And That's What it's All About
Title: And That's What it's All About
Chapter: Smarter Than You
Summary: Buffy proves she actually has a brain when something is discovered that can change the outcome of a war.
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: Now we have crossed the threshold… the story is half done. Excuse the delay… I didn't forget about this story, I was just concentrating on the nearly impossible task of updating the other one. Welcome to the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end!
Yes, this is the second version of the chapter. Excuse the crappy writing and we'll try this again! I must thank Sithspawn for allowing me to see the error of my ways –facepalm-
x-o-x
Smarter Than You
The mood on the ship was tense as Vigilance slowly maneuvered around the remains of what had once been a Trade Federation battleship in all its glory. But for reasons yet undetermined by Vigilance's clone geniuses, the ship was without power and half of its life pods were scattered across the nearest space. Some life pods had utterly failed, with hull breaches and no signs of life. Some had been plucked up by tractor and had been moved into the hangar bay, only to discover they were full of droids. Obviously they had been scattered about as a trap. But one droid gave one single utterance before he died; the Viceroy had managed to escape again by using the same craft he and his staff had used when they had escaped Geonosis.
But the clones on the bridge had come across something else. There was a strong energy reading on the main bridge of the gigantic ship. And while the temptation was there to go through each life pod but each contained the possibility of a trap.
"We need to figure out what happened," Obi-Wan said, pacing behind me. "I believe you have had something to do with this."
"And what would I want to do with one of those things?" I asked coolly. The clones had been reading from the technical readouts. When they had finally gotten to a schematic of the ship from the landing bay on Cato Neimoidia, there was no doubt in my mind is was a triangle ship.
"It must have docked with the battleship on the edge of the system," Anakin said, standing at the monitor and reading from the list that kept scrolling through. "The bridge is still in tact. There is a strong signal coming from this section." He pointed to something on the monitor and Obi-Wan, who had crossed back to the station, frowned as he read from the technical schematic.
"Hmm. You described the ship that had taken off in that hangar as a landing craft."
"Yes," I said calmly. Even as I spoke the Clones continued about as though nothing were out of the ordinary. They must assume that the Jedi were talking amongst themselves since they didn't question why Obi-Wan was apparently looking at nothing when he talked to me. "It was a landing craft. It looked like a triangle-shaped shark or something… with engines."
Brushing my obvious nonchalance for period technology aside, Obi-Wan turned to speak quietly with Anakin. Luckily for me, I had my Slayer-enhanced hearing. But I didn't want to hear them insult me behind my back. "Excuse you," I said, planting my body in front of them. "In case you haven't noticed…" I lifted my arm and pointed sharply at my head. "I can hear you."
"Are ghosts normally so irritating?" Anakin asked, a small smile playing around his lips.
"As I've actually seen ghosts, I'll have to say yes," I replied in a bored voice, letting my arm fall to my side. "Normally they try to possess you and then get you to shoot someone first, but you know what? That's beside the point."
"You asked if something had worked," Obi-Wan said slowly, meeting me in the eye. "What were you talking about?"
x-o-x
I'm ready for this.
I had laid the groundwork for the terminal, finding what I had wanted to find. Atmospheric controls for the ship. Electrical conduits pumped fuel into the ship. Using the computer terminal I was at, I turned off the liquid elements that were currently refueling the main ship. Using the knowledge I had gained from the other terminal, I had found the network accidentally when looking for droid control.
The network there was also connected to the ship.
After a few seconds, an idea came to mind and I worked towards carrying it out. If it worked like I desperately hoped it would, the Jedi would get what they had come for. If it didn't… well, I didn't need to tell anyone what I had done here. I just needed a few more moments to get this thing figured out and then I would be set. Through the communications relays, I heard the Viceroy talking about the Jedi's escape. A fierce smile lit my face as I continued working. Now they suspected a third one. I was the third hand. Me, little old Buffy.
I let out a triumphant cry as my commands were sent through the network. Now… I hoped it would work.
I turned around and left the hangar command center, spying the ship below me. I knew they were desperate to escape because the Jedi were loose, but they didn't know that the Jedi were just trying to save their own lives.
It was then that the engines started, the fumes blasting through my body as I waited below the large ship. As the fuel lines were removed, I felt something like triumph.
This had to work. It just had to.
x-o-x
"I did exactly what I told it to do… I think."
"What do you mean, you think?" Anakin asked, frowning as he gazed down at the technical readout. "It looks like the ship suffered a massive power loss and parts of the ship were vented out into space completely. Was that your master plan?"
