The Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 97 - Father and Daughter

Nomi woke up to the throbbing pain in her broken leg. The effect of the painkiller had apparently worn off.
She stood up carefully and limped into the refresher. As she looked in the mirror there, she wondered why her injuries weren't treated with bacta. The Jedi assumed they didn't have enough. Since the Krytos plague broke out on Coruscant, bacta had become scarce and expensive.
Using a Jedi relaxation technique, Nomi attempted to ease the pain, but as soon as she stopped focusing on controlling pain with the Force, the pain immediately returned. This wasn't good, because she knew that if a fight with her father broke out, her chances of survival were slim and she would be unable to fully concentrate and use her Force abilities.
Suddenly the realization hit her like a blaster bolt. They acted with intention. Her injuries shouldn't heal quickly, otherwise she would be able to use her Jedi abilities without restriction. She wondered if her father was afraid of her, afraid that he might lose another lightsaber duel. Then she had an idea.
She had healed Dash when he was injured with Force lightning by her father. So why shouldn't she be able to heal herself? Nomi smiled at her image in the mirror before leaving the refresher and limping towards her cot.
There she sat down and ran her hands over her right leg, concentrating the Force on the broken bone. With joy, Nomi felt how the two bone parts slowly grew together.
However, it would take a while for the fracture to fully heal. But she knew the healing time would be much shorter than her father expected.

After a while, a stormtrooper brought her something to eat and drink. The Jedi had just finished her meal when he reentered her cell.
"Lord Bel-Baal wishes to see you, my lady," the trooper said in his amplified voice.
He then approached her with handcuffs and tied her up. Nomi let it happen without resistance and left the cell, followed by him.
They took different hallways than the day before, when the stormtrooper who captured and abused her met an untimely end at the hands of her father.
It didn't take long before they reached their destination. The door opened itself and they entered.
"The prisoner, my lord," the trooper said, snapping to attention.
Nomi found herself in her father's private quarters, which were sparsely furnished and devoid of luxury, something she hadn't expected after what she had seen in the former Imperial Palace.
"Dismissed," she heard her father's voice and turned her head in the direction the voice came from as the trooper left the room.

Ulic Bel-Baal stood in front of a holo image showing Nomi's daughter Tasherit lying in a crib. The image must have been taken on Algarian when the Dark Jedi held her and the triplets captive.
"She looks like you, daughter," Ulic said, turning his attention to Nomi. "It's a shame I couldn't take care of you when you were her age. I could have trained you in the dark side. You would be very powerful now and not as weak as you are. Can't you see Skywalker is holding you back? That he's afraid of your potential?"
Nomi stared at the man in the red Mandalorian armor, memories of her captivity on Vjun flooding back to her.
Ulic raised an eyebrow.
"Vader? Have you met my friend and mentor? It was he who showed me my true potential, who showed me the path to true greatness."
Frightened, the Jedi put up mental blocks to prevent her father from intruding further into her thoughts.
"You paid a price for this greatness, father. He did that too. You both lost everything," she said, looking her father straight in the eyes. "But unlike you, Vader found his way back to the light and became Anakin Skywalker again, sacrificing his life to rescue his son."
"It was his downfall," Bel-Baal replied, turning his back to Nomi and looking at the holo image of his granddaughter again. "It's better that you go now."
He pressed a button and seconds later a stormtrooper entered his quarters and snapped to attention.
"Take Lady Bel-Baal back to her cell," the Dark Jedi ordered without turning around.
The trooper acknowledged the order and led Nomi out of the room and back to her cell.
There he took off her handcuffs, left the cell without a word and locked her in.

Rubbing her wrists, Nomi limped to the cot and sat down after the stormtrooper left.
Meeting her father again had shaken her up. She used a relaxation technique to calm down and think clearly.
There had to be a way to tell Dash where she was being held captive and who was behind it all. Could it be possible to contact the triplets? They had proven many times to respond to her calls in the Force. But never from such a great distance. She just had to try and trust that it would work.
The Jedi closed her eyes, concentrated, and reached out with the Force to touch her sons' minds.
"Dash, Biggs, Corran, can you hear me?"
At first there was only silence, but then she heard her youngest son's voice.
"Mama?"
Nomi allowed herself a smile.
Her smile faded and gave way to desperation as the connection broke and she heard her father's voice in her head.
"You call them in vain, daughter. I will finish your training and make you a powerful Dark Jedi. It's pointless to hope for escape. Even if your husband finds us, he won't be able to save you. If he tries to thwart my plans with you he will die. This time even you won't be able to save him. There are 8,000 stormtroopers aboard this Star Destroyer, my child. What can one man do against such superior numbers if he isn't a Jedi?"
Bel-Baal broke the connection and left his daughter alone with her fears. Her father was right about the slim chance that a possible rescue attempt by Dash could be successful. Nomi sighed. Maybe she should contact Luke next time. He would be more capable of determining her whereabouts than her children. Her father wouldn't turn her into an instrument of evil.