Chapters 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 are already on Patreo n. There are also pictures related to the story posted on Patreo n as well, including pictures of Seela, Aayla, and Shaak Ti

If you wish to read some exclusives and support my writing, please visit

Patreo n .com (slash) Dasteiza

Galactic Wizardry

Chapter 19

"Shit!" Harry yelled out as alarms were blaring and cannon fire was whizzing past his cockpit window.

"Shields at seventy-three percent!" Aayla called out as Harry dodged another salvo. Pushing forward on the sticks, the ship dove downward at such an extreme angle that he did an entire loop, coming up behind one inexperienced space pilot. Shaak wasted no time in letting loose on him. His own cannons ripped the small ship to shreds. As the burning debris flew past him, he had to spin once again to avoid the shots from the better pilots. Once he had a moment to take a breath, he told Shaak to take control.

"Try and get as many on our tail as possible. Call out when you're ready for me to give them a surprise," Harry told her. Shaak nodded and slipped into his Captain's seat.

"What are you going to do?" Aayla suddenly asked him, guessing that he was going to do something incredibly stupid.

"Introduce them to the Reaper," Harry smiled excitedly. Before the blue-skinned Twi'lek could argue, Harry was already gone. Aayla sighed. Harry had told her that using the Reaper to fight spacecraft was very stupid because of the lack of protection. If he survived, she was going to give him a good smack.

Meanwhile, Harry pushed a button on the wall of the Cargo Bay and the Reaper slid out on its dedicated platform. The twin Tibanna gas canisters were full and ready to be used. Hopping into the seat, he fired it up and listened to the eight barrels spin menacingly right before Shaak's voice crackled in his earpiece.

"Now!"

Harry hit the button and the Cargo Bay ramp dropped and the platform slid outside. Through the blue haze of his personal Deflector Shield, he could see the surprise on the face of the closest enemy pilot. Smirking, Harry pressed the button and all hell broke loose. The surprised pilot was the first to meet his fate. His ship was cut clean in half by the rapid-fire cannon. Harry swung it around and cut the wing off of another ship which caught fire and spun out of control. A cannon shot flew past him and struck the wall on the inside of his ship. Harry aimed at the bastard shooting at him and ended him in a fiery explosion. The rest of the pilots tried to pull off, but Shaak was doing an excellent job of keeping them in his view. Another three were smoking wrecks by the time the last few were able to get away.

"All-clear!" Aayla called out. Sliding back into the Cargo Bay, he closed the ramp and put away the big gun before going to look at the damage. The wall was fairly charred from the blast. Harry cooled it off with a wave of his hand and cleaned it the same way. There was minimal damage to the metal. Still, he'd get that repaired the next time that he was on Naboo.

Now that they had a moment of peace, they were able to study the planet in front of them. "It's not exactly a resort planet, is it?" Aayla asked as they flew closer.

"Ugly and barren is what it is," Harry replied. In front of them was Kadavo. They were way out in the Kadavo system of Wild Space, deep in the Galactic Northeast. Their good friend Oria, while under interrogation, had told the Jedi where they could find a large cargo ship filled with military field rations. While they weren't keen on eating it themselves, if a war ever broke out, that ship could feed an army for months. Obviously, they were there to steal it. The only problem was that the planet was hosting less than reputable sentients.

"How come every time we meet some criminal scum, they turn out to be slavers?" Aayla growled.

"Because the slave trade is very profitable and relatively easy to join. All you need is a ship and some shackles," Shaak told them bluntly. Harry nodded.

"They'll get what's coming to them eventually. Once everything with the Jedi is taken care of, maybe we can start hitting the slavers hard enough that most will think twice," Harry said. Aayla smiled at him and nodded. "Anyway, we need to get down there and take cover. They'll be looking for us now that we've destroyed some of their ships."

They broke the atmosphere and followed the directions that Oria had given them. It was Aayla who found it. "The sensor is picking up something very big and made of metal. It's the only thing in the area. That has to be it," she told them. "The sensors are picking up some living beings as well. I can't tell what though."

"Probably the Zygerrians," Shaak joined in. The Zygerrians were a sentient feline species that had grown powerful off of the slave trade.

