**Chapter 599**
**Lianna – Sienar Family Private Meeting Room**
The moment the door sealed behind Dagon, the room remained deathly silent for several long seconds. No one dared speak first.
Raith Sienar finally exhaled shakily, collapsing into the nearest chair as if his legs could no longer support him. His face was pale, and a thin sheen of sweat still glistened on his forehead.
"He… agreed to the alliance," Raith said hoarsely. "But on *his* terms. Not Kuat's. Not ours. His."
A servant near the back of the room — an older man who had served the Sienar family for three decades — nearly dropped the tray he was holding. "By the stars… that man is no ordinary Jedi."
Raith's mother, Lady Vellina Sienar, rose slowly from her seat. Her usual composed elegance was cracked with visible unease. "Raith, what have you gotten us into? I warned you about playing both sides. Kuat is powerful, but that… that *creature* you just spoke with is something else entirely."
"He's not a creature, Mother," Raith muttered, though his voice lacked conviction. "He's… Dagon. He's always been reasonable before."
"Reasonable?" One of the senior board members, old Garven Toth, barked a harsh laugh. "The man just threatened to rip the flesh from our bones if we spoke a word of this. And the way his voice changed… that wasn't human. That was something darker."
Lyra Blissex, who had been standing quietly near the viewport, finally spoke. Her tone was measured but carried an undercurrent of awe and warning.
"He commanded fleets capable of destroying Separatist super ships — vessels that dwarf anything Kuat has in active production right now. He was responsible for the orbital bombardment of Zygerria. An entire slaver world turned to ash and glass in a single campaign." She paused, letting that sink in. "And let's not forget Naboo. When did a Jedi ever possess the power to completely eliminate the Blue Shadow Virus from an entire planet? Not contain it. Not slow it. *Eliminate* it. That kind of miracle should be impossible."
Another servant — a young woman refilling water glasses with trembling hands — whispered, "They say the Force itself bends for him. Some of the dockworkers who serviced his ships claim they felt… something watching them. Something ancient."
Vellina Sienar fixed her son with a hard stare. "You told us this alliance would bring security and growth. Instead, you've placed us between two giants — Kuat on one side, and whatever Dagon Marek is becoming on the other. If he discovers we were trying to play him…"
"He already knows," Raith said bitterly. "He knew the moment I mentioned Kuat. That shield prison… I couldn't move. I couldn't even breathe properly. It felt like being trapped inside a dragon's jaws."
Garven Toth leaned forward. "Then what now? Do we proceed with Kuat behind his back? Or do we fully commit to his terms?"
Raith rubbed his temples. "We proceed on *his* terms. Tomorrow we meet — Jasmill, Lyra, and myself — and we listen. We negotiate carefully. But we do not cross him. Not after what I just saw. Not after what he's capable of."
Lyra crossed her arms. "He's not unreasonable. Dangerous, yes. Terrifying when angered, absolutely. But he's also the reason Sienar-Jaemus exists as an independent power. The solar ionization reactors, the TIE line, the Nebula-class… all of it came from him. If we betray that, we lose everything."
Vellina sighed deeply. "Then pray to whatever gods watch over inventors and fools that Dagon Marek's terms are not too steep. Because if we lose his favor, Kuat won't save us. No one will."
The room fell into uneasy silence once more. Outside the viewport, the Olympus Mons floated like a predator in the shipyard docks — dark, heavily modified, and waiting.