A/N- So I've got another chapter ready for you all. Apologies for the delay but as I said on my profile, I became ill towards the end of June and I found I could barely muster up the strength or will to do much at all. Furthermore, writing this chapter proved more complex than I expected. It was meant to be longer but I felt that it was becoming too long and so it has been split into two parts with part 2 probably going be another month or two away yet.
Anyway, I will now address some things before the chapter begins.
In Chapter four I said that there were some pop culture references for you to spot. If you noticed any of them, good job. If not, don't worry because I'm about to go through them now. Firstly, there was the poster Jaina was looking at and the creature in the poster was that of a Xenomorph from the Alien movies. Next up is the book that Harry was reading; it's almost certainly not a pop culture reference per say but it's an actual book that chronicles the Kuban campaign in 1943. Third off is the conversation between Leia, Rey, Jaina and Mr X regarding Darth Vader and the ethics of killing him and others before they could become the threat they're destined to become; that's a homage to the classic Doctor Who story, Genesis of the Daleks, with a slight homage to Day of the Doctor there as well. Next up is the moment that the largely comatose Mara Jade loses control of her powers, which is a reference to the movie Logan and what happens to Charles Xavier at some points during the movie. The fifth reference is what Harry says to Rey about age and wisdom and is a nod to the movie Skyfall. When selecting clothes to take from Mr X, Harry picks up a slightly larger version of the sleeveless jacket that is worn by Eli/Liquid Snake as well as the leather biker-type jacket worn by Big Boss as worn in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; He also picks up the Tenth Doctor's duster coat (which I called a Trench coat, oops) and I think that's that on the pop culture references front.
I didn't want to address/ call out some reviews but I felt like I have to in some way. I'll leave the reviewers names out of this but I don't think it'll be difficult to figure out who's reviews I'm addressing. First off and it's probably very obvious but I don't care if you're someone who doesn't like the Sequel trilogy or the fact Rey takes the name of Skywalker, don't force your views on those topics on other people as they may disagree with you and, in any case, canonically, she is a Skywalker whether you like it or not. Personally, for the most part, I love the sequel trilogy and as for when Rey takes the name of Skywalker, it's something that I have no problem with as I can think of at least a few real world examples as to why it works. Secondly, if you decide that this story is not for you after having initially favorited/followed it and decide that you're going to unfavorite/unfollow it, just do it, I don't mind if you're not a fan. Just don't write a review saying that you're going unfavorite/unfollow it as I find it discourteous, not just towards me but towards your fellow readers, writers and reviewers. Anyway, rant over... for now.
Now, for those of you who have been waiting, I hope you enjoy the following chapter.
Chapter Five – A World of Scum and Villainy (I)
Harry sat at a table in a dark casino and club with a case by his legs. He was focused on the card game playing out in front of him and it was one he was familiar with for it was blackjack. He remembered what Mr X had said about how it came to be. 'There's a club in Anchorhead that opened up a few years ago. Anyway, a few months ago, I went there and I spoke to the owner. He told me that his club was struggling and I suggested some things to help him out. I introduced him to some Earth games and now he's raking in the money.' Harry had been hastily taught the basics of blackjack and was now earning tens of thousands of Wupiupi and Peggats. It also helped that he'd consumed a healthy dose of liquid luck, provided by Mr X.
"'ow the 'ell did you do that kid?" A drunken patron asked Harry as he looked at Harry's ever growing pile of money.
"I'm just lucky, I guess." Harry replied with a nervous smile.
The drunken patron gave Harry an uncertain look, making Harry very uncomfortable. After what seemed like ages, the drunken patron smiled at Harry and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I 'ope you keep your luck going kid. Some people need to make money on this god-forsaken planet; you might as well be one of those people."
"Cheers." Harry replied with a note of caution. He waited for the drunken patron to say something, just in case he said something that would help him better understand the planet or the galaxy.
"Keep yourself alert 'cause not everyone on this planet will allow ya to keep your prize. 'ell not everyone in this place will let you walk away from 'ere with all ya money." The drunken patron said warningly. "Let me get you a drink kid. When you hang around places like this, you'll the needing one sooner or later." He then walked away and headed up to the bar. Harry glanced over to where there were several scantily clad dancers, some of whom were humanoid but definitely not human as they had different coloured skin and parts of the head that resembled tentacles. His focus however was on the young human woman in the golden bikini, who was a few years older than himself.
Leia felt embarrassed that she'd lost the argument about the golden bikini she was currently wearing. She knew that she'd said to Harry that she was proud of her body but she was only comfortable with her people she knew like her family and friends seeing her like this. Ever since Mr X had won the argument about the golden bikini she was wearing, she considered what her relationship was with Harry. She knew that she'd known him for only a few days and yet she already considered him to be a close... something. She wasn't sure what or, more to the matter, why. She just knew that she felt comfortable having him around.
She danced and realised that the job she was doing was earning her a lot of money. She started to understand why some women would do this job. Out of the corner of her eye, Leia saw Harry looking at her, making sure that she was safe. She would've preferred to be doing what Harry was doing but she supposed that there was a benefit in having a diverse range of incomes.
Harry continued to keep an eye on Leia, silently vowing that as long as they were in that club, he would make sure that she knew that someone was making sure she was safe. Whatever thoughts he had about Leia and her safety were distracted by the drunken patron returning to give Harry the drink he'd purchased for him. "'ere you go, kid. Fairly sure that you shouldn't have any of this stuff but Tatooine 'as some of the most lax laws in the Outer Rim."
Harry took a look at the drink and was unsure of what to think about. He wasn't even sure of what the drink was. All he could tell was that it was dark and fruity. "What is this drink?"
"I guess you wouldn't know what it is, would ya? Being a young lad an' all." The drunken patron said in realisation. He then took a large gulp of what appeared to be a beer or ale of some sort before explaining the drink he got for Harry. "It's a fruit cocktail that originated on Malastare. It may not seem like much but it'll give you a headache in the morning. Its beauty is that you don't get drunk, you just get the hangover in the morning. It was specially formulated to give visitors to that planet a great time without causing disruption to the local businesses and communities."
"Well it sounds like an interesting drink. I think that I'm the first person from my world to try it then." Harry remarked offhandedly.
"I'd ask where yer from but I'm too drunk to actually ask or pay attention." The drunk patron replied upon hearing Harry's comment. He then slumped into a chair and began humming a nonsensical tune.
Harry played a couple more hands of blackjack before calling it quits and leaving the table with his winnings. He had about half of the drink given to him. Then, as he drifted towards Leia, he noticed a few other drunken patrons leering at her and beginning to act like pigs and thugs. 'I'm not liking the look of this.' Harry thought to himself. He quickly put down the winnings from the gambling he'd done as well as his case in a quiet corner, got his wand out and cast a Disillusionment charm over them. He made a mental reminder to himself to note where he left the empty case and his winnings, then he slowly walked towards where Leia was. Then the carnage began.
