Suddenly, with a gentle whoosh of pinkish-purple light, a portal opened beside them — and Morgan stepped gracefully through, her long cloak trailing behind her.
"My husband," Morgan said smoothly, her voice laced with playful sharpness, "the Malachor superweapon… I think it's garbage compared to my Rhongo—"
She stopped abruptly, her sharp eyes flicking to Padmé, still clinging to Jin-Woo.
"Oh?" Morgan tilted her head slightly, smirking. "Already getting one more before telling me and Rey?"
Jin-Woo gave a faint, nonchalant shrug.
"Maybe yes… maybe no."
Padmé quickly pulled back from the hug, blinking in surprise as she took in the pale, regal woman before her.
"How… how did you get in here, Morgan?" she asked, eyes wide.
Morgan smiled faintly, her eyes glinting.
"A magician always has her tricks."
Padmé's brow furrowed, then her gaze snapped toward Jin-Woo, her voice rising with realization.
"Wait — Jin-Woo, you told me wives… plural. Not wife — you mean you have multiple? Like… polygamy?"
Morgan let out a soft, amused chuckle.
"I'm the second one, princess."
Padmé's mouth dropped open slightly.
"Must be nice… this woman Rey — she got the privilege of being the first wife, didn't she?"
Morgan's grin widened slyly.
"Oh no, no — Rey is the third wife, actually. Jin-Woo already has his first wife, but…" She lifted a hand, making a graceful little twirl with her fingers.
"He doesn't talk about her too much."
Padmé's expression softened with sudden sorrow, her voice lowering.
"I'm sorry… I shouldn't pry into that, Jin-Woo."
Jin-Woo gave a casual shrug, his mouth curling into a grin.
"My first wife is still fine. She's probably ice-skating on Earth or dancing somewhere right now."
Padmé stared at him for a long beat… then deadpanned with an exasperated look, eyebrows twitching slightly.
Morgan let out a sly laugh, folding her arms. "You're exactly like me, princess."
Padmé, a bit flustered and annoyed, snatched an apple from the table and hurled it straight at Jin-Woo — who didn't dodge, letting it bounce squarely off his face with a soft thud.
Padmé huffed, cheeks puffing slightly.
"So now I'm the fourth wife, huh? You said you'd let someone hit you if it's part of your… wives."
Jin-Woo gave a faint, playful smirk, eyes half-lidded.
"You are my fourth wife. I declare it."
Padmé froze, her face going bright pink as she stammered.
"E-Eh?! R-Really? I… I…!"
But before she could even gather her breath, Jin-Woo's expression shifted slightly — his senses reaching outward, sharp as ever. Through the vast stretch of space, the Force Dyad he shared with Rey flared softly, pulling at his attention.
A heartbeat later, with an effortless tug, Jin-Woo reached across a million light-years and pulled.
With a sudden whoosh, Rey stumbled forward out of thin air, her voice tumbling out in excitement.
"Whoo! Didn't get used to it yet, Jin-Woo! But I got it! I managed to infiltrate some of the Commerce Guild!"
Jin-Woo gave a pleased hum, folding his arms.
"Hm hm… very good."
Rey beamed — then, grinning cheekily, she leaned closer.
"Now I want my reward: headpats… and resting on your thigh."
Jin-Woo gave a long, exaggerated sigh and leaned back casually against the wall. Without hesitation, Rey immediately dropped down, resting her head contentedly on Jin-Woo's right thigh.
Morgan gave a knowing little smirk, gliding in smoothly to rest herself against his left thigh.
"Jin-Woo," she murmured softly, "I've realized something… you rarely sleep, don't you? You only let yourself sleep after… intimate care shared with your wives, hm?"
Padmé's eyes widened as it fully hit her, her voice rising in a half-protesting squeak.
"Hey! This is my room! I am the queen — why are there two other… denizens here?! This was supposed to be just me and Jin-Woo!"
Rey, already snuggled smugly on Jin-Woo's right thigh, stuck her tongue out playfully, making a teasing hand gesture as if to say, too slow.
Morgan, with a sly smile, tilted her head slightly and murmured with quiet amusement,
"Just join up, Padmé. Be the fourth wife already."
Padmé's breath hitched as she stood there, heart pounding, .
