The Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 88 - The Confrontation

It was already a standard week as Nomi and Dash traveled the galaxy aboard the Outrider in search of their kidnapped children. But still no trace of them was to be found. It was as if they had vanished into thin air. All their parents knew was that they were still alive. If they had been killed Nomi would have felt it even from great distances.

They were in the Orus Sector when Nomi made another attempt and called the children in the Force.
"Dash? Corran? Biggs? Tasherit? Where are you?"
Rendar watched his wife intently as the YT-2400 hovered in the darkness of space. From the look on her face, he knew what she was doing.
"Still nothing?"
His wife shook her head. Her desperation was palpable.
Dash reached out and took her hand.
"Maybe in the next sector. Giving up isn't an option."
"No, that's not an option," Nomi replied. "I want our children back. And wherever Bel-Baal hides them, we will find them."
She stared out the viewport into the darkness, wondering where to go next.
Dash waited patiently, resting his hand over the nav computer.

"Have you finally found your way to your father?"
Nomi suddenly heard an unfamiliar male voice in her head.
"You made me wait a long time, daughter. But now we will finally be together."
The Jedi had no doubt that it really was Ulic Bel-Baal who spoke to her in the Force.
"Give me my children back. You have no right to hold them."
She tried to stay calm and not lose her temper.
Bel-Baal laughed, a laugh that sent chills down her spine.
"That's what you think. You want them taught the heresy of Luke Skywalker and Yoda. I must and will prevent that, daughter. I know that you too are a believer in this heresy that is hindering your development to your true greatness. Come to me and I will show you the true nature of the Force. It's the only way for you. Give in to the dark side of the Force. Become my apprentice and you will see your children again."
Nomi took a deep breath. She knew the time for the confrontation had come. So why delay it any longer?
"Where are you, Bel-Baal?"
The young woman would rather bite her tongue off than to call this man father. The only one who, in her eyes, deserved to be called father was Jula Darklighter, who raised her and gave her all his love.
"Oh, I'm not far, daughter," the Dark Jedi replied. "You will find me in my fortress on the planet Algarian. I'll wait for you there."
Dash had been watching his wife the whole time. He had noticed that something was going on.
"What's the matter, Nomi?"
The Jedi turned her attention to her husband and felt like she was waking up from a deep trance.
"Bel-Baal spoke to me. He wants to convert me to the dark side of the Force. We have to go to Algarian."
Dash Rendar raised an eyebrow.
"Algarian? This is still Imperial territory."
His wife nodded.
"It's where our children are, Dash."
He looked at her doubtfully.
"Are you sure, darling? Who says Bel-Baal is telling the truth? It could be a trap."
"I'll know that for sure when we get to the Dufilvan sector. If they're not there and it's a trap, we still have plenty of time to get out. For the sake of our children, we have to take the risk, Dash."
Rendar nodded his head.
"All right, I'll set a course for the Dufilvan sector."
Shortly thereafter, they made the jump into hyperspace.

It didn't take long and they had reached their destination without incident.
Nomi reached out with the Force and vaguely felt the presence of their children. It was overlaid by a stronger dark presence. Her husband looked at her expectantly.
"Are they here?"
"Yes, our children are here and so is Bel-Baal, Dash. They are on the planet directly ahead of us."
Dash activated a star chart and looked it up.
"Ah yes, here we have it. It's indeed Algarian. This is truly a planet fit for a Dark Jedi."
With these words he began the landing approach.
After the Outrider entered the planet's atmosphere, Nomi refocused on their children's Force presence.
"We must go to the northern continent of the planet. They're there."
Below them they saw the rugged planetary surface. The individual land masses were separated by jet black seas and the plains had only sparse vegetation.
When they finally reached the northern continent, they saw a fortress on the shore right in front of them.
It was not unlike that of Darth Vader on Vjun. Halfway up the fortress was a landing platform. Dash steered the Outrider there and landed her.
As soon as they landed, the freighter was surrounded by stormtroopers with blaster rifles at the ready.
Rendar looked at his wife after turning off the engines.
"A nice welcome party," he remarked sarcastically before continuing. "And what do we do now, Nomi?"
The young Jedi shrugged.
"First thing we do is get off the ship."
She unbuckled, stood up and left the cockpit. With a sigh, Dash followed his wife after lowering the ramp and opening the hatch.
As they walked down the ramp, they saw a tall, slender man in a hooded black cloak standing at the foot of the ramp. There was no face visible deep in the hood due to the Mandalorian helmet the man was wearing.
Nomi's heart skipped a beat when she saw the green blade of the man's activated lightsaber. Suddenly she realized that she had not seen Luke in her visions, but Bel-Baal.