Chapter 4
Inauspicious Meetings
Ahsoka was once more walking alongside Harry, this time down a side alley just outside the starport where the ship was docked. Enough time had passed that Harry felt it was appropriate to return to the ship and quietly leave the moon of Nar Shaddaa.
Prior to this sudden bout of uncharacteristic sanity, Harry had dragged Ahsoka along to a stand he was looking for and had gotten them each a berry tart. He was seemingly unconcerned with the danger they were in just by waltzing around the smuggler's moon.
He actually hadn't spoken very much since their departure from the bar until they'd ordered some food. Most of the trip, at least to Ahsoka's eyes, he seemed lost in his own thoughts, though not in the way that he zoned out, but more like he was turning something over in his mind while Ahsoka kept her gaze on him, concerned.
Whatever was on Harry's mind seemed to resolve itself after they left the vendor. Harry's stride was once more confident rather than distracted as they made their way back toward their ship.
Ahsoka was positive they had passed at least one group of bounty hunters staking out the entrances as they entered the area of the docking bays. The group didn't even look at them twice. Even though Harry and her had their hoods up, Ahsoka was surprised that their mere presence didn't attract more attention. Eventually she realized that Harry had used some more "notice-me-not" magic up that kept the groups from reacting.
In an effort to slip him out of his silence, that was bordering on brooding. Ahsoka had asked him to explain the magic behind the spell more fully. Harry went on to explain some of the finer beginning points of how it worked to her as they to walk at a leisurely pace back toward the docking bay.
Prior to their departure from the food stand, Harry had contacted Minnie about possibly getting a report of Ahsoka being sighted somewhere else. Minnie had come back with the surprised comment that that had already occurred, twice. There were reports of a Jedi showing up at the bar they had been at, where all the chaos had been well after they left and a brief skirmish in the same area.
However, there was also a report that the bounty hunters had blown up a Jedi fighter which had just landed. Harry rolled his eyes and muttered a comment aloud about stupid Jedi announcing their presence in a Republic Military vessel in Hutt Space that was currently in the middle of a galactic war.
Minnie had also momentarily worried them when she said she was monitoring another report of bounty hunters that were converging on Ahsoka, but they were put on ease when the protocol droid clarified that the spot they seemed to be converging on was nearly a quarter of the moon away, and happened because someone had reserved a hotel room under the name Ahsoka Tano.
Harry had frowned at the news, but Ahsoka had wondered out loud if the slicer that he had hired had done them a favor for the generous bonus. Harry immediately told Minne to add the additional 20k credits he had promised the slicer to the payment account he had set up before he forgot about it.
Almost two hours after they had escaped the chaos of the bar through a wall, they arrived back at the docking bay where they had left the Gryffindor. Harry was a few steps ahead headed down the path toward their ship's docking bay and stopped suddenly.
When Ahsoka stepped close she couldn't figure out why he had stopped. He explained quietly without her prompting him, "The intent wards on the ship are up… anyone intending to harm us or the ship will suddenly find themselves with other urgent errands to run."
"But Dobby was only supposed to activate those if they damaged the ship… or he was being overwhelmed somehow. I'm sure I would have felt that." Harry commented as he began walking again, this time his stride was quicker and much more purposeful toward their docking bay. He frowned as he approached the door to their hanger
It was clear something had happened, there was blaster scorches all around the door but the door appeared untouched at the moment. In fact it appeared practically brand new.
As they approached the door, a shadow separated itself from the doorway just meters from it. The shadow resolved itself into the figure of a humanoid in a black cloak, though the cloak was clearly muddied and torn.
"It's been a long night. Nothing you're selling could possibly interest me," Harry said, as the figured approached. Harry felt Ahsoka tense from beside him, her hand went to her belt instinctively and he heard her restrain her groan of frustration. The figure held up her hands showing that they were empty anyway, as well as revealing an extremely voluptuous female form underneath. But even the sight of half exposed breasts and skin-tight leather were enough at the moment to distract him from the safety of Dobby and his ship.
The figure hesitated and then pulled back the hood revealing a Twi'lek with blue skin and her head adorned with black-leather headgear. Her featured were marred by a slight burn mark on her cheek that was a testament to the fact that she'd certainly had her own rough night.
Harry blinked as his eyes flicked up and down the attractive Twi'lek, "Okay, I take that back. What you're selling could interest me, but not at the moment. Sorry."
Ahsoka's expression which had turned to one of recognition, morphed to a combination of horror and shock at Harry's blunt statement. The Twi'lek didn't look much different, although more than a little indignation was added to the expression that crossed her face. Before she could overcome her initial shock and say anything in retort Harry continued.
"And if you're looking for the Twi'lek dancing auditions, I think we passed the docking bay running that scam a few minutes back. Thought you might want to get cleaned up a bit. Your body's smoking, but the whole 'just escaped from a burning junk yard' chic look you've got going on probably isn't most people's thing." He said as he looked up and down her once more.
"Dirty clothes aren't likely to help you land a gig," Harry summed up then looked away dismissively, and proceeded to ignore her as he passed her and approached the door of the hangar tossing over his shoulder as he went. "Although it might get you kidnapped and sold either way, if that was your goal to begin with."
"Harry!" Ahsoka gasped, once her powers of speech had returned.
She had seen him being irreverent and disrespectful to the Jedi who had irritated them back on Coruscant, but those Jedi had been antagonistic towards him. Both of them had taken issue with her turning her back on the Order, and that was further compounded by an old grudge one of them held with her master. This behavior surprised her though. She hadn't seen him blatantly insult someone for almost no reason before.
"Hmm?" Harry replied absently as he put his hand on the door and felt the magic recognize him. He realized that the entire door had been repaired magically. He wondered how damaged it had been by those who forced the issue if it had required efforts like this from Dobby.
"This is … she is… you just… this is Master Aayla Secura!" Ahsoka sputtered.
Ahsoka's comment was rather loud, and the Jedi Master looked around furtively, but there was no one was around to hear the exclamation in sight. Her hand dropped to her lightsaber as she waited for any reaction. Finally, when she was assured that there were no further Bounty Hunters in the immediate vicinity, she said, "We shouldn't talk out here. This entire place is in an uproar."
"Oh… so not selling... anything and not looking for phony dancing auditions?" Harry asked blandly, looking back at her briefly.
Aayla Secura fixed Harry with a glare as he pushed open the door. He winked unashamedly and gave a jaunty wave back just before he stepped through the door, not giving her time for a stuttering reply.
Ahsoka turned to Aayla to apologize, but before she could say anything, Harry's shouted voice emerged from the door he had just stepped through. "Merlin blast it!"
Ahsoka rushed in right after Harry, only to be stopped almost immediately. The utter disbelief at the sight before her made her forget almost all other thoughts and rooted her to the spot, although she was shoved forward slightly when Master Secura followed quickly on her heels and stumbled into her.. Both of them could do little more than gasp in shock as they looked around at the unnatural chaos before them.
The hangar resembled a house of horrors. There were bodies all over the docking bay. Some laying over packing crates or behind pillars. Some slumped against the wall, and there was a chest high pile of bodies stacked up on the ground. The bodies encompassed species of all sorts, human, trandoshan, gamorrean, duros, aquilish, twi'lek, sullustan and rodian were just the ones Ahsoka was able to identify.
All of the bodies were completely naked.
Ahsoka and Aayla could only stare in a dumbfounded manner as they looked around and tried to come to grips with what their eyes were telling them.
Harry had his head bowed. His eyes were closed while he rubbed his forehead slowly, all while he slowly counted down from fifty...
"DOOOBBBBY!" Harry finally cried out, the exasperation in his voice easy to hear.
There was a hesitation and then a small snap. Out of nowhere, a small being appeared with pointed ears and dressed in overalls. He was wearing three different types of goggles on his head and holding a hydro-spanner. His sudden appearance caused both Ahsoka and Aayla to jerk in surprise, though Aayla's reaction was far worse, as she had yet to experience someone popping in nearby via teleportation.
"Yes, Master Harry Potter, sir!" the house elf asked as he practically bounced, looking far too chipper for any being.
Harry groaned again, hearing the being call him Master. "Dobby, what happened to just calling me Harry?"
"Miss Soaky gets to call Harry Potter Master, then Dobby can start calling him Master again. Master Harry Potter says that Dobby shouldn't be the only one to call him that. But now Dobby isn't, so Dobby can say Master again!" The little house elf rambled brightly, while indicating Ahsoka with he hydrospanner he carried.
Harry shoot Ahsoka a glare that promised retribution in the future before he closed his eyes and once more counted to fifty in his head before he began to speak very slowly, with a forced calm that kept his voice level. "Dobby. I give you very few rules. What was the first rule I told you about nudity?"
"Dobby is never to undress Master Harry Potter for him while he is sleeping." Dobby dutifully replied, looking even more proud of himself for reciting it.
Harry sighed, and visibly twitched as he did so. That had happened only once. It had creeped him the hell out. He had been very blunt in laying down the law the next day with the House Elf so that there was never a repetition of it.
Aayla was just watching the nearly surreal interaction, surrounded by naked bodies. She had no frame of reference for how to act in a situation like this, and had no idea where to mentally start cataloging what was wrong with the sights before her.
Ahsoka wasn't much better, as she certainly wasn't prepared for the naked bodies, but she was able to focus a bit more as she finally saw the elusive Dobby for the first time since she boarded the Gryffindor, despite multiple attempts at tracking the tiny creature.
"Okay, yes, Dobby. That was the first rule. What was the second most important rule that concerns naked people?" Harry asked in that same forced calm voice.
Dobby frowned. "That Dobby was not to strip people down for punishment."
Harry nodded and then gestured to the pile of bodies with a violent wave of his hand as the forced composure in his voice almost broke, "Care to explain these?"
Dobby only looked a little bit abashed, "Great Master Harry Potter say if people damaged Master or Master's things, only the rule about staying safe remained in effect."
