Sabacc!

By David Maciver

The room was dark and full of smoke from dozens races; most of whom were consuming drinks that would kill half of the others. All of their attention was focused on one spot of light, one game, and two players. There was Sabacc being played.

A young dark skinned man sat calmly staring at his cards, ignoring his audience and his opponent. Opposite the young man there was an old, fat Rodian. He was sweating profusely and staring at his cards. A lot more than credits were being played for. The game had been going badly for the Rodian and when you work for a Hutt, you don‘t let games go badly. Every few seconds the Rodian would swing on of his chubby arms behind is neck in a futile attempt to brush away the imaginary eyes boring holes in the back of his neck. In actual fact he had nothing to worry about as his boss was lounging in the back of the room, content with a Hooka pipe in one hand and a dancing girl in the other.

The young human, Lando was his name, threw two of his cards into the disruption field. Just in time as the randomizer went off and changed the remaining four cards, his last and all of the Rodians. His opponent’s eyes grew even wider and a grin spread across Lando’s face.

“Sabacc” he said before laying his third card on the table. An Idiot, the two of cups and the three of staves. A literal 23, known as an Idiot’s Array. A deep rumbling noise came from the back of the room and a dancing girl flew past Lando and landed in a lump on the floor. Tables and patrons flew to the side as the angry Hutt plowed through the room like an enraged Bantha before rising up and swallowing the Rodian whole. He belched and a green hand landed on the table clutching three cards, with the total value of negative seven.

“HOHOHO, you play well boy,” rumbled the Hutt in his deep bass voice. Lando gulped and tried to hide his fear. “Maybe you would like to work for me. I have an opening.” The Hutt’s mouth spread even further. To the Hutt, this was a friendly smile. Lando felt like he was staring into a black hole.

“No thanks” said Lando, sweeping up his winnings and shoving them in a money pouch. “I’m independent and I plan to stay independent.” With that he stood up and left the room, the crowd parting in awe of the Human brave enough to stand up to Flembo.

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Lando stepped out into the warm night and took a deep breath. He was shaking all over. He had a hard time working our whether he had just made a smart move or signed up for his own execution. No one refused Flembo.

The stars glittered above the squat buildings that made up this workers town. There was a deep orange glow to the west of where he was standing. From this distance the Geo thermal plants were beautiful, up close they were hot and claustrophobic. The plants were a win-win situation for their Hutt owner. Flembo was paid for the power they provided and made the workers wages back in the shops, cantinas and casino’s he ran in the town. Any competition paid him, or didn’t last long enough to serve a customer.

Lando managed to compose himself enough to reach over and press a battered looking control on the streetlamp in front of him. One of the stars started to grow and a green air taxi landed in front of young human, causing enough wind to blow his purple and gold cape behind him. He moved to enter the cab but was stopped short when a furry mass appeared between him and the door. The Bothan, who was taller AND wider than Lando glared at him. Wisely, for once, Lando backed up a little.

The retreat obviously wasn’t fast enough for the Bothan. A furred paw came up and connected with Lando’s chest. The Bothan laughed down at him and entered the cab.

Lando stood up and brushed the grime from his clothes. Although he was tall, young and in good shape he was still no match for most alien species. A human just couldn’t compete. He pressed the button and another cab arrived a few minutes later.

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“So where ya headed kid?” Asked the blue, four armed Pho Ph'eahian in the local heavily accented Basic. He had a large cigar in one hand and was working the controls with his other three. Over one eye was some kind of device. Lando guessed it was a display of some kind. At least he hoped it was a display of some kind as the driver took off, paying no obvious attention to the road.

“The Kason hotel please,” said Lando; his nose twitching as it was tickled by the bluish smoke.

“The Kason huh? You must be rich or lucky kid, that’s one hell of a place,” Lando just nodded. “You okay kid?” Asked the driver, wrinkling his brow in genuine concern.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ve just had one hell of a night. First I have a Hutt bear down on me and eat my opponent in a card game, and then some jerk wad of a Bothan knocks me down and steals my cab.” Lando looked down at the littered floor of the cab. A blue, furry arm curled around his shoulder and patted him.

