And That's What it's All About
Title: And That's What it's All About
Chapter: Feel Me Feeling You
Summary: As the attack on Coruscant reaches a crescendo, the infamous Jedi duo with their ghostly escort enter the fray to save the trapped Chancellor…
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: I knew I wasn't going to abandon this story to ruin, but I had my doubts about ever giving it a real plot. Once you reach the end of this chapter, you might happen to sense a real plot. I'm actually happy to say the rest of this story is planned out. But as I'm not in a time conflict like I am with my other fics… good stories come to those who wait and good chapters come to those who read.
x-o-x
Feel Me Feeling You
The air was quite tense as Obi-Wan and Anakin stood around, waiting for word that their shuttles were ready to enter flight again. I just hovered in the background, generally feeling useless. It seemed like the more time ticked by, the terser things seemed to get.
The reports coming in on communications were grim. The attack was swift, taking out Coruscant's meager defenses in a matter of minutes. I winced at hearing this; all of their careful preparations had fallen by the wayside. My sense of duty seemed to kick into overdrive at seeing the hopeless expressions on their faces. So many clones had died and, with them, Jedi.
Even in the back of my mind, I could feel them. Every time one died, it hurt me. I tried to hold it to myself, but somehow they knew. They always seemed to know.
"Buffy?" Obi-Wan asked, dropping back to where I stood by the small strip of metal separating us from the vacuum of space. "What is it?"
"They're drying," I gasped out. "I can feel them. They're…" Had I been able to close my eyes, I would have if only to shut out the images. "It's metallic and it's cutting through them like they're butter. Oh, God…"
"Master?" Anakin asked, coming up to us, concern in his eyes.
"I'll be okay," I managed to choke out.
"She can feel them when they die," Obi-Wan told Anakin softly as to not rouse the attention of the others.
Anakin's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at me. "Does it hurt?"
"Yes."
"How many…"
"Three, four, maybe more," I replied. Fixing both Jedi with my gaze, I added, "It's about to get much worse."
"Hold on," Obi-Wan said, adding what he hoped was a comforting smile. "We will be able to aid soon enough."
I nodded my understanding as both Jedi moved back. I could see that they both had enough on their minds without having to worry about my sensitivity's play-by-play. It wasn't their fault that I could feel everything happening with the Jedi – including their brutal deaths.
"It seems to me she talks of General Grievous," Anakin said, leaning towards Obi-Wan out of earshot of the pearly figure standing near the viewport staring at the floor.
"It does," Obi-Wan agreed. He sent a frown towards the young woman. "It affects her greatly."
"The way I see it," Anakin continued, "she has the ability to sense all Jedi. It isn't just us."
"If we could only be so selfish," Obi-Wan deadpanned. "She may be the most important asset in achieving victory with minimal cost of life."
Anakin nodded. "Perhaps we should use her skills to our advantage."
"We will," Obi-Wan assured him. "But we will not tell her of our plans until we have one."
"It looks like we don't have to wait for long," Anakin replied, watching as Commander Cody approached them.
"General, Commander, your shuttles are ready. You may proceed when ready."
"Thank you Cody," Obi-Wan said, bowing his head respectively. Anakin followed the motion as they both made their way to the flight deck. Moments later, the girl joined them.
As the ship flew through hyperspace, the Jedi prepared for their space flight. I watched as they readied the Droids, staring out over the cluttered bay. I kept waiting for the next pang, the next thought that would tell me another one of the Jedi had fallen.
It didn't come.
"Buffy?"
I slowly turned to face Obi-Wan. "Yes?"
"We're ready. Please…" He held out his arm, gesturing to the shuttle. This was his meaning: get onboard. Get ready for the next adventure. This was one hell of an adventure I'd gotten myself into.
Without preamble, I boarded the ship, getting myself nice and settled behind the pilot's seat. Obi-Wan settled himself in a moment later and we waited for the order to push out. I assumed that we would be stopping a fair distance from the fight to give Anakin and Obi-Wan enough time to get their ships out. Obi-Wan confirmed this.
One of the Clone lieutenants cut across the communications, patching through a line from the planet. As I sat in my own thoughts, I heard the disturbing reports of uncontrollable fires throughout Coruscant where the Separatist ships had ploughed into them. But more disturbing than that were the unconfirmed reports that the Chancellor's yearly address had been disrupted and that hundreds inside the Senate chambers were thought dead.
