Strike at the Heart

Strike at the Heart is the sixth novella in the second part of The Vesal Chronicles saga, which follows the Jedi Master Jeden Vesal throughout his life, along with many of his friends and allies. The third novel in the series to take place during the Clone Wars, the novel reunites Jeden with many of his Jedi allies and friends such as Kit Fisto and Liko Eil, and is set almost entirely on Coruscant, as Nightingale Squad discover a plot to severely harm the Republic's capital. The novel also covers the cross of the Clones from Phase I to Phase II armour.

Plot synopsis
Beginning where Not For Glory left off, the 44th are returning to Coruscant from Dantooine after the earlier battle. Nightingale Squad converse with Lion, who states his desire to see every soldier who fought on Dantooine promoted. Twenty leaves the mess hall after becoming ridden with guilt for not being on Dantooine, something which Wraith tells Jeden is a common trait for Twenty. Lion berates a soldier who calls the Seperatists 'efficient', showing Jeden new sides to his soldiers.

Arriving on Coruscant, Jeden learns that the 44th will remain on Coruscant as it's garrison for a month before re-assignment, something which Jeden likes, as it means he can spend time with the Order again. Jeden meets with other Jedi, including Kit, Liko and his old Master, San-Ha-Vin, who Jeden had not spoken to since before the Clone Wars. Jeden also brings Nightingale Squad to the Temple, and the squad give a lesson to the Younglings about the Clones and their origins. Jeden and Kit then give a slightly controversial lesson to some of the older students, by holding a spar together against Cin Drallig, a spar that becomes famous after Jeden disarms the battlemaster and forces him to yield, something few others had achieved.

Jeden receives a report from Wraith, who had met with the security on Coruscant through sheer interest, discovering that some sort of jamming device seems to be located in the lower levels of the Senate Tower. Jeden and Wraith go to investigate, finding a horde of buzz droids, surrounded by the corpses of Senate Commandos. However, when Super battle droids appear, the pair become outnumbered. Kit arrives alongside the rest of Nightingale Squad, and are able to block the droid's entry point into the Senate. However, there still remains an issue: where the droids are coming from.

Jeden, Kit and Nightingale Squad soon found a series of pipes leading to the other end of the tunnel. After climbing through the sewage pipes, they came across the source of the droid: a droid factory, hidden beneath Coruscant's city levels and waiting to send droids against the planet should the need arise. While Nightingale Squad dealt with the many droids pouring from the facility, Jeden and Kit made their way inside the factory, eventually finding the man responsible for the factory: General Grievous, who had fortunately been inspecting the factory.

Jeden and Kit dueled the General, and were able to use their training against Cin Drallig to counter Grievous' fast attacks. However, Grievous had become more skilled since the two Jedi had last met him alone, and even together, they were losing their fight. While Jeden distracted the cyborg, Kit activated the self-destruct for the factory, forcing both sides to retreat. Grievous was caught stealing a starfighter and escaping, while the factory was destroyed, Nightingale Squad and their Jedi leaders escaping harm.

The threat to Coruscant was gone, though Grievous' escape troubled Republic intelligence for many weeks after, as the cyborg went into hiding instead of going back to his active role in the war. Jeden and Kit were hailed for their work, as were the squad. Eventually, the 44th shipped out again, with Jeden saying farewell to the Order once more to rejoin the war.

The novel ends with Jeden's fleet intercepting a smuggler's frigate in the Outer Rim. When Jeden investigates with some new recruits, he discovers that a Sith crystal was on board, though is now missing. When one of the smugglers activates the self-destruct on the frigate and escapes in a starfighter, Jeden is forced to escape, his recruits surviving but most of the smugglers dying. Jeden sends the fleet in pursuit of the smuggler, determined to recover the crystal, which he keeps secret.

Main characters

 * Jeden Vesal - the Jedi Master who leads Nightingale Squad and the 44th Special Forces Division, and the novel's main protagonist. Jeden makes a return to the Jedi Temple after nearly two years of fighting the Clone Wars, and meets with many of his old friends.
 * Kit Fisto - a Nautolan Jedi Master and one of Jeden's best friends. The novel marks Kit's first major appearance in the saga during the Clone Wars.
 * Phoenix - Nightingale Squad's clone commander and a commanding officer of the 44th. Phoenix was, before this novel, the only member of Nightingale Squad to have even stepped foot on Coruscant.
 * Twenty - Nightingale Squad's medic. Twenty spends most of the novel suffering from a severe guilt complex, as he feels that Nightingale Squad's missions are not as important as the battles other Clones fight, and feels guilty for not being there to help on Dantooine.
 * Wraith - the Squad's tech expert. Wraith is the one who helps Twenty get through his guilt complex, and is also the one who discovers the buzz droids beneath the Senate.
 * Sting - Nightingale Squad's melee expert. The novel marks Sting's first time to be found speaking frequently, or at least, more frequently than normal.
 * General Grievous - a cyborg commander of the CIS and a dangerous lightsaber wielder. Also the novel's main antagonist. Grievous was the mastermind of the hidden droid factory, though was unlucky enough to inspect the factory during Nightingale Squad's infiltration. Despite Jeden and Kit both previously facing Grievous, however, the General was able to hold his own, and nearly defeated the two Jedi Masters before they managed to destroy the factory.

Side characters

 * Liko Eil - a Jedi Master and archivist and another friend of Jeden. Jeden had last seen Liko after rescuing the Zabrak from Mygeeto at the start of the war, and was able to trade stories with Liko on his return to Coruscant.
 * San-Ha-Vin - Jeden's old teacher and Jedi Master. Jeden allowed Nightingale Squad to speak with Vin's students, and Jeden and Kit showed the Younglings a spar against Cin Drallig.