Skirmish on Skip 5

The Skirmish on Skip 5 was a skirmish that occurred on Skip 5 in 17 ABY, when Han Solo and Chewbacca travelled there.

Origins
After travelling to Skip 1 on the Smuggler's Run to discover what Jarril had been trying to warn Han about just prior to the Bombing of the Senate Hall, he and Chewbacca met Jarril's smuggling partner, Seluss. They learned from him that smugglers on the Run were dealing in old Imperial equipment and so travelled to Skip 5 with Seluss to track down the buyer.

The glottalphib crime lord Nandreeson had learned that Solo was on the Run and wanted to catch him so as to lure in Lando Calrissian, who had stole from Nandreeson many years before. He sent 5 of his 'phibs, under the command of Iisner, to Skip 5 to intercept and capture Solo. Shortly after Han, Chewie and Seluss landed on the Skip, they were surrounded by the six glottalphibs, who held swamp stunners at them. Iisner introduced himself to them and said that Nandreeson wanted to meet Han, because he had heard so little news from the New Republic on the Run and he wanted to hear some directly from the husband of it's leader. Han offered to follow them to Nandreeson's base on Skip 6 in the Millenium Falcon, but Iisner said that there was no room for conventional ships on Skip 6, so he would have to accompany them.

The skirmish
A sand crawler entered the cavern, which surprised Iisner, causing him to look round. Han and Chewbacca took this opportunity and ran. The 'phibs fired on them, but missed and hit the sandstone walls to the side of them. Han fired back as he ran, but his shots went wide. The glottalphibs then began to fire flames at them, but hit a wall next to Han, burning off a coolant cover. Han glanced up and noticed that one coolant cover had been pulled back and a man was peering out of it. Despite not knowing who he was, they followed him through the coolant cover and into a narrow crevice. Chewbacca had some difficulty following, due the narrowness of the tunnel, but eventually it emerged into a wide hall, where the man introduced himself to them as Davis.

As they made their way to a larger cavern, Han realized that they would have difficulty getting back to the Falcon, as if they fired on the 'phibs in the hangar, all the other smugglers would fire back at them. He began to formulate a plan and approached some jawas, off which he purchased three blasters and a badly-used speeder bike. The guided the speeder bike down a corridor and planned that Han would mount it and use it as a diversion, while Chewie made his way to the ship. Han also gave out the blasters, so that they would have two weapons each, giving them more fire power than the glottalphibs.

They reached the hangar door, which they believed the 'phibs were hiding behind and Chewie pulled it open. Han flew out and immediately had to dodge a binary load lifter and then pulled upwards, narrowly missing Davis' ship. The 'phibs had surrounded the Falcon, although Iisner was nowhere to be seen, so Han flew towards them, firing his blaster as he went. One shot a mouthful of fire at him. Han twirled the bike to avoid it, but was suddenly in front of the 'phib again, forcing it to jump out of the way. Another fired a blaster and Han fired back, hitting it in the mouth and killing it instantly. The bike continued to move forwards and was halfway across the bay before Han could turn it around. Smugglers began firing at him and shouting that he was crazy. The glottalphibs still surrounded the Falcon, but were all facing Han now, breathing fire and firing on him. Han moved widely to avoid their shots, but this also caused most of hi his shots to miss and those that didn't reflected off the 'phib's blaster-resistant hides. Chewie then emerged and shot two glottalphibs with his bowcaster. Davis sneaked up behind another and tapped on it's shoulder, shooting it in the mouth as it turned round. A shot from behind hit the bike, making it spin. Han dropped his blaster as he tried to maintain control and managed to right the bike. It headed in the direction of the door to the caves, where it narrowly missed the rock walls. While Han turned it around, Davis killed the fifth glottalphib. As the other smugglers were still shooting at them, they all tried to get to the relative safety of the Falcon. Han aimed the bike towards the ship and dismounted next to it. A few moments after, a blaster bolt hit the bike's engine, causing it to explode. Flaming parts flew everywhere and Han and Davis were forced to hide underneath the Falcon to avoid them.

Chewie brought the freighter's boarding ramp and he, Han and Davis all ran aboard. They began to power the ship up and Chewie wanted to go straight away, but Han realized that they needed to find Seluss first. However, while Han and Chewie had first been encountering Davis, Seluss had returned to the Falcon, where he was followed by Iisner, who captured and tied up the diminutive Sullustan. The glottalphib soon had Davis and Chewie held at gunpoint. Han came over and, having left his blaster in the cockpit, tried to buy some time by conversing with Iisner. Han then nodded at Chewbacca, who tugged with all his strength on the door to the cargo area. Iisner sprayed out flames and Chewbacca dodged to left, while Davis moved to the right. The flames scorched the wall and the top of Seluss's head, while Davis slammed into Han and they both tumbled down the corridor. As Han pulled himself up and Davis ran towards the cockpit, Chewie stepped on top of the cargo door, crushing Iisner beneath it. The 'phib tried in vain to flame them, but he couldn't from his position and so begged Han to release him. Han said that, before he would, he wanted know what had been the real intention of the glottalphibs. Iisner claimed that Nandreeson wanted to used Han as bait to catch Lando Calrissian and that Nandreeson was not behind the new source of credits on the Run. Han planned to release him when he revealed details of the credit source, but before Iisner could, Davis shot him.

Aftermath
Han became angry with Davis over him shooting Iisner and became very suspicious of the smuggler, suspecting that he was secretly working for someone. They flew the Millenium Falcon back to Skip 1, where they learned that Lando had already been captured by Nandreeson.

Appearances

 * The New Rebellion