A First Encounter

[Mikau]

Mikau pulled his oversized Jedi-informing cloak around him, concealing himself completely. He lifted his hood up over his head-tentacles, obscuring all but his big navy eyes.

The prototype-Lambda shuttle landed nicely, creating a small could of smoke as Mikau stepped down the walkway and onto the warm Mustafarian metal ground. As he had hoped, he had located a small Jensaarai training facility.

Mikau came to Mustafar to see the Jensaarai in action, and what it was like to be trained as one. Fortunately for him, he did not wish to become one of them: although he did very much respect their views.

His cape billowed in the hot wind, and he glanced around nervously, pulling his hood a bit more over him. Underneath, he wore his standard and lightweight dark brown Jedi attire; though he was technically no longer affiliated with the order itself.

Mikau shook his head, and slowly walked forward under a makeshift bridge created from scrap metal salvaged by the many droids working down in the lava.

[Mikau]

Mikau slowly lifted his head at two things: A small lava spew to his left, and a small tower structure to his right, connected to a much larger building. He felt for his saber hilt, and approached the turbolift elevator doors at the tower.

He took the elevator up, and was greeted by two men in red armor. Jensaarai, he presumed, and nodded politely to them, and continued to walk.

As he passed a breezeway, he stopped. There was a window leading below to what looked like a small saber training facility, where young children were being taught the intricate handling of a lightsaber. Mikau grinned slightly under his hood, and wondered if they were more skilled than himself. Frankly, that was a good possibility.

Mikau sensed malice at this point, and it sent a chill down his spine. He turned from the window, and continued to the door across the breezeway. He slid it open carefully with the force, as to not disturb any other bystanders, and walked inside.

What he saw did not surprise him: The chamber he walked into was more a corridor, with rooms on either side. Mikau slowly approached some of them, and realized that children were also being trained in the ways of the force. He smiled again, chuckling some, and reminisced on his childhood in the academy.

The nautolan took a seat on a small bench, leaning forward, and brought his hands to his chin, folding them in front. He concealed his face, looking at the ground. He didn't want anyone knowing there was an alien amongst them, else he may get some weird looks.

To his dismay, a red-armor clad guard approached him, and Mikau glanced the saber hilt on his belt.

"You! Who are you?" The guard asked, cooly, without a sense of anger.

Mikau dropped his hood, and slowly looked up. "My name is Mikau, I am a... Rouge Jedi, let us say, in search of enlightenment in this facility..." Mikau very subtly waved a few fingers.

"Yes, I see. You should come with me, I will show you enlightenment in this facility." The guard stood astute, and motioned for Mikau to follow.

---

They opened into a small port type mechanism, where droids were frequently coming too and from with hot metal collected in buckets. Mikau noted this as he continued, and the guard spoke up again.

"Here, through this door, I will introduce you to an Acolyte, a high ranking member of this facility." The guard bowed, opening the locked door and staying outside.

The door shut firmly behind Mikau, opening into a small dome-type room with scaffolding in the ceiling, a desk in the center, and steps up to a higher level. He walked forward, opening his cloak a bit and removed his hood again. He tilted his head slightly and smiled when he saw the Jensaarian, free of armor, but not of a lightsaber...

"Welcome, friend. As I hear it, you are interested in joining our ranks?" The man asked, stepping forward. He was clearly a high ranking official.

"To be honest, I came to see what the training regiments are like." Mikau answered, chuckling.

The man frowned, coming forward, and used the force to bring his hilt neatly into his hand. He ignited it, bringing his now blue-glowing saber to life, and swung it gracefully in a wide arc at his feet.

Mikau chuckled again, stepping back. "Hm?"

The man spoke up. "You're dull, aren't you? I know you aren't here simply to see things, you're a Sith hired assassin! I tried to tell them that we were inbetween, but no one would hear it."

Mikau discarded his bigger robe, casting it aside, and it revealed his clean and fit dark brown Jedi tunic and interestingly shaped silver hilt. It was straight across, with no curves, and had two carefully placed gold rings at the top, and a black hard-rubber grip at the bottom, leaving a few inches of solid silver color to hold as well.

