Time was fickle and tricky. From the individual perspective, time flowed around them, resulting an observed causal distribution wherein which the initial resulting effects of a causal relationship may contribute to larger, long term behaviors in a nonlinear distribution system, thereby inadvertently relating seemingly disconnected events. Traveling through time only taught Hawk to be wary of any changes or sudden shifts in time. Time could metaphorically pass quicker or slower, but for it to actually pass at a different speed required an amount of energy impossible for an individual to currently create. Hence reliance upon other sources, like magic or the Force.
Without an objective standpoint, things moved oddly. Things didn't necessarily happen in order, and in fact, sometimes events occurred as a result of some future event (e.g., the bootstrap paradox). Theoretically at least, though Hawk wondered if such paradox only came about when applying the considerable amounts of energy necessary to manipulate time.
The Jedi temple provided little insight into the method of energy consumption that propelled them from Earth to then-unknown universe and culture. She dove into her studies as much as she could, attempting to find some answer to unknown questions. The Jedi Masters sequestered in the libraries never approached her, only shooting her disapproving looks from afar. The only break in her studies into the Force and the new universe was in the form of helping Wolf adjust to the changes in their lives.
Even in her own thoughts Hawks could barely think of Jenna as anything but Wolf. They lived the roles too long that being anything other than a bounty hunter felt wrong. Hermione Granger was a tiny teenage bookworm, stuck with her adoration of authority. Hawk stood tall, athletic and dedicated to bring in the scum and scoundrels of a universe, by any means necessary (not that all of the scoundrels were bad or wrong. They only picked contracts based upon information they independently verified). Her love of knowledge shifted from having to know everything to having to understanding everything. Through the Force, she no longer just memorized facts. Now, she moved the puzzle pieces about to understand the sudden changes to the present. It felt right, like this shift was a natural extension of who she was and who she could have been. Maybe a different Hermione from a different universe would still be the bookworm, and maybe a Hermione would be hopelessly in love with the Neanderthal, Weasley. Thankful, that wasn't this universe. In this universe, Hawk swooped in, taking charge alongside her partner and love, Wolf.
Still, everything happening since she arrived in this universe varied from her previous existence exponentially. This mission was no exception. Between an underwater city, a native race she'd never had the chance to study, and nearly being eat by several ginormous and irritated fish, it was any wonder she left the Jedi temple in the first place. Missions like this brought back memories of her first year, sneaking along with Jenna to the third floor corridor to save the Philospher's Stone. Except this time, the adventure actually involved saving a princess. Undoubtedly, this would go down as the strangest mission she'd ever taken.
She followed Jinn's lead, trusting he at least had a plan. She formulated several as well, touching the Force from time to time to better assess the situation and the information at hand. Wolf likely did the same, in her own way. Some days, she envied her lover for the way the Force showed itself to her. To see the big picture, to understand how things were connected and the consequences of those questions. All the answers there for her to explore.
But alas, that was not the path of her studies.
Since becoming aware of how her magic shifted and how the Force manifested itself within her, Hawk felt her perception become clearer. This perception now focused upon the lines of droids leading several people to another one of the camps the Trade Federation set up.
"That's our target?" she asked. Jinn lead them past patrols and to a vantage point. Jar Jar impossibly still followed them, though his movements reminded her less of a bumbling fool and more of the drunken master.
"The Queen of Naboo, and it appears her security team," Jinn said. He moved to the edge of the stone bridge, his Padawan following his lead. By an unspoken agreement, the two of them dropped down once the droids passed with the Queen's entourage. With the efficient lethality she expected of Jedi, Jinn and Kenobi took out the droids. Jar Jar even managed to assist, falling off and into the droids in such a chaotic manner that nothing hit him.
Wolf jumped down once they finished, taking up the rear guard leaving Hawk to fly ahead to the front. She twisted in the air, landing on her feet with an ease gained only through years of trial and error. She caught the security droids off balance, sending one tumbling as she landed. A quick shot from her blaster rendered it a non-threat. Reaching out, she scanned the streets. Too many sight-lines, too many dark alleys for things to jump out at them. Her eyes tracked movement, searching for the jerky droid actions.
