And That's What it's All About

Title: And That's What it's All About

Chapter: Fifteen Minutes

Summary: All she had was fifteen minutes to save them… and that was the high point of her day.

Disclaimer: I own neither genre. Joss Whedon owns Buffy the Vampire Slayer. George Lucas owns the Star Wars franchise. I'm just a poor post-college graduate.

Spoilers: There are minor spoilers from both stories, especially Star Wars.

Notes: Well… there's really no excuse for the reason why it took me a month to update. I had training. I've have a lot of personal issues. One of my dearest friends got married last weekend. I guess those things count as excuses for not devoting time to the one thing in my life that hasn't lost its mind. My work load at work quintupled too… apparently people love to tick off their favorite law enforcement agencies around the time the little schools let out! It may be a few weeks before it gets updated again, but I am trying.

Thank you to all who have been reviewing! I really do appreciate each and every one! I'm so glad you actually like this story and perhaps it is this reason more than any that I was willing to continue it. You inspire me.

x-o-x

Fifteen Minutes

The door in front of them was still closed. Both Jedi crept up to it, weapons in hand. Obi-Wan glanced at the door, using the Force to sense whatever power was behind it. He didn't feel anything and that unsettled him more. Anakin walked next to him, breathing deeply with his gaze concentrated on the door. Occasionally he would swing his head left and right to catch a peripheral view of unsettling silence. Everything seemed too still.

There was still her reassuring presence with them, though. Both Jedi could sense her nearby, but they were uncertain where she was.

"At least she's safe. What they can't see, they won't know about."

Obi-Wan scoffed under his breath. "She could easily be the one firing at us."

"With respect, Master, but shouldn't she be on our side?"

"Do you really expect her to keep saving our collective hinds?" Obi-Wan asked Anakin in disbelief. "Don't you think she'll eventually tire of finding a way to rescue us from the evil enemy she knows nothing about?"

"Well, when you put it that way…"

"I am putting it that way," Obi-Wan replied, tapping the controls to the door. Both watched as it slid open, revealing nothing but empty space within. "We are the two Jedi here, one of the greatest teams in Order history. How is it that we're counting on someone who isn't even in our Order to show up at the exact moment that we'd need her?"

Hearing the click of weapons readying to fire behind them, both Jedi turned to see an armada of super battle droids gathered behind him.

"Like… now?" Anakin muttered under his breath.

"I truly did not mean for that to happen," Obi-Wan said defensively.

x-o-x

I was still standing at the computer monitor, staring at the read-out from one of the buildings at the complex. They were in the Viceroy's chambers surrounded by an entire armada of the best clones. I was only a little ways away near the end corridor of yet another endless narrow passageway. Seriously, though… I was getting lost. This wasn't my territory and I didn't have the slightest clue where I was. I wish I had some of my intuition to guide me, but that seemed pointless. Stupid Jedi.

"They apparently fell into the trap," I murmured as I searched through the many controls for some hint. My fifteen minutes were going to run down soon and this entire complex was about to be blown up. I had already let Cody know that the Jedi were in trouble. My sights were now set on this Viceroy and how to let the Jedi get him safely. I wouldn't want to have Yoda questioning why the blood of two Jedi was spilled needlessly when I could have done something to help. He was in the complex with the Jedi, meaning that I would have to actually go into that building.

There was nothing for it – all I had to do was walk.

Or float… it seemed faster.

I made my way into the Viceroy's private complex and found myself in a sea of bad puns. Two Jedi were obviously hiding behind a doorway as several dozen droids stood in the grand entranceway. Spying a single droid standing on the outskirts, I swept forward and overtook its control. As my new solid fingers clenched and unclenched, I found my weapon. I searched its databanks to find where its orders were coming from. I found a single droid command facility upstairs. I would need to take it out before the Jedi could escape. There were also internal weapons, like guns and stuff. Sure, they had fancy names. I just didn't have the patience to remember them. They weren't necessary in my plan, anyway.

But, it could always be used as a last resort.

I released my hold on the droid and the stupid thing just fell over, completely falling apart. Its joints and limbs just collapsed. Three minutes down and there was still a long, long way to go. But things had just jumped to the enormous scale. I fled through the ceiling. Though they couldn't see me and probably couldn't touch me, the last thing I needed to do was cause problems that could accidentally get both Jedi killed.

