Lee made his way to the eleventh block district. He stood by the minced loth-rat pie stand. Across the street he saw the unmarked door Lenore had mentioned. He looked around to see if there was anything odd or suspicious, these days you could never be too careful. There was nothing out of the ordinary. The night was quiet with a few citizens carrying on about their business. But his gut quivered with an unsettling inclination that behind the unmarked door laid a truth he wasn't ready to know. The only thing that gave him the courage to approach and knock was the fact that his sister had sent him there alone. He knew she would never put him in harm's way.

"Tee chuta hhat yudd!" a TT-8L droid popped out of a small hole next to the door, startling Lee. Its orange photoreceptor focused on him and waited for his response.

"I'm…the runner," Lee's voice quivered. The gatekeeper droid looked Lee up and down and retreated into the hole from which it came. Lee frowned, unsure if he had passed the screening, he turned to leave as the door opened. He was in.

Lee wandered in and found an underground casino in operation. There were numerous tables of players trying their luck at the various casino games. How did Lenore know of this place? What was she involved in? What did a runner do? As his mind raced with multiple questions, he caught sight of the thing Lenore wanted him to see: their father at a sabacc table.

"Dad!" Lee called out to Riv and ran to the table he was at. Lenore was right. He wouldn't have believed her if she told him.

"No children allowed," a clawdite snapped as his face changed and mimicked Lee's appearance.

"Relax, the boy won't be a problem," Riv said as he looked at his cards. Riv was cool and collected. Lee had never seen his father like this. He was in his element."Pull up a seat son."

"What are you doing?" Lee asked disapprovingly. "Is this what you wanted the thirty-seven credits for?"

"You mean three hundred and sixty credits," Riv smirked and looked at the other players at the table. He was clearly on a winning streak and rubbing it in their faces. "Do you know what this is?"

"It's a game called sabacc," Lee was amazed at his father's good fortune. Though he didn't agree with his father's actions he knew he meant well. He clearly was trying to win the money Toja desperately needed. Perhaps everything was going to be fine. It had to be. One could only hope.

"Yes," Riv was surprised his son knew of the gambling game. "The object is to get a hand as close to 23 or -23 without going over. A hand of 24 or higher will cause you to 'bomb out'. I've won five hands so far. Now, we're playing for the sabacc pot. It's up to 487 credits. Just hope my luck hasn't run out."
"Hurry up Tersu!" a gran growled and squirted his three eyes in annoyance.

"Very well," he placed his cards down revealing a -23 hand. "Sabacc."

"What?!" the other players gasped.

"What luck," the clawdite threw his cards down on the table and left his seat.

"He's cheating! I'm sure of it," the gran jumped up on the table and grabbed Riv's collar with his hind legs.

"Hahaha," a man with black hair, brown eyes and dark skin stepped out of the shadows. He was handsome and dressed in off-world clothing that included a cape. "You lothalites sure play like amateurs. If you had been playing on Numidian Prime this man would have been treated to the finest bottle of juri juice in the house….or shot dead after the second hand he won."

"Who are you outlander?!" the gran snarled and released Riv.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the man said, taking the vacant seat. "Name's Calrissian, Lando Calrissian. I'm in Lothal on business. Beautiful planet you have. While I wait for my associate I'd love the chance to play against your finest player to pass the time. What's your name, friend?"

"Riv Tersu," Riv said, adjusting his shirt and reaching for his total winnings of eight hundred and forty-seven credits. "Sorry, but it's late and I need to get my son home."

"Completely understand. You're clearly a good father. That's hard to find in the galaxy. Remember that youngling," Lando said and emptied a bag of credits on the table. "Too bad Lothalite, you'll miss out on the opportunity at hand."

"I am not a Lothalite," Riv corrected Lando. He had decided already he didn't like him. His smooth talk, assumption, and smug smile irked him. He could tell right off the back that he was nothing but a scoundrel. But he did have a point about the opportunity that laid on the table. There must be close to two thousand credits in the pile. Riv didn't want to pass this up.

"Dad let's go,"Lee tugged at Riv's sleeve.

"My mistake, fellow traveler," Lando smiled. "I suppose your current residence is of your own choosing? Clearly it's not a misfortune as luck must be your middle name."

"You must be from the Core," Riv smirked. "All travelers from the core don't know what it takes to make it out in the Rim."

"On the contrary I'm from Socorro," Lando laughed. He knew he had baited Riv. "Do me the honor, friend. Let's see if you can show me what it takes. I have been away for quite a while. I could use a refresher course."

"Dad no," Lee pleaded. "Let's go. We have enough."

"Perhaps your son is right. You should quit while you're ahead. It is very rare these days to just have 'enough'. Especially for a retired traveler." Lando remarked.

Lee frowned at the man. Had Riv forgotten what it was to travel from one edge of the galaxy to the other? Before he met Prisa he had dreams. He had ambitions. He just didn't see them ending on Lothal. The night had been kind to him. He could feel the rush of excitement and hope. He wanted to beat this outsider. He took a deep breath and took his seat again. The crowd gathered around.

