Out of the Ashes (Book 5)

[Akirapryde]

(5.24) In the mind of a Sabbat
City of Tertectte
Outer Rim World of Tatooine
Independent Merchant World
28th October, 1936

The morning rose over Terectte with all the hopes of a better day. However for Dunfee, there was a bitter sense of the day rather than hope. The vital message which has been lost to the Church was still missing. A highly trained Sabbat had been murdered through the union of the Church and a new NeDor Hunter/Bounty Hunter. More importantly, the hope of a rebirth of the Republic had been tarnished by the Baptism of its own self appointed leader, Citizen Daz Murl. While Dunfee was trying to find Clarish's brother, he heard about the Baptismal of Citizen Daz Murl and of how Daz had accepted the Churches deity as his own. It did trouble Dunfee deeply and left him with many questions regarding the future of the Republic. Of Dunfee questions was, what kind of Republic would it be with the Church in absolute control of faith. If the Republic is reborn and the Church is its spiritual guide, than it could very well spell the end of the Sabbat completely. However there were more important matter at Dunfee's hands. He knew where the message was to be delivered, and had an idea that it had something to do with the Petersha. But didn't know who the letter was for or who sent it. Nor did he know anything more about the message. He had to find out more about the message before moving on. He decided on a daring plan, he returned to the Cathedral in hopes of learning more about the message. However the actions of others would force him to change his plans.

Dunfee didn't have much time to consider the future after the Baptismal Ceremony. Within an hours, Father Benjirmen and his hunters were hot on Dunfee's trail. To ensure capture and death, Citizen Murl sent one of his hunters along with the Knights of the Rose. They caught his trail after Dunfee left the orphanage. He was able to easily loss Father Benjirmen's Knights through normal Sabbat tactics. However, there was the hunter that Citizen Murl had sent with them. She was a fierce woman, with the blood of a wolf running through her veins. Within a couple of hours after Dunfee ditched the Knights, she was back on his trail like a seasoned hunter. It didn't take long for the hunt degraded in to a life or death chase with this formidable woman leading Father Benjirmen's Knights. Dunfee lead them on a chase through the city, up walls, across roof tops and leaping between buildings. Even with all of his knowledge of the Force, Dunfee was unable to keep a head of or distract her from the chase. It didn't matter what he did, she followed while the other Knights would have to find other ways to pursue him. Late that night after a long grueling chase, she finally had him cornered and trapped. His highly trained skills of combat through the Force was little match to her more developed experience. Before this moment, he never considered defeat or death. It was not that it scared him, it was just he never considered such a situation that he couldn't escape from. Dunfee had also never been so grateful for Father Benjirmen's blood lust.

There he was trapped on the roof top of a building along the banks of the central lake. It was over seventy five meters to the water below and the unknown. When he realized that he had run out of roof tops, he had planned to dive off of the roof top and in to the unknown. However her speed and reaction had denied him that escape. Father Benjirmen and his Knights coming up from far behind them. Dunfee had little choice but to fight this red haired woman with fire in her eyes. The two readied themselves for the combat that was now unavoidable. He called upon the Force to boost his dexterity and focus his within the battle. She made some reference to speaking to her Godfather in the after life just before she lunched her attacks. Dunfee was able to block most of her attacks at first. However as the battle continued, she was starting to get through and land blows against him. Her combat style was allot like his own, which surprised him completely. It was a turn of events he had not considered before engaging her. There was also something very different about her combat style. He could sense it through the Force that each passing moment. She was starting to turn his own ability to defend himself against him. It was something that the combat really didn't give him a chance to ponder while she was landing blow after blow against him. Unlike Father Benjirmen, she was not willing to simply take his life. Beaten and on all fours, she stopped her attack. Dunfee waited for the final, killing blow, to come. It didn't. He turned to look at her expecting to see his death at hand. She had backed up and was watching him for some reason. It was not what he was expecting during a Church hunt.

As he watched her through his black eye and wiped the blood from his mouth she just looked back at him. It was in that moment that Dunfee watched her leap at him. Instead of attacking him, she blocked Father Benjirmen's blow. The sound of breaking metal snapped Dunfee out of what ever defeat that had gripped his mind. He turned to see where where the two were locked in a grapple, he saw a half broken sword laying on the ground. Father Benjirmen and the red headed woman seemed to be at odds over his fate. Dunfee was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He leaped up to his feet as he gathered all his will. He pushed himself to sprint for the edge of the building and the unknown. He knew only two things, if he stayed here he was dead or captured. If he leaped from the building in to the lake below, his fate was unclear. The confusion between the woman and Father Benjirmen only lasted a couple of seconds. It was all he needed to get enough of a head start on them. The pair turned and gave chase as Dunfee ran for the edge. The distances was only a few seconds between them.

