The Whole Truth (Or Not)
Title: The Whole Truth (Or Not)
Author: kerrykhat
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Star Wars
Characters/Pairing: Buffy Summers/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Table: Relationship
Prompt: Truth
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers for Phantom Menace
Word Count: ~1400
Disclaimer: Joss owns "Buffy," Lucas owns "Star Wars," I own my chocolate bar.
Summary: Stuck in a flying metal death trap (aka spaceship), Buffy tries to get answers from Obi-Wan about this strange new dimension.
Series Master List
Buffy knew that Ben was standing behind her, but she really didn't give a damn right now. She was tired, she was injured, and she was trying to cope with the idea that she was on yet another strange planet. In another dimension. With no way to get home. Her week just kept getting better and better. Whatever Power who had it in for her and who was listening into her thoughts should note the sarcasm. It didn't help that they were stuck on a desert planet right now waiting for Qui-Gon, Jar-Jar, Padmé and the rolly-bot to get back with whatever part they needed to fix their ship.
"What do you want, Ben?" she asked, finally fed up with the lurk-age. She didn't move from her position under the Queen's ship, ignoring both the dry heat and the sand getting into her clothes. At least there was fresh air out here, and she didn't feel like she was confined in a flying metal deathtrap about to be blown to pieces at any moment. Plus, there was something about the desert that called to her, a possible side effect to the vision quest she had done with Giles back in Sunnydale.
"There are other places to sit," he replied, not answering her question. "Ones inside the ship."
"And yet this one works just fine," she shot back, wishing she had a pair of sunglasses or whatever this place's equivalent was. The glare was starting to get to her, but she wasn't ready to back inside just yet. She felt out of place in there, unfamiliar with practically everything these people took as normal, thrust into a situation that she didn't understand in the slightest. It had only been about a day's travel to this "Tatooine" place, and by the end of that day she had been ready to strangle someone or something--preferably Jar-Jar if only to save her sanity. It didn't help that Qui-Gon had decided that those hours would be a really good time for a crash course on how to live in this place, from the alphabet to the different species of aliens. As if she planned on staying here full time. The moment they handled the robot invasion of Naboo, she was going to find a way back home to her family in Sunnydale.
Behind her, she heard Ben's sigh of exasperation, followed by the sound of him approaching her. To her surprise, he managed to pull the stick out of his butt enough so that he could sit on the ground next to her. Despite her banter with him, she considered Ben to be the stiffer of the two Jedi she'd found herself traveling with. Not Wesley levels of stiff, but more like early Giles levels, which while not exactly bad, didn't make for much in the way of good dialogue. Him sitting on the sand next to her wasn't something she had pictured him ever doing.
Much to her relief, he didn't try to make pointless conversation. She wasn't in the mood to deflect questions about where she was from or how she had arrived here right now, not after dealing with Qui-Gon doing that for most of the trip here. She wasn't exactly sure how, but she'd somehow managed not to give too much information away. She wasn't sure how these people would react to her telling them not only about her planet, but also what she was and what she did. She was sure they already suspected she was different, based on Q's calculating gaze when she had helped them free the Queen and her retinue, but so far he hadn't questioned her. She had a sneaky suspicion he was leaving that to Ben to handle during this down-time.
Too soon for her liking, they were forced to retreat back into the ship by a vicious sandstorm. The day turned into what passed for night here, and most of her fellow travelers were catching up on much needed rest, but Buffy couldn't manage anything more than a light doze without jerking awake in a cold sweat. She was staying in the same room as Ben and Qui-Gon, and she didn't know if it was that, anxiety about getting home, or the near constant feeling that something dark was coming that was making it near impossible to sleep.
"Turn on the blasted light already," she heard Ben's grumpy voice call out from across the room after she had tried to adjust her position as quietly as possible. "Since it appears both of us are awake." Not exactly sure how he'd figured she was awake, she patted the wall until she found the switch.
Blinking at the sudden brightness, she straightened up and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry if I woke you," she apologized to Ben. He rubbed the back of his head, making his bedhead even worse than it already was. "I can leave if you want to go back to sleep."
"I wasn't sleeping," Ben answered. "I was trying to meditate, but my mind was too... unsettled by recent events to concentrate properly." He sounded ashamed of this fact, and Buffy wondered what exactly this order of his taught. All she knew was that they had some kind of mystical connection to this thing they called the Force, and they used laser swords. Other than that, she had absolutely no clue.
"You and me both," Buffy muttered, drawing her legs up to her chest and resisting the urge to shiver. Somebody had gone a little too crazy with the AC and had made the ship as close to freezing as it could go and still be somewhat livable.
"Ben, what is it exactly that you do?" she finally asked the question that had been at the back of her mind ever since she'd met Ben and Qui-Gon.
