Disclaimer: I own neither Star Wars nor Harry Potter. Please support the owners of these properties.

A/N/: This is a rewrite of the original 'Confederate' as my ideas for that story has fundamentally changed. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Confederate REDUX

Chapter 1

Privateer on the Run!

As the CLONE WARS rage across the galaxy, REPUBLIC and SEPARATIST supply lines become unmanageably long. Piracy is rampant across the stars, much of it funded by one side or the other! Few of these pirates and privateers are as successful or as infamous than CAPTAIN HARRY POTTER of the sinister SEPARATIST ALLIANCE. Following his victory over JEDI GENERAL RUUAN TUUK, the treacherous Captain has been allowed to operate unchallenged across the system. The JEDI ORDER have dispatched Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Learner, Ashoka Tano to bring him to justice!

"This is Echo-1-9, does anyone read me on this channel?! I repeat this is Echo-1-9! We are under attack by Seppie convoy raiders, does anyone read-" The holoprojector flickered, the clone officer vanishing before silence fell over those gathered around the table. The four figures looked at each other in turn, knowing they should feel a sense of loss at the likely death of the clone but allowing themselves a moment of joy. For a week, they had pursued their quarry, and for a week Potter had evaded all attempts at direct engagement.

"Admiral, set course to Echo-1-9's position." The Jedi known as Anakin Skywalker ordered. He was a younger human, perhaps in his mid-twenties but with the eyes of a far older man. He had a vicious scar running down one eye, a constant reminder down what path his hubris led him.

To his right was a girl even younger by the name of Ahsoka Tano, not even 18 standard years. Unlike her master, she was a togrutan, her orange skin making her distinct among her near-human and human companions. She was several heads shorter than her master and clearly had not learned the same hard lessons he had over the years if her far more enthusiastic demeanour was anything to go by.

The 'Admiral' was far older than the other two. Though his hair was still brown, his advancing age would soon change that. Admiral Yularen was a severe man, well experienced in the complications of naval command. Second only to Anakin Skywalker, Yularen was tasked with the operation of the Jedi Knight's fleet from aboard the Resolute.

The last member of this collection was a man that would be far harder to recognize were it not for his outlandishly blue armour. Captain Rex, an officer of the 501st legion and clone trooper of the Grand Army of the Republic. He had served with Anakin Skywalker almost since the beginning of the war since the young Jedi had been handed the proverbial keys by Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Those three were the highest-ranked officers of the fleet, though Rex was technically on-par with the Captains of the Resolute's escorts; the 'Treatise' and the 'Undaunting'.

"Right away, sir." With a salute, Yularen left to relay the orders to the remainder of the command crew. Ahsoka, clearly unable to hold her excitement in any further, spoke before either Rex or Skywalker could.

"Finally, I almost thought we were going to spend the rest of the war chasing this sleemo." This earned a laugh from the remaining two men, Rex nodding his agreement.

"Believe me, Commander, the boys want to get back in the mud as much as you do. At least the lead clanker has the decency to actually fight us."

"Be mindful of your enthusiasm, Ahsoka." Anakin said in a faux attempt to sound chiding, but only coming across as if he were attempting an impersonation of his former Master: Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"What?" The young padawan demanded before gesturing towards Rex, "What about him?"

"I'm a Clone, sir," Rex stated with a shrug, walking towards the exit to the bridge, "I was built to be enthusiastic about fighting. I'll go make sure the men are ready, sir."

"Keep them prepared, Rex. We all know Potter's modus operandi."

"Will do, sir," With that, the Clone Captain was gone, leaving the two Jedi amidst the maelstrom of the bridge. Now alone with his Padawan, Anakin manipulated the console once more to bring up a new hologram. A few seconds passed before a rather unremarkable man appeared.

"Master?" Ahsoka asked, immediately recognizing him as Captain Potter, "Didn't we already go over his file?"

"Yes, but it never hurts to check again," Anakin stated, taking in the appearance of the man he had been chasing for a week. Potter was, as mentioned before, mostly unremarkable. He was severely faced, lacking facial hair or any real defining appearance barring a small scar at the top of his forehead. The man's hair was rather unruly, despite the professionalism he oozed, making him seem slightly younger than the file would have one belief.

Captain Harry Potter (42), commanding officer of both a Recuscant-class Light Destroyer and suspected commander of the (suspected) 9th Raiding Squadron. Captain Potter was born on Terra in the Sol System to unknown parents. Information about his early life is unknown, but it is recorded that he started working as an enforcer for the Corporate Alliance under Admiral Trench at age 28. Potter suddenly vanished roughly two days after Terra declared its independence from the Republic and joined the Confederacy. Potter's ship, the 'Scion of Hogwarts' has been spotted in several raiding engagements since shortly after the beginning of the war.

