Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and Star Wars belongs to Disney.
"Normal speech"
"Thoughts"
"Other Language"
Chapter 26 – Seeking the Stars
Sith Citadel, Ragnos
The presence of the dark side of the Force was nothing new across Earth, specifically for the Sith. It was no surprise when virtually all of them felt the tremor in the Force, almost as if the dark side itself was warning them about something. Never had a shift of such a magnitude been felt by the Sith for many generations, so it was no wonder that all became alarmed by the disturbance.
Yet there was one who suspected the origin of such a disturbance in the Force. And the suspicions of Gepta Hord soon proved to be true.
"Dramath, whatever you have done, tread carefully."
Having just entered the Overlord's sanctum, Harry stared at his grand-uncle and former master with surprise.
"My lord?"
Gepta's cheek tendrils began to quiver, the man raising an eyebrow at Harry's question.
"There was a disturbance in the Force a few hours ago. One felt by all in Ragnos, and likely all those touched by the Force on this world. And now you enter this sanctum, the Force trembling around your body, reeking of dark side energies."
Now there was a flaw in his plan's execution if he ever saw one. Everything had gone according to plan, yet the fact that binding several powerful Sith Lords to a dark side ritual of such a scale would likely cause a disturbance in the Force had completely eluded him. Yet Gepta's words seemed strikingly odd to him.
"Do you feel threatened, Lord Gepta?" asked Harry, nearly growling the words.
The Sith Overlord was amused. "Threatened? No… not yet. You have strength in the Force, the like of which I have never seen before. But you are young and not properly experienced. The death of Malcolm Rothes was merely a step you took. You have yet to fully climb the stairs, to cross the line that separates a true Sith from a mindless warrior or assassin."
Harry tried to keep himself calm, seeking to prevent his body from betraying his emotions to the Sith Lord in front of him. Yet it seemed he had failed.
"Surprised? Your contact with Cordelia Rothes was not unnoticed by others, so why would I be the exception? It is no secret that Malcolm died shortly after your meeting with her, alongside all the forces inside his stronghold. It is easy to reach a conclusion after… how do the young say… connecting all the dots," affirmed Gepta. "Be certain that other Lords are also certain of your hand in Rothes' death."
That meant that other Sith Lords would be even more interested in his endeavours. The prospect of such a thing was abhorrent, but if he was successful here today, then he would not have to worry about them for quite a while.
"I know, my lord," he replied.
"Be sure you do," said Gepta. "I invested many years in you, and don't want that investment to go to waste. Now, why have you come?"
Well, this was it. Time to see if he could proceed into the next phase of his plan.
"I've been thinking over the last few days about a few things, specifically the contents of the datapad I retrieved," he admitted. "You said they were the launch codes for our ships, right?"
"They restore a special algorithm to the software of the ships' systems, which were removed on Narmer's orders," clarified Gepta. "Without those, several of the systems won't start."
"But, couldn't we have created a new software for those ships?" asked Harry.
"No. Those ships respond specifically to that software, and we couldn't reverse engineer it without the missing parts. But now that we have them, we can do that and more."
Harry nodded, preparing himself to make his request.
"I've come to ask you for permission to take a ship and scout the galaxy," he said.
Gepta looked at him for a few seconds, his face impassive, before finally speaking.
"Why?"
"Well, to see the state of the galaxy, and bring information to the Sith for when we return to the stars," said Harry. "As I said, scouting."
The Sith Overlord turn to look at the window, gazing silently at the city below. Harry was both eager and patient, desiring to know the answer, yet aware that pressing the Overlord would do him no good.
"Are you certain of this, Dramath? It's not a voyage one does lightly. Millennia have passed since the Great War. The state of the galaxy is utterly unknown to us."
"More the reason to go!" spoke Harry. "Knowledge is power, is it not?"
He heard Gepta mumbling something unintelligible, before turning around once more, this time looking directly at him.
"Very well. You may go. Perhaps this will do you some good as well," declared Gepta. "I'll have one of the ships prepared for you. You still remember the training of your simulations, do you not?"
"I do," nodded Harry.
"Good. I shall contact you when the ship is ready. Now, is there anything else?"
"No, Lord Gepta."
"You may leave, then."
And Harry did so.
Hogwarts School, Highlands, Scotland (U.K)
The absence of his Sith master made Theodore rely only on self-training, using what he had been already taught and repeating those very things in an attempt to master them. It's not like he had any other choice, after all. He made use of a secluded and unused classroom to do said training, so he was safe from disturbances from either the staff or other students.
The books and holocrons provided by his master were very useful, and led to Theodore learning quite a few interesting things, such as the origins of the Dementors, the creatures having been created by an ancient Sith Lord called Erato, who had sought an alternative to the overly large Leviathans.
Yet the beeping from his holoprojector led to an interruption of his studies. He knew already it was Dramath, which led Theodore to wonder what his master wanted. Activating the device, he watched as the figure of the Sith Lord appeared.
