Author's notes: A/U, non cannon story of the origins of Han Solo and his connection with Chewbacca. Yes, I know it didn't really happen. But what if it did? I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, so forgive me my mistakes and enjoy!

Child of Kashyyyk

He loved the child when no one would,

He gave his heart to him, made him his cub.

When the cub was lost, his heart burned as fierce,

When the cub was found, his heart ached with joy,

As any parent would.

The sky above was clear and blue, with white clouds stretched across the surface. The inhabitants, both intelligent beings and creatures, could see nothing of the battle that raged in space above the atmosphere of their jungle planet. Yet another conflict between the Clone Army of the Republic and the Droid forces of the Separatists. Generated by a merciless slaughter of laser beams and energy torpedoes, huge explosions and burning clouds of fire scattered the remains of ships and men among the stars.

It was only when the peaceful sky above was violently ripped open by a sucking rumble that some of the planet's life forms looked and noticed. Leaving an arc of flame, the giant, shattered hulk of a Corellian CR90 Corvette plummeted down at a sharp angle into the Hoorrkhukk Sea. Growing hotter and hotter as the changing atmosphere wrought heavy friction on the ferro-magnesium ceramic hull, it went like a fireball into the calm sea, causing a sudden upheaval of steam and four foot waves that crashed into the shoreline over a few hundred yards away.

It bobbed on the water; still flaming on top while it steamed below, driving undersea creatures away from the intense heat. Then, after a few torturous seconds, with a last siren wail and the heavy metal clatter of collapsing gears and metal, it sank, leaving huge bubbles, then silence.

Tall, strong, and covered with hair, the Wookies grunted and growled at each other, with curiosity as to what was happening above and sorrow for whoever had been aboard the Corvette. Only one Wookie, some distance from the Kerritamba Village, saw something other than the behemoth wreck. He slid down from the vine he had been swinging on and planted both hairy feet on a thick branch with a bark of exertion. He narrowed his eyes at the thin trail of engine exhaust as a much, much, smaller escape capsule sputtered out, wobbling as it propelled itself into the woods farther inland.

With a sudden, enormous attack of curiosity and above all a hope of finding and aiding any survivors, the Wookie checked his crossbow for readiness, hooked it at his back, and began to navigate through the huge trees. He knew that the chances of survival for anyone at the bottom levels of the jungles of Kashyyyk, even a Wookie, were close to nil.

SWSWSWSWSW

It was hours later when he found it, but Chewbacca was used to long, hard journeys through his home planet. He thrived on them, enjoying the mystery, danger, and beauty of his world. It grew darker and darker as he got farther down the wroshyr trees and away from the sun. The rich, earthy smell of decaying plants and fragrant blossoms and animal musk mingled together and came to his nostrils. It was a smell he had known since he was a cub. It was the smell of the earth, of his home, of all things good.

He slid down half a trunk, grabbing huge pawfuls of moss and lichen to slow his descent. Twisting through a mass of vines, he landed on a thick outcropping of wood where a small tree grew into a gigantic one. There was little sunlight here, the fourth of seven levels in the jungle. The escape pod lay easily on the branches, most of them thicker than a house. Whatever incentive there was to tilt over the round areas was stopped by other, smaller plants that grew in the wooden bark as if it were earth.

Chewbacca stepped over some bushes and came towards it, eyes wary for any creatures that might be gathered around the new, invasive object. His ears immediately caught the sound of nail scratching against metal. A Tartuk, a mottled green and brown lizard that ran on two legs and was about four feet high, stuck its head out suddenly and growled threateningly at Chewbacca. Its feathery tail swept back and forth and yellow saliva bubbled up between its pointed teeth.

Chewbacca knew these creatures. Solitary, tough looking scavengers that were cowards at heart. He didn't even bother to draw his crossbow. Latching onto a shard of metal that had detached itself from the escape pod, he swung it with his powerful arm and gave an echoing, rumbling roar. He didn't aim particularly, and the projectile twanged off the side of the pod. The Tartuk gave a small jump before falling on its tail. It scrambled up as Chewbacca strode forward, yelling obscenities at it in Shyriiwook. The Tartuk gave a strange chattering cry before pelting off into the shadows between the tree branches, unharmed.

