Battle of the Great Pit of Carkoon

"Jabba, this is your last chance. Free us or die."

- Luke Skywalker

The Skirmish at Carkoon, also called the Battle of Carkoon, was an event in which Jabba the Hutt attempted to execute Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca by throwing them into the Great Pit of Carkoon, home of the sarlacc. However, Luke had devised a plan to rescue Han and kill Jabba, if necessary.

Prelude
Years earlier, Jabba had recruited Han Solo to smuggle spice for him. However, on one mission, Imperial Star Destroyers ambushed Solo's ship and he was forced to jettison the spice. Infuriated, Jabba placed a bounty on Solo. Several years after the initial bounty, the bounty hunter Boba Fett captured Solo after he was frozen in carbonite by Darth Vader and delivered him to the Hutt crimelord. After spending some time trying to track down Boba Fett, including a near-miss on Gall, the Rebels had learned the Solo had finally been taken to Jabba.

Infilitrating the palace


Lando Calrissian had infiltrated Jabba's Palace as a guard, in case of an emergency. The group of Rebels did not know how close they would come to experiencing that. Luke Skywalker then sent R2-D2 and C-3PO to deliver a message to Jabba the Hutt. Unknown to anyone else, Luke had concealed his newly constructed lightsaber in R2. The message played by the droid ordered that Jabba free Solo or face the power of the young Jedi. It also presented the droids as gifts to the Hutt, in order to show that he wanted a peaceful agreement rather than a battle. Jabba refused to surrender his favorite prize, foolishly underestimating the Jedi.

Leia Organa, pretending to be the bounty hunter, Boushh, brought the Wookiee Chewbacca to the palace to collect a bounty on his head. Jabba paid her 35,000 credits in exchange for the Wookiee after heated negotiations. The following night Leia attempted to free Han, releasing him from the carbonite. They were captured before they could flee however, as Jabba had distrusted Boushh and was only pretending to sleep. Jabba imprisoned Han in a cell and added Leia to his harem of slave girls.

The Jedi returns
Luke Skywalker then came to free his friends. He had no trouble getting past the Gamorrean guards and thanks to a mind trick, got Bib Fortuna to take him to the Hutt. However, the Hutt crimelord was a much more worthy opponent. He was immune to mind tricks and refused to release Luke's friends. Jabba then pressed a button to drop Luke into the rancor pit. After running away from the rancor, Luke threw a rock at the gate-control button, bringing the heavy gate down on the rancor and crushing its spine. Furious, Jabba ordered Luke, Han and Chewbacca to be thrown to the sarlacc.

The Battle


The three were taken to the Great Pit of Carkoon on a desert skiff, while Jabba and his guests watched from the Khetanna. Onboard the skiff, Luke was forced to jump, but as he fell he caught the board, using it to jump back up. R2-D2, ontop of Jabba's sail barge revealed the Jedi's lightsaber concealed in his dome and shot it up to his master, who caught. As the stunned guards prepared to defend themselves, Luke slashed through them, knocking them over the edge to the sarlacc. Boba Fett, looking to kill the Jedi, landed on the skiff, and fired blaster bolts at Luke. The Jedi deflected them and cut through his blaster. Fett tied him with a steel cord, but Luke was able to free himself. Preparing to jump onto another nearby skiff, the Jedi was distracted. Taking advantage of this, Fett prepared to shoot him. With Fett now not paying attention, Han Solo inadvertently knocked the bounty hunter into the sarlacc's mouth by hitting his jetpack with a vibroblade, activating it and sending him flying into the side of Jabba's barge, where he then slid into the beast's mouth.

Luke jumped onto the other skiff, killing the guard sthere, and then leapt onto the upper deck of the Khetanna. Taym Dren-garen shot him in the hand, exposing his mechanical hand, but the young Jedi quickly recovered and continued to battle the Hutt's minions, knocking many overboard. Lando Calrissian, under the alias of Tamtel Skreej, helped defeat some of the bodyguards on the skiff.

During the struggle Lando was knocked into the Pit of Carkoon. Han and Chewbacca tried to rescue their friend, but he was grabbed by the sarlacc. Shortly after, Han was able to free Lando by wounding the beast with a blaster, forcing it to release him, and then pull him with the help of Chewie.

On Jabba's sail barge, a guard was manning the deck turret, shooting at the Rebels. Luke hurried to fight the guard firing the cannon, and easily defeated him.

As a battle raged outside the sand barge Leia cut off the power inside. In the dark she threw her chain around Jabba, and pulled choking him to death. Witht he help of R2-D2, she escaped from her chains, and hurried to join Luke on the deck along with R2 and C-3PO. He told her to fire the barge's cannon at the deck, setting off a chain reaction which destroyed the sail barge and all aboard. Luke, Lando, Han, Chewbacca, Leia, R2 and 3PO escaped on the remaining skiff, having killed the Hutt crimelord.

Aftermath


Boba Fett managed to escape from the pit days later, thanks to his Mandalorian armor and iron will. He was found by a fellow bounty hunter, Dengar, who nursed him back to health.

The death of Jabba cancelled the debts of many individuals, and as such, Luke was held with considerable favor for removing that dangerous complication in their lives. In response to his son's death, Zorba the Hutt placed a bounty on Leia, which the Desilijic kajidic later extended to Han, Chewbacca, and Luke. The bounty was not formally rescinded until Leia's election as Chief of State, as the Hutts did not wish to further antagonize the New Republic.

Many beings who had been slaves of Jabba escaped, and started their lives over, such as Doallyn, the dancer Yarna, and the members of the Max Rebo Band.

Skywalker and the rest of the Rebels would go on to fight in the Battle of Endor, where Luke would defeat Vader and Palpatine would be killed. The Death Star II would be destroyed, giving the Rebel Alliance their biggest victory in the Galactic Civil War.

Victims of the sarlacc
Many beings fell into the sarlacc during this battle, as well as Boba Fett. They are listed here in order of their death.


 * Skiff 1 crew:
 * Velken Tezeri
 * Weequay skiff master
 * Weequay hunter
 * Vedain
 * Kithaba


 * Skiff 2 crew:
 * "Doallyn-like skiff guard"
 * "Mercenary pilot"
 * "Green Nikto in gray"
 * "Unnamed shirtless Human"
 * "Unknown Kajain'sa'Nikto"
 * Gailid
 * Pote Snitkin


 * Khetanna
 * Unknown Weequay
 * Yotts Orren
 * Taym Dren-Garen

Appearances



 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Tales from Jabba's Palace
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * The Ordeal of Boba Fett
 * A Credit for Your Thoughts
 * Heir to the Empire
 * The Lost Lightsaber

Non-canon appearances

 * Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * The Revenge of Tag & Bink
 * The Return of Tag & Bink: Special Edition