Author's Note: This is a sequel to The Voyage of the Starship Hedwig, which takes place from 1998 to 2114. In this Alternate Universe the events of the Star Wars, Episode IV take place in 2115, and they happen right here in the Milky Way Galaxy.

"There is a great disturbance in the Force."

Darth Vader had long since come to hate those words and what they signified.

When he first accepted Emperor Palpatine's offer to become a Sith, he had been driven by the need to save his wife, Padme. But that had been far from his only reason. During the Clone Wars he had grown increasingly disgusted with the corruption and weakness of the Republic. The Emperor's New Order held the promise of a better future, even for a fatherless slave from an insignificant world like Tatooine. It also crossed his mind that despite the Emperor's claims of immortality, he was an old man and would soon need a successor. To this day Vader often dreamed of ruling the Empire with Padme and their children by his side.

Yet every morning those dreams turned to ash. Padme was dead, the New Order was just as corrupt as the old Republic, and he had little if any real political power.

For instance the latest intelligence reports suggested that the Rebel Alliance was massing for an attack. To Vader the course of action seemed clear: arrest the known Rebel leaders in the Imperial Senate, question them until they revealed the location of the Rebel's hidden base, and then launch a preemptive strike with a large fleet of Star Destroyers.

However the Emperor had nothing but scorn for his suggestions. The existence of the Rebel Alliance allowed the New Order to justify its constant political oppression, and more importantly the construction of the Death Star. Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Garm Bel Iblis would remain at liberty because they unwittingly served to advance the Emperor's political agenda.

This strategy had worked perfectly during the Clone Wars, hadn't it?

Vader disagreed. He felt the military risks outweighed possible political rewards, but his advice was ignored. Instead of crushing the Rebellion, he had been sent on a mission deep into the Unknown Regions. Why? To hunt down another pathetic Jedi. No, using that title was being far too generous. This barbarian had probably stumbled upon his Force abilities by accident, and had no real concept of what he was doing. More than likely his fellow barbarians viewed him as a wizard or even a god.

Dealing with such a minor annoyance was not worth of a Sith. Of course that was why the Emperor had sent him on this lengthy mission. To remind his apprentice that he was not a true Sith Lord, and never would be until he found the strength needed to kill his Master and take his place. Being reminded of one's inadequacies was never a pleasant experience, which is why it was one of the Emperor's preferred teaching methods.

"What have your scans revealed?" Vader demanded.

When the Star Destroyer Devastator arrived at the coördinates the Emperor provided, they found nothing but a barren solar system. After an extensive search the only sign of life was a small spherical object orbiting one of the inner planets. At first Captain Bolvan had dismissed it as nothing more an asteroid since it was producing no artificial radiation. Vader had been inclined to agree, but then he reached out with the Force and felt the presence which had so unnerved the Emperor. The Devastator had immediately plotted an intercept course, but even at this close range the sensors couldn't provided them with any useful information.

"We are still receiving conflicting readings," Captain Bolvan replied. "At times the sensors are registering are no more than twenty life-forms, but at other times are they registering over two thousand. That is plainly impossible for a such a small ship, so we are running a full diagnostic on the Devastator's computer systems."

"Does the alien ship have weapons of any kind?"

"If it does, they are unlike any we have encountered before. Of course we are in the Unknown Regions."

"True, which means beginning it into the hanger bay with a tractor beam is out of the question," Vader mused. "Prepare an assault shuttle and a full platoon of Spacetroopers. I want that ship taken intact, and its crew is to be captured alive. Is that perfectly clear, Captain Bolvan?"

"Yes... my Lord."

Like many of the older officers, Bolvan deeply resented the absolute power the Emperor's apprentice had over the Imperial Navy. Vader had already marked the clumsy fool for execution, but had planned on waiting until this mission was over before carrying out the sentence. Perhaps he would have to reconsider that decision.

Preparing a platoon of Spacetroopers for combat took time. Their cybernetic armor was unwieldy, and loading them into Gamma-class assault shuttle required the services over a hundred skilled technicians. Only in outer space did the Spacetroopers reveal their deadly grace, which was the product of years of harsh training.

