Between the New Alliance territories, and the Imperial orders of the Emperor’s Hammer and The Imperial Orthodoxy are a number of Independent Colonies. This is where the rich people of the galaxy flock to in an attempt to part themselves from the laws of the land, the civil war or the poor currencies that dog either faction.

Some of these people are businessmen, evading taxation, taking vast amounts of cheap land and being able to work for all of the galaxies factions. Some are smugglers, avoiding the military hunting them down for their crimes, or doing business with the rich people of the commercial Independent Colonies. Some are pirates, picking from the above and taking whatever cargo comes their way.

As different as these people may be, one thing unites them all…money!

Another type of person that populates this region also unites under the money banner. These people are gamblers, who like nothing better to risk everything for money. They frequent the many casinos in the Independent Colonies, winning and losing everything they own.

Not all of these gamblers live in the commercial planets, some just visit to try their luck. One such person is Dengar Lavos, a pilot in the Emperor’s Hammer Navy. Whenever he gets leave, he visits a small casino planet on the borders of the Indies and the EH, Nergea,

In fact, Lavos had just been these, and was now heading back to Aurora Prime to return his comrades in Wing III on the SSSD Sovereign. In a dingy Y-Wing, which he had the insistence to call “a bargain,” he headed away from the casino world and backing into Emperor’s Hammer territories.

Damned casino, he thought, I’m sure they ripped me off. He always thought that as he returned, but it was more likely that he was a bad gambler. Really, If the casino was that bad he wouldn’t return all the time.

The computer in the Y-Wing was trying to get some hyperspace co-ordinates ready for Lavos to pull away from the area, but it was taking a while. The computer was old and some pilots could even work out co-ordinates before the Y-Wing could. To pass the time Lavos decided to have a browse through the sensors and se what was in the area.

Hmm…Luxury Cruiser, Lavos noticed, …posh git!!! Lavos continued on. Heh, a Headhunter fighter! Stupid pilot should get a proper ship, Lavos observed, oblivious to the fact that he was flying a Y-Wing.

THUMP!!! A laser bolt shook the Y-Wing to its foundations. Lavos saw that it came from the Headhunter, but the picture of it had 4 wings, like an…X.

“Damn it!” Lavos burst out, as he increased his power to get some more distance between the disguised X-Wing and his own craft. THUMP!!! This time the laser made the computer blow out with light blue sparks. “So much for escape,” Lavos told himself.

The Y-Wing swung around as best as it could to go back after the X-Wing. The fighter had only got halfway around before…THUMP…the ship was hit again. This time the engines went too and the Y-Wing was brought to a halt.

Out of nowhere, a huge Dreadnought hypered into the area right above Lavos. The blue light of a tractor beam shone around the craft and the Y-Wing was brought into the Dreadnought’s hanger bay.