He glanced over at the belly holocam screen just in time to see Muuurgh descending, his blaster still bolstered.
The cam didn’t provide audio, but he watched as Muuurgh’s mouth opened, and knew he must be calling to Mrrov.
Guards milled, still uncertain, but clearly uneasy. This whole scenario was highly irregular, and they were getting suspicious. One of the guards shoved his way through the crowd of pilgrims. When the human guard reached the forefront of the crowd, he had his blaster drawn and was clearly calling to Muuurgh to identify himself and state what he was doing.
“Bria,” Han yelled, turning his head, careful not to jostle the controls on the hovering vessel, “stand by! Looks like they’re gonna—” Two things happened simultaneously: A tall figure in a pilgrim’s robe suddenly broke and raced toward Muuurgh’s dangling figure—and the guard aimed his blaster.
Han had only a glimpse of orange stripes on white fur and knew the running figure must be Mrrov. He saw a spurt of blaster fire from the guard’s weapon, and it was answered twice in rapid succession, by Bria and Muuurgh.
Two more guards drew their weapons and fired. The crowd of pilgrims panicked and scattered, trampling each other and the guards. Han lowered the light laser cannon, grateful for the pirate attacks that had made Teroenza decide to beef up the ship’s shielding and weapons capability. He fired a burst, careful to aim over the heads of the running, screaming crowd.
More fire from the guards—and Han heard a faint yowl of pain!
Checking the screen, he saw Muuurgh sag in his harness, clutching his side, though he still gripped his weapon. Mrrov reached him a second later and leaped to wrap her arms and legs around her mate, anchoring her to him.
Bria was firing steadily now, and Han saw a Gamorrean go down. The wire was ascending now, revolving slowly with its off-balance load.
Mrrov grabbed Muuurgh’s blaster out of his lax hand and fired over his shoulder.
Han couldn’t see whether she hit her target.
Han saw that most of the pilgrims had scattered, and only guards and priests remained near the Altar. Many of the guards had scattered in the crowd, but a few were still there, still firing. Han targeted the Altar of Promises, made sure his aim had pinpoint accuracy, and fired the laser cannon again.
The Altar went up with a boom Han could hear from inside the Talisman.
Dust spurted up, and bits of stone rained down. The priests scattered, galloping away. Han was surprised by how fast and maneuverable their huge, four-footed bodies were. The guards had vanished.
Quiet suddenly reigned. Seconds ticked by, but outside, nothing was stirring. A few bodies, both guards and pilgrims, lay motionless where they’d been trampled in the panic.
From the nether regions of the ship, he heard Bria’s voice. “I’ve got them! Let’s go!”
Han checked that the bay doors were safely closed, then took the Talisman up in a rush. The belly holocams showed a dizzying view of the amphitheater receding into the distance. Han flicked them off as he circled, checking the weather in relation to his closest escape vector.
Ironically, he’d have to angle back toward Colony One for the best “window” off Ylesia. Han gunned the Talisman and took her south and up…
up …
We’re almost there, he thought with a rush of excitement. Almost free …
Muuurgh repressed a moan as his shoulder banged against the side of the Talisman. He felt Bria’s hands on him, then he heard Mrrov’s voice say, in Basic: “Help me up. I can lift him.”
He clung to the harness with his good hand and felt Mrrov’s body brush against his as she was pulled into the hovering Talisman. The wound in his side was the fire-stab of a night-demon’s talons. It was all he could do to breathe and make no sound. He was a hunter, and hunters knew how to be quiet.
The blaster shots had stopped. Muuurgh opened his eyes as the harness revolved slowly and saw that the Altar of Promises had been blown apart. Perhaps that had been the loud explosion he’d heard. At the time he’d thought it was inside his head.
The blaster wound was throbbing now, in waves. Muuurgh struggled to stay conscious as Bria and Mrrov grabbed his arms and hauled him, still in the harness, into the Talisman. Dimly, he was aware of the cargo airlock being sealed behind him.
Then he heard Bria’s voice call out: “I’ve got them! Let’s go!”
Muuurgh lay on the deck, breathing shallowly, but a little of his strength was returning. He could hear Mrrov talking to Bria. “Is there a medic kit aboard?”
“I’ll check!” With a rustle, the human was gone, leaving him alone with Mrrov. With an effort, Muuurgh opened his eyesˇ When she saw him looking up at her, Mrrov leaned over and lovingly rubbed his cheek with her own, exchanging scent, “My hunter,” she murmured in their own language, licking his face tenderly. “You tracked me.