Harry grinned, a mocking, almost greedy expression crossing his face as he rubbed his hands together.
"Well then," he said cheerfully, "let's see if any of these fine, upstanding gentlemen have bounties on them. Papa might just be walking away with a brand-new navicomputer."
Ahsoka had been content to simply observe up until that point, but at his words her brow furrowed and she felt compelled to speak. The casual way he'd mentioned turning the men in for bounties unsettled her.
"Master," she said cautiously, "shouldn't we turn them over to the Jedi Temple?"
Harry turned to look at her, and for the first time Ahsoka truly saw him.
Her attention was immediately drawn to his eyes—vivid emerald green, bright and sharp in a way she hadn't noticed before. It was as though focusing on them brought the rest of him into clarity. His features, which she realized she hadn't truly catalogued until now, seemed to swim into place as if a haze were lifting.
An amused smile tugged at his lips. "A little young for the kinky master stuff, aren't you?" he asked lightly.
Ahsoka froze.
Before, she would have confidently described him only as male, human, with dark hair—and little else. Now she wondered how she could have been so vague in her observations. Her drink hadn't contained alcohol, after all.
With the strange mental fog gone, she took him in properly. He was, she had to admit, handsome by human standards. There was a faded white scar cutting across his forehead, old and well-healed. Rather than detracting from his appearance, it gave him a roughened, lived-in quality.
Then his words caught up with her.
Her cheeks flamed as she sputtered, utterly mortified.
His eyes danced with unmistakable amusement. "Besides," he continued, clearly enjoying himself, "why would I hand them over to the Jedi? Did I miss an announcement from those stuck-up old men who run the Order saying they'd finally started paying bounties for bringing in idiots like these?"
Ahsoka stared at him, completely thrown. "Well… no," she managed lamely, confusion coloring her tone.
She had never seen this Jedi Master before. While she'd heard Masters quietly criticize the Council on occasion, such sentiments were usually confined to hushed conversations. Even her Master—former Master—Anakin, who was far more vocal than most, had never spoken so bluntly or with such open disdain.
This man took it to an entirely new level.
Harry snorted and rolled back his sleeve. Beneath it, embedded in an elaborate leather bracer riddled with subtle bulges and panels, he activated what looked like a compact comlink.
Ahsoka tilted her head as a hologram flickered to life. A droid appeared—vaguely reminiscent of a protocol droid, though its torso was bulkier at the shoulders and its head had an unusual, forward-jutting overhang above its eyes.
"Minnie," Harry said casually, "check to see if any of these bozos have bounties on them. I'm sure someone, somewhere wants at least one of them."
The reply came in a prim, matronly voice that felt utterly mismatched with the droid's appearance.
"And what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?"
Ahsoka frowned slightly. Despite the obvious mechanical undertones, the voice reminded her strongly of the librarian in the Jedi Temple's central archives.
Harry continued as though he hadn't just been scolded by a droid that sounded like a disapproving schoolteacher. "While you're at it, see which system offers the highest payout if—by some miracle—more than one person wants any of them. I'm not opposed to a bit of traveling if it's profitable."
He adjusted his arm, and a narrow beam of light projected from the bracer, scanning the unconscious thugs sprawled across the floor. One lay face-down; Harry nudged him with his boot until he rolled onto his back so the scan could continue.
"You… you're really going to turn them in for bounties?" Ahsoka asked, finally finding her voice again. She was no less confused.
This wasn't Jedi behavior. The Order relied on proper legal channels, ensuring criminals were tried under planetary law. The idea of a Jedi Master personally collecting a bounty—let alone keeping the credits—was unthinkable.
"Meh," Harry replied with a shrug, utterly unconcerned. "Depends on whether any of them are worth the trouble of hauling around."
He gestured vaguely at the unconscious men. "If not, I'll leave them here, at the tender mercy of the patrons of this fine establishment. The same ones they just tried to terrorize."
He paused, considering, then shrugged again. "Or I'll chuck them down one of the old canyons in the lower districts. They'll drop a few levels. I'm sure something down there that's never seen sunlight will take care of the bodies. Can't imagine anyone missing these idiots."
Ahsoka stared at him, horrified.
Harry blinked. "Oh. Right. One more."
He extended his bracer toward another patron slumped unconscious beside an overturned chair. "Minnie, scan that one too. He was the signaler."
"Running recognition algorithms now and cross-referencing all known bounty profiles," Minnie replied. Then her tone sharpened. "And do not think this excuses your behavior. You will explain exactly how you ended up with a pile of unconscious ruffians, young man."
"I knew giving you that personality would eventually irritate me," Harry muttered.
"Misd—"
"Minnie," Harry interrupted, rolling his eyes, "save the lecture for later. Or never. I've got a feeling I'm about to receive a lesson on morality from my new friend here."
He glanced at Ahsoka, but before either of them could speak, the comlink chimed.
Harry tilted his arm. A holographic image of the bounty hunter who'd acted as spokesman—incidentally the same one Harry had kicked over—appeared.
Minnie's clipped voice recited, "Tiddle Pon Tonk. Human. Male. Bounty: twenty thousand credits. Wanted in the Corusca Sector for multiple suspected counts of murder, property destruction, fleeing authorities, and… er… yes."
Harry narrowed his eyes. "And?"
"It is hardly pertinent—"
"Indulge me."
There was a pause.
Then, in a deeply disapproving tone, Minnie continued. "Sexual molestation of a religious artifact, thereby desecrating it."
"…Huh," Harry said eloquently.
That had not been what he expected.
After a moment, he turned toward Ahsoka with a wide, unsettling grin. "How does that make you feel? Knowing the guy who molests religious objects had a blaster pointed at your head."
He shuddered theatrically. "Who knows where he keeps that thing when he's not shooting people."
Ahsoka opened her mouth to respond, but Minnie interjected, "The religious artifact in question was a Gamorrean Matron's—"
Harry cut the audio instantly, gagging as he did so. He reactivated the comlink a moment later, now laughing outright.
"I really hope they took pictures," he said between giggles. "Cases like that should absolutely be beyond reproach."