~penumbral~

GrS 13:5:25, Tatooine.

A large, raised platform stood before the four as they stood - some nervous, like Ahsoka, and some unnaturally calm, like the Jedi, and some bored, like Harry.

"Welcome, Master Jedi and guests," said a shiny protocol droid at Jabba's side, translating for the ugly slug. "The glorious Jabba invites you into his abode. What is the purpose of your visit?"

"We are here as ambassadors for the Republic, concerning recent matters that have come to a head."

Jabba grunted as he heard Obi-Wan's response.

"The powerful Jabba suspects that you are here to talk about the war with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. He would like to hear what you have to propose to him."

"As you know, the Confederacy has shown elements which will prove bad for the galaxy as a whole - the Republic, and even your own holdings. We are here to ask that you not provide support to Confederacy forces - and, if possible, to deny them access to this region of space."

"The mightiest of Hutts, Jabba, wonders why the Jedi have stooped to resorting with criminals to get their jobs done. He asks if you do not have an ulterior motive to coming here today."

"Such as?" asked Obi-Wan cautiously.

"Ho ho ho!"

"It's a trap," whispered Harry furiously. "We've been had."

Every bounty hunter and criminal in the room drew their blasters in unison. The Jedi drew their lightsabers, and Harry drew his blaster with one hand as he grasped his wand with the other.

Jabba slapped on a button, and Harry braced himself for imminent explosions, but instead, a hologram displayed from the raised dais the giant slug laid upon, showing assault droids storming a large building on a dark, damp planet before detonating charges which laid waste to the entire thing.

"Just five standard hours ago, the enlightened Jabba received a communication bearing the news that Confederacy droids had attacked a residential building in Nal Hutta, attempted to demand ransom and strategic concessions by the Hutts, and, when the eminent Jabba refused to bow to their whims, destroyed the building, killing thousands of innocent Hutts and Hutt children."

Harry internally shuddered to even think of Hutts reproducing, and apparently the rest of his party shared his sentiment from the looks on their faces.

"Now, ambassadors from the Republic come calling, looking for an alliance against the Confederacy. The Hutt Cartel is not stupid, Master Jedi. The Cartel knows that the Confederacy would not be so foolish as to try the scheme that played out on the sacred homeworld of the Hutts. The droids, under further analysis, show visual similarity but fundamental mechanical differences from Confederacy and Trade Federation droid models. The convenient timing, along with other evidence, suggests another suspect. The mighty Jabba is not easily fooled, Jedi."

"False flag false flag," muttered Kenobi with a groan.

"Dooku," said Harry. He was a tad annoyed that the man had beaten him to the punch. They should have set up their own operation before coming to Tatooine; Dooku most likely had spies that had been waiting for the Jedi's ship to approach the planet, and when they reached, the droids had attacked on Nal Hutta.

"It seems the Republic has chosen its side in this conflict. The Hutts have chosen theirs."

Jabba brought his arm down on another button, closing his section off from the Jedi by a transparisteel window, and this time both Jedi tensed as they sensed a warning through the Force.

Harry, of course, being a bounty hunter, had heard the stories. He pushed the Jedi to the side as the floor beneath them opened up, drawing a blaster and holly wand in tandem with the snap-hiss of three lightsabers igniting.

Harry wasn't concerned; fifteen drunk bounty hunters, ten sycophants, four Gamorrean guards, five scared dancers, and Bib Fortuna stood no chance against two and a half Jedi. And him, of course.

"What's that?"

"Trade secret," said Harry, smiling. "Let's keep it at 'exotic matter-manipulation technology,'" he continued as he let loose: a group of bounty hunters dropped down in flames, igniting the alcohol that was spilled all over their table. Let them think it was technology; they'd fall prey to their own preconceptions, assuming that the Force is greater than all gadgets and devices.

The Jedi began a deadly dance, deflecting blaster bolts and slowly drawing closer to the mass of foes. Harry, on the other hand, twirled round, throwing magical streaks of skin-boiling fire and bone-shattering, sheer force in equal measure to those who dared draw close. After a while, none did.

