CHAPTER 10
The Generals Quarters
As we walked to wherever we were going I began to wonder. He hates Jedi. I look like a Jedi. He hates me too yet he let me hug him ...and... He didn't let his weird guard smash my brains out. I wonder why. Was it because of what I said to him? I wonder if I'll ever figure it out.
You'll never guess where he took me.
The Generals Quarters. The room with the big windows and the swivel chair.
"SWIVEL CHAIR!" I exclaimed when I saw it. I started to run toward it.
I felt a jerk on my arm and almost fell over. I looked over my shoulder. The General was still holding onto my arm. "Hey!" I shouted at him. "Let me go!"
He glared at me. "Why should I?" he demanded.
"Because I'm cute?" I asked him.
"In your own world," he taunted.
Well he's right about one thing. I'm not cute. I'm my opinion I'm ugly but other people have said I'm pretty. I guess I should go by their opinions instead of my own...
Anyway I decided to be honest. "I just want to sit in your swivel chair," I said truthfully.
He gave me a weird look. "WHAT!?"
I pointed toward the chair. "Chair," I said to him, as if I was teaching a baby to talk. "I want to sit in your chair. Chair."
"YOU CAN'T SIT IN MY CHAIR!" he yelled getting in my face again.
I decided to try a cute face. I made my eyes real big and made my face all pathetic looking. "Pwease," I said putting my hands on the one he was using to keep me away from the chair. "Pretty pwease, General.."
Grievous face got all startled and he jerked his head back. "Uh..." he stammered and I felt his grip loosen.
"THANKS!" I exclaimed, freeing my arm and running down the stairs to the chair. I plopped down on it and started spinning it around. "WHEEEEEEEEE!'
You know what? Grievous might be a mean old Jedi hating cyborg but he does have a sense of humor. An evil sense of humor. He took stock of the situation and decided to teach me a lesson.
He slowly, calmly, almost casually, walked up to the chair. He put his hand on top of it and suddenly started spinning it even faster. At first I didn't realize it until I put my foot down to stop it and it didn't stop. That's when I realized what was happening.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as he spun me. "I'M GOING TO PUKE!"
Grievous didn't want that. He didn't want me ruining his precious chair with throw up (And I think he didn't want me spewing it on him). He instantly grabbed the top of the chair and stopped it. When this happened I went flying across the room.
"!" I screamed as I flew. I saw the far wall looming closer and closer to me. "EEEEEPPP!"
USE THE FORCE! a voice in my head screamed. Without thinking I obeyed.
I used the Force to slow down my journey to the wall and I ended up landing on my feet in front of it. I sighed in relief. Just in time.
I heard laughing behind me, wheezing, coughing laughter to be precise. I turned around. The General was looking at me and laughing his ceramic butt off.
My temper snapped. "THAT WASN'T FUNNY, YOU JERK!" I screamed activating my green lightsaber and running at him. "YOU'LL PAY FOR LAUGHING AT ME!"
I hurled myself at him ready to cut off his skull masked head. The General was quicker than I expected. He saw me coming and instantly made his move. I felt a cold hand on my wrist and a rough jerk. My arm flew above my head, I looked like I was raising my hand in class, and my face ended up right in his. My feet dangled off the floor.
It took me a second to realize what had happened. Grievous had stopped my quite easily with that move. Now I had to face his golden eyes and his lecture, or should I say threat, I'm not sure what it was. Half and half...
"Don't ever do that again," he snarled, his eyes boring into mine. "Be grateful that I didn't kill you, yet. The least you could do is be appreciative."
"S... sorry," I said deactivating my lightsaber. "Um... yeah... But you shouldn't have done that stupid thing with the chair. All I wanted to do was sit in it..."
Grievous grabbed my face with his left hand and squashed my cheeks together. "I don't care what you were doing," he said. "I don't want you to ever do something like that again, understand?"
Through fishy lips my tongue shot out of my mouth. Now I looked like an ant eater. "Bleah!"
