Dooku, also known as Count, orchestrated an act of sabotage against Grievous' transport, resulting in extensive damage to Grievous's physical form and nearly causing his death. Darth Sidious, the Sith Master of Dooku, along with Dooku himself, became interested in Grievous due to his violent reputation as a Kaleesh military leader on Kalee, his birthplace. It remains uncertain whether the crash was a genuine event or if Grievous's transformation was entirely self-initiated, given his apparent desire for cybernetic enhancements.
During the Republic Era, Dooku, also known as Count, and his Sith Master Sidious, known as Darth, identified the potential of Grievous, a Kaleesh warlord who commanded his people, the Kaleesh, in a brutal conflict against the Yam'rii inhabitants of Huk. Dooku sought to recruit a commander for the Droid Army. Following the Republic's and Jedi's alignment with his adversaries, which led to mass starvation among his people, Grievous began employment as an enforcer for the InterGalactic Banking Clan.
As time progressed, Grievous implemented significant modifications to his cybernetic structure to amplify his combat capabilities, achieving levels of strength and speed that could rival even a Jedi Master, thereby solidifying his status as a formidable and terrifying combatant.
Following the near-fatal shuttle incident, the Kaleesh warrior accepted Count Dooku's offer for a life-saving surgical procedure, motivated by the Sith's interest in experimenting on technologically advanced beings. Under Dooku's guidance, Separatist cybernetic experts and Geonosian biotechs, supported by medical droids such as the FX-9 surgical assistant FX-6, performed extensive reconstructive surgery to save Grievous's life. Dooku initially deceived Grievous into believing that a Jedi was responsible for the sabotage, cultivating a profound and violent hatred for the Jedi within him. Furthermore, Dooku instructed him in the Jedi martial art of lightsaber combat, with one military expert training another.
Subsequently, the ancient Kaleesh warrior became a member of the Separatist Movement, aligning himself with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. He was granted the title of Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies, which he embraced, thus becoming a prominent Separatist figure and the supreme commander of the galaxy's largest Separatist Droid Army.
The veracity of the shuttle crash narrative has been questioned by historical analysis. While it was once thought that Grievous was unwillingly transformed into a cyborg, with rumors suggesting that Dooku orchestrated the crash under Sidious's orders to have Grievous saved through reconstructive surgery performed by medical droids, Grievous himself had already expressed a desire for cybernetic enhancements. By the time of the alleged crash, Grievous had already undergone a series of mechanical augmentations. Indeed, the statues in Grievous's private stronghold on the moon of Vassek 3 – a key source of information about his past – depicted a gradual transition to a mechanical form. Ultimately, one account concluded that there was no evidence to support the claim that Grievous was an unwitting victim of a conspiracy regarding his cybernetic transformation.
In Star Wars canon, the shuttle crash was first referenced in Star Wars: A Galaxy at War, a hardcover reference book published by Dorling Kindersley. In Stars Wars Legends, the shuttle crash was first introduced in "The Eyes of Revolution," a comic story written and illustrated by Warren Fu, published in the Dark Horse Comics anthology Star Wars: Visionaries, which was released on April 2, 2005.
A San Hill card from Star Wars: Card Trader indicated that San Hill, Poggle the Lesser, and Dooku collaborated in a conspiracy to convert Grievous into their cyborg servant. Pablo Hidalgo clarified that this was an outdated reference to Grievous's Legends backstory; however, subsequent canon sources have incorporated similar details.
- Star Wars: A Galaxy at War (First mentioned)
- Ultimate Star Wars
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 8 (Helmets: General Grievous)
- Star Wars: Card Trader (Set: Star Wars: Masterwork 2016, Card: General Grievous) (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Annual 2019 (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Day-at-a-Time Calendar 2019
- Star Wars: Alien Archive
- " The Grievous Growl " — Star Wars Insider 188 (also reprinted in Special Edition 2022 and Aliens, Creatures, and Droids)
- Star Wars: Build Your Own X-Wing 47 (Starfighter Aces: General Grievous — Cyborg Raider)
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- 2019 Topps Star Wars Masterwork (Card: General Grievous)
- Star Wars Day-at-a-Time Calendar 2023
- Star Wars 100 Objects
- Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy (Indirect mention only)