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Betad by Marethyu, Priapus, Beans, Mike God of Lore

The Celestial Inquisitor

Chapter 24: Torii

– Sarik Kallig –

"Did you enjoy your morning entertainment?" Lachris asks with a smirk as I enter her office. I return it, because I can't deny that she knows how to reward her apprentice.

100cp granted, 100cp total.

"I would have preferred to wake up to you, but they were an adequate consolation prize," I reply, giving her a respectful nod. "I'm leaving Balmorra today. The Dark Council has made it clear that I am expected to present myself on Dromund Kaas, and I'd rather not make things worse by delaying."
"Indeed. One thing they all share is a disdain for being kept waiting," Lachris agrees. "I know the meeting isn't planned for the moment you arrive, and I have work to finish up on Balmorra before I head to the capital myself. So… what are you scheming, Sarik? I may not be able to sense your emotions in the Force, but I know a schemer when I see one."

"I wanted your opinion on another… gift my power has given me," I admit, making her raise an eyebrow. "But I believe actions will speak louder than words for this one. If you would follow me, please."
"Oh? Consider me intrigued," Lachris says, rising up and following me out of the complex and the city itself. We don't go far, simply to a nearby cave system which I have Vette and Kory guarding for me.
As we enter, Lachris pauses at the sight of the large Torii gate in the cavernous space, the red wooden structure having a glowing white space in the centre. It's wide enough for two or three people to fit through side by side and nearly ten feet tall.

"Do you trust me?" I ask, offering my hand as she raises an eyebrow.

"Oddly enough, I do. For now, at least," Lachris admits, taking it as I lead her through it. Instantly, we come out of the second gate, which has a squad of my assassins guarding it in a different cave system. The rock here is a dark red colour instead of Balmorra's muddy brown, and Lachris freezes.

I gesture to the mouth of the cave, watching as she leaves the cave opening and stares out at Korriban in shock and disbelief.

"As you can see, I've gained quite the powerful little trick… and I can make as many of these Torii gates as I wish. The problem is that they are all interconnected, and anyone can use them. I have no way to forbid specific people from entering and using them to go to any other Torii gate," I explain, seeing her frown deeply. She can see the immense benefits of instant intergalactic transport but also the risk that comes with it. "You are the Head of Military Offence, and as your Apprentice, it's my duty to ensure you have all the tools you need at your disposal."

She gives me an amused look at my words despite her shock.

"Can anyone but you study and replicate them?" Lachris asks, making me shake my head.

"No. Only I can make them, of that I am sure," I reply, making her frown in thought. "It goes without saying that the ability to place a backdoor anywhere in Republic space for our forces is a powerful weapon, but I am unsure whether to reveal these to the Dark Council at the upcoming meeting. Sith Politics is not my strong suit, to be blunt."

Lachris gives me a small smile at the show of trust, even as she peppers me with a million questions about the gates. I sent a statue to the wastes of Korriban to place a gate here, and I'll tear it down soon enough to get rid of the backdoor, but this was the best place I could think of to show off their power.

They are game changers for warfare. All it takes is me dropping my statue somewhere behind the enemy lines and I can open a backdoor large enough to deploy strike forces or even a full army into enemy territory. Lachris understands that better than most, given her new position.

The more useful I am to the war effort, the more likely the Council is to not try and punish me for admittedly inflaming the cold war. All Sith hunger for victory over the Republic, to crush the Jedi for what they did to us. But they also hunger for power, and the more I reveal, the more tantalising a prize I become.

– Floats Alone –

His master treated him well.

While being summoned to another Galaxy was a strange thing, Floats didn't particularly mind as it meant he got to work on the new technology of this galaxy. Sure, his master occasionally gave him that worried, frustrated look when he took apart the ship but Sarik never minded once he put things back into place, better than ever.

And his master was quick to reward his hard work as Floats trilled happily at the collection of chemicals in front of him. Jansa had gotten them from a place called Quesh, and they were just what he needed as he got to work.

He trilled in pleasure, tentacles moving as he put everything in place. See, he was a very special Huragok because he had one talent that no other of his kind could replicate. He could reproduce without the need for more Huragoks to aid the process, happily combining the chemicals and parts he had requested as he brought the first natural-born Huragok of this Galaxy to life.

As it awakened, it trilled happily at him and they got to work again. It had all his knowledge, after all, though not his ability to reproduce without assistance. Two became three, then four, then five as the growing collective sped up the process with each created Huragok.

