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A Day in the Life 1988/1999/2000 short story by Mark Newbold Under a year after Episode IV - A New Hope It
was my seventeenth day straight working at the Capreecik Inn, but I couldn’t
complain. I’d asked our manager Grange
for some overtime and he’d given it to me.
And
then some. Don’t
get me wrong, I love working at the Capreecik. It’s the best job I’ve ever had. Well, actually it’s the only job I’ve ever had. I only left school two years ago and I
spent the first year deciding whether I wanted to go onto further
education. Dad thought I should – go
and train to be a gourmet chef like my Uncle Breswilf. Mom said I should get out into the real world, see some of the galaxy before I committed myself to
five years of training. I couldn’t
decide what to do, so I took a job down here on Level 5 on the Northside of
Chancai to give myself some time to sort my head out. I just didn’t think I’d enjoy it so much. So
there I was, hanging my coat up in the staff room when she walks in. Let me
explain. She is called Larna and without doubt she is the most beautiful,
stunning woman I have ever known. I
can’t speak properly when she’s around, she drives
me to the point of distraction. And
she knows it, I’m sure. Every chance
she gets she squeezes past me at the bar, or touches me on the arm. And I come over all Hoojib-pimply and start
stuttering. I hate being such a geek
but I love her being so close. Anyway,
I’m babbling. She hung up her coat and
smiled widely at me. I smiled back as
casually as I could. “Morning Doob.” She said breezily as she brushed past. By the way, my name’s Doobwilf but my
friends call me Doob. “How are you? This must be a record.” “Yeah.”
I replied. “Seventeen days
straight.” “You must really want to get on that culinary
course, eh?” I
grinned and nodded shyly. I wasn’t
actually that sure that I wanted to spend all my hard-earned credits on that,
but it sounded like a responsible thing to say. Truth is, I earn a good wage and my folks
don’t charge me any rent so I have no money troubles. But people don’t have to know that either. “I enjoy it here. There’s always something going on.” “Well stay sharp today kiddo.” She pinned her nametag onto her blouse and
tugged her skirt straight. Oh boy. “I hear that Grand Moff Treece is on a tour
of the Northside, some PR stunt or something.” I
frowned as I fastened up my apron and followed her to the door leading to the
front of the Inn. “Public relations? After what happened at Yavin?” I
wasn’t prepared for what Larna did, but she spun on her heel and pressed her
hand to my mouth. Now, I know I’m reading a lot into this, but
her body was pressed against me and I wasn’t ready for it at all so I put my
hands out and gripped her by the waist.
It must have looked really weird to Hurrchann, our bouncer from
Turners World as he entered through the rear exit. I noticed him smile and go into the staff
room. Larna moved close so she could
whisper to me. “Don’t even start talking about that, do you hear me? You don’t know who’s listening, and that’s
a subject I’d be very careful about discussing in public.” I
nodded dumbly, partially embarrassed by my lack of smarts and partially muted
by her closeness and her perfume. She
moved her hand away and smiled again. “Just be careful Doob. This might be a cool job for you, but some
of our customers are less than friendly.
Just keep the Bantha Steaks coming and you’ll be okay.” She looked down and gave me another wry
smile. “And you can let go of me now.” “Oh boy, I-I’m sorry!” I stammered, and let go of her waist. She just shook her head with an amused grin
and kicked the door open that led to the Inn.
God, what a jerk! What must she think of me? I took a deep breath and walked past the
Inn door and through to the kitchen.
As I opened the door I could tell that there was somebody in there and
I was surprised to see my manager Grange up to his elbows in Belery roots. I
frowned as I moved next to him. “Afternoon boss. What are you doing?” Grange
shook his head as he stepped to the basin and activated the water. I’ve got to tell you, Grange is a really
great boss. If you work hard for him
he’ll work hard for you. He’s never
been anything less than a gentleman to me and he always makes sure I’m
okay. Actually, all the gang on my
shift at the Capreecik make sure I’m okay. “Oh, we had a big order to take up to
Level 15. Grand Moff Treece’s office
no less.” I
raised my eyebrows in surprise. Grand
Moff Treece, eh? “You should have called,
I’d have come in early.” I paused as I
washed my own hands. “Why would his
aides contact us for a function? Don’t
they usually contact the Yapya?” The
Yapya Restaurant was the most exclusive chain in the Mid-Rim, and the Chancai
branch was the most feted. If I had
the choice of any restaurant to work in it would be the Yapya up on Level
15. I should be so lucky. “Haven’t you heard? Treece is going on a tour of the
Northside. His number two thought it
would be a good idea if he came to a `real’ bar. Mix with the natives.” Grange smiled and shook his head as he
wiped his hands dry. “Some kind of PR
stunt.” “Great.”