One of the drunken patrons asked aloud, "How much do ya cost you pretty thing?" The question was directed at Leia and Leia ignored the question. "Oi, manager, 'ow much for this girl?" the same drunken patron asked loudly.
A near-human alien, who Harry presumed was one of the managers of the establishment, replied dismissively, "Not only is she not for sale, we're having to pay a small fee so we could get an extra dancer for the next couple of days. The contractor who provided her services told the owner that a number of interested parties would be most upset if anything happened to them." A couple of bouncers lined up either side of the manager.
"That sounds like complete bullcrap." The drunken patron replied angrily and disbelievingly. He then lashed out, picking up a chair single handed and threw it in the direction of the manager. The aim of the drunken patron was skewed so the chair took down one of the bouncers instead. An all out brawl took place as some of the man's friends began fighting with the staff and other patrons who'd taken sides with the club's manager and bouncers. At the same time, the drunken patron and several more of his friends and a few opportunistic thugs made a move for Leia. Leia punched a couple of the thugs, knocking one of them out but she was quickly overwhelmed. The drunken thugs twisted her arms behind her back and carried her out of the club, even as she continued to struggle.
Harry ran towards Leia but found his way to her blocked by people who were either fighting or panicking. "Bloody Hell! Who the hell is desperate enough to get a girl that they start a riot?" he remarked to himself out loud. He began stunning anyone in his path and swatting away objects thrown at him with levitation charms. 'Is this my first bar brawl?' he asked himself inside his head. He gradually made his way to follow Leia as the carnage around the building slowed him down. At one point during his slow push through the riotous brawl, he felt himself struck on the back of the head by a glass being smashed. "Aagh, fucking hell!" Harry exclaimed in pain before turning around and sending the person who attacked him flying through the air to the other side of the room. He eventually managed to get away from the carnage and exited the building.
Leia was getting a feeling of dread as she'd been carried to a nearby alleyway. She saw that she was surrounded by almost two dozen thugs, all of them leering at her with lustful eyes. "I have friends who will find out if anything happens to me. They will not be forgiving, that I can promise you." Leia told them defiantly. She wouldn't let them see what she was feeling inside.
"My, my, this one thinks she's a princess, doesn't she fellas?" One of the drunken thugs remarked sarcastically. He got various amused chuckles out of his friends and associates.
"Why are we jus' standing around an' talkin'? I wanna see what we've got to play with." Another one of the thugs remarked aloud. Then, in a swift move that stunned Leia to her very core, the drunken thug tore off the top of her golden bikini. Leia felt her body sting as she felt cuts on her back and sides from where the golden bikini had been torn off of her. To her horror, some of the thugs dropped their trousers and began to play with themselves whilst looking directly at her.
"You know, I really don't like it when someone is made to do something that they don't want to do." A voice said from behind the thugs. Leia managed to look past the thugs and saw that Harry was standing at the entrance of the alleyway.
The thugs looked at each other in confusion, then laughed out loud like it was one big joke. The Lead thug recognised Harry from the bar, "I saw you in the club back there. You were lookin' at her. Don't deny it, I saw ya. Maybe we let you 'ave the first go with this 'ore so you don't have to have our sloppy seconds?"
Harry had an unreadable expression on his face although Leia and some of the thugs thought it looked like amusement mixed with absolute fury. "Perhaps you didn't hear me? I said I don't like it when people are made to do things that they don't want to do." His wand was barely concealed from view.
The thug who tore off the top of Leia's golden bikini then forcibly removed the bottom half of it and began groping Leia in a perverse manner before addressing Harry. "I can tell that you've not been with one yet. My associate can tell that you've got an interest in this one. Maybe we can tell you how to do her and –" He was cut off before he could finish whatever else he was going to say. He found himself being levitated into the air and being slammed into a wall before being flung into some of his associates and some empty wooden pallets. Some of his associates and friends likewise found themselves flung through the air or collapsed on the ground and the ones still standing and conscious looked at Harry in shock.
"What did I just say?" Harry growled at them. Some of the thugs fled whilst others jumped back in surprise. "You really shouldn't have tried to justify yourselves or try and get me to join you. You see, my friends say that I have a saving people thing and I don't like it when cowards like you lot try to force your will and yourselves onto others." Harry then proceeded to fire off several stunning spells and some minor blasting curses. His wrath was saved for the drunken thug leader however, firing off several cutting curses and a very weak reductor curse at the man. The drunken thug leader screamed in agony as he felt his knee cap explode into dust and various cuts slicing up his skin.
The remaining thugs were unsure of what they should do. They knew that they had the numbers to take the boy on but they didn't want to be inflicted with the same kind of injuries as their leader seemed to have suffered. In the end, they decided that the boy was just too much of an unknown for them to be dealing with. They just concluded that the boy was similar to the much fabled Jedi and that it was unwise to antagonise him any further. One of the thugs spoke to Harry, "I've never seen a Jedi want a whore like this one so badly. Go ahead and keep 'er." They then grabbed their unconscious and injured associates and backed out of the alleyway.
Harry waited until he was sure all the thugs had left before he approached Leia. He sat down onto the ground next to Leia and noticed that Leia was breathing heavily, attempting to suppress the tears that threatened to emerge. She was still lying on the ground and had in fact begun to curl up on herself. Harry gathered her into his arms and placed a hand on her back. Leia was initially hesitant but she leaned into Harry, laying her head on his shoulder. They said nothing to each other for several minutes, Harry waiting until Leia was comfortable to speak. "Why couldn't I fight them off? I've been taught how to fight but I couldn't fight them off. They could've done anything they wanted to me if you hadn't intervened." Leia wondered to herself aloud. She sounded almost shell-shocked.
"Leia, you were outnumbered, you couldn't have fought them all off. However, you did manage to knock one of them out and you gave another one a nasty bruise." Harry replied assertively. It took several minutes for Leia to calm down from what almost happened to her and Harry was going to make sure that she was okay. He then felt something trickle over his hand and looked to see some of Leia's blood running down her back. "Leia, I need to patch you up quickly. Do you mind sitting up straight while I heal these cuts?" Wordlessly, Leia obliged him and sat up straight. He then traced the cuts on Leia's body and the cuts soon healed up. Harry then noticed the blood that began drying out on Leia's body. "Leia, you might feel a slight chill and you'll definitely feel a bit soaked. I just have to clean up some of the blood from those cuts I healed up quickly." He told her hesitantly.
Leia narrowed her eyes as she looked out for anymore potential attackers. "What do mean, soaked?" Leia asked cautiously before she gasped sharply as she felt a jet of cold water douse her back, "Kriffing hell! That's cold!" After a few minutes, Harry was sure that the water had washed the blood away and stopped shooting water over Leia. Leia continued to gasp and shiver as the cold water continued to affect her. "What was that you just did?" Leia asked once the shock she'd experienced had faded and she turned to face Harry.
