The Cestus Deception The Cestus Deception is a novel by Steven Barnes which was published by Del Rey in 2004 . The book is part of the Clone Wars multimedia project . There is also a special bonus inside the book : " The Hive " , the exclusive story previously available in eBook format only . The HoloNet News story from HoloNet News Vol . 531 46 which first references Ord Cestus is also included at the start of the book . Publisher ' s summary . Hardcover . Back cover . Caught between those he serves and those he would save , Jedi Knight Obi - Wan Kenobi confronts a challenging mission that masks a deadly deception … . Inside flap . " Ord Cestus , a planet mostly barren and inhospitable to life , was first colonized as a prison world — until a handful of hardy pioneers discovered its rich ore deposits and managed to build up a successful droid - manufacturing industry . But when the Clone Wars erupted , bringing severe rationing of imported resources and a Republic ban on the production of battle droids , Ord Cestus was threatened with imminent economic collapse . " " Enter the Confederacy of Independent Systems — the Separatists — with a life - saving offer to purchase a generous quantity of the planet ' s most lucrative export : bio - droid s . Possessed of tactical capabilities that rival the fighting abilities of even the most advanced Jedi , these sophisticated , techno - organic hybrid units would prove a most formidable weapon if ever deployed for military use . And now the Confederacy ' s intention to invest in what amounts to an army of bio - droids has sent ripples of alarm through the highest echelons of the Republic government . " " Determined to halt the bio - droid sale — but fearing a show of force will result in a political backlash — Supreme Chancellor Palpatine dispatches a team of envoys , led by Jedi Master Obi - Wan Kenobi . Their mission : persuade Ord Cestus ' s government to abandon its dealings with the Confederacy … while secretly stirring up revolution among the planet ' s struggling underclass . Diplomacy is paramount . But if all else fails , the Republic will not hesitate to launch a full - scale attack — and wipe out not only the means of bio - droid production , but countless lives as well , to demonstrate the consequences of disloyalty . " " For Obi - Wan , the prospect of such wholesale slaughter only serves to fuel his growing suspicions about the sinister path the Republic seems to be taking . But the brash Jedi Master Kit Fisto and the detachment of clone soldiers assigned to the mission are ready and willing to do the Supreme Chancellor ' s bidding . As the leaders of Ord Cestus refuse to capitulate and Palpatine rapidly loses patience , Obi - Wan ' s hopes of a peaceful resolution are dwindling . Now , facing a crisis of conscience , Obi - Wan must find the wisdom and strength to prevent a bloodbath and safeguard the Republic — while abiding by the ancient code to which he has pledged his life . " Paperback . " When the economically depressed government of Ord Cestus threatens to sell incredibly deadly battle droids to the Separatists , Supreme Chancellor Palpatine dispatches a team led by Jedi Knight Obi - Wan Kenobi to the planet . Their mission : to halt the deal . A peaceful resolution is preferable , but if all else fails , the Republic will not hesitate to demonstrate the consequences of disloyalty by launching a full - scale attack — wiping out not only the means of biodroid production but countless lives as well . The prospect of such a slaughter only fuels Obi - Wan ' s growing suspicions about the sinister path the Republic seems to be taking . Facing a crisis of conscience , Obi - Wan must find the wisdom and strength to prevent a bloodbath and safeguard the Republic — while abiding by the ancient code to which he has pledged his life . " Plot summary . With the Clone Wars raging across the galaxy , a new threat has emerged that plagues the Jedi . A series of new Jedi - killing droids , JK - 13 , have started to be manufactured on the planet Ord Cestus . Based on biotechnology , they have limited Force abilities that allow them to anticipate a Jedi ' s moves . Despite the fact that Ord Cestus is allied with the Republic , the Separatists have their eye on the droids and the planet . Seeing a possible threat emerging on the backwater planet , Supreme Chancellor Palpatine dispatches the Jedi and a squad of elite clone commandos to deal with the problem . They are led by Obi - Wan Kenobi and Kit Fisto . Obi - Wan Kenobi ' s mission is to approach the Cestian leadership and solve the crisis by diplomatic means . With the help of the mollusk - like Doolb Snoil , Obi - Wan engages the planetary leaders and the Five Families of Cestus Cybernetics . Meanwhile , Kit Fisto and a clone trooper squad are secretly dispatched to the planet to start fomenting a rebellion if the diplomatic approach fails . Fisto quietly travels among the working class of the planet and starts recruiting fighters for possible war . Those rebels are then trained by the clone troopers . Things are significantly complicated , though , when Count Dooku sends Asajj Ventress to stir things up . Amid this backdrop of political intrigue is the story of Alpha - class ARC Trooper A - 98 , or “ Nate ” . The ARC trooper , engineered to be more free thinking than his more common brethren , begins a journey of self awakening . His emotions develop and for the first time he begins to question why he is fighting for the Republic , something unthinkable for a clone trooper . More significant , though , is his growing love for Sheeka Tull , a pilot aiding Kit Fisto and a former flame of Jango Fett . When Obi - Wan and Snoil ' s plans for political negotiations falter , the Republic task force stationed on the planet shifts to Plan B , where Kit disguises himself as a Force - sensitive terrorist who is an old enemy of Obi - Wan ' s . When Kit captures the Five Families members , Obi - Wan confronts him and in an orchestrated duel , Obi - Wan sends Kit to run away and thus , with this , it appears that Ord Cestus will shift its attention away from the Separatists . Unfortunately , around the same time , Asajj Ventress happens to be on the planet , making a deal with a gang member named Trillot who could help out the Separatists in the Clone Wars , and Ventress places a camera in Obi - Wan and Kit ' s " fight " . Ventress then delivers the camera footage to Caiza Quill , one of the Five Families members and a cousin to Cestus ' s main ruler , G ' Mai Duris , and when Quill presents this footage to the Five Families , the deal with the Republic is called off , thus resulting Obi - Wan and Kit , with the clone troopers , to start a rebellion against the Five Families . Obi - Wan tried to send Doolb Snoil off planet , but unfortunately , Obi - Wan ' s escape pod from the ship he was evacuating almost kills him when it crashes , and Snoil is also forced to evacuate back to Cestus as battle droid starfighters from the Separatists fire on him , which blows up the ship and kills the clone trooper , Xutoo , flying it . Meanwhile , as Nate ' s relationship with Sheeka Tull grows stronger , the clone trooper decides to call himself Jangotat , because since Nate is a clone of Jango Fett and Fett was Mandalorian , Jangotat is Mandalorian for " Jango ' s brother " . Obi - Wan and Kit also spend time befriending the clones , even teaching them how to do Jedi - performing techniques , and although the clones are unable to defeat the Jedi in combat , Obi - Wan and Kit are still impressed . As the Republic - formed rebellion lies low in the catacombs of Ord Cestus , the Jedi Killer droids are activated and they locate the rebellion in the catacombs . Many clones and rebels native to Cestus are killed , including Snoil who sacrificed his life to save Obi - Wan from one of the Jedi Killers . Jangotat is also almost killed by one of the Force - sensitive droids , but he is saved by Sheeka Tull , who departs the catacombs with the clone trooper and goes to the outskirts of the planet to a cult which could heal Jangotat ' s heavy wounds . As days pass on with Obi - Wan and Kit ' s rebellion striking against the Five Families ' activities , Jangotat spends peaceful days in the cult which healed him , and with Sheeka . Eventually , Jangotat returns to the rebellion and reunites with the three other surviving clone troopers from the Jedi Killer attack ; Forry , Sirty and Seefor . However , around the same time , things grow worse for the rebellion , as Obi - Wan receives a message personally from Chancellor Palpatine that if the conflict on Cestus isn ' t resolved in time , he will send Republic forces to bomb the planet from orbit . In the end , Obi - Wan and Kit are lead beneath Cestus by Trillot , who Obi - Wan has been making dealings with so maybe she could join the rebellion , and Obi - Wan and Kit are forced to confront Asajj Ventress and several other native Cestians . Meanwhile , Jangotat goes against Obi - Wan and Kit ' s orders to stay put with his clone brothers , and the rebelling clone trooper had to fight and defeat Forry for it . After Jangotat ' s victory , he travels with two of the rebel members , Thak Val Zsing and Resta Shug Hai , into the area where the Five Families are hiding from getting killed from the orbital bombing . When the trio are almost there , Jangotat and Zsing knock Resta unconscious because they didn ' t want her getting killed . Later , when the two soldiers are at the area , they are confronted by a Jedi Killer , but Zsing sacrifices himself by blowing himself up to defeat the droid . It isn ' t destroyed immediately , and Jangotat finds out that the reason for the droid ' s defeat was because of the explosion , it lost the serenity it had with the Force . Then Jangotat makes a holocron containing this information for either Obi - Wan or Kit , and he redirects the orbital assault into his area , killing him and all the Five Families . Back with Obi - Wan and Kit , Obi - Wan is still forced to fight the Cestians while Kit engages Ventress in a lightsaber duel . After Ventress defeats Kit and nearly kills him , Obi - Wan gets past the Cestians and duels Ventress himself . Their duel leads underwater at a nearby chasm where their rebreathers are knocked out , and after Obi - Wan makes a slash somewhere on Ventress with his lightsaber , the apprentice of Count Dooku disappears , leaving Obi - Wan the victor of the duel and he rescues Kit . Afterwards , the two Jedi and Sheeka Tull find Jangotat ' s holocron , gain the information and a funeral is held for Jangotat , where Obi - Wan secretly reveals to Sheeka that he knows Jangotat impregnated her somewhere near the end of their stay at the cult . Meanwhile , Ventress kills Trillot by slashing one of her lightsabers at her because of Trillot ' s failure that was the destruction of the Jedi Killers by Jangotat ' s machinations , and also that Trillot accidentally saw Ventress ' dreams of death and destruction whenever the gangster slept . Afterwards , Ventress departs Cestus and Trillot ' s brother , Fizzik , is left to wonder if he will take his relative ' s crime business . After Jangotat ' s funeral , Sheeka looks at the clone trooper ' s grave and silently promises him that their child will have a name , not a number that clones of Jango Fett are regularly given . Behind the scenes . Shar Shar was named after Steven Barnes ' s niece . Skot OnSon was named after a helpful friend and contributor , the martial artist . ChikatLik was named after Andrew Liptak , one of the staff of CloneWarz . com . Despite appearing on the cover , and in the dramatis personae , Count Dooku doesn ' t appear at all in the book . Cover gallery . This is a gallery of the different cover variations of " The Cestus Deception " .