Universal Displacement

Desperate Decisions, Eccentric Equations

It had been a week on Tatooine and Sutton was...coping. Under Lyyr's care, she'd mostly recovered from her near death experience. Her skin would take more time to heal, but it was not as red, and the peeling had reduced from what it had been the first day. Lyyr had a spare set of clothes to offer and Sutton was wearing her new Star Wars threads while waiting for laundry day. Waiting for washing day in general, actually. Apparently, she had learned quickly, people did not bathe daily on Tatooine. At least not unless you were fabulously wealthy. The Hutts that lived on the planet could afford it, Lyyr had informed her, but then, they weren't much for bathing in the first place.

Sutton was not pleased with this information. She was used to showering. Regularly. And lord knew she needed it now more than ever. But it was hard enough moisture farming on this planet as it was and water was not a commodity. So Sutton kept her complaints to herself. Besides, Lyyr was being such a gracious host, and Sutton was loathe to put her out more than she already had.

But she was starting to get restless. There was an itch inside her to move, to do something. To act! She couldn't just sit for a year waiting, hoping without reason that she'd be sent back to Marvel earth. The odds of that were nil as it was. Sutton knew that there really wasn't anyone who could help with her problem, not in this universe anyway, but she still felt like she needed to actually try something before she just gave up and rotted on this god-forsaken planet. Only a week in, and she already despised Tatooine with as much fervor as a local.

It was a stroke of luck that Lyyr came back to her abode at the end of the week and informed Sutton that she was getting a break from work. Her master was closing down his shop for a few days to attend the funeral of a relative, got on the wrong side of Jabba Lyyr bet, and she was getting the time off as well because the master didn't trust her with his money.

"Thinks I'll skim some off the top and finally have enough to buy my freedom," Lyyr snorted. "As if I'd ever give him an excuse to force me back when I finally get free."

Sutton clamped her teeth down and tried not to growl. She still was having a hard time of accepting the fact that slavery was allowed. It was a bad taste in her mouth that she could do nothing about.

"It's not fair," she said. "It's not right that they can do this to you. You are a human being with rights!"

Lyyr just smiled sadly.

"If everyone thinks like you do on your planet, then I'd like to go there."

Sutton refrained from reacting in a way that was suspicious.

"My planet is extremely far away." She tried to deflect the conversation. "But I hear that Naboo is nice."

Lyyr hummed in agreement.

"Yes, I've heard that Alderaan is wonderful too."

Sutton jerked so violently in her chair that she almost fell out of it and face-planted on the floor.

"No! Not Alderaan!"

Lyyr sat up straight, looking perplexed. Her brows furrowed as he peered oddly at Sutton over her tarnished cup.

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean, I just mean-well, I think Naboo would be the better choice. I've heard...rumor that Alderaan, er, the situation on Alderaan is getting a bit...explosive."

Lyyr's eyes widened at the news and lowered her cup to the table.

"I hadn't heard that. Where are you getting your information?" Her face suddenly paled in remembrance that Sutton had mentioned knowing Rebels and she shook her head. "Never mind. I don't want to know."