"I honestly don't know what I did," I said truthfully. "I just did the only thing I could think of. And I think it had something to do with suffocation."
Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged a look at the dreamy look on my face.
"Are you always this morbid?" Obi-Wan asked in a hushed voice.
"Mm… yes," I whispered, tilting my head and gazing up. "I like playing with death." Realizing then they had no idea what I was talking about, I straightened and gave them my brightest smile.
"Let me get this straight," Obi-Wan said, pacing behind me as he tried to put the pieces of my story together, "you managed to infiltrate the base hangar computer, programmed it to vent breathable air into space, set the programming so the reactors would shut down and then eject the life pods before there was any hope of getting off the ship?"
"I thought I did that to the little one?" I offered in my tiniest voice, adding with it the smallest of smiles.
"When the ship was brought into that landing deck, it was likely linked with the rest of the ship. If that is the case, the Viceroy may have had something critical aboard the cruiser." A look dawned on Obi-Wan's face as he turned to look at the Clone lieutenant standing at his station behind Anakin. "Check for the power signature again and scan for life signs."
The lieutenant nodded and began tapping away at his controls as I stood there, feeling quite brainless but yet feeling somewhat triumphant that tampering with the computer had gotten me this far. I couldn't help but feel smug about it too, considering the Jedi could barely manage to escape with their lives, much less stall the Viceroy.
"If the droid was correct in saying the Viceroy has escaped, then we have wasted precious time around this debris field instead of going after the Viceroy."
"Or maybe the Viceroy has somehow returned to Cato Neimoidia and the entire droid fleet will be here within a half day," Anakin said.
"Either way, we're running out of time," Obi-Wan frowned.
"There are no life signs aboard the ship," the lieutenant said. "And the power signature is separate from the reactors. Whatever the source is, it is different from the reactors. They are offline. However, the air is not breathable," the clone continued. "What do you suggest we do, Master Jedi?"
I forced myself to look to Obi-Wan, who paused in his pacing and suddenly smiled. "Care to take a trip?"
"Me?" I asked in confusion.
"You alone will not be affected by the lack of air," Obi-Wan replied as Anakin suddenly started laughing.
"And what if the ship is rigged to explode?" I asked nervously. Both Jedi were staring hard at me now. They were thinking that this was my chance to prove my loyalty. Yeah… and what had I been doing before? I saved their scrawny white asses and they were pulling this on me? But instead of arguing with the chance, I needed to just suck it up and take it.
"You should be able to obtain full access to their computer systems," Anakin said easily. "It's not like you haven't done that before."
"Thanks for reminding me," I sighed. "All right… just tell me what I have to do."
"Allow me, Master," Anakin said, moving forward to grasp at the console. He then gestured me towards him. I stood next to him as he began to drone on and on about power regulators and switches to restore life control and computer systems to restore engines and all of this stuff I had no clue about. Finally he stopped talking and looked expectantly at me. "You get it?"
"Got it," I murmured, shaking myself awake as I squinted at the command console. There was something about restoring life support so that Obi-Wan and Anakin could come aboard without suffocating. There was something about restoring engine control, but I knew that was beyond my realm of understanding. Reinitializing a super something-or-other? Whatever.
Obi-Wan, on the other hand, was staring hard at the transparent girl and Anakin. What seemed strange to others seemed perfectly normal to him… Anakin was treating Buffy like she was a living, breathing human being. It was at times like these that he realized how truly extraordinary Anakin was and how proud he was to have Anakin in his life. Even when Buffy was completely clueless and didn't quite understand what was going on, Anakin was there to help.
Suddenly, they seemed a little too compatible.
"How are we getting to the ship?" I asked Anakin suddenly. He had just been droning on and I in my imminent boredom had decided to ask the first thing that came to my mind. I had floated through space once and was not too keen about doing it again.
"We must ensure it is not rigged to explode before we get aboard," Anakin replied, bringing up a schematic of both ships. "We'll use a pod and set it home in on that frequency." He tapped again and a number flashed to the screen.
"Are you going to let an unarmed girl go alone?" I asked innocently, throwing in my baby pout for good measure.
"No," Anakin said, giving me what he probably thought was a comforting smile. "There is an entire clone deployment that will also board the ship. Think of yourself as an undercover and unseen agent. They will scout the ship for droids and other signs of danger. Do whatever you need to do to make the ship safe for Obi-Wan and I to board."
"I think I can do that," I said weakly. I really had no idea what I was doing. I was just being impulsive and it had paid off. How was I supposed to figure out how to restore critical systems in order for two humans (well, supposedly humans) to get on board?