"I used a spell that shoots a jet of water at you. It's called Aguamenti." Harry explained before looking a bit sheepish. "I may have put too much power into the spell. It was not supposed to be as powerful as it was but I kept the spell up as it was because it was doing what I needed it to."
Leia narrowed her eyes at him for a few moments before asking more about the spell he used, "If that... spell you used can soak people and things, can it be used to provide drinking water?"
"It could. It's not a perfect solution though. Conjuring things from thin air, they don't tend to last. You saw that yourself, I think, with the mattress I conjured up on the ship a couple of days ago. I worry about what would happen if we drank any water I conjured and it suddenly disappeared from our systems." Harry replied to Leia. "This isn't exactly the kind of place where I want to suddenly lose fluid from my body and find out after all."
"I get what you mean. Still, I think that I could do with a drink."
Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, "Why don't I buy you one from the bar. I'm sure that they'll have something to quench our thirst."
"Sounds good. Do you mind if you keep an eye out whilst I get these things back on?" Leia asked him, gesturing to the golden bikini as she asked her question.
Harry blushed slightly. "Sure." Harry took a couple of steps away from Leia and kept his eyes wide open for any threats to them. Harry could hear Leia struggling to put the golden bikini back on but kept himself focused on what he needed to do.
After a few minutes, Leia finished putting the golden bikini back on herself and patted Harry on the shoulder. "Okay, I'm done. Come on wizard boy, you said you'd get me a drink." She said before walking back to the club.
Harry stood staring after Leia with an amused smile on his face and remarked, "That I did, that I did." He then moved and quickly caught up to Leia.
When they re-entered the club, they found the club littered with the detritus from the earlier brawling and saw the staff cleaning up the place. The security guards and bouncers had restrained some of the patrons who'd taken part in the fight and Harry and Leia saw that the other dancers were having drinks at the bar too. "I see you're safe then?" Someone asked Leia out of the blue and Harry saw that it was the near human manager that had confronted the thug who'd tried to take Leia.
"Yes, I'm safe. My friend here came to rescue me." Leia replied to the manager.
The manager looked at Harry carefully. "Where are your winnings from the card game? Also, you should get yourself checked over." The manager said before quickly and gently touching the back of Harry's head. He pulled his hand back from Harry's head to reveal a small amount of blood.
"I knew that I'd gotten hit but I didn't realise that I'd got a cut." Harry replied before hissing in pain as he touched the back of his head.
"Were you robbed by anyone whilst that fight took place in here?" The manager asked Harry in concern. "I can always get a bounty hunter to find it if you were. Like that guy over there." He then said, pointing at a blue skinned humanoid wearing a duster coat and large hat at the bar near to the other dancers. The clothing of the blue skinned humanoid bounty hunter reminded Harry of the kind worn in some western movies back on Earth. "Come to think of it, I think he managed to avoid getting involved in the fighting entirely."
"Don't worry about my winnings; I managed to hide them in a quiet corner. I don't think that I'll need a bounty hunter today." Harry replied with a grimacing chuckle as he continued to feel the pain catching up with him. Harry then walked over to where he remembered he hid his winnings and case, discreetly got his wand out and undid his disillusionment charm on them before putting the wand away. He then walked back to the bar with his winnings in hand.
The manager was surprised when he saw Harry's winnings appear out of nowhere. "Where the hell did you put them? We did not see them anywhere around here."
"I have my ways." Harry replied to the manager cryptically. He didn't want to expose himself too much, just in case it put himself or his friends at increased risk.
"He probably concealed them with some cloaking device or an illusionist's trick of the eye." An electronic sounding voice spoke up and Harry realised that it was the blue skinned humanoid bounty hunter. The blue skinned humanoid bounty hunter then spoke directly to Harry, "Don't you worry kid, unless it's part of a job I'm doing, then your methods of hiding things is of no interest to me."
"Thanks, I guess..." Harry replied nervously to the blue skinned humanoid bounty hunter. Harry then walked over to the bar where Leia was. "What would you like Leia? Remember, I'm buying."
The manager came over and interrupted them before either of them could order a drink. "You won't need to buy anything today; It's on the house." He then walked over to them and spoke to them in a discreet whisper, "Mr X did ask to make sure that you two were taken care of. The fact that bad things happened to you two under our watch means this is the least that we could do."
"Thanks. I'm not sure what I should have though. I mean, I'm not exactly old enough to drink alcohol." Harry replied politely. "Someone got me a cocktail earlier and he knew that I wasn't old enough to drink at bars yet."
The manager shook his head and nodded at the barman. He then looked back at Harry, "Kid, on Tatooine, no one cares too much about legality. In some of the more... shadier parts of this planet, there are slave markets, drug deals, gang warfare and a lot more going on, so trust me when I say that no one here is going to get in trouble for a bit of underage drinking."
The barman poured out a couple of drinks for Leia and Harry and there was a frothy top to the drink. "For the lovely couple, I give you a Corellian ale each." Harry and Leia were taken by surprise by the assumption of the barman that they were a couple but neither of them could correct him before he went to serve one of the club's regular dancers.
"Cheers , Wizard boy." Leia said, holding her glass up.
Harry then raised his glass up and clinked his glass with hers. "Cheers, Leia." He then looked very apologetic, "I'm sorry that I didn't get to you sooner."
"Don't worry about what happened, Harry. I'm just forever grateful you managed to rescue me from those degenerates... and I'm sorry you had to come after me in the first place." Leia said, letting Harry know that what happened wasn't his fault. The pair of them sat contemplatively at the bar and sipped their drinks. Harry and Leia occasionally glanced at each other wondering what was going through the other one's head. After a short while, they finished their drinks and decided to return to the Skywalker home. "Do you want to call our ride?" Leia asked him.
Harry nodded and pulled a angular looking device from the case. He found it odd but used it all the same, remembering what Mr X told them about it. 'This is a device called an Idroid. Me and some of my... frenemies came across a universe where these have been used in military and mercenary outfits since the mid seventies on that version of Earth. We took examples back to our universe with us and reverse engineered them. Where they came from is irrelevant at this time. I reckon that that you three women would actually be able to master this no problem and the only one I need to teach thoroughly is you Harry. It can keep track of enemies marked by the binoculars I've given you, keep track of your supplies and cash, send you job offers and more in real time. It can even record and play cassette tapes with recorded information and music.' Mr X had shown Harry, Leia, Rey and Jaina how to use them but it did leave the four of them continuing to question Mr X's motivations for helping them or getting them to do jobs like the one Leia had been doing. Harry activated the Idroid and, after a bit of fiddling around with it, summoned a speeder from Mr X.