It was during this long wait when Vader felt the presence of an intruder on the Devastator. The Emperor was right: whoever this Force-sensitive was, he was powerful. Almost as powerful as Vader himself. And somehow he had made it aboard without being detected by any of the Star Destroyer's external or internal sensors. So they might be dealing with a trained Jedi after all. Or maybe these barbarians had developed a practical cloaking device. The Emperor claimed that it was possible, but he refuse to share any details with the Imperial Navy. Or with his trusted apprentice.

"We have an intruder on deck twenty... eight."

"Are you sure?"

That was the end of Captain Bolvan. Vader was so angry that instead of suffocating the fool, he crushed the Captain's entire skull into a bloody pulp. Normally he tried to avoid that, since removing the stains from the floor of the bridge would take a sizable cleaning crew. Vader immediately dismissed the fresh corpse from his mind and turned to Bolvan's second-in-command. Mulchive Wermis was coward, but an obedient coward. That was all he required at the moment.

"Captain Wermis, we have an intruder on deck twenty-eight. I require the services of a RA-7 protocol droid, so have one removed from storage."

"At once, my Lord."

The Devastator's main computer was more than capable of handling any translation duties, but protocol droids were specifically design to place barbarians at ease. Any intelligence this alien provided before his inevitable death would make Vader's job that much easier. The Emperor had given orders that the Force-sensitive's home world was to be located at once. Located, and then completely sterilized.

"Tell the 501st Legion to evacuate and seal-off the surrounding decks, but under no circumstances are they to attack the intruder. I must face him. Alone."

2 February 2114

In his first few seconds aboard the alien starship Harry Potter discovered two important facts. First, these aliens had developed an artificial gravity technology that didn't rely on magic. Second, the strange bulging tower they had seen from the Hedwig was located at the top of the alien starship, not at the bottom. So when Harry apparated over to greet the newcomers he ending-up on the ceiling. The three-meter drop was painful, especially since the floor below was made out of solid metal.

Over the next few minutes Harry was able to gather some more basic facts. Since he hadn't suffocated to death the aliens must breathe oxygen. The gravity was neither too heavy nor too light, which suggested they came from a planet similar to Earth. The corridor he was standing was made out of familiar metal alloys, and the various control panels (which didn't work) were right at eye-level. In many ways these aliens seemed quite similar to human beings.

His guess was confirmed about ten minutes later when two figures emerged from a locked door at the end of the corridor. They both had two arms, two legs, and a longish torso crowned by a single head. At first glance he couldn't decide if they were dressed in armor or if they were advanced robots. A subtle probe of magic answered that question. The silver one with the insect-like head turned out to be a robot. Underneath its metallic skin was nothing but circuitry and slim hydraulic motors that served as muscles.

The taller one in black was definitely an organic being of some kind. His mechanical armor which came complete with a cape, leather trousers, and an extra-large codpiece. Yes, that was definitely a male. The armor had a noisy breathing filter which was probably meant to protect the alien from any viruses or bacteria or parasites Harry might be carrying. Not everyone had a Philosopher's Stone in their intestines to protect them from that sort of thing.

The alien also had strong mental shields his magic couldn't penetrate, so Legilimency wasn't going to be of any use in establishing communications.

"Greetings, my name is Harry Potter. I come in peace."

That sounded incredible lame, Harry thought to himself. Hermione had better be right about the aliens having a universal translator, or this was going to be an awkward visit.

The silver robot stepped forward and spoke. Its tone was calm and pleasant, but its words were nothing more than gibberish. The alien in black kept at a safe distance, and said nothing. Even so, Harry was certain his every move was being closely scrutinized by whoever was hiding beneath that strange, stylized mask.

"I'm guessing that neither of you speaks English. That sucks."

Again the silver robot spoke, but this time it sounded less like gibberish and more like a foreign language from back on Earth. Maybe Hermione had been right after all. Maybe these aliens did have a universal translator, but it couldn't provide them with automatic translations. Instead this robot first needed to gather vocabulary and grammar so it could build a working linguistic database.

This theory gave Harry an idea. Slowly he drew his wand from its holster. The robot seemed unconcerned, but the alien had a very subtle reaction. His leather-gloved hand moved several millimeters towards an oddly shaped cylinder that was attached to his belt. Was that cylinder a weapon? More than likely.

