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(5.23) Cause and Effects (Part Two)
(5.23) Cause and Effects (Part Two)
City of Tertectte
Outer Rim World of Tatooine
Independent Merchant World
27th October, 1936
Tempisu the Varl Park had been constructed in loving memory of a long passed world leader. Tempisu took the world of Tatooine from the barren wasteland and turned it in to the galactic market it was today. The venture took most of Tempisu's life and nearly wiped out his fortunes in doing so. But through the help of the Galactic Church and his loyal troops, the world's more sinister past was finally driven off. Also through creative and aggressive land management operations, Tempisu was able to fought back even the deserts of Tatooine. In doing so, he created a place on the world that was rich with life and beauty. Once the markets took off, Tempisu passed laws which became some of the harshest laws in dealing with commerce. His goals was to make Tatooine very commerce friendly by ensuring that all got fair deals. He also, through some rather strong arm tactics, ensured that two Generation Ships crossed his space. By the time of his death some five hundred years ago, Tempisu was one of the most wealthiest beings alive. His influence spanned across five solar systems and reached out to three Generation Ships. Because of Tempisu, Tatooine thrived while other worlds were withering during the dark ages. Because of his efforts, the people of Tatooine constructed Tempisu the Varl Park, with a marble statue of their beloved leader in the center.
The relationship that Tatooine had with the Varl was clearly seen by the way they showed their respects to the Varl that turned Tatooine in to what it is today. Tatooine had much the same level of respect for the Galactic Church as well. The two worked well together to ensure a peaceful and profitable place to do business. The Park had normally been a place to go and enjoy the day or listen to a park side services conducted by the Church. However today, the park was closed as the local authorities investigated the events of last night. Last night while most slept, the Church hunted down and battled evil thief bent on luring innocent souls in to darkness. The loyal protectors of the city and the Church defeated a witch who had become bound in to service with a demon. Today, in the aftermath of the battle reporters have gathered and hear of the darkness that had lived among them for so long. A spokesperson from the Church walked up to the reporters to give the details of hunt and the battle. Flashes illuminated the soft spoken woman dressed in her black nun outfit as the cameras filmed what was said. Later the report would find its way to the Narshana and to a very disappointed Visst. However, that was something that would have to come later as the spokeswoman gave the Church's account of what happened during the moment.
“Greetings and good morning. Last night, with the help of local authorities, the Church was able to track down a thief who had stolen a scroll from the Cathedral. At the time, no one had any idea who's trail they were on. If not for the special assistance of citizen Daz Murl, the pursuit of this thief would not have been possible. This Thief had used dark powers to remain hidden from the Church while spreading her terror and evil across the city. After a night of dogged investigation work, headed up by the fore mentioned Daz Murl, It was only when the thief was cornered in a near by apartment building did her true nature become known. While calling upon her dark Masters to save her, she refused to surrender herself. Without care for the safety of others, she violently fought back against the local authorities and representatives of the Church. Through the heroics of many people the combat was limited to only a remote section of the park and innocent civilians were rushed out of harms way. Citizen Murl was spotted during the combat sheltering a group of slave girls who had ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was bravery demonstrated by those like citizen Murl and Officer Wood and Burly that I have the pleasure of reporting that no innocent civilians were harmed in last night's combat. This pleasant fact was regardless of the attempts of the witch last night, though she did try. Despite being pleaded to surrender by the arresting officers and Church representatives several times, the witch decided to take her own life once it was clear she was not escaping and her dark Masters had forsaken her. It was recorded by the Church that her last words were 'I had been deceived by the Dark Lord himself.' It was clear that her guilt was too much to bare as the light of our Father was cast upon her. The Church has logged this event with the Planetary Government and the stolen item has been recovered. We are starting to believe that this woman had deep links to the satanic organization known as the Sabbat. I ask that all of us, pray to this poor lost child and those like her. Pacts with the Dark Lord only survive till the light of the Lord our Father is cast upon them. It is never too late to turn from the Dark Lord and join our Father in the light. Please let us pray for those who would seek the aid of the Dark Lord while forsaking our Father and our rightful place in the light. Let us pray.”