The hologram then began to explain many of the man's physical features, but Anakin wasn't exactly itching to hear about the man's suspected height or weight. The hologram shown was already outdated by several years, as it was taken during Potter's early days in the Alliance.

Skipping ahead, Anakin brought up information about the man's squadron and tactics, all of which was under the umbrella of 'suspected'.

Captain Harry Potter's destroyer, as well as all other destroyers in his personal section, are heavily modified. They have all had a large percentage of their armour and weapon-hardpoints removed for greater manoeuvrability, and as such are most vulnerable in direct combat. The remainder of his squadron is separated into a suspected four other sections, made of mixed ships. Based on reports of survivors, Potter relies heavily on surgical strikes with bombers as well as using his superiorly sized ships to block escape. Potter also utilized boarding ships to cause havoc aboard targetted vessels. Potter has been deemed a minimum threat by Republic Intelligence due to his squadron's lack of firepower or high levels of commanding skill. ADDENDUM 1-A: Captain Harry Potter had been raised to threat-class 'Moderate' following his successful battle against Jedi General Ruuan Tuuk and the total (suspected) annihilation of the 133rd Assault Battalion.

Anakin pursed his lips in thought, while it was becoming disturbingly common to see dead Jedi, having one's entire Battalion and section wiped out in a single engagement was unheard of. Clearly, there was more to Potter than met the eyes, and Anakin was not going to be caught out by the slippery Seppie.

It wasn't long until the Resolute and its escorts dropped out of hyperspace, appearing at the edge of a field of debris where the convoy had met Potter's ships. Of course, Anakin Skywalker couldn't see the carnage, as he was situated in his fighter in preparation to meet the Seppie droids head-on. To his left was Ahsoka's fighter, always quick to join her master in some unadulterated droid-slaughter.

"You are clear to launch, General. Be advised, there is a lot of debris between us and Potter, tread carefully." Yularen's voice came through Anakin's communicator, sounding slightly garbled. Anakin allowed himself a small grin as he turned the engine of his fighter over. He would never repeat as much, but he had always been partial to his Azure Angel, for more than one reason, but since its destruction, he had been saddled with more modern ETA-2. It had shortcomings as all factory-set ships did, but Anakin couldn't argue against its agility or manoeuvrability. It was one of the few ships that could keep up with a tri-fighter or vulture droid.

"Blue Squadron, follow me out," Anakin ordered over his communicator, letting Artoo guide his ship out. Typically, Anakin liked to fly his ship at all times, but really, it was hard to mess up taking off and landing.

Upon leaving the hangar on the stomach of the Resolute, Anakin could see the remains of the battleground. A dozen and some Republic freighters floated aimlessly, gutted by intense turbolaser fire no doubt. Even from here, Anakin could sense very little life out among the ruined ships. The only signatures were, surprisingly, in the Seppie ships. Naturally, there had to be a few organics aboard those ships, but the amount he was sensing…

Anakin shook his head to clear it of those thoughts, his only mission at the moment was the capture or destruction of Potter.

"Blue Squadron on your six, lead."

"Copy, Blue-2. General Skywalker to all fighter elements, our job is simple. Keep those Seppies from leaving before the fleet can catch up. Watch each other's backs and watch out. Those destroyers might not look it, but they're carrying fighters."

Affirmations from the many squad leaders reached Anakin. With a smile on his lips, he quickly turned the communicator over to Ahsoka and his channel.

"Ready, Snips?"

"Always, Master. I think I'll beat your score today." Anakin laughed at that, shaking his head in disbelief at his Padawan's antics.

"In your dreams, my young padawan, in your dreams."

Anakin retook control over his fighter from Artoo, giving the yoke a good waggle to make sure his engine was working properly. This elicited an annoying whistle from his droid companion.

"Sorry, Artoo," Anakin apologized, activating the weapon systems, "Just had to be sure."

Another indignant whistle was all the response Artoo gave as the swarm of fighters made their way into the debris field. The Seppie destroyers, as well as a number of what seemed to be captured freighters, began to turn away from the encroaching Republic ships.

"Admiral, are there any out-going transmissions?" Anakin asked over the communicator, easing his fighter around the bulk of the ruined freighters. He made a pointed effort not to look at the white-armoured clones floating about… or the civilian merchant ship crewmembers.

"... No. There seems to be a lot of chatter between the Separatists, but nothing outside the junction."

