Art and Archaeology Chapter 3

THIS IS CHAPTER 3 OF THE ONGOING STORY. Visit http://archiveofourown.org/works/13198722/chapters/30191943 for the full story.

"Once again, as a Mandalorian warrior I have every right to wear this armor."

"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean it doesn't creep me out!"

Sabine gritted her teeth. This was at least the third time she had argued about this with Han. The renegade smuggler had jumped when Sabine turned a corner and had dropped a box on his foot. Han was being pursued by the notorious Mandalorian bounty hunter Boba Fett, he explained, and Sabine was personally insulting him by "wandering around" in "his" armor. Sabine had politely explained that Fett was not a genuine Mandalorian, but a pretender in stolen armor. Her politeness was running out.

Chewbacca, who had appeared at the scene of the argument, growled something that made Han spin around. "I'm not being a baby! I just want to make sure I don't accidentally shoot the poor girl's head off!"

Sabine wanted to say that she could probably take Han in a fight, but she dropped the issue. Leia had requested her in the comm room again; there were more important matters to deal with than a paranoid smuggler.

As she entered the main hub, Leia confirmed what Sabine had been hoping to hear for the last few days. "Sabine, your anonymous contact got in touch again."

Sabine felt her heartrate pick up. She was embarrassed to admit to herself how good it had felt spending time with Aphra on Canto Bight... or how good it felt to kiss her. Leia informed her that her "contact" was in the Naboo system and had provided no other details about the mission, other than insisting, again, that Sabine be the one to take the assignment. Trying to contain her excitement and remain professional, Sabine thanked Leia and headed to the X-Wing she had been provided.

 A short time later, Sabine dropped out of hyperspace and saw the Ark Angel near one of Naboo's moons. She pulled up alongside it, secured her space gear, and opened the cockpit. The Ark Angel's ramp descended and Sabine floated inside. As the door closed behind her and gravity and oxygen were restored, Sabine removed her helmet and checked her hair on a reflective surface. A familiar voice piped up behind her.

"Well hello there! Is that a certain blue-haired cutie I spy on my ship?"

"Yeah it is, and you're lucky. The Alliance almost sent somebody else." It wasn't true, of course, but Sabine didn't want Aphra to know how quickly she'd jumped at the chance to be around her again.

"Well, I would have blasted anybody else, so I guess they're lucky too. You didn't think I'd gone soft and joined your stupid cause, did you?"

Sabine smiled. "Don't make me cuff you and bring you back to base, criminal."

"As much as I might enjoy that -- and I would -- we have more pressing things requiring our attention." She gave Sabine a wink, and she felt that familiar heat between her legs. The two women went to the cockpit, and Aphra flew past the Imperial star destroyer in orbit, flashing a forged transponder code that got them to Naboo's surface.

"I would have expected more Imperial presence on the Emperor's homeworld," Sabine wondered aloud as the Ark Angel landed at a docking port outside Theed.

"Oh, don't let your eyes deceive you. The Empire is everywhere here. They just don't want a bunch of ships and gun emplacements to ruin the picturesque landscapes." Aphra pulled out a backpack, and they exited the ship. "Also, the Naboo still have a sore spot when it comes to blockades."

"So what exactly are we here for? Stealing some intel from a moff? Planting a tracker?"

Aphra grinned. "Oh, far more important."

 "You're kidding me."

Sabine and Aphra were standing in a field overlooking a crevasse. The fissure was filled with large stone objects, at least fifty feet tall, that resembled humanoid heads.

Aphra removed her backpack and began looking through it. "Before humans showed up, the Gungans co-existed with another species, known only as the Elders. The Imperials have placed this area off-limits for archaeological digs. So naturally, we're gonna see if there's anything good."

"And then sell it?" Sabine rolled her eyes. "This is what you needed me for? Plundering some Gungan artifacts?"

Aphra raised a finger. "Elder artifacts. Nobody cares about Gungan artifacts. No offense to the Gungans, but they're not really the galaxy's most popular species. But the Elders, on the other hand...so little is known of their civilization and culture. Even before the Empire, the Naboo government wouldn't let anybody in here." She pulled out a pair of clunky boots and strapped them over the ones she was already wearing.

