Meeting with yet another contact seemed like exactly the kind of situation they were supposed to be avoiding. However, Leia still found herself seated with Han in the far corner booth at the Rough Risers' Cantina, aimlessly stirring her straw in a particularly potent beverage. Every few breaths, she resorted to covering her mouth before the cool smell of the ale could send her stomach lurching.

"You alright?" Han leaned in towards her, eyes quickly surveying her. Leia flicked her gaze across the cantina, scanning for any onlookers. "I'm fine," she promised. "Now, would you please focus?"

"Hey, hey," he smiled gently, taking her elbow and pulling her arm out from beneath the table where she anxiously kept a hand on her blaster. "This isn't that kind of place."

"You've lost me already."

"Keep watch all you want. The usual suspects are on our side here."

"Han, this place is filled with pirates and bounty hunters."

"Yeah, and none of them are on the Rebellion's most wanted list. Trust me, sweetheart; Reecee isn't a particular fan of the Empire. We don't have enemies here; this isn't like Tatooine."

"You don't think anyone in this room could be a spy or an Imperial sympathizer?"

Han shrugged nonchalantly, settling back into the booth. Leia caught a glimpse of him reaching to finger his own blaster as he responded, "Probably not."

Leia wasn't sure if Han's words were any true assurance, so she returned to her full drink, always keeping one hand on her blaster.

The folk band playing onstage took an intermission and returned before Leia thought she saw their contact. A heavy man who leaned a little too much on his cane entered the cantina, gaze sweeping the place once, twice, three times before he nodded and started forward. But he turned right where he should have gone left and crossed to the opposite side of the cantina.

Entering right behind him, however, was a feminine figure, and she did her own survey once before locking eyes with Han and Leia. Before Leia could take in any other details to the woman, she beamed and started straight for their table. The young woman stood at the average height for a human, with black hair tied up in a messy pony. She wore a fitting jacket that was even darker than her hair with a pillow of wampa fur along the collar. She strode forward with perfect confidence, and her pony and long bangs swung with each step. An excitable glimmer lit up her eyes as she kept her gaze focused forward, and Leia couldn't help but share in some of Han's optimism.

"Well, look who the sarlaac dragged out of the pit!" Rather than first settling into the booth and reaching out a hand, the woman— presumably a smuggler— stopped beside the table and waited with outstretched arms for Han to rise and meet her.

Without a hint of hesitation, Han stood up from the booth and accepted her embrace. Leia stifled a frown. Not an ex-girlfriend, then.

"Han!" the woman exclaimed, "It's been a while since we've crossed paths. I was starting to wonder where I'd find you next."

"Surprised?"

"Not yet," she answered cautiously. "That could change once you tell me where you went after blowing up poor Greedo's head on Tatooine."

"So, you heard."

"Everyone heard. We wanted to know what Jabba had to say about that."

"Quite a bit," Leia chose that moment to break in, standing to shake the woman's hand. "Unfortunately, none of it was good."

"Sounds about right," she concluded with a nod. "Princess Leia Organa, correct?"

Leia nodded shortly.

The woman tossed Ham a smirk. "Quite the company you're keeping these days, Solo." She turned a sincere smile Leia's way. "It's an honor to meet you. I'm Mirax."

"Mirax's father is an old smuggler I've known for a few years. He's the one who first showed me this place."

"If you're familiar with any Corellian children's tales, my father is something akin to the character Blank Blank. You know, smuggling from the rich and giving to the poor. Or, more commonly, rebels."

"Who is your father?"

"Booster Terrik."

"I'm certain I've heard the name, but I don't believe he's had any association with the Rebel Alliance."

"Ooh, he doesn't play with the big guys. My mother passed away when I was very young, and my father didn't want to take on bigger, riskier jobs when I had virtually no family to stay with when he was gone on trips. He mostly aided resistance cells located in the Core, and he likes it, so that's where he stayed."
"He's happy with his work. That must be so nice."

Mirax tossed her hair. "Well, he does get to work with his only daughter now." She turned her attention back to Han. "So, what happened that you're keeping company with Rebels now?" Nodding to Leia, she added, "Quite the crowd you're drawing, now."

"That's a long story. I actually came here to call in a favor. Booster still owes me one for the last shipment I ran for him."

"You know my father; he always stays good on his word."

"I'm counting on it."

"What do you need?"

"I'm, uh— I'm actually thinking about settling down in Casita."

"Settling down? You? Han Solo? The same Han Solo who ran the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs?"

Leia leaned in. "Please, he really doesn't need the reminder."

Mirax shared a smirk with her. "So, what poison did you swallow that you decided to settle down?"

"That's, ah— it's complicated."

So, he did have his limits. Even here.

"All you had to say was that you don't want to talk about it."

"Just not here."

"Got'cha."

To turn the conversation, Leia asked Mirax, "Do you and your father permanently live here, then?"

"We stay here often, and this is our home away from home. But true home is Corellia."

"Through and through," Han grinned. "Like any true Corellian."

Leia ventured, "But here …"

The Corellian woman sighed, gaze falling to where her hands fiddled above the tabletop. "Here … can be a home. When home can't. The people that live in Casita, they're all family. Nowhere else have I seen the same sense of community. Casita is the kind of place all newlyweds would say would 'be a nice place to raise a family'." She smiled wistfully. "You know?"