Han Solo spent his childhood working for Garris Shrike, a trader and grew up on his ship, the Trader's Luck, learning pickpocketing skills from the other children on board the Luck. He also befriended Shrike's cook, a kindly Wookiee named Delwanna, who taught him Shyriiwook and acted as the orphan's surrogate mother. As Han got older, he wished to leave, however Garris refused to give up any of his workers. While down on the planet Corellia, Han met a cousin of his his, Thrackan Sal-Solo, but couldn't discover anything on his birth parents. He was amused by the fact that some geneological rescources linked him with the ancient criminal, Dalla the Black. While doing jobs for Shrike, his boss realized the boy had amazing piloting skills and taught him to race swoop bikes. Han got no money, Shrike taking all the winnings, but he did earn the anger of another Corellian, Dengar, who became a cyborg after an illegal race that ended in a crash. At age 19 he finally gave Garris the slip and began working for the Hutts. On the planet Ylesia, he fell in love with a slave, Bria Tharen. He rescued her and in the process nearly destroyed the Hutt's Ylesia operation. Luckily, since he was using an alias, he retained his employment with the Hutts. After Bria left him, Han joined the Imperial Academy on Carida. He graduated at the top of his class and entered the Emperor's service as a TIE-Pilot and Naval Officer. During his military carreer, he earned the right to wear the Corellian Blood-Stripe, a high honor among Corellians. While investigating a freighter carrying Wookiee slaves, he was outraged to see soldiers beating one of the slaves. This violated Han's code of ethics and he jumped in saving the alien. He was expelled from the Imperial Navy and earned a life debt with the Wookiee, Chewbacca. With his military carreer a wreck, Han and Chewie started working as smugglers, based on the lower streets of Nar Shadaa. After a gambler named Lando Calrissian saved his life, Solo offered him free piloting lessons, since he had acquired a top of the line freighter he couldn't fly. The two men became fast friends. However, when he beat Lando in a game of Sabbacc, he received Calrissian's ship, the Millenium Falcon. However, this was marked by a series of unlucky events. First, he met up with his former love, Bria Tharen, who was now a leader in the Rebel Alliance, and together they pirated a load of spice from the Hutt's planet on Ylesia. However, Tharen broke his heart again by stealing it all for the Alliance. Shortly afterwards, he was tailed by Imperial Star Cruisers tipped off by Moruth Doole, his spice supplier on Kessel, while bringing a load of glitterstim spice to Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. The pursuit caused him to dump his cargo, only just allowing him to get away. Jabba was extremely angry and put a price on his head that would only be lifted if he payed him 10000 credits. Luckily, while loitering in the Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine, Chewie told him about an old man, a young boy, and two droids who were looking to go to Alderaan. They set up a meeting with the old man, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the young boy, Luke Skywalker, and after some haggling, they were able to agree on a payment of 2000 in advance and 15000 upon reaching Alderaan. On his way out, he was confronted by a Rodian bounty hunter named Greedo. In a shoot out, Greedo was killed and Han escaped quickly. When he arrived at the docking bay, he was confronted by Jabba the Hutt and a group of his thugs. He managed to buy himself more time with the gangster. Just as they were about to leave, they were attacked by a battalion of Imperial Stormtroopers, whose ships followed them off the planet. Luckily, they lost them in Hyperspace. Han learned that Kenobi was the last of the archaic Jedi Knights and Luke was his student. They were on a mission to bring plans vital to the Rebellion to Alderaan. He didn't hold much stock in the Jedi's methods and made this perfectly clear to his passengers. When they reached Alderaan, they found nothing but debris and a large Imperial space station called the Death Star. They were captured by it and it was only by Han's smuggling skills that they were able to evade capture. They stole some of the Stormtrooper's uniforms and were able to break into a computer room and find the location of the tractor beam that was keeping the Falcon from leaving. Kenobi went to disable it and told Solo and