Author's note: Thanks for the reviews. I'm glad people are interested, much appreciated!
Aayla glanced about the small room in as close to panic as a Jedi Knight could come. Where was he coming from? That dreaded monster she had been overwhelmed by on Hypori…the very thought of his presence made her blood run cold.
There was a door to her right, a door to her left and the door behind leading back to where she had come from. Still she waited, ready to spring into action.
The sound of heavy footfalls reverberated around her, suddenly frighteningly loud. The clanking of robotic magnapeds, and the thuds of more weighty feet. And finally behind those, a clicking and whirring, the sound of duranium claws on cold steel.
It grew louder and louder, and Aayla was still unsure which direction it was coming from. Eyes darting about the room, she hurled herself into a dark corner and shrank down, hoping to hide herself if she was unable to escape. Just as she did, the door that led to the droid depot slid open and several figures entered.
Four super battle droids lead the way, their right arms locked in a no-fire position, but ready to switch down and unleash heavy laser fire at a second's notice. Behind those came two droids of a type Aayla had never seen, but recognized from a Jedi Intelligence report.
Humanoid, but crafted from dark silver metal. Ragged, torn capes were flung over their right shoulders and forming a crowning head wrap at the gruesome skull of a face. Gleaming red photoreceptors, looking like the eyes of a predator, glinted out of the darkness. In the right hand of each was a long staff with a strange looking discharge blade at the end of each side. The droids were scarred and slashed by what looked like both blaster fire and lightsaber burns. Evidently these droids has survived conflicts with both clone troopers and Jedi.
MagnaGuards. The personal droid bodyguards of General Grievous.
And behind these war droids came him at last. A hunched over skeleton of duranium metal, pale and ghastly, the colour of bone. He walked over in a nearly doubled-over gait, but still he seemed huge in the small room. His arms and legs were twisting, sinewy apparitions of metal, and at the end of his powerful arms were six fingered, clawed hands. For feet, massive curved talons stabilized the giant cyborg. A low, mask-like helmet was perched on the crooked neck, flanked by twin bladed fins. At the end of the tubular snout, a grid not unlike the teeth of a carnivore formed the vocabulator of the droid body.
Only two signs any life in the twisted monster were present. A ghost-white cloak, with a striking scarlet red interior, hinted at a sense of pride and arrogance. And emblazoned in the helm were two eyes, red craggy flesh surrounding fiery yellow reptilian eyes.
Aayla huddled down, resisting the urge to gasp in terror and shock at seeing the sight of the ruthless General Grievous, the hideous beast that had slaughtered many of her comrades and come close to killing her too. She had forgotten what a disturbing sight he was.
The droids and the General marched on with surgical precision, their feet clacking on the floor with the precision of the soldiers they were. For a moment Aayla thought they were going to pass right by her and move out of the left door without spotting her. Indeed, the super battle droids passed her by, not noticing her.
But then the MagnaGuards stopped and Grievous behind them. The super battle droids clicked to a halt as they realized their superiors had stopped. Slowly, Grievous and the MagnaGuards turned to look in Aayla's direction.
The blaze of the MagnaGuard photoreceptors in the gloom blinded Aayla when they looked at her full on. She shifted her head to look away and close her eyes, fully aware the hour of her demise was upon her.
There was a slight pause, and then Aayla heard the rhythmic clicking of taloned feet approaching and motors in Grievous' legs whirring. She could hear the soft hiss of his breath as he inhaled and exhaled at an uncomfortably close range.
Another pause, this one seeming to stretch for light-years. It might have been a second, it might have bee five minutes. Aayla didn't know. In her moment of deepest shame, she kept her eyes shut and did not face her adversary.
A deep, growling voice, distorted by the vocabulator, suddenly filled her mind, "Is this what the Jedi have sunk to?"
Slowly, almost painfully, she opened her eyes and looked at the mask of death inches before her face. But still she could not speak.
"Cowering in a corner of a Separatist base, silently pleading to their beloved Force to spare them?" he went on, his lizard pupils locked onto her soft brown eyes.
Gradually, she drew up the ability to speak, "What…what do you want?"
