After the Storm comes the Calm
The day of farewell had come. Rogue Squadron was about to leave for its new base. From there the offensive to liberate Coruscant should be prepared.
Nomi and Dash had taken the children to the hangar to say goodbye to their former comrades and especially to Nomi's brother, Corran, Tarik and Wedge. The young woman looked longingly at the fighters and their pilots. What would she have given to have been allowed to fly with them? She smiled as she imagined what Luke would say if he knew her thoughts. But after living for so many years fighting the Empire, it was really hard to suddenly stop.
She tenderly rocked her daughter as she walked over to her brother.
Nomi was aware that Gavin and the others might give their lives so that her children could live in peace and freedom.
Tears came against her will and her little brother lovingly wiped them from her face.
"Hey, why are you crying, Nomi?" He asked with a smile. "I'll come back, I promise. Nobody can stop a Darklighter."
Dash approached them and patted his brother-in-law on the shoulder.
"Keep a stiff upper lip, kid," he said with a big grin. "Give the Imps some of their own medicine."
The younger man laughed.
"I will, Dash," he replied before kissing his sister and niece.
Then he climbed into his X-wing. After closing the hatch, he waved goodbye.
The whole family waved back and joined Wedge Antilles, Tarik and Corran Horn.
Dash Jr., Biggs and Corran ran towards Wedge, who had become the triplets' favorite over time. In his free time, he had often played with them and enjoyed playing with them.
Biggs tugged at the Rogue Squadron commander's pant leg and Wedge bent down to him.
"Well, Biggs, what do you want?"
The little one stretched out his arms longingly.
"Want go with you," the boy murmured.
Wedge chuckled and tousled Biggs' curly hair.
"No, little one, you can't come with us. But when you're older, you can fly an X-wing like this."
Tarik flapped his wings and stifled a laugh.
Antilles rose and turned to Nomi and Dash.
"Your sons can't deny that they are your offspring. The blood of the Rendars and the Darklighters has combined in an extraordinary mixture. I'm sure the triplets will definitely make great pilots," Wedge said before checking his chrono. "But now it's time to go. Let's keep it short, I've always loathed long goodbyes."
He hugged Nomi and the triplets and gently stroked Tasherit's head, which showed the first fluffy red hair. Then Dash shook his hand goodbye.
"Don't let the Imps fry you, Wedge. Too bad I can't take care of you. I hope you can get along without me."
Hearing this, Tarik couldn't help but laugh his famous chirping laugh.
"Oh, I sure will," Antilles replied. "I'm not such a bad pilot, Dash."
Nomi turned her attention to Corran Horn, who didn't join the conversation. He stood next to them, lost in thought. Maybe he was thinking about his dead father.
The young man flinched when Nomi spoke to him.
"I wish you the best of luck in the difficult task that lies ahead, Corran," said the former Rogue Squadron member. "The Imps shouldn't be underestimated. Their new leader Ysanne Isard is said to be very power hungry and a master of manipulation. May the Force be with you, my friend."
Something about the young man irritated Nomi, but at the same time she somehow felt connected to him.
There was no time to think about it as Tarik hugged her tightly and whispered something in his own language that made her smile.
"May the Force be with you, Tarik," she said, ruffling his feathers.
The alien pilot let go of Nomi, gave her a wink, and climbed up the ladder to board his X-wing.
Corran and Wedge also climbed into their fighters and minutes later the members of Rogue Squadron were on their way to their destination.
Checking her chrono, Nomi realized it was time for her training session with Luke. Together with her husband and children, she left the hangar and went to her quarters to prepare.
When they arrived, her husband hugged and kissed her.
"Do you really have to go to Luke?"
Nomi pulled away from his embrace, looked up at him and nodded.
"Please stay, Nomi," he said softly, taking his wife's hand.
"I'd love to stay, but you know Luke insists I get to practice on time. You don't want me to get in trouble with him."
Dash shook his head and let go of her hand.
"Of course not, darling."
Nomi went to their bedroom and dressed in the black clothes Luke had given her. As she left the bedroom, she hooked the lightsaber to her belt.
Her husband looked at her with a strange expression.
"What's the matter, Dash?"
Rendar sighed.
"I hope we made the right decision and Luke really is capable of training you to be a Jedi. If you're standing in front of me in those dark clothes with your lightsaber on your belt, you're a stranger to me. I wonder if you're still the Nomi I used to know and love."
Nomi smiled at her husband, reached out and touched his cheek.
"I'm still the same Nomi, Dash. But now I really have to go. Please keep an eye on the triplets and Tasherit. I'll try to be back as soon as possible."