On Taris, Floats trilled as all his new children trilled with him, undulating and jiggling in pleasure.
He floated alone no longer.

– Ashoka Tano –

She'd been repeatedly told that her curiosity was going to get her into trouble, but that was one lesson she was fated to repeatedly fail, apparently, as she snuck around the temple. Something was off on Tython, and she wasn't entirely sure what.

She was stuck here, being passed from master to master, and she had an eye for things like this. Maybe it was the Force, or maybe she just had good instincts, but she could tell that something was wrong. There had been another attack by the Flesh Raiders, drawing several masters to the frontlines, and the younglings like her had been told to stay in the safety of one of their more secured rooms.

Which was decidedly where she wasn't at the moment because, as she'd said, something was off. She hadn't even been to this part of the temple before, but recognised it as where they had stored several relics. She'd just barely spotted a hooded figure coming this way, and she was certain that they weren't a Jedi.

As she moved down the corridor, she froze. A Jedi who she didn't recognise was lying face down on the ground, making her rush over to them. Turning them over, her eyes widened in horror at the sight of the Jedi's slit throat. They had a single, incredibly precise cut straight across their throat. Her heart started to race as her eyes locked onto a single open door and she grabbed the Jedi's lightsaber to use instead of her practice saber.

She should call for help, but the sound of movement inside the room made her narrow her eyes. A heist? The cut wasn't done by a lightsaber. Moving forward, she looked into the room and stopped dead in her tracks as she saw a black-cloaked figure stuffing some weird holocrons into a bag. With the masters focused on the Flesh Raiders, she knew what she needed to do as she moved forward.

The figure wasn't caught as unaware as she had hoped, rolling to the side to avoid her as they pulled out an old-fashioned sword. Not even a vibroblade, just a regular blade. Their face was covered by a strange skull-like white mask, and they tilted their head at her.

"You shouldn't have come here," Ahsoka said, trying to hide her nerves.

"Neither should you," a voice said behind her, making her blood turn to ice as she turned and spotted four more skull-masked figures, each holding their own weapon. "The Hashshashin leave no witnesses."

She went to speak again but was cut off as one of them threw out their hands, a small black blade flying from their grasp. The Force remained silent, and the reflexes that allowed her to block blaster bolts failed her as the knife sliced into her upper arm, making her wince in pain as she ignited the lightsaber.

Why was the Force so silent as the five rushed her? She pushed the closest back with a blast of Force energy, but he simply turned his fall into a roll and was back on his feet in an instant, four weapons swinging for her in perfect unison.

Her training didn't entirely fail her, igniting her borrowed lightsaber at the same time as she deflected the blade headed for her heart. The training blade blocked a dagger aimed for her side, but that still left two more as the first one she saw sliced into her back with his sword, a sickle-like blade slicing into her other side. She corrected herself about their blades being normal, because her lightsaber had done little to harm the metal blade it had connected with. If it were just a normal sword, the lightsaber would have cut clean through it.

Panic set in as the five moved again, in perfect unison, and she realised that she was going to die. Each of the five had blood on their black outfits, and she realised that she wasn't going to be the only Jedi to die today. She should have run for help when she'd found a dead Jedi Knight, not stuck her nose deeper into trouble.

She tried her best to dodge and block the incoming attacks, but they were well-trained and had surrounded her, attacking from all angles at once. She had nowhere to dodge and only two hands to block.

So it was to both her surprise and the surprise of her attackers when a wave of kinetic force sent all five flying away from her, leaving her standing as it skillfully avoided her. Her eyes snapped to the door, and never before had she been so glad to see the Grandmaster as Satele glared at the five who had already recovered.

With a gesture from the Grandmaster, Ahsoka was pulled away from them and into the corridor, with Satele moving in front of her with her dual-bladed lightsaber already ignited.

The five shared a look, nodding grimly.

"For the Order," the lead one said, tossing his bag back to the others as he got into a battle stance, his face hidden by his mask. The lone man charged the Grandmaster who moved to engage, easily blocking his attacks, but Ashoka's eyes were on the four who were doing something as sparks appeared in the air, which rapidly grew into a rift.

Satele's eyes widened as the four abandoned their ally, jumping through the rift one at a time, and as she went to try to pull the bag back with the Force, one of them threw another throwing knife at her, making her eyes widen.

