Thanks once again for the comments everyone, and sorry for the delay in updating! It's time for things to get a little more serious, but not quite in the way we might want, at least not yet! Happy Holidays everyone!
"What's wrong?" Chloe asked, as she stepped inside the room.
"I'm sorry about the delay," Obi-Wan said, ignoring her question as he led her across the room to the data terminal. "The Council insisted on going over your records in great detail, and there have been some other developments this afternoon."
But his voice faded into the background as she sat down. Chloe was already focusing on the screen, eagerly scanning the output from her program. It was an enormous relief, she thought, as she studied the sequences of numbers, this sudden knowledge that she had a job to do - a serious job, where silly personal embarrassments were irrelevant.
But, after several pages, her face fell. She'd never seen anything quite like this before.
Chloe realised Obi-Wan was still speaking. He'd just mentioned something about Anakin.
"…due to arrive at nineteen-thirty standard hours, that's in about three hours' time..." He stopped, noticing the expression on her face. "What's the problem?"
"It's, err, just slightly more complicated than I originally thought," Chloe said, as Obi-Wan bent down to look at the monitor over her shoulder, frown even more intense than before.
"How complicated? I thought you said it was easy."
"Writing the diagnostic is easy. The virus is clearly based on the Sensu algorithms, but there is an extra component here." She waved a hand at the screen. "An unknown component, in fact. I've never seen technology quite like this before."
"I thought you were supposed to be an expert?"
Chloe bit her lip. "I am, and I promise you if this had been documented I would know about it. But it hasn't."
Obi-Wan hissed something inaudible under his breath, then stood up and turned away from her. "Bottom line?"
Chloe took a deep breath. "Running alone, the algorithms from the document we found in the archives could take several days to find an antidote." Recalling something, she frowned. "What was that about three hours?"
Obi-Wan clasped his hands behind his back. "As I said, there have been some developments this afternoon. I'm afraid it has become even more critical that we find a way to disable this virus. There's been a crisis on the planet Tundi in the Lam system. Many civilians have been taken hostage. We received a coded distress signal this afternoon. They claim their own droids turned on them."
Chloe's heart sank. "The Separatists?"
Obi-Wan nodded.
"What are their demands?"
"Nothing," he replied. "Or rather nothing yet. The droids have imprisoned the population in the palace of the capital city. It would appear they're waiting for further instructions. A clone strike platoon is on its way, but we want to avoid a battle with so many civilians vulnerable. "
"Then we must hope the Separatists take their time."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Unfortunately, the Council have agreed that Anakin can go ahead of the platoon and attempt a covert operation. Given your antidote and his own expertise with droids we hoped he would be able to avert the crisis single-handedly."
"But I thought the two of you always worked as a team?"
Obi-Wan paused and looked at her silently for a moment, appearing to be contemplating his reply. He sighed. "Anakin needs to prove himself worthy of taking the trials for knighthood, and because of his expertise with droids this seemed like the perfect opportunity."
He rubbed the sides of his forehead with one hand. "Without an antidote it's going to be close to impossible. But Anakin will want to go ahead anyway. "
"But can't you just order him not to?"
"I can order all I want, but Anakin is not exactly a fan of orders."
"Then perhaps you shouldn't have gambled every hope on finding an antidote." Chloe found the words were out of her mouth before she'd had time to decide they were a bad idea.
"And perhaps you could have given us a better indication that it would be a gamble," Obi-Wan bit back.
He remained silent for a few seconds, then looked up at her, lowering his voice. "No, I'm sorry, it's not your fault. The decision was made without you. It's just we… I need this to work."
Chloe detected fatigue and a hint of desperation in Obi-Wan's voice, and his frown slipped, his expression softening to something more vulnerable. Perhaps, she thought, perhaps his relationship with Anakin was not quite as easy as their banter the previous evening had led her to believe.
Then the mask fell back in place. Obi-Wan looked away, uncomfortably, leaving Chloe with the impression he had let slip more than he intended.
"I'm sure I'll be able to think of something," she said quickly, searching her memory for any scraps of related knowledge.
"Good," Obi-Wan replied, abruptly. He crossed the room to the door, datapad in hand. "I'll be in the meditation room at the end of the hall for a short time, then I'll be prepping the clones from the War Room. Com me when you've finished, there's a unit on the desk."
"Sure. And I-"
Obi-Wan didn't look back. "You have exactly two hours fifty-three minutes."
The door slid swiftly shut behind him.
Chloe turned to tap at the keyboard, biting her lip.
Right. No pressure then.
Two and a half hours later, Chloe hadn't made much progress. She stared at the screen glumly as her final desperate attempt at a decryption program spewed out yet more nonsensical data.
