Summary:
Harry Potter / Star Wars-over. While leading the final charge against a retreating Dark Lord, Harry is thrown through a destabilized Demon Portal, landing on a strange world in a galaxy far far away.
Disclaimer
I don't own Harry Potter in any way. JKR has those rights... Also, Star Wars is owned by Lucasfilm/George Lucas, etc etc.
*Author's Note *
Inspirations: Sword and Magic by bluminous8
This was always a transition/fluff chapter, and I hated it from the get go. Problem is, I've always disliked stories that go: "And then over the course of the next few days, they did this stupidly awesome thing that I'm not going to describe and instead summarize it in a paragraph." I could've summarized almost all of this chapter in a paragraph, but that sounded really lame and boring to me. Plus it would have lost me a whole slew of opportunities to start the seeds of fleshing out Shaak Ti and Maris.
Again, people complain about how slow the ramp up of the story is. My take on it is that their relationships are developing. This is where each character gets to know each other, since they're still half in shock and isolated, and it's a gradual process over that first week or so of events post-Order 66. As the story progresses further, time will start to pass more quickly.
Also, be very mindful of the timeline. My assumption is that Anakin takes a very leisurely pace (at least 6-7 days to go from Coruscant to Mustafar, and then he holes up there for a day or two pondering what he's done. I've always been very curious about how much time elapses in the post Order 66 part of 'Revenge of the Sith'. Especially how long it takes Yoda to go from Wookie'ville, to Coruscant, to Alderaanian asteroid. I'm sure there are star wars junkies out there that can tell me the exact time frame, but this is my take on it all.
Chapter First Published: 2013-07-01
Chapter Last Update:
Chapter 7 – Ship Construction
The daily morning exercise became a group affair the following morning, and it offered several new experiences for Harry. First, he could see that, despite his high opinion of Aayla's abilities and strength, Shaak Ti was leaps and bounds stronger and agile than both of them. She schooled both Aayla and Harry on their self-made obstacle course they had run the previous few days. Maris wasn't far behind the two of them, and it was no small matter for Harry to admit Maris was in far better shape than Harry had been at that age.
The second major event of the still cool early morning was when he witnessed his first lightsaber spar, which Harry had to say was one of the coolest things he had ever seen.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked.
"Because you're not a Jedi, I've neglected a normal part of my training while here," said Aayla from his side. Shaak Ti was behind him as well as Maris. "I need to correct that oversight."
Aayla currently played guide as she took the group to a wide-open clearing she recalled from a few days ago when she had gotten ahead of Harry on their initial run.
"And what would that be? All you said was a spar? Is this like hand to hand?"
"No, a lightsaber spar," said Shaak Ti.
"Oh," said Harry dumbly as he suddenly realized he should have known that. He tended to forget these Jedi used the glowing energy swords as their primary weapons instead of wands.
"Just watch with Maris, Harry. She's still a Padawan, so she'll learn just as much from observing a spar between two unfamiliar fighters as she will from direct participation," said Aayla.
They eventually reached the clearing, which was approximately thirty meters across in an almost near perfect circular shape and had flower trees grown close together in a tight perimeter.
Harry sat down at the forest edge next to Maris and the two watched as Shaak Ti and Aayla both walked to the center of the clearing.
"Think you can provide commentary for me here? I know next to nothing about sword fighting. I've used a sword only once in my life, and that was when I was twelve. I flung the thing around like it was a stick."
Maris smiled at the thought, and Harry realized it was probably the first genuine smile she had given him. "Sure, I'll be glad to."
Aayla and Shaak Ti had both stopped their slow walk to the center of the clearing. They faced each other, and gave a semi formal bow before they each removed the lightsaber tied to their belts. Both sabers quickly ignited with a snap hiss sound that always gave a thrill a excitement to Harry as he heard it. Shaak Ti's and Aayla's lightsabers were both a very pale blue color, and the sound of both swords filled the clearing with a dull near sub-sonic thrum.
"There are other kinds of colors for lightsabers," said Maris, as she somehow picked up on what Harry had focused upon. "Jedi usually prefer to use Green or Blue. There are a rare few Jedi who find crystals to make their lightsabers Yellow, Purple, or Orange, but most use Green or Blue. There are rumors of White sabers existing, but those are more the stuff of legends and myth for our Order. Sith tend to create their crystals artificially since they can't easily access the planet Jedi take pilgrimages to for their crystals, and the Sith's crystals are almost always Red."
His thoughts on the colors and what significance they may have were interrupted by the loud reverb-like sound of both lightsabers suddenly in motion. The blades impacted each other, and Harry had to hold back his cringe at the finger-nail on chalkboard like sound of the energies as they clashed and tried to dominate each other.
"They're both using their favored lightsaber forms," said Maris as she began a commentary for Harry. "Shaak Ti utilizes Makashi, which you may hear them call Form II. It's a minimalist's fighting style, that focuses its efforts upon efficiency in its attacks and parries. It's a style that's excellent against enemies who use lightsabers, and terrible against anyone else."
Harry listened to Maris' words, and began to do his best to analyze Shaak Ti's movements. They were sharp and direct, and almost reminded Harry of some of the very rigid and precise movements he had once seen on formal fencers on Earth use. While she had fast footwork, he could very well envision a user of this style as they found themselves in trouble against the clone troopers he had fought earlier.
He turned his attention to Aayla, and Maris went right into the description of what his Twi'lek friend favored.
"Aayla looks like she's using a combination of Ataru and Djem So, which are Form VI and V. Ataru is highly aggressive, and isn't meant to be used within a confined space or against multiple opponents. Djem So is the form she falls back into while she defends and quickly transitions back to offensive moves. What's interesting here, is that she has a second lightsaber that she uses as well, and she's recognized as the Order's best dual-blade combatant. That is a much less used form called Jar'kai."
Harry nodded, as he remembered Aayla discuss the dual-blade form earlier that week, and he definitely saw the pride in her eyes as she discussed her lightsaber training. He couldn't imagine tracking one of the deadly blades as it swung around his body. Two blades seemed suicidal to him.
