Chapter Nineteen: Never a Jedi

Star Wars + Harry Potter Crossover

AN: Review responses are in my forums like normal. This is a relatively short chapter, but important for what it portends.

Chapter Nineteen: Never a Jedi

Harry's command crew still didn't bother with Imperial-style discipline, even after months of operations. No one jumped to their feet when Harry entered the command deck of the Phoenix Redux four hours later, and he would have been shocked if they had. Instead he nodded to Maria and took a seat at the tactical console to sip his caf. It wasn't tea, nor really coffee, but was the closest equivalent to either he could find. They were, once again, returning home from a successful mission.

Moments later, when they emerged from hyperspace, Booker shouted out, "Contact, dead ahead!"

Harry surged from his seat to through the viewports. "Magnify that," Harry said of the glistening dot. The holo display that ran over the transparisteel viewports framed the object and expanded it until they could see the ship's size and shape clearly.

"What the hell is that?" Harry asked. "And why is it shimmering like that?"

The ship was a sphere, just 21 meters in length, and it shimmered with an odd field that made it difficult to detect against the background stars.

Booker was already working on it. "According to the computer, that's a Skyblind Reconnaissance Ship. That is a cloak designed to keep it hidden from a planetary surface."

"Can it detect us?"

"I don't think so," Booker said. "It appears to be using passive scans only."

"Take us in, but keep an eye on that thing," Harry said.

They landed an hour later in the now dedicated space pad outside the warded circle. In the two months since they left, the foundation of the school was finished with the walls for the first tower going up in the north-eastern corner. Harry also noticed two complete homes with their own fenced-in-gardens on the eastern side of the circle. The homes appeared to be made of bricks and wood. They were not far from the newly installed water processing plant.

Once he dismissed all but a maintenance crew, he made his report to the Wizenmeet including the latest list of claimed items. Already, booty from his various missions began permeating the colony. The older witches and wizards might not have known what to do, but the younger kids learned quickly, especially with the occasional Wookiee around to show them what the various devices did.

When Harry finally made it to Yoda's house early that evening, he found the old Jedi Master sitting in another of Harry's conjured chairs while the three Padawans (Tim was only seventeen, so was a kid to Harry) ran around an impromptu obstacle course Yoda and a few volunteers from the town helped create. Even after only months, Harry was amazed at what the three could already do. Tim was somersaulting over eight-foot tall barriers without breaking stride, while the two younger kids were able to jump through the jungle-gym portion of the course like monkeys.

What was surprising was the handful of older witches and wizards who watched the training with interest.

"How long have they been here?" Harry asked with a nod to his fellow mages.

"Not long," Yoda said. "Waiting for you, they have been. Not to speak, only to see. A symbol you are, for your people."

"Since I was a baby."

"Not smart, your kind are."

Harry snorted. "Not always, no. Speaking of being stupid, Luke and Leia are going to be going to someplace called Adega to get their lightsaber crystals on their birthdays."

Yoda nodded. "No longer safe is Ilum, so wise Obi-Wan's choice is. Go with them, you desire."

"Yeah."

The old Jedi looked intently up at Harry, before hitting his knee. "Sit, too tall you are."

Harry grunted and sat down. "A full Jedi never will you be," Yoda said, though he did not sound particularly judgmental. "Like those three, you are not. A wizard first, you will always be. And yet, some of the skills of a Jedi you learn and wield. Of both worlds, you will in time be."

"As long as I can defend my people, I'll be content," Harry said.

"Hmmm." Now that Yoda had settled in, Harry noticed the creature was not nearly as active or talkative as he used to be. He seemed more at peace, though a little tired. "Leia, you wish to see."

Harry closed his eyes in anticipation of the same argument they had gone through before. However, Yoda surprised him. "Strong in the Force are the children of Anakin Skywalker. What is it you hope for when look at Skywalker's daughter you do?"

The question caught him off guard. He was expecting something cheesy like "Do you love her?" Instead, Yoda's question forced him to really look at what his expectations and hopes were, and the potential reality of whatever they might have.

"I think of my sons, and my little girl Lily," Harry said softly. "Of my wife ... I think of the family I lost, and how it felt as if a part of me died with them. When I look at Leia, I think maybe I have a chance to build something new. I suppose that she's become my personal symbol of hope. I don't expect anything from her. But she has a strength I admire. Her own father tortured her on the station; she watched her whole world die. And somehow she still stands straight and strong. She's remarkable."

