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Fandom Star Wars: Trading Hands [Closed]

Lucyfer

Lucyfer

Said you'd die for me, well -- there's the ground
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Poe Dameron had not expected to ever hear anything from Lor San Tekka’s beacon, although he had been able to find it amidst the many things left behind by the First Order in their ransacking of the Jakku village. He’d gone back after the Resistance cleared out of D’Qar, and held onto it, just in case.

That “just in case” now happened – the beacon went off, and a woman’s voice greeted him with a promise of information.

“Heh.”

He’d shaken his head at it, at the time. They knew where Luke was, now. Rey was there with him, and though Poe had no idea where ‘there’ was, he trusted Leia and the others were keeping that safe. It was better if he not know. If he got captured by the First Order, Kylo Ren would pull it from his head.

He despised that weakness.

Still, how could he not follow this? It was on Lothal based on the coordinates, and Lor San Tekka had mentioned informants on a few planets, Lothal included, so as soon as the Commander got permission from General Organa, the dark-haired man was off in one of the small freighters and hitting lightspeed a half-hour after he’d gotten the message, BB-8 along with him.

The trip wasn’t as fast as Poe would have liked it, and lightspeed was never terribly entertaining, but he almost preferred it to the sight that greeted him when they got to Lothal. BB-8’s low whistle at the sight wasn’t any more encouraging. “Happy beeps, buddy,” he said as he looked upon the star destroyers in the air above Lothal.

‘Maybe this intel really is good.’ In which case, they couldn’t let the Order get their hands on it. Though, Poe suspected it could just be coincidence. Lothal had been a hotly contested world during the era of the Empire, shifting hands often. The Order needed supplies after losing Starkiller – Lothal was as good a place to start. “Easy does it,” he said, “we got to go around this and find a place to land the freighter.”

Landing in a hangar wouldn’t be possible with this sort of presence, but he was pretty sure he could navigate outside of their sensors and go unnoticed if he kept his distance, and so he did just that, bringing the freighter around the destroyers and avoiding the TIE patrols. The presence wasn’t large, which was good for Poe.

He was still far too recognizable.

He was able to make it to land outside of Capital City, and was for once glad he wasn’t wearing his orange jumpsuit, but was more subdued in tan brown slacks and a beige top. BB-8 rolled out behind him, “No, no, you stay with the ship.”

BB-8 immediately beeped out his protests, “Hey, I have a comm, you’ll know if anything happens and you can get back to Leia. The ship has autopilot settings you can turn on.” Again, more protesting, “You’ll be recognized, and the only way I’ll get back-up, is if you get to Leia, BB.”

The whistle this time was lower, but understanding. Poe gave a small smile, “Thanks,” and with that, BB-8 rolled back up the ramp, and let Poe move on towards the city. It was nothing like Coruscant, the high-rises nowhere near obscuring the sun from the ground levels. Yet, it still seemed too large for the Order to have stationed troopers everywhere right then, so Poe was able to get into the city, and move amongst the crowds, following the directions he’d been given, taking a look at his datapad every now and then to make sure he was still on the right path.

Eventually, he came to the cantina he’d been instructed to head towards, the Crickbeet Jig, a name that almost made him roll his eyes as he stepped into it, the evening sun casting a haze over the place through the windows. Still, he was able to catch the sight of the woman from the video, her auburn hair catching the light and seeming almost on fire for it.

One perk of red hair, for those being sought.

Not so much when one was trying to hide.

He approached casually, like an old friend, to try and hide suspicion, “Hey, Kayla?” He asked, already starting to sit down at her table, “I’m Poe, Lor San Tekka’s friend. I got your message,” he knew this wasn’t what she was likely expecting, and he wouldn’t assume Lor San Tekka had told her.

He knew that could mean some problems with establishing trust and getting the information.

So, why not start out well, “Need something to drink? Eat?” They were in a cantina, and he probably wasn’t talking her into walking out with him just yet.

Maybe Lor San Tekka made his life easy.

Maybe he mentioned Poe.

~***~

Called the Coruscant of the Outer Rim, Eriadu glistened from space with lights that never went off, except for one rather large patch of land just outside of Eriadu City. It was within that glistening city, however, that the one known as Finn would be heading, and to one of the hangars connected to their governing offices. Directions would be given over to him where to land, and how to approach.

This was known to Neria Tarkin, a woman who stood waiting in that hangar, hands folded behind her back, hair left down for this meeting.

‘Former Stormtrooper, FN-2187, now Finn.’

She was running through what she knew as she watched the ship approach, assessing the style of it, the way it flew, as if it was all information she needed – as if she might have a way to knock the ship from the sky without much more than the flick of a wrist.

‘FN Corps under Captain Phasma, considered to be among the better ones before being entirely decimated at the battle of Takodana.’ Brainwashed entirely from youth to serve the Order, but one broke away, and was now entrusted by Leia Organa to meet with them.

Neria held some doubts, and considered this ‘Finn’ may be a sleeper agent of the Order, but this conversation would end up determining much about that. He’d had opportunity to kill Leia, but had not. He was either a poor Sleeper, not a Sleeper, or had some alternative mission among the Resistance.

Eventually, the ship landed in the hangar, and Neria walked towards it, planning to be near the base of the ramp when it lowered. She had been told how many were in the ship already through an earpiece, along with what weapons were declared. ‘That doesn’t mean all of them.’ And she wouldn’t blame Finn if he had weapons.

Neria had weapons.

She wasn’t even bothering to hide them, a blaster was strapped to her left thigh, visible through a slit in her dress. Practical for a weapon, but far from her favorite sort of weapon. She had foregone anything that looked like old Imperial attire, tempting as it was, to go for a simple blue dress instead. It would supposedly help to remove her connections, just a bit, to the Empire, and so to its bastard offspring, the First Order.

Good impressions were necessary at this point.

That didn’t mean sparks of it weren’t there.

Her nails were painted to resemble the patterning of the Grand Moff insignia, blue on one hand, and a split of red and gold on the other.

Gold glittered on her eyelids, and red was painted onto her lips.

Subtle things, likely mistaken as simple make-up by the majority, but there was little more her family enjoyed than petty spite – something in common with General Organa, which was precisely why it couldn’t be Organa that was met.

Just some random Ex-Stormtrooper, who by all rights, should have been a nobody.

‘But he isn’t.’

So Neria Tarkin stood poised at the base of the ramp, prepared not to underestimate him.
 
That beacon had been staring at her for so long, every time she opened the secret compartment in her closet to hide away the credits she had made that day, she saw that beacon and wondered when she would use it. Lor San Tekka had given it to her with the instructions to use it if she had come by some important intel or if she ever needed assistance, she should use it. That being said, Kayla had never had what she considered to be a need to use it.

Until now.

It had happened without planning, she was just in the right place, at the right time. Having a habit of helping out an elderly couple who leaved not too far from herself, she had been walking back to where she considered home and overheard some chatter. It regarded intel that would help the resistance or would at least make them aware of some of what the First Order was in the midst of doing. They may have lost Starkiller but that was not enough to make them surrender. Lor San Tekka came to her mind immediately and that was why she had decided to contact him. If he came or not, Kayla couldn't be certain but she had hopes he would. He was so kind to her when they met, she had forgotten what it was like to have someone that cared.

However, there was a bit of an ulterior motive.

Things on Lothal had declined greatly, the First Order had arrived a little while ago and began reaping what they could. This was only the beginning, Kayla knew a full occupation was coming and soon no one would be able to leave the planet without permission. Her hope was that Lor San Tekka would be able to grant her safe passage off Lothal. She didn't care where they would go, she would even follow him to where he lived, it didn't matter so long as she got off of Lothal.

Not long after she had sent the beacon, Kayla grabbed her sachel with all the credits she had saved along with a few other things that she deemed essential such as a picture of her parents, a knife and a few trivial things. Wearing a simple beige dress and using a brown scarf to cover her head, Kayla made her way through the streets of the city that just seemed to be getting more restless by the day. Stormtroopers still hadn't managed to get down to this part yet but she had little doubt they would be there soon.

The same table she had sat at with Lor San Tekka was vacant at the canteen and so she sat down at it, figuring that it would make things easier for him to find her. She removed her scarf from her head, subtly looking around, thankful that it wasn't crowded. As it was, Kayla found herself looking over her shoulder more often and she always had this feeling like someone was watching her but she knew that no one was. Ever since her parents had been killed, she lived under the radar, no one paid any attention to her unless they were just being scum.

Kayla had no use for people like that.

It probably looked odd for her to sit without ordering a drink but her excuse would be that she was waiting for a friend, not a lie after all. Her piercing blue eyes looked towards the entrance every so often, hoping to see the one she was waiting for. Her face had no makeup on it as she had no resources for that nor did she have the use for it. People like her, they were low in social standings.

A little makeup wouldn't change that.

Suddenly, someone joined her at the table saying her name and the man who said it was not someone she knew. He claimed to be Lor San Tekka's friend but Kayla was weary, her hand was already positioned inside of her sachel, her fingers on the handle of the blade that she kept as her form of protection. She had learned early on not to trust just anyone that presented themselves and this was no exception. He could have been working for the First Order to discover the ones gathering intel and thus she would be lead to the prison.

