Shin was creeping through the corridors, discreet and lively.
To her dismay, Sabine was trotting behind her at a hopping pace, noisy and all over the place. Morgan's guard avoided her like death since she had slayed one of them, and although Shin had the right to bring the prisoner out, they would report the matter to Elsbeth. And if want to pull that one off, I'd rather the old witch not know about our trip . As she was about to tell the girl off, Sabine spoke first.
"Soooooo..." said Sabine, innocently.
"So what, now?" sighed Shin.
"So you said it. For the first time!"
Shin didn't respond, hoping the girl would take the cue to shut up, for once in her life. There was of course no chance of that ever.
"My name!" insisted Sabine. "You said it for the first time ever! Not ' Mando ", not 'Jedi-girl ' or ' assbucket' ... or ' cutest princess of my heart' , you said ' Sabine' !"
Shin moaned in despair.
"I am pretty certain I never called you princess of my heart or whatever!"
"Well not out loud, but your thoughts betray you. Your feelings for me are strong. Especially for... my ass! " said Sabine, mimicking a distinctive hoarse and ominous mechanical voice.
For the love of the Force, begged Shin internally.
"Yes, I said 'Sabine ". Sighed Shin. "That's your name, I used it to be nice, and now I'm currently starting to regret it. Do we really need to call a press conference or pull a talent show about that?"
"Yes I make a mean Vador," rejoiced Sabine. "But I was just wondering if I should call you by your normal name now," said Sabine, putting a finger to her mouth thoughtfully.
"Take all the time you need to weigh such a crucial decision..." said Shin, rolling her eyes. "Don't sprain a brain cell, you're loud enough with that ankle of y..."
"I think I'll just move toward a cute nickname," cut Sabine decisively, like the matter was indeed important. "What about 'Shinbang '? she asked spiritedly. "Because there's your name, but also you have cool bangs, so that's like... the whole shebang !" she explained laughing at her own joke.
Shin moaned some more, knowing perfectly that the more she would engage, the less Sabine would let it go. She hesitantly took another turn in an empty corridor, hoping she remembered the right path. If she did, the emergency stairwell would be very close now.
A distant rumble echoed from far away on the ship, and Shin felt the ground tremble faintly. That blasting trash bucket of a ship... thought Shin, in a bad mood. Did they even bother installing compensators in here? But the sight of the staircase, finally appearing, brought a smile back to her face.
"Ok, Mando-brat, brace for the climb. We're going all the way up!" announced Shin.
Sabine pouted, visibly mad to be called by some insulting nickname again. She looked at the staircase flatly.
"Dang, darling, a shitty dark staircase? You always take us to the nicest places..." said Shin flatly. "Can't wait to see what you have in store for our first anniversary. The sanitation supply or the fuel tanks maybe? Stars in my eyes..."
Climbing up the ship's deck would be strenuous, but there were too many holocams and guard movements around the lift to be safe. Shin gestured to Sabine to go first, following the girl.
"Thought we were de -escalating," complained Sabine, looking up a the seemingly infinite staircase.
"Oh sorry, princess , I didn't realize the inconvenience. Should we go back to your room and room service that shit?" said Sabine ironically, rolling her eyes. "I'll go 'Hey, Mr intendant, remember that girl blasting away half our soldiers? Well could you spare some art stuff for her to pass the time, she's very bored and she doesn't feel like taking the stairs to fetch them'."
"Ah!" exclaimed Sabine triumphally. "See, you're getting to the princess part!"
The climb was dull, every flight of stairs and landing the same as the one before it. If it wasn't for the deck number on the walls going up, Sin would have gone mad thinking they were caught in some space and time loop.
Sabine was also frustratingly low at climbing the stairs. The girl struggled with her sprained ankle, and Shin kept having to wait for her to move up. Though she had finally gone silent, panting faintly under the effort. And hopefully, they were only three levels from the top now.
Then, chaos happened.
Half through a new flight of stairs, a sudden distant rumble shook the whole ship again. This time, the walls and stairs trembled violently like some earthquake was going through the ship's hull.
Shin grabbed the handrail nervously, just in time to remain stable. But Sabine, while mid-step on her bad foot, got caught off-guard by the rumble.