Harry realized that using any magic might be seen as a provocative act, but the quicker he established communications the better. So he took a deep breath and began using magical fire to write letters in the air. It was the same trick a young Tom Riddle had used all those years ago in the Chamber of Secrets. Again the tall alien reached towards the cylinder hanging from its belt, but after he saw what Harry was doing his hand slowly fell back to a resting position.

"Greetings, my name is Harry Potter."

This time in addition to speaking he was pointing his wand at each of the flaming words. The sliver robot spoke again, and to Harry's untrained ear it did sound a bit clearer. Lacking any better ideas, he continued with this simple teaching method. First he wrote out the alphabet, and then the first twenty numbers. After that he moved on to body parts, and by the time he was pointed out his elbow joint the robot was already speaking passable English. It claimed to be from the "Galaxy Government". Their "Star Undoer" only reached this place a "little time ago", and they were "happy" to learn about Harry's species.

As their conversation progressed the robot's speech improved. The alien continued to said nothing, but those huge black eyes never wavered. The whole situation was starting to make Harry nervous. Especially since the robot kept pressing him for information about his "birth planet", and if there were any other ships in the area. Rather than let the robot continue to dominate the conversation, Harry started asked questions of his own.

"You know my name. What do I call you and your companion?"

The robot claimed to be a RA-7 "manner machine". Harry really wasn't interested and continued asking for the alien's name. After stalling for several minutes the robot finally introduced "Master Vader", who was in command of this "Star Undoer". The name set Harry back on his heels. Its similarity to a certain Dark Lord from his past could have been nothing more than a cosmic joke, but in some way he was sure that it wasn't. All his finely honed instincts were screaming that his life was in danger.

"Master Vader" must have noticed the change in his demeanor. The alien again reached for his cylinder-shaped weapon, but this time his hand didn't stop short. Harry wasn't surprised when a red light emerged from the end of the cylinder. He was surprised that the red light suddenly froze in place. The bloody thing wasn't a laser, it was a sword.

And this Vader certainly knew how to use it. With a grace that belied his bulky size, the alien leapt forward clearly intending to kill. Not to incapacitate. To kill.

Fortunately for Harry, he had been fighting duels for the past one-hundred and twenty years. He raised his old phoenix-feather wand high in the air and cast a feeble Stunner. At the same time he cast a Killing Curse with the invisible Elder Wand, which he held down by his left thigh. The feint worked. While Vader was busy deflecting the Stunner with his sword of light, the Killing Curse struck the center of his extra-large codpiece.

As the dead alien tumbled to the floor, Harry began thinking about how royally screwed he was. He had just murdered the "Master" of this starship, and a plea of self-defense wasn't going to cut it. In a flash he sent his stag Patronus to the Hedwig, ordering the crew to seize control of alien's "Star Undoer". It probably... no, it was a suicide mission, but it was also their only hope of surviving this disaster. Harry was sure that the Hedwig was going to be attacked by these psychotic aliens.

If his people were going to die, he wanted them to die with a wand in their hand and a curse on their lips. That's how he intended to go.

His philosophical musings came to an abrupt end when he heard the dead alien start to breathe again. It was a terrifying sound. Harry responded by casting another Killing Curse, which produced a curious reaction. Up until this point Vader had been silent, but now he let loose with a scream of rage so powerful Harry could actually feel the sound waves passing through his body.

All those years ago Voldemort claimed that his mastery of the Dark Arts had made him immortal. He claimed that those who followed him were "Death Eaters", and that they had nothing to fear from the Grim Reaper. Those claims turned out to be nothing more than the idle boasts of a fool.

But out here in the cold darkness of outer space Harry had actually found a Dark Lord who could eat death. This corridor was too narrow for a proper duel, so he decided that a tactical retreat was his best option. Once he found some open space, he would show this Master Vader what a wizard was capable of.

During his youth Anakin Skywalker had been trained by some of the greatest masters the Jedi Order had ever produced. Later after taking the name Darth Vader he had been train by the single greatest Sith Lord in history. He had traveled the length and breath of the galaxy fighting what seemed like an endless war against an endless stream of foes.

