5 Emotion yet Peace; Peace is a Lie, There is only Passion 3 (1/2)

Malevolence

Ryndellian Sector, near Naboo Star System

”Who are you?” growled Grievous.

The cyborg was looking at the newcomer through narrowed eyes. Many things may be said about the being who was hailed as the best commander in the Separatist's military. While very few of them were flattering, the one thing on which both allies and enemies agreed upon was that he was an accomplished warrior. There were few beings who could boast as vanquishers of multiple Jedi. Even less were the ones who were not Force sensitive. Grievous was on the top of that very short list.

Thanks to countless hours of training with Dooku and IG-109 droids, he had become an accomplished Jedi killer – a fact that only served to enhance his ability as the Supreme Commander of the Droid army. Now he had the skills to easily handle most of the Order members, something at which the droids under his command were pathetic.

The warrior in the being that was once Qymaen Jai Sheelal was why Grievous did not follow his standard modus operandi where Jedi were concerned. He could feel it in what little of his flesh remained. This masked creature he was facing was a breed apart. Then the man produced a lightsaber of his own and activated it. The general's hate-filled eyes gazed at the ruby colored energy beam.

”My dear Grievous. You should recognize my kind.” mocked a voice that was distorted by the armored helmet of its owner.

=RK=

I could feel the unrestrained might of the Force bubbling all around me. My blood sung with battle lust. I welcomed the sweet embrace of the Dark side and let it slide through my body. It strengthened my limbs and made my reflexes something to be envied by even a cyborg as Grievous.

I held my blade loosely, not unlike a rapier from ages past back on my homeworld.

”I've heard that you've been trained by a Makashi master, general. Let's put that to the test!” I leered at the being which was more machine than flesh.

I surged forward. My blade sang with the sound of burning air. Grievous ran to meet me in the middle of the engine where our sabers crashed. I deflected a pair of diagonal slashes from the blue and green weapons in his hands and moved faster than the cyborg expected. I was within his guard in a blink of an eye. My left arm struck like a viper and clamped over his right wrist. That stopped a strike from his blue blade which was about to lop off my head. My Force enchanted muscles and the cybernetic strength of Dooku's pet monster strained against each other.

While that contest of strength was going on, the lightsabers in our free hands were locked in a game of their own. Energy flashed between our blades as they struck each other with the unmistakable sound of lightsabers locked in a deadly struggle.

For a few seconds it seemed that our raw physical strength was evenly matched. Technology held its ground against flesh empowered by the mystic power of the Force. However, this was not a fair fight fought in a tournament circle.

Our stalemate was ended by a crate that flew from the cart behind the train engine and swept away the cyborg's legs. Thanks to the racket the machines racing all over the monorails around us made, Grievous had no chance to hear how the container separated from the stack on which it was secured and moved directed by my will.

”Argh!” shouted the General.

I kicked his chest with enough strength to dent durasteel and Grievous went sailing into the next cart. I could hear a faint hiss of pain emanating under his mask as the sack containing his few remaining organs was rattled by my strike.

Grievous found himself in a heap at the back of the cart right behind the engine. He had landed in a bunch of crates, few of which toppled over him. I followed with a Force enchanted jump. The momentum of the train speeding away under me added to my closing velocity with the general.

While I was in mid-air, the cyborg roared in defiance and used his synthetic limbs to throw away the containers under which he was buried. One of them was heading my way and it shattered over a cocoon of Force energy which I had formed around me to counter something like that. Yet the strike was good enough to slow down my approach.

Grievous jumped on his feet to meet me. My crimson blade few in an arc towards the rising cyborg. My weight and momentum combined with his unsteady stance into an unstoppable force which battered through his crossed lightsabers. His right hand was separated just below the shoulder plating protecting the Separatist's commander torso and flew away from the moving train.