The junction where Potter had placed his ambush sat between to large hyperspace lanes, though under travelled due to the complete stop of trade with the more lucrative planets in the sector. The only thing that passed through any more were military convoys, which Potter seemed to be targetting.

Could be worse, Anakin thought, He could be targetting civilians cruise liners.

"Sir, 3 o'clock!" Anakin reflexively yanked back on his yolk, narrowly avoiding the blue and grey mass of a corvette that had tried to ram him. A Trireme, a rare sight given better options available, but a monster for fighters to fight. Its laser cannons and PD turrets opened fire on the scattering Republic fighters, taking out several as it dove beneath the hull of a destroyed freighter.

"Another one, coming in at our six-" Anakin flinched as the communicator screeched, the poor Clone giving that report likely meeting his doom at the hands of the second corvette. He chanced a look back and saw the second ship rounding a hollowed escort cruiser, its weapons tearing into the bombers following Anakin's fighters. Detaching from the hulls of the comparatively large corvettes, vulture droids dove into the chaotic swarm of Republic fighters.

"Blue Squad, fall in on me. We can't let those destroyers get away, the others can handle those corvettes. Any bombers listening in?"

"General, this is Hammer-1, we're down two but we still have one hell of a payload." Anakin let a smile grace his features again, flipping a few switches to fold his wings in.

"Copy Hammer-1, fall in, we'll lead the way. Our target is the 'Scion of Hogwarts', is she on your scopes?"

"We see her, General. Lead the way." Blue Squadron, led by Anakin and Ahsoka, raced away from the dogfight erupting behind them, followed by the familiar yellow shapes of Y-Wings. It seemed the vulture droids and corvettes were far too focused on the bulk of Republic fighters to give chase, so Anakin and his company broke the field of debris without harassment and launched themselves towards the destroyers. The 'Scion of Hogwarts' was easy enough to find, their callsigns were still fully displayed, the only challenge being its position at the front of the formation and the cloud of vulture droids appearing from under the armour of the many destroyers.

"It gets worse, Master," Ahsoka bemoaned, "Two cruisers are breaking formation to meet us!"

As she said, two of the Diamond cruisers twisted around and followed behind the swarm of vulture droids.

"Hold on, everyone!" Anakin stated over the communicator, readying himself for the onslaught. Not three seconds later, his entire view ignited with blue as every single vulture droid armed with missiles fired them all at once. A veritable wall of gleaming rockets twisted about, racing forwards to meet the Republic ships.

"Evasive manoeuvres!" Anakin barked, relying on the force and his skilful ability to twist around the innumerable rockets. Many of the Clones were not so skilled, their fighters disappearing under brilliant flashes of blue and their cut-off screams. Artoo suddenly whistled in alarm just as the feeling of panic washed over Anakin, coming from Ahsoka.

"Ahsoka?" Anakin demanded, "What happened?"

"Nothing- Erk- Master! One of the torpedoes got me, that's all!" Anakin looked back and saw Ahsoka's fighter…

Missing most of its right-wing.

"Snips, you're flying half a ship! Pull back, we'll take care of this!"

"No, Master! I can still fight!"

"Snips-" But Anakin couldn't say much more, red flashed across his deflector shields as the swarm of vulture droids opened fire. Anakin cursed in the native language of the Hutts, returning fire with lances of green. Lacking shielding, several vulture droids exploded in a single burst.

Likely realizing the threat Anakin posed, the droids in his direct path spun aside. Anakin used the opening to slip past their number, acknowledging Artoo's warning about some looping around to follow with a nod. The force warned him of their fire long before the early-warning system, giving him time to twist around their fire.

The droids weren't given another chance to fire as all three exploded, Ahsoka's fighter appearing from behind the smoke. Her amused voice filled the communicator not moments later.

"What would you do without me, master?" Anakin scoffed but allowed himself a grin. Ahsoka might disobey orders at times, but she always pulled through in the end.

"You saved me a little trouble, Snips, but don't get cocky. It's just us and those Diamond cruisers now."

"Master, what are we going to do to the destroyers without bombers?"

"Who said anything about doing things without bombers?" Hammer-1's voice returned, and sure enough, it and another Y-wing appeared behind Anakin and Ahsoka, scarred by plasma damage but still flying, "We aren't much, but we should be enough to cripple that destroyer if it tries to lift its shields."

"Copy, Hammer-1, keep behind us and look out for those Diamonds."

"Copy, General."