Harry looked up at the ship with a raised eyebrow. "It looks pristine to me. The Corinthian paint job doesn't even look damaged."
After a few moments of examination, Harry mentally corrected himself. Unbreakable charms might have had something to do with the lack of visible damage. He continued to survey the ship with a practiced eye. Still, Dobby was rarely wrong about anything to do with the ship.
Harry, despite himself, was actually a bit surprised. Despite all the years he was with Dobby, occasionally something 'new' revealed itself, which was an ever-present reminder to the wizard that he didn't know everything in the universe. Despite voicing his doubts, he trusted Dobby implicitly, which meant if Dobby said there was something wrong, then there was something wrong.
Ultimately, Harry chalked it up to being yet another quirk of the House Elf's makeup, and that his friend's awareness of the ship was very much like his awareness of the status of any of Harry's homes. They seemed to know what was wrong and where things needed to be fixed, or things that might be about to go wrong. It made Dobby an amazingly effective mechanic.
"What did they damage, Dobby?" he eventually asked in a pained voice.
Dobby pointed at a pile of armor, weapons, clothes and other pieces of equipment. "Dobby left bad men alone at first. Bad men couldn't get in ship. Then bad men's attach something to hull. Dobby hears big boom and flash and strange blue lights all over ship.. Blue light did something to ship's computer. Metal Minnie say that ship's computer no longer working."
Harry blinked in surprise as he almost instantaneously translated what Dobby was saying and then scowled. He hadn't seen a device do that before, at least not one used by a group of mercs attempting to board a ship, though he had some ideas of what it might be from rumors he had heard of the more advanced weaponry being used in the current war.
"Can you fix it?" he asked.
Dobby's ears drooped and he shook his head, while tugging on his ears. "Is not broken broken, it just will not turn on."
"That's your mechanic?" Ahsoka asked in disbelief, finally managing to find her voice. Distantly she wondered if it had truly been only a few minutes ago that she thought she was used to Harry's quirks enough not to be surprised much anymore.
Dobby looked past Harry at Ahsoka and thrust his chest out proudly "Dobby is good mechanic! Dobby heard Miss Soaky say she could help fix things on ship, but Dobby is the best mechanic for Great Master Harry Potter!"
The last part was said with an almost defensively shout as his features fixed in a scowl. Ahsoka though, didn't even pay attention to the green being questioning her skills with starships. She had firmly latched on to the nickname that the being had apparently created for her.
"Miss Soaky?" she parroted, this time looking to Harry for an explanation, only now he seemed a trifle amused.
Harry smirked a little bit. "Dobby chooses his own names. Trust me… it could be a lot worse."
Ahsoka narrowed her eyes and then returned Harry's smirk with one of her own. It was rare she received a chance to needle Harry that was as gift-wrapped and presented on a platter as Dobby had just provided.
"So… I assume there's a story behind, the 'Great Master Harry Potter'?"
Harry grimaced and held up his hand as he realized this joke had been turned around on him. "Please… please don't get him started. You can always talk to him later."
He glanced around the docking bay once more before he raised his voice. "Minnie!"
There was a few seconds pause and then a slight hiss as a hatch near the cockpit opened. The odd looking protocol droid that Harry owned pushed it's torso out, but came no further as it was several meters to the ground. "Yes, Mr. Potter?" The robot asked.
"How bad is the ship's computer, Minnie?" Harry asked, irritation leaking through his voice.
"Nothing is broken, Mr. Potter. Everything just seemed to be erased. All maintenance algorithms, navigational charts, and even basic functions and diagnostics seem to have been wiped. It works… as in it turns on, but it doesn't know how to do anything else. Only manual functions are operational at the moment. I suspect that we have even much at our disposal only because of the… unique modifications you've made to the ship." The droid replied dutifully.
"It sounds like they hit it with some sort of… ionic charge to short everything out," Ahsoka said as she moved forward towards the ship while in thought. She turned suddenly to Harry, "If they erased your ship's computer then you'll need everything, an R2 unit can get you navigational charts and basic functionality, but getting your ship working will require an entirely new computer, or at least installation package."
Harry sighed visibly, "An ion charge. I knew that kind of attack sounded familiar. Bloody fantastic. That will take a few hours to fix."
His irritated gaze fell on the pile of stunned bodies before he quickly looked away and began to pace. Ahsoka could see the irritation on his face as he walked to and fro. The problem seemed simple enough to her at least. The only question in her mind was whether they could fix it and leave before some bounty hunter got lucky and figured out a way around whatever magical protections Harry had thrown up to protect them. Eventually, something resolved in Harry's mind, because he suddenly looked quite thoughtful and began to speak, more to himself than her or Aayla, who he was still dutifully ignoring.
"Okay, I would assume one of these idiots owns a ship. Probably several of them, right? Unless they were pirates on a bloody big ship." he asked rhetorically. Then he continued on without waiting for an answer
"So, here's what we're going to do," he said as he turned his attention squarely to Ahsoka.
"I'm going to put a stronger ward up to protect the ship and surrounding area. No one's getting through here while I've got that up. Then, we're going to toss each of these bozo's in my brig, and turn them over to the wookiees when we get to our next stop. If any of them have bounties, great. If not then the wookiees can decide on what to do with them."
Harry chuckled softly, and Ahsoka had to think very little to guess what Harry was imagining. Wookiees weren't the biggest fan of pirates and the bounty hunters and pirates in the bay would likely spend several years regretting their career choices before they were freed.
Of course there was always the possibility that they wouldn't survive what the Wookiees did to them. The wookiees tended not to treat their prisoners with kid gloves.
"However, first thing's first! I am going to wherever they docked and take all their stuff from them." Harry rubbed his hands together. He completely ignored the way that Aayla's eyes narrowed at the confirmation of him outright stating he intended to commit a criminal act. In fact he seemed completely oblivious or apathetic to her presence entirely.
Ahsoka gawked at the convoluted and likely risky plan he came up with, "If you've got as much money as you claim, we could just buy a new computer from one of the local chop shops instead. We don't need to steal one of their computers to use. Uninstalling it from their ships and installing it in hours could take a day or two at least."
"Psh, who said anything about stealing one of their computers for me to use? I don't need to do that, I have a backup computer. It's just time-consuming and irritating to install it and reboot everything," Harry shook his head, "Nope, I'm feeling vindictive at the moment. They inconvenienced me, I'll... inconvenience them. It's like… galactic karma."
Ahsoka fixed Harry with a stare, which he met and then grinned unrepentantly. "Okay, so it's me being childish and petty! There are times I tend to think of them as the same thing."
He looked away from Ahsoka as his brain seemed to catch up with the fact that not only did they have another guest, but that the Twi'lek was currently standing there looking at him like he was insane and seemed to be experiencing complete brain lock.
His eyes locked on her, "And what's your story, Blue? I take it you're the dumb arse Jedi who actually attempted to land on Nar Shaddaa in a completely undisguised ship known to be used by Jedi, complete with Republic markings? Especially after someone seems to have declared open season on Jedi… or at least former Jedi."
Aayla glared at him balefully and bit her tongue for several seconds. Rather than get into some sort of back and forth or war of words with the man, she turned to Ahsoka "I was dispatched by the Council to Nar Shaddaa to investigate all the Bounty Hunter's converging here. When I landed my ship, I felt a disturbance in the Force. It was unlike anything I've ever felt before. So I went to investigate."
She then actually looked a bit chagrined, "I was a bit reckless in how quickly I left the ship, not checking to see that my arrival drew a lot more attention than I meant to."
Ahsoka listened closely with narrowed eyes, Harry's expression had gone blank a few moments after she started speaking.
"I was worried the hunters had found another Jedi mark to take down especially as I heard that Cad Bane was lingering about. I've lost enough Jedi brothers and sisters to that bastard. I followed my senses to a bar where there was… chaos," Aayla explained watching Harry.
With the shock of the presence of the naked bodies everywhere she just now realized that she couldn't sense him at all in the Force. The complete absence of what should have been both his Force and emotional presence was rather off-putting to her, and a massive distraction as well.
"Chaos?" Ahsoka asked, a brief smile crossing her face as she glanced at Harry's curiously unreadable expression.
"No one was dead, at least not yet... though a couple of people took blaster bolts… people were raving about monsters and wild animals and that someone somehow releasing a zoo inside the bar." She turned looked back and forth from Ahsoka to Harry, with suspicion clear on her face.
"Weird," he said, no attempt at all on his part made to make his confusion seem believable.
He was really tempted just to chuck the Jedi out of the docking bay. Harry was actually genuinely annoyed with the way she was talking to Ahsoka, like she needed to explain the situation in it's entirety as if the younger woman was still a child.
"By the time I got back to my ship, it was just a crater," Aayla said, irritation in her voice.
When that statement hung in the air for several seconds Harry shrugged slightly and looked entirely unsympathetic as he clapped his hands, "Right. Miss Tano. You said you could do a bit of maintenance. Can you hook up a ship's computer to a spare and do a reinstall with Minnie? I think Minnie's got a backup archive from only a few days ago. I tend to run them every other hyperspace jump or so. And Dobby is not supposed to touch the ship's computers unless necessary."
Ahsoka looked surprised at the forethought before she responded promptly, "Yeah, I can do that. It'll take a few hours though."
"That's fine," Harry chuckled softly. "Dobby! Ahsoka will be fixing the computer. You're job is to get these bounty hunters clothed again. And after Minnie scans them all for bounties, toss those that are worth something in the brig, stack the rest in the corner."
"In the meantime, Minnie will interrogate each of these arsewipes, find out where their ships are and then steal them." Harry stated with an amused grin, and a tone of finality.
"Yes, Master Harry Potter!" Dobby nodded earnestly and turned to look at the pile of people. He snapped his fingers once, and the people on the top of the pile began to float off.
"Your… mechanic can use the Force too?" Ahsoka asked, managing to keep her jaw from dropping.
"You mean he can use magic," Harry said reprovingly, reminding Ahsoka once more that he thought of it completely differently than she did. "It's a little bit more complicated, but essentially the answer is yes. He is a being of magic."