In all that time he had never experienced anything like what the Force-sensitive had just unleashed. The sense of power of that green light had given him was almost overwhelming. It was if his very soul had merged with the Dark Side of the Force. This Harry Potter had accidentally discovered a technique that would finally allow Vader to kill his master, and take his place. All he had to do was capture Potter, and torture him until he revealed his secrets.

That was going to be a problem though, since he was now flying towards the lift at the end of the corridor. Jedi and Sith could use the Force to jump great distances, but to actually fly? Amazing.

Potter was full of surprises, but luckily he was no Sith. With a gesture Vader began suffocating the man, an action which caused him to crash into the floor.

As the enraged Potter looked back two separate beams of light emerged from the small wooden sticks he was holding. Vader deflected the one aim at him, but the RA-7 protocol droid was hit. Instead of exploding into deadly shrapnel, the droid transformed into a large reptile of some kind. At first Vader dismissed it as an illusion like those flaming words the barbarian had written in the air, but then one of the animal's sharp claws slammed him into a nearby wall. A casual stroke of his lightsaber ended the threat, but the situation was so bizarre it took him several seconds to recover. By the time he turn back towards his real target, Potter had already disappeared.

Vader quickly used the Force to activate the communicator located inside his helmet. "Captain Wermis."

"Yes, my Lord?"

"The intruder has escaped from deck twenty-eight. Alert the entire crew: I need him taken alive. Anyone who harms the intruder will answer to me personally. Has the platoon of Spacetroopers reached the alien ship yet?"

"They are almost in position to begin their assault."

"Good. Tell them their top priority now is to disable the ship's engines. The aliens can not be allowed to escape from this system. The Spacetroopers may used their blasters if necessary, but I need hostages. As many as they can manage."

Vader then deactivated his communicator, and began studying the lift. Potter had blown a hole in the floor and escaped down into the shaft, an act which gave him access to nearly half of the Star Destroyer. Vader calmed himself and then reached out with the Force. Yes, there he was... and moving quickly.

As he leapt down into the shaft the man who was once known as Anakin Skywalker smiled beneath his expressionless mask.

This is going to be fun, he thought to himself.

Admiral Luna Lovegood was frightened. Not only for herself, but also for her husband George and her wife Hermione. She was also frightened for Harry, who was being his usual idiotic but noble self. And for the rest of the crew of the Hedwig, who were so devoted to their tiny Admiral. And for the wizards and witches back home on Tau Ceti and New Hogwarts, who had no idea how badly the things were going for their side.

Despite all this, Luna was more than a little fascinated by their current situation. Given the level of technology needed to build a starship of this size, the weapons the clone soldiers in the white armor were using seemed rather... tame. They discharged what looked like plasma a very slow rate, especially when compared to a muggle laser. It was easy to block these "plasma bolts" with a Shield Charm, not that they had to do that very often. Thanks to their Disillusionment Charms the aliens had no idea who was attacking them.

"Why aren't their weapons more advanced?" Luna asked quietly as their group of about forty wizards and witches flew though the confusing maze of tunnels and compartments that made-up the interior of the alien's wedge-shaped starship.

"Because anything more powerful would start punching holes in the hull," George whispered from up ahead. "And that would allow all the oxygen to escape."

"Plus the low energy requirements of the weapons allows the clones soldiers to fire multiple shots without recharging their capacitors. Or whatever they called their power sources," a nervous Hermione added. "We've sent Harry over a dozen Patronus messages, so where the hell is he?"

"This starship is nearly two kilometers long," George told her as he picked off four more of the clone soldiers who wandered into view. "We'll probably never find him, or the others."

Luna agreed, but didn't say so out loud. There was already more than enough negative energy floating around.

Twenty minutes ago Harry's stag Patronus had arrived on the Hedwig with news that the aliens were hostile, and that they should try to seize control of this extremely large starship. That was easier said than done, especially since everything over here was upside down. The crew of the Hedwig numbered just under two thousand souls, all of whom had varying degrees of magical strength. When they apparated over to this metal monstrosity they ended-up scattered about at random. Everyone was lost, which made it impossible to coördinate the ongoing battle.

Meanwhile the aliens (who all looked more-or-less like human beings) seemed to number in the tens of thousands, and they were all armed.

"Do you have any ideas why the soldiers are clones, but the ones in the dress uniforms are not?" Luna asked Hermione in an effort to distract her.

