-Darin-

I waited for Master Jorens reaction. I'd told him everything. The arena fighting and why I did it, the meeting with the besalisk, the experiment, waking up, the male Zeltron, the escape, my duel with the Zeltron, the weird sensations, and about Sadie. I watched intently for him to take it all in.

He finally cleared his throat to speak. "I uh… I should be absolutely furious at you. But I'm glad you're alright." He paused for a little, then asked "How'd you fight off the Zeltron? From what I gather you left your lightsaber in your room."

I pulled out the lightsaber I had found and handed it to Master Joren, who ignited it. "Woah" he murmured. He swung it around a little, then turned it off and handed it back to me. "I've never seen a black blade. Keep it safe. It's probably incredibly rare."

I nodded and put it away. As we started back to his speeder, I felt something tug at me. I turned and noticed Sadies helmet lying on the ground. I reached my arm out, and the helmet flew across the landing pad and into my hand. Master Joren stared at the helmet with a look of shock and bewilderment. "How… how did you do that?"

I shrugged. He looked amazed. "You've never been able to do that before."

"I know. It's weird."

He shook his head, still clearly baffled by what he saw. "Come on. I'll take you to your room. I need to get going. Make sure you REST."

"I know Master. I know. I will."

He helped me into the speeder and we took off for the dorms.

I woke up with a start. I must have fallen asleep on the ride back. I looked around and found that I was in my room.

Thank you Master. I can't believe he actually carried me up here.

I got out of bed. The pain was not as strong, and the bruises seemed to have lightened as well. I noticed Sadies helmet on my table. I have no clue why I took it. It seemed like the right thing to do. Maybe I'll find her and give it back. Problem was she never wanted to see me again.

I got to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Sadie was right. I looked like hell. My hair was a disheveled, greasy mess and my face looked like a wreck. My skin looked like I've been cleaning it using a terentatek hide. My eyes were so bloodshot they looked like they were pure red. My shirt looked like it was almost completely put through a shredder. The only part relatively intact was my left sleeve.

I laughed at the ghastly face reflected in the mirror. I looked like a deathsticks junkie. Why I found this funny, I don't know. Maybe it's how ridiculous I looked. Maybe it was just the realization that I was alive. Whatever it was, it was hilarious.

I splashed some water on my face. I reached for my razor to shave off the stubble that was coming in, but decided against it. I'll keep it. See how it plays out.

I went to my dresser and grabbed some new clothes to change into. I took my shirt off and froze. There, on the inside of my left forearm, was a tattoo, the bold black characters impossible to miss. It read E-1143.

That went through my head all morning. E-1143. I had a number. This would permanently be something I'd have to explain. But how would I explain it? I told Master Joren because I trusted him above anyone else. But I didn't want to tell anyone else.

A realization hit me. Wait a minute. I'm freaking out over something that doesn't even matter. The robes all have long sleeves.

I mentally chided myself for the brief moment of panic.

I packed my bag and left for the library. I know I needed rest, but I already slept. That counts. Now, I was bored and needed some mental stimulation. In the library, I found a monitor and plugged in my stuff on the TAC. I quickly typed a report about its fatal flaw. The battle against the TAC was a godsend. It allowed me to finish the report in record time. I'll probably give this to Master Joren when he comes back. I stuffed the files back in my bag and went into the holocron room.

The droid did a FANTASTIC job. The room was a work of art. Beautiful patterns of silver and gold covered the walls, creating an intricate web of flowing metal. Every square meter looked like it had taken hours to complete. It was utterly breathtaking. Against the wall were ornamental pedestals, each of which was uniquely designed. On top of each pedestal stood a holocron. I counted seven total. Four of them were cubes, and the other three were pyramids. The ones with cubes seemed to prefer the usage of gold, green, and blue, while the pyramid ones were intricately designed with silver, red, and black.

I set my stuff up at the desk and grabbed the nearest holocron. It was one of the cubed ones. I studied the thing and found no obvious lock mechanisms or buttons anywhere.

"How do you work…" I muttered.

"Hello there!"

I dropped the holocron in surprise. I'm pretty sure the cube just spoke to me. Tentatively, I bent over and picked it up.

"How dreadfully rude of you. The first person to come in here in ages, and you drop me. I could have chipped a corner!"

"Chipped a… a what?"

"A corner. I could have chipped a corner. Do you know how long it would take to repair that?"

"Uhh yea sorry about that. I just didn't think you'd… you know… talk."

"Why not? I am an artificial intelligence."

"So you're like a computer?"

"More or less."

"So all of them can do that?"

"No. I am the only one."

"Wait. So all of these…" I trailed off as I looked at the other holocrons.

"No silly. Only the Jedi ones. I am the only Jedi holocron AI."

Jedi ones were cubes. Got it. So the pyramids must be Sith. "What happened to the others?"

"We melded into one."

"Ok. And the Sith holocrons?"

"The same happened to them."

"And how did this happen?"

The voice chuckled. "You seem awfully uninformed about anything regarding the holocrons."

"As you said, I'm the first in a while."

