Meanwhile, Obi-Wan, Scott, and Rhodey found themselves desperately evading the relentless assault of an enraged General Grievous. The cyborg's mechanical arms had split apart, allowing him to wield four lightsabers simultaneously in a terrifying display of spinning death that created a cyclone of deadly energy blades, keeping the three heroes at bay.
"You fools," Grievous growled with mechanical arrogance, "I was personally trained in lightsaber combat by Count Dooku himself and enhanced with the strongest durasteel alloys the Confederacy could provide. Since this war began, I have personally killed dozens of Jedi Knights and hundreds of clone troopers."
"And yet somehow you still can't seem to finish off the three of us," Rhodey retorted while his armor's targeting systems tracked the spinning lightsaber pattern.
"Your destruction is merely a matter of time," Grievous snarled back.
"I've heard that threat many times before," Obi-Wan added dryly while maintaining his defensive stance.
Grievous said nothing more and launched into a ferocious offensive, determined to reduce all three of them to scattered remains.
Rhodey's repulsors managed to deflect some of Grievous's lightsaber strikes, while Obi-Wan used his own blue blade to parry the others. The coordinated defense was barely holding against the cyborg's overwhelming assault.
After Scott had shrunk to microscopic size, both Rhodey and Obi-Wan lost track of his position, but Grievous was forced to remain vigilant, constantly worried that the tiny Avenger might emerge from anywhere to deliver a potentially fatal strike. This divided attention had a noticeable impact on his combat effectiveness.
His momentary distraction proved costly when Rhodey's armored fist connected solidly with the side of Grievous's mechanical face.
Grievous released a roar of pain and fury, but his battlefield reflexes remained sharp. He immediately retaliated with a powerful kick to Rhodey's chest, sending the armored Avenger staggering backward several steps. Seizing this opportunity, Grievous advanced toward Obi-Wan with lightsabers spinning menacingly.
However, he had barely taken one step forward when he suddenly froze in place.
Without any warning, the metal plating covering his left arm began separating from his mechanical frame, piece by piece.
Grievous's optical sensors widened in horror as he began trembling uncontrollably. His arms developed violent spasms and twitched erratically before his entire left mechanical limb went completely limp and useless.
"What is happening to me?!" he screamed in terror and confusion.
"Oh man, I think you seriously need to return to the factory for some major repairs," came Scott's voice from somewhere inside Grievous's mechanical body as he systematically dismantled the cyborg's primary circuit components.
"Who dares speak to me?!" Grievous shouted as if he had encountered a supernatural phenomenon, since the voice was clearly emanating from within his own body.
"Oh, I'm your inner conscience," Scott replied in a mysteriously low, ominous tone while jumping to another set of wires and continuing his sabotage work.
"My word, Scott actually managed to do it," Obi-Wan muttered to himself in complete amazement. "This is absolutely incredible."
"Do what exactly?" Rhodey asked, confused by the Jedi Master's stunned reaction.
"I always believed I was one of the few beings in the galaxy who truly understood Grievous's weaknesses," Obi-Wan explained, "but I never expected Scott to be even more insightful—he went directly for the general's core consciousness systems."
Rhodey blinked in surprise for a moment, then burst into laughter. Obi-Wan's unexpectedly humorous way of describing the situation made it impossible for him to suppress his amusement even in the middle of this deadly serious battle.
"Do not celebrate prematurely, you pathetic fools," Grievous roared while attempting to advance. "In the face of absolute power, all your clever tricks are nothing more than illusions." However, his legs began shaking uncontrollably and he finally collapsed to the deck plating.
Obi-Wan stepped forward, hoping to seize this opportunity to eliminate the infamous military commander of the Confederacy of Independent Systems once and for all, but suddenly a massive formation of battle droids emerged from behind Grievous to protect their fallen general.
This unexpected development caught both Obi-Wan and Rhodey completely off guard.
Grievous recognized this brief moment of distraction and quickly struck both men with his two remaining functional mechanical arms. After knocking them down, he hastily retreated behind his droid army and glared at them with mechanical malevolence.
"Guys, are you alright?" Scott asked with genuine concern. He had emerged from Grievous's body at some point and returned to normal human size, now helping his two teammates back to their feet.
"We'll survive this encounter," Obi-Wan said while rubbing his bruised torso, though his whispered tone reflected their grim tactical situation—facing both a droid army and the still-dangerous Grievous left them with virtually no chance of victory.
"We need to find an escape route immediately," Rhodey said while his armor's systems assessed their rapidly deteriorating situation.
"Agreed. Strategic withdrawal is our only option," Obi-Wan nodded. The three men suddenly turned and ran for their lives, with the entire droid army pursuing them relentlessly through the ship's corridors.