"Oh fuck! Carefu..." Tried to cry Sabine.
The girl lost her balance and tumbled down on Shin, grabbing her in her fall. Time slowed for a second when Shin felt the girl's arms close around her neck, her head bumping into her shoulder. She had that sweet and spicy smell of hers, comforting and exciting at the same time. Sabine's cheek brushed hers in the fall, and Shin's hair stood on end from the warm and soft contact. She forgot herself in the frozen moment, closing her eyes. And falling. Fast .
Sabine's weight overcame Shin's grip on the handrail and sent them both tumbling, the girls screaming as they fell down the stairs, rolling onto the last landing in a loud and messy crash.
Shin found herself down on her back, her whole body hurting. Her head was ringing from bumping on the steps and floor, and something weirdly heavy was compressing her chest, shortening her breath.
She opened her eyes laboriously, to discover Sabine's face right above hers, looking back. The girl had fallen on her, lying with her whole body over Shin. Her arms were still around Shin's neck as she was straightening herself on her hands, lifting her face a mere inch from the apprentice's. And there they were again, those mesmerizing black holes she called eyes, a sweet hazel gaze to lose yourself in.
The lights on the staircase were flickering, casting intermittent shadows on Sabine's traits. The Mandalorian wasn't dazed. She looked at her with a serious and breathless expression, her soft lips barely parted and that warm sweet breath of her washing down in dishy tides over Shin's face. It wasn't the usual banter that came from her, but a whisper almost, of undecipherable seriousness.
"Are you all right?" Sabine said.
That murmur seemed to freeze time and send Shin to a world between worlds. At this very moment, that girl pressed against her, her face so close and so serious, was the only reality around. The now much too familiar mouth of the Jedi girl was way too close for her to be all right, ever again. Because at that very moment, she knew she'd have to spend so many minutes of her life not kissing it and breathing that girl's breath with hunger, though this was all she wanted in life right now. And that would never be right.
"No..." Shin said, in a whisper.
Their gazes were locked like they had been that evening on Lothal. Did they ever unlock after that? she wondered. Sabine's eyes had been burnt into hers even since, hotter than the blade she had plunged into the girl's chest that night. They had haunted her and made her skip a beat when she saw her back and alive on Seatos. Made her stop and look at her when she was just about to strike and Sabine failed that Force push. You have no powers, Shin had said. But right now, in the flickering light of that staircase, with those hazel eyes filling up her whole world, she knew how much she was wrong. You should not have that kind of power over me... Nobody should...
Lights flickered harder. Sabine's face disappeared in the dark and came back, closer every time she blinked back before Shin.
A flicker. Their nose was touching now, brushing. Flicker . That warm breath was becoming stronger, closer, and intoxicating. Flicker . A soft brush on her lips, a delicate press, and that sweet taste again from the girl's mouth.
Flicker .
Shin let the girl kiss her, with a sweetness and and passion she never even had for herself. Sabine's tongue was piercing, brushing, turning in her mouth, retreating to better explore between her lips and teeth, disappearing to let the girl bite gently and kiss some more, returning to dance again inside of her...
Sabine's hands had moved to cup her face, caressing her, the girl's delicate fingers tangling in her blond hair and locking her down, gently but firmly into that kiss. A very unnecessary precaution since Shin had no desire to break the embrace, her blue smokey eyes half closed in a silent moan of bliss. The moan turned into a gasp, as she felt Sabin's knee move up between her legs, pressing with excruciating precision in an already much too excited spot. She moaned through the kiss, eyes wide, as Sabine's knee started to press and brush with an excruciating precision all but accidental. Her brain was swarmed with sensations she had been craving for far too long, the burning fire between her legs immune to the sudden wetness flooding it.
Then, the Jedi broke the kiss, her face diving and brushing her neck.
"What about now...?" Sabine whispered hoarsely in her ear.
"Now I don't think I'll ever be all right again..." breathed Shin, staring intensely at the girl.
"I..." Sabine started.