The Jedi abruptly stopped when a scream rang across the room. A Twi'lek bounty hunter had gotten the better of Ahsoka and strapped a thermal detonator to her neck. He staggered backward into a pool of water, but remained standing and held up a trigger grasped closely in his right hand: the threat was clear.

Obi-Wan and Anakin reluctantly sheathed their lightsabers, the latter with a furious expression on his face as he narrowed his eyes, searching for a way out of the dilemma.

"You there, throw down your weapon!" shouted the hunter to Harry.

Harry slowly raised his hands, dropping the blaster from his hand, before flicking his wand quickly: the water below the bounty hunter rose up and around his arm, freezing as it went. In a second, the hunter's hand was frozen firmly around the trigger; seconds later, Anakin's lightsaber sliced cleanly through the Twi'lek's head before he removed the detonator.

Obi-Wan simply sighed at Anakin's brashness, looking upon the severed head with measured civility.

"It's all right," said Anakin to the crying Togruta.

"I thought I was going to -"

Harry turned away, recalling his first brush with death all too clearly and deciding to give them space.

Before long, after surveying the mass of bodies beneath them - Jabba had fled from behind his transparisteel barrier long ago -, the four turned and walked out.

~penumbral~

"I was telling you we never should have come," said Anakin the moment they made it back to their ship.

"In hindsight, we should've set up our own operation before contacting Jabba," said Harry.

"Operation?" asked Obi-Wan. "I was under the impression that all our activities would be strictly legal, as per Council guidelines."

"We were given special powers by the Supreme Chancellor himself," noted Anakin, "so everything we do is legal. Black is -" He swallowed a grimace. "- right. We should have tried to discredit Dooku before approaching Jabba. Ahsoka, come with me. We'll practice meditation, which will help clear your mind."

Harry and Obi-Wan watched the two leave the main cabin towards the training area.

"We need to gather evidence to convince the Hutts that it was a set-up," said the Jedi Master.

"I suppose," said Harry. "But Nal Hutta is a fortress in the best of times, open only to Hutts and a select few from other species. And it's not like we'll have an easy time through Hutt Space. I say we ditch the ship."

"This is a million-credit design from the Republic itself. We cannot simply -"

"Fine. But remember that I told you it was a bad idea."

The pair walked towards the cockpit, and Obi-Wan sat down in the pilot's seat, Harry in the seat beside him. With a sudden lurch, the ship rose as the Jedi master tapped several buttons before grimacing. "I hate flying."

"I could fly," offered Harry.

"I don't think Anakin trusts you enough for me to let you do that."

"If he had a problem with it, he'd be here piloting himself."

"He needs to train his Padawan, else the poor soul will be lagging behind in every of our battles."

The ship reached the edge of Tatooine's gravity well and shot off into hyperspace.

~penumbral~

GrS 13:5:26, Nar Shaddaa.

The Smuggler's Moon rose from behind Nal Hutta as the ship inched towards the birthplace of the Hutts. Below, the planet swarmed with ships of all designs, alight with activity due to the recent attack on the home planet itself - an unthinkable event, one that had not occurred in at least a few millennia.

A transmission request came in and Harry let it through.

"Nal Hutta space security here. You will fly slowly towards the Moon. You will not attempt to approach the planet, or you will be shot out of the sky. Acknowledge."

"Acknowledged," said Harry, used to the attempted intimidation by the Hutts' cronies. "Set the course."

When they came closer to Nar Shaddaa, the security began to run scans on their ship, checking to see if their ships matched known enemies of the Hutts.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Obi-Wan.

"Million credits or not, it's worthless if everyone's got your model and everyone's after you."

"I suppose you were correct," conceded Kenobi. "But for now, we must make it a priority to get out of here alive."

"The gravity well extends too far, so we'll have to do the old-fashioned beeline to the moon's surface." Harry rubbed his hands. "This'll be fun."

"Anakin! Get yourself and Ahsoka to the turrets!"

Below them, the swarms of ships coalesced and made straight for their ship, already firing at the Refuge. The shots flew wide but the warning was well understood.