“There there kid. Here,” said the driver, his arm came away from Lando’s shoulder and came back in front of his face, clutching one of the cigars. “Wanna Cigar?“

Lando took it off the driver and stuck it in his mouth. He had Cigar’s before of course, hard to be a professional card player and avoid them. The driver grabbed his lighter, and lit Lando‘s Cigar for him. The human almost chocked on the first draw as he saw three Swoop bikes scatter from the path of the cab. Lando decided not to look out of the window anymore.

The driver’s hand came away from Lando’s face and he took a deep drag, coughing a little. His head felt light and the tension started to ebb away. He sat back and caught a look of himself in the mirrored dash of the cab. “Suave, sophisticated,” Lando flashed the driver a huge grin “now THAT is the real Lando Calrissian…”

Lando’s reflection stopped grinning and scowled back at him. The cigars, the short hair, smart clothes, a cape but still something missing…

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Lando wandered into the hotel bar and sat down. He had stopped off at one of the lobby shops and spent some of his hard won credits on a box of cigars. Lando took a seat and signaled the bartender. There were two types of places in the galaxy that had living staff, one was complete and total dives, and the other was expensive places. This was an expensive place. To Lando it showed how similar all life was. The only difference between dives and “establishments” was that in “establishments” the bar staff shaved. And washed. He order some Wyren’s Reserve and lit a cigar before turning to survey the room.

He was stopped, for the second time tonight, by a large furry body. This time, however, he was holding some fire in his hand. His nose was assailed by the smell of singed fur and an arm swung out to bat him from his stool. Lando sprawled across the floor, spilling the Corellian whisky on himself and extinguishing his cigar. He looked up, and saw the same Bothan from the cab stop.

“WHAT THE FRAK DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING YOU STUPID LITTLE…HEY, I know you!” Said the Bothan, before grabbing Lando and holding him up. His face spread into a massive grin but all Lando saw was fangs, lots of them. Big, sharp pointy teeth. “You’re the young human who won the Sabacc game against Flembo the Hutt!”

“Well, I...uh...I beat his Rodian…” stammered Lando

The Bothan swung the human around and plonked him back on his stool before pulling another one next to it. “Ah well, there is a story, a story indeed” he signaled the bartender and order a Lum and another drink for Lando before slapping a green hand in front of him. “It was a droid. A very well made droid at that, but with bad programming. That’s why he ate it, to hit the evidence.” Lando picked the hand up and examined it. Loose wiring and a little lubricant spilled from the end. The Bothan smiled and took a gulp of his drink.

“So,” he said “you think you’re a good Sabacc player then child? Hmm? Well, you haven’t beaten Dais Mi’theal! And until you’ve done that, you aren’t a Sabacc player!” the Bothan exclaimed, before leaning against the bar with a cheesy grin on his face.

“And who would Dais Mitheal be then?” Asked Lando, genuinely confused, before examining the soggy Cigar. Taking it for a lost cause he drew another two from his pocket. Sticking one in his mouth, he offered the other to the Bothan.

“Mi’theal.” corrected the Bothan, waving the cigar away. “That’s me, my boy. The best damned Sabacc player in the known galaxy. So how about it? Hmm? Tomorrow night, over at Flembo‘s?” Dais smiled at Lando, another toothy one that had less effect than before. Lando considered for a moment, nodded and took another sip of his drink.

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The game was going well for the Human, he had won more than he lost and the night was drawing to an end. His Bothan opponent threw his card chips down and glared at the young human.

“Your lucky boy,” he said with a growl, “but your luck will run out. One last hand. Winner takes all. Your winnings against my ship.” said the Bothan, throwing a picture in front of his opponent. “What do you think young Lando, a ship of your own if you win?”

Lando chewed on the end of his cigar and looked the Bothan in the eye. He picked the picture from the table and examined it. The ship was a Corellian YT-1300 freighter, a little worse for wear. Lando knew better than to go by appearances. Anyway, if the ship was a heap he could always sell it. Even bad ships brought in thousands. This would be the biggest game he had ever played. Lando looked down at the table then back up and said one word. “Deal.”

The dealer droid dealt 3 cards to each of the players. Lando picked his cards up and groaned internally. He had cards of value negative 2, 3 and 5. A total of positive 6. Unless his opponent was having the worst game of his life, Lando was going to lose. Time ticked buy. As there was no betting with the fixed stakes they decided on, a game time limit had been set. 3 minutes. The longest three minutes of Lando’s 19 years. The clock slowly ticked by.

