The New Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 48 - The complete Map

Nomi and her family had just landed their X-wings when they saw the Millennium Falcon land. The Jedi jumped out of her fighter when she saw Chewbacca leaving the YT-1300 with an unconscious Finn.
The medics, who had been informed beforehand, immediately took care of the man.
Dash hugged his wife and watched with relief as his children jumped out of their fighters. It was a victory for the Resistance, but it was a bittersweet victory. They had lost comrades during the battle.

Nomi kept an eye out for Han, but instead of him, a young girl she didn't know stepped out of the Corellian's beloved ship.
Leia stood on the landing pad and the Jedi sensed sadness in her. Something terrible must have happened. The stranger and Leia moved towards each other. Then the general took the girl's face in her hands. Shortly afterwards, Leia embraced the young girl and Nomi saw tears in both their eyes. Slowly, it dawned on the Jedi what had happened. Han, Leia's husband, must have died. Was this the darkness she had sensed over Starkiller Base?

As the Jedi entered the base command center with Dash, they saw Chewie sitting in a corner. The Wookiee looked shaken. But there was no time to ask any questions. R2-D2, who had been standing silent in a corner of the command center since Luke's disappearance, was suddenly awake.
Along with Leia, Poe, C-3PO, BB-8, the young girl and a handful of other Resistance officers, Nomi stood there as R2 projected a hologram into the air.
BB-8 began beeping and Poe turned to him.
"Yeah, all right, buddy, hold on."
The commander ran over and retrieved the ancient data storage device that Lor San Tekka had given him from a base computer. He inserted it into BB-8, who then projected the map. Poe's astromech scaled the map down. Then the two droids moved slightly and the holograms merged. BB-8's part of the map fitted perfectly into R2-D2's.
Everyone looked at the complete map in amazement.
"Luke," whispered Leia, placing her hand over her heart.
Suddenly there were cheers and embraces throughout the command center.

In the middle of the night, there was a knock at the door of Nomi and Dash's quarters.
Nomi got out of bed and put on a robe, while Dash didn't wake up. When she opened the door, Leia was standing there. There were traces of tears on her face.
"May I come in?"
Nomi nodded and let her in. The Jedi could still feel the grief and sorrow in her old friend.
"What happened, Leia?"
The general sighed and sat down at the table.
"Han is dead, Nomi. I felt it when he died, and Rey told me how he died."
The Jedi raised an eyebrow.
"Rey?"
Leia looked at her.
"Rey is the girl who came to base with Chewie and the wounded Finn. All three of them had witnessed Kylo Ren murder Han."
When she heard that, Nomi turned pale.
"Kylo Ren? Ben murdered his own father?"
Her old friend nodded.
"They were talking and suddenly our son activated his lightsaber. He stabbed Han twice right in the chest."
This was too much for Leia, she could no longer hold back her tears.
"It's my fault, Nomi. I asked Han to bring our son back. I thought he, as his father, would succeed where others have failed."
Nomi took her friend's hand.
"You couldn't have known what would happen, Leia. If it comes to guilt, then I'm guilty too. I told you that everything would be fine when your son came back to you. That's why you asked Han to bring him back."
Leia shook her head.
"No, it was my decision to ask Han. It was my decision to send him to his death, Nomi."
"This is crazy, Leia. Don't do this to yourself. You're not guilty." Nomi looked Leia straight in the eye. "It wasn't your fault."
"Maybe you're right. With the map complete, we finally have a chance to find my brother. Rey will be traveling together with Chewie."
The Jedi looked at her in astonishment.
"Rey? Why her?"
The general flashed a weak smile.
"Because she has Luke's lightsaber and because she's Force-sensitive, Nomi. Didn't you sense it?"
The Jedi shook her head.
"It could be that I was too distracted."
Leia stood up.
"I hope the map really does show my brother's hiding place. It was good to talk to you. But it's getting late and we should all try to get some sleep."
The general headed for the door.
"I'll see you tomorrow at the landing pad."
Nomi nodded before Leia closed the door.
When she was alone again, the Jedi went back to the bed, dropped the robe and slid under the covers. Dash murmured to himself and took her in his arms, half asleep.

The next morning, Nomi went to the landing pad and found that Leia and Rey were already there.
"Rey," Nomi heard Leia call as the young girl was about to board the YT-1300.
Rey turned around.
"May the Force be with you," Leia said, looking at her kindly.
The girl smiled at the general and entered the Falcon. A short time later, the freighter ascended and the journey began.