Master and pseudo-padawan made their way back to The Ghost.
"Dooku, good to hear from you, it is." Yoda nodded to the holographic projection.
"Master? I wasn't aware you were travelling with Harry Potter." The Jedi remarked.
Yoda frowned. "Contacting Harry, you were?"
"Yes, this is his ship, is it not?"
Yoda gave a snort and a nod. "Was not aware you knew him."
"It is a story I may one day share, but at the moment I need to speak with Harry Potter."
"I'm here sir." Harry spoke up.
"Harry, good. I have made progress on the mission you suggested. I have managed to locate my former Padawan and a few of her fellow team members.
"Regrettably, she is being held and tortured and I do not believe I can safely extract her and the others by myself."
"I'll contact the Droid Army. We'll be there as soon as possible."
"Thank you, I believe your unique skill may be required to accomplish this without excessive bloodshed and the loss of my Padawan's life."
The hologram vanished.
"R2, call up Lee, have him prepare what he thinks is needed for this rescue mission. Get him to talk to Master Dooku. Chewie, 3PO, contact the palace air control and get us permission to leave immediately."
"Pup, you sure about this?"
"I suggested Master Dooku do this." Harry said stiffly. "I thought he might just confirm their deaths… I never thought he'd find them alive and being tortured!"
"Talk about this we will." Yoda said disapprovingly. "Discuss this with Dooku we will."
Harry just shrugged, the action was apathetic, the expression was tense. "Whatever, I need to see if I can tell Padme directly or leave a message."
"You can't just go running off into a death trap alone!"
"I'm not! Forget the fact that Master Dooku is waiting for me, I've got R2, 3PO, Chewbacca, Sirius and Yoda coming.
"And let's not get started on the droid fleet heading in!"
"Then why do you have to go?" Padme demanded angrily.
"Because Dooku thinks I might need to do my stealth thingy. He wants me to ensure his Padawan and the others are safe before any fighting starts."
"Fine! If you're going, so am I." She said defiantly.
"You're just going to abandon your people?" Harry challenged. "Naboo doesn't have a stake in this! How could you possibly justify risking their queen?"
"Are you dictating what the people of Naboo and their queen should do?" She asked dangerously as she stepped forward.
"I don't recall issuing orders just now." Harry retorted taking his own step forward.
"Padme."
The Queen shrank at the stern tones of Sio Bibble.
"You know very well that you can't go running off all over the galaxy for every little thing. Furthermore, as the Head of State, you have not been invited to participate in the independent actions of an ally.
"Your presence would be tantamount to war!"
Padme just started cursing under her breath as she span away and began to pace.
"And you, young man." Sio turned to Harry. "Remember that you are also a Head of State and that you are all that stands between the peace and friendship between our two peoples and the terrifying prospect that there is another Sith out there who might capitalise on any power vacuum should you die."
"I know. But we put precautions in place." Harry sighed.
"And do those precautions involve another being totally immune to The Force?" Sio asked archly. "Her Majesty has informed me that she was subjected to the dark powers of the Sith, she needed you to come to her rescue… again."
"It won't matter." Harry shook his head. "We're working on protection by secrecy. Even I don't know where the droid control ships are and you would need to board one and access a specific console on the bridge to get command of the droids.
"And you would need to board all droid ships at the same time and perform the commands at the same time."
Harry managed to escape the Queen and her anger when Sirius alerted him that The Ghost was ready for take-off. He was seriously thinking of making a stop over at Kashyyyk on the way back… possibly for a few years.
He met up with a small droid army fleet on the borders of the Bogden System where Master Dooku was waiting.
"I have grave news." Dooku said as they met on the bridge of the fleet's flagship. "I have felt a disturbance in the Force as I awaited you. I have felt my former Padawan's light fading."
"She's dying?" Harry asked.
Dooku paused, then remembered that Harry Potter wasn't a Jedi. "No, but she is falling to the Dark Side of the Force. This will set her on the path to becoming a Sith."
"Is there a Sith with her? Someone training her?" Harry asked.
Dooku could see Harry was wondering if this was similar to how Palpatine was grooming him. "No, her mind is simply being broken by the torture and the circumstances of how she was captured."
"Circumstances, of what do you speak?" Yoda frowned.
"She felt betrayed because I denied her the right to take the trials. She was always too aggressive and had developed an unhealthy infatuation with myself."
"Hmm, recall, I do." Yoda nodded as he remembered Dooku's report to the Council.
"Alright, I'll go in and try and secure her and any other prisoners." Harry decided. "Then I'll hunker down and wait for you to come in and rescue us.
