The first thing Poe does the moment he lands back on D'Qar -after his mission from Ovanis that went surprisingly well all things considered- is head straight to Leia's office, waiting until the door is shut behind him to look back at the General, only to realize Commander Skywalker is also there, standing over her aunt while setting some paperwork down on the desk. Both women look up at his entrance, and Elara even pulls back her jacket sleeve to read her watch.

"You're back earlier than Threepio anticipated."

"General," Poe ignores the comment to stare directly at Leia and only Leia, "May I speak to you alone?"

Leia's eyebrow rises with suspicion, her hands folded in front of her on the desk, "If you're just reporting back from your mission, Poe, then Commander Skywalker is required to stay and hear about it."

"This isn't just about the mission, ma'am. This is for your ears only."

"My eyes and ears have always been my niece. She is my most trusted operative apart from you and Threepio and an asset to the Resistance. And not only that, your classified missions involve finding her father," Leia blatantly ignores how hard the woman next to her rolls her eyes to continue glaring at the pilot in front of her, "Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Elara."

Poe sets his jaw and stands stiffly while slowing muttering, "Someone put a tracker on my ship that led the First Order straight to us. Someone from the Resistance. One of our own."

The room fell into silence and the air was heavier than before Poe first walked in. Leia pursed her lips, but it was Elara who beat her to it, her own mouth forming into a snarl while glaring at Poe, "Oh, and you think it was me?"

Poe shook his head, "I was trying to be careful and wanted to minimize how many people knew about it besides the General and myself."

She snorts in response, "You're lying."

Dammit. He forgot about the whole Jedi thing for a moment and sighed, "Okay. So maybe I suspected it was you. You're definitely on top of my list considering I don't know you and I can't imagine anyone from my own squadron betraying me or the Resistance. I practically grew up and fought beside most of these people for years!"

"And you make a very fair point, Dameron," Elara nods firmly, "But as a Jedi, I would like to point out to you that you can't just turn a blind eye on something because you don't believe someone you know would betray you."

His eyes narrow, "I trust my friends. I don't trust strangers."

"You don't trust me," she corrects, keeping her posture straight and her chin in the air, her grey eyes more stormy than before, "I respect that. But take it from a Skywalker whose family was built on Darth Vader betraying the Jedi Order: you can know someone your whole life... you can know them as well as the back of your hand... and yet they can still stab you in the back--"

"Enough," Leia interrupts and Poe wondered if the mention of Vader pained the General more then she let on. But while staring down at Elara, Poe wondered if maybe her words meant something more and Leia had detected it. Something else was stirring underneath the skin of those two women and Poe had wondered if he had stepped over a sensitive family matter. Elara blinks out of her staredown with the pilot and turns back to Leia, the General waiting for her attention before continuing, "This is very disturbing news and it should not be taken lightly. You have both made excellent points today. The awareness that there is a traitor in our midst should be left to the people in this room and we should consider everyone as a possible suspect. Elara, I want you to get Threepio in on this. Have him investigate. Start with the tracker and inspect Poe's ship for any clues."

"Yes, General."

Elara quickly struts out of the room, never giving Leia or Poe a second glance before she disappears. Poe bites the inside of his cheek to contain the shame and guilt he felt before turning back around to meet the General's stone eyes, "Now, Poe, you need to tell me exactly what happened. As much as you can remember."