Anakin's hands tightened on the controls at that, his eyes darkening at the thought. Obi-Wan remained calm, stroking his beard as his mind allowed the words to sink in. I remained quiet behind him as frantic shouts and frenzied reports were thrown out over the speakers.
"How long does it take to get close enough?" I asked.
"Too long," Obi-Wan replied, a hint of sadness in his voice.
"You might be able to sit here and do nothing, but I shouldn't have to."
Obi-Wan glanced up. "The choice is yours."
"Tell me that you need me," I replied, hating the uncertainty in my voice.
"We both need you," Obi-Wan replied. Though I was staring at the back of his head, I saw his shoulders tense. "You have skills that we do not yet possess."
"Because I'm a ghost, right?"
"It may have something to do with your incorporeal state, yes."
"And also because I'm a ghost," I replied, adding a pout in despite the fact I knew he couldn't see. But I could sense the slight smile at my childish behavior as he pieced together how much I reminded him of the way Anakin used to be.
Before he could say anything, however, a voice came over the line. "General Kenobi, we are within range. You may take off when ready."
Obi-Wan gave a firm nod and moved to start the engines. I could feel the slight hum vibrating through just the sensation. Though without a body, it amazed me how close I seemed to the ship and to its occupant. R4 twittered outside, eager to begin yet another flight out into space.
"I want you to hold on this time," Obi-Wan shouted over the sound of the engines as he fit his headset on, bringing the mouthpiece towards his chin. I heard the orders Anakin was giving to the other Clones in the ships traveling with our own.
"I want the full squadron deployed," Obi-Wan continued, talking over Anakin's orders. I heard Anakin clamp up and, with a smile, realized he was probably pouting at Obi-Wan bossily cutting in. It was something the elder Jedi was almost famous for. "The other ships are in position?" The affirmative was given over the line. Obi-Wan, looking satisfied, turned back to his controls. "May the Force be with us."
"It is," I said ironically.
This time, he gave the barest hint of a grin as the landing bay depressurized, giving us ample time to fly out from dock. Anakin's ship followed.
Though the ships were still quite the distance from Coruscant, they remained only long enough for Obi-Wan and Anakin to pause before continuing on at a greater speed. Hyperspeed or something. Or was it warp speed? I really didn't know this sort of talk.
"Hang on."
This time, I used my concentration to hold myself with the ship. I felt the strangest sense of fear and yet I felt lighter than I had. Somehow, things were going to turn out okay.
"Master," Anakin's voice sounded almost tinny over the line, "I have received word that the Chancellor has been taken by General Grievous and Count Dooku himself."
"Then that is what we must concentrate on first," Obi-Wan decided. A moment later, he added, "The Council's orders are to stop Dooku at all costs. Do you understand?"
There was a beat and then, "I understand." In his cockpit, Anakin was still uncertain as to the fate of the one he loved. Padmé meant the world to him. To lose her now because of his inability to be there when she needed him the most would destroy him.
In no time at all it seemed we were darting in and out of a fleet of larger ships. An entire fleet exploded from a bright blue light, their missiles already firing towards the Independent Systems' ships. Their hulls seemed to glow as they exploded outwards, sending bits of flying debris and metal into space. The sky seemed crowded and dense with the larger ships. And yet two smaller ships seemed to pass through as though it were as simple as an evening stroll.
"Try and get a read on the shuttle that was seen leaving the surface of Coruscant," Obi-Wan relayed to Anakin. To me, he added, "If you sense anything, please let me know."
"Don't worry," I replied. "You'll be the first to."
Satisfied, he turned back to his controls, chirping orders to his droid. Outside, I admired the beauty of each orange blast, watching as they ripped into the exterior hull of each ship. Each was the size of a small town, easily arming hundreds if not thousands of droids or clones.
I never realized just how big this was.
The ship suddenly jerked and dropped sharply to the left. I hid my surprise by keeping my mind on the ship. I had no sense, but the vertigo was there nearly spinning me around. "What the hell…?"
"We're under antiaircraft fire," Obi-Wan replied, his voice suddenly low and tense. He was experiencing what I would call being in the zone. His mind was utterly and completely focused on making it through the narrow space between missiles and pops and tiny little star-fighters alive.
