius Varino, he had not stood out in the family at the time — his elder brother being set for the largest portion of the inheritance. So he lived as the second son, getting a portion of the inheritance when the time would come. As such, at the age of six, he entered schooling in one of Theed's more exclusive schools. He showed potential, however he did not excel; he was not a top student, quite bad at math and science. This did not change things — he was quick to pick up friends, and in the same sense, he was quite good at picking fights too, often getting into childish brawls with people. By age twelve he had mellowed out, less picking of fights; he had begun to take his history studies quite seriously, quite interested in the ancient battles of the Great Sith War and other minor Naboo wars.
**Teenage Years**
At the age of fourteen, his elder brother, who had the inheritance, Marcus Varino, would die unexpectedly while traveling from Naboo to Corellia, having been killed by pirates. As such, the young Adrian would suddenly become heir to his family's company, the Varino Real Estate Company, and a much greater portion of the money. He would, however, continue his studies as his father — though quite distraught over the death of his firstborn son — was quite healthy and would live to see his grandson from Adrian.
He continued his studies, however he would become interested in the soldiery, which his father supported considering the peaceful nature of the Naboo. So he would finish his studies at eighteen and joined the Royal Naboo Security Force and became a recruit.
**The RNSF**
While in the RNSF, he would serve dutifully, usually protecting the king Ars Veruna while under his lieutenant. After a while he would be reassigned to Harte Secur and from there he would go up the ranks until reaching the rank of Captain. There he would largely oversee command of the armored forces, which comprised of Heavy Champions and Gian Speeders though of no large quantity he liked working with the crews of these vehicles. While in Harte Secur he would meet who would become his wife, Theodora Hewtash, who he would marry at age twenty-two. His first son would be born two years later in 46 BBY. He would continue serving, requesting and being granted a transfer to Theed, where he worked with the pilots of N-1L Light Starfighters though also keeping contact with his friends in Harte Secur. He would attempt to be in his son's life though would not be very successful with this, leading to a schism between them to form.
Eventually, he would show the young Adrian Jr the N-1L starfighters he worked with, which would stoke his sense of adventure even more. In 36 BBY, Cornelius, Adrian's father, would die, leading to Adrian becoming the owner of the companies, and him stepping back from the RNSF becoming a reserve officer. As such he would mainly run the company until 32 BBY.
**The Invasion of Naboo**
The Invasion of Naboo would see Adrian Varino returning to Harte Secur during the preceding blockade. There he would lead the armored forces in the Battle of Harte Secur where he would defend until he was forced to flee and eventually helped with resistance activities against the Trade Federation in the area. He would continue fighting, eventually making his way back to Theed as the Second Battle of Theed ended. He would partake in victory celebrations after scolding his son for helping the Theed underground, as he believed it was too dangerous for him to be doing it.
**Business as Usual**
After this he would return to his business, eventually giving his son a role in it as the head of the Coruscant office of the Real Estate Company. While his son would help him with a few major acquisitions, notably the Kaadu Restaurant and Services Holding Company, which gave him control of various restaurant chains and Naboo-based fisheries, as well as a few hotels on the planet. With this, he and his son had brought the Varino Family and its wealth to a much higher point than it had been in years. With quite the wealth, he would relax. As the years continued, the Real Estate company would continue its growth, going from only having offices on Naboo, Coruscant, and Corellia, to eventually having offices on Alderaan and other wealthy worlds that had previously refused to allow them onto the planet.
**Separatist Crisis**
As he turned forty-four the Separatist Crisis began, leading to a slump in his business and widespread unrest. Adrian would at this point was very much pro-Republican. This crisis would largely lead to the closing of offices for his company on Separatist worlds due to his politics. Within two years the crisis got even worse, and war would break out.
**The Clone Wars – 22 BBY**
Once the Battle of Geonosis would end and news spread across the galaxy, Varino would feel a sense of duty, having seen what the droid army could do on his homeworld years ago. As such he would enlist into the Republic Navy, and due to his experience and what some would call his family status he would be pushed through to a training course for the Admiralty. Once that was finished, he was now the Admiral of the Republic Fourth Fleet. Now once out of this he would be promised one of the first in a new line of ships to combat the CIS. Until then he was stuck leading a fleet comprised of Dreadnaught Heavy Cruisers and Acclamator Assault Ships. While not entirely outclassed, Varino preferred to be quite careful with what he did using it. However, within the month, he would receive the *Pearl Dragon*, fresh from KDY. The Venator-class Star Destroyer would be the Admiral's new home for the duration. The Admiral's first engagement would be largely underwhelming, patrolling the Southern Core, where he would largely fight small forces attempting to stop the Bacta Run from being used to its full potential. There he would only see minor engagements. Eventually, he would get a rather odd Jedi General that he would work with, the Cerean Biltec-Wih-Mei. This would also come along with the clones under Biltec-Wih-Mei, the 409th Mechanized Division.
Now he was guarding the Dentaal system after 2 attacks on Bacta convoys — Vanqor, then Ithor. He would lead the 4th Fleet of 30 ships — 15 Venators and 15 Peltas. A small amount, but the Jedi generals had most of the fleet ships scattered on the protection route. A boring job.
Varino sighed, staring at the starfield. "Another quiet patrol…"
He had no idea that the *Malevolence* was already in hyperspace, heading straight for his position.