A Specter of Truth

[Wyck]

The Alderaanian Security Force had been kind enough to provide the Jedi with a small, ray-shielded, interrogation cell to deal with their captive. As they were the captors, they would get the first crack at him. A representative of House Harlow would be arriving later, along with a representative for the Republic. By that time, Grand Master Wyck intended to have most of the information he needed from the man, which he would then take back to the Council.

With him were the two Jedi Masters who had helped apprehend the man, and four Alderaanian security guards were stationed nearby: two inside the cell and two outside. The man had been stripped of all weaponry and personal effects, which were being held in a locker in the nearby security center, two floors above them. He was cuffed with stun cuffs and chained around one ankle to the floor, seated at a basic wooden interrogation table. The room was dimly lit, save for a single florescent light hanging overhead.

Wyck was not exactly sympathetic to the man. The final count of the dead was still being done, but he had certainly managed to kill an important figure in the Harlows. Regardless of his intentions, this man was a murderer. Still, Wyck could not take vengeance. He was reminded of a mission he took with Imani that had led to a similar interrogation, five years ago, and the wisdom he had shared with her then; and so he used the Force to calm himself.

"We shall begin now — time is short," Wyck said, both to the captive and to his fellow Jedi. His next series of statements were, however, directed solely at the captive. "Going to question you, I am. Answer my questions truthfully, you will. If you do not, then use the Force to glean the answers and the truth, we will. My friend here—" He nodded to Jon "—will tell me if lying, you are, so don't try it. Do that much and ensure to you that you won't be harmed, I will." He sighed. "Start with the basics, I will. Who are you and who do you work for?" @Faster Than Light @Wit @Nightfall096

 

[Jon Atreides]

Jon stood behind Master Wyck, the Force coursing through him as he observed the captive through all sense available to him, both mundane and arcane. Having gone back to the scene of the crime and witness the aftermath of the blast, Jon was not about to take any risks with this. Even if it was overkill, he was willing to err on the side of caution. They needed answers, and if this man could arrange for so audacious an act then it was not outside the realms of possibility to assume that he might have more tricks up his sleeve. Jon was happy to seem stupid in case the man did try something.

So as Master Wyck began questioning him Jon observed him through the Force, watching for any signs of..well anything really. Observing the man to see how he reacted, and trying to catch any signs of deception. As the Grandmaster had said, if he lied then Jon was there to make sure the Jedi caught on.

So he waited, for the man begin speaking, beginning with the most important question of all. Who was he?
@Faster Than Light @Malon @Nightfall096

 

[Vollen Shai]

The Harlows had been happy enough to allow the Jedi to speak with the prisoner first. The bombing had them busy, as did the many other movements on Alderaan these days. And for now the Jedi had a well enough relationship with them that such a request only made sense.

And so, discussions concluded, he stood beside Jon in the interrogation room, as the Grandmaster begun the questioning. He would have nothing to say yet, but attacks on the Harlows bit close to home for Vollen, especially from the Cartel, who he'd worked so hard to try and see gone from this place. It was clear that not even the investigation could have done that, ties and interests ran deep, given how many eyes went to Alderaan on so many matters. That today happened should have been less of a surprise, it should have been caught earlier, faster, but they were not here to do so.

No, now was the time for answers. With Jon and Wyck then he reached out with his feelings to sense the prisoner, his emotions, intentions, there was little way he was going to trust this agent without doing so.

It was time to hear what he had to say.


@Faster Than Light @Malon @Wit

 

[Spectre (Old)]

Bugger. This was a rather unfortunate turn of events. After the bomb went off and he attempted to escape, but Spectre found himself abruptly gripped and hit with stun-bolts, knocking him out and here he is detained. Well, not even the best slicer in the Cartel could escape with the Jedi Grandmaster and two other Jedi Councilors in hot pursuit. Admittedly this job was poorly done on the slicer's part. But it is what it is. And even the super spies in the holo-vids get caught from time to time. Still, this is not the worst thing, although pretty embarrassing.

