He reached into his robes before placing a credit chip into the mans hands, nothing too large, just a couple credits and a nice gift of a new strain of the plague that was already ravaging the planet. Kulan took a step out of the alley and took a few steps before the beggar fell over, his eyes beginning to swell and turn blood shot as blood ran out from his ears, his body beginning to swell as another beggar grabbed at the credit chip, only to befall the same fate as a third and final beggar pulled at the credit chip before the others backed off seeing the third beggar die.

Kulan took a moment to stop and take a look, making it appear as though he was focused on something else as he watched the three beggars die slow and horrible deaths. While the deaths were slow, the effect of the plague was quicker upon contact than the one first released onto the planet as he turned and stepped forward, heading down the street before he faded into the shadows.

As the operator killed the link, Jarelea looked over to Diathim and said, "Master, what sort of reception should we be expecting? I thought the planet was under quarintine."

Diathim nodded, "It is. However, the Order has been given special clearance to come and go due to our pledge to assist in fighting this disease. Provided we both prove uninfected of course. We'll have to look out for each other in order to avoid that."

Jarelea nodded and slowly brought the shuttle down through the atmosphere and down to the planet. She couldn't help but notice that there were a pair of old X-Wing starfighters escorting them down. She could sense the pilot's tension, as if they were just waiting for her to deviat from her course so they could shoot her down. But she didn't and brought the shuttle down on the proper landing platform.

As Diathim exited, she took the time to take in the general feeling in the Force. There was a great deal of death in the air, and pain...despair...and anger. It nearly overwhelmed her but she worked through the wave of emotion. She slowly glided over to the entourage of pale humans head her way, with Jarelea following in her wake.

The lead human, a pale man of fifty, stepped forward and shook Diathim's hand. "I am Doctor Fyor Arranda. I'm the Chief Medical Officer in charge of dealing with this outbreak. Please follow me."

As they began traveling, Diathim looked over to the man and said, "Dr. Arranda, what can you tell me about this virus? The more we know, the more we can help."

He sighed, "It's not good. It works similar to the Krytos Virus, but in some ways it's worse. It doesn't have the same outright lethality, but it more than makes up for it with persistance, adaptability, and debilitating effects. People who get infected tend to suffer a number of side effects even after they're cured. It requires large amounts of rycla to cure it, and there seems to be no way to vaccinate against it. There are far more species who are susceptable to infection, including humans. Although human and near-human species seem to be far more resistant to infection. That should include an Arkanian offshoot such as you apprentice. As for you...unfortunately I can't even guess because I'm not even sure what species you are."

Diathim smiled and said, "That's alright Doctor. We'll be careful. Let's move to Triage and see if we can save some lives..."

Jarelea walked in her master's shadow as she talked with the doctor. She was scared of the death and pain she was sensing, but she was with her master, who didn't seem to be too worried. So she put her feelings off to the side and focused on the task at hand...

He stepped into an alley and walked through the darkness before stopping as he stood at the edge of the entrance. Then he saw the two, the Jedi walking down the street as he smirked. His hallow eyes focused on the two for a moment as he took in the death that he was causing and laughed at the site of the Jedi. His eyes focused on them still as the hatred and anger continued to grow on the world. Kulan enjoyed what was happen to this world, watching it falling deeper to the Dark Side as he allowed himself to be felt among the people. The Dark Side slowly coming from it as it ebbed and flowed while the Dark figure stood there and watched.

When he had his fun he withdrew into the death, despair and hatred of the world again before fading into the dark alley. Slowly making his way through the back alleys of the world as he continued to pass out the chips marked with the new plague strain. Kulan stopped as he looked to a large building, smirking as he made his way into it, walking to one of the lifts. He stepped inside as the lift began to jerk before it flew upwards and stopped at the topmost level. Kulan stepped out as he walked down the hall, the lights beginning to shake and burst with each of his steps. He stepped out onto a balcony before bringing his hands up as he moved them slowly. The wind starting to kick up to spread the new virus through the city and the world.

Jarelea nodded her head and walked over to a young female Bothan. The Bothan had only been infected the day before and she was already showing signs of infections. Her fur had started falling out, leaving bald spots all over her body. And where the remaining fur had originally been a warm brown, it was now a sickly grey. Jarelea placed one hand on the girl's head, another on her abdomen, and started pouring Force energy into her body. Healing was something Jarelea was instinctive at, however this plague seemed to be far more resistant to her powers. It seemed almost...aware. But with renewed focus, she was able to eradicate the infection. Within minutes, color returned to the Bothan's fur and the bald spots vanished. Once it was done, Jarelea moved on to the next one...

Diathim moved away from Jarelea and found one of the more critically ill patients. She had a different idea in mind for healing this one, a Quarren who's skin had turned completely black from the infection. She placed her hands on him and began to narrow her focus. Soon her focus had become so refined and narrow that she could manipulate the various molecules within his body. With years of experience, she began to breakdown the infection, one particle at a time. As she did this, it gave her a sense of how the plague worked, what made it tick, and what it's weaknesses were. For nearly four hours she preformed her task, until finally she got all that she could, and then used her formidable powers to fully heal the ailing Quarren. Once she was done, Diathim found Dr. Arranda standing next to her.