The Wookie paused to look after it before coming to the escape pod. It was a rather large one, meant to carry at least four people. He looked for the door and saw it had ended up on top as the escape pod rolled. Rather than roll it and risk making it fall off the tree, he took a good hold and shimmied up above. He slipped his large hand into the slightly small handle and released the pressure.

With a hiss, the door gave and he pulled it open.

Warm, dry darkness came from below. No…there was a scent of blood. With a feeling of inevitable regret, the Wookie bent his head and arms inside, feeling for a button. The emergency lights switched on. There at the bottom was the crumpled form of a man in a green uniform, his head split open with a severe burn on his arm and chest. It was his blood the Wookie smelled.

Chewbacca moaned sadly. As if in answer, so tiny and weak he almost missed it, a thinner moan rang out from deep in the tiny compartment. More like a wail. The wail of an uncomfortable infant. Sniffing suspiciously, the Wookie squeezed himself farther in and saw it.

Tied securely, almost rigidly, into a seat was a wailing, smooth skinned, blue-eyed, human child. His fuzz of hair was already showing itself to be brown, and by the way he was crying, he was mad. Chewbacca reached with both paws and slowly untied the baby, slipping a big arm around the tiny form and lifting it slowly and delicately out into the open air. The escape pod creaked as he lowered himself off it and stood on the branch, gazing at what he held.

The baby was dressed in a light green gown, so long that it hid his feet. His tiny red fists clenched excitedly onto Chewbacca's thick fur as he gurgled, blinking like an owl. On a strap of leather around his little stomach was a small, wooden medallion. There was nothing else. Perplexed, Chewbacca wondered who the man was, who the baby was, and what they had meant to each other that the man would sacrifice his life to get the baby out safely.

He had to bring the baby back to Kerritamba Village. Leaving it was utterly out of the question. Chewbacca treasured all forms of life, especially the young. He set it down in a snug crevasse in the wooden bottom and set about constructing a wooden cradle, bound together with vines. He slipped the baby inside and bound the front of it. The baby began to cry. Chewbacca took it out and made sure nothing was hurting it. He put it back in after lining it with moss and tying a strip of some cloth around the head to keep it still. Then he stood, barely feeling the weight of the human baby. Careful not to jerk his body, he began to climb up, up into the trees, leaving the escape pod behind.

Inside the pod, the communications system blared to life, replaying a brief hologram recording with the face of the dead man in shimmering blue.

To whoever finds this, I have been charged with the protection of the child you will find by me. I am on a long, long journey with him. There is a chance that, during this journey, I may fail in my duty towards him and his family. If so, please, in the name of goodness, take the child with you. Take him back to his home planet on Corellia. You will be well rewarded for your trouble, if you will only return him to the family of-

There was a final, dying burst of static as the emergency lights faded, leaving the pod in darkness, hiding the corpse from view.

SWSWSWSWSW

Chewbacca swung to a stop just above the village. He climbed down a twisting, curled up branch before landing safely on the wooden structure of his home. A few Wookie pups, kneeling together around some center of interest, looked up with envy to watch the adult warrior stride by, proud and tall. Some Wookies looked up from the openings of their homes, while others completely ignored him.

Chewbacca nonchalantly dropped the crossbow so it was leaning against his knee. Then he untied the cradle and eased it around into one arm, picking up the crossbow with the other. The resulting baby squall caused every single Wookie to glance at him sharply, perking their ears and sniffing at the sound.

He saw his cousin Jowdrrl and his friend Mallatobuck come towards him. They were both young adults like himself, and very close to him. Mallatobuck was a female, and she peered closely at the bundle he held. *A human cub?* she woofed, smiling at the baby's face.

*He is a survivor from the Corvette that crashed. There was a man with him, but he died from his injuries.* Chewbacca responded, watching with amusement as Malla nearly stole the baby from his arms and marveled at its tiny, delicate form.

