The Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 114 - An unexpected Mission

A few standard weeks later, Nomi and Dash's little daughter Tasherit had made use of her abilities for the first time.
Her mother thought she couldn't believe her eyes when her husband nudged her and pointed to Tasherit's bed, which had replaced the crib for several days. The girl's favorite toy, a small X-wing model, fell out of bed and instead of crying, she reached out with the Force to get it back.
Slowly but unstoppably the model fighter flew towards the little hand of the youngest Rendar offspring. But then the girl lost access to the Force and the X-wing fell to the ground, causing Tasherit to cry heartbreakingly.
Dash walked over and picked up the toy to give it to her. His little darling eagerly grabbed the starfighter model and rewarded him with a beaming smile. He returned the smile before taking Tasherit from her bed and laying her on the floor.
She immediately dropped the X-wing and began crawling to explore her surroundings.
"Our daughter is really starting to take an interest in her surroundings at an early age, darling," Dash said, laughing. "Maybe she'll be a great researcher."
His wife shook her head and walked after Tasherit, who crawled straight towards Leebo.
"First and foremost, she'll become a Jedi, Dash," Nomi replied. "Now that she's beginning to discover her Force abilities, we must, as we do with the triplets, ensure that she doesn't accidentally give in to the dark side. Sometimes I really wonder why I gave birth to four potential Jedi."
Her husband shrugged.
"Perhaps it was determined that way by the Force you believe in so much, darling."
Nomi looked at her husband in surprise.
"Don't you believe in the Force? You come from an ancient Jedi family..."
Dash waved her off before she could finish her sentence.
"The Force couldn't help my grandfather when he was murdered. Don't you think it's easy to lose faith when something like that happens, Nomi?"

By now Tasherit had reached Leebo and was trying to pull herself up to her full height using his legs. The droid looked down at the small human and then he looked at Nomi.
"Isn't your daughter too small to stand, Nomi?" Leebo asked in his mechanical voice.
At that moment Tasherit fell over and began to cry again. The Jedi picked her up, took her in her arms and tried to calm her down, but she wouldn't stop crying. Dash came over and held out his hands to his youngest.
"Give me our little princess, Nomi."
His wife handed her over. As soon as Tasherit was in her father's arms, she stopped crying and contentedly put her thumb in her mouth. Dash looked at Nomi with pride.
"See, honey, that's how you do it."
Nomi laughed and gave him a kiss.
"I see that a mother of four can learn a lot about children from you."
A call over the intercom disrupted this family idyll. Dash pressed a button and answered the call.
"Rendar"
"Major Rendar," he heard a female voice. "Come to General Madine immediately."
"I'm on my way," Dash confirmed the order before looking questioningly at his wife.
"I wonder what Madine wants from me."
Nomi shrugged, hoping the general wouldn't send her husband on a dangerous mission again. So much for keeping them out of the line of fire because of the children
"I'll see you later," Dash said before giving his wife a kiss and leaving the quarters to go to General Madine's office.

