In the hangar of the Resistance base on Garos, Han Solo is face to face with his longtime friend, and former lover, Qi'ra, who has appeared unexpectedly.
"Han." Qi'ra says.
"It's been a while." Han says.
"You could say that. When I heard that you were dead. I never believed it. Not for a second. Han Solo is too damn lucky to get himself killed." Qi'ra says.
"It's been how long, five years?" Han asks.
"Seven." Qi'ra says.
"Okay. Seven years." Han says.
"The last I heard of you, you just left one day. Didn't tell anyone where you were going. Not even Leia. That's pretty damn low. What was so blasted important that you had to run away from your friends and family without a word?" Qi'ra asks.
"I failed my son. I failed Leia. I didn't deserve her. Still don't." Han answers.
"I see. So, what have you been up to all this time?" Qi'ra asks.
"A little bit of this and that." Han answers.
"Back to smuggling, I take it." Qi'ra says.
"The only thing I was ever good at. What about you? Still running all those companies of yours?" Han asks.
"I still own all of it, but I don't run things day to day anymore. Far too busy with politics." Qi'ra answers. Han looks at her with disbelief.
"You? Politics?" Han asks. Qi'ra laughs.
"Yeah, I know. Somehow, I became popular enough to get myself appointed Minister of Commerce and Trade." Qi'ra answers.
"Wow. Sounds like you're doing pretty good then." Han says.
You've done alright too." Qi'ra says.
"Not so much." Han says.
"Don't sell yourself short, Han. You actually made a decent run at the whole family thing. Something I never tried." Qi'ra says. Chewbacca approaches Han and Qi'ra.
/Qi'ra?/ Chewbacca asks.
"Hey, Chewie." Qi'ra says.
/I didn't recognize you at first. You look so…/ Chewbacca says.
"Old?" Qi'ra asks.
/I was going to say different. I mean no disrespect./ Chewbacca says. Qi'ra laughs.
"I know, Chewie. Always a gentleman. Some people I know could take some lessons from you." Qi'ra says, glancing at Han. Leia approaches, and wraps an arm around Han.
"He's not too bad. He has his moments." Leia says.
"That he does." Qi'ra says.
"I thought you were on Hosnian Prime. How did you get out before Starkiller Base attacked?" Leia asks.
"I was off world. The chancellor sent me away on a mission to resolve a...dispute with a corporation on Gelbar Minor. I found out about the attack on the Hosnian system, and made my way here. Since then, I've been advising Lando, and recruiting some help." Qi'ra answers.
"Recruiting?" Han asks.
"I may not be a syndicate boss anymore, but I still have some pull in the underworld. A few former employees who owe me a favor or two. I intend to call in those favors." Qi'ra answers.
"What kind of...employees are we talking about?" Leia asks.
"Gun runners. Bounty hunters. Thieves. They haven't worked for me in years, but I still keep tabs on them. Hire them for occasional...consulting work. As long as they get their money, they'll do what I tell them." Qi'ra says.
"Are you sure about this?" Leia asks.
"I know how you feel about certain outlaw types, but they are help, which we desperately need." Qi'ra says.
"You're right, of course. I never could win a debate with you." Leia says. Qi'ra smiles.
"Keep at it. Maybe you will someday." Qi'ra says. She looks toward the Falcon, and notices Ben. She stares at him briefly, then says "I see you captured him."
"He surrendered to us. He's Ben again. Kylo Ren's gone." Leia says. Qi'ra raises an eyebrow.
"Really? Just like that?" Qi'ra asks.
"I know it seems to good to be true, but I've seen it for myself." Leia says.
"From what I understand, one doesn't just turn away from the dark side of the force so easily." Qi'ra says.
"Usually true, but Ben is special. He also had help. Someone chose to care about him, and give him a chance. You might have heard about a young Jedi girl." Leia says.
"Yes. She's called...Rey, isn't she?" Qi'ra asks.