"Right, I've called for a speeder. It will be here shortly." Harry told Leia before looking at his winnings from the card game. "I'll be a couple of minutes; I just need to change my winnings for cash." Harry quietly spoke with the manager and the pair of them walked into another room to sort out the exchange of the club's casino chips for money. It took several minutes but he left the room with over a quarter of a million of Peggats and several Wupiupi in his now, very full case.
"How much did you win?" Leia asked. It had taken a few minutes longer than the couple Harry had said it was going to take.
"A lot, I think. I'm not exactly sure what it would be worth on Earth. I wouldn't even know which currency to compare this with." Harry replied. "I was just told that I earned over a quarter of a million Peggats and a few Wupiupi."
Leia became curious about his planet, or rather, the currencies on it. "Just how many currencies does your planet have? This galaxy only has about eight currencies used and shared between tens of thousands of planets."
"A lot. We're talking high double digits, I think."
"Wow. Don't you think that your planet would be better off with just a single currency?"
"I think it's a good idea except for a couple of big flaws."
"Which are...?"
"One, not every country or region wants their monetary policy dominated by another, and two, what happens if one or more countries using the same currency as another nation experience an economic collapse? Would it not cause more crisis elsewhere?"
"You know, I've never heard that argument before. I think that we're all used to having largely standardized currencies and being too large to fail." Leia began to ponder what would happen to the galaxy if each planet used it's own currency. Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry before she could think about the subject too much.
"Our ride's here. Shall we get going?" Harry asked as he took a brief look at his Idroid device, looking like he was still baffled by it.
"Sounds good." Leia said happily. "I'm looking forward to being somewhere where everyone can keep an eye on one another." Harry looked at her, a look of uncertainty on his face. He didn't need the force to sense that she was trying to make out that she was fine when she was, in reality, anything but fine.
Harry and Leia walked outside to find a droid piloted speeder, the droid driving the vehicle looking similar to the one that had taken them to Mr X earlier. It spoke to them with a low-pitched, whiney voice, "I am G-O-G Zero X. I am your driver back to the Skywalker residence in Mos Espa."
"Thank you , I guess." Harry said to the machine man. Harry and Leia got into the back of the speeder and sat back as the droid began driving them away from the club and through hundreds of miles of open desert. A short while after leaving Anchorhead, Harry and Leia spoke with each other. "Before all that nasty business started up, do you know how much you were getting?"
"Not as much as you if that's what you were wondering. I think that I earned about five or ten thousand Peggats." Leia replied. "I think we got so much because that place has something for everyone and it has some extensive security."
"That didn't stop tonight from happening, did it?"
"No but I was speaking with some of the other dancers and they told me that ever since that club opened, a fight like tonight has only happened once before."
Harry then winced as he once more felt pain at the back of his head. "I thought that Liquid Luck was supposed to mean that nothing bad would happen to me? Where the hell did Mr X get this stuff from?" he asked himself in annoyance.
Leia listened to Harry and offered him a suggestion or two. "I don't know where he'd get this Liquid Luck stuff from but perhaps he made it himself. As for why it allowed something to you, maybe it doesn't apply to fighting?"
"Liquid Luck is supposed to make me lucky in all things, even fighting. If Mr X did make the Liquid Luck himself though, it might explain why there was a blip in the luck I was experiencing."
A few minutes of silence reigned before either one of them spoke again. "So Harry, what do you think about this galaxy?" Leia asked, hoping to move the conversation away from the events of the day.
"I've only been on two planets so far and so far, for me, Naboo is the planet that feels closest to mine. Tatooine is interesting but I have no idea what its history is." Harry replied. "Where are you from, Leia? I've told you and the others where I'm from but, while I know where Padmé is from, I don't know where you, Rey or Jaina are from."
Leia suddenly looked sad. "It doesn't matter. My world was destroyed."
"I'm sorry." Harry said apologetically as what Leia said quickly sunk in. Harry then noticed Leia shivering as the day gave way to night and the heat gave way to the cold and took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders.
"Thanks." Leia said gratefully, a few moments after Harry placed the jacket on her shoulders. "Harry, do you trust Mr X?"
Harry considered her question before responding, "He knows a lot about us and if he wanted us dead, I reckon he would've already done it. It doesn't mean that I entirely trust him. I think I can believe him when he says that he's looking for a threat to his universe that's somewhere in this universe. I'm not sure what his plans are with us once he's got what he wanted but his attitude and his actions so far means that I, I guess, see him as more of a co-belligerent than a true ally."
"It's only natural. We do seem to have different aims and only a common enemy after all. Potentially more, if we take him at his word." Leia replied in agreement. She silently even began to consider if Mr X's enemy was the one to bring Rey, Jaina and herself to this time period as well as dragging Harry across the universe, away from his homeworld. After a while thinking about Mr X and the circumstances of herself, Jaina, Rey and Harry, her attention turned to that of the growing closeness between Harry and Padmé as well as the feelings that she, as well as Jaina and, possibly, Rey, were developing for the young man. "Harry, I want you to answer something." Leia asked before looking at Harry's face, seeing a look of confusion and caution cross his face. "I'm just wondering what your thoughts are regarding Padmé; How do you feel about her?"
Harry thought hard about Leia's question, "That's a hard question to answer, I think." Harry took a sip of water before continuing. "I like her. She's passionate, kind and very empathetic. I know I've only known her for a few days but I also know that I wouldn't want her out of my life."
"What about Jaina and Rey? What are your thoughts about them?" Leia asked.
Harry frowned slightly as he thought about the question. He responded after a few moments of silence, "I like them. Probably just as much as I like Padmé in fact. I just wish that they were more open because there are times when they're hiding something but I'm not sure what or why." Leia looked like she was going to say something but Harry knew what she was going to ask. "Before you ask, that applies to you too." Harry then remained silent for a brief moment before continuing to talk, "I know that you, Rey and Jaina are hiding something from the rest of us. I'm not going to press any of you three yet about it because I don't think that it hurts us. I will change my mind if the circumstances change though." Leia thought that he had finished speaking but was caught off guard by him asking her a question, "Just one thing. Does Mr X know what you, Rey and Jaina are hiding?"
Leia was caught in a bind but she knew that she couldn't conceal the fact that Mr X did indeed know what Rey, Jaina and herself were hiding from everyone else from him. "Yes. He does."
Harry looked uncertain, unsure of what to say. "Right..." His mind was going through a million thoughts a second and he was thinking back to their earlier meeting with the enigmatic Mr X as well as the confrontation he had with them the previous night. Neither one of them spoke again until they returned to the Skywalker residence in Mos Espa.
The night had just begun to set and, upon arriving back at the Skywalker house, Harry and Leia got out of the speeder and, as soon as they got their earnings out of the vehicle, they were greeted by Padmé, who'd been waiting out front for them. "I'm glad you two are back. Rey and Jaina came back almost an hour ago."
