Chapter One

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Lisa had long ago decided that her travel powers always brought her to where she needed to be, however the reason as to why she wound up at a particular location wasn’t always immediately apparent especially when the environment was as harsh as this one.

At first glance this desert could have been on Earth; after all, that was the planet she wound up on more often than not. It could have been the Sahara or Arizona or somewhere else equally as desolate and, were it not for the fact that there were two suns in the sky, this place could have passed for Earth easily.

She realized immediately that she was not dressed for the blistering heat. Although she was wearing a t-shirt, the fabric didn’t breathe well and she was already sweating. She was glad that her healing factor would prevent sunburn (or would it be sunsburn in this case?) or any other sun-related damage, though it was going to take a few minutes for her eyes to adjust; she held her red jacket over her head until the searing light no longer hurt. In the distance she could see what looked like a settlement and she set off for it as quickly as she could, hoping there was a place nearby where she could get some clothes more suited to the climate.

If the two suns weren’t enough of a hint that she was not on Earth, the many different species milling around definitely proved the fact. There were so many unique forms of life everywhere that Lisa didn’t bother hiding her wings; for once, she fit right in.

Since she didn’t recognize the planet, she kept her mind cautiously open to scan the projected thoughts of the populace for any information on where exactly she was. She was being guarded because one never knew who could be friend and who could be foe in a new area and she didn’t want to draw attention to herself – well, with the exception of the odd looks her clothing was getting since it certainly didn’t appear that jeans were part of the local fashion – when she hadn’t yet made a few of the former. In a pinch she was capable of defending herself, but she’d rather things not come to that.

It took a while to gain any information mostly because of a language barrier. The languages on this planet were just as diverse as they were on Earth with dialects such as “Huttese”, “Bocce” and, thankfully, something that sounded like Earth’s English called “Basic”, which was the only one of the group that she could comprehend. Most peoples’ thoughts that she could understand seemed to be more on business, family, dodgy dealings, or “the rebellion against the empire” but Lisa eventually found out that the planet she was on was called Tatooine and she was in the city of Anchorhead.

Luckily Anchorhead housed a market with various peddlers selling their goods including, much to her relief, clothing more suited to the desert environment. The stall was run by a very old humanoid woman named Rasse Cymas who took an interest in what Lisa was already wearing.

“I’ve never seen fabric like this!” she said excitedly in Basic, feeling the blue material between her gnarled fingers. “What is it?”

Lisa glanced down at her legs. “Uh…denim?”

“Incredible! It’s so sturdy!” She frowned. “But you poor dear…you must be roasting in this heat! You must have come from very far away.”

“Yeah, you could say that…” Lisa replied vaguely. She had a feeling she was so far from the Milky Way that she doubted any of these people had even heard of the Orion Nebula or planet Earth.

The old woman thought a moment, a very many ideas churning away in her mind, and finally said, “I’ll let you have anything in the shop in trade for what you’re wearing. My stock is made specifically to protect the wearer from the sun and preserve body moisture. I’ll even sew in wing slits for you.”

Lisa analyzed the feeling of her thoughts and decided that the woman was completely sincere and thus browsed around the shop for some new clothes. She traded her t-shirt for a sleeveless tunic, her sneakers for sturdy boots, and her jeans for breathable trousers. Privately she wished they were in a better color other than tan, but beggars couldn’t be choosers in this case. She did, however, find a belt in a darker shade of tan that would break up the monotony a little and at least the boots were black.

She turned to thank Rasse when her eye caught a hint of red peeking out from under a pile of clothes in a corner. She went over and dug out what looked like a bright red sleeveless duster or overly long vest. Delighted, she held it up and said, “I’ll take this, too.”

Rasse accepted the discarded clothing and old red jacket in trade for Lisa’s new outfit, making good on her promise to sew in wing slits for her. She felt immediately better upon putting the new garments on; the fabric wicked away the sweat and was airy enough that even the slightest change in the very still air cooled her skin. The sleeveless duster hung to her calves and billowed out in a rather grand way when she walked.

Lisa didn’t remember a lot about her past, but she did know that she had various forms of tokens of exchange available to her even for planets as far away as this. Honesty being important to her, she did try to pay Rasse for the clothes. The old woman refused payment, however, stating that what she’d gotten in trade was more than enough. Admitting defeat, Lisa thanked the woman and bade her goodbye, leaving the shop to explore the rest of the city and figure out why her abilities sought fit to bring her here.

End chapter one.

Back *~*~* Chapter Two