A new Base on a strange Planet
The journey to the newly established base on Dagobah went without any incident.
Nomi was feeding the triplets when the signal sounded, indicating they had reached their destination. Dash moved into the cockpit, activated the shields, old habits die hard and pulled the lever. The eerie whirls of hyperspace dissolved into stars and the planet Dagobah appeared outside the Outrider's cockpit window.
"Almost there, darling," Nomi heard her husband's voice over the intercom, while Corran let out a loud belch when he was full. After fastening her shirt, she gently placed the little guy in the makeshift crib where his brothers slept, as they were also full. She then left them in Leebo's care and went into the cockpit, kissed her husband and sat in the copilot's seat.
"It doesn't look inviting," Nomi muttered under her breath and stared out of the window.
"Hoth wasn't inviting either," Dash replied with a wide grin and ran his hand over the console to send the landing codes given by Wedge Antilles.
A few minutes later, Dash expertly landed the YT-2400 in a clearing near the base's prefabricated buildings. It didn't seem big, but it contained everything that was needed. According to Wedge, the location was suggested by Luke Skywalker. The young Jedi was fairly confident that the Empire wouldn't be looking for Alliance forces there.
Dash Rendar shut off the engines unbuckled, stood and stretched.
"Welcome to our new home," he said with an ironic undertone.
Nomi stepped to his side and put a hand on his arm, after unbuckling herself as well.
"We've been in worse places, love."
Her husband nodded and out of the corner of his eye he saw Leebo carrying the crate with the babies to the Outrider's midsection.
"Ok, let's go," Rendar said, walking towards the hatch, opening it and walking down the ramp which had lowered already, followed by his wife and Leebo.
The droid carried the crate very carefully as the babies were fast asleep and he didn't want to disturb their slumber.
There was dense fog and the air was hot and humid. Strange creatures flew around and eerie noises came from the nearby swamp.
Luke Skywalker stood at the bottom of the ramp, waiting for the new arrivals, eager to meet his future pupils.
"Welcome to Dagobah Base, my friends," he said, smiling at Nomi, Dash and their faithful droid.
Then he walked over to the crate Leebo was carrying to take a look at the Rendar triplets.
Awake now, the three looked at the stranger with their big brown eyes.
"Finally I get around to see your offspring. They are healthy and already strong in the Force."
The Jedi reached into the crate and was watched closely by Leebo. Dash Jr. grabbed Luke's index finger and tried to put it in his mouth. Skywalker chuckled and gently eased his finger from the baby's grip.
"Careful, little one," with a smile he turned to the parents. "When they are old enough, I will teach them the ways of the Force. They actually have the potential to be great Jedi."
Suddenly Luke raised an eyebrow and looked at Nomi in surprise.
"I may be wrong, Nomi, but I feel in your body a presence in the Force, albeit faint. Can it be that you're pregnant again?"
A smile lit up the young woman's face.
"It could be, Luke. We tried to have another baby on Nar Shaddaa," she replied, touching her belly. "Dash wants a little girl with all his heart."
The Jedi concentrated and reached out with the Force for a closer look. After a while he nodded his head.
"You are indeed pregnant and it is a little girl you are carrying," he said finally with a big smile. "She's also Force sensitive like her brothers. With your children, the Jedi Order will be reborn, Nomi."
Until then Dash Rendar had listened to the conversation in silence, but then his joy knew no bounds.
"I love you, Nomi. You fulfill my greatest wish. I can't tell you how happy you make me, darling. And I already know the name for our daughter. How does the name Tasherit sound to you?"
"It's a beautiful name, Dash. We'll name her Tasherit when she's born."
Unnoticed by the happy couple Luke had made his way towards the base's main building. He turned and gestured for them to follow.
When they entered the building, Leia and Han were already waiting for them.
Both were also happy to see Nomi and Dash. The princess went to the crate still being carried by Leebo and looked at the babies who were now fully awake.
"You really have three pretty babies. I wish I had such beautiful children one day," Leia said in admiration, tickling Biggs.
Han, standing next to the princess, nudged her with a lopsided grin on his face.
"We could try, Your Highness. You know that I'm always at your service," the Alliance general said in a cheerful tone and winked at the love of his life.
"Did I say I want you to be the father of my children?" Leia replied with a serious expression.
Han looked at her in consternation, not noticing that the princess winked at Nomi.
"Is there another man, Leia? You can't do this to me," Han Solo swallowed hard.
At that moment, Leia laughed and kissed him.
"You should have seen the look on your face, Han," she said, smiling at the man she loved dearly.
Luke couldn't help but grin the whole time.
"What's so funny, kid?" Solo asked the younger man, raising an eyebrow. "Wait until you fall in love."
The Jedi ignored the remark and changed the subject.
"I wonder where Chewie is," he said, fighting not to grin so as not to upset his friend even more.
At the same moment, the Wookiee came around the corner and rushed towards them with a howl that shook the walls. Chewie took Nomi in an almost bone-crushing hug that made Dash fear for his wife's health.
"Be careful, Chewie," the former mercenary said. "Don't hurt my wife."
Han's companion released the small woman and said something in Shyriiwook that sounded like an apology. Then he caught sight of the babies and went to the crate that Leebo had put on the floor. He carefully took Corran out of the crate and lovingly stroked his head. The little boy grabbed the Wookiee's fur and tugged. Chewbacca gently untied the little fingers, looked at the proud parents and spoke to them in his own language. Nomi and Han understood it very well, but Leia, Dash and Luke were at a loss.
"This little one is very strong for a human baby," Han translated.
