**The Sabacc Game**
Everyone better like this post, it cost me 35 cents :p
**************
Leia put her cards face-down in her lap after Artoo informed her of her hand. She had the Idiot, the ten of coins, and a smuggler. With the Mos Eisley rules they were playing by, that came out to sixteen points. Not bad.
"You make the first bet," Han said.
"I--" Leia's voice faltered. She had almost forgotten about the betting involved in this game. "I don't have any credits on me at the moment."
"That's okay, I take I.O.U.'s," Han replied cheerfully.
Leia hesitated.
"C'mon, we don't have forever before we reach Dagobah, you know."
"What?!?" Leia shrieked, momentarily forgetting about the game. "We're not going to Dagobah. We're going to Yavin Four!"
Han shrugged. "That's not what the old man said. My instructions were to take you to Dagobah and lookd for someone named Yoda, and then take the droid to Yavin Four."
Leia cursed. "I should have known. All that concern about my safety, how could I think he'd actually let me go to Yavin Four? Turn the ship around. I'm staying with Artoo, I'm not going to Dagobah."
"Well, you know what?" Han replied angrily. "Unless I do what I'm supposed to I don't get payed. So you're going to Dagobah."
Leia thought for a moment, considered her sabacc hand. She had a fairly good chance of winning. "How about we make a bet?" she suggested. "If you win, I go to Dagobah. If I win, you take me to Yavin Four."
Han considered this for a moment. "All right," he agreed. "I call."
"I'd like one card," Leia said. Hopefully it would be enough to beat him. "And don't cheat."
"Who, me?"
Leia picked up the card Han had placed in front of her, and when Artoo told her what it was she couldn't believe her luck. The seven of Staves! Pure Sabacc! She had won!
Han put down one card and drew one. "Are you finished?" he asked in a flat voice that did not betray how good or bad his hand was.
"Yes!" Leia said excitedly, and put down her hand. "Sabacc!"
There was silence; then she heard Han put his cards down on the table. Artoo beeped to her: Han had the other Idiot, the two of Sabers, and the three of Flasks.
"Idiot's array," he said. "That beats your pure sabacc."
She had lost.
"Well, I guess I'll find out why Ben's sending me to Dagobah," she said, and Han thought she sounded as if she was about to cry.
****************
*****************
Darth Vader sensed something…an unfamiliar presence, one that he had never felt before; and yet it reminded him of something, or someone…
PADMÉ.
The thought came to his mind unbidden and unwelcome, and yet he was reluctant to push it away. Yes, somehow it reminded him of Padmé.
Another thought crossed his mind…but no, it was impossible. When Padmé had died, so had their child…
Hadn't he?
**************************
Luke stiffened. He sensed another Jedi. No, not a Jedi. A Sith.
DARTH VADER.
Yoda had told him of the evil Sith lord who had betrayed and murdered Luke's real parents. That was how he came to be raised by Bail Organa on Alderaan.
And then Luke realized: If he could sense Vader, then Vader could sense him. Vader would know he was a Jedi. And whoever this person was who had rescued him would be in grave danger.
****************************
"He knows I'm here," Luke said softly.
Biggs was about to ask what the heck he was talking about when suddenly he spotted something. "Is that a moon?"
"That's no moon," Luke said in sudden realization. "That's an Imperial space station!"
"No, that can't be! It's too big to be a space station."
And then they started moving. "Tractor beam," Luke immediately said.
Biggs cursed and then shouted angrily, "You think I don't know that?"
"Calm down and let me fly."
"CALM DOWN, and let someone else FLY MY SHIP?!?" Biggs had just about had it. "Those two ideas do NOT belong in the same sentence!"
"Get ready to fire proton torpedoes at my signal," Luke went on, ignoring Biggs' outburst.
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Please, just trust me. I know what I'm doing, and if we don't do it within the next five seconds it'll be too late."
Biggs shrugged, decided that a slim chance of escape was better than none, and got ready to fire the proton torpedoes.
"All right…one…two…three!"
At the exact moment that Biggs fired the torpedoes, Luke jerked the ship upwards. The motion almost threw them both off-balance. Luke stared, then said in relief, "Yes! It worked!"
"What worked?"
"The tractor beam is now pulling the proton torpedoes in instead of us. And if we can get out of here quickly enough, they won't realize it until it's too late."
* You can't escape that easily. *
The voice came inside of Luke's head; a moment later the tractor beam locked back onto the ship and they were being pulled steadily in once more.
**************************
"You almost allowed them to escape."
"I'm sorry, milord. It won't happen again."
"That is correct."
Vader reached out his hand, and the man grabbed his throat and gasped for air as his windpipe collapsed. Then Vader spun around and left to meet his son.
