Chapter Thirteen – Pirates
The first creature Harry came across in the Wroshyr trees was an Asyyyriak. It was vicious and spent most of its time high above the floor of the forest, using the branches to travel around. It had very long, sharp claws and the body was brown and covered with long, green and brown hair. This helped to camouflage it among the forest moss. Fully-grown Asyyyriaks were typically between one and two meters in length. Sometimes they even preyed on the Wookiee young.
It immediately came after Harry when it spotted him but Harry was on the alert and caught it with his Stunner before it could get close enough. It felt normal and wasn't resistant to magic so Harry moved on away from it after he stunned it. He released it after he applied some scent and sound dampening charms on himself and was a good distance away from it.
Harry watched as it woke back up from his Enervate, shook its head, and then moved on in a different direction. That danger past, Harry moved on a bit further until he came across a flying creature that was about a meter or so in length, with razor-sharp teeth and wings. It basically looked like a flying monkey.
According to his datapad, these creatures were part of Wookiee legend and were called Night-Flyers. Keying off the name, Harry looked up and around only to discover that it was like night in the forest now. His eyes must have been slowly adjusting, he thought. The canopy was so thick that little light traveled down this far. Of course, it was late evening so the Night-Flyers would be out and about now.
The only problem he had was the fact he had only seen one so far. If they were so sparse then he would hate to lessen the species more. He could only imagine that the reason they were Wookiee legend was because they were seldom seen anymore.
Harry couldn't stun it when it came after him due to its magic resistance, but he put up his shield, which it ran into hard enough to knock it down. Then Harry was able to tie it up with Incarcerous. He decided to collect some of its hair only since he saw no other Night-Flyers around. He placed his samples in a bag and marked it so he wouldn't forget.
He turned the Night-Flyer loose from a safe distance before moving on.
As Harry continued on further, he kept going lower and lower and ran into many more interesting animals, along with a few different plants. He came across Kshyy vines, which were self-repairing. Even blasters couldn't damage them. He also saw some Kthysh, which was a vined plant the Wookiees used to make bowcaster strings.
When he came across some Kashyyyk Treeworms, he found a tremendous amount of silk they'd created. The silk's tensile strength was stronger than any other, according to his datapad anyway, so Harry collected a lot of it to take with him. The Treeworms were not much of a bother.
Things became a lot more serious when he finally reached the forest floor. Harry could sense the danger all around him. According to his datapad, there were snakes down here called Anakkonas that were big enough to easily swallow a Wookiee whole. There were also Bolstyngars, which were the quietest predators, despite the fact they stood more than four meters in height.
Harry made sure both his sound and scent were still blocked by magic before continuing.
Before long, he came across a Katarn, which according to his information was a predatory quadruped reptomammal. It was large enough for a Wookiee to ride on. They were merciless predators, described as silent, shadowy, and deadly. It didn't take long for Harry to discover it was also resistant to magic.
Falling back on his trusty lightsaber and speed, once he lightened himself, Harry prepared for battle. The good thing was the Katarn just came straight at him and kept coming as soon as it saw him. The bad thing was it was quicker than it looked.
However, Harry's enhanced speed proved faster and his confidence was way up after he defeated that monstrous Krayt Dragon on Tatooine. He still had to be very careful though. The Katarn was extremely dangerous. One misstep and it would surely kill him and eat him.
Once Harry had the measure of it though, he jumped over its head when it charged, twisting himself in the air, and landed on the creature's back. He then swiftly shoved his lightsaber through its brain to kill it. Afterwards he put it in stasis, shrunk it, and bagged it.
Harry was about ready to call it quits on his collections and teleport back when he came across a Terentatek, or rather, it found him. It was a giant of a beast, dreadful in its appearance with spiked arms and claws long enough to touch the ground while standing on two legs. Its massive head sported razor-sharp teeth in a wide gaping mouth and ended in three large spikes pointing out the back of it. The spikes also appeared on its back, below the ones on the back of its head. On each side of its head in the front were two large horns.
It was very intent on making Harry its next meal.
Harry cast Incarcerous at it since it felt like it was resistant to magic. Incarcerous just wrapped ropes around the object of the spell to bind it. Since the spell didn't have to penetrate the resistant skin, Harry hoped it would do the trick or at least slow it down enough for him to kill it easily.
He found out quickly that the ropes were no match for the Terentatek's strength. It broke them as easily as if they were merely a thin piece of thread. Next, Harry tried to stop time on just the beast but it didn't faze it in the least. Stopping time in a large radius met with the same problem. The Terentatek just kept coming.