"Where is Lor San Tekka?" She asked having no interest in food or drink. Whatever he was going to try to fool her, it wouldn't work. "He never mentioned a friend named Poe and he said the beacon would go to him directly. How did you get it? What did you do to him?" Kayla questioned, her entire hand gripping the knife in her sachel more tightly as the warning sounds in her head went off.

She couldn't just trust him based off his word alone.

Looking him over, there was nothing that gave away if he was loyal to the First Order or not but they were a sneaky lot and for all she knew, he was some sort of sleeper agent. Sadly, she wasn't practiced in the art of reading someone's intent by their eyes. She could say that he had quite nice eyes and that he had a handsome face, nice hair, but those were just physical traits, that told her nothing about his intentions.

"You knew where to find me, you had the beacon, either you are who you say you are or you did something to Lor San Tekka and took the beacon from." Kayla gave him her thoughts, ready to pull out her blade at any given moment, her eyes never once leaving his.

-----------

This was a stupid idea, Finn had said as much to the General before she had gone ahead and sent him off on what he considered to be a suicide mission. The Tarkins had been well known amongst the First Order as Grand Moff Tarkin had in charge of the Death Star, worked alongside Darth Vader and that was without everything else that the family was known for. Now just because one of the family decided to speak up against the First Order, it was suddenly a good idea to speak with her.


Fantastic.

Finn personally wanted to stay as far away from anyone or anything who was involved with the First Order or the old Empire. Just when he was saved from it by Poe, he always seemed to be thrusted back into them and it never got easier. No doubt there was a bounty on his head and he was to be sentenced to death for being a traitor. There was no way out of it for him if he were to get caught, he just knew it.

There was no going back though, they had arrived at the hangar as per instructions. He remembered yesterday morning when his biggest concern was whether or not Rey was making progress with Luke Skywalker and what crazy mission Poe would be going on next. Now he was on a mission all his own with his only source of protection being two resistance members and one pilot. Oh and also the blaster he had neglected to declare on purpose, he didn't care if this was supposed to be a calm meeting, he didn't trust anyone he would be meeting with.

Especially not her.

"No chance we could turn around and just lie about meeting, is there?" Poe asked the pilot who didn't respond, he didn't like it either but if the General thought this was a good idea who was he to argue with her? "Didn't think so." Finn sighed as they landed, his eyes looking out of the cockpit window to see the greeting party that was there to meet them, assuming the one in the blue dress was Neria, the Tarkin he was meeting.
"You all stay here. I'll go out alone and that way, if things go sideways, we can make a quick escape. I don't plan to die today and if I do, I am haunting the General for the rest of her life." Finn mumbled the last part before he was off to meet this woman who would hopefully join their side of the fight. It was lunacy, absolute lunacy.

If he had just been a normal recruit, he wouldn't be in this position, he wouldn't have to be the one to spread the "truth". But no, he had been trained as a stormtrooper, og course he would be turned into some sort of poster child for bringing in more to their cause. He would give this an honest try but he wouldn't like it nor would he enjoy it.

This was all for the General and the resistance. Nothing else.

The ramp lowered completely which took away his last barrier and his last excuse. Swallowing thickly, Finn walked down the ramp, trying to show confidence and authority. No one needed to know he was nervous and doubtful that this would even work. The first person his eyes met was Neria, she stood out amongst the rest with her blue dress and orange red hair, he would have no trouble picking her out of a crowd. But she also looked very much ready to get down to business and as if she knew every detail about him.

Not shocking really. He knew most of her story.

Well the side that was known anyways.

"I'm guessing you're Neria Tarkin. The one I have scheduled meeting with." Finn forego introductions, there was no question that she knew exactly who he was. He had glimpsed the a view of the blaster on her thigh, it was a good thing he had on his person. It was tucked in the back of the waistband of his pants, hidden under his dark brown jacket. If there was something he had gleaned from his time with the First Order, it was that you should always be prepared for any scenario, clearly she had been shown the same.

"As you know I'm here on behalf of General Organa. I came to tell you the truth of the First Order and to see whose side you want to be on." There was no use in being gentle about it. While he wasn't hot tempered and rash, Finnvwas not a push over and he was not going to treat this woman like she was made of glass because clearly she was much stronger.
 
As soon as Poe sat down, he felt the tension of the room. Not just from Kayla, but from the few other occupants who could see the shift in her dynamic as easily as he could. He wouldn’t panic, he wouldn’t reach for his own blaster, even if he was pretty sure she was clutching a weapon of some sort in her bag. He couldn’t tell for sure, but most people didn’t exactly reach into a bag to hold onto a credit bar that tightly.

She disregarded food and drink entirely and began throwing out wild accusations. Poe let out an exasperated sigh, and kept his posture lax, though it didn’t stop him from gesturing out towards her with his left hand, “Lor San Tekka’s dead. I didn’t kill him, it was the Order.” Poe answered that swiftly enough, “we were left with his things, and he did mention you to me, along with a few other contacts.”

Did it surprise him that Lor San Tekka hadn’t mentioned him to Kayla? No, not really. He may have mentioned the Resistance, but no one in particular. Lor San Tekka tried to keep identities hidden. It was why Poe hadn’t known her name until that message came through, after all.

“Obviously you’re not gonna take just my word for that, and I don’t blame you, but I’m not sure exactly how long I can linger here before someone calls the First Order on me. You may not know me, but they sure do,” and he did not want to get into a fire fight with the Order, “so what can I tell you to help you believe me? I knew Lor San Tekka for years, off and on. He was always out hunting down information on the Force and the Jedi, even though he didn’t have Force sensitivity himself.”

That was probably common knowledge, but maybe she had figured something in her time with Lor San Tekka that she could ask – a story of his, something about him physically – Poe had to get what information she had, and get going, fast.

Cantinas were only safe for so long.

~***~

‘Nervous tick.’ The man above on the ramp swallowed just as he came into sight, before he descended the ramp. He was trying to put on airs of confidence, that much was obvious to Neria, but it wasn’t there. He was new to this, and uncertain. It was also clear in the way he held his weight, that the additional lump at his own side was not natural.

He was armed.

Smart.

She’d not been alerted to any such thing. For now, she would let it slide. Underestimation did her a world of good, when people were underestimating her. They so often did, too, though she could tell he wasn’t there yet. He was aware of reputations that preceded her. Preceded her entire family, really.

“Bold of you to say so much out in the open in a public hangar, Finn,” Neria noted as the man spoke of Leia and the Order without so much consideration to his environment. It was odd not to refer to someone by a surname, but no matter, she could work with that. “Would you like to say it all here,” she invited as she motioned to him, uncurling her fingers in a welcoming gesture, “Or would you rather accompany me elsewhere?”

Neria didn’t really care where, this was her world, after all. He might feel safer besides his ship, though. Even if it was in the open air, in a public space, where stars knew who could hear him.
 
The tension was thick she could have cut through it with the knife she had in her had if she wanted to. This was not the meeting she had been expecting, even if their interaction was short, Kayla still felt like shebhad someone watching over her this entire time, someone who was there for her in a sense. Now she was met with someone else, someone she had no idea of until he walked into the cantina.

"He's dead?" Kayla questioned, suddenly feeling deflated as she slumped a but in her seat. It took a moment for the information to fully sink into her mind. He was dead, that meant she would never see him again, she could never give him the intel and she wouldn't be able to get off this planet. She should have contacted him earlier.

Why did she wait so long?

Only some of what Poe had said was captured by her and so she was left with only one question. "Will you grant me safe passage off of Lothal in exchange for this information?" It was the first thing to come out of her mouth and it wasn't that she was using the intel she had as leverage exactly. If he was resistance, if he was a good guy then he shouldn't hesitate about bringing her off of a planet that was being put under a First Order occupation.

"If you're a friend of Lor San Tekka, you should understand that beyond searching for the Jedi and force sensitive beings, he liked to help people. He helped me when I had no one else, he made a promise he would help me when I really needed and I need help now. Yes I have intel but if you want it, then you're going to have to show me you're apart of the good fight." It worked in her favour but it would also reassure her that she could trust him with the information that she had to give. As it was, she would be excuted for knowing it and it wasn't worth the risk of spilling it all to him right this second.

But the choice was his and his alone. He was in a rush to leave, so he had a decision to make.

---------

Finn really hated this, he wasn't a diplomat, he was a soldier and if he could go back to doing that, he would be forever grateful. But alas, that did not change the current position he found himself and already Neria was making his skin crawl. He couldn't believe that he was speaking to a Tarkin of all people, a Tarkin who seemed to be looking right through him and he didn't like it.

He hated it.

He hated everything about this and he wouldn't be able to say or think it enough.

Mentally scolding himself to have not waited for a more private area to speak aloud, Finn was already feeling his blood starting to boil just a tiny bit at the air of superiority she gave off. As much as he wanted to stand by his ship where he had three fellow resistant men on board and thus some sort of backup, he had to admit that privacy would probably be better. As much as he thought this was fruitless, he had to play it a bit more smartly.

"Then let's get moving to a more secure location. I don't want to waste anymore time." Finn responded, having many other things on his mind and things he would rather be doing. He just felt like what he was doing wasn't as important as what everyone else was doing.

"Unless, of course, you would like to stay out here." They were both at risk if information got into the wrong hands and as it was, he didn't like the information he was going to have to share. He had no trouble saying the truth, it's what she would do with it that had him weary.