Skywalker to stay with the droids, C-3PO and R2-D2. R2 discovered that Princess Leia Organa, a key figure in the Rebel Alliance, was being held captive. Together, Han, Luke, and Chewbacca fought there way to the detention area and rescued Organa. They fought through the station untill they reached the ship. In the final confrontation, Obi-Wan died, devastating Luke. Han did not much appreciate Leia's arrogant personality, but found himself physically attracted to her. As such, he and Luke were constantly at odds over her. With Alderaan gone, they traveled to Yavin 4, the head quarters of the Alliance. Han recieved his reward and left just before the Battle of Yavin, which would destroy the Rebel Alliance if they were to lose. However, while flying towards Tatooine, Han and Chewie decided to go back. They came in near the end of the battle. Most of the Rebel pilots had been killed and the Emperors second Lieutenant, Darth Vader, was on Luke's tail. Han came out of nowhere, crippled Vader's TIE Fighter, which spun off into the void of space, and helped Luke destroy the Death Star. Han was named a captain in the Rebel army and was famed as one of the best pilots in the galaxy. On several occasions, he tried to break away from the Alliance to settle his debt with Jabba the Hutt, but was never able to. When the Rebel base on Hoth was attacked by the Empire, Han, Leia, and C-3PO fled on board the Millenium Falcon. They went to Bespin, where Lando Calrissian had become the Baron Administrator of Cloud City. He harbored no hard feelings, at least it appeared that way. But, Han discovered the Empire had gotten to him first. They were captured and Han was put into carbon freeze only just after hearing that Leia loved him. He awoke in Jabba's Palace, freed by a rescue plan by Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, and Lando. When Jabba discovered this, he sentenced all of them to be thrown into the hellish Sarlaac Pit, except for Princess Leia, who he added to his harem. They escaped execution and Leia killed Jabba. When Solo returned to the Rebellion, he was given the rank of General. He was sent down onto the Forest Moon of Endor along with a strike crew that, after allying themselves with the native Ewoks, disabled the shield protecting the Death Star II. When the battle station was destroyed, the Emperor was killed and the Empire was overthrown. During the emerging days of the New Republic, Han Solo helped ally the systems in several ways. He traveled to many different planets, enlisting them in the New Republic. He also helped liason with the smugglers. When Prince Isolder of the Hapes Cluster arrived on Coruscant to propose to Leia in order to unite the Hapes Cluster and the New Rebublic. Han became jealous and he and Leia eloped to the planet Dathomir, a planet he had won in a major game of Sabacc. They were wed shortly afterwards, and he and Leia had three children, the twins Jacen and Jaina, and their younger brother Anakin. He faced many hardships in the following years, including Kueller's New Rebellion, during which, he was put under investigation for a terrorist bombing and the Corellian insurrection, which brought the return of his brutish cousin, Thrackan Sal-Solo. After the Hand of Thrawn crisis ended, which brought the end of the Empire's feud with the New Republic, Han settled down, watching his three children grow into three of the most powerful of the New Jedi Order. He also was Luke's best man in his wedding to Mara Jade. When he was 54, the Yuuzahn Vong invaded the galaxy. Han was unaware, until he and Chewbacca, on a routine supply delivery on Sernpidal, discovered the Vong were drawing the planet's moon on a collision course with the planet. Chewbacca saved both him and Anakin, who'd been with them, but was unable to save himself and perished on Sernpidal. Han blamed Anakin for the accident, though deep down, he knew that if it weren't for him, he'd have died too. For a while he returned to his smuggler's lifestyle and battled the Yuuzahn Vong his own way, a Ryn named Droma taking Chewie's place as co-pilot. Leia was understandably upset, but they reconsiled when the Vong attacked Duro. Due to the desperate times, the Solos allowed their children to lead a Jedi strikeforce against a Vong ship near Myrkr. Han Solo was devastated to learn that Anakin had died in the battle, having only recently forgiven him for the death of Chewbacca. Near the end of the war, he and Leia ran some crucial missions that helped defeat the Vong.