But a sudden clank echoed above them, followed by the sound of boots going down the stairs. Both girls spun to their feet in panic, sorting out their disheveled clothes in precipitation. Shin gestured Sabine to remain there and keep silent, as she started to climb the stairs toward the noise.
Shin came face to face with a guard, who jumped in surprise at her sight. The man's training kicked in as he raised his blaster rifle toward her, halting.
"Ma'am, what are you doing here?" he asked.
Shin didn't flinch, her eyes narrowing to a cold animal stare.
"Oh I'm sorry, random-guard-number-whatever, did I miss some sort of memo where you were granted authority, on top of the audacity ?" Shin said, dropping the average temperature of the staircase by several degrees with her tone.
The guard looked at her properly in the dim light and recoiled clumsily, lowering his rifle.
"Uh... sorry ma'am, not to question your authority, but those last flights of stairs access Magistrate Elsbeth's quarters," he explained. "I have orders to patrol and report any anomaly, and turn around unauthorized personnel."
Shin crossed her arms, darting a piercing look at him. She spoke in a calm and menacing voice.
"And I am Lady Elsbeth's direct hire, rescue party, and most recently last defense against her Jedi enemies. Surely I outrank you. I don't really care how much. But if that's not enough, I bet you have heard of me. Very recently ."
The guard audibly gulped, seeming to effectively remember Shin's last accomplishments on the ship. Shin did not let him respond and talked slowly, in a eerie and decisive voice.
"I think you will turn around now, go to your quarters, take a break, and reflect on my authority. And I won't hear about you anymore." Shin said.
"Uh.. I'm... gonna go take a break and you... you won't hear from me ma'am," the guard said, turning heels promptly and disappearing through the adjacent deck door, half running.
Hashed footsteps echoed behind Shin, and she turned, to see Sabine climbing up to her with uncertain footing. They both exchanged a look, in silence. Something had shifted between them, in that moment down there before the guard interrupted them. They did not need words to understand that it wasn't the place and time to talk about it. They needed fewer words even to know they wouldn't be able to deny it either. Something broke. Or got built. Or both, thought Shin. But that's not the place to...
Sabine broke the silence.
"So... I heard, that was cool. I wish I could get a hang on the whole Force persuasion thing..." Sabine said.
Shin shrugged, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
"Uh, what do you mean? I don't know how to do that either... yet." Shin said.
"What? I heard you suggest that guy turn around and shut his mouth, and he confirmed as he did. That wasn't the Force?" asked Sabine, puzzled.
Shin looked at her, sincerely surprised at the suggestion. She shook her head.
"Uh no, dumbass, that was just me scaring the shit out of him. I don't need the force to dispose of rent-a-cop here. I just make it clear in my eyes that he's gonna be a stain on the wall if I get angry, and that's it."
"Well I guess that's a mood... or at least, your mood," winced Sabine, not sure she approved. "But dumbass ? Hey, I thought we were not going back to those?" she moaned.
"Get a move on, or we're certainly going back to your cell, dumbass-princess ," Shin responded, hiding half a smile as she went up.
"Hey that kiss back there has to deserve me the 'of your heart ' part!" protested Sabine, following her up.
"Sure thing, dumbass of my heart... " jeered Shin.
They entered the last level of the ship, Shin closing the stairwell door with caution, alert. But the corridor was empty and they got to the only door on the deck, one that Shin had crossed not so long ago. Checking for lifeforms with the Force as Sabine waited in expectation, she finally nodded with a sigh of relief.
"Ok, all clear, Big Bad Witch is away doing witchy things I guess," said Shin.
"That's... Elbseth's quarters?" asked Sabine, eyes wide in surprise. "We're breaking in?"
"As improbable as you think it to be, passager-princess, not many men in here care about art so much. Their hobbies are more... questionable, they don't really pack art stuff," said Shin. "So we're borrowing from the only person here who's got useless shit to spare. She didn't notice last time after all... Anyway, you know how to boost a door? Because I didn't think that far."
"Still got my... reinterpretation of your comlink?" asked Sabine, shrugging.
"As a matter of fact..." said Shin, handing her the improvised device. "You're not keeping that, though."
"Hey, finders keepers," replied Sabine, starting to work on the door lock, and connecting it to the device.
