━━ CHAPTER SEVENTEEN / senator grover

The rec room was quiet. Most of the pilots were either busy on test flights with the other Squadrons or they had retreated to their room. Which left Eliana and Maymie alone in the rec room, exactly how the brunette wanted it to be. Eliana knew that she would be called into a meeting soon enough since she had yet to debrief Leia on the mission but for now, she wanted to enjoy the time with Maymie.

Surprisingly, she had missed her roommate. Though she'd only really realised that she had missed her roommate when she finally saw her face again. Maymie's hair had been cut short in the few weeks that Eliana was gone and Eliana thought it looked good. It was the first thing she commented on when the two dropped onto the couch in the rec room.

But now they were just talking. Eliana had her - Poe's - jacket wrapped around her as she lounged. It had mostly been small talk up until Maymie asked.

"So, how was the mission with Poe?" There was an implication to her words and Eliana gave her a look. Maymie smirked in response, "Don't look at me like that, we both know you would take any opportunity to s-"

"Shut up," Eliana snapped quickly. She knew exactly where Maymie's trail of thought was going and hated it. Hated it because Maymie was right. Maymie was so right because although she didn't initiate most make-outs on mission, she enjoyed every single one and didn't want a single one to stop. Poe was a good kisser.

"Why are you blushing?" The teasing lilt to Maymie's tone made Eliana want to disappear. She felt like sinking through the floor and vanishing. It wouldn't have bothered her as much if Maymie couldn't just see right through her.

"It doesn't matter," Eliana retorted. Maymie's jaw dropped and crawled over to Eliana, pushing her shoulder.

"Tell me what happened right now." It was not a request, it was a demand and Eliana shook her head. Her cheeks were bright red by now and the smile on her face was unmissable. Maymie smacked her arm playfully, "Eliana." The brunette groaned in response, sliding down the back of the sofa.

"We just kissed," Eliana responded as she looked up at Maymie. Her jaw dropped before she began to grin even wider.

"Just kissed?" There was a teasing lilt to her tone and it made Eliana want to hit her. She knew that they had done more but she didn't want to talk about it. She shouldn't talk about it. It would make everything worse.

"Made out," Eliana mumbled and Maymie hit her playfully. Her grin splitting across her face now. Maymie seemed more excited about it than Eliana was.

"How many times?" Maymie asked curiously. Eliana was suddenly very glad that they were the only two people in the rec room because Maymie was being loud. Anybody who was in there would have heard if they weren't alone.

"Too many," Eliana responded firmly. But it didn't deter Maymie who had moved to sit back on the sofa again. A victorious look on her face.

"You made out, stayed in the same bed and neither of you made a move?" Maymie asked curiously as she rolled her head to the side, meeting Eliana's gaze. The way her face lit up red again instantly made Maymie raise an eyebrow, "Excuse me? Tell me." Eliana rolled her eyes.

"The housekeeping walked in and I can't do that," Eliana responded. Her words were quiet, a confession of sorts. Maymie's face dropped, a frown on her lips. Eliana's mood seemed to have shifted as well and that concerned Maymie.

"What do you mean?" Her words were soft, not a demand, a simple question. Eliana knew that Maymie didn't have to know but she needed to talk to somebody about it. It was eating her up inside and had been since she realised how much she loved him.

"I can't fuck him, he's Poe Dameron," Eliana retorted. Maymie scoffed and moved to sit cross-legged directly next to the brunette. She grabbed Eliana's hand and dragged her body forward on the sofa a little.

"Eliana, you should fuck him because he's Poe Dameron." Eliana chuckled softly, tilting her head to the side in mild agreement. But the doubts always crept in. She knew that he would be a wonderful fuck but she couldn't do a one-night thing. Not with him. Not after everything that has happened. She couldn't.

"And then he'll go on to another girl and I'll be left," Eliana mumbled. Maymie's face morphed and she seemed to put it all together. She had assumed for the longest time but the way Eliana's face seemed to crumble under the weight of those words only confirmed what everyone at the base new. Eliana was in love with Poe Dameron, "I don't want to get hurt by him. I barely got over Relya." She admitted. Maymie took Eliana's hands properly this time and pulled her closer. She wanted Eliana to listen to these next words.

"Have you heard him flirting with anyone else the past few months?" Eliana shook her head, "And have you heard about him fucking anyone the past few months?" Eliana took a moment to think and opened her mouth to respond but Maymie cut her off, "The answer is no. He hasn't fucked anyone in six months. Hasn't flirted with anyone but you in like four months. Do you really think he's gonna leave you high and dry after one night?" Maymie asked. Eliana stared at the other woman for a moment before she shook her head.