I laughed as Grange passed me and patted me on the back. “Think it will be a regular order?” Grange
grinned mischievously as he stepped through the door. “Well I was after the catering order for the Death Star but that kind of
fell through.” I
laughed again and carried on with my work.
It only took a few minutes, and while I was chopping and stripping
away I mixed a special Zelonian sauce, added some Fflivian
truffles and tossed it in a salad bowl.
It looked pretty good, and once I’d finished I took the bowl through
to the bar and waited for Grange to come over. He was talking to some guy wearing a black trenchcoat. This
guy had a real serious look on his face, really focused and mean and I was
glad that it wasn’t me who was dealing with him. Just behind him he had some girl who was
also dressed totally in black. She
couldn’t have been more than fourteen or fifteen and she looked serious as
well. I tried to catch her eye – well,
I’m only seventeen myself, but she was focusing on
some guys sitting in the corner of the bar.
I paused next to Talbot, our other bartender and the head bouncer and
put the bowl down. “Who’s Grange talking to?” Talbot
wiped the rim of a large Duarga glass, placed it back in the rack and tossed
the towel onto the counter. “That’s Goah Galletti. He’s a gun man, smuggler, all round heavy
for Glann Cipple.” I’d
heard of Cipple. He seemed to have
fingers in every possible pie on Chancai and the Setnin Sector. Everyone appeared to have some kind of
connection to him. So what was a man
who was so well connected doing in an out of the way bar like this? “What does he want with Grange? He’s not in trouble, is he?” I was worried. I’d come to think of Grange not so much as
a father figure, more of an uncle who was a good friend. I didn’t like seeing him mixing with a
known, violent criminal. “Don’t worry Doob. Galletti just wants some information. It’s the usual way for men like him to
trace people’s whereabouts. Besides,”
He folded his arms. “I think even
Galletti knows better than to start trouble in here.” I
couldn’t argue with Talbot. He was a
stocky, bulky man who looked like he was more than capable of handling
himself. Which he was, I’d seen it
first hand. Between him and Hurrchann
we had very little bother at the Capreecik.
This Galletti guy was far from small but he didn’t look like a
brawler. So what was his secret? Even I had learned that people were rarely
what they appeared to be. This
Galletti guy turned away from Grange and raised an eyebrow at his young
female companion. She nodded shortly
and took a step back. I followed
Galletti’s stare across the Inn to those guys in the corner who were looking
uncomfortable. Grange said something
to Galletti and after a second he gave the girl another look and the two of
them left the Inn. There was a
definite release of tension after they had left, and a few moments later the
group in the corner stood threw some credits onto the table and exited. Talbot smiled and grabbed another glass. “That’ll kick off somewhere else, I
guarantee it.” He was
right, I’m sure. Anyway, Grange came
over and without saying a word looked into the bowl. “Not bad Doob,
not bad at all. Get a cover on it and
I’ll have it sent up to the Grand Moff’s
office. Once you’ve done that, get out
here behind the bar with Larna. I’ll
have the Kitchen Droid take care of today’s orders.” That
sounded like a change of pace for me, so I hurried back to the kitchen,
covered the bowl and handed it to the Kitchen droid who whisked out the back
of the shop and into one of the cargo lifts that carried shop workers and
Droids around Chancai. I checked
myself in the mirror, straightened my hair and unbuttoned my apron. If I was going to be sharing a bar with
Larna then I wanted to look my best.
Even if I had about as much chance with her as an
Ewok had with a Coryarthanax. The
mid afternoon rush had begun on Level 5, and as usual we had a lot of spacers
come into the Capreecik. I recognised
a lot of them and a few remembered me.
They all remembered Larna
and I watched with a hint of jealousy as they chatted to her when she served
them and leered at her when they didn’t think that she could see them. I don’t know how she put up with it, or
why. Talbot once told me that she used
to be a smuggler for a company called the Trac-Tran Transit Company. Apparently she was a successful runner and
often took dangerous cargoes out to the Rim.
