[Thrawn Trilogy] - 01(88)
“You ever been here before?” Han asked over his shoulder as they skirted the conversation tables and headed up the steps.
“Not this place, no. Last time I was at Abregado-rae was years ago. It was worse than Mos Eisley, and I didn’t stay long.” Lando shook his head. “Whatever problems you might have with the new government here, you have to admit they’ve done a good job of cleaning the planet up.”
“Yeah, well, whatever problems you have with the new government, let’s keep them quiet, okay?” Han warned. “Just for once, I’d like to keep a low profile.”
Lando chuckled. “Whatever you say.”
The lighting in the bar area was lower than that in the casino proper, but not so low that seeing was difficult. Choosing a table near the gaming tables, they sat down. A holo of an attractive girl rose from the center of the table as they did so. “Good day, gentles,” she said in pleasantly accented Basic. “How may I serve?”
“Do you have any Necr’ygor Omic wine?” Lando asked.
“We do, indeed: ‘47, ‘49, ‘50, and ‘52.”
“We’ll have a half carafe of the ‘49,” Lando told her.
“Thank you, gentles,” she said, and the holo vanished.
“Was that part of the countersign?” Han asked, letting his gaze drift around the casino. It was only the middle of the afternoon, local time, but even so over half the tables were occupied. The bar area, in contrast, was nearly empty, with only a handful of humans and aliens scattered around. Drinking, apparently, ranked much lower than gambling on the list of popular Gado vices.
“Actually, he didn’t say anything about what we should order,” Lando said. “But since I happen to like a good Necr’ygor Omic wine-“
“And since Coruscant will be picking up the tab for it?”
“Something like that.”
The wine arrived on a tray delivered through a slidehatch in the center of the table. “Will there be anything else, gentles?” the holo girl asked.
Lando shook his head, picking up the carafe and the two glasses that had come with it. “Not right now, thank you.”
“Thank you.” She and the tray disappeared.
“So,” Lando said, pouring the wine. “I guess we wait.”
“Well, while you’re busy waiting, do a casual one-eighty,” Han said. “Third sabacc table back-five men and a woman. Tell me if the guy second from the right is who I think it is.”
Lifting his wine glass, Lando held it up to the light, as if studying its color. In the process he turned halfway around- “Not Fynn Torve?”
“Sure looks like him to me,” Han agreed. “I figured you’d probably seen him more recently than I have.”
“Not since the last Kessel run you and I did together.” Lando cocked an eyebrow at Han. “Just before that other big sabacc table,” he added dryly.
Han gave him an injured look. “You’re not still sore about the Falcon, are you?”
“Now …” Lando considered. “No, probably not. No sorer than I was at losing the game to an amateur like you in the first place.”
“Amateur?”
“-but I’ll admit there were times right afterward when I lay awake at night plotting elaborate revenge. Good thing I never got around to doing any of it.”
Han looked back at the sabacc table. “If it makes you feel any better … if you hadn’t lost the Falcon to me, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here right now. The Empire’s first Death Star would have taken out Yavin and then picked the Alliance apart planet by planet. And that would have been the end of it.”
Lando shrugged. “Maybe; maybe not. With people like Ackbar and Leia running things-“
“Leia would have been dead,” Han cut him off. “She was already slated for execution when Luke, Chewie, and I pulled her out of the Death Star.” A shiver ran through him at the memory. He’d been that close to losing her forever. And would never even have known what he’d missed.
And now that he knew … he might still lose her.
“She’ll be okay, Han,” Lando said quietly. “Don’t worry.” He shook his head. “I just wish we knew what the Imperials wanted with her.”
“I know what they want,” Han growled. “They want the twins.”
Lando stared at him, a startled look on his face. “Are you sure?”
“As sure as I am of any of this,” Han said. “Why else didn’t they just use stun weapons on us in that Bpfassh ambush? Because the things have a better than fifty-fifty chance of sparking a miscarriage, that’s why.”