The Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 89 - The Way Home

Aboard the Outrider, Dash awoke from his deep unconsciousness two standard days after the events on Algarian. He looked around confused, feeling the ship's vibrations and tried to sit up. At the same moment he winced and fell back onto the pillow.

So everything had happened and not a dream. He vaguely remembered shooting at a man in Mandalorian armor. No, not just a man, Ulic Bel-Baal, Nomi's biological father. Then all he remembered was blue lightning and pain and agony. Dash turned his head as the door opened. It was Nomi who entered.
Again he tried to sit up and groaned.
"Oh damn, it hurts so badly, Nomi. I feel like my whole body has been crushed."
Nomi was glad that her husband was conscious again.
"You should rest, darling," she said, smiling as she sat down in a chair.
Dash suddenly remembered why they were traveling.
"The children, where are the children, Nomi?"
With an effort he tried to sit up again, but his wife gently pushed him back onto the pillows.
"You mustn't get upset, Dash," said Nomi in a soothing tone. "You suffered serious injuries from the Force lightning that take a long time to heal."
Her husband pushed her hand aside impatiently.
"What about our children?"
"They're aboard, darling, and all four are fine," answered his wife.
Her injured husband smiled faintly upon hearing that.
"We saved our children," the former mercenary said before groaning in pain.
"I'll give you some painkillers, Dash," Nomi said, opening a drawer to her left.
Her husband took the painkiller and swallowed it with some water. It quickly took effect. Dash smiled gratefully at Nomi.
"What about your..." he hesitated for a moment before continuing. "...father?"
Nomi had expected her husband to ask that question sooner or later. Still, she wasn't really ready for it.
The young Jedi swallowed hard before answering.
"Bel-Baal is dead."
She still couldn't bring herself to call Bel-Baal father. The Dark Jedi who kidnapped her children and wanted to kill her when she didn't join him.
"Did you kill him, Nomi?"
His wife avoided his gaze and nodded.
"You killed your own father?"
When Nomi finally turned her gaze to Dash, she saw the horrified expression on his face that accompanied his words.
"Don't look at me like that," Nomi said, her voice trembling. "I... I had no choice. I didn't mean to kill him, Dash, believe me."
Her husband slowly raised his hand and caressed her tear-stained cheek.
"Calm down, darling. I didn't mean to bother you with my question," Dash said soothingly.

At that moment, the triplets rushed in and tried to pounce on their father.
"No, Biggs, Corran, Junior. You can't go on your father's cot now. He is very ill and needs to rest."
Corran looked at his mother and noticed the tears.
"Mama crying," the little boy said.
Then Biggs, who was silent most of the time, asked a question that scared Nomi.
"Papa dying, Mama?"
Nomi wondered how such a small child could know anything about death. What had Bel-Baal done to them the week their children were with him? And she wondered if she would ever know about it. At the same time she was afraid to find out.
"No, Biggs, your Papa isn't dying. He just needs a lot of rest to heal."
She hugged her children and held them close.
"You were very brave, my little ones. Thank you for stopping this rain of stones. You've already learned a lot from Luke."
The triplets beamed when they heard this praise from their mother.

The painkiller had now taken full effect and Dash had fallen asleep.
"C'mon, boys, your father is sleeping now," Nomi whispered so as not to wake her husband. "He needs to sleep a lot to recover."
Followed by the triplets, she exited the bunk and was about to head for the ship's midsection when she heard Tasherit crying. The little girl was obviously hungry.
Nomi entered the bunk, picked up her daughter and continued on her way. Having reached the midsection, she sat down on the bench there, opened her shirt and began to feed Tasherit. The baby's brothers watched intently.
Dash Jr. gently tugged at his mother's sleeve.
"Old man grandfather, Mama?"
Nomi turned her attention to her eldest, wondering if Bel-Baal had told the triplets that he was their grandfather. She swallowed hard, but she didn't want to tell them a lie.
"Yes, the old man was your grandfather. He was my father."
It was the first time she could bring herself to call Bel-Baal her father.
She could imagine the triplets processing the information. Until now they had thought that Jula Darklighter was their mother's father and their grandfather. Perhaps they had assumed Bel-Baal to be Dash's father. But her husband's parents were long dead.
"Ok, Mama," Dash Jr. finally said before continuing to watch his mother feed his sister.
When Tasherit was fed, she belched and Nomi put her back in her crib before playing with her sons. She knew that Leebo would take care of Dash in the meantime.

A few standard hours later, the children were lying peacefully in their cots. Nomi went to see Dash one last time before going to sleep to make sure he was okay.
As she entered the bunk, Leebo pointed his photoreceptor at her.
"Dash is resting, Nomi," the droid said in his mechanical voice.
The young woman nodded her head.
"Thank you, Leebo."
The droid turned his attention back to Dash and made sure everything was okay before exiting the bunk without another word and making his way to the Outrider's cockpit.
Nomi was glad to see that her husband was asleep and didn't seem to be in any pain. The strong painkiller she had given him still seemed to be working. She gently stroked his cheek before leaving and getting into her own bunk. Finally she could get some rest. The constant vigilance at Dash's bedside had gotten to her. She was at the end of her strength.
But she shouldn't come to rest. As soon as she closed her eyes, she saw the terrifying images as Bel-Baal attacked her husband with Force lightning. These images were followed by images of the lightsaber duel and the moment her red blade pierced Bel-Baal's chest.
She didn't know if she would ever get over this guilt.