It took a long time for Dash to return from the meeting. The children were already in bed and Nomi was about to go to sleep when Dash entered their quarters.
"What did Madine want from you?"
Dash sat down on the small couch and stretched his legs before answering his wife's question with a question in return.
"Tell me, Nomi, have you ever heard of a guy named Kyle Katarn?"
Nomi thought hard. Finally she remembered where she had heard that name before. She nodded and sat next to Dash.
"Yes, darling. Kyle Katarn is the man who stole the plans for the first Death Star. Why do you ask?"
Her husband laughed.
"Oh, that's why Madine was making such a fuss about this guy. So he is a hero of the Alliance. Now I understand."
The Jedi looked at Dash in surprise at his somewhat strange cheerfulness.
"What do you understand?"
Her husband became serious again and answered her.
"It seems like this man is in big trouble. Madine wants me to find Katarn. His last message reached Coruscant three standard weeks ago. At this point he was about to jump into hyperspace when the connection suddenly broke off. There has been no sign of life from him since then."
Nomi stood up.
"Do you know where Katarn was when the connection broke so suddenly?"
Dash nodded.
"He was near Sullust."
"Sullust?" The Jedi frowned. "But this planet is part of the New Republic. I can't imagine Imperial units being there."
Her husband looked at her in surprise.
"Have you not heard that Imperial Star Destroyers have been in and out of this part of the galaxy for several standard months? Normally you are always informed about everything."
Nomi sighed.
"You know, Dash, since I've been more preoccupied with my Jedi training and raising our children than with my duties as Commander, I'm finding it difficult to stay current."
Her husband laughed.
"You're exaggerating, darling."
Nomi made a face.
"Does anyone know who among the would-be emperors is flexing their muscles there?"
Dash stood up and went to the small dresser to get out his blaster.
"General Madine suspects it's Grand Admiral Strombol. As you recall, we destroyed his forces on Lip'a'rii II. But apparently, contrary to our information, he hadn't concentrated his main forces there. So much for the abilities of our Bothan spies," he continued with a sarcastic undertone. "Perhaps they should focus less on political disputes and scramble for power and more on their main task. Borsk Fey'lya, of course, denies responsibility. Be that as it may, it can't be changed."
Rendar interrupted his flow of speech and looked at his wife thoughtfully.
"What do you think, Nomi, is it possible that Katarn was captured by Strombol?"
The Jedi thought about this as Dash continued to pack the equipment he would need for the mission.
"That could be. This Grand Admiral will not accept defeat. With Katarn in his clutches, he has a trump card when it comes to negotiating with the New Republic, Dash. Didn't Katarn have a girlfriend?"
Her husband stared at her.
"A girlfriend? How should I know, Nomi? Until recently I had never heard of the man and now I should know if he has a girlfriend? Is that so important? She won't be able to help us much."
Nomi walked up to her husband, looked him in the eyes and smiled.
"You should know what a woman who loves is capable of. Also, I just remembered that Kyle Katarn has a girlfriend. Her name is Jan Ors and she is the pilot of the Moldy Crow. Oh yes, darling, as far as I know, Jan Ors is an excellent pilot. It certainly wouldn't be wrong if we contacted her."
Dash went to the door.
"Well, darling, I'll see if I can find this Jan Ors. Maybe General Madine can help me."

When he opened the door, a slim, dark blonde woman with bright green eyes stood before him.
"My name is Jan Ors. General Madine told me you want to help find Kyle, Major Rendar."
"Yes, that's right," Dash nodded and made room for Katarn's girlfriend. "Please come in."
When Jan entered the room, she walked up to Nomi and shook her hand.
"Commander Darklighter, I've heard a lot about you. Will you also take part in the search?"
Nomi looked at Dash questioningly. He smiled at her and nodded slightly.
"Yes, I'll take part, Jan."
A relieved smile crossed the woman's face when she heard the answer.
"Please take a seat."
Jan Ors followed the request and sat down on the small couch in the living room.
"I received a comm call from Kyle telling me he was near Sullust. I've only heard from him once since then."
This information made the couple sit up and take notice. Madine had only said that Katarn's last message came from Sullust.
"Where did the message come from?"
Jan looked at Dash.
"It was hard to understand, but it sounded like he was saying Romegan System."
Dash and Nomi shared glances.
"The Romegan System? Uh oh, this is a lot worse than I thought. It's right in the middle of the Imperial sphere of influence," said Rendar.
The Jedi shrugged.
"Hey, Dash, we've been to worse places."
Her husband nodded and smiled.
"All right, Jan, when do you want to leave?"
Jan Ors stood up and went to the door.
"Immediately if possible. The Moldy Crow is ready to go. What about you?"
"We can leave tomorrow after taking care of our children. They're already asleep," Nomi replied.
"Then we'll see each other tomorrow," said Jan, opening the door and leaving.
"Leebo!" Dash shouted loudly after Jan left.
The droid came out of the children's room with squeaky joints. Nomi wondered if they should examine him thoroughly after they returned from the mission.
"Leebo, go to the hangar and prepare the Outrider for launch," Dash ordered. "We're leaving tomorrow."
Surprisingly, the droid started moving without protest.

After packing everything they needed for the unexpected mission, Nomi and Dash prepared for the night. It didn't take long before they went to bed. Rendar took his wife in his arms, who cuddled up to him.
"I hope we find Katarn," he said, closing his eyes.
Nomi didn't answer because she was already asleep. Dash smiled and eventually fell asleep himself.