<center><b>Sane Karno</b>
<i>Humble Beginnings</i></center>
Sane Karno leaned against the duracrete wall, his right boot flush against the side of the building. A cigarette hanging from his mouth as he stared out towards the twin suns. Beads of sweat forming on either side of his sun-tanned face, a pair of sunglasses protecting his icy blue eyes.

He reached up with his right hand taking a drag from the cigarette as he removed it from his mouth and placed it at his side. A stream of smoke poured out as he exhaled from the right side of his mouth before tossing the cigarette to the dirt and stomping it out with his boot.

"Back to work Karno." The green-skinned Rodian foreman said in condescending fashion.

Sane turned his head to lock eyes with the alien, from behind his sunglasses the Rodian wouldn't be able to see Sane Karno's eyes. Karno didn't say a word as he stood there staring at the foreman, as soon as the moment became awkward the Rodian nodded and went about his business.

Sane Karno stood up from the wall with a groan. His muscles were aching and stiff. Between the stifling heat, the heavy lifting, and the double shift that he'd pulled, Sane Karno was little more than a walking bag of bones. As he began to walk back to his work area he strained with each step. After 12 standard hours in the seemingly relentless Tatooine sun, Sane Karno was ready to call it a day.

Unfortunately, this day wouldn't be over for another 4 hours. Joy. As Sane Karno returned to the area where he'd been working he paused for a moment before gathering his equipment. A bevy of alien species criss-crossed the area performing a number of different functions, no doubt each one as monotonous and draining as Sane's.

Sane looked down to the large bucket which was caked over with duracrete after countless uses. Sane moaned again as he hunched over to pour some water into the bucket, his lower back seemingly locked into place as he bent over. Sane looked over to the stack of duracrete bags, each weighing over 25 kilos.

He could feel his back giving out as he imagined the task ahead of him, if he had to lift another bag of duracrete (which he did), he might very well pass out here and now. Putting the pain of harsh labor aside, Sane reached down and slung one of the duracrete bags onto his shoulder with a verbal, <i>hyah</i> as he strained to lift the heavy bag.

He paused for a moment panting as he dropped the bag on the ground in front of the bucket, the heavy bag slumped into the dirt with a heavy thud. Sane retrieved a small razor blade from his belt which he used to slit an opening in the bag of duracrete. Sane looked around for his breathing mask, if he inhaled this duracrete, it might be the last thing he'd inhale.

Sane replaced the razor blade on his belt as he reached down lifting the now open bag of duracrete, and began pouring it into the bucket which had a gallon or two of water. As the heavy bag of powder began to empty, the duracrete dust began to leave the bucket. Sane winced as he tried to avoid getting the duracrete matter in his eyes, his heavy breathing causing the area around his mouth to sweat as his hot breath was trapped beneath the breathing mask.

As Sane emptied the last bit of duracrete from the bucket, Sane tossed the empty paper bag onto a pile which had accumulated. He took a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow with a gloved hand before removing the breathing mask and tossing it aside.

As the mixture of powder and water began to settle into a thick concrete substance, Sane inserted the tool which he'd use to mix the duracrete together. Sane placed the handheld duracrete mixer into the concoction and held on with both hands as he squeezed the trigger lightly at first, as dust began to kick up once again as the duracrete and water slowly began to mix.

Sane furrowed his brow as he dug the mixer deep into the bucket ensuring that each granule of duracrete was mixed thoroughly with the water. His forearms writhed in pain as he fought the thick mixture, churning the mixer up and down, and from side to side.

"Karno! Is that mud ready yet? What am I paying you for?!" The Rodian foreman shouted as he stood there a half dozen meters away with a clipboard resting on his hip, as if he waiting there for an answer.

Sane shut his eyes tightly for a moment, not saying a word. <i>Why can't they get a droid to do this job?</i> He thought to himself as he stood there, mixer in hand.

<i>That's right, even a <b>droid</b> wouldn't do a job this shitty.</i>

In this day and age it was rare for a construction crew to be made up of living, breathing, organic beings. But for a number of reasons this one was made up of actual people and not droids. The weather was one, to say the temperature was <i>hot</i> would be akin to saying Coruscant was a <i>bit</i> overpopulated. There were other reasons but in the end it all came down to credits. To complete a job like this, completing a renovation project of this size and scope for one of Tatooine's elite (if there were such a thing) - required numbers en masse.

Sane Karno glanced down at the chronometer worn on his wrist, 1800 hours. Sane let out a sigh of despair as he considered the fact that he'd been at it since 0500. He closed his eyes as he mouthed the mantra to himself silently, <i>only three more hours - then it's Sabacc time</i>.