The difference between the Jedi as they fought was night and day to Harry. Aayla's moves were large, and often quite showy with a bit of acrobatics thrown in, but the additional movements definitely had the potential to add more power to her strikes. Meanwhile, Shaak Ti often did not even parry Aayla's strikes, which caused Aayla to be thrown off balance on occasion and retreat when her strikes missed completely.
"If she continues as she is, Aayla will tire out much faster than Shaak Ti, won't she?" he asked aloud.
"Yes. Makashi is not a completely defensive form like Soresu, but it certainly can give the advantage to a user in a one on one fight like this against someone who's much more aggressive."
He continued to watch the fight, and cringed every time he saw the blades strike the other combatant. He was aware the power of the blades had been turned down to a less dangerous level since it was a spar, but he was well aware that each strike represented at least a first degree burn that would need to be treated later.
After around twenty minutes, the spar ended. Harry conjured water glasses for both women, and floated them over to the two as they approached.
"Very useful ability, Harry," said Shaak Ti as she enjoyed the cold drink.
"We could always give you the job of official Jedi Water Boy," Aayla piped in quickly, which earned a raised eyebrow from Shaak Ti and a chuckle from Maris.
"I'll have you know my water is simply divine, Secura. Keep it up and I'll simply take my wondrous water conjuring abilities elsewhere," he said jokingly, but even the joke felt lame as he honestly felt tired after just watching the two women spar.
Aayla stared at him for a bit afterwards, then slowly allowed herself to smile, "Ready for your spar now, Harry?"
Harry wearily got up, and he knew whatever was about to happen was going to be painful and there was no way to avoid it. He could actually feel Maris' silent laughter behind him, and Aayla certainly had a very smug look upon her face.
He followed her out to the center of the clearing, though he left a considerably larger distance between the two than Shaak Ti had allowed. Aayla already had drawn her lightsaber, and appeared to have her second one in reserve still, so Harry decided to respect that and drew only one of his wands.
As he looked in her eyes, he could quite plainly see how seriously she was taking the spar they were about to participate in. There was no joking now. Just pure raw focus from her.
Harry glanced at Shaak Ti, who had caught both of their eyes at this point. "Ready?" she asked. Harry and Aayla both nodded.
"Begin."
-o0o0o-
Aayla already had a basic plan in mind for how to approach this duel as it began. 'Close the distance. Don't travel in a straight line. Close the distance,' she chanted in her head.
She was halfway to her target and had ignited her lightsaber when he suddenly wasn't there anymore. The Force told her to duck and roll, and she did so without hesitation. Two bolts of red energy flow over her head at twice the speed of a blaster shot, and she could actually feel the intent behind it. She intuitively knew that if that red bolt had hit her, she would have instantly been rendered unconscious.
Another bolt flew at her in quick succession, and she parried it with her lightsaber, sending it straight back at Harry. He side-stepped it easily She half wondered if he would only evade and cast in this duel, and felt she should at least probe his defenses directly a few times before she turtled down and simply reflected his spells back at him.
She made another quick movement towards him, but diverted halfway there. He apparated once again, and unfortunately for him, appeared only a dozen feet from her new direction. His eyes widened at the miscalculation on his part, and he responded to her arcing lightsaber blade with a blast of cold water right to her face. A second spell followed which froze the water and caused her arms and neck to lock up while her still moving legs slipped on the now frozen ground.
She applied the Force to her muscles, which allowed her to roll instinctively to the side as the ground became quicksand and vines appeared from nowhere to tie her down. The ice upon her arms, chest, and neck shattered with the application of strength, and she was able to get back to her feet as another round of bolts headed towards her, along with a few at the ground.
'He realized I can block almost anything thrown at me, so he's targeting the land around me instead,' she thought as she parried a few spells. With unknown effects upon the ground below her, she quickly decided it was safer to stand anywhere but where she currently did
'I have to try something different,' she thought. If she wanted to engage him with her lightsaber, she would need to pin him down or distract him long enough to close the distance. She reached out with the force and grabbed a large wood-like leaf of a tree flower that was behind Harry. It gave way easily to her powers, and was flung towards Harry's back.
It was loud enough that he heard the noise, and would likely apparate out. She sank deeper into the Force, and tried to determine where he would appear. She trusted her instincts, and grabbed a flower to her extreme right and ripped it from the tree.
Harry appeared right in front of it, but unfortunately faced her rather than the flower. He raised his wand to fire another spell at him as she moved towards him.
He never even registered the branch's movements until it smacked him hard at the back of his head.
-o0o0o-
"I hate precognitive abilities," said Harry emphatically after he had finally been roused.
"You'll get used to it, said Maris from his side as she kept one eye upon him as Aayla and Shaak Ti continued their spar, which stopped once they realized Harry was awake.
"Feeling alright?" asked Aayla, who Harry could tell genuinely wanted to know, but had just a touch of mirth in her eyes.
"I didn't last a minute against you," Harry said as tried to smile and winced at the sudden pain that throbbed in his head.
"True, you also didn't use any of the large explosive or extremely deadly attacks you have either," she said in response. "You have to remember, I've seen your pensieve memories and I know just how much you were holding back. That also gave me more time to think about how you might fight."
Harry felt a bit better after that explanation, though he still pouted childishly when Aayla refused him a rematch. With their workout routine concluded, and Harry had been given a liberal amount of time to apply ice to his head, the group returned to the tent. The women cleaned up in the bath while Harry slowly prepared their breakfast after he ingested a few pain relief potions. While they ate, they collectively discussed their plans for the coming days and their options beyond.
They currently had five ships that were hyperspace capable at their disposal. Two were one-seat Jedi star fighters, two were 'Larty' troop transports with heavy artillery along with fairly decent military-grade engines, and finally they had a slightly modified freighter with a very light weapons complement. The freighter would allow them to be more inconspicuous, but it would require a lot of rework as systems had to be completely torn out and redone to ensure there was nothing nefarious added by its previous owner.
