Rescue of Han Solo

"Luke? Luke's crazy. Can't even take care of himself, much less rescue anybody."

- Han Solo

The Rescue of Han Solo is an unofficial name referring to a fictional event that takes place within the internal continuity of the Star Wars multimedia franchise. The event took place in the 1983 feature film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. It is the first major plot point of the film and leads into the Skirmish at Carkoon.

Capture
Before turning his back on his "scoundrel" lifestyle and becoming a valued member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Han Solo was once a former smuggler who was employed by the galactic crimelord Jabba the Hutt. Once, while delivering a volume of illegal spice aboard his ship the Millennium Falcon, Han caught the attention of Imperial forces. Fearing being boarded, he dumped the contraband went on his way. Han was now liable for the value of the product to Jabba, but was unable, and in some cases, unwilling to reimburse him. As a result, Jabba put a price on Han's head and nearly every bounty hunter on the Outer-rim was looking to collect.

After successfully escaping or evading capture for years, Han's luck finally ran out. On Cloud City on the gas planet Bespin, Han was captured by Imperial forces led by Darth Vader and assisted by bounty hunter Boba Fett. Vader had little interest in Solo and was more than willing to hand him over to the bounty hunter. Solo was frozen inside of a block of carbonite and Fett delivered him to Jabba the Hutt.

The rescue
The architects behind Han's rescue consisted of his close friends, Princess Leia Organa, his co-pilot Chewbacca the Wookiee and his friend Luke Skywalker. Additionally, Lando Calrissian played a major role in the rescue due in no small measure for the part he played in Solo's original capture in the first place. Skywalker also employed his droids C-3PO and R2-D2 as key tools in the rescue, though Threepio was largely unaware of the greater plan of action.

Lando Calrissian infiltrated Jabba's cartel as a guardsman under the alias Tamtel Skreej and worked at Jabba's palace in the weeks leading up to the rescue. Calrissian maintained a steady presence in Jabba's throne room and was able to keep a close eye on Solo's frozen body, which had been hung on a wall as a personal decoration. The first phase of the rescue plan involved Luke sending C-3PO and R2-D2 to Jabba's palace under the guise of delivering a message. Artoo played a holographic message of Luke Skywalker to Jabba who entreated the Hutt to negotiate a deal for Solo's life. As a token of good will, he offered him the two droids as a gift. Jabba had no intention of letting Solo go, but he accepted Skywalker's gift. He kept Threepio in his throne room to serve as a translator, while Artoo was assigned as a service droid aboard his sail barge, the Khetanna.

The second phase of the rescue operation involved Princess Leia and Chewbacca. Princess Leia assumed the alias of an actual bounty hunter named Boushh, which proved to be an effective disguise since Boushh's outfit completely covered his head and body and he used a vocal synthesizer to disguise his voice. As Boussh, Leia entered Jabba's throne room with Chewbacca chained to her. She negotiated with Jabba over the price of the bounty on Chewbacca's head. Negotiations turned tense when Boushh presented a thermal detonator and threatened to set it off unless Jabba agreed to an exorbitant sum. Impressed by the bounty hunter's inventiveness, he agreed to the terms, and Chewbacca was taken away.

Later that evening, Leia crept into the audience chamber after everyone had fallen asleep. She found the alcove holding Solo's frozen form and thawed him from the carbonite. As they tried to leave however, Jabba and his underlings suddenly appeared before them. He took Leia as a slave and outfitted her with a skimpy costume and collar. He kept her chained closed to him upon his dais. Solo was throne into a dungeon where he was reunited with Chewbacca. At this time, Han was temporarily suffering from blindness due to hibernation sickness as a result of carbonite exposure. The third phase of the rescue operation involved Luke Skywalker himself. Now a Jedi, Luke used his mental powers to trick Jabba's majordomo, Bib Fortuna, into bringing him to the throne room. Luke's powers were ineffective against Jabba, but he stood firm and demanded that Solo, Organa and Chewbacca were to be released to him. Jabba activated a trap door beneath Luke's feet and he fell into a cavern pit, which was home to one of Jabba's favorite pets - a giant, monstrous creature known as a Rancor. Luke managed to evade being eaten by the thing, and ran past him through a large iron gate. When the Rancor attempted to follow him, Luke activated the controls on the door, bringing the heavy gate down, crushing the top of the Rancor's head.

Jabba was furious at this and Luke was taken prisoner. As punishment, Skywalker, Solo and Chewbacca were sentenced to be executed. Jabba decreed that they would be cast into the Great Pit of Carkoon in the Western Dune Sea, which was the nesting place of a tentacled creature called a Sarlacc. As translated by Threepio, "In its belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a thousand years".