She gave Dash a quick kiss goodbye and went to Luke's quarters.
Nomi's Jedi Master was already waiting for her in front of his quarters.
"Hello, Nomi," he said and sat down on the ground. "We should meditate first."
"Hello, Luke."
Nomi sat down next to him and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before she had a
vision. Again it was the vision with the stranger who killed her husband to steal their children. The young woman cried out and opened her eyes, shaking.
Luke opened his eyes and looked at his friend.
"What's the matter, Nomi? Your whole body is shaking," he said and reached out with his artificial hand to calm her down.
Nomi swallowed hard before answering.
"I – I had this vision again. Please tell me this isn't the future. I don't want to lose Dash and my children, Luke."
The Jedi looked at her sadly.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. Nobody can predict exactly what the future will bring. When you've calmed down, let's start training. Use the relaxation techniques I showed you."
He carefully watched the young woman as she did the exercises.
"Yes this is good. You feel deep peace and nothing can disturb it."
Slowly Nomi calmed down and felt the Force that surrounded her.
"Yes, Nomi, that's better. You must learn to control your emotions. Now we can begin."
He pointed to a huge boulder about thirty meters from his quarters.
"Let this rock levitate and place it in front of my quarters."
Nomi looked at him doubtfully.
"I can't do this, Luke. It's impossible."
The young Jedi shook his head and sighed.
"Oh Nomi, everything is always impossible for you. I have the feeling that you don't listen to me when I tell you something."
"So far I've only levitated small rocks and leaves," his friend replied. "That boulder is different, Luke."
"It's no different. You can levitate anything, no matter what size or weight. When you use the Force, all natural laws are overridden. You must forget what you learned before."
Nomi rose and held out her hand.
"All right, I'll try."
"No, don't try, Nomi. Do or do not. There is no try, as Master Yoda once said to me."
Nomi nodded her head, reaching out with the Force and concentrating on lifting the boulder. It slowly began to rise. When it hovered five centimeters off the ground, she slowly and carefully guided it to Luke's quarters. Then she lowered it to the ground next to Luke. Completely exhausted, she let herself fall to the ground, panting. This exercise had cost her a lot of strength.
Luke looked pleased.
"See, you can do it, Nomi."
The young woman managed only a weary nod while Luke jumped up and activated his lightsaber.
"We'll now fight with the lightsabers, Nomi," he said, swinging the elegant weapon left and right.
His friend stared at him and shook her head.
"Damn it, Luke, I can't. Can't you see that I am completely exhausted after this exercise?"
Skywalker looked at her uncomprehendingly.
"No, I can't see that," the Jedi replied. "What's wrong with you, Nomi? You used to have more stamina. You've spent hours wandering the Jundland wastes armed only with a blaster rifle and your vibroknife. You've changed a lot, Nomi."
"You're right, Luke, I've changed," said Nomi with a sigh. "I'm no longer the adventurous and reckless Nomi of our youth. I've been through too many terrible things and I'm tired of fighting all the time. You've no idea how much I long for peace. I want to finally settle down and have a normal life somewhere with my family."
"You will lead a normal life, Nomi, but only if you learn to use the talent given. At the beginning of your training I got the impression that you liked to fight with a lightsaber."
"Yes, I enjoyed that at the time. But I didn't know then that I was Force sensitive and what might depend on my abilities," said the young woman softly. "I'm afraid of failing and being seduced by the dark side of the Force like your father once was. Then there is this vision that haunts my dreams. I'm so scared, Luke."
Luke deactivated his lightsaber and hugged his friend to comfort her.
"You don't need to be afraid, Nomi. Keep training and you'll get stronger. That way nothing can harm you and your family. Trust me."
Nomi broke free of his embrace and activated her lightsaber. The ice-blue blade appeared with a hiss.
Skywalker activated his lightsaber as well. With a quick, flowing motion, he charged.
Their blades met, sparking and accompanied by electrical discharges. With all her strength Nomi tried to push her opponent back and she succeeded.
Panting, she stood in front of Luke and waited for the next attack. The attack came quickly, but she sensed where it was aimed. The young woman easily managed to block the blow and swing back to counterattack.
She had a feeling Luke wasn't using the Force this time. The Jedi staggered under the force of the unexpected impact. She followed with rapid slashes. Eventually she managed to penetrate his defenses. Just before she could seriously hurt him, she deactivated her lightsaber.
Completely exhausted from the fight, they faced each other. In a reflexive move, Luke raised his lightsaber in salute before deactivating it.