"Magic?" Aayla blurted and turned to scowl at Ahsoka, "You've fallen in with a Force using bounty hunter… who thinks of the Force as magic?" Disbelief and more than a hint of condescension in her voice.
"Master Secura…" Ahsoka started only to be interrupted by Harry.
"Hey, Blue. Be quiet for a bit would you? You're pretty and all, but at the moment your ignorance is just annoying." He shook his head slightly, irritation in his voice. "And please note I'm being nice by assuming it's just ignorance. If it's not, then it's idiocy and that would mean you probably missed your calling as a dancer, or maybe bondage model for a holovid company. Intelligence not really required."
Aayla looked absolutely mortified at the accusation and couldn't even form words at the insults flung towards her. A response hadn't even formed yet in her mind when Harry began to speak again.
"So… just be quiet a bit would you?" Harry said as he flicked his finger at her. There was a slight surge of the Force, that caused Aayla to look around in confusion, but caused Ahsoka to narrow her eyes and stare at Aayla. Ahsoka knew that Harry had to have done something to the Jedi, but nothing was immediately visible.
At least until Aayla opened her mouth and began to talk back at him, but found that no sound managed to come out of her mouth. She frowned and tried several times to say something, anything. Her hands went to her throat instinctively.
Harry nodded looking satisfied and turned away to look back at his ship, only to then immediately turn back with his eyes closed. "Dobby! Believe it or not, having them hanging in the air on display actually makes the whole nudity thing worse. Give them clothes! Now!"
"Yes, Master Harry," Dobby replied distractedly, though this time there was more than a little amusement in the small being's tone. There were small whispers both audibly and within the Force as Dobby fashioned undergarments on them in mid air.
Aayla paused in the middle of touching hands to her throat as she watched with wide-eyes as the undergarments appeared out of nowhere.
"Mister Potter, I have the list of bounties for you to review," The droid spoke up from where it had remained at the open hatch on the ship.
Harry shook his head and waved off the droid. He didn't have the time nor inclination to review each one. "That's okay, just pick the most expensive ones, and the ones we can deliver to a station on Kashyyyk and share it with Dobby. Then dose 'em with Veritaserum and get me the location of their ships."
"Harry, you didn't have to silence her," said Ahsoka as she gestured at the blue Twi'lek.
Harry turned away from the sight of Dobby floating body after body quickly past the droid's ocular scanners. The two were moving quickly, and bodies were already disappearing into the ship with soft pops.
He blinked a bit when he turned back and saw the Twi'lek with one hand on her hip, the other still touching her throat in disbelief. For just a moment Harry shook his head, as he was struck by a memory of more than one of the people he knew in his life in nearly that exact same pose.
Harry quickly shook himself from the memory. "Sure I did, she was about to get on her soapbox and start proclaiming about poor backward cultures still thinking of it as 'Magic'. Since, for some reason, it's more impressive and scientific calling it 'The Force'." Harry went so far as to do quotations in the air with his fingers when he called it that.
Ahsoka blushed a bit as she remembered saying the exact same thing to Harry not long after they met.
"A name, which doesn't have any sort of 'power and subjugation' overtones at all." Harry added sarcastically as an afterthought before gesturing at the still silenced Twi'lek. "Also, while she's not as bad as you in the lying department, she's not exactly good at it either."
"Lying?" Ahsoka asked with a frown as she turned to look at the Jedi Master she had thought she could still call her friend through narrowed eyes. Aayla hadn't been part of the trial, judgement, or subsequent expulsion her from the Order.
Aayla was taken aback by the accusation and by Ahsoka's suspicious expression but was unable to formulate any sort of reply or retort while somehow unable to make a single sound.
Harry shrugged, "She was sent here for one of three reasons."
He began ticking off his fingers, "Option one, the Council of old idiots, you know, the sames ones that were going to murder you for P.R. points without anything but circumstantial proof, now wants you back. Option two, that same council wants for me to be brought in because I could make their week even worse in the court of public opinion with that holo I sent them."
"Or option three, they don't like someone who can do things with their precious 'Force' that they've never dreamed and they want to know how… likely before casting aspersions that I'm one of their big bad evil Sith boogeymen."
Harry turned his head and jerked his thumb towards Aayla, who could only stare at Harry while open-mouthed. "She's either a spy, kidnapper, or assassin."
"The first bounty hunters responded well to the Veritaserum, Master Harry." Harry's comlink chirped from his wrist, interrupting Harry from continuing, or Ahsoka from replying. "I have the coordinates of their ship berths and docking bays, as well as the codes to get past their security systems."
"What about the bounty hunters… Cad Bane and Aurra Sing? Were either of them present in that mess?" Harry asked after a few moments hesitation as he dragged the names of the bounty hunters the hacker gave him to the forefront of his mind.
"No sir, none of these bounty hunters are affiliated with either of those criminals thus far. Nor have any mentioned them." The droid's voice replied.
Harry frowned and shrugged a bit. "Okay, send the data to my comlink. Including the passwords and such. I'm going to get started on some galactic karma!"
He grinned and turned to Ahsoka, but she cut him off before he could say anything.
"How… did your droid get that information so quickly? How do you know whatever they told you is not leading you into a trap?" she demanded as she stood in front of him with her arms crossed, looking like she intended to keep him from leaving.
"Veritaserum." Harry said with a chuckle. "It's one of those potions I've mentioned to you. In the case of this one, it's a painless interrogation potion. Three drops and they truthfully answer any question put to them." Harry continued seeing the questions forming in Ahsoka's mind. "Wears off in about half an hour, and they're none the worse for the wear save for a bit of dry mouth, and right now that the least of their concerns."
Harry flashed Ahsoka another grin, when he answered her questions before she could ask them. "Go ahead and get started on that computer reboot. I'll be back in a little bit." He gestured toward the ship as he turned to walk away.
"Harry!" Ahsoka called as he turned away. He stopped and looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. She gestured at Aayla who was still silenced, and the younger woman had a slightly pleading expression on her face.
The Twi'lek, on the other hand, didn't seem nearly as upset as she had been just a few short moments earlier. Of course that was before Harry had accused her of being an assassin, but there was still an angry glare on her face as she gestured at her throat in an echo of Ahsoka's plea.
Harry was tempted to tell Ahsoka that, if the Jedi were so all knowing, they should be able to dispel a simple silencing spell without too much effort. But instead he sighed and relented "Fine. But if you leave the docking bay, you won't be able to get in until I'm back."
He turned, and as he walked away Harry absentmindedly waved a hand in Aayla's direction.
Aayla felt the small surge in the Force and opened her mouth "I.. can talk now?! How did you do that?"
Harry looked back over his shoulder and winked, "Well, according to you it certainly couldn't have been magic, Blue."
He he made no attempt to hide that the gaze from his eye that didn't blink was directed squarely at the Twi'lek's chest as he disappeared with a soft crack mid stride.
ooOoOOoOoo
After Harry left, and after Aayla had spent nearly a full minute in silence as she stared at the spot Harry had just disappeared from. When she finally tore her eyes away from the space, Aayla turned to Ahsoka, only to see her friend eyeing her very suspiciously.
"So why are you here, Master Secura?" Ahsoka finally asked when she had the Twi'lek's attention.
"Like I said, I was tasked to investigate the Bo-"
"Don't lie to me," snapped Ahsoka, and for once, she actually felt fairly angry. She had wanted to deny Harry's words when he listed off the reasons Master Secura was there. But Harry had predicted the Order would send someone after them. He also had been fairly direct about his suspicions and hadn't seemed to have gotten much wrong since he had met her.
She met Aayla eyes, trusting in Harry's perception of events. "Don't you dare lie to me. I can handle the Council lying. I can handle that idiot prosecutor Tarkin along with the Supreme Chancellor! But now you're lying to me too? My trust in members of the Order seems like it's dwindling fast. I can't trust the Council, I can't trust my friends… and if I can't trust you, it looks like the only Jedi I can trust is Skywalker."
Aayla stared at Ahsoka, and desperately wanted to fall back upon the three rules of infiltration work, 'Deny Deny Deny', but felt that would only damage her case further. Ahsoka had obviously already placed a large amount of faith and trust in the erratic and crude bounty hunter.
The man was certainly dangerous, and for him to pick up upon the fallacies she spoke so quickly, meant she would need to go for full disclosure, or leave immediately to check in with the Council for further instruction. Which would take time even if she did have access to a long range communication device, which she did not have thanks to her ship being blown up. It also meant she'd likely lose their trail immediately, even if Harry had mentioned they were bound for Kashyyyk next.
In the end, it came down to Aayla's conscience. She felt she couldn't lie to Ahsoka, not after the Council had wronged her so badly. The Jedi Order had failed her, and she wouldn't allow the Council to compound that failure by casting aspersions upon her character just because of her now close proximity to a Force user whose motivations, goals, and history were shrouded in mystery.
Aayla sighed, "The Council ordered that I attempt to find out more about him. Master Yoda termed it a vergence, a shatterpoint even. So I am to figure out more about him and where he's from. What he did to the two masters to make the two of you disappear. I was also to ascertain if you were in any danger while with him, and to report my findings back when relevant."
"Well, if you haven't noticed, I'd be in danger with or without Harry." Ahsoka snorted, "And I certainly don't see the Council caring if their 'embarrassment' got waxed by the same bounty hunters we've put in prison multiple times, each."
"Yes, I see that now. I take it that's what the bounty you both turned in on Coruscant was about?" Aayla asked, the accusation against the Council completely ignored for the time being.
Ahsoka looked at Aayla carefully, before she eventually nodded. "Yeah, I didn't reclaim my lightsaber before turning down the Order's offer to return, so when that hunter had a gun to the back of my head, along with six others, it was Harry who stepped in and save me."
"He used the Force to do this, Ahsoka?" Aayla asked, her tone carefully neutral as she hoped to draw out information on Harry's abilities from Ahsoka, but his motivations as well.