That would be such a tragedy.

x-o-x

"Master?"

"No, Anakin… we are not going out there to face sixty of those things. Even with our skills, the odds against us are—"

"Beyond large?" Anakin asked sarcastically.

"We could very well face our deaths if we go out there to fight," Obi-Wan replied.

"What would you have us do? Would you have us sit here and face the most humiliating mission yet?"

"I honestly don't know what we can do. These chambers are well guarded. Even if they disappear, they have ways of seeing if we come out."

"There must be something we can do," Anakin muttered, turning around and walking away from the door. Yet the small circular room was enclosed, precisely the reason why the droids would have chosen this spot. They must have known the Jedi would attempt to seize the Viceroy from the one room they couldn't escape from.

"As you asked one minute ago, Anakin, there is nothing we can do. We must remain here until they leave."

"I don't think I can do that, Master."

"Then feel free to walk out there to your infinite doom, Anakin. I won't hold you back. If you think you can take sixty super battle droids and fifteen destroyers, be my guest."

"Wait… there are destroyers now?" Anakin asked, rushing back over to the door. Or rather, the thin crack of light that separated the door from the wall. They had automatically shut the door when they had walked in, but they could still see the large number of droids lying in wait. Suddenly, though, his eyes spotted the dead droid surrounded by shrapnel. "Uh, Master?"

"Yes?"

"Did you happen to see the dead droid?"

"I did."

Anakin pulled away from the door, giving his too-calm Master a dark look. "Do you think—"

"I honestly do not know, Anakin. If she were here, it is likely we would be free."

Anakin took a deep breath. Despite how grim their situation looked at the moment, he still felt the reassuring presence of the Living Force. It soothed his tense mind and allowed him to think clearly without worrying too much that he would die the second he stepped outside the door. Obi-Wan's face wore its normal grumpy expression.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm wondering where our backup is."

"Besides dead?" Anakin asked in disbelief. The clones that had been following them were dead. In a way, their one link to the Living Force was there as well, but she was undoubtedly transparent and deceased as well.

"You know what I mean," Obi-Wan insisted, turning to look haughtily at his former apprentice. "Euphemisms aside, Commander Cody did have a large number of clone troops with him. I am curious as to their location. I would have thought that they—"

Before he could finish his words, however, the lights over their heads dimmed, flickered twice and then went out completely.

"I hope you realize this is your fault," Anakin grumbled as Obi-Wan's jaw dropped in consternation.

x-o-x

"Let's see what's behind door number one."

I reached inside the cold metal and felt the large jumble of wires and conduits behind it.

"Yeah, that's not it."

I tried the second panel and found an even bigger jumble.

"Damn it."

I had to find the place where the stupid droids were controlled from. It couldn't be anything more than a simple light switch, considering that these droids were just that stupid. But then I realize that I'm still not technology girl and that stuffing my head with the ability to possess things will never change that. I just wish I could pull a Carrie and suddenly the inspiration would come to me. I'm running out of time and the prospect of blowing up in like nine minutes was not even an option.

I just had to take drastic measures. I had to. The choice wasn't there anymore. There was only so much time to waste before those stupid droids blew up the Viceroy's office.

And then it came back to me. "Where have you been? The launch is ready. We will leave as soon as the Viceroy is aboard."

Oh, crap.

How could have I forgotten what the stupid toad-person told me?

Okay… maybe it helped my hand was stuck in the 'flight control' super panel. "Hmm," I mused, quietly pushing my hand through the various wires and chips and technical gadgets. "Let me see… can I make a transport blow up from here?"

Not likely.

"Can I blow up the fuel transport hub before the Viceroy's launch leaves?"

That was a little more possible.

"Where is one of those toad people when you need one?"

I needed their brains, because the technology wasn't really agreeing with me. Merging with a droid would accomplish little except getting shot. I was running out time. They needed me and for once, I couldn't be there for them. I couldn't save them the way I wanted to.

I took a deep breath, despite the fact I don't breathe.

How could I possibly not do this? Failure is not in my character… I don't even know what the word means. I have to find a way. And basically, I just had to do it and take care of whatever consequences there were of my actions later.

