The Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 113 - Palace Life

In the morning Nomi's husband came into the bedroom with breakfast.
"Good morning, darling. Did you sleep well?"
He walked over to the bed, put the tray down and leaned in to give her a kiss.
At that moment their sons came out of their room and stormed the wide bed like it was a fortress. Dash straightened up and looked at his wife disappointedly.
"Too bad, Nomi. Maybe you and I should take a little trip into hyperspace in the near future."
Nomi laughed and hugged Biggs, who had sat down next to her and was helping himself to breakfast. The little boy's face was smeared because he couldn't handle the Blum fruit.
"With four children, it's not easy for a couple to be alone. But so far you have always found time and opportunity to be alone with me," said the young woman and winked at her husband.
Dash smiled dreamily. Apparently he remembered last night when neither of them slept much. He picked up Biggs and wiped his son's sticky face while Dash Jr. and Corran enjoyed their mother's breakfast. Rendar laughed as he watched his sons gradually decorate the bed with sticky Blum fruit juice.
"Hey, Junior, Corran, leave some for your mama!"
As if on command, the two little ones stuck out their sticky hands, on which lay the sad remains of the Blum fruits. They seemed to have inherited their love for this fruit, which is native to the forest moon of Endor, from their mother. When she was pregnant with them, she ate it very often. Nomi smiled.
"Enjoy your meal," she said. "I'm happy if you like it."
Dash sat on the edge of the bed after placing Biggs next to his brothers and reached for the bowl of Corellian stew.
His wife grabbed a sandwich and took a bite. This excellent breakfast was very different from the protein bars they ate during combat missions.
Nomi had to hurry because she was sure that their youngest family member would soon wake up and demand her rights.
As if on cue, Tasherit's loud scream was heard. Her mother was about to get up when Dash gently pushed her back into the pillows.
"I'll bring you the little one, Nomi."

Shortly afterwards he returned with his little daughter in his arms and gave her to Nomi after kissing her on the forehead.
"Yes, my little darling, after you get a fresh diaper, you'll now have your breakfast."
Dash went into the kitchen and came back with the bottle. He handed it to Nomi, who gave it to her daughter, who began sucking while her three brothers watched with interest. Nomi's husband watched happily as his daughter drank. He leaned over to his wife and gave her a kiss.
"I am the luckiest man in the galaxy, Nomi. Our children and you mean more to me than all the lost wealth of the Rendar family. My only regret is that my parents don't see all this."
After Tasherit was fed and placed in her crib, Nomi went into the bathroom to shower. The Jedi dried herself off and got dressed before starting to clean the triplets, which had Blum fruit juice smeared all over them.
Once the boys were clean and dressed, their mother clipped the lightsaber to her belt. It was time for her training with Luke.
As they walked to the door, Dash came up to them.
"Should I come with you?"
His wife shook her head.
"No, that's not necessary," Nomi replied. "We don't train in the throne room anymore. So nothing can go wrong. C'mon boys, we have to hurry, our Jedi Master really doesn't like waiting."
Dash gave his wife a kiss and ruffled his sons' curls before opening the door and letting them out.

On the way to Luke's quarters, they walked through the large hallway, where the triplets couldn't get past the Ch'hala trees there without playing with them. Each color change was greeted with loud cheers, earning slightly disapproving looks from the various ambassadors gathered there.
"C'mon children, we really have to hurry now," they were admonished by their mother.
All three made a face and stubbornly refused to end their game. Eventually it went too far for Nomi. The surrounding ambassadors laughed as the Jedi grabbed the thrashing Corran and the crying Dash Jr. by the collar and dragged them along. Biggs followed willingly when he saw how his mother treated his brothers.

