Sabé leaned her elbows onto the railing in front of her, placing her head in her hands and massaged her temples. She was glad for the moment alone. They had been in committee with the elders almost all morning, with nonstop arguing on both sides. Prosset Dibs had indisputably caused a stir, a divide right down the middle of the committee. Sabé had quickly learned he was a Master Jedi of Miraukan descent, having left this planet to join the Jedi Order on Coruscant many years ago. He had been an active participant in the clone wars until very recently, turning on his fellow Jedi and fleeing the scene. The committee had yet to be able to give them his precise reason for such a turn, and seemingly were not aware themselves. The committee could not even give a reason for such actions except their own fear of the Republic infringing on their rights. It was a fear that Sabé could empathize with, if she herself didn't have such knowledge of the vast difference between Republic and Separatist occupation. She had hardly been able to speak to that of course. Between all the squabbling delegates, Luminara and Sabé had barely a chance to put their own words in. Her small break hadn't come a moment too soon. It was almost impossible to have the right words to say with so many voices filling the room. It was in these moments that Sabé sorely wished for Padmé's presence. Despite her long time as decoy, Sabé knew Padmé's gifts for politics and heartfelt speeches were far greater than hers. In the moments that she had to deliver such lines herself, it always felt more empowering knowing Padmé was to her left, supporting her. It was not very often she had to go it alone, without the small tilt of Padmé's head or the minute signs they both knew to indicate where Sabé should lead next. This time Padmé was not even on the same planet let alone the same system. Sabé would just have to pretend she was there, guiding her.
"Its time." Luminara's voice came from over her shoulder, far to quickly for Sabé's liking.
Sabé responded with a nod before following the Master Jedi back to the Committee. The room was much like the others in this settlement. Carved into the mountainside with walls made of stone, but its windows were filled with colored glass, causing mirages of color to reflect over the ceilings and walls. It gave the room a different life that greatly contrasted with the current disgruntled and angered mood that lied within. The room was empty of furniture other than the grand round wooden table at which all 23 delegates were currently seated. Everyone here was seen as equals at the same table, save for Elder Aeldarr Kayur, whose chair was slightly more ornate than the rest, indicating her status as the head elder, governor over the representatives. Despite the overrunning voices of today, Sabé could tell that equality and respect for all life thrived at the basic nature of their government. Everyone received the same meal, same treatment, same chair, all resources were used, and nothing was ever wasted. The small ornate carvings along the chairs and the colored stained glass was the most grand items she had seen in this place, starkly different from those in the Senate on Coruscant. Luminara had resumed their place together alongside the table, where two chairs had been brought for them earlier that day, but Sabé remained standing at the doorway as the voices began to rise again, opinions flying through the air.
"We must remain loyal to the Republic!"
"But what about our neutrality? This is not our war."
"If a Jedi himself believes the cause is lost, why should we follow blindly!?"
At this last statement, the room went deadly silent as Elder Kayur tapped the table loudly several times over.
"Elder Falul." She calmly started. Her voice was quiet, yet demanded all attention. "We do not know enough concerning Master Prosset Dibs and the war to make such statements. Perhaps it is time we stop bickering amongst ourselves, and allow our grand negotiators the chance to speak." As she ceased speaking the Elder tilted her head towards Sabé in smug acknowledgement. A slight nudge in her side from Luminara urged her forward.
"Elders… I do not pretend to know the predicament in which you sit. I do not know all that life entails on your planet, what hardships you face, or what brings you joy. What I do know is the fear and the dreaded feeling of not knowing. I know there is uncertainty over this war. There are questions of its worth and its motivations, questions of loyalties and if your side is truly the right side. My planet was subjected to the treatment of the separatists, long before the war. There was no mercy. The people were imprisoned, starved and tortured. They will never be the same. Now these same leaders ask for your loyalty. Will you follow? Will you allow them to do this to your own people, your friends, your families, and your children? You might find fault in the Republic, but I assure you, you will not find such evil there. I implore you to think carefully and know that the Republic will stand by your rights as a planet and a community."