"Once more unto the breach," I grumbled, plunging my hands back into the second panel. I felt around, the shocks zipping my poor numb fingers until I reached something that felt familiar. I tapped into it and glanced at the main terminal.

Now I was getting somewhere. Droid control command center. Talk about your basic alliteration.

"Showtime," I whispered, smiling slightly. Now to make the computer do what I wanted…

x-o-x

Clunk, clunk, clunk…

Clunk.

"Anakin!"

"I'm sorry!" the former apprentice said, wheeling around to face his former Master. "I'm looking for a hollow section of metal."

"You plan to cut our way out to a drop several thousand feet down?"

"I didn't realize that this was a section hovering in mid-air."

"It is," Obi-Wan confirmed. "At least, it was for those of us who actually looked at the intelligence information when we met with Commander Cody."

"Are you actually lecturing me about not paying attention again?"

"Well, yes."

"Well, stop it," Anakin murmured, turning to tap on the metallic walls again. "This is not the time for it."

"It is also not a time for—" His voice was cut off as both Jedi suddenly turned to stare at the doorway. There was a great commotion coming from the outside which sounded like things exploding. "Get away from the door. I'm going to open it."

Anakin hurriedly moved away as Obi-Wan tapped on the controls. And tapped again. It took them only a few seconds to realize that power to this section had been cut off. With a hint of flourish, Anakin activated his lightsaber and moved to plunge it through the metallic door.

A moment later, two Jedi stared through the molten, gaping hole to a massacre.

"Oh, my," Obi-Wan murmured as both Jedi stepped through. All of the droids had collapsed and had literally fallen apart. Stepping through limb after limb was somewhat surreal, but both Jedi soon found themselves embracing their freedom.

Anakin's eyes widened at the sight of several very large launchers that fired out firing solutions of something that would have pretty much killed them instantly. "That was timely, if not cliché."

"This entire day has been one," Obi-Wan remarked, rolling his eyes as he stepped forward. "We should get moving."

"What are you sensing?" Anakin asked, feeling the strangest sensation.

"I just have a bad feeling about this," Obi-Wan replied. Anakin shrugged and they both moved on.

x-o-x

Okay, so one task down. The Jedi were able to move freely. I just had to warn them about one, the Viceroy as he was probably holding onto the Jedi until his ship left before ordering their gruesome, painful deaths… and secondly, to warn them about Count Dracula, or whatever his name was, that was threatening to attack Coruscant.

But, I also had one last little trick up my sleeve. After effectively shutting down the power in this section, I had also sealed the doors using some sort of weird encryption code (or rather, I used my name but chances were they'd never figure it out anyway) and had done some more tinkering, finally turning on the lights and sealing off unnecessary sections. I also found that the clone troopers were holding back the main droid forces in the main hangar bay as well as the central buildings of the complex.

I quickly contacted Cody again, letting him know we only had eight minutes before it blew up. That wasn't a lot of time to plan this out. But when half of my time was dedicated to getting the Jedi out of Jail free and with their lives and stuff, I figured I got the better end of the bargain.

I caught up with the Jedi as they sped out of the Viceroy's private building.

"Took you long enough," was the first thing Anakin said as he saw my ghostly form come out of the wall behind them.

"Did you expect me to pull a miracle out of my ass?" I asked sweetly. Seeing Obi-Wan pounding on a console to open one of my carefully-sealed doorways, I added, "Don't bother with those. They aren't going to help you."

"But we must get off this level and we must find the Viceroy."

"He's in his private hangar in the launch that was going to take off the second you were eviscerated."

"Oh," Obi-Wan said, pulling his hand away from the door panel.

"Yeah. So we've got some running to do. Rather, you've got about seven minutes to run and I'll try and stall. I take it my plan of breaking out the internal guns and blowing the heck out of his ship is a no-go."

Anakin exchanged a horrified look with Obi-Wan.

"Relax, I was only kidding." That was a half-truth, I decided. "Look… the hangar bay is in that building over there." I pointed down the long corridor with the bright yellow lights along the floorboards. "Just follow the yellow brick road and you'll get there."

"The yellow brick road?" Obi-Wan asked faintly, as though struggling to understand why I was so cheerful.