"That's good. Did they say anything about what they'd been up to earlier?" Harry asked. Leia quietly handed Harry back his jacket and he put it back on.
"They said that they didn't want to say anything until you two got back. I don't know why though." Padmé replied with a frown on her face.
Harry and Leia looked at each other before turning back to Padmé. "Let's go and ask them. They're waiting for us to come before they say anything anyway." Leia said.
"I wonder if they had a better time than we did?" Harry mused aloud.
"I thought that you four were together since you got on that speeder this morning?" Padmé asked, trying to figure out why they split up.
"We were together this morning to meet Jurzacka's enigmatic boss. Then we were split up so we could do different jobs for money." Harry explained to the confused Handmaiden.
"Why did you need to jobs? Qui-Gon made a bet with that dealer Watto that should hopefully get us the parts we need, not that I agree with the bet or the risk it's bringing." Padmé replied.
"I think that's why we're doing these jobs. Because we cannot rely on winning the bet to get what we need." Leia said cautiously.
"I have every confidence in Anakin but Leia's right much like you were last night. We need other ways to make sure that we get the parts we need. If that means that we need to do jobs that will pay, then so be it." Harry added. He then began to head towards the front door of the Skywalker house. "Come on, let's get inside. I think that we should all talk our day's."
Leia and Padmé followed Harry and Padmé noticed the dried up blood on the back of Harry's head. "Harry, you're hurt?!" she said in surprise and worry.
"I'm fine." Harry said instantaneously before hissing in pain as the trio entered the building. "I was just whacked in the head by some random person with a large glass who got involved in a bar brawl."
"We should get you checked over." Padmé said as she walked past Harry and into the kitchen to get a bowl, some water and a towel or cloth. "Don't think about going anywhere other than the dining table. I want you sat where I can see you." Harry did as Padmé asked and sat down at the dining table. "Rey, Jaina, Harry and Leia are back. You wanted to wait until they were back, didn't you?"
The sound of multiple footsteps approached rapidly and, within seconds, Rey and Jaina were soon at the dining table. As soon as Jaina saw Harry, she noticed the injury on the back of his head, "Harry, what the kriffing hell happened?"
"Bar brawl." Harry replied simply as Padmé walked up next to him and stood to the right of him, putting down the bowl of water and placed the cloth in the water.
"Erm, Harry, this may sting a bit." Padmé warned him nervously. She then picked up the now soaked cloth and attempted to clean the back of his head. Harry hissed as the wound stung him sharply. "Sorry Harry." Padmé said apologetically as she quickly pulled her wet cloth filled hand away from the back of his head.
"It's alright. I'm probably going to have a headache for a day or two though." Harry replied, easily forgiving Padmé as she wasn't the one to injure him in the first place. "I wonder if there's anything like a pain relief potion somewhere?" he mused aloud.
"There should be some sort of painkillers around somewhere. Usually, they're in tablet form." Jaina replied to Harry's surprise.
"I'll see if Shmi has any around here." Rey said before walking out of the dining room to ask Shmi if she had any painkillers around.
Jaina, having been rooted to the spot where she'd spotted Harry's injury, walked over to the other side of him and stood next to him and stood opposite Padmé. "Do you mind if I take a look at your injury, Harry?" He looked hesitant as he did not wish to aggravate and Jaina spoke further, "You healed my injuries; let me help treat yours."
"Okay." Harry replied after a moment of consideration.
Jaina examined the wound and made sure that it wasn't too deep and that nothing was broken. "It looks okay. I think that we just need to get hold of a bacta patch or pad and that cut should be healed by morning."
"Will there be anything open at this time?" Harry asked, unsure about the opening and closing times of shops on Tatooine.
"I'm sure there'll be a shop open somewhere. It might take a bit of searching though." Jaina replied. She then noticed some blood staining Harry's shirt, "Harry, you may want to change your shirt as soon as Padmé's done with cleaning up the back of your head as there's a small amount of blood on it. Your jacket bizarrely has nothing on it though, luckily."
Rey returned barely a second after Jaina finished speaking and walked past them, walking into the kitchen and began looking through some drawers. She rummaged through the drawers for almost a minute before she found what she was looking for. Rey returned with a small sealed tube and popped it open. She took out a couple of tablets and gave them to Harry. "Here, take a couple. They should take less than fifteen minutes to take effect."
Harry took the proffered tablets and tossed them into his mouth. "Thanks." A thought crept into his head. "Leia and I had a couple of drinks earlier. Won't this be dangerous to do despite the fact I've just taken them"
"Most of them are but not these ones. In fact, these ones were designed to also help relieve hangovers." Rey replied to Harry. "Pretty convenient really."
"It sure is." Harry said in agreement as Padmé resumed attempting to clean up the mostly dried up blood on the back of his head. Unseen by Harry, Jaina gently held Padmé's hand in hers and used the force to guide around the cut so it wouldn't cause anymore bleeding. Padmé was surprised by Jaina's action and gave her a look that promised that they would have a talk later. "Is it done?" Harry asked as he wondered if Padmé was done cleaning his head wound.
"I've done as much as I can. Getting a Bacta patch or pad from somewhere will heal the cut and clean up any blood that remains." Padmé replied as she put the cloth in the bowl of water and put them back in the kitchen.
As Padmé was in the kitchen, Anakin returned home after an exceedingly long day working for Watto. "Hello, anybody home?" he called out to the house.
"Hey Anakin. How was your day?" Harry called out to the young boy as he began taking off his new jacket.
"It was tiring but the thought of getting to work on my podracer got me through the day." Anakin replied before he entered the dining room and saw the blood on Harry's shirt. "Harry, what happened to you?"
"I lost an argument with a large glass." Harry quipped amusedly.
Anakin looked confused at the joke and Leia tiredly had to explain what actually happened. "There was a bar brawl where Harry and I were working earlier and some guy whacked him in the back of the head whilst Harry was trying to get to me."
"What happened to you?" Anakin asked before looking towards Leia. His eyes opened so wide that they looked like they were going to pop out of his head. "Why do you look like one of Jabba's pleasure slaves?" he asked to the shock of everyone else in the room.
"Oh kriffing hell, I knew that I should have put something on." Leia remarked irately as she looked at her state of dress before she looked at Rey, Harry and Jaina, accidentally and almost completely ignoring Anakin in the process. "Where are the clothes that Mr X allowed me to take?"
Rey answered the irate young woman's question, "We brought them back with us. Jaina put them on your bed." She then turned to Harry, "Yours are also on your bed Harry."
Anakin was still wondering what was going on and Leia realised that she had ignored the young boy's question. "Anakin, to answer your earlier question, I am wearing these because the person who we had to see earlier today organised a job for me at a club. I'll tell you more when you're older." A question then occurred to her, "Anakin, how would you know what Jabba's slaves look like?"
