Here we go guys, last chapter...

Chapter 6—Epilogue

Kasya took another sip of her drink and allowed the exuberant atmosphere to sink into her bones. She didn't want to think about how much her life had changed in only a few days; how she'd gone from an unassuming farm girl living on an outer rim planet to a Rebel Alliance conspirator on a planet she didn't even know existed. It was overwhelming and frankly she didn't want to think about. Thinking would lead to feeling and that was not something she looked forward to. She would feel tomorrow.

Tonight, she was celebrating.

"Oh great," Leia mumbled next to her.

Kasya turned to locate the source of her new friend's ire and discovered Captain Solo swaggering toward them. He clearly had been celebrating, if the slight stumble in his step and the goofy lopsided grin was any indication.

"Hey Squirt!" he yelled, throwing his arms around Kasya's upper body and lifting her off the floor in a giant hug.

Kasya went with it, allowing herself to be lifted off her feet for the second time that day, laughing as the room spun around her in a dizzying blur of color and sound. "Han…Han! Put me down."

"Sure thing, Squirt," he replied dropping her onto her feet.

"I told you to stop calling me that." Kasya attempted to look annoyed at the use of her new nickname, but could not stop the smile tugging at her lips. It used to annoy her that Captain Solo refused to call her by her name, but now she was starting to embrace it. Technically it was a term of endearment or as close to one as she would get from the head strong captain.

"You love it." His eyes fell on Leia watching the interaction in bemused silence. "And what about you, Your Worshipfulness?" Han extended his arms and took an unsteady step forward as if to pick the princess up, a childish amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"Don't even think about it, Captain," Leia warned. She stepped back half a step, maintaining a safe distance between herself and the inebriated Corellian before her.

Han dropped his arms and looked mildly offended. Kasya watched closely, hoping he was merely playing and wasn't about to disrupt the festivities with one of their already famous fights. Luckily the grimace slowly dissolved into a crooked grin. "You won't be able to hide your feelings forever, Sweetheart." Han leaned closer to Leia and pressed a quick peck to her cheek before sauntering off to join a group of pilots across the room.

Leia looked dumbfounded for a few seconds before wiping at her cheek and cursing under her breath. "Intolerable man!"

Kasya watched Han walk away then turned back to Leia. She noticed the glow of a blush retreating from the Princess's cheeks. It was faint but for Kasya it was more than enough.

"Oh I don't know," she said. "I like Han. He seems like a nice guy."

Leia's perfectly manicured eyebrows shot up. "Nice guy? He's a smuggler, a criminal, a...a scoundrel!"

"That doesn't mean he can't still be a nice guy," the younger woman argued. "After all he did come back and saved Luke—and really all of us."

Leia leveled her gaze at the younger woman. "He did it for the reward or at least for the glory it would afford him."

Kasya shook her head and chuckled. She may only be 15 years old but she knew when someone had feelings but was afraid to admit them. She'd been there before and recognized the signs in Leia. With a wicked smile she decided to put her rudimentary matchmaking skills to work with those two. They would make a cute couple…if they didn't kill each other.

"I don't think you give him enough credit," she argued. "If it weren't for him Luke would be dead…we all would."

Leia shook her head, dismissing the claim. "He came back because he knew he would be treated like a hero. He's here for the notoriety, nothing else. Don't delude yourself into thinking otherwise."

Kasya took a long sip of her drink, cringing at the strange taste of the punch that someone had whipped up for the celebration. "I'm just saying," she continued, "that I think Han is a decent guy. Not bad to look at either." She waited then, an innocent smile plastered on her face, for Leia's reaction.

She wasn't disappointed as a look of amusement came across the princess's face. "He's too old for you, Kasya," Leia laughed.

"But not too old for you," the younger woman countered.

A look that was a mixture of shock, disgust, and perhaps just a hint of contemplation crossed Leia's features before she was able to recover and slide the mask of her Sabaac face into place. "Me…and Han Solo? Ha! I would sooner be a Hutt's dancing girl."