Harry's secret project had garnered more and more attention from Aayla over the past few days, and this particular morning was no exception. He had everything plotted and diagramed, and all he needed was to test his theories. If it worked, they would have an incredibly powerful secret weapon at their disposal on the ship, as well as improvements to the overall ship's design and utility. He would just need to convince Maris and Shaak Ti of the need to keep it all a secret when it was finally revealed to them.
They ultimately decided today would be spent moving all ships to one general area, and then Shaak Ti and Aayla would plan out the remainder of the modifications needed. Harry demonstrated his ability to transfigure metal into any shape, which allowed far more flexibility and ideas for their designs. He also made a request to set aside one of the crew quarters aboard the ship specifically for his use.
After breakfast, Harry packed up the tent and powered down the ward stones. Shaak Ti was just as curious as Aayla and asked numerous questions. Maris watched all his actions like a hawk but seemed content to let others ask the questions. None of them had ever seen or heard of anything like it, and were openly curious if anyone in their Galaxy had ever utilized the Force in such a manner for protection.
With the cave now officially abandoned, they boarded the stolen freighter, which Shaak Ti insisted would have no name until they made all modifications to the ship. All three Jedi shook their heads at Harry, who bounced around in excitement since it was his first time aboard a craft that was capable of spaceflight, even if there was no immediate plan to leave the atmosphere this particular trip.
They set the ship down in the middle of the now abandoned Republic air field. The clones, upon their abandonment of the planet, had cleaned up very thoroughly, as there was barely any refuse or machinery left. Harry quickly apparated to each spot where the ships were hidden and released the wards and protections. After the droids were portkeyed back, Shaak Ti and Aayla each took one Larty and one starfighter back to their freighter, while Maris and Harry were delegated to move the mass driver power supply back to base.
The incredulous looks Harry received for the theft of the Mass Driver, its power supply, and over a thousand rounds of ammunition for it made Harry blush when he noticed it. Then he carefully explained it was going to be a surprise, and if everything worked out they would have it as an optional hidden weapon on any ship they wanted.
The tent was erected again underneath the freighter, and then Harry re-established a perimeter with the wards far enough out that all five ships were under the protections. All protections that he had previously made within the cave were done except for the Fidelius, since he really didn't see the need for it anymore. In addition, casting that particular charm always tired him out, and he needed his strength to make sure he contributed over the next few days.
After a tiring morning getting everything together, they got to work. Aayla and Shaak Ti were both designing and putting down the exact modifications they intended to make to the freighter on datapads. Harry had gone back to working on his project, while Maris had been tasked with tearing down much of the interior of the freighter, which had eventually been chosen as the basic frame to start their build from.
Maris quickly finished her tasks, and Harry had everything ready to begin his project except for the raw materials, which he would get as soon as he knew which pieces were safe to take from the Lartys. To pass the time, Harry began Maris' Occlumency lessons. Trying the same approach he did with Aayla, he sat with the young Zabrek woman as she tried finding her magical core. The young Padawan had a much more difficult time finding the right state of meditation, so Harry knew this would be a slower process than with Aayla. In fact, her frustrations were very similar to the ones Harry experienced a decade previous.
They decided to first pull all internal systems on the freighter and replace them with a mix of existing software from the Larty's, as well as custom work they knew the Astromech droids would be able to quickly produce for them. They planned to pull all weapons from the freighter and then swap them with Larty and Jedi star fighter weapons. Finally, they would swap the hyperspace engine arrays with the far superior engines found on the Jedi starfighter rings that were hopefully still in orbit around the planet. For Sublight engines, the Lartys would prove more than adequate for their needs, since their primary purpose was to quickly ferry large weight complements between the orbital capital ships and ground forces.
Eventually, Harry was finally forced to give in and present what he had worked on the past few days: a modified pocket dimensions similar to the ones found in his trunk. His main contribution to the ship was use space expansion charms on one of the crew quarters and turn it into a lounge. Then he would place the equivalent of six vertical one-compartment trunks that opened via doors in that compartment. For each room, the 'doors' would open into a pocket dimension that could be any size desired, and every one would contain a fully private bath and all other amenities.
The big project he had been working on was to support a pocket dimension that had two exits. He wanted a doorway that led into an oversized and reinforced space that would house the Mass-Driver. Another smaller circular hole would be created in the pocket dimension for the gun to fire through. The frame for this circular hole could be placed anywhere on the ship, and the whole thing would hopefully end up completely invisible to scanners that looked for standard weapon signatures.
It took fifteen seconds for the minds of the three Jedi to fully comprehend what Harry had planned and how much potential this idea had. Storage space issues on starships could be solved with this. Hot Bunks on smaller ships would become a thing of the past. Most importantly, their ships could be proverbial lion in sheep's clothing. Harry even wondered what would happen if a door was left on a planet while another was left on a ship or another planet.
But Harry could easily see how much they liked this idea and would want to spread news of it far and wide, so he felt the need to bring them all back to reality with his next statement.
"Harry, is it possible to mass produce these sort of stones? If the ability to make ships like this spread, it could revolutionize interstellar travel," asked Shaak Ti.
"The runes are easy to create once you have the instructions. The only hard part is empowering with magic and keeping the energy sustained long-term."
"But I don't believe you'll want to let word of this spread," Harry said with a deep sigh. He looked at them intently and begged them to understand through his eyes. All he could imagine was the slaves that had previously been aboard this ship, chained to the wall in those cells he had torn apart. His companions however did not understand this if Harry could judge from the incredulous looks upon their faces.
"Can you imagine this in the hands of everyone? You have slavery in your galaxy still. Aayla says you have whole planets of nothing but criminals, ruled by even more powerful criminals. What would they give or do to get this? What would they do with it once they got it? You have enough problems with crime already in the galaxy. What criminals do if they do if they could hide whole shipments from your ship scanners"
Looking up he saw they understood where he was going with his statements, but didn't seem to like it. Harry sighed and looked back at the ship they were about to upgrade. "I'll bring knowledge of magic to your galaxy. I'll teach anyone you want. But I'll be damned if give anyone else more powerful ways to hurt and enslave people."
