Galactic Wizardry

Chapter 10

The Chimaera touched down on their private pad. Having a top-of-the-line hyperdrive and a ship that was modified by magic, they easily beat Shaak Ti back to Naboo. They had more than enough time to get situated and speak with Padme before the older Jedi entered Nabooan territory and landed on his pad.

 When she exited her Jedi Starfighter, Harry caught his first sight of her. Aayla had already told him all that she could about the Jedi Master, so he knew that she was a Togruta. Now he could see that she had a very deep red skin color with large, white patches that covered both eyes. Large horn-like montrals sprouted out of her head and connected with her lekku. Both were white with black striped markings, giving them a zebra-like look. On her head, she wore some type of headdress made of what Harry thought were either teeth or small horns. To him, she looked more like an alien milkmaid rather than a powerful Jedi. Her plain brown robe with a plain brown dress that went down to her feet was something that he would have expected to see on sixteenth-century Earth. That being said, Harry had long since learned to not judge a book by its cover.

“Master Ti!” Aayla called out as she walked up to the Togruta. “It’s good to see you again,” Aayla lowered her head in respect. The former Padawan had always looked up to the older and wise Master.

“And you, Aayla Secura. I am glad to see that you are in good health,” Shaak Ti said as she looked her over.

“I am,” Aayla assured her. “This is the captain of the Chimaera, Harry Potter. I co-pilot his ship. Harry, this is Master Ti of the Jedi Council,” she introduced them. Harry nodded in respect.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to properly address you. Should I call you Master Ti? Or …”

“Shaak Ti is fine,” she smiled. Harry nodded in understanding.

“Then call me Harry. I hope you don’t mind, but Queen Amidala wishes to be present in our meeting. The three of us are very close, and she features prominently in our future plans,” Harry told her. This seemed to catch Shaak Ti off guard.

“Queen Amidala? Truly?” She turned to Aayla. The Twi-lek blushed and nodded. “That is surprising but welcome.”

“Then let us retire to a room that has been prepared. You can freshen up before we speak,” Harry smiled, ushering her to a speeder.

“That would be lovely. Thank you,” Shaak Ti replied as she and Aayla got into the speeder. Harry jumped into the driver's seat and zipped off toward the Royal Palace.

Galactic Wizardry

Shaak Ti moaned softly as the hot water hit her body. Her species spent a lot of time out in nature and valued the art of the hunt. As such, she enjoyed the sensation of raindrops landing on her exposed skin. As a Jedi Master on the Jedi High Council, she rarely had the opportunity to enjoy nature these days. A piping hot shower was the closest that she could get, so she would relish it while she could.

Since hearing the news from Yoda, she had been rightly tense. It was an alarming feeling knowing that the future of everything that you’ve ever known was in doubt. Being a Jedi was all that she had ever been … all that she had ever known. Knowing that the Sith were hiding in the shadows, plotting ways to take down her organization made her skin crawl. A hot shower always did wonders for her and helped her calm down and refocus. Once she was done, she stepped out and used a big, fluffy towel to dry herself. Putting her clothes back on, she exited her private room that was given to her for the duration of her stay and entered another nearby room that held the small group of people that she was here to see.

“Your Highness,” Shaak Ti bowed. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

“The Jedi are always welcome on Naboo, Master Ti,” Padme responded while in full dress and makeup. “Now, what can we do to help you?”

Shaak Ti sat down and explained exactly what had transpired. She told them about Yoda and his vision and that the cause of the temporary collapse of the veil had something to do with Aayla.

“She told me about Harry Potter’s lightsaber and how unusual it is. I contacted Yoda. Both he and Master Windu wish to come here and talk things over. He also wishes to inspect the lightsaber, if that is alright with you, of course,” she said.

“I don’t mind,” Harry told her. If Aayla and Padme trusted them, then he would as well. Padme nodded in consent.

“I’ll arrange rooms for them,” Padme promised.

“Thank you,” Shaak Ti smiled. “We can discuss things further when Yoda and Mace arrive. If you’ll excuse me, I need to contact them.”

“Of course,” Padme said. Shaak Ti got up and went back to her room.

The two girls and Harry looked at each other.

“You were a Jedi. What do you think, Aayla?” Harry asked his blue-skinned friend.

Aayla looked disturbed at what she had learned. “If what Yoda saw was true, then the Jedi could be in deep trouble. The Masters and even Knights could probably keep themselves relatively safe. But there are many Padawans and especially younglings that can’t. They would surely be slaughtered by the Sith if they had the chance.”

