The New Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 28 - The Cargo Transport

It had been two uneventful standard weeks since the encounter in the clearing. Uneventful did not mean that the members of the base were idle, as their days were filled with field exercises and the maintenance of their fighters.
When it came to Nomi and her sons, it was also their nightly Jedi training in the clearing that kept them busy. From time to time, Poe Dameron went there to watch the training with curiosity. As he had promised, the commander had not told anyone about it and had kept the secret.

Finally, the day came that Poe, Snap, Nomi and Dash had been waiting for.
Dameron entered the mess hall and went to the table where his comrades were sitting.
"I was contacted by Ambassador Tarik, who sent me the coordinates of the rendezvous point. He is on his way with the promised shipment of X-wings," he said with a smile. "We'll be taking off in 30 minutes."
Then he turned around and left the mess hall in the direction of the landing pad to prepare everything for the mission.
The three Blue Squadron pilots looked at each other.
"You heard the commander," Wexley said with a grin. "I think it'll be an easy task this time."
"That we'll see, Snap," Dash replied.
All three stood up and left the mess hall to prepare for the mission.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the landing pad. There, Poe Dameron was already waiting for them. He glanced at his chrono and nodded with satisfaction.
"On time, as always. The coordinates have been entered into your nav computers," he said, turned around and climbed up the ladder.
Nomi climbed up the ladder, dropped into the cramped cockpit and was greeted by Fuzzy with a cheerful beep.
"I don't want to disappoint you, but we're not flying into battle this time, my friend," Nomi replied with a smile as she closed the canopy.
Then she let her fingers dance across the console and the X-wing launched.
Minutes later, all fighters were in orbit of D'Qar and heading for the jump point.
Once she had reached the jump point, the Jedi pushed the lever and the stars dissolved into the streaks of hyperspace. She closed her eyes and made herself as comfortable as possible for the journey.
During the flight, Fuzzy thought it would be a good idea to entertain her, but after a while she ordered the droid to be quiet.

Several hours passed before the Blue Squadron pilots reached their destination.
Nomi pulled the lever, and the streaks of hyperspace became a star-studded blackness as she re-entered real space. In front of her she saw the forest moon of Endor.
Seconds later, the fighters of Poe, Snap and Dash appeared next to her.
Now they had to wait for the transport with the urgently needed X-wings to show up.
Hopefully they wouldn't have to wait too long, because the longer they stayed here, the greater the risk of being discovered.
When the pilots looked out their cockpit windows, they could see the debris of the second Death Star still drifting in Endor's orbit.
The Jedi shivered at the thought of how many had sacrificed their lives to destroy the battle station, which, contrary to the information they had, had been fully operational.
However, they had finally succeeded, and with the destruction of the Death Star and the death of the Emperor who had been on board, they had heralded the beginning of the end of the Empire.
Nomi couldn't and wouldn't accept that the Empire would rise again with the First Order and that the galaxy would once again suffer under a new tyrannical system of rule.

Hour after hour passed, but there was still no sign of the freighter.
A nervous Poe Dameron looked at his chrono.
"I'm wondering where they are. They should have been here by now," the pilots heard their commander's voice over their headsets
"Maybe they got held up somewhere," Temmin Wexley offered by way of explanation.
"I don't think so, Snap," Dash's skeptical voice could be heard. "I'm afraid they're in trouble. There are enough pirates along the hyperspace routes."
"That would be a disaster for the Resistance, we are in desperate need of these new fighters," Poe replied.
At that moment, it flickered near them and a Baleen-class freighter, accompanied by two Z-95 headhunters, re-entered real space. Nomi looked at the fighters with astonishment and was amazed that these old models were still in use.
"Which museum did you get them from?" She asked, but got no answer.
"Good to see you, Blues, here's the Lucky Girl with the announced goods."
Poe breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the freighter pilot's call over comm.
Nomi furrowed her brow. That voice. Could it really be?
"Tarik? Is that you? What are you doing here?"
In response, she could hear his chirping laughter before he spoke.
"Just diplomatic receptions, political intrigues and this eternal bickering in the New Republic Senate, that's just not for me anymore. I thought it would be a good idea to support the Resistance as a pilot. Don't worry, my successor will provide material for you," he paused for a moment. "Yellow 1, Yellow 2 - from now on, my friends will be my escort."
The Jedi couldn't help but laugh. She would have expected anything but this. It always seemed as if her old friend had had enough of fighting. But she was happy to be wrong about that.
After confirming Tarik's order the two Z-95 Headhunters peeled off and shortly afterwards jumped into hyperspace to fly home.
"Welcome to the Resistance, Ambassador Tarik," the remaining pilots heard Dameron's voice a short time later.
Tarik laughed again when his former title was mentioned.
"From now on, I'm just Tarik, Commander.""You don't need to call me by my official title, Tarik. None of the pilots do. But now we should bring your cargo home.""I agree with you, Poe," replied the former ambassador, already feeling at home.

A few minutes later, they had jumped into hyperspace, and all that could be seen in Endor's orbit was the wreckage of a long-ago battle. There was nothing to indicate that the Resistance pilots were here to take on valuable cargo and, to their surprise, welcome a new recruit to their ranks.