Han’s blaster rifle flares. The first bolt catches one Altorian square in the chest and drops him before the lizard fires a shot. Sodarra’s rifle blazes in the same instant, severing the Twi’lek’s remaining skull tentacle. The beggar drops beneath a table, and Han notes with interest that Sodarra values vengeance above his own life.
The three remaining lizards dive for cover, peppering the corner with red and green bolts. Han drops to the floor and feels a sharp pain in his belly. He does not know whether he has been hit or has just fallen in a bad spot. At the moment, he is too busy to worry about it. The thieves have trapped them in a corner. Someone long ago boarded the windows and Han doubts that the bartender has called the lift.
“How do I get into these things?” he moans.
Sodarra slams into the corner. At first, the Imperial remains motionless and Han thinks his companion has been killed. A second later, however, Sodarra crawls forward and finds shelter behind an overturned table.
“Too bad,” Han mutters. A fresh round of Altorian fire reminds him that Imperial officer or not, he needs Sodarra. Han squeezes his rifle trigger half a dozen times. A burst of blue energy slices a table in half; when the halves part, a dead Altorian lies on the floor. Sodarra fires again and yells triumphantly in a language Han does not know.
The last Altorian bolts for the door. Han fires once and the lizard loses its right arm. The wound does not even slow the Altorian down; it dives out the door into the murky canal.
The Twi’lek stands, holding one hand over the stump of its skull tentacle. “Please,” he begs. “We aren’t going to hurt -“
Sodarra’s blaster cuts him short. Han turns his weapon on the bartender just in time. The burly man is reaching down behind the bar. “Don’t!” Han warns. “Just call the lift.”
The bartender gulps, then nods his head and presses a button. A moment later, the lift door opens. “We’re going upstairs now,” Han says. “It will be better if we returned to an empty bar.”
Surviving patrons scramble for the exit.