"What do they want," Winter finally spoke up.

She had thought long and hard about whether speaking in earshot of the general was the wisest course but she was at her wits end; they needed to rally. And so this question was directed at Grievous himself moreso than any other non sentient being in the storage room they were now barricaded in. What really was their escape plan, if even there was one? Winter would no longer tolerate being left in the dark. The rules had changed.

General Grievous had been busy collecting the status reports from the control center in the upper levels. Though he no longer had direct access to the system, Grievous was able to bypass the security in place by means of the data pad in the room. His eyes were intently focused on the task when Winter spoke; he had almost forgotten she was amongst the survivors. He closed his eyes and sighed. Grievous needed to maintain focus and calm to get him and his droids out. Winter sensed his irritation and countered it with her own deep sigh. She'd had about enough of this. She could no longer tolerate the abuse, the glares, and every other petty emotion he so enjoyed displaying towards her. If they were going to survive this, they needed to work together.

Winter's fury had been building for too long and she could no longer bite her tongue. "Fine. You can hate me, toss me aside, take your anger out on me if it helps! But at least answer me! I'm not Tattooine sand that got kicked up into your eyes. I'm here because of you. I didn't choose this. You decided my fate, remember? So the very least you could do is acknowledge my existence!"

Winter, finally stabilized enough to be on her feet, stood tall on the other side of the room, opposite Grievous, arms crossed. She knew he was listening. He couldn't help but listen. Grievous was a creature of conflict; it was his lifeblood. He thrived on chaos and knew of little else to do with his time that brought him more pleasure. Indeed, Grievous' pleasures were few.

Her cybernetic eye automatically began a scan of Grievous and once more Winter's head was plagued by a stabbing migraine. She wished she knew how to turn the blasted thing off! She gently massaged the right side of her temple in a circular motion to rid herself of the pain. A nearby medical droid, the same EV series that had operated on her, now approached Winter instinctively as it had detected a possible medical emergency. The unit buzzed up to her and produced a small vial from inside it's chest receptacle. The liquid was almost turquoise in color and it looked more like a syrup or sap than a true liquid. Winter was hesitant at first. What was this going to do to her? She looked at the vial and back at the droid a couple times before the droid explained:

"This will aid in minimizing your pain. You did not have enough recovery time. Your body has not reached maximum healing capabilities."

By now Grievous was watching. He hadn't thought to suggest the EV series step in to perform it's primary functions because he simple hadn't cared enough. Whether she felt pain or not didn't bother him in the slightest. He hadn't even noticed his own wound. Sometime during the squabble, General Grievous took a hit to his upper leg. The laser blast perfectly bypassed the durasteel plate and penetrated the mechanics within. It didn't seem like a problem when he was first shot, but now he noticed fluid leakage coming from the joint that took the hit. Grievous stumbled over to the nearest cargo holder that appeared sturdy and took a seat. Overhead he could hear the faint laughs and wild profanity of the pirates, followed by an occasional blaster shot. He cursed under his breath, knowing all too well that the pirate scum were making themselves right at home.

Winter graciously accepted and drank down the medicine and soon felt it's pain relieving effects. She sighed softly as the throbbing in her head subsided. The EV droid zipped over to it's general and busied itself with repairing his leg. Fortunately it had a mobile kit within it's receptacle to make minor repairs on Grievous' unique structure. It first had to remove the plating before it could repair the damage underneath.

Winter watched curiously; he didn't seem to feel any of it. He even seemed quite accustomed to the procedure. She wondered how often he had to undergo repairs like this and if she now faced a similar future? Was she, Winter hesitated, like him?

Hesitatingly, Winter closed the gap between her and Grievous. She was careful to do so casually and quietly to avoid provocation. Her nerves ached the closer she inched towards his vicinity. In all her stubbornness and bravado, Winter still feared him. True, she'd stood up to him many times already and said things he should have killed her for, but it was all in vain. He frightened her. She thought herself braver than this. Shaak-ti had taught her better. Winter was ashamed at what her Master would think if she could see her now. Really, Winter should have tried to lay low and blend with the others; she was better off not drawing attention to herself and, maybe, she'd find a way to escape. She may not have felt very brave but she was smarter than this. Wasn't she?

Grievous paused to look up, just as Winter approached. His eyes squinted behind the eyeholes in his mask at the sight of her. What could she possibly want? He raised a single hand to the medical droid to stop what it was doing; the EV unit paused obediently.

Winter's nervousness escalated and she was sure Grievous could sense her discomfort. She hadn't formulated words yet to say. Being in his presence was daunting, intimidating even, and she had half a mind to retreat to her former position. Winter emboldened herself and started to finally speak when a noise from beyond the barricade CLICKED!

General Grievous had wondered when they would make a move. He just hadn't expected an RPS-6 to be a commodity most pirates possessed...

So when the rocket blasted through the barricade like a knife through butter, Grievous acted shearly on instinct and grabbed an unsuspecting Winter by the shoulders and pulled her over the cargo container with him just as the explosion erupted into flames.

Deafness fell instantly upon Winter's ears the moment the blast occurred. She had never experienced this level of destruction before because she had rarely seen combat under the tutorage of her Master. She was not prepared. The heat from the all-consuming flames could be felt on her back, followed by an intense gust of pressure as the barricade exploded that propelled her forward. Her first thoughts were of her getting to know the cargo holder much better, but instead she felt an unusual sensation; she was grabbed firmly and catapulted through the air, all the while being held securely. It was a close call with only the very ends of her long, red hair being singed by the flames.

The landing was far from graceful but it did the job; they survived. General Grievous' arms wrapped about Winter unrelentingly, so much so that the Padawan let out a soft whimper from the strangulation. Grievous realized what he was doing and released her immediately. His eyes had grown wide with bewilderment but he didn't have time to examine his out-of-character behavior because, as soon as the barricade was gone, the room was breached. Hondo and his company of misfit privateers stormed the smoke-filled room, stomping over droid remains. They had not yet noticed Grievous and the nearly unconscious Zeltron female huddled behind one of the last remaining containers. Hondo was at the lead, audibly chuckling.

"I wish I could say this wasn't like you, General, but, sadly, I've come to know your tactics. You're a runner. An escape artist. But this time, there's nowhere to go," Hondo announced smoothly.

"If you surrender now, I'll be sure to give you a prominent place on my mantle. What do you say to that?"

Grievous clenched his fists. This Weequay slime really had some nerve! The droid commander quietly undid his cloak from his shoulders, the dark fabric dropping behind him, and took hold of two of the lightsabers from his hips. By this time Winter had come to, her ears still ringing, just as Grievous ignited them; blades of blue and green. She reached out and firmly grabbed hold of his shoulder, using the durasteel droid to prop herself onto her knees. She was more alert now and, with two hands outstretched to her general, she waited.

Grievous looked puzzled.

Winter gestured towards the two remaining lightsabers he had left untouched. There was an awkward hesitation in Grievous' response but he eventually yielded to her request and placed the weapons in her tiny palms.

Grievous leaned into Winter."This changes nothing."

"Of course not," Winter replied, the ignition of the green kyber illuminating her pink, ash covered skin.

It changes everything...