“You make sense,” Han says. “I’ll wait here. Then when Chewie gets back, we can head out together.”
Sodarra breathes a sigh of relief and smiles. “You are a good judge of character,” he says. “I will need some method of reporting back – in case there is trouble.”
Han gives Sodarra his comlink.
Time crawls. Waiting has never been one of Han’s strong points, and Chewie’s continuing absence escalates his tension. Why did he give Sodarra the comlink? Now he cannot contact the Wookiee and find out what’s holding him up.
Just as Han is pacing the lounge area for the fiftieth time, the co-pilot’s heavy tread sounds on the entry ramp.
The Corellian sprints for the corridor, but there is nothing amiss with Chewbacca.
“What took you so long? We’re not on vacation here.”
Chewie cocks his head at Han’s remark, but says nothing as he unloads the supplies. Han fills him in on the details of Sodarra’s actions. Chewbacca growls an uneasy question.
“What can he do?” Han responds. “Any trouble from him and Vader pops like a Rigorian bloodmite.”
And the wait begins again. But Han feels immensely calmer knowing where his partner is.
Sodarra calls on the comlink a few minutes later and reports that Alfreda is in the cantina with Leia. “She has eight desperate-looking creatures in the tavern, and one lookout outside.”
Han raises his voice to include the stormtroopers. “Let’s go.”