That and he didn't like putting the lives of his friends in the hands of a woman who could easily destroy them. He bet all she had to do was snap her fingers and she could have twenty men with blasters on his tail.
 
Although it was likely rhetorical, Poe still nodded as Kayla echoed the query about Lor San Tekka being dead, confirming it once more. His gaze softened as she seemed to think through that, and what could be done to convince her of his intentions so that he could get the information. He tried not to be impatient, the urge to tap his foot on the ground high, but he kept it at bay.

Thankfully, Kayla didn’t leave him in anticipation long, “Oh, is that all?” he couldn’t help but laugh. He knew she might take offense to it, but he couldn’t help it. His luck was strange of late. He’d rescued a Stormtrooper from the First Order recently, and it seemed his luck of finding people who wanted out of their circumstances wasn’t soon to change.

At least this wasn’t difficult.

She wasn’t asking to go to the Resistance base, just somewhere else.

“All right,” he said, putting his hands on the table and rising, “Let’s go, then. But you start talking once we’re in my ship,” he stated, lifting a hand and pointing a finger at her, “I’ll still take you off Lothal, but if you don’t talk then, I’ll drop you somewhere like Tatooine,” not exactly the place anyone wanted to be.

It was too hot, with little to do, and unfortunately, slavery was still practiced.

He didn’t really think that was going to be necessary, but he figured this way they both got what they wanted. She got off Lothal, and he got out of here before he was discovered by the Order. Win-win – and they could figure out where she was going, in the ship, too. Either way, he wasn’t seeing a downside.

~***~

Neria scoffed at the statement following Finn’s agreement to move, some attempt, no doubt, to convince her to stay near his ship where he’d be safe, without overtly stating his preference. She simply shook her head, and curled a finger back on the extended hand before she dropped it to her side to start to walk, “This way, Finn.”

There were multiple clear, covered bridges, and open pathways that led from the hangar to the various other buildings in the governmental district. Neria opted to take one of the open pathways, always preferring them to the covered bridges.

She had always preferred fresh air, though, and Eriadu was doing a grand job at making sure pollution wasn’t bad anywhere on the planet. The one advantage they had over Coruscant, she supposed, which came from the ingrained love the Tarkin family themselves generally had towards the more natural things.

At least, her branch of the family. That's what happened when one's grandfather was the 'Ghost of the Carrion Plateau', though.

Not that they were without a healthy respect and love of technology and research. Scientists and philosophers were in high demand for them.

Rather than resume chatter about the Order, or his mission, Neria opted to ask, “Have you traveled much, Finn?” She wouldn’t intend to go back to speaking about his reason for being there until they were secure, but while they were walking, she saw no reason to stay silent. Might as well get more of a feel for him on the way.
 
There was one thing Kayla could see and that was Poe' impatience. He may have outwardly shown it but there were little hints of it, his face just looked like it was being restrained from demanding she tell him the intel. She would most likely end up telling him what she knew but not until he took her off of Lothal and really prove to her that he wasn't some sort of sleeper agent or something.

His laugh puzzled her, what was so funny of what she just asked? She had asked him for transportation off of Lothal and he was laughing? What a strange man.

"Or I could withhold the intel and find someone else to transport me. I have no reason to trust you so tread carefully." Kayla stood up herself and put the scarf back on over her head so she wouldn't stand out so much. Problen about having red hair, Kayla stuck out very easily and right now discretion was key given how the First Order was taking over and would be looking into anyone would posed as a threat to their ultimate goal.

To rule the galaxy and if what she learned was true, there was a difficult battle ahead for the resistance.

"You should follow me, I know some shortcuts that can help us get outside of the city as I assume that is where you landed." Kayla may not have ever gotten off of Lothal but that did not mean she was clueless. She had picked up on a few things from her parents and from Lor San Tekka for the short time he had spent with her.

She still couldn't believe he was gone.

It was then that the sound of imperial storm troopers could be heard and it was an even shorter time until two of them had walked into the cantina. Kayla moved her face out of sight, she knew they technically had nothing on her but everyone was jumpy with the First Order coming onto Lothal and it showed. "How well did you say the First Order knew you?" She whispered to Poe, hoping that perhaps he was just exaggerating how well they knew his face.

--------

Finn didn't say a word as he followed her, not impressed with how she was treating him like he was a child and she was punishing him. Hopefully, this would be the only time he would have to deal with her and he would be able to go about his days the same he has since joining the resistance. Being at deaths door every waking moment and yes, that did seem better than what he was doing right now.

There were quite a few paths they could have chosen and being unfamiliar with the area, it was better that Neria led the way, it also gave him the comfort of knowing he wouldn't be shot in the back. He would always remain on high alert, he would never let his guard down for one moment. It was like all the training he had was coming back and it kept repeating itself in his head.

Truth be told, it was probably a nervous tick.

His eyes were scanning the area around them until Neria spoke, making small talk it seemed. He supposed he could humor her. "I have done my fair share. More so now than before." He responded, not wanting to get into the details of it all as that meant he would have to talk about the resistance and his past. "I assume that you've done your fair of traveling. Have a favourite spot? Besides the city we are in right now. I mean, it's nice, not polluted like most cities in the galaxy but still, there must be another spot you enjoy visiting." It was just a way to make conversation, he didn't really care about what she liked or didn't like or what her favourite spot was. If he made things less tense, maybe he could leave with his life.

None of it took away the feeling of how much of an outsider he felt amongst everyone else. He should have pushed harder for this meeting to happen on neutral territory instead of on her turf. She had all the advantages at this location and Finn had none. The only thing he had going for him was the fact that she only knew what was on paper, she didn't really know the real him.
 
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Poe rolled his eyes a bit as she started to wrap her hair while claiming she could find someone else. He doubted it. Most people weren’t in the business of information, and those that weren’t, really weren’t that kind. He was pretty sure she knew that, though, and he wasn’t planning on making any delays, or really giving her a reason to mistrust him.

Once she had gathered herself, he nodded, “No problem with that, I’m to the east,” he added, so she knew about what direction to get them out of Lothal. Not that they got so far. Stormtroopers came marching in on the heels of his comment, “Kriff.” This wasn’t good at all, but he thought he might be able to get by, anyways.

Except, they were on a mission.

He ignored Kayla’s question at first, just gesturing for her to follow him to the door so they could get out of immediate danger. As he started to move, though he heard one of the Stormtroopers speak through their modulator, “Hey! This place is on lockdown until further notice. Return to your seat.”

Poe considered doing that.

“All right, all right,” he lied, turning slowly back around – and then immediately reaching for his blaster. He put one shot to the helmet of the speaking Stormtrooper, and then another through the chest of a second, before dodging behind the counter of the bar as he heard the words he really didn’t want to hear being spoken through a comm.

“Confirmed, Poe Dameron is on Lothal, report to our area. Repeat—” Poe shot that one before he could ‘repeat’, while patrons screamed and ducked.

~***~

Finn at least humored conversation, rather than shoving it away. Neria had half-suspected he might, and was pleased that he didn’t. He was still terribly vague, giving no indication of where he’d been, or what he preferred. That was to be expected of someone so guarded as he was, though. Neria took no offense to it, even if she wanted to laugh at his assumption this city was her favorite.

Stars, no.

This city was simply what kept the people happy. Bread and circus. This was how they stayed happy, paid their taxes, and went about their soft, little lives.

“This city is not my favorite place, merely familiar,” Neria answered him honestly, “My favorite place is the Carrion Plateau,” particularly Jova’s Cabin, but that was hardly important. He wouldn’t know of it, and he wasn’t meant to know of it, either. He wasn’t a part of her elite guard, nor was he family.

“Outside of Eriadu, there are a few cantinas in Coruscant with fond memories, but Vice-Admiral Holdo actually introduced me to Pamarthe and we did some pathfinding there. I suppose I may call that my favorite place off Eriadu.”

Using Holdo’s name was on purpose. A sign that she had relations with the Resistance, even if it had never extended into warfare. Amilyn enjoyed pathfinding, and so did Neria – they’d done a trade of sorts, since Amilyn was never allowed into the Carrion Plateau, but had wanted to go through it.

They reached the other side, the platform before the doors into the building littered with plants, but Neria led the way in to the luxe interior. “I don’t suppose you’ve found a favorite yet in the galaxy, have you?”
 
Working with him should be fun, her sarcastic thoughts rung out in her mind. Finding Poe to be amusing but also a man who didn't know how to stop and smell the roses. She understood that he was there for information that she had promised but he had to understand that she had no one and had been hoping Lor San Tekka would be the one who would show up. He could cut her a bit of slack but for now, she would humor his need for speed and guide him to the quickest way out of the city to bring them to the east.

They hit one snag and that was the stormtroopers who arrived. Kayla followed Poe's lead but sadly they were caught, being told to sit back down and a part of her wanted to obey them immediately to stop trouble but she a had feeling Poe wouldn't do that. Before she could blink, he had shot two of them and ushered them both behind the bar as more shots were fired. Upon hearing what one of them said, she supposed she couldn't really doubt Poe now.

But still, did it have to be the trouble magnet who came to meet her?