Silence filled the four ships as the raced to meet the pair of cruisers approaching them. Despite still being outside their range, the duo opened fire on the four Republic ships. The fire started slow and methodical, a clear sign of the crew's discipline as they didn't opt for blind saturation fire. As the Republic ships avoided the hail, however, the crew seemed to realize that the distance between them was becoming significantly shorter. As the PD guns opened fire, Anakin was forced to employ fancier movements. While that might be enough for him, and probably Ahsoka, the two bombers were not built for that kind of flying.

"My left engine's been hit! I… I think they got my ammo-" The bomber behind Anakin as its payload went off, drowning out the shouts of denial and anger from Hammer-1. Anakin couldn't spare the moment to respond, forced to dodge an ever-increasing barrage of crimson bolts. The first Diamond cruiser passed without further incident, racing to join the ongoing battles behind Anakin. The other one, however, was far more focused on protecting the section. It turned, blocking the path of the fighters with its side.

Anakin spun under the ship, easily out-speeding his companions and arriving on the cruiser's other side. The guns on this side tried to shoot him down, but their efforts were in vain.

Hammer-1 was not so lucky.

Looking back, Anakin watched as Ahsoka and Hammer-1 crested over the cruiser, deftly avoiding the hail of bolts. One of the droids manning the guns managed to land a hit on the bomber, killing the occupants instantly in a fiery explosion. Ahsoka's fighter was caught in the aftermath, fire slamming into her already exposed fuel lines. The entire right side of the fighter erupted in flame.

Anakin could only watch in horror for a moment before recoiling as panicked emotion raced across the master-padawan bond… as well as pain. He didn't hear Yularen's warning about the fleet leaving, or Artoo's horrified whistling, or even the fleet itself vanishing into hyperspace. At that moment, only one thing mattered.

"Ahsoka!"

Anakin has never been a patient man, it wasn't in his nature even as a child. His patience when someone he cared about was injured was even shorter, so much so that the medical droid, the medical droid, ordered him off.

'Your distress will harm my patient. Please leave.'

Anakin was seething with anger, though he understood the droid's point of view. The surgical room in the medbay was small and built for efficiency, as was the case on spaceships, and as Anakin's presence wasn't strictly necessary, the droid asked him to leave.

No, his anger was directionless, because the only person he could blame in this situation was himself. Oh, he certainly felt a significant amount of disdain for Captain Potter, but Potter likely wasn't even aware of who Ahsoka was, or what happened to her. Ahsoka's inability to follow orders, even as her fighter seemed to collapse around her, was the fault on his training, had he only pushed her to understand the necessity of following orders, if only-

"Troubled, you are, you Skywalker." A familiar, croaking voice drew Anakin's attention back to the present. He blinked a couple of times before looking up, looking at the pair of holograms on his desk.

One was of his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, adorned in his battle regalia as he likely reported from a battlefield. The man looked harried, but his expression was still one of sorrow. The first thing Anakin did was report to the Council about his failures against Potter and the severe injuries suffered by his Padawan for his oversight and underestimation. Obi-Wan and one other had been the only available to answer his immediate call.

The other was far shorter, that much obvious even in the small hologram. Master Yoda, the oldest Jedi Master in the order. The diminutive Jedi was one of the greatest proponents of the 'detachment' doctrine of the Order, hence why Anakin never felt he could confide in him.

"I-" Anakin nearly denied as much, but sighed, knowing lying to the Jedi Master would be pointless, "Yes, Master. I… I failed Ahsoka, If I had only drilled it into her to listen, if only I had-"

"Control her, do you? Hmm?" Yoda interrupted, "Lacks free will, does she? Capable of making choices, is she not?"

"I- No," Anakin murmured, sliding down into his seat as his anger bubbling away to a more morose feeling.

"A strong personality, young Tano has, much like her Master, she is." Yoda stated with an understanding tone.

"I'm just worried about her. She's been in danger before, but nothing like this." Anakin attempted to explain, shaking his head as he was forced to relive the memories, "The entire right side of her body… She was unconscious when we found her, but the doctor said her vocal cords were… She was screaming, Masters. Fifteen minutes it took us to get a ship to grab her fighter, fifteen minutes. And I couldn't do a thing."

Yoda let out a small sound, bowing head for a moment before speaking.

"Worry, you will not-"

Anakin's anger returned in force, enough to propel the young knight to his feet and new heights of disbelief.

"Don't worry?! Don't worry?! You didn't see her, master-"

But Yoda wasn't having any of that, banging his gimer stick on the ground

"Let me finish, you will!" The small Jedi Master let out an annoyed huff, "Worry, you will not, for she will survive. Hmm… Strong in the force, she is. Blame yourself, you will not."