"You will be coming, right?" He asked Dooku a little worriedly.
Chewbacca spoke up.
"Master Chewbacca says that only a fool would try and keep him away." C-3PO translated.
It was impossible to get Harry close to the base on the forest moon of Kholma without alerting the security forces. Instead, Harry took Sirius' modified speeder and exited a low flying Phantom. He used one of the Jedi breathers to survive the thin atmosphere as he flew lower and lower.
This drop occurred over a small sea on the opposite side of the moon to where the Bando Gora cult were holed up in a ruined citadel.
Fortunately, Harry could make it around the moon from the surface in mere hours using the speeder.
Dooku had briefed him on the cult. They worshipped the Force and were made up of Force-Sensitives. They were also terrorists and criminals and a threat to every decent planet in the galaxy.
Which was why the Jedi were sent in in the first place.
The best news that Dooku had was that they relied heavily on the Force as opposed to technology. It was unlikely they would use sensors that could detect him.
Harry abandoned the speeder several miles away from the citadel, he couldn't risk the cult sensing him. He spent the next few hours hiking through the forest terrain.
It was nighttime when he arrived and he could barely see.
It was so dark he actually bumped right into one of the cult members patrolling the perimeter. A quick stunner had the surprised individual on the ground, he then arranged the cult member into a sleeping foetal position in case anyone found them. No one would believe anything the person said, he was clearly sleeping on the job.
Still, Harry used a bit more caution as he made his way into the citadel. It did become easier due to better lighting, he made sure his cloak was concealing him and that his disillusionment and silencing charms were up.
Harry had a bit of a conundrum. He had no bloody idea where the prisoners might be kept. This wasn't like on the droid control ship back over Naboo. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had given him detailed instructions on how to navigate the ship.
He couldn't risk using communicators as these people were Force-Sensitives and not droids. He attempted to use logic. He also decided to ignore Hermione's observations on wizards versus logic and remember he lived ten years as a muggle.
He made his way towards the centre of the citadel, he followed those that moved in groups and the gradual change in the state of the ruins. He figured that the prisons and cells would be fairly well monitored and maintained… didn't want them escaping after all.
It took him four hours of following people and making wrong turns before he found the cells. It was definitely a dungeon. There were twenty prisoners and none of them looked to be in a condition to defend themselves, let alone fight their way out.
But he couldn't see Dooku's former Padawan, Komari Vosa.
But he was certain he could hear her.
The horrible screams of agony and terror streamed into the dungeon.
Harry was torn. Should he rescue Komari first or secure the prisoners. If he rescued Komari he risked alerting the cult members.
He knew what he had to do. And he hated it. He moved to each of the cells and stunned and disillusioned each of the prisoners. He could leave them there and hopefully no one would find them.
It took him thirty minutes. Thirty minutes in which he attempted to block out the screams.
He never realised they had stopped.
"Where are they?"
He froze at the sound of an angry, hoarse voice.
He turned just in time to see Komari Vosa standing there as she roared in anger and used the Force to fling the warden's table and chairs.
Harry cursed his luck as they headed straight to him.
He went flying into the wall, crushed beneath the weight of the table. He was sure he had cracked a few ribs.
"Who is there?" Komari had noticed the change in velocity and momentum when the furniture had hit Harry. But she couldn't see or feel anyone.
Harry really hoped his cloak wasn't ripped. Opening his eyes he saw that his glasses were now useless. The left lens was shattered and the right was missing.
He tried to raise his wand but it was trapped under the table. Instead he cast a banishing charm, sending the debris across the room.
Komari was easily able to dodge it though.
Finally free, Harry cast a quick repair on his glasses. Unfortunately, the missing lens was still… missing.
Harry now had to deal with a crazed Jedi. He quietly watched as Komari stalked around the dungeon, searching for the intruder.
"I will find you… and I will make you suffer."
Komari reminded Harry of Voldemort in a way. Becoming evil had changed how she looked. Her once blond hair was now shocking white. Her blue eyes were yellow.
Harry was trying to think of what spells he could use that she couldn't see and subsequently dodge. Of course, he didn't want to actually hurt her like he had Darth Maul.
The problem with using magic on objects was that Force-Sensitives could feel the objects moving, it was one of the lessons Yoda had taught him.
He had a few spells memorised that could slip past a Force user's senses.
"Avis." Harry whispered. Multi-coloured birds flew from his wand and started pelting the Dark Jedi who screamed in confusion and anger.
He followed up with a non-verbal confundus charm that left her dazed and confused.
This left her wide open to a tightly aimed stunner.