"Full power to thrusters," said Obi-Wan. "Ease it slowly, but not too slowly."

"Eighty... ninety... one hundred percent."

"Shields are up."

"At least our engines are better than most of theirs down there. A million credits not entirely wasted," said Harry. "But still."

The faster of the Hutt ships were long, thin affairs - but sleek and smooth along the slight curve of the hulls. The guns glinted menacingly as they reflected light from the sun, screaming past and circling around.

"First two squadrons incoming." As the hail of fire enveloped them, the shields nearly buckled under the strain. Two ships exploded beside them, and a third turned into a ball of fire as Anakin and Ahsoka furiously opened fire on the enemies. But there were simply too many enemies, and the moon was still too far.

After the group of enemy fighters made another pass, Harry considered adding his talents into the mix. He'd be subtle, though. "We need to oversupply the engine," he stated, calmly watching stars blur and enemy ships streak past.

"That cannot even be possible," said Obi-Wan. "Hundred percent is quite literally the upper edge of energy efficiency, and any more energy would, regardless, begin to melt the engines themselves."

"Just unlock the engine room before I blow down its door."

Obi-Wan reluctantly pressed a dull blue button off to the side, and Harry jumped out of his seat and ran to the back, passing the living quarters and turrets. The door to the engines opened with a hiss as he drew his wand.

Inside, large cylinders of glowing metal screeched as they pushed energy out the back at the maximum possible rate. A faint, electronic whirring underlay the various rough sounds which echoed through the hot room.

He stabbed his wand through the energy field which protected the outside environment from one of the engines, and channeled energy into the engine. It glowed brighter and hotter, but spewed ionized gas out of the back at a greater rate. The ship lurched and sped up, but careened wildly as the imbalance between the two engines turned it to the side from the sheer torque applied.

"Black, you need to balance the engine outputs!" came Kenobi's voice over the speaker system as Harry fell to the ground with a thump. He narrowed his eyes. He wouldn't be able to augment both engines at the same time, unless...

Reluctantly, he reached down and drew the Elder Wand from another pocket. The smooth wood sang under its touch, content to be reunited with its master after years of disuse.

He had avoided the wand for daily use because of the unsettling way it cast, as if it had a mind of his own. A mind beholden to his will, but a mind nonetheless.

He jabbed both wands through the shields, spreading his arms like a heroic figure of old about to meet his death. This time, the engines sped equally and the ship shot off towards the moon.

"It's working," came Obi-Wan's voice. "We're outstripping their pace, but -" The ship shuddered, nearly unbalancing Harry. "- the planet and moon seems to have their own, powerful defenses."

Harry's solution was to pour more magic into the engines, though he could feel the heat of resistance emanating from his holly wand alongside the echoing arias of the Elder Wand's delight. Now, molten masses of metal from the engines' casing began to shear off, the thick durasteel becoming a viscous liquid under the powerful magic combined with already hot energy of the engines.

The ship shuddered again. "We're in the atmosphere of the moon, and I'm trying to level the ship now so we don't crash straight into the ground."

Just in time, as the last of the engine casings peeled off, revealing inner workings within which glowed brightly too, before detonating.

~penumbral~

Obi-Wan felt the end of the ship shear off, and in the chaotic, swirling mass of energy released couldn't tell if Mortem was dead. He would operate under the assumption that he was, though.

"Anakin, Ahsoka, we need to evacuate the ship. Meet me by airlock two."

He beat a hasty retreat to the airlock, where Anakin and Ahsoka were waiting.

"What happened to Sirius?" asked Ahsoka.

Obi-Wan's expression told her everything she needed to know. They huddled together. Then, with a tap to the override, both doors slid open and the low pressure near the top of the atmosphere of Nar Shaddaa sucked them violently out.

The three slowed their descend with the Force, combining their efforts in unison and letting the mystical energy flow freely between them. They landed with a soft thud in an open space atop a tall building lit by neon signs - just like all the other buildings as far as the eye could see.

"Welcome to Nar Shaddaa, Miss Tano," said Obi-Wan. "Or, more commonly, the Smuggler's Moon."