"If you need anything, just use the Force," Anakin said, bending down towards my neck. I felt my face instinctively tip towards his and my ghostly eyes met his. "If you are part of the Living Force as you say you are, this will not be a problem."
"Perhaps you should go," Obi-Wan said aloud, interrupting what was quickly becoming an uncomfortable situation. I backed away from Anakin sheepishly and shrugged, staring out the view port to the looming Trade Federation ship. Though tilted on its side, it still presented a dangerous target. It just looked huge from the main deck of Vigilance and I thought this ship was huge. Then again… a Slayer in space? Who would have thought? I turned around as a contingent of clones appeared in their full gear with helmets on, looking like a sad twist from a fantasy movie from hell. "I'm sorry," I said to Obi-Wan. He just gave me that patented look.
"I know," he said after a moment.
"And we're going," I said, watching as the clones stepped right past us, heading towards the outer levels of the main bridge. I just sighed and followed after them, my body easily floating through the metallic door. Of all the things I had walked through, a cold metal door was definitely one of the worst.
After she had left, Anakin turned to Obi-Wan with something like an accusation in his voice. "You know you could have been a little nicer. She did do us a great service in doing what she did."
"If you believe she is so innocent in her loyalties," Obi-Wan said in a voice full of practiced patience, "then she truly is smarter than you."
"Do you believe she has ulterior motives?" Anakin asked in disbelief. From what he had been able to gather from the young woman who had been with them for the past several weeks, she seemed utterly harmless compared to the distrustful fool that Obi-Wan was mistaking her for. "Did you not say she should be given the chance?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan admitted. "But be mindful of her advances, Anakin."
"Her… what?" Anakin asked, unwilling to believe his former Master had just spoken those words aloud.
"She has spoken little of her life, but she has spoken of death. Knowing this, would it be so fruitless to believe she wishes for human attachments?"
"I don't believe this," Anakin said wonderingly. "How could you say—"
"I'm just saying, Anakin," Obi-Wan interrupted, holding up his hand.
Anakin could only stare at Obi-Wan in utter disbelief. Obi-Wan had said himself that he was willing to give Buffy a chance. He was willing to trust in her, to believe in her… was all of that just fable? Even as Obi-Wan stepped smoothly around him, all Anakin could think about was Padmé and how much he really cared for her. And then his mind settled on the fact that Obi-Wan hardly knew any woman well enough to judge her advancements, least of all Buffy. She had admitted to him something about being a 'chosen one' like him, but there was nothing except hidden meaning behind these words. He knew very well that the time would soon come where they would have to ask difficult questions that she would have to answer.
But, until then, they had a mission to accomplish.
x-o-x
Even at the odd angle, the small Republic pod flew seamlessly into the handing bay. Showers of sparks rained down on the ship as it touched down amongst heaps of debris, the wrecked remains of Trade Federation star fighters. Though the ship was ultimately not a droid control ship but a ship seeking a safe haven, there were plenty of armaments aboard to protect it from the clone soldiers that had just landed.
I took a deep breath even as the door opened, facing slightly upwards and towards a hatch. That hatch led to the internal parts of the ship I knew. As we were cruising in, I saw the flat metallic ring that surrounded the ship. As the pod swept toward the landing deck on the sphere however, I felt my trepidation start to rise. The Clones amusingly exited the ship, tumbling over like little white speckled dominos before moving to the hatch. One was already toying with an explosive and the others swept back.
Once the hatch was blown, the small group of clones quickly swept into the main corridor with their weapons cocked and aiming. Unbeknownst to them, a single figure drifted above them and settled through the ceiling, opting for a more rapid approach. We had been in one of the only corridors that hadn't been affected by the venting process. It felt like such a cliché from a movie that it baffled me. But I knew I had to get to a terminal where I could program the ship to undo the things I had first programmed it to do. Too bad I had never had any real interest in engineering or computer technology. Now that I just needed my mind and a whole lot of luck, it was almost fun.
After a few minutes however, I began to realize how big this ship really was. Even though I was a ghost and had no need of oxygen, the tiny compartments above and below the decks were barely large enough for me to squeeze through unnoticed. Most circuits and wires must've been hooked up to the reactors because once I stopped to examine them, the part of me that was the part of the Living Force reminded me that if I tampered with these, I could blow up the ship and, likely, the Vigilance which was still close by.
