8

In the Force Awakens novel and in the movie we are told that Han got the rathtars on his freighter somehow. This is emphasized multiple times as being impossible:

Probably, an increasingly desperate Bala-Tik thought as he let off yet another ineffectual blast, Solo had done it by talking all of them into a state of complete insensibility.

Are there any sources on how he got them all on the ship?

Wad Cheber
  • 69,816
  • 70
  • 523
  • 684
  • 3
    simple, he had a bigger crew. – Himarm Jan 07 '16 at 22:41
  • 1
    How do you do it even with a bigger crew though? Lure them toward people and run back the other way? Did he have a bigger crew back then because they died? –  Jan 07 '16 at 22:44
  • 2
    I believe the implication of the claim that he "used to have a bigger crew" is that all of his former crew members either died herding the rathtars, or quit after the capture due to the evident high risk of death. That still doesn't tell us just how Han and his crew captured them - I assume it wasn't "Everyone grab a tentacle!" – recognizer Jan 07 '16 at 22:49
  • 1
    Am I correct in assuming Han's flippant remark "I had a bigger crew" isn't really sufficient for an answer for you? – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 07 '16 at 22:58
  • I hadn't read it that way, I thought they just disappeared, that makes sense DVK. –  Jan 07 '16 at 23:30
  • @DVK - Now we need to know. – Wad Cheber Jan 08 '16 at 01:43
  • 1
    @WadCheber - Ask and you shall receive: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/12172/are-star-wars-and-indiana-jones-the-same-universe/12182#12182 – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 08 '16 at 01:45
  • One at a time, just like everyone else. – Paul D. Waite May 08 '23 at 13:55

2 Answers2

9

Han and his crew were aided by "grizzled mercenaries" on the planet of Twon Ketee where the three rathtars were captured, contained, and brought aboard Han's ship by a retractable harness.

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is actually canon and voiced by the cast of the film (including Harrison Ford as Han), has a segment devoted entirely to the capture of the rathtars.

Here is the opening crawl for that segment:

RATHTAR HUNTING

Hired by KING PRANA to capture

three rathtars, Han Solo and his

crew travel to TWON KETEE,

where a colony of the

dangerous creatures is known

to reside.

Awaiting to assist them there is

a group of grizzled mercenaries,

hired for their expertise. But

despite their skills, the hunters

will have to tread carefully if

they are not to become the

prey....

According to one of Han's crew in a the lead-in video:

VAROND JELIK: Don't worry boss, I got us the best rathtar hunters in the system.

Here is a walk-through of someone playing through the segment:

At 12:25, we get to another movie segment where Han, Chewie, and the crew find a rathtar that has already been captured and contained by some hunters.

At 15:15, we see a harness being attached to the rathtar's cage before it is retracted up into Han's cargo ship.

Community
  • 1
Praxis
  • 111,024
  • 50
  • 512
  • 690
  • 2
    Just to make it clear: stories told in Lego Star Wars TFA are canon. Even if it's Lego. – Neow Oct 04 '16 at 06:38
3

At present we don't know. The sole information in any of the sources that mention rathtars (Film, Film script, Visual Dictionary, Incredible Cross-Sections, Novelisation, Junior Novelisation, Rey's Story novelisation, Han and Chewie early reader book, Force Awakens comics) is simply that Han had a larger crew at the point that he took on the rathtars.

This leaves us with several potential outcomes;

  • They ded.
  • They quit
  • They got hired to do one job and left, having done that job efficiently. Hopefully they all got good references from Han.
Valorum
  • 689,072
  • 162
  • 4,636
  • 4,873