"The Jedi are keepers of the peace," he answered simply, adjusting his position so that he could look more directly at her.
"And that whole mind trick thing-y I saw Qui-Gon pull back on Naboo? How does that work?" For some reason, she felt more comfortable asking Ben this stuff than Qui-Gon. Maybe it was an age difference thing. Maybe it was that she felt like she could get Ben off-guard easier than Qui-Gon.
"It comes from a Jedi's connection to the Force," he explained. Seeing Buffy's confused look, he continued: "The Force... the best explanation that I've been given is that it is energy created by all living things, surrounding us and binding us together. Jedi are individuals who have the ability to interact with the Force and use it perceive the world beyond what we can see, hear, or touch." Buffy was no stranger to the short and sweet versions of things, but this took the cake for oversimplification. She knew that there had to be more going on than what Ben was telling her.
"So, because of some trick of fate, you have the ability to access this Force thing?" she asked, somewhat skeptically.
"Yes, but I think it only fair that you answer some of my questions," he countered smoothly. Buffy saw the glint in his eye, and realized that he had played her, giving her just enough information so that she would be asking for more. Two can play this game, she thought grimly, gearing herself up for a battle of words. Hopefully she would be able to hold her own against him
"Fine," she bit out, doing her best to sound more confrontational than she really was. "What do you want to know?"
"What are you?" he asked, going directly to the point. Buffy's gaze never wavered, she managed to maintain a look of calm indifference on her face.
"A girl," she answered. "A dimensionally displaced girl, but still just your normal, average, everyday sort of girl."
"And where you're from, an average young woman can easily kick a battle droid twenty feet?"
"Well, it's hard to tell, since we don't have battle droids back on Earth. We're not a droid-y society." Ben gave her a look that could have rivaled any of Giles, causing a wave of homesickness to wash over her. She gripped her legs tighter and swallowed back any tears that threatened to leak out. She wasn't going to cry, not in front of Ben. "You would probably consider us primitive," she continued, as if nothing had happened. Her voice sounded slightly rougher to her ears, but she hoped that Ben wouldn't be able to tell.
"How so?" he asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Not so fast, Jedi-boy," Buffy stopped him, holding up her hand. "Your turn." He opened his mouth to protest and she raised her eyebrow. "You're the one who suggested we trade off this truth telling business. So, what's the what with this Order of yours? And what's with the rattail?"
Author: kerrykhat
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Star Wars
Characters/Pairing: Buffy Summers/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Table: Relationship
Prompt: Truth
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers for Phantom Menace
Word Count: ~1400
Disclaimer: Joss owns "Buffy," Lucas owns "Star Wars," I own my chocolate bar.
Summary: Stuck in a flying metal death trap (aka spaceship), Buffy tries to get answers from Obi-Wan about this strange new dimension.
Series Master List
Buffy knew that Ben was standing behind her, but she really didn't give a damn right now. She was tired, she was injured, and she was trying to cope with the idea that she was on yet another strange planet. In another dimension. With no way to get home. Her week just kept getting better and better. Whatever Power who had it in for her and who was listening into her thoughts should note the sarcasm. It didn't help that they were stuck on a desert planet right now waiting for Qui-Gon, Jar-Jar, Padmé and the rolly-bot to get back with whatever part they needed to fix their ship.
"What do you want, Ben?" she asked, finally fed up with the lurk-age. She didn't move from her position under the Queen's ship, ignoring both the dry heat and the sand getting into her clothes. At least there was fresh air out here, and she didn't feel like she was confined in a flying metal deathtrap about to be blown to pieces at any moment. Plus, there was something about the desert that called to her, a possible side effect to the vision quest she had done with Giles back in Sunnydale.
"There are other places to sit," he replied, not answering her question. "Ones inside the ship."
"And yet this one works just fine," she shot back, wishing she had a pair of sunglasses or whatever this place's equivalent was. The glare was starting to get to her, but she wasn't ready to back inside just yet. She felt out of place in there, unfamiliar with practically everything these people took as normal, thrust into a situation that she didn't understand in the slightest. It had only been about a day's travel to this "Tatooine" place, and by the end of that day she had been ready to strangle someone or something--preferably Jar-Jar if only to save her sanity. It didn't help that Qui-Gon had decided that those hours would be a really good time for a crash course on how to live in this place, from the alphabet to the different species of aliens. As if she planned on staying here full time. The moment they handled the robot invasion of Naboo, she was going to find a way back home to her family in Sunnydale.
