In addition to the work the Geonosians had done saving Grievous' life, they had begun to modify some of their IG series droids to serve as the Generals personal bodyguards.
These quickly became known as 'Magnaguards' and had some higher programming, so they could 'learn' from what Grievous decided to teach them in the ways of combat.
It had now been several weeks since he had been 'reborn' and he intended not to waste a single second of his time since everything had been explained to him by Count Dooku. Training was a necessity if he was to gain his revenge against the Jedi, and he had yet to become used to his new body. Certain 'improvements' baffling him at first.
He now had 4 arms to think about, and powerful magnetic claws on his feet, which is he was not concentrating, would suddenly grip any metallic surface he stood on or near. That 'magnetism' had been the cause of much humiliation, when during training set down by Dooku, he would falter against an opponent as unworthy as a battle droid.
Though in recent days, he had improved, and Dooku had deemed it appropriate to move up to the next level of training. The addition of the Magnaguards, in some ways, was a welcome touch to Grievous' new life, perhaps due to the fact he had been told he had once had flesh and blood body guards when he served as a General on Kalee. Still…these were droids, and in some ways a stark reminder of what he had become himself...a droid.
Grievous' eyes narrowed in the eyeholes of the faceplate covering his scarred flesh.
No, he was not a droid, he was very much alive.
He had not dared to look at himself since that fateful day he had woken, and then caught sight of his reflection in that table. And he had grown to despise the sight of the parts of his body he could see. Donning a long White cape to conceal the majority of his droid body. That would have to do for now.
" And again.." Dooku's voice shoving the General from his thoughts.
Grievous had been training against several of the Magnaguards for almost 3 hours straight. He was untiring, relentless in his attacks, and counter attacks. But his eagerness to kill played on Dooku's mind somewhat.
" Patience, do not be so eager to inflict the final blow!"
The Count had cautioned.
Grievous stopped what he was doing to take in the Counts words, the lightsaber he had been lent was humming in the air between them. His skeletal hand gripping the hilt with no intention of letting go.
" Let your opponent wear themselves down, then you can strike" Dooku added.
"I understand" Grievous replied in that rasping tone, before turning to face one of his Magnaguards again.
The droid then activated it's electrostaff and twirled it in an onward attack at the General. Droids of course, never tired, but these had been programmed especially for this purpose, which was just as well, because they also had a nasty habit of not surviving a training session. This irked Dooku beyond belief, why the Cyborg insisted on inflicting irreparable damage on the droids was beyond him.
The Count looked on, no finesse, he thought, no flourishes at all, no grace, just linear droid like movements.
Grievous parried attacks with precise moves, and at incredibly fast speeds, the lightsaber he held crackling sharply in the air as it met the end of the droids electrostaff. All that filled the Generals mind at first, was his going through the motions he had been taught , and then, as he changed direction, to attack the Magnaguard, he caught sight of his reflection in the droids, large , red photoreceptor., his thoughts suddenly plagued by anger...
The Jedi would pay for this outrage, they would pay with their lives for what they had done to him, and more so, what they had brought upon his people.
Pure hatred coursed through the flesh that remained, his attacks becoming faster, more relentless and strong. The Magnaguard was struggling to keep up it's defence, faltering with every strike it made.
Still the old Sith Lord looked on, his face set in some rather grim and disappointed expression.
A sudden 'SHROOMHISS' noise made Dooku shake his head slowly in quiet annoyance. The smell of smouldering alloy met his nose, followed by an expected hefty 'CLUNK' noise as the Magnaguard fell clean in two.
For a moment, both Dooku and Grievous regarded each other in silence.
The General knew fine well it irritated Dooku when he decimated another of the rather costly droids. And deep down, Grievous relished the idea of being able to get to the aged Sith Lord in some way. Just as Dooku could seem to cut him down with that sharp tongue of his.
Never one to miss a chance, the Count tutted, a patronising tone to his voice as he spoke,
" Hopeless."
He then continued,
" I think I have seen enough for one day, we shall resume tomorrow, and see if we can't improve on today at all."
Flashing Grievous a rather impatient look, he extended his hand to take back the lightsaber he had let the cyborg use for the purpose of his training.
Grievous had not yet disengaged the weapon. Looking now to the Counts outstretched arm, it would have been all too easy to end his humiliation here. But where was the challenge in that?
No, Dooku was a necessary evil, his means to revenge. He disengaged the sabre and reluctantly handed it over.
" As you wish, my lord" Grinding out a reply as he bowed slowly.
Taking a couple of heavy steps backwards, watching Dooku depart from the room without another word.
Hearing the sudden mechanical hiss of the doors to the hall open and then close again, General Grievous' eyes narrowed slightly. The now familiar whirring of mechanical tendons in his right arm, could be heard clearly in the deathly quiet room.
His bony digits curling in towards his armourplast palm to form a fist. Grievous would have struck out at the nearest solid object, he wanted to, and every fibre of his being was telling him he should. Even if it was just to take out his immense anger on whatever, or whoever he pleased. But one single thought stopped him mid strike.