Spectre would remain calm and have a bit of a pleasant smile showing as he looks at the Jedi. He is completely focused on what's in front of him. He knows full and well who he is with, they are very high ranking and powerful Jedi. Grandmaster Wyck insisted that time is short and if he doesn't answer his questions truthfully he would glean into him using the Force. Well, time to give the Jedi what they want. He would say with an affable tone with his accent and nod his head. "Oh, I'm just a bored, former university student from Corellia." Nothing he said was a lie there. It was all true. "And I work for myself." which again, is also true.

Spectre knows full and well that the force users like Jedi have the ability to manipulate minds or even read them. Fortunately for the Hutt Councilman, even if he isn't a force sensitive, he is trained to resist such things just in case he finds himself in the situation he is now. Any person who works in intelligence would be trained for such. A random Cartel thug on the street might be easily swayed by such things, but a strong will and mind like Spectre's isn't, and his guard is prepared without changing expressions. Lets see what happens next.

 

[Wyck]

Yep. This was pretty much what Wyck expected. The captive was going to be difficult. Unfortunate, really. The Grand Master did not want to have to combine his powers with the other two Jedi Masters in the room and rip the information from the man's mind, but time was of the essence and lives were at stake.

This man — whoever he was — would regret giving him the run around again, if he tried it; no matter how strong his mind was, picking through it for the relevant information would be child's play for three Jedi Masters of the level that were assembled in this cell. But, ever the Jedi, Wyck gave the man one last chance to be straightforward with him.

"Your name," said the Jedi Master. "What is it? A citizen of the Sith Empire, are you? Or are you apart of the Hutt Cartel?"

As Wyck asked the questions and anticipated the answers, he stretched out to the Force until he was intimately aware of his surroundings. He could feel the man's pulse, his breath, any flicker of feelings that slipped passed his defenses and any stray thoughts he failed to defend. He would have his answers.

The people of Alderaan and the citizens of the Republic, that this man harmed, deserved answers and justice; and they would have it, whether this man gave it to them willingly or unwillingly was a choice only he could make. @Faster Than Light @Wit @Nightfall096

 

[Spectre (Old)]

"Well if you insist Master Jedi" he kept his slight smile on him, his tone remaining affable as well. "I'm Spectre" he said to the little Jedi Grandmaster. "And you should probably already know I'm in the Cartel." Unless he lives under a rock or some sort of hut in a forest or swamp, which may not be surprising. After all, being the first human on the Hutt Council and all that. No point in lying as the guy said, he still prepared mentally and his mind is focused on what's in front of him and what is being said and nothing more. He has no intentions of slipping up

 

[Vollen Shai]

And so their suspicions had been proved correct it seemed. A Hutt Councillor, the first and only human one at that. And now he was before them in the home of the Harlows, the house that had seen most into the machinations of the Cartel on Alderaan. And now this, now such brazen activity like a bombing, it didn't exactly strike Vollen as the Cartels style. Of course, he knew the Hutts had a reputation for cruelty, brutality, but their prior actions on Alderaan indicated a much more deft hand at work than here,

"The bombing, whose idea was it? Are you or the Cartel involved with groups we should want to know about?" he pressed, this Spectre was giving them information on a drip. he certainly knew how to play the game, and probably knew the Jedi weren't about to rip it out of him like the Sith, or kriff, even the Republic at times, might have done, but they needed more, and they needed it sooner,

"Today for that matter, somehow I imagine a Kajidii doesn't need to work alone, right? But if you're the fall guy for this than any accomplices must be someones particularly interesting" it was a bit of a goad, he doubted the man would rise to it. But if he was cooperating hopefully he didn't need him to. They just needed information, especially if this war was going to get as hot as it seemed like it was.


@Faster Than Light @Wit @Malon

 

[Spectre (Old)]

