-=Commanding Officer’s Quarters, Mon Calamari Cruiser Windstorm, 44:7:5:17:50=-

Brigadier General Eric Reagan sat in his quarters behind his desk. He was mulling over a datapad in front of him, which detailed the remarks he was going to make at the End of Tour Awards Ceremony. But in the back of his mind, he was also thinking about everything the Group had been through during their tour of duty…what they had accomplished, and the losses they had experienced. But regardless of the outcomes of those various missions, the Patriots had emerged victorious each time. Almost on cue, he was startled by a sound; the sound of the buzzer outside the door of his quarters.

“Enter.”

The doors opened, and in walked Vice Admiral Joshua Hawkins. He had requested that Josh be present at this ceremony. His presence was symbolic, since he was the PSG Commanding Officer before Eric took over. Eric quickly rose from his chair upon noticing his presence, and snapped to attention.

“Stop that, sit down,” Josh said with a smile,

As Eric sat down, Josh took the seat on the other side of the desk. Eric then began to detail the ceremony to Josh.
After a short conversation, it was about time to go; Eric had told Seeks to expect him and his guest at 1800 hours. Eric rose from his chair, smoothing out his dress uniform. He then proceeded out the door of his quarters, and towards the nearest turbolift, with Josh in tow.


-=Main Banquet Hall, Mon Calamari Cruiser Windstorm, 44:7:5:18:00=-

The main banquet hall was filled with guests, dignitaries, and the members of the Patriot Starfighter Group. The pilots were clad in their dress uniforms, freshly starched and pressed, medals shining bright. Each pilot wore the colors of their respective squadrons, in the form of a sash draped over their dress uniforms. It wasn’t something you saw every day; normally these veteran pilots were clad in their flight suits, more times than not covered with the lubricants and oils emitted from their starfighters. They had been through a long tour of duty, which had its victories and its losses, and were very happy to be getting some R&R. The pilots conversed with one another, enjoying the camaraderie with their fellow pilots.

The PSG Second Officer, Colonel Gavin Starseeker, stood near the entry doors of the main hall, awaiting the arrival of the official party. He was clad in his dress uniform, like that of his fellow pilots. He stood in a rest position as he looked over those assembled, silently waiting. A ceremonial band was pre-positioned at the front of the room, just off of the head table, and they were currently playing a soft medley.
As if on cue perfectly, the banquet hall doors opened; Seeks quickly snapped to attention.

“Room TEN-HUT!”

The entire room all of a sudden came to a dead silence, and all in attendance stood up from their chairs, and assumed the position of attention. The band began to play “Ruffles and Flourishes” as Eric marched in, with Josh right behind him. They marched up a path, conveniently right through the center of the room, up to a table near the podium in the front of the room. Eric and Josh took their places behind their chairs.

“At ease,” Eric said.

Everyone took their seats, and Eric approached the podium, flicking on the switch for the microphone.

“Good evening honored guests, Admiral Hawkins, and fellow Patriots. Welcome aboard the Windstorm. Please take your seats, so that we may begin the formalities. Also, the bar will be closed until after the ceremony is over.”

The assembled began to take their seats, and several pilots muttered about Eric’s announcement. It was clear that they were eager to celebrate, but there would be plenty of time for that. Eric waited until everyone found their seats, and then he started again.

“Greetings to all, and welcome to the End of Tour Celebration and Awards Ceremony. We are here this evening to honor the members of the Patriot Starfighter Group, and the oldest fleet in the Rebel Squadrons.”

The crowd responded with applause, and Eric stopped until it subsided before continuing his speech.

“I am very pleased that so many of you could be here to gather with us this evening. In my address, I will try to keep the formalities to a minimum so that the real celebrating can begin.”

The crowd again responded with applause, and hoots and hollers from the assembled pilots.

“Upon completing our mission in the Minos Cluster, we were dispatched to the Greeop Sector to help restore order. It’s been a long journey, but unfortunately we experienced some losses along the way. Let us bow our heads in a moment of silence to honor those who gave their lives in service to the Patriot Starfighter Group and the Rebel Squadrons.”

Everyone bowed their heads, and the room was silent for a few seconds. Eric then resumed his speech.

“As you celebrate tonight, I ask one thing: Never forget that each of you has been a critical part of this fleet. You have done magnificent things; things that an ordinary person will never have the opportunity to do. I am very proud of what each and every one of you has accomplished, and you should be proud of yourselves as well. I salute you all; it has been an honor serving with you as your commanding officer, and I look forward to what we will accomplish in our next Tour of Duty. Thank you all.”

The close of Eric’s speech resulted in a standing ovation. Eric could feel a tear in his eye as he waited for the applause to subside again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please divert your attention to the main viewport.”

Eric spoke into a comm. link, and a formation of X-Wings flew by, marked with the colors of Green Squadron.

“It pains me to do this tonight, but we must retire another squadron. Those X-Wings out there represent the last mission that will ever be flown by Green Squadron. For those of you pilots in Green Squadron, you will now become a part of history. I would also like to thank Fleet Admiral Dave Trebonius-Astoris, our Fleet Commander, who has served as Green’s Commanding Officer for all this time. To all you Green pilots out there, I applaud you for your dedication to this division, and I look forward to seeing the great things you will do in your new squadrons.”

Eric took a breath, and was silent for a moment, paying his last respects to a historical squadron. He then took a breath and continued to speak.

“Ladies and gentlemen, without any further delay, we will start with the awards. I ask that you hold your applause until all of the names have been announced. Also, when I announce your name, please come forward and retrieve your medals.”