"Like we would trust the word of an outsider. It is worth nothing." Elder Falul breathed out with a scowl, breaking the few moments of silence in the room, creating a new venture of uproar to resound from the rest. But Sabé barely noticed. Her eyes had been drawn to a door in the corner of the room, something in the back of her mind resonated an alarm of danger. The edges of her vision blurred and the elders disappeared from the room as it became bathed in red light. Sabé could hear hushed voices, rushed and angry, but she could not make out the words. She did her best to concentrate, her eyebrows furrowing and a frown taking over her face. The whispers became louder and louder, but try as she might she could not make out the words. The more she tried the more they sounded like a foreign language she might never understand. It was only the pull of her arm that brought the room back into full attention, the red light gone, the voices replaced with that of Luminara asking her "Are you alright?". Sabé took one more glance to the door before following Luminara out the opposite door, today's session concluding as an impasse. Time was allowed for elders to ruminate before tomorrow's final votes.
Sabé was grateful for the day to be done. It had dragged on for hours and she felt as though no progress had truly been made. She couldn't help but feel that Padmé would have been able to convince them otherwise, when all Sabé felt they had done was sit quietly, her few words falling on deaf ears and hardened hearts. She had decided to take a walk through the small town, hoping the fresh air would do her well after a full day in doors. It didn't take long before she found herself once again admiring the world around her. Neighbors were gathered on their porches after a long day of work, sharing in each other's joys and spoils. Sabé could understand the desperation to keep their world this way, not wanting interference from either side. But sadly, a war had started in the galaxy; it would eventually thrust a choice upon them, whether they desired it or not. For a moment, as she found an isolated spot on the mountainside looking over the blue plains and grey mountain scape, Sabé felt the peace of the planet, as if a foreboding war was not seizing the world around them.
It was a calm feeling that was suddenly jolted away as Sabé felt as if she was falling. The landscape around her disappeared as she fell through the ground beneath, landing in an unscrupulous heap on the dirt floor below. Sabé carefully pulled herself up, reaching for the stone wall beside her. She recognized the room as the one she had been in all morning, her eyes immediately drawing to the door she had focused on previously. She couldn't place it, but something was pulling her to that door, willing her to move forward and open it. Sabé glanced around and behind herself, inspecting the room for others. Although many had left immediately, wishing to escape the confines of the room and its heated debates, Sabé knew several had stayed behind. No one had necessarily told her to stay away from the door, but she had not been invited to enter it either. Confident that no one was with her, Sabé made her way to the door, grasping its handle firmly before slowly releasing its latch. Sabé cursed inwardly as the door creaked on its hinges as she crept inside. The door led to a balcony of sorts, a platform with a jagged railing looking over another room below. The room was bathed in the same red light Sabé had noticed earlier in the day. The further she looked down below she realized it must be caused by the red glass windowpanes that the light shown in below, giving the room an ominous blood red glow. Sabé noticed a small stairwell that followed the balcony down to the room below, the same gut pull feeling inclining her to follow it down. The stairs were much like those leading up to Elder Kayur's home, jagged stone cut smooth that winded down around the room below. As she came to be at least halfway down, her breathing quiet and her feet even more silent, Sabé began to hear the sound of hushed voices rising through the air. They were fast and angry mixing together in what seemed a heated debate. One stood out to her as familiar, deep and grating, but she could not place it.
"What does a child know about war?" It asked of the other. "Elder Kayur called her the Iizarr."
"The Iizarr doesn't exist. They know nothing. The council and the Senate are doing nothing if it is not for their own gain."
"Some of the Elders have already changed their minds and the vote is in the morning."
