Seeing Double 2000 short story by Louis Turfrey Four years before Episode
IV - A New Hope "Mister St John, good to see you again. I didn't realised you ‘d left planet. Is that a new ship?" The port official handed Joel back his papers. He took them, dumbfounded by what the man had asked him. He hadn't been to Chancai for months. The official smiled, and held out his hand. Joel sighed and handed over his cred stick, the port official took it and a transferred the funds to one in his jacket pocket. He handed back the stick. Joel nodded his thanks. Chancai hadn't changed much in the eight months Joel St John had been away. The crowds still filled the levels and there was still the underlying buzz of mixed alien voices. Joel fought back the growing sense of claustrophobia and merged into the writhing mass. Ten minutes of walking found him at Zythlies Drop Out Parlour. He walked up to the bar and ordered a Vineau. The bartender ignored him. Joel reached across and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Drek, I said I'd like a Vineau please." The bar tender span round and slapped his hand on the bar. "Mister St. John, I'll give you a vineau when you pay off the bar bill you ran up the last time you were here. Alright?" Joel got angry. "What bar bill? I haven't been around for eight months. Show me the tab list." The bar tender frowned, looked at St. John closely and then reached beneath the bar for the tab list, handing it to Joel. Joel examined it carefully. Sure enough, his name sprang up several times in the last six weeks. The last time being last night. Joel frowned. "Have you got any proof that it was me?" Drek the bartender laughed out loud. "I have my own eyes, and the security camera will back me up. Though I have to admit, you were dressed a little more brightly last night." Joel frowned and leaned over the bar towards Drek. "Let’s have a look at those security recordings shall we?" Drek insisted that Joel paid up his bill before time, and wouldn't let him look at the holo until he did so. A further eighty credits exited his bank account. Whoever this man was who had run up the bill, he could sure down his liquor. Joel placed the recording in the portable holo-player, usually reserved for more choice entertainment, and pressed the play button followed by the fast forward button. The bartender looked on with interest. Skimming through the holo, Joel caught sight of something and stopped the player. Zooming in to one location he enlarged and enhanced the image. What he saw startled him. A man looked directly at the camera, probably no more than twenty-five years old, he was almost an exact double for Joel. Almost. Joel was obviously older and a little wider. The mans choice of clothes was not too brilliant either. The extremely bright jacket offset a pair of darker trousers. Joel shook his head. The guy had guts, he'd give him that. He looked tall enough to be an A-desandian as well. His face seemed familiar as well. Joel took a hardcopy print from the player and thanked Drek. Jan Lomona smiled to himself as he took the turbolift to his ship the Berone Sunrise. He'd enjoyed testing out his new persona, and thanked his lucky stars that Joel St John had such a heavy reputation. They'd never met but Jan had watched him closely during his early years as a smuggler. He exited the ramp and started across the pad towards his ship. He sauntered over and, as was his habit, checked out the ships on the levels around him. His eyes gazed over several familiar shapes, until he froze in his tracks. That ship. It couldn't be, could it? Jan ran to the Sunrise, just remembering to deactivate his modified security grid as he did so. He dashed into the cockpit, ignoring Aurran’s greeting, and slammed himself down at the communications terminal. Seconds later and he was contacting the local port authorities. A mans face, the port official who he had talked to upon his arrival, appeared on screen. "Ah, Mister St John, good to see you again. That’s a rather bright jacket you've changed into. How can I help you?" Jan swallowed hard. "I don't suppose you know where I parked my other ship do you, I seem to have forgotten." Joel St John moved around Chancai like a hunter stalking its prey. He'd spent a lot of time trying to find out who was using his name and he only had one more place to check out. Grabby looked around as he walked into his weapons shop. "Hello Jan, I thought you were going to.... Oh, sorry, I thought you were somebody else." Joel smiled and took his credit stick out of his pocket. Jan Lomona praised his luck that the Sunrise was a fast, secure ship. He had been given a slot to leave Chancai, and all he needed now was to wait the ten minutes he needed before he could exit the massive central well. He prepped the ship and started up the engines, making sure that they were on hot standby. His eyes kept dodging to the screen on his console that showed St Johns ship, the Futile Resistance on its pad. Jan waited impatiently as the count down to his departure slot continued. Joel St John exited the port official’s office with a look of triumph on his face. The Portmaster had looked at him quite alarmingly as he had asked him where his other ship was. He sprinted through the corridors, checking each number for each docking bay as he did so. He looked up at the next door and slammed to a halt as he realised that it was the one he was looking for. Pressing the release stud he dashed out on to the pad. Jan smiled to himself as the Sunrise exited the top of Chancai Trade Centre. He flipped his trademark loop and powered the engines up to maximum thrust, exiting the atmosphere minutes later. He hoped against hope that St John hadn't gone to Zythlies on Level Nine. Ah, what the hell if he did. Life’s too short. Jan flipped a switch, pulled some levers and the familiar glow of hyperspace enveloped the Sunrise. Joel St John looked on thoughtfully as the man he wanted to talk to slipped out of his grasp. Grabby had only divulged the mans fist name, but had told him what level the mans ship was docked at. If he had been just a few minutes earlier he might have stood a chance. He walked slowly back into the trade centre, wondering how he might make up the loss of his credits, and why somebody would want to impersonate a smuggler like himself. Oh well.
Guess I’ll figure it out eventually…
Seeing Double 2000 short story by Louis Turfrey Four years before Episode
IV - A New Hope Histories – The first story to feature the A-desandian smuggler Joel St John, an RPG characters formerly
only mentioned as Lomona’s alias in Jan Lomona
and the Sirens of Amagad. A competent smuggler, St Johns likeness of Lomona
was used by Jan as a cover to keep himself out of trouble, and consequently dropping St
John into situations not of his doing.
Cast of Characters Joel St John Jan Lomona Drek Grabby Cap |