As the reporters and on lookers all lowered their heads in respect as the spokeswoman led the prayer, another watched from the distance. There is no emotion on his face as his eyes crawl over the entire scene. He knew the truth of what happened last night. He had tried to reach the scene in time only to arrive way to late to do anything about the outcome. He did arrive in time to watch the Church's Order of the Rose searching the area and of her humble little apartment. He knew that she had a message to deliver and was waiting for her transport which was going to leave this morning. There was no reason to be remorseful over the loss though. It was simple a matter of fact now, she was dead. Both of her missions had failed. The candle is back in the Church's hands and she failed to deliver her message. Now he had to figure out where the message was. That was his mission now. The candle was important to them. However, the message was more strategically important than collecting the candle. He didn't see the Order of the Rose with the message so it was safe to assume that they didn't find it. He knew the risks involved with getting in to her apartment while the Order of the Rose was around. However he had little choice, the message had to be recovered. There was good news though. It didn't appear that they were looking for the message either. This played in to his favor for the time being.
Carefully he moved through the outlining crowds as he made his way towards the apartment building she called home for so many years. He didn't dare risk going inside as he slipped along the side of the building where he was out of sight. He leaped up in to the air and grabbed the side of the building. Using small hand holes, he climbed up the side and made his way towards the third floor. The endeavor was hard but not impossible as he moved on to the roof. Once he was on the roof he made sure that no one spotted him. He kept close to the shadows of the roof and limited his profile by staying low. He carefully made his way towards her balcony and slipped down the side. He froze as he heard voices from the room. He moved up the wall of the balcony and in to the rafters of the over hung above the balcony. His movements were skilled and silent as he hung above the door to the apartment. He heard the voice of Father Benjirmen inside. The voice was more than enough reason to give him a pause. Father Benjirmen was not just any Knight within Order of the Rose. He was their most senior Knight and leader of the Order. A skilled murder who was washed with the blood of hundreds of Sabbat. Father Benjirmen was nothing short of a cold blooded murder draped in the robes of the righteous.
“Look what I found Sir.” a Knight said. He couldn't see them as they talked but he could hear them from the roof of the balcony.
“Let me see that.” Father Benjirmen said softly then got excited, “Do you know what this is? It is a message tube.” there was some noise within the room, “You must have bumped it or the witch broke it. See here these glass tubes, they hold acid. That ensures that if the Sabbat is captured, they can destroy their message before it is discovered. This one however didn't break right. Look, both of the tubes remain unbroken. Here let me see if I can recover the scroll in side.”
“Careful Sir, you don't want to get acid on yourself.”
“If it will help us stop the Sabbat once and for all, I would gladly take a bath in acid. Hold on, get me that tray over there.” Once more there was more noise and then Father Benjirmen continued, “Blessed is our Father! The message is intact! Look here, see. In two thousand years, I could count on two hands how many Sabbat messages have ever been captured intact. This is both a historical and remarkable find. Look over here, this case contains their scribing tools and these tubes are un-scribed. They use the tube to address who the message is for and where to find them. Each message tube is hand carried within the Sabbat. This limits us on how we can track them. They are if anything else, very clever. My my, this is remarkable.”
“Sir, can you tell where this message was heading or to whom it was to be delivered?” the younger Knight asked.
“Sadly no. It is a art form that we have yet to break. The lack of material to examine gave us little to work with. The Sabbat have learned well from their Dark Masters in the pits of hell to be secretive. Even this find will most likely not yield much about the codes they use. But this message however, is a different story. Look at the language it was written in. It must not be for a Sabbat. Mostly likely an ally or pawn. This is something completely different indeed.” Father Benjirmen explained.
“Oh my God, Sir. What are we going to do?”
Father Benjirmen let out a great sigh of relief, “I must take this to the Bishop at once. We have people aboard the Petersha. I have to speak with the Bishop. Grab the case along with the scribing tools. We have to show all of this to the Bishop. If this message is right, than this might be what we have been waiting for.”
From outside, he heard the conversation with great disappointment. He rested his head on a rafter as the conversation continued. He felt no emotion over the turn of events. Though the loss of the message would cause his mission even more problems. Even in loss though, he had a clue about the message. It has some link to the Petersha, that much was for sure. He was not sure what that link was just yet. He would have to find out. He moved from the rafter and hung by his hands. He waited till he heard the door close and then silently dropped to the balcony. He knew it was going to be a fruitless effort now, but he still slipped inside to search the apartment. He trusted in the Force and knew that if there was a clue to be found, he would find it. Carefully he moved in to the messy apartment. He took a moment to pause as he entered. The apartment's current state had nothing to do with her. He knew all too well that true control over emotions come from order over all things in ones life.
