Generally Speaking
General Grievous enjoyed the graduation of trainees from the Abyss Watcher facilities on Kalee. It was a good excuse to visit his homeworld, and he was able to motivate the next generation of Kaleesh warriors. The debt his people owed Lady Ciaran was one he personally would never consider repaid in full, and Grievous made it his mission to instill his beliefs into as many Kaleesh as he could. It was usually unneeded, as many felt the exact same way he did, occasionally more fanatically, revering Ciaran as a goddess.
Grievous wouldn't go that far. He had spent too much time around the eccentric woman to see her as anything but that, an eccentric woman who had saved both him personally and the planet he had fought so long and hard for. The day she had convinced the galaxy that the Huk were the aggressors, he owed her everything. And yet she continued to invest in Kalee, reaffirming his devotion time and again. So when he heard rumors of someone else attempting to recruit Kaleesh warriors from the training program built by Lady Ciaran, he set out to deal with them personally.
The transgressor was a human male, growing old as evidenced by his grey hair tied up in a bun, but still fit enough to be a fighter. He wore the robes of a Jedi, but his were tattered and damaged by battle, covered in armor that maximized protection while doing little to hinder mobility. Across is back was his lightsaber, half sheathed. Accompanying the Jedi were several men, not clones, but still wearing the insignia of the Republic army.
"What do you think you're doing?" asked Grievous as he approached the man. It may not have been the most diplomatic approach, but Grievous was hardly a diplomat.
"General Rahm Kota of the Republic and Jedi Master." said the Jedi, introducing himself. "I've come here because I've heard the Kaleesh are exceptional warriors. My militia's hardly sustaining heavy losses in the field, but we need more men if we want to really stick it to the Separatists. Figured if I was recruiting in the area, I might as well recruit the best."
Grievous was both flattered by the compliments to his people's skill as warriors and irritated by the flagrant disregard for the insinuation that any Kaleesh would turn their back on the Abyss Watchers to join the Republic after all Lady Ciaran had done for them and all the Republic had ignored their pleas to side with the Huk. "Perhaps you should simply request additional clones, and leave this planet."
General Kota spit off to the side in derision. "Not happening. Can't trust those clones. Who knows what kind of orders they might have indoctrinated into those heads of theirs? That's why I lead a militia of volunteers. Brave men and women, every last one of them. And I want to fight alongside some Kaleesh, the bravest warriors in the galaxy if half of what I hear is true."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Jedi. You are wasting your time. A true Kaleesh would never serve under a pathetic Jedi in the first place." said General Grievous, letting his personal distaste for the Jedi color his words.
"Pathetic am I?" said Kota, reaching for his lightsaber and stepping towards Grievous aggressively. "I bet I could beat your sorry self with not trouble at all."
"Is that so?" said Grievous, excited to learn this Jedi was as open to settling their dispute with violence as he was. Grievous reached into a pouch and drew forth a bronze coin, which he then flicked at the Jedi.
Kota caught the coin with ease and proceeded to turn in over in his hand looking at it. "What's this?"
"A Kaleesh dueling coin. The bronze means the challenge is not to the death. As pleasing as that might be, there are those above me who would be inconvenienced by your death at my hands." Said Grievous, as two Kaleesh trainees in the crowd that had gathered hurried to bring them the wooden blades that were used in such duels.
"Fine by me. Don't come complaining when you lose because you've underestimated the power of the Force." said Kota, moving his hand away from his lightsaber now that he knew he would not need the lethal weapon.
Grievous reached to his side and grabbed the wooden blade that was placed into his palm as Kota did the same. "Your paltry religion is no match for a true warrior of Kalee. You will lose this match no matter how much you use the Force, I would bet my life on it."
Kota laughed. "Keep your life, I don't want it. But I can hardly be seen as a coward, can I? Since a Jedi's lightsaber is his life, I'll bet my lightsaber you'll be the one who winds up in the dust."
The two generals continued to stare each other down before moving in unison to some unseen signal. The two fighters' wooden weapons clacked as they met time and time again, Kota moving as if her could see where Grievous would strike next and Grievous simply moving with superior speed and power to compensate. Kota rolled to the left and struck at Grievous' side, but the Kaleesh warrior leapt back.