Dunfee used the last of his fortitude to call upon the Force and boost his strength as he ran with all of his heart. He had no choice but to reach the edge before they reached him. He had to salvage Clarish mission. He had to reach the person she was to deliver the message to. He had to tell the person what had happened here. He had to warn this person about Citizen Murl. He had to warn them about something involving the Petersha. He refused to allow darkness to be victorious once more. He had so much to live for. With all of his eyes focused on the lake beyond the edge of the building he ran. He could hear the pair rushing up behind him. She was much faster than Father Benjirmen and was starting to gain on Dunfee. Dunfee's foot hit the edge of the building and he sprang up off of the edge. In that moment all sound stopped as he flew through the air like a great bird set free. He rose his head up and spread his arms out as wide as he could reach. Sailing through the air as if he was allowing the Force to carry him to safety. He didn't see the fierce women behind him as he flew through the air. He did hear her curses carry on the wind as he escaped. It was in that moment that he felt the pain across his back. She must have used some kind of throwing knives on him. He felt four clear impacts in his back as his momentum carried him.

The wounds were painful but Dunfee knew he had to remain conscious no matter what. He pulled deep from his very connection with the Force to fight back the darkness that clouded his mind. The four knives that drove in to his back were near fatal. However if he was to slip from consciousness, then his impact with the water below would be fatal. He fought to clear his mind as he fell towards the water. He brought his arms forward and turned his body in to a dive. He hit the water in prefect form and dove in to the depths of it. The pain from his back shot through his body and the blackness threatened his mind once more. Once more he fought against the darkness as he tried to swim for the surface of the water. He broke the surface of the lake and gasps for breath. He had escaped the fierce woman and Father Benjirmen, but he was still not out of harms way. He swam away from the lights of the city and towards the darkness of the other side. The pain of his back rocketed through his body with each movement. He could feel the loss of blood from the wounds as he continued to swim. There was a single focus in his mind, swim, swim for the other side. It was all that he could think of and focus on. Just swim!

With his mind completely clouded and his eyes blurred he was confused by the bright light invading his mind. There was something wet on his face. His mind started to recall the events of last night. The dive off of the building. The pain in his back. In that moment he let out a loud moan of pain as he realized that his back was still in pain. He opened his eyes, he could see the light of the morning basking on him. He was laying face first in the white sand of the beach. The events after hitting the water seemed blurred and incomplete. However, he knew he was still alive, for the moment. At that moment he felt the wetness on his hand once more. He turned to see a small fury, four legged creature licking his hand. He looked at it with great detail as the small creature looked back at him with the same degree of detail. It was small, and had a tail half the length of its body. The fur coat mostly white and light gray with a few brown patches across the body. The under belly was all white and the lower parts of its legs had white patches of them. Its eyes were kind of golden as its short sturdy pointed hears shifted a bit as it looked at him. It made a meow sound as it called out to him softly.

“No, my little friend. I am not a fish and I am still very much alive.” Dunfee groaned as he tried to move. “Ouch, though I do feel like I had come too close to death.” He very slowly lifted his body off the sand and raised up his torso while he lowered himself down to his knees. He reached back behind him and felt the first knife. He pulled it out as the pain filled his mind, “AHHHH” he screamed out as the knife came out. He looked at it carefully. It was shinny and well built. It was clearly a throwing knife with a three inch blade. He reached back to the second location and felt only the wound there. “I guess that once fell out” he said checking the next one. “This one has to come out” he said feeling the hilt of the knife. It was in deep and he knew it was going to be painful to remove it. He took a deep breath and pulled the blade out. Once more he let out a loud groan as it came out. Once more the darkness filled his mind but he remained conscious. Once it was free he leaned forward on his hand as to take a break from the pain. He waited a few moments as he looked at the small creature. “Would you like to do it?” he asked as the creature looked back at him. It had moved back a bit while Dunfee was making noises. It only meowed back to him. “I figured you would say that” Dunfee said as he prepared himself for the last knife.