'Order within and out can bring true control over one self' A lesson well taught to him by his Master when he was just a young Sabbat student. Each Sabbat is taught from very early childhood to be orderly and calm in ones environment. It was a hard life style to learn, but one with great rewards. His Master used to measure the width of his underwear, which were to be evenly rolled, to ensure that they were exactly the same width. He remembered how his entire dresser would be tossed to the floor and he had to start over. Each item had to be the same width and placed in its proper place. He knew her very well since he became a Knight of the Sabbat. Young Sabbat students are kept from all over forms of contact till they master their emotions and had learned to control their minds. Keeping them in hiding was done more for the safety of the student than any teachable lesson. The Church had been on their hunt for the Sabbat since the last days of the Republic. Before, the Church learned to look for students first and their teachers would not be far. It was a sound hunting tactic with bloody results for the Sabbat. To safe guard the students, Masters would tend to vanish for ten to fifteen years while they trained their students. They would return only when their students are ready. Most Masters had chosen to remain hidden for up to twenty to twenty five years. This way, their students were given the best chances against the Church. This also made teaching a life changing endeavor for most Masters. Most Masters would only teach one or two students before moving on to furthering the goals of the Sabbat.
Taking in the sight of the room and the lack of order he nodded and moved carefully within the room. He ensured not to step on anything as he moved through the room. He moved across the floor watching every step with great care. Sometimes being a Sabbat meant more like being a ghost rather then a savor of the innocent. He noted that a clip board laid on the bed. It was clearly not hers, so it had to belong to the Order of the Rose. He didn't bother to look at it, as he had more important issues at hand. He knew better than to be distracted from his mission by such things. He instead moved to her dresser. Most of her belongings were tossed about the floor in such a disorderly fashion. He realized in that moment what he was looking for. Each Sabbat is encouraged to have a normal life beyond their life as a Sabbat. Like all things, this allowed the Sabbat to remain hidden within the worlds that they serve. During the Dark Ages, just after the fell if the Republic, the Church started their witch hunt for the Sabbat. In fact, the Sabbat owe their name to the Church. It was an attempt to further demonize their Order and spread fear about their Order. The Church spread the word of how dark and evil the Sabbat were and what threat they were to the immortal soul of the Church followers. This was done to such a point that worlds that were normally friendly to the Sabbat, betrayed them in to the Church. The Sabbat were forced to hide from the very people they were trying to serve and save. He recalled asking his Master why do they serve the people who would turn them in and cheer their deaths. His Master's answer spoke to the core of who the Sabbat really were. His Master said, 'If we fail to protect the innocent, who will? If we fail to help those in need, who will? We are servants of the Living Force, and as such, it is our path to protect and serve. Regardless of the actions of others, we are who we are.'
There were times when a very rare event occurred. When the Sabbat Knight would no longer wish to remain an active part of the Sabbat. They wished only to live within their illusionary world that they had created. These Sabbat are aloud to leave and continued to live out their lives as a normal person. There is a price for leaving the Sabbat though. Each Sabbat that wishes to leave must pledge to remain silent regarding the Order and their teachings. Also when asked for help by their former Sabbat brothers and sisters, they must render that assistance. Because the Force moves a Sabbat to action regardless of if they are active members or not. Normally when a former Sabbat is sought out for help, they already know of it and are waiting. For even those who leave the Sabbat, remain Sabbat deep in their hearts. This is due to the high degree of selection that is taken for students, the training and the personality of the Sabbat in general. During the Golden Age of the Republic, there were Jedi that had not only turned from the Order, they turned dark. Unlike the Jedi, the Sabbat has never had a member turn dark. There were a few who came close, however the Sabbat dealt quickly with those few before they become dark. Those few were brought back to the light and lived out their days serving the Living Force.