"You didn't find that, you stole it, in my pocket," said Shin.
"And then you stole me a kiss, so we're even," smirked Sabine.
"You settled that earlier I think..." mumbled Shin, blushing.
"More like bested that, but who's keeping scores?" replied Sabine, tossing her the device back as the door opened. "Et voilĂ !" she said triumphally, engulfing herself in the quarters.
Shin followed her nervously, closing the door after them. The vast cabin lit up with the same tame orange light it had last time Shin came in. Elsbeth still wasn't very good at tidying up, for the room was still cramped with weird witchy stuff, clothing, and trinkets, and the desk was buried under datapads and flimsiplast sheets. Sabine started to wander joyfully, examining every trinket and weird-looking drawing she could get her hands on. Shin caught up to her, slapping her hand as she was picking up a strange statuette.
"Hey! Don't touch that shit! The woman creeps me out, I'm sure she'll notice and moan again against me," grumbled Shin, slapping Sabine's hand. "Makeup and stationary only, and don't take anything too obvious..."
Sabine put the statuette down, pouting.
"All right Shinbummer, chill-out, what's the point of snooping around if we don't have fun?" she said. She looked flatly at the main room, scanning for supplies, and sighed. "There's not much here, I'm gonna check her bedroom for more..."
"Fine, but hurry and don't touch stuff you're not supposed to!" replied Shin.
She dismissed the Mandalorian with a wave, and approached the desk, noticing an unlocked datapad. Now that's not very cautious, Lady Elsbeth. What do you have in here? she thought, picking up the device and bringing up the main screen. She trusted the witch half as far as she could throw her, so a quick dive into her personal files was just healthy reassurance.
She brought up Morgan's messages, browsing with a bored look. Boring logistics and toxic management over and over, thanks for the great read Morgan, you're even more boring than you are a bitch.
She scrolled mindlessly, but as she was about to close the screen, a sent message to Baylan Skoll got her attention. It was dated a while ago, right after they had rescued her from the New Republic. The subject said 'Tano and acolytes", with several attachments to it. Pulling up the files, her heart stopped. There was a good number of them, all about the Jedi associates. Some she expected: 'Sabine Wren' was not a surprise, she had read this one herself before Lothal. But another stood out.
A full inquisitorial archive with pages of details from birth to disappearance, about Ezra Bridger. The full file had been sent to Master Skoll from day one, no stone unturned. What the fuck did you sent me chasing with Sabine, old fool? You had everything from the start! Why are you on my ass about interrogating the girl? she raged, her knuckles whitening as she was grasping the datapad in anger. She sent herself the file, taping angrily on the pad, and tossed it back on the desk with contempt.
"So, do I pull it off?" said Sabine behind her.
Shin jumped with surprise, as she had completely forgotten about the girl. She spun around to face Sabine, only to gape at her.
The girl... the woman, insisted Shin in her thought, was leaning on the bedroom doorframe, wearing a red lace and velvet dress, borrowed from Elsbeth's wardrobe. The garment had quite another effect on Sabine than the old witch.
Black ribbons of silk were underlying every curve of Sabine's body in subtle patterns, the laced parts showing very strategic patches of her pale skin. Shin's eyes went up and down the Mandalorian, and then definitely a little down again. The dress had been tailored to perfection, leaving no detail to chance. And if there was proof of that, it was the cleavage of the garment, stopping exactly where it needed to, to drive Shin mad. every movement of the girl was just making the fabric dance and sliver, painting the contours of Sabine's body in mysterious and ephemeral suggestions.
Trying to engrave every detail in her memory, Shin finally responded in an unconvincing voice.
"What are you... You can't... put that back right now! " she begged, half panicked, half mesmerized.
"Oh? Then make me ..." said Sabine, smiling playfully, her eyes intensely plunged in Shin's.
The Mandalorian turned around in a faint, seductive, ruffle of velvet, the dress' skirt dancing around her curves and legs. Shin cursed, moving toward her, but she disappeared into the bedroom with a laugh. Shin ran after her, cursing.
"For chutta's sake Sabine! We don't have time for your stunts...!"