"No droid can outfly you, Master." Anakin sounded amused, his movements almost lazy as they swished around behind the lead ship.
"You just pay attention," Obi-Wan snarled back as Anakin laughed. "Don't forget to—" The small ship suddenly shook with the impact of a turbolaser blast across their port side. "Damn it."
I didn't hear Anakin's reply over the sound of the alarms as the ship pitched into another drive and shifted to a steep port-side angle in order to shake its way through. I then saw the problem dangling in front of us. It was another small ship, one I didn't quite recognize.
"Where is our backup?" Obi-Wan sounded angry now. I held my tongue and pushed my way through the force, trying to sense anything. But there was something else I was beginning to see.
This was the time I would find out what it was truly like to be a Jedi.
"Master, there's one on you."
"Get him off of me," Obi-Wan replied back. "Can you do anything?"
I turned back, glancing at Obi-Wan's head incredulously. "Me?'
"You're the thoughtful one."
"I don't want to die."
"You're already dead!"
I blinked and turned my head, glancing at the complicated wires and panels. Tri-fighters were emerging closer, their lasers lighting up the sky, sending the ship into another flat swirl that would have left the real me nauseous. Obi-Wan's onboard threat display chimed yet another warning. Two of the droids had remote sensor lock on him. His hands tightened on the controls as he barked the warning to Anakin, who came up with the response a half-second later. The two ships spiraled around, two perfect mirroring rolls that streaked towards one another, head-on, on opposite sides of a large Republic cruiser.
"Are you insane?" I screamed as I clung to the only thing I had left – my mind. This plan was suicidal.
"You weren't giving me any other options!"
"Give me a minute!" I shouted back, shaking my head and looking around. What did I know about space ships? A whole load of nothing. Screw them both for putting me in this position in the first place!
And yet… my anxiety tightened my body, but I could feel my mind stretch out. Just take the wheel, a voice spoke in my ear. If I take the wheel, everyone will be alright.
The Force took the hands and gave the wheel the right turn it needed to send both spiraling ships past the other with shocking proximity. The tri-fighters that had been locked onto Obi-Wan's shuttle came out of the spin without the gift of the Force and collided with the ships that had been pursuing Anakin's shuttle. I left out a triumphant sigh and rested back, feeling as though I had at least accomplished something.
Obi-Wan bowed his head to glance at the onboard display. "We're not done yet."
"I never said we were."
"We've got another three on us."
"They're on your tail, Master." Anakin's voice held a grim sound over the speakers that sounded an awful lot like satisfaction. "That's perfect."
"Perfect?" Obi-Wan asked wanly. "That is not the word I would use. We have to split them up."
Anakin glanced at his own display, his mind working through dozens of tactical scenarios until he settled on one. "Break left. I'll get them both."
"That's just perfect." Obi-Wan's voice dripped with sarcasm as he performed the movement. The ship arched beneath one of the Trade Federation's larger ships, executing another perfect roll. As the tri-fighters closed in for the kill, Anakin angled his ship behind them, giving the orders to Artoo to fire.
"Move right to clear my shot… now."
Obi-Wan executed the move flawlessly, letting the Force guide his hand through another half-roll as the ship broke right. The three tri-fighters, not knowing what movement would come next, were easy targets for Anakin's lasers. Two were soon nothing more than debris scattered throughout as both ships ducked underneath a Republic ship that seemed to glow from within the damage was so extensive.
"Nice shot," Obi-Wan said appreciatively, his eyes already on his next target: the Republic ship that seemed to be aflame was being shot at from the opposite side. The Trade Federation battleship seemed as damaged as the Republic ship. Some of the flashing blasts exchanged between ships in short bursts were as large as the shuttle.
The third tri-fighter was still on his tail. After slipping between each blast, Obi-Wan took another sharp dive, but the fighter didn't change course. The droid seemed to have realized that Anakin wouldn't fire without hitting Obi-Wan.
Realizing this, I knew I had to do something. It was as though the Force was speaking through me. I reached my hand through the panel, feeling the twist of wires and couplings from just a mental image of what my hand passed through. The engines controls were in Arfour's hands, but I knew I could connect with the droid from my safe spot stuck behind the cockpit.
