Chapter four: Her rival, his attempt
"There. Your repairs are complete." Said a medic droid as it walked away from the General who was sitting on a seat set inside his privet room. It was a small dorm room, no bed, no window. Just a chair, a table, a desk with papers spread a crossed it, a small glass case with light sabers sealed inside, and of coarse a small rack, hanging off the rack was another cloak, one he hardly ever used.
He stared down at his armor which looked a tad better, but not by much, it still had small dents and marks. To him, the droids were useless; they couldn't do a decent repair even if their lives depended on it. With a soft grunt, the General pushed himself up from his seat; he slipped his green cloak off and tossed it onto the chair he got up from. He then wandered over to the second cloak, which was pure white, and grabbed that one; he flung it around him and hooked the two edges together. He then walked over to his green cloak and pulled the light sabers out from the pockets hidden within it; he then hung the sabers around his belt and hung the extra cloak.
The door to his room slid open.
The General spun around quickly to see the sith woman from Kashyyyk standing there, her hood pulled back. Her eyes were a silver color, her hair was tied up in a bun, and indeed it was black with red highlights. She had her hands rested on her hips and her eyes focused on the General. The expression on her face was angry. The sith warrior and the General always attempted to kill one another once they saw each other, they always tried to prove who was more supreme. But every time they got into a fight, someone would break them up.
The General shook his head as he walked towards his messy desk, he began to organize his papers, the sith warrior only watch.
"Ahhhh, if it isn't Commander Riku… I hope you found your stay on Kashyyyk comfortable." He said with a snicker. The woman growled lightly.
"You LEFT me there you imbecile, do you know how long it took for me to find a decent shuttle to get back here?" She snapped. The General gave a light shrug." Why didn't you wait for me, Grievous?" She snapped again. Grievous only laughed under his breathe.
"I enjoy watching you complain, it's entertaining."
"If you weren't the supreme commander of the droid armies I would slice you down into nothing but scrap metal."
"You think your saber skills surpass mine?" Grievous glared over his shoulder at Riku.
"I don't think, I KNOW my saber skills surpass yours, General. You may have been trained by Count Dooku in our Jedi arts, but remember, you are only a droid, us humanoids have Force abilities; we can kill anyone with the Force alone," Grievous turned his attention fully to the sith warrior, his eyes showed anger, his fists were clenched tightly." Oh that's right… You don't like being called a droid." Riku snickered.
"You are lucky you work for Dooku." He hissed as a reply.
"Oh, is that what is holding you back?" He had enough. Grievous lunged himself at Riku, causing her to slam into the wall behind her. Grievous slammed his hand around her neck and lifted her into the air.
"I'm going to kill you right here and now, Commander!" He snapped as he grabbed his light saber from his belt and switched it on, a blue beam descending from the hilt.
"Ooohhh, I'm shaking." Riku said sarcastically as she pulled a light saber from her belt and turned it on, a red beam descending from the hilt, she brought it down on Grievous' arm but he quickly withdrew it, letting Riku go from his grasp, allowing her to fall to the floor. She got to her feet and pulled out her second one, she switched it on as well, a red beam coming from that one.
"That's enough you two…" Yawned Sasha as he wandered into the room. The two looked at him and lowered they're sabers. Sasha looked to Grievous." Count Dooku says he wants to see you… He said it's important and he needs you down in the hanger bay immediately." Grievous sighed and switched his light saber off, he hooked it to his belt and walked towards the door of the room, and before he left he rammed his shoulder into Riku's causing her to swing to the side a little. She sneered at him as he walked out as her light sabers switched off.
Grievous wandered out into the hanger bay, droids were everywhere, fixing ships, gearing up, the whole place was busy, it seemed they were all getting ready to go somewhere. Grievous spotted Dooku by one of the Neimoidian shuttles, he was observing the droids as they worked. The General slowly lurked over, waiting for Dooku to notice him, and he did. Dooku turned his attention towards the droid General.
