Star-Hoppers of Aduba-3

The "Star-Hoppers," a team put together by smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee partner Chewbacca, was created to protect the small farming village of Onacra from a brutal gang. The group consisted of some of the most dangerous warriors in the Outer Rim, along with a few unpredictable individuals. The Star-Hoppers were a diverse bunch, ranging from the famous gunfighter Amaiza Foxtrain to Jimm Doshun, a teenager who had never fought before. Despite initial struggles to work together and internal conflicts, the Star-Hoppers united when it mattered most, functioning as a team to overcome a gang that outnumbered them five to one. The group, though diverse, loyally followed Solo, their charismatic leader, even when they had their doubts.

In 0 ABY, the notorious smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee first mate Chewbacca sought refuge on the Outer Rim planet of Aduba-3 after taking part in the Rebel victory at the Battle of Yavin. After landing Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon, in the spaceport of Tun Aduban, the pair visited the local cantina. There, they encountered a local farmer named Ramiz, who presented them with a new challenge. Ramiz's village, Onacra, was being targeted by a merciless swoop gang known as the Cloud-Riders, led by the unstable former swoop racer Serji-X Arrogantus. The Cloud-Riders, who were based in the hills near the farming villages west of Tun Aduban, had chosen Onacra as their target simply because it was the closest community to their camp. The Cloud-Riders would periodically raid Onacra, stealing crops and abducting women, until the two sides reached an uneasy agreement in 3 BBY: the Cloud-Riders would leave Onacra alone in exchange for an annual payment of 9,000 credits.

After only three years, the village grew tired of this arrangement. Instead, they decided to offer the full 9,000 credit payment that would have gone to the Cloud-Riders to Solo, in return for protecting the village from the menacing thugs. Solo, moved by the farmers' predicament, accepted the job and began assembling a team to help him defend Onacra. Solo tasked Ramiz with spreading the word, and soon a line of spacers were applying for the job in his rented room at the cantina. While the first ten applicants were disappointing, Solo soon found his first team member in the mysterious Spiner named Hedji, who impressed the Corellian with his ability to accurately throw his natural quills. Hedji's appearance led to a series of successful applicants: first, Solo offered a spot to an old acquaintance named Amaiza Foxtrain, a well-known shootist and former pirate. Then, Solo added an elderly man named Don-Wan Kihotay, who claimed to be a member of the long-lost Jedi Knights and carried a real lightsaber.

After Kihotay joined the crew, a large Boltrunian named Warto—who had been involved in a bar fight with Solo and Chewbacca earlier that evening—tried to cut in line and interview for the job. However, he was quickly defeated by a clever and powerful Lepi named Jaxxon. Solo witnessed the fight and immediately offered Jaxxon a spot on the team. Finally, Solo gave a place to a local teenager named Jimm Doshun, a native of Onacra who brought along his own droid, FE-9Q. Although Doshun had no experience with a blaster, the young farmboy's spirit reminded Solo of his friend Luke Skywalker, convincing Solo to complete his crew with the boy and his droid. The next morning, Solo gathered his new group to head to Onacra, but before they could leave, they were attacked by swoops from the west. Led by Serji-X Arrogantus himself, a group of Cloud-Riders had come to try to bribe Solo into leaving Onacra alone—they had been informed by Warto, who had joined the gang after being beaten by Jaxxon. Solo refused, and Arrogantus left, promising violence the next time they met. However, the group gained something from the encounter: Warto referred to the posse as "star-hoppers" during the confrontation, a name that Solo decided to adopt for the gang.

Despite their brief encounter with Arrogantus and his Cloud-Riders, the Star-Hoppers set off for Onacra, crossing the Aduban wastes on bantha-back. Hours before the Cloud-Riders were expected to attack the village, the Star-Hoppers had their first fight, encountering a pack of fierce high-hounds in the maze-stalk fields around Onacra. Using the avian predators for target practice, Solo and the gang fought off the high-hounds, with Solo personally saving a young girl named Merri from an attack from above. The Star-Hoppers continued on to Onacra, where they learned that Merri was the daughter of village spokesman Oncho Shen, who welcomed the group to the community. The group immediately began preparing for the upcoming attack, and during their preparations, Solo was approached by a village elder called the Old One. Oncho Shen's father and Merri's grandfather, the Old One told Solo about a local legend, the Behemoth from the World Below: a sleeping monster that lived beneath the earth, which he claimed he could summon to protect Onacra. The Old One asked Solo and his Star-Hoppers not to engage the Cloud-Riders, letting him and his supposed Behemoth handle the threat themselves, an offer that Solo, in disbelief, refused.

