The Jon Solo Chronicles Book 4: The Force Awakens

Chapter 4: The Millennium Falcon Flies Again

So many thoughts rushed through Jon's head as he ran. The Millennium Falcon was on Jakku. It was the first time Jon had seen it since before Han had left. What was it even doing on Jakku? And if the ship was here, did that mean Han had been on Jakku this entire time? If that were the case, did Leia know? Was that the reason she insisted Jon go to Jakku, to not only find out clues to where Luke was, but to also reunite with his father? But something about that theory just didn't add up. Before Jon left D'qar, Leia had only mentioned knowing Han was still alive. She'd made no hint of a possible location, which meant that she didn't even know herself. And Jon also knew his father well enough to guess that even if Han had been to Jakku at some point, he wouldn't have stayed here for six years. The Falcon must have been here alone for all that time. But how? And why? Because one of the last things Han Solo would ever do is consciously abandon his beloved Falcon, especially on a planet as desolate as Jakku.

Jon then thought of something else. A few minutes ago, Rey had just referred to the Falcon, a ship that had always been home to him, as "garbage." And she was nineteen, the same age as Luke and Leia when Jon had first met them. He remembered how they, too, had insulted the Falcon upon first seeing it.

"Hey, this ship is not garbage!" Jon exclaimed.

"How do you know?" asked Rey.

Jon wanted to say "Because it's the Millennium Falcon!" What he actually said was "Because this is a Corellian YT-1300 series model light freighter! These were the pride and joy of the CEC-the Corellian Engineering Corp. Well, at least, that's what my dad always told me."

"That may have been true in your dad's day!" said Rey. "Hell, maybe even while you were growing up. But times have changed. The YT-1300 line is all but obsolete! Not even the parts are worth that much now!"

The Falcon loomed even closer. Jon was now able to see that its ramp was lowered. Jon was grateful for that, because he didn't think he'd be able to open it from the outside.

[We found a way outta here!] BB-8 chirped, rolling past Jon, Rey and the boy. Jon had nearly forgotten he was still with them. The boy yelped as another blast went off near them. Then the group finally boarded the Falcon. Jon took a second to breathe in the ship's familiar, comforting scent.

"Dad, I'm home," he said, keeping his voice low so Rey and the boy wouldn't hear him. Of course, he now understood that Han wasn't here, but he'd said it in the hopes that, somehow, wherever he was now, his father had heard him. And now if he wondered if, once the Falcon got off Jakku, he could use it to go looking for Han and Chewie.

No, he told himself. That's not my mission. I have to get BB-8 back to the Resistance. But if I return there in the Falcon, Mom will be so surprised to see it. Of course...things just won't be the same without Dad. He pushed the thought aside.

"Gunner position's down there," Rey told the boy as she raced towards the cockpit, and he went where she indicated.

"There's one on top," said Jon. "I'll take it."