Volatix Cabal
The Volatix Cabal were a secret Dalek society of mutants, who operated during the Last Great Time War.
Nature
The members of the Cabal were created by the Daleks for possessing a talent that no Dalek could possess — creativity. They were warped both in mind and body compared to regular Daleks, and their mechanical shells had a variety of shapes only faintly resembling the familiar Mark III Travel Machines, though they still tended to possess Dalek eyestalks. (COMIC: The Organ Grinder) Much like the Cult of Skaro, they were distinct from the Dalek Empire; their motto was "Exterminhate", an atypical example of Dalek wordplay. (COMIC: Downtime, The Organ Grinder)
The Cabal's minds were as bent as their bodies, "volatile" (hence, perhaps, their names). This was reflected in their rambling, incoherent, digression-prone speech and their constant suggestion of new and strange ideas for weaponry inspired by their surroundings. The Cabal Daleks knew that they were impure by Dalek standards for being "unique", and looked forward to the "delight of self-terminating" that was in store for them at the end of the War; however, they were otherwise unbothered by the knowledge of their inferiority, and chose to enjoy their odd and shifting existence while it lasted. The Volatix Cabal Daleks enjoyed "wallowing" in impurity, to the point that one of them had read Earth literature, later quoting Alice in Wonderland to Alice Obiefune. (COMIC: The Organ Grinder)
History
The Cabal were active at the start of the War, but they disappeared before it ended. (COMIC: Downtime)
The Volatix Cabal had a base on Golgauth. The War Doctor and the Master killed one of its members near where the TARDIS landed on the planet. Volatrix tendrils captured Alice Obiefune (who had traveled back to the Time War from the Future) and scanned her mind to discover her origins; in doing so, they discovered that the Daleks were doomed to lose the Time War.
They did not doubt the information, but had no other reaction to the news than to laugh, something which they explained to Obiefune as an effect of their insanity. However, this did cause them to switch plans; as a future without Daleks was unbearable to them, the Cabal reasoned that the only rational thing to do was to destroy the Universe, and therefore the future, so that such a world would never come to exist. They planned to recruit the Cyclors (godlike beings from a higher dimension, who had recently allied with the Daleks in the War) to achieve this.
Shortly after this harrowing interrogation, however, the Squire rescued Alice , killing all members of the Cabal inside the base (and unwittingly ensuring that the news of the Daleks' future defeat would not spread, thus preserving the timeline). (COMIC: The Organ Grinder)
One Volatix agent touched the energy emitted by the Psilent songbox, which deformed its white light, turning the Cyclors into the Malignant. (COMIC: Fast Asleep)
The War Doctor later fought the Volatix Cabal when the Then and the Now reappeared, bringing with it Abslom Daak, who had been sent by the Eleventh Doctor to fight in the Time War. (COMIC: Physician, Heal Thyself)
The Squire was created as a Volatix agent who was unaware of her identity. After her death, the Squire's body was reanimated by the Volatix inside her. The Squire then shot Abslom Daak and trained her weapon on the Eleventh Doctor. (COMIC: Fast Asleep)
Notes
- The Volatix Cabal were seemingly created after the template of the Cult of Skaro, both being secret societies of mutant Daleks possessing creativity, and created by the Dalek Empire to help win the Last Great Time War without being officially under the authority of the Dalek Emperor. However, no link has been drawn between the two groups in narrative sources.