He knew that she had an illusionary life as well here. This world was her homeworld and she had family here. It was a prefect cover for a Sabbat and still it had its risks also. Family had a habbit of seeing the changes in a Sabbat after their training. Sometimes using family as a means of testing a student Sabbat could prove if they had truly mastered their emotions. She had a different situation. She was given to a Sabbat Master under the illusion of their daughter being sold in to slavery. Sometime after she had been taken away her parents were killed in an accident. He did recall her speaking of a younger brother somewhere on world. However he didn't know what the brother looked like. He moved over the things on the floor looking for any idea or clue that would lead him to the brother. He noticed something under a shirt, which laid on the floor in a very disorganized way. He fought against the urge to return the shirt to a state of order as he reached for the item under the shirt. He pulled up a framed picture of her and a young boy. He nodded as he knew that he had found what he was looking for. The Force had guided him this far, he would continue to follow it further. He placed the picture frame in his pack to ensure the child's safety from the Church. He searched for more pictures that might give the boy away. He didn't find any, however something did catch his attention. He heard the foot steps long before anyone else would have normally heard them.
He moved towards the balcony in hopes of fleeing the room. He realized he wouldn't make it when he heard the door knob starting to turn. He acted fast as he spun on his heels and lowered himself like a spring while pulling his mask from the upper part of his hood. A Sabbat never reviles his face in combat. It was once more a means of protecting them from the Church. His mask was made of hard leather and painted white and green. He always loved the feathers of a local bird where he was trained. The paint on his mask matched those feathers. His outfit had been personally designed to be both functional as his wardrobe, and to further disguise his appearance. Being a Sabbat meant that sometimes one would have to see combat. This meant that their outfits would have to allow them to move in combat as freely as the Force moves. His was no different. Even though it seemed to flow about him, that flow moved with his actions.
The door opened up as a Knight of the Rose walked in. The man was clearly caught by surprise at the sight of the Sabbat in the center of the small room. The Knight reached for his sword which hung on his hip as the Sabbat leaped up in to the air like a great spring released from its tension. The Sabbat ran his right foot on to the Knight's sword hand driving the weapon back in to its sheath and turning the Knight under the force of the blow. The Sabbat's attack wasn't concluded just yet. As he spun clockwise along his length in the air, the upper part of his left foot landed on the side of the Knight's head. The blow sent the Knight spinning nearly out of control and almost knock the Knight off his feet. The Sabbat landed on all fours as the Knight spun around with blood on his face. In that moment both men sized each other up and realized that this had to finish in the next action. It all depended on who was able to take that action first. The Sabbat won the initiative as he sprung forward once more while the Knight took in a breath to scream out the warning. The Sabbat drove his fist in to the Knight's midsection. The Knight's armor would have normally protected him from such attacks. However the Sabbat were expert warriors trained in the Force. The blow landed home as the armor gave under the Force driven impact. The Knight's lungs exploded the air upward out of his mouth. There was no air in the man's lungs to sound any warning.
The Sabbat took another action by lunging his opened hand and gripping the Knight's throat. With no air in the Knight's lung, and now the air way closed the Knight was unable to call for help. The Sabbat gripped the Knight's throat while pulling him down to his knees. The Sabbat started to count slowly as the Knight struggled for air. The Sabbat knew how long this would take and ensured that the Knight was unable to break the hold. The Sabbat carefully continued to count as the Knight continued to fight to break the hold. He tried to draw another weapon only to have it kicked away by the Sabbat. The Knight slowly collapsed as the Sabbat followed him down. Within seconds the struggle was gone but not the life of the Knight. It was in that moment the Sabbat release his hold. The Knight might be a killer, but he wasn't. Taking a life was only done when there was no other way. This Knight would not die by his hands, not today. The Sabbat slowly checked to make sure that the Knight was simply sleeping soundly. With a nod he slowly rose up and headed for the balcony. Without a sound, he leaped from the balcony and back up to the roof.
It didn't take long to find the young Twi'lek boy from the photo. The photo was taken in front of an orphanage. There were a few possible orphanages to search, and by the end of the next day he found the boy. He spent the rest of that day and night watching the location for any ambush or Church involvement. While there were issues regarding time, he knew better than to rush in to any situation. The involvement of Citizen Murl who helped the Church hunt her down was just one more reason not to rush. There was just cause for concern. Maybe this Citizen Murl had anticipated this move and was laying in wait. There was no question that this Citizen Murl was a highly skilled tracker, maybe even a bounty hunter. There was no question that the caution was in order. He would rather wait till the Order of the Rose moved on to another hunt. However he knew he didn't have that kind of time to wait. He would wait only the night and watch the orphanage carefully. He had to balance caution and limited time before moving in.