Instead of Wyck, it's Vollen with the questions. Now that he is speaking, the Cartel slicer knows remembers seeing his face at Lucille's palace break in attempt, that was foiled by him and other Cartel members. Spectre didn't know who they were, but the slicer warned them to go away when they were going somewhere they shouldn't, but in hindsight he realizes that he should have gotten the other Cartel members to open fire when they had a chance. With Spectre, Wook, Darren, and Tage there, the Jedi wouldn't have stood a chance. What a miscalculation on Spectre's part then, his first instinct knew better, but didn't act on it accordingly. But that's in the past, nothing that can be done about it now. "Well hello again there Mr Vollen. It was my idea for the bombing." he truthfully answers Vollen's initial questions exactly to the letter without hesitation, still with his affable tone and facial expression. "And I wasn't involved with any groups" he answered that question correctly to it's wording seamlessly as well. Spectre didn't get in contact with a group of people. His thoughts were focused on the questions and making sure they were technically answered correctly and truthfully while focusing on no more than that, not intending for thoughts to be leaked out other than what's said aloud. "I'm no one's fall guy. I just got sloppy and got caught." he shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes as his affable smile dropped to a frown. Embarrassing, but still not the end of the galaxy or anything. Even if he is due for a execution by the Jedi's hand, the Republic or whoever, it still be wouldn't be the worst thing. Still better than the boring university student life.

@Nightfall096

 

[Wyck]

Wyck knew obvious deception when he heard it. It was the way the man emphasized his words, almost sarcastically, that gave him away. For a prisoner who seemed almost prideful in his resistance, he did a poor job at hiding what he was doing. Unfortunately for this "Spectre," Wyck was out of time. They needed answers. It wasn't the solution he had been hoping for, but, nevertheless, it was the only one they were left with.

"Lying, you are," Wyck said decisively. "For even one of your reputation, impossible to execute such an operation alone it is. Your idea, this plot may have been; but acted alone, you did not." Grunting, the Grand Master glanced sideways at Master Vollen Shai. "Into his mind, we shall go. Force our way in, we will have to—our combined might, overturn his resistance, it shall. We shall look for everything pertaining to this investigation: who helped him, how they managed to execute their plot, and any names associated with it." Wyck briefly glanced back at Spectre. "Including his own."

His instructions given, Wyck would turn towards Spectre and stretch out his right hand. The Force would act like a battering ram and, even for an operative trained to resist Jedi, it would utterly impossible to keep out a Jedi of Wyck's strength in the Force. Especially once Vollen Shai added his power to Wyck's own. The moment Spectre's defenses fell, Wyck would take the information he sought. If the Hutt operative did not resist, the effort would be mildly annoying, but not painful. If he did, though, he might find that the extraction process would destroy his mind. Wyck hoped he would just relent. @Faster Than Light @Nightfall096

 

[Vollen Shai]

With a nod Vollen was ready for what had to be done. He often felt uneasy about such uses of the force, there was truth to be found, and hopefully much good to be done with it, if this Spectre knew what they believed he would. No harm would come to the man, not if all went easily. And if the man was trained against it even as it appeared, surely he would be smart enough to simply accept it. If not, well, heavier consequences might occur, though Vollen was loathe to administer them.

Though, and he was sure Spectre knew as well, the Harlow men would be far less forgiving, and have far less harmless methods of extracting such information from the man. And given he had just killed the heir of their household, Vollen himself doubted they would have any such qualms themselves, nor mercy to spare.

That the man knew his name threw him, but only for a moment. Both he and Wyck were common enough names amongst the residents of much of the galaxy, Wyck as the Grandmaster, Vollen appearing as part of the Alderaan investigation. But the voice, the voice triggered something in him, though he couldn't say exactly what. Perhaps the dive into the mans mind would reveal more, he would be curious if it did. For now though, he kept his focus in the force, and joined the Grandmaster in searching the mans mind with the force.


@Faster Than Light @Malon

 

[Spectre (Old)]

Before all this mess, Spectre did once in a while wonder what would become of him if he didn't start dabbling into hacking when he was a university student on Corellia. He had plenty of time to back out once he did, but he kept going, setting him on the path to him becoming a basadi in the Hutt Cartel, ascending to Vigo, and the one to break the Hutts-only species barrier for the Hutt Council. He would have been a law-abiding citizen, probably moving up the ladder in a an IT corporation of sorts, but he concluded that would have been dull. He never regretted his choice.

And even in the present, with the Grandmaster and his pet Vollen about to reach into his mind by Force. Even still, his stance has not changed, it's not even a question really, (although he wished the bombing went without a hitch). Oh well, he's had a good run. Spectre knew what was coming the two, as he heard the little green alien plotting where his ears could hear it. Even as he felt the battering ram of the Force hit his mind, and with his mind under mental assault from the two Jedi, he did not relent. If he wanted the two Jedi to have real honest answers to his questions, the Cartel would have gave them answers while he had the chance, slicer will not make it easy at all out of principle. The pain inside his head could be felt, Spectre would squirm in his seat. As he elected to keep resisting, not willing to let down his guard during the extraction process, his mind was indeed destroyed. Spectre is effectively dead now.