Kasya didn't have a chance to respond before a group of older gentlemen engaged Leia in a discussion that was filled with far too much political jargon for Kasya to keep up. She gracefully bowed out of the conversation and scanned the room packed full of people looking for that one face she knew so well. Eventually she spotted him across the way surrounded by a group of his fellow pilots, his hands bouncing about as he weaved some story or another. She watched for a moment, noting how freely the words came to him and how red his neck seemed to be turning. His eyes also seemed to have a glassy look to them.

Approaching cautiously, Kasya sidled up next to Luke and waited to see how long it would take him to notice her presence. Nearly two minutes ticked by before Luke recognized her presence.

"Kasy!" he threw his arms around her and once against Kasya was lifted off the ground. Luke's balance was slightly off and he staggered under their combined weight. Thankfully the group of pilots that surrounded him was able to right their fearless leader and make sure neither he nor the young woman in his arms hit the floor.

"How you doin there, Luke?" Kasya asked. She could smell the pungent stench of alcohol from him and smiled. She'd never seen her cousin drunk before, though she'd heard it was an amusing sight. Hopefully tonight she would get to witness it firsthand.

"M 'okay," he slurred. "Have you met everyone?" He didn't bother waiting for her answer and began introducing the assembled crowd. "This is Wedge and Zev and Dack and Wes. They flew with me today when we blew up the Death Star!" He raised the cup in his hand in a toast then took a large gulp. The rest of the pilots followed suit.

"That was all Luke's doing," Wedge offered. "We just flew back up. Where'd a farmboy like you learn to fly like that?"

"It was nothing," he answered.

Kasya laughed. "Oh come on, Wormie. Don't be so modest."

A cacophony of laughter erupted from the group. "Wormie?" Wes jeered. "Oh that's perfect!"

"Where did that nickname come from?" someone else asked.

Luke's gaze turned stony and focused on his cousin. "You're dead." There was an attempt at seriousness in his voice, but the hiccup that came at the end of the sentiment greatly diminished any chance there was that Kasya would take him seriously.

She smiled softly and patted his cheek. "Sorry Wormie." Before he could even formulate a comeback, Kasya spun and left the group eager to mingle with some of her new compatriots.

Just over an hour later, a hesitant hand tapped Kasya on the shoulder. She turned to find one of the pilots she had been introduced to earlier holding up a very drunk Luke Skywalker.

"I think he's ready for bed," he said.

Kasya took in the picture before her and nodded slowly. Luke was leaning heavily against his friend, who was struggling to stay upright beneath the additional weight. "Yeah I think so." She turned back around and bid a quick good night to the group of people she was talking to. "Okay, let's go." She looped her arm around her cousin's waist and tried to help the young pilot carry his weight. "You okay there, hero?"

"Kasy?" Luke slurred. His head bobbed from side to side as he took in the people on either side of him. "When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago," she lied.

"Oh…did you hear that I blew up the Death Star? Pretty wizard huh?"

Kasya rolled her hazel eyes; she would never understand her cousin's obsession with the word 'wizard.' He used it every chance he got, sometimes not even in the right context. At first it was annoying but as time progressed, Kasya came to look at it as a weird little quirk her cousin had. Still, others tended to be confused by it.

"It was very wizard."

Luke's head lolled to the side for a moment then shot back up. "Where are we going now?"

"You're going to bed."

"But I don'wanna go to bed!" Luke whined, his words slurring together.

"Everyone is going to bed though," Dack chimed in.

"They are?"

"Yep. The party's over, Luke. Everyone is going to bed."

Luke seemed to consider this for a few moments before nodded slowly. "Okay, let's go to bed then."

'Victory,' Kasya mused, readjusting her shoulders to better hold her cousin's weight. They were essentially dragging Luke at this point, the trio staggering down one hallway after the next.

"You're Dack, right?"

The young man nodded. "Yep. Kasya, wasn't it?"

"Correct." They turned a corner balancing Luke's weight between them. "Which room is yours?"

