And That's What it's All About

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

Chapter: Politics of Making a Scene

Summary: The battle over Coruscant reaches its most desperate hour as the fate of the Chancellor rests in the hands of two Jedi… and the Force.

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: The title of this chapter comes from a story I read ages ago in a different genre, but it just seemed to fit somehow. This chapter contains elements from the film (mostly dialogue) and from the novel by Matthew Stover.

x-o-x

Politics of Making a Scene

This is how it felt to be a Slayer in this moment.

It sucked.

Nothing like watching your friends in a life-and-death situation and knowing that the only way to get them out of it would be to meld my mind with a robot. If only I had my strength, because there was nothing more amusing than watching a ghost-y Slayer crump helplessly.

Grievous looked from Obi-Wan to Anakin and back again. His gaze drifted down to the electrostaff. And then his gaze drifted to his reserve droids. Both Obi-Wan and Anakin turned to fight the threat, but they needn't bothered. The Force disbanded the entirety of the squadron. Most were droidekas, but they contained one flaw. Once blown off of their spiny little legs, they had the ability to short themselves out in a short amount of time. Soon more than ten were nothing more than noxious black smoke and crumpled metal.

I sat back, admiring my handiwork. I had to admit, it was more civilized that way. Hacking into computers had always been Willow's job. Would my little red be proud of me? Who knew that doing this kind of thing could be sort of fun… even if disturbing?

Grievous had no choice but to turn back to the Jedi. Neither one had so much as blinked as they turned back to the Confederate leader. Grievous glanced down at his electrostaff one final time before lifting his amber eyes to Obi-Wan. "I am sorry," he wheezed, "but I have not the time to fight you. I have an appointment with an escape pod. And you…" He motioned with the staff. "You have an appointment with death."

"Oh," Obi-Wan said with that proud little smile of his, "I don't think so."

Grievous didn't know what hit him.

In one moment, he went from self-assured robot to a spazzing bit of steel that electrocuted himself with his own electrostaff.

"Damn it," I hissed, hopping aside. Even though the whole not-being-able-to-hurt-myself thing still applied, electricity and me did not mix well.

With a growl worthy of any demon, he hurled the stick towards the sheet of view wall. The transparisteel shattered, shards escaping out into the vacuum of space. Both Jedi dropped their façade and leapt towards the durasteel command posts. Their fingers clasped the cold metal as the vacuum continued to pull them towards certain death. General Grievous made no attempt to hold on. He simply allowed himself to be swept out.

"You chicken!" I shrieked out as I watched both Jedi attempt to cling to their life. "You stupid coward! Why don't you stay and fight!"

Anakin let out a snarl that could have been my name if I had been listening to him.

"Oh, right," I murmured under my breath. I moved to the first computer station I found and used my senses to find the controls to close the view wall. The blast shield closed over the destroyed transparisteel window, but not before every last surviving combat droid had been cut to pieces by the lack of atmosphere. The corpses of the damned Neimoidians had also vented out. But it seemed to be the least of our problems.

The ship seemed to be shaking. Though the attack had stopped for now, it seemed that we were in a world of hurt.

Chancellor Palpatine moved quietly into the bridge, his hands massaging his aching wrists. He couldn't deny what he felt. The Force, though manipulated by the Jedi for their own needs, was felt by many. He felt the power in this room. But unless his eyes deceived him, there had been a blur when the transparisteel window had shattered. A spark from a console seconds later confirmed it. There was another presence in this room other than the two Jedi and the little astromech.

White-hot sparks outside streamed backwards from the view wall windows. The sparks set off alarms in three different pitches. As I was still inside the console, I could determine the problem immediately. This was what remained of the ablative shielding on the cruiser – almost nothing. What little remained of our protection was flowing out from us. But there was more cause for alarm.

"The escape pods are gone," Anakin said quietly, staring hard down at one of the consoles. "Every one of them."

"He's escaped," I said, removing my hands from the console. I didn't care whether or not the Chancellor could see me anymore, considering if he'd gotten a peek at me, it would have been through my heroic moment. I spoke quietly to Anakin, hoping my words were only for him. The Chancellor glanced at the computer with vague disinterest before settling down in a chair that had been occupied only minutes earlier by a terrified and cowardly Neimoidian.

"The ship is going to come apart," Anakin murmured, running his fingers down the controls.

"Well, now would be the time to display your infamous piloting skills then, wouldn't it?" Obi-Wan asked Anakin with a quiet intensity. "You can fly this cruiser."

