A/N: Back with another chapter!Figuring out where to go with this next, since I can go pretty much anywhere with it...this will be fun ;) I appreciate my reviewers so much! Thank you to sarahmichellegellarfan1, Junjuyil, and heroherondale to name a few! Every time I get one, I peek at it while I'm at work and get all excited. So thank you all! Same as always...I only own Vara.

Chapter 14

Complication

"All right, gentlemen, this flight is basically showing us what you can do up here. We have a few scrap targets floating around in the area. Snap and I will call out formations and observe for the most part. Don't be worried if you don't know a few of them. The Resistance has put into play some old stuff that some of you may not have learned. Again, I'm Red Leader, Captain Wexley is Blue Leader. We know that this isn't the same as flying against real ships, but there's time for that in the simulator. Let's go," Vara said through the radio. R9 beeped in excitement as they led the X-wings out of D'Qar's atmosphere and into space, calling out basic formations at first. This was an evaluation more than anything, and after a round in the battle simulator, the new pilots would be split into two groups: Training and Advanced. Snap would take the Training group and Vara would take the Advanced, running drills and learning more every day until everyone was on the same page. Some were very clearly ahead of others, like the ship that Vara was keeping her eye on in the background. Elias Corso had been in a group known as Corona Squadron, one of the most renowned flight groups since the Rebellion. Their composition had changed since the Battle of Endor, but they had a been an elemental part of that particular battle and held their standards high ever since. After doing some quick research on her datapad, Vara saw that he was promoted two years after she had been, transferring to Naboo to fly with Corona. He had a spotless record, flying consistently well and was next in line to lead the Squadron. It made Vara wonder why he had even quit the Republic fleet to join the Resistance if he was being groomed to lead his own squad of that caliber.

After about two hours of fly time, Snap called for a retreat back to D'Qar. The recruits stood in a half circle around the two Captains on the ground, sweaty and a bit tired but attentive.

"Good work, guys. We have a good idea of where you're at and we'll continue to evaluate before we start on the hard stuff. Head back to the barracks and clean up. We'll meet again at dinner." Snap gave them a nod, and the recruits turned and started back towards the base.

"Lieutenant Corso," Vara called before he could get too far away. The pilot stopped and looked back at her. Vara knew he had been avoiding her, even if it was just acting like he didn't know her. She just wanted to know why.

"Hello, Captain." He was as stoic as ever, his broad shoulders slouched just a little, chin high. At just over six feet tall, he looked down to Vara like he always did.

"It's good to see you," she prompted. "Looks like you haven't stopped improving."

"Still not as good as you are," he said. It had always been a competition for them, usually healthy. Every once in a while it would get a bit too competitive, which is when Teran would step in. It was strange to hear him admit she was a better pilot.

"I'm not the one who flew for Corona Squadron," she scoffed.

"How'd you know that?"

"Teran came to say hi," she said. "He told me he was your tech." She paused, a little awkwardly. "How have you been?"

"I'm okay. Finding...finding out what I want to do with myself."

Vara looked at him with new curiosity. When they had known each other in training, he had been happy. Quiet and observant, but happy, at least as far as she knew. In front of her now, he looked like he might never smile again. Maybe he would open up a little bit as he settled in at the new base but he seemed different. Vara had seen him act this way before, but she didn't think he would be like this forever.

"What happened?" she asked simply, cocking her head a little.

Elias looked at his feet for a moment, as if deciding whether to give her a straight answer or not. Vara waited patiently. She could have waited all day if she had to. Her old friend had changed, and she wanted to know why, and if she could help.

"You left," he replied bluntly.

That had not been the answer she was expecting. To be fair, she didn't really know what she expected, but that was not it. She kept staring at him, a little stunned, as he turned and walked away. As his footsteps walked away, another set approached her from behind.

"Keep an eye on that one," Wexley said. "He's almost as good as you are, Kilo," he teased.

"It's true," she said, still a little taken aback. "Yeah, he's good. I'm excited about these guys." Shaking it off as much as she could, she turned to face the other Captain. "What else do we have for today?"

"You haven't checked your datapad yet, have you?" he chuckled. "The General sent us both a message. Wanted us to report in when we were finished with that test flight."

"No, I haven't checked yet. Was it urgent or can we change first?"

"I'd like to change," Wexley said with a shrug. "But we probably need to hustle."

"I'll race you!" she said, leaping into a sprint back towards the barracks. She heard Snap thundering after her, shouting something about an unfair start. She knew she'd have to talk to Elias about what he meant eventually, but after that strange encounter, she needed a little distraction. Like a lot of things in her life, now was not the time.

Vara and Snap walked into the General's office, having changed into their regular clothes and cleaned up a bit. The room was fairly small, even with the map wall and projector table in the middle. Poe and Vorik had already arrived, chatting idly with General Organa.

"You wanted to see us, General?"

"Good, you're here. I'm going to get right to it," General Organa said. "We may have an opportunity to interrogate Senator Ro-Kiintor."

"Really?" Poe said, placing his hands on his hips. "Wasn't he on Hosnian Prime?"

"No, they had him on Coruscant," Vorik answered. "There's a higher level security detention facility on Coruscant."

"Even with the crime rate there? Wouldn't it be easier for him to potentially get out?" Snap asked.

Vorik shook his head. "It was deliberated quite a bit, trust me. The facility on Coruscant is higher tech and there are more people available to guard it."

"Either way, he's still alive and he's still there," the General said, redirecting the conversation. "It will take a few days for us to get clearance, and another two and a half days to get there. I want us to be ready to go when they give us permission."

"Who's going?" Vara asked.

