MAJOR DEEJ UNIVERSE

As the Soltan troops started blasting at the heavy metal door, the security guard looked at Censa and asked her if she was brave enough to climb atop the room's tall shelves and out through a window over 14 feet above in the room.  She nervously nodded.  He held the staff as she started her climb with the agility of a gymnast, for which she'd only taken gymnastics months earlier for the first time.  When she reached the top he tossed the staff up to her and told he to keep the staff safe and to only give it to a Knight of Malta and no other, EVER.  He told her that God himself needed her to complete her task and not get taken captive by the Soltans, no matter the cost.  When she yelled down to him to follow her up, her looked up at her smiled, and said, "I'm about to do God's work here by destroying these evil creatures chasing us.  If God wills that I survive, I will see you again, until then, go; go now...and go with God, my brave Lady of Malta".  Censa crawled through the window and out onto a rampart where she was able to eventually escape the Soltan invaders, hiding in a sewer pipe for the better part of the next day.

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She never saw the security guard or the Grandmaster ever again.

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All alone, and sure that her parents were dead, Censa walked through the sewers of Malta for the next few days, foraging for food, dodging Soltan patrols and attempting to find anyone who looked like a traditional 'knight'.  Sadly, no one came to her rescue nor was she able to trust anyone who wasn't a knight, ergo, she was on her own.  Finally after a week's time, a massive majority of the Soltan troops left, leaving only one squadron to maintain security, using Fort St. Angelo as their base.  That's when she saw a team of Italian special forces troops quietly come out from the Mediterranean waters and up onto the beach in front of Censa in her storm drain hiding place.  That's when she saw that one of the troops was wearing the emblem of a Knight of Malta on his shoulder.  She used a flashlight she'd appropriated in her travels to signal the troops, who almost unloaded their weapons on her as a result.  Luckily, the troops held back their shooting and scattered to the storm drain.  There, the special forces troops were stunned to see the girl and one of their ten objectives for their mission - the Staff of Life, there with the girl.

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The man who wore the emblem of a Knight of Malta asked her how she came by the staff. She told him the whole story.  The man looked at Censa with admiration, stating that 'no other person he knows would be so brave in such conditions'.  As part of her conversation with him, she told him that the security guard called her the "Lady of Malta" and if that was a title she was supposed to bear while holding the staff; the man's reply, "It is now.  Come Lady Malta, let's get you and that staff to safety.  With the delicacy of a father's love, the man explained about the scuba tank they were about to use and that he'd help her swim to a submarine off the coast where she, he, a couple of teammates and the staff would be able to get away from the evil aliens safely.  With the bravery of a seasoned veteran, Censa swam with the Knight of Malta, sharing the Scuba mouthpiece and swam to the submerged submarine off the Maltan coast.  Together, they entered the sub and were rescued.  Hours later, the rest of the Knight of Malta's team returned, again with several other people and artifacts.  Their mission completed, the submarine took them to a remote island off the Italian coast known as La Madelana.

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The base at La Madelena had already been destroyed by the Soltans, however, no Soltan troops were left to guard the island, believing it to be of no value.  Occasionally, a Soltan aerial patrol would fly-over, but the troops secretly hiding there knew well in advance of any potential attacks or patrols.

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For the rest of the Soltan invasion, Censa remained in La Madelena, where she quickly became quite the talk of the base.  The stories of her bravery, and sacrifice, were told again and again to others to bolster their spirits and resolve to fight against the Soltans.  Rather than do nothing, Censa began to learn how to fight; Krav Maga, knife-fighting and staff fighting.  In a few short months, she'd become a dynamo of a fighter for such a young girl.

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The Staff of Life they'd liberated from Malta was put to good use.  It was a magical staff that was quickly discovered to heal others. The staff was used by the man Censa only knew as the "Knight of Malta", where he took the staff out on missions to help save others and, at times, fight the Soltans.  Censa and the Knight grew close, but he never told her his name, nor did he tell anyone else, ergo why others simply started calling him the "Knight of Malta".  He, on the other hand, never called Censa by her name, but always called her "Lady Malta", and, usually in jest rather than actual civility, would bow to her each time he saw her.  Others seeing this truly thought Censa was some form of nobility and as such, began treating her with a greater respect and politeness.

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In August of 2000, the final battles with the Soltans raged across the globe.  The "Knight of Malta" told his "Lady Malta" goodbye before he left, however, he never returned.  He died in battle in China fighting beside the magical super-powered team known as the Knights Arcanus and thousands of other troops from all over the world in one of the most epic and climactic battles of the invasion.  After the Soltans left Earth and escaped back to space, a liberated Earth began to finally take stock in all that had been lost.  The troops that operated out of La Madelena all left, leaving several dozen civilians to care for the facility.  Censa was told to pack what she had and that all the remaining folks on La Madelena would go back to the mainland in Italy and each find a way to get back home.  For Censa, that meant finding her way back to Malta.