"Ah, General, I have been expecting you," He said calmly. Grievous stood a little un-easy; he didn't like it when Dooku talked like that, it made him seem like he watched every move he made." Seeing your appearance, I'd say your repairs when well." Grievous' head jerked back a little, he was somewhat surprised that he knew about the repairs." But let's get to the point shall we?" Dooku cleared his throat and turned his head towards the shuttle." General, you are going to be sent to the forest moon of Endor. There you will run into the Jedi girl you fought on Kashyyyk." Grievous' eyes grew large.
"My sincerest apologies, sir… I didn't mean to hide the truth from you." The General quickly said. Dooku let out a small chuckle.
"What's done is done, General," Dooku answered." Now, your mission. You are to gain the Jedi's trust by whatever means necessary. That girl is to become one of us, my master has foreseen it."
"Sir," Grievous spoke." I do not mean to question your orders, but why me? Should you not use your Jedi minions to do this?" Dooku looked over his shoulder at the General.
"She wouldn't listen to them, she knows a sith when she sees one, all she would do is attempt to kill them… You, on the other hand, are nothing but a General of an army. She would think lightly of you. Besides, she seems most interested in you, perhaps your skills with a light saber has triggered something in her." Grievous tilted his head slightly, seeming a little more interested now.
"The girl is interested in me for my skills?" Dooku nodded.
"She believes light sabers are the greatest weapon created, and those with great skill are the strongest in the whole universe. You surpassed her, General, and now she will do anything to face you in battle and defeat you. But… If you are able to gain her trust… Then she would join us, most likely wanting to serve under you, to learn the same saber techniques you used when you fought her."
"So, you want me to do whatever I can to get her to join us," Grievous muttered; Dooku turned to face the General." How will I find her?"
"Make your self known to the Clone Troops as you arrive towards your destination. Once reaching the moon you will wait, do not attack the troops. She will come to you," He answered." You are to take only a few droids with you, this operation is not a battle, but… Shall we say a negotiation? But do not expect her to join immediately; you must slowly break her without her knowing. You are to say her family was killed by the Jedi council; you are to tell her that the Council lies to her. Use whatever you can to slowly corrupt her mind." Grievous chuckled slightly.
"I will do it… But what of Riku? Surely she will be upset that she won't be able to fight her former apprentice." Dooku smiled.
"The young Jedi girl will kill Riku without even realizing it until it is too late. Once Riku is dead the Jedi will break there, you are then to make her realize her master was never dead from the start, the council and everyone she knew told her that her master was dead because they did not want to lose another Jedi to the truth." Grievous walked passed Dooku and towards the shuttle.
"I will waste no more time, I will go to the moon immediately and begin my mission." Dooku smiled before looking over his shoulder again.
"Oh, and General…" Grievous turned and looked back at Dooku." Make sure the girl does not die, protect her with your life, even if that means killing your own allies." Grievous nodded and boarded the ship, a few droids followed after him. Dooku watched as the shuttle lifted up from the hanger and took off into space, he then turned and saw Sasha walking up to him.
"And now, your mission." He said with a faint smile, Sasha came to a stop and listened." You are to attempt to kill a Jedi woman, do not stop until she is dead. She will be on the forest moon of Endor; you are to go in alone…" Sasha nodded and left towards another ship without question. Dooku smiled.
"It's only a matter of time now…"
Slowly her eyes opened to reveal a dim lit room; she yawned and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She rubbed the side of her face and brushed the messy bangs from her eyes, her room was half lit due to her closed blinds. She flung her legs off the side of her bed and pushed herself up onto her feet, the R4 unit was still off, meaning it was resting still.
Shika pressed a button beside her window and the blinds lifted up, she stared out into the busy city that was a lit up in an orange color from the rising sun set off into the distance of the city. The light shined off the windows, making it look like the city was made of crystal, she smiled faintly to the sight of it. She loved peaceful moments like this, made her relax a little, made her feel like there was no one pushing her to do things. Then her silence faded when a little beep was heard, she snapped her attention towards the R4 unit who slowly rolled out from his original area.