"Aphra, the Rebellion is stretched thin. They need my help. I can't just take a day off to go tomb raiding."

Aphra activated the boots, and began slowly hovering a few inches off the ground. "You've come this far, and if you want to leave, good luck getting past the Imperials again. I guess you're stuck with me. And besides, I've helped you out a lot. You owe me."

Sabine gave an exaggerated groan and watched as Aphra hovered off the side off the cliff, preparing to descend.

"Oh, and... that was you who kissed me the other day, right? My memory is so foggy sometimes."

She gave a little salute and then floated down into the canyon, and Sabine knew her own mind was already made up. Dammit, Aphra.

 "Mother of moons!"

Aphra held up a small object that resembled a person. They were inside one of the massive stone heads, around twenty feet in diameter, with only the light from outside pouring through the statue's eyes and nose to guide them.

"Do you know what this is?"

Sabine shrugged.

"Yeah, neither do I. But if I had to guess, it's some kind of fertility idol." Aphra got closer, pushing the artifact into Sabine's hands. "Do you see the little figure in its hands? At least I think it's a figure. It could just be a bundle of clothes. Maybe it's a clothing idol."

As Aphra rambled, Sabine tried to ignore how close they were, or the fact that she loved the smell of the other girl's hair. "Just about all the research we have says the Elders died out after some kind of sterility plague, around ten thousand years ago. But this idol is definitely only a few thousand years old at most. Do you know what this means?!"

Aphra's enthusiasm was infectious. Sabine pondered the question. "It means they were still around a few thousand years ago, having children."

"Exactly! There was no plague. Or maybe there was, but it happened more recently. Some kind of Gungan bioweapon?" Aphra let Sabine hold the idol while she scribbled in a notebook. The use of old-fashioned physical writing materials was rare, but Aphra insisted on it. Sabine liked this side of Aphra -- the scholar, someone who immersed herself in her work, who cared about something more than credits. As always, Aphra quickly ruined the moment. "I know quite a few people who would pay through the nose for proof of Elder reproduction." Aphra slipped the idol into her pack. The interior of the statue had grown dark as dusk fell.

Just as it seemed that visibility was going to disappear entirely, the cave lit up a bright shade of blue.

Both women looked around quickly, searching for the source of the light. Sabine spotted it first. "Some kind of... bioluminescent flora?" The floor of the statue was covered in green moss that was now glowing blue.

"This whole statue is probably some kind of fertility ritual space," Aphra said, "When night fell, the Elders would come out here and, uh, get it on."

Sabine's cheeks burned. She hoped Aphra couldn't see them in the limited light. "You're just making that up."

Aphra gave her a big grin. "Maybe." Her eyes, and her smile, were illuminated by the blue glow.

Sabine became uncomfortably aware of the fact that they were totally alone. They had ridden a stolen speeder out to this area, through pristine fields that were entirely uninhabited. There was no one around for miles. As if reading her mind, Aphra got a bit closer, reaching out and gently touching Sabine's bangs.

"Your hair. It's glowing."

Sabine looked away. "Oh, yeah, it must be the dye I use, some kind of reaction with the moss..." When she looked back, Aphra was staring right into her eyes. Her huge smile had been replaced by a softer one, and Sabine's voice trailed off. The canyon was dead silent but for the sound of their breathing.

Then Aphra took Sabine's hand, and leaned in, and Sabine closed her eyes. Their first kiss had been spur of the moment, fuelled by adrenaline and excitement. This one was gentler, and more intimate. Sabine let herself be absorbed by it, wrapping her arms around Aphra's waist, and Aphra moved her own hands up, running them through Sabine's hair as she pulled her closer, slipping her tongue past Sabine's lips. Sabine let out a little noise, some kind of moan that left her embarrassed, but she immediately forgot it as Aphra granted her unspoken request, kissing her deeper.

As Aphra's hands moved from Sabine's head to her chest, running her fingers along the hardened armor plating, Sabine quickly broke off the kiss, stammering incoherently. Aphra giggled. "It's okay, sweetheart. I won't do anything you don't want me to."

Sabine spoke softly. "But... I do want it."

"Want what?"

"You know."