"Yes, General."

~~~~~~~~~

After a quick briefing with General Organa about his latest mission from Ovanis, Poe needed to head over to the mess hall to regroup with his squadron for some much-needed celebration and refreshments before he gives them their next target. As he was walking back to the mess hall, Poe just happened to be walking past the hanger deck when he heard a familiar voice coming from his X-Wing.

"Running diagnostics?"

"Yes, madame. Two of the T-70 X-Wing Starfighters had taken some considerable damage--"

"I understand, Threepio, but what about the tracking beacon Commander Dameron's Astromech droid found on his ship?"

Poe carefully walks over and hides while observing Elara Skywalker and General Leia's droid, C-3PO, talking beside his ship as they studied it.

"It was hidden close to the tank, I imagine, under the belly," the golden droid informed her, "It would be easy to miss until the ship would need a refuel or until BB-8 tracked it down."

The expression she showed was one of concern, which is considerably different from the bored and annoyed expressions she made when first meeting Poe, "Did you run the tracker for fingerprints? DNA? Any viable data?"

"I did. But unfortunately, too many people have touched it before I was able to confiscate it," Threepio lowered his head, "The tracker is also slightly damaged due to Poe Dameron trying to destroy it once he had discovered it."

"So it would be nearly impossible for you to trace it back to its original owner," Elara placed her hands on her hips, "Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes, Mistress Elara. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to continue my investigation."

Elara sighs, looking back at the X-Wing before nodding, "Thank you, Threepio."

Once the droid leaves, Poe thought Elara would, too. But instead, she stayed with his ship, watching it closely. A distant look in her eye gives away a window of vulnerability, a soft smile forming on her soft lips as she reached up to touch the cool metal of the X-Wing, running her hand down near the Repulsorlift. She looked younger and full of life as her smile grew, and Poe wondered if maybe there was more to her than she leads on.

"Do you fly?" He asked without thinking, stepping out of his hiding place just as Elara jumped with a small gasp. Once she realized it was only him, she relaxed and drew her hand away from his ship, straightening out her shirt while blinking away her childish gaze with a frown.

"All Skywalkers know how to fly," he ignored the way the wind rushes through his ears as she spoke, a newfound spark in her eyes driving Poe nearly speechless. The unwelcome grin takes place on his mouth as she continued, "Before my father ever knew the ways of the Jedi, all he ever wanted was to be a pilot. And according to him, so did my grandfather."

Poe lit up like a child on his birthday when he hears this, now spewing off everything he knew about the stories he grew up hearing, "Your father was a Rebel pilot of the Alliance. He took down the first Death Star single-handedly with just one shot. All done with these bad boys."

He gently thumps the side of his X-Wing. Elara rolls her eyes and smiles, nodding in confirmation while touching the ship again, "That's right. I practically grew up with the X-Wing as my nanny."

He laughs, the sound alone had a chime to it that rattled off the side of the X-Wing, resonating off of Elara's hand and she pulls away again as if she had been stunned.

Once Poe could get ahold of himself again, he lowers his gaze and his smile shamefully falls while clearing his throat, "I'm sorry I accused you of being a traitor."

Elara huffs a quick sigh while shaking her head, "It's fine. Again, I understand why you would trust your friends over a total stranger."

"Are you any good? Flying, I mean."

The glint in her eyes was mischievous and cunning, adding a wink for good measure, "Maybe someday I'll show you."

"Maybe you can show me now," Poe offered without hesitation, "Black Squadron is heading out on another mission. We will be meeting Grakkus Jahibakti Tingi in his prison on Megalox Beta. I'm sure the General wouldn't mind another member joining the squadron."

"Grakkus the Hutt?" She quirks an eyebrow and shakes her head, "I think I'm better off staying here then. Grakkus and my father had a history... a history that got the snot monster stuck in that prison in the first place. You won't be getting much information from him with me around. He'd most likely want to kill me on sight."

Poe shrugs in understanding, "Fair enough. But someday, you'll be joining the fight? You're a pilot and a Jedi. The Resistance could use that out on the field more than inside collecting data."

She frowns, "There's no such thing as a small job in the Resistance. Every bit counts. Besides, I may not have seen much fighting," the female Skywalker turns on her heels and walks away, "But I've already seen plenty of death to last me a lifetime."

~~~~~~~~~

After the team is debriefed and they start packing for the next mission, Karé was able to catch all of the Black Squadron members together just before they were all about to climb into their respective ships. She grins while watching Jess punch Snap's shoulder and narrowly misses his playful swing in response. L'ulo is laughing while clapping Oddy's shoulder as their mechanic wraps up any last-second repairs to their ships. When closely observing further, Karé noticed that Poe was standing off to the side, staring down at his helmet with a hard-focused expression. She decides not to step over it too closely in fear of ruining everybody's good mood before the next mission as she finally reaches her crew with a grin, "You guys ready?"

