Off the Rails (comic story)

A high-stakes card game unfolds on the planet Tyegin, specifically within the lead car of the Exas Jewell, a luxury train embarking on its inaugural journey. Among the players is the notorious con artist Lando Calrissian, disguised as Shen Kanton, the train's supposed creator. The other participants include D'Lina, an avian female; Prince Baj, a youthful human royal; and Rakan, a sizable reptilian humanoid.

After achieving a significant victory at the card table, Calrissian intends to depart the Exas Jewel before his true identity is exposed. However, his fellow players begin to suspect his deception, given that Kenton, as the train's designer, was expected to remain until the final stop and host a lavish reception. The smuggler attempts to talk his way out of the situation, but their discussion is abruptly interrupted by a powerful explosion at the front of their car.

Entering through the breached doorway are Zira, a Feeorin female pirate, and her human accomplice Grillo, intent on robbing the affluent passengers. A third pirate, a human named Shelvy, forces the train's Tarsunt engineer into the car at gunpoint. Zira instructs Grillo to sabotage the Exas Jewel's controls, causing it to accelerate uncontrollably and eventually derail, while she and her crew escape the rapidly moving vehicle with their jetpacks and the stolen valuables. Despite Zira's offer for Calrissian to join them, he declines.

With the pirates gone, the card players and the engineer turn to Calrissian for direction, still under the impression that he designed the train. Following the engineer's suggestion, they decide to attempt disconnecting the engine in an effort to gain some time. On the narrow platform connecting the engine and the first car, the card player Rakan successfully disengages the connector pin. The engine separates from the remaining cars, leaving them behind, but the trailing cars continue at high speed.

Inside the players' car, Calrissian assumes command, instructing everyone to gather any available furniture or decorations and move them towards the car's open front end to disrupt its magnetic field. They follow his orders, and young Prince Baj even tries to discard the car's dealer droid, until Calrissian stops him. The substantial amount of debris accumulating beneath the car's front end generates sufficient drag to slow it down, as Calrissian, Rakan, and Baj stand in the blown-out doorway, observing the rail below. Although the lead car has decelerated considerably, the large dining car is approaching rapidly, colliding with its rear. The impact propels the prince forward and out of the car, but Calrissian manages to grab his arm just in time, preventing a fatal fall.

Later that evening, the Exas Jewel has finally come to a complete stop, and several emergency response vehicles have arrived nearby. Emergency medical personnel are present, attending to the injured passengers. While Calrissian is overjoyed to have survived, the avian woman D'Lina appears displeased. She reveals that Shen Kanton, the Exas Jewel's designer, is actually her son, and therefore she was aware of Calrissian's deception from the beginning. However, due to his bravery and his role in saving everyone, she decides not to report him to the authorities. As D'Lina departs, she offers the con artist a final piece of advice: to make better life choices moving forward.