Tales from the New Republic (37 page)

Doune slid a blubbery fin across his forehead, which was glistening with perspiration. The Herglic examined his cards and grunted softly. His pile of credits was steadily decreasing, while Vo-Shay’s lone credit had gained thousands of friends in less than an hour. He glanced up at his opponent, but the human gambler’s face may as well have been carved out of ferrostone.

Only Vo-Shay’s right hand was in motion, absently twirling the obsidian stone pendant hanging from his neck. When he had first removed the bauble from underneath his shirt, a collective gasp resounded from the crowd. The necklace that was rumored to be the source of the legendary gambler’s astonishing luck. It was yet another piece of evidence that suggested that this man was really who he claimed to be.

The Herglic watched his shifting sabacc cards and nearly grinned. The Four of Coins had reformed into the Mistress of Staves, with a value of thirteen. He already held the Nine of Staves. Doune dramatically pushed the metallic cards into the neutral stabilizer field. “Twenty-two.”

Vo-Shay began laying out his cards. The Ace of Flasks, the Master of Flasks, and the Nine of Flasks. A total of thirty-eight. A low murmur rippled through the crowd. Nyo winced and looked away. The gambler was about to go bust.

Chuckling, the Herglic reached for the pot… fifteen thousand credits.

Vo-Shay played one more card into the neutral field. The Evil One. Negative fifteen. That brought his hand down to twenty-three. “Sabacc,” he said, grabbing Donne’s hand just as it reached the thick stack of credits at the center of the table. “I believe that’s mine.”

The Herglic snarled. “Your luck cannot last forever, impostor.”

But it did.

In another hour, Vo-Shay held over one hundred thousand credits. The crowd not only began to believe, they had completely shifted allegiance. Vee-Six was the lone supporter remaining in Doune’s corner, and the droid was not exactly encouraging. “Please, Master,” Vee-Six implored, “you must end this before—”

“Shut up!” the Herglic roared, shoving the droid away. He slammed a cred stick onto the table. “One more, human… double or nothing.”

“Don’t risk it,” Nyo whispered, eyeing Vo-Shay’s winnings. “Let’s just cut and run.”

The gambler smiled, his pale violet pupils dilated with excitement. “I never back down from a challenge.” He eyed his opponent. “Ready?”

Doune nodded, nostrils flaring.

The gambler spun the obsidian pendant on its chain, and the stone danced as if it were alive. More than one observer found himself transfixed by the sight as Vo-Shay reached for his cards…

Nyo and Vo-Shay walked out of the gambling hall with nearly a quarter of a million credits.

The young man was so excited, he couldn’t stop talking. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed it.”

“Well, Doune actually played the game and I’m betting he still isn’t sure what happened.” The gambler patted the youth on the back and handed him the small electronic stick containing two hundred thousand credits. “All yours, my boy. I kept the change for expenses… hope you don’t mind.”

“Are you kidding?” Nyo’s hand was shaking as he held the cred stick. “I can’t thank you enough for this… you’ve literally made my dreams come true.”

“That’s a lot of money you’ve got there.” Vo-Shay studied the young man. “You obviously don’t frequent places like that, so I’m assuming you were trying to win for a reason.”

Nyo glanced off into the distance, shuffling his feet uncomfortably.

“Sorry… I have a bad habit of sticking my nose in where it’s not welcome. Curiosity is just one of my many vices, but it gets me in trouble more than any of the others.” The gambler squeezed Nyo’s shoulder. “Whatever it is, I hope it works out for you.”

Vo-Shay pulled up the hood of his cloak and effortlessly slid into the crowd.

“Wait!” The gambler turned, just as the youth caught up. “If you hadn’t been nosy back there, I’d be walking home with one credit in my pocket… can we talk?” Nyo glanced around the bustling street. “In private?”

Vo-Shay shook his head and laughed. “Now you’ve gone and done it. I never could pass up a good confidential chat.” The gambler gestured to a dingy cantina in the distance. “After you…”

The duo sat at a booth in the rear of the cantina, with a bottle of Corellian whisky and a good deal of space between themselves and the next patrons. Vo-Shay blended in so well with the shadows that it seemed as if Nyo was sitting alone at the table.

The gambler downed another shot of the tangy drink and stared at his companion. “Well, have you imbibed enough liquid courage, yet? Or am I going to be sitting here all night?”

Nyo chuckled, then grew serious. “Are you really Kinnin Vo-Shay?”