Sabine sat on Morgan's bed, crossing her legs nonchalantly. The dress' slit skirt revealed her naked leg and foot, red polish flashing on her nails. She had time to do them? Shin gulped as the slit was stopping just shy of showing too much.
"Well, I think I'm keeping it," said Sabine playfully, "because either I wear it better, or Elsbeth's got quite a view when you look at her..."
"Come one Sabine, she might come back, just put it back, and let's get out, now," hissed Shin.
"Fine... but I need your help with the zipper in the back..." said Sabine, innocently. The fakeness of it made Shin scream in her head.
She moved toward the Mandalorian, and put a hand behind the girl's neck, feeling for the zipper's head. She put on a severe and deadly look, darting at Sabine's eyes, her face now dangerously close again.
" Fine. Don't think I won't take it off you if I need to," Shin said, starting to pull the zipper down slowly.
"I don't think you need to... I think you want to. And I know you will ..." whispered Sabine, smiling, her gaze back into Shin's. The dress started to undo itself, falling down Sabine's shoulders, and sliding over her breast.
Shin stopped breathing, her gaze now pulled down to quite an irresistible view.
"She's not my size with underwear, so I figured I didn't need them to try on the dress..." said Sabine in a breath
"That doesn't leave much protection," said Shin hoarsely. The dress had fallen down on Sabine's crossed legs, the girl seeming fierce and magnificent but suddenly a little shy too, her half naked body bathing in the dim light, under Shin's hungry gaze.
"Well, do I need protection here?" breathed Sabine, in a dim voice.
"It's a dangerous ship. You never know what can happen..." whispered Shin to her ear, putting a hand on the girl's naked thigh, her fingers digging under the folds of the fallen fabric.
"What if I know?" whispered Sabine back, biting gently Shin's ear as she put an arm around the apprentice's waist, caressing her back. "What if I want it to happen...?" she murmured, her hot tantalizing breath warming up Shin's neck.
"Oh it's happening, girl. Its just fortunate that you want it..."
Shin's fingers made their way up, and upper still. She felt a soft sweet brush of hairs, as she found her way between the girl's legs. She did not have much to part as Sabine wasn't crossing them anymore and moaned in her ear as Shin drew slow circles above a particular area. Her fingertips were missing again and again, purposely, a much-desired point of destination, in excruciating loops.
"Now would be a good time to de-escalate ..." panted Sabine, kissing Shin's neck.
Shin let her finger plunge those final millimeters, making contact with burning wet lips she had yet to kiss. She parted them, and played with them, teasing and caressing in turn, soiling her fingers and the bedsheets under. An intimate, tantalizing smell climbed to her, as she could feel the warm and moist result of her efforts.
Sabine let go of a gasp, her moan echoing loudly in the dim chamber. Shin bit the girl's ear back, whispering.
"Oh sweetty... I'm afraid now we're on this path, you gonna escalate a lot," she said slowly. And as she took the girl's mouth once more, she let her fingertips dig their way further, deeper into the wet hot slit, exploring her slowly. Sabine let out a surprised cry, digging her nails into Shin's neck, and pulling her harder against her.
A violent rumble went through the ship, followed by a literal quake. Shockwaves made the walls tremble, sending lamps, clothes, and trinkets on the floor. Taken by surprise, both girls fell down the bed, rolling in a storm of falling objects and moving furniture.
The tremble stopped as fast as it came, a desolated silence falling down again on the room.
Sabine pushed aside bedsheets and a bedlamp, scrambling on the floor to recover her clothes. Shin was already back up, listening around for clues as to what happened, alert.
"I know that ship's not a luxury cruise but... those rumbles earlier, and then this ?" said Sabine, "That's not normal, is it?".
Shin could feel spikes of anguish all around in the lower decks. She picked up the distant rumble of boots running, and people scrambling around.
"No," Shin said. "It's not. Let's go back, I got a feeling there's gonna be lots of people on edge, scouring the ship very soon."
"Fuck! " cursed Sabine, letting out her frustration. Something obvious in her voice let Shin guess it wasn't about the chaos around, but much more related to what got interrupted.
And Shin couldn't but share the feeling.