I knew I was getting close when I reached the main terminal area where the reactors were lodged. I found nothing of interest in these catacombs except for small flat computer terminals that told me things like internal reactor temperature and the amount of power fed into each reactor at any given time. At this moment there were just red lights flashing, signaling to anyone with a brain that this ship had lost all main power because the reactors had inexplicably shut down.
Now I felt like a dumb blonde. Floating back up, I continued on my way.
Apparently the Clones know how to move it. I heard the sounds of guns below me and dipped down just long enough for a look. There was some super battle droids engaged in an exciting fight with the clones. As much as I would have loved to possess a droid target and mow down the droids on my own, I had more important things to do. Like find the computer terminal and get rid of all the vacuum inside the ship. Luckily for me the clones had magnetized boots or they'd really be in trouble.
I finally found what I had been looking for: the main bridge. Scattered on the metallic-tiled ground were bodies of several Neimoidian crew members and the wreckage of droids. It took me only a few seconds to figure out that this room was nothing but a space vacuum; all air had been vented into space. It amazed me the hull was still intact. I had noticed a few cracks that grew in size the closer I got to the room, but nevertheless the fact the room hadn't blown into space was just a nod at the engineers who had created this friggin' big ship.
Unlike the fact I wanted the ship to stop dead in space and vent to force them to hide or something, my real intention had never been to harm them. I killed vampires and demons for a living. Despite the fact they looked like oddly distorted toads, they were still living beings that hadn't bitten or killed anyone. There were just a few from my understanding that were actually against the very government the Jedi were fighting for. Those were the ones I didn't necessarily want to hurt. Well, maybe torture a little bit. A girl has to have some fun.
"Hello, computer," I said with a smirk as I came forward, flexing my fingers as I stared at a large panel of buttons, monitors and the like, most of which were dark. Something in bright yellow symbols kept flashing. I had a feeling it meant something like 'danger!' or 'get off the ship before you die!'. I just hoped it didn't mean anything like 'ship set to blow in fifteen seconds, vacate now'. That wouldn't be so fun.
"Let's see what I can do." It was all I could promise. Before I could really question what I was about to do, I plunged my hands inside the monitor and felt around. The first thing I felt were the sparks of electricity, damaged from the internal pressure that had built as livable air had been vented out. I didn't really know what I wanted to do. But when I found something about restoring oxygen flow and restoring backup power long enough to close off space which lurked so close by, I took it. A moment later pale lights filled in the bridge. It was at this time more than any that I wished I could breathe. But if I had been alive and standing here, my body would have torn itself apart by now. Lucky me.
Suddenly I heard the sounds of metallic joints moving, heavy footsteps pounding down on the ground just outside one of the few doors into the section. I quickly pulled my hands out of the controls and melted into the walls as the door burst open and four droids I had never seen before stormed in, aiming their weapons about.
"Power has been restored," one grunted. "We must make contact with the control ship."
"Roger, roger."
"Crap," I whispered, unable to hold back. My hand slid back into the controls and instead of reaching blindly, I decided to take fate into my hands and follow the advice of the pretty Jedi Knight. I closed my eyes and felt my soul reaching for something so close and yet so far away. A moment later, I felt it flow through me.
It was beyond the most incredible feeling, the Force as it surged through me and aimed my fingertips. The Force worked through me to disengage communications so that the droids couldn't contact reinforcements. Even as they exclaimed in surprise that a Republic battleship was just off the port side and that Republic clones were reported aboard I knew I had to stop them. There weren't any droid controls which meant I had to go about it the old fashioned way. Before I could act, however, a second door burst open. The first sign that what I had done was working was when the fire from the grenade actually burned for a few seconds before the fire suppression system kicked in. The lack of oxygen would have killed the flame quickly.
A small group of clones stormed into the deck. Before the droids could react, they were rubble atop their dead masters.
"Make contact with Cazin," one of the clones ordered another. "Tell him main ship control room is secure."
"Aye, sir," the clone said, turning his back and making the contact. A moment later, the clone turned back. "Sir! Lieutenant Cazin has found the source of power. It's up on the isolated bridge."
As the clones moved out, I drifted nonchalantly back into the ceiling and soon came through the floor in the bridge area. A wide circular area with long rectangular seats and a few computer consoles decorated the otherwise bleak deck. Before I could even begin to decipher something, I felt something pass through me and sighed in annoyance when I realized it was Lieutenant Cazin himself.
"This is the source of power," Cazin said, placing his gloved hand on the back of a wide rectangular chair. "It has a power source of its own. As main power was down, this must be running on a generator of its own."