I… I never knew love in any form like this, she thought shakily. I've only ever been Queen Amidala — the mask, the duty, the symbol. Will Jin-Woo… truly see me as something beyond that? Will he ever look at me as more than a ruler… as his wife?
Padmé sucked in a shaky breath, her voice bursting out, flustered but determined.
"Jin-Woo… I demand to rest my head on your chest."
Rey immediately shot her a playful, mocking grin from where she lay.
"Jin-Woo's sitting upright right now, kinda hard for you to do that."
But Jin-Woo, without missing a beat, simply shifted. With a smooth ripple of gravitational manipulation, he leaned himself comfortably against the wall without moving his legs, keeping Rey and Morgan resting at his thighs while perfectly adjusting his upper body, making it easy for Padmé to approach. He patted his chest lightly.
"Here you go, Padmé."
Padmé flushed deeply, her heart racing as she stepped closer and gently laid her head against his chest, feeling his steady presence beneath her cheek.
Rey huffed with mock indignation.
" We're the seniors here — but we never got privileges like that!"
Jin-Woo gave a small, calm smile, his tone amused.
"You both never asked, even after all these years living with me."
Morgan let out a soft laugh, eyes glinting.
" Maybe we'll ask next time, my love."
Padmé, still tucked lightly against Jin-Woo's chest, tilted her head curiously.
"So… what does Jin-Woo even do in his free time?"
Rey perked up, raising her hand slightly with a playful grin.
"Oh! Left me stuck at the ring arrays, floating monitor feeds me , nutritional cubes, and blobbies." She gave a dramatic little sigh. "But before all that? He freed me from a life of slavery with his black saber sword. I'll always follow him for that. It's just…" Her voice softened. "I wish he'd share more of his past. As part of the dyad, I can sense it — Jin-Woo has a very grim past."
Morgan arched a brow, smirking slightly.
"Rey, Padmé asked what Jin-Woo does in his free time — not about his personal issues."
Rey stuck her tongue out playfully, grinning.
"Sorry, grandma."
Morgan's eye twitched. crossing her face despite her composed exterior.
"Although I'm six thousand years old, that word is very irritating, ."
Padmé's mouth dropped open slightly, her eyes wide.
"Ehhh?! Morgan, you're six thousand years old ?"
Morgan gave a graceful, knowing smile, brushing back a strand of her shimmering hair.
"Yes, princess. Six thousand years…, still as sharp and deadly as ever."
Rey snickered from where she lay, resting on Jin-Woo's right thigh.
"Still doesn't change the fact you're grandma-aged, Morgan~."
Morgan shot her a sidelong glance, a sly grin curling at her lips.
"Careful, girl. Even if you're part of the dyad and know jin woo deeper , I'm still the older, wiser one here."
Padmé gave a nervous, slightly awkward laugh as she clung a little tighter to Jin-Woo's chest, heart pounding.
She looked up slightly,. "So… Jin-Woo, are you going to tell your secrets to—"
But when she glanced at him, his eyes were already closed, his breath calm, face relaxed.
Morgan let out a small, knowing sigh.
"It's a rare moment. Better we also sleep."
Rey gave a playful little grin as she curled in closer.
"Nighty night…"
Padmé, still with a dozen questions bubbling at the edge of her lips, finally let herself exhale.
I still wanted to ask what you even meant by 'Sus' earlier… but… that can come later…
Slowly, gently, she let herself slip into sleep.
And while his body rested, Jin-Woo's mind remained razor-sharp.
Without moving, without twitching a muscle, he quietly activated the sliver of his soul he had long ago implanted into the Sith chalice — the one Palpatine had taken.
Through it, Jin-Woo now watched. Listened.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
At the top of the Kaldani Spires Residential Apartments, inside the dimly lit, luxurious penthouse, Darth Plagueis sat silently in a high-backed chair, his long, skeletal fingers folded before him. The towering windows framed the Coruscant skyline, casting sharp streaks of city light across the floor.
The door finally hissed open. Sidious, cloaked and hooded, swept in — but his movements were sharp, his steps betraying his irritation. His yellow eyes flicked briefly toward his master as he approached.
Plagueis's voice rasped low and cold. "Did you bring the chalice?"