"You're wasting time we do not have, Master Nagobi," I snapped. Anakin let out a scoff and I snapped by gaze back to his face. The laughter died like a gargle in his throat. "Look, I set off a bunch of pretty little explosive thingies around the main reactor. They were set for twenty minutes. We have seven minutes and thirty seven seconds to kidnap the Viceroy, get back to our ships and get the hell off this world."

"What?" Anakin asked, a stunned look falling over his face.

"You two," I continued, making shooing motions with my floating arms, "go, now! You're wasting time! I'll see if I can stall him or trap him or something!"

With that, I ran through the wall again.

I would have given anything, anything to see the looks on their faces after I left. I bet it was priceless.

"What was that?" Anakin asked in a hushed voice.

"The miracle we've been looking for," Obi-Wan replied, hurrying forward and following the yellow lights on the floorboards and deck plates. "Come on. She said we had only seven minutes left until this entire complex is destroyed."

"Don't you think her actions were a bit rash?" Anakin asked as he hurried after his Master. They breezed easily through the narrow corridors and into the open passageway. It was on the other side of the fuel pod station that the hangar was.

"They may be rash, Anakin… but we didn't exactly have a choice. This mission in itself has been an utter failure."

"I'm so glad we agree about that one," Anakin muttered.

x-o-x

I had to stall them?

I had to stall them?

Who was I trying to kid? I had no body. And the moment one of those morons did anything to blast the doors open, who was I to stop them?

But there was something I could do.

I made my way to another terminal and used internal cameras to see inside the hangar. One large ship sat inside, with hundreds of droids milling around it. Apparently the Viceroy was taking no chances.

Neither was I.

I'm ready for this.

I just had to move quickly. The upper part of the droids command console is in the launch bay's port command center. Yes, I am aware of how geeky it sounds now as I think about it.

However, inside the ship was a whole other story.

"The Jedi have escaped."

"How is that possible?" Viceroy Gunray asked, glaring at his two subordinates who had waddled this far just to tell them that their spectacular plan to wipe Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker off of the face of the planet had completely faltered.

"They must have had outside help," one of the two replied meekly. "Power was shut off in that section and the droids suffered a total power failure."

"A total power failure?" one of the droid controllers asked. "Only a Jedi—"

"But we had then trapped," the Viceroy replied, turning away to glance out his own view port. "There must have been another."

"Only two ships landed on the planet."

"It just doesn't make sense…" the Viceroy continued, twisting his hands.

"We must leave at once if the Jedi are free. They will not stop until you are dead."

"Start the engines and prepare to leave at once." The second subordinate turned to the Viceroy. "You must remain out of sight or you will surely be captured by the Jedi."

The Viceroy nodded, still concerned as to how two Jedi could have escaped their Sith-provided plans so cleanly.

I had just entered the hangar bay when the sound of engines starting hit me with a full force. I swallowed down the nasty exhaust fumes and ducked underneath the ship. The droids were hurriedly rushing towards the one corridor I had opened up.

"No, no, no," I muttered, running towards the command center on the second level of the bay. We were down to five minutes and we needed every second. I needed to power down the droid units on this level or those two Jedi wouldn't stand a fighting chance.

But then, everything came to a crashing halt as two internal guns came down and blasted at the hangar doors.

"Crap," I hissed, running through the wall behind me. The firing solution had seeped through the hardcore metal and soon the ship had lifted slightly off of the ground. I could only watch, powerless, as the ship crashed the rest of the way through of the hangar bay.

Well… so much for my plans. If I had been corporeal, I might have been able to do something to get there in time; I could have done something to stop them. But no… the most frustrating thing about being a ghost is standing by powerless as the one last shot of glory crashed through the smoldering remains of two hangar doors.

But then, as I reminded myself, we had less than five minutes to get back to our own hangar bay and get the hell off of this world before this stupid complex blew up.

x-o-x

"I thought she took care of all the droids," Anakin spat through gritted teeth as he deflected major bolts from the set of droidikas. Obi-Wan stood with his back to him, fighting off another small army of super battle droids.

One of the destroyers suddenly paused, cocking both of its weapons.

