Kleeve

Kleeve was born sometime in the later years of the Galactic Republic. Years later, the Republic was plunged into war after thousands of star systems seceded and formed the Confederacy of Independent Systems, led by Count Dooku, a one-time Jedi Master. The Confederacy aimed to establish a government free from the Republic's perceived corruption, bureaucracy, and taxation. The Separatists soon clashed with the Republic, deploying their droid armies against the Republic's clone army. Kleeve chose to join the Separatists, embracing their cause of liberation from the Republic, and rose to the rank of General in the Separatist Droid Army. He participated in numerous battles, gaining recognition as a distinguished commander on the front lines.

As the Clone Wars drew to a close, Kleeve, in collaboration with Grievous, devised a suicidal attack targeting the Jedi Temple. Utilizing specifications of the Jedi Temple provided by the bounty hunter Cad Bane, Kleeve dispatched the Confederacy's foremost explosives expert to execute the attack. Following the failed bombing, Kleeve discovered that the Republic had deployed a clone battalion under Jedi General Depa Billaba to Kardoa. He voiced his opposition to Grievous's plan to attack Kardoa solely to target Billaba. Subsequently, Kleeve received orders from Count Dooku to spearhead the conquest of Kaller.

During the Outer Rim Sieges, Kleeve commanded a Separatist droid army on the planet Kaller, situated in the Outer Rim Territories. Gamut Key, the Kalleran leader of Kaller, Gamut Key, harbored resentment towards the Confederate occupation. Kleeve faced more pressing concerns, however, when the Republic dispatched a contingent of clone soldiers and two Jedi—Jedi Master Depa Billaba and her Padawan [Caleb Dume](/article/kanan_jarrus]—with the mission to liberate Kaller from the Separatists and eliminate Kleeve and his forces, leading to the Conquest of Kaller.

Kleeve directed his forces from Key's palace, witnessing their defeat at the hands of the Jedi and their loyal troopers. A B1-series battle droid informed Kleeve of the droids' rout, prompting Kleeve to recognize the battle's futility. He informed Key of his intention to retreat and departed the planet aboard a Separatist command shuttle before Billaba, Dume, and the clones breached the compound and liberated Kaller from the Confederacy.

The day after Kleeve's withdrawal from Kaller, Sheev Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, addressed the Galactic Senate and declared himself the Galactic Emperor, transforming the Republic into the First Galactic Empire and branding the Jedi as enemies of the state; ordering all clone troopers to execute them on sight. Kleeve abandoned the Confederacy as it disintegrated, its leaders were assassinated, and the majority of its remnants were either absorbed into the Empire or formed into holdouts that resisted the Empire. Aware that the new Empire would punish and execute him if his identity as Separatist General Kleeve were discovered, he assumed a new identity. Over the following months, he went into hiding on the Outer Rim ocean planet Lahn, adopted the name Jondo, and established himself as a crime boss operating outside the Empire's laws and regulations. He established a residence in a hut within a Lahn settlement, where he engaged in the trade of illicit goods, such as spice, a highly sought-after drug throughout the galaxy.

Several months later, approximately a standard year after the Clone Wars concluded, Kleeve and the Kalleran smuggler Janus Kasmir arranged an exchange: stolen goods for stolen goods. Kleeve would provide Kasmir with a starship, the Farbrooke's Hope, in return for a valuable shipment of spice. Kasmir's associate, Caleb Dume, happened to be a former Jedi Padawan, and he accompanied Kasmir to Kleeve's residence to ensure the deal was still valid. Dume, believing Kleeve to be Jondo, was shocked to recognize Jondo as General Kleeve, and drew his blaster pistol on him. Kleeve did not recognize Dume, but due to Dume's hostility, he concluded that they had encountered each other during the Clone Wars as enemies. Kleeve explained that he had fought against the Republic to establish freedom in the galaxy, but he had misplaced his trust in flawed leadership and suffered the consequences when they failed. He added that they had both placed their faith in governments that ultimately deviated from their intended purposes. Dume holstered his weapon, prompting Kleeve to proceed with the trade and inquire if it was still on. Dume was pleased to learn that Kasmir had arranged for a ship, and rushed to thank Kasmir, who intended the Farbrooke's Hope for Dume. However, Dume soon returned with bad news: Captain Grey, who was hunting Dume as a Jedi and therefore an enemy of the Empire, had arrested Kasmir. Dume, invoking the principle of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," convinced Kleeve to lend him the Farbrooke's Hope to rescue Kasmir, despite Kleeve not receiving anything in return.

The pair embarked on a boat to a Lahn spaceport. During the journey, Kleeve repeatedly expressed his disbelief at his own actions, helping the Padawan without any personal gain. Upon reaching bay seventeen, where the ship was docked, Commander Styles, Grey's partner, tracked Dume to the spaceport and incapacitated him, while other clone troopers apprehended Kleeve and placed him in Stuncuffs. The clones, however, did not recognize Kleeve as a former Separatist general, so they released him along with Kasmir, and took Dume prisoner to a Gozanti-class cruiser and traveled back to Kaller's star system. Kleeve and Kasmir quickly boarded their ships—Kleeve the Farbrooke's Hope, and Kasmir his Kasmiri—and initiated pursuit of the cruiser.

The ships emerged from hyperspace shortly after, near the Imperial cruiser. Dume, however, managed to eject himself from the cruiser's airlock using the Force and was expelled into the vacuum of space. Kasmir swiftly retrieved the Padawan into the Kasmiri and revived him. The cruiser activated its deflector shields and prepared to engage, prompting Kleeve and Kasmir to do likewise. Kleeve questioned Kasmir why they, as criminals, were risking their lives for Dume, a child. Kasmir admitted his own lack of understanding. Kleeve, relieved that he wasn't alone in his confusion, launched an attack on the cruiser. Both pilots quickly realized their disadvantage, so they began to retreat. However, Dume ordered them to stay and fight. Kleeve and Kasmir obeyed, even as their vessels' shields dwindled to single digits. With few options, they followed Dume's instructions and looped around to strafe the Imperial ship. They opened fire, causing the cruiser to unexpectedly explode, killing everyone on board. The two ships then landed on Kaller to regroup.

Kleeve inspected the damage to the Farbrooke's Hope while Dume informed Kasmir of his decision to leave his company and seek his own path. Kasmir was perplexed by the boy's decision but allowed him to leave after Dume attacked him. Dume took only his lightsaber, his holocron, and the Farbrooke's Hope, which he renamed the Escape.

Over the subsequent fourteen years, Kleeve continued his partnership with Kasmir, operating from the Kasmiri. One day, while working on Lahn, Kasmir was noticeably tardy. While aboard the Kasmiri above the planet, Kleeve pressed his partner for an explanation, leading Kasmir to confess that he had assisted "some random kid" by incapacitating two stormtroopers who were about to apprehend him. When Kleeve inquired about the individual's identity, Kasmir admitted his ignorance, prompting Kleeve to question his motivation for helping. Alluding to Dume, Kasmir speculated that the young man reminded him of someone they once knew; unbeknownst to Kleeve and Kasmir, the person the smuggler had saved was Ezra Bridger, the Jedi Padawan of Dume, who had adopted the name "Kanan Jarrus."

Under General Grievous, Kleeve was a very important Separatist leader. While he has commanded troops on the battlefield in many battles, his true talent is dealing with bounty hunters and mercenaries to achieve his goals in unconventional ways. Kleeve considered Grievous's obsession with the Jedi Order to be a distraction.