High Heavens (Star Wars - Luke Skywalker)

XXIII - The Award Ceremony

By the time Mara's ship had touched the floor of the temple, a throng of excited rebels were rushing through the hangar to greet her. Joyful shouts filled the large space, and Mara's face broke into an uncontrollable smile as it finally began to sink in: they did it.

She all but fell to the ground as she scrambled down the ladder from her cockpit, dropping right into a crowd of delighted pilots, politicians, and soldiers; rebels who had fought for a day like this for many, many years. Dozens tried to shake her hand. Several more patted her on the back. Mara was almost overwhelmed by the amount of attention, but she didn't miss the second x-wing that glided into the hangar and landed on the other side of the hall.

The canopy lifted and Luke popped up from inside the cockpit, pulling off his helmet to look around, awe-struck, at the sea of people surrounding his fighter. Before he was even on the ground, Mara was already wiggling her way through the crowd towards him.

"Luke!" Her voice was uncontrollably excited. "Luke!"

The band of ecstatic aliens parted just enough for Mara to slip by. She ducked under the belly of Luke's ship, calling out his name once more. When he heard her voice, Luke spun around, wearing a smile equally as large as her own.

"Mara!" The joy and adrenaline in his voice couldn't be contained, and he ran to meet her.

They collided in a tight, messy embrace, floating on adrenaline, excitement, and relief all at the same time. Mara could hardly believe it. She felt like she must have been experiencing about every emotion possible, only able to express it in laughter and in the bone-crushing hug that she and Luke practically clung to each other within.

Luke pulled away first, his smile not faded. "We did it!" he shouted over the noise.

The sounds around them faded for a moment, and Mara felt a weight lifting from her shoulders. He was right. The Death Star was gone. They were safe, at least for the moment. She had avenged her friends on Scarif. They had won, for once, they had actually won. She could only give him a smile in return, knowing that the whirlwind of thoughts and feelings in her head would remain largely unspoken.

"We did it," she said back.

"Luke! Mara!"

The two turned, and Mara was met with the sight of Princess Leia pushing her way towards them. She came from the same direction as Mara had and then jumped into Luke's arms, the two of them swaying back and forth like they had known each other their whole lives. Then, Leia pulled away, and Mara was almost shocked by the force of the small girl as she wrapped Mara in her arms. They clung to each other for a few short moments, Mara feeling a new sense of camaraderie with her princess, when suddenly another familiar voice rose among the crowd:

"Hey! Hey!"

As soon as Mara had turned around once again, Han had picked her up in a hug, engulfing her in his frame. Peals of laughter left her, and she tilted her head up at him. He was wearing a wider smile than Mara could recall ever seeing on him before.

He leaned forward so his voice only carried between the two of them: "I knew you'd do it, kid."

Mara smirked back at him. "I know."

They shared another, much briefer hug, before Mara was forced to move out of the way as Luke practically slammed into the smuggler - or perhaps former smuggler, now.

"I knew you'd come back! I just knew it!"

"Well I wasn't gonna let you get all the credit and take all the reward!" Han teased, giving Luke a playful shove.