Chapter Fifteen – Spook

"Do you think I could use that hot water shower of yours? Maybe even soak in that nice tub as well?" Lisera asked as she followed Harry into his Captain's quarters. She liked how big it was.

"Sure. Just leave all your clothes outside the refresher and I'll clean them for you. I can do it magically. It'll work until you can pick up some new ones on Coruscant."

"Wait. You want me to leave all my clothes for you to clean? Every item? Including my unmentionables?"

"Yes. How else will I be able to clean them?"

"That's a little personal, don't you think?"

"Do you want to continue wearing dirty clothes and unmentionables? I know you didn't bring extra."

"I cleaned up back at Bareesh's before you came back and I put on some clean clothes then. I couldn't bring my clothes out with me. He would have been suspicious. After you killed him, I was a little distracted and forgot to go get them."

"Look, it's been a couple of days and we have a bit more to go. I also know that shower and tub is calling your name."

"Well…."

"Yes?"

"I guess so, but what am I going to wear when I come out of the refresher?"

"I don't have to be in here when you come out but I do have plenty of towels in there."

"Do you have anything bigger?"

Harry waved his hand and a thick white bathrobe appeared in it.

"Will this do?"

"Yes," she said smiling. "That should do nicely."

She walked over and grabbed the robe before heading to the refresher. Harry followed her. She went in and closed the door.

"Just toss all your clothes out and I'll take care of them," Harry said loudly from outside the door.

"Okay. Give me a minute and don't peek when I open the door. Stand behind it so you can't see in."

"I will. No problem," he responded loud enough for her to hear. Then he mumbled, "Does she think I've never seen a naked woman before?"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Lisera cracked open the door and tossed out her clothes. She left it cracked for now.

"Try not to handle my unmentionables too much!" she said through the crack of the door.

"What do you think I am? Some kind of pervert?"

"A girl can dream can't she?"

"Flirting? You're going to flirt with me now? This entire exchange was ripe for the picking but you passed it all up until this very minute. Why now?"

"I was suddenly in a better mood knowing I was about to take a nice hot shower and soak for a while."

"Alright. I understand. Enjoy yourself."

Lisera opened the door wider so she could stick her head out and look around the door at Harry.

"Oh, I plan on it," she said with a big smile then pulled her head back in and shut the door.

Harry and Lisera had become a bit more acquainted with each other while travelling to Coruscant. The flirting that they stumbled upon while still on Nar Shaddaa was soon commonplace between them. Their comfort level had increased dramatically during the journey and they both felt like they had known each other for years.

After arriving on Coruscant, they were suddenly uncomfortable having to say good-bye.

"Lisera, I want to give you these credits so you will be able to take care of yourself until you get a job."

"That's not necessary, Harry. You've done too much for me already. I'm sure I can make it on my own."

"No, I can't leave you here without credits. Don't worry I have more than enough. If it bothers you too much, then you can pay me back later. We'll run into each other again at some point, I'm sure."

Lisera thought it over for a while as she continued to stare into Harry's beautiful green eyes. She could see the worry in them and knew that he cared about her well-being.

She then thought it over some more and decided that perhaps she would rather stay with Harry. She'd been thinking that since they left Nar Shaddaa. Maybe he would still let her tag along and go to work for him. She certainly would love to help build that space station, plus he had four ships to maintain. Who knows what else she could do on his planet?

"Harry? Do you think it would be all right with you if I just worked for you instead? I'd love to help build that space station. I've always wanted to work on something like that."

Harry smiled really big.

"I was hoping you wanted to do that, but I wasn't going to push. I wanted to make sure you understood that you're now free and can make your own decisions. Are you positive this is what you want? I've grown accustomed to having you around and I think we get along great. It's your job if you want it."

"Yes, Harry. I want it very much," she said with a big smile.

"Great! Now for the shocking news."

"What?" she asked worriedly.

"Just know that you can still change your mind if you want…at any time. That's not a problem."

"Okay, but what is it this time?"

"Here goes." Harry paused as he gathered his thoughts. "Not only am I a mage, I'm what's known as a Time Mage. This means that I have the ability to manipulate time and space. My world is very far away and in a completely different time, and as far as I can tell, a different dimension as well."

"You're joking. How can this be?"

"Trust me, it's true."

"I don't understand. Am I going to have to sit down again?"

"Maybe. Let me see if I can explain it better. I lived on Earth until I was six years old. My parents were killed when I was one. They placed me with my mother's sister who is not magical, neither is her husband nor her son. It just so happens that they were horrible people and they beat me often. They absolutely hated magic and by association, me."

"That's terrible."