"Looks like you're a big deal like you said." She commented, after Poe shot the one who was speaking, the sounds of screams and chaos surrounding them. Taking a peek over the top of the bar, she saw more stormtroopers were arriving. "Really? You couldn't have been some nobody who steered clear of trouble?" Kayla began looking into the cupboards and shelves of the bar. Normally every bar owner had blasters or some form of defense hidden.

Her blade wouldn't be enough for this.

With some luck she had found what she was looking for. There was a blaster that she tucked away in her bag but more important there were some explosives, nothing huge but enough that would allow them to escape through the back door.

"Get ready. There is a door in the far right corner in the back. That is how we'll escape but we'll have to be quick since they are so intent on killing you." Kayla grabbed a couple of explosives for her bag as they may come in handy for their escape but in the mean time she had two for the stormtroopers by the door. Harming one, she threw it over the bar in the direction of the door and sent a second one in the same direction.

"Now we run!" She urged Poe, getting up on her feet, walking not quite at full height to hopefully prevent getting shot as she made her way to the door and opened it, no one behind it.

For now.


-------


Finn was rather taken aback by her detailed response of her favourite spot on Eriadu. It was not nearly as vague as his own answer but perhaps that was because he had more reservations about sharing too much with Neria. The spot she mentioned was one he was familiar with as it was a piece of land the Tarkins owned with rumors speculating that it was where the men in their family proved themselves in the wildness.

They really had some crazy family traditions.

The moment Holdo's name was dropped, Finn had the urge to ask her to repeat what she had just said. There was no way she was talking about the same Holdo as the one who was apart of the resistance. Then again, she wouldn't have mentioned the name had it not been the exact same one so he supposed that he would have to assume she was talking about the very same one.

He didn't know what to think anymore.

"Not really. I have been to quite a few places but haven't quite found one that I can say was my favourite. I suppose when I am less preoccupied, I'll find time to discover more planets." Finn had plans to do that, once the war was over. Right now home was wherever the resistance was and if there was no war, there was no need for the movement and so he would have to find someplace else to call home.

His gaze looked around the room she had brought him too, much more luxurious than anything he had set foot into. He had only ever heard of such richness, the First Order was all about military and darkness, there wasn't anything luxurious about it. But this, this was much different. There were plants everywhere, it was like being out of the city without actually leaving.

If it wasn't for the purpose of their meeting, he might have been more inclined to enjoy the room and explore a little.

"I can see why you're favourite spot is Carrion Plateau, you seem to have a love for nature." Finn commented, it being just something random that crossed his mind and he decided to announce aloud.
 
“Yeah, huge deal,” Poe would skip the details for now, but he figured at some point he’d have to tell her. It involved Lor San Tekka’s demise, after all, and she deserved to know what happened to him, given that was why they were both in this situation. He didn’t add on that a ‘nobody’ would not be sent on a mission like this.

There weren’t that many nobodies in the Resistance, anyways.

He watched her go through cupboards and drawers, popping out every now and then to lay down fire on the Stormtroopers to make sure they wouldn’t get over to their side of the bar. He wanted to ask what she was doing, but the answer came soon when she seemed to find a blaster of her own. ‘Wait, what?’ He watched her tuck it away, and before he could ask, she was directing him.

Out came explosives. His brows lifted and he gave an agreeable nod, a smirk touching his lips. He was okay with this change, and he took note of the door she indicated. As soon as the explosives were out of her hand, he was following right behind her and out the door, into a thankfully empty alley.

He’d continue to follow her through Lothal, their path continuing to stick to alleys and avoiding main streets. Not that it would keep them from avoiding the Order all the time, Poe knew their patrols could still come by, but he was gaining some confidence as they seemed to lose any tail they may have had from the bar.

“Those explosives seemed to have really helped,” he noted. He was curious how she got them, but he wouldn’t ask right then. She clearly had her reasons, and wanted out of Lothal for those reasons, too. It couldn’t have been an easy life.

He reached out to touch her shoulder after a few minutes, “We ought to slow down,” he said, taking a deep breath to help slow his own heart rate as he slowed himself to more of a walk, “I think we’re starting to look suspicious running.”

They might be able to make their way out of here by walking now.

He’d walked in, after all.

~***~

‘Assuming there is ever such a time.’ Neria was not born during the Galactic Empire, nor the Clone Wars, yet it felt as if her entire life had been preparing for war. Still, she supposed she’d had time. Of course, she knew she had more means than most. Most didn’t get to go pathfinding, after all. Or go to an Academy on Coruscant, of all places, to study seemingly frivolous things as philosophy and political science.

“I would suggest taking a trip to Chandrila. It’s a fair mix of nature and city, and I imagine the people there will be more to your mindset. You may at least discern more of what things you like,” Neria offered as a guess, moving through the familiar passageways without much of a glance at the plants.

She did cast a look back at Finn as he made his correct assumption.

Plants weren’t unknown as decorations, after all, it was rarely ascribed to be some telling symbol, Then again, she had suggested the Carrion Plateau as her favorite place – Finn knew enough about that, it seemed. ‘Not entirely without research.’

She wouldn’t offer a comment to it, though, just led the way to her own office.

She had a few different ones, of course.

This one was rather toned down, keeping to blue tones for the more ‘peaceful’ atmosphere it created. Plants, of course, were still predominant in the room, as was a makeshift waterfall on one side of the wall, falling over smooth rocks, into a basin where the water was pulled right back up behind the stones only to fall over them in a constant cycle.

Again, supposedly calming. “You can take a seat,” she said, gesturing to the leatherbound chairs as she went to one behind her desk, “If you want anything to drink, I can have it brought,” she added, “otherwise, I think we can begin to get to business here.”
 
It could have definitely went smoother, their meeting, but alas it ended in gunfire and they were simply lucky that the cantina owner had enough sense to conceal weapons behind the bar. The maneuver gave them enough time to escape the cantina and begin making their way through the alleys which were the safest way of getting through the city at the moment. Poe was right behind her, having not questioned what she said and she didn't need to be walking slow to know where to go, she had grown up in those streets after all.

"Yeah, explosives have a way of convincing people to back away, at least for a little bit." Kayla agreed, her feet still running as fast as they could, not having any plans to be shot that day but feeling a hand on her shoulder, she slowed, looking back at Poe who suggested they slow down as they looked suspicious. One look around showed that they were in a normal paced environment.

Good call.

"We aren't too far from the east side. There are some alleys that will bring us right to where we need to go and render us even more invisible to the First Order." The scarf had fallen from her head and Kayla chose to leave it that way, there was no sense in hiding it now since they had probably identified her at the cantina. "At least I know for sure that you aren't friendly with the First Order." There was a positive when she looked at it that way. But still, it wasn't safe enough to speak yet.
They walked, being cautious of stormtroopers until they exited the city and in the distance, she could see a ship, which she assumed to be Poe's. "Is that your ship?" She asked him, not wanting to run towards it if it wasn't indeed his ship. A shot from a blaster missed her head by six inches, a quick look back showed that the stormtroopers had found them.

--------

"I'll take that under consideration." Finn would keep that plantet in mind for when the war was over. Things didn't change in how he viewed her but she had been around more systems then he had most likely and it would be wise to take her suggestion under consideration. It could end up being something he enjoyed for all he knew.

But first the war had to end.

There was a strong theme of plants that continued right into her office. She really did like nature it seemed. It was an easy conclusion, he had done some research on her but that could only tell Finn so much. The real details of Neria, her life and her personality, the intricacies that could only be known by spending time with the person or with someone who knew them personally.

There was a moment of thought before he sat down on the leather seat across from her, on the other side of the desk, his eyes glancing over at the water fall for a brief minute. His hands were together in his lap, trying to relax enough to try and be comfortable while still looking serious and professional.

"I don't want anything so I think that means we can get straight to business." He looked right at her, feeling a little more confident than he was when he arrived. She hadn't tried to kill him yet, that was a positive but Neria still had not gained his trust.

"I don't think I necessarily need to explain to you the truth about the First Order. I am almost positive that you are already aware of their lies and their true agenda. What would be more interesting is to get your opinion on them and the resistance. What are your thoughts?" He wanted to get straight to the point and see if this was indeed a major waste of time or not. There would be a fair shot given, he would try to convince her to come over to their side but if it was going to be fruitless, he knew when to give up.
 
Explosives did indeed do wonders sometimes, Poe wouldn’t argue with that as they slowed down to a walk and continued on their way towards the exit of Lothal. She kept the scarf off as they walked, and Poe took note it didn’t seem a traditional garment of Lothal. ‘Well, she’s at least aware of her hair.’ Though right now it didn’t exactly matter.

He kept his eyes open and ears alert for anything as they got to the end, but so far, so good. He was almost exuberant when they started on their walk out, but the ship she saw, wasn’t his. “No,” he shook his head. He wasn’t out in the open like that, certainly not that close to the city gates. He’d be seen too soon.

And there was another shot.

He let out a groan.

“C’mon, I’ll lead now, it’s near some of the rock formations further out,” it had taken him a while to walk there, he didn’t expect it would be easier at a jog or a sprint, but that was what they had to do as he kicked off running, trying to think if there had been much he could use to hide around on his way out.

Lothal was a terribly flat place with few trees, and not enough rocks out here.

Damn the luck.

“Or, new idea, we hijack that ship to get to my own!”