"Good morning Eleic." Shika said as the R4 beeped. She moved over towards her bed and grabbed the Jedi robe that was kicked down towards the end of it, she picked it up and her light saber rolled off it onto the floor, she looked down at it as she slipped her robe on.
"Double bladed light saber with two purple Force crystals, a rare crystal… But it was simple enough for me to find such a treasure. I'm surprised you still carry that weapon around with you. Normally, Jedi make they're own light sabers…"
Shika picked her weapon up and slowly sat down onto her bed, she stared at the hilt of it, she remembered when Riku gave her this weapon, it was originally Riku's first light saber, but she got used to using two separate ones. Shika had a green one just like every other padawan; she ended up breaking it when it got caught in a blast door. That was when Riku gave Shika the twin bladed saber, ever since that day, Shika never thought of creating her own, and she always tried to be as careful with the saber as well, she didn't want to lose the only thing she had of remembering her master.
She gripped the light saber tightly in both hands, she missed her master so much, even though Riku was a little rough on her, and would often yell at her for messing up, Shika still looked to her as master only trying to make the best out of someone. The only problem was, Riku wanted Shika to learn more about the Force, Shika wasn't all to interest; she wanted to become perfect at wielding a light saber. The things fascinated her, she was all the time asking people to spar with her, she was always reading up on new techniques and fighting styles, and she would spend hours and hours fighting practice droids.
Though in all of her training, studying, and all the time she spent in attempting to perfect her saber skills, she would still have a hard time defeating Obi-wan. He was always one step ahead of her, this often made her jealous, he always knew how to block whatever attack she threw at him, he would know what move she would use before she even preformed it, he always told her he'd watch the rhythm of her feet and arms, it always showed him which attack she was preparing for.
She smiled faintly at the saber, memories were something she treasured dearly, she remembered back when there was no war everything was just peaceful, just the way she liked it. She pulled a lose strand of hair behind her ear, the R4 unit whistled a bit. She glanced up at her droid and smiled at it.
"I'm okay, just remembering a few things…" She then stood up and hooked her light saber to her belt, then allowed her cloak to drape over it." You know, Eleic, you worry more than any other droid I know. You need to stop that, I'm perfectly fine, nothing is bugging me… Well, there is that sith warrior, and the General. But other than that I'm fine." The R4 made a deep grunt, followed by some beeps and whistles, Shika sighed and wandered over to her window, and she set her elbows on the window sill and rested her forehead on the glass." Just because I have a lot on my mind doesn't mean I'm going to snap and turn to the dark side that easy, sure master Yoda always say things like that… But that doesn't mean I'll turn… Does it?" She looked back at the R4 unit with a somewhat worried look, the R4 only beeped." No, no… It doesn't mean I'll turn. It just means I'm thinking about one too many things. I can clear my head if I head to the meditation room today…" She stood normally again and spun around, she cheerfully strolled to her bedroom door." Yeah, I'll have some breakfast at Dex's, and then I'll go to the meditation room after that!" Eleic beeped in a worried tone.
The bed room door slid open and Shika walked out, only to ram into Obi-wan. She stumbled back a bit and he only laughed.
"That's some hello." Obi-wan snickered as he rubbed his chin where Shika's head collided. Shika smiled and chuckled a bit as she rubbed her forehead.
"Sorry about that… Anyway, I'm headed to Dex's for something to eat, you want to come? I'm pretty sure he'd love to see you, being your old friends." Obi-wan's cheery look slowly faded before he rubbed the back of his neck, seeming to be searching for words.
"Shika… Master Yoda and master Windu want to speak with you." Shika folded her arms across her chest and sighed.
"I'm sick of going to the council ch-" Obi-wan pressed his index finger onto her mouth as a sign for her to stop. And she did.
