Chapter 17: Light and Blades
21 BBY, Mustafar
Fay had readily agreed to Potter’s offer of healing even if she was unsure what to expect. After all, she herself had spent a lot of time practising her Force Healing, for it was often helpful during her many travels in the Outer Rim. However, her injuries were severe, and she was currently exhausting herself greatly simply by stopping them from worsening.
Lightsaber wounds were quite annoying to deal with, and there was only so much that she could do without the help of the healing crystals back in the Jedi Temple to amplify them. Truly, any help would allow her to spare enough concentration to stabilise her wounds, at least until she could find a place to recover.
So, it came as a surprise when the man simply put his hand on her shoulder, and she felt the Force shift. The first thing she noticed was that this was unlike any form of Force Healing that she had ever experienced. In fact, the Force itself acted strangely, as if it was trying to adjust to what Potter was doing. It was tentative at first, but then something seemed to click, and Fay gasped when it did, as she felt her wound close up, allowing her to breathe more easily. The process had barely lasted a handful of seconds at the most, and yet, she was completely healed.
Potter simply shrugged and asked her, “That should be better, huh?”
It was unlike any form of healing that she had ever had in her long life, and she would admit that she felt quite curious as to how he achieved this result, and where he had learned it from. Fay quickly regained her composure and answered, “How did you do that?”
“It’s just a little trick that I picked up,” the man calmly answered before tilting his head, “Though I thought that you Jedi are able to heal yourselves too, don’t you?”
In her many years travelling the galaxy, Fay had seen many civilisations using the Force differently, often treating it as magic. The Jedi order often looked down at them, seeing them as more primitive civilisations, but Fay had seen them perform feats that the Jedi were incapable of. In many ways, the Order’s perception of the Force blinded them to many other uses, and it was not out of the question that Potter came from a civilisation that was able to heal using Force Healing in ways that far surpassed that of Jedi.
Then again, a lot of Force Healing methods were not as widely used as they once were, given how quickly Bacta spread around. Most Jedi Knights were taught how to keep themselves alive, at least for long enough to return to a medical droid or Bacta Tank.
The fact that Harry Potter was not particularly knowledgeable about the current skillset of the Jedi lent credence to the theory that he came from a civilisation that used the Force differently than the Jedi. So far, she had felt no sign of the Dark Side and thus had no problems with his use of the Force, even if it felt quite strange.
She was tempted to pry for more details, but the Force urged her to shift the conversation differently, and so she said, “Then you have my thanks. My name is Fay, and as you may have noticed, I am a Jedi Master.”
Potter snorted at that answer, “And as you may have noticed, my name is Harry Potter. I’m a… traveller of sorts.”
“I would call myself that as well,” Fay answered with a soft smile, remembering her many travels across the Outer Rim. Then she sobered up, remembering the dangers around them, “We should move. I sense that Ventress survived your attack and she would likely summon the Bounty Hunters stationed all over this planet to this location. She had shown that she is very invested in bringing you to her master.”
“I’m guessing that Ventress is the bald girl, right?” At her nod, Potter continued, with an exasperated look on his face, “This whole bounty thing is going to be such a drag, isn’t it?”
And so, they began to walk away from their previous location. And while they did, Fay couldn’t help but ask, “How did you get such a substantial bounty put on your head?”
The man groaned, “I got in a small spat with a man back in Coruscant, and he put a bounty on my head that seems to have followed me here. I thought that leaving the planet would have been the end of it, but then again, I suppose that he did seem like one that would hold a grudge. Then again, if he is being petty, then I suppose there’s no reason not to pay him back for the trouble he is about to cause me.”
Fay’s first instinct was to tell him that revenge often came with a cost, but for some reason, the Force stopped her. It was strange, feeling that the Force, which, like her, often preferred peaceful resolutions, seemed happy with Potter’s words. She felt a faint sense of reassurance that no innocent would be harmed, and she supposed that she would not mind overly much, especially with the Force’s approval.
It was then that the white bird on his shoulder ruffled her feathers and released an annoyed hoot, which caused Potter to roll his eyes, obviously understanding her, “This is Hedwig, by the way.”
Hedwig released a dignified hoot, to which Fay bowed in response, “It is very nice to meet you, noble Hedwig. I am Fay.”
The white bird’s steely eyes softened at the respect that Fay showed, and she bobbed her head in approval, jumping from Potter’s shoulders to her own. Fay smiled and gently caressed the bird’s soft feathers, while the man snorted in amusement, “It seems that Hedwig likes you. That’s certainly a first.”
Fay then asked, “What brings you to Mustafar then, Harry Potter?”