Ahsoka shook her head quickly, "You can draw your own conclusions. But, I'm not telling you anything else, Master Secura,"
Aayla felt a brief pang in her heart when her old friend refused to call her Aayla like she once had.
"I won't betray him, not after he's saved me multiple times. Hell, at first I had to pester him for a while to even consider showing me what he has," Ahsoka lifted her chin slightly in a combination of pride and defiance as she met Aayla's eyes.
"What did he offer you, Ahsoka?" Aayla's tone was filled with caution now. That kind of 'offer' sounded too much like some sort of temptation to lure Ahsoka to the Dark Side. The idea sounded preposterous to Aayla, but she knew anything was possible.
She had seen several Jedi who she never would have imagined be tainted by exposure to the Dark Side, no matter how strong willed or well intentioned that Jedi may have been. Even her old master had been changed by his exposure to the Dark Side. Aayla herself had once fallen to the temptation of the Dark Side after her mind had been wiped with Gliterral. She knew what sort of attraction and power waited there for those too weak to not resist it.
Ahsoka Tano had always had a good heart, but she wasn't even a full Jedi. She was still a Padawan before she was dismissed from the Order. She had also been brash, reckless and headstrong, much like her Master. She wouldn't be the first with those qualities to find themselves falling in circumstances such as this.
"I can't tell you what he's shown me," Ahsoka said with a shrug.
Aayla quirked her eye at the statement. Perhaps Ahsoka simply didn't wish to spread knowledge around of what the uncivilized man had offered her, but the way she said it sent chills up Aayla's spine. Her eyes narrowed, but something nagged at the back of her mind, telling her there was more to this situation than appeared at first glance.
"Explain," she demanded curtly.
Ahsoka smiled, and there was a bit of a smirk to that smile. "Demand all you want. I literally can't, Master Secura. If I break my oath, my connection to the Force will be stripped from me."
A look of utter horror crossed Aayla's face at that idea, and at the idea of what this man had somehow subjected Ahsoka too, worse it seemed that Ahsoka didn't seem bothered by it at all.
"He did what?" Aayla sputtered, "How has he trapped you like this?"
Ahsoka hesitated a moment, before she seemed to consider what to say. She spoke slowly, as if testing the very words that she spoke. "It's one of the ways his people keep secrets. Oaths, vows, and contracts mean a lot to his people, and it's backed up and enforced by the Force itself, well, Magic as he says."
Ahsoka shrugged off the idea and, to Aayla's incredulity, her expression said it was no big deal, "Harry said that magic itself will also work to protect that knowledge so it can't be forced or coerced out of me."
Seeing Aayla's expression and assumption Ahsoka shook her head. "I'm not trapped. I can leave at any time I want. I just can't talk or communicate about what he teaches me or what he does with his magic or teach it to anyone else.." Ahsoka gave Aayla an odd look, "Unless you, of course, give him the same kind of oath."
Aayla was shocked at the statement, and a bit offended, "I have my own oaths and promises to uphold to the Jedi Order. I will not spread my loyalties much less to some bounty hunter scum."
Ahsoka narrowed her eyes at that last description, and her voice turned chilly. "I'll let that slide this time, Master Secura, but don't ever insult Harry around me again."
A thought occurred to her as she glanced around. "Er… or around Dobby. You saw what he did to those he felt were going to harm Harry's ship. Harry has warned me more than once that Dobby can be a little overzealous in defense of him. Then again, until a few minutes ago, I was starting to wonder if Dobby was just made up as part of some prank Harry was playing on me…"
Ahsoka then shook her head, letting her lengthening lekku fall freely out of the cloak she had been wearing. Aayla remembered Ahsoka right when she first was assigned to Skywalker. Back then, her lekku barely touched her shoulders. Now, they were halfway down her chest and back.
"I'm staying with Harry, Master Secura. He saved my life. He's funny and, while he may be crude, he's never given me one reason to doubt his intentions. He has also been truthful with me as far as I can tell. Harry didn't make me come with him, I asked to go with him."
She shook her head slightly, "And I had to convince him!"
"But...the moment the idea to stay with him popped into my head, the Force all but screamed at me to follow through with the idea." Ahsoka hesitated and her eyes got a serious look in them, and her voice went from defensive to earnest. "Somehow… I knew… I was meant to do this. That the implications would be staggering for myself, the Jedi, for everyone in the Republic."
"It was unlike anything I've ever experienced. I mean... I've felt the Force guide my movements in battle. I've felt nudges and urges and subtle insinuations that I should do something...every once in awhile… but I've never felt it just stand up and say 'If you ever want to make an impact… you need to do this now.'" Ahsoka's eyes had a faraway look in them as if she was reliving the memory.
She glanced at Aayla, "And I won't you or anyone else speak ill of him without even spending time around him. Real time around him, not time when he's amped up from getting shot at because of people after me or dealing with Jedi incompetence."
There was silence as Aayla processed that impassioned statement. She had never heard Ahsoka so passionate about anything in her life. But she couldn't help but be a little suspicious of the timing too, wondering if this 'Harry' hadn't done something to influence the girl.
Ahsoka broke the silence, snapping out of the memory "Speaking of staying or leaving, what will you do now, Master Secura?"
Aayla winced at how formal Ahsoka was continued to address her. She had hoped that Ahsoka would lighten up and get more comfortable as they talked, but quite clearly that was not happening. Anakin Skywalker had warned her via a private communication after she had departed that Ahsoka was extremely hurt by the Council's actions and inactions.
He wasn't certain she'd be receptive to talking to her, or anyone but him really. Aayla initially thought there was a bit of arrogance in the statement, but in retrospect, Anakin was more accurate than she gave him credit for. Clearly, Ahsoka was unhappy with the Council, which showed Anakin knew his student very well. It was now very likely the only Jedi who Ahsoka wouldn't remain on-guard around.
Aayla wondered if perhaps Anakin had underestimated how much she had been hurt.
Ahsoka mistook Aayla's extended silence for a loss. "You do realize you have no ship to get out of here, right?"
"I will find a way." Aayla said with more confidence than she felt. "I'm sure an option will present itself, the Force will help provide a way."
Ahsoka snorted, "I think I'd prefer to rely upon myself to provide.."
Ahsoka did have a point, Aayla thought. She was in more than a little bit of trouble at the moment. No ship, and no secure means of communicating with the Jedi Council
With her ship blown up, along with the manner she went silent immediately afterwards, the Order's first assumption would be that she had been killed. There was always the chance that the more 'excitable' members of the Council would think Harry had done the act.
They all seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact Ahsoka was now one of the higher bounties in the galaxy now that she no longer held the Republic's and Jedi's protection. Aayla wondered why so many were so insistent on figuring out Harry. They were possessed with almost a single-minded focus upon Harry, blind to all other threats.
Idly, she wondered what would've happened if they had been this quick to chase down ghosts such as Harry back when Master Qui-Gon Jinn had died at the hands of a Sith.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Ahsoka simply said, "You should come with us to Kashyyyk."
"Why? What's on Kashyyyk?" Aayla asked, wondering why the two of them were headed there.
Ahsoka rolled her eyes, "A government that's a heck of a lot friendlier than the Hutts for one. You'll easily be able to get ahold of whoever you need at the consulates there. Harry's not that bad, I'm sure if you ask he'll let you come."
"Not that bad?" Aayla echoed, a combination doubt and sarcasm filling her voice. "He took one look at me and assumed I was either a whore or a dancer."
"So… maybe he's a bit rough around the edges. But… he saved my life when he didn't have to. He's protecting me still when it's more trouble to do so than to leave me to my own devices." Ahsoka said defensively.
"He has an entire docking bay that was filled with naked bounty hunters." Aayla replied.
"Okay I won't deny that isn't a bit bizarre. That description pretty much fits Harry to a T." Ahsoka responded after a moment before falling silent for several long moments. When she spoke again, her voice was soft when she repeated. "I trust him... I don't know much about his past or where he comes from or learned to do what he does. But he has only helped me."
"He may not have much of a filter and may make some inappropriate comments. But he's still seems like he only has good intentions despite it." Ahsoka shrugged. "He may have his quirks, but I trust him."
If ever someone waved a red flag in front of Aayla, presenting a mystery that the Rutian Twi'lek would now absolutely be required to solve for her own piece of mind, this was it. A mysterious Force user with odd powers, odd companions and a mysterious background? Her empathic side wouldn't let her resist.
She had no idea if Ahsoka had dangled that little nugget of information out there intentionally. But whether she admitted it or not, Aayla had already committed herself to traveling with the man if she was allowed. Unfortunately, that was where the idea came to a grinding halt in her mind.
She needed to convince the man now to allow her to come with them. The same man who'd first thought she was a prostitute, then a dancer, then a dancer/prostitute, and finally a spy or an assassin.
Yeah, she had her work cut out for her.
They had sat in relative silence outside the ship after Ahsoka had quickly entered to set up the restoration of the ship's computer and various navigation equipment. It was an uncomfortable silence, which Aayla had no idea how to break, when suddenly, it was done for her.
Dobby popped in to the docking bay, looking extremely frantic. He looked around wildly, summoning bits of equipment and banished the remaining few unconscious bounty hunters into a pile in a corner without care of how hard he was doing so. Resultant cracks indicated that he had broken at least one or two bones when he did so.
Aayla didn't need her empathic abilities to feel the fear, anger, and panic of the little creature. His movements transmitted all of those emotions quite clearly, and she couldn't help but ask, "Dobby? That is your name, correct? What is wrong?"
"Master Harry very angry. Find something wrong at last ship he stole." The little being replied quickly before he popped away without any further detail.
Aayla's eyes went to directly to Ahsoka, and she was unable to keep a bit of judgement out of her expression. The description of Harry as being 'angry' definitely wasn't doing him any favors in her book, especially if he utilized the Force in his rage.
Before she could say anything about the implications, they were interrupted by a large group of beings appearing out of nowhere.
