Han Solo's Rescue Mission: A Cruise Along Book

Han Solo's Rescue Mission

Author: John Whitman

Illustrator: Kilian Plunkett
Medium: Picture book
Publication Date: March 1998
Timeline Placement: 0 ABY

 

The Empire is after a group of Ithorians stranded on their home planet of Ithor. Han Solo volunteers to take the Millennium Falcon on a rescue mission to get the Ithorians out and deliver them to Bimmisaari, a planet invented by Timothy Zahn in Heir to the Empire. Han gets the Ithorians on board right before the Empire arrives, but the Falcon's navicomputer is damaged by TIE fighters and Han flies into an asteroid field! Space slugs lunge from their asteroids, trying to eat the Falcon. Maybe this is how Han realized that the space slug they hid inside in The Empire Strikes Back wasn't a cave! A much more interesting revelation than how Han Solo got his last name.

At last, Han reaches Bimmisaari, but the Falcon's landing gear has been damaged! Thanks to some expert piloting, Han is able to set her down safely. "Now that's what I call a fun ride!" he quips.

This story can be used to headcanon an explanation for Momaw Nadon's whereabouts after the Battle of Yavin, as various sources depict him being exiled from Ithor at various times. Maybe he was among the Ithorians Han rescued here, explaining why he was there in Star Wars Missions but absent in Galaxy of Fear. You remember who Momaw Nadon is, I'm sure. It's this freak.

Otherwise, same thoughts and comments from the previous Cruise Along Book apply here.