Aftermath
As the Millennium Falcon sped through hyperspace towards the Rebels' rendezvous point, Malia helped Luke back into bed. "There we go." she said. "Now you rest, Luke. I'm sure they can fix ya up when we're home."
"Yeah, thanks, 'Lia." Luke acknowledged as he settled back into bed. His exhaustion was catching up on him now and he was fighting to keep his eyes open.
"Um, Luke, I overheard ya back there, talking to Ben." Malia ventured. "What is it? What didn't Ben tell you?"
"Vader told me he was my father." Luke replied
"What?!" Malia stared. "No! H-he can't be! He was lying, he has to be!"
Luke shook his head. "No. He was tellin' the truth. I could sense it."
"But... but your father is Anakin Skywalker." Malia pointed out. "How can Vader be your father?"
"I don't know." Luke sighed wearily
Malia suddenly remembered her mother and father's words the night before everything changed for the Lars family.
~o0o~
"Luke's just not a farmer, Owen." Beru said wisely. "He has too much of his father in him."
"That's what I'm afraid of." Owen said darkly.
~o0o~
Malia shivered, wandering if maybe her parents knew about Vader's secret all along. "No." she said out loud. "I refuse to believe that your father is that monster! Vader doesn't have an honest bone in his body. Heck, I don't think he has any bones left in his body period! Luke, you are nothing like Vader. You're a good person, just like Anakin Skywalker, your real father."
"Thanks, 'Lia." Luke smiled weakly, then he noticed the bruises on his cousin's throat. "What happened?" he asked, gesturing with his right stump to the bruises.
"Oh, long story." Malia replied, attempting to cover the bruises with the collar of her jacket. "Don't worry, I'll survive. It's you that we're worried about. Now you just rest, Luke. I'll wake ya when we're home."
"Yeah." Luke nodded and closed his eyes, ready to get some sleep.
Malia stayed until he was sound asleep then she slipped out into the main passenger compartment, where she found Leia and the droids waiting for her. "How is he?" Leia asked her
"Sleeping." Malia replied
"Well, I've been in touch with command. There's a medical frigate waiting at the rendezvous." Leia said. "I'm sure they'll get him fixed up in no time."
"Thanks, Leia." Malia acknowledged, sitting down. "Oh, will I be glad to be home!"
"Me too." Leia agreed, sitting down next to her friend. "I just wish Han were here."
"Yeah, me too." Malia agreed, "We'll find him. Whatever it takes, we're gonna find him and rescue him."
~8~
The Falcon had soon arrived at the Rebels' rendezvous point near the Rischi Maze and docked with a Nebulon-B medical frigate, where Luke was soon receiving a mechanical hand to replace the one he'd lost in his duel with Vader. Malia, Leia and the droids accompanied him while Lando and Chewbacca were preparing to take the Falcon out to search for Han. "Luke, we're ready for take-off." Lando said over Luke's comlink.
"Good luck, Lando." Luke acknowledged
"When we find Jabba the Hutt and that bounty hunter, we'll contact you."
"We'll meet you at the rendezvous point on Tatooine." Luke replied
"Princess, we'll find Han. I promise." Lando vowed to Leia, who was standing near to Luke with her head down, Han's absence affecting her greatly.
"Chewie, we'll be wating for ya signal." Malia said into Luke's comlink. "Watch ya backs, you two."
"May the Force be with you." Luke added
Chewbacca growled a response that even managed to lift Leia's spirts. She then went over to join Threepio and Artoo by the window while a medical droid finishing grating synthetic flesh to Luke's new hand then it jabbed his fingers to test the pain receptors, which worked a treat. "There we go, good as new." Malia smiled as Luke flexed his new fingers, then she and Luke joined Leia and the droids by the window and they watched the Rebel ships flying by outside. Soon, they saw the Millennium Falcon detach from the frigate and fly off into space, it's mission: find Han Solo and rescue him from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt. Luke, Malia and Leia all watched the ship disappear into the vast infiniteness, all three weary from their experiences but their determination strong as ever and they were certainly not beaten yet.
Author's notes: And so we come to the end of The Empire Strikes Back, the undoubted best film of the Star Wars saga. A very short chapter I know, but this scene in the film was barely two minutes long so it's not surprising. I added an original moment where Malia learns about Vader's revelation. As we can see, she's in denial at this point, but she will have to accept the truth once Luke learns that it's all true in Return of the Jedi. So, I hope you all enjoyed this story and I hope to see you all for Return of the Jedi. My thanks to everyone who's favourited and followed this story.