"Flying this piece of heap is not the problem," Anakin replied, moving steadily towards the piloting chair and pushing aside the blasted controls. He immediately pulled a console closer, examining their condition. "Landing it may be."

"How big of a problem could it be?" the Chancellor asked vaguely, taking the seat and glancing down at the astromech droid that joined his side.

Anakin's fingers slid over unfamiliar controls, but he could feel his childlike pride of being able to pilot every ship returning to him. "You'd better strap yourselves in." He eyed what part of me he could see and gestured to the controls next to him. "If we die, it isn't my fault."

"I never said it was," Obi-Wan replied, grasping the back of Anakin's chair as he peered out of the view port, his eyes narrowing. The distant planet of Coruscant suddenly seemed a lot closer. But suddenly the cruiser bounced, jostling those inside. The altitude began to tip as the ship began to lose gravity. The nose tipped down and without warning picked up speed. To top it off, a klaxon began to sound over their heads, bright lights flashing.

"That wasn't me!" Anakin muttered, removing his hands from the controls. "I haven't done anything yet!"

"It's not," I replied from my place next to him. "We're under attack."

"What?" Anakin breathed, glancing up.

The ship bounced again. There was the whirring sound of technology powering down and dying out. With it came another bounce before the ship continued its downward plummet.

"Perhaps we can talk with them," Obi-Wan said, remembering his head as the Negotiator. Anakin pointed to the seat on his other side and Obi-Wan took it, glancing down at the unfamiliar board as he tried to find the communications panel. "We need to let them know we've captured the ship."

There was a cracking sound as the ship began to burst along the hull. The pressure was too great for the ship to remain intact and the shields were all but gone. The force in the center caused the hull to buckle. Bits of debris, battalions of droids and what remained of the hangar bay were sucked into space as the rear end of the ship broke off.

"Do what you can," Anakin said to me while readjusting his controls. "And I will do what I can."

I gave him a grave nod and reached into the controls. What little was left seemed unresponsive.

Outside, the grim battle over Coruscant seemed to be coming to an end. A shimmering canopy of ion trails and the residue from turbolaser blasts were fading as ships fled the planet in full retreat – the Separatists were leaving. Cruisers that had been damaged in the attack were moving through the atmosphere, limping home to shipyards. All that remained of disabled Separatist ships were boarded and scavenged.

The surface of Coruscant was as grim: smoke from hundreds of fires blotted the skyline. Millions of fragments from ships had infiltrated the sky, far too many to be destroyed by the shield that literally protected the world.

One ship remained above the old cruiser. This ship was Integrity, piloted by Lieutenant Commander Needa. After giving word to Jedi Master Yoda that Skywalker and Kenobi were indeed on the Separatist ship, he turned his attention to the matter at hand. Only the best pilot could navigate Coruscant's atmosphere with a half-ship with only a bit of thrusters and drag fins to lead it. He had little hope for those aboard, but it seemed the entire world – no, the entire universe – was waiting to hear of the Chancellor's survival.

Inside the ship, Chancellor Palpatine watched calmly as General Kenobi spoke with Integrity in his quiet, calm tones. Anakin Skywalker remained in the center seat. His focus was on the ship burning through the atmosphere. The younger Jedi worried about burnout, he had muttered it to himself several times. And yet on his left, there was nothing in the seat. But he could sense that there was. A lever on one of the control panels moved without any interference. A single eyebrow arched as he turned back to Anakin. Next to him, Artoo twittered helplessly.

"Come on," Anakin murmured under his breath. "Hold it together."

Two small craft suddenly appeared portside, flying overhead to the other side. Both were motioning towards a large tanker moving rapidly towards them. Extended arms moved out, dumping vast quantities of water on what remained of the center of the ship.

"We're coming in too fast," Obi-Wan said, leaning forward in his seat. Communications seemed forgotten as the ship dipped from the atmosphere.

Anakin seemed oddly in place in his blood-splattered, blaster-ridden chair behind a console of controls designed for alien fingers. The only one that had seen these controls before belonged to the one sitting next to him, but she was powerless to do anything. Though she had a gift, she didn't have hands. That would have been of use to him. He uses what skill he can, considered legendary by many, to maneuver a ship around what ships remained in the sky. But ahead is the smoky landscape and hundreds of craters. The task set before him seemed impossible, but he had never heard the word.