Sabé crouched down, lying fully on her stomach to peer over the edge of the stairs. Sabé immediately recognized Elder Falul. He had been the strongest voice against the Republic, his eyes always blazing with anger that almost completely hid the fear that lurked behind them. However, she did not recognize the man he was with. His thick Miralukan accent and the cloth around his eyes gave him away as Miralukan but nothing else. Sabé gathered by his long cloak that he was perhaps a fellow councilman, one she had not noticed earlier. He had long silver hair that was pulled back, almost reminiscent of Qui-gon's a long time ago. Now that she thought of it, he carried himself almost in quite the same way.
"You must convince them to remain neutral, the Republic cannot have forces here. Even the Jedi council is blinded by the power of the Republic. They are becoming a game of politics. I can feel the restlessness in the force surrounding them."
"So it is true then, Master Dibs. You turned and fled?" Sabé inhaled sharply, thoughts rallying back to the Jedi mentioned over and over again in conversation since her arrival. At that moment the Jedi turned and looked at the exact spot that Sabé sat. Instinctively, Sabé moved backwards, accidently scuffing the wall behind her, filling the now silent room with a noise that ricocheted from the walls. Sabé held her breath, expecting both men to startle and move her way. Plans of escape launched through her mind until she realized the elder was not phased and the Jedi Master turned back to look at his companion, liberating her from his gaze. Sabé released her held breath, waiting for his response.
With his head low and his voice lower, "The Jedi are not following the will of the force. They do not care for life, as they should. They are doing all in accordance with the Republic and its Chancellor. This is not our purpose and I do not feel it is the will of the force. If the elders vote poorly… we will have no other choice."
At his words, Sabé was suddenly pulled downward again, swimming a thick red darkness like blood until she came crashing down, her face meeting the firm ground, dirt smearing her face and the grass tickling her nose with every quick breath she took. Sabé attempted to rise, her arms weak and her mind dizzy and racing as she recognized the mountainside around her. The voices she had worked so hard to keep at bay came back in blinding strength, loud and resounding through her mind. Sabé felt like she was on a swaying ship as she struggled to balance herself among the field. She stumbled almost instantly, the voices taunting her as her vision blurred, falling to the ground once more. She tore away at the grass before her, scraping her knees against stones as she dragged herself farther from the ledge where she had stood. She collapsed down and rolled to her back, head in her hands and eyes forced closed as she willed for the voices to stop when a calmer voice joined the fray.
"Iizarr." A slight tap on her shoulder and the voices silenced as if they had never been. Sabé slowly peeled open her eyes revealing Elder Kayur above her, wearing a worried and startled look on her face.
Sabé waited patiently at the table in the elder's home. The steaming mug of caf warmed her chilled bones ad brought about a pleasant calm to her mind. They had walked home together in silence, after several moments of Sabé testing her balance. Her knees and elbows were scraped and had been promptly treated with a local herb upon their arrival. The elder had remained quiet ever since, only asking Sabé to relay why she was there and what had happened. If Sabé had thought the elder silent before, she was even more so after her story. Sabé herself had quickly dismissed it as a trick of the mind, but Elder Kayur waved her off, handing her the mug instructing her to sit and had left, without leaving any word to Sabé if she was coming back. Several minutes dragged by before the elder made her way back to the room, strange stones in had that she hastily placed on the table before Sabé, before sitting herself across from her.
"Iizarr. It is well known that Miralukan's are capable of seeing the world around them through the force. There are those that are blessed in seeing, in more ways than one: premonitions, visions, and so much more. I believe you, Iizarr, are destined the same."
"I have told you before, my name is Sabé. And I am not Miralukan." Sabé responded, slightly exasperated by this woman's continuing assumption on whom she was.
"Perhaps." The elder responded thoughtfully, her facial expression unmoving as always. Sabé could feel the energy of her looking over her face, washing over her presence.
"We shall tread carefully tomorrow. It does me great worry that Master Dibs might go to such lengths." She said, eyes glued to the stones before her.
"We will do our best to be of help, Elder."
"Yes. Rest now, child. A long day we shall have tomorrow." She responded, gathering her stones once more, a smile resting on her face.