-o0o0o-
Aayla watched Harry walk off towards the forest edge after he gave his opinion on sharing a breakthrough that would have likely changed the face of the galaxy. She could see the possibilities of what he had been working so diligently on for days, and she knew Maris and Shaak Ti could as well. But Harry was right when he stated the potential of the seedier elements of the galaxy using it for harm.
"I keep forgetting he's not a Jedi," said Shaak Ti. "He certainly allows his emotions influence over his decisions."
"His emotions are expressed in his views, but I think he clearly recognizes the potential for abuse. You cannot deny what he said is right from a certain point of view. I'll go talk with him," said Aayla as she moved off without waiting for an acknowledgement from Shaak Ti or Maris.
She found Harry about fifty meters into the underbrush, head in his hands as he sat on a fallen log. She moved next to him and reached an arm tentatively around his shoulder. Instantly she was flooded without bursts of regret and sadness from him. He leaned into her without pause and blurted out without preamble, "I'm sorry."
"For what, telling us the truth?" said Aayla. "You may need to work on your delivery method, as the way you stomped off was a bit over the top, but you didn't say anything that wasn't completely true. I think Jedi tend to focus much of the time on the positive side of things, purposefully ignoring any negatives that exist. You're right. The Galaxy in general cannot be allowed access to this. They simply are not ready for it."
Aayla paused, "But I hope you'll teach me?"
"Of course, I never once had the intention of not teaching you," Harry said as he turned his head a bit to look up at Aayla.
She watched Harry take a deep breath, "I need to apologize to Shaak Ti and Maris for walking off."
He paused for a few moments, and she could sense the anxiety that radiated from him. "I'm just frustrated by what I keep hearing about this galaxy. I kept thinking of what an ideal future out amongst the stars would be like… or thinking that any advanced civilization spanning multiple worlds would always be some kind of utopia. Everyone would go out into space and everyone would push past a lot of their petty differences. But here I am, seeing slave ships, Dark Lords, and hearing about corrupt corporations and governments. I was so naïve to think that society's problems would just go away."
Aayla gave a rueful smile as she saw some of Harry's childlike preconceptions of the galaxy torn asunder. She said softly, "You should never stop believing one person can change things. Just imagine what this Galaxy would be like if you hadn't arrived. How many people would have died or been enslaved because of the Chancellor's actions. There are so many who owe you so much, Harry. I owe you something I can never repay."
That got another smile from Harry, one she admitted made her happier than anything had in a long time. He turned to her fully and said, "I have your friendship, that's more than enough payment. I may have lost my best friends when I got sent here, but I think I've definitely gained a new one."
She had to blink back the sudden wetness she felt gather in her eyes. Then she heard Harry chuckle softly and felt a burst of the Force. A small piece of cloth was conjured and handed to her, "For that bug that obviously just flew in your eye," he said with a mischievous smile.
"There are a lot of bugs out here," Aayla said as she laughed and wiped her eyes and nose. "Come on Mr. Wizard. We have engines to pull out of the freighter and they could use the help."
After she stood up and slid her Lekku behind her, she grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him up to his feet as well. The walk back was quick, with Harry gave warnings whenever he saw bugs flying by, in case it was the Twi'lek eating one that gotten her earlier.
The apologies Harry gave were quickly accepted, and Shaak Ti offered the only comment that he shouldn't let his emotions rule him so much amongst friends. The group of four then proceeded to combine efforts to tear down the remainder of the freighter. Engines, sensors, shielding, and hull plates were stripped down to their supporting frames. All of those pieces would be replaced with similar pieces from the Lartys, since the alloy that comprised their hulls was far superior to the freighters.
"This smuggler obviously was a proponent of 'Security through Obscurity'," said Shaak Ti, as they took a break from their efforts. "No major weapons, nor strong external shields or hull. He was obviously hoping to remain inconspicuous enough that no one would ever notice his slave trafficking. His problem was, all it would take is to be noticed once, and he would've been dead."
"And what prevents us from being identified with all this hardware that would get us in trouble," asked Harry.
"We'll change much of the equipment just enough so that it falls between the cracks of what the sensors look for. It also helps we have some of the more advanced identification sensors you can get on those Lartys. If we can fool them, we'll be able to fool anyone," Aayla told him.
Aayla was half-split on how to proceed in regards to Harry's tasks on the ship build. They needed his additions to the crew quarters, storage, and weapons, but she also wanted him to learn more about what went into quickly assembling a starship piecemeal like this. Her other problem was that really she wanted to know how he was creating the pocket dimensions.
"It doesn't need to be perfect," she eventually said when they discussed how much time he thought he would devote to the room and canon projects. "We're lucky to have the droids with us you stole. We can finish the basic structure and systems of the ship, and they can continue to make adjustments and modifications even while we're in flight to our destination."
With the sun nearly below the horizon down and no desire to continue to work through the night with only the various ships external lighting, the tired group wandered into the tent. Harry voluntarily began dinner while the Jedi took a group bath together. Shaak Ti found amusement in the low-tech accommodations, until she realized that the water was conjured via the force and banished the same way.
With all three in a state of relaxation in the bath's warm water, Maris verbalized all of their opinions when she said, "I definitely want one of these in my room on the ship."
"I think Harry will gladly provide you that, though I think he has some other projects he's still not telling us about," Aayla told them with a half-smirk.
"Oh, what else could he have to surprise us with?" Shaak Ti asked, extremely intrigued.
"I'm not totally sure to be honest. I've seen him playing around with some spare pieces of the freighter's hull that he didn't set aside to make the pocket-space door frames. He looked like he was trying to melt them into squares that resembled those stones that made the wards. I wonder if he's planning on putting wards on the ship."
"That has possibilities." Shaak Ti mused aloud. "I wonder what he would be capable of putting on the ship."
"Think he could do that hidden thing he did with the cave?" asked Maris.
"The Fidelius is what he called it. And I have no idea if he can place it on the ship. More than likely he's testing to see what's possible. You saw all the notes and diagrams he was using for the doors. I think he's making up a lot of this stuff as he goes along."