Harry sagged in relief as he struggled to breathe. All prisoners were accounted for.
Then he heard the gasp.
Standing in the door were three cult members. Each was wide-eyed and terrified. They bolted.
"This is a bloody disaster." Harry grumbled as he limped over to Komari.
The assembled group on the bridge of the droid flag ship jumped at the loud crack. They turned and saw a tired, bedraggled and clearly injured Harry limping towards them.
"Medical droid to the bridge." Lee called over the speakers as Chewbacca and Dooku moved to help the wizard into a chair.
"I got them all out." Harry said breathlessly, wincing in pain. "You can start your missions, Lee."
"Understood Sir." The droid nodded before turning away to the communications console.
"Find them, you were to. Protect them. Fight them… you were not to." Yoda frowned.
"There's a- saying back home…" Harry wheezed. "The best laid plans… fail."
"Really?" Sirius asked dubiously.
"Talking hurt."
"Right. Shut up and wait for the medi-droid." Sirius nodded.
When Harry opened his eyes he immediately began to panic.
He was trapped underwater without any clothes on. He had something over his face and privates.
"Relax Harry! Just breathe naturally."
Harry tried to see through the liquid to find Sirius. He could just make out a glow through the viscous substance.
"We've put you in a Bacta Tank. It will heal you up quickly. We are going to take you out in a few minutes."
Harry really wanted to know what all that meant. More importantly, he wanted out of the tank. It was pretty claustrophobic.
Harry could see more figures moving out around outside the tank. He really hoped Padme and her handmaidens weren't there.
"Ok Harry, we're draining the tank now."
If there was one thing that Harry noticed the most as the water levels dropped, it was that he was now bloody cold!
It wasn't long though before the glass tube was retracted and metal hands were gently lifting him onto a bed.
"All bones are fully healed." The medical droid announced. "Kidneys and lungs are once again operational. Optical lenses and retinal implants have melded properly. Patient has fully recovered and is clear for discharge from care."
"What happened?" Harry asked raspily. He could see Dooku standing nearby with a look of worry.
"You were badly injured when you fought Komari. You were obviously unaware of the extent of your injuries and finished your mission despite them. Master Yoda says your magic probably kept you from collapsing and dying on the spot."
"They all safe?"
"You saved everyone that was still alive, Harry Potter." Dooku reassured him.
"Komari... was it really her?" Harry struggled to sit up, he wasn't tired, just a little weak. Dooku adjusted the bed to a sitting position. "She looked different, eyes, hair."
Dooku nodded sadly. "She has fallen to the dark side. It has the effect of mutating certain features. Especially the eyes."
That comment made Harry realise two things:
"Where are my glasses and why can I see without them?"
"You fixed my eyes! This is brilliant!"
Sirius and Yoda watched with smiles as Harry looked everywhere he could.
"I can actually see the writing on these bottles!"
"About that, Harry." Sirius spoke up awkwardly. "We actually had some enhancements made to your eyes. Nothing drastic, you can just see a bit further and a few more colours than the average human."
"Colours?"
"If you focus, you will be able to see the ultra-violet and infra-red spectrums. But don't try it just yet, wait until the droids can walk you through it." He warned.
"Master Yoda, perhaps we could discuss the pressing matter of how to handle Komari?" Dooku requested tersely.
Yoda's expression sank and turned mournful. "Confine her, we must. Talk to her. Reason. This is all we can do."
"I did have an idea that might help." Harry spoke up.
"Obliviate!"
Komari Vosa struggled through the haze that was draped over her mind. Everything seemed sluggish and dark.
She managed to open her eyes to see that she was sitting at a table in a plain white room. There were no windows and only one door.
There appeared to be a young man sitting opposite her… but she couldn't sense him.
"I'm Harry Potter. I am real and you are aboard a droid ship of the Empire of Magic."
"Empire of Magic?" She scoffed.
"I was asked to help rescue you after you and some other Jedi were captured in a failed mission."
"I- I don't remember being captured." She frowned.
"I have the ability to erase memories. When I found you, you were being tortured. You fell to the Dark Side. The only option the Jedi Council had was to imprison you and try and talk you back to the light.
"I suggested that removing the memories that sent you down the dark path might make it easier." Harry slid her a datapad.
Komari saw security feeds of her in a bacta tank and later in a cell, ranting and raving. She gasped at her white hair and yellow eyes, she began groping her head.
Harry pulled his wand and conjured a mirror for her.
"What happened to me?" She whispered hoarsely as she saw her Sith visage looking back.