"Pssshew Nnnnnnnnn…."
Suddenly it put on a burst of speed and was close enough to swing one of its massive arms to crush Harry. Having never removed his spell to lighten himself, he leaped over the arm and flipped over the monster's head to get behind it.
That would have worked too but it quickly lifted its spiked head and nicked Harry on his left boot before he could get over it completely. The power of the Terentatek made sure the slight nick to Harry's boot was enough to injure him.
Harry landed on both feet but one foot had a few broken bones so he cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. The beast turned lightning fast and leaped for Harry to crush him before he could recover. Harry sensed it coming for him so teleported to a branch he could see above him.
He looked down and could see the Terentatek looking for him. It looked a little confused. Harry did a quick search for a spell on his datapad to heal his broken foot, cast it, and then numbed it slightly for good measure.
That taken care of, he teleported back down to the beast. It paused for only a second after it spotted Harry again, then it attacked once more. Only this time Harry didn't dodge or jump around. He met the large spiked arm with his lightsaber, slicing it clean off. The other arm met with the same fate too.
The beast reared back its head then roared in pain and frustration. Harry quickly swiped with his lightsaber across the beasts exposed neck killing it quickly. The neck was too thick for the lightsaber to go all the way through to the other side and remove the head completely but it clearly cut deep enough to kill it.
With a sigh of relief and a quick check for any additional threats in the area, Harry put the body parts in stasis and shrunk them down. Once all was collected and in the right place, Harry took a moment to catch his breath.
He was thinking of teleporting back to his ship to put away everything he collected when he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand straight out. He felt the presence of something dangerous but he didn't see anything in the dark around him.
Suddenly, he was swallowed whole by one of the Anakkonas. The massive snake moved far too quickly for something its size, he thought. Harry barely got a glimpse of it out of his peripheral vision before it had him. Luckily, Harry missed its huge fangs on his way through. It was accustomed to much larger meals so Harry was merely a snack for the creature.
After the snake ate Harry, it moved on looking for additional food. Its eyes darting back and forth keen for any movement. Its tongue was flicking out to taste the very air around it. It managed to slither about twenty feet when it heard a muffled sound followed by pain inside its throat.
"Pssshew Nnnnnnnnn…."
The monstrous snake began to buck and roll around as the dark orange blade of Harry's lightsaber cut through the side of its neck and made a complete circle separating the head from the body. Harry jumped free as the body continued to convulse, roll, and wiggle before it finally lay still.
Harry knew now that he had all he wanted to collect. No more, he thought. That was way too close.
Harry put the snake in stasis, then used some cleaning charms on himself. Once he had it shrunk and bagged up, he decided to teleport back to his ship. After that, he took a long shower then teleported to the room the Wookiees provided for him so he could get some rest before saying his good-byes to the Wookiees in the morning.
oOo
After Harry left Kashyyyk, he pondered ways he could get all the things he needed for his space station on Earth. He had enough space in his expanded garage now, but not all the hardware and technology yet, like the computer systems to operate everything. He was collecting extra droids but he could always use more than he had. He also had two ships now, including his own. It would be good to collect a few more.
He could only imagine the cost of all the hardware and technology needed to completely kit out a space station.
He decided to head back to Coruscant and talk to some of his old contacts there about where he could locate everything he needed and make some extra credits to buy the hardware. Some of the people he previously worked for were rich and extremely connected. Harry was hoping that at least one of them would help point him in the right direction.
As it turns out, they were all very helpful and some even asked if he could do a few jobs for them while he was at it. They informed Harry that the Galactic Republic was one of the biggest suppliers of space stations and equipment. Given his reputation and service to the Republic, he should check with them, they advised. They might give him a deal.
After he explained what he was planning, a couple of his contacts offered to pay the full cost of all the hardware he needed if he would be agreeable to handle a major issue they were facing. As it turns out, piracy was so bad right now that they were having trouble getting their imports and exports to the destinations intended. Pirates were attacking their ships and robbing them blind, stealing the ships and all that was in them, not to mention killing most of their employees. They were losing millions upon millions of credits.
If the pirates weren't stopped, then the business owners would continue to lose far more than the cost of equipment for a small planet-side space station. Help them with their pirate problem and all the equipment he needed would be provided, they offered.
No one had to convince him further. It was agreed that if Harry could return some or all of their ships along with any of the product that would be great, and he could keep any of the pirate ships he wanted. They weren't sure if it was one pirate ship or more than one that was attacking them. The main concern was to stop the bleeding. Even if none of their property could be recovered, they would improve their standing tremendously just by stopping the pirates.
