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Pazaak

Slow night on Nar Shaddaa. Atton Rand sat in the cockpit of the freighter Korval's Luck, playing both sides of a hand of pazaak.

Flying the Luck wasn't so bad, even working for a Hutt - it paid well enough and kept him in the sky, and if he smuggled the occasional refugee to a new port, if he gave the odd bit of useful information to a Jedi or a lawman or a thief, well, that was his business and nobody else's. The Jedi Order might be in ruins, but their path was still worth following. Even if the one who had set him on that path was far away. She'd left after Malachor V, vanishing into the Unknown Regions in search of Revan and whatever hid in the darkness there. He'd been able to sense her at first, but then she'd gone beyond his sight - too far for their fledgling Force Bond to communicate anything to him but determination and consuming focus.

So he worked openly for Zogga, and covertly for...himself. Or for her. He kept his lightsaber hidden, and used every scoundrel's trick he knew to build a network of information and hidden assistance, small things that might help rebuild the fractured bedrock of the Republic. And on slow nights, he played pazaak.

He lost the game - or won, depending - and dealt himself a new hand. Then his head snapped up at the sense of presence nearby, so strong that he thought someone had entered the cockpit without his noticing. But he saw no one, and whatever was with him felt familiar - tired, but warm, like one of her rare smiles.

Because you'll be right here with me, playing pazaak. He didn't know if the memory echoed from her mind or his, but the bond between them conveyed a sense of...time. A brief respite from whatever drove her, time for a wistful thought and an unexpected reach across the stars.

On the console, the first of the cards he'd dealt lifted upward, flipped over, and floated down into position for the opponent's deck. With a slow smile growing, he drew his own card, laid it down, and glanced into the empty space where he couldn't quite see her.

"Your turn."