"Huh," I muttered under my breath, coming to rest next to him and staring at the unimpressive chair. Something was coming back to me now, something that the computer had actually relayed to me as I had tinkered within the systems…
And then it struck me – this chair belonged to the Viceroy. That was the reason why the Neimoidian shuttle had docked with the larger ship. It presented a much more tempting target…
Glancing down at the chair, I gingerly reached down into it. There was a single panel of buttons built into the chair and below that some wires and circuitry. The main power source was definitely something that powered the chair alone. It was unlikely the Neimoidians even knew the chair was still active. If it had been rendered inactive, it would have been all but impossible to start it up again. I was just removing my arm when one of the clones reached through my shoulder and pressed on a single button.
"But why would the Viceroy leave this here?"
"I imagine they were waiting for the ship to implode. Another few hours and there would have been nothing but debris." Lieutenant Cazin glanced around the bridge. "Spread out. I want those computer logs downloaded to the pod. Maybe they'll give a clue as to where the Viceroy has escaped to… or who he's been in contact with."
x-o-x
Anakin and Obi-Wan were standing on opposite sides of the tiny pod as it sailed through space. It had been over four hours since the Clones had landed on the ship and had gone into radio silence to not be detected by the droids. Since that time, the Jedi had received a communiqué giving them the best route for the ship to arrive at the bridge in one piece. Large sections of the ship, the outer ring especially, were heavily damaged from the exposure to normal space without the reactor core provided energy for shields. The large ship just remained out, slightly tilted on its axis, battered by debris from other sections of the ship. Since they had left Vigilance, a great part of the hull on the upper end of the sphere had exploded, sending shards of metal and deck plate into space. But even more interesting was the communiqué they had received from Lieutenant Cazin alerting them to the presence of the power source.
Both Jedi stood with arms crossed, their minds focused on the Force. Obi-Wan occasionally felt a small ripple when Buffy used her newly gained mental abilities to do something. Whenever he felt it pass, he would smile. Despite his reservations and his words, he did have faith in her abilities. He did believe in giving her this chance and knew that this was the time she was taking it. He just wasn't too trusting about her compatibility with Anakin.
Oh, he felt he was being petty. He knew that Buffy mixing into their comfortable routine was throwing him off and he resented her for it. And the more he resented her, the more he realized he was being ridiculous. She was as thrown off by this as he was. He couldn't blame her for suddenly showing up. It was his own fault for picking up the cross. Even though it was light years away in Coruscant, he still felt the attachment towards it.
Obi-Wan had only ever had three real attachments. The first was to the Jedi Order. He believed strongly in becoming the Jedi that Qui-Gon Jinn had wanted him to be. And then he had turned around to teach Anakin to be the Jedi he had been taught to be. He was proud to be Anakin's mentor and his friend. His other attachments were to Anakin above all, because Anakin had needed the guidance. The past two and a half years had taught him that much. His last attachment was to protecting the integrity of the Republic he had been serving since he first wielded a lightsaber. He was a peaceful man and becoming this General and negotiator were just responsibilities dealt to him through the Jedi Council of which he was a member. He couldn't fault them for that.
But when Buffy had suddenly been thrust into his life, it had taken an ironic, comical turn.
Being a simple man and wanting the simple life as much as possible, Obi-Wan settled for being the well-taught, well-practiced Jedi Master he was. He was proud to have gone as far as he did. And though she was at times irritating, there were times where her mind and abilities did come shining through at the last moment. He had to respect her for that. Whoever sent her to the Jedi had given a great gift to both her and to him.
Anakin, on the other hand, knew that his former Master was just shirking away from the responsibility of dealing with another rebellious youth. She had to be around his age, perhaps a year or two younger. She was intelligent, yes. She was also quite new at the Jedi arts as he could feel from the small ripples in the Force. She was trying so hard to prove herself to them when really she didn't have to try at all. When she had possessed the hard, metallic bodies of the droids, she hadn't shot them or even tried to harm them. She believed she was aiding them. They believed she was aiding them. It was a symbiotic relationship.
But the truth was, she needed Obi-Wan. He was her anchor, her catalyst, her attachment for being on Coruscant and in their reality. But there was so much more that she needed to know. And there was so much they needed to know.
