Light rays rushed past the cockpit as the Millennium Falcon travelled through hyperspace, heading for Naboo. Han Solo got up from his captain's chair and strolled to the main cabin of the ship. Chewbacca and R2-D2 were playing space chess on the hologram table, and Leia was absentmindedly looking off into the distance. They were heading to Naboo for a vacation, since the Empire had fallen, and the New Republic was now on its feet and running smoothly. Han always wanted to visit Naboo but had never gotten the chance to.
He sat down next to Leia and asked her what she was thinking about. Her eyes refocused as if she had been suddenly snapped back to reality. "What?" she asked, as if she hadn't heard is inquiry.
"I said, what are you thinking about?" Han asked again, a little bothered by her reaction. He thought that he already knew the answer before she spoke.
"I was thinking of Alderaan. It seems so much like Naboo. Peaceful, green, flourishing, nice people… I just wish…" She started choking up as she spoke, and Han reached over and put is arm around her shoulders. The comforting gesture seemed to work and lift her spirits.
"Don't think about Alderaan, Leia. It will only bring you sadness," Han said.
"Now you are starting to sound like Luke," Leia chuckled. Her breathing returned to normal and she calmed down. Next to them, R2 beat Chewbacca for the umpteenth time in a row. Chewbacca howled, displeased with R2's performance. R2 beeped excitedly and rode in circles around the room. Chewbacca glared at him and stood up menacingly, obviously about to crush the astro droid. Han pulled him back and calmed him down.
"Don't do it Chewie, don't do it." Han knew that nothing would come of the situation, but it never hurt to be wary around a Wookiee. "If you want to beat R2, then you have to think about what moves are coming ahead. Its all very simple." Chewbacca just scratched his head in indifference.
The hyperspace beacon lit up, alerting to the occupants of the Millennium Falcon that their voyage through space was almost at an end. Han got up and walked back to the cockpit. All the dials and buttons around him were flashing, indicating that the ship was about to come out of hyperspace. As the ship slowed down, the stars around the ship became streaks of light, then transformed into their respective dots of light. The voyage was over, but the adventure was far from it.
The proximity sensor went off, and Han looked up through the top of the cockpit. His brow furrowed in confusion. He could not explain what he saw. He had never seen a vessel like that one before. "Chewie! Leia! You better get up here!" Han yelled. The other two came barreling in a moment after.
Chewie growled and Leia gasped as the vessel above them drifted past. It had a large array of solar panels attached to all sides, and looked like a long tube floating through space. Han maneuvered the Falcon out of harms way and watched as a long crane arm with a figure on the end of it swept out and around the vessel, and he saw whoever it was working on something near a door marked "Entrance."
Leia looked at the navigational chart. Suddenly she gasped in disbelief. "Han, this isn't Naboo. How long were we in lightspeed?"
"I don't know, maybe a few hours?"
"And that didn't seem weird to you? How far from Coruscant is Naboo?"
"Umm, let me check." Han typed furiously on the infobooth next to the navigational computer. Nothing was returned but static. "I can't even see anything!" He yelled. "What is happening?"
Leia was still thinking about how far Naboo should have been. "Naboo is in the Mid Rim, and Coruscant is in the Core… so that means…" Her thoughts were interrupted by Chewie grunting and pointing. A big antenna dish was being assembled on the vessel and was pointing at the Falcon.
"I think they are trying to communicate with us," Leia said.
"Hmm, maybe I can change the frequency of our channel," Han agreed.
After moving the knob around a bit, Han heard a signal that probably was coming from the people in the other ship. Through the static, they heard words like "friend," and "Earth."
Chewbacca growled and took the chair by the navigational computer. After searching for a bit, he growled and warned Han that Earth was nowhere in the galaxy charts. Han, confused, looked down at his controls. He began to wonder if he had lost his touch. Surely not, he thought. There has got to be something I am missing here.
His thoughts were interrupted by the radio. "Hello visitors," the static said. Han was used to being interrogated about their objective first and was caught off guard. He pushed the call button and said, "Hello, uh, could you tell us where we are?" The static came back and said "This is Earth. Could you tell us who you are?"
Han looked at Leia and Chewbacca. Leia shrugged and Chewbacca growled in agreement. Speaking into the radio, Han said, "I am Han Solo, I have here with me Leia Organa and Chewbacca, as well as R2-D2." Silence for a second, and then "Would you like to visit our planet?"
Again, Leia shrugged, and Chewbacca growled in agreement. Han nodded and replied into the radio. "Sure, why not?"
Suddenly a large section of the ship detached and floated towards the Falcon. "That must be their shuttle," Leia commented. Han murmured an agreement. He had never seen a starship like this before. It was fat and had wings sticking out of both sides and the top. It moved with what looked like little vents in the sides that expelled gas.
"The Space Shuttle is clear of the station; Headquarters knows you are coming. Follow us down," the static said. "Affirmative," Han said over the radio, and pushed the thrusters to follow the odd ship down to the planet. After the descent through the upper atmosphere the Falcon broke through the heat and all its occupants looked out in amazement.
"It's so green! Like Naboo AND Alderaan!" Leia said, before breaking down into tears. Han was concentrating on the thrusters. The engines were not reacting the way they should.
"Chewie! Run an analysis of the atmosphere!" Chewbacca grunted and started pushing buttons on his dashboard. After a second or two, Chewbacca named off the elements and percentages of the atmosphere that surrounded them. Han didn't think that anything was out of place, and maybe he was just imagining things.
The ground got closer and closer as the altimeter dropped. The shuttle was heading towards an airstrip, and Han figured that's where he could land the Falcon as well. He noticed a circular pad with a big "H" written on it. The people from the shuttle responded again, and told him to land on that "H."
Once the landing sequence was initiated, he handed controls over to Chewbacca and told Leia and R2 to come with him to the hatch door. The door lowered and warm air spilled into the cabin. Sunlight penetrated through the doorway into the Falcon and Han squinted in the sudden light. Several figures were approaching their ship, and Han could see more amassing in the distance.
"Welcome to Earth," the lead person said as they arrived next to the Falcon.
"Thanks, I'm Han, and this is Leia, Chewbacca and R2-D2."
"We know. Thanks for visiting us here."
Han had no idea what was in store for them on this newly found blue-green planet.
Twenty-five days later, the crew boarded the Millennium Falcon having seen much of southern Florida. The people of Earth seemed to love them and know them. Were they watching Han and his friends somehow? They had determined that the galaxy they were now in was called the Milky Way, and Chewbacca had found it on the navigational computer. It was 4367 light years away from Naboo, a bit off course. But they had enjoyed their adventure on the Planet Earth!