The two circled each other, looking for any weakness to exploit. Grievous moved first, leaping forward with an overhead strike that sacrificed any skill with the blade for sheer speed and power. Kota rolled out of the way, and Grievous' blow kicked up a bit of dust as it impacted the ground. Grievous ducked and swept the sword low to knock out Kota's legs as the Jedi moved to exploit his opponent's vulnerable state.
The Jedi hopped over the blade, but Grievous' free hand shot out like a striking snake and gripped Kota's ankle. Grievous flung the Jedi behind him, and Kota righted himself in midair and skid to a stop on his feet. Closing his eyes, Kota waved his hand in front of himself before thrust the empty palm forward. And invisible Force slammed into Grievous, who dug his feet in to try and remain standing.
He succeeded, but Kota had taken advantage of the opening, darting in to strike at the Kaleesh general. Grievous countered by throwing his body forward as soon as the push ceased, slamming his body into the Jedi general before he could swing his blade. With the gap between them eliminated entirely, Grievous held the advantage with his stronger body.
Still, as the tall as he was, Grievous also had trouble striking at such close range, and he wasn't able to inflict much damage with his fist before Kota shoved him with the Force once more. This time Grievous wasn't able to brace himself as well, and was sent skidding backwards, leaving two furrows in the ground from where his feet had dragged.
Kota got close again, this time careful to remain on the lookout for any sudden steps forward or back from Grievous. Always maintaining the optimal distance, Kota's superior bladework came into its own. Grievous was doing an adequate job fending off Kota's blows, but one snuck through the Kaleesh's defense and struck him across the face. His mask chipped from the force of the blow, but Grievous himself was unfazed.
It was clear Kota had expected the hit to stun his foe at least for a split second, and he was slow to react to Grievous' own strike, a strong hit to the side of the gut. Kota's upper body doubled over from the pain of the blow, but he remained aware enough to leapt backwards, further than he would have been able to without the Force, in order to avoid Grievous' follow up.
Grievous ran after Kota, striking with a jumping overhead to crush his opponent with raw power. Unable to recover in time to dodge, Kota instead raised his wooden blade to block. The two clashed, and the force proved too much. Not for either of the fighters, but for the weapons themselves, which snapped at the point of contact.
Now wielding something more akin to primitive spears, the two continued, each seeking to end it. Both stabbed towards their opponent's face with the pointed edges left behind by the earlier fracture. Grievous made no move to dodge, but Kota's weapon merely skidded off his mask. Kota tried to tilt his head out of the way, but Grievous' weapon still scored his cheek.
Kota winced in pain, and Grievous leapt at his chance like a furious animal. Grievous threw his head forward, smashing his forehead into Kota's with such force his mask cracked at the point of impact. Kota was stunned by the blow, but Grievous didn't let up, smashing his weapon into the side of Kota's head and sending the Jedi sprawling onto the ground.
Planting a foot squarely on Kota's back to hold him down, Grievous bent over and grabbed the lightsaber from its sheathe on Kota's back. "Perhaps you should meditate on your failure, Jedi. Who knows? You may find an answer as to why you lost in the time it takes you to build a new lightsaber." mocked Grievous as he turned and walked away.
As Kota's men realized that the duel was over, they rushed forward to help their general off the ground, and let him lean on them as they retreated back to their ship. Grievous meanwhile contemplated new designs for his mask as he looked at the lightsaber in his hand. The weight was far better than the knock-offs used by the Abyss Watchers, and as he gave it an experimental wave, Grievous decided that his initial distaste for the weapon was due to the shoddy craftsmanship the Abyss Watches had been able to achieve without proper blueprints. But if he could take lightsabers that had been properly constructed from fallen foes, well then, Grievous might even consider learning the weapon. Perhaps he'd even start a collection of them.
AN: I like this one. I got to write a cool fight scene between two generals, and Grievous defended the Abyss Watcher's monopoly on Kaleesh warriors. And out General starts his infamous collection, though it probably won't ever get as large as it did in canon, what with the whole "not killing Jedi" thing. But any rogue Jedi or Dark Jedi are fair game.
coughcoughNewDroidArmy
coughcough
...Right now, I'm wondering if we could ret-con our Muunilist mansion purchase (last turn) so that it turns out we had actually purchased the Damask Holdings superspire. That would be just. so. perfect -- to accidentally lay claim to the Damask legacy, as his rightful protege (the only one that didn't kill him, after all).
