Marr

Chapter Eighteen

 Star Wars: The Old Republic

Marr

~Chapter Eighteen~

Adversity is the slayer of innocence.

The thranta I'd stolen swooped in low over House Teraan. I dismounted midflight and rolled onto the roof to land in a crouch behind the power generator.

Several well-placed security cameras panned to and fro, monitoring the rooftop garden and the grounds below. After learning the timing of the cameras, I sprinted in short bursts from one undetectable location to the next, until I reached the access at the far end.

I peered over the edge of the roof. Only a handful of antiquated battle droids paced the courtyard, rusty joints creaking from the lack of a proper oil bath.

Clouds blotted out the stars, making a dark night all the darker, but even in the dim light, I could see House Teraan had fallen into disrepair. The towers were pitted and riddled with lightning shaped cracks. Vines had taken hold and devoured entire sections. Without the benefit of servants and gardeners, the manicured gardens had grown unruly, feral sprigs jutting from once sculpted boxwoods and junipers.

Only the perimeter walls had been maintained, giving the illusion that there was something worth protecting inside. The anti-personnel guns mounted on every other pilaster drooped from a lack of maintenance.

I dashed my lightsaber against the access hatch and dropped into a storage room. After navigating the maze of broken and obsolete equipment, I found the entrance to the main house and emerged on the second-floor gallery.

Security cameras lined the balcony overlooking the grand hall and I rammed my blade into them as I passed. Unlike every other security measure in House Teraan, the cameras were new—top of the line equipment rivaling even that of Hutt casinos.

'I'll be even more the prisoner...'

Liaseph's words haunted me and I understood. Her father had installed them, not as a security measure against intruders, but as a means of imprisoning her.

A stifled gasp sounded behind me and I whirled around. A young blonde woman in a white nightgown stared at me with bleary green eyes. Her lip quivered and her gaze remained locked on my mask.

"Where's Liaseph," I hissed.

"You're the Sithlord—you came for her."

"And you, you must be Lenaar—her sister, yes?"

The girl nodded and palmed the lower half of her face as she started to back away. Tears tumbled down her cheeks and her skin flushed.

"Where is she?"

She didn't answer, instead choosing to flee.

"Wait—Lenaar..."

The woman sprinted through the camera debris with bare feet and tumbled forward onto her hands and knees. I caught her by the waist as she scrambled to her feet. She struggled against me and I clapped my hand over her mouth.

"Tell me where she is and I won't harm you," I hissed against her ear. "Now I ask you again, where is she?"

I loosened my hold enough to allow her to answer but instead, she cried out and fought harder.

Down the hall, a door creaked open and a dark haired portly man brandishing a candelabra emerged.

"Father! The Sith, he's here! Run father!" Lenaar wailed.