Qi'ra

Qi'ra hailed from the planet Corellia during the reign of the Galactic Empire, before the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War. She grew up on the streets and became friends with Han. By the time Qi'ra was eighteen years old, she was enmeshed in a criminal life working for the White Worms gang on Corellia. She was chosen by Lady Proxima to be the Head Girl after Han revealed to her that Qi'ra had turned down an opportunity to travel the galaxy, but to work for her instead. Qi'ra attempted to flee Corellia with Han, by this point her lover, who had stolen a vial of coaxium during a delivery for Proxima that had gone badly. After a confrontation with Proxima, in which Solo caused a distraction by shattering a window allowing light in, exploiting her vulnerability of her skin, he and Qi'ra attempted to escape through the Imperial control zone using the coaxium to bribe Falthina Sharest, an Imperial Emigration Officer. Sharest agreed to allow them through, provided they handed over the coaxium before passing through the security gate. Solo reluctantly agreed, and instructed Qi'ra to hand it over. However, only Solo got through, Qi'ra was captured by several members of the White Worms, and the gate closed when Sharest triggered a security alert. Solo promised Qi'ra he would come back for her as soon as possible before he ran away from the gate.

ROAD TO DRYDEN VOS

Qi'ra lived an even more difficult life after being captured again by Lady Proxima's gang. The blistered Proxima was displeased of her actions, opting to sell Qi'ra away. She was sold to a slave dealer, Sarkin Enneb, and later Dryden Vos, the leader of Crimson Dawn. After a year of failed escapes, she attempted to do so yet again, killing the guard outside her cell and reaching the escape pods, only to find Vos waiting. He offered her a position within the ranks of Crimson Dawn, having seen potential within her, but he demanded her lifelong loyalty in return. Vos later branded Qi'ra's forearm and the back of her neck with the Crimson Dawn symbol. Qi'ra also hunted down and killed Enneb.

LIFE WITH CRIMSON DAWN

With Crimson Dawn, Qi'ra lived a more opulent lifestyle, becoming Vos' top lieutenant. She was trained by Vos in the martial arts of Teräs Käsi.

At some point during her employment with Crimson Dawn, Qi'ra found herself being pursued by bounty hunter droid IG-88 on Ord Mantell. Qi'ra fell into a trap laid by IG-88 and his temporary partner, Weequay pirate Hondo Ohnaka. The two were planning on turning Qi'ra in for a bounty, but she was able to turn them against one another, giving her a chance to remove her bonds and capture them both, with intent to turn them in for bounties.

REUNITING WITH HAN

Qi'ra's association with Crimson Dawn brought her back into contact with Solo, who was working with Vos' associate Tobias Beckett in order to obtain a large quantity of refined coaxium. Qi'ra attended the meeting between Vos, Beckett, and Solo on Vos' yacht. Vos berated Beckett and Solo for failing to obtain the coaxium shipment on Vandor, and considered killing them until Solo suggested that they instead retrieve unrefined coaxium from the spice mines of Kessel. Qi'ra advised Vos that the plan would work, and he agreed to allow Beckett to try, the penalty for failure being death. Vos sent Qi'ra to accompany Beckett's crew to make sure the plan would work.

Knowing that they would need a particularly fast ship to transport the unrefined coaxium before it degraded and detonated, Qi'ra sought her old acquaintance, Captain Lando Calrissian of the Millennium Falcon. Qi'ra watched as Solo failed to win the Falcon at sabacc. However, Calrissian agreed to fly the Falcon for Qi'ra, Beckett, and Solo in exchange for a cut of the profits. En route to Kessel, Qi'ra and Solo rekindled their romance, kissing in the back of the Falcon.

KESSEL HEIST

Upon arriving at Kessel, Qi'ra masqueraded as a slaver from the Federation of Trade Route Allocation and Monetization, Oksana Floren, selling Han and Chewbacca to Quay Tolsite of Pyke Syndicate in order to infiltrate the mines. Qi'ra, Beckett, and L3-37 secured the control room, allowing Solo to steal the coaxium. Qi'ra initially served as Solo's co-pilot during the escape from Kessel, but was replaced by Chewbacca as they fled from Imperial forces into the Akkadese Maelstrom. After using some of their stolen coaxium to escape a summa-verminoth, the crew flew the damaged ship and arrived on Savareen.