"Then join them, you should," Yoda said. "I have set your feet on the path, but teach you more I cannot. Your own path must you seek. What I have left to teach would benefit a Jedi, not a wizard. Perhaps assist you more Obi-Wan can."

"Do you think I could take on another Sith?"

Yoda closed his eyes. "Even to Jedi, the Sith are dangerous. Better quipped now, you are. This much, give you I can."

It was not an entirely surprising answer. He knew that Yoda wanted to concentrate on the three new potentials since they would be true Jedi. His own training, he'd noticed, was different. Yoda did not bother to teach him the various katas that he taught the younger kids. Nor did the old Jedi bother teaching Harry meditation. His Occlumency exercises were similar enough that there seemed little point. His magic healed him faster than any Jedi healing trance could, and his magic mimicked many of the Jedi Force-powers sufficiently that there was no need to learn them.

Instead, he had Harry concentrate on simply accessing the Force and listening to it when it urged him in one direction or another. He taught Harry how to restore his magical core quickly, even while using his magic or physically exercising. He taught Harry how to maximize his own magic using the power of the Force.

"Should I bring crystals back for your new students?"

"A list I will provide. Shopping you will go when you are gone," Yoda said.

"Nag, nag, nag," Harry muttered. Then he added, "Ouch" when Yoda hit his shoulder with his stick.

~~Revenge~~

~~Revenge~~

That evening, Harry took the rare free time to visit his godson in the young man's new house. He was not entirely surprised to see that Victoire's youngest brother Louis lived with them as well, since Bill and Fleur had their hands full in the Orphanage.

Since they recovered from the initial troubles, Teddy had recruited and was still in the process of training five new Aurors. The pleasant surprise, though, was that his young wife, the former Victoire Weasley, was expecting.

"It's not that surprising," Victoire said with a pretty flush. "It seems everyone is pregnant!"

Harry noticed the relatively bare walls and hastily conjured furniture in the house, but did not mind. Nor did the conjured silverware give him a second thought. There were no goblins to enchant family silverware. They knew Avalon had metal in its surface, but no one seemed particularly interested in mining it just yet. And given Galactic technology, he would much rather have them mine an asteroid than despoil the beauty of the world.

So, eating with conjured silverware and drinking new wine from recently glazed clay cups, Harry spent the evening with the last remnant of his family. "Have you thought of names?" Harry asked.

"Gideon and Fabian," Victoire said without blinking an eye. "They will be twins, the healer said." She patted her stomach, which barely showed a bulge yet.

"They can tell this early?"

"It's magic," Teddy said with a shrug that reminded Harry so much of his mum. "Predicting gender is one of the few things that Divination consistently gets right. Midwives practice it constantly. We'll have two strong, healthy boys."

"We thought about naming one Harry," Victoire said with an adorable blush.

"But then we heard that pretty much half the kids expected in the next year will be named Harry," Teddy said. "And half the girls will be named Ginny or Ginevra. Or worse yet, Harriet. You know the biography that Aunty Hermione wrote about you? It's one of the books that made it. Anyone who hadn't read it before now has."

Harry laughed and sipped at the bitter wine. "Yeah, at least it was Hermione's version and not Rita Skeeter's. Hermione was…" He stopped sadly, thinking of his old friends.

Victoire, sensing his pain, gently reached over the conjured table and took his hand. "We are your family now, Papa Harry."

"Papa?"

"You're the only dad I really knew," Teddy pointed out. He stared intently at Harry, hope shining out. "Rather than just be a godfather, I was hoping I could raise them to think of you as their Papa—their paternal grandfather."

Harry tried fighting back the surge of emotion, but then figured that after all he'd been through; he deserved a good show of emotion. "I'd like that, Teddy," he admitted in a thicker voice than he'd dare show anyone else. "I loved James, Albus and Lily with all my heart, but you were always there too. You're my son in everything but name."

Teddy sighed in relief. "Good. You know, Scrivenshaft has begun a new Domesday Book for the town. It's capturing a lot of information. The astrologers have already plotted out Avalon's solar year, so we've named landfall Day One and Year One. Everyone who survived has signed the book with a blood quill to establish new genealogies. Everyone is starting off brand new."

"I guess I better sign, then," Harry said.

