Trouble in Paradise
The next morning Nomi and Dash were woken up by a loud knock on their door. They looked at each other and wondered who it could be so early in the morning.
Dash pulled on his pants, grabbed his blaster, got out of bed and opened the door. Seeing Hal Horn standing in front of him, he holstered his blaster and let the CorSec officer enter.
"You both have to get out of here quickly," Horn said bluntly. "Your cover has been blown. The stormtroopers are already on their way to arrest you."
Nomi had gotten out of bed and dressed before Dash answered the door and was now hurrying to pack their belongings. Rendar put on his uniform jacket.
"Come on, we don't have much time left," Hal Horn urged them to hurry. "There is a speeder waiting outside to take you to the spaceport."
When everything was packed, Horn led them outside and to the speeder. There he opened the door.
"Hurry up, my son will take you both to the spaceport safely."
Before Nomi entered she turned to the CorSec officer.
"Why are you doing this for us?" She asked, still unsure if they could trust the man.
"I'm doing it for your daughter, Mrs. Darklighter," he answered almost inaudibly and smiled. "May the Force be with you."
It was an odd answer, but the young woman didn't have time to think about it further. She got into the speeder, sat down next to her husband and Horn closed the door.
As soon as they were seated, Corran Horn started the engines.
In one wild ride they drove to the spaceport. Hal Horn's son really was an excellent driver. Nomi spoke to him as he weaved the speeder through the heavy traffic. She was still thinking about the young man's father's remark about their unborn daughter.
"What did your father mean when he said he's doing it for our daughter, Corran?"
The young man turned his head slightly as he answered the question.
"Father said your daughter will be important to the galaxy. You must know that he often has feelings or premonitions when it comes to future events," he hesitated for a split second before continuing. Perhaps he was unsure whether to tell a stranger. "It happens to me too and it scares me."
Nomi had no idea what to say, and Corran turned his attention back to driving.
Eventually they reached the spaceport and Horn stopped the speeder in front of it. All three left the speeder.
"Goodbye, Mrs. Raviul. Goodbye, Commander Raviul. Safe journey," said young Horn, hugged Nomi and whispered in her ear.
"I hope to see you again soon, Captain Darklighter. I know the Alliance is always looking for good pilots. May the Force be with you."
Then Hal Horn's son let her go, entered the speeder, activated the engines, and drove away.
Dash took their bags and entered the spaceport followed by Nomi. There they lined up and waited patiently until they reached the ID checkpoint. Rendar sighed when he saw the same border official at the checkpoint who was on duty when they arrived the day before.
The Rogue Squadron pilot handed the ID cards over and the man put them in a reader. As he was about to return the ID cards, he looked at Dash.
"I thought you and your wife would stay here on Corellia for a standard week, Commander Raviul," the border official asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dash shrugged. At the same moment, out of the corner of his eye, he saw stormtroopers approaching.
"I have received a message that my leave has been canceled. Increased rebel activity has been reported and I must report to my unit," he said, slowly lowering his hand to his holstered blaster.
"I have to check that," said the border official and turned to the stormtrooper commander who had just arrived. The commander nodded his helmeted head slightly and motioned to two stormtroopers, who approached, blaster rifles at the ready.
Now the two rebels had to act quickly. In one swift movement, Nomi drew her vibro knife and held it to the commander's throat, while Dash drew his blaster and fired at the approaching stormtroopers. The troopers fell dead to the ground.
"Nomi, run to the shuttle! This place will soon be swarming with stormtroopers!" Yelled Rendar, realizing at the same moment how right he was.
Ten stormtroopers with blaster rifles charged them and Dash sought cover. Nomi saw an opening and retreated towards the shuttle, using the stormtrooper commander as a human shield.
The commander didn't resist when he felt the young woman's knife at his throat, knowing full well that one wrong move would mean his untimely death. But as a blaster bolt nearly hit him he barked at his subordinates.
"Stop shooting right now, you idiots! Do you want to kill me?"
The troopers didn't listen and kept firing as Dash Rendar ran towards the shuttle. Being a better shot than the Imperials, he'd already taken out quite a few of them. But he knew it wouldn't be long before reinforcements would arrive.
"C'mon, Nomi, run! Stop hugging the other! I'll cover you! Hurry up!" He yelled, not being sure his wife could hear him.
The noise of battle and the screams of innocent bystanders trying to flee the battle area were deafening.
Rendar breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his wife push aside the stormtrooper commander, who fell to his knees, desperately trying to get out of the line of fire.
Nomi drew her blaster and fired at the reinforcements that had just arrived. Finally she reached the shuttle, ran up the ramp and entered. Shortly thereafter she sat in the pilot's seat and started the engines.
"Close the hatch and then all power to the shields."
She heard her husband's voice behind her.