"These are Hawk and Wolf," Jinn said as he finished his introduction.
"It isn't safe in the open," Wolf said from the back. She turned her back to the argument between the Queen and the Jedi. Taking stock of each face, Hawk sorted them in her memory before focusing on creating a defensive parameter. Sensing droids remained impossible for any Force user, meaning she had to rely on visually catching the rolling destroyers. "We need to regroup."
"The palace!" Hawk shouted as she took up a defensive position at what now became the rear. Activating her shield, she pointed her blaster at the oncoming droids. Several of the guards took up arms with her, firing random bursts at the invading force.
Her first shot took out an advancing battle droid. The bolt slammed into its head, sending it spinning and wildly firing its weapon at its comrades. It fell in a clump of metal but two quickly too its place.
Side-stepping another droid's shot, Hawk fired again. This one slammed into the chest plate. One of the guard fired at the same droid, hitting the equivalent of its shoulder, and another its firing arm. The combined shots dropped the battle droid, but again, more arrived.
A destroyer droid rolled out of an alley behind the marching battle droids. Stepping closer, Hawk fired off a grappling hook at one of the battle droids and launched a small rocket at another one. Several droids concentrated their fire on her, their bolts ricocheting off her shield as it held. The rocket stuck to the droid who frantically tried to remove it from its shell. The grappling hook pulled the droid close and it was only a matter of swinging her other arm to extend the vibroblade from her gauntlet and severe the vital components. As she dropped her battle droid, the rocket exploded, damaging several other droids as well.
A blast burned through her shield, hitting her shoulder. The force jerked her aim, missing an unshielded destroyer and hitting the decorative architecture on the street. She ignored the pain as best as she could, walking backward to give the Queen's entourage an attempt at an escape. Droid after droid replaced the cannon fodder, and they barely made a dent in one of the destroyers. They kept walking forward, moving through the street and closer together. The battle droids brushed shoulders, rubbing against either other in an effort to get through. It stalled some of the attacks, though the destroyer droids kept fighting over the battle droids' heads.
"Hawk! Get your ass over here!" Wolf's voice through her helm.
"Move!" Hawk yelled to the few security officers who stuck around to help. She activated her jetpack, flying straight up in the air. The droids were bottlenecked by the street, bundle close together. Blasters may not have done a lot of damage, but that was far from the only weapon bounty hunters possessed.
Pointing her gauntlet at the grouping, Hawk let out a burst of hot gas and immediately lit it on fire. She ignored the pain that spread down her shoulder into the rest of her body as she fought to hold the fire steady. The flame-thrower covered the groups, sending high-pitched screams and shrills from the battle droids as they frantically ran into each other. The fire barely slowed down the destroyers but the mass destruction of the battle droids brought a larger explosion.
A trickle of guilt ran through her at the damage to the street, but her survival (and inadvertently the survival of the guards who stayed at her side) meant sacrificing the architecture for her life. "Let's go. Head to the hanger." She turned on a dime, flying back through the street with the guards on her heels.
Hawk tracked movement wherever she went, catching droids attempting to follow her as she raced to meet back up with Wolf. She flew through archways, firing off bolts from her blaster to take out battle droids where she could or hit more vital targets (including a few supply pillions). She reached out with the Force, finding Wolf doing much of the same. Wrapping herself in Wolf's touch, she let it guide her.
Her eyes never stopped tracking or calculating. She took in everything she could, and when the danger passed, the information could prove vital. Fight droids, even shielded ones had weakness. It just took a sharp eye and a keen mind, both Hawk possessed before the Force thought to lend a hand.
The Jedi were making easy work of a set of droids, their lightsabers slashing through the metal bodies. Kenobi sent one flying with a blast of the Force, propelling it into another one. The droids smashed together as the Force blast blew them into the wall. Jinn stuck to the simplicity of his saber, striking the vital components of the battle droids. As one stepped up to fire at him, he'd deflect the bolt into another one before slicing the attacking droid. She let her momentum continue her past them and onto the ramp of a large silver ship where Wolf helped an injured handmaiden up. Landing beside her, Hawk offered her arm to carry the young girl as Wolf applied a combination of potions, bacta and the Force.
