Chapter 5: High Stakes Gambling

Qui-Gon did not sleep much that night. He stayed awake for a long time thinking over what Lyyr had said and the accusation in her voice. He could not ignore the fact that she had a point – several in fact. Although he had begun the conversation with the best of intentions, they had still come from an assumed position of superiority. As a Jedi, and a negotiator, he should have known better than to assume anything. All he had accomplished with that conversation was give her reason to think that all Jedi were pretentious fools and he was perhaps the biggest one. He certainly was not infallible; Qui-Gon had known that and Lyyr reminded him.

Despite the lack of sleep Qui-Gon still managed to wake up early the morning of the race. He had hoped he could have spoken with Lyyr again before leaving, but she was nowhere to be found. Reluctantly he left for the stadium with Jar Jar in tow. Anakin was busy preparing the pod for transportation to the track so Qui-Gon left him to it.

Qui-Gon made his way through the mulling early morning crowds trusting Jar Jar to keep up. His thoughts were far too occupied with Lyyr's comments for him to be able to keep track of the Gungan. The girl had been right when she accused him of wanting to leave once the ship was repaired. But only half correct in her assumption that he would leave and never give them another moment of thought. If he had met only Shmi and Lyyr; then in all honesty he would have to admit that eventually he would forget them. Even though there was something about the girl that intrigued him and something that was so familiar – in time he would have forgotten. He had found the boy, however.

Qui-Gon could not forget Anakin. The boy was surrounded by the Force; Qui-Gon could sense that much. Moreover, what he sensed was equally disturbing and hopeful. After Shmi's revelation that she had conceived the boy spontaneously, without a man, Qui-Gon became convinced that the Force had guided him to the child. Their meeting was no coincidence, but the Will of the Force. He could not leave the desert planet now without at least attempting to free the Skywalkers.

He wanted Watto to relinquish his hold on the little family; and was torn between making another bet with the Toydarian or just abusing his authority as a Jedi to kidnap Shmi and the boy. Qui-Gon would have found it very satisfying to just inform the alien that he would be leaving with the Skywalkers – thankyouverymuch. As tempting as that would be now was not the time for such gallantries. He would make a bet with Watto and try and free the Skywalkers then come back for Lyyr. He wanted to free her now as well, but could not think of a way to do so without starting a war with a Huttt. Qui-Gon should be able to free the boy, at least, and he would have to content himself with that.

Qui-Gon found Watto fluttering about the main hanger watching the other pilots prepare themselves and their pods for the upcoming race. He wondered if the Toydarian was in a betting mood. It did not take long for the blue junk dealer to present Qui-Gon with the chance to purpose an additional wager. Watto was oddly reluctant about the idea at first, even becoming furious at the idea that a pod could be worth two slaves. He recovered himself somewhat after suggesting that they threw a gambling cube and allowed chance to decided which slave he would wager; the boy or his mother.

As Watto tossed the cube Qui-Gon was hard put to hide his sense of triumph. It was child's play for him to make a blue side of the cube turn up. With just one small unseen hand gesture Watto was betting Anakin's freedom against a podracer. The Toydarian's angry reaction was expected; even if it was a little bit overdone. His blustering was inspired, however.

Qui-Gon could not have been more pleased. His knowledge of the Living Force made him positive that Anakin would win the race. There was no room for doubt in his mind. By the end of the day they would receive all that they needed to continue the journey to Coruscant and Anakin would be free.

Besides, the young handmaiden was doing all of his worrying for him. Every choice he made she second guessed. Qui-Gon actually found her seriousness enduring when it wasn't an aggravation. Padmé reacted poorly to Ani's candid admission that he had yet to win a race as well as finish one. Her expression of slack-jawed shock was a trifle overdone in the Jedi's opinion. There was no need to be so surprised, trifles such as that were not worth worrying about.

He looked up from Padmé's face to discover a pair of violet eyes trying to bore a hole through his body. Lyyr continued to glare at him then with a jerk of her chin motioned towards the hanger's entrance. She then stalked off in that direction without bothering to see if he would follow her. He did after a moment, curiosity getting the better of him.

He found her standing off to the side of the entrance way watching intently as the other racers lined up their pods. At first she did not acknowledge his presence continuing to stare into the crowd. He was beginning to wonder why he had followed her if only to be ignored. When he was just about to turn and leave she finally spoke.

"What game are you playing Jedi?" She asked her manner hostile and she refused to look at him. Qui-Gon wanted to take offense at her attitude but he sense that it rose out of her worry for Anakin.