He pulled his hilt nicely, twirled it, and brought the mysterious purple aura of energy to life, bringing it down at his side in a fencing style of swordplay. He smiled. "No, not an assassin, but I could use a good workout. Come."

Mikau turned position, and awaited the first move of the Jensaarian.

[Mikau]

Mikau bit his lip as the Jensaarian paced him, 40 good feet away, in circles. Mikau knew and considered his poor swordplay skills, but fencing was a style he had recently practiced, and hoped to accomplish something out of that.

However, then the Jensaarian charged. Mikau panicked, and did what he knew how: He pushed him back with a severe aura, uniting his arm with the force. The man was swept back with tremendous range, but landed neatly on a foot and a knee, smiling evilly at Mikau.

"You'll have to do better than that." Were the only words to come out of the man's mouth before he charged bluntly at Mikau again. Surely, the Jensaarian could sense his fear.

Mikau, using his agility, stepped back, avoiding a bright and wide blue arc coming diagonally at his shoulder. Mikau brought his saber up in the opposite direction, replacing his foot, and feinted left clumsily. The attack was easily parried, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

Mikau leapt back, making good use of his early force prowess, and kept on the wall, watching the man. However, the Jensaarian made use of his lower ground, and threw the blue saber up at him with extraneous force.

The nautolan's eyes widened with fear and he leapt carefully over the blade, attempting to come down on the Jensaarian with two feet and a lightsaber. However, the man easily rolled away, causing Mikau to force his saber into the ground and it was firmly stuck. Upon finally pulling it out, Mikau flipped backwards a good 5 feet, and awaited the next move...

[Mikau]

Mikau was young an inexperienced, thus, he was already tired. He let his glowing purple blade lower, dropping his guard. He assumed it was safe, for the time being, given the distance between the two men.

The Jensaarian bellowed, brandishing his light blue saber, creating an intricate show of colors and noises. Clearly, this man was an expert, and he was facing Mikau - a mere padawan, were he still in the Order. "Come, now, are you tired out already?" He shifted his stance and deactivated his lightsaber, and for a moment, Mikau was relieved...

Then, his relief vanished instantly as the Jensaarian screeched and outstretched his hand; out of which came a long, thin, three lines of blue electricity, and they all made perfect contact with Mikau. He screamed, dropped his deactivated saber, and it rolled off to the side as Mikau fell, screaming still, to his knees. His body ached and singed, it felt energized, yet at the same time, overloaded. He felt like exploding from the intense heat and shock, and kept himself up with his arm strength.

He grunted and coughed heavily as the lightning ceased. Mikau felt frail, and fell from his arm support, hitting the ground. He gasped for breath and coughed again, looking to his saber hilt a good 5 feet away. His eyes began to shut as the Jensaarian approached his weak body.

"A simple shock, and that's all it took? Why come here to kill us if you aren't strong enough?" The Jensaarian laughed, then outstretched his hand again, bit his lip, and sent another shock through Mikau.

In response, Mikau yelled and rolled over, cringing and trying to shake it off of him by excessive body motion. His cries were gruesome. Once the Jensaarian had enough, Mikau wheezed and rolled more towards his saber.

Mikau bit his lip. He had one chance, and if he blew it, he would face death. But could Mikau cheat death?

He looked up at the Jensaarian, standing next to his saber. Mikau reached quickly for it, and the Jensaarian looked at the hilt and kicked it away.


Perfect.


Mikau took the opportunity - the man looking away from him - and used all he had left in him to summon what he could of the Force. He yelled, and his voice cracked harshly, but what he had hoped came through. The force flowed fluidly through his body, energizing him a bit, and a wave of wind came through his arm and sent the Jensaarian flying back 50 feet.

The man did not land so gracefully this time. In fact, he landed hard on his back and groanded. Mikau slowly picked himself up, coughed, and brought his hilt to him. He wheezed again, wiping his mouth on his sleeve, and twirled his hilt before igniting the beautiful purple energy beam.

[Mikau]

Mikau slowed his breathing, trying to control his entire metabolism and keep it steady with young Force prowess. He slowed himself, and slowly brandished his purple lightsaber. "Hmph." He directed towards the Jensaarian, who was recovering, and igniting his saber again.