~***~

Finn took his seat, but wanted for nothing, it seemed. Neria wouldn’t be petulant and ask for something to be brought to her. At least, not right then. It was hardly appropriate to make him wait for tea to be brewed, or to just open up a bottle of whiskey and hope for the best. Besides, she didn’t have that bad of a headache.

Yet.

“It’s not often wise to make such broad assumptions,” Neria pointed out as he seemed to think she knew all there was to know about the Order. “I understand the Order and I share a lot of common political views about centralizing power in the galaxy, and doing more for galactic tax and military, which is notably opposed to General Organa’s views.”

Making some point for the Order would, no doubt, annoy a former member, but he’d been foolish enough to make an assumption that she must have thought the Order all bad.

“However, I am also aware that they are cowards using stolen technology, that follow in the same footsteps as losers of a previous war, going so far as to replicate the same technology that was the very reason for that lost war, so they exasperate me.” Which was true, the Death Star, while it was Wilhuff’s baby and the Tarkins would forever be known for it, had been a stupid, stupid idea, that was a waste of credits.

That wasn’t what won wars.

“I have no good opinion of the Resistance, besides that we share a common enemy. They support the Jedi, they support planet-run governance that creates division, and is likely to lead to another Separatist war down the line.”
 
Kayla looked around to see if she could spot another ship and it was kind of made obvious that the ship that belonged to Poe was hidden. How silly of her to assume otherwise all things considered. If he was wanted by the First Order, there was no possible way that keeping his ship out in the open was a good idea. She really to learn more about being stealthy, she had picked up on a lot of things but it seemed there was still more that she needed to learn.

She had an idea of what rock formation he was talking about and it would take a miracle for them to make it without getting shot. There was nothing for them to hide behind, that was one of the curses of Lothal, hiding was near to impossible and Poe was even lucky to have found a rock formation near the city.

“Are you crazy?!” Kayla was shocked at his suggestion. Was he looking for more reasons for the First Order to hate him? Seemed so as their running path was headed in that direction. She hazarded a glance back to see about four stormtroopers were on their tail and no doubt more would soon be joining them.

Fantastic.

They were nearly there when one of the shots from the blasters clipped her left arm. She took in a sharp intake of air between her teeth but only stumbled a bit, not stopping as it was not an option and she had sustained worst injuries. She did, however, pull out the blaster from her bag and turned to shoot a few shots back before they boarded the ship Poe was interested in hijacking.


---------


Well, this was going as well as Finn had expected. The General had clearly been far too optimistic when Neria had spoken out against the First Order. It was more about their tactics then what they stood for and as such, how could a real alliance be brokered? Finn could not see himself or others trusting her to do their side any good if she was against what they were doing. But he owned it to everyone to give it a try.

“The way I see it, no form of government is to be successful if we look at things from your point of view. The Empire was a centralized power in the galaxy and suppressed the people. Them and the First Order, they care about nothing except power and control. There is no freedom.” Finn argued, not being into all of the politic side of things but he knew enough about the First Order and Empire to know that the way the governed was nothing to be praised.

“Emperor Palpatine was a power-hungry fool and the Jedi have their faults but they’re supposed to be keepers of the peace. If the order was rebuilt, I have faith it would go back to the way it was. Maybe our way isn’t the best way but I would rather take a chance on good leaders taking charge of their own planets. There would have been no separatists or war if it wasn’t for the Sith. Palpatine orchestrated it all and with the help of Darth Vader, he succeeded and I refuse to let their side win again.” Perhaps it was a simplistic point of view but he did not see the need to get all deep about it when he really didn’t know the ins and outs of the whole thing. All he knew was that the methods used by the First Order wouldn’t lead to a good world.
 
“You got a better idea?” Poe snapped back at Kayla as he kept running, only to hear that sharp breath. He glanced back a moment and saw the wound, cursed under his breath, but was able to reach the ship without any worse injuries to her, or to himself. He was quick to pull the ramp up and close it, grateful it had been left that way by the previous owner.

Now was just hotwiring it to get it going.

At least he had some experience with that, and as soon as he was in the cockpit, he slid down in the pilot’s chair to angle himself so he could rip out a bit from under the console and begin to realign some of the wires and alter a few of the electronical ports until the ship started up, even as it was undergoing fire.

“Yeah baby!” More to himself than anyone else, as he quickly slid back up and into the pilot’s seat to take the wheel and get this thing into the air. “I have a med kid on my ship,” he promised Kayla as he took off towards the rock formation. “We’ll get you patched up, but we can’t leave my ship behind.”

Even though they had a new one, he had to get back to BB-8.

At least by the time any TIEs were called for, he should be in the other ship, and preparing to get into lightspeed and leave this world behind. “So, does all that answer some of your questions about me, and my loyalties?” He couldn’t help the small hint of derision in his tone.

~***~

‘You’re not going to laugh at him.’

Neria’s lips did twitch, but she didn’t allow anything more than a wry smirk to cross them at his simplistic overview of the situation, and his staunch belief that there weren’t issues before Palpatine. There were. It was how Palpatine was even able to come into power, after all. If things had been good, he never would have succeeded.

And the Jedis as peace keepers were laughable.

“And the way I see it, Finn, the galaxy cannot hope for unity if we are split in such a fashion. I’d go on about the pros and cons of each system, but I do not intend to argue politics with you. That’s a matter I’ll save for General Organa, there’s little point arguing politics with you,” there was little point arguing politics with anyone in the Resistance, actually.

Leia gave up politics. Her decision to go rogue occurred all because someone revealed to the galaxy that Leia was Darth Vader’s child. A bold move by Senator Carise, though it ended her career, as well.

The Resistance wasn’t a political threat. They’d chosen to be vigilantes.

“Politics aren’t the concerning matter; the Order is destroying planets en masse. That’s something that even my family isn’t going to allow,” and they started it, “we doubt any conversation will go forward with the Order to get them to stop, so we are beginning to plan for war with them. It’s a question of whether or not Leia wants to join forces so we can share intelligence, or if she still holds to old grudges.”
 
There was no better option she supposed, she would just have to trust his judgment on this and follow him onto the ship. While he worked on hotwiring the ship, Kayla used her scarf to wrap around her arm to protect the wound and stop the bleeding. The ramp was still closed but she still felt nervous about what they were doing, not only hijacking the ship but also running away from stormtroopers who wanted to arrest them or kill them, whichever one worked best.

Poe got it working despite the blaster shots being fired towards them, Kayla taking the seat beside the pilot's and looking out of the cockpit window. This was the first time she had been on a ship before as he took off, Kayla found herself gripping the armrest of the seat for dear life. Not used to the feeling of it at all but she would have to get used to it of she was going to be riding with him off of Lothal to someplace new.

Wherever that was.

"Don't worry, I've been through worse." Her arm stung but it was something compared to some other wounds she had had and besides, it was just a flesh wound, it could have been so much worse. It made her feel quite comfortable that they were going to get his ship, it meant they could leave this ship behind for the owner to hopefully find it.

Kayla slightly rolled her eyes. "If you knew what I did, you would question anyone who showed up in the place of someone you trust." She was quick to reply, highly doubting that Poe himself would have trusted her if she had shown up to meet him instead of Lor San Tekka. Her precautions were justified and maybe sometime Poe would see that.
The ship gave them the distance they needed and now Kayla got to see the difference between this ship and Poe's, honestly she felt the one they were in was better in ways but she didn't care which they took as long as they got off Lothal one piece.

"Lead the way, Dameron." Kayla gestured with her good arm towards the exit, finding it amusing how they kept swapping between who was leading.

------

More and more Finn was questioning why he was sent with his lack of political understanding. His view was too simple to be able to argue with her and even he knew that. He felt so out of his element, he was almost hoping he would die so he could indeed haunt General Organa for the rest of her life. Making sure she knew that sending him to negotiate was a very stupid idea.

The urge to rolls his eyes was so strong but he refrained out of respect for the fact that he was there on a mission and ticking Neria off was not one of them.

"Maybe she has a reason to carry a grudge since your family first started destroying planets, beginning with hers. Maybe consider cutting her a little bit slack and put yourself in her shoes." Finn was a little protective. If his planet had been blown up, his parents murdered along with his people, he wouldn't want to be friends with the person who did it. "Consider the fact that she is actually willing to think about working together as a sign that she doesn't hold grudges too tightly." He wasn't sure he would be as forgiving as the general.
Sitting back in the chair and crossing his right leg over his left, letting out a breath. "The general is willing to consider an alliance of sorts with you. She just needs to make sure that this purely for defeating the First Order and that's it. She won't comprise the others who apart of the resistance, it's too big of a risk and she has already lost too much." Playing on sentiment wasn't a plan he felt would work but it was the truth and if she didn't understand that then what was the point of all of this.

Of course her family wasn't known for being all warm and cuddly, they were known for the Death Star, for playing a part in the war, joining the Empire. It was hard for him to see them as anything else or as allies. Sharing intel with them sounded risky in his opinion, there was so many ways it could go wrong and he didn't even know where to start.
"I never had anything to really fight for before the resistance. Working for the First Order was basically just killing innocent people. I don't want to have to do that again." He admitted honestly, having desire to hear the screams and knowing he was playing a part in it.
 