Kasya pointed to a door nearly halfway down the hallway. Between the two of them, they managed to steer Luke the rest of the way and even wrestle him into bed. After several failed attempts at removing his boots, Kasya just decided to let him sleep fully clothed. He probably wouldn't be comfortable, but she highly doubted that such trivial concerns would matter to his alcohol-riddled brain. Hopefully he would be out cold until morning or at least the next few hours.

"Are you headed back to the party?" Dack asked.

Kasya glanced down the hallway before shaking her head. "Nah, I think I'm just gonna take a walk. It's getting a little too chaotic in there if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, the Alliance sure knows how to celebrate," he chuckled. "Would you mind if I joined you for a bit?"

Her initial reaction was to politely decline the offer—she wanted some time to herself, time to clear her head a bit—but after a little consideration she agreed. Dack seemed like a nice guy and he was pretty cute. What harm could it do?

They wandered the twisting hallways of the Massassi temple for hours talking about everything and nothing. Kasya even mentioned—albeit briefly—the circumstances that had brought her and her cousin to the Rebellion. She ghosted over the details of her parents' murders, the wounds still far too fresh to delve into greater detail, and regaled Dack with the harrowing story of their escape from the Death Star. Eventually the pair found themselves back to the hallway in which their journey had begun.

"I guess I should probably turn in," Kasya said, bringing her hand to her mouth to cover a yawn that just could not be held at bay.

Dack looked down at his wrist chrono before shrugging. "I never did set this thing to local time—whatever that is here. But Rebellion time says it's just after 0300."

'3:00 in the morning? No wonder I'm so exhausted.' "I'm about ready to fall asleep standing up," she laughed.

"And tomorrow will be a busy day," Dack added. "I'm sure they'll probably start the evacuation tomorrow. Maybe the following day if we're lucky."

"Evacuation? We're leaving?" Truthfully Kasya hadn't really thought about the future, though it made sense that the Alliance would want to leave this planet as soon as possible. Once the Death Star was destroyed the Empire would be putting forth even more effort to hunt them down and destroy every last person associated with the Rebels.

"Yeah we change bases every few months or so. Gotta keep the Empire on their toes." He remembered how uprooted he had felt when he joined the Rebellion. Military life wasn't for everyone given the constant moving and threats to your life. It could take a toll on anyone let alone someone so young. Reaching out, Dack laid a comforting hand on Kasya's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

She nodded but didn't say anything. They walked the last few meters in silence, the events of the day and evening catching up with both of them. Their limbs were heavy with fatigue, their spirits—which had soared only hours before with their victory—were beginning to droop with the prospect of challenges to come.

Outside her door, Kasya paused awkwardly and looked at Dack. "Well…thanks for walking with me tonight."

He flashed a shy smile. "No problem. If you need anything…well you know how to find me. Don't hesitate to comm."

"Thanks, I will." She gave him a small smile and palmed the door open, stepping inside.

Inside her quarters, Kasya leaned back against the heavy door and let it hold her up. She finally allowed herself to think about the last few days and felt the weight of such dramatic changes fall upon her. She'd gone from being a moisture farmer's daughter living on a planet no one had heard of to a member of the Rebel Alliance, hoping from planet to planet to avoid the almost certain death at the hands of the Empire. And all this in only a few days' time.

She moved silently around the room, stripping off her jacket and laying it over the bottom of her cot. Her shoes followed before she curled up on her side and pulled the small blanket over her body. Her eyes fell on Luke sprawled out on his own cot a few feet away, right arm dangling nearly to the floor, hair pointing in every which direction. A small smile crept onto Kasya's face. As long as she had her family—whether that meant her true family or the family she was slowly building for herself—she would be just fine.

And there you have it. I do plan on expanding this story to (hopefully) encompass all of the OT. When that will happen is yet to be determined because remember...always in motion, the future is (too cheesy?).

Anyway, thanks to all those who read this and an extra special thanks to those of you who reviewed!