Everyone had been horrified when they removed the helmets from the first causalities. Despite the facial tattoos and wildly different hairstyles, all the soldiers in white armor were copies of a single, middle-aged man. He looked rather Polynesian.

"Throughout history foot soldiers were often viewed as expendable by their political masters, so using clones does make sense in a sick sort of way. And thanks to Harry's message we already knew these aliens are evil. I think," an uncertain Hermione replied. Harry's message had been short on details. Very short. "What I want to know is if this is a case of parallel evolution, or if the Earth is home to a lost colony of some ancient galactic civilization."

"Can we save the intellectual discussion for another time?" George hissed. "In case you haven't noticed there is a pack of wild Sasquatch up ahead, and they don't look friendly."

Luna though that was a bit of an understate. The brown Sasquatch (Or were they Yeti? There was a difference between the two.) had captured several of the clone soldiers. They (the Sasquatch or Yeti. They couldn't be Abominable Snowmen since their fur was brown.) were ripping their prisoner's arms and legs off. After living on the jungle planet of Tau Ceti for a century Luna had plenty of experience with dangerous predators, but this level of carnage was still a shocking sight.

"I think we should try to communicate with them. Perhaps they can help us. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"They don't look very friendly," George muttered as he hovered in place. "In fact they look like mindless beasts to me."

"I don't think so," Luna whispered. "Everyone stay here. Consider that an order from your commanding officer."

Before anyone could object, Luna flew ahead. Just before she reached the largest Sasquatch she dropped her Disillusionment Charm, and floated to the floor in front of him. The fur-covered, two-meter tall humanoid responded to her presence with a ferocious roar and a liberal amount of saliva, but he did not attack. Nor did any of the other Sasquatches. So her suspicions were correct: these were not mindless beasts. They just didn't like the clone soldiers and their officers—probably for the some reasons Harry didn't like them.

Luna attempted to discover why by looking "Bigfoot" directly in the eyes. Attempting Legilimency on an alien she knew nothing about was insane, but insane ideas were her forte. The images and sounds that flooded into her mind were confusing, but they were also very logical. These Sasquatches were highly intelligent beings, and spent most of their time working on complex machinery.

As she continued to search through Bigfoot's memories the images became more intense and painful. The Sasquatch had lived on a beautiful world full of towering forests, but they were attacked without provocation some time ago. After the invasion the dead were beyond counting, and their cities (which were made out of living trees) were reduced to burning ruins. Thousands had been chained, forced into overcrowded shuttles, and taken away.

They ended up on starships like this one, where life was brutal. The Sasquatches were forced to work until they dropped from exhaustion, feed half-rancid food, and housed in the most squalid conditions imaginable. The slightest act of rebellion was met with torture or death. The clone soldiers actually skinned the several of Sasquatch they were still alive, and made the others to watched as a form of punishment. No wonder they were so eager for revenge.

Overcome with emotion, a weeping Luna threw herself forward and wrapped Bigfoot in a tight hug. The other Sasquatches were confused by her gesture, and began growling at each other. She had no idea what they were saying, but it was obviously a complex language of some kind. Their guttural voices had a beautiful, almost musical quality that she found soothing.

"What are you going!" George hissed. He and Hermione had disobeyed her orders, and flown up to be by their wife's side.

"They're all slaves," Luna told them as she continued to hug Bigfoot. "Their planet was attacked several years ago, and the survivors were taken away to serve as mechanics on starships like this all across the galaxy."

"If you are right, then we must help them," a still-nervous Hermione said as she looked around at all the bloody corpses littering the floor. "Are you sure that you're right?"

"The images I saw were pretty unambiguous."

A large group of clone soldiers picked that moment to coming storming out a nearby door. Luna, George, and Hermione responded with several nasty curses, while the Sasquatch used the weapons they had scavenged from the dead. It was a short and one-sided skirmish. Afterwords the Sasquatch started roaring, but to Luna they sounded like roars of joy. They also began patting the trio on the head with their huge paws. The roars grew even louder when the other forty wizards and witches drop their Disillusionment Charms.

"I think they like us," a stunned George remarked.