"Well," said Ahsoka as she stared slack-jawed once again at one of Harry's actions. "This will certainly be some story."
oOooOoOOoOooOo
It took longer than Harry expected.
First he had underestimated the number of ships he was going to be stealing. Second, while Minnie was able to give him the docking bay and access codes, he was the one that had to actually go and find the actual docking bays. And Nar Shaddaa was enough of a maze that he was apparating all over the place to find them. At one point he almost went back to go and use legilimency on the bounty hunters just to make the job easier.
However, he was certain his actions would cause havoc for a number of criminals. The idea of pranking such people made him nostalgic, and he could almost imagine being watched from above by a group whose rich pranking legacy he continued as they laughed their heads off, watching him.
His approach was simple. Enter the corresponding docking bay with the codes gotten from the different bounty hunters. He would then stun anyone who might be in the docking bay. He considered taking them for bounties too, but knew he had far more people than he wanted to take in the docking bay of his own ship already.
He also realized that they had stayed behind and either drew the short straw or just weren't fighters, and anyone who was likely leading a group of bounty hunters, or more likely independent minded mercenaries, since he knew some of these idiots weren't bounty hunters by trade.
Of course, if the bounty hunters or mercenaries currently enjoying extended naps in his docking bay escaped or were eventually freed, they would probably be a bit miffed to discover their ships had just disappeared. The only people they could take out their frustration on would be the ones who were supposed to be guarding the ships.
Everyone always did need someone to blame when something went wrong.
He proceeded from there into the ship's central core. After a quick look around for any living souls to ferret out anyone that was still left in the ships, he would take time to stun any that were found and leave them in the docking bay as well. He also reminded himself that he would have to teach revealing charms to Ahsoka at some point.
Harry didn't make use of them, not to check for people anyway. It was far easier to wrap himself in his magic, which caused the souls of any sentient beings to stand out like beacons within the ship. Unfortunately, that ability was only in his arsenal due to one of the unique circumstances in his life, and he doubted Ahsoka would be able mimic the same thing. He had never met a witch or wizard who could replicate it.
He then headed deeper into the ship towards the engineering section and the interior access panels for the engines. Of course, in two of the ships, he had no idea where the engines actually were due to his unfamiliarity with that particular ship design and their sheer size, so it took some wondering about to locate them.
But he would eventually venture to the engine compartments and the adjacent power cores, and pull out the power couplings, then power down the ship's reactors. Now was certainly not the time to run an experiment on what would happen when a active reactor was saturated with the kind of magic he intended to flood the ship with soon.
Harry would then stick the power couplings to the ground next to the engines with a sticking charm so they didn't get loose, along with any other loose debris or parts in sight as he left. Then he would walk out of the ship, and cast the most powerful shrinking charm he could manage. Channeling enough power to shrink the entire ship until it was no larger than a model was no mean feat. It took a bit of concentration, but he had plenty of power.
When the ship was no larger than a model that a child might play with, he would walk over, cast a quick unbreakable and featherlight charm on the pseudo die-cast toy, and then drop it in a sack that he'd conjured.
After repeating the process a few times, Harry found that he was honestly enjoying himself. He pilfered seven ships of different sizes and designs, Including two that he had no idea how they managed flight, much less space travel. He was whistling and letting his mind wander, even considering making a hobby out of a miniaturized space-ship collection display somewhere. The idea of a 'model display case' with a hidden meaning behind it seemed almost too cool of a thing to not do.
Hopefully Ahsoka wouldn't object. And Dobby wouldn't feel the need to ask Harry to shrink him to clean the shrunken ship interiors.
Those humorous thoughts would unfortunately not last until he returned to the Gryffindor.
When he reached the second to last ship he intended to take, his good mood disappeared entirely. He approached the much larger than the average ship after he had stunned the one guard left on duty at the ramp and then quietly boarded.
Most pirates tended to stay away from such bulky freighters because they tended to be slow and cumbersome, which was hardly good for pirating since other ships could evade them even if it did seem rather well armed. Nor was a ship like this going to be able to avoid security sweeps and patrols if anyone stopped them inspection. This meant that, for any competent owner, smuggling seemed an unlikely profession for its crew.
It took him less than thirty seconds after he had moved inside before he discovered just why the ship was so big. It wasn't a bounty hunter's ship, a pirate's ship, nor a smuggler's ship. It wasn't even a standard freighter whose crew got it in their heads that they could get an easy payday by doing a bit of casual kidnapping disguised as bounty hunting..
It was a slaver's ship and the hold was occupied, and not by more wanna-be bounty hunters.
Chained up in the hold were over a dozen women and young girls of different species. Twi'lek's of four different skin tones, Togratan, Human, Rodian, Zeltron, Devaronian, Selonian, and a Zabrak. Those were just the races he identified at first glance from memory. All of them were manacled to walls and on their knees.
Harry clenched his fist and tried to control his anger at the reaction he received when a few noticed him. The females that were conscious all stared in his direction in fear. He knew the reaction was partly because he wasn't part of their routine. It was obvious the crew was enjoying the comfort of their presence from the condition of a few of them. But, Harry was new, and anything that disrupted the routine meant that it was possible that one or more of of the girls would end up being purchased for Merlin knows what. His presence on the ship signified change, and a possibility that their immediate living conditions could either be light years better or parsecs worse than where they currently found themselves.
It was the unknown.
He'd seen that fearful stare more times than he'd like to remember, and unfortunately, Harry was all-too-aware of how to handle it.
Harry wished this was the first time he had seen this sort of sight. Unfortunately, it was not even close. He could see the hopelessness that hung about them, and was willing to wager he could guess at the majority of their stories.
Some of them were targets of opportunity. Girls that had the misfortune of being isolated by happenstance and kidnapped when no one was looking. Others were the vulnerable and frequent victims of people desperate for quick cash, such as homeless, runaways, or children. Those who were weaker and less protected, less able to fight back.
And… sadly, Harry knew that some of the girls in front of him were likely sold by their families, either to pay debts or merely for profit. He had no doubt that all of the Twi'lek's and the Rodians fell under this category. Those in this group would have no home to go back to, because their families would just turn around and sell them again.
So, he would do what he could for them.
Harry sighed and resisted the urge to just start making things explode and then murmured quietly. "Dobby."
A moment later Dobby appeared in front of him with a crack. "Yes, Master Harry Potter!"
The excitable house elf asked immediately. His manner changed immediately seeing the expression Harry had on his face. Harry gestured at the slaves now behind Dobby, who turned around to take in the sight and froze at all the eyes that were focused upon the two intruders.
Harry's voice was calm and ice cold. "I need you to set up cots in the hold Dobby. If we don't have enough room, then I want you to start cramming the 'bounty hunters' in together. Their comfort isn't of any concern to us. Stuff them in the fucking storage compartments if you have to. We'll just need to make sure to put air freshening charms around them."
"Once you're done setting up cots, try putting together some baths and clothes for all of them." Harry's orders were issued crisply but his tone had taken on a deadly quality which the elf had only heard his master utilize when things were very serious and a lot of people were likely to die.
The House Elf nodded once, briefly. All trace of humor and his normal excitability was gone. "Yes, Master Harry," Then he disappeared with a pop, causing more than one of the captives that had been brave enough to look directly at them to gasp in shock.
Harry sighed and moved toward the women, which immediately caused all of the conscious ones to start to shake and whimper in fear. Their fear of unknown things had only been compounded by Dobby's strange appearance and departure. Harry hesitated as he saw this reaction, and then waved a hand and cast a mild sleeping charm over them that would increase in strength slowly.
There were a number of tedious things he needed to perform before he could free them, and by no means did he need them all panicking while he tried to disarm whatever security was in place to keep them here. He could see several tried to fight the charm, and one even succeeded for over a minute, which was impressive as they were probably exhausted and uncomfortable.
Once they were all asleep, Harry moved methodically from person to person. He used magic and carefully reached out to each of them in turn. After freeing them from their manacles, he sent a destabilizing pulse of wild magic through their bodies, which disabled all electronics present in or on their bodies. It was the same sort of method he had used to sabotage any recording equipment that may have been present at their booth in the bar.
He was more than a little angry, so his control was slightly diffused. This was readily apparent to him when, after he healed one of the girls who had resisted his sleep charm for the longest. It was no surprise that this particular slave had endured far more abuse than the others, and his loss of control as he healed her body managed to short out the lights in the hold.
It didn't bother him or slow him in the slightest, as he could see in the dark. It likely would've driven the girls to hysterics if they were awake though, so he was privately glad he had put them all to sleep.
This left him one final task before he could remove the group from the ship. Very slowly, with all the possible concentration he could muster, he extracted the subdermal bombs that each was fitted with when they'd originally been 'claimed' as slaves. With the booby traps, removed from each girl, he quickly healed the wounds afterward. He may not have studied to be a medi-wizard but that didn't mean he didn't know how to heal. He just always did it differently. No specific spells, just let his magic do what was needed to encourage the mending of wounds.
He could almost hear Madame Pomfrey's voice in his head. "There was the normal way and the Harry Potter way."
He moved almost mechanically as he placed each unconscious body in the center of the ship's hold in a large circle. He conjured a large pink hula hoop, then gently picked up each girls hand, and made sure they were attached to the hula hoop via sticking charm. A cushioning charm was placed underneath every girl to prevent them injuries from what was about to occur. The hoop glowed blue with a wave of his hand, and then the group disappeared from the slaver's hold.
They had just disappeared with a pop when a door directly behind Harry opened and a light pierced the room. Uneven footsteps were overshadowed by laughing voices filtered in through the now open hatchway. "C'mon, we probably have plenty of time before the others get back, more than enough to teach that one some respect, teach her not to bite or we'll take out her teeth. Hey… who turned out the lights?"
Harry turned around slowly, his eyes practically glowing emerald in the darkened hold.
"Who the fuck are y-" The human in the lead started to speak before the rest of his statement was cut off. Along with his head as it tumbled and bounced on the floor.
