Rebel Dawn " Rebel Dawn " is the third book in " The Han Solo Trilogy " by A . C . Crispin , and the final chapter in the Rise of the Empire era . The three volumes of " The Han Solo Adventures " cover a period of almost 3 years during interludes in this novel . Publisher ' s summary . " The " Millennium Falcon " is " the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy . " So when Han Solo wins it in a game of sabacc , he and Chewbacca become kings of the smugglers — uncatchable and unstoppable . But with the Empire clamping down , Han knows his luck can ' t last . Still , when an old girlfriend who is now the leader of an insurgent Rebel group offers him a shot at an incredible fortune , Han can ' t resist . The plan seems a sure thing . The resistance will be light and the take enormous . Han and his friends will divide it equally with the Rebels . Too bad for Han that the planet of Ylesia is far from a pushover , that the Rebels have an agenda of their own , and that smuggler friends can often turn into enemies … quicker than lightspeed . Plot summary . Han Solo won the " Millennium Falcon " from Lando Calrissian in an intense sabacc tournament on Bespin . He began upgrading the freighter into a highly - specialized smuggling vessel , and also makes a brief stop with Chewbacca on the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk , where Chewbacca married Mallatobuck . Solo and Chewbacca then embarked on a series of adventures . After returning to Nar Shaddaa , Solo is reunited with his old flame Bria Tharen , now an agent of the Rebel Alliance . He was reluctant to aid his former love , who was planning an all - out attack against the slaving colonies on Ylesia . Promised appropriate compensation , Solo , Calrissian , and Chewbacca take on the mission . In the aftermath of the battle , Tharen ' s troopers turned their blasters on Calrissian and the rest of Solo ' s friends , confiscating all valuables in the name of the Rebel Alliance . Angered , Han Solo threatens to kill Tharen if he ever saw her again . Defaced and branded a traitor back on Nar Shaddaa , Lando Calrissian refused to believe Solo was not involved in the swindle , and punched his former friend in the jaw . Desperate for money , Solo and Chewbacca took a spice smuggling run from Jabba ( who had inherited his aunt ' s criminal empire ) through the Kessel Run . However , the duo were met mid - Run by an Imperial patrol , and were forced to abandon their cargo in deep space while the Falcon was searched and escorted to a nearby world . When they came back to look for the cargo , however , the two discovered it had disappeared . The smuggler tried to explain what happened , but Jabba — in a drug - induced haze — turned his back on Solo and demanded compensation for the lost spice . Meanwhile , Bria Tharen led a rebel raid on Toprawa in which rebel spies transmitted the plans for the Death Star I to Leia Organa aboard the " Tantive IV " . Tharen and her squadron were all killed in the raid , but the plans were successfully transmitted . This was the " first victory " of the Rebels . On Tatooine , Han Solo tried unsuccessfully to arrange a personal meeting with Jabba , and became increasingly harassed by bounty hunters working for the crime lord . While he searched for a card game in which he might be able to win the money needed to pay off Jabba , he briefly encountered Dash Rendar . Solo is then interrupted by news of his former lover ' s death , delivered by Boba Fett , who also informed Solo that Greedo was looking for him , and may try to kill him . The following day he recorded a message to Tharen ' s father passing on the news . The smuggler then proceeded to Chalmun ' s Cantina , where Chewbacca had met with Obi - Wan Kenobi to discuss chartering the Falcon for passage to Alderaan . Solo sat down to a table where Kenobi and Luke Skywalker were waiting , leading in to . Cover gallery . This is a gallery of the different cover variations of " Rebel Dawn " .