“What can we do to help?” Padme asked, sitting by her friend and taking her hand in hers. Aayla shook her head.

“I don’t know. From what I know, the Sith have always been extremely secretive. The fact that we’ve had a glimpse of their plans is a blessing. Unfortunately, it seems that all we know is that there is a plan, not what it is,” Aayla answered, squeezing Padme’s hand gently. Just then, Shaak Ti walked back into the room.

“Masters Yoda and Windu are on their way,” she assured them, sitting back down.

“Shaak Ti, Yoda said that he felt the presence of a Sith nearby?” Harry asked. Shaak Ti nodded. “And the Jedi Temple is near government buildings?”

“Yes. Next to the Galactic Senate. I agree with what you are thinking, as does Yoda. We suspect that the Sith has infiltrated our government, possibly at a very high level,” she said unhappily.

“I find it disturbing that we’ve found out about some big plan against the Jedi right after the Trade Federation invades a peaceful planet like Naboo. Of course, the Senate absolutely refused to help even though they easily could have. This reeks of some kind of plot, probably even bigger than the downfall of the Jedi,” Harry told them and heard Padme gasp.

“I had not even made the connection,” Shaak Ti admitted. “You could be right. It is possible that the plot goes even deeper than the Jedi.” She stood back up. “I need to talk to Yoda again and inform him of this. Thank you, Harry.” She quickly strode out of the room.

“So wise,” Aayla teased, smiling at him. She squealed when Harry poked her in the side and laughed hard when he and Padme tickled her mercilessly.

Galactic Wizardry

It was actually very late that night when Harry received a message from Shaak Ti. Blinking away the tiredness, he looked and saw that Aayla was on the other side of Sabe, curled up against her. Sabe was pressed against him while Padme was on his other side. Slowly he got up so as to not disturb them. When his warmth was taken away, Padme groaned tiredly and scooted closer to Sabe. Putting on some clothes, Harry crept out of the suite and made his way to Shaak Ti’s room. Knocking on the door, he only had to wait a moment before she opened it.

Stepping out of the room, she smiled and greeted him. “Thank you for meeting me so late. Yoda and Mace have just arrived, and they wish to see you.”

“Are they in the palace?” Harry asked as they walked down the hall, side by side. Shaak Ti shook her head.

“They are waiting on their ship. They will meet with everyone in the morning. However, they wanted to study this lightsaber that you carry and see what makes it so special. I think that they hope that it can somehow break through the Veil of the Dark Side again,” she explained.

“Of course,” he told her. “Right through here. It’s a shortcut,” Harry told her, knowing all of the secrets of the large palace. He pulled Shaak Ti into an out of the way alcove and touched a certain panel on the wall. A secret door opened up. They both walked in. Harry hit a button and the elevator began to descend.

A few minutes later they were in a speeder traveling to the landing pad a few kilometers down the road. Reaching their destination, they hopped out and made their way to the ship. As they walked up, the ramp lowered and allowed them to enter. Once inside, Harry first saw Shaak Ti’s fellow cohorts.

Harry knew that Mace Windu was a human, and he was easily recognizable from the pair. He was a tall, dark-skinned man with a stern expression and a shiny, bald head. He was wearing a khaki-colored tunic with a dark brown robe over it.

Harry had asked what species that Yoda was, but Aayla couldn’t tell him, because she didn’t know herself. Her description was spot on, however. He was a very small being with green skin and long, pointed ears. On his mostly bald head were wisps of thin, white hair. He was dressed the opposite of Mace, wearing a dark brown outfit and a khaki-colored robe over it. He also held a cane in his hand. It wasn’t surprising since the little being looked quite old.

“Harry, this is Masters Yoda and Mace Windu. Yoda … Mace, this is Harry Potter,” she introduced them.

“Grateful for this meeting, I am,” Yoda told him in his strange speech pattern.

“As am I,” Mace told him, nodding his head.

“Aayla and the Queen seem to hold the Jedi in high regard. I’ll do what I can to help,” Harry assured them. Both of them smiled. The Jedi took him deeper into the ship until they were in a small conference room.

“How did you meet Aayla?” Mace asked as they all settled into comfortable chairs.

“I actually met her while I was living in Mos Espa. She had run into some trouble, and her Master had gotten captured. I helped her rescue him but asked her to keep it quiet. I gave her my contact information and told her to call if she ever ran into any more trouble,” he said and thanked Shaak Ti who poured him a hot cup of tea.

“I was surprised when I heard back from her after she decided to take a break from the Jedi. I offered her a place on my ship.”