"Actually, her real name is Kira Bridger." Leia answers. Qi'ra looks completely shocked by what Leia has just told her.
"Ezra's daughter is...alive?" Qi'ra asks.
"Yeah. She's right there, next to him." Leia says, pointing toward the Ghost. Qi'ra looks to where Leia is pointing, and sees Kira, standing next to Ezra.
"I'll be damned! She looks so much like Juno!" Qi'ra says.
"We didn't know who she really was until a few days ago. When the Knights of Ren attacked Yavin, they took Kira, and faked her death. They erased her memory, and dumped her on Jakku after their brainwashing failed. She actually thought her name was Rey, until Ahsoka restored her memory." Leia answers. Qi'ra stands in silence for several seconds, considering Leia's words.
"Everybody thought she was dead all this time. I can't imagine the hell she's been through. I think it's time I catch up with Ezra and Kira. Leia, I'll see you at the meeting. Han, we'll catch up later." Qi'ra says. She walks away from Han and Leia, and heads toward the Ghost.
"Bet you weren't expecting that." Leia says.
"Qi'ra's really done good for herself the last forty years, ever since she got rid of that crazy Maul guy. Caused his ship to crash on some dead planet. Malabore or something like that." Han says.
"Malachor, actually. You've never heard the expression 'no way in Malachor'?" Leia asks.
"Well yeah. I didn't think it was actually a real place." Han says.
"Unfortunately, yes it is. Ahsoka told me all about it a long time ago." Leia says.
"Well, fancy that. Those Jedi and their secrets." Han says. Leia rolls her eyes.
"Han…" Leia says.
"Right. Sorry. Some of 'em are okay, I guess." Han says. Leia laughs.
"Still think it's all hokey religion?" Leia asks.
"Let's just say I know better now." Han answers.
"Glad to hear it." Leia says.
/By the way Han, you were talking about how Qi'ra got rid of Maul./ Chewbacca says.
"Oh, right. Crazy horned guy. Anyway, Qi'ra got him out of the way, and took over his whole operation. It took her a while, but she turned Crimson Dawn into a legitimate business. After that, she bought up a bunch of other companies, and became one of the richest people in the galaxy. On top of that, I just found out she got herself into politics. Imagine that." Han says.
"Qi'ra was one of the few government officials to support the Resistance. Used her companies to secretly help fund our operations. She was also a big help to me when you…" Leia says.
"Gave up on you? Ran away?" Han asks.
"We lost our son. You were hurting. So was I. It's...in the past. What matters is what we do now." Leia says.
"Can't argue with that." Han says.
"Glad to hear it. Now, how about some time to ourselves for a change? We've got an hour before I have to meet with the other Resistance leaders." Leia says.
"What about Ben?" Han asks.
"He'll be alright. Ezra and Kyle are going to keep an eye on him." Leia says.
"So, he's a Jedi prisoner?" Han asks.
"He's in Jedi custody, but I wouldn't go so far as to say he's a prisoner. He won't be locked up in a detention cell. Ezra's going to be training him." Leia answers.
"Bridger knows what he's doing. Ben's gonna be alright." Han says.
"I hope so." Leia says.
"So, are we going to ditch this place or not, your worship?" Han asks. Leia laughs.
"You haven't called me that in a while." Leia says.
"We haven't done a lot of things in a while." Han says.
"True. Shall we?" Leia asks, offering Han her hand. Han takes her hand.
/Have fun you two. I'll be in the Falcon if you need me./ Chewbacca says.
"Thanks, Chewie." Leia says. Han and Leia leave the hangar, holding hands.
Han Solo isn't really going to play a major part in the overall story. He'll be a background character, who shows up a little here and there. This chapter mainly serves to introduce Qi'ra, who will be a major player going forward.
I was only able to get one chapter posted this time, due to work and family things going on. I am hoping to get at least two chapters with the next update, which will be the first week of December.