"Ellis? What the hell?" Came the shocked voice of one of his compatriots that was only partially in the room and didn't have a clear view of what had happened.
Harry didn't waste time. He didn't banter or warn the slavers. He marched forward and tossed silent cutting curses into the group quickly and efficiently.
There were four more after the first one that he had felled. The second and third died almost immediately after the first even as their compatriot was speaking. The last two were quicker on the uptake than their compatriots and tried to use the sides of the door for cover.
It didn't work.
Harry simply stepped through the door and and cast more cutting curses at either side. One of the two managed to get off a shot with his blaster right into Harry's side. Harry flinched from the burning pain that erupted in his ribs, but didn't cry out as he reduced them both to a mountain of gore and body parts.
He scowled in irritation at his own sloppiness as he looked down at the injury. It had gone into his side and likely scorched his rib as well as damaging some of his internal tissue.
The loud report of the blaster bolt attracted attention from further in the ship, which caused several voices from areas of the ship ahead of him to call out.
"What the hell?"
"Are they back?"
"Did they manage to get the Jedi and she's escaping?"
Harry was already deep in his magic, and it took minimal effort to search out the remaining souls on the ship. He quickly determined there were five more people on the ship. He didn't bother announcing himself or even speaking. Getting rid of them, now that he was fully in a combat mindset, took less than three minutes. The last one gibbered in so much terror as Harry approached down a hallway that his shaking hand could barely hold the blaster he tried to point at Harry. He wildly fired three shots, and none of them came close.
Fortunately, it only took him a minute to find the engine section and pull out the power couplings and stick them to the ground. On his way out of the ship, he vanished the remains of the bodies, not even bothering to identify any of them. People like this didn't even deserve the decency of funerals in his opinion, so the void could have them.
He stepped outside of the ship and debated just destroying it but after a brief internal battle he decided not to. Where the other ships might be sold, or even broken down for spare parts, this ship wouldn't.
He would turn it directly over to the Wookiees untouched. Along with the ship, he would deliver all of the slavers still alive back at his own ship to the Wookiees. The enormous tree-dwellers would then tear apart the ship's computers and extract everything the slavers knew through their own very persuasive interrogation methods. The residents of Kashyyyk were not exactly known for being gentle, nor did they have veritaserum. But their lack of magical methods of coercion did not make them any less effective.
The Wookiees would then follow the trail back to the owners of the operation. Heaven forbid that the Wookiees find any hint that the slavers had procured any of their own people amongst their stock of offerings. The ship itself would eventually be sold at an impound, and much of the proceeds would likely help victims like the girls who had just been rescued.
Five minutes after the slaves had portkeyed away, the slaver's vessel was dropped in his pocket. His earlier mood was now thoroughly ruined as the initial anger that coursed through him when he found the slaves had barely abated. Due to this, he only apparated to the next ship just long enough to ensure it wasn't another slave operation.
After he had ensured that the ship wasn't run by slavers, and absently noting that the ship barely looked large enough to fit two, much less anyone else, Harry paused just long enough to hit himself with several scourgifys. The short battle on the ship had managed to inundate his clothes and skin with a fair amount of blood spatter. Now, looking somewhat less like a crazed psychopath, he apparated away back to the docking bay that held his ship.
The idea of wasting time to grab one more ship didn't appeal to him anymore, not with what he had just encountered and done. Absently, he wondered if what he had found was his own version of Karma at work. He apparated back to the Gryffindor's docking bay. As he appeared in his ship's docking bay, he took a deep breath and winced again from the pain in his side.
He shook his head and prepared himself to deal with the next few complications that had affected his life since Ahsoka Tano had a gun pressed up against her head and his 'saving people thing' had reared up with a vengeance. The girl, who he realized more and more seemed to share so many similarities with himself, was likely only going to add to the troubles and drama in his life the longer they stuck together.
Harry appeared back at the docking bay, to find Aayla and Ahsoka being held back by a glare from Dobby as he levitated the unconscious slaves aboard the ship, obviously moving slowly and taking far more care with the unconscious slaves than he had the unconscious naked bounty hunters.
When the two women saw him, both of them abruptly turned away from Dobby to him, "What happened?" Aayla demanded first.
Harry gave the Twi'lek an annoyed look, but answered her question anyway as he kept walking by her, "I think that's fairly obvious. The second to last ship was a Slaver ship, and this was the cargo. I put them all to sleep, then portkeyed them here."
Harry followed the last one being levitated up the ramp. He turned to Ahsoka as he placed a foot on the boarding ramp, "We'll take them to Kashyyyk, and see if we can't get them aid there, and I'll definitely be turning over what's left of the slaver crew to the Wookiee authorities."
Harry allowed himself a brief vindictive smirk, but if faded quickly as he looked back toward Dobby and their new passengers his friend was still slowly bringing aboard the ship one at a time.
Ahsoka shivered at the thought of what the wookiees would do the slavers. There were very few cultures or planets that still had capital punishments, and the Wookiees were among those that still had a few crimes which would lead to rather barbaric repercussions for the guilty. Quick and painless were not options if one ran afoul of the Wookiees.
Harry, on the other hand, completely ignored her disquiet, as his own irritations came into play. He was as upset about the condition of the slaves as he was angry about the fact they were slaves in the first place. The slavers were not kind people and it showed in how many injuries he had to heal. Unfortunately he could only heal the physical damage through his abilities. The emotional scars were going to be a much longer process to assuage.
"Minnie. See if there are any Missing Persons notices out for any of the women. I doubt there will be, but it can't hurt to try and find out. Otherwise, I'm sure the Wookiees will be happy to care for a few more former slaves from us." Harry said to the droid who had been standing and watching the procession of women into the ship.
"Of course, Mister Potter," the droid said without hesitation.
Ahsoka was watching Harry and frowned. His tone was short and his words were clipped, which is something he never did, even to the droids. He hadn't even glanced towards Aayla and Ahsoka after their initial reaction. She followed him quickly into the ship.
He was carrying an odd sack and he seemed to be moving stiffly, which Ahsoka definitely noticed. She had spent several days with him, and had come to notice that even for someone who spent her life in the Order, Harry moved with an uncommon fluidity of movement and grace.
"Harry? What's in the bag?" Ahsoka quietly asked.
He turned back and stared at her a moment, as if the question hadn't quite registered with his mind. He stayed silent for a full five seconds before he shrugged and negligently tossed the bag full of shrunken ships he had collected to the floor in front of her.
"Where else did you think I was going to put the ships I went to steal?"
Then, without another word of explanation, he walked further inside to where the unconscious slaves were now being watched over by Dobby. He slowly walked around a corner into one of the access hallways, disappearing from sight.
Ahsoka didn't glance at the bag for more than a few moments before she double-timed it so that she could follow Harry, Aayla falling in step right behind her.
"Harry, wha-" Ahsoka was cut off as she stopped in the access hatch of one of the larger cargo holds.
Harry was sorting through a trunk quickly, his back to them, only he was shirtless from the waist up. His dark trousers and boots were also gone, although his trousers had been replaced by a pair of light grey sweatpants. Both women stared for a moment, at the mish mash of faded scars that seem to be all over Harry's lithe, and well muscled back.
Harry turned around holding a plain white t shirt in his hands, "Yes?"
They also noticed that his front also had scars on irregular places over his skin. But their attention was taken up by the distinctive black circular mark just below Harry's ribcage. Ahsoka rushed forward immediately.
"You've been shot!" She exclaimed, a shrill note in her voice briefly.
"Yeah, one of the slavers that were on the ship got in a shot before I got to him," Harry replied, and then hissed in an intake of breath as Ahsoka prodded the wound lightly.
"We need to get you to a med center," Aayla interjected, though her tone sounded worried at the prospect of going to one on Nar Shaddaa.
"I'll be fine." Harry responded shortly.
"No, Harry, Master Secura is right. We should really get you some medical help." Ahsoka interjected, a worried tone in her voice. She had stopped prodding the wound when Harry hissed in pain, but she couldn't keep from looking at it.
"No, I said I'll be fine." Harry sad as he tugged the white tee-shirt, letting it drop to hang loosely about his frame. When Ahsoka went to protest, Harry shook his head and gently gripped her shoulders to look her in the eye. "Remember the bar?"
Ahsoka quickly nodded, that day wasn't likely to be one she ever forgot.
"Good. Same principle as the bartender really. Just a touch slower when it's done passively than if I focus on doing it myself with a spell, which I really don't feel like using at the moment considering our present company," Harry said before pushing past her, only to be stopped as Aayla blocked the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest, one hand holding the sack that Harry had discarded as it hung over the crook of her arm.
He was a healthy man, if only slightly mentally unbalanced and broken. So the sight of a Twi'lek in all leather, crossing her arms to push her already ample chest up into prominence would normally be something he would at least stop to gawk for a moment at.
But now wasn't anything close to normal for him.
"Blue, usually I'd totally appreciate the show that pose and those clothes offer. But I am so far from in the mood, it's not even funny." Harry said dryly.
"You owe us an explanation." Aayla said curtly.
Harry's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. "I don't owe you or your Order of idiots shit, Blue. Move, or I'll move you...and not in a way you'd enjoy. I'll put your arse right back in that bar from earlier, and then we'll see if you can't do a repeat of getting yourself out again."
Aayla blinked in surprise as she tried and failed to gauge his intentions from only the serious expression in his eyes. His expression held traces of anger, but Aayla could sense nothing from him. No presence in the Force.
What was stranger was that he also exuded no trace of emotions at all, and for an empath like her it was an incredibly eerie feeling. The void-like hole in front of her, combined with the angered individual that stood in its spot, felt weird enough to her that she found herself instinctively taking a step back and to the side as he breezed past her into the main hold of the ship.