The General stared at my tongue a moment without comment. I did hear him chuckle silently. I guess he thought I looked funny. I'm surprised he wasn't laughing like before.
Eventually he dropped me, letting go of my wrist and face. I landed awkwardly on the floor. Not on my rear but my face. Why? Because the stupid cyborg stomped my hand lightly with his big bird feet.
"OW!" I wailed.
He lifted his foot. "Oh, I'm so sorry," he said sarcastically. I think he wanted me to get hurt.
"Yeah, sure you are," I said sitting up.
The General swiveled around and his cape slapped against my face. "Puh!" I spit grabbing it and shoving it away from me. "Watch it!"
Grievous didn't comment or look back me at. He just walked up to his chair and sat down in it. He then turned it away from me so he could see out the window and stare at the stars...
"WHERE IS SHE?" Mace Windu demanded grabbing one of the clone troopers and shaking him. "Where is that girl who came with me?"
"I don't know," the trooper told him, trembling in the big black man's grasp. "I haven't seen her since she told you to shut up."
"She has to be around here somewhere!" Windu roared.
"Don't ask me," the trooper said. "Why don't you ask someone else?"
"Sir," another trooper's voice caused Mace to turn around.
"Yes?" he demanded.
"I think you should come with me."
Mace let the other trooper go. The man fell onto the ground and yelped. The Jedi ignored him. He followed the other one. "Did you find something?" he asked.
"I think we did," the trooper said coming to a stop at the top of a ravine. He pointed downward. "Look for yourself."
Mace jumped down for a closer look. The fall was pretty far so he had to use the Force to make it lighter. When he landed at the bottom he found himself in the center of a graveyard of droid parts.
"Who did this?" he asked one of the troopers who was already down there.
"We thought you might know," the trooper said setting something in the Jedi's hand. "You might want to take a look at this."
Mace looked at the thing in his hand. "What is it?"
"Probably the answer to both of your questions."
The Pa system (or whatever it's called) came on.
"General Grievous," a robotic voice summoned. "Please report to the Briefing Room."
Grievous swiveled his chair around away from the stars. "Be right there," he said standing up.
As he headed for the stairs and the door he turned his gaze at me. I had been sitting in the exact same spot since he'd turned away from me. I looked up from my Gameboy Advanced and locked eyes with him. "What?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
"I have an engagement I need to keep," he told me.
An engagement? Are you going to ask Shaak Ti to marry you? "Yeah," I said getting off the floor. "What do you want me to do?" Be your maid of honor?
"I want you to stay here," he instructed.
"Why?" I demanded. I wanted to see him ask her. I thought it would be so cute. In case you don't know I'm deranged. I didn't know what he meant yet. I'd find out later.
"Because you're a Jedi," he said.
What? So is she! Wait a minute. She's a Jedi and he's going to ask her to marry him. They have to keep it a secret. I'm not going to blab you know! "So what?"
"I don't want anyone to know you're here."
What a lame excuse! "Why? Will it get you in trouble?"
In a flash he was right in front of me. The cyborg stood at his full height, about seven feet, and glared down at me like a vulture. I had to look up to stare at him. "Just don't go anywhere," he snarled. "This isn't your business."
"If I do?"
He grabbed me by the throat. "If you don't obey me I'll kill you with your own lightsabers then send you back to Coruscant in pieces!"
Oops. I'd ticked him off. He sure wants to keep this a secret. "All right, all right," I conceded.
He dropped me and headed for the door.
"What? No 'thanks'?" I demanded.
"That didn't require a thanks," he shot back as he clamored up the stairs and left the room.
I heard the door shut behind him. "Jerk face," I muttered now that I knew he was gone.
Now I had nothing to do. I put my Gameboy back in my backpack and rummaged through it. I didn't want to play it anymore.
I found my Walkman and clipped it to my belt. I put on the earphones. I turned it on.
How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core
Where I've become to numb without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home
When the chorus came on I began to dance, stomping on the floor rapidly. (I can't dance at all. My sister says "You dance like a robot" meaning I dance real stiff and jerky).
