Chapter 52: CH-52
Harry looked at her a moment as if debating whether or not to answer her question and then nodded. "Magic can do a great many things, and there are some very bad uses for it. Many wizards put elaborate curses and protections on their graves and resting places so that they wouldn't be disturbed and so that no one could use their bodies for any sort of nefarious purposes."
"Eww. Gross!" Ahsoka spat out, looking disgusted.
Harry blinked and then laughed. "I think I'm rubbing off on you, because that's not what I meant at all. But now that I think about it, some of the curses were oddly specific, so I wonder if that was what the wizards meant."
"Still... That's just gross, Master." Ahsoka replied, shaking her head as if to rid herself of the image.
"Glad to see you are learning something Miss Soaky." Harry replied with a good natured grin.
Ahsoka shook her head and chuckled a little bit, the banter with Harry was so easy to go back and forth with. He seemed to enjoy it as much as she did, and also seemed to enjoy making her think about magic. She had realized early on to discard all notions of possible and impossible, and approach it from the perspective that Harry suggested. "Anything is possible, but actions can have consequences."
She shook her head and replayed everything he had told her as she considered the events of the day. A thought occurred to her, "What about when the computer was knocked out then? It was still hit with a charge and it fried the computer." Ahsoka asked with a frown marring her face.
Harry actually looked a bit sheepish, "To be honest? I totally forgot about that possibility. The bounty hunters must have used a portable ion charge. They opened a panel and attached the charge right to the wiring. Since the panel was still moveable it was a hole in the defenses. I'll cast a sticking charm on the panels so that it can't happen again. Dobby was more than a little irritated with them."
"Bounty hunters aren't usually wealthy enough to have those sorts of things, especially as they're hideously expensive and tend to be one-offs. The only other people who have them are capital ships. Usually their crews use them to disable craft completely after they've pulled it on board. I try to make it a point not to let capital ships board me willy nilly. Anyway... now you know why I wasn't very concerned. The most that would happen is we would be shaken up a little bit." Harry said with a cheeky grin.
"A little warning might be nice next time, Master." Ahsoka groused. "I was freaking out and while this ship is fast, I thought we were done for."
Harry grinned. "You could ram this ship into an asteroid and the only thing that would do is irritate Dobby because you might scratch the paint job."
Ahsoka's eyes narrowed, "Why do I get the feeling that you're speaking from experience?"
"Everyone has to have a hobby and I was curious." Harry replied with a shrug.
Aayla was still staring at the piece of pipe and then around at the ship as the possibilities occurred to her. "I never would have thought the Force could be used in such a manner." She looked at him. "Can you show us how to do that? The Republic Fleet would... manage to strike decisively against the Separatists with that sort of advantage, no matter what numerical advantage they have."
Harry's expression immediately closed off. The small relaxing moment that had occurred was washed away to be replaced by narrowed eyes and a cold look on his face. "I'm not showing you anything else without an oath like Ahsoka, or a contract."
Aayla was caught off guard by the sudden coldness, feeling like she had just lost all progress she might have made in the short time with Harry. Before she could say anything or ask any questions, Harry had turned away.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some more work to do. I'm sure you need to contact your Order to make your report." His voice was dry and unemotional as he walked away only to pause several strides away without looking back. "I would caution you to be careful what you say to them. Given the existence of this 'Dark Lord' that Ahsoka tells me you're all worried about, you have to assume anything you tell them, he will know within hours... if not minutes, assuming he isn't sitting in the room."
That statement hit Aayla like a punch to the gut. The very idea was horrifying to her. Even Ahsoka looked horrified by it too.
Harry seemed unbothered, not even turning to look at them as he finished and started walking away. "Tell them they can send a transport to pick you up at Kashyyyk in a few days." He called out over his shoulder as he disappeared toward the back of the ship, leaving Aayla and Ahsoka alone.
Ahsoka's eyes followed Harry as he left them alone in the cargo hold. She was tempted to follow him immediately but sensed that he needed some time alone. Her gaze went from him to Aayla who was still staring off in the direction that Harry had gone in. She looked at Aayla and realized that seeing the Jedi master so completely off balance was an interesting experience. Harry seemed to have that ability and seemed to revel in doing so. She shook her head slightly before turning away from Aayla to head up toward the cockpit.
Aayla's eyes followed Harry as well. She had no idea why he had turned cold so suddenly. The idea that he could literally make metals impervious... it could change the course of the war. The lives of the troopers he could save, the lives of the innocents caught in the crossfire. Even if they couldn't do it to a capital class starship, they could put it on the fighters, and the Jedi starfighters which would cut vastly down on the deaths of Jedi. She didn't understand why Harry would get upset about that.
She shook her head slightly and decided to go talk to Ahsoka to see if she could provide some more insight into Harry. She found Ahsoka back in the cockpit, sitting in the copilot's seat staring off into the stars as her eyes had a faraway look as she gazed out at the mottled blur of hyperspace as it passed outside the cockpit.
Aayla hesitated as she saw the bird once more perched on the shoulder of the pilot's seat. The bird seemed to have settled in and was sleeping, because she didn't open her eyes. Aayla finally swallowed, the bird making her unaccountably nervous as she moved around the chair and sat down in the pilot seat next to Ahsoka.
K̾o̾-̾f̾i̾
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