"What do you mean Lyyr?" He asked, he wasn't about to make the same mistake of assuming that he knew what she meant again. He tried to catch her eye. Lyyr kept her gaze resolutely focused on the activity of the racers.

"I watched you make that bet with Watto," she answered him. For a split second Qui-Gon thought that was the source of her attitude; she was jealous that Anakin might be freed. He should have known better than to misjudge her.

"Do you think that's such a wise thing to do?"

"You do not approve?" Qui-Gon asked, surprised to realize that he wanted her approval. Why he should seek it out made no sense to him; she was just a girl after all whereas he was a Jedi Master. He did not need her or the handmaiden's approval.

"Did I say that?" She snapped turning away from him."It is very noble of you to want to free Anakin, but did you think it through? What happens to Ani if he does not win the race and you lose all of your bets? It's possible that you may very well gamble your way into slavery, did you think of that?"

Her questions were valid and once again she surprised him by her ability to see all aspects of an argument. She clearly had more intelligence then he had been inclined to give her credit for. But he was not going to stand for her lecturing him again. He would have had firmer ground to stand on if he could have thought of a better counter to her objections than the one he eventually gave her.

"Anakin will win," Qui-Gon replied to her voiced and unvoiced concerns, "I feel this."

It was a statement that would not have made much sense to anyone else but another Jedi yet it was the only explanation he could give her for his over confidence. She looked him directly in the eye then, her violet gaze piercing and searching, before she slowly nodded her head in understanding.

"I feel it too," she murmured softly. So quiet was her voice that at first Qui-Gon was not certain that she had spoken at all. He barely had a moment to react to her remarkable statement before she was speaking again.

"Very well then," she began squaring her shoulders and wincing slightly as the injured one troubled her, "when you leave I will go with you."

Qui-Gon stared at her in open disbelief.

"What makes you so certain that you need to travel with us?" He demanded.

"Shmi would be more likely to trust me to watch out for Ani," she answered unfazed by his sharpness.

"So after scolding me for making bets with Watto, you are now purposing that I make a bet with a Hutt?" He was sorely tempted to question her sanity.

"No, I intended to be the one doing the betting." She responded with a casual shrug. Qui-Gon was the closest to slack-jawed amazement that he had been in a long time.

There had only ever been one other person who could utterly confuse and surprise him. But she had been dead for years now and he had never thought that he would find another human being in the galaxy like her. Yet here was Lyyr; capable of throwing him off balance.

"How old are you Lyyr?" Qui-Gon had to know.

"My age is irrelevant," she dismissed the question

"That may be so, but I want to know." Qui-Gon persisted.

"I'm fifteen," she answered after a few minutes. "Go watch the race Jedi and leave me to my betting."

With that she stalked off towards the stands not even bothering to look back at him. Qui-Gon watched her go, amazed that someone so young could be as daring as her. With that one trait she and Anakin could easily pass for blood relatives.

It had all been nothing but bluster, and she knew it. As long as she had managed to fool the Jedi it was worth the effort. Shmi would trust the Jedi unconditionally – Lyyr didn't, but that didn't stop her from recognizing a golden opportunity to escape enslavement. She may have begun that conversation with Qui-Gon out of a desire to protect Anakin but if she was being honest with herself she would have to admit that she also had some selfish motivations. Besides all that, Lyyr had a gut feeling that she had to leave Tatooine with Anakin in the company of the Jedi's party. She rarely ignored her gut.

She may have offhandedly decided to make a gamble for her freedom in front of the Jedi, but internally she was scared shitless. Lyyr might have a reputation for blatant insolence but she was always careful not to cross the line with Gardulla. The Huttt had made it perfectly clear to her that it would not be Lyyr who suffered the consequences if she pushed Gardulla too far. The Huttt had no qualms about making the Skywalker's pay for Lyyr's foolishness. She was effectively underneath Gardulla's thumb, and did not have much to bet with. What she was about to attempt could be the signature on the Skywalker's death warrants; or be her final act of defiance. Especially sense Jabba would be a witness to whatever happened. Personally, she was hoping it would end up being an act of suicide rather than homicide.

Still she had to make the attempt and she was hoping that Jabba's presence would keep Gardulla honest. The female crime lord could not afford to embarrass herself in front of him. Sure making a bet with one's own slave could count as an embarrassment but it would be even worse for Gardulla if she failed to honor the bet. The rules of gambling were the only laws that the people of Tatooine understood and honored. Gardulla would not dare to renege on a bet made in front of the more powerful Jabba, to do so would ruin her.

