The New Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 6 - Hosnian Prime's Bureaucracy

So that was the new capital planet Hosnian Prime. It somehow reminded Nomi of Coruscant. After regular ground control procedures, Dash landed the Outrider smoothly in its assigned docking bay. His wife sighed.
"Oh c'mon, darling, let's get this bantha poodoo out of the way," Dash said in an encouraging tone.
His wife nodded, stood up and together they left the cockpit. Rendar pressed the button on the hatch and it opened.

The young officer, whom Nomi already knew from the transmission, stood at the lowered ramp and waited for them. As the new arrivals approached him, he saluted curtly.
"Commander Darklighter. Major Rendar."
"Major Starr," Dash replied and held out his hand.
The New Republic officer ignored the outstretched hand, which Nomi noted with disapproval.
Nomi looked at Major Starr and realized that she didn't like him. He was too young for his rank and exuded a certain arrogance. The Jedi shivered. Under other circumstances, this guy would have been on the side of the Empire and would have been her enemy. She was pretty sure of that. Nevertheless, she smiled.
"We retired a long time ago, Major Starr. So we can dispense with formal titles."
Major Starr shook his head.
"My records say otherwise, Commander Darklighter. You and Major Rendar never officially retired."
"If the New Republic bureaucrats had bothered, they would have found us easily," the Jedi replied, still smiling. "Master Skywalker, for example, knew we were on Dagobah. Instead, it was easier to forget about us and accuse us of desertion now."
"No one is accusing you of anything, Commander," said the Major, looking at her with cold eyes. "We contacted you because your space freighter is still in one of our hangars."
Nomi let out a sound of surprise. She had thought that the freighter had been lost in the turmoil of the civil war and the times of upheaval afterwards.
"The Aquarius? Where is she?"
"Please contact ground control, Commander."
Starr gave another curt salute and turned to leave.
"Come on, Dash, let's go to ground control," Nomi said happily after the Major left.

It took them a while to find the control room, but finally they were there. In the room there were many humans and aliens sitting at the screens monitoring Hosnian Prime's airspace. As they entered, a light-blond, corpulent man who appeared to be a born bureaucrat approached them. He hadn't introduced himself, but from the badge on his chest she learned his name was Windmaker.
"Ah, I assume you are Commander Darklighter?" He turned to Nomi and looked at her questioningly.
The Jedi nodded.
"Major Starr has already informed me about you. Please come with me."
Windmaker sat down at a desk, activated a computer and retrieved the data while Nomi looked over his shoulder.
"Here we are!" He turned around and looked at Nomi. "Your freighter is here on Hosnian Prime. Docking bay GL1138."
Nomi could hardly believe her luck. But her joy was dampened when Windmaker continued.
"After paying... just a moment," he looked at the monitor, "After paying 50,000 credits, you can get your ship back."
Nomi turned pale.
"What? Are you crazy? I could buy a new ship for that amount!"
The corpulent bureaucrat shrugged.
"The amount is correct. It includes transportation, storage, regular maintenance..."
"But 50,000 credits," Nomi interrupted. "I don't have that amount."
Dash had come up behind her and placed his hand reassuringly on his wife's shoulder.
"I'll take care of it, darling." He turned to Windmaker, who in Dash's eyes lived up to his name.
"Listen, Windmaker, I don't think you know who you're talking to. Commander Darklighter is a war hero. She was a pilot in the attack on the second Death Star and survived. My wife has flown countless combat missions on behalf of the Alliance."
Windmaker just shrugged.
"Do you know how often I hear this kind of thing when it comes to paying fees, Major Rendar? Suddenly they're all heroes, claiming they fought on the front lines because they want to gain an advantage. But I have my orders."
Dash lost his temper.
"Damned bureaucrat! If it weren't for the brave men and women who fought and even lost their lives in battle, you'd be doing forced labor for the Empire in the spice mines of Kessel! Instructions... I spit on your instructions! If the Alliance had followed the rules, the New Republic wouldn't exist! You can ask Senator Organa, she can confirm Commander Darklighter's merits!"
Windmaker winced at Dash's outburst, sweat pouring from his brow.
"Former Senator Organa is no longer on Hosnian Prime," he stammered. "No one knows where she is, Major."
He hastily entered data until Nomi's file appeared on the monitor. Windmaker read the entries. When he finished reading, he turned around. He seemed nervous.
"Um, Commander Darklighter, I apologize deeply. I... I couldn't know... Of course you can pick up your freighter. I missed the notice that there are no fees to pay. This is the access code for the docking bay."
He handed Nomi a piece of flimsiplast with a column of numbers on it. Dash looked at him pleased.
"You see, I told the truth."

Together with Dash, Nomi made her way to the docking bay GL1138. She would finally see her Aquarius again after a very long time. With a smile, she remembered how she had tried to steal the YT-1300 back on Tatooine. She was already in orbit when Tarik, the owner of the freighter, caught her. After she helped him escape an Imperial patrol, they became partners and successful smugglers.That was a long time ago.
After the end of the Empire, Tarik became ambassador to his home planet of Sitti'cus'a IV.

They had finally reached their destination. Nomi entered the access code. The door opened slowly and they saw the Aquarius. Nomi rushed to the freighter. Dash smiled as he saw his wife gently caressing the outside of the ship. He knew her feelings all too well. It was the same for him with the Outrider. He pressed a button and the ramp lowered. The lowering was smooth, which was surprising for such an old model. Windmaker hadn't exaggerated when he talked about regular maintenance.Nomi walked up the ramp, entered the cockpit and checked the instruments and their readouts. Everything was in good condition. She leaned back and relaxed. It was as if she was back home. At that moment, her comlink beeped.

"Nomi?"
The Jedi heard the voice of her former co-pilot, Tarik. Despite the years that had passed, she would recognize that voice among thousands of others."You have to meet me, come to the embassy at 0600."Nomi asked no further questions."I'll be there, Tarik," she replied curtly.