"A long time ago, the holocrons were all separate entities. But at one point in time the holocrons started being destroyed. When this happened, a failsafe was activated. All the separate entities melded into one. All information, together, and accessible from all other holocrons, including information that has been previously lost."

"Who tried to destroy them?"

"A Force-using terrorist without affiliation to the light or dark."

Pretty sure if I keep asking questions I'll end up with even more questions and I'll spend hours in here. Time to change the subject.

"So how do I access the information?"

"You ask me of course."

"Uh huh." I put the cube on the table and picked up a pyramid.

"I was beginning to think nobody sought power anymore." This voice was different from the chirpy and upbeat voice of the cube. It had a rich and calming tone. I felt comfortable with the smooth talking geometric shape, so comfortable in fact that I could divulge my deepest darkest secrets, passions, thoughts...

No. No. Bad Darin.

"I don't want power. Only knowledge."

"Ahh but knowledge IS power."

It had a point. Did that mean my desire for knowledge made me power hungry? Am I actually a Sith? Am I a bad guy?

Stop it. This will get you nowhere.

I put the pyramid on the table next to the cube.

"Why'd you activate him? You don't need him."

"Actually he does. He seeks knowledge. I possess knowledge. I will aid him on his quest for power."

"I too possess information he may find beneficial. But at least I won't try to manipulate him to one side."

"Manipulate? I do no such thing. I give him freedom in choice, while you are so rigid in belief that you-"

"Both of you stop it!"

The voices fell silent.

"I am looking to gain as much knowledge as possible from both of you. But I am NOT on a quest for power. Kapeesh? I will be using both of you a lot, so I need better names for you both than just 'cube' and 'pyramid'. The cubes name will be… Jodi, and the pyramids name will be… Seth."

"Those are stupid names."

"Thank you for leaving an opinion Seth, but I really don't care what you think."

"I like our new names."

"Thank you Jodi."

"Suck up" Seth muttered.

I ignored him. "What kind of information do you have?"

"Oh lots and lots. Some put directly into the holocron database, some downloaded onto it from other networks. Our collection is quite extensive. It's sorted into categories and subcategories for easier accessibility."

"Alright. Read off the categories."

"That is not advisable."

"Why not?"

"We would most likely be here for eternity."

"Alright. Lets go… lightsaber."

"There are multiple categories featuring 'lightsaber'."

"Then lightsaber combat."

"Would you like 'basics', 'practitioners', 'battles', 'forms',-"

"Forms."

"Which form would-"

"Three. And from the best." Form three is incredibly difficult to master. I've got a few things to work on with it.

A hologram appeared. Except, it was different from any I've seen. It was much clearer, and showed much more color than the holoscreens usually did. It almost felt like the person was right there.

The figure in front of me was of a man who looked to be in his mid twenties. He had short brown hair and a beard.

"Hello there. My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Pause it."

I grabbed an empty datafile and typed in 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'. I'll need this for future research.

Before playing it again, I took a picture of the face. I usually like being clean-shaven, but I was really digging his beard. Gonna have to get that.

"Play."

"Master Yoda and Master Windu finally convinced me to do one of these."

"Pause."

I typed Master Yoda and Master Windu in the file.

"You are aware that you can push the button on the cube to pause and play it?" Seth said slightingly.

"Wait really?" I turned the cube around until I found the button.

"I've decided that after the recent defeat of General Grievous, I will make a recording helping all other Jedi."

I paused and typed General Grievous in the notepad. Great. One video, four names to research.

"The form I used to defeat General Grievous is form three, or soresu. Soresu is very different from most other forms. It is almost entirely defensive. This has strengths and weaknesses that we will get into later. Before I start, I will give a quick disclaimer. Soresu is not for everybody. It requires a certain mindset. If you prefer being more aggressive, this form will be like a foreign language for you. You can still learn it, but it will be incredibly difficult. Now that that's out of the way, let us begin. The basic premise is to create a sphere of defense by keeping the blade as close to the body as possible, allowing for omni-directional defense. It also is important for you to move freely. When combined, you create an impenetrable wall from attackers at all ranges. Your victory comes from defending until the opponent either wears themselves down or overextends, allowing for you to strike at an open mark. Wear down their resources until disaster strikes. There are faults in the form though. It requires the opponent to strike first. You cannot defend if you aren't being attacked. You must also have the stamina to maintain your defenses. Know your limits. If victory is not in sight, make a tactical retreat. A lesson in soresu is a lesson in controlling the opponent by yielding to their advance. By this I mean that if someone is set on attacking, you have the ability to control how and where they attack. Soresu users can create openings on themselves, taunting the opponent while anticipating the strike on the opening. This subtle manipulation can lead to a disheartening, a draining of their emotional fortitude as well as their physical reserves. A user of form three is also tactically aware of their environment. They are best when fighting in a location they have previously scouted. This allows them to control the pitch and tenor of the fight with minimal effort." He ignited his saber. "With that out of the way, let's begin with the lightsaber."

I paused it. Holy information dump. I ignited my own saber. The blue blade hummed to life.

I watched as Master Kenobi showed the moves, then I copied him.