His last desire was to tap into the Force, but he hadn't needed to. The Force seemed to flow through him. He found his luck and fortune all the while listening to the shudder each of his commands brings to the disintegrating ship. He heard Obi-Wan's sharp intake of breath as the ship dropped altitude again. Obi-Wan was pointing out what little remained of the view window. "There's a landing strip ahead."

And this is where the fun began. He felt the Force flow through him. He heard the atmospheric drag fins deploy, their angles tweaked by his magnificent fingers. At last he heard the grind of metal on the hardest surface he could find. The ship jostles as it comes to a stop, launching them all forward in their seats.

Glancing up, Anakin saw the smoldering skyline and smiled once. His stubborn will had brought him through. His will had saved his friends. The Force had done the rest.

Obi-Wan was panting as he stood up, casting aside the straps that held him in his seat. "Yet another happy landing," he breathed in relief. Artoo beeped his agreement and even Anakin had to agree to that.

I just stared at 'home sweet home' and felt some of my elation return. Life and death situations were my specialty, after all. "Can we do that again?" I asked playfully, watching the light drain from Anakin's face.

x-o-x

Obi-Wan and Anakin seemed only too pleased to leave the ship behind. A small shuttle was waiting for them on the surface near what remained of the ship. Two fireships had swarmed down, putting out what remained of the ship. Even I blanched when I saw how close the Jedi came to a fiery end.

Chancellor Palpatine seemed exhausted as he leaned against Anakin, slowly slipping up the steps. Obi-Wan held back for a moment, speaking with one of the men on the grounds crew. I waited for him before making my ascent. He didn't object to my wanting to remain invisible. I could sense his distrust of the Chancellor even from this distance.

The small ship moved across Coruscant, lifting into the normal traffic. It soon slowed and dipped towards what I saw was the Senate chamber. Chancellor Palpatine visibly cheered up when he saw the delegation waiting for him. "Ah," he said, rising to his feet, despite the ship still moving.

"Chancellor, please, sit down," Anakin said, tugging on the older man's arm. He gave Anakin a kind smile and sat down. The expression on Obi-Wan's face spoke wonders. I thought of asking him about it, but chose to wait for the right time. "Your public will see you soon enough. I am sure they believed we would be up to the task."

The Chancellor gazed at Anakin with eyes full of pride. "Yes, of that I am certain."

Once the ship had landed, Anakin helped the Chancellor off the ramp and down towards the politicians all clamoring to get close to the head of the government. Obi-Wan glanced at me before following them. But he didn't leave the ship. Anakin made to go after them but froze, turning back to his former Master.

"Master, aren't you coming?"

"Mm," Obi-Wan said, casting a disinterested look at the group now surrounding the Chancellor. "I'm afraid I'm not brave enough for politics." His eyes scanned a single figure that had moved to the Chancellor. Mace Windu, one of the top Jedi on the Council. "I have to make my report to the Jedi Council."

"Shouldn't I come with you?"

"No, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, waving an impatient hand as he stared at the younger man. "Someone has to be the poster man for this mission."

"But this was your mission," Anakin insisted. "You planned the mission and it was you that led the rescue. Should you not also be there?" He was not going to let Obi-Wan get away this easily. He would have appealed to Buffy had she been there. Knowing her, she was likely sitting at the back of the transport snickering over the entire situation.

Obi-Wan looked amused. "You won't get out of it that easily, my friend. This is your moment."

"But, Master, you should really be there," Anakin said, his voice a half-plead. The thought of spending time with all of these politicians would be almost worth taking the girl up on the offer and taking the bow of the ship through the atmosphere again. He might even give up fin controls for that.

"Let me remind you Anakin that you were the one that saved my life," Obi-Wan teased. "You killed Dooku, you saved the Chancellor and you did it all while carrying me on your back. Go on now," he added, gesturing towards the group that seemed to be waiting for him. "Go and have your moment in the light. You are a hero. Today you deserve your moment with the politicians."

Anakin laughed, a rich sound coming from his belly. "All right, but you owe me one."

Obi-Wan gave him a tight smile as he stepped back into the shuttle. As the doors shut, he gave the order to the pilot to take them to the Jedi Temple. He then moved towards the back of the shuttle and sat with his back to the pilot to allow the girl to assume her form.

It felt wonderful coming out of hiding, I thought, stretching my legs lazily while examining him.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I assured him, moving my neck from side to side. "You can't really do anything to hurt me anyway."

