Rainwater slid from the edges of Mortyra’s cloak as she reached the estate entrance. One pale hand lifted slightly, and the locking mechanisms disengaged at once with a muted metallic click.
Warm air spilled outward from the doorway, mixed with the scent of polished wood, expensive oils, and cooked meat lingering somewhere deeper inside the estate. Mortyra stepped through without slowing.
The halls beyond were quiet. Marble floors reflected muted golden lighting while framed paintings and Naboo sculptures lined the walls between dark support columns.
A guard stood near the stairwell entrance below. He saw her immediately. Fear rolled off him hard enough for Mortyra to feel it before she even descended the first step.
Still, the man forced his eyes elsewhere. Pretended not to notice. Pretended the temperature around him had not suddenly dropped.
Mortyra continued downward. Voices carried faintly from the lower level. Soft conversation. Glass against silverware. A family dinner interrupted only by distant thunder beyond the estate walls.
The dining room itself was immense. A long polished table stretched through the center beneath a crystal chandelier that cast warm golden light across dark wood and silver settings. Tall windows overlooked the storm-soaked skyline while servants stood motionless near the walls, pretending not to stare.
The nobleman sat near the center beside his wife. Their son and daughter occupied the opposite side of the table, both somewhere within their early twenties.
Conversation stopped the moment Mortyra entered. The father’s face lost all color the moment he saw her. His chair scraped violently backward as he stood too quickly.
“M-Mortyra—”
The name barely formed before his leg caught against the chair. He stumbled hard enough that one hand slammed against the table to stop himself from collapsing entirely.
Shock sat more heavily on him than fear. She had never appeared in front of his family before.
Beside him, his wife froze pale and rigid for several seconds before forcing herself upright despite the visible trembling in her hands. She reached for her husband quickly, steadying him.
Across the table, the son shoved himself halfway to his feet.
“What the hell is this?” His eyes snapped toward the servants first.
“Security!”
“Sit down.” The mother’s voice cracked sharply through the room towards her son.
“Be quiet.”
The son stared at her. Then at his father. Then back toward the black-armored figure standing motionless near the doorway, while rainwater slowly dripped from dark fabric onto polished marble.
Understanding hit him all at once. His expression twisted immediately.
“What?” Disbelief sharpened into anger almost instantly.
“You… know this?” His voice rose louder now.
“Sith?”
The daughter had gone completely silent beside him.
“What have you gotten into?” he snapped
. “Mother? Father? What have you gotten this family into?!”
No one answered him.
A distant impact suddenly thundered somewhere within the estate hard enough to faintly rattle glassware across the table. Then alarms began screaming through the lower floors.
Mortyra’s attention shifted slightly. Annoyance touched the Force around her almost immediately. She could sense that other Sith in the building… he was now interrupting her business
again.
Her gaze settled back onto the nobleman regardless. She would get what she wanted out of this night no matter the distractions, as far as she was concerned.
“Tell me, then,” she said calmly, though the temperature in the room continued dropping around every word,
“when is he arriving?”
The nobleman froze completely. For one terrible second, nobody in the room spoke. His mind raced. How did she find out he’d planned for a Jedi to confront her tonight?