His personal moment was broken by the shrill voice of the Rodian foreman, Jupa. "That mud's not gonna mix itself Karno." He said as Sane Karno stood there above his bucket of un-mixed duracrete staring out into who-knows-what.

Sane forced a grin as he held his tongue, continuing to repeat the mantra to himself silently, <i>three more hours, three more hours</i>.

"Sure boss! I'm on it boss! Anything for you boss!" He said dripping with sarcasm as he dug his mixer deep into the combination of duracrete and water, still wearing an unnatural smile on his face as he stared the Rodian down while simultaneously stirring the concrete.

Jupa shook his head in disgust as he turned and walked away. Sane longed for the day when he'd be off this heap, playing Sabacc with the likes of Yani Jang, Royle Munson, and Maniel Jegranu in the Galactic Series of Sabacc. Sane knew he had what it took to go pro, he just needed the opportunity to prove it. One thing stood in Sane's way of achieving his goal and becoming a professional Sabacc player, <i>credits</i>. Why did it always come down to credits? The buy-in to enter the Galactic Series of Sabacc was a hefty 10,000 credits. If he could just get his dirty hands on the creds; the rest, as they say - would be history.

With a sigh, Sane removed his sunglasses for a moment wiping the sweat from his face. He squinted as to avoid the bright rays of the twin suns, even at this hour the suns shone as bright as if it were mid-day. Sane replaced the sunglasses, as it took a moment for his eyes to adjust.

So Sane continued to labor away as hour melted into hour, the twin suns finally began to set which signaled to Sane that it was <i>almost</i> time to get out of here.

"Clean up!!!" Jupa, the Rodian foreman shouted across the expanse of the construction site. In unison the myriad of workers seemingly rejoiced all at once, knowing that it was time to pack their tools up and go home. Well, in Sane's case he wouldn't be going home.

Sane scrubbed the hardened debris from his tools with a wet sponge, only half-heartedly as his thoughts were drifting to what he'd do as soon as he entered the cantina. Sane's excitement level jumped a few notches as he thought of how busy the Sabacc table must be at this time of night. He had to get cleaned up and hit the tables, it was gonna be a <i>long</i> night.

As Sane Karno entered the cantina he was immediately approached by a coral-skinned, Twi'Lek female.

"Hey there, you wanna party?" She said, as she caressed his arm ever so gently.

He paused for a moment as he actually considered the request, admiring her near-perfect physique.

"Not tonight, Sweetheart." He said, wearing an ear-to-ear grin. He didn't have the credits to facilitate such a request, nor the desire. Not <i>tonight</i>.

"Maybe next time." He said, his thoughts already drifting elsewhere.

"Your loss." She said, fading into the Tatooine night life as quickly as she'd appeared.

He scanned the horizon of the cantina, bustling with activity. Every seat was taken at the bar, as the plethora of species mended their wounds with alcohol. Nearly every inch of the establishment was occupied by some being or another, save <i>one</i>.

An eager smile crept across Sane's visage as he saw it there, an oasis, almost surreal. It were as if Lady Luck herself were whispering softly into his ear, <i>Tonight's your night Sane Karno.</i>"

It was Sane's night, he <i>knew</i> it.

As Sane approached the solitary empty seat at one of the Sabacc tables, he couldn't help but ooze contentment. It were as though he beamed with pure joy. After a long day at "the office" there was nothing he savored more than the chance to wash away his sorrows at the Sabacc table.

As he approached the Sabacc table, the automated dealer greeted him with the customary "good luck", as he sat at the empty seat. Sane dug into his pocket for his ID card which he scanned into the receiver as he said, "100 credits, please".

A heavyset Twi'Lek across the table almost chuckled as he said, "Ooooh, a high roller." The Twi'Lek was wearing an eerie smile which appeared more sinister than joyful, but Sane recognized it was sincere. Clearly the Twi'Lek was the one to beat at this table which now sat a full eight.

The familiar human waitress tapped his shoulder as she passed by the table, uttering the phrase "Cocktails", as if she'd done it for the billionth time today. Sane smiled as Barba the bar hand paused momentarily. The tight-fitting outfit she wore accentuated her more <i>feminine</i> qualities.

"Anything Corellian." Sane said nonchalantly, already knowing that the waitress would return to him with a pint of Corellian Ale - his favorite.

Sane slumped into the not-so-comfortable chair, swiveling back and forth as he waited anxiously for the current hand to come to an end. He sized up his competition as they jockeyed for postion, the Twi'Lek clearly dominating the table both physically and psychologically.

<i>Just another day at the office</i>. Sane thought to himself as he leaned back into the chair, trying to hold back his excitement.

“What are we playing tonight, Ladies?” Sane Karno said with a grin.