He felt the hilt and knew that this one was also in deep. Dunfee took a deep breath and gripped the weapon. He pulled on the hilt of the knife and screamed out in pain. However unlike the others, the knife refused to move. Dunfee took another deep breath as he gripped the knife once more. He jerked the knife free from what ever it had lodged on. He screamed out more loudly as the knife slowly moved from his body. The pain was maddening as he continued to pull on the weapon to free it from his body. Within seconds the blade was out of his back and the darkness of his mind was closing in. He summoned up the Force to bring relief from the pain and the wounds. He could feel the wounds closing and could sense the Force about him. He felt safe and at peace once more. He fell face first in to the sand once more as the darkness slammed shut on his mind. He could hear the small fury creature around him but no longer could he comprehend anything else. He heard the creature call out once more, 'meow.' Slowly he allowed his body to rest from the abuse he had forced upon it last night. He stopped fighting the darkness and closed his eyes.

Once more he felt the soft licking of the small creature. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that the light of the suns was no longer over high above his head. They were hanging low in the heavens. He turned to see the small fury creature kneading his arm and softly biting at him. He smiled at the creature, “No little one, I am still not a fish. Nor have I joined the Force yet” he said slowly raising up to his knees once more. He looked down at the three knives with his blood on them. He picked them up and rose to his feet. He bent back and tossed them as far as he could in to the lake. He never needed weapons before, he wont start now. He turned to the small creature, “So where is your mother?” Looking around, he spotted the body a larger creature. The fur coat told him that the body was the mother of the little creature. He knelled down next to the creature and pulled out a small piece of dried fruit. The creature turned its nose to the offering, only to meow once more. “I see” he said putting the food away. “Well I guess it is the least I can do for you, is to find you some food. After all, you did look over me while I rested.” He opened his sack that he wore on his hip. He carefully picked up the little creature and placed it, feet first, in to the sack. “You will be fine in there” he said looking down at the small creature. It seemed to make its self comfortable and tucked its head down.

Prior to heading out from the shores where he washed up, he took some time to run bandages around his torso to control the bleeding. He was sure that he used more than he needed. However he didn't have the luxury of time. He did a hasty bandage job and then got dressed once more. The bandages made walking difficult because of how tight he made them. He spent the rest of the day trying to reach the space port. He figured that with Citizen Murl's hunters and the Church actively seeking him, it was time to move on. He noticed that the authorities were no long looking for him. Either they thought he was dead, or they were looking else where for him. He continued to move to the space port hoping his luck would hold out. While through the help of the Force, he was better, he was far from healed. The walk to the space port was difficult due to the wounds but at least it was uneventful. He followed the Force as it guided him to the space port. Reaching the space port without incident was a testament to his skills and being a Sabbat. One thing that comes with being a Sabbat is a ability to blind in to crowds and be easily forgotten. It was one of the first defensive techniques that the Sabbat developed to avoid the Church. Once he arrived at the Space port he bought a ticket off world and a few previsions.

Boarding the transport he went straight to his cabin. Walking in, he let out a great sigh of disappointment. He closed the door as he removed the sack from his shoulder. He laid it on the bed and the little furry creature came out sounding its arrival with a meow. “First my little friend, we bring order. Then we eat” he explained as the small creature started to paw the bag of previsions. He took his sack and dumped out the items within. He took his time ensuring that each item was properly. It was a timely task to complete, but for him it was very necessary. After all, for the Sabbat, order in all things allows for order in one self. After he finished putting his clothes away, he checked his work to ensure that each was perfectly placed. After rolling a few items over again, he finally accepted the task as complete. He placed the sack within the dresser as well. He turned to the bag which contained the previsions and pulled two items out. He carefully unfolded one to reveal a half of a large fish. He set it down on the floor in such a way that the wrapping paper would catch anything that the animal would drop. He opened up the second item as the animal dug in to the fish with great eagerness. Dunfee opened up his own item. Within were six separately wrapped items. He carefully opened each. Within them, he had nuts, barres, fruit and some cheese.

