Young Jedi Knights : Heirs of the Force Heirs of the Force is the first book in the Young Jedi Knights series . Publisher ' s summary . " While exploring the jungle outside the academy , the twins make a startling discovery — the remains of a TIE fighter that had crashed years ago during the battle against the first Death Star . Mechanical whiz Jaina thinks she can repair it … if they can sneak the right parts from the academy . " " Meanwhile , their work is being closely watched — but not by academy eyes . The original pilot , an Imperial trooper , has been living wild in the jungle since his ship went down . Waiting to return to duty . And now his chance has come … " Plot summary . After spending a month of training to become Jedi Knights at Luke Skywalker ' s Jedi Praxeum , Jacen and Jaina ' s father Han Solo arrives on Yavin 4 with gifts for the twins and a new Jedi trainee — Chewbacca ' s nephew , Lowbacca . Along with Tenel Ka — a seemingly humorless warrior girl who befriended them during the past month — the twins and " Lowie " become fast friends . To help Lowie communicate with his fellow students , Chewbacca and Han give him a small translator droid named Em Teedee , whose mannerisms bear an uncanny resemblance to those of the droid C - 3PO . After assembling the T - 23 skyhopper that his uncle had given to him as a going - away present , Lowie takes it on a test flight . He spots a shiny object glimmering in the branches of a Massassi tree , and returns to the Praxeum , vowing to return as soon as possible . After missing evening meal , Lowie shares his discovery with Jacen , Jaina and Tenel Ka . The next day the four Jedi trainees set out in the skyhopper to investigate Lowie ' s discovery . When they arrive at the site , Jacen , Jaina , Lowie , and Tenel Ka discover not just a TIE fighter ' s solar panel ( the shiny object ) , but the rest of the TIE fighter as well . Somewhat envious of Lowie ' s skyhopper , and wanting to face the challenge , Jaina believes that the wrecked TIE fighter can be fixed . Scrounging up parts from the remains of the old Rebel base and the area surrounding the crash , the Jedi trainees go about the task of fixing the wrecked fighter . In addition to the repairs , Jaina decides to install an old hyperdrive unit ( that she had received from her father ) onto the fighter as well . Unbeknownst to the Jedi trainees , their work is being watched closely by Qorl , the pilot who had crashed the fighter during the Battle of Yavin . During the past 23 years he has been waiting the opportunity to return to the Empire and help obliterate the Rebellion . One day while searching for more parts for the TIE fighter , Jacen finds an Imperial insignia that had come off Qorl ' s uniform . He searches further , eventually discovering what has been Qorl ' s home for the past 23 years . He rushes back to the site of the crash and warns Jaina , Tenel Ka , and Lowbacca of the pilot ' s survival . Immediately thereafter Qorl appears , brandishing a blaster and telling the Jedi trainees that they are his prisoners . Lowbacca escapes with his skyhopper and attempts to utilize its bulk in attempting to scare Qorl away . Qorl is unfazed , however , and uses his blaster to critically damage the skyhopper . Lowie flies away and lands the skyhopper . Grateful that it doesn ' t explode , he begins to make his way to the Praxeum . In the process of getting there , Em Teedee is detached from Lowbacca ' s belt and has an adventure with a pack of woolamanders . Lowbacca arrives at the Praxeum but no one can understand him because he lost Em Teedee . Frustrated , he recalls that Han and Chewbacca are still nearby , checking out Lando Calrissian ' s new GemDiver Station . He heads to the Praxeum ' s communications center and informs Han about the situation . Han tells Lowie that he will be back as soon as possible . Meanwhile , Tenel Ka flees into the jungle . She is then attacked by a number of battle hydra s . She eventually stumbles upon a pack of woolamanders , who provide an effective distraction to the battle hydras . In the commotion she hears the voice of Em Teedee crying for help . She rescues him and uses his directional sensors to make her way back to the Praxeum . At the crash site , Qorl marches Jacen and Jaina back to his home at gunpoint . Once there , he restrains them and gives them something to eat . Jaina and Jacen realize that Qorl has had absolutely no contact with the outside world and inform him of the current political situation in the galaxy . The next day , Qorl marches the twins back to the crash site at gunpoint , ordering them to complete the repairs on the TIE fighter so that he may return to the Empire . The twins do so , and he blasts off , vowing to destroy the Praxeum before reporting back to the Empire . Han Solo and Chewbacca arrive at the Praxeum in the " Millennium Falcon " . Shortly before taking off with Lowbacca to save the twins , Han allows Tenel Ka and Em Teedee to board the " Falcon " . Once they are airborne , they notice a TIE fighter making a beeline for the Praxeum . Qorl tries to fire his laser cannons , but it turns out that the twins didn ' t restore them to good working order . The " Falcon " chases him as he flies out of the atmosphere and escapes , using the hyperdrive that Jaina had installed on the TIE fighter . Once the TIE fighter has made the jump to hyperspace , Han , Chewbacca , Lowie , and Tenel Ka head for the crash site , finding that Jacen and Jaina seem to be fine , though worse for wear . A few days later the " Falcon " carries the damaged skyhopper back to the Praxeum . Lowie and Jaina immediately begin work on the airspeeder . The four Jedi trainees contemplate whether Qorl made it back to the Empire . Cover gallery . This is a gallery of the different cover variations of " Heirs of the Force " .