Ahsoka took a step forward before she stopped and looked askance towards her just long enough to shake her head in disbelief and give a small glare towards the Twi'lek Jedi before she too followed Harry into the larger storage room where all the slaves had been moved. Aayla was left slightly shaken at how she had been so quickly intimidated by the unknown Force user she had unwisely, and perhaps unjustly, demanded answers of. It was a feeling she had not often felt, and one she had actively worked in her life to avoid freezing up when confronted with it.
It certainly made her feel as if she had just mentally regressed years in her training just from that one stare he had leveled at her.
When she had finally collected herself, she slowly walked out into the primary hold, and found that Harry was looking at all the cots crammed inside the space, practically on top of one another. She quietly moved towards Ahsoka, who now wasn't even acknowledging her presence after Aayla's apparent gaffe as Harry changed out of his soiled clothes.
The man truly frustrated her. He apparently was fully aware of her fighting prowess and her abilities, yet had just as quickly dismissed her as anything resembling a threat to him. The strongest acknowledgement he'd given her was based on her species and its reputation, which was something she never wanted recognition for to begin with. Her entire life, she'd fought to be known more than a blue pair of breasts with a high-powered cylinder used for questionable purposes attached to her hip.
Now though, a man who had taken in a friend that her own organization had marginalized, had also made his opinion of her quite known with the utterance of little more than a dozen words. That same friend, that she wanted nothing more to protect and shield from any more harm, now seemed to hold this enigmatic bounty hunter in the highest esteem, despite the fact the man's lack of decorum in his first impression as he dismissed Aayla as nothing more than a whore like the majority of the females of her species earned their livelihood through.
It was truly frustrating. A lump of apprehension slowly settled over her stomach the longer she was in his presence, as, when she finally made contact with the Jedi Order, she had no idea how to report that Ahsoka Tano now followed a Force wielder who nearly made her wet herself in fear at a glance.
The same being she also called Master.
She stood silently alongside Ahsoka and just watched him. They observed as his emotional state took a visible change in direction. She may not have been able to read anything from him, but she could see the expression on his face. Gone was the intensity and in it's place was… sadness? Aayla tilted her head as she studied him and realized for a moment that his expression seemed very… weary.
For several moments Harry looked around at the slaves that were all laid on cots, side by side in the cramped area. Before Harry lifted both of his arms and made a curious pushing movement to the sides.
Aayla was completely unprepared as she felt a wave of Force wash over her and in front of her watched as the entire cargo hold seemed to grow around them. She watched as cots that were literally side by side with unconscious slaves less than a foot from one another spread apart as the room grew to give them each at least six feet of space.
Aayla looked around wildly in an attempt to figure out if her senses had been fooled by a simple Mind Trick, but found none every time she checked.
"By the Force… what… how?" Her eyes eventually fell on Ahsoka, who didn't look at all surprised at this phenomenon. Ahsoka met her gaze briefly and actually seemed amused by Aayla's sudden lack of composure.
For Ahsoka's part, she had seen this particular effect in use before. She hadn't seen it utilized in the hold yet, but Harry had shown her what a space expansion charm did to a trunk and described the effects. Not that describing the effects took much effort to comprehend, as the name was self explanatory. But the opportunity to see Aayla's reaction to a first-hand viewing of it in action, without any sort of forewarning whatsoever, was particularly funny.
Harry ignored both of their reactions. He had dropped his arms and the expansion of the hold stopped. He bowed his head for a moment and then took a deep breath, before moving to sit beside one of the bunks, which contained the lone Zabrak female among the slaves. He visibly braced himself and took a deep breath, before he slowly lifted the charm that kept the girl beside him asleep.
As the spell's effects slowly dissipated, he watched the girl before him became less and less influenced by his sleeping spell and fall into a troubled sleep. He thought that these next few hours or so would not be filled with fun conversations. What was worse, was that necessity required that he repeat the conversation at least fourteen more times after this first one.
The only shining light in the situation hopefully was, as more of the former slaves woke up and realized they were safe, they would be able to comfort each other as he moved on to explain the situation to the next girl.
As the girl in front of him returned to consciousness, he cast a very light calming charm at her, not enough to really stop her emotions, but enough to take the edge off and prevent any immediate hysterics. Upset was an emotion he could deal with. Hysterics would be far harder to manage in this setting.
They'd be emotional enough being in a totally strange place, and they likely weren't going to be the most trusting. Harry had no doubt that a good amount of his next few hours would be reassuring that they were okay, and any dangerous devices had been removed.
The Zabrak started to shift on the cot, but didn't awaken fully yet.
Harry spoke quietly, his eyes on the Zabrak. She couldn't have been more than 15 or 16, and he vividly remembered the injuries he had been forced to heal on her. He spoke quietly, but clearly enough that both Ahsoka and Aayla were able to hear him. "Dobby."
The small being popped into existence beside him immediately. "Yes, Master Harry?" There was no eager bouncing or earnestness. He simply waited for instruction.
"Seal the brig compartments with the slavers in them. No matter what I say, nobody goes in or out of them except for you." Harry's expression darkened for a moment. "Especially me."
Dobby regarded his master for a moment before nodding and disappearing with a snap of his fingers and no further reply.
Harry knew that if he really wanted to get in there, Dobby wouldn't be able to stop him. But it would keep a further check on his temper knowing he would have to order the little being to let him kill the filth he had captured, or force himself past Dobby. Given the stories he believed he was about to hear, he was sure that the idea would look tempting more than once.
Harry took a breath and then sat down on the floor, crossing his legs, making it clear that he posed no immediate threat to the woman. He winced a bit as the position added pain to his healing injury.
He put himself in a pose that clearly indicated no strike was forthcoming, and would have him looking up to speak to anyone sitting on the cot, giving them a slight unconscious perceived sense of power. He flicked a muffling charm around the area so she had privacy with just him, unless she screamed then it would collapse and he'd have to see about getting Ahsoka or the Jedi involved.
As Ahsoka watched, the young zabrak girl seemed to realize she was conscious and in an unfamiliar place. She snapped up in the cot and looked around wildly trying to get her bearings. Her eyes fixed on Harry and she jerked slightly, her hands coming up to protect herself before realizing that though the environment was unfamiliar, she wasn't presently in any danger. Then she looked at her hands in wonder seeing that she wasn't manacled anymore.
As Ahsoka watched Harry begin the first of what would likely be very uncomfortable and difficult conversations, she realized she didn't want to just seem like she was standing and gawking at the slaves. She looked over to Aayla and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud.
The Jedi Master couldn't seem to decide where to look. Her gaze flicking back and forth between Harry who was leaning back on his hands, his pose seemingly relaxed as he and the Zabrak girl conversed; and the cargo hold which was now much wider than it had been before.
Ahsoka turned her attention from Aayla's expression to the bag in the Twi'lek's hand, one she seemed barely cognizant of holding. She moved forward toward the Twi'lek, her curiosity getting the better of her. She took the bag from Aayla's unresisting grasp, and reached inside, gingerly holding up the first thing her hand touched: an extremely detailed model of a Baudo-class star yacht.
Ahsoka turned the ship over in her hand slowly and her only external reaction was to blink several times as she realized exactly what she was holding. It was one thing to have seen it in action on random bits around the ship, but the realization that she was held an entire starship, fully function in the palm of her hand was quite the jarring experience. If there had ever been a truer example of the power of the Force, and that size ultimately mattered nothing, then it was the tiny object that lay innocently in her hands.
Aayla herself joined Ahsoka as she watched Harry, the young girl he talked to clutched her arms in front of her and Aayla could see that he said something to now freed girl, but for the life of her she couldn't tell what. She watched the person she had, less than an hour earlier, declared as no more than 'bounty hunter scum' now talk to a slave he had apparently liberated like he had absolutely no other concern for anything in the galaxy but the poor girl's well-being. Of course, after his use of the Force, her mind still struggled to come to terms with what she had seen as she glanced around the expanded hold.
She saw the girl look over in the direction of Ahsoka and herself nervously, and then look away quickly when she saw Aayla looking at her. Aayla blushed, looking down, realizing that she had been staring at Harry, and the Zabrak had misinterpreted it as staring at her. In order to distract herself from staring at the unfortunate girls, she mimicked Ahsoka and reached down into the bag as well, extracting the model of an Action V transport ship her hand encountered first.
She held the toy gingerly in her hand, and initially wondered why Harry had said he put the ships he had stole in the bag when it hit her what he had truly meant. It was minutes later, as realization slowly made her mind restart, that she truly began to understand exactly what it was she was holding.
A full-size ship had been shrunk so that, in it's current state, it probably weighed less than a pound. It was too many impossibilities occurring too quickly in a row for Aayla. She simply could not believe that she held a small mint worth of credits in her hands along with something that should weigh several hundred tons, hidden in plain sight under the disguise of an innocuous toy..
"This… this can't be a ship?" was all she could managed to say after she had turned the ship over in her hands half a dozen times.
Ahsoka didn't respond. She merely raised an eyebrow at the Twi'lek Jedi, an amused look on her face.
Aayla examined the craft for any flaw that would give away the illusion that it was a cleverly done model or something of that nature. She could feel the Force acting strangely around it, and she almost wanted to throw the ship back in the bag for fear of undoing whatever it was that Harry did and inadvertently crushing both Ahsoka and herself.
"I… I don't believe it," Aayla finally breathed out as her eyes never wavered from this... thing that should not be possible, sitting right there in her hands.
Ahsoka gave her old friend a half smile, and said, "And that… is why I'm sticking with Harry."
"Ahsoka, what do you really know about him? About who he is?" Aayla asked after a small pause. "How can you possibly trust him after knowing him for only a few days? I don't care what tricks he can do, this is not normal."
Ahsoka frowned a little bit, but she didn't have a response for some of what Aayla was saying. Harry hadn't really talked about where he was from. Though he'd mentioned some facts about his planet of origin in passing, ultimately he hadn't provided all that much detail on his background. He had seemed reluctant to talk about it, and Ahsoka had never really seen a reason to press for more when she was already dealing with trying to understand Harry's impossible way of using the Force.