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It took four months of perilous dealings to finally get a boat ride back to Malta. When she arrived back in Malta, she saw that most of the island was in decent shape; only Fort St Angelo and the Capital city of Valletta had been damaged by the Soltans.  Censa went back to her home where she saw that someone had been living there.

 

It was her mother and brother. 

 

They'd both survived the Soltan invasion.  After a tearful reunion and stories told, they all settled in back to a normal life as best they could under the impoverished conditions that the island was now under.

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A day after Censa's return, Censa's mother in one of her dozens of stories of the invasion, mentioned that a strange man in a black and orange cloak appeared at their home weeks after the end of the invasion asking for a "Lady Malta" and that they sent him away not knowing who he was talking about.  Censa excitedly demanded to know more about this man, wondering if it was her 'Knight of Malta'. In describing the cloaked man, Censa quickly realized it was not the "Knight of Malta" she knew.  At that point the mother said the strange man gave her a smooth rock and told Censa's mother that if Lady Malta was ever found to give her the rock, break it, and wait for him to return to her, also mentioning it was vitally important.  After explaining to her mother that she herself was the actual "Lady Malta", Censa asked where the rock was.  The mother said she thought the man was crazy and dropped the rock on the ground outside the house.

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After searching for a half hour around the outside of their house, they found the smooth stone.  Censa quickly broke the stone in two and patiently waited.

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After several hours, Censa finally went off to bed, saddened and frustrated over this whole situation, truly believing the cloaked man to be nothing more that an actual crazy man that just happened to hear the name "Lady Malta" in story one day.  Censa went to sleep with a tear on her cheek.

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At midnight, Censa awoke to a dark figure standing over the foot of her bed.  As she was about to scream, the dark figure placed a finger to his lips, smiled, and bowed, stating "My quest is over.  I have finally found you, Lady Malta".  The imposing man was a figure she'd seen on the TV and in the news; he was the leader of the Knights Arcanus - the famous Samhain Knight.

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Censa lept out of bed quickly demanding to know where her "Knight of Malta" was.  Samhain Knight knelt down to the girl and said, "I have much to tell you, but first, let's wake your mother and brother, because they too will want to hear the tale of what I know so that others, such as yourself, will one day, be able to tell about a man with a lion's savagery and a warrior's heart all contained with the kindness and gentleness of a dove".

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After awaking the rest of the family and hot tea made, Samhain Knight told the family of his encounter with the man only known as the "Knight of Malta".  They'd fought in several battles prior to the last great battle in China and, using the staff of life, he'd saved several of his knights from certain death.  Sadly, in the final battle in China, he died early in the fight.  There was nothing that could be done, and no body to recover.  All that was left was part of his cloak and the Staff of Life.  Prior to charging into battle, Samhain Knight mentioned that this great man made him promise that should the 'Knight of Malta' die that day in battle that I was charged do everything possible to get the staff back to the only person he deemed worthy of bearing it again; the Lady Malta from the island of Malta.  After describing the Lady Malta's age and features, the Knight of Malta hoped that one day, Censa would take up the staff and once again use it as he did to save lives in the name of God and for the sake of humanity.  Samhain Knight shed a tear as he told the story, stating several more time that he was a 'good man'.  Censa hugged the crying knight and both cried together over their loss.  Not a dry eye existed in that house by story's end.

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All had fallen asleep amidst their final hour together, awaking some eight o'clock that morning.  Samhain Knight had left already, leaving behind the Staff of Life, wrapped in a wool blanket, along with the remnants of the tunic that her brave Knight of Malta once wore...and another smooth stone.  After admiring the staff's beauty once again, she grew sad, remembering the good that her Knight of Malta had done with the staff.

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That's when Censa got a look of determination on her face.

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She took the staff and went to the local hospital where over three dozen people resided due to their injuries during the Soltan Invasion and/or dysentery.  She went from patient to patient, gently applying the top of the staff onto the body of each hospitalized person, attempting to heal them in some way.  Some had lost limbs, which, even with the staff, sadly, were not able to grow back.  The best part of her actions though, was that all the patients all felt 'better' than they'd felt in a long time.  Those near death or with dysentery were soon up and out of bed as if nothing were ever wrong with them.  Those with internal injuries from the war were repaired and back on their feet as if nothing was ever wrong with them.  The doctors and nurses called it a 'miracle', however, the local pastor, visiting the hospital at that time, had other words to say.

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He knew what the staff was and yelled at Censa that it belonged to the Grandmaster of the Order of Malta before the invasion and that the staff was not hers.  As he attempted to take it away from her, Censa used her Crav Maga training and fought the pastor, knocking him to the ground.  The pastor, displeased and angry, ran off into the streets.  The encounter with the pastor would create a situation that would take decades later to resolve.

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