It was as hot a day as ever on Tatooine, and the loud hum of the air conditioning desperately working to keep out dry sweltering heat of the desert could be heard throughout the shop.  Adika wiped the sweat off her forehead with a gloved hand before sliding out from underneath the landspeeder she was working on. Luke had brought it in that morning explaining that it got beat up after a run in with some Tusken Raiders and asking if she could have it done by the evening when he’d come to pick it up.  Luke had overestimated how much time it would take her, because it was late afternoon and it was already finished. She didn’t blame him for not being able to come in until later that day. He was probably going to be out all day working on the moisture farm, thanks to his father. Adika got up from the dolly she was laying on and set her tools down, pulling off her gloves before wetting her hands with the hose in the corner and spreading the moisture over her face, sighing.  “Ugh, I need a break.” Thank the Maker she was able to take one. She didn’t have work at Tosche Station that day, and business had been incredibly slow in her own little shop, meaning she had no obligations. She pushed her goggles up on top of her head and secured the bandana covering her mouth, then undid the buckles of her overalls to let the top half hang around her waist before pushing the button to open the garage and heading out towards town.  

It didn’t take long before she arrived at Mos Eisley and headed inside, pulling down her bandana.  Her mechanic shop wasn’t far from town, and what better way to relax than having a nice cold drink while surrounded by the scum of the galaxy?  She sat down at the bar, asking for a glass of blue milk. She didn’t care that there was plenty of it back at home, she did not want to go back there right then.  Her parents would surely put her straight to work. There was always a job to do on the farm.  

The bartender turned around and poured some from a tap before sliding her the glass.  She took it gratefully, barely holding back from chugging the cool, sweet liquid as it slid down her throat.  Bantha milk was a commodity on Tatooine, and it was a miracle she hadn’t gotten tired of it after living on a bantha farm for her whole life, but it was always so refreshing after spending hours labouring in the unforgiving suns of the desert planet.  

Adika set the glass back on the table, looking at the small amount of creatures and people that were in the cantina.  It usually didn’t get too crowded until evening, but there were still more people in the afternoons than one would think there would be.  Her eyes zeroed in on a group of twi’lek and a dresselian all gathered around a table, playing a rousing game of sabacc. Adika smiled as she watched a blue male twi’lek groan in despair and throw his cards on the table, the two green female twi’lek surrounding him giggling.  He seemed to have lost the game to a rather smug looking dresselian. The male twi’lek stormed out of the cantina and the two girls moved over to another table to seek better company. Adika rubbed her hands together and smirked, eyeing the cards splayed out on the table across from the winning dresselian.  One game couldn’t hurt, right?

Adika chugged down the rest of her drink, setting the glass down hard before sliding off the stool and sauntering towards the table the dresselian was sitting at.  She put her hand on the back of the seat across from the dresselian, giving him a coy look. “Is this seat taken?”

“Is there someone sitting in it?”  Adika brushed off the male’s abrasiveness and made herself comfortable in the chair.  She rested her elbows on the metal table, intertwining her fingers as she eyed the dresselian man.  

“It appears the last one lost the game.  May I ask what he missed out on?”

“Observant, are we?  Yes, he lost, and if you’re wondering what’s in it for you if you can do better than him, it’s a lot of money, and a good droid.”  Adika pondered that. She didn’t especially like droids, although she didn’t necessarily dislike them, but she could probably sell it for good money.  Add that to the money he was offering, and she could maybe buy a ship and finally escape the outer rim. But, she had to be careful. The type of people that hung out around Tatooine were definitely not above scamming. 

“How much money exactly, and can I see the droid?”  The dresselian tapped the holopad on the table in front of him, bringing up a model of a T-7 astromech droid.  Adika let out a whistle and the dresselian smirked.

