Tatooine Ghost Tatooine Ghost is a standalone novel written by Troy Denning . It was published by Del Rey in March 2003 as hardcover and reprinted in paperback in December of the same year . The novel ' s story takes place directly before the events of " Heir to the Empire " , and was hailed as the first Expanded Universe novel to bridge the gap between the prequel trilogy and original trilogy characters . The novel also includes , as supplements , the eBook " A Forest Apart " and short story " Corphelion Interlude " , both written by Troy Denning . Narration for the audio version of " Tatooine Ghost " was performed by Jonathan Davis . In the paperback version of the novel , an interview between Del Rey and Troy Denning is included at the end . Publisher ' s summary . Han and Leia struggle to keep the Empire at bay as stunning revelations from the past threaten to eclipse the future of the New Republic … " The deaths of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine , and victory at the Battle of Endor by no means spelled the end of the Empire . In the aftermath , the New Republic has faced a constant struggle to survive . Now a new threat looms : a masterpiece of Alderaanian art — lost after the planet ' s destruction — has resurfaced on the black market . It conceals a vital secret — the code used to communicate with New Republic agents undercover within the Empire . Discovery by Imperial forces would spell disaster . The only option is recovery — and Han , Leia , Chewbacca , and C - 3PO have been dispatched to Tatooine to infiltrate the auction . " " When a dispute at the auction erupts into violence , the painting vanishes in the chaos . Han and Leia are thrust into a desperate race to reclaim it . As they battle against marauding TIE fighters , encroaching stormtroopers , and Tatooine ' s savage Tusken Raiders , Leia ' s emotional struggle over the specter of her infamous father culminates in the discovery of an extraordinary link to the past . And as long - buried secrets at last emerge , she faces a moment of reckoning that will forever alter her destiny … and that of the New Republic . " Plot summary . Taking place some time before the novel " Heir to the Empire " begins , Leia Organa Solo , her husband Han , his Wookiee companion , Chewbacca , and their protocol droid C - 3PO travel to the desert planet Tatooine . Their mission is to recover an Alderaan work of art , titled the " Killik Twilight , " because within " Killik Twilight " lies a communications device that acts as a link between the New Republic and their spies acting as undercover agents all around the dying Galactic Empire . The " Millennium Falcon " gets into a space duel with Imperial forces , led by Grand Admiral Thrawn , but manages to arrive on the surface of Tatooine and dock under cover from the enemy forces . Then , under disguises at a local cantina , the Solos attend an auction there in order to retrieve the " Killik Twilight . " During the bid , one of the items on sale is a holographic image of the late Anakin Skywalker back in 32 BBY . Leia is distraught at the image of what had once been her father , whom she has only known as the evil Darth Vader in the Rebel Alliance ' s war with the Empire . The image is sold , nevertheless , to another auctioneer , and the disturbance of the image wrought upon by Leia leads into a conversation between her and Han , discussing the prospects about having children . Leia is reluctant to do so , because of her biological family ' s line in the Force and of her father ' s legacy as Vader . She fears that it may be too possible for whatever children she and Han tend to bear one day will fall to the dark side . By the time the " Killik Twilight " is up for grabs , violence breaks out from the Imperial forces attending the auction who intend to retrieve the art piece . During the fight , the " Killik Twilight " is lost . And so Han and Leia embark on a journey through Tatooine in order to retrieve the art piece , battling the Imperial forces and Tusken Raiders with the help of Jawas and a Squib trio , Emala , Sligh and Grees . During their voyage , Leia finds out more about her late father ' s past , and runs into Anakin ' s old friend , Kitster Chanchani Banai , who reveals to her what her father was like before he left Tatooine under the guidance of the late Qui - Gon Jinn . Leia also retrieves a holojournal recorded by Shmi , revealing details of her life in between Anakin ' s departure from Tatooine to . After Leia saves Han from being dehydrated and lost in Tatooine ' s vast , dry desert , it is implied that they sleep together . Eventually , Leia finally comes to terms with her father ' s legacy and no longer fears that her children will fall to the dark side , after she learns that her father was once a young , innocent boy , and a fairly decent individual prior to his fall as Vader . She and Han then retrieve the communications device from the " Killik Twilight " while the art piece itself is taken by Grand Admiral Thrawn ' s forces . The Solos , Chewbacca and C - 3PO leave Tatooine , mission accomplished , and Leia at peace with her dead father . Behind the scenes . " Survivor ' s Quest " was written to be a counterpart to " Tatooine Ghost " . Their covers , both created by Steven D . Anderson , share similar layouts . " Tatooine Ghost " cover features Han and Leia , while " Survivor ' s Quest " shows Luke and Mara . The Killik s , who first appear in this novel , would later be fully delved into in the " Dark Nest Trilogy " . There is a scene ( one chapter ends with the build - up and the next chapter begins immediately after ) which strongly implies that Han and Leia have slept together . As this book is set not that long before " Heir to the Empire " ( in which Leia already knows she is three months pregnant ) , this could well be when Jacen and Jaina were conceived . This is the first New Republic era novel to feature Luke Skywalker as a minor character , though he also had a minor one - scene appearance in " " . On the dust jacket of the hardcover and the paperback editions , the era sticker is set to be in the Rebellion era , when it should be in the New Republic era . At one point in the story , Chewbacca uses his Wookiee claws in front of Leia . In " Heir to the Empire " , Leia states she never knew Wookiees had claws . The novel refers to Wedge Antilles leading Wraith Squadron on a mission . However , by the end of " " , set before this novel , the Wraiths are recommissioned as an intelligence unit and command passed to Garik Loran , with Antilles reassuming command of Rogue Squadron . However it is possible that the operation was a joint intelligence / fighter command mission . Cover gallery . This is a gallery of the different cover variations of " Tatooine Ghost " .