The plan was to have Harry go on one of the ships with the crew so he could help if they were attacked. They picked a route that had seen the most pirate activity recently. Before they left, however, Harry shrunk the ship and placed spells on it to protect it before expanding it back to normal size and placing runes on it for additional protection.
After the ship was loaded, they headed out as they normally do. Harry expanded his cramped quarters to a much more comfortable size then waited to see if he would be needed. He didn't have his droids with him since they remained behind with his own ship. To pass the time, Harry continued to study and learn additional magic that had been placed on his datapad. Occasionally, he would change some things in his cabin to make it even better as he learned additional spells to use.
As luck would have it, they did not run into any pirates on the way to their destination. Nor were they attacked after receiving payment for that load, then buying more merchandise to take to another planet and sell. They successfully travelled and sold their items in both places before heading back home to Coruscant having made a good profit.
They knew this was a hit and miss game since they didn't know when the pirates would attack so Harry kept going out with the crew hoping to catch the pirates responsible. One other ship was attacked and pillaged that Harry was not on before they finally hit the jackpot after a couple of weeks. They were travelling from Coruscant to Corellia when it happened. They had just dropped out of hyperspace when they were attacked.
The pirate ship that stopped them was at least three times bigger than the freighter Harry was riding on. It was a very intimidating ship. They fired a small blast at the engines to disable it and prevent escape. The shipped was rocked from the blast but instruments reported no damage. The crew was shocked. They started to try an escape but Harry told them to shut down and wait. They complied with his order.
Harry went to the front where he could see clearly into the bridge of the pirate ship sitting in front of them. There were a few pirates on the bridge Harry could just make out from the distance. They hailed the ship and told them to prepare to be boarded. Any resistance would be met with instant death.
Harry insisted on answering for them so they left him to it.
"Pirate, this is Captain Harry Potter. I was hired to put a stop to these attacks by you thieves and murderers. I suggest we have a long talk before you do something rash and get you and all your men killed."
"I've heard of you, Captain Harry, but I believe you have misread the situation. We have you out gunned and out manned. Your threat is an empty one."
"That's unfortunate. Are you sure you won't reconsider and surrender yourselves and your ship to me?"
The pirates started laughing.
"I admire your confidence, Captain Harry, but the war must have damaged your mind. There is no way you will survive this encounter. No deal."
"Very well. Just remember that you were warned."
Harry cut the connection and turned to the crew.
"I'll be back shortly," he said then teleported to the bridge of the other ship.
The crew's eyes grew abnormally large as they watched Harry disappear. Across the way on the other bridge, they began to see a lot of activity and flashes of light.
The pirates were confused when Harry cut the connection. What could he possibly do from his weak position? The freighter's weapons had no chance against the superior firepower of the pirate ship. It was doubtful the freighter could even break through their shields. Their confusion worsened more when Captain Harry Potter appeared on their bridge with them.
Before any of the pirates could mount an attack, they were bound and unconscious on the floor of the bridge. Little did they know that he had stopped time before stunning and binding them all.
After he had all the pirates secured, he sought out their droids. He found six astromech and one suited as a translator. He shut them all down, shrunk them, and placed them in his pockets. They would stay that way until his own droids could check them out and make sure they weren't programmed to help the pirates no matter what.
He also located all the loot in the hold. Evidently, this was what was left after they sold some of it. Next Harry found their stash of credits. It was a substantial amount. At least his employers would recover some of their losses.
After they connected the storage holds of the two ships, Harry and the crew began bringing over all the merchandise and credits, along with the ten prisoners. Once that was completed, only the ship was left. They disconnected it and Harry shrunk it before pulling it in and placing it with his things. Harry noticed the crew was looking at him differently after seeing what he could do.
oOo
Harry looked at the pile of pirates lying unconscious in the hold of the ship. He picked the one that looked to be the leader and enervated him. The pirate, who was still tied up, rolled himself up into a sitting position and stared hard at Harry.
"Who are you?" he growled out.
Harry waved his hand and a nice comfortable chair appeared out of nowhere. The pirate looked at it in shock. The crew that was observing Harry and his captives were amazed as well. The pirate's mouth was opening and closing like a guppy. Harry calmly stepped in front of the chair and took a seat slowly. He then crossed his legs as he leaned back in comfort.
"That's better," he replied. "My name is Harry Potter."
The pirate's eyes grew a little bigger. So this was Captain Harry Potter, the famous war hero who had killed many Mandalorians. But this ability the man had was most disturbing. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around it. He looked around and saw his crew all trussed up like himself but they weren't moving.