“That’s right.  A T-7 from the days of the old republic.  This one has combat upgrades from Nar Shaddaa.  Worth a lot. Along with her, winning the game will get you 4,500 imperial credits.”  It took all of her effort not to gape. A T-7 astromech droid with upgrades from Nar Shaddaa?  Along with 4,500 credits? Maker, she had to win this game.  She knew sabacc wasn’t her strong suit, but with the prospect of winning the game meaning she could haul ass off this forsaken planet, she would sure as hell try.  “So what is it that you’re offering, for when I win the game?” Adika chewed her lip, thinking. She couldn’t offer too much, as the chances of her losing were high, but she had to give him something good.  Sabacc was a high stakes game, and the value of his offer let her know just how high stakes it was.  

“I’ll fix anything for you for free.  From now until I die, you won’t have to pay anything for my services.  I’ll also give you my Zephyr-G speeder bike, and a year’s supply of bantha milk.”  The dresselian nodded happily, not seeming to mind that her offer was measly compared to his.  He already knew he was going to win.

“A Zephyr-G swoop?  I hope that won’t be too hard for you to part with, young one.”  Adika pushed down the spark of anger that flared up inside of her.  He was so confident, but she was going to show him up. She had to win this game.  There was no other option.

“It shouldn’t be that hard, that is, if I lose.”  She said, picking up her cards from the deck. “So, what kind of game are we playing?”

“House rules.  You can place at most two cards in the neutral field.  An Idiot's Array can be crafted using two different numerical suits as well as a two and three of the same suit.”

“Alright then, I’m game.”  Adika smiled confidently, trying to ignore the hammering of her heart against her ribcage.  

“Suit yourself.”  The dresselian said, gathering his own hand.  Then the game began.

She tried, she really did, but in the end she emerged from the cantina with the dresselian following behind, waiting to be led to where she kept her speeder bike.  She led him to her shop, trying not to let the disappointment at her loss show.  

“Here,”  She said, gesturing to the speeder bike parked just outside her shop.  She pressed a button to release the mechanical lock on the bike. It was meant to prevent others from leaving with it, but today was different.  The dresselian mounted the speeder bike, not giving her the satisfaction of looking even slightly impressed. She guessed he must have been here more often than she thought.  The model was common on Tatooine, as well as several other outer rim planets. “Wait, before you leave, I haven’t given you your bantha milk. Also you should take my card, since I’m offering you a lifetime of free service.’  The dresselian chuckled, gearing up the bike.

“I’ll be at the Cantina tomorrow.  Same time. You can give it to me then.  Maybe even play another game, if you have anything else to offer that is.”  With that he sped away, and she coughed, waving away the sand he had so rudely kicked up in her face.   Another game? Was she really that easily read?  

Adika went back to work after the haughty dresselian left, busying herself making final touches to Luke’s speeder and filling out her end of the paperwork for his order.  She then spent the rest of the time pacing around the inside of her shop, desperately trying to think up an explanation of why she just gave away a year’s supply of her parent’s blue milk for no charge that wouldn’t get her grounded for the next several decades.  Luke arrived at sunset, ringing the buzzer outside her garage and shooting her finger guns through the security camera she had set up outside.  She rolled her eyes before opening the garage to let him in.  

“Is she ready?”  He said, brushing his shaggy hair out of his eyes as he eyed his landspeeder.  Adika sauntered up to him, handing him a tablet with the form on it.  

“You bet, Skywalker.  Had her done early this afternoon.  You really underestimate my talents, you know.”  She gave him a playful shove, cringing when he almost dropped the tablet.  He finished filling out the form and handed back the tablet. He then awkwardly shuffled around in his pockets and produced 220 credits, placing them in her hand.  Before he could pull away, she put her hand over his and gently turned it over so she could return 20 credits to his palm. He protested, trying to shove them back at her, but she refused.  “You know I give discounts to friends and family, right?”

“But, 200 is so little, and my aunt-”  Adika put her finger over his lips, effectively shushing him.

“I’m sure your aunt will be fine with keeping an extra 20 credits.  Besides, I have to be consistent with my business practices if I want to be successful, right?”  Luke nodded and slumped his shoulders in defeat as she returned the tablet to its original place on her desk.  

