The Paradise Snare " The Paradise Snare " is the first book in The Han Solo Trilogy by A . C . Crispin . It details Han Solo ' s life from his escape from " Trader ' s Luck " until his entrance into the Imperial Academy , with some flashbacks to his childhood . Publisher ' s summary . " Han Solo was a child without a past , a Corellian street urchin , abandoned , foraging for scraps of food , when the cruel Garris Shrike whisked him away to a nomadic band of spacefaring criminals . Now , years later , Han fights his way free . His goal : to become an Imperial Navy pilot . But first he needs hand - on experience flying spacecraft , and for that he takes a job on the planet Ylesia — a steaming world of religious fanaticism , illicit drugs , and alluring sensuality … where dreams are destroyed and escape is impossible . " Synopsis . Han Solo has spent nearly all of his nineteen years aboard the " Trader ' s Luck " , a pirate vessel commanded by the barbaric Garris Shrike . While on Corellia , Shrike discovered Han as a street urchin and took him in to use as an actor in scams . By sending Solo and other children into the streets on various worlds to beg for money , Shrike made a fortune . Life aboard " Trader ' s Luck " was hard and cruel , but a young Solo found solace and care from the Wookiee cook Dewlanna . From her , he learned to understand Shyriiwook and learned that not everyone in the galaxy was as vile as Shrike . At the age of nineteen , the youth decided he had enough with Shrike and made plans to escape the " Luck " . Solo carefully planned to stowaway aboard a droid freighter bound for Ylesia , where he had heard about a need for skilled pilots . However , his plan was discovered by Shrike during his farewell to Dewlanna . Shrike was furious and violence ensued ; Dewlanna defended they boy and injured Shrike , but not before she suffered a mortal injury . Stricken with grief , Solo was reluctant to leave a dying Dewlanna . She told him to leave , to live so that her death would not be in vain . With Dewlanna dead and Shrike unconscious , Han Solo boarded the freighter and began his journey to Ylesia . Working on Ylesia . Han Solo survived his arrival on Ylesia only by his natural skill as a pilot . The atmosphere on the planet was particularly turbulent and he managed to land the freighter with minimal damage . The t ' landa Til priests were impressed already with his ability as a pilot and interviewed Solo , who had assumed the alias Vykk Draygo . Ylesia was a tropical world with a few large islands amidst a vast ocean home to massive predators . As part of an elaborate scheme orchestrated by the Besadii Hutt clan , t ' landa Til " priests " had set up a religious sanctuary that attracted thousands of Pilgrims to experiences the " Exultation . " Solo would later discover the truth behind what appeared to be a paradise . Soon enough , " Vykk Draygo " was hired as a pilot for transporting spice to and from Ylesia because many of the droid freighters had been easily attacked and pillaged by spacegoing pirates . Not only was Ylesia a religious sanctuary , it served as the heart of the Besadii clan ' s spice refinement operations . Massive factories refined raw spice shipped from Ryloth and Kessel into a consumable form bound for Nar Shaddaa and other worlds . To supposedly " protect " the new pilot , Teroenza , the High Priest , assigned him a Togorian bodyguard named Muuurgh . Like all Togorians , Muuurgh was very tall and exhibited many sharp teeth and extraordinary hunting abilities . Solo was quite aware that his obedience was more of a priority to Teroenza than his protection . Before he could begin flying , Solo became well - practiced in the simulator and began to learn the lay of the land of Colony One . With Muuurgh , he toured the spice refineries , which is where he met Pilgrim 921 . He discovered that so - called religious pilgrims were , in fact , being forced into slavery within the spice refineries . 921 , who eventually revealed her name to be Bria , was a Corellian woman who met Solo ' s fancy but declined his advances . Solo would stop wondering how the slaves were kept on Ylesia when he witnessed his first Exultation . Each evening , the slaves would enthusiastically attend the t ' landa Til Exultation , which they believed to be a spiritual experience that brought them together with " The One and the All . " After reciting a scripted sermon , Teroenza , Veratil , and other Ylesian priests would perform the Exultation . The new pilot had to actively resist the intense waves of pleasure and ecstasy being produced by the t ' landa Til . Around him , the slaves writhed in pleasure on the ground and were barely able to return to their dormitories . This jolt of pleasure , a natural t ' landa Til ability used to attract females , became an addiction the slaves could not refuse . In this manner , the slaves were kept on Ylesia not by security guards — of which there were few — but rather " by choice . " Han Solo in love . When Han Solo discovered the scam , he alerted Bria Tharen - who refused to believe him . However , Solo had secretly recorded a discussion he had had with Teroenza about the secret of the Exultation . This revelation was an epiphany for Tharen , who lost all faith in her religious journey and was infuriated at her own folly . Nevertheless , she was unable to skip Exultation s . Prior to this revelation , young Solo had rescued Tharen from the spice refineries by securing for her a job as caretaker and documentarian for Teroenza ' s extensive and prized collection of antiquities . Had he not , Tharen would most likely have ended up as another sort of slave - in an Imperial pleasure house . By now , Han Solo had gained much experience as a pilot for the T ' landa Til , delivering spice to many worlds . With the trust of the priests gained and Tharen at his side , Solo decided the time had come to leave