"On Earth, there are far more non-magical people. So much so, that the magical world remains hidden from the non-magical world. My relatives' reaction to magic is a good example as to why it's hidden. It's done for safety reasons."

"Okay."

"When I was six, my cousin and uncle would not let up and continued to hit and kick me. I finally reached a boiling point and reacted with my magic. I ended up tossing my cousin first and then my uncle clear across the room where they smashed into the wall."

"Woo-hoo!"

"In my six year old mind I was afraid of what my uncle would do to me after he woke up, so I was wishing with all that I had that I could go somewhere far away where he would never find me. I didn't know at that time that I was a Time Mage. I ended up on Coruscant and grew up with my adoptive father Joban, who's a Zabrak. He owns a restaurant on one of the lower levels."

"What happened next?" she asked wanting to know more.

"I grew up learning more about my powers and experimenting to learn more. I then joined the Jedi where I was trained in combat. Eventually, we went to war against the Mandalorians. They gave me this ship for my service. A little after that, I was able to go back to Earth where I reacquainted myself and settled in. I then came back to find a few things I needed."

"So, do you have everything you need?"

"Just about. If you're still with me then why don't you accompany me to turn in the prisoners and go see my employers? In fact, you'll be good to have along when I pick up the space station. Make sure we get everything we need including all the tools we might possibly need, power, etc. We can't forget anything. This technology does not exist on my world so we need all of it."

"Yes, I'm still in and I will make sure we don't forget anything."

"Good. Of course, I can always come back and may have to if I need to make multiple trips but I won't know that until I see everything we need for the space station."

"Right. Let's go then. I'm getting excited about it already."

"Let me grab the prisoners, the two ships, all the merchandise, and the credits I need to return and we can go."

When Harry came back with only a few small bags on him, Lisera just shook her head and followed him down the ramp. They walked together to the nearest security station.

When they arrived, Harry stopped as soon as he entered the door. Lisera accidentally bumped into the back of him since she wasn't expecting him to come to a complete stop so soon.

"Sorry," she said but Harry didn't respond.

She peeked around Harry to see what was going on. All she saw was a security desk with a couple of people. One of them looked to be in charge. He had all the markings on his uniform of a Captain. He seemed to notice them out of the corner of his eye. When he turned and looked at Harry, a big smile grew on his face. He came out from behind the desk and headed straight toward Harry.

"Captain Harry! I can't believe it! It's you," he exclaimed.

"Hello, Spook," replied Harry with a big smile.

Spook started to salute him but instead grabbed him in a big hug. Harry hugged him back. In the background, they could hear the other man say something.

"Spook? Did he just call the captain Spook?"

Spook let go of Harry and turned to the man behind the counter.

"Daschle, call the rest of the team up here."

"Yes, Captain." He turned back and picked up a mic then summoned his co-workers.

"Captain?" asked Harry. By this time, Lisera had moved around to stand next to Harry.

Spook just shrugged and looked at Harry.

"Congratulations Spook, you deserve it. How have you been?"

"Great, Captain. I couldn't be better. I have a really good team," he said gesturing behind him at the group that was forming.

"I can see that."

"How have you been, Captain?"

"I'm the same. Good as always. By the way, let me introduce you to a good friend of mine. Spook, this is Lisera. Lisera, Spook. Spook and I served in the war together along with a few others. We were on the same detail."

"Forget that," Spook replied. "Harry here was our captain and we reported to him. We would have followed him into the depths of a sarlacc pit if he wanted us to. We took care of problems no other team could handle and it was all because of Captain Harry. He made the difference."

"I had lots of help," Harry told Lisera.

"Not that he needed it," added Spook. He turned to his team behind him. "Team!"

The team was made up of males and females. Most were human, but not all.

They all came to attention and answered loudly together, "Yes, Captain!"

"Relax, because I want you to meet the man behind the stories. The one whose name still echoes from the war. Meet the captain of your captain, meet Captain Harry Potter."

They all nodded in awe. Evidently, they had heard the stories.

"And this is his friend Lisera."

They nodded again to Lisera. Lisera nodded back.

"Now, Captain, what can I do for you? I could tell when I saw you that you weren't expecting to see me so you must have come for a different reason."

"Just call me Harry, Spook. I'm no longer in the military and I brought you some prisoners, pirates to be exact."

"You will always be my captain, Captain Harry. Nothing will ever change that. Now, let's see those prisoners."

His team was wondering where the prisoners were. Only the two people walked in. That was until Harry brought out a small stuffed doll from a bag hanging from his belt. They looked at him strange. Did the war mess him up that bad?

"Spook, when I release them from this spell I'm pretty sure they will wake up so why don't we do one at a time so your team can get them under control and locked up without too much trouble?"