“Hey, by the way,”  he piped up again, and she turned back to him, wondering what was going to follow.  “I noticed your speeder bike is missing. Did someone steal it?” Adika sighed bitterly, looking down at the ground as she remembered her recent defeat.

“No.  Lost it to a dresselian.  My fault for thinking I could win at sabacc.”  Luke chuckled.

“Sabacc?  Didn’t take you for the type.”

“I’m not.  Why do you think I lost, idiot.”  She grumbled, glaring at him. His face softened.

“You’re planning on walking home, aren’t you.”

“I mean, yeah, not much else I can do.  The farm isn’t too far from here, anyway.”  Luke scoffed, throwing her a pointed look.

“Not too far to drive, but much too far to walk.  I’ll drop you off before heading back to my house.”  

“Your uncle been teaching you how to be a gentleman?”  She teased, pinching his side before climbing into the passenger seat of the landspeeder.  

“Shut up,” was the only retort he had as he climbed in next to her and drove off in the direction of her home.

Luke dropped her off just as the two suns had finally dipped behind the sandy hills and the stars began to reveal themselves in the cobalt blue sky.  Her mother was waiting for her outside the door of the farm house, an eyebrow raised in clear question as to why she was being dropped off by her friend rather than coming home on her own speeder bike.  Adika explained what had happened to her parents, and was thankful when the only punishment was extra chores being added to her list. She finished what chores she had that evening and went to bed, her dreams filled with excitement of the next day and another game of sabacc that she could possibly win.  Sure, she was upset about her loss, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try again. The prize was more than just a lot of money and a droid, it was a ticket off of Tatooine, and that meant everything to her.

♤♡◇♧♤♡◇♧♤♡◇♧

That morning, Adika woke up early to milk the banthas and pack the dresselian’s year's worth supply of blue milk into the back of a delivery cart.  By the time she was finished she was sweating up a storm, and it was only morning. She was about to climb in and drive off when she noticed her father standing in the doorway.  “Hey, Dad,” she said, giving him a small wave.

“Adi, hon, your mother and I are worried about you.”  She sighed, trying to keep her composure as she leaned against the delivery cart.  

“I’m fine, Dad.  I’m just going out for another day of work at my shop.  Tomorrow I have a shift at Tosche Station, so it’ll be a more normal schedule.”  Her father crossed his arms, giving her a stern but soft look.

“You know I don’t mean your work, Adika.  I mean the gambling.”

“I’ll be fine.  I’m not playing another game, I promise.  I learned my lesson.” She slapped herself inwardly.  Now she’d have to come up with something to offer the dresselian that her parents wouldn’t notice.

“He could have been playing you.  That game could have been rigged.”

“I’m well aware of that, Dad.  Did you forget I grew up here?”  She gave him a tight lipped smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.  She really didn’t want to have this talk right now.

“I’m sure you’re aware, hon.  I’m just telling you to be careful.  Watch for anything suspicious, like if he’s glancing down at his hand too much.  Oh, and don’t offer up any more of our blue milk, alright?  That’s where we get most of our money from. Have a good day, now.  I’ll tell your mamma you left early.” He turned away from the doorway, retreating back inside and leaving Adika to ponder what had just happened.  

She drove to the cantina first, knowing absolutely no one would be there at the hour.  She asked the bartender if she could keep the milk in the back until she returned in the afternoon, and the old lady grumpily obliged, leading her to a large refrigerated storage area and telling Adika she could load the boxes in herself, as the old lady certainly wasn’t doing it.  She agreed and thanked the old lady before beginning to laboriously move the boxes one by one into the storage unit. Once she was done, she bid the bartender farewell then headed to her shop.

When Adika got to her shop she was exhausted, which did not bode well for the coming day.  It seemed to be even hotter than the day before, and just two hours into her work on a small droid someone had dropped off the air conditioning decided it would be a great time to short out.