"I don't understand," Obi-Wan replied, using the Force to expel a large number of battle droids to the opposing wall.

Both Jedi soon found their thoughts drowned out by the sound of a ship in the nearby hangar bay taking off. They both exchanged a dark look before turning to take on the other droids.

Except for the fact that one of the destroyers seemed to have lost its mind and was quickly mowing down the others in rapid succession.

"Buffy?" Obi-Wan asked softly.

The droidika crumpled as my essence removed itself from the mechanical unit.

"Nice," Anakin surmised, glancing at the wreckage scattered around them.

"Compliment later, run for your lives now," I ordered and then turned, running straight out the wall.

"I think she means we need to get back to our ships," Obi-Wan said in a small voice.

"When we get out of this one, you're going to have to talk to her about delegating orders," Anakin grumbled as he took off after his Master.

I met them in the hangar bay, surrounded by dozens of clone troopers which had just freed the bay and saved the ships. Both Jedi were panting as they stared at their ships, which had been powered up. The clones were moving rapidly towards two transport ships and more were seen through the giant space-safe windows speeding away from the planet.

"How much time do we have?" Anakin gasped as he ran past me.

"Less then three minutes," I replied sharply, turning to follow Obi-Wan back to his shuttle. "Now go!"

Both Jedi hurriedly got into their star fighters.

"One question – what about the space doors—"

But his words were cut off as both hangar doors opened, emitting the wide expanse of space beyond.

"Had it covered," I assured him.

He made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan and powered up the ship. Anakin's small craft was already zipping through the opened doors. A moment later, Obi-Wan's ship also exited.

It took all of my brain power just to hold myself to this position as Cato Neimoidia seemed to shrink the farther away we got. Not a moment too soon, I thought… another few hours in those dreadful corridors and I would have pleaded for death all over again.

Another moment passed before a giant orange fireball billowed into the sky. Thick clouds of toxic smoke swirled as clone ships managed to break free to the debris hurtled thousands of feet into the air. The orange glow was emanated on Obi-Wan's face, making him look almost sinister. But a moment later he passed, turning the ship to see what I had done.

"You don't ever go for anything small, do you?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head, knowing full well he couldn't see.

"What happened to the Viceroy?"

"He left," I said simply. That was all there was to it. I just settled my mind on concentrating enough to keep my molecules where they were, thank you very much. But I couldn't help but feel a small hint of pride in looking at the blaze on the planet's surface far below and knowing that with the help of those whose bodies I had possessed this had been done. Still… how many Nemoidians had died? They couldn't all be evil, right?

I really had to learn the truth about this entire war thingy sooner or later.

Obi-Wan seemed to be reading my thoughts as well. "We need to talk."

"My four favorite words," I grumbled, "right behind evisceration and beheading."

Obi-Wan turned his head slightly, frowning. A moment later, Anakin's voice crackled through on the radio. "That was a pretty fire show," he said appreciatively. Well, I thought it was a compliment. Obi-Wan's frown grew deeper. "I'll meet you back on Cody's ship."

"You will," Obi-Wan replied.

And then it struck me… Count Dracula doing the whole threatening Coruscant thing.

"Obi-Wan, I think there's something you should know."

"Yes?"

He sounded distracted. I decided to go for broke. "I want to have your baby."

This caught his attention. His eyes were piercing as he turned in his seat, craning to see me wedged in the cockpit behind him. "Hmm…"

"Relax. I just wanted to get your attention," I assured him. "But there is something to say. Um… do you happen to know a big tall guy with white hair and a dark cape who sort of reminds me of Dracula?"

Obi-Wan shrugged his shoulders until his entire body froze. "Was it Dooku?"

"Okay," I said, realizing how close Dracula and Dooku were to one another's names, "that's almost creepy."

"What do you know?" he asked in that patient tone of his.

"I was in the command center and I overheard something… something about an attack on Coruscant."

Obi-Wan nodded as he returned his attention to his controls. "You might as well wait to explain everything… we'll be on board Cody's ship shortly."

I sighed, falling back into my own thoughts. In just a short period of time, I would tell them just how doomed they really were.

x-o-x

Next part… plans are underway for the attack on Coruscant and Buffy learns Jedi 101 and gets a rather cold outlook on her new life.