A/N: Hello again! Vara and Poe are back! This is going to be more of a regular update schedule now, about weekly. I have two jobs and I work a LOT, but it's fun, and I still make time to dedicate to these two :) I hope you enjoy! Thank you, loyal readers! As always, I only own Vara. Star Wars was not my doing.

Chapter 16

Coruscant

"Systems check complete. Ready for takeoff, Commander."

"Copy that, Captain," Poe said from the seat beside Vara. He glanced at her and smiled. "Nice sitting next to you in a ship, huh?"

"Co-pilots for the first time," she said excitedly. "Strap in, Vorik."

"Already am," her brother replied. His flight with Vara in the tandem X-wing a few days earlier had been a fantastic leisurely flight in her eyes and a little too much in his. He had gotten on this ship and gone straight to his chair.

"Don't worry, kid. You'll get your space legs soon," Poe chuckled.

"I will admit, I kind of pushed that tandem pretty far the other day," Vara mentioned. "This one's going to be much smoother."

"Good to hear."

"Base, this is Commander Dameron, requesting clearance for takeoff," Poe said over the comms, flipping switches and checking gauges. The pre-flight routine had been so built into both of them that they reached for the same button or switch multiple times. The VCX-100 that they were in wasn't a huge ship and neither of them had flown this particular model before, but the gist was similar to most other ships made by the Corellian Engineering Corporation. Vara briefly thought of the Millennium Falcon, off in a hidden part of space with Rey, Chewie, and Artoo. This ship had been modded slightly, though not nearly as much as Han and Chewie had modded the Falcon.

"Base to Commander Dameron, you're all clear. Fly safe."

"Thanks, Base," Poe replied, and he flipped on the thrusters. The ship was a comfortable light freighter that fit the three of them with ease, able to take up to six passengers as well as a pilot and a gunner and extra cargo. The larger version of the ship was popular with smugglers due to its combination of speed and roomy interior, but this one Snap had salvaged from an Outer Rim auction.

"Where are the static dampeners?" Vara asked, leaning over the control panel as Poe brought the ship straight upwards.

"Let's wait to find out until the General can't discover we have them," he said with a smirk.

"Is that dampening system...legal?" Vorik asked from behind them.

"Not particularly, no."

"How can something be 'particularly' legal?"

Poe pushed the freighter forward, the acceleration living up to its reputation. Vorik fell silent, going a little more pale.

"I kinda like this," Poe said. "It's simple, but nice. Quick."

"You're going to have to let me bring her in when we get there, then," Vara said, visually taking in the control panel. All ships were different, but they were made up of the same stuff. It was just a matter of translating the knowledge she already had to this particular model. That was part of what she loved about being a pilot. Each vessel was the same on some level, but they all had their unique parts and quirks, and Vara loved learning about all of them.

"I suppose," he teased. Poe directed the ship up and out of D'Qar's atmosphere, grinning at her briefly. "Turning onto hyperspeed vector," Poe announced. They hadn't been able to bring the droids along this time, to which they had both protested annoyingly. Poe reached forward and grasped the lever. "Going into hyperspace," he announced, and through the window before them, the stars stretched into lines and lit up the cabin. The ship transitioned smoothly, shuddering slightly but nothing more.

"I do enjoy this part," Vorik murmured, staring out the window. "This view has always been one of the best."

"I agree." Vara had always liked hyperspace as well. She thought it was probably the feeling of standing still inside the ship but hurtling through space at faster than the speed of light that was so exhilarating, at least at first. "I'm going to check out the gunner position," she said, unbuckling her straps and opening the hatch a few meters behind the seats. The floor dropped away and she slid down the ladder to the gunner's cabin. The seat was directly beneath the pilot, looking out the bottom half of the half-sphere window that made up the front nose of the ship.

"How is it?"

"Pretty cool," she called back to Poe.

"I'll come down in a minute. Showing Vorik his cabin first."

Vara flipped between missiles, lasers, and ion cannons, fiddling with the settings and testing buttons. The quiet of hyperspace was sometimes unnerving, but Vara knew if they were going to be here for nearly three days, she'd have to live with it. For now, she would just immerse herself in the nuances of this new ship, finding out everything she could.

"Down here?" Vara heard Poe's voice come from above, and he found his way down the ladder to the small gunner's cockpit.

"Having fun yet?"

"Yeah, you know how much I love new ships. How's Vorik?"

"You must've shown him some real flying out there. He's a little anxious."

"He's also heading to Coruscant to be one of the leaders in the second New Republic. And he's not even twenty years old."