“And was it her that created the lightsaber for you, or did you come across it in your journeys?” they wondered. Harry shook her head.

“I actually created it myself … though Aayla did give me instructions while she created her own.”

Yoda perked up. “Created another lightsaber she did? From where did she get the Kyber crystals?” he asked.

“I gave her the crystal. I bought one from an old woman while on Tatooine,” Harry explained.

“Is the same crystal used in your lightsaber?” Shaak Ti asked. Harry shook his head. He pulled it from his waist and handed it to Yoda. Yoda opened the crystal chamber and chirped.

“A Krayt Dragon pearl you have?!” Both Shaak and Mace scooched in closer to take a look.

“Aayla and I killed a Greater Krayt Dragon and took the pearls from it. The pearl I kept went into the lightsaber. The grip is made from a tooth I took from the beast.”

“But how were you able to create the lightsaber? It is very difficult for those who have access to the Force,” Mace chimed in. Harry decided to just come clean about his powers. He really didn’t care if the Jedi knew or not. He mainly avoided telling them since he didn’t want anyone bothering him about what he could do. Holding out his hand, his lightsaber flew from Yoda’s grip and slapped into his palm.

“While I can’t use the Force, I do have my own powers,” Harry confessed.

“Heard of these powers I have. Very rare. Some say another way to access the Force it is,” Yoda explained.

“We can discuss these powers later. For now, we’d like to see if the Veil will fall once again. Aayla told us that it likely happened when you first used your lightsaber. Would you permit us to test that theory?” Shaak Ti asked. Harry nodded and handed her the lightsaber.

All three Masters began meditating when Shaak Ti finally ignited the blade. The black blade howled as it appeared and immediately began drawing in the heat of the room. Colder and colder it got, but the three didn’t seem bothered by it. Their thick Jedi robes kept them comfortable while Harry had to rub his arms to keep from getting goosebumps. It must have been at least half an hour before she finally turned off the lightsaber and handed it back to him.

“It appears that the Veil will not fall again. I could feel the Sith struggling to hold it,” Mace explained.

“A shame it is, but expected,” Yoda agreed.

As it was getting late, they agreed to continue in the morning. Harry wished them a good night before leaving the ship and apparating back to the suite to get a few more hours of sleep.

The following morning, Harry sat back as the Jedi discussed things with Padme, who was dressed as the Queen. He listened as they planned, but Harry was dissatisfied with what they had come up with. His displeasure must have shown on his face because Yoda turned to him.

“Disagree you do?” he asked, his ears wiggling. Harry nodded.

“While the plans are fine, I do think that they aren’t nearly enough,” Harry told them. “Aayla said that the Temple is full of children. They should be the priority. A large-scale, secret evacuation plan needs to be created. A top-secret backup Temple needs to be created in a place that can’t be found. Added security needs to be added to the existing Temple to give them time to evacuate. Secret stashes of weapons, safe houses, hidden bank accounts … “ Harry shook his head and breathed in deeply.

“If those things don’t end up being needed, then they will still be there for future use. These Sith have likely infiltrated the government. If they go after the Jedi, they will likely hit them hard and from every angle. Your bank accounts will become inactive, bounties will be placed on your heads …” Harry remembered the tactics that various Dark Lords used back on Earth.

“Perhaps he’s right. Perhaps we are thinking too small,” Shaak added. “However, that is a lot of work for such a small number of Jedi,” she shook her head.

“What about Eden?” Aayla jumped in, turning to Harry.

“What about it?”

“Could we use that as a secret base for the Jedi? It’s just sitting there with nothing on it. While visiting, I could feel how thick the Force was. The Sith would have a very hard time trying to find a Force-sensitive on that planet.”

“Eden?” Mace asked.

“It’s the name that I gave to a planet that I discovered out in Wild Space. It’s very beautiful and lush. I was planning to use it as a vacation spot,” Harry admitted. “I don’t mind if we use it.”

“This planet I would like to see,” Yoda said, intrigued by the thought.

The other Jedi agreed and a journey was quickly planned. They decided to leave immediately. Padme refused to be left out of the planning and had Sabe agree to take her place as Queen. Of course, Sabe pouted about being left behind. While the Jedi moved some stuff from their ship to his, Harry tried to get Sabe to cheer up.

“How about I take you to the beach tomorrow? Just you and me,” he told her, holding her around her waist while her feet dangled in the air. She suddenly perked up and whispered in his ear.

“How about you touch me until I can’t take anymore?” she smiled, rubbing her nose against his cheek. Harry huffed.