Just as she was screwing the front panel back on the A.C. unit, the buzzer to let her know when she was needed by a client went off.  She cursed, dropping a bolt and getting down from her perch to go pick it up. She assumed the person at the door was the man who dropped off the droid, not even bothering to look his way.  “Look, I know you’re waiting for your droid, but the A.C. broke, so unless you want me to sue you because I died on the job, you’re gonna have to hold on,” she gritted out as she finally grabbed hold of the bolt and climbed back up to screw it in to the front panel.  

“Adi, It’s me.”  She whipped around to look at the man standing in her garage, sighing as she realised it was Luke.  She hadn’t even heard his speeder pull up. She finished up what she was doing and climbed down to greet him.

“What brings you by here?  Looking for anything in particular?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head and smiling.  “I just came to say hi.” Then his face went serious.  “Also, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”  She raised an eyebrow at him, leaning casually on her work bench.

“Shoot.”

“Uh, so, do you remember that sabacc game you told me about?”

“Yeah?”  

“I heard some rumors about a group of dresselians running impossible sabacc games.  Apparently a bunch of people have tried to beat them, but nobody’s been able to win.  It’s drawn a crowd, because, you know, people ‘round here always have to prove themselves.  People are saying it’s rigged.” Adika didn’t think she could roll her eyes farther back into her head.

“Luke, are you serious?  You really just came here to give me the same lecture I got from my parents.  I know how things work around here and I know it could be rigged. The dresselian I played with isn’t the only dresselian that exists on Tatooine.  Besides, he was just one guy. You’re talking about a group.” Luke gave her an exasperated look.

“That doesn’t rule out the possibility!  They’re supposedly showing up in different spots, sometimes together and sometimes separate, so your dresselian could have been one of the group members but was just away from the group.”  Adika slumped farther onto her work bench, dragging her hand down her face as she let out an exaggerated groan.

“I can’t believe this Luke, you’re treating me like I’m your kid!  I don’t need another overbearing parent. You for one should know what that’s like!  All I’m trying to do is get the hell out of this place, and if winning a game of sabacc is what it takes, then I’ll take it.  You want to get out of here too, right?! I’ll share the profits if I win and we can both leave this place together, how’s that sound?”  

“Adi,” Luke put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze.  She promptly shoved it off. “Look, I’m not trying to act like your dad, I’m trying to act like your friend.  Friends look out for each other, and that’s what I’m doing right now. Don’t go wasting anymore of your money on him, Adika, please!”  He was practically whining at this point. Usually she thought it was cute, but at the moment it was just grating on her nerves. She abruptly turned her back on him, going to return to her work on the droid.  

“I’ll be careful, I don’t need you to tell me that, but I’m not giving up on winning that game.”

“Adika-”

“Luke.  Leave. I’m sure you have work to do.”  He ran his hand through his hair, but stood still.

“Adika, please-”

“Leave.”

“But-”

“I said leave.”  He sighed, finally turning around and trudging out of her shop.  

“Bye, Adi.”  He mumbled, before climbing into his speeder.  She didn’t bother to say it back.

When it came noon-time, Adika finally pulled herself out of her work which she had angrily immersed herself since Luke left.  It was time to return to that cantina and win that game.  

As she approached the cantina, she could hear shouts and cheers coming from the inside.  She braced herself as she opened the door, preparing for the worst. Thankfully, there was no tousle happening inside.  Just a group of bar goers surrounding a table in the middle of the bar. The same table she and the dresselian had played sabacc around the other day.  She stepped closer, trying to get a better look. There seemed to be an assorted group of aliens all crowding around what looked to be an utapaun. They were whooping and laughing happily, giving the Utapaun slaps on the back and congratulatory sentiments.  With a mixture of anger and disappointment she realised he had won the game. He had won the game that she was going to win, and with that, he had taken her chance to get away. She stood in the doorway, watching as the utapaun traded words with the dresselian, who seemed to be awfully pleased with himself for having just lost the game.  She quickly scrambled out of the way as the utapaun made his way past her to leave the bar with the prize he had just earned, his admirers following behind him and asking if they could have a share of the profits he had just won and giving various ridiculous reasons as to why they deserved it. Adika walked dismally over to the bar, slumping on the stool and mumbling her request for a Tatooine Sunset.  The bartender gave her a strange look, wondering why someone as young as herself would be ordering an alcoholic beverage early in the afternoon, but didn’t question it as she handed her the glass. Adika grumbled when she took a sip and realised the drink had been watered down. Stupid bartenders getting in the way of her wallowing.

