Inquisitorius

"For now, dispatch another Inquisitor to hunt them down."

- Darth Sidious

The Inquisitorius was an organization of Force-sensitive agents who worked for the Galactic Empire. Members of the Inquisitorius were known as Imperial Inquisitors, or just Inquisitors. Their mission was to hunt down the Jedi who had survived Order 66 at the end of the Clone Wars.

History
"You would question me, Seventh Sister?''" "Only when you're wrong, Fifth'' Brother"

- The Fifth Brother pulls rank on the Seventh Sister

When the Clone Wars ended, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine formed the Galactic Empire and declared the Jedi Order its enemies. Using Jedi Master Mace Windu's attempt to have him arrested, the new Emperor activated Order 66 which had been hardwired into every single one of the Republic's clone troopers and instructed them to kill their Jedi commanders. The majority of the Jedi were killed by the clones but several managed to escape, especially after Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi sent out a distress signal from the Jedi Temple, warning the survivors off. As such, several Jedi had survived the initial purge and gone into hiding. Fearing the threat the surviving Jedi posed to his rule, Emperor Palpatine created the Inquisitors to track down and eliminate the last remaining Jedi.

The Inquisitors were trained by Darth Vader, the Emperor's apprentice, in the ways of the Dark side of the Force and wielded double-bladed lightsabers with a ringed emitter, allowing the blades to rotate. They also developed Interrogation chairs to assist in their questioning of suspected rebels or Jedi. Several of them also studied the records of the Jedi Order to familiarize themselves with their enemies' fighting techniques, making them dangerous fighters. Due to the nature of their mission, Inquisitors had the power to commandeer any required Imperial military forces, and all officers were to obey their orders. Any Imperial officer who came into contact with Force-sensitive beings was to immediately contact an Inquisitor to investigate the situation. However, due to Palpatine's inherent fear of Force-users, the Inquisitors were never made too powerful. In addition, some Imperial officers disliked the interference of Inquisitors with some, such as Admiral Kassius Konstantine, dismissing them as 'mystics'.

The Inquisitors were heavily involved in efforts to prevent Force-sensitive children from falling into the hands of the remaining Jedi or from using their skills against the Empire. As part of this strategy, an operation, codenamed Project Harvester, was designed to identify cadets in Imperial academies across the galaxy who met the criteria that would identify them as Force-sensitive. When rumors emerged of a Jedi leading a rebel cell on the planet Lothal reached the ears of the Empire, Vader sent the Grand Inquisitor to take care of the problem. However, despite his success in capturing the Jedi, Kanan Jarrus, the Inquisitor was defeated during a rescue staged by the rebels and Jarrus's Padawan, Ezra Bridger. Rather than face his Master's punishment for his failure, the Inquisitor killed himself.

During a skirmish with Jarrus's cell, Darth Vader learned that his old Jedi apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, was still alive. Upon learning of this news, the Emperor ordered Vader to dispatch another Inquisitor to hunt the rebels down. At least two Inquisitors, the Fifth Brother and the Seventh Sister, were assigned to do so and confronted several crew members of the Ghost during a skirmish aboard an abandoned Republic medical station. Due to Garazeb Orrelios' quick-thinking, the rebels managed to escape the Inquisitors aboard the Phantom.

The death of the Grand Inquisitor was a great surprise for the other Inquisitors who saw new opportunities in hunting down the ones responsible. In addition to the Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother, several other Inquisitors began to scour the galaxy searching for the two Jedi who had defeated their leader. While intercepting transmissions from Mustafar, the former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano discovered that the Inquisitors' second mission was to kidnap Force-sensitive children. Meanwhile, the Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother kidnapped the infants Alora and Pypey above the planets Chandel and on Takobo respectively. This brought them into contact with the crew of the Ghost and Ahsoka, who defeated them in combat. Later, the Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother took part in an unsuccessful attempt to capture the Phoenix rebel cell in Garel City.

Behind the scenes
Inquisitors were originally created for The Star Wars Sourcebook, a 1987 sourcebook for a Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game written by Bill Slavicsek and Curtis Smith. Their role was expanded upon in many sources that are now labelled Star Wars Legends, and thus not part of official canon. However, the Inquisitors were canonized by their inclusion in the animated television series Star Wars Rebels.

Non-canon appearances

 * Angry Birds Star Wars II