Finally they reached Luke's quarters.
He was already waiting for them and when he saw Nomi arrive with the boys in tow, he couldn't help but grin.
"No reason to grin. Wait until you have children of your own, Luke. It's not that easy to deal with them."
Luke bent down and picked Biggs up.
"Please come in."
Nomi released Dash Jr. and Corran and they rushed after Luke, followed by her. Skywalker had placed Biggs on the floor where there was a small pile of sand.
"Please sit down, Nomi, I'll start with your sons. Do you want something to drink?"
She followed his request and sat down in an armchair.
"Yes, a mug of tea would be nice," she said, following his request and sitting down in an armchair.
Luke went to the small cooking unit to make the tea. After a short while he came back with a mug of tea and handed it to his friend. Then he turned to the triplets.
"I think you three should show your mother what you learned from me."
The boys nodded eagerly. Each of them took a handful of sand and scattered it on the floor.
They looked at the sand in front of them with complete concentration and their mother felt them using the Force.
Nomi watched in fascination as the children used the Force to shape the faces of their parents and little sister out of the sand. When the triplets finished their work, they looked proudly at their mother.
"Wait, Nomi, there's more to come," Luke said, smiling. "That's not all they can do."
Using their small hands, the boys pushed the sand into a pile and then used the Force to form a three-dimensional image of their grandfather, Lord Bel-Baal.
Nomi stood up and lovingly stroked her sons' brown curls. To the Jedi's great delight, they didn't lose their concentration and their work of art remained intact. Luke smiled at his young students.
"I think you three made your mother very happy with your grandfather's picture."
He threw a small orb into the air and before it could hit the floor, the triplets stopped its fall using the Force, their grandfather's three-dimensional sand image still floating before them.
Luke sat down in an armchair and leaned back with a satisfied expression on his face.
"It's the first time the triplets have done this, Nomi," he began. "Your sons are indeed very strong in the Force. They will become great Jedi one day. You and Dash can be really proud of them."
He stood up and walked over to the triplets.
"That's enough. Now I'll show you something new."
Nomi felt her Jedi Master reach for the Force and saw the small stool that served as a footrest in front of her chair rise into the air before Luke lowered it back to the floor.
"It's your turn, Dash."
Nomi's firstborn stood up and extended his small hand towards the footrest. She clearly saw the strain on his small face as he tried to use the Force to raise the footrest. It didn't work and he started crying. Finally he ran to his mother and hid his head in her lap.
"I can't do that, Mama."
Nomi stroked his head comfortingly.
"You will be able to do that too one day, my little darling. You don't have to give up so easily, Junior."
He looked up at her full of hope and sniffed softly.
"Are you sure, Mama?"
The Jedi nodded and smiled at her eldest.
"But of course."
One by one, Nomi's younger sons tried it with the same frustrating results. Just like their older brother, they ran crying to their mother, who had to comfort them.
"I think we'll finish the boys' training for today and continue tomorrow, Nomi," Skywalker said as he saw the crying children. "But now it's time for your lightsaber training. We will practice on the roof of the palace."
The triplets wiped away their tears and headed for the door, followed by their mother and Skywalker.

This time the boys didn't play with the trees in the large hallway, so they reached their destination quickly. Luke opened the door and stepped onto the roof. The triplets followed suit and sat under a small canopy before starting to play.
As soon as Nomi had also entered the roof, Luke activated his lightsaber and the green blade stood out clearly against the dark clouds that hung over Coruscant.
"C'mon, Nomi, what are you waiting for?"
He slowly approached the Jedi and she assumed a fighting stance. When he was at arm's length, Nomi activated her lightsaber and waited for his attack.
It came quickly. With a powerful blow he aimed at her right shoulder. She brought up her lightsaber and blocked the attack. Nomi then performed a complicated slash-stab combination with her weapon, but Luke was expecting it and blocked the counterattack. Sparks flew as the energy blades collided.
"That was very good, Nomi," Skywalker said, smiling. "You're completely one with the Force."
She felt her sons' curious looks as they stopped their game to watch the training match. The fight continued and neither Luke nor she gave in.
Finally, Nomi lowered the lightsaber, deactivated it and stood in front of her childhood friend, breathing heavily.
"Let's call it a day. I'm totally exhausted."
"Yeah, I think that's enough for today. You are extremely skilled with the lightsaber and your use of the Force is perfect. I'm afraid I can't teach you anything more. My job now will be to ensure that you don't succumb to the temptations of the dark side and to teach your children. I'm very proud of you, Nomi."
The young woman blushed at the praise.
"I couldn't have done it without you, Luke. You were a very good teacher and I would like to continue training with you."
Meanwhile Corran had come to them and was tugging on his mother's pant leg.
"Mama?"
"Yes, Corran?" Nomi leaned down to him.
"Will I be able to use a lightsaber one day?"
Luke stroked the boy's brown curls and answered in Nomi's place.
"Yes, you and your siblings will learn to use the lightsaber one day. But you're too young now, Corran," he sighed before continuing. "I wish my sister could finally decide to train as a Jedi. Leia still stubbornly refuses to use her inherited skills."
"Give her time, Luke. One day she will ask you to teach her," Nomi said, straightening up.
"I hope you're right. The New Republic desperately needs Jedi to protect and preserve the freedom they have fought for."
He went to the door and opened it. One by one they left the roof and made their way to their quarters.

When Nomi and the triplets returned from Luke's training, they were already met by Dash, who gave Tasherit the bottle.
"So how did it go?" He asked after they entered.
His wife walked up to him, gave him a kiss and stroked their daughter's head as the triplets went to their room.
"Very good, Dash. We haven't had any problems and Luke is very happy with our sons' progress."
Tasherit burped after finishing her meal. Dash smiled, standing up before walking over to the crib and placing his daughter in it.
"I didn't expect anything different because we're their parents."
His wife, who had been following him, nudged him and laughed.
"Hey, old Dash Rendar shows up again."
He turned his head and raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, what did you mean?"
Nomi came up behind him and placed her hands on his chest as she kissed his neck.
"I mean your swagger, darling," she replied before continuing what she was doing.
Dash moaned softly.
"Please, Nomi, stop it."
"What should I stop?" She asked with an innocent expression as her husband turned around.
The Jedi slowly began to unbutton Dash's shirt before gently running her hands over his bare chest. Her husband held her hands and looked into her eyes, a smile playing on his half-parted lips. His voice was hoarse as he whispered to her.
"I love you, Nomi."
Nomi couldn't resist that tempting mouth and kissed him deeply. Dash kissed her back and picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck before he carried her to their bedroom.