Everyone at the table deferred to the heavyset Twi’lek, which Sane thought they might. Embracing his role as ruler of the table he obliged.

“Bespin Standard, Idiot’s High, Two in the Field, Bet paid into the pot on bust, zero, or loss on call.” The Twi’lek said nonchalantly.

The reply might come as foreign to those unfamiliar with Sabacc, but to Sane Karno it was his native language.

Sabacc was a fairly simple game which could seem very complex to the uninitiated. However, the intricacies of Sabacc were never-ending.

Sabacc used a seventy six card deck which included sixty numbered cards divided into four suits; Coins, Flasks, Sabres, and Staves. There were also two each, of eight different face cards which varied in value from 0 (The Idiot) to -17 (The Star).

The object of the game was to achieve twenty three, or negative twenty three. Players were dealt four cards, and would have to discard two cards at the end of every round. A player could call, which would force all the players at the table to reveal their hands, with the player closest to twenty three winning the pot.

Like the game of Sabacc, the house rules for the cantina seemed complicated, but were pretty straightforward.

<i>Bespin Standard</i> was the most common set of rules when it came to Sabacc. There were of course other variations including but not limited to, Empress Teta, Cloud City, Corellian Gambit, Fives Wild, and even Force Sabacc – which used light side and dark side of the Force-themed suits.

<i>Idiot’s High</i> referred to the combination of cards known as the “Idiot’s Array”, in which a player had in his hand, the Idiot, any two and any three. The Idiot’s Array would beat anything, even a <i>Pure Sabacc</i>. A Pure Sabacc of course was any combination of cards that equaled twenty three, or negative twenty three. A positive twenty three however, would always beat a negative twenty three.

<i>Two in the Field</i>, referred to the house rules which stated that only two cards could be placed in the neutral field at any given time. Cards placed in the neutral field could not have their values re-assigned between rounds.

<i>Bet paid into the pot on bust, zero, or loss on call</i>, meant that players would have to pay into the Sabacc pot if they busted, which meant their hands added up to higher than twenty three or lower than negative twenty three. Bet paid into the pot on zero was simple, if the sum of your cards added up to zero – you paid the amount of your bet into the pot. Loss on call, meant that if you called the other players out, and lost, you would have to place your bet into the Sabacc pot.

The Sabacc pot was won when a player achieved a Pure Sabacc, or the Idiot’s Array. Sane Karno glanced over at the Sabacc Pot which had now climbed to over 2,000 credits. Still smiling, Sane Karno glanced around the table – sizing up the competition.
Directly to his left was the dealer droid, which dealt cards between rounds and awarded chips to the winner. The gangly droid glanced left and right, in a steady motion as it scanned the contents of the table.

To Sane’s right, sat a stone-faced Besalisk staring blankly into – almost <i>through</i> the Sabacc table itself. The four-armed alien waited patiently for the next round to begin, the crest which extruded from his skull seemingly twitched with anticipation. Besalisks were typically quick-witted and sociable, a fine pair when it came to Sabacc.

Sane estimated that the alien would be coming out of his proverbial shell in no time. Two seats to his right, which was directly across from him was the Twi’lek. Sane paused observing him for a moment. A large chip stack sat in front of him, his dominant personality translated well into his Sabacc game. Sane had to suppress a giggle, as he wondered what the Twi’lek might be thinking. Perhaps he was already pondering how he might spend Sane Karno’s credits.

He couldn’t help holding back a small laugh at that thought. The Twi’lek glanced across the table at Sane, but his thoughts quickly changed to those of his cards. The other two occupants of the table were nondescript humans, both male. The blonde-haired human who sat to the right of the Twi’lek was over-confident. His large chip stack a testament to his disregard for the value of a credit rather than his Sabacc prowess.

Having only been at the table for a short time, Sane surmised that the over-confident human was probably several hundred credits in debt. To the blonde-haired human’s right, and to the dealer droid’s left – sat a black-haired human. He had a dark complexion and dark eyes; in another life he might have been intimidating. But in reality he was squeamish and feeble – two traits which didn’t bode well for Sabacc players.

Sane allowed his excitement to wane as he began to focus on the coming round. The waitress approached from behind, placing a Corellian Ale in front of Sane who handed her a few credits as he thanked her. He took out a pack of cigarettes placing them on the table as he took a drink of the cold Corellian beverage.

After a long day mixing duracrete, it seemed as though Sane were in another world now. Relaxing in the cantina, sipping Corellian Ale, and playing Sabacc.

For Sane Karno, there was nothing better.

“Good luck.” The dealer droid said, as it dealt the cards to each player indicating the start of the next round.

Sane smiled widely. No longer able to keep his excitement at bay.