"He comes into town from time to time to show off his power and to get tributes from different people. I was in town one time heading home when I saw him holding a public meeting with the mayor and he had some of his slaves and dancers with him." Anakin explained to Leia. He then addressed all of them, "I'm going to find my mom and find out when dinner is." Anakin walked out of the kitchen and once again, it was just the five of them in the dining room.
"What happened with you two today? You know roughly what we were up to aside from the details but all I remember Mr X saying was something about some heists." Harry asked Rey and Jaina. Rey suddenly looked like she was staring into the distance shell shocked and Harry looked concerned and confused. "Did I say something wrong?"
Jaina shook her head, "No, you didn't. I think she's still experiencing shock from earlier." Jaina then proceeded to explain what had happened, "Our heists went without a hitch although it sickens me to the bone that Rey and I were forced to commit crimes in the first place, albeit we did them against true criminals but they're not why Rey is shocked. It's actually before we did before them that's so shocked her, or rather who we met."
"I don't want to sound insensitive or rude but don't leave us in suspense." Leia said impatiently.
"Mr X was definitely telling the truth about other universes. It turns out that one of his wives that he sent us to meet before the heists is actually another version of Rey." Upon hearing about the other version of Rey, Harry, Leia and Padmé looked at the young girl in shock and surprise.
"Wait, you're saying that there's a second version of Rey running around?" Harry asked, having allowed the implications of what they'd been told to sink in.
"Yes. The other Rey seemed amused and she definitely isn't like our Rey in thought or deed." Jaina replied to Harry before adding, "She seemed to know about other versions of you too."
"I wonder what those other versions of me are like then? I wonder if any of them have done anything like this?" Harry mused to himself.
"What about other universes?" Padmé asked in utter confusion as she wondered what Harry, Leia and Jaina were talking about.
"I don't know much about the subject but imagine that you weren't born on Naboo but were instead born on this planet. Somewhere in the entirety of creation, that's likely happened." Harry explained as simply as possible to Padmé.
Padmé nodded after a few seconds as she processed what Harry had said. "I think that I understand that."
"That's good because I'm still trying to wrap my head around it." Harry remarked with a slight amount of deadpan humour in his voice.
"What does that mean for us though?" Padmé wondered aloud.
"Nothing yet. It changes nothing yet." Harry said, remembering what Mr X had said about his, his wives and his followers situations. "We just do what we need to do and we can improvise if anything changes, can't we." The four young women nodded in agreement with gentle smiles on their faces.
"Harry, maybe you'd like to change your shirt and then you, me and Padmé can go into the town and find a Bacta patch or pad somewhere." Jaina suggested, adding, "The three of us can catch up and learn more about each other."
Harry smiled. "Yeah, I'll go and do that quickly." He said happily. He then jumped up from the table and quickly walked out of the room.
Padmé smiled at the departing Harry before turning to Leia, "Are you going to get changed as well, Leia?"
Leia let out a groan before replying, "I will after I've gone to die of embarrassment after Anakin saw me like that."
Padmé assumed that Leia would do so eventually but before she could ask Rey what she was going to do, she found herself being dragged out of the room by Jaina, who also covered her mouth so she couldn't say anything. "Come on Padmé, we should get ready ourselves." They left behind a baffled Leia and Rey.
Once out of the dining room, Jaina dragged Padmé towards the room acting as their bedroom but stayed outside of it. "Why did you drag me out of their? I was perfectly happy to wait until Harry was done. He probably won't even take that long." Padmé whispered to Jaina in annoyance.
"Because I want to look at something." Jaina replied simply.
"Look at what?" Padmé asked with a whisper so as not to disturb everyone in the house. Rather than respond verbally, Jaina instead physically moved Padmé's head and pointed it in the direction of where she was looking. "Oh!" Padmé said, once she realised what Jaina had dragged her away from the dining room to look at; a topless Harry. "Aren't you a Jedi, Jaina? I thought it was forbidden for Jedi to have feelings or have physical desires?" Padmé asked Jaina, struggling to keep her eyes off Harry.
"First off, that's a misconception that Jedi can't have physical desires or have to remain celibate. They just aren't allowed to develop feelings or attachments to people, especially for those who they have sex with. Secondly, I'm not one of those Jedi." Jaina explained to the younger girl. She then suddenly realised that if she said too much to Padmé that what she knew the future Jedi order to be might not exist. "I'm from a different sect that's a lot more liberal regarding feelings and attachments. My mother married a non-force user before becoming a Jedi and my uncle married a non-Jedi force user and she became my master after joining our sect." Jaina told Padmé. She was satisfied with what she told the younger girl; she wasn't lying, merely omitting all the facts.
"I see what you're saying." Padmé said, hoping that she understood what Jaina had told her.
"In all of the few days that you've known him, you've developed feelings for him, haven't you?" Jaina asked Padmé after a few moments of just watching Harry.
"What?!" Padmé asked in a shocked and confused whisper. She wasn't sure if she wanted to admit her increasingly growing feelings for the young wizard to a potential rival for his affections.
Jaina seemed to know what the answer was, regardless of whether Padmé said anything or not. She looked at the increasingly blushing Padmé. "Don't worry, you don't need to tell me. I can see the answer written all over your face." Jaina then decided to confess her own feelings for Harry to the younger girl, "I feel the same as you do about him. And if he did pick you over me, I wouldn't blame him. I'm only just getting to know you myself but I do know that you're very beautiful." Padmé looked at Jaina, blushing heavily but shot her an appreciative look.
"Do either of you need to get ready?" a voice asked them suddenly. They turned to see that, whilst they were distracted by discussing their feelings, Harry had finished getting changed and was now ready to leave.
"Err, no." Padmé replied hesitantly.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked Padmé. "I don't mind waiting."
"No, it's fine." Padmé said incredibly quickly.
Harry noticed the blush on Padmé's face but decided not to question her about it. He did however pose a question for Jaina that made him blush slightly, "Erm, why's your hand under your shirt, Jaina?" Padmé hadn't noticed that Jaina had had a hand under her shirt at any point during their conversation.
Jaina made a couple of motions before withdrawing her hand from her shirt, "Sorry, I had an itch that I needed to scratch." Harry looked unsure but eventually shrugged his shoulders and began to head out, only pausing to retrieve some of his newly won money from the rather full case.
Padmé and Jaina held back for a few moments and Padmé looked at Jaina with somewhat narrowed eyes. "Was that an itch?" she asked the slightly older girl.
Jaina gave her a cheeky smile, approached her and whispered in her ear, "Well, it was a kind of itch." She then pulled away from Padmé and walked after Harry. She paused and, without confirming anything, confirmed what Padmé suspected, "A girl has needs after all. I'm sure you'd agree." Jaina then proceeded to catch up with Harry, only heading back into the dining room to retrieve some of the money she'd 'earned' from the heists she'd done with Rey and the wives of Mr X. Padmé's blush, which had just begun to dissipate, returned in full force before she began walking to catch up with Harry and Jaina.
