The New Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Prologue & Chapter 1 - An unexpected Visitor

- Prologue -

Many standard years had passed since Nomi Darklighter and her family had retreated to Dagobah.
They had been years of peace and solitude, interrupted only by occasional visits from their four children.
Despite their doubts about Luke Skywalker's ability to train Jedi, Dash and Nomi had agreed when he offered to show their Force-sensitive offspring the ways of the Force.
The triplets were now 30 standard years old and their sister Tasherit, the baby of the family, was 29 standard years old.
Nomi would sometimes sit in the little cabin they called home as the rain poured down, wondering where the time had gone.
Yes, there was peace in their self-imposed exile, but it was a deceptive peace.

- Chapter 1 -

An unexpected Visitor

Nomi was in the kitchen preparing dinner for herself and Dash when the roar of X-wing engines interrupted the usual background noise of the swamp. Dash poked his head through the kitchen door.
"Are you expecting visitors, darling?"
Nomi frowned as she thought.
"No, Dash," she replied after a moment of hesitation.
Her husband nodded.
"Neither do I," he said, drawing his blaster. "I should take a look. Stay here."

A few moments later, Dash returned. In his company was someone dressed in a long, gray hooded cloak. As his companion slowly removed his hood, Nomi couldn't suppress a gasp. It was Luke Skywalker... but what did he look like? His expression was as if he was carrying the weight of the entire universe on his shoulders. It seemed like he had aged prematurely. Luke must have dampened his presence in the Force, that was the only explanation why Nomi hadn't sensed her old childhood friend.

Luke slowly sat down on a stool next to the stove. He was breathing heavily and seemed to need to calm down. Nomi looked at him.
"Why are you here and not at the academy?" She asked after a while.
Luke sighed before answering.
"Nomi, Dash, I'm so sorry..." the Jedi Master began.
"Why are you sorry, Luke?" Dash interrupted him.
Skywalker sighed again and continued.
"The academy no longer exists. Everything went so terribly wrong. Ben, one of my students, betrayed us."
Now it was Nomi who interrupted him.
"I hope you're not talking about Leia and Han's son."
Your friend nodded slowly and you could tell he was having a hard time continuing.
"He was always rebellious and prone to tantrums. But I thought it was because he was Han's son. You know that Han disapproves of the Force and the Jedi. For him everything was mumbo jumbo. I thought he had too much influence over his son. And maybe Ben inherited too much from his grandfather. One day he disappeared, as he occasionally did for a few standard days. But this time his absence lasted longer, Nomi. And then he came back and he wasn't alone. We were no match for the invading troops. The academy was completely destroyed. The new Jedi Order is gone."

Luke had been looking down during his report, but when there was no reaction from his friends, he looked up. He looked at Nomi's horrified and Dash's angry face. His voice was full of emotion as he continued.
"There were many victims..."
"What about our children, Luke?" Dash interrupted.
"I don't know," Luke shook his head. "We couldn't identify the dead. The heat of the fire was so intense that everyone was burned beyond recognition."
Dash gave his wife a worried look. He expected to see her in tears, but Nomi remained completely calm. Rendar thought it was the shock of losing all four children at once. He gently put his arm around her, but his wife shook him off. She looked him straight in the eyes.
"Our children are not dead, Dash. I would have felt it in the Force."