"That's everyone," Wolf said, getting the Jedi's attention. Another force blast knocked the approaching droids down, giving Jinn and Kenobi enough room to Force-move up the ramp and into the ship.
Once on the Naboo cruiser, Wolf lead the handmaiden to the room, leaving Hawk to take lead. She pushed her way past the few security guards and sat down in the co-pilot's seat. The pilot spared her a glance before continuing to go through a pre-flight check. Her movements were secondary as she kept sending reassuring thoughts to Wolf through their bond. She held fast, taking comforting in the bond when she couldn't hold her partner like she wanted to.
"Your shoulder -" Kenobi started.
"Is fine," Hawk said, ignoring the pain that started to spread beyond the shoulder proper. She reached forward, grunting past the pain to take control of the ship and direct it up and out of the hanger before the captain of the guard could say otherwise.
"I hate this, I hate this," she muttered to herself as the ship carried them off the planet and to the stars.
As the atmosphere passed and stars began to shine upon the black, Hawk watched droid ships flood from the orbital station. She said a silent prayer for the captain of the vessel they flew in on. It was less than twelve short hours ago that they left Republic craft to begin this fool's errand. The prayer didn't do much, as no one here worshiped a Christian God, but the sentiment mattered more than anything else.
"We're never going to make it through the blockade," the captain said. He'd managed to move to the cockpit at some point while she focused on more important things, like not dying.
"We will if the shield holds," Hawk said. Wolf should be up here. She loved flying, and despite Hawk's namesake and growing tolerance, flying often required dangerous stunts that Wolf instinctively knew. Hawk handled the weapons, usually, but she could get them out of here. She had to if she wanted to get home.
The console began to squeal as a green light flashed. She flicked off the warning, leaving the light flashing as she tried to respond to the rapidly approaching droids. She reached out with the Force, brushing the approaching form of Wolf. She needed her partner here. Working together meant winning. Ever since she'd known Wolf, even when she was Jenna, Hawk found her strengths amplified and weaknesses diminished alongside. This was on top of the safety in the face of danger as long as she knew she wasn't alone. She let out a sigh even as she tried to fly this toothless behemoth of a ship: her partner wasn't far away anymore.
"You had to say something," Wolf muttered as she arrived in the cockpit. The ship rocked as several fighters fired upon them. Hawk twisted the controls, desperate to avoid most of them. Another blast rocked the ship. A blue flashing light popped up on the dash as Wolf pushed the captain out of his chair.
Tapping the console, Hawk sent the astromech droids out to repair. "Bout time you got here."
"Not my fault one of the handmaidens thought she could play hero," Wolf said as she took control over the ship. The view tilted and spun as Wolf flew them between several fighters. Hawk kept watch of the panels. Had there been a weapon's system, at least she would have felt useful. Now, with Wolf at the wheel, all she could do was maintain the ship's system.
"Which one?" The captain asked.
"What?" Wolf righted the view as two droid ships flew into another just off of the viewscreen.
"Which handmaiden was hurt?" He asked again.
"What does it matter?" Hawk flipped through screens. "Damn, shields are still down. Only one astromech left."
"If we don't get the shields up, we're sitting ducks," Kenobi said from his position at one of the auxiliary seats.
"Ducks don't sit," Wolf said, twisting the controls again. The ship rocked as they moved into another spin, flying past another set of droids. "They fly."
Hawk relaxed in her seat as the lone astromech worked. Together, the two of them saved the ship, Wolf steering through the droid ships attacking them even as a droid saved them. "We've got a battleship on approach." Hawk reported as the ship rocked from another hit.
Wolf snorted as she leveled out the ship. "Not going to take too many more of those."
"Won't mean a damn if we don't - yes!" Hawk slammed on the console even as Wolf turned the ship away from battleship. The green warning light finally shut off and the shield slowly powered back up. They spun again, slipping by two crashing droid attack ship. Hawk worked on the deflector, leaving Wolf to pilot them away from the battleship.