Even if attachments such as love were forbidden, Anakin knew deep within himself that he was the best person to reach her. As an ordinary human outside Jedi control, she would have had no boundaries for attachments. He knew that his forbidden marriage would serve as a test for his involvement with the Jedi in the future and he knew that when the time came difficult choices would have to be made. He was willing to put that aside for the moment because of the war. Knowing Padmé gave him the courage to look at Buffy as more than just a tool of the Jedi and more as a woman. He knew he could reach her through that approach. Try as Obi-Wan might, he may never be fully satisfied until he knew the total truth. And he knew his mentor and his dearest friend would not be able to reach her the way he could.
"General Kenobi, welcome back."
Obi-Wan smiled as their communications radio kicked out and he felt himself slip more into a defensive mode. Anakin's hand instinctively reached for his lightsaber. Their small pod entered the landing deck, the clone driving the pod setting it down on the other side of the other pod. Once they managed to climb out of the cruiser, both found the air was actually quite breathable, if not a bit thin. Glancing at one another, they moved quickly with their Clone guards into the main corridor. Anakin slipped the mental picture of the Lieutenant's map into his head and began moving steadily, Obi-Wan just trying his best to keep up with the younger man.
After little resistance, they found the bridge, climbing from the level below. A group of Clones stood around a single computer station, working to download the ship logs in order for them to decipher later. Lieutenant Cazin and one other Clone stood waiting for them on the other side of a large, elaborate black chair.
"Well?" Anakin asked smugly, folding his arms and glancing at the chair. Obi-Wan barely managed to hold in his sigh.
"You wished to show us something?"
"Yes," Cazin said, turning around to gesture at the chair. "From what we were able to decipher, the Viceroy's ship docked and the chair was brought to the bridge. Our best guess is that the chair was left here so that it would never be found."
"They were hoping that hull integrity would buckle," Anakin realized, a sickened look coming to his face. "The Viceroy must have known we would come after him. If he were discovered with the chair…"
"It is likely that this ship is not safe," Obi-Wan said, lifting his gaze to look around. "We must hurry. It is likely the ship will self destruct if normal space had not yet ripped the ship to threads."
"That's exactly what I was thinking."
Obi-Wan jumped slightly and turned around. Buffy was standing alone at the command center with her hands on her hips. Obi-Wan felt a sudden sense of foreboding at the triumphant look in her eyes. Smirking, she moved to the chair and placed her hand just inches above the back. "This thing has a secret."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and huffed out, "Would you care to enlighten us?"
Cazin, believing the comment was meant for him, leaned down and tapped a series of buttons. Suddenly, a hologram appeared on a small metallic table just in front of the chair.
Obi-Wan and Anakin watched as the sole figure sat for a moment. "The time has come," the figure said, his voice just dripping with malice and discontent. "The time of the Jedi is over. We will crush their fruitless, futile effort to seize control of the galaxy. And I have just the plan. Viceroy, you must spread thin your defenses and keep the Jedi at bay. They will never stop looking for you, which will give us ample opportunity to move against them…" The message continued on for another moment before they heard the Viceroy's ever-so-quiet 'yes, Lord Sidious' and then the hologram went dark.
"The signal could not be pinpointed," Cazin said, glancing at the clouded reactions on both Jedi's faces. "But this message was received just moments before they abandoned ship."
"It was never meant to be found," I choked out, staring hard at where the figure had just been standing. I felt the greatest unsettled feeling in my nonexistent abdomen. Something was seriously wrong here. "This has to be a trap."
"What do you mean?" Anakin asked as Obi-Wan turned to give orders back to Cazin.
"You heard the evil guy… 'keep the Jedi at bay'. They're running you guys around in circles. They obviously have a plan. If what I heard about Dracula was true, then this could be the same plan to attack Coruscant."
"What?" Anakin asked, a blank look falling in front of his eyes. Before I could respond however, Obi-Wan leaned into our little group, pretty much wedging himself between Anakin and me.
"Did you hear as I did the Viceroy speak?"
"He said Lord Sidious," I replied, nodding. "But what has that got to do with anything?"
"It has to do with everything," Anakin said grimly. "Count Dooku was a suspected Sith Lord. What if he has an apprentice already?"
"Or," I said, feeling something unsettle more within me, "what if Dookula wasn't a Sith Lord, but merely the apprentice?"
Both Jedi waved off my uncertainties and began to speak again. Obi-Wan told Anakin what I had seen back on Cato Neimoidia when Count Dooku had warned of an impending attack on Coruscant. Coupled with this message from a Sith Lord, it became very clear that more was going on than met the eye.
The message had ended with a cold warning that Coruscant would be attacked and that the target was either the Jedi, the Chancellor or both.
"Master?" Anakin prompted gently.