“Last I heard.”

“Then how is it that you’re—”

The gambler held up a gloved hand. “I thought we were here because you wanted to reveal your secrets…”

“Point taken.” The young man took a drink and then a deep breath. “The reason I need the money is—promise not to laugh?”

“I never make promises, son. I only deal in cards. Not words.”

Nyo didn’t respond. He was staring into his glass, as if mesmerized by the smooth contours. After a few more moments of silence, he finally spoke. His voice was a whisper. “I want to buy a lightsaber.”

The gambler’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“You think it’s stupid.”

“No! That’s just the last thing I expected to hear. I figured it was something more mundane… a sick family member in need of an expensive operation, a beautiful girl you couldn’t afford to marry, maybe a debt to a nefarious crime lord.”

Nyo shook his head. “No, nothing like that.”

“So where do you intend to pick one up? They’re not exactly standard stock for equipment shops, you know.”

“I’ve heard about a black-market dealer who has one for sale.”

“Where?”

Nyo was obviously reluctant to answer.

“Come on, son,” the gambler said, reaching for his glass, “it’s not as if I’m going to race there ahead of you and snatch it up…”

“Nar Shaddaa.”

Vo-Shay nearly spat out his drink. “The Smuggler’s Moon!” The gambler narrowed his eyes and gave the young man an appraising glance. “Just how old are you, anyway?”

“Twenty standard years,” he said proudly.

“And you’ve lived here on Morado all your life. Have you ever been offworld before?”

“Well, no… but I’ve seen plenty of holos—”

Vo-Shay burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Nyo said, obviously annoyed.

“Nothing! What could possibly be funny about a boy who’s never been off his home planet traveling by himself to one of the most dangerous hives of scum and villainy in the galaxy with two hundred thousand credits on him to purchase an illegal weapon from a shady black-market dealer?” He leaned forward. “Are you even carrying a blaster?”

The young man’s silence answered his question.

The gambler wiped tears from his eyes. “By the Force… you must be either an overconfident fool or a half-wit. Your star may be fiery, but it isn’t going to burn long in this galaxy if you keep up this sort of behavior.”

Nyo abruptly stood, slamming his fist against the table. “I don’t need a lecture! Especially not from somebody who’s supposed to be dead because he was too lazy to pilot his ship around an extremely dangerous area of space…” The young man started to leave, but wasn’t through yet. “And you may be the greatest gambler who ever lived, but you have a lot to learn about dealing with people. See you around.” With that, Nyo promptly stormed out of the cantina.

You never change, do you, Shay? The
disembodied voice was hauntingly beautiful, caressing the gambler’s cheek like a cool breeze.

“Listen,” Vo-Shay took a final swig directly from the whisky bottle and walked to the door, “if you want to put your two credits in, just leave them on the table… I don’t have change for a tip.”

“So, how much for passage to Nar Shaddaa?”

The Barabel captain quickly calculated his figure, then grinned at Nyo. With all those sharp teeth, it wasn’t a comforting sight. “Twenty-five thousand. Paid in advance. No refund under any circumstances…”

The young man stumbled over his words. “I… I don’t know. That seems like an awful lot.”

“That’s because it is.”

Both the Barabel and Nyo looked up at the new voice. Vo-Shay stood at their table, arms folded across his chest. “The boy could get a better deal from a Jawa… and on something far nicer than the garbage scow you’re passing off as a tramp freighter.”

Enraged, the captain stood, towering over the gambler. “You insult me…”

“No. You insult
him
,” Vo-Shay said, indicating Nyo. “And if you want to live to prey an another easy mark, I suggest you leave immediately. Or else you’ll be insulting
me
.”

Barabels, however, are not easily intimidated. “And why should I care about that, little man?”

Vo-Shay shifted his position slightly, flashing the two hold-out blasters he held tucked under arms.

The captain snorted and took a threatening step forward, “I could make you eat those.”

“If you
were
that good, you’d have already done it instead of just talking about it,” the gambler said, refusing to give up a centimeter of ground. “Now go; find some nerfs to herd.”

The Barabel shoved past Vo-Shay and slipped into the crowd milling around the bar.

Still chuckling, the gambler slipped the blasters into his cloak and dropped into the vacated seat.

“What do you want now?” the young man asked.

“Just to talk.”

Nyo started to get up. “I don’t have anything else to say to you.”