The pressure against her neck didn't cease as she tried to turn her head to see her attacker. She could barely shift at all and couldn't make out the figure that now crouched down to her, looming over her threateningly. Sabé felt the pressure increase as they leaned closure, their arm pressing in to her. Sabé could feel the sharpness in her lungs as she struggled to take a full breath against such weight.
"What does a child like you know about war?" A male voice breathed out, heavy in her ear. It was deep and grating, one she faintly recognized, but couldn't place. "You come to our home and speak about peace and the grand Republic; yet you have no idea what they're capable of."
"Release her, Falul." Master Dibs voice came from behind, his voice calmer than Falul's had been. It was more controlled and restrained. Sabé brought herself up, dusting her dark cloak and face for dirt.
"You may have swayed the others, but we know how your Republic truly is. The senate will do nothing if it is not for themselves." Falul sneered at her, spittle flying from his mouth as he spat his words out. "The Republic will fall." He screamed, his mouth opening wide, teeth baring fangs. The world around her spun wildly out of control, turning red with blood and loud with screams, before Falul flung himself forward towards her, hands clasped to her throat.
Sabé awoke with a start, hands flying to her neck as she shuddered and inhaled sharply. She had awoken several times before this; her dreams twisting her mind wildly, each one worse than the one before. She reached up to rub her tired eyes, exhaustion mounting with each movement. Sabé could just make out the first rays of the rising sun from across her room, and resigned herself to an early wake up, as a peaceful slumber seemed unreachable. She made her way to the washroom, tying her hair back into plaited braids, and washed her face, taking note of the purple returning to the lower side of her eye. The nightmares and voices had been jarring. After weeks of meditation and control, it seemed they came with a vengeance and it shook Sabé to her core. She wasn't entirely surprised though. Everyday here wore her down, the constant curiosity of the Miralukans around her continued to dive to her mind. She hoped all this would come to an end soon; she had never felt so unlike herself as she did here. With the vote to come this morning, she may very well be allowed to take her leave that afternoon, if all went well. After donning her jumpsuit and cloak, Sabé took to the balcony at the front of the house, hoping to calm her mind before heading to the council.
The council air felt stuffy and stiff when she entered. Luminara and herself waited patiently as the votes were cast. Sabé kept feeling the draw of her eyes to Elder Falul. His seemingly passive face at this moment kept flashing back to the fanged anger she saw in her dreams. She had informed Luminara of Elder Kayur's worries and both women had weapons worn, to be ready at a moments notice. Sabé felt intensely aware, feeling as if her entire body was on edge, every small sound and movement catching her eyes. It felt like an eternity before the voting was finished.
"The Planet of Alpheridies will remain neutral in this war, but will allow the Republic an outpost on its furthest moon, as suggested by the Republican representatives." Elder Kayur finally announced. A general relieved sigh swept across the room. Sabé assumed everyone was just glad it was over and done. She felt her own body relax as Elder Falul had yet to make any sudden movements. Sabé shook her head to herself. Of course Elder Kayur could have been wrong and she had simply imagined the worst of all situations.
No sooner had the thought flittered through her mind that she felt the sudden shift around her. What had been an air of relief turned shrouded in a heavy darkness. The air became stifling and hot. The world felt like it moved in slow motion as she saw the once Master Jedi Prosset Dibs enter the room, his lightsaber drawn motioning Falul to flee the room. She turned to her left quickly, her arm already feeling for her weapon, as she went to warn Luminara. But she wasn't there. She had been at her side moments before but was suddenly gone, nowhere to be seen. The elders all seemed immobile in their chairs, not a sound to be heard from their lips. Sabé turned her attention quickly back to Dibs at the sound of a lightsaber striking stone, her blaster raised towards him.
"Do you really think a blaster is any match?" He huffed out, grabbing the closest elder and clutching their arm firmly as they cried in pain. "You have all been blinded by the Republic." He snarled, shoving the elder towards her, aiming to strike.
"No!" Sabé shouted, rushing forward to pull them towards her.