"There's an awful lot of them here for such a barren planet. I'm sure that there's a reason. Oria said that they only use this planet for hiding supplies and such. The rations on the cargo ship would have eventually been used for something. Certainly not the slaves though. They must be expecting a large number of fellow slavers to meet up," Harry said.

"You think that they're involved with whatever would have become the downfall of the Jedi?" Aayla asked, clearly worried. Shaak reached over and took her hand. Harry placed his hands on her shoulders and began massaging her. This calmed her down.

"Maybe … or maybe not. I certainly don't know. All we can do is report back to Yoda and Mace. Make sure that you take as many scans as possible. Scans of all kinds. We'll have plenty of info to send back."

Aayla agreed and quickly went back to work. "There's a small valley over that way that we can hide the ship in," she told them. Harry nodded, and Shaak flew them in that direction. Seeing the spot that she was talking about, the red Togrutan landed the Chimaera like a pro. As it softly touched down, the three of them began getting their supplies together.

"Come along, R2!" he called out. His droid would be the one hijacking the ship and flying it back to Eden. They just needed to make sure that he could get control of the ship. Harry grabbed a blaster rifle and placed plenty of gas canisters into the expanded pouch that was hanging off of the side of his belt. By this point, Aayla was already used to using blasters of different kinds, so she too was stocking up. Harry liked to tease her by saying that she looked incredibly sexy with a belt and pistol holster hanging off of her wide hips. That was definitely true. She looked quite sexy when she was ready for combat. Shaak was still hesitant at times to use blasters. She had practiced her whole life with a lightsaber and was much more skilled with it than a blaster. Sadly for her, she couldn't use her lightsaber in every situation these days.

"I know you don't like using them, but I'm afraid that you're going to have to get used to it … at least for the time being," Harry told her, clipping a couple of thermal detonators on his belt. Seeing Shaak look at him, he went on. "This Sith fellow that has a hard-on for the Jedi, well, if he's as smart as I think, then he'll have spies everywhere. He'll likely be looking out for any Jedi movement and operations. If word gets back to him that we were here, then that's just one more piece of evidence that will help him figure out that we are preparing for him."

Shaak sighed and clipped a belt and holster around her waist. "You're right, of course. I'd still prefer to not use them whenever possible," she said, picking up her own rifle. Harry smiled and shook his head at her antics.

"Hopefully, we won't even have to use them."

Harry let his eyes travel over her form as well. Like Aayla, she had wide and inviting hips that made him want to squeeze her waist and press her against the wall. He pushed those desires away for the time being. He needed to have his head in the game after all. After stocking up on thermal detonators as well, the girls were ready to go. They went to the ramp and lowered it. Immediately Harry sputtered and pulled a face.

"Eww! It smells like rotten eggs," Harry smartly commented. Aayla rolled her eyes at him.

"This planet has many volcanoes, mostly dormant. There are still plenty that are active and continuously spewing sulfur and other pollutants into the atmosphere. Haven't you noticed how smoggy it is?"

"Yes, I noticed," Harry rolled his eyes as well. "At least all this smog will help us stay hidden. Wait … Is the air safe to breathe?" he suddenly asked.

"If we don't spend much time here, then we should be fine. Beyond that, I wouldn't recommend it," Shaak explained.

"Fair enough. Let's go," he said, stepping out onto the crunchy, dirt ground. Aayla stopped him.

"Aren't we going to take the speeders?" she asked. Shaak shook her head.

"They'll draw too much attention. Our goal is to get to the ship, take control of it, and escort it to safety without causing an outright battle. Our best chance is to stay as hidden as possible. Besides, it's only forty or so kilometers away," she smirked. "It will be a good test of your fitness … the both of you," she said, turning to Harry.

"Hey, I've been practicing!" he said, suddenly defensive. "I'm getting pretty good at using my powers to enhance my body. Watch!" Harry grabbed a palm-sized rock and closed his fist around it. They watched him squeeze it tightly before the rock exploded in his hand. As he opened his hand, there were only little chunks of shattered rock and dust. Turning his hand over, he let it fall back to the ground. Shaak raised an eyebrow.

"Impressive," she said, not mentioning that her nether region was getting moist from his manly performance.

"Unfortunately, I can't keep it going all day. This will be a good test for my endurance."

"Indeed it will. Let's get going," Shaak said, and the three of them left the ship behind after Harry placed as many magical protections around it as possible.

