The sudden voice startled the archaeologist as she worked. She jerked as if she'd been shocked, and a long string of gibberish appeared on her terminal screen, typed in her scramble.
She turned and saw the familiar Black and Yellow Armor. She rolled her eyes and twisted her mouth.
"You scared me! This is an uninhabited planet. I thought a Force Spirit had shown up."
She looked much the same as ever, with a pilot's leather cap, goggles perched on top, and her usual cowboy style. But the planet's conditions had made her add a thick coat, leaving her looking like a round little ball.
Su Ming took in their surroundings. There wasn't much to see: a cave beneath a glacier, blue-tinged ice all around, air a little low on oxygen, and a temperature of roughly thirty below zero. Snow swirled beyond the entrance. Inside, the cave was dim, lit only by a small lamp the doctor had brought.
Having just returned from Ice and Snow Wonderland, he yawned. This chill had nothing on White Frost, which could freeze a universe.
"Did you find Mushroom Master's lover like I asked?"
He meant the Je'daii Master they had met last time, the one bonded to an alien organism. The Symbiotes looked so much like mushrooms that the master had acquired his nickname. He had given Su Ming the chance to wield The Force and shared a wealth of Jedi techniques. In return, Su Ming had promised to help find someone.
"I found her ages ago. Who do you think I am?" Aphra rubbed her nose with her thumb and lifted her chin smugly. "I'm an archaeological genius. Finding someone who disappeared a thousand years ago was a piece of cake. I reunited them. It was pretty touching, actually. Want to see?"