Ahsoka looked up at the elder Jedi, her faced flushed. "That was amazing! I could feel it flow, not just..." She floundered at an explanation.

Anakin and Obi-Wan nodded. Anakin smiled, but Obi-Wan remained grim.

"Our ally is as far as I can feel dead. He gave his life to save us."

Anakin frowned. "It makes no sense. He was such an arrogant, narcissistic fool. Maybe he miscalculated, and thought he'd make it out alive?"

"Do not disrespect the dead, Anakin," said Obi-Wan sternly.

"Of course, Master," said Anakin, chastened. "He did save our lives, and perhaps we should have been more respectful of him."

"There is nothing left to do but carry on in our mission," said Obi-Wan. "It would be dishonorable not to give our best efforts to amend the relationship between the Hutts and the Republic now, given that Dooku's vile machinations in that area have claimed already a life. More will follow, if we do nothing."

Ahsoka looked around at the flashing lights surrounding them. "Where do we even start?"

"We'll need a Hutt to get onto Nal Hutta's surface to investigate the crime scene. We need to scout around and find a Hutt who isn't as aligned with Jabba and the Hutt Cartel as a whole. It'll be difficult, and require much stealth."

~penumbral~

Had Harry heard the Jedi's conversation extolling his virtues, he would've laughed. He was never in any danger, but if it earned him points with the Jedi, he wouldn't complain.

He had slightly more important things to do than wonder whether the Jedi thought him dead, though. As his shield created a protective bubble around him, the floor gave out and the large explosion thrust him downwards with massive force. In the blink of an eye, he was sailing past the tops of buildings and falling lower.

He slowed his fall with a flick of his wands, although it was more falling less fast than it was falling slow. He could bring himself to a full halt with the Elder Wand, but the acceleration would still kill him. Based on the rate at which the ground was approaching - the lowest parts of Nar Shaddaa -, he wouldn't have time to decelerate.

Instead, he brandished the Elder Wand and coated himself with a strong shield. It resisted the defensive maneuver slightly, preferring to ring with the power of offensive magic. But it complied, because it recognized him as master. The shield flared into a bright pod of energy around him as he poured energy into it just as he impacted the ground.

The excess energy vaporized the ground and he barrelled underground - the lowest level of Nar Shaddaa actually had dirt, unlike Coruscant -, breaking through levels upon levels of underground networks that had no doubt been built millennia before when the Hutts first colonized their moon.

Finally he drew to a halt, several stories beneath the moon's surface, as he crashed down and the floor beneath him did not give way. He allowed his shield to flicker away and pocketed his holly wand, holding the Deathstick aloft.

He groaned as he now felt the pain of several broken bones - the jolts of force when he broke through several floors of dirt, rock, and rusted durasteel had still exacted a toll on his body.

From now on, he would call no stops and hold back none of his abilities. He wouldn't do anything too ridiculous, making it plausible in a universe with the Force and advanced technology and attributing his abilities to his wand. The Jedi Order and Sith would fear his abilities, but still believe they could best him. They were arrogant in that way.

~penumbral~

Obi-Wan was out securing a place they could stay, so Anakin and Ahsoka were assigned the duty of scouting out the local crime scene. It would help Ahsoka, decided the two Jedi, to get hands-on experience with criminal dealings and tracking down wrongdoers as they jumped between rackets and black markets.

Besides, they had to find a Hutt with connections who'd be willing to get them to the surface of Nal Hutta. They'd delayed deliberating on how to get back out of the system, but it was well understood that it would either require a large amount of money made through shady transactions. They could call for help to the Jedi Order, but it would take several weeks, require the effort of a Jedi Master who could be aiding the Republic elsewhere, and still ran the risk of getting caught. After that, nothing short of a full invasion would be able to save them, and Obi-Wan wasn't willing to take that risk.

"Remember, just act like you're supposed to be here. You'll do fine." Anakin and Ahsoka wore hoods, their faces darkened so that none would recognize them - or harass Ahsoka, as was common to happen to young females in seedy bars.

The two approached the bartender. "What can I get for you two?" asked the blue, male Twi'lek.