Sensing the hesitation in Ahsoka, Aayla pressed forward. "You don't know who he is, what his beliefs are, where he is from or where he learned to use the Force like he does." She hesitated and her voice dropped to a whisper, "Or what his intentions are."
Ahsoka's mouth opened for an immediate reply but she paused when her attention was diverted from Aayla back over toward Harry as the girl he was talking to curled up and visibly started to sob.
She watched as he reached out gently and touched her shoulder in a touch she could tell was feather light. The Zabrak girl recoiled from it briefly and hesitated before she turned and threw her arms around his neck and began to sob against Harry instead. Ahsoka saw Harry didn't even look surprised or bothered, instead he lightly rubbed her back and continued to talk to the girl.
Ahsoka didn't look away from the sight in front of her. Didn't glance at Aayla once to see if the Jedi saw the same thing she did. She honestly felt Harry's ultimate intentions couldn't be expressed more fully and genuinely by the scene in front of them. If anyone actually saw what was in front of her now, and still had doubts about Harry...
"There isn't a day that goes by," she quietly said, "which I haven't said at least some of that a half dozen times."
She gestured at the two people across from them, without even a glance to see if Aayla had watched what transpired as well. Harry was stroking his thumbs over the cheeks of the Zabrak girl, and she was actually smiling at something he said. Seeing this vindicated every risk and leap of faith Ahsoka had made over the past week, and she wouldn't hesitate to drive that point home now to the Jedi beside her that was attempting to divert her from the path she knew she had irrevocably chosen.
"Can you honestly tell me that he follows a dark path? A path that would lead to the ruin of civilization as we know it, upsetting the so-called balance of the Force the rest of the Masters prattle on about?" Ahsoka asked bluntly aloud.
Aayla hadn't come out and said it, but Ahsoka didn't believe in subtlety. She knew what lurked in the mind of the Twi'lek beside her. It was an open secret within the Jedi Order that Aayla Secura had once been kidnapped as a Padawan, fed glitteryll until her mind had figuratively oozed out of her nose, and had been turned into nothing more than an devout harem girl by her own uncle, and then, without her memories to teach her right from wrong, ended up serving a Dark Jedi that had recently been released from a stasis prison.
Aayla had been rescued from that literal hell, and the recovery she endured afterwarrds required most of her mind to painfully be put fully back together. Even now, a decade later, Aayla still feared the temptation of the Dark Side, as the memories of her own drug-induced fall still haunted her.
She turned her full attention on Aayla. "I'll be the first to admit that he's crude. He's blunt with no sense of tact. He gets entirely too much fun out of winding people up for no more than his own amusement."
Ahsoka's lips twitched into an amused smile. "It's even possible he's not entirely sane."
Harry himself had said several times over the past few days declared that sanity was boring, and only for people who accepted the reality constructed by others. He had gotten that faraway look in his eyes after he'd said that, and that wistful sad smile was once more on his face.
"And yes, I'm even willing to say he can be an asshole at times." Ahsoka said, "But you don't have to be nice to be a good person, and while he may have his own moral code… it seems to be working just fine for him… and those around him."
Letting that statement linger, Ahsoka set the ship she was still holding back into the bag around Aayla's arm, and then walked around the group of women on cots to head to the cockpit. She wanted to double-check to make sure the computer had been updated properly, as she knew they would depart the moon the moment Harry had managed to get the freed slaves secured..
Aayla didn't have a reply for that. She did however follow Ahsoka up to the front of the ship, though she didn't leave the hold, to follow the younger Togrutan into the cockpit. Instead she leaned against a wall, near where the protocol droid Minnie, stood motionless, charging in a wall socket. Aayla just watched Harry as he worked his way through the group, her eyes rarely leaving him. She watched as he and the Zabrak moved over to the second slave, and she felt more than saw a small shift in the Force as the second woman began to wake up.
Over the next few hours, the process began to repeat itself, as Harry moved patiently from woman to woman. Waking them up, calming them, reassuring them. Feeding them the first full meal some of them had probably had in a long time.
Ahsoka had come back out of the cockpit and joined her in her vigil, though neither spoke as they watched the process. The other slaves helped him made the process a little bit easier from the start but it was still painstaking. There was even a Devaronian girl, probably the youngest of the group based on her size, that took almost an hour and a half to coax to talk to Harry and the others.
After the women had each been woken, one by one, and Harry had talked to them all, they all moved to a group for comfort. However the stresses and the grief had taken it's toll, and they each were struggled to stay awake, perhaps for fear that if they went to sleep, they'd wake up and find out that their current situation was a dream.
Harry once more cast a slowly strengthening sleeping charm on the area, though far more slowly than he'd done in the slaver's ship. That took two minutes, this he spread out over the course of fifteen or so. But eventually, even the strong willed Zabrak succumbed to her own exhaustion, curling up protectively around the young Devaronian girl.
He slowly stood up, really for the first time since he'd sat on the cargo hold floor. Even when he had moved from cot to cot, he had crawled or remained crouched, which kept himself as nonthreatening as possible. He stood up and rolled his shoulders and turned his head from side to side, stretching out the kinks that his several hours of effort on the floor had earned him. Then he slumped and turned toward the cockpit.
Ahsoka was shocked by the look on Harry's face. She had seen him laugh, tease, intense, concentrating, and earlier he had been mad and then grim. However, now his expression was weary, and made him look like a haggard old man, well beyond the age his youthful face normally hinted at.
He walked toward the front of the hold where Ahsoka and Aayla had kept their vigil for the past few hours. He walked up to them and spoke quietly, his voice reflecting the fatigue in his eyes, though his voice was all the more intense for it. "Miss Tano, is the ship's computer back online?
When Ahsoka simply nodded in response, Harry cocked his head slightly in acknowledgement, "Good. We're leaving. Now. Minnie, prep the ship for launch."
The droid charging nearby, immediately sprung to life in acknowledgement. "Yes, Mister Potter."
"Dobby, as soon as Minnie says we're good to go, strip down the wards outside the ship. Leave nothing behind that's ours. As soon as I fire up the engines, we're out of here." Harry said, not even bothering to look around to see if the house elf was nearby.
The little house elf appeared the instant his name was mentioned and just nodded his head, disappearing as soon as Harry had completed his orders. He could tell the mood his Master was in.
Aayla had watched the orders issued by the exhausted man with a calm detachment that spoke of great leadership and combat experience. It was blatantly obvious the experience with the slaves had a massive effect upon him, and the mental fatigue that it had wrought upon him was in far excess of the physical attrition he had incurred.
When his final order had been issued to the tiny green being, he glanced for the briefest moment at her. Nothing was revealed in that look, but she felt an ominous foreboding that something subtle had just shifted.
Then, he headed down the access hallway to the cockpit, and there wasn't even a hesitation to his gait as he passed her and in the same weary but direct voice commanded, "Get the hell off my ship, Jedi."
Nothing further was said. The man didn't even glance behind him as he disappeared around a corner.
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Author's notes: Chapter! Wooohoo!
Okay where to start with these notes.
1) That was a bit different of an introduction for Aayla wasn't it? Usually she's introduced and she and Harry sort of click. NOT SO MUCH! I'm also pretty sure there's rarely an introduction when the hero insults her so openly.
2) I have not decided on pairings. I AM pretty sure it's going to be a multi. BUT FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY do not assume just because someone is IN the story, has a significant part, or is portrayed sympathetically they are going to end up with Harry :P
3) Some people have claimed that we're bashing the Jedi Order. And to an extent that is true. But only because we're applying… you know… logic and common sense to their actions. Do not expect that to change. Harry has some VERY serious fundamental issues with the Jedi.
^^ Plums - like most sane people do.
4) A couple reviews and messages said Harry was being bigoted when he was talking about the colors. Um. I really SHOULDN'T have to point this out, people, but Harry wasn't entirely being serious. He was being playful. Distracting while he prepared to do something else. And just because something comes out of his mouth doesn't mean he actually believes it. Yeesh.
^^ Plums - and if anyone claims Harry was being bigoted towards Mace Windu, a character that has yet-to-be-seen-by-Harry, all while saying Harry wanted a lightsaber inscribed with BAMF on it while doing a Gai-Sensei smile and thumb's up, then there truly is no help for you. Nor have you ever watched Pulp Fiction… for shame, for shame.
I bet you don't even know what a Royale with Cheese is either.
5) Plums Notes - This chapter hurt. I donno why. We turned this from outline form to "prose" as Kat puts it, maybe 5-6 months ago i think at the time of us posting this (May 2015). We came back to edit and clean it up last week for posting, and found myself rewriting / rearranging the entire chapter. I don't know why, but this was one of the most painful chapters i've ever encountered for editing. Took WAY too much time away from my next Runemaster chapter, which i've finally started to fully dive into.
Hope the effort shows on this one.
ooOooOoOOoOooOoo
Alternative Chapter Titles.
"Introduction of a Stripper-Whore-Spy-Assassin." - Harry Potter
"She's not a Stripper or a whore, or a spy or an assassin. She's a Jedi Master." - Ahsoka
"She's in skin-tight leather, with her boobs half falling out, and her 'fighting shoes' have heels. 'nuff said." Harry Potter
"But she's an inspiration to females everywhere! A strong female lead!" - Star Wars character designers.
"I'd definitely like to meet some females she's inspired."- Harry Potter
"Harry Potter is an asshole." - Aayla Secura.
"If we called the chapter that, every chapter would be titled that." - Harry.
"Not again. No more drinking for me." - Bounty hunter who wakes up in a pile of naked people.
"Great Master Harry Potter collects ships and tentacle head ladies!" - Dobby
"The reasons we have rules about nudity." - Harry Potter
"Exhibit A as to why Yoda isn't allowed sugar."
"Gremlins can't have water. Yoda and Dobby are the same way. Why would Yoda be any different? See what he could become if he gave in to the dark side… and ate their cookies?" - Harry
"Mmmm, Anger…. Pain… the Dark Side are they." - Yoda
"I think its just indigestion, try some Gas-X." - Harry