At 1: 48 the cards shimmered. Lando willed his to change for the better but he had the strangest experience of his life. Every one of his cards changed. But it would have been the same if he had just moved them around in his hand. He still has a value of 6. That was NOT a good sign. He started to feel even worse inside.

The next change came with 10 seconds of game time left. Lando’s new cards came to a total of negative 17. He suddenly had hope. He gulped loudly, before placing his chits on the table. His hopes were dashed when he saw his opponent’s hand, Pure Sabacc. Lando found himself wishing a Hutt would dash across the room and swallow him whole…

“Well boy, sorry I beat you. That’s the way of the game. You still have the honor of being the SECOND best Sabacc player this side of the Perlemian Trade Route.” Said the Bothan with a grin. He swept up his winning and sauntered off into the darker interior of the bar. Lando slowly stood, drew his cape about him and headed outside to catch a cab back to his hotel. This time the crowd didn’t move.

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Two hours later Dais Mi’theal entered the bar and approached a dejected young human who was sitting drowning his sorrows. He patted the young man on the shoulder and gave another of his toothy grins. “ I’m sorry, I had to beat you Lando Calrissian, I have a reputation to up hold. And it’s A LOT older than yours is. You’re still okay for money, right?” the Bothan said a look of concern on his face. He liked this kid, force alone knows why...

Lando glowered at the Bothan and mumbled “Yes, for now. But if I don’t win some more soon I am in big trouble. I was fine until you showed up.”

Dais sighed. “Have you ever thought about, dare I say it, working for the money? Working, for instance, on a ship?”

“Not your ship?” said Lando, pocking the Bothan in the chest “You’re not suggesting I become a cabin boy,” the last two words were spat out, followed by a fair bit of Wyren’s “on your ship?”

“I was thinking more ‘co-pilot’” said the Bothan. “Come on Lando, I like you. You need to see a bit more of the galaxy. See more planets, more races, more women” he said, elbowing the human in the side. The tactics weren’t working. Then it hit him, Lando’s soft spot. “More games…” Lando looked up at the Bothan. In all fairness he had already started to consider the Bothans' offer when he made it. His attention was even more heightened by the suggestion of women. The games just sold it for him. A grin spread across his face.

“Okay, you fuzzy old trickster, it’s a deal.” Said Lando, before extending his hand to seal the deal. Dais took his hand and Lando suddenly regretted the gesture. It would be a few days before he could feel it properly, and his knuckles never stopped cracking…

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Lando jerked awake, drenched in sweat. He had no idea why he had been having the same dream every night but he didn’t like it. He had heard that dreams meant something, but what the hell was that supposed to mean. Throwing his sheet off he walked to the window and pulled down the shade. The orange glow lessened and his room was plunged into darkness. He returned to bed and lay there for hours, before returning to a thankfully dreamless sleep…

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It was early. Too early. Lando wasn’t really awake yet. He stood at docking berth number 27983 waiting for Mi’theal to show up, yawning and fighting to stay awake. Eventually the Bothan came strolling down the street, whistling some Jizz tune he picked up somewhere.

“ Well boy,” he said unlocking the door to the bay and swinging it wide with an expansive gesture, “ there she is! The Millennium Falcon.”

Lando stood and stared. He thought the PICTURED had looked bad. The ship was a tear drop shape, round main body with two forward mandibles. The cockpit jutted out the side. It was a Corellian YT-1300 light freighter all right, one of the many cargo ships that flew between thousands of worlds carrying millions of different cargoes, some legal some not. This particular freighter was rather beaten up. In fact it looked to Lando as if it had done a few too many Parsecs. In short, it was a piece of junk.

“What a piece of junk! It’s called the Millennium Falcon because it looks like a thousand-year-old bird of prey, right?” Said Lando. He instantly regretted saying it as his eyes went wide and he dropped, ducking a hairy arm that could have taken his head off.

“She’s the best ship you’ll ever fly in boy!” said Dais, half growling the words. He calmed a little before admitting “Okay, she could do with a little tidying up…”

“A little?!” Exclaimed Lando “Is there a single piece of this shop that’s not carbon scored? Or falling off?”