So what she was doing working in a bar deep in the Northside of
Chancai was beyond my comprehension. She was definitely the best thing about the
place, but I knew that she could do so much better. And I think she did too. I
snapped out of my daze and smiled at the next customer. He was a human, fairly well dressed
although he looked uncomfortable in the clothes. As he seated himself at the bar he
acknowledged me and pointed towards the optics. “I’ll have a Shiba-Di’xx.” I
filled a glass with the cool blue liquid, a drink from the planet Yuma, and
handed the glass to him. He accepted
it and sank half the drink, licking his lips and grabbing a handful of
Cockons from the bar. I placed the
bill next to his glass and was about to move down to the next customer when
he raised his hand to catch my attention. “’Scuse me kid,
what’s the time?” “16.23 hours.” He
raised his eyebrows and grabbed another Cockon, throwing it into his mouth
with a flourish. “It’s okay, I’m
supposed to be meeting a lady this afternoon.” I
smiled despite myself and looked into the glass. The man shook his head. “No, no kid, nothing like that. I’m meeting my sister here for a late
lunch. She’s a lawyer. Ever heard of Dallagra Lawyer Services,
Level 9?” I had
to admit that I hadn’t. Dad always
told me to steer clear of lawyers and pickpockets. He said they were the same thing, only from
opposite ends of the social scale, and who am I to argue? The man continued. “My name’s Boba. Boba Dallagra.” I accepted
his proffered hand and shook it. He
seemed almost surprised that I hadn’t made a comment about something, I don’t
know what. I mentioned it to Larna
later and she just ruffled my hair like I was ten-years old or
something. Said that I was so innocent
it was cute. Anyway, I handed him a
menu and poured him another drink. “Today’s special is chargrilled
Mnu Mnu with Belery shoots and Fflivian
sauce.” I thought it was a good idea
to try that particular concoction on the general public, since Grange was so
impressed with it. Hopefully I’d have
a ringing endorsement from Grand Moff Treece and I’d be well on my way to
working at the Yapya. Boba nodded. “Sounds good. I’d better get to my table then.” Just
as he was about to stand Larna walked by and tapped him on the arm. He turned and smiled, gave her a warm hug
and then they waked towards an empty table.
As Boba sat an attractive woman entered through the main doors and
joined them. I guessed that it was his
sister Trace, and so I turned away and moved down the bar next to
Hurrchann. He acknowledged me as I
stood next to him and nodded towards the threesome. "Old friends?" Hurrchann
glanced over at Boba and his sister and smiled. "Yeah, they're always in here. Usually at night when you're off
shift." He leaned in as he
polished the glass he was holding.
"Boba there works for Glann Cipple. He's one of his regular smugglers and
operatives out of Amagad, but you'll usually find him on Chancai. He's a good guy." Hurrchann looked over at Trace who was
facing us. "And his sister is a
real class act too." I
smiled. Hurrchann rarely gave much
away when it came to friendships and women.
I said nothing, but I knew that this would be good ammo for a friendly
bit of banter some time later. Another
customer approached the bar and I moved over, one of our old serving droid
following me as I did so. And
the afternoon continued much like that, right into the early evening. We're lucky here at the Capreecik. We've got what's called a North facing wall
unit, which means that we have a view of the Mutumbarr Mountains right
through the glass walls that surround Chancai. And that means natural light, which is a
rarity for any worker on Chancai. It's
one of my favourite things about being here, especially on this late
afternoon shift. We see the sun set
over the mountains and just stepping outside the Inn we can see all the
lights of Fringe-Mall activate and brighten up down in the valley. It must be really spectacular for those people twenty levels above us. I'd
just finished attending to an Arconan spacer who had given me an especially
hard time as well as an unusually large tip, when Grange tapped me on the
shoulder and led me to the rear of the Inn.
Larna filled my place at the bar as he took me to the rear door,
straightening my collar and apron as he did so. "Doob,
son. Grand Moff Treece will be here
any minute. I've just received a
message from his number two Commander Lans.
