"Ozla! Children!" Orz leaned his body weight against the door mechanism.
Ozla made shoving gestures behind the children, and they followed her shoulder to shoulder. Ozla holstered her blaster and patted it down.
"We've got Saige," she told him. "She got left behind."
Orz waved them through.
"Stay close to me," he cautioned.
He nudged the children, and they parted to let him through. Ozla stepped aside, and he stepped in front. His forehead met the chest of a shapely, spotted creature.
"Orz," she said, straightening his jumpsuit collar.
"Leave me alone, Ace," he demanded.
She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Ozla and the children. Her longest glare focused on Ozla.
"Who are these?" She snapped.
"I--" he stammered.
"We're his slaves. We tried to run away, so he's taking us to the prison."
"A likely story," Ace retorted.
Orz squirmed. Ozla grasped her blaster. She glanced down at it long enough to see the controls. She flipped the silencer switch.
"Orz," she whispered. "Move."
He cleared the area, and Ozla was left to face Ace. She had less than one second to find a decent target zone on Ace's body, aim, and fire. She drew a breath, lowered the blaster, glanced through the front sight. Her finger locked the trigger back. The laser pierced Ace's abdomen.
Orz cracked a smile.
"Kind of an intense slave," he teased.
She stared down at a gasping Ace.
"Who is she?" She asked.
"My mate," he said.
He knelt at her side.
"I'm sorry," Ozla said as emotion coursed through her body.
He prodded Ace and yanked back a flap of her cloak, revealing a plasma sword canister. Ace's gasps weakened until the rising and falling of her chest had ceased.
"She's pregnant," he said. "I need to get my child out. Go on ahead. You've got your weapons."