Then, suddenly, a pattern started to emerge from the chaos. Chloe cursed and smacked the desk. Of course! Why hadn't she thought of that before? In fact it was a quite elegantly beautiful piece of mathematics. Simplicity itself. And in Chloe's line of work, simplicity was often elusive. Her fingers few over the keyboard as she wrote a new program, making educated guesses her and there. Whoever had coded this virus was not only knowledgeable, but also possessed a great flair for the subject. And, Chloe thought, as she crossed the fingers of one hand, using the other to hit the enter key, an unfortunate desire to use their talent for the worst possible cause.
She sat back in her chair, watching the program run. Come on, damn you…
A smile spread slowly across Chloe's face as the output gradually changed from random characters to recognisable schematic diagrams. It had worked!
But her task was not yet complete. Chloe glanced at the chrono by the desk. 19:02. Just under thirty minutes to code up the antidote. It was do-able. She rubbed the weary muscles in the back of her neck with one hand.
Just then, the door of the room opened with a low hiss and a visibly more relaxed Obi-Wan stepped inside.
"Any progress?" He said softly, placing one hand on her shoulder and standing behind her to look at the screen.
"Yes," Chloe replied, relieved his earlier irritation seemed to have dissipated, but hyperaware of the simple pressure from his hand. "The antidote should be ready by the time Anakin arrives."
Her voice wavered a little at the end of the sentence as his fingers flexed, sending a gentle pulse of something warm through her sore muscles. Chloe swallowed nervously, and looked up at him.
Obi-Wan caught her expression and his eyes widened very slightly. He snatched his hand away, as if he hadn't even realised he was touching her.
"Good." He said, a little too sternly, stepping away, a little too quickly. "Because we need to go to the War Room immediately to oversee the operation with Master Windu. "You'll be able to finish this in there."
Chloe nodded, tapping at the keyboard to transfer everything to a portable data unit and snatching it out of the terminal as she stood up, avoiding eye contact, relieved that the moment had passed. "Lead the way."
A few minutes later, the turbolift glided smoothly to a halt four levels above Obi-Wan's quarters. The doors opened to reveal the dimly-lit interior of the Jedi War Room.
Chloe followed Obi-Wan inside, intimidated but at the same time intrigued by the quiet but efficient atmosphere. Numerous Jedi and padawans she didn't recognise worked intently at terminal screens located around the periphery of the room.
"Master Kenobi," A Jedi she recognised as Mace Windu walked over from the large central holotable to greet them.
"Master Windu," Obi-Wan gave a curt bow of his head and stepped aside. "This is Miss O'Brian."
Chloe shook hands with the senior Jedi, smiling nervously, trying to look professional.
"Please come and take a seat," Mace said, "Padawan Skywalker is nearing the Lam system, we have much to do."
Ten minutes later, from her place at the circular holotable, Chloe watched as the small blue dot representing Anakin's star fighter made steady progress towards the planet Tundi.
"Miss O'Brian, do you have the antidote program?" Mace Windu asked from his position seated to her right.
"Yes Master Windu," Chloe responded, with a final tap at the keyboard in front of her. "It's ready for transmission."
"Master Kenobi," continued Mace, "are you ready to start the briefing?"
Obi-Wan finished his conversation with a female Twi'lek Jedi and took his position at the opposite side of the table. Quietly, and without prompting, the dozen or so occupants of the room gathered around the table, folders and sheets of flimsiplast in their hands.
Obi-Wan reached forward and pressed a button embedded in the surface of the table.
"Padawan Skywalker, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi. Do you read me?"
A grainy blue image of the younger man flickered to life in front of them.
"Yes, Master," Anakin replied, with a grin, "Nice to see you again. I'm in position."
Obi-Wan nodded in acknowledgement and glanced to Mace, who nodded back. "Please proceed, Master Kenobi."
"As you all know," Obi-Wan began, "the citizens of the planet Tundi have been taken hostage by their own droids, which we believe have been infected with an override virus developed from the Sensu spy droid algorithms." Obi-Wan pressed another button and a larger-scale hologram of the planet rose into view.
"Around one hundred civilians, consisting mainly of miners and their families, are being held prisoner in the ancient palace, located here," said Obi-Wan, indicating the position with his finger.
"Our suspicion that this is the work of the Separatists was confirmed a few minutes ago when we received this transmission showing the hostages." Obi-Wan pressed another button. Chloe watched intently as another image appeared above the table. She'd been aware of a flutter of activity at the other side of the room a couple of minutes before. This must have been the cause.
The image showed a large cave, or possibly a hall. The view zoomed to its centre and Chloe saw people – men, women, children, huddled together in family groups. Even though the image quality is poor she could see they were clearly terrified.
