The Truth of Things

High Inquisitor Gra'tua · Sith Marauder Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 1071

The amphibious being had been looking through some new documents that his subordinates had placed with his secretary. There were new threats every day, most of which were handled by some lesser Inquisitor so the Grand Inquisitor or High Inquisitor would not be bothered. Today however was different.

Gra'tua had gotten a message from Crozeus, the prophet. He sounded as if he was in a panic. Gra'tua listened intently to the Prophet and responded. "I am on my way. However, isn't Venir home to a Sith cult leader." As he finished his question he was striding down the hall. His office was sealed once again and the Nautolan was almost to the Hangar.
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High Mage Serratus

Serratus frowned when he heard Gra'tua over Crozeus's comlink.

"You mean to say the Inquisitorius has been completely aware of the presence of Anthrax this whole time?"
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If you see dreadlocks and a staff coming towards you very rapidly, you're in trouble.

High Inquisitor Gra'tua · Sith Marauder Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 1071

[I assume I am waiting for Crozeus.]]
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High Prophet Crozeus

((You are? Serratus was speaking to you.))
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High Inquisitor Gra'tua · Sith Marauder Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 1071

[[yeah but its your com-link. But ill role with it.]]

Gra'tua nodded to himself as he entered his ship. "His location yes, his activities no. We lost contact with an informant a few months back so his recent activities are unknown."

He was engaging the ships activation sequence now and readying for departure. "Did you believe we would let any cult thrive without knowing their whereabouts and activities?"
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High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus laughed. "It seems at times we forget you are High Inquisitor."

They arrived at Venir and landed, where they waited for Gra'tua.
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High Inquisitor Gra'tua · Sith Marauder Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 1071

Gra'tua had a small smirk appear on his reptilian-like face. "It is a common mistake." As he finished he was exiting the hangar and leaving the atmosphere within seconds. As he left orbit he activated his hyperdrive, sending him quickly to the target's planet of choice and soon he was setting down near the Prophet.

As he landed, he ramp lowered and allowed the High Inquisitor to exit his ship. "Lets begin shall we?" He asked as he pulled a saber from his belt and hid it into the sleeve of his black outer robe.
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High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus nodded. "Lets. Serratus, any idea where Anthrax might be?"
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High Mage Serratus

Serratus nodded.

"Anthrax is obviously planning to launch an attack on Kuat. But the Wayland Order is very, very small, he doesn't have the man power. Therefore he'll be attacking using his skill in alchemy. The most obvious thing that jumps to mind would be unleashing a pack of monstrous beasts, but we'd mow them down swiftly. He's thinking they way I would in his position, he's thinking smaller. There's only one way he can reasonably attack Kuat, and that's by sending a virus to the planet. If he's sending a virus to Kuat, he must be at the Venir Space Docks."
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If you see dreadlocks and a staff coming towards you very rapidly, you're in trouble.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus nodded along, the reasoning was sound... or it could be completely off.

"Lead on, then."
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High Mage Serratus

Serratus saw three young Neimodians racing each other on speeder bikes. Raising his hand, he dragged them down to their level and stared at them blankly. They ran away crying. Serratus hopped on his speeder and after Crozeus and Gra'tua had done the same, set off across the Veniri skyline towards the Venir Space Docks.
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If you see dreadlocks and a staff coming towards you very rapidly, you're in trouble.

High Prophet Crozeus

The ride was far more entertaining than the run through the humid Mandalore jungle. It was not long before they arrived at the Docks and dismounted. Crozeus stretched out the aches acquired on the journey and waited for Serratus to move.
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High Mage Serratus

Serratus observed the building and then turned to his two companions. He looked back and forth between them several times, then stared at the building for a while, reaching into it with the Force to locate Anthrax, then turning back to his two companions.

"This is my plan. Gra'tua, you get your hands on a starfighter to destroy Anthrax's virus ship in case we can't stop him. Crozeus, you go up into the walkways and be ready to back me up with the Force or a lightsaber. I'll approach Anthrax here on the ground floor. We take him alive for now. I need to know how to reverse my affliction."
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If you see dreadlocks and a staff coming towards you very rapidly, you're in trouble.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus nodded. He sprinted forward, masking his presence, and headed up to the walkways. When he was in position, concealed, he got a good vantage point on the ground level where Serratus was and waited, watching.
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High Mage Serratus

Serratus strolled through the eerily deserted Docks. Anthrax had done a good job of clearing the place out. As he rounded a corner, Serratus saw Anthrax attending to the ship. Serratus coughed. Anthrax looked at Serratus and for a moment, even the High Mage felt a twinge of fear. The alchemist's eyes seemed almost like vacuums hidden in the shadows of his hood and the dirty black robes he was wrapped in only accentuated the impression of hollowness. If Serratus was performing the alchemist's autopsy, he wouldn't be suprised to find a black hole instead of a heart. Serratus drew the Dark Blade.