Ylesia . Of course , there was Muuurgh to worry about . Muuurgh first began to trust Solo after they were attacked by pirates and forced to land on Alderaan for repairs . Muuurgh was injured but Han Solo did not abandon his " bodyguard . " Young Solo soon got to know Togorian better and discovered that Muuurgh had also been deceived into working for the T ' landa Til . While searching for his lost mate , Mrrov , Muuurgh had come to Ylesia . Teroenza had told him that Mrrov had indeed been there , but her current whereabouts were unknown . Unable to buy passage off of the planet , the feline signed on as an enforcer . His tale of love and loss made Solo realize that he , too , was in love : with Bria Tharen . On Ylesia , Solo and Tharen made their plan to escape . Muuurgh was furious and threatened to kill the pilot upon learning of their intent . However , he agreed to take part in the plan when Tharen told him about a female Togorian that had been at the colony . To Muuurgh ' s horror , her description matched that of his mate ' s . According to Tharen , Mrrov had been relocated to another colony . After an Exultation , the three made their move . Escape from Ylesia . Solo , Tharen , and Muuurgh first created a diversion by blowing up the largest of the spice refineries . Panic ensued as billions of credits ' worth of spice went up in flames . Solo and Tharen also raided Teroenza ' s collection , stealing the most valuable items to sell once they left Ylesia . It was during their raid when Teroenza discovered their treachery . As fire spread around the Colony , secondary explosions caused damage to nearly all of the buildings , and the ceiling of Teroenza ' s collection room collapse - onto the Besadii Hutt overlord , Zavval , crushing him . Their work done , the trio hijacked the " Talisman " , Teroenza ' s personal yacht , and rescued Mrrov . They then blasted their way from Ylesia , suffering major damage from an orbiting CR90 corvette , but were able to reach Togoria safely . At last , they were free from Ylesia . While on Togoria , Muuurgh and Mrrov were married in the usual Togorian fashion - meaning it involved much combat . After the ceremony , Han Solo and Bria Tharen went on a romantic interlude and both admitted their love . They decided to return to Corellia to meet Tharen ' s family and to sell the stolen goods from Ylesia . Wishing farewell to Muuurgh and Mrrov , the two lovers returned to their homeworld . Unlike Solo , Tharen had grown up wealthy and privileged . This was very evident upon visiting her family ' s massive estate . Much to her sadness , her mother and brother found her new love despicable and unworthy of being in their home . However , Tharen ' s father , Renn Tharen , found a kindred spirit in Solo and rather liked him . Later , one of the men Tharen ' s mother had wanted her to marry showed up and recognized Solo as a pod racer under a different name , causing Tharen ' s mother to become even angrier . Even so , Solo and Tharen left Corellia after selling Teroenza ' s antiques . Han Solo would withdraw the funds from the Imperial Galactic Bank on Coruscant once he applied to the Imperial Academy . Thus , the two made their way to Coruscant , officially referred to as Imperial Center . Corellian blues . Things did not go well on Coruscant . Solo was refused his funds from the Imperial Bank and was nearly arrested by stormtroopers . He fled from the authorities into the darkest , deepest levels of the city to return to his love , where she awaited him in a cheap motel room they had rented . Still fighting her addiction to the Exultation , Tharen left Solo with a note explaining that she felt she would only prevent him from achieving his dream at the Academy . Emotionally devastated — both distraught and furious — Solo persevered and applied to the Academy with a loan Tharen had secured from her father . Solo passed the entrance exams and was accepted into the Academy . During his training , he became an exceptional pilot and exemplary cadet . On the night of his graduation , while standing high on a roof top and reflecting on his life thus far , he was ambushed by none other than Garris Shrike , who had taken up bounty hunting in search of Solo . Shrike sought vengeance for his former subordinate ' s betrayal and audacity at leaving " Trader ' s Luck " nearly five months earlier . Solo fought for his life against Shrike . However , it was another bounty hunter that killed Shrike with the hope that he would catch Solo . Han Solo killed the other bounty hunter and traded clothes with the dead man ( whose face was destroyed in the fight ) , hoping this would prevent any further acts of retribution & finally set him free . Behind the scenes . During the writing of the novel and its successors , A . C . Crispin was advised by Lucasfilm Ltd . to not explore Han Solo ' s days in the Imperial Academy and his first meeting with Chewbacca , in which the Wookiee ' s life was saved by the smuggler causing the former to swear his Life - Debt with the latter . Since the creation of the prequels , parts of the novel have been retcon ned . The novel states Garris Shrike ' s ship , " Trader ' s Luck " , is an " ancient troopship , a relic of the Clone Wars " . While it is unknown exactly when Shrike acquired the ship , he was in possession of it since Han Solo ' s early years . With current canon , the Clone Wars began when Solo was seven years old ; thus making it impossible to be a " relic " from the war . Another retcon is the timeline . At five years old , Solo was mocked by Shrike and other inhabitants of " Trader ' s Luck " for wanting to join the Imperial Navy . However , the Galactic Empire didn ' t exist until 19 BBY , when Solo was ten years old . In the hardcover , Chapter 12 is absent due to an editor ' s mistake . Cover gallery . This is a gallery of the different cover variations of " The Paradise Snare " .