"That makes sense," Poe conceded. "Gives us a little more alone time, though," Poe said, leaning over the back of the gunner's chair and wrapping his arms around Vara from behind.

"Oh my gosh, Poe," Vara giggled.

"What?" he said slyly into her ear.

"Don't get me started, I swear -"

The ladder creaked behind them, and then Vara heard a small gasp. "Oh, no, I'm sorry -"

"Vorik!" Vara exclaimed, jumping a little. Poe let her go and she turned to look at her startled brother.. They kept getting interrupted. Or was it that they weren't careful enough? Probably a little of both. "Um...I was going to tell you."

"Okay," he said, turning back to the ladder. "Sorry I...yeah. I'll be up there."

"That went well," Vara sighed.

"It's probably just because you're his sister," Poe said with a shrug.

"I hope so. I know he likes you. I think we scared him," she said, chuckling.

"Pretty sure we did." Poe leaned back over her again. "This would definitely be more comfortable in one of those pilot's chairs."

"We're going to scare him even more," Vara laughed.

"He's never going to leave his room!"

The rest of the journey was just as they expected, uneventful and a bit boring. Vara and Poe had political discussions with Vorik, who didn't hide out in his room as they thought he might, even though he did look just as startled when Poe and Vara came out of the same room that first morning. Vara took her brother aside that morning and apologized for not telling him sooner.

"Well, I kind of saw it coming, but you're my sister. It was...weird."

Vara smiled, hearing for just a moment the little kid she had watched grow up. "Okay. I suppose I'll react the same way to the girl I walk in on you with someday."

"Please tell me that will never happen," he groaned.

Over the rest of the trip, Vorik taught them about the processes of the Republic, about how they might go about putting a new one together, and about the delicate process of replacing a Senator like what happened after Ro-Kiintor was arrested. Vara taught him more about ships, like the basic processes and how most of them flew. When they finally landed on Coruscant with Vara at the helm. Vorik watched over her shoulder with piqued interest. There was a transport waiting for him and another for Vara and Poe, waiting to take them to the place they'd be staying until the next day when they would interrogate Ro-Kiintor.

"Okay, Vorik." Vara stood on her tiptoes to hug her brother. "Good luck in there. I want to talk to you often, okay? Like twice a week."

"Of course, Vara." Vorik turned to Poe and wrapped the pilot in a hug. "Sorry about my reaction the other day. I just never really pictured either of you like that. Now that I see it, it makes sense, but I was just a little...thrown off." He took a deep breath. "I'll see you two soon. Love you, Vara."

"Love you too, Vorik. Good luck in there." As he got into the transport, Vara felt a wave of happiness, making her eyes well up a little.

"Aw, Vara," Poe said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm just really proud of him. Especially after...he could have fallen apart. But he didn't. He got stronger."

"So did you," Poe murmured. "Both of you did."

"Thank you, Poe. I don't know if I could've without you, you know." She took a deep breath too, looking out over the bustling city. It was exactly like she had seen in her dream, all sorts of different species and buildings and shops, the buildings towering high into the air. "Shall we go?"

Poe offered her his arm. "Yes. I'd like to see where they put us up for the night."

The building was tall, over 100 stories, with a large disc at the top of the main building and several more towers with bulbous tops. One of the higher towers held the ex-senator Ro-Kiintor, and that's where Vara and Poe were headed, dressed in their old New Republic Starfighter Command dress uniforms. The city-planet of Coruscant was built high into the sky and deep below the surface, and Vara was glad that they were going up instead of down. Being underground was never her strong suit. Their four escorts, three humans and a Chiss, surrounded them as they entered the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center, directing them into the elevator and staring silently ahead as they zipped upwards.

Vara reviewed their interrogation points in her head. They needed locations of any transmissions that were made before they had captured the ship, any places the Order had made the Senator meet them, things and materials the Senator had procured for them, how much money they had been paying him...there was a lot of information that Ro-Kiintor hadn't given up since he had been arrested. They were looking for anything, really - any information that could lead them to where the First Order was now hiding out would help.

"I wonder if he'll recognize me," Poe said idly. Vara looked at him, alarmed.

"Is there any reason he could?"

"No," Poe said, shaking his head. "I had a helmet on with masking and a voice modulator. But I still think about it," he said with a shrug. He clasped his hands behind his back, pulling his shoulders back and standing as tall as he could. Both of their uniforms had been updated to show their new ranks of Commander and Captain, but it was still strange being in them for the first time since they'd joined the Resistance.