It was something that was common among nearly all Sabbat. Because of their completely high regard for life in all of its diverse forms, most Sabbat do not eat anything that cost a life. This also meant they would not eat most forms of vegetables. This was because vegetables would require the death of the plant to be served as food. As a general rule, most Sabbat could look past this and eat vegetables. There are few that would hold true to their belief regarding plant life. Very few would eat the flesh of an animal. While the death of an animal is tragic, the very few can look past it for food. It has been a strongly debated issue within the Sabbat since their beginnings nearly two thousand years. Still, no Sabbat would take any life unless there was simply no other choice about it. Because of this, most Sabbat tend to eat very healthy in terms of non-proteins and use supplements to make up for what would have been supplied through the flesh of animals. Dunfee pulled out a small bottle and set it down next to the small meal. He relaxed himself as he prepared to enjoy his meal.

Looking down at his meager meal, he smiled "you know my friend. You have been very lucky for me. I think I shall name you, Lucky" he said looking to the small fury creature. It didn't look up from its fish meal. Dunfee nodded as he watched Lucky eat "yes I agree, lets eat up" he said rubbing his hand on its head. He started to eat his meal as well. He had watched the debate over food and paid keen interest to both sides. The debate was very heated and just like times before, little was reached in the form of a general ruling for all Sabbat. In the end, like before, the official ruling is that each Sabbat shall be allowed to make this choice within their own morals. For Dunfee, the debate was simple. Protect life in all its forms, is a Sabbat mandate. Plants are life just like Lucky and him. Why shouldn't they be protected as well. He looked over at Lucky. It was not like other philosophies which had hard limits that all Sabbat were required to follow. Much like emotions, this was a hard line philosophy which defined the Sabbat for what they were. Teachings and actions had to mirror the philosophy. It was required. Eating plants and animals was left to the personal decision of each Sabbat. A choice he decided that he would not force on Lucky. He watched the little fury creature happily eating the fish.

Within a few moments his meal was over and he needed to get a closer look at his wounds. He slowly rose up and took the time to ensure that where he ate was cleaned up and cleared of all of his meal. After making sure that the area was returned to normal, he turned and walked over to the bed. As he approached he noticed that one of the corners was off by a bit. He knelled next to the bed and fixed the corner. He stood up once more and slowly started to disrobe. Moving was painful, but he had little choice. Each item he removed, he took the time and care to neatly folded it before placing it on the bed. Each item after that, he ensured to place so that they were not overlapping or touching. As his well worn clothes were coming off, they reveled the very well toned and conditioned body. Even with the bandages, it was clear to make out the muscle lines and definitions. Once more, the life of being a Sabbat has shaped the body. Not so much the training than the intentions of fleeing the Church when ever possible. Most Sabbat have learned to be quick and agile when confronted with the Knight Roses. They are a very real and very serous threat to all Sabbat. And because of that, Dunfee has been forced to keep himself ready for a state of flight nearly all the time.

Once his bandages had come off, he walked over to the mirror and turned to get a closer look at his back. A medium sized panther stared back at him from his back. It was a highly detailed and well crafted tattoo that covered just under half of his back. It was not a sense of pride that drove him to ensure that the tattoo looked as good as it did. It was his drive for perfection within order that drove the image's details and appearance. A young Sabbat is taught that all things are connected through the Force. And that everything has an effect something or many things. Order or the lack there of has many effects on many things. Without order, there is chaos. Within chaos, darkness is allowed to grow. As darkness grows, the lines between good and evil because blurred. Once the lines fall from sight, evil is allowed to thrive within the Sabbat. To avoid evil, there must be Order. It is not the only step that a Sabbat takes to avoid evil and the Dark Side. But it is the first in a long journey towards serving the Light Side of the Force. So when he plotted out his tattoo, he had to ensure that each detail of the image was prefect. However, there was also meaning behind the tattoo which was now clearly visible on his back. Even before the Sabbat had their legendary name, it had become clear that a central leadership was a liability against the Church. During the early years of the Sabbat/Church Shadow War, the first leaders of the Sabbat looked deep in to their future. It was the visions of the future which showed them what changes needed to be made to ensure their survival. One of those changes had been the removal of the central leadership and the appointing of nine Councils.

