The New Jedi Order : Agents of Chaos I : Hero ' s Trial The New Jedi Order : Agents of Chaos I : Hero ' s Trial , the first book in the Agents of Chaos Duology , is a novel by James Luceno , published in August 2000 by Del Rey . Publisher ' s summary . " Merciless attacks by an invincible alien force have left the New Republic reeling . Dozens of worlds have succumbed to occupation or annihilation , and even the Jedi Knights have tasted defeat . In these darkest of times , the noble Chewbacca is laid to rest , having died as heroically as he lived — and a grief - stricken Han Solo is left to fit the pieces of his shattered life back together before he loses everything : friends , family , and faith . " " Refusing help from Leia or Luke , Han becomes the loner he once was , seeking to escape the pain of his partner ' s death in adventure … and revenge . When he learns that an old friend from his smuggling days is operating as a mercenary for the enemy , he sets out to expose the traitor . But Han ' s investigation uncovers an even greater evil : a sinister conspiracy aimed at the very heart of the New Republic ' s will and ability to fight — the Jedi . " " Now Han must face down his inner demons and , with the help of a new and unexpected ally , honor Chewbacca ' s sacrifice in the only way that matters — by being worthy of it . " Plot summary . The Yuuzhan Vong War grows worse for the New Republic as the Yuuzhan Vong continue to advance toward Coruscant , the heart of the New Republic , with its latest capture of the information planet of Obroa - skai . And what ' s worse is that citizens of the galaxy are starting to side with the Vong , becoming a group known as the Peace Brigade . Seeing the Jedi as a threat , the Vong decide to unleash Priestess Elan and her aide / pet , Vergere , to pretend to be defectors from the Vong so she can get close to the Jedi and unleash a spore that will not only kill her but everyone around her , and she is ordered to do it against the Jedi . Meanwhile , Han Solo , with the loss of Chewbacca who died in " " , separates himself from his family and friends and becomes a loner . Along the way , Han meets up with an old smuggler ally named Roa ( whose wife , Lwyll , died because of the Vong ) says he knows someone who is heavily involved with the Vong ' s plans , whose name , unknown to either Han or Roa , is Reck Desh , another past ally of Han ' s who was actually good friends with Chewbacca . So Han and Roa meet up with a contact at a space station at Ord Mantell named Fasgo , and Han gets into a fight with a mercenary named Bossk , an old enemy ' s of Han who hated Wookiees , therefore , he hated Chewbacca . Han , Roa , Fasgo and Bossk are transported to a prison but are freed by Boss Bunji , a smuggler who knew Han and said he owed him a great deal after saving his business with the death of Jabba the Hutt more than two decades earlier in . However , around the same time , Elan and Vergere allow themselves to be captured by New Republic forces on Wayland , and feint attacks there and later on Ord Mantell are meant to prove that Elan and Vergere are indeed on the Republic ' s side now . However , at the false victory of the New Republic at Ord Mantell against the Vong , Roa and Fasgo are captured by Vong forces , and Han escapes the space station of the planet with several other people and Droma , an alien whose species is called the Ryn , where it is revealed that Ryn are hated by the galaxy . After the feint attack at Ord Mantell , the refugee and New Republic survivors from the battle , including Han and Droma , board the " Queen of Empire " , a large pleasure yacht whose next stop is at Bilbringi . However , Elan and Vergere happen to have boarded the ship so that when it goes to Coruscant and Elan makes her false treaty with the New Republic and Jedi , she will kill all of the Jedi who meet with her using the spores . Meanwhile , Han and Droma began to form a mutual friendship . Later , the Vong ' s plans for defeating the Jedi become foiled when a spy for the Vong among the New Republic , who would later be revealed as Senator Viqi Shesh in the Republic , actually believed Elan and Vergere are actual defectors , like the rest of the Republic , and tips off the Peace Brigade . A certain team in the Brigade , lead by Reck Desh , invade the " Queen of Empire " to capture Elan and Vergere and bring them back to their masters , but when the Vong are quickly informed of it , a battle for the ship takes place between the New Republic and the Yuuzhan Vong . After Elan and Vergere are taken by Desh and his troops , the members of the Brigade strike team are killed by some of Elan ' s spores and when Han and Droma show up to save the two " defectors , " Han figures out Elan and Vergere are still on the Vong ' s side . Elan decides to use more of the spores to kill Han . Fortunately , Han is saved by a device on a survival tool that his youngest son , Anakin , gave him which was made by Chewbacca years earlier , which provides Han breathable air , thus saving him from the spores . Elan , therefore , dies by herself , having failed her mission to destroy the Jedi . As for Vergere , she gives Han and Droma some tears of hers that she states is able to heal Mara Jade Skywalker ' s disease that is slowly killing her from the inside , which of course was thanks to the Yuuzhan Vong , and Vergere escapes . After the battle at the " Queen of Empire " , Han vows that he will help Droma reunite with his family , who are one of the many refugees of the New Republic fleeing from the Yuuzhan Vong , establishing the plot for " " . Cover gallery . This is a gallery of the different cover variations of " Agents of Chaos I : Hero ' s Trial " .