The Jon Solo Chronicles Book 3: Return of the Jedi

Chapter 1: A 14-Year-Old Boy and Two Droids Plodding Through an Endless Desert

An endless desert. A fourteen-year-old boy. Two droids. A fourteen-year-old boy and two droids plodding through an endless desert. Who knew how long they'd been walking for? Jon Solo certainly had no idea. But he knew where they were headed: Jabba's palace. This journey there had given Jon plenty of time to really see more of Tattooine than ever before. The last time he'd been on this planet, four years ago, he'd just been in the spaceport of Mos Eisley. Now, though, he saw the majority of Tattooine really was an endless desert. Occasionally, Jon, R2-D2 and C-3PO would come across canyons and rocky outcrops. But for the most part, it was sand for as far as the eye could see.

"Once we find Dad and get off this rock, I never want to see sand again for as long as I live," said Jon. He reached into his pocket to get the canteen and took a drink. It was something he really needed as his mouth had become dry. He was also starting to sweat, too. Perhaps Leia had been right about Jon's clothes being too warm for Tattooine's climate. But he had no spare clothes to change into. And he didn't want to remove his jacket and tie it around his waist. He hated when people did that. It was something that had annoyed him for as long as he could remember. So, Jon kept the jacket on. He hoped that once they got to Jabba's palace, it would be much cooler there. He looked ahead. The outline of a building appeared on the horizon.

"I guess this must be the place," said Jon. R2 beeped suddenly. It was the first sound the little droid had made since leaving the Falcon with Jon and 3-PO.

"Of course I'm worried," said 3-PO. "You and young master Jon should be, too. Lando Clarissian and poor Chewbacca never returned from this awful place." When Jon first arrived on Tattooine with Luke, Leia and the droids, Chewie and Lando had been there to welcome them. For a couple of days, Jon had enjoyed being reunited with the Wookiee and Cloud City's baron-administrator. But then Chewie and Lando themselves had set off for Jabba's Palace. And like 3-PO had said, they'd never returned. Jon sure hope they were all right. In the past year, the boy had come a long way towards learning to forgive Lando. The initial betrayal at Bespin, with Han being tortured then frozen, had really affected Jon. Lando, since he'd been a friend of Han's, was naturally, the person Jon held the most responsible-along with Darth Vader and Boba Fett.

But then Lando had helped Jon, Leia, R2 and 3-PO escape from Cloud City. He'd even went with them. And when Jon had turned the Falcon around to rescue Luke, Lando was the one who'd caught him when he fell from a weather vane. And Lando really did show remorse and regret for what had happened to Han. Also, he was just as instrumental to this rescue plan as anyone else. After all, Lando and Chewie were the ones who took the Falcon to get a head start on rescuing Han. All these things gave Jon reason to forgive Lando. And now, he just hoped that Han would be able to do the same.

"Don't be so sure," 3-PO said, bringing Jon out of his thoughts. R2 beeped. "If I told you half the things I've heard about this Jabba the Hutt, you'd probably short-circuit."

"Yeah, well, I've actually met Jabba," said Jon. "Several times, as a matter of fact. The first was when I was around three, or so according to my dad, because I don't really remember that time. And the most recent was when I was ten. Come to think of it, that was also the day me, Dad and Chewie met you guys. Plus, Luke and...Obi-Wan. Boy, looking back on it now, that really feels like such a long time ago."

Jon got lost in his thoughts again. He remembered Obi-Wan, or as he'd always called him, Ben Kenobi, as being a kindly and wise old man. When Vader killed him, that really affected Jon. One of the most profound things Obi-Wan had told Jon was that it was through the Force's will that he would find the family and sense of belonging he'd always craved. That proved to be true, because he'd met Leia not long afterwards. And over the years, Jon's friends had become his family. But at the same time, the boy also felt that Force had just as easily ruined his life. Obi-Wan had been killed by Darth Vader, a powerful Force user. And just last year, Vader had re-appeared in Jon's life,  only to take Han away from him. Then Jon remembered something else Obi-Wan had told him four years ago. He would face countless hardships, setbacks and challenges in his life. But whenever bad things did happen, Jon would have to use wits and courage, with help from the people he held dear, to make everything right again. Well, wasn't that exactly what he was doing right now?