The Wookiee took the babies out of the crate one by one, lovingly stroked their heads and seemed happy about them. After putting them back in the crate, he continued talking and Han translated.
"You can both be proud of your children. They will definitely become great warriors. When they are old enough, you can send them to me to Kashyyyk. I will teach them how to use a bowcaster and survive in the jungle. I hope you accept my offer."
"Of course, Chewie, but there's still time," Nomi replied, smiling at Han's copilot.
Dash was also happy about Chewbacca's offer.
"Thank you, Chewie. There's certainly nothing wrong with the triplets learning a few other things besides the ways of the Force. When they are old enough, we will send them to your home planet."
Luke had been listening to the conversation in silence, then he cleared his throat for attention and addressed Nomi and Dash.
"I think it's time to show you both your quarters. You must be tired from the long journey."
"We could use some rest, Luke," Dash replied and motioned to Leebo who picked up the makeshift crib. "See you later."
Leaving their other friends behind, they followed Luke, who led the way.
"Why are you back from Nar Shaddaa already?"
It was Nomi who answered his question after glancing at her husband, who nodded his head.
"We couldn't stay there any longer, Luke. The Imps have attacked the Smuggler's Moon. We just barely escaped. There were many casualties on both sides."
In the meantime they had reached their assigned quarters and entered after Luke had opened the door. The Jedi looked at them with a worried expression and closed the door.
"Are you telling me you fought with the smugglers against the Imps? You'll both be in big trouble if Admiral Ackbar finds out about this. Have you forgotten his reservations about smugglers? Your actions could have serious consequences. It's possible you'll both be demoted or, worse, expelled from Rogue Squadron."
Nomi and Dash looked at each other. They really hadn't thought of that when their friends were in danger.
Rendar tried to contain his frustration, as Nomi could tell from her husband's body language, but then he couldn't hold back any longer.
"Damn it, Luke, we just couldn't let our friends down. We couldn't just get in the Outrider and turn our backs on them. I don't care what the admiral thinks when it comes to smugglers. They were the ones who welcomed us with open arms. The smugglers the admiral despises are our friends. We have known many of them for years. They trust us and we trust them. Would you've abandoned them under such circumstances, Luke?"
Luke was a bit surprised by Dash's reaction, probably remembering what happened on Gall.
"No, of course not, Dash. I probably would have acted like you without thinking of the possible consequences," he answered without hesitation.
The triplets started crying because they were hungry. Luke turned to the door and opened it.
"I'd better leave you alone now," he said, stepping out the door. "See you tomorrow."
After Nomi's childhood friend left she went to the crate where she picked up the triplet who cried the most. She made soothing noises to calm Dash Jr. while unbuttoning her shirt. It didn't take long and the little boy sucked eagerly. His brothers had to wait their turn as they were being bottle fed by their father.
Dash Rendar was about to prepare the bottles when Wedge Antilles burst into the room without knocking.
"Hello, Nomi and Dash," he began, blushing when he saw Nomi feeding her son.
"Oh, I seem to be bothering you."
He looked away but didn't leave.
Dash set the bottles aside and walked over to the commander, blocking his path.
"As you can see, you're really bothering us, Wedge," the Rogue Squadron pilot said with an angry undertone. "Nomi needs serenity and no strange eyes looking at her breast. And now I want you to go."
His wife stopped humming to her son and looked up. She frowned at Dash's obsessive jealousy. Perhaps telling her husband about Wedge's declaration of love and his marriage proposal had been wrong.
"I want Wedge to stay, Dash," she said as calmly as possible. "Your jealousy is unbearable. I've told you several times that Wedge is just a very good friend of mine. And he's your friend too. Why are you hurting him? You're the only one I love, Dash. I carry your child and would go with you to the ends of the galaxy. But if you continue to behave like this, what you fear most will happen…you will lose me and the children."
The young woman had no idea where her husband's fear of loss came from. After giving Dash her opinion, he held out his hand to the commander.
"I apologize. Of course you can stay, Wedge."
Antilles took the offered hand and Nomi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Apology accepted, my friend. Your wife only loves you, I never had a chance to win her heart. I hope that there will be a day when I find a woman who loves me as much as Nomi loves you."
Nomi had finished feeding Dash Jr., buttoned up her shirt, rose and brought the little guy to the crate. There she laid him down and picked up Biggs to bottle feed him.
"I'm sure that you'll find your true love, Wedge. And then you'll have many children. Look at us, Dash was longing for a daughter and now I'm actually pregnant with a girl."
She sat down and put the teat in Biggs' mouth, who began to suckle just as eagerly as his big brother had before.
Her husband picked up his youngest son to feed him as well.
"Luke told us that she's also Force sensitive. We want to name her Tasherit," Nomi continued while lovingly looking at her son.
"That's a very good choice," Antilles replied. "As far as I know, it means the younger one in an almost forgotten language. By the way, I'll make sure your triplets get a decent bed. They're not a cargo of spice and they deserve better than a crate as a crib. But now I will leave you. I think you are both tired and want to go to bed. See you tomorrow at combat practice."
The commander inclined his head and left.
With Wedge gone and the triplets fed and sleeping in the crate, Nomi and Dash realized that they were indeed tired.
"C'mon, Dash, I think it's really better if we go to sleep now. Tomorrow we have to report to Admiral Ackbar and General Madine. Not to forget the combat practice that Wedge mentioned."
Her husband nodded his head.
After getting ready for the night, they both climbed into bed and Dash took his wife in his arms. It wasn't long before they fell asleep.