"Born ready," Jess cracks her knuckles, and L'ulo offers her a fistbump.

"What's eaten ya, Poe?" Snap asks while peering over to their Black Leader, who hasn't spoken since before the debrief. Apparently, he wasn't one to tread lightly over Poe's mood unlike his girlfriend, Karé, "You seem distracted."

Poe startles out of the haze his mind had been feeling while glaring at his helmet in deep thought. Looking around to see everyone's eyes on him, he sighs through his nose before opening his mouth, "Say, what do you guys think of the General's consort?"

Snap quirks a dark eyebrow, "Who, Skywalker?"

"The General's niece?" Jess asks to confirm.

"Leia keeps her pretty close," L'ulo shrugs, "So that's why we've barely seen her up until this point."

Poe shakes his head, "Leia has personally gone to me for all of my missions ever since I joined the Resistance, and not once have I met Skywalker up until now."

"Leia's been teaching her how to be a politician as well as a military leader," L'ulo explains, "After Leia left the Imperial Senate, others started to drift away. Leia knew she couldn't go back because no politician would take her word for anything because she was Darth Vader's daughter--"

"That's stupid," Jess spat.

"That's politics. I think I first met Elara when she was a teenager after Leia took her in. At one point, I know she sent Elara away to Naboo so she could learn about democracy and maybe that's where she's been all this time. Her aunt has been showing her the ropes ever since."

Oddy Muva pitches in when he joins the group after prepping their engines, "She's scary sometimes. She's hard on people who deserve it, mostly, but she's gentle to others."

"Well, that could just be because she's technically a Jedi," Karé informs the others, to which Jess narrows her eyes at the other woman.

"Why do you say 'technically'?"

"Because 'technically' she was still in training until she joined the Resistance."

Snap looks to his girlfriend, now also intrigued, "How do you know that?"

"I read a report or two," Karé grins, "Something you guys should do every once in a while. She lived on Yavin 4 with Luke Skywalker's other Jedi students in a temple called Jedi Praxeum."

Snap's eyes widened as he looked over at their Black Leader, "Poe, aren't you from Yavin 4?"

Poe doesn't respond as he's too enthralled with Karé's story, his eyes narrowing in concentration. Karé continues explaining her knowledge, "I read the report of the Temple. It burned down and half of Master Luke's students were killed. The other half went with the student who killed them all. Master Nora Tade was killed and Luke Skywalker vanished."

"Nora Tade?"

L'ulo sighs, his big red eyes drooping with a pained expression, "She was another Jedi Master and Elara's mother. I followed that woman into the war. Good woman. May she rest in peace."

A dawning realization floods Poe's face as his eyes widen in surprise. Looking back down at the ground, he barely listens to the rest of the conversation as Jessika's eyes appeared frightened while only looking at Karé, "So how did Elara survive the massacre?"

"I don't know. The report wasn't clear on that," Karé explains, "What I read was that she was the last survivor and sent a distress signal to General Leia to come and save her. The report explains how Leia found her among several dead students and burning huts, holding onto her mother's body for dear life. By the time Leia reached her, Nora Tade's body vanished into thin air, leaving behind her Jedi robes. It was actually pretty awful to read about. That's probably why I don't feel so intimidated by Elara. I know that it's just a front; a wall she puts up."

Poe sets his jaw and his eyes on the ground in front of him, clutching his helmet while Elara's words stick in his head, "I may not have seen much fighting, but I've already seen plenty of death to last me a lifetime."

"Poe?" L'ulo realized the young man he's known his whole life had been quiet during the majority of this conversation. Everyone else looks over and stares at their leader while he appeared troubled by something.

Poe had a very distant memory he hasn't thought of in over twenty years. It was blurry and faint. He can only recall bits and pieces and whenever he tried to place a face, it would appear fuzzy in his mind, like cotton. Poe licks his bottom lip before blinking out of his initial thoughts and looked up at the rest of his crew, "...Nora Tade was my godmother."