“Come with me you. You haven’t even seen how she performs yet.” said Dais, with another of his toothy grins...

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Lando walked into the cockpit and sat down in what is traditionally the co pilots chair, the one on the left. It seemed awfully big to him and he soon understood why. Two large, clawed hands grabbed him by the arms and lifted him out of the seat he was in and into the one on the right. “Things are a little different on the Falcon boy. The previous owners were a Sullustan and a Talz. The Talz was the co pilot and they got this over sized seat especially. It was easier to swap the controls over than it was to change the seats around.”

Lando gave Dais a puzzled look before shrugging his shoulders. “Okay, so what do we do now?” He asked, excited despite himself. Dais reached under the dash and pulled out a large, well-used book and dumped it on his co pilots knees. “Pre flight checks.” Lando groaned. “Hey, it’s not all like it shows in the vids. This stuff takes about half a standard hour, but we would probably regret it if we didn’t perform the blasted things…”

“Okay,” sighed Lando before flipping past the first few pages. “Number one, primary ignition coils…”

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In reality it had only been about 20 minutes, but as far as Lando was concerned it could have been a lifetime. Dais turned off the comm, stashed the book and turned to his young co-pilot.

“Better buckle up Lando, this could be pretty intense till you get used to it” said the large Bothan, before closing his own clips.

Lando let a smug grin spread across his face. “Listen old timer,” he said “I’ve been on more than a few ships in my time, I think I can handle whatever this old bucket can throw at me.” Reaching into his pocket he pulled a cigar and a match and took a deep draw. Dais grabbed the cigar, putting it out in the process and glared at Lando. Lando let all the smoke out in a huge cloud, swallowed and then reconsidered using the belts.

The repulosor lifts fired and the freighter slowly rose from the ground, dust swirling around it as it cleared the round hanger. *What a lot of fuss about nothing* thought Lando *I’ve been in Land speeders that had more of a kick than this! *

The brown furred pilot turned and smiled at the young human before placing his hand on three leavers. Lando was suddenly glad he had buckled up, and that he hadn’t had a large breakfast. With a deafening roar, the ship’s main engines kicked in and she shot away from the surface. The scenery outside started to fly past at a ridiculous speed. Lando’s teeth all jumped back a row as the modified freighter’s engines rocketed towards space. In no time at all the blue from the sky turned to the speckled black of space.

“Still think she’s a bucket of bolts?” Asked Dais with a huge grin on his face. Lando’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he suddenly remembered how to speak Basic. “WOW!” Was his only response.

“Yup, that’s the usual response.” chuckled the Bothan. “Okay, time for you to learn how to plot courses in hyperspace.” Dais flicked a switch and the ship’s autopilot took over. He swiveled around on his seat and started to punch some figures into the navicomp. “Okay, the Falcon has a faster than normal hyperdrive, it’s a class 1! So a trip for us takes less time that in normally should. Luckily I got a nice beefy navicomp to take care of that.” he said, patting the technological marvel.

The screen on the computer went blank and Dais frowned before hitting its sides with a beefy fist. The screen diligently lit up again. “Got it cheap, can expect a few bugs I suppose...” he grumbled to himself.

“So,” asked Lando “where we headed?”

“Agrilat, they have swoop races, casinos, all sorts of stuff there. Hopefully I’ll get us a job there too.”

“Never heard of it” said Lando before leaning back and relighting his cigar. Dais glowered at the human, shrugged, then turned back to the navicomp. After a few seconds a light flashed on and the Bothan grinned. He turned back to the console, checked his straps and reached for another set of leavers. Lando hastily clipped himself in as the stars outside the transparasteel turned to lines before vanishing completely as they entered hyperspace.

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The swirls reverted back to points of light and a planet loomed ahead of them as the Millennium Falcon reverted back to normal space. Dais contact Agrilat control and the ship was given immediate clearance to land.

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Various clinks and sighs could be heard as the ship cooled from the burning heat of re-entry. A small figure waddled towards the two beings that had just left the ship. Dais tapped Lando on the shoulder and whispered in his ear “This is where you learn another valuable lesson.”