"He's Poe Dameron." Eliana's words were a declaration as she pulled her hands out of Maymie's. She then shuffled back and pushed her fingers through her hair. Anything to distract and avoid the thought that maybe Poe was interested in her.

"He's a man but he's not an idiot. No man goes after one girl for six months just because he wants a one-night stand." Eliana wanted to ask Maymie what she knew about men since she had only ever slept with women but that would be cruel. Maymie was only trying to get Eliana to see what was right in front of her.

"Maymie." Eliana sighed as she stood up. She went to walk about but Maymie grabbed her hand and pulled her back down, "I can't," Eliana suddenly snapped, shaking her head. The black-haired woman let her hand go but Eliana didn't move. Her head hurt just from the conversation and she knew that within the hour she would be seeing him again.

"You can't what?" Maymie began but before Eliana could get a word in edgeway, she continued, "Fathom the possibility that he might actually like you? Have you not seen the way he looks at you?" It was obvious to everyone. Not only did Eliana fancy Poe but he felt the exact same way. It's why they gossiped and made so many (unintentional) rumours because it was so obvious. So obvious that there was no way there wasn't something going on behind the scenes.

"I see the looks but I don't know what they mean," Eliana's voice sounded exasperated. Suddenly she felt exhausted. She had barely been back on D'Qar an hour and she was already being thrown through a loop.

"The puppy dog eyes and the concerned little touches mean that he's in love with you. So stop being a pathetic bitch," Maymie responded before shrugging and leaning back on the sofa. Eliana pouted as she leant back.

"I can't think about this right now," Eliana mumbled. Maymie kicked Eliana's shin and glared at her - though it was mostly playful.

"How many times did you make out with him?"

"Many."

"And how did you feel after every single one?"

"That I would do anything to have him all to myself." The words tumbled out of Eliana's lips without her intention. But it was the truth. It was very scarily the truth. Maymie smirked happily as Eliana's eyes widened. She felt like she had just learnt something about herself.

"That's love, my darling," Maymie's words were playful as Eliana closed her eyes. Her hands pressed against her face. The brunette seemed exhausted and Maymie couldn't blame her. There was far too much emotional turmoil in her for one person to handle.

"Eliana." The brunette's head shot up, panic written across her face as she searched for the source of the voice. It was Poe Dameron, standing in the door of the rec room. His shoulder rested against the door frame, "Leia is ready for us." Eliana's face flushed bright red as she looked between Poe and Maymie. Maymie pushed the brunette off the sofa.

"Go on, you can't leave her waiting," Maymie said. Eliana nodded and awkwardly brushed herself down. She then headed to the door where Poe stood and he placed a hand on the small of her back. Eliana had no idea how much of that conversation Poe had heard and she felt like throwing herself off a cliff at the thought that he'd heard any of it.

She wasn't ashamed of her adoration for the man but she hated the idea that she didn't tell him to his face. She hated the idea of people even knowing her feelings, really. It was terrifying and odd and she just wanted people to see her as her, not her emotions.

They took the walk to Leia's office in silence. Eliana didn't know what to say and the silence wasn't particularly awkward. Poe's hand was still dangerously close to hers but she ignored it, taking each step at a time. She could feel the heat in her cheeks and knew that she had to calm down. She couldn't make a fool of herself in front of Leia.

And there were more important issues to attend to. She had to brief Leia on what she had found out, including the betrayal of Relya. Eliana didn't want to talk about Relya but she knew she would have no choice. Especially if she was going to try and prove Relya was guilty. There was only one way she could do that and she dreaded it.

The pair entered Leia's office and took their seats across from her. Leia had a kind smile on her face, she seemed pleased to see them both.

"How was the mission? How was Coruscant?" Leia asked. Eliana glanced at Poe, trying to work out whether to speak first. And when he was silent for a second or two, she took the lead.

"Good. I think we collected all the information we needed," Eliana turned to Poe for confirmation and he nodded along in agreement, "Poe was diligent as far as I can tell with his military ops and I got into contact with Senators and managed to find data logs of evidence for transactions between the First Order and every Senator."

"That is certainly useful," Leia responded, a smile appearing on her lips. Eliana nodded and smiled awkwardly. She knew that she had to bring up Relya now or she never would.

