I am Grievous, warlord of the Kaleesh and Supreme Commander of the armies of the Confederacy. And I am not a droid!
—Grievous
Grievous, formerly Qymaen jai Sheelal, was the Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. During the Huk War, he attacked Dantooine and dueled Jedi Master Idnum-Ki.
Biography[]
Dantooine siege[]
The Jedi–the Republic–will pay for what they did to us. My homeworld still burns to this day.
—Qymaen jai Sheelal
Though he would achieve his greatest infamy as the cyborg General Grievous, Qymaen jai Sheelal was originally an organic Kaleesh. These were the reptilian natives of Kalee, a world torn by famine and war that the justice of the Galactic Republic never touched. For generations, Kalee had been assaulted without respite by a technologically superior insectoid species, the aggressive Yam'rii (referred to by the Kaleesh as the "Huk", or "soulless bugs"), who coveted the Kaleesh as slaves.
Sheelal was born on a world still embroiled in this brutal conflict, known as the Huk War, so it was, perhaps, inevitable that he grew up hating the Huk. He became a vicious warlord, and his attacks and mass destruction of entire Huk planets ensured Kaleesh victory—until the Huks unexpectedly turned to the Republic for help. Jedi Knights, sent to stop the war, sided with the Huks, and hefty fines and embargoes came down upon the Kaleesh. Kalee ended up in poverty, and hundreds of thousands of Kaleesh starved and died.
Though the Kaleesh had a deep desire for revenge against the Jedi, they seemingly thought of the Order and the Galactic Republic as separate and requested the Republic's assistance. Negotiations were planned to take place on Dantooine, with Senator Drazil Drewton acting as ambassador for the Republic, and Sheelal for the Kaleesh.
However, while traveling to Dantooine, Senator Drewton's ship had been attacked by an assassin and he himself had been killed. This caused a delay which made Qymaen, on his flagship, the Invincible, both impatient and suspicious of the Republic.
He believed his suspicions to have been proved when Trade Federation Commander Troyb informed him that the Legacy, which was in orbit around Dantooine a few hours ago, had jumped into hyperspace, and when a Kaleesh officer reported that the Republic ambassadors at Khoonda had a Jedi with them. Thus, he ordered Commander Troyb to wipe the Republic forces away from the galaxy.
Appearances[]
- Star Wars The Drewton Legacy Chapter 2: Kaleesh Siege (Cut content)
- Star Wars The Drewton Legacy Chapter 4: Armageddon (Cut content)
- Star Wars The Drewton Legacy Chapter 16: Clone Campaigns (Cut content)
- Star Wars The Drewton Legacy Chapter 22: Opposing Motivations (Cut content)