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The city of Cairo was bustling, as usual. The streets were crowded wall to wall with people shouting at passersby and waving cheap jewelry and clothing at them. It was through this crowd that Han, Luke, and Leia were carefully weaving.
The last time he and Leia had been here, Han had never actually been in the city. Now he was glad he hadn't. This place was like a cross between the chaos of Courscant, and the climate of Tatooine. Basically, it was miserable.
"We gotta find someone who speaks English," Han said.
"Do you think we will? I haven't heard anyone speaking it so far," Leia replied.
"Well we have to try! We've gotta know what year it is," Han said.
Luke was utterly confused. He had tried continuously to get Han and Leia to tell him what the heck was going on. He still had no idea. Han had just landed the Falcon out in a desert, and ordered everyone to change into the clothes he provided. At least that part was a good idea; since Luke now saw they would have been very out of place here in their normal clothing. These seemed to be a terrestrial people.
Han tapped one of the shouting vendors on the shoulder, and the man turned around. "Excuse me, but do you speak English?" he asked the man. The man paused for a moment, then started waving strings of beads in Han's face and talking in an unknown language. "No no, I don't want one. Uh, thanks," He said, moving away.
"Let me try," Leia said. She scanned the nearby people carefully. Most of them had dark skin and hair, and she assumed, were the locals. She spotted one man across the street with fair skin and light brown hair. "There!" She said, guiding the group across toward the man. "Excuse me, sir. Sir!" She shouted out to the stranger.
"Leia, wait! Would someone PLEASE tell me what's going on!" Luke groaned
Leia held up a 'in a minute' finger. The man she had been trying to talk to noticed her and turned around. "May I help you?" He asked, in an accent much like Indy's only with a refined crispness to the words.
Leia smiled at the man. "Yes, you can. I was wondering," she hesitated before asking, "What year is it?"
The man gave raised an eyebrow. "Surely you can't be serious," he said, laughing. "What a peculiar question to ask!"
Leia licked her lips, trying not to get impatient with the man. "I know it seems silly of me but, um," she searched for an excuse, "but I had a bet going with my husband that if I asked a stranger on the street to tell me the year, I couldn't get him to do it because he would think I was mad." She indicated Han behind her, who played along.
"Ah see, I told you you'd never get anyone to do it," Han said.
The stranger smiled. "The year is, of course 1939," he said. And to Leia, "And I do not think you are mad. But if you'll excuse me, I've got a plane to London to catch." He nodded at them, and took off down the street.
"Whew, that was a good save," Han said.
"Tell me about it," Leia replied. "I thought he was going to make a big scene there and get us thrown into an asylum or something."
"So, it's been 2 years on Earth since we were here," Han surmised.
"Great arithmetic," Leia commented.
Han gave her a sour look. "But it's been 4 years to us. That's not fair, that means Indy's only aged 2 years to my 4!"
Leia smiled at him. "Oh you'd never be able to tell. Now quit complaining, we've got to get outside the city before dark." Han nodded his agreement, and the group started heading off toward a hill on the outskirts of Cairo.
Luke had decided to give up asking questions for now, and just let Han and Leia do the leading until they were in someplace more... stable. He just hopped they really hadn't gone mad.
Han and Leia stopped on the top of a hill in front of a low-roofed clay and wooden house. "Think he still lives here?" Leia asked Han.
"I hope so. Or this is gonna be one short vacation," Han replied. He took a deep breath, and rapped his knuckles on the wooden door.
They could hear the sounds of children talking inside, and several pairs of little feet running toward the door to see who it was. Then a heavier, adult sounding pair of footsteps joined in and began approaching. The doorknob turned, and slowly creaked open.
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The city of Cairo was bustling, as usual. The streets were crowded wall to wall with people shouting at passersby and waving cheap jewelry and clothing at them. It was through this crowd that Han, Luke, and Leia were carefully weaving.
The last time he and Leia had been here, Han had never actually been in the city. Now he was glad he hadn't. This place was like a cross between the chaos of Courscant, and the climate of Tatooine. Basically, it was miserable.
"We gotta find someone who speaks English," Han said.
"Do you think we will? I haven't heard anyone speaking it so far," Leia replied.
"Well we have to try! We've gotta know what year it is," Han said.
Luke was utterly confused. He had tried continuously to get Han and Leia to tell him what the heck was going on. He still had no idea. Han had just landed the Falcon out in a desert, and ordered everyone to change into the clothes he provided. At least that part was a good idea; since Luke now saw they would have been very out of place here in their normal clothing. These seemed to be a terrestrial people.
Han tapped one of the shouting vendors on the shoulder, and the man turned around. "Excuse me, but do you speak English?" he asked the man. The man paused for a moment, then started waving strings of beads in Han's face and talking in an unknown language. "No no, I don't want one. Uh, thanks," He said, moving away.
"Let me try," Leia said. She scanned the nearby people carefully. Most of them had dark skin and hair, and she assumed, were the locals. She spotted one man across the street with fair skin and light brown hair. "There!" She said, guiding the group across toward the man. "Excuse me, sir. Sir!" She shouted out to the stranger.
"Leia, wait! Would someone PLEASE tell me what's going on!" Luke groaned
Leia held up a 'in a minute' finger. The man she had been trying to talk to noticed her and turned around. "May I help you?" He asked, in an accent much like Indy's only with a refined crispness to the words.
Leia smiled at the man. "Yes, you can. I was wondering," she hesitated before asking, "What year is it?"
The man gave raised an eyebrow. "Surely you can't be serious," he said, laughing. "What a peculiar question to ask!"
Leia licked her lips, trying not to get impatient with the man. "I know it seems silly of me but, um," she searched for an excuse, "but I had a bet going with my husband that if I asked a stranger on the street to tell me the year, I couldn't get him to do it because he would think I was mad." She indicated Han behind her, who played along.
"Ah see, I told you you'd never get anyone to do it," Han said.
The stranger smiled. "The year is, of course 1939," he said. And to Leia, "And I do not think you are mad. But if you'll excuse me, I've got a plane to London to catch." He nodded at them, and took off down the street.
"Whew, that was a good save," Han said.
"Tell me about it," Leia replied. "I thought he was going to make a big scene there and get us thrown into an asylum or something."
"So, it's been 2 years on Earth since we were here," Han surmised.
"Great arithmetic," Leia commented.
Han gave her a sour look. "But it's been 4 years to us. That's not fair, that means Indy's only aged 2 years to my 4!"
Leia smiled at him. "Oh you'd never be able to tell. Now quit complaining, we've got to get outside the city before dark." Han nodded his agreement, and the group started heading off toward a hill on the outskirts of Cairo.
Luke had decided to give up asking questions for now, and just let Han and Leia do the leading until they were in someplace more... stable. He just hopped they really hadn't gone mad.
Han and Leia stopped on the top of a hill in front of a low-roofed clay and wooden house. "Think he still lives here?" Leia asked Han.
"I hope so. Or this is gonna be one short vacation," Han replied. He took a deep breath, and rapped his knuckles on the wooden door.
They could hear the sounds of children talking inside, and several pairs of little feet running toward the door to see who it was. Then a heavier, adult sounding pair of footsteps joined in and began approaching. The doorknob turned, and slowly creaked open.
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