"Two shots of juma juice," said Anakin. "And perhaps some information."

"Oh?" the bartender leaned in, showing interest.

"We're new in this area," said Ahsoka, controlling her voice to avoid showing her nervousness. "We were wondering if there were any, ah, opportunities."

"You might want to check out Tolla the Hutt, the unofficial king of Nar Shaddaa. He's often here, in the back. He owns the place - the other cantinas are merely under his protection." The Twi'lek puffed up his chest with pride.

"And?"

"You can often find odd jobs by looking at the miscellaneous postings at the far wall, or by asking around." The Twi'lek lowered his voice. "I'd be careful, though. Some of the more experienced contractors don't like outsiders infringing on their sources of income." He glanced up, and his eyes widened as a green Rodian with luminous purple eyes approached.

"Ah, Greedo. How nice to see you around."

"Who are the newcomers?" spat Greedo in harsh Rodian.

"I hadn't gotten the opportunity to ask them their names, as they had just asked for drinks," said the Twi'lek smoothly. "You may call me Jalek, by the way."

Anakin nodded, and the two gave fake names they'd agreed upon with Obi-Wan. Then they left, with silent nods to Greedo, and entered the back room of the cantina, where they found a small Hutt with several advisers.

A protocol droid stepped forward, and as opposed to Jabba's bombastic translation droids, this one simply translated the speech directly.

"What do you seek, travelers?"

"We seek work," said Anakin.

"I see that you ask for less than you want. Respectable. Most come here out of greed, but you have arrived for some other reason."

"You can read our motives well," said Anakin cautiously. "You are -"

"If I am to provide what you seek, then your anonymity must be erased. Lower your hoods."

Anakin hesitated and Ahsoka tensed, and the silence extended into a pregnant pause.

"Ho ho ho!"

Anakin held his hand out to Ahsoka in warning: they couldn't draw their lightsabers to reveal themselves, but if they didn't, then Tolla's guards would force open their hoods.

"No weapons, martial arts only," he said quietly. She nodded in apprehension.

Then the guards rushed them, brandishing vibroblades. Anakin ducked under two swipes and came around, tossing one guard into another and sending them tumbling in a heap below. He then countered another blow and twisted it back before punching the next guard. Swirling through the air, he arrived just in time as a Gamorrean tried to swipe an axe at Ahsoka, who had downed one foe and was grappling fiercely with another. He caught the blade and pushed it to the ground, unbalancing the portly alien and toppling it with the sheer force of his blow.

He felt through the Force a final enemy lunge behind him, and he twirled - but to attack him was not the Trandoshan's intent. Rather, a scaly arm reached out and caught the tip of his hood as he turned, exposing his face for all to see.

"Ho ho ho! Anakin Skywalker!"

Anakin and Ahsoka drew their lightsabers in a flash, blue and green casting a glow across the darkened room.

"Worry not, Skywalker. I am no great supporter of Jabba and the Hutt Cartel. We dirty our hands by associating with the lowest of scum, when our great ancestors before ruled planets and built an empire. This, I say, is what we should return to."

"You'll help us get to Nal Hutta to investigate the recent attacks?"

"I had heard that it was treachery by the Republic which led to the attack, but perhaps the Hutts are mistaken. Regardless, I will help you - if you help me."

"Of course."

"As you may know, I run a criminal operation on this moon. We use tunnels through the lower city to avoid... unnecessary attention. Our profit margins have nearly doubled due to the fewer amount of weapons and men we need to defend our... shipments. But in the past few months, multiple shipments have gone missing, with no sign remaining of the men we've sent. Some of the best bounty hunters in our employ have fallen to these attacks, which only cease in the presence of heavily armed companies. It's cut heavily into our profit margins."

"Drugs?" asked Anakin.

"The content of these shipments need not be known."

"So we find whoever's doing this and report back to you?"

"I want them before me, alive, but failing that, dead. And when you reach the planet's surface, I will have another task for you."

With that, Anakin and Ahsoka left the room, sheathing their lightsabers as they went.

~penumbral~