General Grievous

'General Grievous' began his life as a member of the alien species known as the Kalee. After an accident which left his body useless, the remnants of his prior form were grafted into a cybernetic skeleton designed for combat. Combined with a computer implant which allowed him to process and predict the actions of his opponents, he was to become capable of successfully engaging Jedi on their own terms - with the training of the Sith lord Count Dooku. He was unaware that his crippling and augmentation had ultimately been staged by the Confederacy, as he had fought Jedi in the past.

Grievous was rather literally a Jedi-killing machine, slaying numerous Jedi in lightsaber combat and taking the lightsabers of his victims as trophies. As Dooku repeatedly counseled him, surprise and fear were Grievous' greatest weapons - intimidated Jedi are easier prey than ones who are focused and confident. Grievous did indeed develop a fearsome reputation, which no doubt served him well in his many successful battles against Jedi. Nevertheless, he also knew to retreat in the face of determined opposition, and fled (or attempted to flee) whenever his foes proved too great a threat.

Grievous was the chief lieutenant of Count Dooku and was given command of his own forces, including a personal flagship, the Invisible Hand. Perhaps most useful to Grievous personally were the advanced hand-to-hand combat droids which acted as his bodyguards, using specialized energy staves to block lightsabers and thereby distract and weaken Jedi prior to being finished off by Grievous.

It was Grievous who almost single-handedly captured Chancellor Palpatine during the Battle of Coruscant. During his escape, an encounter with Jedi Master Mace Windu left Grievous seriously damaged, and it may be that he was not able to repair himself fully before his fateful fight with Obi-wan Kenobi.

'Grievous' of course means 'causing grief or pain' or 'dire or grave,' and no doubt this title was a propagandistic measure intended to inspire fear. The General's true name was unknown to the Republic.

Record 1293 - character - Last update 11 Nov 2007, 21:32:39

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