A story of Chaz the GELF, bartender at the Intergalactic Truckstop.

Chaz is taking his holiday early. It's been a bad week at the Intergalactic Truckstop, culminating in yet another Commander Johnson incident, and he seriously needs to unwind.

The cheapest means of getting from the Truckstop to the planet of New Kew is by freight. It's a good way to travel if you don't need air and bring a good book. Chaz is delivered to NK's orbiting port-station. He "collects" himself from the delivery office, has a shower, parks his minimal luggage in a locker and hires a taxi to the surface. The ground-orbit taxi is the costliest part of the whole journey, but it's the only way to Chaz' particular destination.

Nearly all New Kew's visitors are there to see Kew's famous "Big Mother Kreakin", fourth largest tree in the known cosmos. The taxi drops Chaz off on the plains many miles south of the tree. Looking north he sees Mother Kreakin reaching into space, massive tourist liners buzzing round her like big pale bees. He is quite alone; the purple globeflowers are beautiful, but their giga-allergenic pollen keeps most air-breathers off the plains, and robots find the sap messes with their joints. Chaz is one of the few beings who can be comfortable out here without a suit. He turns south; the taxi as usual has dropped him several miles short of his destination, but Chaz enjoys the walk.

To be continued...

Big thanks to chaz-fox for letting me play with his bartender. His Intergalactic Truckstop is well-worth visiting.

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