Poe honestly never doubted Kayla’s reaction and caution. Really, he would have been more surprised if she were so willing to give up information at the sight of a new face. Still, he hoped this chase by the Order at least showed her he wasn’t with them. Those should be points to his favor, as he brought the ship down besides his actual one. “Yeah, worse or not, we’re still getting that cleaned up.”

Poe got out of his seat as Kayla told him to lead the way, nodding as the ramp opened of his own ship and BB-8 chimed out hurried beeps from the top of it. Apparently, he was hearing enough conversation from the First Order’s comms to know what was up.

“Glad you’re on top of things,” Poe said as he moved to the top. BB-8 let out another worried chime at the sight of someone behind Poe. “That’s Kayla, Lor San Tekka’s contact, we’re bringing her with us. I’m pretty sure she’s safe.”

BB-8 held some doubt, almost amusing given the doubt Kayla had expressed towards them, “I know, I know,” he said, “just show her where the medkit is, I’ll get us out of here,” he said as he moved towards the cockpit.

BB-8 tilted its head up to assess Kayla, and invited her to follow him, as he rolled the opposite direction of Poe, towards the cargo space, rooms, makeshift kitchen area, and refresher. The medkit itself would be in the refresher, on a wall, which if Kayla followed, BB-8 would draw attention to.

At least at the moment, the ride wasn’t that turbulent as Poe started to get them into the air. That would likely change once the TIEs caught up.

~***~

‘Now I could use a drink.’

How many times had Neria been told to respect someone, or go easy on them, because of a crime she didn’t commit? Countless, and she felt it boiling in her veins as Finn suggested that very same thing about General Organa, as if she had been the one to press the button to destroy Alderaan. “I assure you, Finn, I want nothing else from General Organa or her Resistance than a military alliance.”

There was an ice now in her tone, his comments on his past with the Order winning him more sympathy, but reminding her of the bias in the universe. Finn was not blamed, or told to pay for the crimes of the Order he did not commit, she imagined. He was not tied to it so desperately.

Should she not tell him that he should speak more gently to her, because she had lost friends on Hosnian Prime?

No, of course not. Tarkins weren’t soft.

“But I will not be cutting General Organa any slack. If that is a dealbreaker,” she lifted one shoulder in a single shrug, “then I do apologize for thinking she was made of hardier stuff. I seem to make that mistake frequently. What does General Organa need to be assured of our stance and intentions to help with warfare?”
 
Kayla followed Poe out of the ship they had hijacked and towards the one that belonged to him. A small Droid showed up at the top of the ramp and began to communicate with a series of beeps, all of which Poe understood. Personally, she didn't entirely understand Droid, it was a language that was difficult for her to grasp but maybe one day she would understand it. For now all that mattered was that Poe understood and that they were hopefully going to escape with their lives.

Her directive was to follow the little Droid to the medkit while Poe got them up in the air and she didn't argue with him. He was good enough to let her on his ship, the least she could do is not make things complicated and besides, she had a feeling the Droid would have a fit if she didn't follow him. They went down to the cargo hold and he did a good job at showing her where the medkit was kept.

She retrieved it out of the refresher and sat down on a nearby container, removing the scarf from her arm. "Thank you." Kayla said looking at the Droid before opening the kit to retrieve some of what she needed to care for her wound. This was something she was familiar with, not only because of her own wounds but also those she treated for others. By the time she got the bandage on, the ship jolted sideways, causing Kayla to fall on the floor right on her wounded arm.

Ow.

"What in the name of every galaxy was that?" She asked the Droid who scurried off in the direction they came in, Kayla picked herself up from the floor and stumbled to get to the cockpit since the ship was not running smoothly at the moment. It actually felt like it was getting hit, which meant it probably was.

Getting to the cockpit, Kayla sat down in one of the chairs and looked over at Poe. "Are there a lot of TIE Fighters after us?" There had been some that came in the first day the First Order set foot on Lothal so it wouldn't surprise her if they had a couple on their tail right now.

--------

There was at least one thing established, this...alliance was all that they wanted from Leia and the Resistance, nothing else. Finn still wasn't entirely convinced since there was one issue of this whole thing and that was what would happen when the First Order would be defeated. Who would rule? What kind of system of government would take over? There were just so many issues and the woman across from him could very well be their next enemy.

The tone of Neria's voice change and quite frankly, Finn didn't care. The more time he spent around her, the less he was afraid of her. He had done things he would have never thought of doing and his skills had grown since those days in the First Order. It wasn't the Tarkins who helped him out of that horrible place, it was a Resitance pilot.

Maybe she didn't understand what that meant but he did.

Neria was coming off rather cold hearted but what else could he expect from the likes of her? Clearly not much. Finn kept his mouth shut, no use in defending Leia as it would become a petty war about who could throw the worst insult in the other person's face.

"I suppose some sign of good faith. Intel or the like. Something to show you aren't tricking us into siding with you for a less than honorable purpose." Finn declared, not turning more serious and sitting up more straight, both his elbows on the armrests of the chair he was sitting on.

"We can verify the information you give us and if it's true, then we know we can trust you. Also, maybe you can accompany us on a mission, just to be safe." If a trap was set, Neria wouldn't come and if she did then there would be no trap. No matter how tough a person was, no one wanted to die.

His eyes never left hers, waiting for her to make the next move since the ball was now in her court. If things fell through then he would be leaving and telling Leia that he had unfortunately failed because her confidence in the Tarkin girl was misplaced.
 
Poe knew TIEs were going to come, given the First Order presence. Given he’d stolen a ship. Still, he was fairly certain it was nothing to worry about. Once he got clear enough space, he’d be able to get into lightspeed.

As BB-8 came rolling in, he smiled down at him, “Hey, buddy, help get the lightspeed coordinates set up, would you?”

BB-8 queried where, and Poe offered, “Takodana,” he didn’t think they would go all the way there, but it was as good a spot as any. If they were parting ways with Kayla, it was also a good spot to drop her. Perfectly neutral, and Maz would help her get wherever she needed to go, in order to stay safe.

Which, speaking of, she did come back up as BB-8 was working on that. “Oh, just a few, nothing major,” Poe said, even as another shot jolted the ship. “Least this thing has good shielding,” he still wanted his X-Wing. He could have taken the TIEs in that.

Oh well.

BB-8 let out a chime that it had finished up. “Thanks, BB!”

And Poe reached for the nearby lever, pulled it down, and shot them right into lightspeed.

Nothing broke, no alarms started to flash, so Poe let out a sigh of relief…and then looked at Kayla, “You have enough to get bandaged up? Everything okay?”

~***~

Neria raised her brow as Finn made his request. True, she had asked for it, but he was the one who came here to forge the alliance. ‘There is no point arguing point of order right now.’ And she had little to lose, really. She had plenty of intelligence on the First Order. After all, they’d had people within from the beginning.

People who had joined with good intentions, but came to regret their decision. They knew to look for imperials on the outside to help them.

Rather than address Finn directly, she took her datapad into her hands, opened a drawer of her desk, slipped a blank datachip into the datapad, and copied information over to it relating to the current whereabouts of the First Order, a prison they had on Corellia and some of its occupants, as well as an interesting new group of Stormtroopers whose battalions bore the names of dead sith.

She didn’t speak to Finn until it had finished copying over, and then she ejected it from the drive, and offered it to Finn, “We’ve much more than that. Those who would turn from the First Order, but still hold to some of their ideals, tend to seek like-minded allies,” in a word, her family and other Imperials.

“As for missions, I’m afraid you’d have to have something actually worth my time,” which she didn’t think the Resistance had, given she spent much of her time concocting strategies to break up pirate organizations, deal with senators, and much else. She still had to go about all of that, while also organizing the fleets for war.

Given, Dedrich would also be handling much of that, as would General Tagge and Admiral Motti, but she was still among high command. “I’m sure that will suffice for now.”
 
Kayla nodded her head a bit, looking out of the cockpit, biting her bottom lip gently as she saw they were getting above the planets surface and into the stars. It was a sight unlike she had ever seen before and she took it in as best she could before they went into hyperspeed which was something else she had never experienced and was in awe of.

It was all pretty surreal and she just sat back, letting it all sink in that she was off of Lothal and that she was going to start over fresh. The location as to where she would start off fresh was a mystery, she didn't know too many star systems and planets outside of the obvious ones Coruscant. A part of her was hoping he would bring her with him but she wasn't entirely convinced he wanted to do that.

"Yeah I cleaned the wound and bandaged myself up. I'll be as good as new in no time." She assured him with a small smile before looking down at the Droid she know knew was called BB. There was probably a number missing there but she would discover it eventually.

"So where are you taking me? To Tatooine?" She mused with a bit of laughter in her tone as he had threatened to do so if she didn't talk once she got into his ship. They hadn't talked about what she knew yet, it gave the perfect opportunity to poke fun a little bit. "I would want to avoid a desert planet. The strong sun would serve me ill." She wasn't made for extreme heat, the few times she had spent too much time out in the sun on Lothal had her wishing she hadn't.

After being on her own for six years, it was nice to have company again. Not to mention it was still hitting her that Lor San Tekka was dead and gone. "How long ago did Lor San Tekka die? Maybe I should have used the beacon earlier. Then I could have saved you the hassle of a trip." Kayla just hoped the information she could provide was worth the journey and the near death experience.

