The Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 35 - Back from the Dead

Several days later, during the night, landed an YT-2400 onboard the Home One after getting permission to do so, since the freighter's captain had the proper clearances.

The pilot cut the engines, unstrapped and walked over to the hatch, where he pushed a button and the hatch opened. Slowly he walked down the ramp, looking around. It seemed the muscular, red haired man was nervous. And he had every reason to be.
Seeing the deck officer on duty he walked over and asked for the quarters of a certain female Rogue Squadron pilot and made his way there, after he got the desired information. There were only a few he passed on his way through the dimly lit hallways and nobody took actual notice of him.

It took a while but finally he had reached his destination, but instead of knocking on the door he hesitated. Should he actually do this? But he had used every contact and called in so many favors to find out about where the rebel fleet might be. Should all of this have been in vain?
The freighter pilot took a deep breath, but then he didn't knock, instead he entered a code in the access panel. The code he hoped that Nomi Darklighter would still use. It was the name of the place where they had met each other for the very first time.
The door opened with a hiss and the red haired man stepped in the room which was only illuminated by a feeble nightlight. As he had entered, he turned, pushed a button and the door closed with another hiss.
In the dim light the man saw a bed with a small form on it, curled up and covered with a blanket. Dash Rendar smiled as he saw the woman he loved with all of his heart and who he had hurt so badly.
Nomi slept soundly and didn't wake from the hiss of the door. The simulator training and her pregnancy took their toll on her and she always slept like a log.
Dash walked over to the bed and fell down on his knees. He regretted what he had done, but there was no way to make it undone. There was only hope that his fiancée would forgive him.
The mercenary reached out with his hand and caressed the young pilot's cheek softly.
"Please forgive me, Nomi," he whispered nearly inaudibly.
Nomi woke by the soft touch with a start and stared at the silhouette which stood out against the semi darkness of the room.
"Please forgive me, Nomi," Dash said again, this time clearly audible.
The young woman frowned. This voice...it couldn't be. Dash was dead. She sat up slowly and activated the light.
"Dash?" She couldn't believe her eyes, as she saw the man she had thought to be dead, kneeling at her bed. All her sorrow and suffering had been pointless. Nomi lunged out and slapped Dash full force right in the face.
"Do you scumbag know what you did to me with your fake death? Have you ever thought how I would feel? That I would suffer? You took the easy way out, Dash!" She yelled at him and lunged out to slap him again.
But before she was able to slap her fiancé again, he grabbed her hand. This wasn't the reaction he had expected. Still kneeling he looked in her eyes.
"Believe me, I regret what I did, Nomi," he said calmly. "I don't know why I did this. The moment when the skyhook exploded, I flew right through the debris. In hindsight it was a bad idea, but back then I thought it would be a good opportunity to make a graceful exit. I asked Leebo if I did well after we made the jump to hyperspace. He only responded that you would miss me. But it was too late already."
He swallowed hard, still holding the young pilot's hand.
"This was the point of no return, Nomi," he continued. "I didn't dare to come back to you. You shouldn't have to live with the man who failed and is responsible for eight deaths. I wanted you to remember me as a hero."

Nomi felt tears on the verge of falling.
"It wasn't your fault what happened near Kothlis," she said silently. "Nobody could have done anything. You didn't miss. It was a new weapon developed by the Empire which couldn't be defeated with conventional weapons."
Rendar looked at her in disbelief.
"Is this true, Nomi?" He asked and let go of her hand.
The Rogue Squadron pilot nodded her head and wiped the tears which had run down her cheeks.
Dash Rendar sighed and lowered his gaze, doing this he noticed the bump of Nomi's belly. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her.
"Are you pregnant?" he asked and his expression changed in a fraction of a second to joyfulness.
"Yes, Dash, I carry your sons," she responded and touched her belly.
"My sons? There will be more than one? By all stars, you make me the happiest man of the galaxy," he said in a cheerful tone and stood up. Then he bent down to kiss his future wife, but she pushed him back.
"Damn, Dash, not in this way! You can't come into my life and disappear from it, as it pleases you!"
She couldn't believe that he was able to switch from sad to overjoyed this fast and it made her angry again.
The mercenary was taken aback by his fiancée's sudden outburst, since he had thought that everything was in order after his confession.
"But I love you, Nomi," he said ruefully, hanging his head.
"Where have you been when I needed you the most, Dash? With you being around I would never have been captured and would never have become Darth Vader's prisoner. When you hung around with Leebo somewhere in the galaxy, I feared for my life and the freedom of our children," Nomi snapped and turned her back to him.
Rendar looked at Nomi in shock after it had sunk in what she just said.
"You were Vader's prisoner?" He asked, still seeing only her back.
"Yes, he wanted the triplets," Nomi answered silently and turned to face Dash.
"Triplets...but since when does the Dark Lord concern himself with children?"
Dash felt overwhelmed by everything. There was so much he had to process. He couldn't believe that he had fathered three sons in one whack. But he had no idea that there would be even more until Nomi continued to speak.
"Our children aren't like common children," the young woman began to explain. "I don't know why, but Vader said that the Force runs in the Rendar bloodline and shows up occasionally. The triplets are very strong in the Force according to him and so he was able to feel them. I don't know the reason why, but he wants to train them to become Dark Jedi."

DashRendar nodded his head thoughtfully, thinking of the past when the Rendarfamily was happy together. He thought of the time before the dark times, thetime before the Empire.
"My grandfather...he was a Jedi and was killed during the Great Jedi Purge whichfollowed the events of Order 66. I spare you the gruesome details. Since my father and Iaren't Force sensitive we thought that this curse was taken from our family."
Nomi wanted to tell him that it was indeed a curse, as she heard a voiceshe had heard in her dreams during her imprisonment. It wasn't Vader's voice.It was a friendly, soothing voice, the voice of someone who had called himselfObi-Wan Kenobi. She had no idea how her mind came up with such a name, but shelistened to the voice which was whispering to her.
"You must learn patience and to control your feelings. If you give youraggressions free reign, you serve the dark side of the Force, which can thenmore easily take possession of your children. The gift to understand the Forceand use it for good isn't a curse, Nomi. Don't refuse to accept something youdon't know."
The young woman took some calming breaths and even if thevoice was only an illusion, it helped her to calm down.
"Please leave, Dash. I need to think about us and our relationship," shefinally said with a firm voice.
The mercenary looked at her with sad eyes, but he knew it would be pointlessnot to follow her request. He walked over to the door and opened it. Before hestepped out in the hallway, he turned his head.
"Do this, my love," he said softly, since he still had hope. "You will find mein Wedge's quarters if you have made up your mind."
Then he left and the door closed behind him with a hiss.

Nomi looked at the closed door and sighed. Her heart was longing for Dash'slove and tenderness, but there was also a little voice warning her that the man could also be reckless