Lan ( Human ) Lan was a Human male from the planet Alderaan . The day before Alderaan was destroyed by the Galactic Empire ' s first Death Star , Lan went to Alderaan ' s sister planet Delaya with his friends , Mazi and Jez , to watch a smashball tournament . Following his homeworld ' s destruction , Lan and his friends resorted to thievery in order to survive . They tried to rob Princess Leia Organa , who was visiting Delaya to help the Alderaanian refugee efforts , but were dissuaded by Ferus Olin , a former Jedi . When Organa was captured by a rogue Alderaanian faction that blamed her for their world ' s demise , it was Lan ' s friend Mazi who told Organa ' s companions where the faction ' s hideout was . After Organa was rescued , Lan and his friends decided to join the Rebel Alliance as soldiers . Biography . The Human male Lan lived on the planet Alderaan during the time of the Galactic Civil War . The day before Alderaan was destroyed by the Galactic Empire ' s first Death Star , Lan went to see a smashball tournament on Delaya — Alderaan ' s sister planet — with his friends Mazi and Jez . Despite Lan ' s young age , Mazi was able to convince Lan ' s parents to allow him to go . Lan ' s mother , who worried a lot , thought that the three of them were too young to go on their own . However , his father was easily convinced and the three friends made the trip . After Alderaan was destroyed , Lan and his companions were left to fend for themselves , surviving on Delaya by becoming thieves . Ferus Olin , a former Jedi and another survivor of Alderaan , tried to dissuade them from turning to crime by giving them various small jobs to earn credits . When Princess Leia Organa made a visit to Delaya to assist the refugee effort and recruit new members on behalf of the Rebel Alliance , Lan , along with Mazi and Jez , attempted to rob Organa . Han Solo , who was one of the individuals accompanying Organa at that time , tried to placate the orphans but was unsuccessful . The standoff was broken when Olin arrived at the scene and disarmed Mazi — who was holding Organa at knife - point with a vibroblade — by shooting the vibroblade away with his blaster . After being told by Olin that he would stop giving them errands if they continued getting into trouble , Lan and his friends ran away . When Organa was captured by a rogue Alderaanian faction that blamed her for the destruction of their world , Lan and his group provided Solo and Organa ' s other companions the location of the ringleader ' s hideout . The information eventually led Solo and the others to successfully rescue Organa from the Empire , to whom she was handed over by the faction for a reward . Olin surmised that the orphans , who were willing to do anything for credits and knew where the faction ringleaders were hiding , might have been hired by the faction to rob and capture Organa previously . After Organa ' s rescue , Lan and his friends spoke with a Rebel recruiter and decided to join the Alliance as soldiers . They eagerly told Solo — whom they had grown quite fond of — the news , hoping to impress him . The orphans were scheduled to be shipped that night and Solo wished them luck , although he thought Lan and his companions were too young to serve in the Alliance . Personality and traits . Despite his young age , Lan displayed bravery and loyalty to his friends . When Han Solo confronted Lan and his friends on Deyala , Lan , along with Jez , refused to leave Mazi , who was in Solo ' s grasp , behind . It was Solo ' s observation that they were terrified of him and were putting on a brave front , which earned his grudging admiration . As a result of Alderaan being destroyed , Lan and his friends became orphans overnight and had to look out for each other . Mazi became the unofficial leader due to his age , and Lan , being the youngest of the three , started looking up to Mazi with something close to hero worship . When Solo didn ' t turn them in to the authorities for trying to rob Organa , the orphans began yearning to impress the smuggler . Behind the scenes . Lan was a character created by author Alex Wheeler for the 2008 novel " " , the second volume in the " Rebel Force " series .