------

Neria and Finn were like fire and ice, they just didn't seem to get along. They're points of view were so incredibly different, the reasons they were fighting in the war were different. The only similarity was that they both seemed to disagree with what the First order was doing to other planets and the people.

Neria grabbed a datapad and focused all her attention on it, so Finn decided to simply keep his mouth shut as she went about whatever she was doing. Hopefully it wasn't about organizing his death or the death of his comrades in the ship in the hangar. There weren't many escapes available in the room they were currently in and so he could do nothing but stay in his seat and see what she was going to do.

She handed him a datachip with information on it, Finn took it in his hand and looked at her careful as she explained how there was much more than that available. Advantages of being apart of the senate he supposed, you had access to much more information.

"I'll bring this back to the base and if it's as good as you make it seem, then I'm sure it will suffice for the time being." Finn agreed, safely stashing it away in one of the pockets inside of her jacket, it was much safer there then in one of the outside pockets.

He couldn't afford to lose this datachip.

"I suppose that concludes our meeting. I would hate to keep you from no doubt very important things that require your attention." Finn stood to his feet, more than ready to get out of this place. There was no more that could be done. Neria was the one who needed to prove she would help them, not the other way around.

If her information was good, there was no doubt that Leia would be more than willing to work together to defeat the First Order. As to what happens afterwards, that is entirely up to the General, however she saw fit to deal with that. For now, they had a present enemy to defeat.
 
It was obvious Kayla had never flown before. Poe saw it from the corner of his eye, and quietly enjoyed it. Introducing people to space and flight wasn’t as common any longer; most people he knew, in the Resistance, would rather have a stable home by how much traveling they’d done. Seeing travel through someone’s eyes who’d never done it like this before? He’d nearly forgotten it was magical.

He gave a smile and a nod as she indicated she was okay, and asked where she was going. “Right now, we’re en route to Takodana, though that can always change,” Takodana was simply a good place to start, and if they were to part ways, it would be a good place to do so, “Good neutral world, run by Maz who’s an old friend of the Resistance. She’ll help you, if your path isn’t with us.”

He hoped that would be some reassurance for her to speak, as she asked about Lor San Tekka, “As for that,” he sighed, “not that long ago. A couple of weeks,” things had been moving fast, a blur of things. It felt longer, but really, Starkiller hadn’t been gone that long, and Finn woken up only recently, only to be dispatched on a diplomatic mission, of all things, to deal with another surprise: Tarkins against the First Order.

Poe still had his doubts on that.

“He found a map to someone important, and the First Order found out about it. They killed him, and arrested me,” he still didn’t like to think about it. His head throbbed from the memory of how his mind had been so painfully invaded. He never wanted to experience that again. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to see him again, and had to find out like this.” Amidst all this crazy mess on Lothal.

~***~

Finn was being sarcastic about what important things she had to get up to, but that wasn’t something she felt needed an honest response. What would a Stormtrooper know about the activities of officers? Likely, not as much as he thought. She rose after he did. “Then I’ll see you back to your ship.”

She had no more reason to keep him on the planet, and he had no further reason to stay, it seemed.

She was half-hoping she wouldn’t hear from the Resistance again, even if she knew that it would be better if they did. If they shared information, battle tactics, and battle plans, it would at least make sure they didn’t get in the way of each other, which would prevent casualties in crossfire. Logically, she needed to hear from them again, because she didn’t want to harm First Order enemies by accident, nor did she want to be blown to pieces by Leia’s Resistance.

The path back was the same one they took prior, leading back to the hangar.

It really should have been a simple hand-off of him back onto his ship, and Neria shouldn’t have let her reasonably mild irritation with it all distract her from recognizing critical things she wouldn’t have, otherwise.

Like the cameras in the hangar were off.

“Give General Organa my—” the word was cut off by noticing a red dot, and then a blaster shot. Neria moved, but not nearly enough. The sniper’s bolt still tore through her side, not an unfamiliar sensation, it wasn’t exactly the first time someone tried to assassinate her, but not one she expected to feel all the same.
 
"I don't think I ever heard of that place. I do remember hearing something about a Maz though. You hear a lot when you spend time outside of cantinas." Kayla smiled a tiny bit looking down at her hands, recalling how she had been trying to do it more often to find out things for Lor San Tekka. "I have no destination in mind. If you think I'll be of use to you and the Resistance then I'll gladly join the fight. At least I would have something to fight for."

All Kayla had fought for was herself and those she knew who were less fortunate, nothing of a grand scale. Fighting for freedom seemed to be a much better use of her time then just simply wastung away on Lothal.

Hearing about how short a time had passed since Lor San Tekka's death, she really wished she had done something sooner with the beacon. Maybe she would have saved him from his demise. "I see." Her voice was somber and quiet as she was filled with a bit of guilt since she felt like she really could have done something to save him.

But it was too late now.


"The best thing I can do is make sure the information I have is used for good, like he would have wanted." Poe had proven that he could be trusted and she did say that she would share her knowledge if he got her off of Lothal. He kept his promise and so she was going to keep hers.

"The intel I have in my possession, I'm not sure exactly what it means but the way the men were speaking of it, it sounded rather important." She began her eyes meeting Poe's. "There is talk of a planet called Exegol, apparently it is shrouded in so much darkness and mystery that some say it doesn't exist. If one was to believe it exists, there is supposedly someone very powerful who resides there and whoever that someone is, they are building a fleet."

Kayla was trying to be clear about what she was saying and making sure it was said properly. No need for a miscommunication.

Moving her bag in her lap, she searched around for the datachip she had. "There exists blueprints for the ships that are being built and I managed to get at least a partial copy. I had to be quick about it so I am unsure if I have a full copy. I was too scared to check them myself and get caught but I'm sure whatever is there will be of value."

-------


There was no reason for their meeting to continue, they had done what needed to be done and there was nothing else to be said. Once the intel was verified then they would know how to proceed with this alliance. Finn was just happy to be heading back to the base, among friendlies and a place he felt more safe.

With any luck this would be the last time he would have to make friendly conversation with a Tarkin. From here on out Leia would be the one responsible for dealing with the Tarkins and all that political stuff. Then, when he returned, he could lament over the whole ordeal with Poe who was not too much more sold on the idea of being on civil terms with the Tarkins then he was.

Not that he blamed him.

Seeing his ship again, in one piece, brought Finn a sense of relief and he was so close to being on his way out with the unthinkable happened. Someone had shot Neria.

It had nothing to do with them and as much as his first inclination was to run to the ship and get off of this planet, Finn was just too nice for that. He had moved forwards to catch Neria before she fell to the floor, only having one reasonable option and that was to bring her onto his ship where they had a medkit and someone experienced with these kinds of wounds.

There was probably Domaine she knew who could help her but he didn't have time for that, especially not without having a visual on the shooter who was attempting to shoot them both at the moment. "Hold on, I'm going to bring you onto my ship and get you out of here until it's safe." He informed her, slingling one of her arms over his shoulder and around his neck do he could help her walk up the ramp and into the ship.

"Get us out of here!" Finn said with urgency as he didn't want the ship damaged and because he had a sinking suspicion that the Resistance would be blamed for this.
 
Poe would see how useful Kayla could be, though even he knew the Resistance needed people who were just willing to clean, or do laundry. Too many of them wanted to be out there fighting, which was definitely noble, but a lot of the general chore work that kept a Resistance running also got left behind.

If Kayla wanted to join the good fight, he couldn’t really turn her away unless he was certain she was a spy or something, and he knew that. He didn’t say it just yet, though.

He let her talk about what she’d learned. Exegol was no planet that Poe knew of, but that wasn’t a surprise. He still didn’t know what planet Starkiller Base had been, and no one knew all the planets out in Wild Space or the Unknown Regions. Supposedly there was even some alien species known as ‘Chiss’ out there, somewhere.

They hadn’t been found, none seen since the Grand Admiral Thrawn.

“Well, we can take a look when you find the datachip,” he said, as she rummaged in her bag, “BB, you mind bringing up whatever she has?”

BB-8 trilled that it would be okay with that, opening a place in his side to bring out a metal hand of sorts, prepared to accept whatever datachip Kayla might have had.

“I haven’t heard of Exegol, and I’m not really sure who could be more powerful than Snoke,” he said that with some derision. Kylo Ren was actually, probably, stronger, but that was a problem for later. Snoke was still in charge, and Leia didn’t want to imagine Kylo as…well…as free to do as he wanted as Poe firmly believed.

Ben was dead.

Kylo Ren was all that was left. “But, I believe something could be going on. We never saw the First Order put together Starkiller, or them build up their current fleets, so anything that helps us find what they’re doing now, would be great.”

~***~

It never got easier getting shot. It wasn’t exactly something that practice helped with, as Neria knew from too much experience. Still, she was a touch surprised with how quick her knees let go of her this time, and she did accept Finn’s aid for the moment. Out of sight was likely behind his ship, then she could call on her guards and –

Nope, she wasn’t going behind the ship. Before she could even consider breaking from Finn, he moved to pull her inside the ship, as another shot struck the ship. Fighting him wouldn’t help her situation, so she shuffled along and only broke away once inside the ship, placing a hand on the wall as the other remained firmly locked against the wound.

And they were leaving Eriadu. ‘Okay, either they planned this, or they’re panicking.’