Sometime later in the evening, after looking through Mos Espa for seemingly forever, Harry, Padmé and Jaina finally managed to find a shop that sold Bacta pads and Jaina promptly purchased several almost on the spot. Whilst Jaina was purchasing the Bacta pads, Padmé and Harry looked around at some of the goods the shop had to provide. "I have no idea what any of this stuff is." Harry remarked to Padmé. "Do you know?"
"Most of this are food stuffs that are brought here from other planets." Padmé replied. She then pointed to several thick cuts of meat, "Those, over there, are steaks made from the Nerf animal. They're a kind of livestock animal found throughout the galaxy." Padmé then noticed another kind of food near the steaks, "And these are fish crackers. They're not made from actual fish but are just a kind of cheesy snack that are shaped like a fish."
Harry smiled at the young Handmaiden. "I wouldn't worry about me knowing about those or not. We have similar foods like them all over my home planet." Harry told Padmé with a slight chuckle.
"I guess that I'll have to come to your world at some point and try out the food there." Padmé replied. She was beginning to grow ever more fascinated about Harry's homeworld and wondered what it was like.
"I think you'd like it. There are places on my world that I've not had the opportunity to visit yet."
Padmé turned around whilst browsing and soon saw an item that was unfamiliar to her. "What's this? Even I don't know what this is." Padmé remarked to herself aloud.
Padmé was about to pick the item up but was stopped by Jaina. "I wouldn't pick it up if I were you." She told the younger girl.
"Why not?" Harry asked in confusion.
Jaina struggled to think of how to best delicately answer Harry's question. "It's um... How do I put it? It's a um... a marital aid for Twi'lek couples. Before either of you ask, no I don't know how one works." Padmé jumped back from the object rather comically, causing Harry and Jaina to laugh and fail to conceal the laughter. Padmé frowned as she heard the laughter directed at her but she eventually joined in with it.
Having calmed down, Harry, Padmé and Jaina picked up several items including several Nerf steaks, some vegetables and cheese as well as a fruit that was called Meiloorun. "I'm sure that everyone will appreciate us getting dinner. Do you think that we should've said something about it first?" Padmé wondered aloud.
"We didn't exactly come here with the intention of getting dinner. We just came here to get Harry a Bacta pad for his head. It's highly likely that Shmi has already done dinner by now." Jaina replied, baffled by what they had ended up purchasing. "I mean, how are we going to store all of this?"
Harry spoke up to answer Jaina's question. "If you're worried about the food going off, I could possibly handle that." Padmé and Jaina looked at Harry, trying to figure out what he meant. Luckily for them, Harry didn't keep them in suspense and answered their unasked question. "On my world, wizards and witches have a spell which we use to keep our food fresher for longer. I was taught the spell one day by my godfather after I was acquitted during a trumped up trial. I've never used the spell practically before though; I'm giving fair warning if I cast that spell and the food still goes off."
"Duly noted." Jaina commented with a grin on her face. "Who wants to cook it though?" Harry looked like he was about to volunteer himself but was cut off by the teenage Jedi Padawan before he could say something, "I'm sure that you could cook us up something but you have been doing plenty for us already. In any case, you couldn't work on any cooking equipment because you can't read our writing."
Harry thought about what Jaina had said for a moment and concluded that she was right. "I can't argue with that. I don't think that I'd be sure if I was overcooking or undercooking something anyway."
"I guess that I could do the cooking this time." Padmé suggested, volunteering at the same time.
Jaina looked at the young Handmaiden and looked at her with a critical eye. "I guess you would know how to cook, wouldn't you? I don't know what the duties of a Naboo Handmaiden consist of but, then again, I'm not from Naboo." She then began speaking to Harry, "I hope you look forward to a Nerf steak Harry. Harry?" She then noticed that Harry had wandered off as did Padmé.
"Look there he is." Padmé said, pointing in the direction of a stall that was selling many different trinkets. Harry appeared to purchase some of the trinkets but owing to the increasingly darkening night, neither Padmé or Jaina could see what he'd purchased. He returned to them and immediately was berated by Padmé. "Why the hell did you wander off? If I hadn't seen you at that stall, we might have assumed that you had been taken."
Harry immediately looked sheepish. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make either of you worry. I just wanted to get us and Rey and Leia something to remember each other by, you know, when all this is over with and we all go back to where we come from." He then seemed to get somewhat forlorn, "Hopefully." He didn't say out loud but he was very uncertain that he could find Sirius or if he could make it back to Earth with even the much more advanced technology of this part of the universe.
As soon as Harry spoke about returning to where they came from, Jaina became just as forlorn, albeit with slightly different reasons to Harry. "Yeah. Hopefully." She more or less said to herself with a whisper.
Harry held out a pair of fabric bracelets and a pair of beaded necklaces. "There's one each for both of you. If you want them that is."
Padmé and Jaina looked at Harry appreciatively. "Cheers Harry." Jaina said happily, taking one of the bracelets and one of the necklaces from Harry's hands.
"Yeah. Thank you, so very much, Harry." Padmé said just as happily as she took the other bracelet and necklace held in Harry's outstretched hands. Then, without planning it, without even speaking about it, without even knowing what the other was going to do, both Padmé and Jaina kissed his cheeks, leaving him stunned and momentarily unable to speak.
"Harry, you okay?" Jaina asked upon noticing the stunned expression on Harry's face. When no answer was forthcoming, Jaina looked at Padmé with a cheeky grin on her face and remarked, "I think we broke him."
"I think we did." Padmé replied in agreement. The pair giggled a little and walked slightly ahead of Harry, who still seemed somewhat dazed but ahead enough that he couldn't overhear them.
Jaina suddenly looked apologetic. "I'm sorry." She said with a whisper.
Padmé looked at her in confusion. "What for?"
"About this morning." Jaina replied, still whispering.
Padmé suddenly remembered what had happened earlier that day. "Oh." She said simply and quietly.
"I think I was jealous that you were getting very close to him so soon after meeting him. I want to be as close to him as you are, especially after what we did in the hanger and after he helped heal my wounds." Jaina said, still whispering and all but baring her soul to the young Handmaiden.
"Don't you think that what we're feeling for him is more than a little fast? And if either of us entered a relationship with him, wouldn't they say that we'd be rushing into it?" Padmé asked the older girl.
Jaina considered Padmé's questions and thought hard about her answer. "Maybe. We probably are discovering our feelings for him too fast and people would say that we'd be rushing too fast into a relationship. You know what though? I don't give a kriffing damn. What I feel now, feels like a dream and I don't think it's one I'd want to end if it was." Once Jaina finished answering Padmé's questions, Jaina looked to see Padmé nodding in agreement.