"Yeah, since they reserved a space for you at the top of the first page," Victoire said.

"I sort of insisted," Teddy added.

"You know, your parents would have been so proud of you," Harry told the young Auror. "Especially your Mum. She was a great Auror, but just a happy person all around."

Teddy's hair flashed red—the only sign of a latent Metamorphmagus talent that never truly developed. "Well, yeah, I guess she would be. And I have no doubt dad would have been impressed as well. After all, I managed to snag the prettiest girl on two worlds!"

Louis, who remained silent through most of the meal, made a gagging sound.

"Flirting will not get you out of doing the dishes, Teddy," Victoire said, though she smiled as she said it.

"Make Louis do it."

Louis grinned and then Disapparated. Teddy sighed. "Brat."

"Now, what's this I hear about a space princess?" Victoire demanded.

From their looks, Harry could see the two had been dying to ask all night. Having eaten their food and drunk their wine, Harry felt he owed them. And so he told them the story of how he met Leia. They continued talking well into the night and past two bottles of wine.

Three days later, slightly hung over but otherwise in good spirits, Harry and the Phoenix Redux lifted off for their next mission.

~~Revenge~~

~~Revenge~~

Captain Anton Hespelt, a graduate with honours from the Corulag Academy, took his caf with a touch of sugar and cream. Any adjunct that could make it the way he liked on the second try was assured of a glowing recommendation when promotion time came around.

Sadly, his latest adjunct's chances were looking slim. Nonetheless, Anton drank because even the finest of the Empire needed help occasionally to wake up during First Watch. Still, it was going to be a fine day for the Empire, and specifically for his ship, the Corulag's Fist.

Beyond the viewports of his bridge, Hespelt could see the rest of his task force waiting in the dark recesses of space. One other Imperial II-class star destroyer, the Dominator, rested just two klicks off his port bow, while all around were six Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers and one escort carrier with an entire flight of TIE-fighters.

The whole taskforce had but one mission—to capture and destroy the Immobilizer stolen by the pirate captain Harry Potter.

Every long arm of the Empire was on alert for sightings of the elusive Ghost, as he was sometimes nicknamed. He attacked with impunity targets that should have easily destroyed him, and yet won every engagement. The Emperor had even brought in his pet alien strategist, Thrawn, from the edge of the galaxy to spearhead the effort to find and destroy Potter and his ship.

Though loyal to a fault to the Empire, Hespelt scoffed at the need for any alien strategist. He had his own plan—a trap Potter was sure to fall for. The Emperor personally approved the plan as well.

The bait was a caravan of large, slow cargo vessels carrying not just medical supplies, armaments, star-fighter parts and shield components, but also a thousand recently captured Wookiee slaves. According to Intelligence, Potter had a soft spot for the lumbering beasts. They then transmitted the course of the caravan on recently compromised channels to ensure the Rebels knew when and where to attack.

It was as perfect a trap as Hespelt could devise. It had to work, because the Emperor did not tolerate failure any better than Lord Vader did. It was to Hespelt's fortune that the recently recuperated Dark Lord was occupied by his own mission.

The Captain was half-way through the abominable caf, pacing leisurely about his command deck to ensure his crew operated efficiently, when his commander climbed quickly out of the communications pit and snapped to attention. "Captain, the captain of the lead cargo vessel reports that they are under attack."

"Excellent!" Hespelt said, before finishing his caf. "Commander, order the Task Force to make best speed to the cargo vessels and to open fire on any target of opportunity at will."

"Yes, Captain!"

In seconds, the task force bullied its way past the laws of physics and entered hyperspace, only to emerge from it moments later where it found the cargo caravan trapped in a series of obviously artificial gravity wells with a few measly Rebel X-wings pelting the various ships with ion cannons.

"Where is the Immobilizer?" Hespelt demanded.

"We're unable to locate it, captain!" the targeting officer said from his pit. "We detect the gravity wells holding the cargo vessels in place, but we cannot find the ship generating them. We've triangulated where the wells originate from, but there's nothing there!"

"Impossible!" Hespelt said. He walked firmly down the stairs to the lower area where the targeting team worked frantically. Each gun on the Corulag's Fist had its own crew and targeting computer, but overall prioritization was handled from the bridge. Already he could see the other ships disgorging their complements of TIE-fighters, until the rebel fighters were outnumbered ten to one.

