Most Wanted is a young-adult novel in the canon of Star Wars. Rae Carson is the author, and the story centers around Han and Qi'ra. The events take place not long before those seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Disney–Lucasfilm Press released it on May 25, 2018, to coincide with the movie's release.
The story unfolds prior to Solo: A Star Wars Story. Han and Qi'ra share little, except for their lack of resources. Living as street urchins on the industrialized world of Corellia, they strive to survive, yearning for something better. An opportunity arises for each of them to prove their worth in Corellia's dangerous criminal world. However, they soon discover they are working for the same ruthless boss on the same mission. When the job goes awry, Han and Qi'ra find themselves pursued by pirates, a droid crime organization, the Empire, and their own boss. To survive, they must learn to trust one another.
An engineer from the Empire, specializing in Imperial technology, invented a portable deflector shield. Recognizing the value of her creation, she defected from the Empire intending to sell it to the criminal underworld. She arranged an auction on Corellia involving three groups: the White Worms, the Kaldana Syndicate, and the Droid Gotra. Lady Proxima dispatched Qi'ra and Han on separate, clandestine missions to the auction. Qi'ra was sent to the Obsidian Room in the Bucket Center to make a bid, while Han was stationed at the Foundry to await the outcome. The White Worms' offer was deemed offensively low. Qi'ra, fearing for her safety, incited conflict among the other bidders. The Droid Gotra ultimately won the auction, but the Kaldana Syndicate then raided the Foundry to seize the shield plans. TD-H4, the Gotra's representative, passed the shield plans to Han before being killed by the Kaldana. Han and Qi'ra rendezvoused in the sewers and decided to collaborate. Realizing the White Worms would seek retribution for their failure, they secretly sought assistance from Tsuulo. They stole Tsuulo's brother's speeder and fled to Qi'ra's safehouse. Understanding that regaining the White Worms' favor required returning the plans to the engineer for resale, they revisited the Foundry to gather information and encountered TD-H4, who explained the situation. As they departed, they were intercepted by stormtroopers loyal to the engineer, who provided them with a means to contact her. At Qi'ra's safehouse, they contacted the engineer and arranged for their escape from the planet in exchange for freeing one of her assets from the Empire.
They successfully rescued Kirroo, the engineer's asset, but the operation went awry, leading to a pursuit. The engineer's shuttle arrived just in time to rescue them and transport them to her ship. They returned the plans to the engineer, and Qi'ra proposed organizing a second auction, this time with the White Worms' support. The engineer agreed and, impressed by Qi'ra, offered her a job. The engineer contacted Lady Proxima and arranged the second auction, hosted by the White Worms for Proxima's contacts, in exchange for 0.65% of the profits. The Kaldana Syndicate won this auction and dispatched their ship to complete the exchange, threatening to take Han, Tsuulo, and Qi'ra if she refused the job offer. She declined, and the engineer warned her that the Kaldana might attempt to kill them once they had the opportunity. Once the exchange was finalized, the Kaldana betrayed them. They escaped, but Tsuulo was fatally shot before reaching the escape pod. After they left the Kaldana ship, the Nimbus Red destroyed it, as the engineer had been paid by the Droid Gotra to eliminate the ship, effectively destroying the Syndicate. Han and Qi'ra returned to the White Worms, and after Han informed Lady Proxima that Qi'ra had rejected the engineer's job offer, Proxima appointed Qi'ra as the new Head. However, Han and Qi'ra realized they no longer wanted to be White Worms and began planning their departure from Corellia.
- ISBN 9781368016308 ; May 25 , 2018 ; Disney–Lucasfilm Press ; US hardcover [1]
- ISBN 9781368025737 ; May 25, 2018; Disney–Lucasfilm Press; US eBook [2]