*****************************
Everyone better like this post, it cost me 35 cents :p
**************
Leia put her cards face-down in her lap after Artoo informed her of her hand. She had the Idiot, the ten of coins, and a smuggler. With the Mos Eisley rules they were playing by, that came out to sixteen points. Not bad.
"You make the first bet," Han said.
"I--" Leia's voice faltered. She had almost forgotten about the betting involved in this game. "I don't have any credits on me at the moment."
"That's okay, I take I.O.U.'s," Han replied cheerfully.
Leia hesitated.
"C'mon, we don't have forever before we reach Dagobah, you know."
"What?!?" Leia shrieked, momentarily forgetting about the game. "We're not going to Dagobah. We're going to Yavin Four!"
Han shrugged. "That's not what the old man said. My instructions were to take you to Dagobah and lookd for someone named Yoda, and then take the droid to Yavin Four."
Leia cursed. "I should have known. All that concern about my safety, how could I think he'd actually let me go to Yavin Four? Turn the ship around. I'm staying with Artoo, I'm not going to Dagobah."
"Well, you know what?" Han replied angrily. "Unless I do what I'm supposed to I don't get payed. So you're going to Dagobah."
Leia thought for a moment, considered her sabacc hand. She had a fairly good chance of winning. "How about we make a bet?" she suggested. "If you win, I go to Dagobah. If I win, you take me to Yavin Four."
Han considered this for a moment. "All right," he agreed. "I call."
"I'd like one card," Leia said. Hopefully it would be enough to beat him. "And don't cheat."
"Who, me?"
Leia picked up the card Han had placed in front of her, and when Artoo told her what it was she couldn't believe her luck. The seven of Staves! Pure Sabacc! She had won!
Han put down one card and drew one. "Are you finished?" he asked in a flat voice that did not betray how good or bad his hand was.
"Yes!" Leia said excitedly, and put down her hand. "Sabacc!"
There was silence; then she heard Han put his cards down on the table. Artoo beeped to her: Han had the other Idiot, the two of Sabers, and the three of Flasks.
"Idiot's array," he said. "That beats your pure sabacc."
She had lost.
"Well, I guess I'll find out why Ben's sending me to Dagobah," she said, and Han thought she sounded as if she was about to cry.
****************
*****************
Darth Vader sensed something…an unfamiliar presence, one that he had never felt before; and yet it reminded him of something, or someone…
PADMÉ.
The thought came to his mind unbidden and unwelcome, and yet he was reluctant to push it away. Yes, somehow it reminded him of Padmé.
Another thought crossed his mind…but no, it was impossible. When Padmé had died, so had their child…
Hadn't he?
**************************
Luke stiffened. He sensed another Jedi. No, not a Jedi. A Sith.
DARTH VADER.
Yoda had told him of the evil Sith lord who had betrayed and murdered Luke's real parents. That was how he came to be raised by Bail Organa on Alderaan.
And then Luke realized: If he could sense Vader, then Vader could sense him. Vader would know he was a Jedi. And whoever this person was who had rescued him would be in grave danger.
****************************
"He knows I'm here," Luke said softly.
Biggs was about to ask what the heck he was talking about when suddenly he spotted something. "Is that a moon?"
"That's no moon," Luke said in sudden realization. "That's an Imperial space station!"
"No, that can't be! It's too big to be a space station."
And then they started moving. "Tractor beam," Luke immediately said.
Biggs cursed and then shouted angrily, "You think I don't know that?"
"Calm down and let me fly."
"CALM DOWN, and let someone else FLY MY SHIP?!?" Biggs had just about had it. "Those two ideas do NOT belong in the same sentence!"
"Get ready to fire proton torpedoes at my signal," Luke went on, ignoring Biggs' outburst.
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Please, just trust me. I know what I'm doing, and if we don't do it within the next five seconds it'll be too late."
Biggs shrugged, decided that a slim chance of escape was better than none, and got ready to fire the proton torpedoes.
"All right…one…two…three!"
At the exact moment that Biggs fired the torpedoes, Luke jerked the ship upwards. The motion almost threw them both off-balance. Luke stared, then said in relief, "Yes! It worked!"
"What worked?"
"The tractor beam is now pulling the proton torpedoes in instead of us. And if we can get out of here quickly enough, they won't realize it until it's too late."
* You can't escape that easily. *
The voice came inside of Luke's head; a moment later the tractor beam locked back onto the ship and they were being pulled steadily in once more.
**************************
"You almost allowed them to escape."
"I'm sorry, milord. It won't happen again."
"That is correct."
Vader reached out his hand, and the man grabbed his throat and gasped for air as his windpipe collapsed. Then Vader spun around and left to meet his son.
*****************************