Satele's lightsaber lashed out, knocking the blade out of the air, but in the momentary distraction, the lead figure managed to land his first blow, a small cut on Satele's thigh. The four didn't hesitate, as the last jumped through the portal and it shut behind them.

Satele didn't show the frustration she had to be feeling, blocking the remaining figure's rapid attacks with relative ease before the figure backed away, still masked but now bearing several non-lethal but debilitating cuts from Satele's masterful saberwork.

"Surrender. Your allies have left you for dead, but your life need not end here," Satele said, head held high as the figure let out a dark laugh.

"And face Hassan-i-Sabbah a coward and a traitor?" he asked, his voice steady and determined. "For the Order."

Without a second of hesitation, he turned his blade and attempted to plunge it into his own stomach. Satele simply gestured, ripping the weapon away from the masked figure, who let out a cry of both surprise and frustration.

As he pulled out a dagger, Satele moved forward with brutal efficiency and simply disarmed him… by removing the arm that was holding the dagger. Her face remained unchanged as the assassin let out a cry of pain, clutching the cauterised stump in surprise as Satele put away her blade.

"Sleep," Satele said, her hand moving as she called upon the Force. The figure struggled before they slumped forward, being caught by Satele before they hit the floor. "We'll discuss this later, Ahsoka… but I sensed your fear. You're lucky I was nearby."
Ahsoka didn't know what it was that had set off her alarm bells, but as she watched Satele lift the figure, her mind screamed and she lashed out with the force, making Satele's eyes widen as Ahsoka threw the figure away with the Force.

Satele's mouth opened, no doubt to scold her, but her words were cut off as an explosion sent both of their ears ringing, the 'captive' being caught up in a vast explosion of blue energy that caught Satele, the powerful blast hitting the Grandmaster's back and making her stumble forward in shock.

As they both looked back, their eyes widened from the sheer devastation that had engulfed the room. Ahsoka got a look at the back of Satele, seeing the way her robes had been burnt off and the skin was red and raw from the explosion.

Had she just saved the Grandmaster's life?

– Sarik Kallig –

Sitting on the Phantom, I frown to myself.

"Oh, we were so close, Master!" Holiday complains grumpily. "One more second and Shan would have been a smear on the wall."
Funnily enough, she's right. I've found that older Jedi are more reliant on their combat experience than Padawan. And yet, when the Force said things were fine, she trusted it, even despite its recent unreliability. How did the Padawan realise that there was a bomb?
My assassin was trying to get taken prisoner so they could blow themselves up and take down such a high-ranking Jedi; now their sacrifice has gone to waste.

"Who was the Togruta?" I ask, watching the footage of the encounter again. What was a Padawan doing away from their safe room during an attack?
Holiday's figure changes, white skin turning orange as she takes on the Togruta's form… more or less. The Jedi robes have been replaced with a red and black slave outfit.

"Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Padawan… Ooh, she's a rebellious one. She's had four different Jedi masters so far, but she's too reckless, and they don't want to let her off of Tython," Holiday reports immediately, her voice having changed from her bubbly tone to a more youthful one. "I bet you could teach her a thing or two about discipline, master!"

The skimpy outfit vanishes, exposing Ahsoka's toned, slim body for my enjoyment, and I just chuckle. Maybe I should do the Jedi a favour and teach Ahsoka the benefits of being a good girl. After her interference, she requires some punishment.

— Quest Section — VOTING CONCLUDED

Should Lachris and Sarik reveal the Torii gates to the Council?

Yes, but only to the Emperor and trusted allies

Yes, the use for logistics is too useful for the war effort.

No, keep them a secret for them to use.

Author's Note: Ahsoka might not have been trained by Anakin here, but she shares his utter lack of caution. Short chapter because Wilds came out today, and by god, I'm playing it.

Written: 28/02/2025

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The Advance Chapters

Diamond: The Unbound Ch08, The Game Master Ch12, The Dungeon Master Ch02, The Celestial Professor Ch08, The Warlock Ch08

Plat: The Celestial Farmer Ch05, Guide to Necromancy Ch11, The Planeswalker Ch10, The Celestial Professor Ch07, The Unbound Ch07

Gold: The Dungeon Master Ch01, The Dungeon Master, The Celestial Escalation Ch07

Basic: The Celestial Farmer Ch04, The Illusive Mage Ch09

Quest: The Celestial Inquisitor Ch25-29

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