Bigfoot roared some more, and began gesturing down the corridor. Luna looked over at Hermione and George. "They want us to go with them. They know the layout of this starship, and they know how this technology works. I say we join forces."

Over the next hour an small army formed as their mixed group gathered more and more recruits. Other Sasquatches were being held in several large prison cells, and they were all liberated and given weapons. As the same time the more of the Hedwig's crew—guided by Patronus messages and enchanted mirrors—began rallying around their Admiral. This increasing-powerful army had no problem slaughtered the clone soldiers they came up against.

After climbing up over ten decks, the finally reached what looked like a futuristic recreation center. The Sasquatch ignored all the odd sporting and gaming equipment, and began sprinting towards the far side of the garishly-furnished room. Bigfoot began pointing at a heavy metal door with several strong locks on it. He clearly wanted them to open it with magic.

"They must be something fragile inside, which is why they don't want to risk using their energy weapons," Hermione reasoned.

"Here goes nothing," George muttered as he carefully unlocked the door with several complex charms.

The Sasquatch quickly made their way inside. The witches and wizards followed, but they soon stopped in their tracks. Luna had expected more prisoners—maybe even a group of Sasquatch child—but what they saw instead were dozens of terrified women wearing nothing but flimsy and transparent robes. A few were human, but most were exotic-looking aliens. They came in many different shapes, and their skin colors ranged all across the rainbow.

"This certainly looks and smells a brothel," George said. "It makes sense. A crew of this size they would need one if the commander didn't want a mutiny on his hands. Especially since there are few if any women onboard."

Bigfoot disappeared into one of the dark and secluded grottoes that lined the walls. He returned carrying a listless alien woman in his arms.

Luna couldn't decide if she had white skin with orange tattoos, or orange skin with white tattoos. Even more interesting was her head: there were two blue-and-white horns rising from the top, and three blue-and-white tentacles hanging down her back. The rest of her exquisite body looked quite human. Supple, but not too firm. Over the decades Luna had taken several female lovers, but none of them came close to matching this alien's physical perfection.

Hermione took out her wand and cast a Diagnostic Charm. "Why am I not surprised. These bastards must give their sex slaves a combination of several different drugs to keep them docile. I doubt the poor woman even knows where she is right now."

"Give her a massive dose of the Elixir of Life, and then cast a broad-spectrum Healing Spell on her."

"Luna, the Elixir of Life only works on magical beings."

"The Sasquatch brought us to her for a reason. I'm guessing that she is the local version of a witch. They trust her, and that's good enough for me. Do it."

"Fine. Please put her on the ground," Hermione told Bigfoot using a series of hand gestures. He promptly complied.

The healing process caused a number of painful spasms, but soon the fog lifted from the alien's large blue eyes. In less than a minute she was on her feet, stretching her muscles while conversing with the Sasquatch. She spoke the same language as the clone soldiers, but had no trouble understanding their roars.

Luna's theory about the alien being a witch of some kind was confirmed when a thin metal pipe came flying off the wall and into her waiting hand. The alien focused her attention on the ends of the pipe, and crushed them down into two sharp points using nothing but telekinesis. After dressing in a more appropriate outfit and having a few last words with Bigfoot, the orange alien began running towards the nearest lift. With another burst of telekinesis she ripped open the door and jumped down into the empty shaft.

"What in the name of Merlin just happened?" George asked.

"Shouldn't we follow her?" Hermione asked at the same time. "I'm not sure if that Healing Spell was completely effective."

Bigfoot roared and pointed in the opposite direction.

"I have a feeling she doesn't need our help," Luna said quietly. "But the Sasquatch do. Let's stick with them for time being."

The duel had been long but not especially taxing.

Vader had only traded sporadic blows with Force-sensitive called Harry Potter as they fought their way through the bowels of the Devastator. The man's abilities were impressive, but not too impressive. He could transmute matter in an instant, but Vader could dispatch the mindless creations just as quickly. Flying would have been of great use down on a planet, but it was less so in the confines of a Star Destroyer. The two small sticks the man was carrying could produce several unique energy beams, but none that couldn't be deflected by a lightsaber in the hands of an experienced Sith.