"I've always thought you looked handsome in your dress uniform," Vara mentioned offhandedly, drawing herself to her full height as well, a smirk on her face. Poe glanced at her as the elevator doors opened, a little surprised and a little intrigued all at once. Their escorts marched them forward and down a hallway, passing through a security gate with a code punched in by the lead escort. Vara willed herself to be calm, her heart wanting to pound through her chest. This mission wasn't dangerous, not even close to some of the other things they had done, but something about this whole situation made her nervous. Maybe it was just because she had never done anything like an interrogation before, but either way, she was not comfortable.

"Relax, Vara," Poe whispered as they approached the room. "We'll be fine."

The Chiss escort, armed with a blaster, unlocked the door and checked inside. Turning back to the officers, he waved Poe and Vara inside, following them and shutting the door behind. The room was a stark white with a clear barrier splitting the whole room down the middle. Ro-Kiintor sat on the opposite side, handcuffed to a small table that was nailed to the floor. He looked haggard, much different from the press photos that the officers had studied before they had stolen his ship. He looked haggard and angry.

"You can go," Poe said to the escort. "He's not a physical threat. And neither are we."

The Chiss said something over his radio, deliberating, before narrowing his red eyes. "There's a panic button on the wall next to the door," he said, slowly, suspicious. Then they were alone with Ro-Kiintor.

"Good," Poe said, walking calmly forward and sitting at the table facing the prisoner. "I just didn't want them blabbing to their coworkers about our topic of conversation."

"Let me guess," Ro-Kiintor replied. "My ship. Why it was stolen by gangsters. More questions about the First Order, perhaps?"

"Oh, no, not right away," Vara said, following Poe and taking over. She and Poe had talked about this at length on the journey there, deliberating whether it was the best course of action. If there was any protest from the New Republic, they could always call it a bluff to get him to talk. "No, we know all about your ship. We were the ones who took it."

The ex-senator looked stunned for a very brief moment before regaining his poker face and letting out a barking laugh. "The Irving Boys were the ones who stole my ship. They were very clear about that."

"You're smarter than that," Vara intoned. "The attack was swift and coordinated. You know the Irving Boys couldn't really pull something like that off. Especially with three small, old Headhunters."

Ro-Kiintor paused. Vara could see that he was thinking about it, deliberating whether to believe them or not.

Poe cleared his throat. "There were three of you on that ship at the time. You pushed your servant and pilot out of your way to get to the escape pods first, and you almost triggered the release before your servant was able to board it."

"He was...I didn't…" Ro-Kiintor stared at them for a moment, thinking. "So it was the New Republic. An act of treason against your Senate."

"Do not speak to us about treason." Vara cut him off, her voice level. "One could say you had a direct hand in the destruction of the Hosnian system."

The ex-senator fell silent. He looked like a child they had just chastised, embarrassed and ashamed. He looked away from them for the first time since they'd entered the room.

"So you regret it," Poe said, softer now. "Help us finish them off. You know the base they built is destroyed, but they're hiding out somewhere else. We need any information you have."

"You know I can't give it to you. They'll get to me, even in here," he growled.

"And you think rotting in here is better?" Vara replied. "Do something good for the Republic that you served once upon a time. Begin to redeem yourself."

"I cannot," he snarled. "Not after what I have done."

"And what, in particular, is that?" she asked.

The man on the other side of the room hesitated again. Vara didn't want to push him too hard, but she could see that he was starting to fold, even if just a little.

"Look," she said, leaning forward a little. "I know when secrets need to be kept. There's a time for that. Now is not that time. We've done some damage to the First Order, but they're not finished. If we can't finish them off, they'll keep coming back, just like they did from the remnants of the Empire. You could be a resource for us. You could help us. If you don't, you know how they tie up loose ends. Until they're gone, you'll never be able to stop looking over your shoulder, even in here." She stared him down, hoping he'd realize just how important this was. "So, for your sake and ours, we need a few pieces of information from you."

The man sat back, weighing his options. He looked from Vara to Poe and back, assessing. Vara pushed away her frustration and focused on him, waiting.

"Either way, they will kill me. If I say anything, if I say nothing, I'm dead."

"Not if we get to them before they knew it was you," Poe suggested. "We know they want to control the Unknown Regions. We can only assume their base is somewhere out there. We could just get lucky and find it, you know."

"Ha!" Ro-Kiintor scoffed. "They will never believe that."

"We can be surprisingly persuasive," Vara said, sitting back in her chair and folding her arms. "We know there were transmissions made to your ship, the Hevurion Grace, from their base planet before they transferred over to the Starkiller Base. We have record of them, but not where they were from," she prompted.