Sidious let out a slow, controlled breath, though his clenched jaw betrayed how tightly he was biting back anger. If Jin-Woo hadn't covered me… if he hadn't lied and danced circles around the Jedi… By now, Qui-Gon and Kenobi would've arrested me on the spot, and the entire Jedi Order would already be on high alert.
For a moment, he struggled to steady himself — then he exhaled slowly, pushing the anger back, slipping into his usual mask of cold calculation.
He reached into his cloak and pulled out the Sith chalice, extending it smoothly.
"Here it is, Master," Sidious murmured. "The Sith chalice you ordered. I was going to send Maul to retrieve it from the Jedi Temple vault, but instead you had me ask for it directly from the hands of Jedi Qui-Gon and obi-wan ."
He paused, a edge of exasperation curling into his voice.
"Master… are you out of your mind? My cover could've been blown right there."
But Plagueis's withered lips curled faintly into a cold, dismissive smile.
"I don't care for the chalice itself," he murmured. "What I care about… is what's inside the chalice. And you know very well, the Jedi Council has a habit — a dangerous habit — of forcibly opening Sith artifacts and destroying their contents without ever understanding what they hold."
With deliberate, thin fingers, Plagueis pressed a hidden groove along the chalice's side. A faint mechanical click echoed, and a secret compartment slid open, revealing a dark, decayed object inside — a Sith wayfinder, cracked and aged by centuries.
Plagueis's eyes glinted in the low light.
"Long ago," he murmured, voice like a cold whisper, "the Sith crafted objects like this. Tenebrous — my master — told me its purpose… it leads the way to Exegol." He leaned back slightly, his gaze heavy with meaning.
"There, in the shadows, a vast number of cultists prepare. They have waited for generations — for the dark times to come again."
Sidious narrowed his eyes under his hood, his voice sharp and knowing.
"You mean… to replace what we lost on Kamino. When the Queen of Transfiguration hijacked our plan. The number of clone troops prepared for us now — it's no longer enough to start the Clone Wars."
Plagueis gave , satisfied nod.
"Yes… but," he rasped softly, "this wayfinder is damaged, decayed through time. I will fix it myself." His long fingers curled back over the artifact, cradling it with reverence.
"In the meantime, use the chalice whenever you like, my apprentice. It will assist you in meditation… and in cloaking yourself from the Jedi, if only for a little while."
He paused, then added, "As for Jin-Woo—"
Sidious abruptly raised a gloved hand, cutting Plagueis off.
"I don't want to be part of any more assassination attempts against Jin-Woo. At least… not for now. He's unorthodox," Sidious said tightly, his golden eyes narrowing. "My master, I suggest we cripple him through his own group — spread bad rumors, sow discord between the Purple England Company that Jin-Woo owns and the Commerce Guild. That's far more suitable… and far less direct."
Plagueis let out a faint, approving breath, the corners of his withered mouth curling slightly.
"Yes… I heard it," he murmured, tapping a long, bony finger against the secret holocommunicator Sidious had brought earlier. "I listened carefully. And for some reason… that man has zero midichlorians. No different from a dead man."
His thin mouth twisted faintly, eyes glinting in the shadows.
"Do it, then. Begin the rumors, the quiet disruptions. Undermine him from within. And also… grant Maul some praise. He has trained himself far too hard on Malachor. Now, he needs encouragement — even though he failed the assassination attempt."
Sidious gave a slight, dismissive shake of his head,.
"About that, Master… I think we need do nothing for Maul. He knows his place. That alone… is already enough of a reward."
Unknown to Plagueis and Sidious, as they spoke calmly in their dark chamber, Jin-Woo was already listening — spying through a thin thread of his soul, anchored carefully inside the Sith chalice.
Tucked within the chalice's hidden crevices, a minuscule Offensive Bias drone — no larger than a needle — blinked faintly, its single eye dim as it relayed whispers only Jin-Woo's soul fragment could hear.
Supreme Executor, came Offensive Bias's cold, near-silent voice. It is time. I will strike the ones who threaten your company.
Whispering back through the soul link. "Surprise me, Bias… and also, make sure Rey participates."
Within the chalice, the small drone's eye pulsed as Offensive Bias replied with unwavering precision.
I will, Supreme Executor.