"Are you two okay?" the familiar voice of Harry called out to them.
"We're fine, Harry." Padmé responded.
"Yeah, we're just having some girl talk." Jaina then said before adding with a barely disguised laugh, "Try to keep up, will you."
"Why don't you slow down if you want me to keep up?" Harry asked the young Jedi with a bemused smile.
"Nah. Why don't you walk faster, wizard boy?" Jaina replied cheekily.
"Wow." Harry said aloud.
"What do you mean, 'wow'?" Jaina asked Harry, confused by his reaction. "I'm telling you to speed up and you just go, 'wow'?."
"It's just that you sounded so much like Leia there. She's called me wizard boy a few times now. It's almost like you two are sisters or something." Harry commented, not knowing how accurate he was regarding the relationship between Leia and Jaina.
"Really? I hadn't noticed." Jaina replied, feigning dismissiveness.
"It's uncanny. It's probably just a massive coincidence though." Harry said, unknowingly putting Jaina's fears at ease. He suddenly walked past them and was soon a fair bit ahead of them. "Come on, I'm sure everyone's wondering where we are and if we're safe."
"How did he get past us?" Jaina asked as her gaze followed Harry.
"I think he walked really fast. That's what happened." Padmé replied. "He probably wanted to get back at you for essentially calling him slow." Padmé then began pulling ahead of Jaina and cheekily spoke to her, "Don't fall behind Jaina. You don't want him to say that he outran a Jedi now, do you?" She sped up to catch up to Harry, leaving Jaina slightly behind.
Jaina slowed down briefly and shook her head. "When did this joke suddenly become a race?" She asked herself with a quiet laugh. She then walked faster, almost running at times, and quickly caught up with both Harry and Padmé.
Sometime later, late at night, Harry, Padmé and Jaina found themselves on the roof. "Well, at least we're doing dinner tomorrow." Padmé said.
"Shmi has been doing it by herself for so long that I'm sure that she'll appreciate a break from one or two jobs around her house, even if it is only for one evening." Jaina said.
Harry stared up at the stars, not speaking, just thinking. Padmé noticed his lack of talking and asked him about it. "What are thinking about?"
"I'm just thinking about us lot, this place, this planet." Harry answered.
"How come?"
"Where do I begin?" Harry asked rhetorically. "Who'd have thought that a group of strangers, who'd never met each other before a couple of days ago, would be working together in a place like this and becoming very comfortable around each other so quickly?" He then let out a disbelieving laugh. "I'm still convinced sometimes since those couple of days ago that I really died and have been reincarnated. As for this place, and planet for the matter, some of it reminds me of Knockturn Alley back home."
"Knockturn Alley?" Jaina asked confusedly.
"It's a place in Wizarding society where people of a generally dark inclination hang out or otherwise reside." Harry explained to the young Jedi.
"So criminals then?" Padmé asked, assuming the worst about the place.
"Not necessarily but if the criminal doesn't have a ship full of money, then very probably." Harry replied.
"Hives of Scum and Villainy." Jaina remarked aloud.
"Every place probably has one somewhere." Harry pointed out. "Even if you can't see it or strictly illegal."
"That's true. I'm sure that there have been more than a few senators over the years who've hung out in such places." Jaina said, agreeing with what Harry said.
"Well, we can ask Senator Palpatine if and when we get to Coruscant. The Queen will be sure to meet him as soon as we get there." Padmé told her two companions. Neither Harry or herself saw the blood drain from Jaina's face. Jaina had been so worried about the threat of the future Darth Vader that she'd completely forgotten about the other, more major threat to the galaxy. She soon resolved to remind Rey and Leia as soon as she could get the two of them alone.
"Let's worry about that another time." Harry said as he began to think about their immediate future. "You two will help me in cooking dinner tomorrow, right?"
"Of course." Padmé and Jaina replied simultaneously.
"How much do you think that we'll earn tomorrow Jaina?" Harry asked the young woman.
"I'd rather not think about it right now. The thought of what me and Rey are doing makes me feel rotten despite the fact that we're taking from criminals." Jaina said bitterly.
Harry looked sheepish. "Sorry. I forgot you spoke about it earlier." He then stared back at the stars. "Just remember what you said earlier; you're... we're doing these... activities but we're doing them to people who really shouldn't have it. Whatever we choose to do with this money, it'll be our cross to bear."
"You're saying that I could go and give the money to people?" Jaina asked.
"You could. I'm not saying don't but..." Harry thought hard about his world and some of the more corrupt governments and politicians on it as well as the less well known complications of charity work, "... it becomes a very thorny problem. I'd say find two or three people or families need and deserve a new start and give them a portion of the cash each. Then, whatever's left you can use for your own needs. That's what I'd do anyway." Jaina considered what Harry said and soon enough, after what seemed like quarter of an hour, there was a change of topic. "You two know about this galaxy, right?"
"Yeah?" Padmé and Jaina replied simultaneously.
"How many ships do you think go from and come here?" Harry asked with mild curiosity as he continued to stare at the stars.
"I'm honestly not sure." Jaina replied simply.
"I've not been here before so I couldn't say. I'd guess a lot though." Padmé replied with a degree of uncertainty.
"It does make lots of sense. This planet needs lots of supplies that this planet doesn't produce itself and there's also the tourists, the bounty hunters and the criminal gangs."
"I wonder if that blue skinned person I met earlier was a bounty hunter? He certainly didn't look like he'd be out of place here and he definitely looked the part." Harry remarked aloud. He then shook his head, "It doesn't matter."
"We should get to bed. I think it's close to midnight." Padmé said after a few moments of silence.
"Really?!" Harry and Jaina asked in surprise at the same time. Harry then added, "That's a pity. I was enjoying the evening with you two lovely ladies."
Padmé blushed. Jaina had a blush on her face too but, unlike Padmé, she could muster a response, "Keep talking like that wizard boy and you might end up with more than one girlfriend." Harry then began to blush himself and, after a moment of seemingly tense silence, Jaina began to laugh out loud, followed by Harry and Padmé. "Come on, let's head inside. Some of us have to get up in the morning and do things that we don't really want to do."
"You got that right." Harry commented dryly. The three of them got off the roof and Padmé led the way indoors, closely followed by Harry. Jaina paused just before re-entering the Skywalker residence and looked ominously towards the dark starry night sky, sensing a dark presence arriving on the planet. She cautiously entered the house, sensing that the Sith had indeed arrived on the planet to find the Queen.
Jaina's senses did her credit for a ship landed in the desert, far from any civilization and a tattooed figure, wearing a dark, hooded cloak emerged from it, surveying the planet before him, beginning his search for his prey.
A/N- Well, I certainly kept you waiting but I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. Whilst the next proper chapter might be a month or two away yet, I may have a small something ready to keep people entertained whilst I am in the process of writing the next chapter.
As always, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and please review.