"Sounds good Captain," he replied to Harry, "however you wish to proceed."

Harry placed the doll on the floor and waved his hand. The doll then changed into a fully-grown pirate. The pirate immediately jumped up and started to attack Spook, but Spook just decked him.

"Lock him up," he said to his team. Two of them came forward and took the prisoner. Then he turned back to Harry. "This is new, Captain. I've seen you do a lot of amazing things but I've never seen you do that one."

"Something I picked up recently, Spook. Now, I have quite a few of these pirates. Is everyone ready?"

"Hang on a second, Captain," Spook said then turned to his team. "I want two of you each time Captain Harry is ready to release another one. Secure them and take them to lockup. The next two can step up after that. Come back when you're done locking them up. Daschle, I also a need a tally when we're done."

His team had to shake off the shock but they were well trained so prepared themselves. It was just so unbelievable. They thought their captain had simply embellished many of the things that went on in the war with his Captain Harry. Obviously, most, if not all, those things were true. Not even the Jedi could do what he was doing.

Everything was going well with the pirates until Harry released Dex. Dex promptly jumped up with the two security personnel hanging onto him. He flung them off then turned to Spook. He was just about to attack Spook when he dropped like a rock. Harry lowered his hand slowly.

"He's a lot of trouble," Harry said.

"He's huge," said Spook. "The next four take him and make sure you don't hurt your backs lifting him. You two," he pointed at the ones on the floor that Dex flung off him, "dust yourselves off and get to the back of the line. If you're hurt, go see the medic."

They both got up and returned to the line, a little shaken but not really hurt. After a while, Harry was down to one so he let them know and they finished up. It didn't take long for all the pirates to be recognized and the majority had a bounty on their heads. Harry was amazed at how many credits were added to his already significant pile.

They stayed a little longer and had some drinks with Spook and his team. They even shared a few stories from the war. The team wanted to know why their captain was called Spook. Before Spook could answer, Harry jumped in.

"I can answer that. You see the nickname you get is tied to something about you. Either it's something you do well or it could be something that happened to you. I'll just say that Spook was very good at putting the fear into those Mandalorians."

"I can believe that," one of younger team members commented.

"Well, I might have helped put the fear into them but it was Captain Harry here who followed up on the threat and made them all believers," added Spook.

They continued sharing stories about the war and the friends they had made. The one about Stripper received the most laughs. However, when someone asked where he was now, Spook and Harry became very quiet and told them how he died along with most of their team. No one asked about any of the others after that.

Later, Harry shared privately with Spook about finding his way back to Earth and discovering his heritage. He and his team had shared a lot with each other during the war. Spook was happy for him.

oOo

After saying good-bye and leaving the station, they had headed to Harry's employers to turn over the retrieved items and collect on the space station promise. The business owners were more than pleased at what Harry had accomplished for them.

They especially liked that he had recovered two ships, some merchandise, and a ton of credits from the pirates. They never expected he would be able to recover so much. The most they hoped for was to simply get the pirating stopped. This was so much better.

One of his employers sent a file to his datapad showing that all was ready for him at the Republic warehouse. According to the file that was sent, all the space station parts Harry needed were boxed up and ready to be shipped. Also included were plenty of tools to put it all together. They told Harry to send them a message if he ran into any problems. They would take care of it for him.

Harry and Lisera left from there pleased with the transaction and headed over to the warehouse where the space station parts were waiting for them. Harry showed the file on his datapad to the manager at the warehouse. It proved that he was the one that the parts belonged to now. Once that was done and he was approved to leave with the parts, the manager asked where his ship was.

"No ship. I'll be collecting the parts a different way."

"But how?"

"Just watch."

Harry went over closer to the massive containers that held his parts. Lisera followed him closely.

"Lisera, I'm going to open each container and cast a spell. Once I have each one opened, I want you to take note of what is stored inside. Use my datapad that has the part list already." Harry handed it to her. "This will help verify we have everything we need."

"You're going to open all of these containers? There's so many," she said.

"Yes, it's necessary. Its part of the process for me to get all this back to Earth safely."

"I see, but this will take us a while."

"I'll speed it up a bit with magic," he assured her.

"Okay. Ready when you are."

The manager watched carefully as Harry waved his hand at the massive crate in front of him. The container opened so all could see what was inside. Lisera checked off the parts and crate number. Harry waved his hand again but no one saw anything happen. He waved again and the container closed up. Then when he waved his hand a fourth time the massive crate shrunk down to a very tiny size.

The manager stumbled and caught himself. He was just standing there with his mouth hanging open.