"She won't be the same if… when she gets through this." Anakin murmured. He was glad Ahsoka was going to survive but sobered by the fact that she would most likely be unable to play an active combat role any longer.

"That's war, Anakin. You're living proof of that," Obi-Wan spoke softly, ever attentive of his former padawan's emotions and how carefully to tread, "But she will survive this, and the force will guide her to the next stage of her life."

Anakin sighed but silently agreed with the pair of masters. It was a miracle, or perhaps the will of the Force, that neither he nor Ahsoka was ever injured in a life-changing manner during the war.

Hand notwithstanding.

"Potter will pay for this," Anakin growled, hoping to direct his aggression to a separate source. Again, Yoda exclaimed against this.

"No! Hate, you feel. To the Dark Side, it leads. Capture Captain Potter, stand trial for his crimes he will. Strike him down in anger, you cannot."

And again, Master Yoda was correct. It only further irritated Anakin, but he wouldn't risk falling to the Dark Side. He had had too many close calls already.

"Very well, Master. I will capture Potter to the best of my abilities, but I'm not happy about it." Once again, Yoda gave a 'hmm', but seemed to find this arrangement acceptable. Obi-Wan spoke up in the silence that arose.

"To the battle, then. I've watched the recordings, Potter's fleet is ill-suited for extended combat."

"Meaning?" Anakin accepted the chance in the topic, itching to have another crack at Potter and his section. Despite the cut-down state of the ships, destroyers were destroyers. They had a lot of support in the form of auxiliary craft and fighters. Three Venators were a force to be reckoned with, but certainly not invincible, as Master Tuuk had learned first hand.

"He wasn't expecting your arrival, hence the slow and unorganized retreat."

"Over-confident, Potter has become," Yoda concurred with a nod of his head, his ears flopping about for a moment, "Defeated one Jedi, he has. Underestimates you, he does."

"I made the mistake of doing the same to him," Anakin admitted sheepishly, "I didn't know what to expect when he bested Master Tuuk."

"Potter must be a competent commander if he defeated Tuuk with his limited ships," Obi-Wan observed before his eyes narrowed, "Unless there is more to this Captain than meets the eye."

"Beat him at his own game, you must," Yoda advised.

"Beat him at his own game? What, convoy raiding?" Anakin asked, confused. How raiding Separatist convoys, elusive as they are, would assist in stopping Potter was beyond him. What's more, the Venators under his command were hardly raider material. They were slow and obvious, typically raiding was the job of far lighter ships.

"Potter is a master of raiding, but more than that, he is a master of deception," Obi-Wan elaborated on the diminutive Jedi Master's words when Yoda showed no sign of doing so himself, "He will never willingly engage your ships in open battle. You must force a confrontation."

"How? My ships aren't as fast as his, and it isn't as if we'll just chance along another convoy he… is…" And an idea came to Anakin, one that may just work. Yoda and Obi-Wan seemed to notice Anakin's change in demeanour, as both fell silent and waited to hear what he had to say. Anakin didn't speak immediately, instead activating the console built into his desk. After a few moments, he pulled up a list encapsulating all Republic convoys leaving or entering the southern outer rim. Namely, he was looking for large convoy ships that-

"Ah-ha! The Nuewmok Trading Company is moving heavy walkers through the Karthakk sector in two days time. A veritable fleet of Venators are acting as their escorts," Anakin looked up, excitement filling his voice as he spoke, "But if the convoy ships were, say, ordered to leave immediately due to a desperate siege in the Lol sector, then they would have no choice but to leave their escorts and become a prime target for an enterprising privateer."

Obi-Wan nodded his agreement to this, evidently surprised Anakin had come up with this plan himself, but Yoda showed some reservations.

"Risking the ships and civilian crew, you are. Move quickly to stop Potter, if he takes the bait."

Anakin offered a wry smile, confident he could react quick enough to capture the Captain.

"Don't worry, Master, Potter won't even know what will hit him.

The loud rumble of the Resolute's titanic engines and the hum of hyperspace were the only sounds the filled the otherwise quiet bridge. Yularen had sent the order, pretending to be the part of a harried Admiral, to the convoy and not two hours later, they had sent out a distress signal. Anakin had theorized, correctly it seemed, that Potter would strike at the junction of Kiblini and Karthakk, where the two minor hyperspace routes between the two sectors met. Based on the panicked reports, Potter had just been loitering around the intersection, as if he were waiting for the arrival.

"Something isn't right," Rex muttered, staring out into the vortex of hyperspace, "This is too convenient."

