“The winning number is three. There are three sticks left,” the Droid reports.
Han lets out a whoop of joy. “Can I gamble or can I gamble, Chewie?”
Something pinches Han high on his left leg. He swings around rapidly. Again, no one stands behind him except Chewbacca, who is roaring in glee. Several small aliens cringe in terror nearby; apparently, they have never seen a Wookiee win anything before.
Han turns back to the table. Wagering tokens worth 5,700 credits stand stacked in front of the Droid.
“I suppose you would like to claim your winnings,” says the Droid. “Or would you care to let it ride?”
“Send it over here,” Han orders. “Even I don’t let that much ride.”
The Droid extends a croupier’s stick and pushes the tokens to Han. It mutters, “I thought as much.”
Han feels another pinch on his left leg. This time, he immediately turns to the Khoan on his left. “Look lady, and I use the term loosely -“
“Down here, chump,” interrupts a coarse voice. It comes from a narrow, cylindrical Droid standing less than a meter tall. The diameter of the poliched metal body is only about twenty-five centimeters; it has extended a single arm with a plier-like appendage at the end. “Listen up. Alfreda Goot wants a race, understand? The first one to the Dockside Cafe in Mos Eisley wins.”
Han looks from the Droid to Chewbacca, then back to the Droid again. “Get this trash can out of here.”
Chewbacca lunges for the Droid, but it easily avoids his grasp and darts between the massive thighs of the Khoan. Chewie wisely does not pursue it further. The Khoan eyes Chewbacca and Han menacingly, then studies the Droid with an expression approaching maternal protectiveness.
“Pardon us ma’am. Belong to you?” Han asks.
Although she shakes her head, the Khoan does not move away from the Droid.
“she said you’d want to know the stakes,” the Droid says. It extends an arm from beneath the Khoan’s skirts and drops something on the floor. “the Dockside Cafe in Mos Eisley. Got that?”
By the time Han picks up the object, the Droid has already sped off into the crowded casino.
“Ooouugh?” the Wookiee asks.
Leia’s signet!” Han answers. He does not know whether to be angered or concerned. That the Princess is in trouble he has no doubt, for she would never part with her signet willingly. But how much trouble? And what kind? Han briefly considers leaving Leia to save herself. After all, he reasons, if she had stuck with them, no Alfread Goot person would have abducted her. But for some sentimental reason Han does not wish to probe further, he cannon abandon Leia to her mysterious kidnapper. “There goes our winning streak,” he complains. “This had better be serious.”
Han and Chewbacca now have 6,500 credits remaining from their reward. This is enough to pay all incidental expenses the incur trying to rescue Leia; it is not necessary to keep track of their funds during the adventure.
If Han tries to follow the Droid, Click Here
If Han returns to the Millennium Falcon immediately, Click Here