"Step away from that ship Anthrax."

Anthrax, who had been up to that point hunched over an engine, stood at his full, towering height. Only now did Serratus realise that the Sith was a Felucian. A swarm of clicking noises emerged from his fungus-like mouth and a lightwhip suddenly appeared in his hand. Or rather it had been there but it was now that he activated. Serratus had never dealt with a lightwhip before. But there was always a time to learn. Serratus twirled the Dark Blade of Ajunta Pall once in his hand before charging. Just as he neared Anthrax, he leapt into the air, poised to strike, only for one of the Felucian's monstrously large fists to send him flying backwards, knocking into a shuttle. Serratus clambered to his feet, only to be met with the sight of Anthrax running towards him. Serratus picked up the shuttle with the Force and sent it flying towards the Felucian. Anthrax grabbed the shuttle as it sped towards him and was knocked back by the momentum but not bowled over. Serratus shouted.

"Crozeus, now!"
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If you see dreadlocks and a staff coming towards you very rapidly, you're in trouble.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus jumped off the walkway and slammed down nearby. The movement was enough to distract Anthrax who turned with a snarl, giving Serratus time to stand and move away. Crozeus rapidly disrobed and ignited his saber.

"Come and have a go, sewer monster," he taunted, trying to distract him.
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High Mage Serratus

While Anthrax turned to Crozeus, Serratus jumped up to one of the walkways and unleashed a barrage of Force-imbued spin-blades at the hulking beast before jumping down from the walkway on to Anthrax's head. He started pummeling Anthrax's face with his crushgaunts.
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If you see dreadlocks and a staff coming towards you very rapidly, you're in trouble.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus couldn't engage the beast while Serratus was on his head, so he simply used a Sith spell he had learnt to drain Anthrax's energy and transfer it to Serratus.
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High Mage Serratus

With the surge of energy Crozeus had redirected to him, Serratus grabbed Anthrax's head and jumped towards the walkway, grabbing on to a railing as he released Anthrax, sendind the shaman flying into a wall. The beast stumbled backwards and Serratus used the Force to trip him over, sending him teetering backwards into another wall. As he slumped against the wall, Anthrax began shrinking and changing shape until only a shimmering Polydroxol sat against the wall. The silvery-skinned shapeshifter looked up at Serratus with a smile before punching a button on the wall. With a hiss, the ship with the virus shot out of its holdings and entered the lane of traffic heading for Kuat. Serratus Force-pushed Anthrax against the wall, splattering him outwards. The High Mage extracted his comlink.

"Gra'tua, the shuttle has been launched, I repeat, the shuttle has been launched. Destroy it as soon as possible."
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If you see dreadlocks and a staff coming towards you very rapidly, you're in trouble.

High Inquisitor Gra'tua · Sith Marauder Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 1071

Gra'tua had commandeered what seemed to be a personalized Sith star-fighter, very similar to his own and had been waiting just out side the orbit of the planet. "Copy that, I am en route now." Just as he finished speaking there had been a ship that just flew by, but it was being flown by some out dated computer. "This shouldn't be to hard gents." He said again as he turned the ship and began the pursuit.

It had only take near five minutes to catch the speeding transport and once close enough he fire to protons into the engines, causing a rapid series of explosions before the entire ship had been destroyed. The type of transport used was to small for a hyper drive, but not big enough for some kind of defense weapons. A report would be filed in the Inquisitorius later.

"The target has been eliminated, I will make my way back now."
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High Mage Serratus

Serratus smiled.

"Jolly good High Inquisitor. I'm just going to extract some information out of Anthrax."

He returned the comlink to his belt and turned to Anthrax, who was gaining consciousness. Serratus snapped back his vizor, to reveal his eyes, glowing yellow with anger, greed and all sorts of dark emotions. The yellow eyes pierced Anthrax's very soul with their fiery gaze.

"I am a changeling, the arts of Sith alchemy have mutilated me. Fire touched this suit of Jensaarai armour and I became imprisoned. But you are truly the last of the great alchemists of old. Tell me how I can undo this affliction and I will not harm you."

Anthrax laughed, a liquidy sound as if his metallic lungs were adding a gurgle to the throaty chuckle.

"You cannot harm me. My species are almost indestructible. Cut us in half and we will reform. Shoot us with a blaster and we will reform. Slice us with a lightsaber, flatten us with the Force, drop us from a orbital space station and send us crashing to the surface of the planet, we will reform. What harm can you render me?"

Serratus turned his hand slightly. Anthrax continued to laugh, but only for a few seconds as his chuckle turned to a shriek of pain.