"Go find it yourself," Ro-Kiintor spat.

Poe and Vara sat quietly, waiting. He had to give it to them himself, not be bullied into it. If they pressured him too hard, he could give them some random place just to get them off of his back. If they didn't push hard enough, he would never give in. The man looked back and forth between them, just like he was before. They looked back, holding his gaze, staring him down.

"Fine," the ex-senator grumbled. "It's called Rakata Prime. That's all I'm giving you."

"Thank you," Poe said. "We appreciate that. Anything else you'd like to say? What they have on the planet, who's in charge, maybe some more on the Knights of Ren?"

"The who? No, no more. You have enough." The man looked resigned. "I can't believe two hooligans stole my yacht. You'll pay for that,"

"Hooligans," Vara sighed, looking to Poe. "Am I imagining that he said that lovingly?"

"I believe so, yes." It was clear that they weren't going to get any more out of him. "I think we're done here." Poe stood up and knocked on the door, Vara close behind. The Chiss opened it, but before Vara left, she turned back to the Senator.

"You've started to redeem yourself, you know. Thank you."

He waved his hand at her, refusing to look. She smiled a little anyways, and followed Poe out into the hallway. Two of the human escorts took them back to the elevator and it started downwards. Poe pulled a small datapad from his pocket and plugged in the name 'Rakata Prime.'

"Anything?"

"A little. I kind of want to go check it out before we head back -"

"No," Vara cut him off. "No way. We're taking this back to the General and going from there. We are not going there ourselves, especially in a VCX-100."

"They wouldn't be expecting us," he said. "And if word gets out that he said anything, they could be ready."

"Poe," she grumbled, glancing briefly at their escorts. This was probably the safest place to talk besides their own quarters or on the ship, but she still hesitated for some unknown reason. "We'll talk on the ship, okay?" She also felt very unnerved that there had been a Chiss working in the prison. Chiss were notorious for never leaving their home system, and when they did, they did so for power. She had read that in the Clone Wars, a Chiss had served Count Dooku as his dark acolyte, and another group of Chiss mercenaries had been hired by Empire-loyal Senator during the Galactic Civil War. There were even rumors about a Chiss being the only non-human to ever reach rank in the Emperor's army - rumors that whispered of a Grand Admiral that had hidden in the shadows of the Empire. Vara shook her head, trying to put those thoughts aside until they could speak in private. "I'm glad we were able to get to him, even though I had to be the villain."

"Yeah, did you like that? The 'good cop, bad cop' gig got him." Poe looked slightly proud. "And I will say, you came across as very confident and slightly arrogant. That was new."

"Savor that. It doesn't happen often," she said, smiling.

"Trust me, I've got that image saved," Poe replied, tapping his head.

The elevator glided to a stop, and the escorts walked them out of the building and to the transport that was waiting. Poe and Vara got in and were quiet the rest of the ride back to the hangar where their ship was waiting. As soon as they entered the VCX-100, Vara spoke.

"Poe, I really do not feel good about going to find Rakata Prime. That Chiss...nothing good ever comes to the Republic when there is a Chiss involved."

"Don't generalize, Vara. I've heard the same stories as you have, and I've never heard of one on our side either, but there's always a first time."

"It wasn't just that, it was him. Suspicious of leaving us alone, the way he watched us...it felt off. I think we need to get back to D'Qar immediately."

Poe looked at her, almost studiously. "I trust you. We'll go back." He headed up to the pilot's seat and flipped on the communication systems, beginning to prime the ship. "You know, you should speak to the General about the Force. You might be sensitive to it. She could teach you some things."

Vara thought about it as she sat next to him. "Hmm," she hummed. "What would I say? I wouldn't...wouldn't know what to do with that."

"She would. She doesn't use in front of any of us, but I've heard she's talented with it."

"When we have time," Vara said, reaching forward and priming the ignition before he could.

"So, in about a year, right?" Poe joked.

"Sounds about right. Ready to get out of here?"

"Very."

In the interrogation room, the Chiss escort tapped a few invisible buttons on the wall and the barrier between the tables dropped away. He disconnected the ex-senator from his table and stood him up.

"You spoke too much to them."

The man waved his hand dismissively. "I did no such thing."

"They will find the base."

"I had to give them something so they would give up. Call the Clawdite. I don't remember his name, but you know of whom I speak. He'll follow them off the planet and have them dead before they get back to the Ileenium system." He followed the Chiss obediently out of the interrogation room and back to his highest-security cell...not that mattered very much. He had everything he needed.