A big, friendly grin spread across his face and he spread his hands in welcome. “Good day to you sir, and what can we do for you?” boomed Dais. The tax inspector, a Bith, cowered back a little and straightened the ridiculous glasses that he wore.

“Er, is this your ship?” said the nervous little woman. “And it’s ma’am actually. I know we Bith look alike to outsiders.” She seemed almost apologetic for the confusion her species must be causing.

“Ah, humble apologies.” said Dais before turning to Lando. The human met his look with a ‘who knew?’ expression and a shrug. “Yes indeed, this is my ship.” said Dais, returning to the Bith, “I am Dais Mi’theal, captain of the Millennium Falcon and this is Lando Calrissian, my shipmate and co-pilot.” Lando bowed, sweeping his cape around his ankles.

“Hmmm, yes indeed. Well, here on Agrilat we have duties you will have to pay, as I am sure you are aware. And judging by the looks of your ship...”

Dais stepped forward and looked down at the cowering inspector. She looked up and her glasses fell off. “Inspector, I’m sure that's not all necessary,” said Dais, bending down to retrieve the glasses. When his hand came up they had a rather thick, paper accompaniment. “I’m sure this will help...” said Dais, giving the Bith a knowing look.

The Bith’s eyes lit up as she looked at the clip, it looked pretty thick. Her hand came up and the money disappeared. “Well,” she said, suddenly more confidant. “Everything seems to be in order. Enjoy your stay on Agrilat.” With what passes for a smile on a Bith, she turned and walked away.

“Now that is one of the constants in our galaxy. Ship Inspectors of any kind except bribes. Not all of course, but most. That was 500 credits well spent. Would have cost us double that if I had been honest. Come on boy, let’s get a speeder...”

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After acquiring a speeder they set off for the crystal swamps. The dealer at the speeder yard had informed the pair that there was going to be an impromptu, which normally meant illegal, swoop race. The race was strictly between two humans, through the treacherous fields of crystal.

By the time they arrived quite a crowd of spectators had lined up in various areas of the course. The entire thing was highly illegal and there was a hell of a lot of betting going on. Exactly the reason that Dais and Lando were here. Dais approached an unscrupulous looking Twi’lek and some money exchanged hands.

The Bothan returned to his partner, a huge grin on his face. “Well Lando, we look set to earn a large amount if our boy does well. Lets go get ourselves a good spot, somewhere toward the end of the course.”

“Who did you bet on?” asked Lando

“A young lad by the name of Dengar. The Solo kids good, but he lacks true skill. He’s too damned erratic. Gonna get himself killed one of these days...” The jumped in the speeder and headed for the end of the course.

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Large vid screens had been set up and the commentators squealed away in Huttese, Basic and a few other languages Lando didn’t recognize. Sweat poured down his face. For one thing, it was damned hot. For another he had a large Bothan squeezing his shoulder every few minutes. The race was close, a little too close.

On the screen the audience could see the two combatants as if they were there. The cameras were obviously under a large amount of strain; three had already been destroyed in collisions with the towering crystalline structures. The organizers had expected that and they had an Incom Z-95 following the race, dropping a new camera or two every time one was destroyed.

The Solo kid was having his way at the moment. The two swoops tore along a straight, moving perilously fast towards a wall of crystals. At the last moment Solo pulled back on his breaking handles and swung the rear of his bike around before gunning the throttle and shooting off at 90 degrees to his previous course. Dengar attempted to duplicate the maneuver and almost lost it. The rear of his swoop scrapped one of the crystals, creating a huge cracked that split it in half and brought it plowing down behind him. The camera wasn’t quite fast enough and was crushed by the falling structure. The Z-95 dropped another two, one of which shot of ahead of the ship and the riders, the other focusing on the current lead, Dengar.

The camera, a hovering, swift moving robot, followed Dengar in his hectic course through the crystal swamp. Lando felt queasy just watching as walls of crystal passed dangerously close to the swoop rider. Dengars eyes went wide and he hauled back on his handlebars, his bike leaving the camera’s line of view momentarily before dropping back down on the other side of a fallen crystal. Solo was no where in sight.