“You girls are really pushing your luck,” he told her. “Fine.”

Sabe squealed happily and kissed his cheek before squirming out of his grasp and going to put on her Queen outfit and makeup. Padme, who was taking her makeup off, turned to him.

“What about me?!”

“Yes, you too!” Harry told her, which perked her up.

After everyone was ready, they loaded into Harry’s ship and took off. The trip to Eden wasn’t all that eventful. They continued to come up with a proper plan but waited on anything concrete until they saw this planet. Coming out of hyperspace, Harry slowly crept toward it while gathering more information from his drone. Harry grabbed a datapad and brought up some information before handing it to the Jedi.

“If you need inoculations against any of these, you can go to see the Medical Droid,” he told them as he dipped into the planet's atmosphere.

“Correct Padawan Secura is. Heavy is the planet with the Force. Like Dagobah it is,” Yoda said, concentrating on the Force. Harry landed in his normal spot on a large flat beach of white sand. They all exited the ship to stretch their legs. Shaak inhaled deeply.

“The air is clean and the environment is refreshing. It’s warm without being too hot,” she said happily. Harry nodded.

“Summers are a bit hotter and winters are very mild,” Harry said, reading the report on his pad. “Most of the wildlife is in the oceans. The seas are absurdly deep and hold some very large creatures. The insects can be a nuisance, but inoculations will take care of any problems. There are some small mammals in the jungles and quite a few species of birds, but nothing too dangerous.”

He watched as Yoda sat down and meditated for a few moments. Getting back up, he seemed satisfied. “Hidden in the planet’s Force-induced maelstrom we are. Undetectable the Jedi will be,” the little, green being assured them.

“The problem in creating a Temple here is keeping it a secret. We’d have to bring others in on the secret, which defeats the purpose,” Mace told them. Shaak nodded in agreement.

“That will be our job,” Harry volunteered. “It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. It just needs to keep everyone safe and comfortable. Aayla, the Queen, and I can handle it along with securing supplies and such. Your first job should be coming up with an evacuation plan and secretly creating some hidden Jedi bank accounts,” Harry said to the older Jedi.

“You’ll help us?” Mace raised an eyebrow. Harry nodded.

“I really dislike the Trade Federation, and I have no doubt that they’re somehow working with the Sith. I have no problem liberating some supplies to use against them in the future. Besides, the safety of the children should always be a top priority.” Everyone happily agreed.

They flew around the planet for a couple of hours, scouting potential locations until they came across a mountain valley that was thick with the Force. The valley itself was quite beautiful with its flat grasslands, lakes, and streams that were fed by mountain springs. The Jedi immediately chose this spot for their backup Temple. Harry marked the location on his navigation computer before leaving the planet and heading back to Naboo. During the trip, the Masters were huddled together while figuring out a way to accomplish their plans without letting others know what they were doing. When they landed on Naboo, the Jedi promised to keep in touch before eagerly going back to their ship. It must have been nice to actually have a solid plan to work on. Harry was surprised when Shaak Ti stayed.

“There are another few that we are sure that we can trust that will help them. The Force is urging me to stay with you. I believe that I can better serve the Order while traveling as a part of your crew … with your permission, of course,” Shaak told them. Harry looked at Aayla. He valued her input when it came to Jedi stuff. Aayla gladly accepted her into the crew.

“Welcome to the crew,” Harry told the red Togruta. “Aayla, why don’t you fill her in on what we do while I take Padme back to her room?” Aayla nodded while Harry grabbed Padme’s hand and apparated her back to the suite.

Looking around, he could see that they were the only two in the room. He maneuvered her to the couch and sat down. Pulling her onto his lap, he kissed her sweetly. Padme smiled beautifully while snuggling into him.

“You understand that I’m going to be incredibly busy?” Harry asked. Padme nodded her head in understanding.

“While I don’t like the thought of not seeing you as much, I’m not going to be selfish about it. The Jedi need us. I’ll help as much as I can as the Queen while you’re out there doing your thing. But once my second term as Queen is up, Sabe and I are joining your crew immediately,” she said surely.

“Of course you are,” Harry told her, kissing her neck and making her mewl in pleasure. “I’ll make sure to come back and visit every so often. I promised Sabe some fun, so I won’t leave until tomorrow.”

“Good!” she said happily. “I expect a very fun night,” she commanded. Harry chuckled.

“Of course, Your Highness,” he teased as his fingers danced against the bare skin of her belly, and his lips attached to the pulse point on her neck. Padme’s eyes fluttered as she gripped his muscular body tightly.