Behind her, she heard Ben's sigh of exasperation, followed by the sound of him approaching her. To her surprise, he managed to pull the stick out of his butt enough so that he could sit on the ground next to her. Despite her banter with him, she considered Ben to be the stiffer of the two Jedi she'd found herself traveling with. Not Wesley levels of stiff, but more like early Giles levels, which while not exactly bad, didn't make for much in the way of good dialogue. Him sitting on the sand next to her wasn't something she had pictured him ever doing.
Much to her relief, he didn't try to make pointless conversation. She wasn't in the mood to deflect questions about where she was from or how she had arrived here right now, not after dealing with Qui-Gon doing that for most of the trip here. She wasn't exactly sure how, but she'd somehow managed not to give too much information away. She wasn't sure how these people would react to her telling them not only about her planet, but also what she was and what she did. She was sure they already suspected she was different, based on Q's calculating gaze when she had helped them free the Queen and her retinue, but so far he hadn't questioned her. She had a sneaky suspicion he was leaving that to Ben to handle during this down-time.
Too soon for her liking, they were forced to retreat back into the ship by a vicious sandstorm. The day turned into what passed for night here, and most of her fellow travelers were catching up on much needed rest, but Buffy couldn't manage anything more than a light doze without jerking awake in a cold sweat. She was staying in the same room as Ben and Qui-Gon, and she didn't know if it was that, anxiety about getting home, or the near constant feeling that something dark was coming that was making it near impossible to sleep.
"Turn on the blasted light already," she heard Ben's grumpy voice call out from across the room after she had tried to adjust her position as quietly as possible. "Since it appears both of us are awake." Not exactly sure how he'd figured she was awake, she patted the wall until she found the switch.
Blinking at the sudden brightness, she straightened up and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry if I woke you," she apologized to Ben. He rubbed the back of his head, making his bedhead even worse than it already was. "I can leave if you want to go back to sleep."
"I wasn't sleeping," Ben answered. "I was trying to meditate, but my mind was too... unsettled by recent events to concentrate properly." He sounded ashamed of this fact, and Buffy wondered what exactly this order of his taught. All she knew was that they had some kind of mystical connection to this thing they called the Force, and they used laser swords. Other than that, she had absolutely no clue.
"You and me both," Buffy muttered, drawing her legs up to her chest and resisting the urge to shiver. Somebody had gone a little too crazy with the AC and had made the ship as close to freezing as it could go and still be somewhat livable.
"Ben, what is it exactly that you do?" she finally asked the question that had been at the back of her mind ever since she'd met Ben and Qui-Gon.
"The Jedi are keepers of the peace," he answered simply, adjusting his position so that he could look more directly at her.
"And that whole mind trick thing-y I saw Qui-Gon pull back on Naboo? How does that work?" For some reason, she felt more comfortable asking Ben this stuff than Qui-Gon. Maybe it was an age difference thing. Maybe it was that she felt like she could get Ben off-guard easier than Qui-Gon.
"It comes from a Jedi's connection to the Force," he explained. Seeing Buffy's confused look, he continued: "The Force... the best explanation that I've been given is that it is energy created by all living things, surrounding us and binding us together. Jedi are individuals who have the ability to interact with the Force and use it perceive the world beyond what we can see, hear, or touch." Buffy was no stranger to the short and sweet versions of things, but this took the cake for oversimplification. She knew that there had to be more going on than what Ben was telling her.
"So, because of some trick of fate, you have the ability to access this Force thing?" she asked, somewhat skeptically.
"Yes, but I think it only fair that you answer some of my questions," he countered smoothly. Buffy saw the glint in his eye, and realized that he had played her, giving her just enough information so that she would be asking for more. Two can play this game, she thought grimly, gearing herself up for a battle of words. Hopefully she would be able to hold her own against him
"Fine," she bit out, doing her best to sound more confrontational than she really was. "What do you want to know?"
"What are you?" he asked, going directly to the point. Buffy's gaze never wavered, she managed to maintain a look of calm indifference on her face.
"A girl," she answered. "A dimensionally displaced girl, but still just your normal, average, everyday sort of girl."
"And where you're from, an average young woman can easily kick a battle droid twenty feet?"
"Well, it's hard to tell, since we don't have battle droids back on Earth. We're not a droid-y society." Ben gave her a look that could have rivaled any of Giles, causing a wave of homesickness to wash over her. She gripped her legs tighter and swallowed back any tears that threatened to leak out. She wasn't going to cry, not in front of Ben. "You would probably consider us primitive," she continued, as if nothing had happened. Her voice sounded slightly rougher to her ears, but she hoped that Ben wouldn't be able to tell.
"How so?" he asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Not so fast, Jedi-boy," Buffy stopped him, holding up her hand. "Your turn." He opened his mouth to protest and she raised her eyebrow. "You're the one who suggested we trade off this truth telling business. So, what's the what with this Order of yours? And what's with the rattail?"