Chapter 52
Kalee - Present
It'd been years since Ventress had thought of that day.
Yet she could still recall everything she'd felt in that moment.
Fear.
Shock.
Anger.
Betrayal.
All of those feelings and more came flooding back to her.
And a few seconds later, she was back on her feet.
Ready to kill.
With the power of the Force, she reached out toward the guards that had surrounded Silvya. Then with a mere flick of her wrist, she sent all six of them flying into a wall. As they collided with the wall, Ventress bared her lightsabers and leapt at them while giving the same shout she'd given when she'd killed that sniper so many years ago. The guards all cried out in pain and panic as her blood red blades sliced through their bodies like a knife through butter. Not even a minute had passed before the guards had been reduced to a pile of burned limbs and torsos.
Once they were dead, Ventress turned back to Silvya, who was knelt down on the floor with a look of astonishment on her face.
Ventress stared back at her in confusion.
"…What?"
Silvya then snapped out of her trance.
"Oh! Uh…nothing! That was just, uh…really brutal, is all."
Ventress shrugged.
"It comes with the job."
Silvya nodded.
"Fair enough."
As the fighting continued around them, Silvya stood back up and picked her electrostaff up off the floor.
Ventress then prepared herself for combat.
"Ready?"
Silvya smiled.
"Like you even have to ask."
…
While the Izvoshra fought off the surrounding guards, Grievous used everything at his disposal against Troc. His lightsabers swung, stabbed and jutted out in every conceivable direction, his body working overtime to keep up with the Huk's erratic movements. And though the Jedi only possessed a single lightsaber, his foresight and extreme flexibility allowed him to counter every strike from his opponent's blades. Grievous felt his anger building inside of him. No matter how well he fought or how hard he concentrated, Troc always seemed to be just half a step ahead of him. As their weapons locked yet again, Troc looked into Grievous' eyes and taunted him.
"You think you're my equal, Kaleesh? You're nothing. Just like the rest of your people."
His eyes narrowed.
"Just like your pathetic father."
Grievous' heart stopped.
His body tensed.
Then with a deep, guttural scream, he pushed Troc back into a window.
The window shattered as the back of Troc's head struck the delicate glass. He grunted in pain and stopped for a moment to hold his forehead, allowing Grievous to grab him by his shoulder and throw him onto the floor.
However, Troc's reflexes helped him to land on his hands and feet. He then quickly turned around to block the General's blades with his own. Grievous then gave a frustrated growl before Troc knocked him back with another bolt of Force lightning.
As Grievous fell onto the floor, Troc shouted to him and the rest of the intruders.
"You are all pathetic! I've wasted enough of my time with the likes of you!"
He then pulled out his comm unit and shouted into it, his voice booming through the overhead speakers.
"Attention all guards! Report to the warden's office at once! Eliminate the intruders at all costs! Repeat! Eliminate them at all costs!"
And with that, Troc put away his lightsaber and ran down an adjoining hallway.
As the pain from the lightning passed, Grievous returned to his feet and began to resume his pursuit. But before he could take another step, Ronderu called out to him.
"Qymaen! Wait!"
He then turned his head to see her and the Izvoshra struggling against the remaining guards.
"There are more guards on their way here! We need your help! Please!"
Grievous thought to himself for a moment that felt like an eternity.
He couldn't abandon the Izvoshra now.
Not after everything they'd been through.
Not after he'd abandoned them for years.
But Troc was a powerful Jedi with immense resources.
What if he escaped again?
What if he brought more Jedi here?
What if this was Grievous' only chance to finish him off?
All of these thoughts filled the General's head as he stood only a few feet away from the exit.
And then, he remembered.
The promise he'd made to his father.
The promise he'd made to himself.
That he would do everything in his power to destroy the Jedi and bring peace to his home.
Even if he stayed with the Izvoshra, even if he remained on Kalee, even if he fought alongside his people for the rest of his life, the Jedi would still exist.
And as long as the Jedi existed, his world would never be at peace.
And neither would he.
So despite the pain he still felt, despite the regrets he still had, and despite how much he would hate himself for it later, Grievous turned his back on his cadre and ran after Troc.
And as Ronderu watched him leave, any remaining hope she still had for him disappeared.
…
After killing another couple of guards, Ventress and Silvya looked over to where Grievous had been and noticed him running off into another hallway.
Ventress had put herself through hell to bring that walking scrap pile back to her master. And she wasn't about to let him or that Jedi scum get away from her now.
But just as she started to run off herself, she suddenly stopped and turned back to Silvya, who promptly nodded in response.
"You go on ahead! I'll stay here and help them out! Good luck!"
Ventress then nodded as well before running after Grievous and Troc.
…
Minutes passed as Grievous chased Troc through dozens of winding hallways throughout the prison. He could tell Troc was growing tired, and that he seemed too be struggling to run with his injured left leg. The wound on his back from Ronderu's Lig sword also seemed to be hurting him, since he would twitch in pain each time he stretched it too far.
Eventually, they both ended up in a hallway that seemed familiar to Grievous. As Troc neared the end of the hall, the General realized why he recognized it.
It was the same hall through which he'd first entered the prison.
And as soon as Troc opened the door, he could see the Wild Pack's ship lying near the prison.
As Grievous followed Troc outside, he heard the Jedi yell into his comm unit once again.
"Captain! Open the ship's side doors and start the engines now! We're leaving!"
A few seconds later, the dungeon ship's engines roared to life as its side doors slowly opened. Troc headed for the nearest door with Grievous close behind him. But before he could enter it, he was suddenly pushed against the side of the ship, impacting the wound on his back in the process. As Troc shouted in pain and attempted to push himself off from the wall, Grievous turned around and found Ventress standing behind him, her hand outreached as she held Troc against the ship. She turned and spoke to Grievous while concentrating on the Jedi.
"I came here to take you back to Dooku. But for now, we appear to have a common enemy. So what do you say we finish him off together?"
Grievous hesitated for a moment. Then as her grip on Troc began to loosen, he conceded.
"Fine. But I will be the one to kill him."
Ventress smirked as she released her grip.
"We shall see."
