694. Like Womprats in a Cage - Trychon

After dropping Anya off in her less accommodating quarters, they promptly headed to bring Tyr down for questioning.  Rather than an aggressive greeting upon entering his room, the Sith accepted his cuffs without incident, much to the wiry guard's surprise.

Nal was again relegated to observing from the next room over.  There was less chance of an issue than there was with the girl, but Master Solumi was pleased with how Val handled the first interrogation, and did not feel like changing their approach.  It was more likely that consistency would allow them to pick up anything awry between the two interviews.

Given his relatively calm demeanor, Tyr did not even have to ask to have his stun cuffs removed upon sitting.  Val merely gestured to hold his hands out, and had them removed.

Despite his situation, Tyr couldn't help but give the blue Jedi who'd so easily bested him a small lopsided grin.  "Pretty trusting, Blue.  I'll give you that."

"Since your capture, you've given me no reason not to, Tyr."

Tyr just nodded, and waited for the Jedi to get to his point.  He wasn't impatient, as he didn't have anywhere else to be, but he still didn't see any reasoning behind playing games.

Val took his hint.  "I'll get to the point.  Where is your base?"  

Tyr rolled his eyes.  "You're not going to get that from me.  Anything else?"

Val hadn't expected an answer on that particular question, but he had decided it was best to let the playing field be even and make it plain what they were after from these meetings.  In time, if they wore down, they'd know exactly what would be best to share.  "Do you know why you're here?"

Tyr chuckled.  "Where should I start?  Was it Coruscant? Abregado-dai? Pelagon?"

"Of course, that's a part of it."  Val admitted.  "But you're here because we want to help you."

"Naturally.  How noble."

The Jedi knew it would sound hollow, but it was still important.  "Your family has a history with our Order.  Why did you join the Sith?"

"I'd really rather not discuss my family right now.  I don't think it would help things."  

Val gave him an understanding smile and waited to see if he would give some sort of an answer anyway.  When nothing was seemed forthcoming, he pressed on.  "You've been involved in at least two horrific crimes, yet we had a hard time tracking you because of your erratic movement and actions.  What were you up to?"

"Just leading a chase, mostly... and having fun, I think." 

Val picked up on a bit of confusion in his expression.  "You think?  Were you having fun?"

"I thought so... but Anya had done something to me, and I wasn't entirely myself."

"And the others?"

Tyr shook his head. "We knew you were after us.  We split up to even our chances up.  I've barely seen them in the past year or so."  

Val folded his hands on the table and decided on his next question carefully.  "Do you think they tricked you as well?"

"No."

"Maybe we'll come back to that.  Do you know what they were up to?"  In a rare break of a static facial expression, Val raised an eyebrow.

Tyr actually stopped to think about it.  "Not really, no.  Before you dismiss that, I'll tell you that sometimes I did.  I won't tell you about those times either though."

"They've been staying off the radar since they hijacked a planet's worth of yearly earnings... literally."

Tyr laughed.  "Yeah, I suppose the goal of us splitting originally was for us to draw more attention.  But - It's our fault... My fault we got caught.  We got sloppy.  Reckless.  I allowed her to take control.  I'm still not sure how."

Val paused.  "Your compatriots have been rather low profile, other than the major hits we've discussed.  Meanwhile, you've been recklessly seeking our attention to use your own words.  Are you positive that they were not setting you up to fail?"

Tyr glared at him.  "Look, Blue... you bested me in single combat.  You've been rather honest and fair with me as near as I can tell.  I'm not happy about the situation I'm in.  I'm rather kriffed off at Anya."

"I Understan..." Val started before being interrupted.

"Don't misunderstand.  I've got no love for the Jedi, other than the fact that they're soft when dealing with prisoners.  I'm not happy with my friends at the moment, but they're my friends.  The Jedi have done nothing for me other than give me a metal slab for a hand, and a go se childhood."

"Fair enou..."

"I'm not done.  My friends may have dumped me off a bit.... but we also took off a bit on our own, thanks to a bantha brain thinking she should be the mastermind.  Things may be bad for me right now, but the guys you're looking for?  They're not stupid.  If I wanted to... I could certainly make it a lot easier for you to catch them.... don't get your hopes up.  That's not happening.  That's a hell of a chance to take though, don't you think?  Offer your enemy the key to catching you?"

Val scratched at the stubble that his cheeks had built up more than he normally allowed. "Or maybe we'd already have them if we hadn't been chasing you, thinking they were with you."

"No.  You wouldn't. You don't even have the slightest clue where they've been outside of when it was obvious."

Val had to think for a moment before deciding whether or not he'd be overplaying his hand.  "You're right.  We actually thought they were with you."

"I should have been with them.  It was her  that insisted we were better off on our own after... anyway.  If they were trying to get rid of anyone, it wasn't me.  I'm not sure I could blame them."

-----------------

"He's defiant... yet so calm, Master."  Nal was in a state of near disbelief. "I am getting almost a completely different feeling from him den dat girl."

"Yes... he's quite different indeed."  Master Solumi stared off into space for a few moments.  "He's not ready yet though... not yet.  Val will have to continue to handle him for the next few days, at least."