"Ah good Doctor. I need you to take a sample of this patient's blood and have it analyzed. With any luck we'll get some data we can use...Doctor, what is it?" His face was filled with anguish as he said, "I'm sorry Master Diathim but I have some bad news. It seems that the virus has mutated and is sweeping through the city by the wind currents. Dozens are already dead and we're expecting the bodies to pile up." Diathim gasped in shock, then recovered and said, "I need several corpses brought to a secure lab. I need to get a first-hand look at this new virus. If it possesses the same sort of menace that this strain does, then we are in far greater trouble than I thought."

Arrand looked at her with confusion evadent on his features, "Pardon me Master Jedi, but viruses aren't sentient. They are incapable of menace." Diathim nodded in agreement, "Exactly. Which is what has me so worried..."

After a few hours he stood once more and stretched, crossing his arms over his chest. He took in a deep breath, the weazing of the breath mask filled the are around him for a moment. His eyes focused on the building across from him as he smirked, his hand coming up before he pushed a gust of wind towards it. His eyes focused on those that had come out, thinking it safe in the higher levels of the space port. They were wrong as they began to choke from the blood pooling up into their lungs. He watched as a few of them fell from their balconies, only to crash down to the ground below in a puddle of mangled flesh and blood.

Kulan laughed as he watched the others grasping at the rails, or trying to call for help, only to cause the same to happen to those inside that came out. His eyes watched as the others began to lock their windows and doors. They too though would fall to the plague in time. It wouldnt be long before that time as he pulled a data pad from under his robes. His hands came up as he began to design a new plague, a spore that could travel far and wide compared to the virus. The spore would be perfect, even more so as a budding plant.

He watched on as a loud shrieking scream was heard from the space port before a woman fell forward. A gash running from her shoulder to her thigh as a human held a vibroblade in his hand. A few other species began to fall into madness, attacking those around them as the spores took root. A new plague, three of them now rested on this world. The first was easy enough to cure, the second too if one knew how. The third though would be a bit more difficult. One would need to pull the spores out and make sure they didnt miss a single one.

Kulan smirked before he stepped from the balcony, falling into the shadows of the lift before the doors closed. He rode the lift back to the bottom floor, stepping out and crossing the large front hall of the apartments. The tenets already either laying dead from the plague, or killed through the madness of those that lived through the rooting of the spores. Kulan stepped out into the street, watching the carnage and violence unfold before he disappeared into the shadows to leave this world to its fate. He was tired of this world, and would leave the spores there to slow the Jedi down while he continued his fun on another world.

He let out a deep laugh as he held his hands up, the dark side pulling closer to him the more the people suffered. Those that stepped near to him fell, their eyes bursting and their brains boiling from the pure hatred that he pulled to him. He had created a field of death around him, killing those near him and feeding on their pain. He smirked again as he stepped forward, walking the streets while spreading another plague, one that would be too late to cure.

This one was different. It held little, if no dark side to it. It was pure, crafted and created in a lab. Yet it was cultured to attack. Those infected would not know, and it had been released on another world already. He would release it here for fun as he held up his hand and the spores began to carry to those still alive near him. The spores burrowed into their bodies, lodging themselves in their lungs, stomachs, intestines. Those on the other world where it had first spread began to feel the effects. It was the world he would be heading to next. One where the people died slowly, something eating away at their stomachs.

As Kulan walked down the street he spread that same virus here before he stopped at the star port. Letting the Jedi feel his presence one last time before he was hidden in the force once more.

The others began to fire as he began to slid around the guards, throwing them into each other. Others becoming fried with a blast of Sith Lightning as he threw them across the room. Kulan tore down the guards one by one until all lay dead around him. His eyes focused on them before he smirked, knowing the Jedi were near and could feel the death of each and everyone of the guards. He looked around before he knelled down, resting on his knees. He deactivated his lightsaber before placing it on his belt once more, taking a meditation pose as he rested.

He continued to pull in the dark side, letting it grow around him as he waited. A few moments later he smirked before he brought his head up, looking at the entrance as he knew they were there.

All across the planet, holovids activated and informed the citizens of the planet that a cure had been discovered and was currently being disseminated as fast as was possible. The newsfeeds included images of recently cured beings leaving the medical center looking almost completely healthy. This news gave the infected and dying hope. Hope that they could be saved, that their loved ones could be saved. This hope began to swell and push back the darkness that was hindering them...

Diathim felt the hope across the planet. She knew that this was going to give her strength but she also knew it wouldn't be enough to defeat this Dark Jedi outright. But it would even the odds. She braced herself for combat and said, "Who are you?"

Jarelea was cruising as fast as she could through the streets of the capital in her speeder. Unfortunately it wasn't as fast as she'd like due to the large number of people walking the streets, despite the outbreak. She weaved in and out of traffic snarls like only a Jedi could manage. However she soon was stalled because an elderly Givin was walking across the street. She slammed on the breaks but it wasn't enough. Jarelea was forced to use the Force to bring the speeder to a full stop in time. She looked over the windshield and said, "Excuse me, but I'm in a bit of a hurry."

- tag LordZarcaine, Smooth-eye -

[tag lord zarcaine and/or john04]