Each Council had complete control over all Sabbat within their region of the Galaxy. Each Council would act independently of the rest. Every two years, the Grand Masters of each Council would meet to discuss issues of the Sabbat. Their ruling over any issue becomes binding to all Sabbat. During times of urgency, the Council of Grand Masters can be convened to discuss emergencies or threats to the entire Sabbat. Each independent Council elects their own members and sends the recommendation to the Council of Grand Masters for approval. If a Sabbat wanted to move from one Council to another, it would take the approval of both Councils. Due to security reasons, these kind of movies did not happen often. Within each Council there were cells set up. The cells were headed up by one or two Masters, five to six Sabbats. The members knew each other personally. The cells were linked to other cells through a very detailed communication network of codes and symbols. This ensured that each cell could rally on the other cells near by but still remain distant enough not to risk detection. Cells have been known to work together to serve the common good. During the Bisk/Pirate War, Dunfee and his cell worked with six other cells to help evacuate refugees. Seven Sabbat lost their lives during that operation to save several thousand. During operations like that, the cells will work independently of each other and only communicate through dead drops and coded messages. Dunfee never saw any member of the other cells even though they were working on the same world.

As a means of identifying each other, the Councils each took the image of an animal as its own symbol. This helped ease identification of each other and help weed out impostors. The animal symbol itself was not meant to be complex, for the symbol was only part of a larger key which only the Sabbat of that Council a fully understood. To ensure that impostors didn't cross lines, the seated members of all Councils had an understanding of each Council symbol. However, even Masters of cells didn't know this information. It was expected that no cell would ever come in contact with another cell. Communication would only happen through dead drops and coded messages sent via comlinks. It was a security measure that all Masters did not like. The common feeling was that the security screens prevented the shared experience of the Force. Sadly, it was something that had to be if the Sabbat were to survive the Knight Roses hunts. The symbol could be copy, but the links to the symbols and the rest of the code could only fall in to church's hands if a Sabbat betrays th Order. Something that has never occurred, and this was due to their tight recruitment standards. Once more, the threat of the Church shaping the Sabbat to become a greater threat to the Church.

Dunfee's Council is known as the Region of Panthers or RP Council. Unlike other Councils of the Sabbat, they draw their doctrines directing from one of the Founders of the Sabbat. The RP Council is well known throughout the Sabbat as being more philosophy driven and more prone to self enlightenment. He took a closer look at his wounds as the image of the Panther looked back at him. The Panther which the RP Council chose is found only on Fra. Unlike most large cat predators, the Knish Panther only hunts pray after spending days stalking and studying the pray. It also has shown a great ability to learn from past encounters. As for the rest of their code, the code is linked the words from the worlds of Tatooine and Murthol as well. None of which has anything to do with the Knish Panther or its origins. Never has any Knight Rose ever successfully infiltrated the Sabbat. The Symbol Code goes a great way to weeding out impostors. Each member of a region wears the symbol on them somewhere. Dunfee wears his on his back. Clarish had worn hers on her thigh.

Looking at the wounds on his back he sighed. They were healing but they were also infected. He couldn't risk going to the medical bay. This transport was owned and operated by the World of Tatooine. This meant that he had to maintain a low profile while on board. He would have to clean the wounds himself. A task which was going to be hard but once more he had little choice in the matter. He turned and crossed the room as he walked towards the small bathroom. Stepping through the bulkhead door, he reached over and pulled a towel down off the rack. Carefully he folded the towel in to a perfect square and laid it at the foot of the shower. He stepped in to the shower and turned on the water. Taking his time he flushed out each wound till the water ran clear. The task was far from simple, but hardly impossible. He cleaned the wounds and then finished his shower.


Stepping from the shower, he noticed Lucky was laying on his foot towel. He didn't pay the small creature any mind as he started to dry himself off. He felt the towel pull against his efforts to dry himself. He looked down to see Lucky with its legs holding on to the towel. He pulled on the towel only to lift the small creature off the ground. He frowned as Lucky looked up an meowed at him. He slowly lowered the towel till it was back on the ground and dropped the towel. He reached and grabbed a new one, with his new towel he continued to dry himself off. Once more he felt the towel pulling downward. Once more he frowned as he pulled the towel only to hear a meow back from the bottom of the towel. “You know, this will not do” he said lowering himself. He picked up the first towel which now seemed to be unimportant to Lucky. He continued to dry himself off once more. Within moments, he felt the towel pull downward again. He looked down to see a bulge from under the second towel with two little legs gripping his current towel. He smiled at the animal and thought of how wonderful life was in all of its shapes, sizes. 'and in this case annoyance' he thought as he watched Lucky play with the towel. He pulled the towel and watched Lucky getting dragged from under the other towel and across the metal floor of the bathroom. He let the animal play while he cleaned up the bathroom and then went to meditate.