Chapter Twenty – Explorers
Harry had spent more time on a daily basis with Lisera teaching her how to defend herself. They were all enjoying Benny's cooking and the information that the new NaviComputer was picking up as they hurtled through space at an unprecedented rate, was fascinating. However, there was still time left over to ponder on things he had skimmed over before.
The biggest subject on his mind was what to do about his friends Revan and Malak. The history was clear. They had both succumbed to the influence of Emperor Vitiate and turned to the Dark Side. Harry understood enough about the Force to know how easy it was for them to fall. Once you gave in to those baser instincts and emotions then it could be like an avalanche. The change snowballed and took over quickly. Given how powerful Vitiate was it was no wonder they fell to his influence while he had them trapped.
The interesting thing was they turned away from Vitiate's leadership to pursue forming their own empire. They sought out the Star Forge, an enormous shipyard automated to produce an endless supply of ships, droids, and other war material. It was created by the Rakatan Infinite Empire in 30,000 BBY, around 5,000 years before the Galactic Republic even began. The Star Forge used a combination of a nearby star's energy and matter along with the Force to create the machines.
Revan and Malak, then known as Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith, and Darth Malak, his apprentice, were sweeping across the galaxy and taking over at an alarming rate. The really sad part of the story is how Malak turned on Revan in an effort to replace him as the leader. Revan was always a little better and more powerful, so it made sense that he was the leader. When Malak challenged Revan for his position they fought until Revan ended it by removing Malak's jaw with a lightsaber strike. Malak had to wear a metal prosthesis after that and speak using a voice modulator.
It hurt to hear how his friends had fallen so far to the Dark Side and were even fighting each other.
He also read of Bastila Shan who led a Jedi Strike Team against them but ended up saving Revan when Malak fired on Revan's Flagship while he was distracted fighting the Republic. He nearly died if it were not for Bastila Shan keeping Revan alive using the Force so she could take him back to the Council.
The Jedi Council eventually decided to wipe Darth Revan's mind. They reprogrammed it so he believed himself to be a Republic soldier stationed aboard the Endar Spire. The ship was attacked by Malak who had assumed the role of Dark Lord of the Sith after Revan was no longer around. Suffice it to say that Revan eventually gained some of his memory back but chose to remain a Jedi, for the most part, instead of falling to the Dark again.
He eventually defeated Darth Malak, which enabled the Republic to recover and ended the Jedi Civil War.
Harry was not sure he should interfere with any of it. He was doubtful of what he could do against Vitiate, even now. He was so powerful he could effect things with just a thought. It took a combination of the man's own children and a powerful Force user to bring him down. Also, if he met with Revan and Malak after they turned, then he doubted they would listen to him and what he had to say to get them to turn back. He certainly didn't want to have to fight either one of them.
He could probably capture them and take them back to the Council, however, that was not a given, especially seeing how powerful they both became. Harry wasn't all that fond of what they did to Revan when they erased his mind. Surely there was a better way? He was lucky to have regained his memories and remain on the light side after that. If they both had their minds wiped, what would change?
The circumstances would be different. Would that change everything? Would they ever remember their real selves? Would they ever remember their friend Harry? What would Vitiate do? Too many unknowns, Harry thought. As much as he hated that Revan had to kill Malak, it was probably best to just leave it as is and in the past.
History shows it came out better in the end. Messing with time is a very dangerous business, as Harry well knows. Changing any small thing could mess it all up. The "Butterfly Effect" was a phrase that came to mind. For now, he would leave it alone.
oOo
Harry had entered his expanded Captain's quarters and was looking for an obscure book of spells that never made it to his datapad that he wanted to read, when he heard a noise behind him. He turned around to see Lisera had just came out of his nice refresher wearing only a towel that was barely long enough to cover her. She was using a second towel to dry her hair.
Harry stopped and just stared at her.
She continued on not noticing Harry at all. She was humming to herself and dancing a little very slowly as she dried her hair with the towel. But when she stopped, facing away from Harry, and opened the towel that covered her body so she could readjust it, Harry gasped when he realized he was on the wrong side of the room and he missed it.
She turned around quickly when she heard him as she finished fastening the towel back. She spotted Harry and looked at him with big eyes.
"What are you doing in here?" she asked.
"I believe this is my room. It would appear that you much prefer my refresher over your own. Is it the nice hot water shower?"
"I know it's your room but I just didn't expect to see you there when I came out of the shower."
"Well, I didn't expect to see you come out of the shower either when I was in my room looking for a book."
