CH-37

Her thoughts were interrupted when Ahsoka simply said, "You should come with us to Kashyyyk."

"Why? What's on Kashyyyk?" Aayla asked, wondering why the two of them were headed there.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, "A government that's a heck of a lot friendlier than the Hutts for one. You'll easily be able to get ahold of whoever you need at the consulates there. Harry's not that bad, I'm sure if you ask he'll let you come."

"Not that bad?" Aayla echoed, a combination doubt and sarcasm filling her voice. "He took one look at me and assumed I was either a whore or a dancer."

"So… maybe he's a bit rough around the edges. But… he saved my life when he didn't have to. He's protecting me still when it's more trouble to do so than to leave me to my own devices." Ahsoka said defensively.

"He has an entire docking bay that was filled with naked bounty hunters." Aayla replied.

"Okay I won't deny that isn't a bit bizarre. That description pretty much fits Harry to a T." Ahsoka responded after a moment before falling silent for several long moments. When she spoke again, her voice was soft when she repeated. "I trust him... I don't know much about his past or where he comes from or learned to do what he does. But he has only helped me."

"He may not have much of a filter and may make some inappropriate comments. But he's still seems like he only has good intentions despite it." Ahsoka shrugged. "He may have his quirks, but I trust him."

If ever someone waved a red flag in front of Aayla, presenting a mystery that the Rutian Twi'lek would now absolutely be required to solve for her own piece of mind, this was it. A mysterious Force user with odd powers, odd companions and a mysterious background? Her empathic side wouldn't let her resist.

She had no idea if Ahsoka had dangled that little nugget of information out there intentionally. But whether she admitted it or not, Aayla had already committed herself to traveling with the man if she was allowed. Unfortunately, that was where the idea came to a grinding halt in her mind.

She needed to convince the man now to allow her to come with them. The same man who'd first thought she was a prostitute, then a dancer, then a dancer/prostitute, and finally a spy or an assassin.

Yeah, she had her work cut out for her.

They had sat in relative silence outside the ship after Ahsoka had quickly entered to set up the restoration of the ship's computer and various navigation equipment. It was an uncomfortable silence, which Aayla had no idea how to break, when suddenly, it was done for her.

Dobby popped in to the docking bay, looking extremely frantic. He looked around wildly, summoning bits of equipment and banished the remaining few unconscious bounty hunters into a pile in a corner without care of how hard he was doing so. Resultant cracks indicated that he had broken at least one or two bones when he did so.

Aayla didn't need her empathic abilities to feel the fear, anger, and panic of the little creature. His movements transmitted all of those emotions quite clearly, and she couldn't help but ask, "Dobby? That is your name, correct? What is wrong?"

"Master Harry very angry. Find something wrong at last ship he stole." The little being replied quickly before he popped away without any further detail.

Aayla's eyes went to directly to Ahsoka, and she was unable to keep a bit of judgement out of her expression. The description of Harry as being 'angry' definitely wasn't doing him any favors in her book, especially if he utilized the Force in his rage.

Before she could say anything about the implications, they were interrupted by a large group of beings appearing out of nowhere.

"Well," said Ahsoka as she stared slack-jawed once again at one of Harry's actions. "This will certainly be some story."

It took longer than Harry expected.

First he had underestimated the number of ships he was going to be stealing. Second, while Minnie was able to give him the docking bay and access codes, he was the one that had to actually go and find the actual docking bays. And Nar Shaddaa was enough of a maze that he was apparating all over the place to find them. At one point he almost went back to go and use legilimency on the bounty hunters just to make the job easier.

However, he was certain his actions would cause havoc for a number of criminals. The idea of pranking such people made him nostalgic, and he could almost imagine being watched from above by a group whose rich pranking legacy he continued as they laughed their heads off, watching him.

His approach was simple. Enter the corresponding docking bay with the codes gotten from the different bounty hunters. He would then stun anyone who might be in the docking bay. He considered taking them for bounties too, but knew he had far more people than he wanted to take in the docking bay of his own ship already.

He also realized that they had stayed behind and either drew the short straw or just weren't fighters, and anyone who was likely leading a group of bounty hunters, or more likely independent minded mercenaries, since he knew some of these idiots weren't bounty hunters by trade.

Of course, if the bounty hunters or mercenaries currently enjoying extended naps in his docking bay escaped or were eventually freed, they would probably be a bit miffed to discover their ships had just disappeared. The only people they could take out their frustration on would be the ones who were supposed to be guarding the ships.

Everyone always did need someone to blame when something went wrong.

He proceeded from there into the ship's central core. After a quick look around for any living souls to ferret out anyone that was still left in the ships, he would take time to stun any that were found and leave them in the docking bay as well. He also reminded himself that he would have to teach revealing charms to Ahsoka at some point.

Harry didn't make use of them, not to check for people anyway. It was far easier to wrap himself in his magic, which caused the souls of any sentient beings to stand out like beacons within the ship. Unfortunately, that ability was only in his arsenal due to one of the unique circumstances in his life, and he doubted Ahsoka would be able mimic the same thing. He had never met a witch or wizard who could replicate it.

He then headed deeper into the ship towards the engineering section and the interior access panels for the engines. Of course, in two of the ships, he had no idea where the engines actually were due to his unfamiliarity with that particular ship design and their sheer size, so it took some wondering about to locate them.

But he would eventually venture to the engine compartments and the adjacent power cores, and pull out the power couplings, then power down the ship's reactors. Now was certainly not the time to run an experiment on what would happen when a active reactor was saturated with the kind of magic he intended to flood the ship with soon.

Harry would then stick the power couplings to the ground next to the engines with a sticking charm so they didn't get loose, along with any other loose debris or parts in sight as he left. Then he would walk out of the ship, and cast the most powerful shrinking charm he could manage. Channeling enough power to shrink the entire ship until it was no larger than a model was no mean feat. It took a bit of concentration, but he had plenty of power.

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