Then, at the edge of the screen, a blur shot passed and headed down below Dengar. That same blur shot up and over his competitor, come close to the opposing swoop. A little to close. The back of his bike caught Dengar square in the head and he pitched forward. The nose of the bike plowed into the ground. Dirt and crystal fragments spewed up and another camera cut out.

Lando heard a deafening explosion to the back and left. A swoop zinged past over his head and over the finish line. The collision had happened only 30 feet from the finish line. Dengars swoop, now rider less, tumbled end over end as its rider flew through the air, slamming into one of the screens and exploding it in a shower of sparks and glass. The glass showered down towards Lando who raised his hands to try and protect himself. A loud screeching sound made Lando look up and over his shoulder. A large lump of twisted metal was bearing down at him, trailing flames and wires. Lando raised his hand reflexively...

A huge shadow fell over Lando as his arm moved up to cover his face. Time seemed to slow down and he felt himself falling to the ground, a huge force pressing on him. He heard a loud roaring in his ears and felt something soft against his face. The wind was knocked out of him and he couldn’t breath for what seemed like an age.

The weight lifted and air rushed into his burning lungs. A large furry hand grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. “Come on, we better get out of he..” Dais never got to finish as the two of them were thrown to the ground by another explosion. The broken swoop had smashed into a crystal and it‘s fuel tank went up in a huge fireball. Lando felt like he was standing in a supernova and his nose was tortured once more with the smell of singed fur.

The two struggled to their feet and brushed themselves off. Dais patted out a few smoldering pieces of fur before something caught his attention. “As I was saying, we better get going. Look!”

The Bothan pointed at the remaining Vid screen and it showed bikes carrying Imperial troopers and some T.I.E fighters in the background. Lando was still in a daze from the events of the last minute and he barely noticed as Dais dragged him to their landspeeder. A couple of young humans were attempting to start it up but scattered at the sight of the rampaging Bothan. Lando was unceremoniously dumped into the back as Dais jumped into the driver’s seat and gunned the engine.

“Mphwememphephm” said Lando, his face full of upholstery. He stood up and threw his cape out of his face. “What the hell..” he started to say before ducking back down again as a red blaster bolt shot over his head.

“Best stay down kid, we aren’t out of this yet” said Mi’theal as he wrestled the speeder through turns it’s designers never expected it to be able to make and would have made even Solo envious.

Lando was throw about and had a glorious view of the speeders floor. He landed behind the drivers seat after a particularly tight turn and found himself face to trigger with a Blastech heavy pistol. “How about I use this?” he asked before balancing it on the back seat and taking aim.

“How did you?” asked Dais, turning to look at his young friend and instantly regretting it as another Crystal loomed ahead. “Ah, frak it, blast away Lando!” shouted the Bothan as the Imperials started to close in on the pair.

That was easier said than done. Lando wasn’t a great shot at the best of times and darting through a field of Crystals wasn’t a place to start learning. The speeder dodged from left to right, come perilously close to the towers of semi-transparent crystal. The Imperial speeder bikes that were chasing them were doing the same. The field grew denser and Lando started to shoot wildly.

The blaster fired bolts of energy to the bikes behind them, most of the bolts going wild of the mark. One caught a trooper in the shoulder and he twisted backwards, the controls of his bike still in hand. The bike shot of to the left and plowed into a patch of crystals, going straight through the first bunch. A huge crystal blocked the bike and it exploded, shattering it in half. The crystal fell to the ground almost catching another Imperial, who lifted above it.

Lando continued to fire at the remaining two bikes. His shots continued to go wild and one ricocheted of a crystal. Lando found himself under friendly fire as his own shot reflected straight back at him. He ducked just in time and the bolt zinged past his head as Dais pulled the speeder into another tight turn to avoid the crystal that was looming ahead. The stray bolt bounced of this crystal and narrowly missed a speeder bike. Lando looked down on frustration before bringing the blaster up to try again. He was just in time to see the same bolt reflect from yet another crystal and catch one of the troopers square in the back. “Well, there’s something you don’t see everyday!”

“WHAT?!” shouted Dais, busily wrestling with the controls.

“Nothing, I’ll tell you later” replied Lando.

“WHAT?!” The human sighed.