The man seemed somewhat embarrassed when he admitted, “Oh, I’m just looking for something.”
“And what would that thing be?” Fay found herself asking.
“I don’t know yet. That’s the fun part, isn’t it? But I suppose that I’ll know it when I see it.”
Fay wished to express doubt to the man’s words, at least the absurdity of them, at least until she felt the Force shift slightly. It was a very subtle thing that resembled the strange manner that he had used it when healing her.
To her senses, it felt like the Force interacted with something and answered with an intent... No, it was more akin to guidance, perhaps, or a path, one that Potter started to follow immediately, likely having sensed it as well. It was then that she realised what exactly had happened, and asked with pure incredulity, “Are you trying to follow the will of the Force?”
That was the best way to describe what he was doing, though it was certainly unusual. When Fay followed the will of the Force, she let go of the world and sensed its current, following it without affecting it, and yet the man, instead, interacted with the Force, as if asking it for direction. And the Force, for some maddening reason, answered him.
Nevertheless, Potter brightened at her question, “Oh, I suppose that as a Jedi, you would know about that. I was mostly trying it out as an experiment following the suggestion of the Holocron after I was interested in methods of divination using the Force.”
The Jedi found herself completely and utterly surprised by this answer. In her shock, she couldn’t help but ask, “You possess a Holocron?”
“Ah, yes. I found it in an old, abandoned Jedi Temple. I was surprised that the Order just left it there, to be honest,” Potter answered while putting his hand on his jacket and taking out a cubic object within it.
Yes, it was, in fact, a Holocron, and thankfully a Jedi one. She did not particularly think that a Sith Holocron would teach its user to follow the Will of the Force, but one could not be too careful when dealing with the Sith.
Fay relaxed slightly at that realisation and asked, “It is uncommon to see a Jedi Holocron outside of the Temple in Coruscant.”
The man shrugged, “I suppose so. The temple that I found it in was on a mostly deserted planet. If it helps, it said that it belonged to a Jedi called Satele Shan.”
Fay’s eyes widened at that. There was much that had been lost in the numerous wars against the Sith in the previous thousands of years, but she remembered tales of Satele Shan, a former grand master of the order even during its darkest moments, during her youth. The knowledge within the Holocron might be invaluable, for she was rumoured to be one of the greatest users of Tutaminis and Foresight in the history of the order.
She smiled widely, betraying her excitement, especially as Harry Potter simply gave her the Holocron without any prompting. She did feel a small surge in the Force as it left his hands, but when she reached into the Force, she sensed that it was not a trap or anything malicious, so she simply trusted it.
With the Holocron in her hand, she could immediately discern that there was more to it than any other that she had used. It had a deeper presence in the Force. In fact, it was almost brimming with it, and to her senses, it felt more like Force Light, a technique that she had learned long ago.
A part of her wished to activate the Holocron, but a warning in the Force stopped her. She did not know why, but she could sense that it was not its time, not yet.
As they walked on the surface of Mustafar, Fay found speaking with Harry Potter easy. She spoke of her many travels in the Outer Rim, which he was quite impressed with, especially with her approach regarding the Force, letting it guide her to where she could help the most.
Potter, on the other hand, spoke of a few of his travels, mostly exploring ancient temples on his home planet, which was called Terra, which she had never heard of before. Then again, the galaxy was very large and much of what lay in the Unknown Regions was... well, unknown.
It was not long until they found their destination, a large ship which had likely crashed on Mustafar, given that it was split in half. It was also old, very old, and she wondered how it had remained undiscovered for so long, but she guessed that the planet’s volcanic activity and ever-shifting landmasses would have hidden it for some time.
Potter seemed strangely impressed by the ship, and Fay was as well, but mostly for its historical significance. She could imagine anything surviving both the crash and Mustafar’s rather hostile landmass. She supposed that some ancient Hyperspace lanes could be recovered, but they would hardly be any different from other ancient ships. If this had been a smuggler’s ship, then perhaps the possibility of a secret Hyperspace route would be possible. Not that it would have mattered much. This planet was hostile to the Republic and the Jedi, so any sort of salvage, even historical ones, was not possible, not while the war continued to rage, at the very least.
Fay watched curiously as Harry Potter walked around, seemingly drawn to the remains of a droid. It was barely more than a rusted skeleton partially buried beneath volcanic ash and black stone. Much of its outer plating had corroded away, revealing twisted servos, exposing some wiring beneath, and one of its limbs had been torn off entirely, likely from the impact.
