"Well, we can try. It'd be - cool to get to talk to him."

"Indeed."

Occlus makes a final bridge. The holo figure holds up its hand.

"Transfer enabled. Transferring... Complete. Safe to disengage." It winks out.

Occlus walks over and unplugs all the cables from the holocron.

"You can send this with the rest of them. A replacement will not be necessary."

He teleports it.

"Thank you. I heard what you were talking about. If you can defeat the genetic lock, I too would be interested in what Darth Fienus secreted away inside his holocron."

"I can try. Ready to go?"

"Not yet. I want to time my disappearance for the period of maximum confusion just after Malgus makes his move."

"Who is this guy anyway."

"He's in the Ministry of War, under Darth Arho. A veteran of both Galactic Wars, currently directing the operation on Ilum to seize control of the Adegan crystal mines. Adegan crystals have been used in lightsaber construction for thousands of years, but a new sensor stealth technology uses them as a primary component."

"So he wants to rule the galaxy?"

"Nothing so concrete. He thinks that the Empire as it stands has grown weak and complacent, that as Sith, we have failed. In his interpretation of Sith philosophy, greater power can only come from continual conflict. What compromises there have been with the Republic are damning, in his eyes."

"So he wants more war?"

"That would be the short of it, yes."

"Are we going to stop him or just run away."

"I doubt he will be successful in the long run. The majority of the Empire will remain loyal and crush him, or if for some reason they cannot, the Jedi have killed one Emperor already. They will not balk at doing it again, and the other was far more powerful than Malgus can hope to be."

"I would like to know more about the Jedi and the Republic and why there's a war."

"A broad topic. Several topics, in fact."

"Still."

"Very well. The history of the Jedi begins several thousand years before that of the Republic, so we will start there. This is perhaps fifteen thousand years before the present day. In that era, hyperspace travel was new, and the galaxy was only beginning to be explored. As the various Core worlds made contact with each other, the phenomenon of Force sensitivity began to be widely recognized. What adepts that existed gathered on a planet called Tython, to better study and understand how to use their abilities. It became apparent that there were two basic methods for tapping the power of the Force, based on one's mindset. The true differences are more subtle, but you might approximate the separation as selfishness and selflessness."

"Selfishness as in 'pursuing what you want' or as in 'pursuing wants that are only about your own wellbeing."

"The former, though elements of the latter creep up quite easily."

Nod.

"Each approach has its benefits and drawbacks, and is suited towards some applications but not others. Naturally, this polarized the the nascent group of Force users into two factions, each fanatically devoted to their chosen method. There was fighting. It was resolved when the selfishness faction left or was forced into exile, heading far out to the Rim of the galaxy. They later became the Sith, while the faction that stayed evolved into the Jedi."

Nod.

"That original split was, in essence, the basis for all conflicts going forward. How much do you care about the detailed philosophical underpinnings?"