(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can't wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me!)
Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run
(I can't wake up)
Before I come undone
(Save me!)
Save me from the nothing I've become!
In a room just below the Generals Quarters a bunch of Separatists were sitting at a huge oval table staring at the ceiling. I guess they heard me stomping. But why were they there anyway?
"What is that?" one asked.
"The General?" another suggested.
"He sounds mad," the Muun in the group observed.
"Mad about what?" the first one asked.
"Maybe he lost a battle.."
At that instant General Grievous stepped into the room. The stomping above continued.
All the weirdos stared at him with wide open mouths.
"What?" he demanded glaring at them.
"What's that?" one of them asked.
"What's what?"
It pointed toward the ceiling. "That," he said. "What is that?"
Grievous listened. He instantly knew what it was. He didn't tell the Separatists. They would freak if he did. I'm going to have to have a word with her when this is over!
"It's... uh... my bodyguards," he told them. "They're training."
"In your room?" a Gossam asked.
"Yeah," the cyborg lied. "I gave them permission to use it to practice..."
All nine Separatist leaders stared at him cross eyed. "They sound like they're dancing," one of the Neimoidians commented.
Back at Coruscant Master Yoda received a message from Mace Windu. "Master," the dark skinned Korun said to the Grand Master. "I have some bad news."
Yoda titled his head. "Bad news?"
"You know that girl, Stephanie, who you made my new Padawan?" (So that's why Mace took me with him)
"Yes. What about her?"
"I had a bit of an argument with her when we landed on Sydrun and she ran off," Mace explained.
"What?" Yoda's eyes got even bigger. "What did you do?"
"She wanted to find Grievous and I told her it wouldn't be a good idea," Windu replied. "She then proceeded to call me a coward." Yoda's mouth hung open. "I told her that wasn't the case and she said she'd look for him herself. I told her no and tried to explain to her what he'd do if he saw her. So then she asks me why we came there if it wasn't to find Grievous. I tried to explain it to her and she got angry and proceeded to say words no Jedi is permitted to say then stormed off." In case you might have noticed, he's lying. Lying to the Grand Master of the Order!
"Hmmm," Yoda pondered over this then asked. "Sensed the dark side in her did you?"
"That's the strangest thing," Mace told him wistfully. "I felt nothing in her. No dark side nothing. Nothing but the Force and a Void. I couldn't even see her Shatterpoint."
"Void?" Yoda mused. "Force Void."
The Korun stared at Mater Yoda. "Force Void?" he asked. "What is a Force Void?"
"A neutral side of the Force," Yoda replied. "Neither light of dark it is. Untouched by both sides. Gray."
"Gray?" Mace asked. "Someone who is void can be either? Is that what you mean?"
"Can be neither!" Yoda corrected. "A Jedi or Sith they can become without anyone knowing. Both they can even be. Influenced by both and neither sides. Neutral. Balanced..."
"I don't understand."
"All emotions they can have," the old Jedi said. "Free to do what they want they can... without losing anything...
"How do you know this?"
"Knew of a Jedi who was like that I did," Yoda explained. "Could do anything. Even marry..."
"Knew of or knew?"
"Knew."
"Who? When?"
"Five hundred years ago. Named Adrian Lureno he was," Yoda replied. "Could be Jedi and Sith. Could be neither."
"How could that be?" Mace asked. "Where did he come from?"
Yoda paused a moment then admitted something he'd never told anyone before. "From Earth he was..."
A/N
Er hem. In case you might be wondering I made up the Void Force. Though I think someone else already named it. The Gray Side. Twilight side... Heh. Erm. I have a weird imagination. Don't hurt me! Anyway. I made it all up. I think Earth would have Void Force welders. Why? You'll find out in a later chapter. The explanation is pretty complicated. Can you wait? I hope so. By the way the thing with the Separatists in the Briefing place is the start of a weird chain of events. You'll see. Just be patient okay?
I hope I'm not making Grievous too nice..