WITH Poe’s help, Finn and Rose commandeered a transport pod and flew away from the Raddus, unnoticed by Vice Admiral Holdo. The pod’s small size made it indiscernible to the First Order’s active tracker, allowing it to leap into hyperspace without attracting any pursuit. It arrived in the Cantonica system exactly according to plan, but for one small issue. Finn found a stowaway next to the toilet.

“Beebee-Ate! What are you doing here?”

The droid rolled out of the restroom into the main cabin, beeping innocently.

Lingering at the door, Rose raised an eyebrow at the droid. “Watching after us?” She looked at Finn. “We’re on approach. Strap in.”

Finn glared at the droid. “How do you say ‘Poe’s going to kill me’ in beep?” BB-8 should have been assisting Poe on the Raddus, not trying to supervise them like some pint-sized babysitter.

The droid sniped back something Finn knew was best left untranslated.

Finn followed Rose into the cockpit. The orb of Cantonica hung before them out the viewport. A medium-sized ocean added a splash of blue to the otherwise drab and desert-covered planet. Along the ocean’s crescent edge lay their intended destination, the blinking lights of Canto Bight.

“It’s a terrible place filled with the worst people in the galaxy,” Rose informed Finn. She didn’t justify how she knew this and spent the rest of the descent trying to teach Finn the technique of landing a transport pod. The result was more of a crash than a landing. Luckily, Finn had touched down on a beach and the sand absorbed much of the impact.

When they disembarked, an Abednedo in a white robe started jabbering at them that they’d landed on a public beach. They ignored him and hurried along the boardwalk into the city.

Finn saw that Rose was wrong about Cantonica’s capital. The city didn’t seem terrible to him at all. In fact, it was one of the most astounding places he’d ever visited.

Sailboats and yachts drifted in the bay, glowing in the sunset. Luxury landspeeders cruised the coastal highways. Shoreline hotels offered romantic retreats for the wealthy and the connected. For those who couldn’t afford an ocean view, such fortune might be won a block away. The main strip of Canto Bight’s renowned casinos glittered like a case of gems, with each establishment trying to outshine the others in extravagance.

Maz had not divulged where exactly the Master Codebreaker could be found, so they entered the largest gambling den they came across, the Canto Casino. It was a palace for high-stakes gambling, where millions of credits were bet on everything from jubilee wheels and zinbiddle tournaments to pongobungo cards and even blob races. Musicians tootled current hits from a side stage, waiters and waitresses walked the floor serving free drinks, and all the patrons were dressed in the height of fashion. Finn was exhilarated. “This place is great!”

Rose shared none of his enthusiasm. “Maz said this Master Codebreaker would have a red plom bloom on his lapel. Let’s find him and get out of here.”

Finn started after her, noticing that BB-8 was waylaid behind them. A monocled amphibian in white tie and tails, burping from the booze he was drinking, mistook the ball droid for a lugjack machine and jammed credit chips into BB-8’s data slot.

Finn wasn’t worried. BB-8 would catch up with them. The astromech had handled worse than an intoxicated gambler.

Rose maintained a brisk pace through the busy casino, glancing at people’s lapels. Finn spent more time eyeing the people themselves. Though his knowledge of popular culture was minimal, even he recognized that some of these beings were the galaxy’s rich and famous.

A loud braying sound disrupted Finn’s people-watching, and the heart-pounding rumble that succeeded it caused both him and Rose to shrink back. A pack of long-eared, long-limbed creatures galloped past the window wall to the glee of the patrons.

Rose’s eyes widened. “Were those what I think they were?” Without explanation, she hurried under an arch, leaving the casino floor.

Finn joined her on an outdoor balcony. Below them graceful four-legged beasts raced around a circular track, spurred by jockeys on their backs and spectators in the stands. “What are those things?”

Rose gawked at the creatures. “Fathiers. They were my sister’s favorite animals when we were kids. She never got to see one. So beautiful.”

Finn peered through a pair of electrobinoculars mounted to the balcony’s rail. The enhanced view showed him just how majestic the fathiers were. They held their tawny heads high and raced with a noble pride, even as their jockeys spurred them with electro-whips.

If she could admire the beauty in these beasts, Finn wondered why she couldn’t see it around her in Canto Bight. “This whole place is beautiful. Why do you hate it so much?” he asked.

Rose scowled. “My sister and I grew up in a poor mining system. The First Order stripped our ore to finance their military, then shelled us to test their weapons. They took everything we had.” Rose swept her gaze across the well-dressed spectators. “And who do you think these people are? Only one business in the galaxy gets you this rich.”

“War,” Finn said grimly.

Rose nodded. “Selling weapons to the First Order, getting rich off of so much suffering. Back home…” She clutched her necklace’s medallion. “I wish I could put my fist through this whole lousy, beautiful town.”

BB-8 darted up to them, making a racket with the credit chips clattering inside his round body. He parked before Rose and let out a rapid series of beeps.

“Red plom bloom?” Rose started looking around. “Where?—ow!”

Finn jabbed her, indicating a stylish human with slicked-back hair at one of the high-stakes gaming tables. A crimson-petaled flower was pinned to the lapel of a white dinner jacket.

“The Master Codebreaker,” Rose whispered.

Finn immediately understood how Maz could be so smitten by the man. He was the swankiest of all the swanky gamblers in the casino, with the aura of a magnetic charge. Admirers, particularly female, cozied up to him, blushing whenever he winked at them. He oozed confidence like a Hutt in heat, and even with untold credits on the table, he juggled dice as if the act of rolling them were a mere formality and his fortune guaranteed.

The Abednedo from the beach cut in front of them. “These are the guys,” he said.

A high-voltage zap in Finn’s back stopped him from asking questions. He quickly found himself being arrested by the Canto Bight police.

As he was cuffed, Finn caught an offhand glance from the Master Codebreaker. But then the man turned away and cast his dice to the cheers of his audience.