Everyone's eyes widen while Karé looks embarrassed, "Oh, stars, Poe. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything--"

"It's fine," Poe quickly assures her while waving it off, trying his best to smile in encouragement, "I honestly had forgotten about her. I wasn't allowed to see her after my mother died. I was eight years old the last she came to see me."

Snap hums thoughtfully, "So you and Commander Skywalker have met before?"

He shakes his head, "Not that I can recall. But our mothers were friends, maybe we met during a time we couldn't remember."

"Are you gonna ask her about it?"

He shakes his head again, "I shouldn't. It's her mom. I have a feeling that's a topic she never wants to talk about to anyone."

~~~~~~~~~

Leia noticed the way Elara appeared to be lost in thought, staring out the window even far after the Black Squadron had disappeared. When the older woman walked up to join her niece at the window, the young Skywalker finally broke out of her daze and spoke, "General, can I ask you a question? Why Poe Dameron?"

Leia chuckles lightly while shaking her head, folding her hands in front of her, "I can't lie to you. I didn't recruit him just for his skills or experience. I recruited him because he reminded me of Luke for being a passionate, outstanding pilot and dedicated to doing what was right. And we could all use a Luke on our side."

She doesn't miss the way Elara's fingers grip tightly onto her datapad, "You mean the Luke Skywalker that abandoned us."

The General sighs, expecting Elara to sound skeptical at the very mention of Luke, "You don't approve."

The young woman shrugs, "To me, Poe Dameron reminds me of Han Solo. At least he always comes back."

Leia huffs a laugh, shaking her head while turning to walk away, "It's nice to see you have faith in Poe already."

~~~~~~~~~

"This is everything Grakkus gave you?" Leia asked while staring down at the datapad Poe retrieved for her, Elara standing over the older woman and reading from over her shoulder. Poe had been able to catch the two women right after a meeting with some flight crews out on the landing strip of their base. He and Black Squadron had just gotten back from their mission and Elara notes that he didn't take any time to change or freshen up as he was still wearing the standard black suit Leia had provided his team. No one could know the Resistance was going to see Grakkus the Hutt in prison, therefore Black Squadron needed a cover rather than wear their standard orange flight suits. Elara had to admit it was a good look for Poe. The Black definitely compliments his hair and eyes. She wondered if the First Order ever needed a poster boy, would they hire Poe Dameron?

"Yes, General Organa. He needed us to run hyperspace calculations for him, and we wouldn't do that until he gave up his info about Lor San Tekka."

She shakes herself from her thoughts to remember where she is, "I'm surprised he even had any information to give you at all," Elara comments openly and when she looks up from the datapad, she's met with the world-renowned Poe Dameron grin.

"Oh, come on. Have a little faith in me?"

"I'm just saying," Elara rolls her eyes, "Hutts are mistrustful. It's gotta be their motto or something. For all you knew, you could have been walking into prison for no reason besides Grakkus baiting you into freeing him."

"You've never met a Hutt," Leia scolds her half-heartedly.

"And I don't ever plan on it if all they want to do is make women wear space bikinis," Elara grins the moment Leia's eyes pull away from the datapad to narrow up at her.

"Who told you that?"

The young woman snorts, "Oh yeah, Mom told me that story way before she gave me the Talk. So when were you going to tell me about your title the Huttslayer?"

"Oh-kaaaaayy," Poe whistled uncomfortably, trying to avoid the brewing quarrel between aunt and niece, "So, General. Does it look legit?"

Leia's glare lingers on Elara before turning back to the datapad, reading off some of the locations, "Arthon, Hosra... hmm. Interesting. I'm no expert, but yes, these look like places Lor San Tekka might have gone. I think this is the real deal."

"Do you want me to take Black Squadron and start following these up?"

"Perhaps eventually, but not now. Before that, I have a more important mission for you."

"Yeah? What's that?"

The General looks back up at the pilot with a grave expression, "You told me that Terex had already gotten to Megalox Beta by the time you arrived. But you also told me that the Crèche only gave their information about the explorer's visit to Grakkus to you. So, Poe... how did Terex know to go to that prison?"