Arfour seemed to respond with blatant enthusiasm. Obi-Wan suddenly felt the old structure of his ship buckle as the engines seemed to suddenly thrust in reverse. The shuttle came to an abrupt stop, rolling backwards end-over-end. The tri-fighter and Anakin's starfighter rolled past him. Anakin then used Artoo to shoot down the remaining tri-fighter as Obi-Wan's ship righted itself and the engines came back full-blast.
Before I could even comment, my eyes were suddenly drawn to a point in the distance, hidden by ships and the scarlet streaks of fire. It seemed so close, but in my mind I could feel it withdrawing. Obi-Wan's gaze was drawn to it, too.
"I see it, Master," Anakin said over the speakers, already in tune for what his Master was thinking. Obi-Wan watched as Anakin's ship dropped lower to escape a smaller Republic ship – or what was left of it – spiraling through the deadness of space. The engines kicked in as he brought the starfighter to the deck of the old carrier, moving along its side until it streaked out between cannon fire. Turboblasts seemed to set the ship in light as Obi-Wan's craft followed closely behind Anakin's.
"Five more from above," Obi-Wan said, listening to the chime and reading his tactical read-out. "This doesn't look good."
"We got an entire squadron heading in," Anakin's voice was grim. "Where is our air support?"
"This is Oddball," a voice suddenly cut in through the speakers. "General Kenobi, we have your back."
Obi-Wan seemed to relax slightly as he noticed the incoming starcraft bore the same signatures as their tiny ships. He maneuvered his ship around the incoming craft, somewhat disappointed he wasn't able to see the battle. The tri-fighters soon turned their sights onto the few dozen starcraft headed towards them, their antiaircraft fire already alight.
The command cruiser was drawing closer. Both our ship and Anakin's were struggling to make it through the heavy thicket of fire. Moments later, it seemed Anakin's ship pulled away. "I need to go back and help them."
"No, Anakin," Obi-Wan shouted back as the ship again rocked with the flack of gunfire shot across the back. "Oddball is doing his job in order that we can do ours. We hold position."
"Right." Anakin's voice was cold as he struggled to keep his hands on his controls. "We hold position." At Artoo's beeped insolence, he just barked out, "They're my orders. I have no right to disobey them." No matter how much he wanted to.
They were within a ship's length from the incoming cruiser when two tri-fighters suddenly streaked between them. "Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted, rolling to the left. I quickly used whatever Force guidance I could give him as the ship managed to right itself but with a new problem. Alarms were blaring in my ears as Obi-Wan said something about missiles.
Right. These missiles were two silver streaks spiraling in and out as they tracked for the shuttle. I could actually feel Obi-Wan's hesitation and could already sense the loss of yet another Jedi…
"No," I whispered. I was not going to allow this to happen. I gave my sense to the other Jedi, hoping he would be able to come through.
Anakin luckily had one anti-missile dart left. As he streaked over the sudden stillness that was Obi-Wan's shuttle, he released the dart, watching with satisfaction as it blasted through one of the missiles and sent the other off-course. Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief as he lifted his shuttle to pass through a debris field. "Thanks, Anakin."
The debris field seemed to be glowing silver baubles that floated around larger strips of metal. But once the starfighter tracked through them, they seemed to suddenly gain a new focus and followed the starfighter from the shrapnel.
"I think we're being followed," I said uncertainly, attempting to see from the back. "Yep. Definitely being followed."
"There's nothing I can do about that now," Obi-Wan retorted. His own irritation escalated as he felt the silver objects collide with the hull. His concern started to rise when he heard the annoying sounds of metallic whirring as the silver bits of debris started cutting into his hull. "I'm hit."
"Buzz droids," Anakin replied over the speakers, moving his head back and forth through his cockpit in order to get a more accurate count. "I see five."
"Well, there's nothing you can do about that now, Anakin," Obi-Wan replied, his voice rising in his frustration. A shower of sparks flashed over his head and his hands pounded on the controls. "Get to the command ship and get the Chancellor."
"I'm not leaving you, Master!"
"Anakin, you have your orders. Leave me and go."
Anakin's voice sounded different a moment later, appealing to the one that rode with Obi-Wan in his shuttle. "Buffy, I know you can hear me."
"I hear you," I echoed. I could hear Arfour twittering outside anxiously as one of the buzz droids was suddenly tampering with him. Another one was directly over my head, playing with the hydraulic chamber. Two more were on the left wing damaged from one of the firefights. "You can't help us. You need to get out of here."