"Yes and uhm..." Eliana trailed off, suddenly feeling awkward. She didn't want to talk about Relya but she knew she had no choice, "I have reason to believe that Senator Grover - the woman I used to intern under - is a major player in funding the First Order." There was no easy way to say it and Leia knew about Eliana and Relya. It was one of the things that had stopped Eliana joining the Resistance at first.

"Ah," Leia said softly.

Eliana nodded and swallowed thickly before she continued, "I have evidence of communications between her and a man called the Investor. I have been trying to compile the data logs but it's a long task. There are many cycles worth of information and it'll probably take another few weeks to catalogue it. But I took the steps to compile Senator Grover's communications already." Eliana grabbed her datapad from her pocket and flicked through to where she had stored the information. Leia seemed pleased

"Show me." Eliana then pushed her hand forward. The datapad information appearing on the holographic projector on Leia's desk. It all popped up in a somewhat chaotically organised string of texts.

"They're mainly just conversations regarding contracts. I have no evidence of the transactions occurring which is the problem," Eliana explained. Leia lifted her head slightly in acknowledgement as she read through a few messages, flicking and moving them around. The older woman's eyebrows furrowed all of a sudden.

"These are two different comm numbers. How can you be sure they are Senator Grover?" Leia asked curiously as she swiped the information away. She now had a clear view of the pair again and looked at Eliana with intense curiosity.

"Well, one of the comm numbers she gave me when I saw her on Coruscant a week or so ago and I can only assume based on the way she speaks that the other comm number is also her. I have no evidence to suggest it is another Senator. There isn't a name mentioned in any message from that number," Eliana explained. It made her feel so smart but also, she knew that she knew very little about what she was handling. It was politics that she had grown out of touch with.

"I understand," Leia nodded. Eliana smiled and then looked down at her datapad. The blinking message from Relya that she had still yet to touch.

"But there is a way I can get the evidence," Eliana said after a moment of silence. Poe's head snapped to Eliana and his eyes widened. He had not expected her to go further with this. The case was personal to her and he had seen first-hand how worked up she got from it. He was wary. He knew that she could get hurt if she wasn't careful.

"How would you do that?" Leia asked. She leant forward in her chair, resting her arms over the table as she met Eliana's gaze.

"I got an invite from Senator Grover, before the mission, to attend her gala for her birthday. There will be many Senators there and if I can get access to her computer systems then I will be able to find evidence of the transactions." Poe's face morphed into one of annoyance and Leia noticed but she decided against commenting. Instead, Leia simply agreed with Eliana's words. Leia needed the evidence against Relya.

"This is too personal, you shouldn't continue with this lead," Poe suddenly spoke up. He had been silent the entire meeting. Eliana should have expected him to say something. She turned her gaze to his face.

"Poe, I am the only one that she trusts. Anyone else would be suspicious," Eliana rebuked. He narrowed his eyes and there was an accusatory look in his eyes. She tilted her head slightly, almost challenging him to say something.

"Eliana is right. She is the only person who would be allowed access to Senator Grover's residence due to their past relationship." Leia's words stopped Poe from saying whatever stupid thing was about to leave his lips.

"And what if something goes wrong? What if she wants to hurt you?" Poe asked, his gaze not moving off Eliana. The brunette shrugged.

"I don't think that is her intention." It was a bold claim to make but if Relya wanted to hurt Eliana, she had plenty of opportunity. The soiree was the first. Eliana and Poe were separate for most of the night. She had invited Eliana to dinner and they had returned to Relya's apartment but Eliana had not been hurt. There was ample opportunity and if Relya didn't take it on Coruscant, she wouldn't take it on Naboo.

"Can you take a plus one?" Leia interrupted the two before they descended into bickering. Eliana nodded her head and Leia smiled, somewhat pleased, "Then Commander Dameron, you will go with her." Poe's face dropped and Eliana looked equally disgruntled. She knew that she should be pleased, especially after her conversation with Maymie but she wasn't. Poe hated Relya and it would only make the mission harder.

"She shouldn't be going at all," Poe spat. Eliana scoffed.

"Would you not like to go? I could find someone else," Leia threatened. His face quickly morphed and he shook his head in mild annoyance.

"I'll go." Leia smiled contentedly and Eliana looked away. She would have to spend more time with Poe and that shouldn't have felt like such a bad thing but it did. Eliana loved being alone with him but she wasn't sure how much more alone time she could take before she gave in.

"Good. Now, Commander, I would like to hear what you found." And with a prompt from Leia, he began a brief summary of his activities on Coruscant. He had done things that Eliana didn't even know about and she was surprised by how much he had discovered but she shouldn't have been surprised. Poe Dameron was nothing, if not efficient.

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