"What is thy bidding, my master?" he asked.
"Pack your things Theodore," announced Harry in a rather giddy way. "We're going to explore the galaxy."
Wait, what?
"Explore the galaxy?"
He saw the hologram of the Sith Lord groaning.
"Long story made short. The Sith come from a planet called Korriban, which is where the Jedi Exiles arrived before conquering the ancient Sith. My ancestors then came to this world after a great war with the Jedi and the Republic. One which we lost," revealed Harry. "We're going to scout the galaxy for a while, and then return here. I shall train you on the way."
The Sith Lord terminated the connection, and Theodore watched silently as he looked at the flickering blue light emanating from the small device. In this, a single thought erupted in his mind.
"What the hell did I get myself into?"
Hangar 01, Ragnos
It took a few hours before he was called again by Gepta, this time to one of the hangars, where the ship had been prepared for him. One of the few surviving Hydra-class freighters, maintained over the centuries by the Zuguruk, much like what remained of the Sith fleet.
"Lord Dramath! We were told to expect you arrival," said an obsidian-skinned Sith.
"And you are?" questioned Harry.
The Zuguruk bowed. "Senemut, private engineer of Lord Gepta. I was instructed to prepare your ship for departure, and to provide you with information."
Harry nodded.
"Please, come with me," requested Senemut, as he began to walk towards the ship.
Harry followed the man, watching as the other engineers inspected the vessel.
"The Hydra-class was one of the last types of ships developed by the Sith Empire before its fall. It was designed to be a private transport, capable of being flown with or without a complete crew. It is, of course, equipped with an hyperdrive, a shield generator, two autoblasters and two laser cannons, and a cloaking device."
"Sounds expensive."
"It was my lord," confirmed Senemut. "Little demand for the Hydra-class. Hence why few were made. Regardless, at the time it was a pristine example of our empire's engineering."
Harry followed Senemut as he entered the ship. There was a small corridor, and he immediately entered a wide circular room with an holoprojector in the middle, part of it surrounded by seats. There were a few consoles on the walls, and at least three entrances to other hallways.
"This is the main hold of the ship. Besides the cockpit, there are also a master bedroom, crew quarters, a single cargo hold, medical bay, and a meditation chamber," explained the Zuguruk. "Also, while the ship is armed, I would not suggest going into battle with it, as we don't know how much the rest of the galaxy has advanced in technology."
Harry nodded, agreeing with Senemut. As long as he could avoid it, he would not be going into battle with the Hydra-class. He valued his life very much for that.
"What about the navigation charts?" he asked. "Are they updated?"
Millennia had passed since the Great Hyperspace War, and the position of the stars had certainly changed since then. How much, Harry did not know, but they had certainly moved.
"Indeed they have my Lord. I've already uploaded the data to the ship's navigation computer. The ship is fuelled and ready to take off."
Harry felt very satisfied. Soon enough, he would be the first Sith to return to the stars.
"Lord Gepta also provided a few things for your departure. I've taken the liberty of ordering them sorted in the cargo hold," continued Senemut. "If you follow me, I'll show you."
The two went into the cargo hold, the room mostly empty, except for a few containers. Senemut walked to one of these, opening it. The interior was filled with quite small golden ingots, each with a small engraving which resembled the letter Resh.
"What are these?" asked Harry.
"Republic Credit ingots," replied the engineer. "Taken from Republic worlds during the war. Lord Gepta figured you may have need of these. However, their current value is unknown to us."
"I see…"
It would be problematic if this money was worthless to him when in what was supposed to be Republic space… if the Republic still existed, that is. For all the Sith new, they could have fractured long ago. Or perhaps been conquered by another force.
Time would tell. It always did.
Author's Note:
The Hydra-class freighter is a creation of mine, and it doesn't exist in either the Legends or Disney universes of Star Wars. Imagine it as an archaic variant of the Fury-class interceptor, in the style of the Sith Empire ships from Tales of the Jedi, instead of the Galactic Empire-like style of the Imperial ships from the Old Republic MMO.
The Holocron:
Erato – Born in the Caucasus region in the year of 143 BC, she was the daughter of Artaxias, a Human Sith Lord and founder of the Artaxianate. She became the apprentice of her father, and after his death she became the ruler of the Artaxianate. Seeking an alternative to the massive Leviathans, Erato created the Dementors, imbuing them with the core abilities of the Leviathans, with some new additions. She died in 86 BC, and by the late 20th century, the Artaxianate was ruled by one of her descendants.
Zuguruk – The second-highest caste of the Sith species, above the Massassi and below the Kissai. The Kuguruk are engineers, being tasked with the design and construction of machines, engines, and buildings, as well as their maintenance.
Hydra-class freighter – A type of freighter which began to be produced by the Sith Empire shortly before the Great Hyperspace War. Only a few of these ships were constructed, and even fewer survived the conflict with the Republic.