On Savareen, the Falcon crew refined the coaxium and awaited Vos' arrival. Calrissian soon left, angry with Solo for the damage to his ship. They were confronted by Enfys Nest, leader of the Cloud-Riders, who told them they were freedom fighters resisting the atrocities of Crimson Dawn, not pirates. Solo devised a plan to give Vos fake coaxium, and give the Cloud-Riders the real coaxium in order to fund their resistance. Qi'ra, Solo, and Chewbacca presented the coaxium to Vos aboard his yacht, but he saw through their plan, made aware in advance by Beckett, who had been Vos' double agent all along. Vos expressed his disappointment that Qi'ra betrayed him, and realized that Solo was her weakness.

However, Solo foresaw Beckett's treachery, and double-crossed him: the coaxium containers left with the Cloud-Riders were empty, and Enfys Nest dispatched the Crimson Dawn agents sent to recover it. The coaxium they brought along was in fact genuine. Beckett captured Chewbacca, and left with the coaxium. Vos and Solo fought, but Qi'ra intervened, holding Solo at sword point. However, Qi'ra sided with Solo, dueling and killing Vos.

Solo left to rescue Chewbacca and retrieve the coaxium for the Cloud-Riders. Qi'ra told Solo she would be right behind him, but as Solo left, she instead took Vos' ring, and used it to contact Maul, the actual leader of Crimson Dawn, informing him that Vos had failed to obtain the coaxium. After lying that Beckett had in fact killed Vos, Qi'ra was then ordered to bring the yacht to Dathomir, Maul's homeworld, and that she would be working more closely with Maul, leaving Solo behind. Qi'ra then assumed Vos' role as the public figurehead of Crimson Dawn.

LEADER OF CRIMSON DAWN

In the following years, while Qi'ra would manage to survive, Maul was separated from the rest of the galaxy after being stranded on the Outer Rim planet Malachor. Later, Maul was slain on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine, Crimson Dawn was also thought to be destroyed by its rivals. Even during the Galactic Civil War, Qi'ra and Solo remained separated; while on Hubin, Solo took the opportunity to tell Princess Leia Organa about his time in the Empire before defecting. When Organa opined that she could not imagine him in the role of a stormtrooper, Solo said that aside from not having many options, "[t]here was a girl," adding, "Me and women have always been messes."

RETURN OF CRIMSON DAWN

Qi'ra, earning the title of lady, came to control the remains of Crimson Dawn, plotting to use it in order to save herself from danger. Learning that Solo had become important to the Galactic Empire, the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and other powers like the Hutt Clan and that he had also been frozen in carbonite, Q'ira had several of her agents under the leadership of Margo capture him from the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett, taking the carbonite block from Doctor Ragon on the moon of Nar Shaddaa while Fett was away. As Ragon had stabilized the carbonite, Solo remained alive as the agents transferred him to Qi'ra's starship Vermillion, where Qi'ra, wearing a hood that covered her face, greeted Margo and Trinia and learned Solo would likely remain alive. Understanding that their operation could therefore begin, Qi'ra ordered pre-recorded invitations be sent out and tried to quell Margo's concerns about Fett coming after them.

With her hood covering her face to keep her identity secret, Qi'ra's hologram message was sent out to various parties, including crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure on the planet Tatooine and the rest of the Grand Hutt Council. In her message to Jabba, she announced the return of Crimson Dawn but claimed they would cause no friction with the galaxy's major powers, inviting him to the frozen Mid Rim planet Jekara and offering Solo as a gesture of good will. Speaking with the rest of the Hutt Council via hologram on his Shad'ruu war barge, Jabba was certain they were ready to face the new leader of Crimson Dawn, but Fett, who had received a bounty after Jabba mistakenly believed he had sold Solo to Crimson Dawn, also began to journey to Jekara after viewing the message Jabba received. Her message was also received by Sana Starros and Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra. Meanwhile, with the messages out, the Vermillion landed on Jekara; after landing, Qi'ra explained Solo's importance to galactic powers to Margo. Understanding that their guests would soon arrive, Qi'ra, finally putting down her hood, reflected that Solo would finally have a chance to save her. As she departed the room, she ordered Margo to finalize their preparations.