"You know, if you would simply make my refresher like this one," she gestured behind her, "then I wouldn't have to use yours at all."
"Why would I do something silly like that?"
"Why is that silly?"
"Because if I make your refresher just as good as mine then I will never get the opportunity that I'm afforded right now," he said with a smile. "Please continue with your little show. I'll just wait."
She looked at him with a smile.
"You like what I'm wearing?" she inquired.
"Yes," he said nodding his head up and down.
"My wet hair?"
"Yes."
"Do you like the fact that underneath this towel I am completely naked?"
"Oh, yes," he nodded again.
Lisera started walking seductively toward Harry. He had a quizzical look on his face since he was wondering what she was up to. After she arrived in front of him, she took the wet towel she had dried her hair with and put it over his head so it was resting on the back of his neck while she held onto both ends. She then started pulling his head down toward hers.
"And what if I kissed you right now?" she asked as their lips drew closer.
Harry just nodded his head in agreement until their lips met and the kiss began. They both put a lot into it. Harry's arms snaked around to her back and pulled her closer to him as they deepened the kiss. When they stopped and were slightly out of breath, Lisera gave Harry a quiet warning.
"Just make sure my towel stays in place. No accidents, please."
"I'll do my best but I can make no promises," he said with a smile.
Just as Lisera was stepping back away from him, her towel started slipping. She let go of the one around Harry's neck and quickly grabbed the one coming undone as she turned and ran out the door and back to her quarters.
Harry was left with the wet towel around his neck. He chuckled and removed it before drying it with a wave of his hand and tossing it into the bin. Never a dull moment with Lisera around, he thought.
oOo
Lisera ran back to her room on the ship clutching her towel to keep it from falling off. She was wondering how ridiculous she looked to Harry. Not because she was running in a towel, but due to the fact she's been so chaste with him for so long. She was immensely enjoying the relationship that blossomed between them but she was still hung up about sex.
She witnessed so many innocent girls being turned into sex slaves and what that did to them. It just made her work that much harder at being the best tech she could be.
She did have a natural affinity for it and technology was always something she enjoyed working with. Had she not been so good at it, she was afraid she too would have been sexually abused. On the contrary, she was so good at it and brought in so much income, her owner made sure no one messed with her. He knew he had a good thing going with her talents.
Seeing the effects of sex on the other girls had turned her off, even though she had never experienced it herself. She would be the first to admit, not to Harry though, that she felt the pull of it whenever she was with him. The desire was strong, especially when he kissed her. It just frightened her to even consider it. She was also afraid of what it would do to her relationship with Harry.
Harry meant too much to her to do anything to hurt that relationship. She hoped he would not give up on her and call an end to their romance due to her hesitancy. She really wanted to give in and experience that with Harry but she just couldn't get over being scared about it.
Of course, Harry was so patient and never demanded anything from her. He just continued to put up with her in that regard. That just made her want him more.
Her feelings for Harry were growing stronger every day and she was not sure how much longer she could hold out on him. She couldn't stop kissing him. That would really mess things up. But, oh, when he kissed her, it was all she could do not to give herself to him right there.
Secretly, she wanted her towel to fall so he could see her in all her glory but knew she wasn't ready for what would follow afterwards. In fact, just thinking about that last kiss caused her to get all flustered and turned on all over again. She could feel her face reddening.
Maybe one day she would tell him all about it.
She decided to get dressed and check on what else the NaviComputer had logged. She needed something to take her mind off of Harry. Otherwise, she was going to have to take another shower… a cold one this time.
oOo
Harry was sitting in his Captain's chair with the stars and galaxies whipping by too fast to see any detail. At the same time, he was trying to learn a few of the spells from the book he was reading, but his mind kept wandering and then he would lose his concentration. What was distracting him?
Lisera.
No, she wasn't in the cockpit with him. She was elsewhere in the ship doing whatever she wanted to do. It was his thoughts of her and especially that last kiss they shared with each other that was giving him problems. He couldn't seem to focus on the book for very long without Lisera's face appearing in his mind's eye.
She was beautiful and quite a handful. He imagined her dropping that towel in her room before finding some knickers, bra, and some clothes to wear. He hated that she was turned away from him when she opened the towel and refastened it. He's seen her in just her bra and knickers before, briefly anyway. Never, not ever, has he seen her naked before.
This was a bit of a conundrum for him.
They had been a couple for some time now and the most they had ever done was snog. He hasn't even let his hands wander… not once. She just seemed to be a bit timid in that department. He wasn't sure what was causing it. He realized she spent most of her life as a slave, although she was never a sex slave from what he was told.