"His intelligence and ingenuity certainly cannot be denied," observed Shaak Ti.
Aayla sighed, "In the end, I think he just wants to be useful. He doesn't want to not be doing something."
"He fears not having a place among us," said Shaak Ti as she closed her eyes and sunk a bit lower into the water, allowing her shoulder to sink in and the water to rise to her chin. "He has lost everything, except for the contents of those trunks and his knowledge. Even his name has no meaning here."
"Well, he's got me," said Aayla. "I've learned more 'new' things from him in the past four days then I think I have in the past decade from normal Jedi methods. I'd like to stay around him for as long as possible."
Shaak Ti raised her head slightly, trying to gauge the depth of any potential hidden meanings in Aayla's statement. "Who knows where the Force will lead us. But I'll admit the signs and portents that swirl around him are interesting to behold and ponder," said Shaak Ti. "Almost every conversation we have with him along with his mere presence alters every possible future I foresee."
"Less talking, more relaxing," uttered Maris as she slipped nearly under the water in her exhaustion.
Aayla watched as Shaak Ti followed Maris' lead when she closed her eyes. The Twi'lek herself was never as good with her visions of the future as others were, but she hoped more and more Harry's road in the future stayed with hers.
-o0o0o-
After dinner, the group retired to the couches in the tent. Shaak Ti and Aayla revised plans for the ship upgrades based on the more detailed information they had received today, Harry continued his work on the door frames, while Maris meditated and attempted to find her core.
"Harry, what were you doing when you were messing around with those other pieces of ship's hull earlier?" asked Aayla.
Harry set his wand down and stretched his back. Continuous rune engravement tended to leave him sore and tense, especially when it was the same tedious sequence over and over again. The work was not difficult, but there was a lot to get through.
As he looked up to answer, he saw all three Jedi's attention on him as they eagerly awaited his. "Well, I wanted to try and see if I could place wards on the ship. When I found that the runes could successfully be engraved and empowered on the metal I've made the doors with, I wondered what other sort of enchantments I could apply."
"A Fidelius can't be placed on moving objects, so that's right out. I wanted to experiment with some other things, like fire suppression and unplottability wards. I also wanted to try and see if the astromechs could sense any of the energy in the wards themselves, maybe give some readings on their strength, if they're in danger of failing. I have no idea what sort of tolerances their sensors work within, or if Magic can even be quantified, so I figured this might be a good test."
He looked back at the drawings and designs of a specific component for a moment, and continued.
"And ultimately, I wanted to try and make an input for the wards directly in the cockpit. I doubt it could ever been as simple as flipping a switch to bring wards up or down, but some of the simple stuff could be powered up or down right there in the cockpit with some direct focused Magic. Basically I have no idea if any of it'll work. So, I'm going to work on the doors and compartments in the day, and this fun little distraction at night."
"What's unplottability?" asked Shaak Ti.
"It means the location cannot be drawn on a newly created map, with the added bonus that it doesn't matter if it's electronic or paper. Any map that existed before the ward was put up will still show an object, but no one will be able to pinpoint a location beyond the point in time the ward was set up. I'm hoping, it'll help cloak us from scanners. Maybe even from eyesight, but we'll see. I can't guarantee anything, it's just an experiment."
Aayla had a grin upon her face a mile-wide with the explanation, and Shaak Ti and Maris were simply left speechless for a minute or so before they slowly forced themselves back to work.
-o0o0o-
Day Two began when Aayla, Shaak Ti, and Maris removed large sections of the two Larty's hulls and added them to the skeletal freighter. The process was very quick with Harry's ability to undo the welds and bonds used to anchor the plates to the ship. Right before each piece was set and anchored to the freighter, Harry applied Impervious and Duro runes and charms with the hope they would add more protection to the ship. Unfortunately, there still remained massive sections where no hull piece would correctly fit, and Harry would later be asked to transfigure the plates to the fit dimensions required.
Aayla took time out just after lunch to fly her ship up into orbit twice to grab the rings for her starfighter and Barriss'. The Jedi starfighters were not capable of hyperspace travel on their own. Instead, the ship would dock into a ring that carried the necessary engines, which usually were parked in orbit around a planet when not in use. The rings also possessed navigation computers and additional fuel that would be useful. The navi-computers used by the Jedi were vastly superior to the Republic issued hardware aboard the Lartys, and with two available, the ship would have a solid backup in case the primary was damaged. They salvaged the targeting systems from the Jedi starfighters for the same reasons.
Harry finished the transfigurations necessary for the freighter's hull by mid afternoon under Shaak Ti's strict guidance. The only difference between these plates and plates originally laid down were the runes of permanence inscribed upon each that ensured the transfigured shapes would hold. If the runes hadn't been inscribed, there was always the chance the magical energy Harry imbued the transfiguration with could fade or an errantly cast Finite would revert the object back to its original state. This wasn't likely to happen in the next hundred years given Harry's power, but it was a chance he wasn't willing to take with the three Jedi's lives on the line along with his.
Their main obstacle of Day Two wasn't ship related however, it was the heat. Harry could feel the sweat pour off him while he worked, and the three Jedi made liberal use of his water conjuration and cooling charms. Harry had already become somewhat used to Aayla's normal state of near-undress after he had been subjected to her skin-tight leather outfits that hugged her hips and chest. All the heat seemed to was increase the ability of her sweat to attract his attention to the slight dip of her outfit's bust and waist lines.
Maris however, now worked diligently in a very small pair of shorts and a 'bra' which consisted of a single black horizontal strap that attempted and failed to modestly wrap around her ample cleavage. Her pale skin reflected brightly in the sunlight, and she seemed to possesses a permanent desire to be soaked with Aquamenti charms once she had discovered Harry's ability to produce them at will.
Shaak Ti had been the one to make his mouth drop, which is quite the statement when one considered Aayla's large bust line and Maris' near lack of a top. The Jedi Master had toughed it out for most of the day, but finally relented in the late afternoon. She removed her Jedi robe to expose her wrappings underneath, which is all they literally were. The entire outfit consisted of two flat white straps that went vertically down her chest and joined in her crotch, which then joined together into a thong that then went in a straight line up her back. Aayla caught him gawk at the choice of clothes and nearly fell over from laughter.
