The New Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 44 - First Order Attack

In the morning, Nomi and Dash prepared everything for the flight to Takodana.
"Leia will be happy that there's finally a lead on her brother," the Jedi said as she zipped up her coverall.
"Do you think that was the reason why we were supposed to take the data storage device to Lor San Tekka?" Dash asked before continuing without waiting for his wife's answer. "Poor guy, he didn't deserve to die like that."
"Who knows, and I hope that one day the First Order will have to pay for its crimes," Nomi replied, tucking her helmet under her arm.
Her husband nodded and opened the door.
"We should go. I'm sure they're already waiting for us."
"You could be right about that," said his wife, walking past him and leaving the quarters.
Dash closed the door and followed her.

When they arrived at the landing pad, the other Blue Squadron pilots were already there. General Organa nodded to them before boarding the transporter in which she would make the journey to Takodana.
Poe Dameron leaned casually against his X-wing as usual, clearing his throat to get the attention of his pilots.
As all eyes were on him, he began to speak.
"This time we have a rather simple task ahead of us, Blues. We will escort the general to Takodana and back. I don't anticipate any problems, but you never know. The coordinates are already programmed into your nav computers. Any more questions?"
When no one said anything, the commander nodded.
"I don't think we should keep the general waiting any longer. Man your fighters."
Then he turned around, climbed up the ladder and into the cockpit. After closing the canopy, he started the engines and waited for the other pilots to get into their fighters as well.
A short time later, they ascended one by one into D'Qar's orbit and followed the transport with General Organa on board to the jump point.
When the command was given, they made the jump into hyperspace.

It was a long, uneventful flight, but when the Blue Squadron X-wings and the transporter they were escorting had almost reached Takodana, Nomi suddenly got a throbbing headache. At the same time, she heard the outcry of thousands of voices that suddenly fell silent. She immediately realized that something terrible must have happened.
The Jedi didn't want to worry the others, so she spoke to her sons in the Force.
"Have you sensed that just now?"
It took a while before Corran was the first to respond to her question and she could clearly sense how shocked the youngest of the triplets was.
"Yes, Mama... Many people died in one blow."
"I felt it too," came Dash Jr.'s reply. "But that's impossible."
"It was as if a cold hand was touching me," Biggs answered finally.
Nomi shivered at the thought that the First Order could be responsible for what they had just sensed.
But there was no time to think about it, because the signal sounded, indicating that they had reached their destination. She pulled the lever and the eerie light of hyperspace changed to the star-dotted darkness of real space.
Ahead of them, they saw Takodana. But it wasn't just the planet they saw. There were also First Order TIEs and troop transports approaching the planet.
"It reeks of trouble, guys," the pilots heard Poe's voice over the comm. "We're heading for Maz Kanata's castle. Stay under their scanners as we approach. But if they spot us, fire at will. In that case, we should show the First Order that the Resistance is not to be trifled with."
The pilots of Blue Squadron acknowledged their commander's order and approached the planet out of range of the enemy scanners, leaving the transporter with General Organa on board at a safe distance.

As the X-wings entered the atmosphere, the pilots saw below them the large lake on which Maz Kanata's castle stood. The fighters were almost touching the surface of the water, and the spray was splashing as they flew towards the castle at high speed. TIEs circled around the castle, using their laser cannons to destroy the building, which had stood there for thousands of years, piece by piece.
"We're going in, Blues," Poe said, keeping a close eye on the surroundings.
On their approach, they saw that ground troops had already been deployed.
"Blue 10, 11 and 12, attack the ground troops," Dameron ordered and took on the first enemy fighter.
"Copy that, Black Leader," confirmed the pilots almost in unison.
Corran, Dash and Nomi, for they were the three pilots, headed for a wall behind which several stormtroopers were standing. When they came within range, they fired. The wall literally exploded, taking the stormtroopers behind it to their deaths.
Immediately afterwards, the Resistance pilots pulled up their fighters and fired on more stormtroopers. They chose their targets carefully and avoided causing any more damage to the castle itself.
While she was taking out the ground troops, Nomi was surprised to see Han Solo and Chewbacca fighting the enemy. She allowed herself a smile, knowing that there would be a reunion between Leia and her husband after the battle.

Poe and the other Blue Squadron pilots took on the TIEs circling the castle. When Dash had killed another trooper with his laser cannons, he looked up at the sky for a moment.
There, he saw Poe's black X-wing performing daring maneuvers, shooting down several TIEs. The former mercenary grinned, for these were the maneuvers he had taught the young commander.
It had been a fierce battle, but in the end, countless dead stormtroopers and downed TIEs lay in the ruins of the castle. From a distance, they saw a black shuttle, followed by the surviving First Order fighters, take off and quickly ascend into the atmosphere of Takodana.
"Let them go," Nomi heard Poe's voice. "I want them to report that the Resistance is a force to be reckoned with."
Then there was silence for a moment as Dameron apparently received further orders.
"We need to secure a landing zone for General Organa's transport, which is on its way here."
Not long after, Nomi saw the transporter land near Han and Chewbacca. The hatch opened and Leia Organa stepped out. She hugged the Wookiee warmly, but kept her distance from her husband. The Jedi sighed when she saw this. Apparently the rift between the two went deeper than she had thought.
The sound of Poe's voice tore her from her thoughts.
"We have BB-8 and therefore also the map."
The joy of soon being reunited with his beloved astromech was clearly audible.
"He will make the return journey to base on board the transporter."

It didn't take long for the transporter to take off. The Blue Squadron X-wings joined in and a short time later they all jumped into hyperspace.