They're at Vlarts Factory Outlet, which is
just around the corner. The Grand Moff
wants to eat here tonight and hold an impromptu question and answer
session." I
frowned at that. An Imperial Moff
holding a question and answer session in a Northside café? Nothing about that sounded impromptu to
me. But I'm not employed for my
political acumen so I nodded smartly and smiled. "What do you want me to do?" "Stay close to Larna. She's our number one bartender,
number one crowd-pleaser and you can learn a lot from her. Besides, she thinks a lot of you." I smiled
and I felt the flush of embarrassment rise to my face. Grange punched me on the arm. "And I do too. Come on kid, let's get to work." I
nodded and smiled back at Grange. "Okay boss." Even
though we had only been out of the bar for a minute when we re-entered the
Inn was packed full. I could see at
least ten Imperial Stormtroopers about the place, which meant that there were
at least twice that ammount of Imperial agents
there in civilian clothing. There were
a large ammount of press people there with small
hover-cams whizzing around the room trying to get the best view, and within
this mass of unfamiliar faces I could make out Talbot and Hurrchann trying to
keep everything in order. Larna saw me
at the door and motioned me over towards her. I stood next to her and smiled weakly. "Pretty full, huh?" I asked, stating the obvious. "Yeah. If it was like this every night I'd put in
for a raise." I
noticed Larna give a small wave and a smile to a man in the crowd who I
didn't recognise as at the far end of the Inn the crowd parted and through
the throng I could see Grand Moff Treece, flanked by his aides and
assistants. His number two Commander
Lans walked directly behind him, nodding at people in the crowd and catching
the eyes of his Stormtroopers. Treece
smiled as he approached the bar and I felt Larna tense beside me as she
smiled back. "Good evening Grand Moff. What may I get for you?" Treece
paused just a moment too long for my liking as he looked Larna up and down
and then clasped his hands together. " I believe
I shall have chargrilled Mnu
Mnu with Belery shoots
and Fflivian sauce swallowed down by a glass of Brevnian Whiskey." Larna
took the order as behind her the hover-cams recorded the exchange and the
reporters wrote down their words.
Larna turned away and handed the order to the kitchen droid, who
whisked it away through the hatch to begin preparing it. She swiftly poured the Brevnian
Whiskey from its optic and handed it to Treece. Treece moved away from the bar with the
drink in hand and took a seat at a waiting table. I couldn't help but notice that all those
seated at the table were well dressed rich looking types. Not the kind of folks you'd expect at an
impromptu question and answer session.
Not that I should be surprised - our last rent review was supposed to
be supervised by the Chancai Board of Trade but the bill came back with the
Imperial seal on it and a form that said `please return all correspondence to
Imperial Centre, Coruscant.' Larna
came silently over to me and took me by the elbow, leading me away from the
bar towards someone in the crowd. I
couldn't take my eyes from the table Treece where was conducting his
pre-planned public relations coup on so Larna twisted my face so I was
looking directly at her. I refocused
and gazed at her in my sad, teenage way, which only made her smile back in a
world-weary, thirty-something way. "Doob,
you've got to stop staring at people like that. Especially Imperial Grand Moffs when
they've got thirty armed guards with them." "But I was just looking." "Yeah, looking suspicious." She led me through the crowd towards a
table. "Doob,
you're a good kid. Everyone likes you,
including me. But some folk aren't so
smart. You try to stare out a Grand
Moff and I guarantee it'll get you into trouble. Believe me, I know." We
stopped at the table where the man from the crowd was seated. I acknowledged him with a smile as Larna
moved round the table and took his hand.
Who is this guy, I thought to myself, and then as they whispered
things between themselves I quickly understood. "Doob, I'd
like you to meet Chesco. My
husband." I
could see myself smile again and offer my hand in greeting, but it was almost
as if I was doing it from outside my own body. Like I was one of the hover-cams that
whizzed overhead, peering down on our little exchange. Chesco had a firm grip and an easy smile,
his thick black moustache and wavy black hair suiting his roguish demeanour. I could see Larna smile broadly at the edge
of my vision, as if she had just seen a difficult moment pass with ease. Which I suppose she had. I had little experience at hiding my
feelings, and Larna was the first older woman who I'd had a crush on. I was
fooling no one, least of all Larna, and I guess that this moment had given
her some concern. I looked at Larna
and gave her a broad grin, one that came directly from the head. The smile from my heart wasn't quite ready
to shine just yet. "You're a very lucky man." I said to Chesco, even though I was still
looking at Larna. I think she almost
blushed and took my hand, giving her husband a quick kiss on the cheek and
taking me back to the bar as I picked up a tray of empty glasses. Treece
had been snatching away at his prepared list of questions, taking in queries
about taxes on Zelon, trade agreements through the Setnin Sector and the
possible threat brought about by the Rebel Alliance. He answered the tax question in a
reasonable, thoughtful manner. Almost
diplomatic-like. The trade question
brought a harder edge, as if the question almost offended him. But his reply to the question about the
Rebel Alliance brought him to his feet and eventually onto his chair. I waited for Hurrchann to ask him to get
down or be thrown out but I saw him through the crowd and knew that he'd
thought better about it. The
whole scenario annoyed me. Freedom of
speech is a valued commodity in any society, and not every world or community
has the luxury of using it. That's
just life I suppose. The haves and the
have-nots. But when someone with the
power and influence of a Grand Moff enters a little Inn like ours to
orchestrate a fixed Q and A session, well.
