The Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 38 - The Blues

After several micro jumps Rogue Squadron landed in the hangar of Home One. Nomi was the last one who flew through the magcon field. She felt exhausted like she had felt never before after a battle.

Everything was like in slow mo as she unbuckled and opened the hatch. She had a mist in front of her eyes and felt dizzy. The young woman climbed down the ladder slowly, removed her helmet and then everything went dark. As the helmet clattered to the floor, Dash noticed what had happened and ran over to his fiancée. The former mercenary bent over the pilot and looked at her with a worried expression. Dash wasn't the only one who came over. When he looked up he saw Gavin, Wedge and Tarik. All of them breathed a sigh of relief when the young woman regained consciousness. She looked at her fiancé and raised an eyebrow, as she noticed that she was lying on the floor. "You scared the hell out of us, Nomi," Tarik said and flapped his tiny wings. "I'm sorry for this, old friend," she said and tried to stand up, but she still felt dizzy. But nevertheless she noticed her younger brother standing there with a blank expression. It wasn't because of her current condition, but because of Rogue 7 who was killed in action like Rogue 8. She remembered how happy he was when he told her about Oolka, the Twi'lek who was a fellow pilot and his new girlfriend. This time it wasn't one of his little affairs. He was actually in love with the young woman. And now Oolka was dead, dead because of her and her stubbornness. Dash's voice interrupted her musing and brought her back to the here and now. "It was a bit too much for you," he said with a smile and caressed her cheek. Nomi pushed his hand aside. "You say it was a bit too much for me? Oolka and Jax died because of me. Do you have any idea how I feel, Dash? It was my fault. I shouldn't have taken part in the mission." Rendar shook his head. "Please calm down, Nomi. I know how you feel. I felt the same after the incident at Kothlis," he said silently and took her hand. "Stop it, Nomi. It wasn't your fault. Nobody could know that the Empire has set up a trap. If you hadn't been there, it would have gone just as wrong. Vader wasn't only there because of you and the triplets. Don't blame yourself," her commander intervened, seeing how desperate she was. Nomi sat up and looked at Wedge. Maybe he was right, but it didn't make things better. Before she was able to respond, Dash picked her up and carried her out of the hangar and to their quarters.

After they had reached the quarters, Dash opened the door, carried his fiancée over to the bed and laid her gently down. Fuzzy rolled towards them with questioning beeps, but Dash chased him off, with a wave of his hand. Then he pulled out his comlink and called Leebo to come over.

"You should rest, Honey. It was a hard day for you. I have to go with the others to Admiral Ackbar and General Madine for the debriefing. Leebo will take care of you until I'm back." Just this moment his faithful droid entered and walked over to the bed. Leebo tilted his head and adjusted his photoreceptors towards the small woman, for whom his partner gave up his former life. Nomi tried to get up, but Dash pushed her gently back on the pillow. "No, you'll stay here. You've done enough for today, Nomi. Ackbar and Madine will understand that you need some rest in your condition." He leaned over and gave his fiancée a kiss. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Try to sleep," Rendar said, before he turned his attention to Leebo. "Take care of her. You know how much she means to me." "Of course," the droid responded crisply and positioned himself at the end of the bed. Dash knew that Leebo would be watchful and his pregnant fiancée would be in good hands. He felt reassured and left to attend the debriefing. After the former mercenary had left, Nomi was alone with the two droids. She tried to sleep, but whenever she closed her eyes she saw the events of the recent battle and heard Vader's voice. But finally the exhaustion took the better of her and she fell asleep.

When Dash came back she woke up startled. "Sh, it's only me, Nomi. Nothing and nobody can harm you here," he said as he walked over to the bed and took her in his arms. She leaned her head against his chest and his shirt became wet by her tears which were falling now. Being not used to seeing her in tears, he cast a rather helpless glance at Leebo who stood there unmoved, not being used to such human emotions as well. But then Dash remembered how his mother had comforted him when he was a little boy. He whispered soothing words in Nomi's ear and held her until she calmed down finally. Dash wiped her tears and looked in her eyes. "I'm with you and I won't allow you or our children to be harmed. You were always so strong. I'm pretty sure that on a not so distant day the Empire will fall. Then we can live in freedom. But until then you must be strong and carry on. I need you, Nomi and the Alliance needs you too."
Leebo realized that he wasn't needed anymore and left to go back onboard the Outrider.

Dash let go of Nomi, stood up and went into the small bathroom to prepare for the night. When he came back, he climbed in bed, slid under the blanket and took his future wife in his arms again. He gave her a kiss and switched off the light. "Good night. Try to sleep, my love," he said and closed his eyes. Shortly after Dash slept soundly, while Nomi was unable to find sleep for a long time.