It was night on the moon of Endor. The Death Star II had just been destroyed. All of the people on the moon – both human and Ewok – were celebrating the destruction, as peace had finally been brought to the galaxy. Yet their was still an uncomfortable atmosphere. So the Rebels changed guards every two hours. This time, it was Chewbacca's turn. He, like the other guards, had two tasks – make sure any Imperial survivors did not try to harm everyone, and watch for Luke.
The second task was what had everyone worried. Luke had told Leia that he was heading off to the Death Star to face off against the Emperor and Darth Vader. However, he had yet to return. Everyone was afraid that Luke had been on the Death Star when it had exploded.
Chewbaaca growled. It was boring, and some ten-legged insects were pestering him. He waved them aside, before looking back at the Ewok village where just about everyone was partying. Just about. Han and Leia were only pretending to, much too worried about Luke's fate to celebrate the end of the Empire.
His ears pricked up. Had he heard a starship? Crawling cautiously, holding his blaster, Chewbacca slowly headed towards where he had heard the noise. Moving through the bushes with as little sound as possible, he crouched low and positioned himself to where he could see and have a clear shot, but no one else would be able to see him.
Immediately, he was alarmed. An Imperial starship! One had escaped after all! Growling softly, he readied his blaster as the door opened, and someone stepped out. But then, Chewbacca quickly pulled away his gun as he recognized the figure in black. It was Luke!
Jumping out of the bushes, he raced forward, growling happily as he scooped up his friend and hugged him tightly in a bear hug. "Chewie!" Luke laughed, trying to escape the furry beast's embrace. "I'm glad to see you too!" The Wookiee barked happily in response.
"Oh, don't worry. The Emperor's gone, but we made it off the Death Star before it blew. Close call, but the Force was with me."
Force. There was that mysterious word again. Yoda had used it when describing how he had escaped Order 66.
Wait a second? "We?" Chewbacca could obviously see that one of them was Luke. But who was the other? He inquired this of Luke.
Luke looked slightly uncomfortable. "Darth Vader." Chewbacca roared in alarm. Darth Vader was here? But then, why hadn't he appeared from the shuttle? "Because he is dead. He died to save me." Chewbacca growled, confused. "You see, up there... the Emperor was also a Force-user, and he has the ability to generate lightning from his hands. He used the lightning on me, but Vader saved me by picking up the Emperor and throwing him down the reactor shaft." The Wookiee growled again. "I always thought I was an orphan. That I had no family besides Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. And when they died, I thought I was all alone. However, it turns out that Vader is my father. And... Leia is my sister."
Now that was news. How can one of the most valuable Rebels actually be the son of the second-in-command? Perhaps the old man – Ben, or was it Obi-Wan? – had kept this knowledge, in fear of what would happen if Luke was lost to the Empire. And then... Luke's last name was Skywalker, and Vader's was not. In fact, the only person with the last name Skywalker Chewbacca knew of was Anakin Skywalker, and he had vanished during the Clone Wars, presumed killed by Order 66. But with what Luke was telling him, it seems that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were the one and the same.
"Anyways, Chewie... I'm back. It's alright. I want to tell Han and Leia, but I need to do something first." An inquisitive bark. "I need to make a funeral pyre for my father. He redeemed himself right before he died, and I don't want to deny him a proper funeral."
The Wookiee understood this. By saving Luke, Darth Vader had caused the boy to owe him a life debt. He watched as Luke began to collect wood for a funeral pyre, using the strange abilities of the force to lift them into the proper positions. Then he began to assist him. After all, he Chewbacca, owed Darth Vader a life debt too. He let Luke know this.
Luke was startled. "What? When?"
Han, Leia, and Chewbacca were led up the steps, with their hands cuffed. Threepio was chattering and complaining about how his legs hadn't been fixed, and Chewbacca was starting to find the droid very annoying. At least he had gotten him online! He glared the entire time at Lando, unable to believe that Han's friend had betrayed them.
In no time at all, the two were brought to the chamber with a hole in the ground. With a start, Chewbacca realized that this was a carbon-freezing chamber. What were they doing here? He pricked his ears up as he heard Darth Vader and Lando talking. Something about Luke and carbon-freezing and testing the chamber on... Han?! The Wookiee was horrified. Carbon-freezing was a delicate process, and few people survived it. When a stormtrooper moved forward to take Han into the chamber, Chewbacca snapped.
There was no way he was going to let Han be frozen. Barely managing to break free from the cuffs, he lunged at the guards near Han and tried to shove them and the reinforcements away from them. Out of the corner of his eye, he shot Boba Fett aim at him, but Darth Vader knocked his gun away to stop him from shooting...
"I... see..." Luke whispered when Chewbacca had finished his story. The two were silent for awhile, setting up the pyre, before Luke deemed it finished. The two traveled inside the Imperial starship to retrieve Vader's body. Chewbacca, despite knowing that the Sith Lord was dead, was still shocked to see the limp body of the man. Gently, he lifted him into his arms (Luke wasn't strong enough), carried him out of the ship, and placed him on the pyre.
The man may have been evil, but saving the life of one of his friend's meant a lot to Chewbacca and for that reason alone the man needed a proper funeral. The Wookiee stepped back and Luke lit the pyre. The two stood there silently, and then Chewbacca, having paid his last respects, walked back to the Ewok village to give Luke some privacy in mourning his father.