Han Solo and Chewbacca need some specialized repairs on their ship, but their go-to man has been captured! As Captain Solo searches for answers, he travels to the unknown regions of the galaxy and discovers a prison more dangerous than he could’ve imagined… join the Legendary Adventures as we journey to Han Solo at Stars’ End!
“I happen to like to shoot first, Rekkon. As opposed to shooting second.”
Sometimes, you gotta go to the edges of the galaxy to really discover who you are and what’s important to you. That’s what happened to Han Solo after his adventures with Hutts, the t’landa Til, and the Empire itself! When the Falcon is in need of repairs, Han leaves the borders of the Empire to rescue a friend, braving a dangerous government’s space and escaping the galaxy’s most terrifying prison! Turns out, joining the Alliance at Yavin wasn’t Han’s first brush with rebellion…
Despite the fact that the Empire has been reigning for almost two decades, there are still other governing bodies in the galaxy. Somehow, these governing bodies exist on the fringes of the Empire, completely autonomous and sovereign. For example, we’ve met representatives of the Centrality when Lando Calrissian and Vuffi Raa helped save the luftwaft from genocide. We’ve also seen how a few star systems, Senators, and local militias have aligned themselves with the newly formed Rebel Alliance. Finally, Han Solo and Chewbacca run afoul of the Corporate Sector Authority, yet another governing body, this time, closer to the Core and the heart of the government. The Corporate Sector Authority (shortened to CSA) is also a mostly-autonomous governing body that operates out of the self-named Corporate Sector. In the Clone Wars, the Corporate Sector largely aligned itself with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, but a few representatives tried to buddy up with Sheev Palpatine when he was merely Chancellor of the Republic. Because of these arrangements with Sheev, the CSA has some ability to operate on its own, yet enjoys the ability to make contracts and connections with the Empire.
All over the galaxy, these greedy governments have begun campaigns to grow their slave labor. We have seen that, in Imperial space, many criminals, indentured servants, and slaves have gone missing. Sadly, they have been conscripted into the Empire’s plans to build a terrifying battle station. The Hutts have also been enjoying slave labor, using these slaves to mine for spice and other valuable artifacts with the t’landa Til. Unfortunately, the CSA is not above slave labor, either. In Corporate Space, less than savory citizens (even if they aren’t outright criminals) have similarly gone missing. All over the galaxy, families are scrambling to find information on missing family members. Very soon, Corporate Sector citizens are about to find the salvation they have been looking for in Han Solo.
Han Solo and Chewbacca run into problems with the Authority some time after winning the Millennium Falcon. Han was introduced to the ship when it was captained by Lando Calrissian, who co-piloted the ship with droid Vuffi Raa. Sometime after Lando’s run in with Rokur Gepta and the Centrality, he lost the ship to Han and Chewbacca. The pair made quick work of updating (their words, maybe not anyone else’s!) the ship with illegal armaments and smuggling compartments. Unfortunately, the run into problems with the CSA for two reasons: illegal modifications and corporate greed. Han and Chewbacca’s upgrades to the Falcon might make her better at smuggling and evading Imperial entanglements, but that doesn’t mean that their upgrades were entirely on the up-and-up. But it’s not just that the pair are running an illegally modified ship, the CSA also sees wayward travelers in their district as a good chance to pocket a few credits, so they impound the ship and force Han and Chewbacca to break it out of their dockyards. The Falcon is damaged in the impounding process, forcing Han to bring her to a mechanic he knows called Doc.
This is where we get to know the real Han Solo, preparing us for the man that we’ll get to know better over the next five decades. This novel really gets to the core of who Han Solo really is. Despite how badly he wants to be known as the best smuggler in the world, or as a criminal who cares only about money, Han is a good guy at his core. We’ve already started to scratch at his hard, outer surface to see some of that good heart inside of him. He befriends slaves and servants, despite being used as a thief and runner for a galactic criminal. His relationship with Bria started when he saved her from the t’landa Til’s religious cult, after which the pair fell in love briefly. Later, he risks his career in the Imperial Academy to help save Chewbacca when the Empire went to Kashyyyk to round up Wookiees to bring into slavery. (Here’s a good lesson that Han learns early: even if you can’t shut down the Empire’s facilities on a planet, save what you can. Even if Galen Marek shut down production on the Death Star on Kashyyyk with his incredible Force powers, Han could only save one Wookiee, and one Wookiee he does save.)
Unfortunately, their plans to have the Falcon repaired are foiled as the CSA has captured someone close to Han. Turns out, the Authority has captured Doc, leaving his daughter, Jessa, in charge of his repair shop. She offers to fix the Falcon, but only if Han would risk his life in rescuing Doc from an Authority prison called Stars’ End. Han is aided by droids Bollux and Blue Max, a pair containing super computers’ worth of knowledge. Stars’ End is a horrible prison at the edge of CSA space in an asteroid. If the galaxy thought that the Empire was bad, they might be shocked to discover what life is like under CSA rule. And not only do they have their prisons, but they have their own fleet! Jessa and Doc’s shop is attacked by the CSA fleet, necessitating quick action on Han and Jessa’s behalf. They board ancient Z-95 Headhunters to fight off the CSA ships and barely survive the altercation, casting doubt on Han’s ability to survive in the CSA’s space.
The Death Star is still a secret, yet extremely dangerous, prison colony of sorts. This, by default, means that Stars’ End prison is probably the most well-known, and highly feared, prison colony in the galaxy. Yet Han, smuggler-extraordinaire, dangerous criminal, miscreant of all miscreants, risks his life to find his way onto the prison to save Doc. Here we see some of his ingenuity. He learns that the faculty of the prison wants to be entertained, and has hired a roaming troupe to come to the prison and perform a show. Han, the droids, Chewbacca, and a few of Jess’s crew join Han to save Doc and intercept this message. They show up, dressed in clown and entertainment gear, hoping to buy some time for the droids to hack into CSA computers, find Doc, and jet.
But that’s never quite how it works, eh? In the process, Chewbacca and the crew (save Han) are captured and imprisoned in top secret Stars’ End prison cells. This leads Han deeper into the prison, where he gets information from the droids on how to release the prisoners. Thankfully, it’s not just that Han could save a handful of people when he freed them from their cells. Instead, the plan he cooks up with the droids destroys the prison entirely! As the crew, and the freed prisoners, escape CSA imprisonment, the prison explodes. Unbeknownst to Han and Chewbacca, this severely cripples the Corporate Sector’s economy and government, removing a lot of the power that the CSA held in the galaxy. Without slave labor, and without their prison, their main symbol of control has been lost. (Sounds familiar, huh?) Despite being a major player in the Clone War, the CSA has been crippled by the duo.
But the CSA isn’t quite defeated yet, and Han and Chewbacca will have a few more run-ins with this dangerous government before it is finished completely…
You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor!
Dark Times Era: Republic Commando – Order 66 | Kenobi | Dark Lord: Rise of Darth Vader | Coruscant Nights I – Jedi Twilight | Coruscant Nights II – Street of Shadows | Coruscant Nights III – Patterns of the Force | The Last Jedi | Han Solo Trilogy #1 – The Paradise Snare | Han Solo Trilogy #2 – The Hutt Gambit | The Force Unleashed | Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu | Lando Calrissian and the Flamewinds of Oseon | Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka | Death Star