But he could not see the Immobilizer at all. "Fire at the coordinates triangulated by the computer," the captain ordered.

"Aye, sir." The order was given, and across the 1,600 meter length of the massive star destroyer, turbolaser cannons roared to life and showered space with a blaze of green death. The shower continued unabated right through the spot the computer insisted the gravity wells originated from.

"Captain!"

Hespelt looked up with growing exasperation. "Yes, Commander?"

"Sir, the convoy reports that the Wookiees are gone! Somehow they just vanished right in midair from the cargo hold. It was even captured on the security feeds!"

Hespelt rushed back to his tactical display console. "Show me!"

A hologram of a cargo hold appeared with a thousand Wookiees cramped together like meat. Right before his eyes, they began to just pop out of existence, ten at a time in rapid succession, until in just minutes they were simply gone. "Impossible," the captain whispered.

"Cargo ship one reports that all medical supplies and foodstuffs have disappeared from their holds," a lieutenant reported from further down the command deck.

"Cargo ship three reports all holds have been emptied," yet another report came. "The captain does not know how."

Captain Hespelt felt as if his world was crumbling around him. "How can this possibly…"

The Escort Carrier exploded right outside their window. Hespelt jumped in shock—there were no shots fired, nor any other indicating of impending doom, but the flash of the explosion was so intense the reactive transparisteel viewports polarized to protect the eyes of those within.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" he shouted as the bridge staff suddenly went from confused to terrified. The captain walked firmly toward communications when a second explosion rocked the ship so hard and so suddenly its inertial compensators were momentarily lagging. It caused the captain to fly sideways and fall flat on his rear before the compensators kicked in.

When he recovered, he saw that one of his dreadnaughts to the starboard bow had exploded with sufficient force to buffet the Corulag's Fist with the shockwave. "Sir, one of the cargo ships is…"

With a grunt at the effort and the bruise on his hip, Hespelt rushed back to his tactical console and saw for himself that one of the cargo ships appeared to be making a suicide-run at the Dominator. The cargo ship was frankly dwarfed by the star destroyer, but it accelerated to full sublight. Despite the Dominator's batteries firing at full, it was too little, too late to prevent the cargo ship from slamming into the com tower of the ship. Shields buckled under the sheer kinetic force of the impact.

"Order all ships to fire on the cargo vessels!" Hespelt shouted. Frustration was gone, giving way to a cold fear and panic. The remaining task force vessels made quick work of the lightly armed cargo vessels, but there was still no sign of the damned rebels.

Suddenly the alarms on his own ship went off. "Report!" he shouted.

"Intruder in engineering deck 39," ship's security officer reported. "Humanoid, unable to get a good look. He appeared out of thin air with what looks lie…" The man, a thirty-year veteran of the Clone Wars, paled the colour of bone as he swivelled his chair to face Hespelt. "Captain, it's an assault concussion warhead. It's right next our hypermatter chamber."

Panic turned to cold dread. "But how…?"

The warhead exploded, releasing a three gigaton blast that ripped through the hypermatter chamber, which in turn initiated a release of the most powerful, exotic energies Imperial technology had access to. Being inside the formidable defences of the star destroyer, Hespelt and his crew died almost instantly. The resulting dual explosions vaporized the Corulag's Fist, two of the dreadnaughts around it, and finished off the limping Dominator.

On board the Fidelius-charmed Phoenix Redux, Harry reappeared covered in frost from the inter-space Portkey and took a deep breath. Akallaah motioned to him to look through the port windows, and he did so just in time to see the Imperial task force die.

"Damn, Potter," Maria whispered.

Although Harry was happy for some of the things he'd learned from Yoda, the one thing he could have done without was sensing others through the Force. He felt them now as they died, tens of thousands of them all snuffed out at once as the taskforce died.

"We have the Wookiees," Lieutenant Commander Malkin said. "Akallaah has already given them a message to sit tight."

"This was a huge haul, Potter," Maria said. "We could have our own starfighters with all this stuff. And did you see the orbital mining platform?"

Harry merely nodded. "Yeah, good job everyone. Let's get back home. I'm going to shower, then we'll debrief."

He walked back to his quarters and shook his head as the weight of all the lives he took continued to push down on his shoulders.

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Author's Note: Once again I just wish to stress just how much I appreciate Teufel1987, JR and Miles for beta reading yet another of my stories. As always, they make everything better.