*So lightweight. I feel he would fly some distance if I tossed him.* She rumbled. *Not that I plan to.*

Jowdrrl laughed. *What are you going to do with him? It is a bad omen to be so white. He is not the color of the earth.*

*I'll decide later, you superstitious ninny* Chewbacca affectionately swiped a heavy cuff at his friend's head. *Malla can play with him meanwhile*

The baby was busy yanking old fur from Malla's arms. She raised her eyebrows and woofed anxiously. *But how delicate is he? What can he eat?* With one finger, she gingerly pulled the chin down. *His teeth are so tiny!*

Jowdrrl reached forward and touched the baby's head lightly. *He is very little. Pound up some fruit as small as you can and see if he'll eat it. He's hopefully beyond milk need*

Chewbacca rubbed his nose and slung the crossbow into its accustomed position on his back. *Don't get carried away, you two. He will probably be gone in a few days.* He spoke no more and walked off a few feet. Then he turned his head slightly to see the child, so small and white against Malla's dark fur, with the other Wookie cubs crowding around in curiosity.

He wondered. Why was the ship shot down? Was it an accident, or did someone have a price on the baby's head? Why had the guardian gone through so much trouble to save its life? What was to be done with it? Give it back to the first human force that next landed here, trusting Separatist droids or Clone troopers to safely convey an infant back to Corellia? Would anyone bother about the life of a baby in the middle of a war at all?

Kashyyyk was still neutral in the Clone Wars. King Grakchawwaa was trying to avoid war on their planet as much as possible, only allowing certain factions on either side to land for refueling and trade. Therefore the only way to return the baby to its own kind would be for Chewbacca himself to journey to Okikuti, the nearest large city. But should he make such a large journey, only to find that the soldiers only considered the baby a casualty of war?

He looked back again, growling softly, and saw the medallion dangling, the baby sleeping in Malla's arms. And he wondered. Who was this human cub?

SWSWSWSWSW

Chewbacca was still undecided. He saw no clear path for the safe resolution to this child's journey. Discussions with his father Attichituk were no help, and the wanderings of his mind only grew more tangled as he tried to reconcile the problem. And all the while, he and the whole Wookie village grew fonder of the human cub.

The baby learned to toddle quickly, and was in love with the green, airy home he lived in. His favorite sport seemed to be to waddle to the very ends of branches and back, causing Chewbacca's heart to leap into his throat multiple times. But Chewbacca soon learned that a chastising roar worked well on any misbehaving cub, Wookie or human. When the baby disobeyed or wandered too far, all he had to do was give a rumbling, echoing bark, and the human cub would twist around swiftly and rush back to his original position.

Everyone soon got used to him, referring to him as 'Chewbacca's cub', taking care of him or even saving him when the need required, as they would to any cub of their village. And to Chewbacca's own pleasant surprise and amusement, even in his own mind he began to refer to the baby as *my cub*, not *the human cub*.

The toddler soon grew a shock of brown hair that the other female Wookies loved to ruffle with their paws, making him more attractive in their eyes. He didn't seem to mind, except when it got in his eyes. He had no fear, walking among these dark furred giants, following them and making queer noises as any cub would.

There were only two twinges on Chewbacca's conscience. One was that the boy was completely derived of human culture, of his people and home world. And any Wookie could tell you how important one's people and home planet were. Two, Chewbacca was often away from the village on long expeditions and adventures, leaving the child in the communitive care of Malla and the others. They didn't really mind, but Chewbacca still felt the baby should have a stronger connection with him.

He shouldn't really have worried, however. Somehow the boy knew exactly which Wookie it was that had saved his life and brought him here. No matter how many Wookies Chewbacca mingled with or how long he was gone, the minute the toddler's blue eyes saw him they would light up with delight and he would rush forward on strong little legs, eager to grab handfuls of fur and pull himself up into strong arms.

And Chewbacca loved it when he did so. Sometimes Malla was with the toddler when he broke into a run towards him, and as he easily settled the boy on his shoulders, he would meet eyes with her. She would blush and duck her head.

Jowdrrl nudged him. *she likes you*, he barked.

Chewbacca shifted the baby on his shoulders. *Did you ever grow up? You're almost two hundred years old, you know.*

Jowdrrl woofed mockingly and took the child from Chewbacca, rubbings his stomach until the boy giggled and did his own woof. *Ok, then us cubs will go play. Enjoy your grey hairs, my cousin.*

Chewbacca rolled his eyes and went to meet Malla. She smiled as Jowdrrl roared in elation, while the boy threw up his own high pitched, loud scream that somehow blended in perfectly. *Your cub has been with us for more than a year now, and you never gave him a name*

Chewbacca winced. *I always hoped to find his real one*

She shrugged. *He will grow into a man called Chewbacca's cub. Not a pleasant thought.*

He sighed. *I have been negligent. Whenever I come back, my thoughts are full of my friends and the stories I tell them and the fun I have with him. I will make him a name now.*

At that instant, Jowdrrl came pounding up, chasing the tiny, squealing human child. The boy grabbed Chewbacca's leg and looked back defiantly, spouting out babyish, soft voiced imitations of Shyriiwook. Out of his feeble grunts and growls, one kept being repeated. "Hraaaan." He wailed, before looking up at Chewbacca, asking him to see his point. "Hraaan. Hwaaan."