Soon after, the Cloud-Riders arrived, swooping down on Onacra on their swoops and skyspeeders. The Star-Hoppers immediately engaged the gang in battle, although they were outnumbered and lacked the Cloud-Riders' aerial advantage. Shortly after the fighting began, Solo's posse suffered its first loss: the droid FE-9Q, who used its telescopic arms to bring down several Cloud-Rider vehicles, was destroyed protecting Doshun from a blaster shot. The Star-Hoppers were soon surrounded, forcing the elderly Kihotay to activate his lightsaber and join the fight. Although Kihotay wielded the blade with surprising skill, he was soon incapacitated by a shot to the back. With two of their number down, the Star-Hoppers were in a dire situation. Suddenly, the battle was interrupted by piercing screams and loud chanting from the Old One, who was trying to summon his Behemoth from below. Suddenly, the ground cracked open and a giant monster emerged—the old man's stories were true.

The Behemoth, an apparently unstoppable beast that shot a laser beam from its forehead, seemed to follow the Old One's commands, ignoring the Star-Hoppers and focusing on destroying the Cloud-Riders. Solo was happy to let his group stand back and watch the beast do its job, but that soon changed. In desperation, Arrogantus made a speeder run on the Old One, hoping to eliminate the man controlling the monster that was destroying his forces—the Behemoth killed them both with a single giant stomp, freeing it from the shaman's control. Without the Old One's direction, the monster went wild, easily wiping out the remaining Cloud-Riders before turning its attention to the Star-Hoppers and the village. Solo's group was initially unsure how to deal with the monster: Jaxxon tried to charge at the creature, but it created a rockslide to stop the Lepi's advance, forcing Foxtrain to save him. Kihotay, who had recovered from his blaster wound, then took it upon himself to confront the creature, wielding his ancient lightsaber. Hedji charged in to rescue him, only to find that his quills had no effect on the Behemoth, and the Spiner was almost immediately killed by the monster's forehead laser.

During that encounter, Solo noticed that the Behemoth reacted strangely to Kihotay's lightsaber, and he took up the Jedi weapon, dodging the beast's attacks and stabbing it in the hand. After a brief rage, the Behemoth suddenly began to disintegrate, destabilized by the lightsaber's energies. Having finally saved the village, the Star-Hoppers returned to Onacra for their payment. Having won the heart of Merri with his bravery in the battle, Doshun decided to stay in Onacra with her. Meanwhile, the other five survivors took their reward and went their separate ways, off to their next adventures.

Although the Star-Hoppers separated after the battle for Onacra, circumstances would bring some of them back together. Some time after the fight with the Cloud-Riders, a bounty hunter named Beilert Valance—a deranged former Imperial stormtrooper commander—launched a brutal attack on Anglebay Station, an independent medical facility on Telos IV. Valance had become obsessed with finding an unnamed "farmboy" who had taken part in the Rebel rescue of Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan months earlier, and he happened to receive a lead on his target at Anglebay Station. Don-Wan Kihotay was recovering from his wounds in the station's in-patient wards, and in his senile ramblings, some of Valance's men overheard him mention Jaxxon in connection to Han Solo and an unnamed "boy." Since Solo was a known associate of Valance's "farmboy," Valance immediately went to Nar Shaddaa to find Jaxxon, believing that the Lepi would be the key to finding his prey.

On Nar Shaddaa, a group of Valance's hunters kidnapped Jaxxon and tried to torture him, only to be surprised and shot down by Amaiza Foxtrain, with whom Jaxxon had partnered in business after Aduba-3. Realizing that the hunters were mistakenly after the innocent Jimm Doshun, the two boarded Jaxxon's Rabbit's Foot and returned to the Outer Rim world to warn the "Starkiller Kid," who was now married to Merri with a child on the way. Although Doshun initially doubted that bounty hunters would be after him, Valance's crew had followed the Rabbit's Foot to Aduba-3, making it clear that another fight was coming to the plains of Onacra. Thinking quickly, the three former Star-Hoppers set a trap. Jaxxon and Foxtrain took to the skies in the Rabbit's Foot, harassing Valance's ship and leading it down to Onacra. Valance and his men left their ship, only to find that their target had taken up position in the nearby hills. Then, Doshun and the villagers stampeded their banthas, and the massive pack animals trampled and killed most of Valance's men. Valance survived the bantha charge, only to realize that Doshun was not the farmboy he was looking for. Amused by the misunderstanding, Valance immediately left for the stars again, continuing his hunt.

