Shaak Ti's voice was dry. "Yes, several of the Masters were definitely not amused when your list of prior aliases was read aloud, along with your biographical information."
"Not like the guild tries to verify anything. You pay dues, follow their rules which tend to be something along the lines of 'No mass destruction,' 'No messy disintegrations,' and 'No getting in other Hunter's business after they've captured their prey'," Harry listed off before he shrugged. "Though a lot of the really big names in the business don't follow that one, which is also why they're not part of any of the major guilds."
"Those kind of bounty hunters are the ones who are more terrorist and mercenary than an extension of the law," Harry mused quietly.
Shaak Ti tilted her head inquisitively, "So you see yourself as an extension of the law?"
"Hardly," Harry snorted derisively, "You heard my thoughts on some of the legal set ups in this galaxy. The only reason for being a member of the Bounty Hunter Guild and paying those dues is on the rare occasion some blowhard law enforcement officer stops me, I can wave my credentials in their face and just walk away without having to resort to mass obliviations, assuming the confrontation took place while I'm in public." "Also assuming I haven't blown anything up," he said a bit sheepishly before he glanced over at Aayla, visions of her outfit during that morning's explosion coming briefly to his mind. "Of course, the latter happens more often than I care to admit."
Harry turned to Ahsoka, "Which is proved case-in-point by our little encounter with those two relics from your old Order. Those two broke so many laws it wasn't funny, then tried to bluff their way out of it. Once I said I was part of the Guild, and legitimately looked like I could verify that through credentials and licenses, they couldn't touch me."
"That's not the only reason," the Sorting Hat interjected in amusement.
"Yeah, well. It's the only one that matters," Harry responded sharply to the hat.
Ahsoka's eyes narrowed, she was sensing a bit of embarrassment from Harry, so she leaned forward slightly to look past Harry toward the hat, "What's the other reason?" she asked, directing her question at the Hat rather than Harry this time.
"Because he always wanted to introduce himself as 'Harry Potter, Bounty Hunter'. It's also much more effective than 'Harry Potter, Wizard of Questionable Sanity'," the Hat actually snorted. "And because where we're from, he never actually got paid once for catching all the bad guys he took down. He likes the irony."
Harry shook his head but didn't disagree with the talking hat, "No fair giving away my motives," he groused a little bit, though it was clear to all present that he was not really upset.
Shaak Ti's tilted her head thoughtfully. She debated following that train of the conversation, but changed her mind and tried redirect the discussion back to the original question. "So what really is the name of the planet then, Mr. Potter? Where is the planet located? What sector?"
Ahsoka piped up as she leaned back against Harry's arm, "That's really what confused me! Based on what you've mentioned… It's hard to imagine a Force-based … or magical culture existing undiscovered anywhere near any of the major hyperspace routes," she supplied with surety. "Certainly not with the Jedi being completely ignorant of it … " added Shaak Ti, who suddenly began to speak quite rapidly. "Given what we've just seen, the Order should be able to sense mass Force-use on the scale you showed. What you did on the planet with that fire...was probably sensed easily by everyone in the entire system who was Force-Sensitive. So remaining undiscovered is unlikely, especially if what you did was a relatively common occurrence."
Harry raised an eyebrow at Shaak Ti and grinned a bit since her mannerisms and method of speaking thoughts aloud began to remind him of an old friend. "To be completely honest, I haven't the faintest clue what sector Earth is in. I seriously doubt I'll ever actually be able to go back,"
Aayla sighed a bit in frustration and looked disappointed, "What's the point of trying to find out more about you if you aren't going to be honest with us or are going to evade our questions?"
"Never promised you answers to every question, Blue," Harry responded with a grin, his eyes flicking purposefully to her still pink skin, before he then sighed with visible frustration, "But in this case I'm being completely honest and not being evasive in the slightest."
"Technically 'Dirt' is what the name of the planet means even in galactic basic. To be perfectly frank, the planet itself might not exist anymore, or even worse, might not exist yet, or in the worst case scenario, never at all," Harry frowned in puzzlement as he tried to figure out the proper verbiage Shaak Ti tilted her head as she followed Harry's words before she followed up, "Would you be willing to explain what you mean by that?"
Harry blinked in surprise and then smiled slightly in approval at the older Togrutan Jedi asking for more information and not jumping to conclusions, "Well, yes, I can explain that, but it's likely to be a very long story. One you're not very likely to believe, to be honest."
Shaak Ti observed him dryly, but there was a small smile on her lips, "I'm certain I don't have anything demanding my attention this moment. I cannot promise blind acceptance, I will however listen, and try and do my best to suspend my disbelief at least for the time being." "I just saw you call fire from the sky and destroy an invasion force and cripple over half a fleet, forcing the rest to retreat… and I've met Dobby. I think that buys you a bit of believability," Aayla said with a smirk.
"I trust you." Ahsoka said simply, resisting the urge to rest against Harry's side as he talked, though her comment drew looks from the other two and a brief flash of a smile from Harry.
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