CH-41

Ahsoka took a step forward before she stopped and looked askance towards her just long enough to shake her head in disbelief and give a small glare towards the Twi'lek Jedi before she too followed Harry into the larger storage room where all the slaves had been moved. Aayla was left slightly shaken at how she had been so quickly intimidated by the unknown Force user she had unwisely, and perhaps unjustly, demanded answers of. It was a feeling she had not often felt, and one she had actively worked in her life to avoid freezing up when confronted with it.

It certainly made her feel as if she had just mentally regressed years in her training just from that one stare he had leveled at her.

When she had finally collected herself, she slowly walked out into the primary hold, and found that Harry was looking at all the cots crammed inside the space, practically on top of one another. She quietly moved towards Ahsoka, who now wasn't even acknowledging her presence after Aayla's apparent gaffe as Harry changed out of his soiled clothes.

The man truly frustrated her. He apparently was fully aware of her fighting prowess and her abilities, yet had just as quickly dismissed her as anything resembling a threat to him. The strongest acknowledgement he'd given her was based on her species and its reputation, which was something she never wanted recognition for to begin with. Her entire life, she'd fought to be known more than a blue pair of breasts with a high-powered cylinder used for questionable purposes attached to her hip.

Now though, a man who had taken in a friend that her own organization had marginalized, had also made his opinion of her quite known with the utterance of little more than a dozen words. That same friend, that she wanted nothing more to protect and shield from any more harm, now seemed to hold this enigmatic bounty hunter in the highest esteem, despite the fact the man's lack of decorum in his first impression as he dismissed Aayla as nothing more than a whore like the majority of the females of her species earned their livelihood through.

It was truly frustrating. A lump of apprehension slowly settled over her stomach the longer she was in his presence, as, when she finally made contact with the Jedi Order, she had no idea how to report that Ahsoka Tano now followed a Force wielder who nearly made her wet herself in fear at a glance.

The same being she also called Master.

She stood silently alongside Ahsoka and just watched him. They observed as his emotional state took a visible change in direction. She may not have been able to read anything from him, but she could see the expression on his face. Gone was the intensity and in it's place was… sadness? Aayla tilted her head as she studied him and realized for a moment that his expression seemed very… weary.

For several moments Harry looked around at the slaves that were all laid on cots, side by side in the cramped area. Before Harry lifted both of his arms and made a curious pushing movement to the sides.

Aayla was completely unprepared as she felt a wave of Force wash over her and in front of her watched as the entire cargo hold seemed to grow around them. She watched as cots that were literally side by side with unconscious slaves less than a foot from one another spread apart as the room grew to give them each at least six feet of space.

Aayla looked around wildly in an attempt to figure out if her senses had been fooled by a simple Mind Trick, but found none every time she checked.

"By the Force… what… how?" Her eyes eventually fell on Ahsoka, who didn't look at all surprised at this phenomenon. Ahsoka met her gaze briefly and actually seemed amused by Aayla's sudden lack of composure.

For Ahsoka's part, she had seen this particular effect in use before. She hadn't seen it utilized in the hold yet, but Harry had shown her what a space expansion charm did to a trunk and described the effects. Not that describing the effects took much effort to comprehend, as the name was self explanatory. But the opportunity to see Aayla's reaction to a first-hand viewing of it in action, without any sort of forewarning whatsoever, was particularly funny.

Harry ignored both of their reactions. He had dropped his arms and the expansion of the hold stopped. He bowed his head for a moment and then took a deep breath, before moving to sit beside one of the bunks, which contained the lone Zabrak female among the slaves. He visibly braced himself and took a deep breath, before he slowly lifted the charm that kept the girl beside him asleep.

As the spell's effects slowly dissipated, he watched the girl before him became less and less influenced by his sleeping spell and fall into a troubled sleep. He thought that these next few hours or so would not be filled with fun conversations. What was worse, was that necessity required that he repeat the conversation at least fourteen more times after this first one.

The only shining light in the situation hopefully was, as more of the former slaves woke up and realized they were safe, they would be able to comfort each other as he moved on to explain the situation to the next girl.

As the girl in front of him returned to consciousness, he cast a very light calming charm at her, not enough to really stop her emotions, but enough to take the edge off and prevent any immediate hysterics. Upset was an emotion he could deal with. Hysterics would be far harder to manage in this setting.

They'd be emotional enough being in a totally strange place, and they likely weren't going to be the most trusting. Harry had no doubt that a good amount of his next few hours would be reassuring that they were okay, and any dangerous devices had been removed.

The Zabrak started to shift on the cot, but didn't awaken fully yet.

Harry spoke quietly, his eyes on the Zabrak. She couldn't have been more than 15 or 16, and he vividly remembered the injuries he had been forced to heal on her. He spoke quietly, but clearly enough that both Ahsoka and Aayla were able to hear him. "Dobby."

The small being popped into existence beside him immediately. "Yes, Master Harry?" There was no eager bouncing or earnestness. He simply waited for instruction.

"Seal the brig compartments with the slavers in them. No matter what I say, nobody goes in or out of them except for you." Harry's expression darkened for a moment. "Especially me."

Dobby regarded his master for a moment before nodding and disappearing with a snap of his fingers and no further reply.

Harry knew that if he really wanted to get in there, Dobby wouldn't be able to stop him. But it would keep a further check on his temper knowing he would have to order the little being to let him kill the filth he had captured, or force himself past Dobby. Given the stories he believed he was about to hear, he was sure that the idea would look tempting more than once.

Harry took a breath and then sat down on the floor, crossing his legs, making it clear that he posed no immediate threat to the woman. He winced a bit as the position added pain to his healing injury.

He put himself in a pose that clearly indicated no strike was forthcoming, and would have him looking up to speak to anyone sitting on the cot, giving them a slight unconscious perceived sense of power. He flicked a muffling charm around the area so she had privacy with just him, unless she screamed then it would collapse and he'd have to see about getting Ahsoka or the Jedi involved.

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