CHAPTER THREE
I told you this was a bad idea.
Khedryn knew that those would be Marr's words if his first mate was at his side in this sabacc game. However, due to Cereans being quick-thinking and adept in analytical reading, Marr was forever barred from taking part in such games at the Black Hole, unless it was with others of his kind.
Khedryn bit his lower lip. He had lost the coordinates to Reegas Vance, who had a smug grin plastered on his face. True, Marr had told him that the coordinates led to nowhere special, but the loss still stung him hard.
Just as he was about to get up from the game table, a daring thought crossed his mind. It was a stupid one, yes. But it was his last chance....
Sitting back down, Khedryn looked Reegas straight in the eye. "Best two out of three."
Reegas blinked, his smug expression flickering. "Pardon?"
"Best two out of three," Khedryn repeated. "We only played for one round. You brave enough for two more?"
The other three players stared at him. Reegas then broke the silence by snorting out loud. "Brave? Compare to you, Faal, I could stand against a bantha stampede."
Khedryn smirked and turned to the dealer droid. "Deal, Himher."
* * *
Jaden Korr watched as the sabacc game went on. Although he was never one for such games, he knew enough about it to be able to tell when a game was rigged; the man known as Khedryn Faal had been doomed to lose from the start.
In spite of not caring for the outcome, Jaden had decided that Khedryn would be the better person to ask transportation from and thus influenced his mind to challenge Reegas for an extra two rounds, which the crime lord surely had not accounted for.
As the game waged on, Jaden glanced and saw a pair of Weequays sitting nearby, glaring at him. Figuring they were Reegas' bodyguards- and wishing to avoid a potential conflict- Jaden got up and returned to the counter where Khedryn's Cerean companion sat.
As soon as he took his seat, the door to the cantina opened and a human male strode in, headed for the counter as well. Jaden glanced at him and noted that he wore a poncho and a hat that concealed half of his face. What little was exposed indicated that he was in his early fifties.
The man sat between him and the Cerean, and Jaden suddenly had to perform a double take. He knew that face. Once the man had ordered something from the Squalris bartender, Jaden turned in his seat to face him.
"Toah Jarsan."
"Names don't mean anything," the man grunted.
"We thought you had died. Three years and nothing."
This time, Toah turned to look at him, lifting his hat to reveal his brown eyes. "You didn't feel my death in the Force, did you? You should have known I was still alive."
"Perhaps," Jaden murmured. "But you never came to reassure us, or to tell us where you were headed to and why. I understand that you wanted to avoid the publicity for saving the galaxy twice... but you can't stay secluded forever."
Toah shook his head. "I'm not staying secluded. Not this time. I'm wandering."
"Wandering?" Jaden's eyebrows shot up. "Where to?"
Toah gestured widely with his arms. "Here, there, everywhere." He then sighed. "Of course, now I'm stuck here. My ship's out of fuel and you need to be as rich as a king to buy more around here."
"Well," Jaden said, lowering his voice so only Toah could hear him, "I am looking for transportation as well. That man over there at the sabacc table is betting over a set of coordinates."
Toah slowly nodded. "Go on."
"I overheard the Cerean say that they lead to a frozen moon. The same one I've been having visions of."
"Visions, huh?" Toah looked over to where the game was taking place. "You sure he'll agree to give you passage?"
Before Jaden could reply, Khedryn Faal let out a loud whoop. All eyes turned to him as he stood up and gathered his winnings, the datachip with the coordinates being among them. While the Zabrak and Mirialan players merely looked amused, perhaps even impressed by Khedryn's victory, Reegas Vance had a nasty scowl on his face.
Jaden felt a sense of alarm flood within him. Seeing that Reegas' Weequay bodyguards were also standing up, he let his hand float toward his lightsaber, preparing for a conflict.
Still glowering at Khedryn, Reegas smirked. "Congratulations, Faal. For the first time in your life, you've won a sabacc game. Against me, no less."
Khedryn grinned. "There's a first time for everything."
"True. However, you do know this bodes ill for my reputation."
Khedryn froze, no doubt noticing that the two Weequays were standing threateningly behind Reegas, armed with blaster rifles. He tried to stammer a response, but the crime lord silence him with the raise of a hand.
"I'm sorry, Faal. Truly. But you'll be better off this way."
The Weequays aimed their blaster.
"Trust me."
They fired.
* * *
Khedryn felt his breath leave him as lights flashed before him. For a brief second, he thought for sure he was dead. Then he realized that he could still see Reegas and the others. The Weequays who had fired at him appeared startled, but were not looking directly at him. Rather, they were staring at the lightsaber-wielding man who had come to his rescue.
The azure blade of his weapon still humming, the man stared coldly at Reegas. "I'm no bouncer, but I do believe you're disrupting the peace here."
Reegas sneered. "You must be new here. I have a big name around these parts. I am not someone you want to mess with."
"You're absolutely right," the stranger said. "It's not nice attacking people unable to defend themselves."
The crime lord glowered at him. "Can you not see the bodyguards standing right by me?"
"Oh, I see them," the man said, flashing a grin at the Weequays. "They make me laugh."
Khedryn could feel the building tension in the room. His eyes flickered from the stranger to Reegas and his bodyguards, worried that a bar fight was about to break out.
Much to his surprise, however, Reegas merely grunted as he got out of his seat. "This isn't worth it. Let's go, fellas."
With that, the crime lord, his bodyguards, and the other two gamblers left the cantina. Once they were gone, the stranger deactivated his lightsaber and turned to face Khedryn. When the other man didn't speak, Khedryn did instead.
"Well, er, I suppose I ought to thank you, sir." He shifted his feet. "Uh, anyway I can repay you? Provided it doesn't rid me of everything I own."
"Actually," the stranger said, "my friend and I are seeking transportation. I've only got about ten hundred credits...."
"Hey, that's fine," Khedryn said with a lopsided grin. "It's good enough for me, especially after you just saved my life. Where to?"
The other man glanced at the datachip with the coordinates Khedryn had won back. "A certain frozen moon...."
No comments:
Post a Comment