It did not take Lyyr as long as she feared to reach the Huttt's private box; she was actually brought up short by rough hewed long handled axes suddenly blocking her way. She regained her composure quickly enough and stared calmly over the weapons of Gardulla's Gamorrean guards. Outwardly she was impassive as stone; internally she was so nervous she felt like she had snakes twisting and slithering about in her stomach. Lyyr waited impatiently for the Huttt's to notice her. Unfortunately it looked like she would have to first make her way past Bid Fortuna; Jabba the Huttt's Twi'lek majordomo.

Lyyr loathed the pale-skinned Twi'lek. She had from the very first time she met him, and she suspected that the feeling was mutual.

"Hi chuba da nagg, cheeka?" Bid asked her in Hutttese, his tone condescending. Lyyr lifted her chin arrogantly in response and looked him directly in the eye, something no slave was supposed to do. (what do you want, woman?)

"I wish to speak with Gardulla," she replied in Basic, her own tone of voice rebellious. Fortuna glared back at her his upper lip curling in a silent snarl.

"Go away slave," he contemptuously dismissed her turning his back on her; if they were in the arenas that would have been a deadly mistake.

"Chuba gaggalah mursto!" Lyyr hurled the insult at Fortuna's back her tone as disrespectful and spiteful as she could make it. Bid froze mid-step his spine stiffing in outrage. He whipped back around to glower at her; the Twi'lek's orange eyes were flashing fire. (hey you worm-eating liar)

Now that she had his undivided attention she calmly asked;

"Since when do you speak for Gardulla?"

"Since now," he chewed out between clenched teeth continuing to glower at her in obvious anger. She pretended to be indifferent to it. Lyyr was perfectly aware that with one word from Bid the Gamorrean's would send her to the afterlife. She wasn't really in a hurry to discover if there was one. But this posturing was all part of the game.

"Peetch goolu che Gardulla," Lyyr sneered. (too bad for Gardulla)

"Schutta, shag!" (shut it, slave)

"Coo ya maya stupa," Lyyr pushed Fortuna by insulting him further. Either she would push him too far and he'll have her killed or she would push him just far enough that he'd give in to her demands just to get rid of her. (you weak minded fool)

"Tah-kok tee woomp rat c'nachu." The Twi'lek informed her. Lyyr smiled coldly at him; he was about to cave. (you'll end up womp rat food)

"Cha skrunee da pat, sleemo." She scowled her icy smile reaching her eyes. (don't count on it slime ball)

Bid broke eye contact with her then. There were not many who could sustain prolonged eye contact with her; they found her violet gaze unnerving. He motioned for the Gamorreans to lower their weapons than indicated that Lyyr should follow him into the private box. She was surprised to her the Twi'lek chuckle then murmur:

"U kulle rah doe kankee kung." (you are my kind of scum)

Lyyr did not know if she should be insulted or flattered. She decided to be insulted; it helped her to settle her nerves.

In a matter of nanoseconds she was watching Bid fawn in front of the two Hutt crime lords. Lyyr remained standing; she was going to conduct this interview on her own terms. She refused to be subservient to Gardulla or anyone else ever again.

"Bow to your master's slave," Fortuna hissed at Lyyr in Basic. She ignored him.

"Gardulla," she began breaking all sorts of rules. No slave was allowed to address a Hutt directly let alone look one in the eye. Lyyr truly did not care, however. If Gardulla had her killed for this then Lyyr still won – she would be free and the freedom that death offered was far more appealing to her than continuing to live as chattel.

"Kee chai chai chu chu?" The Hutt demanded and Lyyr wasted no time in answering. (what are you doing here)

"Jee naga bedwana magoosa. Ting cooitiy koo sooah." Both Gardulla and Jabba laughed heartily at her response. Lyyr had expected that. (I want to buy [free] myself. I have the credits)

"Nobata," Gardulla eventually gargled out between her laughter. (no)

"Da chunkee fa goota?" Lyyr asked slyly knowing just how to peak Gardulla's interest. She did not spend the past ten years as the Hutt's slave without observing a thing or two about the creature's personality. Gardulla was greedy and considered herself to be a great bargainer; Lyyr need only to play to Gardulla's greed. (that's your final offer)

"Hi chuba da naga?" (what do you want?)

"Buttmalia, Gardulla bu chawa." That captured Gardulla's undivided attention. ( a bet Gardulla on the race)

After Lyyr set her terms Gardulla was practically drooling from greed.