Panicking seemed the more likely answer here, and Neria wouldn’t let it dissuade her too much. She still had her datapad. She could reach out to her father about what happened shortly, and get a way back to Eriadu soon enough. This would be fine. So long as she ignored the throbbing pain in her side. ‘Well, not ignore….’

She found her voice, “Is there a medkit here?” The question was a touch airy, a quality of trying to ask about that as one might ask about the weather. Medkits were usually in the refreshers, or in kitchens, but she didn’t need to go wandering a random shuttle without at least asking. She’d use up valuable energy if there wasn’t a medkit, and the ship launching wasn’t exactly…well practiced or smooth.

‘Definitely panicking.’

Neria would worry about what the hell was going on when she was stabilized.
 
Kayla Knew she had put it into her bag and while she did have a moment of panic that it got lost in their escape, she did end up finding it thankfully. "Well the way they spoke, it was treated more like a ghost story but there has been more whispers of it. There were more than just a couple of people speaking of it. That is normally a sign of the rumors having some truth to them. Especially when the sources are outsiders." She had learned a lot from Lor San Tekka and she would forever be grateful for that, even if the information was only really useful to people like Poe.

BB showed her his port for the datachip and she plugged it in, watching as the plans became projected in the air through BB's lens and she learned that she had indeed gotten the whole set of plans. It was a kind of starship but it seemed different from the usual ones that were used by the First Order.

Interesting.

"I know nothing of ships so perhaps you can make more sense out of this than I can. But I think it is safe to assume that this is not just some recreational ship that they plan to make a fleet of?" Kayla wasn't naive in that sense, if the First Order was building these ships, it was because they would be used for mass destruction.

A silence settled as they both looked over the plans, Kayla more so seeing how big they would be and what that meant for the galaxy. Honestly, she was just hoping that this would help the Resistance in their fight. It would be nice to know that none of what happened that day was for nothing.

"Whoever is planning this, has to be quite powerful and while I have never met Snoke or Kylo Ren, I believe what I heard when it came to someone being more powerful than they who was behind everything. Wouldn't it make sense? In the time of Darth Vader, it was the Emperor who was in charge of it all. Perhaps there is a bigger mastermind behind the First Order." Kayla suggested, not sure if she was even remotely right but it was worth a thought.

--------

Finn acted on instinct and maybe there was some panic in there but it was justified. They didn't know what happened and they didn't want to be held responsible for what was going on. Neria getting shot after talking to them looked very bad. For all everyone knew here, they were the ones who had organized it and Finn would not allow that to happen.

Thankfully he was met with no opposition from Neria as he helped her onto the ship and had the ramp closed behind them. Neria let go so she could stand on her own while he told the pilot to take off as quick as possible, they needed to leave this place. Now that they were both in the ship, Finn was wondering if he had made the right choice.

Too late to change it now.

"Oh yeah, right here." Finn went to get the medkit for her, having a feeling that him offering help would be refutted as unnecessary and that she would be able to do things much better on her own. Neria gave off the essence of being someone who thought everything was done better by themselves than by others.

"First I want to say that it was not us who planned this attack. But it was my decision to bring you aboard so that you wouldn't get shot again." Finn could have left her to die, it wasn't like they were great friends who cared about each other. It was just a matter of principle. No matter how much you dusagteeed with someone, unless they were First Order, no one deserved to be left for dead.

However, he would have to put in a call to the General in order to determine what would be done about their current predicament. Should he bring Neria back to base, should he bring her somewhere else? Those were the questions he needed answered.

He stayed near Neria in case she needed any assistance. "Where would you like to be then?" He asked her first the sake of pure curiosity to see what she would say on the matter. No doubt she had an opinion.
 
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The ships brought before Poe were no larger than a typical Destroyer, and Poe frowned as he saw them, wondering what was so special about these. He could see one thing, in the underbelly cannon, but he wondered if that just meant it was better at destroying other capital ships and the like. It was far smaller than any dreadnaught he’d seen, and he was grateful for that.

A fleet of dreadnaughts would have been terrifying.

Poe gave a shrug, “The main difference I see between it and the other star destroyers is this cannon here,” he gestured to the hologram and the cannon, “Don’t know what it means, but it’s worth looking into. That could be an annoying thing to deal with in a combat situation, and I’d like to know what we’re up against. Probably no issue for the single starfighters, but for our capital ships, I worry.”

He had no idea the real power of that cannon.

He still scoffed at the idea of it being someone beyond Snoke or Kylo. “It doesn’t take power to build this kind of thing, just money and resources, and we don’t know how much the Order has in the way of resources since so much of what they have is on uncharted worlds. This is important,” he said, he didn’t want her to feel that this was something trivial, but this wasn’t something to do with the Force.

This was just typical war power. Ships and resources and money. “Snoke’s the one in charge of the Order, I think if there was someone else behind him, we’d know by now.” At least, Poe assumed, “Kylo can’t really keep his mouth shut,” or his mind, from what rumors he’d heard about Rey. Certainly, Rey would have figured out if there was someone else, given she apparently roasted Kylo.

Poe wished he had seen it.

Poe still wished he’d had a chance to meet Rey. “Not saying you’re wrong but I just don’t see it.” He shrugged. “We’ve been monitoring the Order for years now.” Obviously, there were some things they didn’t know, but something to that degree? It just didn’t seem right.

Then again…they missed Starkiller.

~***~

Finn went to retrieve the medkit, so Neria opted to take a seat so she wouldn’t be bothered any further by the ship’s movements. When he returned, she took the kit from him, rolled up her shirt, revealing old scars and the new wound. She got to work cleaning the wound so she could see the actual area of the wound better. Thankfully, blaster wounds were usually cauterized due to the nature of them, and her own bit of light armor underneath her tunic.

Nothing too bad.

There was going to be a nasty bruise, and without bacta, there would have been some burn-scarring. Thankfully, she saw some bacta in the pack, the gel, so she dabbed some on her fingers as Finn spoke and ran it over, ignoring the sensation as best she could. She never liked how bacta felt.

And it didn’t help her wound was still screaming at her. Any pressure to it made it flare up in pain again.

At least she had practice with this.

“I do not suspect this was one of your plans,” she told Finn, to quell his concern about being blamed. “You’re all a touch too jumpy for that, no offense.” Though it cleared them of much suspicion, most people couldn’t act that well and something told her Finn wasn’t on that list, just from her earlier conversation with him.

He wasn’t an actor. That might have been among the reasons Leia sent him.

“If I can’t be brought back immediately to Eriadu, then Coruscant would work. We still hold an embassy on Coruscant and I can find my way back.” Apparently, she wasn’t terribly concerned about the wound, as she finished applying the bacta and sought a wrap for it.
 
Kayla didn't know much about ships, what made them dangerous besides the obvious defense weapons most of them have. But still, she had a feeling these were quite dangerous and to have Poe treat it like it wasn't that big of a deal, that didn't sit well with her. Nor did it sit well that he was questioning what she felt about there being someone stronger in charge, someone stronger than Snoke and Kylo Ren. He wasn't there when she heard it, how would he know if someone was pulling all the strings? Maybe no one knows except for one person and they haven't spilt it. If Snoke was above Kylo then he may be the only one knows and then Kylo wouldn't have the chance to say the details.

But Poe wasn't convinced.

Oh well.

"If it's not useful enough for you then I suppose I can keep my datachip." She removed it from BB's port and put it back in her bag. Poe didn't understand how difficult it was to come by this information or how heavily it was shrouded in secret by those who dared to speak of it.

Kayla just knew that there was more than met the eye and she needed someone who could see what she saw. Who that was she had no clue but hopefully she would find someone who would fit that criteria. The only one would truly knew the value of information was dead, finding another like him would be extremely difficult.

"Just let me know when we arrived at our destination." Those were her final words before she left the cockpit and went to the back where she could be alone and sit down. Fighting the good fight was complicated, Lor San Tekka had told her so, it was never cut and dry sadly, not everyone would be in agreement and not everyone would see the truth, was painfully obvious.

She would remain how she had always been.

Alone.

---------

Neria took care of her wound completely on her arm and judging by the scars as well as by how well she was handling it, he would say that she had done this more than once. With her, it was definitely better if Finn just stayed away and let her take care of her own wounds. Offering help would be an insult, he felt pretty confident in saying that.

Finn was relieved that she knew they weren't to plan, although he took slight offense at how she said they couldn't have been responsible since no one would be able to act so well. He took it in the essence that she saw their panic and clearly she frowned upon it. Despite taking every ounce of will power he had, Finn didn't comment on it.

But it was so hard.

"I don't think we would be welcomed on Coruscant and I don't think going back to Eriadu is a good option at the moment. Whoever tried to kill you could still be there and could strike again." Finn put in his opinion, not expecting her to agree with him but that was beside the point, he was not going to Coruscant or back where they came from.

Bringing her to base still sounded risky because even with a blindfold she would still probably be able to guess where they were. Neria had a lot of experience with multiple systems and thus she would be able to say where she was without being told.

There were no good options it seemed.

"What if we went somewhere neutral? That way there would be no one who hated me and no one who would hate you? It seems like the best of both worlds. Gives us time to come up with a plan of sorts and perhaps if I send the intel to General Organa, she may give permission for us to go to base." That was the best option to him and even though he didn't know all of the neutral systems, be knew of a few and there were some that could be close by.

Hopefully.
 
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