The Chronicles of Cordelia Solo

Chapter 2 - Solo

Cordelia sits on her bed with the book she's currently reading. She hears the door open, but ignores it, choosing to continue reading. Footsteps near the bed before her book is ripped from her hands.

"Hey!" She protests, glaring at Qi'ra.

"Cory, you're supposed to be getting ready." She says, raising an eyebrow. Cordelia groans, throwing herself back onto her bed.

"I don't want to go! It's so boring!" She complains. Qi'ra sighs and sits on the bed next to her.

"I know it is, but you're becoming a woman now. Sometimes adults have to do boring things." She explains. She looks down at the book in her hands. "If you promise to behave, you can bring this." She says. 

"Yes!" Corelia agrees, grabbing her book back and jumping up. 

"I'll be back in five minutes and then we're leaving." Qi'ra says. 

Cordelia nods and quickly gets ready in the blue blouse and black skirt Qi'ra left her. She sighs, wishing she could go back to her old life with Han. The door opens and Qi'ra returns, holding her hand out.

"Ready?" She asks. Cordelia nods, tucking her book under her arm and taking Qi'ra's hand. She leads her to the party and stops her before she can head off. "Stay near, okay?" She says. Cordelia nods, knowing that no one in the room can be trusted.

"I will, Qi'ra." She promises. The woman nods, letting Cordelia wander off. She finds a corner of the room that's mostly empty and sits, opening her book.

"Hey, Bug." A voice says. Cordelia looks away from her book, seeing Han crouching in front of her. She gasps, throwing her book to the side and launching herself into his arms. She clutches onto his jacket as he holds her tight. "I missed you." He says, rubbing her back.

"I missed you too." She whispers, pulling away. He chuckles as he looks at her.

"Look at you, all grown up." He says, tugging on her braid. They both stand, and she grabs his hand, not wanting to be separated again. He leads her to where Qi'ra stands, holding two drinks. He takes one as they reach her.

"What should we drink to?" Qi'ra asks.

"Let's drink two and see where it goes." Han replies. Qi'ra giggles and Cordelia shakes her head, smiling.

"Did you ever get that ship we were going to fly away on?" She asks.

"Yeah. Sort of. About to. That's why I'm here. I'm working on a...working on a very big deal." He says as their trio begins walking.

"Han, where did you go? After they took us, where did you go?" Cordelia interrupts. Han sighs.

"I'll tell you later, Bug. When it's just us." He says. She frowns but nods, eyeing the people around them. Qi'ra stops them.

"I thought about you a lot. Off somewhere, some adventure. I imagined myself with you. It always made me..." She says, trailing off as she sips her drink.

"Hey! What did I say?" A man tells Han as he approaches. Han walks forward to meet him, bringing Cordelia, who refuses to let him go.

"Look, I can't keep my eyes down the whole time. I'm gonna bump into something." Han says.

"But I told you not to talk to anyone. And who is this kid?" The man says, spotting Cordelia holding Han's hand.

"Beckett." Qi'ra interrupts. She gestures between the two. "Wait. You two work together?" She asks. Beckett nods.

"Yeah." Han says.

"Tobias!" A voice says. Qi'ra stiffens before turning.

"Dryden." Beckett says. As the man approaches, Cordelia recognizes him as Qi'ra's boss.