There are quite a lot of things the Jedi are looking for that they will not be able to find an answer for even if they did manage to break through Spectre's mind. For instance he had no idea who all or what set the bombs (nor did he care) or how exactly. Among other things. In regards to that all he knows is the bombs were there for him to detonate when the time came. Could have been literally anyone for all he knows, like hired professionals or something.

 

[Wyck]

Wyck bypassed Spectre's mental defenses with little issue. The Hutt operative attempted to fight, but against two high-calibre Jedi Masters, there was almost nothing he could do to resist. Almost immediately, Wyck's own mind was swimming with memories not his own, beginning with fragments of a night—not long ago—in which the initial stages of the harrowing plan were undertaken.

Ambient sound fill the Grand Master's ear, followed by a voice that said, Be quick and take what you need. We don't have time to waste.

The memory seemed to rewind a bit, and Wyck saw the person whose voice had uttered the words: a masked man he had not seen before. The masked man sunk a pair of vibroswords into a guardsman, killing him almost instantly. The Grand Master did not recognize this murderer, but his description was eerily similar to the reports during the war of the Exile Warlord called "the Eternal." There had been rumors that the Eternal was immortal and had gone on to become a Sith Lord, but, so far, the Jedi Order had little evidence to go on in that regard. The Eternal had always been an elusive and mysterious figure.

If the man really was the Eternal, then that meant the Sith were involved in this plot; but a few memory fragments of a man in mask were not enough evidence to implicate the Sith Empire. Certainly, the Republic would not act upon such scant evidence. He doubted that even the Jedi Council would advise action under such circumstances. But, at the very least, it alerted the Grand Master to a much bigger plot in the works. The Hutt Cartel were indeed not the only ones interested in Alderaan; and, if the Sith were involved, it was time for the Jedi Order to stake its claims in this brewing civil war as well.

Eyes tightly shut, Wyck grimaced and, with slightly more effort applied, wrenched a name from Spectre's mind. Siris. It was a name associated with the masked figure, but one Wyck did not know. It was a common given name, but at least it was something the Grand Master could investigate at a later date. Whoever this "Siris" was, Spectre was familiar with him. Wyck did not dig further to figure out how they knew each other. He distinctly thought that he perhaps did not want to know.

Unfortunately, that final push for information was what liquified Spectre's mind, robbing the Grand Master the opportunity to obtain the operative's birth name, as well as the remainder of the memory—such as why the guard was killed and what they were doing in that Juranno security center. Spectre was now, essentially, a vegetable. Dead, for all intents and purposes. He released his hold on the Force and opened his eyes with a solemn sigh. This was not what he wanted to happen, but he had been left with no choice.

They had information to go on, now. The Hutts were confirmed to be involved in the bombing. That is what he would tell the Republic operatives when they arrived. As for the masked figure... He would convene the Jedi Council to decide what to do with that piece of information. He, unfortunately, didn't think it would be much. Not yet, at least. @Nightfall096 @Faster Than Light

 

[Vollen Shai]

Sharing in the visions the Grandmaster saw, Vollen felt the flickers of memories and information trickle into his mind. Nothing as much as they had meant to go on, but better still than not having caught him in the first place. Their powers combined though pushed through the mental barriers, and its physical limits besides so much that Vollen felt the man snap, his mind quashed from the strain they had placed on the Kajidii's mind.

It was what he feared might happen. While he took a step forward to try and stabilise the man with the Force, there would be nothing he could do to stop the damage,

"I didn't think he would resist" Vollen let out with a sigh, there would be no more they could do now, nor could the Harlows, if they'd planned on questioning him further. Such wouldn't be great news to have to pass on, hopefully though if he spoke to Cidney or someone he knew they might understand. Still, the Hutts were here, and this was only further confirmation of the machinations that seemed to fill Alderaan. And would only fill it further still, he suspected.

He looked over to Wyck, there would be time to work out what to do with this information, and soon, he hoped,


@Malon @Faster Than Light