Boek Star Wars Han Solo the Hutt gambit (A.C. Crispin)

One of the central conflicts of the story is the Battle of Nar Shaddaa, which is fought between the Galactic Empire and an alliance of smugglers and mercenaries.

In the wake of an attack on Rampa II by one of the groups that would go on to form the Rebel Alliance, Emperor Palpatine instructs each sector Moffs to end the smuggling of contraband. In response, the previously ineffectual Moff who governed Hutt Space, Sarn Shild, proclaims that he will restore law and order to Hutt Space. This announcement is met with dismay by the Hutts, and clan leader Jabba the Hutt plans to bribe Shild into sparing the Hutt homeworld, Nal Hutta. Towards this end, the Hutts pay Han, by now a smuggler and erstwhile Imperial officer, to travel to Imperial Center and bestow gifts upon Shild. However, Shild informs Han that he intends to launch an orbital bombardment campaign against Nal Hutta's moon, Nar Shaddaa, the home of millions of smugglers and their families. Shild also intends to blockade Nal Hutta until the Hutts agrees to military occupation and the presence of customs inspectors.

Shild then instructs Admiral Greelanx, the commander of his sectorial fleet, to mobilise his fleet and progress to Nar Shaddaa. However, on the following day, Greelanx receives an anonymous message from Exocomm instructing him to deliberately lose the battle.

As Shild's sectorial fleet assemble near Teth, Han returns to Hutt Space. The Hutts then instruct him to again attempt to bribe the Imperials, this time targeting Greelanx. He infiltrates Greelanx's flagship, Imperial Destiny, at Teth, giving him a platinum ring set with a Bothan glitterstone. In exchange for the ring and a number of valuable gemstones, Greelanx sells his battle plan to the Hutts.

In the meantime, Han, along with fellow former Imperial Mako Spince, recruits the denizens of Nar Shaddaa into a loose fighting unit. Their forces are bolstered when the Hutt mercenaries, led by Captain Renthal, agrees to fight alongside the smugglers. As the smugglers begin repairing and upgrading their ships in preparation for the defense of Nar Shaddaa, Spince and Han devise a battle plan.

The battle takes place as the smugglers prepare for a formation drill. The smugglers are victorious, although more than a quarter of their fleet is destroyed. Shild commits suicide after being summoned before the Emperor for his failure, and Greelanx is summarily executed by Darth Vader for treason shortly after Han returns to his ship with the remainder of his payment. Han listens in on the execution from an adjoining room