Meanwhile, Anakin, Steve, Sam, and Padmé had successfully reached the bridge of the Malevolence. After systematically destroying the battle droids stationed in the control center, they began implementing their sabotage plan.
"Time to give that mechanical bastard Grievous a very unpleasant surprise," Anakin said with a mischievous grin.
"I suggest we dispose of this evidence so no one can detect our presence here," Padmé recommended practically.
Within minutes, the remains of several destroyed battle droids had been jettisoned through an airlock, and Anakin had successfully reprogrammed the Malevolence's navigation systems.
"Mission accomplished," Anakin announced with satisfaction while contacting his astromech droid. "R2, prepare the Twilight for immediate departure. We're evacuating right now."
Both of Anakin and Obi-Wan's teams had managed to evade their pursuing droids and were now running at maximum speed toward the Twilight's docking position.
Soon, both groups successfully regrouped at the airlock entrance, where the Twilight waited for them on the other side.
Everyone quickly boarded the vessel and hastily departed from the Malevolence, flying directly toward the safety of the Republic fleet.
However, their escape would not be without complications. The furious Grievous refused to accept defeat, and despite having one of his mechanical arms severely damaged by Scott's sabotage, he was leading a squadron of Vulture droids in hot pursuit of the departing Twilight, coming dangerously close to scoring direct hits several times.
The crew of the Twilight fought back with everything they had. As they drew closer to the Republic fleet, Master Plo Koon ordered the Star Destroyers to provide covering fire against the Malevolence, protecting the Twilight's successful evacuation.
As the Twilight weaved between the protective barrage from the Republic fleet, the relentless Grievous refused to give up his pursuit. He personally piloted his starfighter and chased after them like a venomous predator closing in for the kill.
"General Grievous," came a droid's voice through his fighter's communication system.
"What is it now?" he snapped impatiently.
"The hyperdrive systems have been fully repaired and are operational," the tactical droid reported. "Shall we evacuate to a secure location immediately?"
"Activate hyperdrive and begin retreat protocols," Grievous ordered while maintaining his pursuit of the Twilight. "I will rendezvous with you at the fallback position in Sector Four."
He then focused his attention entirely on the Twilight, which had already managed to shoot down two of his escort Vulture droids. Grievous narrowed his optical sensors, increased his fighter's speed to maximum, and fired a concentrated burst at one of the Twilight's engine nacelles.
Aboard the Twilight, R2-D2 emitted a series of urgent beeps and whistles that C-3PO translated: "Ladies and gentlemen, we have just received confirmation that the enemy vessel is initiating its hyperdrive sequence."
"I really hope this trap of yours actually works, Anakin," Sam said with nervous anticipation.
"What trap?" Obi-Wan asked with curiosity. "What are you talking about?"
"It's a surprise," Anakin replied with obvious pride. "I can't reveal it just yet."
Grievous was desperately trying to intercept the Twilight before it could reach the protective cover of the Republic fleet. If he allowed them to escape, he would have no further opportunities for revenge. Suddenly, the Malevolence transmitted another urgent communication request, which he answered with obvious irritation.
"General, our hyperdrive appears to be experiencing critical malfunctions," a panicked battle droid reported.
"Didn't you just inform me it was fully operational?" Grievous roared in fury. "What is the nature of this malfunction?"
"There appears to be a catastrophic error in the navigation computer," the droid continued with mechanical precision. "It has directed us on a collision course with the moon Rishi."
"You incompetent scrap metal!" Grievous screamed. "Override the navigation system immediately!"
Aboard the Malevolence, dozens of battle droids worked frantically at their control stations as the massive warship began its uncontrolled descent toward the surface of Rishi.
But all their desperate efforts proved futile. Within moments, the Malevolence slammed into the moon's surface with catastrophic force, and the once-mighty Separatist superweapon ended its brief but destructive existence in a massive explosion that could be seen from orbit.
After learning of the Malevolence's destruction, Grievous immediately ignored Count Dooku's incoming communication request and chose to flee the battlefield rather than face his Master's inevitable wrath.
Aboard the Republic Star Destroyer, clone troopers cheered and celebrated the end of a brutal engagement, while the four Avengers and Jedi Knights on the Twilight also released collective sighs of relief.
After a moment of contemplative silence, Anakin turned to Steve and asked, "So, how did you find your first official mission with the Republic?"
Steve exhaled deeply, leaned against the bulkhead, and shrugged with characteristic understatement. "Well, a giant enemy ship went down, and this time I wasn't aboard it when it crashed."
Everyone from this galaxy looked somewhat puzzled by Steve's oddly specific comment, but the other three Avengers couldn't help but burst into laughter, since they were intimately familiar with their captain's history of dramatic crash landings.
"Alright then," Obi-Wan said without fully understanding the reference, though he smiled and shrugged good-naturedly. "Let's go home."
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