Eric waited for a moment to let that sink in, and then continued.

“The first award I will present this evening is the Dauntless Combat Citation. The following pilots have earned this award: Jairo Pantoja, David Vaughan, Ste T, Damon Lightwind, Dave Trebonious-Astoris, Gavin Phalon, Nixximus, Shane Long, Dalton Strader, Jacklyn Jenzer, Harley Quinn, Stalker, Mike "MacMan" McEwen, Steve Hawkins, Galic Mars, Ace Farlander, Hernan10, Mario El Atlante, shaolin, Hermann, Xtremegene, Rensal Darklighter, and Kane “Kid” Dev Redron.”

A line of pilots proceeded towards the stage, collected their awards, and returned to their seats.

“The next award I will present is the Gallant Combat Citation. The following pilots have earned this award: Gavin Starseeker, Anton "Ups" Nels, and Muzor.”

The three pilots proceeded to the stage, and collect their awards.

“This next award is one of a few coveted awards here among the Patriots. I will now present the Dantooine Key Citation to Tyrell “Spokes” Borran.”

Spokes comes forward to the stage, and returns to his seat.

“The next award is also a very prestigious award, and one of the most coveted, as well as the bragging rights that come with it. I am very proud to present the Tour Champion Award to Gavin Starseeker.”

Seeks comes forward to collect his award, and returns to his seat.

“The last award I will present tonight is the Dagger of Courage. I am proud to present this award to Damon Lightwind.”

Damon comes forward to collect his award, and returns to his seat.

After shaking each award recipient’s hand, presenting them with their medals, and saluting them, Eric continues.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I will now give out some well deserved promotions.”

“The first person I am going to recognize, you should all know fairly well. Max Cal, front and center!"

"Max, I don't think I ever got a chance to thank you for your past service as my Executive Officer. And I am glad to welcome you back to command in the PSG as the new CO of Blue Squadron. Thank you for your past service on my command staff, and I look forward to working with you again. Best of luck in your new position; I know you will do well."

Eric pins on Max's new rank, shakes his hand, and Max leaves the stage.

"Next I will recognize Muzor. Front and center!"

"Muzor, you have been a wonderful tactician and liasion for our pilots during our stint flying TIE Fighters. We would have never made it as far as we did without your expertise. For this, and so much more, I am proud to promote you to the next tier in your RS career, and bestow upon you the right to be called General. Congratulations!"

Eric pins on Muzor's new rank, shakes his hand, and Muzor leaves the stage.

"These last two promotions are very near and dear to me. First, Major General Anton Nels. Front and center!”

“Anton, you have been an invaluable asset as my Executive Officer. When Max left us, you stepped up to take this difficult, but rewarding position. You’ve helped me keep the fleet running, and you’ve helped me to maintain my sanity. I can honestly say I don’t know what I would have done without you. You’ve also continued to fly out there with your fellow pilots, and to keep their morale up. You’ve done everything that I’ve asked of you, and so much more. I am honored to have served with such an excellent man, and officer, and I am proud to promote you to the rank of Lieutenant General. Congratulations, Anton; you’ve earned it.”

Eric pins on Anton’s new rank, shakes his hand, and Anton leaves the stage.

“This next promotion is also well deserved. Colonel Gavin Starseeker, front and center!”

“Seeks….where do I begin? You’ve done so much in your short time on my command staff. I commend you for stepping up and answering the call to duty when I needed a Second Officer. You’ve filled in as XO on my many trips to the Peril to brief the Fleet Commander on each of our missions. You have also flown with your fellow pilots, and helped keep up their morale. And you are one hell of a pilot; you’ve snagged Top Gun more times than I can count. Not only that, but you have been serving as Gold Squadron CO, one of the best damned squadrons in this Fleet. And you have been everything that I could ask for in a Second Officer. For these reasons, and so much more, I am proud to bestow upon you the right to be called General with this promotion to Brigadier General. Congratulations, Seeks.”

Eric pins on Seeks’ new rank, shakes his hand, and Seeks leaves the stage.

Eric approaches the podium again.

“Congratulations to all of you that received awards and promotions; you should be very proud of yourselves. Give yourselves one more round of applause.”

Eric paused for the roaring applause, and then continued to speak.

“It is now my pleasure to turn the rest of the ceremony over to the guest of honor. Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to introduce the Rebel Squadrons Intelligence Officer, and former PSG Commanding Officer, Vice Admiral Joshua Hawkins.”

The crowd applauded as Eric yielded the podium to Josh.

Josh stands and walks towards the podium, shaking Eric's hand in the process and smiles taking his spot behind the microphone.

"When I took command of the group, you were all amazing pilots. Now I see after the long stint in Minos, and now with defending our home, I can tell you that you pilots are the best I have ever had the pleasure of working with. We made some critical errors in Minos, and I know I wasn't the easiest CO to deal with, but I thank you all for everything. You continue to serve the RS well, and under Eric's leadership you all have grown and improved in ways I couldn't even fathom. Thank you for having me as your guest of honor tonight, and enjoy your evening.”

The crowd applauded as Josh finished his speech, thankful that he had kept it short and sweet. Josh yielded the podium back to Eric so he could deliver his closing remarks.

“Thank you, Admiral Hawkins for your remarks, and for being our guest of honor this evening; we are honored by your presence. Please send my warm regards to the Fleet Commander, who unfortunately could not be here this evening. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our ceremony. Please join Admiral Hawkins and me at the bar.”

The room exploded again in a standing ovation, and Eric and Josh headed for the bar, followed by the rest of the pilots. It was time for the real celebrating to begin.