The patch of crystals thinned and the town loomed ahead of them. Lando kept on firing until the blaster was out of charge. Then, in pure frustration, he flung the rifle with all his might. It spun through the air before hitting a trooper square in the helmet. The nose of his bike tilted wildly in the air as he fell backward unconscious. The entire bike went up in a fireball as its fuel supply smashed into a boulder, firing the nose twenty feet into the air.

Lando jumped over the seat and Landed in the front, next to his hairy friend. A huge grin spread over his face as they approached the docking port.

“Well done Lando, hopefully we’ll get off this rock with our hides intact after all!” Yelled the Bothan as he swung the speeder through the doors of the port and drew it to a stop next to the Falcon. He pressed a button on his belt and yelled “come on!”

The ramp on the Falcon descended as they left the speeder and the two ran straight for the cockpit. They jumped into their seats and Lando reached for the book with the preflight checks. Dais grabbed it from his hand and threw it out of the cockpit door into the main body of the ship.

“No time for that kid,” he growled before moving his hands over the control panel. “Gonna do this the quick way.” Lights lit up all over the ship as Dais fired her up. The engines whined and they lifted from the ground.

“Why didn’t we do it that way before?” asked Lando, slightly frustrated.

“It’s important to do those checks, but they can be skipped when ‘they’ are following you!” said the Bothan, pointing at a screen that had four red dots, approaching fast, on it. “Get up to the gun turret.”

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Lando unstrapped and moved his way to the ventral gun turret, warming them up. He plugged the headset into its slot and stuck it on.

“You don’t have to get them all, just buy us enough time to get out of the gravity well and into hyperspace. Anyway, you won’t be able to. Look at mark 298”

Lando looked up and left. An Imperial Victory-class Star Destroyer hung in space. They didn’t stand a chance against a ship that size. He was snapped back to the job at hand as green blaster bolts splashed against the shields. Swinging the twin turbolaser around he started answering with his own blasts.

The Empire’s new T.I.E fighter had only been about for a few years and it didn’t have shields. It was more maneuverable than the freighter, which balance the odds a little in their favor. Lando always liked long odds. His shots would have been right on the mark, but they sliced between the fighter’s wings, just above the ball cockpit. The four fighters shot past, two above and two below the ship and Lando briefly had a square on shot with one of the wings. The bolts burned straight through and high. A section of wing sheared off and the fighter flew on. In an atmosphere that would have been a kill, in space it just crippled the ship.

In the distance Lando could see the triangular battleship turning to face them. Their course was taking them a little to the port of the Star Destroyer but it still grew larger by the minute. Lando didn’t have time to worry about that. Red bolts spewed forth from his cannons again and this time they hit their mark. Without a sound the T.I.E fighter exploded into a fireball before the fire extinguished itself and left fast cooling metal.

“Two more minutes’ kid that’s all I need” came a familiar voice through the headset...

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“Is the tractor beam ready?” asked Captain Olb Krytos, youngest man ever to captain a Victory-class Star Destroyer. He was sick of these back water commands and hoped he would be selected to command one of the new Imperial-class Destroyers which would be rolling of the line soon.

“Aye sir, they should be in range in a few minutes.” said a Lieutenant, who was only a little younger than the Captain himself.

“Good. These smugglers and pirates think they own the space lanes...”

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“That Star Destroyer is getting awfully close old man,” said Lando, firing away at the remaining fighters. The one he clipped was hanging back; firing at the turret whenever he thought it was safe. Lando was sure the shields would give at any moment.

“Almost there kid, don’t worry” came a worried sounding Bothan voice. Two orange shapes came from somewhere toward the nose of the ship and split up, heading for two of the fighters. The orange shapes impacted and seemed to expand. When the light was gone, so were the fighters.

“What the?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” said the Bothan, putting on his most innocent voice. “There are missile launchers on this thing. Only had two missiles though, you’ll have to get the last one. 30 seconds.”

“Dammit, could have told me sooner...” grumbled Lando to himself. The Star Destroyer was looking awfully big now and the remaining fighter, the crippled one, was starting to annoy him.

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“Sir, they are in range”

“Activate the tractor beam, I want that freighter” said Captain Krytos.

“Activating tractor beam sir, we shall have them in moments...”

