"Understood, Marcus," Kellan told her fellow Jedi through the comlink. "But we've run into a slightly odd situation here, nothing of immediate danger, but something I've got to investigate a bit. We've found Xeth and we'll be back up to the hangar shortly." She turned back to Xeth. "You've got to stop thinking with your trigger finger before your head, Xeth. Its going to be the death of you someday," she instructed him in a firm tone. "Now tell me exactly what happened after you pushed the button."
Well, I think you have pretty much explored the whole base by this point. Just to hammer it home, the droid practice and sabre practice rooms (J and K) contain a lot of weapon parts and maintenance gear as well- INCLUDING for lightsabres. You can get them fixed there.
The infirmary can be used to patch up any wounds you have, sufficiently to ignore them.
But with the revelation of this room, a full picture of the purpose of this place is coming into view.
One question about Kuylen's entire operation has always been- just HOW has he been accompanied by people as dangerous as you are? Kuylen himself is no mystery- he's a fully trained veteran Jedi. But his followers? It is all very well that Kuylen is a good swordfighter, and he had trained two Padawans, but no one man can ever possibly make up for the entire resources of the Jedi temple, can he?
In building this place, Kuylen has attempted to solve this problem. The dead bodies in the graveyard outside, the slaves can tell you, are those followers of Kuylen who died in training. Training here is VERY intense.
Kuylen's followers learn from him. That is the start.
In the droid practice room, they could test out all their skills and gear on droids designed specifically to be destroyed and put back together.
In the Arena, they could fight LIVE targets- captured slaves. People with nothing to lose, desperate to kill the trainee. It sharpens the mind.
In the sabre practice court, they could fight each other. Again and again and again and again and again.
But- what of wisdom, and knowledge, and gaining the power of the Force? Such knowledge comes from the Masters. Kuylen is talented, but not a Master. And for a Jedi, to gain knowledge of the Force takes years- two decades, even- of study and concentration.
But the Dark Side must be remembered for what it is- quicker, easier. Kuylen has found a short cut. For the Dark Sider, emotion is everything. It is the quick and easy route to Force power, as opposed to the great levels of calm concentration you guys- and even Ascar- use.
Of course, even this needs aid- to naturally get in touch with your emotions to the degree a Dark Siders needs is a relatively slow process if just left to itself. A Jedi who falls, knowing full well the morions he needed to suppress, can learn very fast, but to train people from scratch...
But the room with the red button- the Fear room- is the shortcut. It floods you with fear. A terrifying, dreadful experience. But the more you do it, the more you learn of it. Accept it. Use it.
And as Master Yoda tells us, Fear is the source of all Dark Side emotions.
So THIS is the place where Kuylen has spawned his team and trained them to the level of the Jedi. But... it can only go SO far. Kuylen may be a fantastic swordsman but e knows that is not enough. He needs the powers of the Masters if he ever wants true domination- and without a Master to teach him, where can he get that? How can the others learn it?
The Fear room will not do it. It is crude. Highly effective- but crude. It can bring the basics, but no Mastery.
Gundark, you can see the pieces slipping into place. Here Kuylen builds his secret base, he trains followers, but he is stuck, he can go no further, and he can bring them no further. How can he proceed? He cannot find out how. Such knowledge is beyond him- or certainly beyond his PATIENCE.
But he does not NEED to find out for himself. Because these dark secrets, though forgotten, have already been discovered. An organisation that dedicated itself to training people in exactly this way, to be the TRUE rivals of the Jedi, Masters and all.
The Sith. Kuylen and his followers have gone as far as they can with tricks like that. To find the secrets of the Sith... it is not some mad, random plan. It is a simple piece of logic- their only way forwards.
And at the Mausoleum, if the stories are true, Kuylen will get what he wants.
"Hopefully you'll have no residual effects, Xeth," Kellan said. She shuddered involuntarily, as the scope of Kuylen's methods of training became clearer. She felt a strong sense of urgency in getting the group off world and back on Kuylen's trail.
"Marcus, we're on our way back to the hangar now. How is the fuel situation coming along ?" she asked through the comlink as she motioned Xeth and Roan back along the corridor.