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Lando leaned back in his chair, his expression neutral so as not to give any hint about his hand, and waited to see what the rest of the players would do. They had been playing Sabacc for a few hours now, the stakes were getting higher and higher as more credits ended up on the table and players who couldn’t match the amounts left. There were only four of them left now, the boldest or the most reckless depending on your point of view. Lando was on a roll, steadily winning hands for most of the evening. Sure, he’d lost a bit as well, but the wins outnumbered the losses. All in all, he was having a successful evening so far, and, as he glanced at the cards in his hand, he was fairly sure it was set to continue.
He waited patiently for the last of the players to decide whether he was going to play or fold. Lando didn’t know his real name, he had been referred to as ‘The Baron’ by other people all evening, and he’d had a few massive losses. As Lando watched the man wipe sweat from his brow, he noted that this was exactly the type of gambler he didn’t want to become. It was clear that this man couldn’t stop playing when he’d gone too far and that Sabacc was not an enjoyable game for him anymore.
“So, are you in or out?” Lando asked, tired of waiting and eager to play.
“I’m….” The Baron sighed. “I’m out of credits.”
“Sorry.” Lando made a move to lay out his cards.
“Wait!” The man blurted, causing Lando and the other two players to pause. “What if I can bet something else?”
“Such as?” Lando questioned, wondering what he could possibly offer. He’d already bet and lost his ship.
“My job? I’m Baron-Administrator of a city.”
“A city?”
“Yeah, a Tibanna gas mining colony. There’s casinos and hotels there too. Beautiful place. A city in the clouds.”
A city in the clouds? It sounded too good to be true. “And you’re just going to what….give me your job if you lose and I win?”
“Yeah.”
“Just like that? And it would be legitimate, I’d really be the-”
“Baron-Administrator. Yeah. All above board. Hell, this is the way I got the job in the first place. Won it off this guy….can’t remember his name now. Real cocky, not as good a Sabacc player as he thought he was, in fact-”
“Right. Ok.” Lando interrupted, he didn’t want to hear the whole backstory just this moment. “So. Just to clarify - I win this hand, I become Baron-Administrator of-”
“Cloud City. On Bespin.”
“Of Cloud City on Bespin. And you won’t challenge this, and the city and its citizens will accept this?”
“Yes. You have my word. Some may think that doesn’t count for anything, but I always pay my debts and honour my word.”
“Well, ok. You’re all witnesses.” Lando looked around the room at the rest of the players and the group of onlookers who had been watching the game.
Could it be this easy? Lando had always wanted a job like this, a legitimate, respected job. Sure, gambling was fun and exciting but it had its downsides too, he’d come very close to losing everything more than once, and it wasn’t the kind of thing he wanted to rely on for the rest of his life. One day he’d like to be in a position where Sabacc was nothing more than an enjoyable hobby rather than his only source of income. And yes, he wasn’t above taking smuggling jobs but that wasn’t what he wanted to do, he wanted to accomplish something, to feel like he was making a difference, to be respected. And running a city? That sounded like the perfect opportunity to do those things.
Lando studied his hand, it was good. Not the best he’d ever had, but certainly good enough to be in with a chance of winning. As he did some quick calculations in his head, his heart began to race as he realised he might actually pull it off. He might win big. He might win big enough to change his life forever. But he wasn’t sure, not completely. There was always a chance he could be beaten by a slightly better hand. After all, if this guy was willing to bet something as important as his job, perhaps Lando should be worried, perhaps the opportunity of a lifetime was going to slip through his fingers. Still, the Baron hadn’t had the best run so far, he wasn’t good at bluffing, and there was a distinct air of desperation around him. Lando couldn’t be sure but he had the feeling that the Baron was taking a huge risk and whatever cards he had, they weren’t winning ones.
Lando took a deep breath, he studied his cards one more time and carefully laid them out on the table one by one. He watched as the faces of the other three players fell, and there was a ripple of applause and impressed murmurs from those watching. Lando wanted to pinch himself, but no, he wasn’t dreaming, there were four sets of cards on the table and his was the winning hand, easily beating the other three. He wanted to jump up in celebration and to shout in happiness, but he restrained himself, he wanted to be a gracious winner, despite how gleeful he felt inside.
“Kriff!” The Baron slammed his hand down on the table in anger. “Kriff!” He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. “I really thought -” He shook his head in disappointment. “You win.”
“I win.” Lando held out his hand, and for a moment it didn’t seem as if the other man would take it, but he did. They shook hands briefly. “Good game.”
“For you.” He muttered sourly.
Lando smiled, ignoring the pained expression on the other man’s face. “So, why don’t you take me to my city?” His city. Baron-Administrator. He had always known he was destined for greatness, and he was about to find out just how great he could be.