"What so funny?" asked Shaak Ti after she had thrown her Jedi robe aside onto a makeshift table they had created.
"Oh nothing, I just don't think Harry expected your outfit to cover so much Master Ti," said Aayla between giggles.
"Do Jedi normally wear clothes like this?" asked Harry as he gestured vaguely around at the three nearly naked females that surrounded him.
"Well, Aayla wouldn't be that out of place wearing her current outfit almost anywhere, except maybe the Council Chambers. I normally wouldn't be seen wearing just this, if that's what you're asking, and neither would Padawan Brood. But, I think we can trust you with our virtue, Harry," said a very smug Shaak Ti towards the end.
Harry simply gaped at Shaak Ti, unable to process how to joke with such a normally serious woman. She saw this and sighed.
As she leaned back against an engine block she had just cleaned, she said, "The Taboo on relationships is one that affects all Jedi, Harry. We rarely let our guard down to anyone but our own Masters. It's a solitary life… a very lonely life. We arrived here, and I immediately recognized Aayla felt safe around you. She holds nothing back because she fears nothing from you. As for Maris and I, we've reached that same thinking very quickly as well."
"I'm safe?" croaked out Harry, unable to determine if he should be flattered, embarrassed, or depressed by the blunt statement. He half wondered if this was the galactic method of informing someone they'd entered the 'friend-zone'.
"Yes, you are. You understand the vows the three of us have made, and we are also well aware that you've made no such thing as well," said Aayla as she and Maris approached.
Aayla sat down on the engine nearest Harry and drank from her canteen. She poured the rest of the contents over her head and tossed it to Harry with the unspoken request to refill it. Maris waited her turn and simply asked to be drenched with in an Aquamenti blast.
"But who knows what lays in store for the Jedi. If it wasn't for you and Aayla's actions, I'm willing to bet the Jedi Order would be all but extinct right now. We have suddenly found ourselves in a radically different Galaxy. There have been many who have pushed for updates to the Jedi Code for years. In fact, I had no idea just how much push there was for change until I became a member of the Council
"The Order's inherent resistance to change and the political influences from the Galactic Senate are what have prevented changes to the Order. The Chancellor being revealed as a Sith Lord may be the final straw needed to make real changes," finished Shaak Ti, who no longer seemed to talk to Harry but instead talked more to herself by the end.
She gave a brief smile and stood up, and before she walked away to continue on to the next engine block that needed to be cleaned, she said, "Who knows where the Force will lead us, and what new limitations may or may not be imposed once all Jedi are reunited."
Harry glanced up at Aayla at the implication Shaak Ti gave, and was rewarded when he saw her glance at him as well at the very same words. The look only lasted a moment, but it was enough that Harry definitely saw a possible reason behind it. He looked away, stunned, and unable to concentrate further.
'Does Aayla actually like me?'
-o0o0o-
By that night, the six pocket dimensions for the crew's quarters were all completed. Currently the environments in each space were merely large twenty by twenty meter cubes with no adornments or color other than slate grey walls that were illuminated by lighting runes placed every two meters along the edge of the floor. He brought in some debris from outside and quickly transfigured bare essentials living necessities so Shaak Ti and Maris would have two separate rooms along with a bath and fresher.
He moved the tent from outside into a third room, which left the remaining three empty for now. Aayla and Shaak Ti would later be tasked with the template for a default room's design. Harry would then transfigure the walls in all six rooms to match the others. They discussed not using all the space in each room, which would leave space outside each normal apartment area that could be used for smuggling. Harry felt the biggest time consumption would be to make six showers and hot tubs that produced and vanished water on command.
Beyond the six living quarters, he had three remaining doors, which were slightly special. The frames themselves were expandable, so that if he actually wanted, he could have accommodated an entire unmodified Larty to pass inside. The largest room's origin came from the idea they should not leave the Jedi Starfighters and large pieces of dismantled Lartys behind on the planet. The ships were placed in one room and all the stolen weapons, munitions and food in another.
The final room was his experimental room, which he believed he had the underlined theory correct. The Mass Driver, its power supply, and all ammunition had been carefully floated into it, and then the doorway restored to its normal size. He had created a small circular portal, and managed to link it to the same pocket dimension into which the Mass Driver had been loaded. The part of the process that proved even more difficult had been to get the second portal to appear at a specific place on the wall inside the pocket dimension.
Tomorrow he would expand the hole of the circular 'door' and then levitate and maneuver the tip of the Mass Driver's gun through. It would be almost perfectly camouflaged and only inches of the barrel would be outside of the pocket dimension, which would not appear outside the circular portal's 'door'. If the gun wasn't in use, the door would shut, effectively removing it from the normal world. The sound, waste, vibration, and recoil produced by the Mass Driver could all be negated via Magic inside of the main pocket dimension, and Harry sincerely hoped this secret weapon could help the group out someday.
The part that actually scared all the girls was how he applied magic to the gun. Each shell fired by the gun had been lightened in weight and strengthened using magic. As the shell left the gun barrel, runes would strip away the spells that originally lightened it. This would have no effect upon the shell's outbound velocity, meaning the shells now could travel much faster and lost no impact damage potential due to loss of kinetic energy.
The final touch was something Harry long-debated internally, and finally went ahead with. He placed Muggle-Repelling and Notice-Me-Nots upon all nine of the special doors within the ship. These charms prevented access to the pocket dimension by anyone who was not a Jedi or Wizard. He did not really expect trouble to come from them, but Harry had long ago devoted himself to a 'better safe than sorry' mentality. If there was a possible risk he could identify, he would move heaven and earth to ensure it was always mitigated, no matter how remote the possibility of its realization.
The final two days of "build" on the ship saw the normal weapons, propulsion, and life-support systems successfully brought online by mid-morning of the fourth day of construction. The fact that so much equipment had been levitated and installed amazed Harry once he was able to look back and take stock of just how much they had accomplished. The fact that the astromech droids and their protocol droid could work through the night also was a godsend for them.