Chewbacca barked with laughter and swooped him up safely as Jowdrrl turned to chase other Wookie cubs into fits of hysteria. He rubbed a paw through the boy's already mussed brown hair, noting how his paw fur seemed to blend in color with it. *You wanted to say saaafe, saaafe?* He chuckled.

The boy nodded and reached forward, fingering Chewbacca's muzzle and teeth without fear. He saw only love in the kind, small eyes surrounded by thick, smelly hair. Chewbacca moved his head so he could speak without biting the child's hands off. *Doesn't 'Han' sound human to you?* He woofed.

Malla nodded enthusiastically. *It does. I would prefer a Shyriiwook name, but I suppose he would find it hard to walk around Coruscant with a name like Woolwarricca.*

*Whose cub is it, yours or mine?* Chewbacca laughed. Malla looked up at him sharply, and a feeling he didn't understand passed through her eyes. It was gone in a minute, and she said, rather sadly, *Both of ours, maybe?*

For answer, he swung one arm around her shoulders and held Han towards her with the other. She grinned and ruffled Han's hair. Han ducked away from her paw and twisted insistently, dropping to the ground and pouncing on Jowdrrl's unprotected back.

SWSWSWSWSW

Han took some getting used to his own name, but he had always responded readily to Chewbacca and it was no different now. It was much harder for him to speak Shyriiwook and he often did it imperfectly, but he understood it if he was born into it. Chewbacca sat by the fire in his father's hut, scraping out a new crossbow. Han finished wolfing down supper and came over to plop into the Wookie's lap, dangerously close to the knife.

Chewbacca sighed and put both knife and crossbow safely out of reach before grabbing the toddler under the arms and swooping him up into the air. Han kicked his feet and laughed hysterically, intermitting it with strange growls and barks.

Chewbacca lay on his back. *Han, you're flying. You're flying like the Netcasters, or the Cloudsweepers on their way to the sea.* He dipped his arms, making Han squeal with delight. Lying by a warm fire with a full belly and the laughter of a young one in his ears and a warm, wriggling life in his paws, Chewbacca didn't think he had ever felt happier.

Here was something small and weak that trusted in him and depended on him and loved him so much. What could he do but love it in return? And he did, he realized, he really did love his cub. There was no mate here to share his joys with, but even that would come in time. An image of Malla passed fleetingly through his mind. But she never gave any hint of her feelings. Chewbacca had only come to ponder the idea because of Jowdrrl's jokes.

But, thinking of the sea, and seeing Han, arms outspread, eyes closed in bliss, suspended above him, reminded him of the ship, the Corellian Cruiser that crashed into the water on that fateful day.

Han was completely welcome here in this village. But what of the outside world? Who would welcome a man who smelled of Wookies and only spoke in strange grunts and growls, with no knowledge of human customs or expectations? And when he grew older, Chewbacca knew, that wild, untamed spirit that allowed Han to dare even a Wookie roar, just to test the uncertain and unsafe, to crawl to the edge of a wiggling branch that extended out over a dizzying, fatal drop…that spirit would drive him to the stars.

Chewbacca himself felt the longing for space travel, but he loved his planet too much. Would Han love it as much? Would he not feel himself an outsider or a deformity, unwelcome on Kashyyyk?

He pawed Han's chin. *What do you think, Han?* He woofed. *Do you want to see the Universe?*

Han opened his eyes and frowned, impatient for the ride to continue. *Go, Chewie* he slurred out. Chewbacca laughed and twirled his arms once again before dropping Han onto his chest. He rubbed vigorously through the small head of brown hair, wrapping a thick, strong arm around the child. Hugging back, Han buried his face in the musty, dusty Wookie hair, and felt safe.

**to be continued**