The Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 78 - Stopover on Tatooine

After taking the triplets and Tasherit to their respective babysitters, Nomi headed to the command center.

As she entered, General Rieekan deactivated the holoprojector, but the young woman still noticed that he was watching a tactical display of Coruscant. She snapped to attention as the general looked at her.
"At ease, captain," he said, pointing to the chair standing in front of his desk. "Please take a seat."
Nomi sat down.
"Why are you here?" asked Rieekan and lit a cig.
"I need your permission to travel to Coruscant, sir," the pilot replied.
The general took a drag and looked at Nomi in surprise.
"This is an unusual request. May I ask why?"
"My husband is in danger. I had a vision of him being captured by the Imps."
Carlist Rieekan took another drag and nodded thoughtfully. The Alderaanian had trusted the Jedi all his life and he wouldn't start questioning them now, even the woman sitting in front of him hasn't yet completed her training.
"Do you know what you're getting yourself into, Captain Darklighter? Honestly, the chances that your husband is still alive are slim. We haven't had any contact with him for hours. Even if he's alive, how are you going to get into the Imperial Palace's detention block? It's heavily guarded and has elite units stationed there that are highly trained. When you're on Coruscant, no one will be able to help you. Then you're on your own."
The general put out the cig after taking the last drag.
Nomi nodded her head.
"I'm well aware of that, sir. But I could never forgive myself if I hadn't tried everything to save my husband. If you have ever loved, you will understand me. The elite units don't scare me. As you know, I received excellent training from the Alliance. Having served in a commando unit, I'm familiar with sabotage, explosives, combat techniques and all known weapons. I was also trained as a sniper. So I'm no less trained than the Imperial elite units."
General Rieekan had been listening without interrupting Nomi before speaking.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Captain Darklighter. If you want, you can leave immediately. May the Force be with you."
"Thank you, sir," the young woman stood up, left the command center and went to the hangar.

In the hangar, Nomi walked over to the Aquarius, the battered YT-1300 she loved as much as Dash loved his Outrider. After entering the access code, the hatch opened and the ramp descended. The young woman went up the ramp, closed the hatch and went into the cockpit. There she sat down, buckled up and did the preflight check before plotting a course to Tatooine. From there she would continue her journey aboard a passenger freighter, as flying the Aquarius to Coruscant would be too risky.
Nomi took a deep breath, started the engines and the YT-1300 ascended into Anoat's orbit. There the former smuggler headed for the next jump point at full throttle.
As the stars dissolved into the streaks and whirls of hyperspace, Nomi settled back and closed her eyes. She knew she was going to have a long ride because of the
many micro jumps.

Many standard hours later, the signal sounded, indicating that Nomi had reached her destination. She pulled the lever and the Aquarius entered real space and the young woman saw her home planet before her.
After entering the planet's atmosphere, Nomi steered the freighter towards Mos Eisley spaceport, where she landed in the assigned docking bay. The young woman deactivated the engines, unbuckled and went into the small refresher where she began to work on her disguise.
With her vibro knife, she cut off her long hair that Dash had always liked so much. Then she took the color creepers from their container and let them wander through her now short hair. Where the creatures touched the hair, the coppery red turned to a dull brown. With lenses, she softened the bright green of her eyes to a pale gray-green. Eventually, she donned the simple clothing of a Tatooinian moisture farmer.
She now fully matched the information on her fake ID.
Now she was no longer Captain Nomi Darklighter, but Yslana Windrider, the widow of a moisture farmer who was killed in an attack by Tusken Raiders.
After finishing her disguise, she exited the refresher, opened the hatch, and headed down the ramp where a stormtrooper was standing.
"Your ID card," the trooper demanded in a harsh voice.
Nomi handed what was requested. The trooper slid the fake ID card into a reader while the young woman mentally crossed her fingers that it would work. A green light flashed, the trooper took out the card and handed it back without a word. Nomi took the card, pocketed it, and exited the docking bay.
Outside she went to a counter where she bought a ticket for the passenger freighter Queen of Empire to Coruscant. The Queen wasn't due for launch for a standard hour, so the pilot decided to fill the wait at Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina.

After a short walk, Nomi reached the cantina, where some Jawas were having a siesta by the entrance. She passed the droid detector and entered the dimly lit room, where she was greeted by the usual hubbub. After all these years nothing had changed.
The young woman walked over to the bar, ordered a drink and went to an empty booth where she sat.
No one paid any attention to her and that suited Nomi just fine. Hidden in the shadows, she was enjoying her drink when Wuher, the bartender, approached her.
"Chalmun would like to speak to you," the burly man said, pointing to the door of the cantina owner's office.
"Chalmun? I don't know any Chalmun," the young woman feigned surprise.
Wuher shrugged.
"The boss asked me to take you to him. Follow me."
Nomi rose and followed the bartender who led her into the office where a giant Wookiee was waiting for her. It was her old friend Chalmun.
After Wuher left, he came up to her and hugged her with joy. He tousled her short brown hair.
"What have you done with your beautiful copper hair, Nomi?" He asked in Shyriiwook that his friend understood very well.
"How did you recognize me, Chalmun? Is my disguise that bad?" Nomi answered with a counter question. She spoke Basic because she couldn't speak the Wookiee's native language. "I cut my hair and dyed it. It will grow back."
Chalmun laughed, making the walls tremble.
"Your disguise is excellent, Nomi. No one, not even your closest friends or your own husband, will recognize you. We Wookiees have sensitive noses and every human or alien has a distinctive smell. You didn't notice me because you didn't look up from your drink as I passed the booth where you were sitting. I recognized your smell immediately. But why are you in this disguise, my friend?"
Nomi knew she could speak frankly with Chalmun because the Wookiee had honor and would never betray her.
"I'm on my way to Coruscant awaiting check-in for the Queen of Empire. Dash is up to his neck in trouble," she began. "He was captured by the Imps and is being held in the detention block of the Imperial Palace. They'll kill my husband if I don't save him."
The Wookiee looked thoughtfully at his old friend.
"You want to go to Imperial Center and free Dash from a heavily guarded Imperial detention block? You're either braver than I thought, or completely insane, Nomi. How can I help you?"
Nomi hesitated a second before answering Chalmun.
"Do you know anyone on Coruscant who can get me weapons? I can't take any with me or I can't get past the security scanners."
Her friend thought for a moment.
"There's an old Ho'Din who has a plant shop in the Southern Underground. He knows people where you can get any weapon you want. Tell him I'm sending you. He owes me a favor and will surely help you. Now you have to go or the Queen will take off without you."
The hug that followed nearly broke the young woman's ribs.
"Good luck, Nomi. Be careful and may the Force be with you."
The pilot smiled at the Wookiee.
"Thank you, Chalmun," she said before exiting the office and making her way to the Queen of Empire.

Nomi showed her ticket and, despite her lightsaber, easily passed the security scanner. Apparently it wasn't programmed for such a rare weapon. She entered the passenger freighter, found her seat and buckled up. It wasn't long before the Queen lifted off and shortly thereafter entered hyperspace.