A flashing flury of blue and green, General Grievous and Winter Vance dove from their hiding place to confront the oncoming barrage of blaster bolts. The mismatched duo planted their feet firmly to the ground in preparation for a long and arduous affair deflecting the swarm. One blast after another, the pirates fired on them.
Winter favored her right hand and thus relied more heavily on such to deflect the majority of blasts directed at her, using her left lightsaber only to provide an added defense for Grievous. He honestly didn't seem to need the assistance; his skills with a lightsaber lapped hers exponentially. No wonder she'd been beaten by him so quickly, she recollected as she studied his form.
Trained in the Jedi Arts by Count Dooku himself and enhanced cybernetically beyond any organic or sentient being, Grievous' skills were indeed a marvel to behold. What he lacked as regards to Force-sensitivity he made up for in sheer power and technique. It was almost dizzying; his mechanical arms sliced the air, right and left, upwards and downwards, occasionally even enabling his wrists to spiral automatically and reach an even more complex range of motion. Winter was in awe.
Hondo, however, had ceased his firing and opted for a backseat to better observe. He was far more interested in who the female was. He didn't take Grievous for a team player, especially not with a Jedi; clearly, the Zeltron was a force user. Hondo Ohnaka had had enough experience with Jedi to differentiate them from the usual bounty hunter rabble. The wheels in his brain began turning in a new, sinister direction; Hondo set his blaster on stun mode.
"What in the name of the Force did you do to piss these guys off," Winter yelled at the droid beside her.
Grievous grumbled at her forwardness. "They're pirates! What else do they have to do with their time?"
He knew exactly why Ohnaka was here; Florrum. He wasn't there to plunder aimlessly. Ever the opportunist, the Weequay pirate king sought more; revenge on Grievous for the invasion of his home world. The pirate's timing was, as usual, impeccable. Just as Grievous was beginning to sort things out, Hondo had made his epic comeback.
General Grievous parried and deflected a trio of blasts from a tattooed Zabrak male, sending the bolts through his skull. The Zabrak shrieked and fell limp to the ground but even as he fell, another pirate took his place. Winter noted their seemingly endless numbers:
"There's too many of them! I don't know how long we can keep this up!"
"As long as we must! No let up! That's an order," Grievous barked.
General Grievous was almost certain of two things: One, Darth Sidious was aware of the attack and two, there would be no reinforcements. Winter was right about what she had said before: Sidious didn't care. He, the Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies, was nothing to the Dark Lord of the Sith. At least Count Dooku had taken an interest in his military career. All Grievous had now was...he glanced briefly at the young woman fighting beside him.
No one. There was no one.
The general's thoughts had drifted down a stream of futility as he started to see the gravity of the situation they were in. He continued his defense but his form grew sloppier with each passing moment. Hondo eyed Grievous carefully, noticing his lack of concentration.
Not long now, Hondo thought to himself.
The pirate king circled around, looking for an opening. Winter was preoccupied with keeping herself from being littered with blaster bolts that she almost didn't notice the sly, Weequay pirate flanking them from behind. She sensed something amiss and turned in time as he took aim on Grievous. The next thing she knew she was crumbling limp at the droid's feet.
General Grievous wasn't ready for that. In a flash of blue energy, followed by her mass of red hair, Winter collapsed behind him. Grievous never once had expected her to place herself in the line of fire that was meant for him alone. He cursed the Zeltron female with every word he could think of, but, even in his great rage towards her, he felt gratitude. Immediately he dropped beside her seemingly lifeless body, not noticing nor caring that he was now surrounded by blasters, each one aimed at him.
Grievous reached for her still face to find signs of life but before he could make any concrete determination Hondo Ohnaka blasted him not once, not twice, but three times, just for good measure. General Grievous felt an intense electrical shock surge through his body that caused not just his sentient organs to stop but also his operating functions to shut down completely. The world around him went dark. His durasteel body came crashing to the ground with a loud CLANK! beside Winter.
The invaders were silent for a minute. Their captain had done exactly what he set out to do. The applause and cheers that followed were undeniable: Hondo Ohnaka had finally done the impossible and defeated General Grievous.
Originally, he had gone into this with the goal of revenge but now, as his thoughtful gaze settled on the pair, he was starting to rethink the plan altogether. The droid commander and his Jedi comrade were a rare find and, he was sure, highly sought after. A sharp, devious grin formed on Hondo's face.
"Whadda you suppose we do wit'em, boss," a younger, less eloquent Weequay male broke the silence.
Hondo clapped his hands together and laughed. "What do you think, boys? How does early retirement sound?"