Harry picked up the crate, reached into one of his small bags, and pulled out another small bag. He dropped the tiny crate inside the bag. Next, he turned back to Lisera.

"Are you ready for the next one?"

"Yes, but what was that one you did when nothing happened?"

"What do you mean nothing happened?"

"You waved your hand and did that magic-y thing when the container was open but nothing happened."

"Oh, you just couldn't see it. I cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on the inside so it always stays the same size inside the container. That way when I shrink it, only the outside shrinks."

Lisera just stared at Harry for a second. "Just pretend I didn't ask you anything because that made absolutely no sense to me."

"It's quite simple really," Harry explained. "The Undetectable Extension Charm is a spatial dimension spell, a piece of magic that makes the inside of a container always maintain enough space for what it holds. If you add more stuff, the space will actually expand to handle it. It also protects the items inside from outside influence, so when I shrunk the outside the inside was not effected at all."

"That is amazing."

"It is a pretty nice spell."

They heard a thump behind them so they turned and saw the manager passed out on the floor. Harry cast a Cushioning Charm on the floor then magically lifted the manager over onto it.

"At least he'll be more comfortable that way. Ready for the next one?"

"Yes!"

Harry opened the next one and they continued that way for a good while until they had all the containers checked off and all the parts verified. It took them a couple of hours. There was one smaller crate that contained just tools. Lisera verified all the ones they needed were included.

When all that was completed and Harry had it all hanging off his belt in a small bag, they wrapped up the last part of the transaction with the manager who had recovered a while back. Wishing the manager a good day, Harry held his arm for Lisera. Once she had grabbed his arm, he teleported them back to his ship.

The manager promptly passed out again. Unfortunately, the cushioning charm had been removed by Harry, but the manager would have missed it anyway.

Harry gave Lisera a bunch of credits and instructed her to go spend it all on clothes for herself since they would not be back for a while. When she started to protest, he told her she was on the clock so it was pay for the work she had done so far and she definitely needed more clothes. He explained that she could buy more once on Earth to blend in better there but for here, it would best to have clothes from here.

She finally agreed and left while Harry prepared everything for the trip. He placed the three extra ships in a bag and instructed his droids that they would have to power down so he could safely shrink them. They complied after helping him make sure all that needed to be stored was collected, shrunk down, and bagged.

By the time Lisera returned to the ship, everything was ready to go except for the ship and Lisera. She was wearing a nice new outfit. Harry placed all her purchases in a new bag then explained what he needed her to do.

"Lisera, I need you to lay down."

"What?"

"I need you to lay down," he said a little slower.

"Whatever for?" she asked with a smile and waggle of an eyebrow.

Harry smiled. "Tempting, but not what I had in mind. It's necessary to get you safely to Earth with me."

"What exactly are you going to do to me?"

"Remember the pirates and how they were small stuffed dolls? That's what you will be during the trip through time and space. I'll cancel it after we arrive and you will be right back to normal."

"Harry, I'm not sure about this," she said looking scared.

"I understand, but I can't risk you going as yourself. Inanimate objects are not effected but there is a good chance you will be if I don't transfigure you into one. I can't take the risk. I just need to do you then shrink my ship. In the blink of an eye, we will be in my home on Earth."

"Are you sure, Harry?"

"Positive. If you don't allow me to do this then we will have to part ways and you will have to stay here."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not at all. You won't feel a thing and you won't even be aware until I cancel the spell. You just have to trust me. I already have the droids shrunk. They didn't hesitate."

"But they're your droids. They will always do what you say."

"Is that your final answer Lisera?"

"No, I'm just scared."

"I could have just cast the spell on you without asking permission first you know, but I respect you too much to do that in a non-emergency type situation. You're my friend, Lisera, and I care a great deal about you. I would never do anything intentional to hurt you. I only need to do this to protect you."

"Promise?"

"I promise and I'll even give you a big kiss once you're a doll."

Lisera smiled for a second then frowned.

"Wait a second. I won't even experience it if you kiss me as a doll," she said with her hands on her hips.

"Would you rather I wait until you're yourself again?"

"That would be much better."

"You got it. I'll wait."

Lisera laid down on the floor and looked up at Harry. She stared into his bright green eyes.

"I trust you Harry. Let's do this," she said as a light from his hand hit her and she knew nothing.

A small, beautiful stuffed doll appeared where Lisera was. Harry picked it up, gave it a peck on her small lips, and place the doll in with her new clothes. Stepping outside his ship, he closed it up, and then shrunk it. Next, he placed it in the bag with his other ships. Checking his datapad, he noted the time he left home.

With a small displacement of air, Harry left Coruscant for Earth.