If he had been re-built in a sense, if he had been improved...what was to stop him from gaining further improvements? What, indeed?
Stalking towards the doorway, he made his way back to what had become 'his' makeshift quarters for the time he had been here.
The space was filled with everything he required to maintain his new body. A large chamber like structure that resembled a bacta tank dominated the centre of the room. Various tubes and wires hung ready inside the chamber. Most of these used for maintaining the nutrient levels in his synthskin gut sac during the times the General would spend, 'sleeping'.
He had wondered, over the weeks, if he could indeed refer to spending time in that chamber as, sleeping. He could shut down various components of his body during that time, and yet his mind was constantly active. A state Grievous himself likened to dreams. Though it couldn't be true sleep, he was fully aware of all going on around him, eyes open or shut.
A mechanised insomnia without the onset of tiredness.
During his stay on Geonosis, the General had been given access to a plethora of information concerning the war that was brewing. Something to keep his strategical mind on the go. He had also been privy to the design and manufacture schedules of entire droid armies, perhaps in case he had the need or want to calculate numbers for prospective invasions or battles.
In addition to this large amount of information, Grievous had been intent on knowing one thing. The process that had been used to create the body he now inhabited today.
Of course the separatists had only been too happy to oblige, seeming to tell the entire story.
Dooku could now control what and how much information got to Grievous, unbeknown to the cyborg.
And here the General found himself again, searching for answers to fill in the gaps in his mind which had been replaced by anger and pain.
Bony fingers activated a large holoscreen in front of him as he called up the information he required. He began looking through various sets of design schematics concerning his new body, it was his thinking that each one should contain some kind of signature. After all, what designer did not sign their work?
The General grumbled irritably when the small digital signature he did find was near unreadable.
The thought of asking Dooku for information only sought to irritate him further.
It then occurred to him, that the signature was undoubtedly Geonosian. And who better to decipher it than a Geonosian? Deactivating the holoscreen, Grievous stopped only to collect a datapad before going in search of the one bug he knew had overseen his 'progress'. The Archduke himself.
The hour grew late, and Archduke Poggle the Lesser was growing tired of hearing various reports from his drones how unidentified ships had been allowed to land near the newly built droid foundries. A costly mistake indeed.
It transpired, that one ship his warriors had found, belonged to a Jedi, the other to someone another member of the confederacy wished dead. Something that Poggle was only too happy to arrange, in some show of Geonosis' loyalty to the CIS.
The old haggard Geonosian had been considering retiring for the night , it had been a productive day. The Jedi and the senator were being 'taken care of' as he thought, if there were any complications, he would be contacted. Which was why he wasn't entirely surprised when he heard the hiss of the doors behind him.
Turning in a rather hobbled motion, he made a small noise of surprise when he saw who had entered the control room.
General Grievous stood a good few feet taller than the gnarled bug, towering over him imposingly.
Poggle arched a knobbled brow curiously, and took a few cautious steps back to distance himself from the cyborg. Grievous' short temper had become widely known about during his stay here, and Poggle had no intention of being on the receiving end of it.
" General, this is most, unexpected"
Grievous was lucky in that inside his hearing sensors, was also a translator. He could now listen to most spoken languages, and understand them as if it were his own.
" I need you to look at something" The General replied in a quick and to the point fashion.
He now held out a datapad towards the Geonosian.
Gingerly, Poggle took the pad, and began skimming over the information with his beady black eyes.
" The signature at the bottom is fragmented and unreadable," Grievous added.
Poggle nodded, it appeared that way, yes. But to his eyes its appeared also to just be a small personalisation of the signature its self. 'One of Piqu's quirks' he thought inwardly.
" Not fragmented General, merely embellished." The Archduke corrected.
Grievous, not really appreciating the correction, ground out another couple of demands.
" What does it say? Who does it belong to?"
Poggle fell into silence. Why was Grievous asking this? What was so important about this? He would give the General the information he asked for, and discuss this meeting with Dooku immediately after.
" The signature is a name, 'Piqu'." He began,
" She was responsible for designing the body you now inhabit, and for overseeing the procedure itself."
Poggle now noted a clear look of thought in the Generals eyes. His pupils were dilated considerably, making him appear ever so distant.
" And where can I find this Piqu?" Grievous asked sounding just as distant as he looked.
Poggle took another staggered step backwards.
" She committed an act of of treason shortly after completion of the project, she was found to be leaking information of some of the work done here to those in league with the Republic."
Pausing, the aged Geonosian wondered if the General was going to believe his bare faced lie. Silence told him he must have, and he continued.
"Her actions have caused a few to try and locate us, she will be executed tomorrow, along with those she brought here."
Whatever lies he had told, they must have worked, because the cyborg nodded once decisively,
" That is all I wish to know" He replied rather flatly, turning on one foot to head out of the room, just as he had breezed in.
Poggle was left too contemplate now, just what had happened.