The following morning he continued to watch the orphanage and noted no unusual activity. There was no sign of the Church or Citizen Murl around the orphanage. After waiting another hour, he spotted the boy playing in the back of the orphanage. He moved back in to the shadows and took a wide path around the orphanage. It was a risky move to loss sight of the boy but he had to remain hidden for the time being. There were simply too many Knight Roses about to let all guards down. He came up behind the orphanage at an angle so that no one from the orphanage could see his approach. As he approached he noticed that the boy was not touched by the Force. As he got closer he noticed that the boy had fresh wounds from fighting. The boy was playing in the dirt with a stick as he walked up to a tree and used it to remain hidden from the orphanage. “Greetings, I am Dunfee. I knew your sister, Clarish.”
The boy looked up in surprise at the sudden voice. It took him a long while to speak as he just looked at strange man before him. Finally he spoke up, “She spoke of you. You are much taller than I pictured. My sister is dead you know. The Church killed her cause she was a witch.”
Dunfee nodded, “Yes I know. But she was no witch. She was a good person at her heart. Someone you should be proud of.” Motioning at the wounds “are those new?”
The boy nodded, “Yeah everyone knew my sister. And when the news showed her picture and called her a witch last night, I got beaten up. They said that she was evil and so was I.” There were clearly tears in his eyes over her loss.
Shaking his head, “She was not evil. Trust me.”
The boy looked up, “I know she wasn't evil. She used to make me laugh and promised that one day she would take me from this place. I miss her so much. But if she was not evil, why did the Church kill her?”
shaking his head, “That is a very long story. I am sorry but I just don't have the time to explain it. He took in a sigh and slowly let it out as he nodded once more, “I shall miss her too. I enjoyed speaking with her. We had spent allot of time together. I know this all is hard to understand, but we must trust in the Force. Did she ever talk to you about the Force.” The boy nodded at the question, “I have to ask you some questions that are very important. I can not bring her back to life, but with your help, we can help her save allot of people. Can you help me?”
The boy nodded once more. “I figured that one of her friends would be by after I saw the news last night.”
“Please tell me, when was the last time you saw her” Dunfee ask softly.
“The night she was killed. She took me to her place for dinner. She was telling me that she had to leave the following morning and wanted to spend time with me before she left” the boy explained.
The picture was becoming more and more clear to him as the boy spoke. Clarish had asked their Council for permission to leave the Sabbat. While she was well trained and loyal to the Sabbat, her returned to Tatooine showed her weakness. Her love for her brother was simply too strong for her to over come. Her last mission was to liberate the Candle from the Church however just as that mission was concluding a urgent message came to her hands. It was the first time that the Candle was moved from her secured location on Kefpher. Taking the Candle was simple enough. When the message came, she had a choice to allow another Sabbat deliver it. She understood the importance of the message and accepted the mission to deliver it. She talked to him for many hours about her reasons for leaving the Sabbat. He didn't agree with her reasonings but respected her choice. It all made sense now to him. “I need to you remember that night very carefully. Did you see anything that looked like this” he said holding out a ornate message tube.
The boy nodded, “Yes, I pushed her bag on to the floor by mistake and it rolled out. She picked it up and put it away. I asked to see it but she said it was better if I didn't.”
He gave the boy a reassuring smile, “Tell me in the center of the tube” he said showing the location of the tube, “was a symbol. Can you draw that symbol for me please?”
The boy nodded as he started to draw the symbol he recalled seeing on the tube. His little art work was laid out in to the dirt by his little stick. “She said that it was very important and that it was the reason why she was leaving for a time. But she promised that it would be the last time she had to leave me.”
He nodded, “It was suppose to be. We did not foresee her death coming. Sometimes events come from out of the smoke and haze to surprise everyone.” he noticed the boy was done. He nodded at the symbol. “At least now I know where I have to go from here” he said slowly lowering himself down. “Listen to me.” he said softly, “You will not mention to anyone that you met me or what you saw at your sister's apartment.” He said while waving his hand in front of the boys face.
“I will not mention to anyone that I have met you or what I saw at my sister's apartment” the boy said almost in a trance like state. After a moment the boy recovered from his trance like state as his eyes blinked over and over again. He looked around for the man in the mask and didn't see him anywhere. There was just no trace of where the man went. He moved allot like his sister used to move when she came to visit him. He looked down at the symbol and saw it was whipped away. He looked down in sadness. “I miss you Clarish” he half cried as his tear fell in to the dirt.
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