Southern Underground

[Luke Skywalker]

"Yes, they're stopping at the door," replied Luke.

A moment later a tall, slender man enters and turns on the lights. He had dark hair cut short, was clean shaven. He was well dressed, the clothing newer, but of a cheaper brand. Finally he recognizes the fact that he is not alone. "W-w-w-ho are you?" Startled, he begins to reach for the blaster.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

"Not so fast, Lieutenant Stor." Mara quickly bats away his blaster with her left hand, then she grabs her hold-out blaster with her right hand and points it in his direction. "Who we are is not important. However, your answers to my questions are."

[Luke Skywalker]

"What makes you think I'm going to answer any questions you have?" says Valin Stor, gaining some nerve back. He looks to Mara then to Luke, then to the blaster.

Luke walks to stand between him and the door. He reaches out with the Force and says, "You want to help us because it's the right thing to do."

"Why would I want to do that? You must be high on yarrock," Stor spit out with disgust.

Luke realizes that Stor is resistant to the mind trick. He looks to Mara.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

Mara's green eyes narrow at his stubbornness and she grabs a handful of his shirt and presses the barrel of her blaster to his throat. "It's either answer my questions, or get a hole in your throat. It's your choice."

[Luke Skywalker]

"Uhm, what questions did you have?" replied Stor.

Luke tries to suppress a grin, and barely succeeds.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

"That's more like it." Mara lets go of his shirt and loosens up on the blaster, but doesn't put it away.

"Let's start with why the Black Sun are involved with Sacrifice Milla."

[Luke Skywalker]

"Our organization has had some recent thinning in the upper ranks due to, let's say, displeasure of results. Milla knows the organization and has experience. We had hoped to persuade him to come back." Stor was beginning to visibly sweat.

Luke stretched out with the Force and saw he was telling the truth, no spike in blood pressure or heart rate.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

"That's one question. Now for number two: What can you tell us about his wife's murder on Alvorine?" Mara studies his reactions to her questioning, noting the nervous sweating.

[Luke Skywalker]

"That I know nothing about. I had nothing to do with it. Look, I don't know much about this, only the basics." He swallowed hard. "Just how many questions are there?"

Luke covered his mouth and avoided looking at Mara.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

"As many as I want there to be, Stor. That's the beauty of an interrogation." Mara edges her blaster a little closer to him. He seems to have at least heard about Milla's wife's murder, so chances were he could lead them in the right direction. "Answer this next question like a good boy, and it may be the last. Where can I find someone who can tell me more about Sacrifice Milla and his wife?"

[Luke Skywalker]

"They'll kill me if I tell anymore! There's nothing you could do that is worse than what they will do if they find out I talked." Stor started shaking his head back and forth.

Luke sent calming thoughts through the Force. "Yeah, but if you don't talk, you will be dead now instead of later. Besides, we aren't going to tell where we got the information. Did we tell you how we found you?"

Stor thought a moment, "Well, no you didn't. And being dead now is a good point. Look, all I know is that Black Sun has something big planned for Naboo, and they wanted Milla to be a part of it. Perhaps you can find something out there."

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

"Any particular place on Naboo, or are we supposed to wander all over the planet looking for Black Sun banners?" Mara asks, her patience having run out several minutes ago.

[Luke Skywalker]

"Something is going down in Theed, the capital, really big, in a day or two. I don't have anymore information than that. It's not part of the business that I run. My concern is here on Coruscant." He is breathing heavy now, sweating more.

Luke can tell through the Force that he is telling the truth, but very agitated. Revealing this much information has been difficult for him.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

Mara looks across at Luke, and senses that he picked up the same feelings from Stor as she did. She relaxes and wipes the death stare off her face.

"Thank you, Stor." Mara pats him on the shoulder. "It's been a pleasure, but we really need to be going. By the way, if you speak of this meeting to anyone, I'll be back for a visit, and you really don't want that, now do you?"

[Luke Skywalker]

"No, certainly don't want that. I won't tell anybody if you don't tell anybody." Stor exhales, not realizing that he had been holding his breathe.

Without a word, Luke turns and activates the door and steps out into the hall.