The Jedi spent the day on status checks on everything, which ensured everything worked properly. The astromech droids were then set loose upon the ship's interfaces to redesign and optimize the software present to work more efficiently with the ship's new systems.
Harry had spent a large amount of time over the last two days with his experimental ward stones and a rudimentary controller and anchor stone which were placed in an inconspicuous back corner of the cockpit. Magic could be fed into and out of the stone to bring a majority of the wards up or down. He had ultimately developed three different sets of ward stones which could be activated and deactivated through the same anchor.
One set for standard operation which would always be active. It contained among many things fire suppression runes carved at specific key places across the ship as well as imperturbability runes to add structural support to the ship's frame and backbone. The second set would be used for stealth in space. The unplottability ward, when active, completely dropped the freighter from the sensors from the Larty. They hoped its stealth would extend to the sensors used by Capital Ships such as Star Destroyers and Dreadnaughts.
Finally, the last set of ward stones was for if they needed to hide the ship on the ground. A loose semi solid dome would form over the surface of the ship where illusions and charms could easily be attached. The result would completely hide the ship from view. The Jedi were incredibly impressed with each set, and Shaak Ti muttered as she walked away that she wanted to be permanently stationed aboard the ship in the future.
Aayla was much more direct with her praise. "You realize you're going to make every person who comes aboard this ship incredibly jealous?"
"Well, we just won't let anyone else aboard other than you three. We can tour the galaxy on our own, fighting for truth and justice." Harry tried to strike a manly pose, but the effect was ruined by how stupid it looked and by the massive yawn Harry gave halfway through it.
"Ok Mr. Wizard. I think it's time we went to bed The droids will make the final list of fixes overnight. We'll definitely leave for Alderaan tomorrow," said Aayla before she wished Maris and Shaak Ti goodnight.
Harry started to look forward to sleep over the past few days more than he had at any point in his life. He had still not allowed himself to ponder a relationship with Aayla in his wildest dreams. There had been no other hints at her feelings since the fleeting look she gave him when Shaak Ti had pondered possible changes for Jedi's Order's future. The Taboo was a constant presence at the forefront of both their minds, and neither pushed for anything.
The current standard operating procedure between the two bunkmates was 'look but don't touch… much'. They both now slept totally in the nude each night without any incidents. There had yet to be even one inappropriate touch from either of them, and Harry was in no hurry to push any limits with a woman devoted to a life of celibacy, though in the back of his mind he found the entire situation absolutely ridiculous.
He didn't really understand his own feelings for Aayla. Sure she was attractive, amazingly so in fact. She was incredibly intelligent, athletic, and she was very powerful in terms of Magic/Force potential or whatever the pair were calling things at any given time of the day. But he was also worried he had started to develop feelings for her simply because of the situation they had found themselves in. He had no clue what the future was going to bring, especially now that they were about to leave the planet, but he hoped it held as much promise as it had upon Felucia.
-o0o0o-
Consciousness slowly returned to Aayla on what was going to be the group's last day on Felucia. It was now eight days since her life changed. Eight days since her soldiers had tried to murder her, and eight days since she had met Harry for the first time.
Harry.
That name conjured so many meanings and emotions within Aayla she had begun to think something had snapped within her to be capable of so many varied reactions. She stared at him as he slept next to her. He was completely exhausted when he flopped into their shared bed the previous night. He had worked himself extremely hard to finish all the additions he wanted done before their take-off today.
She smiled at the thought of what he had created for their ship. The idea of some of those protections on that flying hunk of junk was absolutely revolutionary, and that was before the subject of what the crew and storage rooms were like. The jokes about serving aboard no other ship after this may have seemed like jokes to Harry, but Aayla could definitely see the sincerity behind both Shaak Ti's and Maris' statements. The ship they had managed to scrounge together amazed even her, who had spent months at a time in various undercover roles as a ship mechanic.
Now, give her a few hours at a black market chop shop for ship upgrades, then allow for roughly two weeks at a service station with the ship in more optimal conditions than a swamp planet, and it would literally the best ship she had ever flown upon.
Today all they had to do was pack up all the loose machinery and spare parts they wanted to keep with them into one of his storage spaces, bring the frames on board, and leave the planet. She was extremely proud of the design work that Shaak Ti and her had done on the freighter. To the unassuming eye, it appeared to be a near-standard YT-1300 freighter. In truth, it was probably the first step towards a new type of Jedi specific craft. The possibilities that Harry could offer them were endless, and she hoped she would be there to see him through it all and offer her support as they continued to make improvements upon it.
How long that support could be offered, wasn't up to her however, and she knew it. She was a Jedi Knight with enough experience to likely be promoted to Master soon. The problem with her rank was that the Council still decided where she went and who went with her. There was the distinct possibility, when the remnants of the Jedi united, someone could order her to leave Harry and the rest of the group to go on a mission that would prevent her from seeing him again possibly for years depending upon the assignment.
She had an ally, though, in Shaak Ti. As a member of the Council, Shaak Ti was now drowning in political capital thanks to Aayla's warning since most Jedi were only aware of Shaak Ti's role in the events around Order 66. But, most importantly, Shaak Ti was her friend.
Hopefully that would be enough.
She wanted to get up to get some food, but realized she could not actually leave the room yet. She laughed softly in humor and annoyance at the same time. Harry started to lock their room magically after he realized Maris was a bit of a prankster. After he taught Maris the basic spell finisher Finite Incantatum, Harry had begun to ward their door with stronger protections. He had not said why he had begun to lock the door yet, but she figured it was probably Harry's attempt to protect Aayla from questions that concerned their sleeping arrangements.
She closed her eyes again in resignation and settled in next to Harry to wait for him to wake up on his own. Maybe she could decrease the time it took to find her core in the meantime.