"What do you want Captain Harry, and what did you do to my crew? Are they dead?"
"They're just resting. I'll wake them if I need to talk to them. Right now I have a few questions for you."
"Well, don't get your hopes up because I don't feel like talking."
"Oh, that's too bad. I thought we had a nice conversation going."
The pirate just sneered at Harry.
"Let me ask you this. How many more of you pirate scum are out there attacking my employer's ships? Also, how many more pirate ships are there? I'm only interested in the ones who have been attacking my employer's freighters."
"I'm not going to tell you that. That would go against our code."
"Let me get this straight. Thieves and murderers have a code they live by?"
"Of course, and rule number one is to never rat on each other."
"I can see we are at an impasse. Are you sure you won't change your mind?"
"Never!"
"What if I tortured you? Would you talk then?"
"Uh…n-no."
Harry waved his hand and the pirate began screaming with all his might in pain. It was rather loud. After a few seconds, Harry waved his hand again and the man stopped yelling but was panting rather loudly with tears in his eyes.
"Feeling more talkative now?" asked Harry.
The pirate didn't say anything for a minute while he sat himself back up. He stared at Harry malevolently.
"No."
"Very well, let's try this again but for longer. Just remember that I can make it hurt worse too… if you're wondering."
The man's eyes opened wide as Harry waved his hand again. He was only using the Space Distortion spell lightly but it still hurt a lot. He left it on for double the amount of time before cancelling it.
"How about now?" Harry asked as the pirate was sobbing from the pain.
"I…c-c-can't."
"Wrong answer," Harry replied as he waved his hand again and sent the man back into pain.
Harry waved his hand at another crewmember and enervated her. At least he thought it was a she. The female pirate woke and bolted up into a sitting position with her eyes glued on her screaming captain.
"What's wrong with him?" she asked looking at Harry.
Harry put his hand to his ear indicating he couldn't hear her then raised his finger in the air as if he had an idea. He waved his hand at the pirate captain and hit him with a silencing spell. He was obviously still screaming but no one could hear him anymore.
"That's better. Now what was it you wanted to ask?" asked Harry.
"What's wrong with him?" she asked, not sure how he was silenced.
"Oh, well he doesn't want to answer my questions so I'm trying to convince him that he should. I thought I would wake you and see if you will be more cooperative. It's very painful if you don't. What I didn't tell him is that I can increase the pain to the point every bone in your body will shatter. Yes, this does include your skull. Naturally, that will kill you with all those bone fragments ripping through internal organs."
The female pirate broke character and let out a small whimper.
"I think I'll let him rest for a bit. Don't want to have his mind snap from all the pain."
Harry waved his hand and the pirate captain went still, passed out from the pain and exertion. He was all sweaty and pale.
"Now, let's see what you can tell us. Before I ask though, I'd be happy to give you a snippet of what that feels like just so you know that I mean business."
"No! That's quite all right. Just ask your questions and I'll answer if I can."
"Excellent! I like you much better than him already. He just didn't get it."
She smiled uncomfortably.
"Here we go again. How many more of you pirates are out there attacking my employer's ships? Also, how many more pirate ships are there? I'm only interested in the ones who've been attacking my employer's freighters."
"Well…uh… -"
"Answer truthfully now. I can tell if you're lying."
"There's just one more crew," she said has her shoulders slumped.
"How many are in this crew?"
"18 or 19."
"Where can I find them?"
"How should I know? They could be anywhere. They have their own ship."
"Where is home base?"
"Nar Shaddaa."
"Come on. You can do better than that. Where at on Nar Shaddaa?"
"Gunrunner Circle. It's in the Red Light Sector."
"Name of their ship?"
"Come on. Haven't I given you enough?"
"Name. of. their. ship? You only get this second chance to answer."
"Blockade Bandit. It's a CR50 Corvette."
"A CR50 Corvette normally needs close to a 30 man crew. How are they managing with so few?"
"Lots of droids."
"Last question. Who's the captain?"
"Now that's taking it too far!"
Harry waved his hand and watched the female pirate scream for a couple of seconds before he released her.
"It appears you lost sight of the reason you are here. I just reminded you. Care to answer now?"
"Dex Bowers is his name," she replied softly.
"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
She just wiped her eyes on the cloth of the jacket covering her shoulders since she was still tied up. She didn't say anything more.
Harry hit her and her captain with stunners to knock them both out before he stood up and vanished his chair. He then instructed the crew to head back to Coruscant so they can deliver the prisoners to the authorities and so he could collect his ship.
It was time to go pirate hunting on Nar Shaddaa.