By all logic, the droid should be considered to be little more than scrap, at least to anyone. And yet, Potter crouched beside the wreckage and brushed away a layer of ash from its chest plate. He touched his head, and for just a moment, she saw the droid’s eyes lit up, almost impossibly given its age and state.
Then, its speakers began to warble, “Me… Me…”
Fay and Potter both leaned forward in anticipation, until they heard the droid say, “Me… Mea… Meatbag!”
That was all that was said before the light in the droid’s eyes disappeared. Fay found herself almost giggling at the droid’s words, and Potter was visibly chuckling, “Well, that was certainly interesting.”
Potter turned to her with a smile on his face, “Well, I suppose I found what I was looking for. I guess that my time on this planet has come to an end then.”
Fay frowned and sensed the truth in the Force, though she wondered why the Force would lead him to an old, half-destroyed droid; but then again, the Force worked in mysterious ways, and many have gone mad trying to understand its intent, instead of just following its will.
Still, the Jedi Master found that she mourned the fact that the man would depart soon. After all, this man had saved her life, and she would admit that she quite liked his company. She spoke up without meaning to, “You do know that your bounty will follow you everywhere, right. And given Ventress’s actions, Count Dooku is very interested in you, enough that he would hunt you down, maybe even personally. You cannot face all of it on your own.”
She did not attempt to hide the hint of worry in her tone, all to convey the seriousness of the situation. To her surprise, the man simply said, “Nah, I’d win.”
He then looked at the Holocron in her hand, and she blushed, preparing to return it, only for Potter to shake his head, “Keep the Holocron, by the way. I think that the Jedi ought to have it, and I did make a promise that I would ensure that it would return to the temple. I have a feeling that it is going to be very helpful to you soon. Very helpful…”
Fay’s eyes widened at that. She had wanted to ask about the Holocron, but would not have insisted on keeping it, as this was not her own, even if it had belonged to a Jedi thousands of years ago. He had been the one discovering it, and it was a beautiful piece of history, but if she were honest, she had not expected this kindness. She was so doubtful that it was only when she felt the sincerity of his words in the Force as well that she truly believed him.
Still, she couldn’t help but wonder why she felt some mischievousness in the Force for a fraction of a second. She shook her head briefly; she must have imagined it.
“Thank you, Harry. I will not forget your generosity, and neither will the Jedi Order.”
The Potter gave her a soft smile, “It was certainly nice meeting you, Fay. I have a feeling that we will see one another again. Farewell.”
She smiled sadly at him, knowing that he was telling her farewell, “It was nice to meet you too, Harry.” A dignified hoot interrupted her, coming from her shoulder, “And you too, Hedwig, and may the Force be with you.”
The white bird settled down and released a soft hoot, before flying back to her master. Before she could offer to walk with him to his ship, Fay sensed something moving behind her, and she turned, only to realise that it was simply a fallen rock. When she turned back, she realised that she stood on her own in the wreckage of the ancient ship. Potter was gone, and so was the ancient droid as well.
The Jedi Master shook her head at the man’s antics and chuckled, especially as a handful of seconds later, Obi-Wan Kenobi came to her in a Speeder. He must have sensed his presence and left instead of confronting him. Given that she had heard of her fellow Jedi attempting to track him down, she was not surprised by it.
Still, she could sense it in the Force that she and Harry Potter would meet again, and she would have a great many questions to ask him during their reunion.
Young Obi-Wan jumped from his Speeder and asked her, “Master Fay! Are you alright? I tried to return as quickly as I could. Where are Ventress and Durge, and why do you have a Holocron in your hand? I have some Bacta bandages and a tank ready for your… injuries. Were you not injured, Master?”
Fay suppressed the urge to show her amusement at his reaction, but given the pout on Obi-Wan’s face, she had failed. Before answering him, Fay closed her eyes and opened herself in the Force. She smiled as she saw the path that she would need to take, though it was slightly sad.
For it seemed that after a very long time, it was time for Fay to return to Coruscant.
AN: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. As I said before, I’m still getting the hang of writing a Star Wars story, so bear with me if anything feels off.
As for this chapter, I decided to mostly focus on Fay interacting with Harry, and how she perceives how he's using the Force, since he was using magic as an intermediary. I was tempted to make them travel around together, but I have something cool planned out with Fay, without Harry being around (you should see it in the next chapter). I think I wrote Harry to be a little more passive than I'd liked, but his main goal was his experiment regarding following the will of the Force, which had a lot of consequences, which you'll see soon.
Also, I am thinking about trying out writing more chapters this week. I am having a bit of free time, so I'll try to do my best.
As usual, I don’t mind rewriting this chapter depending on your feedback, so please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.