"That was tough. You're an inexperienced fighter, but indeed, the Force flows through you like no other." The man stood up, pacing Mikau in a circle with a 60 foot diameter. Mikau followed.

"So I hear," Mikau replied cooly, "I expect nothing less from you, a Jensaarian. Expert blade skills and refined force skills. Where are they? You could have killed me by now." The nautolan winked at him, and the Jensaarian bit his lip.

"Yes, well... I don't need much to dispose of you, Sith scum." The man growled.

"Hmm, I see... Sith scum." Mikau stopped pacing, and planted his foot firmly on the ground. He slowly pointed the tip of his saber at the Jensaarian. "I'm no Sith, again, and I'm no Jedi. I'm a wanderer, a man who's soul has been lost to rules and regulations of the Jedi code. Now, come at me." Mikau swallowed hard, and the Jensaarian came.

50, 40, 30, 20 feet... And he was in range.

[Mikau]

OoC: If oneness with the force would be a minor godmod at my level, tell me. It's simply done so that Mikau isn't killed off.

Mikau swiftly attempted an upward diagonal hack towards the man, but it was easily parried; the Jensaarian blocked perfectly, causing an inverted saber lock from Mikau's end.

Both men pushed, but naturally, the Jensaarian emerged the winner. Mikau's arms were pushed back, and the Jensaarian made his final strike: A horizontal swipe across the chest, sending Mikau back a few feet.

The nautolan fell to his knees, gasping for air, his chest burning. The orange and black singe was clear and clean; the Jensaarian had hit perfectly. Mikau dropped his lightsaber clumsily, and kept himself off the floor with his arms. "I..."

"You lose, Sith. You will always lose. Balance, as we are, is just and perfect. And now, your mistakes will cost you your life." The Jensaarian slowly lifted his blade in an arc, the energy whizzing, and came halfway down before the remarkable happened.

Mikau's breathing stopped, and his eyes closed. As they did this, faint white light emerged from his shutting eyelids, and he felt himself lighter. His arms seemed to move on their own, and his breathing seemed to have stopped. Mikau's brilliant purple saber came up and valiantly clashed with the blue one of the Jensaarian.

Mikau slowly opened his eyes halfway, revealing empty white shells. He, at the same speed, outstretched his arms and let the power of the Force completely overwhelm his being. With a heavy breath, Mikau - or the Force, rather, sent the Jensaarian flying backwards so high, and so far, it seemed legendary for such an insignificant, independent, Jedi-lacker.

The Jensaarian was whisked a good 100 feet in the air of the dome, and easily 90 feet back, and landed with a loud thud and a crack. His saber hilt bounced and hit the floor just as hard, landing a few meters away from his body.

--

Mikau crashed. The force that was flowing through him disappeared, and he fell to his knees, again gasping for air. His sight was dazed, his head hurt, and he was extraordinarily dizzy. He coughed a bit, while on his knees, and looked up into the dome.

Such a quick, unexpected, and uncalled for fight was over. But Mikau questioned if he could leave the facility with his life.

[Mikau]

The room was empty, save for the ominous silence, Mikau, and the dead body of the Jensaarian. This fight was a close one, and mere padawan versus a fully trained Jensaarian. Had it not been for the Force, the nautolan would have easily died right then and there.

Mikau picked himself up slowly, careful not to startle his reawakening senses. He walked slowly over to his cloak and re-draped it over himself, pulled it together, and raised his hood.

He swallowed hard as he approached the door from which he came, and then decided it would be best to open it and get whatever awaited him over with. Fortunately, upon doing so, the guard was gone, and Mikau made haste back through the corridors and buildings back to the prototype-Lambda.

He received many strange looks along his quick jog back, but they didn't concern him; he simply needed to get out.

He stepped aboard the shuttle, was greeted by the pilot, and they took off. Mikau took a seat along a passenger bench, hood still up, and shivered to himself quietly.

---

"And the tracking device?" A hutt empire spy asked, turning the corner of the landing pad and looking to the Jensaarian next to him.

"Done. It is on the starboard of the ship, they won't see it." The Jensaarian smiled, then turned; his cape billowed. "Come, let us go."

And they turned the corner back into the building.




(END)