"Can't relax for long," Kenobi said, shaking her from her thoughts. "We're not going to make it to Corsusant."
"Had to ruin my good mode," Wolf said, leveling out the ship.
"We'll need a safe place to land," Jinn said, drawing Hawk's attention to him for the first time since their escape started.
"Well, you all can decide that," Wolf said, standing up for the chair. She patted Hawk on the shoulder. A wave of energy flowed out of the shorter woman and into Hawk. The Force wrapped around her wound, easing the pain until Wolf could get a better look at the burn in private. "I've got a patient to see."
"Which one?" The captain all but demanded.
"What's it matter to you?" Wolf asked, tilting her head. "It's not like the Queen was hit. In fact, the young handmaiden saved the Queen's life." The captain sputtered before racing out of the room. "Yeah, that fooled no one, right?"
"What?" Jinn looked at her as she left them.
Hawk stood from her seat and moved to Kenobi's side. She understood Wolf's reference now that she had a moment to review her memories. The handmaidens served as decoys for the Queen, given the strikingly similar facial and physical features. All stood about the same height, only a few centimeters difference at most between them. With the captain's concern over a handmaiden, it meant the handmaiden may be more than actually a handmaiden.
"You find a suitable alternative?" Hawk asked Kenobi.
"This one," he said, tapping the star chart. An image of red sand covered planet expanded on the screen beneath his finger. "Tatooine."
Jinn moved over his shoulder, reviewing the planet. Hawk knew Tatooine well. They spent a great deal of time there, either seeking or capturing their prey. A desert planet with a few spaceports and plenty of moisture farmers and salvagers. Some factories operated, though the sand got into too many places to make long term operations on the surface feasible. Dangerous living for desperate people.
"It's small, out of the way, poor… The Trade Federation has no presence there," Kenobi continued.
"No such thing as small favors. It's controlled by the Hutts," Hawk said. "We going to warn the Queen about this?"
Jinn shook his head. "The level of danger to her would be the same as if we landed on a system controlled by the Federation…except the Hutts aren't looking for her, which gives us an advantage."
"Alright, I'll start the calculations. Hopefully nothing else will break down on us before we get there." Hawk sat back at the controls and began to enter in the coordinates.
"You fly very well," Jinn said, taking the seat Wolf left vacant only a few minutes before. Kenobi left them, presumable to speak with the captain (she really needed to learn his name)
"By necessity rather than desire," Hawk said. "Despite my name, I prefer the earth under my feet. Wolf is more of a natural than I am."
"It could have been much worse," Jinn said, "and you agree with Wolf's assessment of the Queen's entourage?"
"Like you never considered the possibility," she said as she tapped in the final commands to slip into Hyperspace. It'd be a quick ride, and hopefully without any permanent damage. The white lights of stars elongated as the ship slipped from normal space into the folds between. In moments, they were beyond the reach of the Trade Federation and heading safely to Corsusant.
"It is a wise defensive action," Jinn commented. "Though the charade is dangerous to continue around us."
"Wolf isn't a fan of liars," Hawk said, "especially liars who put us at risk. If we'd, or I had, done the background, then we'd be prepared for it. I probably wouldn't have stayed at the rear."
"It would have changed our plans as well, but no plan survives enemy contact. The future is constantly in motion," Jinn said, cautioning her.
"More than you think, Master Jedi," Hawk said, turning to stare at the stars streaming past them. "More than you think."
"You sense something as well?" Jinn asked. She turned back to look at him, staring through her helm. Without moving, it normally unnerved most people, but Jedi hardly were most people.
"No," Hawk finally admitted. "But I trust Wolf. She…she feels something is wrong."
They sat in silence for a few moments, various controls lighting but nothing requiring her attention. Hawk let her body relax, the tension slipping away. It would return once they made planet fall on Tatooine, but until then she could relax. Maybe even remove the armor and shower.
