Star Wars_ Millennium Falcon - James Luceno [50]
“Obviously that didn't happen,” Han said.
Doon's sister nodded. “More than half of the players bombed out by the second day. Dad made it to the third, but he was hanging on by his teeth. On one round the pot grew to ninety thousand credits. He didn't have anything near the amount needed to remain in the game, but he had a hand he didn't think anyone could beat.”
“Except for Lando,” Han said.
Doon nodded. “An idiot's array. And of course, by then Dad had thrown the Falcon into the pot. Not all that different from the way you won the ship, if the stories are true.”
“In our match, Lando was one card short of an array,” Han said.
“What happened with all the credits your dad owed?” Allana asked.
Doon smiled at her. “You know, it's the strangest thing, but as soon as Dad lost the Millennium Falcon his luck changed completely. He convinced some folks to stake him to one game or another, and he had a lucky streak that continued for the rest of his life.”
“He used to joke that losing the Falcon might have been the best thing that ever happened to him.”
“The two happiest days in a starship owner's life,” Doon's sister said. “The day he buys the ship and the day he gets rid of it.”
Han could feel Leia's eyes on him, but he refused to look at her.
“The result of that streak is what you see here,” Doon said, gesturing broadly to the finely appointed office. “PlanetDreams was only too glad to bring him aboard as a partner.”
Han absorbed it. “So it wasn't Cix who named her Millennium Falcon.”
“No,” the younger brother said. “He certainly would have taken credit for that if he had.”
“Did he ever mention how or where he got the Falcon?” Leia asked.
“Yeah,” Allana said. “That's what we want to know.”
Doon thought for a moment. “I'm sure he did, but I don't remember anything specific.” He looked to his siblings, both of whom shook their heads. “There is someone who would know,” he added finally. He touched a button on a comlink set into the top of the table. “Is Waglin around?” he asked of the voice that responded.
“He is, sir.”
“Tell him I need him in the office.”
“Who's Waglin?” Allana asked.
Doon grinned. “He was my dad's copilot.”
Lando's face was onscreen in the main hold when the Falcon blasted away from Oseon VII two standard days later. “Cix never told me the full story,” he said to Han and Leia. “Now I'm back to feeling sorry about having taken the Falcon from him.”
“Yeah, well, don't,” Han said. “He ended up doing pretty well for himself without her. Anyway, if you hadn't taken her from him, I couldn't have taken her from you.” He grinned for the cam.
Lando forced an elaborate frown. “Did you learn anything about where the Falcon was before Cix?”
“Yeah,” Han said uncertainly. “From his copilot. A Weequay. Must be at least a hundred and fifty years old. As wrinkled as the Lava Labyrinth.”
“What's he doing on Oseon Seven of all places?”
“Cix kept him employed all these years,” Leia said. “He's not much more than a fixture now, but Cix's children treat him like family.”
“He was with Cix when he got the Falcon?”
“No, they hooked up much later,” Han said. “But he knew the story.”
“He bought the Falcon from a circus,” Leia said.
“The Molpol Circus.”
Lando touched his mustache. “You know, I think I remember hearing that the Falcon had been part of a circus.”
Han nodded. “The story sounded familiar to me, too.”
“You have the name of the being who owned her?”
“Vistal Purn,” Han said.
“He's no longer with the circus,” Leia said. “Now he organizes creature shows.”
Lando laughed. “That's a short leap. Any idea where he is?”
“Running a show on Taris.”
“Really,” Lando said slowly. “Tendra, Chance, and I were just there—well, two months ago, at any rate.”
“Business or pleasure?” Han said.
“A bit of both. We were finalizing a deal with the Taris government for a shipment of YVH droids, and doing some shopping.”
“What's