Rebel Celebration
Thanks to AZNMAGICMAN and godric777 for following and favouriting this story
The remaining Rebel fighters had soon landed back at the Rebel base. Almost before her X-wing had settled down on the ground, Malia was unbuckling her seatbelts. As soon as the cockpit canopy opened, she threw off her helmet, leapt out of her fighter and ran over to where Luke had landed nearby. As Luke climbed down from his own fighter, he was immediately lauded by ecstatic Rebels. Malia pushed her way through the crowd and hugged her cousin tightly. "You did it, Luke! You were amazing!" she told him
Leia made her way through the crowd. "Luke! Malia!" she called as she reached the two cousins.
"Hey! Luke laughed, and all three hugged
"That was amazing, Luke." Malia praised her cousin
"I used the Force." Luke shrugged modestly
"Hey, d'ya hear that, Fly Boy?" Malia called to Han, who was just running over to them, "Not so hokey now, eh?"
Han just laughed and slapped Luke on the back. "I knew you'd come back, I just knew it!" Luke laughed
"Yeah, thanks, Han." Malia added
"Well, I wasn't gonna let him get all the credit and take the reward." Han shrugged cockily
"Hey, I knew there was more to you than money!" Leia said to Han as she hugged him
It was then that Luke saw Artoo being unloaded from his X-wing. "Oh, no." he groaned, seeing that the little Astromech was badly scorched, with wires sticking out of places where they shouldn't.
"Ooh!" Malia grimaced
"Oh, my! Artoo, can you hear me?" Threepio fussed, "Say something!" But the charred Artoo was completely inactive. "You can repair him?" Threepio asked the technicians anxiously
"We'll get to work on him right away." Scotti Tracee assured him
"You MUST repair him!" Threepio fussed, "Sir, if any of my circuits or gears will help, I'll gladly donate them."
"He'll be alright." Luke reassured him
"Yeah, I'm sure these guys know what they're doing." Malia added, "C'mon. I dunno about any of you, but I need a drink!"
"Now, that sounds like a good idea, Angel." Han said. And so Luke, Malia, Han, Chewbacca and Leia all left the hangar for a well-deserved drink.
~8~
Next day, Malia was stood in the quarters she'd been given, giving her new outfit the once over. She was now wearing a dark brown flight jacket, a black shirt, dark blue trousers tucked into dark brown knee-high boots and a holster on her right thigh, containing a blaster pistol she'd been issued with. She'd shared quarters with Evaan Verlaine, who was smartly dressed in a white tunic and black trousers, with a white cape over one shoulder. "There we go, you like one of us now." Evaan said to Malia, having loaned the farmgirl the clothes
"Yeah, thanks, Evaan." Malia acknowledged, then she turned her attention to her hair. "What d'ya think, bun or braid?"
"You should keep it down." Evaan advised, "It's a good look for ya. Anyway, c'mon! Let's go!"
And so Malia and Evaan left their quarters and made their way to the great temple, where Luke, Han and Chewbacca were waiting. Like his cousin, Luke had donned a change of clothes, now wearing a yellow flight jacket, a black shirt and dark brown trousers tucked into black knee-high boots, while Han was wearing the same clothes he always wore, but had gone to the effort of fastening his shirt all the way up. "Well, look at you, Angel." Han remarked, studying Malia's new look, "You clean up nice."
"Thanks." Malia said dryly, "Nice to see you're not dressing up."
Just then, Wedge joined the group, looking very dapper in a smart Corellian dress uniform. "Not too late, am I?" he asked
"Nah, you're just in time." Luke told him
Wedge then turned to Malia. "You look good, Malia." he told her
"Thanks, Wedge. You clean up well yourself." Malia smiled
Just then, the doors to the temple opened and the survivors of the Battle of Yavin made their way down the entrance steps. The entire personnel of the base were all smartly lined up neat rows as the group made their way past them. At the end of the aisle stood Leia, looking very much like a princess in an elegant white gown, accompanied by the Rebel's top brass. Threepio stood to one side, his gold plating sparkling.
As the group of pilots reached Leia, she turned to General Dodonna, who handed her a gold medal, which she then placed around Han's neck. Han responded by winking at the Princess, who just blushed. She then took another gold medal and placed it around Luke's neck. "I'm sure your father would be so proud of you." Malia whispered to her cousin, who just smiled bashfully, then he and Han bowed to Leia and stepped back.
Malia and Chewbacca then stepped forward, Malia's eye moving to where Threepio was standing. By his side, Malia saw a fully repaired Artoo, who beeped happily, his white & blue finish absolutely spotless. Malia gave a hearty smile, then turned to Leia, who placed a gold medal around her neck then did the same to Chewbacca, who gave a growl of thanks then he and Malia bowed to her and stepped back. "Owen and Beru would be so proud of you." Luke whispered to his cousin.
Wedge and Evaan then stepped forward and recieved their medals from Leia, before the entire group turned as one to face the assembled personnel, who all applauded the heroes who had all played their part in destroying the Empire's weapon of terror and restoring hope to the galaxy.
~8~
After the medal ceremony, a celebratory part was held in honour of the heroes of Yavin. Malia hadn't enjoyed herself as much in all her life as she danced with Wedge. Luke meanwhile sat against the bar watching his cousin in amusement, while Han tried to chat up Leia and Chewbacca was engaged in a conversation with some Rebel soldiers who spoke Wookie. As Luke watched the festivities, he remembered Obi-Wan's words, 'The Force will be with you, always.'
Author's notes: Well, here we are, the last chapter of this story. I know this is a short one, but the medal scene was a short scene anyway. Fans have often said that Chewie should've gotten a medal too, so I've remedied that here. I also gave Malia, Wedge and Evaan medals too, as all the survivors of the Battle of Yavin should've gotten medals. So, I hope you enjoyed this story and I'd like to thank everyone who's favourited and followed it. I plan to cover the whole of the original trilogy, so keep a look for The Empire Strikes Back, which I'll start work on soon. Until then, may the Force be with you all!
