REMEMBRANCE….
Han Solo and his co-pilot/friend Chewbacca, their arms filled with boxes, made their way through the entrance doorway of the MILLENNIUM FALCON. The corner of Chewbacca's box caught on a length of wiring at the wall and pulled it out; the wire snaking and looping out onto the floor.….He gave a short growl and Han looked back. "Don't worry about it Chewie, I'll tape it back. You take these to the supply room, un-box and stow them where they belong.. Han put his boxes down on the floor. Chewbacca gave an agreeing woof. "I'll find some laser tape and secure that wiring before one of us trips over it and breaks a leg."
Chewbacca loped off toward the supply hold with his arm load and Han began rummaging around a 'junk' cubby-hold in the side of the ship. Searching around, a few things dropped to the floor, nudged by his elbow; a claw hammer, a few platinum nails, a roll of insulation padding; "Where's that laser tape." He muttered to himself, rummaging further back in the area…by feeling, he grabbed a small cylinder.. "There it is." With a last pull, he freed what he was looking for ,…and small metal box fell, the lid flinging open and five shiny objects rolled from it onto the floor.
The unexpected noise caused Han to look down…..and see the five objects scattered on the floor. A frown wrinkled his brow.. then recognition dawned in his eyes.
He knelt down on one knee, reaching for one of the pieces.. "My medals." He said to himself as he picked up one…a copper, crescent shape, the attached red and yellow ribbon faded with age. "My Survival Medal." He smiled to himself at the thought of how he'd earned that medal at the Military Academy…
The memory began to run through his mind…
'He gave a chuckle. If Luke thought Hoth was cold he should have been on that ice planet with me….that ice was so thick and hard you could build a fire on it and not melt through the ice…bet Luke never ate any ice rhabbiat. The desert was no better.. sand everywhere, seeping into all my equipment, blowing so hard you couldn't see.. Luke should have felt the heat on that tri-sun piece of real estate…and the swamp, so dense and humid, it was like breathing water. But, I made it, two full solar days at each place.'
He placed the medal in the box and reached for the next one…a Bronze Star…for bravery…'
The orange and brown ribbon attached also faded by age. 'If the Commander only knew how really scared I was…cleaning out those two enemy bunkers; sometime fool-hearty-ness can be mistaken for bravery.
He gave a short laugh…he still was, even at his age now, pulling off some of those fool-hearty pranks. He dropped the dulled-by-time star in the box.
Picking up the third one, a platinum shield for Marksmanship..its blue and silver attached ribbon almost the same shade of color now. 'Hope I've kept myself as quick now as I was back then.' He smiled remembering the first time he'd shot a blaster… he was knocked flat on his behind….. and took a lot of good natured ribbing over that. He began to roll over in his mind the sharp shooting exercises that won him the medal…4 targets placed north, south, east and west, with him in the middle of them, and had to fire into the dead center of each target, turning quickly in each direction for 3 revolutions…' Han smiled….he did it , not missing a target, in 5 marked seconds flat! Just like the Kessel Run, he wondered if anyone had beaten that record in these past years at the Academy. After hefting the medal in his hand, he dropped it into the box.
His Silver Wings…he picked up the entwined wings…it's silver and gold ribbon moisture marked. He nodded his head in remembrance.. what acrobatic, defensive, evading and diversionary moves he had made in that small, one man Midge Fighter. A smile spread over his face as he remember the Commander had stuck him with the pin as he placed it on his military jacket. The Silver Wings joined the others in the metal box.
The largest, most decorative medal remained…the MARK OF EXCELLENCE…the purple ribbon, now faded by time into a deeper shade. It was half the size of the palm of his hand. Only three others had been
honored with that medal in the Corellian Military Academy. " I was so nervous that day. Just a kid of
twenty-three solar revolutions.. all the Military brass at the ceremony, the recruits, the other soldiers…
Han gave a smile…his Father and Mother looking on, she had tears in her eyes, he could see the pride on their faces…even his older brother and younger brother and sister was there. "I'm going to be just like you." His younger brother had told him after the ceremony. He'd never shaken so many hands in his life or received so many congratulatory slaps on the back. The Commander even made a special toast.
Then…..just two short galactic weeks later….betrayal…..Han shook his head at the memory…..how could that have happened. It was a set up…he knew it when he handed the papers over to the two soldiers and they handed him currency…caught red-handed. They wouldn't give him a chance to explain…and he
glimpsed the Commander, hiding, watching from behind a tree…just like a coward!
But…Han shook his head to clear the memories…he'd think about that another time.
Those medals….they meant nothing now…how could a 'traitor' be honored on his home planet. He had prized those medals…proud of the service and accomplishments he'd done for himself and his world. They shined in mockery. Then the trial. He remembered the slumped in shame shoulders of his father; his mother wouldn't even look at him. His brothers and sister no where to be seen. And Arianna…he'd lost her forever. He had to run…escape, helped by Chewbacca…and they'd been on the run ever since.
Would he ever be able to go back to Corell…to see his family….to straighten things out…..He dumped the MEDAL OF EXCELLENCE into the box.
Chewbacca woofed rounding to the hatchway; he saw Han hadn't yet taped up the pulled wire. 'What are you doing?' The Wookiee had asked him…
"Just cleaning up the trash, Chewie….just cleaning up the trash."