The tractor beam gripped the Millennium Falcon in its invisible Maw and started to drag it to the docking bay in the Vic Stars belly. Her pilot wasn’t willing to co-operate though. Dais wrestled the controls, nudging the Falcons nose until the ship was pointing away from the Star Destroyer. It didn’t stop their capture, but it sure as hell slowed it down.

“Hey Fuzzball, I can’t get a shot at that TIE. Turn us around!” Yelled Lando into his headset mike.

“Incase you hadn’t noticed, there is a Star Destroyer in that direction and it has us in a tractor beam!” the Bothan yelled back. The engine started to get louder. “I can’t break free but I have held it off. This gives us a few minutes to think. SO SHUT UP AND LET ME...hey”

“Hey what?” Asked Lando and then he saw it too. The TIE fighter had completed its wide banking turn and was heading for the kill. And as far as the occupants of the freighter were concerned, that was fine by them.

The two-winged fighter came roaring in towards the rear of the Falcon and then stopped. It wiggled back and forth a little before a small explosion came from the rear of the ship and it shot straight towards it‘s big bother.

Even with her engines full the Falcon had only benefited by stopping so far. The T.I.E crashed straight into the docking bay, a small explosion marking its hasty return. The explosion was soon joined by another, and another, knocking the tractors out of commission. The Falcon’s engines roared in freedom and the freighter moved away from the larger ship.

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“Sir, they are getting away”

“WHAT?!” Krytos turned and stared at the forward view screen. Sure enough, a small speck of light was shooting away from the Star Destroyer. Krytos turned to his gunners and yelled “Get them, all guns fire at that ship!”

“Sir,” the lieutenant stood patiently beside his captain. “SIR!”

Captain Krytos turned and glared. “What is it Tarkin?”

“They are gone sir, too far out of range. Let them go we’ll never catch them.”

Krytos raised his hand and struck Lieutenant Willuf Tarkin square in the Jaw. The young man sprawled on the floor before glaring up at his commander. “I won’t forget that.” The Captain didn’t expect it but he felt...fear. Fear from this young pup? He backed away, banging into a console before shouting “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL STARING AT?!” and storming of the bridge. The crew glanced at their Captain, then at Tarkin and decided that work would probably be the safest thing to do right now.

Tarkin smiled.

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Lando woke up to find himself staring at a metal plate. He groaned and turned himself over. Straight above him he could see the Falcons dorsal gun emplacement. The kick of going from 0 to top speed was enough to throw him from his seat and put him flat on his back.

He also saw an even more beautiful sight, the blue swirl of hyperspace. Picking himself off the ground, Lando made his way towards the cockpit.

He rounded the corner and saw something he would remember for the rest of his life.

Mi’theal was leaning against the opposite corridor wall. He took a step forward, reaching out a hairy hand and said “Lando, help me” before collapsing on the ground. Blood oozed from a cut in his side.

Lando rushed over and picked his friend up. “I.... I don’t know anything about Bothans! How....”

Mi’theal grinned at the human. He raised a shaky paw to Lando’s face and said “it’s all right Lando, it’s too late anyway. I got this cut in the swoop accident and haven’t had time to take care of it. Before I go, promise me something...”

Lando stared, bleary eyed, at his Bothan friend. “Anything”

“Look after her, the Falcon. Keep her running and keep her safe. This ship has saved my life countless times. She’s...” he winced in pain and Lando thought he was gone. Dais took a deep breath, winced again and then opened his eyes.

“She’s the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy” finished Lando, a small smile on his face. Dais nodded and then passed.

Lando clutched the Bothan to his body and wept. As his friend had died he felt him go. As if he passed through Lando on his way to...wherever.

Lando sat with a cigar in his mouth, his purple cape draped around him and a beautiful woman on his arm. He stared at his cards, let a small grin pass his face and looked up at his opponent. “Well Mr. Krytos? What have you got?”

The man opposite him gave Lando a narrow eyed glare before throwing his cards down and storming out totally broke.

Lando leaned over and swept the winnings next to the rest of his pile. He leaned bag in his seat, took a draw on the cigar and blew out some smoke rings.

“Mind if I join?” Asked a voice behind him. The dealer looked over Lando’s shoulder and smiled.

“Ah, Solo. I wondered when you would get here. Have a seat. You know everyone, except this young man. Lando Calrissian, meet Han Solo...”