"I want it to be you and Poe."

Vara raised her eyebrows in surprise. After thinking for a moment, though, it kind of made sense. She was one of the few people who helped capture his ship, had some of the most experience with the First Order, and she was a high-ranking officer that had access to information most didn't.

"Just the two of us?" she asked. "Or will there be a bigger crew?"

"I may decide to send another pilot with you, but I need to keep at least one Captain here to continue training and sending two officers seems like the best idea. We won't be sending a huge party, but you will be traveling with Vorik, who will stay on Coruscant to help form the new government once again." A brief look of exhaustion crossed her features. Everyone knew that it had been extremely difficult putting together the first New Republic, and now they had to do it again. No doubt there were many people coming to her with questions and requests. Vara would certainly be sad to see her brother leave again, but he was starting to come into his own and make a name for himself, and she was excited to see him reach his full potential.

"Full disclosure, General," Wexley said, folding his arms. "Who was actually behind the theft of the Senator's yacht?"

Sometimes Vara didn't realize how much most people didn't know about the operation that she, Poe, and Iolo had completed. Almost no one guessed that it was even the Resistance, thanks to Poe yelling something about the Irving Boys gang upon taking the yacht. They had sworn to secrecy simply because it would make the Resistance look horrible to the public. As far as anyone knew, it was the Irving Boys and they gave the information to the Resistance after plundering the yacht.

General Organa looked pointedly at the Poe while Vorik pretended to be very interested in the holotable. Surprisingly, Poe looked at the floor, clasping his hands behind his back like he was embarrassed.

"Don't be shy," Vara scoffed. "We did. With Iolo Arana. Poe launched from the Headhunter and Iolo and I covered him. You can read the report, but the first responders were not the Republic. It was the First Order and they answered the distress signal with two Star Destroyers and a Nebulon-K. We were very close to being shot down in the process. They were ready to kill the Senator before letting us find out the truth." Vara stood tall and faced the rest of them, Han's words running through her head. If you're good at something, don't be humble. Own it. There had been so much controversy surrounding the theft of the Senator's yacht, but Vara was always the first to argue that the information received was worth the risk.

"You guys used Headhunters?" Wexley exclaimed. "For a mission like that?"

"You're not surprised that it was them?" Vorik said.

"Not really," Snap said with a shrug. "These two are capable of doing pretty much anything they put their minds to. Or anything their CO puts their mind to," he said offhandedly. They all knew that meant the General and her gutsy ideas. She looked smug for just a moment before her expression went back to neutral.

"I barely fit in that stupid ship," Vara grunted. "But we can always say that we outdid a First Order fleet with two Headhunters and a luxury yacht, so that'll be fun to brag about someday."

Poe was being oddly quiet. When Vara glanced his way, it seemed like he was just there to observe the conversation for a bit, sitting in on a meeting he didn't really have sway over. Vara reminded herself to catch him alone later to pick his brain.

"Anyway," the General chided, bringing them back on track once again. "I will go over more with you once we get clearance. I wanted to bring up the mission to all of you. We'll talk more about it tomorrow. Dismissed." The four of them walked out of her office and left her to her solitude.

"Well," Vorik said, breaking the short silence. "You still owe me that flight, Vara."

"Tomorrow?" she suggested. "There's a lot more to do today with the recruits."

"I'll plan on it. For now, I have to make a few calls. Love you," he said, hugging his older sister.

"Love you," she replied, turning back to Wexley. "We're making teams later, right?"

"How about after lunch?" he said. They had a pretty good handle on who would fly well with whom, and they were splitting the new recruits into fly groups that evening over dinner.

"Sounds good to me. I'll meet you in the main classroom?"

"See you then," he said and headed off to the cafeteria. That left just Poe and Vara.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly. It wasn't hard to tell that he was unnerved about something. When Poe Dameron didn't say anything during a mission plan, there was something off.

Poe shook his head. "Not here. Want to go get lunch? Eat in my room?"

Vara nodded, walking next to him to the cafeteria, talking about the new recruits. It was like a thousand conversations they'd had before, talking about whatever their flight group was doing at the moment, but after the last few weeks, they had almost grown weary. After getting a tray and taking it back to the barracks, Poe let the two of them into his quarters and sat on his bed, seeming exhausted. His tray of food was placed on his nightstand, unheeded.

"I don't know about this one," he said after running a hand through his hair. "He hasn't come forward with any information since he was captured. I'm not sure what going to interrogate him is going to do."

"Are we going to intimidate him? Tell him that we were the ones who took his ship?" Vara suddenly had a million questions. "He definitely wouldn't like that."

"I assume we'll talk about it more tomorrow." Poe shook his head. "What do you think?"

"I don't know what to think yet," she replied softly, taking a long pull of water. "I need more information."

"Is that what you said when General Organa told you to come find me on Jakku?" he said, smiling a little despite himself.

"That's exactly what I said." Vara nodded, taking a bite. "I don't know, General. He's just my Commander and my most trusted confidant. I need a little time to think about this one. Also, my first task was to find BB-8 and the map, not you," she pointed out. "I just got to you first."

He scoffed. "Your instincts led you to me first. I've always said they were flawless."

Vara raised an eyebrow. "What were flawless?" she asked skeptically.

"Your...instincts," he asserted, raising his eyebrows.

"Uh huh." Vara put her tray on the small table next to her and sidled over to him, leaning down and placing her hands on either side of his legs, her nose brushing his. "We'll get through this one too, Poe. We always do, right?"

He ran his hands down her sides, hooking his fingers in her belt loops, staring up at her. "If your flawless instincts say so, then we will."