-o0o0o-
By mid-day, everything was wrapped up. They had managed to load the remains of both Jedi starfighters, as well as the bulk of the torn-down Lartys into the massive storage pocket dimension. Harry had taken quite a bit of the random scraps from the original hull plating and loaded them into equal sized piles in each of the six crew quarters. Harry's logic was that he would transfigure similar things in similar ways in each room as they were built up. Walls, chairs, tables, etc would all originally come from approximately the same source material.
Eventually, the last minute checks of the ship were done, which left the four companions in the cockpit as they gazed out the canopy in silence. Aayla felt a bit of accomplishment at everything they had done. She had built and performed large amounts of maintenance on ships in the past, but never before had she undertaken anything with the sheer scope of what they had just done. By no means was the ship complete, but with Shaak Ti's help, Maris' steady diligent work, and Harry's insane ideas, the final result was above and beyond anything she had originally envisioned a week previous while she doodled ideas on a datapad in Harry's tent.
"We're not done yet," Harry said finally.
"What's left? What did we forget?" said Aayla anxiously. She was worried that it must be monumental if Harry of all people remembered something the rest of them had forgotten. Every system that was required for a safe interstellar flight and escape if they encountered enemies was in place to her knowledge.
She turned around to look at Harry who was sitting in one of the two rear chairs of the cockpit. He was smirking at the worry in her voice, which led Aayla to believe that this couldn't possibly turn out well.
Harry leaned in and brought a hand up to his mouth as if to whisper conspiratorially. "We've forgotten to name our ship," he said in a mock-whisper that all three Jedi could plainly hear.
The suspense had been built up masterfully. Shaak Ti actually snorted and covered her face. Maris rolled eyes. Aayla wanted to smack the human who managed to turn almost everything he did into something that amused him.
"A name?" was all Aayla could finally bring herself to say instead of hitting Harry over the top of his head like she felt Harry deserved.
"Yup, shall we hold a meeting? I like meetings. Can it be a committee?" asked Harry excitedly. Aayla watched him wave a hand at a bag of spare junk he had decided to carry around with him for random transfiguration purposes. She watched as he changed a small piece of metal that had flown into his hand into a small wooden gavel. "Can I call the meeting to order?"
Aayla watched his smile grow larger and larger while he did all this. She quickly reached out and grabbed the gavel from his hands, causing him to mock-pout. "Ok Harry, you can stop acting like a five year old now," she said, which only caused the pout to become even more over the top.
"Let's just name the ship. You know he won't stop until he gets his way on this. Any ideas?" said Maris while she covered her own grin.
"I'll leave this in you three's very capable hands," said Shaak Ti, who had already turned around and begun the pre-flight checks.
"Well, Harry? You were the one so adamant to name this thing." said Aayla impatiently.
She watched in exasperation as Harry had to lean back and actually think of a name. After a few moments, she saw the corner of his mouth twitch in amusement, and he began to speak, "My father had three best friends growing up. They pushed each other, learned advanced magic together, and watched out for each other. They were three wizards, and one who… was something else."
"They were pranksters, and yet the excelled at almost everything they put their collective mind's toward. In the end, their biggest achievement was when they broke laws and risked their very lives to learn a very specific kind of highly restricted magic so they could spend time with their fourth friend when he would be forced to endure unimaginable agony once a month."
"I think we're quite similar. We have three Jedi, and one oddball in the mix. And I think we'll all end up good friends before all this is said and done with. They had a name for their little group. They called themselves the Marauders. How about 'The Marauder' for the name of our ship?"
Aayla had felt her eyebrows steadily rise as he told the tale of his father. The connections were rather uncanny. When he suggested the name, she honestly couldn't of a single argument against it. She glanced at Maris, who while she still had a smile on her face from his previous antics, nodded her agreement. When she turned to Shaak Ti, she noticed that the Togrutan had stopped her pre-flight checks during the story, and had looked at Harry with a wistful smile on her face. When Aayla caught her eye, she nodded her agreement as well.
Aayla looked back to Harry, who had lost a bit of his confidence after he told the story and had shrunken a bit into himself. He actually looked afraid of the possible rejection of the name.
She reached over, picked up the gavel and said, "We officially dub this craft, 'The Marauder'."
"Meeting adjourned," and she brought down the gavel with a crack on the solid arm of her chair.
-o0o0o-
The initial preflight check of the ship was done an hour later, with minimal problems that needed correction. Mainly some spot checks on the sub-light engines just to ensure they were calibrated in as optimally as possible. Harry found himself strapped into the back right seat in the cockpit, behind Aayla who was in the co-pilot's seat. He felt the excitement build within him. He had flown with jets before. He had even flown in this very ship five days previous, but it had never left the atmosphere.
The repulsar lifts fired up, and The Marauder began its maiden flight as it slowly rose from the ground like a Harrier jet from back on Earth. Shaak Ti piloted the craft quite casually and began their ascent upwards into the upper atmosphere at a very leisurely pace in order to check and ensure the ship's atmospheric maneuvering capability.
They were about to start their true upoward ascent when Harry whistled, "Well, would you look at that?"
All three Jedi looked out the canopy and down at the ground in the direction Harry was looking, only to be startled themselves by what they saw. Droids for as far as the eye could see. All lined up in neat ordered rows.
And not a single one moved or acknowledged their existence.
"I've never seen a droid army behave like this. By all rights we should be getting shot out of the sky right now," said Aayla, confusion quite clear in her voice. "At the very least they should be launching flak at us."
"Why would they just stand around like that? Are they waiting for orders?" asked Maris.
"That is the only expla-" said Shaak Ti, before she stopped and looked quizzically at Maris. "Maris, check the Holonews. See if there have been any announcements."
"What sort of galaxy wide announcement do you think could've affected all the… droids… like this…" As Aayla asked her question, she slowed down as the reason behind the droids behavior became clear to her mind as she herself turned to Maris for a confirmation.
"With the Jedi scattered, and the Chancellor in control, there's no reason for the fake war, is there?" asked Aayla as she waited. "But protocols must be kept, right?"
Shaak Ti nodded as she turned back to her controls. "If it hasn't happened yet, I expect to very shortly see an announcement that the Clone War has officially ended."