That last bit of information allowed Vader to discover man's true weakness. Unlike a trained Sith or Jedi, Potter lacked battle precognition. It was this unique ability which allowed a Force-sensitive to anticipate an enemy's attack, and to be in a position to stop it before it even occurs. The skill is what made the Sith and Jedi so feared in combat.

With this critical advantage Vader had been able to drive his opponent into a series of progressively weaker positions. Now Potter was cornered not far from the main hanger bay. He just about to maim the barbarian when an unexpected challenge came from the far side of the room.

"Obi-Wan was a fool to let you live. You will receive no such mercy from me."

Vader would have recolonized that voice anywhere. However turning his full attention towards Ahsoka Tano wasn't an option, since his whirling lightsaber was needed to hold off Potter's constant attacks. For years the captured Jedi had served as a pleasure slave for the 501st Legion, so how had she escaped from her artificial stupor? The Emperor had assured him that no Jedi could overcome the Sith Alchemy they used to subdued the Togruta. Her miraculous recovery must have something to do with Potter's sudden appearance onboard the Devastator.

"What a pleasant surprise. Snips."

As a Padawan Ahsoka had always been too emotional, and Vader was sure his taut would provoke a reckless charge. Instead the Jedi approached him cautiously as he continued to duel with Potter. Her only weapon was a metal staff with two sharpened ends, but what good would that do against a lightsaber?

Ahsoka answered his question by executing a skillful attack which emphasized her agility. Even before being encased in this walking metal tomb, he had never been able to match her in that area. Instead his combat style had always emphasized his superior strength, which he used to beat his opponents into utter submission. His former Padawan knew this and easily avoided his slashing lightsaber.

After a few minutes the strain of fighting two skillful opponents finally caught-up with Vader, and he overextended his right arm. He expected Ahsoka to exploit this error by wounding what remained of his charred body. Instead she jammed her staff into the ankle of his mechanical foot. She was trying to limit his mobility so Potter could finish him off, and her plan had an excellent chance of succeeding.

In desperation Vader activated his communicator, which he had thoughtlessly turned-off some time ago. "Captain Wermis, order all Stormtroopers to converge on my position at once."

His call for help was met by the angry roar of a Wookiee. The beasts must have escaped from their holding cells and seized control of the bridge. That was impossible. Wermis should have spaced the Wookiees the moment they escaped, so why hadn't he? Because he was a stupid coward, that's why. And who had just appointed him as the new Captain of the Devastator?

Suddenly Vader's mind was cast back to the volcanic world of Mustafar, where he had fought his last duel with Obi-Wan. At the end his former Master held the higher ground, but in his arrogance had attacked anyway. Now his arrogance had lead him into yet another disaster.

Imperial regulations clearly state that Wookiees are only to be used on Star Destroyers while they were safely docked at an Imperial shipyard. Vader had ignored those regulations, and brought a number of them along on this mission. Several systems on his flagship needed minor repairs, and he would have no trouble controlling a group of Wookiees. Any Captain of the Imperial Navy who had taken a similar action would have been court-marshaled and executed within a matter of days.

But not the Emperor's apprentice.

Vader thought about contacting the commander of the 501st Legion, but that would be pointless. The Wookiees had control of the bridge, which meant they could destroy the Devastator in any number of ways. And Vader was sure they would rather die than spend the rest of their miserable lives as slaves. The ship was lost cause, and there was nothing he could do about it from here.

Even with his limited mobility Vader was still certain he could kill Ahsoka and capture Potter, but it would take time. Time he could no longer afford to waste. He had to retreat to the hanger bay before the Wookiees bypassed the security lockouts and took control of the turbolaser batteries on the outer hull. After that happened escape would become impossible.

The trip back to the Outer Rim in the cramped cockpit of his personal TIE fighter would be long and arduous, but there at the nearest Imperial Base he would be able to gather the reinforcements he needed. Four or five Star Destroyers would be more than adequate to track down and safely recapture the Devastator. Once that happened Ahsoka Tano would finally be put out of her misery, and Harry Potter would reveal the new Force techniques he had developed.

As Vader turned to run, he again smiled. Before too long the galaxy would have a new Emperor.

Author's Note: In this story the Force and Magic are essentially the same thing. However Wizards, Jedi, and Sith all use the same "energy field" in different ways. Each approach has its own strengths and weakness, so none of them are dominant.