"There's a reason why I had Yularen act the part of a put upon officer, Rex: In case Potter was listening in." Anakin explained to Rex in an attempt to waylay his own worries and suspicions, an officer could not get cold feet on the eve of battle.

Rex, at Anakin's words, deepened his scowl.

"How could Potter have figured out where to go two hours after the transmission?"

"It could always be a coincidence, Rex," Anakin defended, "And it is a small sector."

"I thought the Jedi didn't believe in coincidence, sir?" Rex retorted, but it seemed any bite in the words was missing. Anakin clapped Rex on the back with a chuckle, letting his worries about Ahsoka and the coming battle drift into the force for the time being.

"Leaving hyperspace in ten seconds!" The helmsman barked to the crew, breaking the silence. In an instant, all tension returned as they made last-minute checks. Rex snapped off a silent salute to Anakin before pulling his helmet back on and retreating from the bridge to resume command of the on-ship forces. Potter had yet to use his 'famous' boarding manoeuvres, but it paid to be wary.

The last seconds counted down before the Resolute and her two escorts were dropped at the edge of yet another field of ships. Granted, this time the convoy ships were still mostly intact, but the battle was clearly in the favour of the Seppie destroyers.

"They've brought a Captor." One officer noted, drawing all eyes tot he vaguely familiar and stout form of the Captor-class Heavy Munitions Cruiser. They were typically used as mobile carrier platforms, typically slow and utilized where Lucrehulks were either impractical or too expensive. Why Potter had such an infamously slow ship in his section was beyond Anakin, but there wasn't time to focus on that. Potter's ships seemed to notice the reinforcements and abandoned all pretence of caution, opening fire with reckless abandon on the convoy ships.

"Sir, perhaps you should get to your fighter?" Yularen advised, moving from the comms station to the front window of the bridge. Certain Yularen could manage without him here, Anakin dashed from the bridge for the hangar bay. Numerous Clones were running about, dashing past Anakin to go to whichever task they were left with.

Man of the fighters had already launched, though it seemed Blue Squadron had stuck to waiting for their commander's arrival. Anakin jumped into his fighter with the deftness only a Jedi was capable of, rushed by the greeting from Artoo.

"Kept her warm?" Anakin asked Artoo jokingly, finding the fighter ready to take off, "Blue Squadron, fall in. We have a Seppie to capture."

"Blue Squadron following you out, sir."

The battle outside was as much of a mess as it was before, only this time the Republic ships were aware of the auxiliary corvettes and cruisers. The pair of Diamonds ignored the Republic fighters wholesale, instead opting to assault the convoy ships with the full might of their firepower. The Trireme, however, were not so inclined. Spinning about, the lot of them rushed to engage the Republic fighters alongside a swarm of vulture droids.

"You have our thanks, Resolute," The comms of the lead convoy ship declared openly, "We're gettin' out of here."

"Copy, Nuewmok, we'll handle things from here," The cultured voice of Yularen responded. The Convoy ships turned as one to face the way they had come, confident enough to lower their shields and jump to hyperspace.

The Separatists, however, did not seem so inclined to allow that escape.

"Large energy signatures from that Captor!" One of Blue Squadron cried, thought that much was obvious based on the blue emanating from the depths of the ship. Just as the convoy ships made to jump into the safety of hyperspace, the glow became blinding and what could be described as a localized, miniature black hole (in appearance) centred around the bulk of the cruiser. The convoy ships were ripped from hyperspace almost as quickly as they jumped into it, several ramming each other in the confusion.

"By the stars- Did they put a gravity well generator in that thing?!" One of Blue Squadron demanded in disbelief.

"How are they even powering it?" Another asked as the generator not only continued to run, but the Captor was still firing potshots at the convoy ships.

"Captors are highly customizable, Potter must have put in one massive generator," Anakin switched his communicator over to that of the Admiral, "Admiral?"

"On it."

The Treatise was moving around the fighter battle, moving to engage the Captor and its duo of protectors.

"New hyperspace signatures!" One of the convoy ships announced, the terror filling her voice making it clear these newcomers weren't friendly. Sure enough, five Separatist cruisers, wrenched out of hyperspace by the Captor, surrounded the convoy ships. Evidently, this was all part of the plan as all five opened fire on their defenceless prey, ripping them apart as screams of terror and fear filled the comms.

"Yularen!" Anakin barked, watching the second engagement with Potter fall apart before his eyes.

"More signatures, by the force, did he bring the entire fleet?!" Five more cruisers fell out of hyperspace on Treatise's side, flanking the Venator and tearing into its shields from point-blank range.

The remaining three destroyers turned and, with their engines on full, rushed to meet the remaining two unengaged Republic ships.