He didn't even know if she ever had sex before. From her behavior, he was doubtful. She was only 21 so that was not that big a deal. It's just that there are no real hang-ups about sex in the world where she came from, so the fact she was inexperienced with it seemed really odd. Of course, she was protected by Bareesh the Hutt, who enslaved her. Perhaps she was never given the chance for sex, or perhaps she was so protected that she was forbidden to even get involved with anyone that could lead to sex.
He realized he would only find out the truth if she chose to fill him in on her past more. He could ask, but he wasn't anxious to make her think he was pushing her to have sex. No doubt, he would love to have sex with her, but the last thing he wanted was to make her feel pressured.
If he thought about it, he realized how much he cared for her now. He couldn't imagine her not in his life. He hoped they could continue their relationship for a very long time, even until they were old and grey. He supposed that meant he loved her.
If that was the case, then he decided that he would never push her. He could wait until she was ready. In fact, he could wait as long as she needed. He still would like to know why she avoids getting more intimate with him, but if she's not comfortable discussing it then he would rather wait on that too. He was pretty sure it would work itself out before too long or she would share with him why.
His thoughts were interrupted by the beep that came from the NaviComputer. They had just come out of hyperspace and were arriving at Coruscant.
A minute or so later, Lisera joined him in the cockpit and took a seat. OP came in right after her followed by QE who beeped a greeting. Looking past the legs of OP, Harry could see Letty and Benny standing in the narrow corridor behind everyone. They were curious about the beeping as well so came to investigate.
"Everyone! We have come out of hyperspace and are now approaching Coruscant. I sent a message earlier to Lucas informing him we will be there shortly. He replied back and informed me we could land in front of the Jedi Temple. He said no one else was expected today."
"I am curious to know how obsolete I will be in this future society, Harry," stated OP. "I am not sure I will be the best droid for you now that you have access to more advanced ones."
QE beeped his agreement and concerns as well.
"What makes you guys think I would ever get rid of you? Huh? Lisera and I were here before and we didn't notice any difference in the droids, at least the way they looked. Did we, Lisera?" Lisera shook her head. "Now, they might have newer programming than you due to the times they live in, but that doesn't mean you can't be updated as well. Whatever you need, you'll get it. Just as long as it doesn't change who you are. I would certainly miss you if that happened."
QE started beeping erratically and wobbling back and forth.
"QE is very happy to hear that, Harry, and so am I," OP clarified for all.
"I'm glad that's settled," Harry smiled at winked at Lisera who turned and smiled at the droids.
They could see Coruscant through their ship's front view port. It looked amazing as ever, still a planet wide city as well. Harry took the ship into the city and guided it to the landing pad in front of the Jedi Temple.
He forgot his ship was still under the Fidelius Charm since he and all the crew members could see it and was nearly ran into by a smaller ship as he neared the landing. After all of them disembarked, humans, droids, and elves included, he quickly removed the charm so no one would park on top of it because they couldn't see it. Although technically, he mused, it was in another dimension of space.
This gave him an idea to develop some way to engage and disengage the charm while still inside the ship. That was something he would have to work on later though.
They received a few stares when his ship suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Not even in this advanced time did they have cloaking as good as that.
When they reached the temple entrance, a droid was waiting to escort them to Lucas. They passed a few rooms on the way and saw a few jedi involved in training. In one, they saw a large group of very small children being taught how to meditate properly. The children were all from different races. The teacher was enormous though, especially beside the tiny little Jedi children. It was the first time Harry had seen a force sensitive Mandallian Giant.
Mandallian Giants were heavily muscled humanoids and were bigger and bulkier than Wookiees. They had a reptilian appearance and were covered in green scales, with pointed fin-like ears. They had serrated teeth and two needle-sharp fangs coming out of each side of their mouth. They were well known as formidable warriors who even the Mandalorians couldn't defeat.
They stopped and watched for a few seconds. The teacher likely had to be careful not to step or sit on any of the children. Harry noted that he must be a gentle and patient giant, because the kids were certainly not afraid of him. They were very attentive to his teaching.
When Harry and his entourage reached Lucas, Harry introduced all the newcomers then asked about the Mandallian. He stated he had never heard of one being force sensitive. Lucas informed him that Master Gruger was the very first. He was also quite old now but since then they had trained six more Mandallians.
"Master Gruger is very gentle and has great interaction with the children. They love him and he is very protective of them as well."
"I could tell."