They started by running at a moderate speed. All three were doing well considering the planet was incredibly hot and muggy. After about an hour, they had to stop and drink plenty of water. Harry was sweating worse than the girls. Wiping his forehead with his forearm, Harry took a peek at Aayla's lovely cleavage. He could see a drop of sweat roll down the soft, blue skin of her chest and disappear between her perfect breasts. Aayla caught him looking and smirked, stretching in a way that arched her back. Shaak snorted at their behavior.

"Could you both stop acting like hormonal teenagers until after our mission is done?" she humorously asked.

"I'll try," Harry responded and waved his hand. What looked like a birdbath appeared next to him filled with icy cold water. He cupped his hands and scooped some out. Splashing it in his face, he sighed happily as the freezing cold water cooled his hot skin. He was about to splash some more when he was shoved to the side.

"Hey!" he called out as Aayla splashed some on her face as well.

"You were hogging it!" she said with water dripping down her face. He watched as she splashed more water onto her sweaty chest. Shaak just sighed, shook her head, and waited her turn. The water certainly did look refreshing. Suddenly, she heard Aayla yelp as Harry sprayed her with water. Pinching the area between her eyes, she decided to not remind them that they were supposed to be sneaky. When it was her turn, she splashed the nice, cold water all over herself. Feeling refreshed, they continued on their journey.

Being much faster than even the best runners back on Earth, they were able to make the journey in just over an hour more. Stopping to take a break on the opposite side of a hill, Harry once more conjured some cold water for the girls to freshen up with while he pulled out his mini drone. Letting fly up into the air, he made sure to keep it a respectable distance away from the ship. He controlled the little drone with his mini pad and tried to come up with a plan. Suddenly, a dripping wet Shaak Ti appeared at his side and looked down at his pad. He handed it to her while waving his hand to dry her off. He dried Aayla as well when she joined them. Harry freshened up while they studied the pad.

"That's a decent-sized camp," Shaak told him when he rejoined them. Taking the pad, he looked at what she was seeing. Indeed, a large camp of Zygerrians was stationed within walking distance of the ship. Dozens of modular, pre-built shelters were set up to look like a miniature town. It would have been hard to see if not for the advanced optics on his drone. "The entrance to the ship is facing the encampment, and there are constant patrols going back and forth. See," she said, pointing to an area on the screen. Sure enough, Harry saw a group of beings walking back toward the camp before passing by another group walking the opposite way.

"It's too difficult to see anything, so Apparating is out of the question," Harry said. They could only see the patrols thanks to the thermal camera. "You girls can install the malware right?" he asked.

"Of course," Aayla replied, holding up a Datacard.

"Good. I'll cause a distraction while you girls and R2 sneak aboard," he said, disappearing and reappearing a moment later with his hands on his R2 unit which was wobbling back and forth and chirping excitedly. "Make sure that you follow their orders R2." Receiving a beep in affirmation, Harry bid them a temporary farewell and popped away to cause some chaos.

Invisible, Harry appeared on the outskirts of their camp. He easily slipped amongst the shelters and even poked his head in a few to see if there was anything worth taking. There wasn't. Flicking his hand out, a small fireball flew from his palm and landed on top of one of the shelters. It slowly grew until it encompassed the entire thing. He sat there on the roof of one of the shelters swinging his legs excitedly, waiting for his bonfire to be noticed. A sudden cry of shock rang out, and soon, the entire camp was filled with panicking slavers. Try as they might, they couldn't get the fire under control. Not only did the first shelter collapse from the inferno, but the fire now crept along the ground in search of its next victim. It found the adjacent shelter and within seconds, flames were licking at the supposedly fireproof walls. Harry chuckled and jumped off of his perch. Sneaking toward the middle of their little town, Harry slipped inside of the middle-most shelter and grabbed whatever he could. Datapads, datacards, drives, keys, and everything else went into his pouch. Harry suspected that the center of the town would hold the most important person, and it seemed that he was correct. Still, whoever lived here didn't seem like he was amongst the ruling class of the Zygerrians. If Harry was lucky, then maybe the guy was at least mid-level in their slavery empire, and that the stuff that he was taking would have some kind of valuable intelligence.