"Did you ever consider staying on at the Temple? Continuing your studies?" Jinn asked, breaking the silence between them.
"No," she said, shaking her head. The helmet hid the fury and tears in her eyes as she thought back to the few days before their hurried departure. "Not when your Jedi Masters only wanted to use Wolf for their own gain. Just like everyone else in her life."
Jinn tilted his head but said nothing. He hadn't been one of the Masters pushing to examine Jenna Potter. Their connection to magic translated to a connection with the Force easily enough that Jenna became just as powerful once in this galaxy. Hermione was middling, but the Force helped to enhance her innate abilities. It didn't excuse their curiosity, the staring, the harsh whispers in the Jedi Temple about her best friend.
Hawk closed her eyes as the memories hit her. She remembered the first time the whispers reached her enhanced senses, when she started to stop caring about knowing everything and started to try and understand instead. It was the Temple Library, where most of her discoveries took place. The refuge hadn't changed, despite being in a completely new galaxy, but then Hermione simple needed to know as much as she could if they wanted to go home someday. The whispers turned into glares, as they failed to answer more and more of questions.
The histories of the Order filled the Library, but most of it talked about how mysterious the Force was. Given enough time, Hermione hypothesized several theories on the given energy expenditure for any Force ability, but Hawk found herself more and more frustrated. Everything culminated in a single evening, where Masters Suun and Rei-Li-En attempted a plan to capture Jenna. Hawk blasted both Masters off the Temple, and had the temple guards, two Jedi Knights, not be nearby, they likely would have been her first murders. She ran to Jenna, and off the planet they went.
"Master Yoda was quite upset at your departure," Jinn said.
"Well, so was Wolf – at least until she learned what the Jedi wanted to do," Hawk said.
"I am surprised you were willing to assist us then with all your misgivings." Hawk stood from her seat, taking a few steps to gather her thoughts. She reached the entrance to the cockpit before the thoughts coalesced.
"You helped us first," Hawk said, shrugging her shoulders. It should have been more complicated than that, but it boiled down to the simple fact that the Jedi offered assistance seeking nothing in return. As a group, she respected them enough but the individuals within the Order left a bad taste in her mouth. Too many were too rigid, and even if she couldn't embrace the Force in the same way as Wolf, she found rigidity limited what she could see. Moreover, there were some who wanted Wolf for no reason other than to study her. They couldn't stay there, even if it meant leaving the safety of the Temple for the dangers of the galaxy. When given the chance to return that kindness, it felt right to do so without complaint or payment. And beyond that, Jinn and Kenobi were friends, and friends helped each other out.
Being open to the galaxy left her seeing more. Seeing through the Force increased her understanding of the world, which ultimately increased her knowledge. Hawk may no longer be a bookworm, but knowledge remained the most powerful thing in the universe. No matter what Jedi's saw, the Force paled in comparison to simply knowing more.
"I'm going to try and clean up while we can," Hawk said, taking the chance to calm down and maybe mediate. While Hogwarts taught them to channel the energy through the wands, the Force required a continuous connection and balance. Releasing emotions, regardless of valence, into the Force aided in maintaining the connection. Plus, cleaning up meant drawing Wolf into a shower, and any alone time she could get on a crowded spacecraft was always a good way to end the day.
A/N: Thank you all for reading and thank you for those that left reviews. This chapter takes us on a departure from Episode One. The inclusion of two new characters creates a new dynamic, or at least I hope it does. Let me know what you think.
Also, I'm trying to create differences in the POVs that include differences in how they perceive the world. This may mean unreliable narrators, and conflicting information at times. Sometimes it will be corrected, other times it won't, but understand this is done purposefully and sparingly (the conflicting information). Still, let me know if there are any major problems.
Finally, please understand my descriptions of Harry/Wolf and Hermione/Hawk are purposeful. I typically write characters (men and woman) with actors in mind to help me work out movements and speech partners. It also gives me a good idea of distances between characters and other objects within the scene. It doesn't always work, but sometimes it does.
Thank you again everyone for reading, and if you can please leave a review. Or not, I don't have subpoena power.