That just gets me annoyed. I
pushed past a Stormtrooper, placed my tray down on the side of the bar and
raised my hand. Treece caught a sight
of me and knew that he couldn't ignore me - every hover-cam on Chancai was
watching both him and me. He raised an
eyebrow and folded his arms expectantly. "Yes young man? You have a question?" I
could see Grange almost fly out of the back room as I lowered my arm, and Talbot by the far door with a huge grin across
his face. Larna had a blank expression
and behind her Chesco was shaking his head.
I swallowed and moved forward. "First of all I'd like to once again
welcome you to the Capreecik Inn.
We're just a little, out of the way bar on Level Five. Nothing particularly special about us. Salt-of-the-Zelon, working class
hangout." I looked directly at
the nearest hover-cam. "Come and
visit us if you're ever in the neighbourhood.
But, my question." I
paused again. "Grand Moff, why
haven't you eaten any of your food?" Treece
glanced down at his untouched plate, the still full glass of Brevnian Whiskey next to it. He looked up at me, a query in his
features. "I fail to see the point of your
question." "Well, if you'll allow me a moment
sir. I don't think you ever had any
intention of eating here. Or any
intention of holding an open and inclusive discussion." Treece
motioned to the people seated at his table and smiled. "I think you'll find a wide selection
of Chancai society right here young man." "With all the right questions just
waiting for all your answers. If you
really want a question and answers session then why not open it to the
floor?" Treece
frowned again and folded his arms. "These people were chosen at random,
I assure you." I
couldn't resist. I'd started, so I had
to finish. "Barl G'Too is the vice chairman of
the Chancai Cuisine Commission, one of the largest catering guilds in the
Setnin Sector. It's certainly in his
interest to stay on your good side.
Vence Dayla's company has the largest pool
of man power this side of the Expansion.
And they get commission, so
he wants your favour. And Couva Terrill…he drinks in here every week at the end of
my shift. He puts away three bottles
of Duarga and mumbles about trade deals and kickbacks. If he can have an easy life without
worrying about permits and papers then he'll go for it." I paused as Treece narrowed his eyes to a
squint, and I felt the first flush of nerves.
"So, I think that this was a million klicks away from being an
impromptu question and answer session.
It was pre-arranged." I
stopped and could feel the eyes of a hundred people bore into me, but none
with anything like the intensity of Treece who stared directly at me. I suddenly had the thought that wouldn't
make it out of the Inn alive, let alone make it to Catering College. I watched as Treece lifted his fork and
took a mouthful of Mnu Mnu. He chewed it thoughtfully and picked up
the glass of whiskey, raising it to me in salute. "Excellent food." He seated himself and motioned for me to
join him. I looked left and right as I
did so, seating myself opposite him.
He smiled at me, like a predator waiting to eat its prey. "Have you ever thought of becoming a
politician?" Like I
said before, I love working at the Capreecik Inn. The staff are great, especially Larna, and
there's never a dull moment. I don't
think Grange, Talbot or Hurrchann could quite believed
what I did. I know that Larna didn't -
she told me on the day that she left to move back to her home planet Marner
with Chesco. I knew that she was going
to go someday. What did Chancai have
to offer that could keep a woman like her happy? But as I said goodbye to her in the rear
entrance to the Inn, where we had said hello and goodbye so many times, I
felt a weird sense of satisfaction. We
both knew how I felt, and deep down we both knew that it was just a teenage
fantasy. But when she kissed me on the
cheek and lingered for just a
second too long, I knew that her invitation to visit her on Marner was as
genuine an offer as she had ever made. But I
knew that I'd never take it. A Day in the Life 1988/1999/2000 short story by Mark Newbold Under a year after Episode IV – A New Hope Histories - Intended to be a departure from the regular
stories set in the smuggling fraternity of the Setnin Sector; this was an attempt to throw a different light
onto the proceedings. By setting the
tale in a bar on Chancai, all the
major players would come through the doors, giving plenty of opportunities
for stories. It was in this short
story that the character of Larna
was introduced, a lady to appear later in Lomona's life in the Jan Lomona – The Final Straw short
story. Cast
of Characters
Larna
Doobwilf Grange Hurrchann Talbot Chesco Goah
Galletti Weale Boba
Dallagra Trace
Dallagra Grand
Moff Treece Commander
Lans Barl
G'Too Vence
Dayla Couva Terrill
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