By 2 ABY, the events of the Star-Hoppers' battle with the Cloud-Riders had become legendary, boosted by Solo's growing fame. That year, Tri-Nebula Entertainment, a studio based in the Minos Cluster, released a holo-doc called Eight for Aduba-3: The Saga of the Starhoppers, which claimed to tell the story of the battle for Onacra and became moderately successful. Doubting the documentary's accuracy, Rebel historian Voren Na'al traveled to Aduba-3 to try to uncover the real story of the Star-Hoppers. Na'al doubted every aspect of the documentary's narrative, even the name "Star-Hoppers"—which Na'al believed was an invention of Tri-Nebula's marketing department—and he struggled to find anyone in the highly transient Aduban society who had been there long enough to remember the events firsthand. The Star-Hoppers themselves had long since scattered, but Na'al managed to find Jimm Doshun and his wife, who still lived in Onacra. Although Doshun refused to meet with him, Na'al briefly interviewed Merri, but was disappointed to find that her story closely matched that of the holo-doc, including the sudden appearance of a massive monster shooting a laser beam from its head. Na'al left Aduba-3 soon afterward, convinced that he had failed to uncover the true story of the Star-Hoppers.

Han Solo, a confident smuggler from Corellia, would become famous for his actions fighting for the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. Formerly working for the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure, Solo was drawn into the war in 0 BBY, playing a key role in the rescue of Princess Leia and the Alliance's victory in the Battle of Yavin. After Yavin, he and his loyal first mate Chewbacca traveled to Aduba-3 to hide, where representatives from Onacra asked him to help save their village from the Cloud-Riders. Solo went on to form the Star-Hoppers to protect Onacra, becoming the group's leader as the posse defeated the swoop gang and the Behemoth from the World Below. After leaving Aduba-3, Solo resumed his adventures with Chewbacca, eventually becoming a general in the Rebel Alliance.

Chewbacca, a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk, was already 200 years old when he arrived on Aduba-3. Like many of his species, Chewbacca was sold into slavery after the rise of the Galactic Empire, but he was rescued by a young Imperial Lieutenant named Han Solo and swore a life debt to the Corellian. Chewbacca became Solo's steadfast right hand as the two began a career as smugglers, eventually finding their way to Aduba-3 after contributing to the Rebel victory at Yavin. Using his large size and incredible strength, Chewbacca was often at the center of the fighting on Aduba-3, killing the massive Boltrunian named Warto with his bare hands during the battle. Chewbacca continued to travel with Solo after saving Onacra, serving the Rebel Alliance in several important battles throughout the war.

Jimm Doshun, a native of Onacra known as "The Starkiller Kid," was orphaned at the age of three by a high-hound attack and was raised collectively by the village. In practice, this meant that Doshun was mainly cared for by FE-9Q, the tractor droid that had belonged to his parents. Over time, Doshun grew into a rebellious teenager, although "Effie" was always there to help him out of trouble. As his village fell under the control of the Cloud-Riders, Doshun became angry at his elders' inability to defend themselves—in 0 ABY, at the age of 16, he went to Tun Aduban with FE-9Q to prove himself. Skilled with a knife and sling, Doshun believed that he could stand up to the Cloud-Riders even though he had never been in a real fight before, and he impressed Han Solo with his spirit, reminding the smuggler of his friend Luke Skywalker. Doshun showed his bravery during the battle with the Cloud-Riders, winning the heart of his longtime crush, Merri Shen. The two were soon married and had several children.

FE-9Q, a tractor droid also known as "Effie," was one of the few droids in Onacra, although he was not used often due to the villagers' pride in doing their farm work themselves. However, Effie was taken in by the Doshun family, who were drawn to the droid's strong personality and used him as a household servant. When Jimm's parents died, Effie essentially raised the boy, doing his best to teach him his parents' values. Although Effie tried to control Jimm as he grew into a restless and rebellious teenager, he was limited by his programming, which required him to do what the young man said. As a result, Effie could not prevent Doshun from going to Tun Aduban, nor could he stop him from joining Solo's Star-Hoppers and entering the fight. However, Effie stayed with Doshun and, even though his programming prevented him from harming sentients, he found a way to contribute in the battle with the Cloud-Riders by using his telescoping arms to destroy enemy speeders. Effie was destroyed during the battle of Onacra, becoming the first casualty of the Star-Hoppers.