"Those poor people…" Chloe whispered, under her breath, glancing up to gauge the reactions of the Jedi stood around the table. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they all appeared to be taking in this information impassively. Chloe's gaze met Obi-Wan's, and his expression softened a little.
Then he returned his focus to the holotable, pressing yet another button. A three-dimensional map of a planetary system flickered into view.
"The message accompanying the images demanded our forces hold off and allow the Separatists to take control of the nearby planet of Lam Barell," Obi-Wan continued. "This is not surprising, since its mines contain minerals vital to the Separatists' droid-making process. Once the Separatists have finished their operation on Lam Barell, they claim the hostages on Lam Tundi will be released unharmed as refugees. Any intervention from us before then, and they will all be killed."
Chloe swallowed. This was really serious now.
"Fortunately," Obi-Wan continued, "it seems the Separatists are unaware of the earlier distress signal we received from Lam Tundi, so Anakin and the clone strike platoon have managed to enter the system unseen. They are currently hidden from view here." He indicateed an asteroid belt on the map near to the planet Tundi.
"Our systems report Separatist forces began arriving at the unpopulated Lam Barell around twenty minutes ago. Intelligence indicates they are most likely to keep the hostages for several days while completing the mineral extraction. "
Obi-Wan paused and looked down, then continued in a softer tone. "Based on previous experience, it is unlikely that they will keep to their promise and release the hostages unharmed when they have taken what they want."
Knowing glances were exchanged around the table. Mace Windu nodded slowly. After a short pause, Obi-Wan pressed a few buttons until Anakin's image came into view again. "Jedi Skywalker has formulated a plan for a covert operation to enter the palace." Obi-Wan sat down. "Go ahead Anakin."
"Thank you, Master Kenobi," said Anakin. "With Miss O'Brian's antidote it will be possible to neutralise the virus in the rogue droids located in the palace and save the civilians, as long as we can get inside without attracting any attention." He paused before continuing. "I suggest I go in alone to minimise the chance of being seen."
"Hmm…" Mace said, fingertips held together in contemplation. "Master Kenobi, do we have sufficient forces to avert any retaliation from the Separatists when they find out what has happened?"
"Yes," said Obi-Wan. "The Separatist forces are currently much diminished. Our clone battalion is in slow orbit of the system and could outnumber them easily. I assume this is the reason why the Separatists are resorting to such tactics."
"And your Plan B, Jedi Skywalker?" Asked Mace.
"The strike team will stay on standby here, where they have the least chance of being detected." Anakin responded, an arrogant edge to his voice. "I am confident no back-up will be needed. Sir." Chloe noticed Obi-Wan flinch.
"And if you fail, Padawan Skywalker, you will be risking the lives of those innocent people," Mace replied, ennunciating each word as if Anakin was not capable of working this out for himself. "Master Kenobi?"
"With all due respect, Master, Anakin is right," Obi-Wan replied. "We have no idea of the nature of the surveillance systems located within the palace. It may take all of Anakin's skill to go in unnoticed. A solo operation is our best chance of success."
"Very well, Skywalker," Mace said. "You may proceed with your plan. Continue with the landing on Tundi. We will speak again when you are within sight of the palace."
"Yes Master. Over and out." Anakin's holo image flickered then disappeared. The room remained silent for a few moments.
"Commander Cody." Mace spoke again. "Stand by to follow Commander Skywalker for landing on Tundi in thirty minutes. General Kenobi will brief you shortly."
A holo of an armoured clone trooper flickered into view. "Yes sir." The trooper responded.
Obi-Wan was obviously surprised. "Master…?"
"I'm sorry, Master Kenobi, but I just cannot risk those people's lives on Anakin's over-confidence," said Mace, with a frown. "He will have his chance to succeed, but the strike force must be nearby in case he does not."
"I…" Obi-Wan opened his mouth to say something more but changed his mind. He conceded to Mace with a nod, lips pressed together in a thin line. Mace turned to Chloe as he got up to leave.
"Miss O'Brian, please study the details of the palace and droid control system loaded into your terminal. When Jedi Skywalker has landed we will need to go through the finer details of the rescue operation."
"Yes sir," she replied, flipping up her terminal screen.
Both the lives of those innocent civilians and Anakin's reputation hinged on the success of this operation. Chloe concentrated on breathing slowly, trying to blank the extreme pressure of the situation out of her mind.
She glanced up at Obi-Wan, his brow creased by yet another frown as he engaged in discussion with the holo of the clone trooper. How much older he looked, she thought, like this. Her ridiculous dream; their small, insignificant interchanges over the past couple of days: both seemed a lifetime away in the seriousness of this moment.
Looking down at her trembling hands, Chloe placed her palms flat on the table in an attempt to still them.
She thought she'd aged about ten years in just the last hour.