"You did very well, Nomi. An opponent who can't use the Force doesn't stand a chance against you. Tomorrow we'll see how you fare against an opponent who can also use the Force. That's all for today."
Nomi nodded her head.
"See you tomorrow, Luke."
She turned and went to her quarters.
Nomi's sons and Dash, who was cradling Tasherit in his arms, were already waiting for her there.
"Dada has suwise, mama," said Biggs with a big smile.
"Your father has a surprise for me?" she asked, looking at her husband who was just as excited as the triplets.
"Our kids are fed and I want to show you something, darling," Dash smiled at his wife while handing Leebo Tasherit.
Then he took Nomi's hand and together they went outside where two speeder bikes were parked.
"This is your surprise?" asked Dash's wife, raising an eyebrow. "We use speeder bikes every day for patrol duty."
Rendar laughed.
"Of course the speeder bikes aren't the surprise I have for you, honey. C'mon, get on your bike and just follow me."
He mounted his bike, started the engine and before Nomi could react, he was on his way.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Nomi got on her own speeder bike, started the engine and it wasn't long before she was catching up.
After a while the landscape changed. It was untouched by the otherwise omnipresent environmental pollution. Nomi looked at the green grass and the clear sky in amazement.
After a standard hour, Dash Rendar stopped at the edge of a forest and dismounted his speeder bike. Nomi did the same next to him. She wondered what he wanted to show her. Again Dash took his wife by the hand and led her through a gap in the thicket.
"I discovered that on my last patrol," he said and took off the breath mask. "The air here is fresh. We don't need the masks."
Nomi also took off her mask and was speechless when she saw the crystal clear lake in front of her.
"Do you like it, darling?"
"It's beautiful here, Dash."
Rendar smiled and began to undress.
"C'mon Nomi, let's swim," he said and reached for his wife. "Why are you hesitating? Get undressed and get in the water. Nobody can watch us here."
Nomi stood on the shore and watched as her husband entered the water and moved effortlessly in it.
"C'mon, the water is wonderful, darling."
"Uh, Dash, I'm from Tatooine, a desert planet," Nomi answered and looked at her husband who was standing in the water in front of her.
"I know, Nomi."
"But there's something you don't know, love," she hesitated for a split second. "I can't swim."
Dash looked at her in astonishment.
"You can't swim? An Alliance fighter trained as a commando can't swim?"
His wife shrugged.
"I never had a chance to learn, Dash."
"Then you will learn it now, honey. Get undressed and get in the water. It would be strange if I couldn't teach you to swim."
Nomi undressed slowly.
"You don't need to be afraid. I'll hold you."
Her husband approached her and took her hand. Then he carefully led her deeper and deeper into the water until she suddenly couldn't feel the bottom anymore. He held her as promised.
"Move your arms and legs like you saw me do."
At the same moment, Dash let go of his wife. Nomi dove under and got water in her mouth. She came back to the surface, coughing and spitting.
Dash laughed as he held her again.
"It's not funny Dash, are you trying to drown me?"
She glared at her husband, who couldn't stop laughing.
"No, Nomi. Maybe I should warn you next time. Let's try again."
Finally she tried to imitate the movements she had seen her husband make.
"You're doing very well, Nomi. I'm slowly letting go of you now."
He released his grip and Nomi, to her own surprise, swam. Dash swam alongside her and tried to grab her, but she eluded him. Finally they swam to shore together. They got out of the water hand in hand and lay down on the grass. Rendar kissed his wife deeply, letting his hands wander and passion followed. As she lay exhausted and happy in her husband's arms, Nomi wondered if Luke could have sensed what had just happened. Dash lovingly brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her.
"I think we should go back to base, Nomi. Tasherit will be hungry and our sons will surely want to hear a story from you before they go to sleep."
He rose and helped his wife up. After getting dressed, they walked hand in hand to the speeder bikes. Shortly thereafter, they were on their way back to base.
As they entered their quarters, they were greeted by Leebo carrying the crying Tasherit.
"Your daughter has been crying for half a standard hour, Nomi. There was no milk to feed her."
Nomi thought she heard a reproachful undertone as the droid handed her daughter to her. She sat down, undid her shirt and started feeding the little girl while the triplets sat at her feet, wide-eyed listening to a story.
It was late and Nomi could hardly keep her eyes open. After putting the children to bed, she and Dash went to sleep as well. The young woman snuggled up to her husband and closed her eyes. She tried not to think that tomorrow was going to be a hard day and she seemed to succeed because she fell asleep after a short time.