With a groan, Dash sat down in the copilot's seat. A quick glance revealed to Nomi that her husband was obviously badly wounded.
Rendar had noticed her gaze.
"It could be worse, Nomi, it's just a graze," he said almost inaudibly before losing consciousness.
There wasn't any time for thinking. Nomi automatically did what Dash asked her to do. Now it was up to her to get them out of the mess they were in. Outside, the shots ricocheted harmlessly off the shuttle's shields. Nomi went full throttle and the Alluvium ascended into Corellia's orbit.
But they weren't safe yet. The Rogue Squadron pilot cursed when she saw the Imperial patrol ships. Apparently they had already received word of their escape because they were launching TIEs.
Nomi cast a glance at her husband. Dash was still unconscious and his face was ashen. There was an ugly hole in his chest made by a blaster bolt and his breathing was labored. The young woman was shaking because she was afraid that her husband wouldn't make it. But there wasn't much time to think about what might happen.
The first TIEs were in firing range and took the shuttle under fire. Nomi went into evasive maneuvers while attempting to lock onto the enemy fighters. She realized quickly that a shuttle wasn't like her X-wing. It was less maneuverable and the firepower was a joke. It seemed only a matter of time before the shields would fail under the sustained fire.
Although the shuttle was modified to allow the pilot to fly and fire at the same time, the overwhelming forces made this dual task almost impossible to accomplish. But still, Nomi managed to dodge some shots and return fire.
Suddenly the TIE attacking from starboard exploded. The young woman knew it wasn't her whose laser cannon had hit it.
"Alliance shuttle Alluvium… looks like you need help," Nomi heard a familiar voice as she saw another TIE explode.
"Corellia doesn't seem to bring you luck, Nomi," Wedge Antilles continued, taking out another enemy fighter.
A quick glance at the tactic display showed the young woman 22 fighters marked as friendly.
"Dash is badly wounded and I'm afraid he's dying," Nomi replied, dodging a laser beam in a steep dive. "I need a clear path to the next jump point."
"Copy that. We'll do our best," Antilles answered, taking on the next enemy fighter and seeing the other rebel fighters do the same. No order was needed as they had listened to the conversation.
A fierce battle ensued, but eventually they managed to clear a path for the shuttle, and Nomi headed full throttle for the jump point. Seconds later, she made the jump into hyperspace.
As the stars dissolved into the streaks and whirls of hyperspace Nomi unbuckled and walked over to her husband. Dash was still unconscious and his breathing was ragged. The blaster shot must have hit part of the lung. A little further to the left and Nomi's husband would have been dead in an instant.
It was a mystery to his wife how he had managed to get onto the shuttle with this injury.
She carefully lowered Dash onto the cockpit floor before opening a drawer and taking out the emergency medical kit. After opening it, she took the breathing mask it contained and placed it on her husband's face to help his breathing. All she could do was hope that he would stay alive until they reached Dagobah Base. Nomi stroked Dash's cheek and whispered soothingly, but he didn't respond.
She sat down on the floor by his side and took his hand while tears ran down her cheeks and fell into her lap.
After what seemed like an eternity, Nomi finally heard the signal that indicated they had reached their destination. The young woman stood up, sat in the pilot's seat, pulled the lever and the shuttle fell back into real space. As soon as she saw the planet in front of her she called ground control.
"This is Captain Darklighter requesting permission to land. I need a medical team because I have a seriously injured person onboard. ID codes are now being sent."
It took a while before she got an answer.
"Landing permission granted, Captain," Nomi finally heard and steered the Alluvium towards the planet. Not long after, she landed the shuttle in the base's hangar.
When she turned off the engines and opened the hatch, 2-1B entered the ship followed by two helpers carrying a stretcher. They carefully picked up Dash, placed him on the stretcher to take him to the med bay.
Nomi followed them and it didn't take long for them to reach their destination. There, 2-1B led them to a room with a bacta tank. After a thorough examination, Dash was stripped and lowered into the tank.
His pregnant wife stood behind the transparisteel window that separated the treatment room from the observation room, hoping that her husband would survive his serious injury.
The door opened and Wedge Antilles entered the room, walking over to Nomi and gently placing his hand on her shoulder.
"You can't do anything for him now, Nomi. Dash is strong, he will make it. You need to rest," he said softly.
At that moment, 2-1B entered the room.
"Yes, Captain Darklighter, listen to Commander Antilles. He is right, you need rest. Think of the child you carry under your heart," the medical droid said in its mechanical voice. "Lieutenant Rendar responds well to the bacta. If there are no complications, he will survive. However, it will take time for the injured lung to regenerate."
Nomi nodded her head and left the room after one last look at her husband who was hanging in the bacta tank.
Wedge and 2-1B were right that there was nothing she could do for Dash except hope for the best and trust in the healing powers of bacta.