His eyes narrowed, "I should be the one asking you that, since you are an intruder in a Confederacy facility. However, I refuse to do so in such a spineless manner".
One clawed hand shot out and seized Aayla, gripping her by her cloak and hoisting her into the air, slamming her against the wall violently. His crooked legs straightened out, and suddenly he was seven-foot tall, head touching the ceiling and glaring her in the eye as he held her there, her legs hanging limp nearly two feet above the floor.
"What are you doing here, Jedi!" Grievous roared, deafening Aayla and shaking her like a rag doll.
The physical threatening sparked something in Aayla. She stared at him defiantly, proud but battered.
"Jedi arrogance!" the cyborg snarled and shook her again whilst tightening his grip.
The force he exerted was astounding and Aayla could see spots in front of her as her vision blurred. Her bones ached and her limbs dangled loosely when he shook her with what seemed like enough strength to break her neck. But still she held on, something resembling anger spreading through her at the monstrosity that held her.
As he ceased shaking her, something clinked against her belt. Her lightsaber. In the urgency to interrogate her, Grievous had apparently forgotten about it. She dared a glance down at her weapon. She could call it to her hand with the Force and strike in the blink of an eye. But at what? Grievous? Somehow she imagined he would be able to strike back. And even if she did maim him, there was the MagnaGuards and super droids to contend with.
One of the MagnaGuards noticed her glance at the deactivated hilt and suddenly stepped forwards, speaking in a quiet, deep monotone voice "Sir, may I remind you the Jedi still has…"
Grievous shifted his gaze slightly to the MagnaGuard to listen. As he did, there was a blazing blue flash of plasma energy. His heightened reflexes saved him, his hydraulic high-powered legs sending him leaping back out of striking range as he dropped the Jedi.
There was another slash of blue energy and a cloud of sparks and smoke. Even as the MagnaGuards activated their staff weapons and stepped forward to protect their master, the smoke cleared and their was a clatter of metal as a sizable chunk of wall fell away, burned at the sides by a lightsaber.
The Jedi had sliced away the section of wall and dashed away.
With a furious bellow, Grievous ran after her. The MagnaGuards followed, lunging with superhuman agility, the shimmering amethyst EMP fields at either end of their staffs buzzing loudly as the droids charged on. Behind them, the relatively slow super battle droids clattered along, their guns clicking to hostile position.
The collection of droids and the General shot down the corridor to the left, thundering after Aayla as she reached for her commlink.
OoOoOoOoOo
Aboard the cruiser known as The Dominator, Jedi Master Mace Windu waited on the bridge, watching the planet Mearvis before him. The 2nd Legion under his command had scanned the planet and discovered no signs of enemy forces, incursion or even influence. Another huge diversion to waste resources in the horrific game that was the Clone Wars.
With a grunt of mild irritation, Mace turned away and looked at the Clones and Republic Officers at work on the bridge. Just as he was about to ask for some information regarding the status of the ship, his commlink beeped loudly.
His hand whipped it out in the blink of an eye and activated it, his quick mind recognizing the code instantly, "Master Secura?"
There was no reply at first. Muffled, static noises overwhelmed any message that might have been coming through.
Mace tried again, "Aayla? Are you there?"
Her voice came through, high-pitched and in ragged, tired and frightened gasps, "Master Windu? This is Aayla Secura. I-" the transmission was garbled with background noise, "-clones to invade…hange of plan. Griev…urfac".
Mace paused for a moment as he tried to decipher the strangled speech, then his eyes widened, "Aayla! Are you saying Grievous is there?"
"…es. He is".
Mace didn't waste any time and he turned to the Officers on the bridge, "Get us into hyperspace! Planet Cosko, it's less than half a parsec away. Commander, get the troops ready for a surface attack!"
Aayla still continued to talk into the commlink, "Call Commander Bly and ask…my co-ordinates. We can still achieve the objective".
Mace Windu nodded, "Yes. Are you sure Grievous is on world? How can you be certain?"
There was no answer for a long time. Faintly, the sound of running could be heard, boots stamping on metal flooring. And then a vague but unmistakable sound: the hum of swinging lightsabers.
The commlink went dead.