Back to Duty?

After some weeks, Wedge Antilles entered Nomi's quarters. He noticed that the young woman was still pale, but he deemed her to be ready to resume her duties in Rogue Squadron nevertheless. Fuzzy was standing nearby and had set his photoreceptor on the commander.
Antilles pulled a chair over and sat down.
"I would give you more time, Nomi, but Admiral Ackbar suggested letting you fly again. He thinks it would distract you somehow," he said and leaned back on the chair. "What do you think? I won't force you. If you say you aren't ready, it's okay for me."
He looked at his friend expectantly.
"I fly again?" The young pilot asked. She couldn't believe that they would give her the chance to take revenge on the Empire.
"Not immediately, but after several training units in the simulator," her superior responded with a lopsided grin. He knew very well how much Nomi hated the simulator.
Nomi made a face.
"Why the simulator? You know that I know my stuff and that I'm good, Wedge," she said finally.
"Yes, I know, my friend, but Admiral Ackbar insisted."
"Admiral Ackbar…he doesn't know me like you do," she responded, showing a bit of the fire inside her, which she had before Dash's death.
Antilles nodded his head.
"This might be, but the Admiral is basically our superior, Nomi. Either the simulator or you won't fly soon, my friend. It's up to you," Wedge said and stood up to leave.
The young woman made up her mind quickly.
"I take the training units, Wedge, even though I don't like it," she said and stood up as well. "Let's make fast work with this."
Her commander grinned.
"I knew that you would be reasonable, Nomi."
He walked over to the door, opened it and made way to let her pass.

It didn't take long and they reached the simulator room. Nomi donned her helmet and walked over to one of the simulators standing there. She took a deep breath, entered the device and closed the hatch. Antilles started the program after the young pilot buckled up. It was a rather easy program and Nomi felt disappointed and underestimated. She activated the helmet comm.
"Are you kidding me, Wedge?" She asked and her anger was clearly audible.
"It's on Admiral Ackbar's order," the commander answered and pushed some buttons at the simulator.
"I want a proper simulation, not such a children's game."
She slammed her fist on the console.
"Calm down, I'm working on it already," Antilles responded as his fingers were flying over the control panel, pushing buttons and pulling levers. "I hope this will be more to your liking."
Nomi Darklighter took the yoke in a firm grip and let her finger linger over the fire button. Yes, this was right what she needed. She was well aware that it was only a simulation and that it weren't Imperial pilots she shot down without mercy. But it was good to vent some steam. When the program ended Nomi was soaked in sweat. She opened the hatch, climbed out and removed the helmet.
Her commander stood there looking up the readouts of the last simulation sequence. The young woman approached him, holding the helmet in her hand.
"How was it?" She asked and looked at Antilles expectantly.
Wedge turned his attention to the small woman standing in front of him.
"You haven't unlearned to fly. The hit ratio is 100%. All in all it was an excellent performance. Your brother is looking forward to flying with you again."
"This is good to know, Wedge," Nomi responded, biting her lower lip. She had only one goal, to take out as many Imps as possible before being killed in action. They would pay for what they had done to her in killing the love of her life. But she knew better than to tell her superior. She knew all too well that they wouldn't let her fly if they would know.
Antilles voice interrupted her musing.
"I will show the readouts to Admiral Ackbar, since he has the last say. But I'm pretty sure he will also see that you are fit for duty."
Nomi gave the commander a faint smile.
"I'm expecting nothing else, Wedge."
Then she turned, left the simulator room and headed for her quarters to take a shower.

She had just dressed in a clean coverall as her comm went off. Nomi answered the call and was surprised to hear Wedges' voice.
"Please come to the command center. The admiral wants to speak with you, Nomi."
The pilot swallowed hard before responding, since she suddenly had a bad feeling.
"I'm on my way."
It didn't take long and she arrived at the command center. When she entered the room, the admiral and the commander were already waiting for her. She gave a rather sloppy salute and stood in attention. It was the first time she had to deal with Admiral Ackbar, who was a Mon Calamari and famous for his tactical skills.
"At ease, Lieutenant Darklighter," the admiral said with a deep voice, looking at Nomi with his bulbous eyes.
The young pilot did as she was asked to do and noticed that nobody else was in the room, which was usually teeming with life.
Ackbar cleared his throat and pulled out a datapad.
"Commander Antilles showed me the readouts of your simulator session, Lieutenant. An impressive performance…" The admiral paused for a fraction of a second before he continued. "But we can't let you fly."
The last part was like a punch in the gut for Nomi, who looked at the alien officer in disbelief. Had he actually said they won't let her fly? How could they do this to her?
"What?" She didn't care that she stood in front of one of the high ranking officers of the Alliance.
Ackbar ignored the lack of respect, knowing about the pilot's loss.
"I analyzed your simulator flight and noticed how reckless you were. You didn't care what happened to your wingman. Everything that counted for you was the kill shot. You are a danger for yourself and your comrades acting this way. We don't need pilots who only want to achieve their personal vendetta, Lieutenant. You are suspended from your duty in Rogue Squadron until further notice. Commander Antilles suggested sending you to Ithor with supplies for the local cell."
Nomi swallowed hard as the admiral mentioned Ithor. From all the planets in the galaxy they picked the one where Dash and she had wanted to have their wedding.
"Yes, Sir," she finally managed to respond. "When will I go?"
"You will go as soon as the cargo is loaded on your freighter, Lieutenant…dismissed."
Knowing that it wouldn't make sense to object, Nomi gave a crisp salute, turned and left the room to prepare for the mission.

When Nomi Darklighter entered the hangar the load lifters were already positioned at the Aquarius to bring the cargo onboard. The young woman sighed and opened the hatch to give them access to the cargo hold. During the loading process she sat down in the pilot's seat, plotted several micro jumps for the journey to Ithor and made the preflight check. After she got the information that everything was stored safely, the former smuggler closed the hatch, started the engines and launched.