"Not in the council chamber, in the meditation room. It's just master Yoda and master Windu this time," Obi-wan then removed his finger and Shika stared at him with a puzzled look." They're waiting for you at this very moment; you might want to get down there…" Shika nodded slightly before turning and slowly walking towards the meditation room, Obi-wan only watched.
As Shika slowly approached the door, she felt a little un-easy. Two of the strongest Jedi masters in the whole temple wanted to talk to her alone; she knew she must have done something wrong this time. She tried so hard to think back, she couldn't remember doing anything bad at least, from her point of view she couldn't remember doing anything wrong. Once she finally reached the door, she stood strait and brushed her hair slightly, she fixed her robe and took a step closer, the door slid open and inside was a small room, several seats where inside, sitting on seat was master Yoda, on the other was master Windu, the both looked toward her as she walked in. Shika bowed to the two Jedi and the door slid closed behind her.
"You wanted to see me?..." She asked.
"Young Cloudrunner, the council talked about your recent encounter with the droid General, and we've decided it's best for you not to follow him any longer." Windu answered. Shika's eyes grew a little large.
"What? But I didn't have enough time to find the weakness yesterday… Clearly you must understand that I need a little more time." She said her voice a tad full of shock.
"Dangerous, it is. Death, could have been your outcome." Yoda explained. Shika stood there for a moment, before letting out a small chuckle.
"Oh, okay, I see. You're upset because I saved him right? You think I'm going to turn evil? Well, so you know I don't have any plans of turning to the Trade federation's side." The two Jedi looked at each other before returning they're gaze at Shika.
"That is not why we are taking you off this mission. We're doing it for your own safety, the General is too dangerous, you almost didn't come back alive," Windu said." You are no longer going to follow him, and you are no longer to going attempt to find his weakness." Shika searched her thoughts for a moment, and then she slightly narrowed her eyes at them.
"You think I'm too weak and frail to find his weakness, you think I can't do it!" She snapped. Yoda shook his head before replying.
"The reason, that is not. Strong, you are. Stronger, the General is. Death, will be your fate. Follow him, you mustn't." Shika went to say more, but she stopped herself, the last thing she wanted was to start an argument with the Jedi. She only nodded her head with an upset look on her face.
"I understand… I am deeply sorry for ever doubting your wisdom…" She said before bowing." I shall take my leave." She then turned from the two and walked out of the room, as she placed one foot out the door, she heard a transmission from Commander Cody of the clone trooper army; she glanced over her shoulder to see a small holographic image of him. She quickly shifted out of the room and hid herself beside the door, placing one ear on the wall, she heard muffled voices coming from inside.
"Sir, we have just located a Neimoidian shuttle, it's headed toward one of the moons of Endor." Cody informed.
"Excellent. I want you to take a squad of clones and follow after them; do not attack until we are certain of what they are doing there." Windu ordered.
"Yes sir."
Shika heard no more, she lifted her ear from the wall and stared down at the floor in thought. What if the Droid General was on that ship? What if Cody's squad couldn't take him? She bit her bottom lip as she thought things over. Master Yoda and master Windu specifically told her she was not to follow the General, but something inside her told her to go to there, she wanted to see the General again, she wanted to fight him and she wanted to win. She glanced back at the meditation door and sighed, her master once said to her to trust her feelings. She looked back to the Meditation room door and sighed.
"I'm sorry… Master Yoda, master Windu." She whispered before she began running down the hall she came from originally. She ran to her room and the door slid open, inside was Eleic who was rolling around, acting like it was bored." Hey R4, want to go on a trip?" She asked with a smile, Eleic beeped and rolled at Shika, she patted the droids head backed up from the door, allowing the droid to roll out from the room." We're going to one of the moons on Endor. Doesn't that sound exciting?" The R4 grunted and Shika sighed." Let's just go." She muttered as she began walking towards the docking bay, the R4 unit followed behind her.