"Master Yoda and Master Dooku are both on this ship. We are headed to Naboo where you can spend some time recuperating. We won't arrive for two more days. Master Yoda has suggested that you attempt to meditate and use the force to locate and contact him, this might help speed up the process of cleansing the dark side from you."
"Master Dooku is here?" She looked up with hope.
Harry sighed. "Komari, your feelings for Dooku are part of what led you to that failed mission and being tortured. Dooku felt that you weren't ready for your trials and that you weren't suitable for the Jedi.
"You felt betrayed and snuck on to the mission. The mission was a disaster that ended with many dead and you and several Jedi captured."
"Master refused me my trials?"
Harry grimaced at the plaintive voice. "The Jedi Order may not be for everyone. Even Dooku has been considering leaving."
He didn't like the hopeful look on Komari's face. It was a look that would probably lead her down the same path again.
"Komari, do what Master Yoda instructed. Once you have 'cleansed yourself of the Dark Side' they will come and talk to you. Some droids will be by later to make sure you have what you need."
The second they landed on Naboo they were boarded.
Padme stomped aboard The Ghost that had ferried them to the planet from the edge of the system. She then hugged Harry tightly before checking him for injuries.
"Everything has been fixed, Padme." Harry assured her.
It was exactly the wrong thing to say. "'Fixed'? So you were injured?"
"It wasn't that bad. I finished the mission with those injuries."
She looked at Yoda expectantly.
"Two days in the bacta tank." He smirked.
"TWO DAYS!"
"It can't be that bad." Harry protested. "I've spent weeks in the infirmary back home before. The bacta tank was… strange, but at least it wasn't like Skelegrow."
Padme was looking at him with a gobsmacked expression. "You are going to be dead before you are twenty." She whispered in horror.
Harry was a bit offended by that.
"Otherwise, does experience say, hmm?" Yoda chuckled. "Faced much danger, and here he stands."
"One day the danger might be too much!" Padme argued.
"Says the girl who has to use a decoy system to protect herself from assassination and kidnap." Sirius snorted. "Try to remember two important facts, Your Majesty:" Sirius said with a rude amount of sarcasm.
"One, you chose to run for election.
"Two, Harry is often thrust into these situations. Often because he is the only one willing to do it. Or able."
Padme seemed to fume impotently on the spot as she struggled for an argument. She gave up and turned to Harry. "Dinner is at seven, don't be late."
She then stomped out of the ship leaving Harry to deal with three very smug beings.
Harry was surprised when he turned up to dinner and discovered the only other person present was Padme. Even her dog wasn't there.
"Am I early?" Harry asked as he took the seat next to the casually dressed Padme who was at the head of the table.
"No, I thought we could just have a private meal. Just the two of us."
An icy hand was suddenly caressing Harry's spine as fear set in.
Padme was desperately trying not to laugh at the terrified look on Harry's face. It certainly helped her forget her own near-crippling nerves.
"D- Did I do something wrong?" Harry asked.
Padme took a second to consider her answer. "No." She eventually admitted. "If anyone did something wrong it was me."
"I-" Harry was stopped by Padme's hand on his.
"Harry, I like you. Romantically." Harry blushed… the icy hand didn't stop. "I keep getting upset with you and myself in trouble because I like you and I… I assume you owe me explanations and concessions because I like you."
"Or because we're friends." Harry offered a sheepish grin.
Padme sadly let go of Harry's hand.
Harry suddenly felt terrible. He wanted the hand back. "I've only had one girlfriend before." He inwardly cringed. He was fairly certain that discussing one's past relationships was not the way to do things. "It was terrible." He ploughed on. "Her previous boyfriend was murdered the year before. We had one date and one kiss.
"We went to this awful tea shop that was all pink and frilly. When we kissed she cried because of her last boyfriend."
That was a horrible story. Harry desperately wished he had a time turner to go back and kill himself before he told it.
Unfortunately his brain, mouth and heart were all ploughing ahead with their own separate plans.
"What did you want to do? Couples would go and walk around the local village on certain weekends. Of course, there was also the Astronomy Tower."
Harry turned bright red as his brain caught up to what his mouth had said. Mouth overrode brain and started babbling. "We could walk around the city! I've never been anywhere on Naboo except the palace and the Gungan City. The weather is much nicer here so we could also go for a picnic! We could walk in the forest! I've never been in a forest that didn't try to kill me."
"Harry!" The soft warm hand was back on his. Even better was the laughing smile on Padme's face.
Harry closed his mouth. The hand was back and both brain and heart were holding mouth shut to prevent it from screwing this up.