"Treatise, pull back!"

"What?!" One of the convoy ships demanded, "You can't just leave us to-" But the ship exploded, the concentrated fire of the nearest cruiser enough the smash through the shielding and hull. The Treatise reversed the thrust on its engines, retreating extremely slowly in the direction of its allies.

Or, it tried to. Even from his fighter, Anakin could spy a swarm of what could only be boarding craft escaping from under the armour plates of the two nearby destroyers and dig themselves in across the hull of the Treatise. Like parasites, they swarmed the already harrassed Venator.

"Negative, Resolute! Clankers are everywhere, we… Damn it all, be ready to jump!" The Treatise turned its guns and fired through the gaps between the two destroyers, forgoing any attempt to defend itself in its desperation to destroy the Captor hold the other two Venators hostage. Clearly, the power needs to keep the gravity well up was too high for the shields to be online as well, as nothing stopped the turbolasers from impacting on the crusier's hull. After several seconds, an explosion so massive that it could be felt by the remaining Venators consumed the cruiser and caught the two destroyers, sending them floating away.

"Go!" The Treatise's Captain barked even as blaster fire filled his communicator, "And may the force be with-"

Static took over, but Anakin wasn't given a chance to mourn or even come to terms with what had happened. The convoy ships were all either destroyed or disabled, so the cruisers began following behind the destroyers. Already, the remaining Venators and destroyers were firing at each other with their longer range weapon systems, to little effect.

"All fighters, pull back! We are leaving!" Anakin ordered, yanking back on his yolk and retreating to the Resolute with a heavy heart and conscious.

"She has stabilized," The medical droid explained to Anakin, who had returned to his seat outside the medical bay, "And is conscious. She has requested your presence, General."

Anakin sighed and rose, thanking the droid with a quiet tone. He had just reported to the Jedi Council and hour ago, this time with several more members present. Though the likes of Luminara Unduli and Shaak Ti extended their deepest condolences and Obi-Wan assured Anakin that they had all underestimated the Terran officer, there was silent contempt and disappointment in the eyes of Mace Windu. It had always been present, but to be defeated by what, in the Jedi Master's eyes, was little more than a uniformed pirate was a disgrace. Nevermind that another Jedi had already fallen to Potter, or that Potter was clearly better funded than initially believed, Windu seemed to find Anakin even more distasteful than before. He never vocalized as much, of course, but several other Masters seemed confused as to how or why Anakin failed.

Now was not that time for reflection, however. Snips was awake and stable, and Anakin couldn't wait a moment to see her.

He was led to the surgical room where Ahsoka was held, holding his breath and praying the damage was not as bad as he had remembered.

It was, though the medical droid seemed to have done its job and covered the worst of the damage. Ahsoka's entire right side was heavily burned, much of it bandaged and coated in an unfamiliar, blue gel. Ahsoka looked as if she were unconscious, both her good and bad eye closed. At the sound of the door opening, however, Ahsoka's unburned eye blinked open and darted to the opened door. Her mouth quirked up, though the flash of pain in her eye and over their bond told Anakin that it was a painful action.

"Hey… Skyguy, you looking about as bad as I feel." Her voice was little more than a murmur, a sound that broke Anakin's heart more. Anakin was at her side in an instant, taking her uninjured hand as a new wave of guilt crashed down on his head.

"Snips… I'm so sorry, if I had just… if only I had…" But there were no words he could come up with that would explain or justify his failures as a master. Ahsoka, having none of that, squeezed his hand as much as she could and glared up at him with her good eye.

"Not your fault. I made my choice and paid for it, nothing you could have done would have changed that."

"I'm sorry." Anakin murmured, lowering his eyes. Ahsoka let out a sound that was not too dissimilar to choking, worrying Anakin for a second before he realized she was laughing.

"You're not going to get rid of me that soon, Master." She chided softly, closing her eye with a sigh.

After a few moments of silence, just when Anakin thought she had fallen back asleep, Ahsoka spoke up once more.

"What about Potter?"

"He…" Anakin swallowed, his shame rising to meet his guilt, "He got away… and captured the Treatise."

"Shame... " She said, "I wanted another go at him…"

"Ahsoka…" Anakin started before stopping, not sure how he would explain to his Padawan that she probably wouldn't be able to fight again, or at least not for a long while. Again, her lips quirked up into a smile.

"I know, Master. The Force will guide me to my next path." Finally, Anakin returned her smile.

Maybe everything would be fine.

Everything was not fine for Harry Potter.

