Chelli Lona Aphra had found herself in a familiar situation. In a prison cell. What had she ever done to deserve this? Robbing graves? Stealing artifacts? Backstabbing allies? It was all so unfair. She was covered in dirt, sweat, and grime, and lying half clothed on the dirty, cold, floor. She could hardly breathe and the pain in her neck and fingers was making her sick. But she had to keep going, somehow.
She struggled to lift her head up and look around. The tiny shuttle had barely enough room for her prison, living quarters, and a cockpit. Her cell didn't even have a laser gate, just steel bars. She looked around at the interior and saw one of her clone captors. The fat and stupid one. He was stuffing his face with Mantell Mix and not paying attention at all.
Imbecile,
she thought to herself. She couldn't see the other one. She presumed he was either at the helm or somewhere doing maintenance somewhere.
Her mind raced trying to figure out some kind of plan. She'd been out of scrapes far worse than this before. It wasn't long before the only idea she could think of came to her. She quickly took off the ripped shirt she was wearing, revealing her stained, ripped up panties. The bra was useless to her at this point, and her bare plump tits only served to make the ruse more effective. Utilizing all the effort her throat could muster, she let out a sharp whistle.
"What?" Wrecker looked to her direction, her eyes were wide, with a big smile on her face. Her barely functional fingers gestured him to come closer. Wrecker cautiously approached the woman, a completely dumbfounded expression on his face. Aphra suspected he would be stupid enough to fall for this, but she was expecting arousal, not confusion. It didn't matter however. It was working. "Quiet down." Wrecker demanded once he was standing in front of the cell. Aphra took her chance, she reached for his neck and attempted to slam his head against the bars of the cell, but it didn't work. Wrecker was far too strong to be pulled by her weak arms. Wrecker simply stood there, unfazed and unamused. He took out his own blaster pistol, set it to stun and fired at the woman. During her final moments of consciousness, Chelli Lona Aphra realized that she would need a different plan.
Luke Skywalker and Kata Akuna had found themselves engaged in a common pastime for young Jedi in hiding. Gambling, or rather cheating at gambling by using their abilities.
The two were in the "gaming" district of Mantell city, a place where swindlers and scammers of every persuasion came to siphon credits from the population. The two stood in front of a booth with a large colorful wheel being operated by a Duro. Kata cradled BD-1 in her arm, stroking the droid's head as if it was some kind of pet. She turned to her accomplice to ask the relevant questions.
"So what do you think, farmboy? Is it rigged?" Luke took a moment to look at her, really look at her for probably the first time since they met. She was cute, very cute. Her brown almond shaped eyes went well with her tanned complexion. Beautiful brown hair framed her face and extended into a long braid she wrapped around her shoulders. The beige jacket and turquoise shirt she wore hugged her curves, her figure was a near perfect hourglass shape. She wore a cheeky grin on her face that Luke couldn't get enough of.
"Every game here is rigged." He replied. "That one especially. Put our money B17 and
do not
go for doubles no matter how much he badgers you about it."
"Sure thing,
partner.
" she said, kissing him on the cheek before taking off. The droid decided to stay behind and observe Luke as he began to meditate.
Luke took a deep breath and embraced the living force. There was a complex and beautiful lattice of thoughts and emotions that found its way into every nook and cranny of this overlooked district. Beneath his feet, a colony of hive insects had built a nest for themselves out of scraps of paper, and feasted on discarded candies from the garbage. Half a block away, a Rodian merchant was selling grilled mynocks that he baited and trapped himself using technology of his own design. A stormtrooper and a member of the Pike syndicate were arguing over a woman at one of the other stalls, and they were both losing. And then there was Kata, ever since the cave on Ilum she had been calmer and more optimistic. She would never admit it, but the fact Luke didn't want to be her rival was a major relief for her.
He could feel her excited heartbeat as she got the jackpot, just as expected. She raced over to present the money to him.
"It worked!" She exclaimed. "Your intuition really is that good."
"Yeah we really need to be careful though. If we win too many games, people will start asking questions."
"I can control myself. What do you take me for? Some kind of spoiled princess?" Luke was about to remind her that she was indeed a spoiled princess before she turned her attention elsewhere.
It was some kind of race, between members of an exotic rodent species. Each of the "contestants" had blinders on their heads and tiny chains connecting them to the tracks. Luke doubted that this was legal and equally doubted that anyone actually cared. Kata enthusiastically placed a bet on the one called
Golden Rocket.
Luke found himself offended at the idea she'd partake in this and pulled her to the side.
"What are you doing? We can't support this." he chastised her.
"I'm not supporting it. We're scamming him, remember?" She turned back to the race track and watched the event.
As the rodents raced their way around the track, Luke took the opportunity to focus on
Golden Rocket.
At first, the small creature did very well in the race, easily outpacing its competitors. Kata was feeling very optimistic about her chances. But this optimism was short-lived. At the last moment,
Golden Rocket
suddenly and inexplicably got cold feet and stalled right in the middle of the race, causing it to lose. Kata felt complete shock and disappointment, while Luke simply stared on, feigning nonchalance.
"You did that on purpose." She accused him.
"You can't prove that." Luke responded as the two of them began to walk away. "Just like you can't prove I'm responsible for this." He snapped his fingers and the restraints on the rodents immediately dropped, releasing them into the unsuspecting crowd. Kata forgot her grievances and found herself laughing at the predicament.
"So you have a sense of humor after all."
"Of course I do." Luke replied indignantly as they continued to walk.
It wasn't long before the two of them came across another game. This one took the form of some sort of shooting gallery. Luke decided to play and he did pretty well, managing to receive a small silver loth cat as a prize, which he gave to Kata.
"I don't need your charity." She replied, before expertly playing the gallery herself and winning a golden rancor as her prize and giving it to Luke. "There. I got you a better one." This prompted Luke to chuckle.
It wasn't long before the two came across a Sabacc parlor, which had caught Kata's interest. She practically dragged Luke inside, trying to convince him to play.
"Do you know anything about this game?" She asked him.
"Sure, I've played a few hands wiry Han and Chewie, and the guys in Rogue Squadron seem to love it. It really takes time to get the hang of it though, so try to temper your expectations."
"Ok. I'll try and find a table." Luke was about to agree, until he looked across the parlor and saw a peculiar woman. She wore a black tank top and black pants with fiery red hair. Her boots sat atop the table as if she owned the place. She looked him directly in the eye and smiled, her right hand casually waving at him. Luke stared at her and a feeling of dread overcame him. Shivers went down his spine and his brain filled with visions of terror.
"No! Nononono." He grabbed Kata by the shoulder and began dragging her out of the parlor. "We need to get out of here, now."
As the two of them rushed to leave they were cornered by a squad of troops accompanied by an irate gambler.
