The Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 88 - The Confrontation

After deactivating his lightsaber, Ulic Bel-Baal approached his daughter ignoring Dash who was standing next to Nomi. Standing in front of her, he removed the hood and took off his helmet.
Nomi had expected to see a disfigured face. Instead, she found herself staring into the most attractive face she had ever seen on a man. Ulic Bel-Baal's features were regular, with high cheekbones, while his lips spoke of a certain hardness and cruelty. His eyes were a brilliant green, very similar to the color of her eyes. She couldn't deny that Bel-Baal was her biological father, even though his hair was black and streaked with gray. Now she began to understand why her mother fell in love with this man back then. By her calculations, Ulic Bel-Baal must have been almost 65 standard years old, but he looked like he was only 50.

The Dark Jedi motioned to the stormtroopers and they retreated into the fortress.
Now Nomi and her husband were alone with the man who was holding their children hostage.
Ulic looked his daughter over from head to toe before finally speaking to her.
"Welcome, daughter. Finally, what belongs together is coming together," he began, still ignoring Dash. "I'm going to show you things you can't even begin to imagine. You will become a powerful Dark Jedi, my child. Together we will rebuild the Empire and rule it as father and daughter, and your children will follow us on the throne. I will lead the galaxy to glory times with you."
Nomi shook her head.
"No, I'll never join the dark side and I'll never join you."
She then used Jedi mind control as she had learned from Luke.
"You will give my children back and let me and my husband go."
But Bel-Baal was completely unperturbed and laughed.
"Nice try, daughter, but you're no match for me with your ill-trained skills."
Suddenly, Nomi saw her children standing at one of the fortress' windows. Longingly they stretched out their arms and called her in the Force.
"Mama!"
The sight gave Nomi even more willpower.
"Give me back my children," she said with ice in her voice.
"Join me and you will get your children back," countered Ulic Bel-Baal in a calm voice.

Dash had been holding back all along, but now his patience was running out. He drew his blaster and fired at the Dark Jedi. But Ulic deflected the blaster shot with his hands and snatched the weapon from Rendar with the Force.
The former mercenary was now defenseless, but that wasn't enough for Nomi's father. He reached out for Dash and out of his fingertips came pure destructive energy of the dark side. The Force lightning struck Nomi's husband squarely in the middle of the chest and lashed out from there all over his body. Dash fell to his knees, screaming. Bel-Baal continued his attack. Rendar doubled over in pain and reached out to his wife for help.
"Nomi, please help me or I'll die," he said almost inaudibly.
"Stop it!" The young woman yelled at her father.
But the Dark Jedi didn't listen and continued his attack without mercy.
"Nomi!" One last agonized yelp, and then Dash lost consciousness.

Nomi looked from her unconscious husband to the man who was her father.
"Why?"
Her lips were trembling and she was struggling not to lose her composure completely. Luke had warned her, but now it was too late and there was no turning back.
Instead of answering, he held out his hand.
"Come to me, daughter. Your place is by my side. As you have seen, there is no point in resisting."
He pointed to Dash, who was lying motionless on the floor.
"This weakling who is your husband, can't help you. He's not a Jedi and will die just like you, if you don't join me. I gave you your life and I can take it from you, my child."
Nomi felt that Dash was still alive. But she knew that he wouldn't survive without help. His breathing was labored. She ignored Bel-Baal and tried to use the Force to enter her husband's mind to bring him relief.
"Dash, can you hear me? Keep calm and try to breathe as deeply as possible. The pain will subside. Everything will be fine, darling."
A little later she noticed that Dash's breathing had normalized a bit.
"Very impressive, but in vain. You can't save him from death. You only delayed the inevitable."
Her father looked at her with cold eyes and the Jedi realized that there was nothing left of the man her mother loved then.
Nomi tried to fight the growing anger inside her with a Jedi relaxation technique.
"Yes this is good. I feel your anger and your hatred, daughter. Take your Jedi weapon and attack me."
Finally Nomi had herself under control again. She looked at Bel-Baal and decided not to attack him. If he wanted to fight her, he had to make the first move. She sent calming thoughts to her children and to her husband through the Force.
Then she turned to the man who was the opposite of a loving father.
"I tell you again, Bel-Baal. I'll never join the dark side, I would rather die."
Hearing this, the Dark Jedi glared at her hatefully.
"As you wish."
At the same moment he activated his lightsaber and with a hiss the green blade appeared. Seconds later he attacked his daughter.
Nomi activated her own lightsaber and blocked the slash aimed at her neck. As their blades clashed, sparks flew and the air crackled with electrical discharges. Strike after thrust, feint after feint followed in rapid succession.
They fought fiercely against each other, but neither managed to gain the upper hand.
Bel-Baal was physically stronger than Nomi, but she still managed to defend herself against him.
Suddenly she wasn't just exposed to his lightsaber attacks as he rained down countless small stones on her.
She tried to fend them off. But her focus on lightsaber combat faltered as a result. Her opponent managed to knock the weapon out of her hand. It immediately shut down and fell to the ground.
Nomi held out her right hand and reclaimed her lightsaber with the Force and activated it seconds later. It was just in time, otherwise Bel-Baal's blow would have beheaded her.
The Dark Jedi cursed and intensified his lightsaber and stone attacks.
Nomi had already suffered countless small injuries from the stones, which hurt terribly when she suddenly heard Corran's voice in her head.
"Help, Mama."
Suddenly, the stones were deflected by invisible hands and the young woman was able to concentrate fully on the fight again.
Ulic snarled, driving his daughter back with rapid blows. They inexorably approached the edge of the landing platform and the yawning abyss.
The Jedi tried desperately to escape the mortal danger.
With a mighty leap she jumped over her attacker and stopped behind him. Bel-Baal turned. Nomi stabbed forward with her lightsaber and the Dark Jedi tried to deflect the thrust, but it was in vain. The red blade pierced his chest.

Breathing heavily, Nomi deactivated her lightsaber and took a quick look at the body on the ground. She was sure that she had fulfilled her destiny and killed her father.
But there was no time for regret or remorse. She had to act quickly now.
After making sure Dash was still alive, she invaded the fortress after influencing the minds of the stormtroopers stationed there.
The hallway was dimly lit, but she followed the force presence of her children and found the room where they were locked. Nomi made short work of the door lock and the door hissed open. The triplets came running towards her.
"Mama, home?" Dash Jr. asked, looking up to his mother.
"Yes, we're going home now," Nomi replied before heading to the crib where she picked up Tasherit.
Together they went to the landing platform and into the Outrider.
After securing her children for departure, Nomi walked back onto the landing platform and over to Dash, ignoring Bel-Baal, who lay motionless on the ground.
Using the Force, she levitated her husband into the freighter and slowly lowered him onto his cot. Then she went into the cockpit, did the pre-flight check and started the engines. The Outrider slowly ascended into Algarian's orbit. As the YT-2400 exited the planet's gravitational shadow, it made the leap into hyperspace.

The Jedi engaged the autopilot and went aft to tend to her husband. She used the Force to treat his injuries sustained from the negative energies of the dark side. Nomi touched every single vessel, every single fiber with the Force. The injured organs began to heal under her touch and she smiled. She was certain that, contrary to Bel-Baal's prediction, her husband would survive.