"You may be of strange form, but I am skilled enough in the Force to harm you. Right now, I am using the Force to apply pressure ten times the strength of the pressure at the bottom of the Mon Calamari oceans on a single pain sensor. This is as much pain as I can cause you. Crozeus here is more skilled in the Force than I, he could probably cause thrice, even ten times the pain I inflict upon you. Our Lord and Emperor, Darth Shadow, could cast you into meaningless atoms with a thought. Do not question the power of the Sith."

Serratus relenquished his grip on the pain sensor and Anthrax's scream faded into anguished, exhausted breathing.

"I will tell you what you need to do. Fire warped you and fire shall cleanse you once more. You will need the DNA of another Human."

Serratus nodded.

"Darth Crozeus will be filling that capacity. Tell me the procedure."

Anthrax nodded quickly, almost in fear.

"You must create fire hot enough to sear the Jensaari armour away from your flesh. To heal the flesh, you will bac'ata co'arp, a form of bacta mutated by Sith alchemy. To make the bac'ata, you must fuse bacta with a number of ingredients. DNA of your own species, the Dust of Muunlite, the blood of the dark side, mercury, a boiled and filtered blend of razor grass, Eol Sha lichen, Jaddyyk moss and the leaves of the Jo tree, a piece of skin from the tail of a katarn that has just partaken of the fruit of the syren tree, powdered damind crystal and a considerable amount of energy, to be donated or forcefully taken from another being. Once inside the bac'ata, you must be boiled alive for 13 hours."

Serratus considered the ingredients.

"I have the DNA, the Dust of Muunlite, the various plants, mercury, a katarn and plenty of daminds at the facility on Tatooine. It will be a simple matter to feed the katarn some syren fruit and take some skin. The energy will likewise be accessible. Thus, one of these ingredients eludes me. What is the blood of the dark side?"

Anthrax had finally regained his composure and spoke to Serratus with some measure of confidence.

"The blood of the dark side is a rare and ancient substance left over from the creation of the Universe, found scarcely in this galaxy. You are lucky enough to have some in your posession. The Dark Blade of Ajunta Pall is forged from an ore created by smelting the blood of the dark side and durasteel. Simply seperate the two and you will have the blood of the dark side. You will of course only need to take a small amount, if you sharpen the blade, the dusty residue will be sufficient."

Serratus nodded.

"You have been most helpful."

Serratus ripped Anthrax from the wall with the Force and tossed him against another. He extracted one of the flasks the Mages used to hold volatile specimens and opened it with his thumb. With the Force he ripped Anthrax from the wall and filled the flask with his liquid metal frame. He snapped the lid closed.

"Once we give Anthrax to Gra'tua, we can be on our way back to Tatooine for the procedure."
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If you see dreadlocks and a staff coming towards you very rapidly, you're in trouble.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus nodded, thinking over the possibilities of the different ingredients Anthrax had listed. The Alchemical side of his brain was figuring out different ways to use the ingredients, and he made a mental note to book more time on Fondor to experiment. He wandered back to the speeders and returned to their ship to prepare to head back to Tatooine.
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High Mage Serratus

Having handed off Anthrax to Gra'tua, thanked him for his assistanced and wished him luck, Serratus had returned to the Infiltrator and he and Crozeus had flown without incident back to Tatooine. Upon return, he had stormed through the facility, collecting all the ingredients necessary and ordering a tank of bacta be delivered immediately to room 27-B. He led Crozeus to the room, similar in shape to the Moonlight Chamber but without the equipment and with a tank of bacta in the middle.

"While reviewing Cerea with Darth Ultiria, we came across a young Cerean boy with a midichlorian count twice mine. I subdued him and took him here, for reasons I was not yet sure of. I guess I wanted him there for emergencies. If a time came when I needed more power than I had, I intended on draining him of Force power. That time has come."

Serratus used the Force to push a button on the wall. The wall turned to reveal the unconscious Cerean boy strapped to the wall with metal clasps.

"He will be the energy supply that Anthrax spoke of. I want you to create the bac'ata. Rip the boy's energy from his body and use it to fuse all the ingredients together. Which reminds me. May I have a hair?"
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If you see dreadlocks and a staff coming towards you very rapidly, you're in trouble.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus nodded and pulled one of his dark brown hairs out, handing it to Serratus. He walked over to the boy and could immediately tell how powerful in the Force he was.

Serratus was preparing the ingredients and Crozeus readied himself, taking deep breaths. Removing the Force from such a potent being, a Cerean as well, would not be easy.

Crozeus waited for Serratus to announce that he was ready. Crozeus would only be able to do this once.
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High Inquisitor Gra'tua · Sith Marauder Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 1071

Gra'tua had nodded and took this captive with him to his transport and began his way back to Kuat. Once he had landed on his home soil he made for the Inquisitorius to file the Cult leader in the archives.

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