"Five months of paychecks!" He bemoaned, staring at the floating remains of the Justicar-class interdictor. It had been a pet project of a subordinate, who had been hoping to release her design for wider Confederate usage. Its ever-growing list of shortcomings, however, seemed to dash that hope if her morose attitude when they last spoke had been any sign.

"Captain, if the Republic did not destroy the Justicar, then its own reactor would have," TV-883, called 'Admiral Nelson', or just Nelson, by Harry, explained as it walked up from the stairs to the bridge of the 'Scion of Hogwarts'. It was a dark red with golden trimming, a personal gift from Harry's former commander and at-times friend, Admiral Trench. Personally, Harry suspected the droid was given to him because of its tendency to insult, belittle, and be contrary towards its commanding officer. Oh, that wasn't to say it didn't follow orders or was extremely competent as was its programming, but sometimes the droid had what one might call an 'attitude', "Yet another of Engineer Emi'rah's failed inventions."

"Hey," Harry weakly defended his favourite engineer, "The increased capacitors work, don't they?"

Nelson started at Harry for several long seconds before turning and addressing one of the droids hard at work, "How many times did the capacitors on the main reactor aboard the Scion nearly fail?"

"There were seven near-catastrophic failures, sir." The battle droid stated, turning from its station to say as much. The droid, of course, opted not to mention what was called 'normal failures', symptoms of Emi'rah's improvements.

Nelson turned back to face Harry, allowing the droid's report to speak for itself.

"Fine," Harry sighed, putting his hands up in defeat before retaking his command throne, "I'll talk to her."

"Unlikely," The droid countered, folding its arms behind its back and pointedly ignoring Harry's glare. Harry shook his head at the droid's impudence, wondering not for the first time if he could get the droid reprogrammed or just replaced. Alas, he always came to the decision he had before: no. Nelson was just too competent, even for a droid if the lacklustre reports of other T-series tactical droids were to be believed.

"What shall we do with the Venator?" Nelson asked after several seconds of blissful silence. Harry scratched at the stubble on his cheek, making a mental note to shave at some point soon.

"A good question… Honestly, I never expected we would actually get a chance to capture one," Harry explained, eyeing the ship with a critical eye. It was powerful, that much was obvious, and held the space to better carry the fleets and fleets of Confederate fighters.

"The chances of Admiral Yularen and Jedi Skywalker not realizing we could connect them was astronomically low. As with all things involving you, Captain, whatever is most likely to happen will not." Nelson droned, sounding disgruntled despite it being a droid. They had been working together for less than a year, and already Nelson has a better understanding of what Harry coined as the 'Potter Luck' than almost anyone he had known. Barring Hermione and Ron Weasley, but it had been a few years since they had last talked.

"What's more, mobile gravity well generators are unheard of in this modern age."

"Are you defending Emi?" Harry asked, sitting up and smirking mischievously at his second-in-command. The droid instantly froze in the middle of its pacing. Slowly, the droid turned to face Harry, the only physical sign of its agitation the sudden increase in brightness of its red photoreceptors.

"No. The mere fact that you are insinuating as much is an attack upon the logic and expertise of my programming. Engineer Emi'rah's survival runs contrary to your planet's Murphy's Law." Harry laughed out loud at the words of his droid, drawing the gazes of several droids and Koorivar crew members.

"Hmm... I guess we can bring it with us and give it to the navy? Too slow for convoy raiding…" Harry decided, shifting the topic back to his stolen Venator.

"If I may," Nelson spoke up as Harry fell silent, "Admiral Trench forbade you from going forward with the Bespin Job due to a heavy Republic presence. Now, with a figurative turncoat in our midsts…"

Harry allowed a smile to cross his lips at the droid's words. Though Harry had made plenty of credits as an enforcer for the Corporate Alliance first and then as a Privateer for the Confederacy. His Letter of Marque allowed him a highly negotiable cut from the goods he collected.

Bespin would be their biggest job if everything worked out as planned. The gas giant was a major exporter of Tibanna gas, and though the planet was aligned with the Republic, the mining companies traded with both the Republic and Confederacy. All except one station, which was directly funded and run by Republic officials. It also just so happened to be the most profitable of the mining stations. If Harry and his fleet could tap into that profit, they would return to Raxus very wealthy men and women.

"Nelson, I could kiss you-" Harry announced, grabbing a datapad stuck into the side of his throne and typing in his plans. To anyone looking at the man, they would see glints of mischief in his green eyes.

"Please, do not." The droid requested.

"- Slave the Venator to the Scion and prepare it for the jump to hyperspace. After that, call the officers, we have some planning to do."

A/N: Please leave a review on what you believe I can improve on or what you liked.