"If we could only be so lucky," Obi-Wan said humorlessly. As he moved his head, I noticed his hand came up to cradle his head, the place where he had been hit during the confrontation with Dooku.

"Let me see that," I said, moving across the narrow aisle and resting beside him. I could hear him protest and feel his hesitance, but I quickly rebuffed them. "Don't be such a baby. Let me see!" I felt his resistance wane as I examined the bloody patch on his head. "I think we have to amputate."

"You are ever so comforting," Obi-Wan said dryly as he glared at me. Glancing uncertainly over his shoulder, he watched as I took my seat again. "The medical units are needed elsewhere. I'm afraid of how many lives were lost today. If only we had taken less time—"

"The outcome would still have been the same," I said firmly. "You can't stop fate from happening. What you and Anakin did today… I can't begin to tell you how moved I was."

Obi-Wan glanced down, seemingly humbled. "Yes, well…"

"Today you proved to me why I should feel like I'm a part of this," I countered, watching as his eyes slowly lifted to meet mine. "Today you showed me that it's worth fighting for."

"I am happy that our actions have shown you the path," Obi-Wan replied. "But I will tell you that your intervention has again saved our lives."

"The Force saved your life," I smiled. "I had nothing to do with that."

"I believe your own faith may surprise you," Obi-Wan said wisely as the small ship slowly came to land on a pad before the Jedi Temple. "I intend to tell the Council today of your actions over the past few months. You have proven yourself as essential as a Jedi today. What you have to offer us is by no means a small gift." His eyes lowered as he rose, brushing off his blood-spattered tunic.

I followed him down the ramp, trying my best to stay out of sight. Even though Obi-Wan and Anakin appeared to be the only ones who could see me – with the exception of Yoda – I still wanted to remain hidden. When they wanted me to come out and show myself, I would. I had patience. Some things were worth waiting for. This was one of them.

But a part of my mind was still troubled. I had spoken with one half of the infamous Jedi duo. I still had yet to find the other.

x-o-x

Anakin Skywalker felt himself the center of attention as others waited patiently for him to tell his story. Despite his own storytelling capabilities, he glanced uncertainly at the Chancellor. The look was not lost on Mace; his own expression darkened. This was obviously not what he wished to hear. He soon excused himself to return to the Council. The Chancellor seemed only too happy to see him go.

Anakin had been aware of friction between the Jedi Council and his beloved mentor and friend these past few months. It seemed to have grown in his absence.

After shaking off the last few senators with a casual shrug, he moved towards the hallway. His heart wanted one thing and one alone – his Padmé. His eyes sought out Threepio who hovered at the edge, staring nervously at the remnants of senators and HoloNet personnel that seemed to be watching his movements.

"Threepio," Anakin said, moving closer to the droid. "It is wonderful to see you." His voice dropped to a careful whisper. "Where is she?"

"Hidden," Threepio replied, his voice rising. "She has been sequestered all day in the Naboo embassy preparing for tomorrow's debate."

Anakin grimaced; his high views of the Senate were crashing around him, fueling a sigh. "Of course she is."

"That is what she asked me to say as to her whereabouts all afternoon, sir."

Anakin glanced at his droid in confusion. "And what did she say to tell her husband?"

If C3PO could have smirked in this moment, he would have. "She thinks it best to avoid a public scene as she knows you want to maintain your privacy. Those alone are Senator's instructions."

"Where is she, Threepio?" Anakin was losing patience. Since when did protocol droids do a runaround?

"She is waiting for you in the hallway, sir."

Anakin felt a smile growing on his face. "You are amazing, Threepio."

"The credit for that goes to my creator," the droid said, giving a small bow. Anakin just clapped the droid on his shiny shell before moving off.

Padmé was in conversation with another group of Senators. Bail Organa of Alderaan stood opposite her, revealing what he had learned from the larger group in the opposite halls. "The end of Count Dooku will press the Separatists into committing desperate moves," he said quietly. "Hopefully this will force the Separatists to admit defeat and spell the end of the war. With that, there will finally be an end to Palpatine's… police-state tactics and his… dictatorship." Even as he spoke these last words, his lip curled distastefully. Bail Organa was not the only Senator to show grim disgust at the Chancellor.

