Chapter Seven; "The General's Mission: Invisible Hand"
"We are being attacked, General." – screamed one of the Neimoidian.
Grievous gave the pathetic creature an evil look.
"Really? I didn't notice!" – said the cyborg in a sarcastic tone.
The damn planet had some tough defences, thought Grievous.
Some of the planet's warships were attacking his entire striking force. But the General was an experienced strategist and he was familiar with battles in the upper atmospheres of planets. He knew that those men were only trying to gain some time, in order for the reinforcements of the Republic to arrive.
His flagship, the Invisible Hand, was currently being attacked. But the General wasn't worried. His vessel's shields could resist the warships attacks. It was just a matter of time, until his enemies were all destroyed.
"Send some Droid starfighters! They want to play rough… We will play rough!" – ordered the General.
"Roger! Roger!" – said one of the Pilot Droids.
"We should leave, General! There are too many of them!" – suggested another Neimoidian.
Grievous hated the Neimoidians. They were all cowards and imbeciles! They only thought about themselves and their worthless hides.
"We are safe, I assure you! So shut up!" – shouted the cyborg.
The two Neimoidians showed a panicked look. They were afraid of him… And they should! Grievous main purpose was to intimidate others.
"But… But…" – said the same Neimoidian.
The General sighed. He was beginning to lose his patience.
"How many Neimoidians we need aboard?" – asked Grievous to a Pilot Droid that was next to him.
The Pilot Droid saluted the General and said: "One, General. We need only to know some passwords and codes."
The cyborg started to laugh. It was a very cruel sort of laughter. The two Neimoidians went pale and started to tremble.
"You can't threaten us! You work for us!" – said the Neimoidian that had spoken first.
Grievous stopped laughing and punched the Neimoidian on the head. The pathetic creature's head exploded with the impact of his powerful fist. The other Neimoidian started to scream of fear.
"You killed him! You killed him!" – shouted the Neimoidian.
The cyborg looked at the Neimoidian in the eyes. Nothing was said, but the Neimoidian seemed to be reading the General's thoughts.
They were: You scream again, you worthless slug and I will harm you. I need you alive! But I don't need you in a good shape. Think about that, before screaming again!
"Now that we have solved this problem… You! Clean up this mess! This is my bridge! I don't want it full of this creature's stinky blood!" – ordered the cyborg.
"Roger! Roger!" – said one of the Pilot Droids.
"Fire the laser cannons! We have a battle to win" – shouted Grievous.
The Pilot Droids that were near the consoles pressed some buttons and the laser cannons started to fire at the enemy warships.
"One of them has a powerful shield, General." – said one of the Pilot Droids.
Grievous looked at it and shouted an order to fire the ion cannons, in order to destroy the enemy warship's shields. The Pilot Droid saluted and followed the order.
"I want to hear a report! Now!" – said the cyborg.
One of the Pilot Droids looked at a console near Grievous and pressed a few buttons.
"We have destroyed five of them, General. But there are still six active enemy warships." – reported the Pilot Droid.
Grievous nodded. It was all going according to his plan.
"Good…" – said the cyborg to the Pilot Droid. – "Contact Count Dooku and tell him that we are almost ready to enter the planet's atmosphere."
The Pilot Droid saluted and exited the bridge.
"You two! Prepare the Multi-Troop Transports. We are taking over the planet! Send Battle Droids, Super Battle Droids and Droidekas. I want the first wave of my strike team to be as deadly as a Neimoidian´s breath!" – said the General.
The surviving Neimoidian looked offended with the comment, but he didn't talk back at the deadly cyborg.
The two Pilot Droids saluted and started to press more buttons on their respective consoles.
"The first wave is ready for action, General." – stated one of the two Pilot Droids.
"Roger! Roger!" – said the other Pilot Droid.
"General?"
Grievous looked behind and saw two of his Droid bodyguards, a set of IG-100 series MagnaGuards. They were the most deadly of Droids in terms of melee. They could even face a Jedi, thanks to their electrostaffs made of phrik alloy, which could defend against most weapons, including lightsabers.
They were agile, emotionless and extremely deadly. Grievous had made sure of that.
"What is it?" – asked the cyborg.
"We are sorry to interrupt your battle coordination. The Viceroy wants to talk with you." – said one of the MagnaGuards.
The General looked surprised for a moment and then his yellow reptilian eyes reflected hate.
"That slug? What does he want?" – asked the cyborg.
The MagnaGuard shrugged and said: "We told him that you were occupied. He yelled that he would speak with the Count if you didn't receive him."
Grievous didn't like to be threatened, especially by a pathetic and coward creature such as Nute Gunray. He turned the hologram console one. The image of the Viceroy appeared.
"It is about time, General!" – growled the Viceroy.
Grievous gave him a look of disdain.
"Sorry, Viceroy! I mean… I am only in the middle of a battle. I should have come sooner!" – mocked the cyborg.
The Viceroy pointed a finger at the General.
"I told you to report to me, before reporting to the Count! I am the one in charge here! I ordered you to conquer this planet, you damn mechanical idiot!" – said the Viceroy.
"Bold words, Viceroy… Bold words… Does the fact that we are talking via hologram make you feel so powerful?" – asked the General.
"What?" – asked the Viceroy.
"I wonder why you never insult me, when we are together… Face to face… Not via hologram. Or should I ask a Droid to make a picture?" – explained the cyborg.
"Bah! I can't stand your presence any longer, General! So I am going t make this quick… Where are my men?" – asked the Viceroy.
Grievous looked at the surviving Neimoidian and told him to speak with the Viceroy. The Neimoidian gave the General a panicked look.
Fear is a wonderful tool, thought Grievous.
"Yes, Viceroy?" – asked the Neimoidian.
The Viceroy looked at the Neimoidian and then looked at Grievous.
"Where is the other one? I sent two of my men!" – asked the Viceroy.
The Neimoidian went pale for a second and then looked at Grievous. The General was enjoying tormenting the pathetic creature. And the Neimoidian knew this…
"Unfortunately, his associate is not feeling alright. He seems to have lost his head… If you know what I mean, Viceroy?" – explained the General.
The Viceroy looked confused for a moment.
"He what?" – shouted the Viceroy.
"Lost his head, Viceroy." – confirmed the Neimoidian very calmly.
Grievous started to laugh out loud. He always enjoyed mocking the Viceroy. Nute Gunray knew that something was wrong, but he didn't know what. The Viceroy only knew that he hated to see the General so happy.
"Very well! I guess that it can happen to anyone that has to suffer you company, General." – said the Viceroy.
The General stopped laughing. How he hated that slug.
"When will the attack be over, General? When will this stinky planet be conquered?" – asked the Viceroy.
Grievous seemed to be lost in his thoughts. Then he answered: "It usually takes a day to fully conquer a planet such as this one, if I really commit myself to it…"
"Good!" – said the Viceroy.
"But since it is for you, Viceroy… It will take two days." – said the General.
The Viceroy screamed with rage and turned the hologram off. It would seem that Grievous had won this particular battle.
But he still had another battle to win!
The General looked at the Neimoidian that was standing beside him. The filthy creature was trembling with fear.
"He seemed angry…" – said Grievous innocently. – "Was it something I said?"