Vo-Shay reached out and quickly yanked him back into his seat.

“Hey! Lemme go…”

“Not until you’ve heard my offer.”

“What kind of offer?”

“I’ll fly you to Nar Shaddaa.”

Nyo couldn’t believe it. “Why would you do that?”

“To make sure you get there without dying,” the gambler said, rocking back in his chair. “And so you can pay me ten thousand credits.”

It didn’t take him long to consider the offer. “Deal,” Nyo said, smiling.

“Let’s get going, then.”

The young man was already headed for the door, giddy with excitement. “I can’t believe this…”

Vo-Shay shook his head as he followed Nyo out. “Join the club,” he said softly.

“There she is.” The gambler’s voice was filled with the pride only a parent or ship captain could ever know.

Nyo stepped into Docking Bay 49 and his mouth promptly fell open. “The
Ashanda Ray…
”

The two men circled the graceful curves of the light freighter. Vo-Shay carefully slid a hand along her smooth underbelly. “She was designed by a good friend of mine… a Mon Cal engineer with a great eye.”

Like most ships designed by the Mon Calamari, the
Ray
was a model of efficiency, structural strength, and aesthetic appeal. More than a spacecraft, it resembled a handcrafted piece of art. With myriad pods, bulges, and bumps, the ship almost appeared organic rather than constructed—like a great ocean-dwelling creature.

“She can be a headache for maintenance and repair, but other than that…”

“Quite a beauty,” Nyo agreed, “but I don’t see any weapons… or sensors. Or anything.”

“What would an exotic woman be without her secrets?” The gambler laid an arm around the young man’s shoulders. “Now come on… let’s go get your lightsaber.”

Exhausted from his exploits, Nyo spent most of the trip in one of the
Ray
’s extremely comfortable bunks.

Vo-Shay was resting in the cockpit, half asleep himself. The ship would warn him if anything came up, and the smoothly accelerating starlines of lightspeed always made the gambler drowsy. When he heard the lilting voice, he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not.

You definitely have your moments
.

His eyes popped open. Definitely not dreaming…

“Was there ever any doubt in your mind?”

Do you want me to be honest, or nice
?

“Nice,” Vo-Shay grinned. “So, what’s the word?”

It’s hard to say right now. I need more time
.

“Don’t we all.”

He’s coming
.

Vo-Shay craned his neck up over the top of the chair. “Well, well. Look what the gundark dragged in…”

Nyo entered the cockpit, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He unceremoniously plopped down into the copilot’s seat. “Are we there yet?”

The gambler checked his displays. “Almost. You get some rest?”

The young man nodded, surveying the cockpit.

“Good.” Vo-Shay leaned back in his chair, absently twirling his pendant. “You’ll need to keep your eyes wide open in a place like Nar Shaddaa. Bad things can happen to people faster than you can even think about pulling your blaster.”

“That’s okay,” Nyo answered with a grin. “I don’t have one, remember?”

The gambler chuckled. After a few moments, he grew serious and turned to face Nyo. “You never told me why you wanted a lightsaber.”

“You never told me how you survived your untimely demise in the Tyus cluster,” the young man countered evenly, “or how come you’re not over a hundred years old.”

“An even exchange, huh? Okay, but I asked first.”

The gambler immediately recognized that distant look that crept into Nyo’s eyes. It was the one that always prefaced the resurfacing of a lifelong dream and usually culminated in trouble.

“I want to become a Jedi Knight,” the young man said in a voice just above a whisper.

The gambler was silent for a moment. “I thought they built their own lightsabers when they were actually ready to wield one…”

That seemed to deflate Nyo slightly, but he quickly recovered. “I just wanted to have something… connected with them. I mean, it’s not like there’s anyone around to train me. I don’t know…” He stared out the viewport, at the stars rushing past. “I guess I thought that if I felt a lightsaber in my hands, there’d be some kind of magic, you know? You have to take your first step somewhere, and this was the only path I could find.”

Well spoken, young one
.

“Huh?” Nyo snapped out of his reverie and glanced back at Vo-Shay. “Did you say something?”

“Wasn’t me,” the gambler said with a wink.

“So, I held up my end of the bargain… now, let’s hear your story.”

Something caught Vo-Shay’s eye. “It’ll have to wait.”

“Why?”

The gambler’s hands were already dancing over the controls, abruptly dropping the
Ray
out of hyperspace. “Because we’ve got company…”