"I wish that were so," a loud voice said clearly. Padmé turned and felt her heart turn to stone. She heard her heartbeat thundering in her ears. After all she had done and said, her prayers had been answered. Her Jedi had come back to her. The past five months had been kind to him, giving him a height and a presence that nearly stole her breath away. His eyes met hers and they exchanged a look that none could see. Her lips quivered and she saw the passion blazing in his eyes. "However," Anakin said, turning to Bail Organa, "the fighting will continue until General Grievous is spare parts. The Chancellor is very clear on this and I believe the Senate and the Jedi Council will both agree."

"Yes," Bail said, nodding his understanding despite his disagreement. His eyes found Padmé's and he could tell that her feelings on this matched his. "Yes, of course. Excuse me." Touching Padmé's shoulder, he melded away, catching up to the others that had drifted off at Anakin's arrival.

Before she could react, his arms were around her. Even in the shadows they glowed in a bubble so perfect that not even war could tear them apart. Their lips met and, for one shining moment, the universe was perfect.

x-o-x

"Remain behind, I asked you to."

I turned from my position of staring out the windows at the Coruscant skyline to face Yoda. The other Jedi were gone, including Obi-Wan. But with a significant look from Yoda, I chose to linger.

"What's up?" I asked curiously.

"Much to say, have you?"

"A little," I admitted, turning away from the window. "I guess it's not every day that you have a ghost drop in, sprout a little wisdom, kick a little robotic butt and then disappear at the end of the day."

Yoda just stared at me with those intense eyes of his.

"Guess not," I muttered, moving – or, rather, floating – towards the doorway.

"Know not why you are here?"

I paused, letting his words sink in before I realized I couldn't understand what he was saying. With a shrug, I turned back. "Do you really not speak English? I mean, I get my butchering, but you?"

"Human, do I look?"

"Not unless you want to be a cute stuffed plushy."

Yoda bowed his head and stumped around, his little walking stick grinding in the marble floor. "Something, we can do. Earned it, you have."

It still made no sense. I just made a face at Yoda and asked, "Huh?"

x-o-x

Anakin was still glowing after seeing Padmé. Just being able to hold her in his arms… it had been like magic. And then she had told him the greatest news in the world.

He was going to be a father.

He couldn't stop glowing. He knew he was going to give something away if someone looked closely enough. Luckily for him, no one paid him much attention as they had their own things to worry about, the battle of Coruscant being one of them.

He just couldn't wrap his mind around the enormity of the situation. The woman he had devoted his entire life to… they were going to have a baby. He felt a glow of warmth spread through him, something he had not felt in years, since before his mother died.

The feeling seemed to spread from the tips of his fingers to the curl of his toes. His gaze moved upwards and froze.

Standing at the end of the hall was the Slayer.

He felt his blood chill as a deep feeling of fear suddenly stole his breath away. She wasn't looking at him. She was gazing out through the windows, the stunning beams of light cutting through her ghostly figure, one that no one aside from him seemed to see.

All at once, she stopped.

Her eyes met his.

If I could breathe, it would have frozen in that moment. I would have started hyperventilating. I just stared into the face of a man who had taken a Sith's life, an unarmed one at that, and saw nothing in his eyes, nothing to remind me of what he had done.

But his cold nonchalance chilled me to the bone. There was something there, hidden in his eyes, a secret that I could just tell needed to be unwrapped. After my carefully observation of Obi-Wan during his Council briefing, I longed to see Anakin, even to convince myself that this was the Jedi that I had put my life (or lack thereof) on the line for.

In this moment… I didn't know.

The thought terrified me.

Anakin slowly moved closer, attempting to hide the surprise in his face by flashing that stunning smile at passersby. When he finally reached me, his gaze grew solemn.

Just what I needed, I thought dryly; another crabby Jedi to deal with. Only this one had a lot of power and, judging by his instinctive reaction in listening to men who obviously didn't know what the hell they were doing… a lack of direction.

"Buffy," he said quietly, greeting me.

I waited a moment until the dread disappeared from his eyes. There was no use in trying to make him run now. "We need to talk." I made sure my voice held steady, despite the fact that I had very little control over my voice at all. "Now."

x-o-x

In the next part… Buffy gets the surprise of a lifetime.

Thank you to those who review and, especially, read! Your comments make continuing this darned story worth it! Can you believe it was just a little drabble at the beginning? Neither can I! I just accepted a promotion at work which means I'll be switching departments which means that I will finally have more free time!! Oh, the thrilling thought! I'm just sad I won't be part of law enforcement anymore. But now my work gets to deal with my degree, which makes me happy and yet sad. The next update won't probably be for a few weeks yet… for those wondering on length, I judge eight chapters left.