Obi-Wan was silent a moment longer before turning to the lieutenant. "We must get this chair to the Vigilance. It is the one hint of proof that we are dealing with the Sith here."
"We may have no choice, Master, but to go back to Coruscant," Anakin spoke up. "If the droid attack is underway, they could easily jam any transmissions into the capital."
"This I know," Obi-Wan replied. "But for now, that is what we must do."
"And what of Nemoidia, General?" the lieutenant asked.
"We should leave a contingent behind," Obi-Wan replied at last. "But the Council must be warned that we have discovered that a Sith Lord remains at large."
I couldn't help but agree with him, even though something still wasn't sitting right with me. As the Clones moved in to detach the chair, Obi-Wan held up a hand. "Has this been scanned for explosives?"
"No, General."
Obi-Wan sent Anakin a quick look and the younger Jedi moved forward to explain proper procedure as Obi-Wan sidled up to me. "Will you check to see if moving this chair will cause it to detonate?"
"What am I looking for?" I asked, confused.
"A detonation device or a trigger, both of which could spell certain doom for us."
Hmm, more vague statements. I gave him a quite salute before bending down to reach into the chair. Though I felt a strong power source which I realized would be futile to turn off, I found nothing else of any threatening nature. I was worried about the power source which seemed to be something small, like a tiny generator or something fueled with superheated fluids. I reached into the generator and though I really had no sense, I felt the overwhelming heat as my hand moved about. I then found what I was looking for.
"What is it?" Anakin murmured as he bent down next to me under the guise of detaching the chair's button controller device… or whatever it was called.
"I'm inside the power source," I whispered, "and I think there's something here."
"What does it feel like?"
"I don't know… it's like a switch or something."
A dawning look came over Anakin's face. "Use the Force," he said in a low voice as he noticed the group of clones returning with large equipment they would use to dislodge and move the chair.
"What?"
"You're running out of time," he said in a hurried tone. "Use the Force to guide you."
For the second time that day, I listened to him. I felt through the Force and moments later I felt a soft click as something detached from something else. Moments later the Clones had arrived and were pulling the chair from the socket. As the chair moved through my body, I backed away until I was standing next to Anakin. "Thanks," I whispered.
"Anytime."
Obi-Wan found me moments later still standing in my little corner. "What is it?"
"I can't explain it," I replied, "but something doesn't feel right."
"What do you mean?" he asked, glancing straight at me.
"This ship, their mission, that man… I can't really explain it because I don't know what I'm feeling, just that I feel it."
"Master, they're ready to move the chair."
"Give them the go-ahead," Obi-Wan called out. Turning back to me, he asked, "Would you feel better if you set the self destruction on this ship?"
I paused for a moment, pretending to think. "I think I would."
"Then do it," he said, his eyes sparkling. "Let's give them the false sense of security that we never found what they were looking for."
"How much time should I set it for?" I asked, moving to the large console and reaching down inside it.
"Set it for a half hour," he said. At my incredulous look, he continued. "This is a large ship and most if not all of us are not quite as fast as you."
"All right," I said, moving my hands around as the computer protocols came to my mind. There were atmospheric controls, weapons controls, reactor core controls… maybe I should start with that. I set the reactor core to overheat and quickly set one other on the opposite side of the sphere to follow suit.
"Master!" Anakin hissed, moving closer to us. "We should go. Radio traffic just picked up the Trade Federation fleet."
"Yes," Obi-Wan said, forcing himself to nod. "Come on, Buffy. We've done all we can here."
Though I had completed my mission I followed them blindly, still unable to shake the notion that something was going on here that the Jedi obviously didn't know about.
x-o-x
"I have been unable to contact the Council," Obi-Wan said hours later as he walked into a hold where Anakin and a small group of clones were going over the chair that had been removed from the Viceroy's ship. "There have been reports as well that Neimoidian ships have attempted to break through the blockade but have been stopped. We must assume that they will attempt to get reinforcements through the other way. We are working to quell their advances, but our numbers are still not sufficient."
"We may have assistance with Master Koon," Anakin said, glancing up. "His contingent is in the next sector. He was able to secure his world and will be able to assist us so we can get back to Coruscant in time."
"We do not yet know the timeline of the attack," Obi-Wan said quietly. "But I do feel that if he initiates this attack, there is little defense around Coruscant. They will have to make do with what limited resources are still at the capital. We can't leave this territory, not yet."
"I understand, Master," Anakin agreed, bending over to remove yet another control from the chair. After a beat, he added, "Have you talked to Buffy yet?"