Amaiza Foxtrain's ascent to becoming one of the most dreaded gunslingers in the Outer Rim began on her homeworld of Ord Mantell. It was there that she initially earned a living as part of a captivating dance act alongside her twin sister, Jodelle. A devious Twi'lek named Quatrain Pudundruh managed the Foxtrains, ultimately selling the siblings to the infamous Black Hole Gang of the Delphon system following a difficult season. The accidental demise of Jodelle during a raid spurred Amaiza to hone her skills as a formidable gunfighter. She eventually seized control of the pirate crew after fatally shooting the former chief. However, the Imperial Navy soon launched a crackdown on Delphon, leading to the dispersal of Foxtrain's gang. Seeking employment, Foxtrain journeyed to Aduba-3, where she crossed paths with Solo, with whom she shared a prior connection. Recognizing her exceptional talent with a blaster, Solo promptly offered her a position with the Star-Hoppers, and her gunfighting expertise proved crucial during their confrontation with the Cloud-Riders. Subsequently, she established a smuggling enterprise with fellow Star-Hopper Jaxxon, which ultimately led her back to Aduba-3 to defend Doshun from Beilert Valance.

Hedji, a mysterious spacer dedicated to safeguarding the vulnerable, belonged to the rare Spiner species, one of the last of his kind. During the era of the Galactic Republic, a supernova obliterated the Spiner homeworld of Yablon. A genetic defect that restricted Spiner reproduction to Yablon doomed the species to a gradual extinction. Hedji rarely spoke about himself or his history, keeping his reasons for being on Aduba-3, and his motivations for joining Han Solo's Star-Hoppers, a secret. What was known about Hedji, however, was his lethality. While he avoided using a blaster, Hedji utilized the Spiners' inherent ability to launch precise, high-speed quills that could be as deadly as a blaster bolt. Despite Solo's initial skepticism towards Hedji and his refusal to carry a blaster, Hedji's proficiency with his quills convinced him to enlist the Spiner. Hedji proved to be a valuable asset against the Cloud-Riders, but ultimately perished at the hands of the Behemoth from the World Below.

Jaxxon, a rugged Lepi smuggler hailing from Coachelle Prime, often faced underestimation and ridicule due to his physical appearance—standing at 1.9 meters tall, he resembled a colossal green rabbit. However, this almost always proved to be a grave mistake for those who did so. Quick-witted and always prepared for a fight, Jaxxon earned his reputation with a brutal mercenary group known as the Boys of Corus, becoming an expert marksman with a blaster. Following the disbandment of his gang, Jaxxon embarked on a smuggling career based out of Nar Shaddaa. In 0 ABY, he landed on Aduba-3 to repair his starship, the Rabbit's Foot, and decided to join Han Solo's crew. Jaxxon played a vital role in the Star-Hoppers' triumph over the Cloud-Riders, and subsequently formed a smuggling partnership with Amaiza Foxtrain, operating from his Rabbit's Foot. The duo later returned to Aduba-3 to defend fellow Star-Hopper Jimm Doshun from the assault of Beilert Valance's gang.

Born Hess Korrin, the individual later known as "Don-Wan Kihotay" initially worked as a librarian on the planet of Obroa-skai, dedicating his life to cataloging ancient artifacts. During his free time, Korrin delved into the history of the Jedi Order, developing an increasing obsession with the Jedi. However, with the rise of the Empire, the Imperial Security Bureau destroyed Korrin's antiquities section, deeming it a "public safety risk." The destruction of his Jedi relics shattered Korrin's mind, leading him to wield a yellow-bladed lightsaber, one of the few artifacts he managed to salvage. He then adopted the name Don-Wan Kihotay, striving to preserve and embody the Jedi legacy. His compassionate manager secretly transported him offworld to Aduba-3 to shield him from further Imperial scrutiny, where he joined Solo's crew. In reality, Kihotay possessed a mild Force-sensitive ability, and as demonstrated on Aduba-3, he was skilled in lightsaber combat. Kihotay sustained injuries during the battle at Onacra, although Solo wielded his lightsaber to slay the Behemoth from the World Below. While recovering from his injuries at Anglebay Station on Telos IV, Kihotay was killed when Valance and his thugs destroyed the hospital.

The Star-Hoppers of Aduba-3 made their debut appearance in Star Wars (1977) 8, penned by Roy Thomas and published in 1977. The Star-Hoppers subsequently featured in numerous other issues of the original Marvel Star Wars comic series.