Chapter 3 – The Slave

Hey, everyone!

Sorry to have kept you all waiting so long, so here's the next chapter! Before I start, I would like to say thank you to TheUnseenAlly and Scorch the 13th for the favourites!

Good news – the actual story (the written copy) is approaching a pivotal moment! And is waaay more than halfway through the 160-paged book I'm writing it in. Who knows – at this point I may even finish the book…?

But I'm rambling – on with the chapter!

The slave glared up at Grievous suspiciously – for even though he stood hunched, he was still a few inches taller than her – her pupils two dark slits in her golden eyes. Her face was framed by long, dark brown hair that fell in waves down her back. Two small tusks grew from the bottom of her jaw, their ivory color contrasted beautifully with the russet-brown of her skin. The tips of her pointed ears showed through her mane of hair; both were pricked and alert.

She shifted her feet slightly as she took up a more defensive position, the claws on her toes scratching the metal floor slightly as she did. Judging from her well-toned but slightly gaunt appearance, Grievous came to the conclusion that she was no stranger to hard, physical work. Surreptitiously, she angled the controller for her collar away from Grievous and behind her back.

She was beautiful – that much grievous could not deny. The only thing that was out of place on her was that ugly, metal shock-collar clamped around her neck. Unbeknownst to Grievous, as he took in her appearance, she was doing the same.

The Kaleesh's gaze slid over the stranger's appearance; he (she assumed the figure standing before her was a he) looked more droid than actual flesh and blood. A cloak fell down his back, but did nothing to shroud his appearance, and if she had to sum it up in a few words, it would be sharp and hard. The metal that made him up was a dull grey and the armour plates were a shade of beige. An unnerving skull-like mask covered his real face, but through the holes in them, she could see his eyes – they were slit-pupiled like hers, but where hers were golden, his were a slightly green-tinged yellow. What little skin she could see surrounding them was reddened and raw-looking.

Finally, he spoke.

"And just who might you be?" Grievous asked, his voice holding some degree of interest in the individual standing before him.

"It's not any of your business as to who I am," came her brazen reply.

She spoke in accented yet flawless Basic, but at the sound of her voice, Grievous found himself wincing slightly as he felt a sudden stab of pain through his skull. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong but Grievous had no clue as to what it could be. He ignored the little warning bells going off in his head and instead leered down at the female Kaleesh.

"It's obvious enough that you are a slave," he sneered. "What I want to know is your name, Kaleesh."

There was a brief flash of anger across those golden eyes of hers, and her gaze hardened.

"And why would you care what my name is?" She demanded.

"Because if you tell me, I may be able to help you."

"Ha!" She barked out a laugh, "Help me? I don't need help from anyone – especially not you!"

"Suit yourself," Grievous spat, his temper rising. "If you want to keep on serving the Zygerians, then you can stay right here!"

He grabbed at her, but she ducked under his arm and tucked her legs in as she rolled aside – successfully dodging a swipe from the cyborg. She leapt back to her feet in an instant and eyed him, daring him to make the first move.

So Grievous did, and lunged forwards fast enough that he was able to grab ahold of her left forearm as she twisted away and yanked her off-balance, throwing her to the ground. The female Kaleesh – for some reason, Grievous couldn't bring himself to label her a slave – hit the metal floor with a grunt of pain. But still she rolled to her feet and clenched her hands into fists.

"You're in my way," she growled.

"In your way?" He goaded, "Of what? Freedom?"

"Yes!" She bellowed and launched herself forwards.

Grievous' head turned upwards as she leapt towards him, aiming a kick for his face. The General blocked it with his forearm and she pushed off from there – using his arm as a launching pad – backflipping to land behind him, closer to the doors. But as she started towards it, two things happened.

First was the droid that had come with Grievous. As she darted for the doors, the Battle droid raised its blaster, exclaiming "Halt!" as it did. When she didn't comply, the droid squeezed the trigger, letting off two bolts of energy at her.

Second was General Grievous, who had been turning around as she had begun moving towards the door. He saw the blasts, almost in slow motion, as they burned through the air towards the female Kaleesh. Grievous acted instinctively, his mind telling his mechanical body what to do; Don't let those blasts hit her, it said.

So Grievous found himself closing the toes of his foot around her midriff and tossing her aside and out of the way of the incoming blasts. She crashed into two unconscious Zygerians, their bodies cushioning her landing. Grievous was not so lucky. Both blasts fired by the droid made contact with him; the first stuck just below the joint of his right knee while the second scorched his faceplate. Grievous let out a feral snarl at the droid which visibly quaked in fear.

Had it not been for his armour plating, things would have been much more serious.

But when Grievous reached for the nearest sizeable object to lob at the Battle droid – he didn't even care if it was a body – his gaze fell on something that lay by his foot. As he reached for it, he happened to glance towards the fallen Kaleesh. It was with some surprise that he registered the dread on her face. And in that moment, he realised what it was that he was picking up: the controller for her shock collar.

Grievous' fingers closed around it and slowly, he lifted it up. All the while, his eyes never left the female Kaleesh, while hers were fixated on the controller. Though her face was as hard and unfeeling as Grievous' faceplate, he could see the apprehension in those startingly golden eyes of hers. Grievous idly tapped his thumb against the button on it with just enough force that the tapping noise made it clear that he was in charge.

The Kaleesh glared at him with so much hate and loathing in her eyes. If looks could kill, then Grievous would have been long-dead by now. Under his faceplate, Grievous smiled a smug, triumphant smile that reached his eyes. It made the female Kaleesh hate him even more.

"I'm going to ask you again," Grievous took a few steps nearer, lowering his head to look her in the eye, "what is your name?"

She continued to glare daggers at the General for a moment, too stubborn to comply with his request. But then he held up the controller for her to see, to remind her that he was now calling the shots. She tied to snatch it from his hand, but missed as Grievous jerked it out of reach. In response, she growled in frustration while Grievous only chuckled to himself.

"Ronderu." She finally said, "My name is Ronderu."

That's all for today folks!

Just want to thank you all for taking the time to read this chapter. If you're interested, go ahead and leave a review – I enjoy hearing from you all! And if you want to fav or follow this story, I won't stop you!

Stay safe, everyone!