Half way through her watery beverage, she was startled out of her stupor by the sound of the explosion and commotion coming from the outside.  It seemed like it had been close by. She leaped off the stool, leaving her drink on the counter.

“You better not leave without paying for that!”  The bartender shouted. Adika assured her she would return before rushing out of the cantina and running straight into someone.  She looked up, an apology dying in her mouth as she realised it was Luke.

“What are you doing here?  Haven’t you wasted enough of your time lecturing me today?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I had just come by the bar because I knew you’d be here and I wanted to check on you,”  Adika tried to get in another snarky comment, but Luke talked over her. “We don’t have time to talk about that right now, though!  I need to know if you saw an Utapaun walk out of here with a droid.”

“Yeah, he won it from the dresselian, the asshole.  That droid should have been mine!”

“No, it shouldn’t have been yours, because if it was you’d be frozen right now, laserbrain!”  Adika froze, giving him a confused look.

“What?”

“Come on, I’ll show you.”  Luke grabbed her hand roughly, dragging her to the edges of town and towards the ship port.  He guided her up to the top of a building, helping her ascend the ladder and pointed to a ship down below that was currently being loaded, though with what, she wasn’t sure.  Adika followed Luke’s gaze to a dresselian helping carry a body that looked to be frozen in cryo up the ramp of the ship. Adika squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look.  There was no doubt about it. The dresselian was the same one she had played sabacc with, and the body was the utapaun that she had just seen moments before walking haughtily out of the Mos Eisley Cantina with his money and a brand new T-7 astromech droid.  

“Oh, Maker-”  Adika whispered.

“I saw it happen.  He walked by me with the droid.  I didn’t pay much attention because I was focused on getting to you, but all of a sudden an explosion went off behind me and I turned around and the droid was replaced with a charred spot on the ground and the utapaun was frozen mid stride.  The dresselians were on him in seconds. Must have been bounty hunters.” She fell into his side, letting out a strangled whimper.

“Maker, they must have put a cryo-bomb on that droid.  The game was probably rigged and they were just waiting for their victim to fall into the trap.”  Luke put his arm around her, holding her close.

“Adika, that could have been you.”  She pressed her face into his shoulder, causing her next words to come out muffled.

“Don’t you kriffing say I told you so-”  Luke responded with a noise half-way between a laugh and a sob.

“I won’t, I promise, I’m just glad you're ok.”

Adika and Luke climbed back down from the ladder and disappeared back into the busy streets  of town as the bounty hunters’ ship’s engines roared to life. Anyone who had stopped to stare had already gone back to what they were doing.  Just another normal day one Tatooine.

“Hey, look, I didn’t mean to be overbearing,”  Luke said, his arm still lazily slung around her shoulder.  “I was just worried about my friend.”

“I know,”  she said, looking up at him with a soft smile.  “I was just being a laserbrain, as you said.”

“Next time you come up with some elaborate plan to get off this planet, please involve me in it.  I also desperately wish to get away from this skughole, you know.”

“Pinky promise,”  she said, curling her pinky around his with a giggle.  Why was she giggling like that? Was the alcohol starting to set in?  It was only one drink, and it was watered down! “Now, let’s get back to the cantina.”  She said, dragging Luke back in the direction of the bar. “I have a drink to finish.”