"She insists on being left alone," Obi-Wan said, sounding puzzled.
"That's something you have in common," Anakin murmured, moving underneath the chair even as he heard Obi-Wan chastising him.
In a more private area, I was finally able to unwind. My mind was spinning and I so wished that someone would tell me where it was leading because without the rest of the story, the wrong assumption could mean certain doom for Anakin and Obi-Wan.
Speaking of Obi-Wan…
"I know you wanted to be left alone," he said, sweeping into my private room with such grace it amazed me, "but I wanted to apologize to you for my harsh words."
I sat up, narrowing my eyes at him. "Really?"
"Yes," he said, glancing down and taking a few calming breaths. "I will not hold you accountable for such events that you have no control over."
"Yes, dear bard," I said sarcastically, leaning back against the wall without trying to push my back through said wall.
"Please, Buffy—"
"Okay, so you don't trust me… well, I don't altogether trust you, either. You or Anakin. You may have this special mission and be assigned to save the universe, but this was never where I wanted to go. You can pass all the judgment and assumptions on me you want. You can blame me for Cato Neimoidia. I know the mission was a disaster—"
"Had you not acted, we would have—"
"You're not letting me finish," I said, fixing him with my deadliest glare and holding up my hand. "Blame me all you want. It doesn't change the fact that no matter what you do and no matter what you say, I'm still here. You can hurt me as much as you want. You can insult me all you want. I'm not going to break. Trust me," I said, a painful smile coming to my face, "I've been through worse."
Obi-Wan opened his mouth to talk and I held up my hand again.
"Don't come in here and assume that just because I'm not a testosterone hormone bomb I'm not worthy of your little boy's only club. I saw the blue girl with the long horn thingies. She's a pretty damned good kicker too if you get what I'm saying. My point is," I said, finishing with a sigh as I noticed Obi-Wan suddenly looked affronted, "your normal Jedi tricks aren't going to work on me. You can't push me down. You're not going to push me away. No matter how mean you are to me, you'll always know that I'm better than that."
Obi-Wan opened his mouth again but quickly shut it and lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
"Don't think you can get rid of me so easily," I concluded, rising to stand in front of him. "Because if you've seen this, you haven't seen anything yet."
With that, I faded away into nothingness, leaving Obi-Wan and an entering Anakin silent. After a moment, Anakin sent Obi-Wan a knowing look as Obi-Wan backed out of the room.
In the place where I was, I could smile as Qui-Gon stepped up next to me. "Well spoken," he said in a pleased tone. "I think you got your point across."
x-o-x
Okay, so… I fixed this chapter. I ended up rewriting about half of it in the space of about three hours. I just had a bitch of a day at work and didn't feel like dealing with anyone tonight. Luckily for me this turned out to be an option. Now if only I could motivate myself to update my other stories…
Now, to individual responses...
BlueDove - Sometimes I don't like character interaction where it's nothing but explanations because I feel that though they're necessary, they're out of character. I find them hard at times to write and even harder to make credible. I'm just glad I was able to make this past chapter sound credible.
The Sithspawn - Yes, Buffy is still struggling to fit in. She'll probably always struggle to fit in. She had problems fitting in with the normal, ordinary kids at Sunnydale High. But now she's amongst a league of heroes with extraordinary skill and powers and she has no body and can take no form. Though she wants to act, sometimes she'll have to accept the fact she won't be able to. To answer your question, they will learn about her past life.
Naitch03 - I know you're the wealth of knowledge... you've got so much knowledge about the Star Wars verse! As for Buffy and Dooku... that's the next chapter.
im2cool4love - Thank you for reviewing! As to answer your questions... Anakin is still married to Padme. He will remain married to Padme. As for Buffy being paired with someone, I will answer that she's really not. It's hard to pair her with someone and there are so many I would love to attempt... maybe if something happens whilst writing it'll happen but for this story I have no intentions to pair her up.
Toniboo - Obi-Wan has his reasons for blaming Buffy, some of which were brought up in this chapter. Pretty soon he may not be able to blame her, though...
w1cked angel - I will say this... Buffy and Anakin will not be paired together. They do have a lot in common but in this story it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. Buffy does have feelings for Anakin but once she discovers the truth about Padme, they'll be pretty well quashed. I also hoped to focus the story off of Buffy because though she doesn't understand what's going on in this story, they do. Thank you for your review!
Dragan S - Oh, Buffy still has a few surprises up her sleeves...
The next chapter: The golden trio head for the capital to ward off an impending attack... but are too late...