"Let's begin," Riv said to the gran to start dealing.

An hour later, the sabacc pot was up to 1200 credits which included all of Riv's winnings. But luck was still on his side. He had won most of the rounds but this was the final hand. A small crowd of locals were rooting for him and bets were being placed on the side to see who would take it all. Lee nervously waited for the game to end. He watched the cards being shuffled then studied Lando's face.

"You play well for a farmer," Lando teased as he saw Riv's bet. He saw Lee staring at him and winked.

"Afraid your assumptions are why you're behind," Riv said. "I'm not a farmer."

"Clearly," Lando sat up in his chair. "As fun as this has been, I think it's time it comes to an end."

"I agree," Riv looked at Lee and leaned his cards over for him to glance at.

He had a pure sabacc hand. He was going to do it. He was going to win the whole pot. He would be able to pay Toja back, perhaps even upgrade the garden and market stand. This small fortune would change everything. Lee tried to keep a straight face but couldn't. He looked down at the ground trying to hide his excitement. Riv turned his attention to Lando.

"Pure sabacc," he placed his hand down as the room filled with excitement. Riv stood and leaned forward to collect the pot. Lando smirked and didn't seem phased at all which worried Lee.

"A very good hand, Tersu. Unbeatable on Lothal. But I'm afraid in other parts of the galaxy it's not good enough," He smiled and placed an idiot's array down on the table. It was the rarest hand you could get and it was unbeatable. The room fell silent as Riv fell back into his seat. "Don't fret too much, my friend. You sure held your own. If you ever get off world look me up. Now could someone point me in the direction of Old Joh's Pit stop in Jhothal."

Lee followed his father out of the casino. He was angry with him. For once he knew how Lenore felt and could not make any excuses for his father's behavior. Not this time.

"It's late. We should head home," Riv said defeated. "Did you find your sister?"

"How could you do that?" Lee asked. "We had everything we needed."

"It's called gambling for a reason son," he stated. "And don't let me catch you or Lenore in a place like that again. I'm sure she told you how to find me."

"Me?! Don't you dare go into a place like that again!" Lee yelled. He had had it with his father. Riv turned around surprised by his son's response.

"Lee, people in our situations have to take risks in order to change our stars."

"No! People like us need to bring about change. Not leave our fates to chance," Lee continued to yell. "You're reckless! You need to do better!"

"I will."

"When?!" Lee said. "You're not traveling the galaxy like when you were young. You're a farmer from Tarkintown. You're our father. You're the adult. You're all we got."

"Lee, I'm trying. Truly I am"

"Well stop trying and do!" Lee had nothing left. It was all too much knowing his best friend was gravely ill, his sister was running dangerous jobs, but his father's recklessness was most dangerous of all. He began to cry out of frustration. Riv knelt down in front of his son and hugged him tight. He felt terrible. He felt as bad as the day the Imperial Stormtroopers had come and evicted them from their farm. He felt as horrible as the day he realized his wife had abandoned him and his children. And now he saw he had hurt his son with his shortcomings.

"It'll be alright Lee," Riv comforted him. "It's going to be alright. You and your sister are more capable than I ever was. I know together we can figure this out. I promise you, I won't run out on you. I'm here for you both."

"What about Stobo and the money?" Lee finally began to calm down even though he doubted his father's words.

"I'll take care of it," Riv promised. "Perhaps I can help you clean some of the droids at the University. But don't worry about it anymore. We'll find a way. Now let's go home. It's late and I'm sure you're tired from the day at the market."

Lee nodded and followed his father back home but he didn't feel any better. He felt betrayed. He realized the only way he would ever make it out of Tarkintown was with the help of Lenore.

"Lee," Lenore said gently, shaking his arm. "Wake up."

"Where have you been?" Lee rolled over with his eyes still shut. It was nearly dawn.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," she said and handed him a bag of credits. Lee opened the back and counted seven hundred and fifty credits. He sat up quickly in shock.

"How did you do this?" Lee was fully awake.

"I know I promised to answer all your questions but I'm tired. Can we talk about this in the morning?" Lenore said and turned to leave.

"It's nearly morning now. Where's Viki?" Lee asked. The loth-cat usually slept with Lenore. It was odd that she wasn't with her at this hour. He then realized what she had done. "You didn't. Lenore, how could you?"

"I did what I had to do. I even talked the ugnaught up two hundred and fifty credits. It should be enough for Stobo." Lenore said on the verge of tears. "Domik promised he'd give her the best life a loth-cat could have."

"Domik?" Lee was puzzled.

"The ugnaught," Lenore repeated. "He had a bed and food all ready for her. Said I could even visit once in a while. But I don't think I can…."

"Lenore…"

"Now you put an end to this mess and don't mention it again. Especially not to dad," she snapped and jumped into bed fully dressed.

"Are you ok?" he asked. He was worried about her.

"No," she said softly, facing the wall. "But as long as we stick together I know we'll be. Right?"

"Right."