Quickly leaving the shelter, Harry chuckled when he saw that at least six more were on fire. One, in particular, had at least twenty Zygerrians surrounding it while trying to extinguish the flames. With a wave of his hand, the shelter exploded and all twenty were covered in fire. They yelled in pain as they ran around with their clothes and fur on fire. Some dropped to the ground and rolled around, trying to put the fire out. What they didn't know was that the flames were enchanted. They wouldn't go out until either the magic ran dry, or Harry decided to end them. Seeing as how they were a bunch of scumbag slavers, Harry wasn't so inclined to give them a break. As he walked amongst the shelters, more fires broke out.

Galactic Wizardry

"That's one hell of a distraction," Aayla said in amazement as Harry's inferno lit up the entire area. Shaak nodded in agreement.

"Harry did his part. Now let's do ours," Shaak said, holding her rifle tightly. "C'mon," she ordered.

Both Aayla and R2 followed her as they quickly made their way to the ship. They kept as far away from the fiery town as possible until they reached the tail end of the ship. Seeing only one guard at the entrance of the ramp, Shaak ran up and before he could react, she struck him in the face and knocked him unconscious. As his limp body began to fall, Aayla caught him and dragged him away from the entrance so that no one would see him right away. She found a nice place behind the landing gear and dumped him onto the floor. Making her way back to Shaak, she followed her lead and went into the ship with R2 at her heels.

Aayla looked around as they made their way further into the ship. They only found the occasional droid that paid them no mind. It wasn't until a door slid open right next to her and revealed a surprised Zygerrian that they were spotted. The male was quick to sound the alarm before Aayla could punch him in the throat.

The man clutched his neck while his eyes bugged out. Aayla grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into the metal wall. A sickening crunch later and the man dropped to the floor. A blaring alarm told them that they needed to hurry. R2 whistled excitedly as they ran toward the closest terminal. Once there, Shaak inserted the Datacard and let their Slicer's program do its job. R2 rolled up and inserted its connector into the terminal and began taking readings. Aayla held her rifle at the ready, prepared to fire at the first opportunity. A loud explosion outside told them that Harry was doing his job. Hearing footsteps clanking on the metal floor, Aayla took aim and fired when she saw the first slaver come around the corner. It seemed that the next one to come up was a bit smarter when he saw his comrade on the ground. Instead of jumping out into the open, he peeked around the corner with his pistol aimed. He yelped when a blaster bolt nearly hit him in the face. In fact, he could smell the scent of burnt fur. "You're going to pay for that!" he yelled out, pressing his back against the metal wall.

He was breathing heavily, obviously scared of losing his life. The blaster pistol shook in his trembling hand as he squeezed the handle tighter. Knowing that he would definitely be killed by his own people if he did nothing, he spun around the corner and blindly fired. The last thing that he saw was a blade of light swing at his blaster shot and swipe it back toward him. The shot hit him square in the chest and he flopped backward onto the hard floor. He cried out in pain as he clenched his chest, feeling the hole in his cheap armor. With his last breath, he cursed his mother for making him join the family business.

Aayla turned off her lightsaber and turned to Shaak. "I can't hear anymore."

"That's okay. I'm done anyway," she said, pulling out the Datacard. R2 chirped happily and slaved the ship's small army of droids to his command. With an order, he had droids rolling and walking around, taking positions to get them ready to lift off.

"Remember to have droids inspect the entire ship. We can't have stowaways," Shaak told him. She received a beep in return. Suddenly, they heard Harry on their earpieces.

"I'm coming onto the ship," he told them, another explosion rocking the area. This one actually made the ground under their feet vibrate. Sure enough, a moment later they heard the footsteps of Harry running toward them.

"Over here!" Aayla called out. Harry turned the corner and came up to them.

"All set?" he asked. Seeing them nod, he grabbed their hands and Apparated them back to their ship. Harry jumped into the Captain's seat and fired up the engines. Taking off, he hovered in place until he saw their stolen ship fly by while being trailed by several small fighters. Hitting the throttle, he began tailing the fighters. Taking aim, one fighter was quickly blasted into scrap while the others took evasive action. They whizzed and crisscrossed, trying to stay out of Harry's range. Shaak, however, had the Force in her favor. She took precise shots, nearly hitting every one of them. When there were only two fighters left, they gave up and flew off, leaving the ship safe to break atmosphere. Once they were out of the planet's gravity well, R2 disappeared in a blur, quickly followed by Harry and his two Jedi.