Aphra smiled, illuminated again by the moss. "I want to hear you say it."

"I want... I want to be yours. Tonight."

Aphra seemed taken by surprise,. Whatever she'd expected Sabine to say, it wasn't that. Sabine slowly slipped the heavy Mandalorian chestplate over her head, and then Aphra leaned in and started undoing her right gauntlet while Sabine removed the left one, and while they did this their eyes met and they kissed again, hungrily, and Sabine lost all her doubts and her inhibitions. She undid her pants and let them fall to the floor, leaving her only in her underwear and her combat boots.

Aphra eyed her up, then reached around behind her and unbuckled Sabine's bra, letting it fall away, and Sabine instinctively reached to cover herself before stopping. She had never done this before, never let someone see her naked like this. Aphra gave her a coy little grin and then moved in for another kiss, gently running her hands along the contours of Sabine's breasts, and Sabine gave a strangled moan that echoed off the walls of the statue. Aphra's mouth moved down, kissing her neck, then between her breasts, then her toned stomach, until she was on her knees. Slowly, Aphra pulled Sabine's panties down, like she was savoring the task of unwrapping a present on Life Day. Aphra looked up at her, as if waiting for permission.

Sabine ran her hands through Aphra's hair before resting her hand on her head. "Do it," she whispered.

Aphra beamed. "I like when you give me orders." And then she slowly pressed her fingers and her mouth between Sabine's legs, slipping her tongue along the slickness, and Sabine gasped because she had no idea it would feel this good. Aphra was an expert, clearly, and she wasted no time finding exactly the spot that made Sabine squeal, forcing her to balance herself against the wall of the statue, Aphra's right hand on Sabine's hip. Her eyes practically rolled back in her head as Aphra teased her with her tongue, dragging it in just the right way and then --

"Stars!" Sabine groaned, bucking her hips against Aphra's mouth, like some force had come over her, and Aphra giggled and looked up at her again before going back to work, slipping two fingers past the threshold and twisting her tongue between the folds. They got a rhythm down, Sabine rocking with the movements of Aphra's mouth and gently but firmly grabbing at a clump of Aphra's hair, and then she could feel it growing inside her, a nexus of energy inside her that Aphra was about to burst, and she closed her eyes and moaned something incomprehensible as that force, that energy, that link between them overwhelmed her and she came, for a moment seeing nothing but stars, riding the shockwave like the explosion of the Death Star itself. And then it was over.

Sabine fell back against the wall, trying to catch her breath, soaked in a layer of sweat, her hair clinging to her face. Aphra got up and kissed her, and Sabine could taste herself all over Aphra's mouth and tongue and she loved it, like she had left some kind of branding on the older girl, a mark of the bond they had formed.

"How was that?" Aphra asked, and Sabine answered only by pulling her back in for another kiss. In this moment, she wanted nothing more.

 The Ark Angel soared out of Naboo's atmosphere, past the star destroyer checkpoint and towards the little moon where Sabine's X-Wing hid in orbit. Sabine noted that Aphra had seemed nervous as they passed the checkpoint. "There are some people in the Empire who would love to get their hands on me, and not in the fun way," Aphra explained.

"Speaking of which, I realized that I didn't, uh...well, you know..." Sabine struggled for the words. "I didn't... return the favor."

Aphra smiled up at her. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart. You owe me one now."

"But I don't... I don't know what I'm doing."

Aphra got up from the controls and brushed Sabine's bangs out of her eyes. "I'll teach you."

For some reason Sabine felt overwhelmed with emotions, and felt like blurting all kinds of incredibly stupid things, maybe even that four letter L word, but she didn't, of course, and she regained her composure. "Thank you... Chelli."

That caught her off guard. "Chelli?" Aphra laughed, clearly nervous. "We're on Chelli now? I told you nobody calls me that."

"Well, I'm not nobody... am I?"

Aphra averted her eyes, staring at the floor. "No... no you're not."

Sabine reached out and lifted her chin, and gave her a soft kiss. Then she headed for her X-Wing, a little bounce in her step and a flutter in her heart. And she couldn't help but notice as she left that their roles had reversed, and that for some reason it was now Aphra who was on the defensive.