Unfortunately, the loss of a limb didn't slow him down. My charge had me out of balance for a moment and I had to duck under a sweeping strike from his remaining weapon. The Force screamed a warning and I was barely able to cross my hands in front of my chest as he kicked me as only a machine could. The durasteel armguards protecting my hands groaned under the sudden strike that fell over them. I was thrown back by the attack and was staggered when my flight was interrupted by a stack of crates which shook by my impact.

If my body wasn't enhanced by the force that would have been the end – my arm would have snapped like a twig and the impact at my landing would have left me dazzled and open for the killing blow.

”I will kill you slowly for this!” snarled Grievously and lumbered in my direction.

I snapped my left arm in a well-practiced motion and a pair of darts with a micro Ion energy cell within shot at the approaching General. His lightsaber flashed in front of him and to my surprise, Grievous managed to intercept one of the missiles which sparkled as it was slicked in two.

It was not enough. The other flew true and struck him on the right side of the armored torso. Disruptive Ion energy was unloaded in his entrails and Grievous screamed like a damned soul. He waved his left arm madly as if trying to smite an invisible assailant. Small electrical discharges ran over his armored bulk and he shook as if being electrocuted. I guess what was happening to him was similar enough.

A grappling hook shot from his left hand and, by accident or design, latched on the underside of one of the monorails that were overhead. I didn't think that he was acting consciously but that did not matter. His body was picked up by the taut metal wire attached to the grappling hook and he flew away from the train which was carrying me in the opposite direction. Before I could think things through I had thrown my lightsaber at the departing cyborg. The crimson blade hissed through the air and was guided unerringly by my will.

The train on which I was on choose that moment to take a slight turn to the right and enter a tunnel. I lost sight of my target and my concentration wavered.

”Kriffing machine!” I roared in anger while doing my best to keep my lightsaber from smashing into something.

The train engine felt my wrath and it caved in as if struck by a giant hammer. Emergency brakes activated and I had to draw on the force to keep myself upright as the cart on which I was on lurched to a sudden stop.

I jumped in the air and headed to the back of the train. I had to nearly kneel as I moved over the wagons which were at the back of the open carts. The tunnel ceiling was that low. I vaulted over the last wagon and my feet struck the monorail line. Thanks to the emergency stop, the computer controlling the train system had stopped feeding energy in it. What power that still remained in it washed harmlessly over my well-isolated armor. It was nothing compared to Sith lightning and my protections were designed to blunt the attacks of some of the most powerful Sith that existed in my time.

You gotta love genius engineers and well applied Sith Alchemy.

I ran over the monorail line back to the transport hub. To my irritation, I could see no sign of Grievous.

”Lucky kriffin' bastard!” growled in barely restrained rage.

The Dark side was whispering sweet, seductive suggestion in my ears. It would have been so easy and satisfying to let myself be controlled by my fury. It promised me power and invulnerability. I sneered at the dark seductress and wrestled control from its influence. I knew those whispers for the lie they were. I was NOT a common rabble that would be enslaved by the Dark side's desires! It was mine to control! Not the other way around!

The Force twisted in a cloud of living shadows around me while I reasserted control over my feelings. The fury subdued to a simmering pool of anger and I could think clearly again. The Force gradually calmed down around me and I used it to guide me towards my lost lightsaber.

I found it down below, half hidden by the shadows cloaked bottom of the monorail hub. The low light vision mode of my helmet and its zoom function helped me see the hilt of my blade. A dozen meters away I could also see something that looked suspiciously like the right foot of Grievous. By the Force, I had taken another piece of that bastard! He should be easy to track down and dispose of as crippled as he was now! After a nice long chat about all of the Separatists secrets, he knew, of course. I was not foolish enough of discard such valuable intelligence source if it was possible to capture and interrogate him.

I levitated my saber to my outstretched right hand and was about to start searching in the Force for the running General when Obi-Wan called me. I cursed myself for a bloodthirsty fool! I had forgotten all about the Jedi who had let me deal with the local Boogie Man by myself. I had been so focused on my prey that I didn't pay attention to anything else. Talk about tunnel vision…