"You two," Lucas said looking down at Benny and Letty, "look like a cross between two of our species. What are you called from your world?"
"We is house elves, sir. We serve the House of Potter," Letty answered.
"Yes! We is happy to serve Harry Potter. He is a very powerful wizard," added Benny.
"Elves, huh? Interesting."
"We have other types of elves on our planet as well," explained Harry, "but Letty and Benny are House elves. They are basically a servant race who get their enjoyment out of serving others and working very, very hard. If they don't have enough work then they are not happy. For the most part they serve wizarding families and use their magic to do their work. Letty here is married to my head house elf, Todge, and Benny is their son. Benny is also about the best cook I've ever run across. We changed up the galley on my ship so he could feed us properly while we travelled."
"Great cook, you say? Well perhaps we could get Chef Benny to use some of his talents while you are here? The foods we have may be a little different from your home world, but I'm sure you could do something with them."
"Benny would be pleased to cook for sir."
"Excellent, I'd like to invite you all to my place tonight so you can meet my family. I have a wife, Karenna, and we have two children who are twins, Jace and Jaley."
"We'd be honored, Lucas. Meanwhile, we have a few things we'd like to accomplish while we're here. OP and QE are wanting an upgrade to their programming and Lisera would like a lengthier shopping trip than the last time we were here."
"Let the Jedi Temple handle the droid upgrades free of charge. We have everything here that we need for that. A vendor will charge you and not do any better of a job than we can."
"Very well," answered Harry, "and thanks."
OP and QE were told to follow the droid that escorted them to Lucas so they could get their upgrades while Harry and Lisera went out of the temple to explore the updated Coruscant more.
Later that day, they all found themselves at the Skywalker residence. They were introduced to Karenna and the twins. However, when Benny was shown the kitchen he was not sure how to use the appliances. It was quickly decided to change plans and have Benny whip up a meal on the ship. Then he and Letty could bring it all over so the Skywalker's residence so they could experience Earth food instead. With that settled, Benny popped off to the twins surprise and started preparing a scrumptious dinner.
Letty opted to stay and play with the twins who were at the age of six. They had a great time. The kids demonstrated their force abilities while Letty and Harry showed everyone some magic. After dinner, the Skywalkers were very pleased with the food they consumed. Benny was thanked until his face turned red.
oOo
Lucas provided a suite of rooms in the temple for them to sleep in for the night. The elves decided to clean the suite even though it didn't need it. They even cleaned the droids who had rejoined them as well. After their upgrades, they appeared no different than before. However, they were given newer memory chips that could hold five times more than their original ones. All their existing data and personality matrix were copied from the old chips to the new. Then they were given all the latest information to bring them up to speed.
In the morning after breakfast, Lisera wanted to do some more shopping and look at the latest technology. Harry, on the other hand, had other plans. He knew he would not be of much help with the technology shopping and he remembered that he had promised Luke Skywalker a return visit after one month.
While Lisera and the elves were preparing to leave for their excursion, Harry looked up his entry in his datapad so he could know when he needed to arrive in Luke's time. He had just got it all worked out when Lisera walked up to kiss him good-bye.
"So, what are you going to do?" she asked.
"I'm going to go visit Luke to see what that force vision was all about. You enjoy yourself with all the new technology and I will meet you back here later."
"I still find it odd for some reason, how casually you speak of travelling through time like that. I know you can do it since you've taken me along with you, but it's still a difficult concept to wrap your head around."
Harry stood from the chair he was sitting in and stopped right in front of Lisera.
"You let me worry about that concept of time travel while you deal with all the technology. Don't worry your pretty little head about it," he said with a smile.
Lisera stuck her tongue out at Harry who promptly tried to grab it before she pulled it back into her mouth. Lisera then leaned toward him and kissed him. He returned the kiss with enthusiasm. They parted and Lisera looked at him.
"You be careful, Harry."
"I will and I want Letty and Benny to keep you safe, just in case. You got that Letty? Benny?"
The elves both nodded.
"Just make sure nothing bad happens to her. Protect her. Escape with her. Whatever you have to do."
"Harry, I'm sure it'll be safe enough out there," said Lisera.
"You never know, so be careful."
"Why are you so worried about my welfare, Harry? Do you love me? Huh? Do ya?" she asked teasingly.
Harry just stared at her for a second. She was starting to think she went too far.
"Yes," he said and her eyes grew big. "Do you love me?" he asked.
"Yes!" she said excitedly then leaped onto Harry.
She put her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. She then kissed him for all he was worth while he held her up with both hands on her bum.