Obi-Wan had still managed to remain calm as he added, "They're shutting down the controls."
"Oh, no…"
Obi-Wan heard my voice before he registered what was happening. Before he could ask, there was a sudden jolt as Anakin fired across the left wing, sending two molten bits of buzz droid out into space. At his meek little "Whoops" I realized that more likely than not, we were going to die. Or at least Obi-Wan was.
"Anakin, you're not helping," Obi-Wan said, closing his eyes as he struggled to remain calm. Already vapors from space were fogging the main screen. Everything in front of Obi-Wan's face was white mist. As the ship jarred again, Obi-Wan threw out, "Wait!"
"Just hold it steady," Anakin said, deeply concentrating on the matter at hand as the tip of his left wing gently nudged the right wing of Obi-Wan's starfighter. "I almost have it…"
A bit of deck plating spiraled off into the void as the buzz droid eagerly set to disrupting the last few systems that hadn't been addled with the attack. "Blast," Obi-Wan said, moving his head back and forth as he tried to move the controls. He was getting little response from the engines. "Arfour!"
All he heard was a little squeal as the tumbling head of his unit's droid went flying past the view port and out into space.
"Oh, dear."
Anakin soon saw another problem. One of the buzz droids had leapt from the hydraulic system on Obi-Wan's fighter and soon scuttled along his wing, its sights set on Artoo. The other droid had a bit more fight in him though and Anakin switched his attention to Obi-Wan. He could tell that the thrusters had been damaged more than adequately.
"Can't you do anything about the thrusters?"
"I'm trying," I snapped by means of reply. "But unfortunately Starfighter Engineering 101 was left off the course manual at Living Force University. I'm flying blind by this."
"You're not wrong." He stared out at the white vapor still seeping through the nose, clouding his visuals and giving him more of a headache. "My controls are gone."
"I can't do anything about that. I'm just trying to give us something to propel us towards that… whatever we're headed towards."
"The ship?" Obi-Wan asked incredulously. "You're trying to give us—"
The cockpit suddenly rang like a gong and the ship jostled forward, throwing Obi-Wan over his controls and, for once, unsettling the calm exterior. "Are you mad?"
"That wasn't me!"
"I just had to give you a little push," Anakin said cheerfully over the speakers. "You can't steer so I'm taking the controls manually. Buffy, if you can give me any help on speed…"
"Uh huh." Okay, so I'm no whiz kid, but placing my faith into Anakin's hands seemed about the only option I had left. So I did it. I managed to find the thruster panel and quickly cut power. Unfortunately, my little stunt also drained power to the entire ship.
"What's this?"
"Sorry!" I wailed as I attempted to reattach the control panel and give the ship more speed. I knew without it we would basically sail and smash into the command ship without so much as surviving first. I reached through with the Force again to give just enough power to the sub-light thrusters in order to get us inside.
But Obi-Wan had seen a bigger problem. "Anakin, the shield is still up."
"Really?'
"Really," we both replied in unison. I could already feel the ship starting to come apart. Already the overtaxed metal was breaking free as the enormous force of space was ripping the damaged ship to shreds.
"Oh. Well, I can fix that."
I reached through the Force to aid him the best I could, but the rest of my Force-ready self was ensuring that Obi-Wan didn't die by exploding into shards of human bits. My silent prayers worked. The shield was down and the hangar bay doors nearly exploded open. I could feel the force of Anakin's thoughts as they melded with my own. Obviously I was not the only one who could push through the connection. That was something to keep in mind for future references.
As the ship completely fell apart, I lent what I could to Obi-Wan. The moment the shuttle landed without any sort of landing gear whatever, it sent a shower of sparks and a hiss of smoke venting into space as the doors snapped shut. The top hatch opened and with a blast of light he leapt from the small space and landed on two feet, a bright blur of his blue lightsaber flashing beside him.
Anakin managed to land his shuttle with more grace before exiting in much the same manner. Artoo ambled along, beeping nonchalantly as it took in the threatening scene of more than two dozen super battle droids and the alarm raising to bring back-up.
I moved from my spot within the wreckage and joined the Jedi, unseen to all but them. But, just when I thought the odds couldn't get any worse…
… I felt him.
x-o-o-x