"Harry… I've had one 'boyfriend'." She admitted, she hoped she got the term right. "It was well over a year ago. He isn't dead and I have no intention of crying over him.
"I don't know what a 'picnic' is but I would love to show you around Theed."
Heart gave brain a wary nodded and they relaxed their grip on mouth… just slightly.
"A picnic is when you take a basket of sand- ready to eat food. You go out to a field, somewhere with nice nature, you put down a blanket to sit on-"
"We have 'picnics' too." Padme assured him. "We just usually say we are having a nice meal out in the sun."
"Ah." Harry nodded in relief. "Do you have sandwiches?"
It was just the three of them. Harry, Padme and Paddy. The sun was bright, the grass was luscious and Paddy was off sniffing everything.
This meant that Harry and Padme were left to themselves. This meant they had to talk to each other. It had been completely awkward at first. Harry decided to make a mental list of conversation topics for the future.
Eventually they settled into topics of interest to them both.
"What are you going to do after you finish being queen?" Harry asked as he took the dish Padme passed him.
Padme took her own dish and settled down opposite Harry. "I don't really know. I will probably go back to trying to help those in need.
"What about you?"
"Erm… I'm not a Queen."
Padme gave him a light glare and he smiled.
"I guess I'm the Emperor when they need me." Harry shrugged. "R2 keeps giving me the names of planets that people like to visit and that are friends of Naboo. He makes me decide what I like about them.
"Then he and 3PO pick the laws that make them that way and tell the droid army to do it."
"You will still be making public appearances as The Emperor, won't you?" She asked hopefully.
"Why?"
"What about the request from Chancellor Valorum to meet? Not to mention Chief Tarrful and other allies. I can promise you that the Emperor will receive a personal invitation to attend the next Cycle Celebration in Theed."
"Cycle Celebration? You have bike races?"
"There are speeder bike races." She frowned. "But the Cycle Celebration is when we celebrate a new year on Naboo. When the planet has completed another rotation around our sun.
"This year will be the three thousand, eight hundred and sixty-eighth celebration since humans settled on Naboo." She told him happily.
"Settled? Humans didn't start here?" Harry asked curiously.
Padme shook her head. "We believe that humans originally came from Coruscant several hundred thousand years ago."
"As far as we knew back home, our planet was the only one in the galaxy with life."
"That seems statistically impossible." Padme argued. "Even the smallest of galaxies would hold billions of planets, for only one to sustain life…" She seemed unable to fathom the idea.
"Well, first, you have to remember that we'd never met or detected any signs of life off our planet. Second, we'd never been further than our planet's moon."
"Oh." She said in realisation. "I forgot that your culture is a lot more… primitive, than ours." She said with an apologetic look.
"Maybe. But, did humans begin to explore this galaxy before or after they met their first alien?"
Padme was genuinely curious. "We will have to see what the Royal Library has on the subject."
"You'd get on great with my best friend, Hermione. She practically lives in our school library." Harry became silent and clearly down. "She hasn't even been born yet. No one has."
Padme reached over and squeezed his hand comfortingly. "Was she your girlfriend?" She asked sympathetically.
"No, she was just one of my best friends. She was with me that night when Sirius and I left our world. We were fighting for our lives and I have no idea if she or the others survived."
"Then you shouldn't worry. It hasn't happened yet and it won't for thousands of years. Focus on the present…" She trailed off with a blush, she desperately wanted to have all his focus.
"Do you have animals you ride?" Harry asked, changing the subject.
"We do. Some can be very dangerous though."
"Do they have fangs as long as your forearm, breathe fire or kill with a look?" Harry asked in amusement.
"Some have… large fangs." She admitted with apprehension. She really wanted to know more about Harry's world and what he faced there. A droid army and a Sith didn't seem like much of threat.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, just eating.
Harry eventually broached the topic he was certain would get him in trouble with Padme.
"There is one thing I want to do… I am going to do. I need to go back to Tatooine and stop the Hutts and the slave trade."
Padme looked at him, wide-eyed. "Harry, the Hutts control far more than just one planet."
"Yeah… I'm still trying to figure out how to do it. C-3PO says that the Hutt controlled planets aren't part of the Republic. That means they won't get involved. I could ask the droid army to help and do things as The Emperor.
"On the other hand, I don't really want to drag the droids into this as it might cause a war. If I do things as Harry Potter I can work like I did on the droid control ship and when I helped rescue Komari and the others."
Padme frowned, deep in thought. "Harry, don't do anything yet and definitely don't do anything without talking to myself or the Jedi. Remember what you told me; gather your friends and get it done."