"You have led them to this fate." His voice eerily calm as he lunged his blade through the elder's torso. They fell forward into her arms, muttering in a foreign language, before their breathing ceased and the muttering stopped. Sabé felt the blood pounding through her ears as she laid their body down gently.
"They chose neutrality. You don't have to do this." She said as she raised her blaster again, her stance aimed towards him.
"Oh, but I do. I will not allow my people to become pawns to the Republic, to a failed democracy." He growled out at her, using the force to bring another member towards him. Sabé shot towards him, hoping for just the smallest moment it might shake his focus. He only laughed at her attempt as he plunged his blade once again through the elder. They screamed in pain as blood spilled from their mouth.
"Don't you see, child? It is better to clear the world of any threat to the will of the force. The Republic will murder them all." Sabé stared at him as he waved his arm about wildly, drawing another member to him. "But with the few gone, for the greater good it will be."
"That is insanity." She yelled, inching closer as he paused, elder in hand.
"Exactly!" He laughed loudly, his grip tightening on the struggling elder. "Yet this is what the Jedi themselves have said to me. Do you question your precious democracy now? They serve only themselves. Something is wrong here, don't you feel it?"
Sabé's eyes widened slightly as she felt his presence in the force, the sincerity in which he spoke his words, how deeply he believed to be right.
"That's right. You feel it Iizarr, I can see it in your eyes. Perhaps Elder Kayur is right."
"Enlighten me." Sabé said calmly, again inching more closely.
"Iizarr was once long lost. It is said they can see all through the force, but no one has yet been found." Sabé was barely listening as she circled around, matching his slow taunting pace. Sabé's eyes searched the walls as he continued to ramble on of Miralukan folklore, the elder still struggling in his grip. A rugged stone shelf caught her eye, something in her telling her to go to it.
"But you see, the Iizarr, if found, will lead to the greatest destruction of the galaxy, and yet they continue to hope for it. It is madness." She heard him say as they continued their dance. "I must destroy you as well. There can be no chance of the Iizarr left alive." Sabé had finally reached the ledge, giving it a hard tug. Within seconds the floor beneath him fell through, forcing Dibs to move aside quickly, allowing the elder to escape his grip. Sabé took the moment to spare a shot at him, as he reoriented himself. The bullet barely grazed his hand, a scoff escaping his lips, before he was charging at her, his hand wrapped around her throat, raising her off the ground.
"What could you even fathom doing? You will die here with them." Sabé's hands instinctively grasped his, gasping for breath. He tossed her aside then, forcefully into one of the walls. Stalking over to her as she fell forward, stumbling to regain her balance. "I will make it long and miserable for you. Then you shall know how the Republic has made others suffer." He grasped her by her cloak and swung her over to the other side of the room, her back smacking the wall, taking her breath with it. Sabé's vision blurred as he continued to taunt her, grasping her by the throat and lifting her once again. This time Sabé kept her hands from gripping his and reached instead for his head, her hands grasping the sides of his temples. The air around them shifted as she desperately sought to enter his mind, something she had only done once before. It was harder than she had imagined, his walls thick and towering above her. She tried again, putting the last of her will forward, as her breathing grew ragged. She felt the energy around her changing. It was volatile, angry and dark. As she waded through it, deep beneath there was a small light, flickering in and out, a flame struggling to breath. She reached for it, feeling its warmth, and held it in the palm of her hand. As she held it there, it began to grow and glow brighter and brighter, until the darkness could be seen scurrying from it. Sabé heard a scream echoing in her ears. The pressure from her neck eased and she fell towards the ground, returning to the room from darkness in his mind. Dibs was on the floor, clutching his head, howling in pain. Sabé's breathing was ragged as she moved forward, her hand resting on his shoulder. He suddenly crumpled beneath her touch into what seemed to be a deep sleep. She looked to the rest of the elders, whose thoughts of astonishment she felt brush against her mind. A hand appeared on her shoulder, causing Sabé to jump slightly.
"Sabé?" Came the voice of Luminara.