It had nearly quadrupled in size, but he was sure it was even bigger as data packets were getting smaller in size even back four thousand years. What had not changed was the fact he had forgotten he did not have access and the basic access told him nothing. He needed some type of access code to go further, but then he saw the Great Holocron. That he knew he only needed the Force to access it. It might not have what he was looking for, but it would be worth a shot. Taking a seat under the Holocron he began to concentrate. He felt himself slip inside and greet the first Gate Keeper Haune Tiar.
"A long time has passed since you accessed the Holocron. What do you seek?"
"I have been pushed forward in time. I need to know what is known about me?"
"I have plenty of information on Revan and the Revanchists, Information on Darth Revan and the prodigal Knight Revan. Even his brief involvement in the Great Galactic War, but that Revan was not you."
"My brother." Revan did not even have to think about it to know it was true.
"Correct though even my vast knowledge is limited and not much more than the basics was left for you to find. The full records were transferred to the Jedi Archives on Coruscant."
"This Holocron sits inside the very archives you speak of. Can you not just access it?"
"No and I do not feel that you need to know the past, but one record there is for you to know." The imaged change to a little green master he had learned the most from.
"This is Master Tokare. Long have we search for a way to defeat Darth Revan, but it has all but been for nothing. His body burned and twisted and his mind a chaotic mass of jumbled thoughts. It was not until his brother demanded to see him that we discover Bastila had another ability. In her seeing Revan's twin in such pain, she made to console him and at her touch she nearly killed him we thought. I am afraid we did not make it any better as we found out that she had linked his mind with his brother's. Forgive myself I cannot, about agreeing to use him to claim the identity of Revan himself. If this does not work, we have paid a terrible price and destroyed both."
"That is the only recording on what directly relates to you. The only other note is that you were kept in medical stasis that one day they could bring you out of in this very Temple." Revan frowned at this. He had felt something like this so it was not a complete surprise. It was still shocking as the Jedi took advantage of something they would never have thought of if they were not at war.
"That is fine. Now tell me what has gone on in the last 4000 years."
"I hope you have the energy to be connected with me for such a long time." Revan nodded as he had eaten and gone to the refresher. He then moved himself into a hibernation trance just in case this last longer then twelve hours.
The first person to not only notice Revan meditating under the Great Holocron was Master Jocasta Nu. She did not recognize the man so after being unable to rouse him from his meditation she took his image and searched the archives thinking that once she had his name, she would be better able to get him to leave the archives. This failed as the results came back listed dozens of Jedi going some three thousand years back but none among the living, and none that matched his image. She then linked in with BoSS as they held the largest identification data base and his image only came back with three possibilities and they were also listed as deceased. Had she looked at all known records she would have gotten a match after a few days for Revan's brother. Several other identification data bases also failed to find a match.
She made several more attempt to rouse the Jedi but even poking him with a stylus had not gained her a reaction. His clothing was of a style she had never seen a Jedi wear other than in the holocrons. His presence in the Force swirled around him and this she had never seen, but there was one other that radiated the Force and that was Skywalker, but this was not the same. It was a light steam compared to a raging inferno. Tapping his shields with her Force presence didn't do anything either, so other than causing him out right pain to the point of drawing her lightsaber across his skin she was at a loss. It was rare that another Jedi could get her to relent if she was feeling stubborn, but this young man could be a soft statue for all her efforts. She called two Temple Guards to watch him as she went to rouse Someone from the High Council.
Every single council member that was there in the temple tried everything to rouse this stranger, but nothing worked. Well, nothing worked that a Jedi would try. The only one that had not tried was Master Yoda who after the next just sat down and meditated opening himself to the Force and to the Gate Keeper of the Great Holocron.
"Master Yoda it had been a while."
"Short the time had been since last conversed with you I did."
"Is there a specific request that I can help you with?"
"Connect to you another is. Talk to him I will."
"I am sorry he is studying the last thousand years and it would take you several real hours to get to the same level of consciousness he is on. I could relay a message."
"Time is not important, but worried we are. Lost he may become if too long he remains. Stranger he is to us, his name I require."
"He is, odd I do not have that information." Haune Tiar vanished only to come back a moment later. "You may call him Master Surik." Master Yoda looked down to think and then back up as the name clicked in his mind. The Great Holocron contained a wealth of knowledge but it was limited in it data matrix. It had a basic history of the galaxy and if you are a trained Force user or a strong untrained one you could learn many different abilities. This was one of the reasons it was restricted by tradition to only Jedi Masters, but not normally enforced as it would only give you access to what you were past ready to learn.
Coming out of his meditation he quietly moved over to the closest access terminal. Master Yoda entered his code, Master Lahru's and Master Pra-Tre Veter's codes. A second screen appeared asking for another code and he imputed his Master's code, Master Gormo. It as only after the third screen came up that he typed in several requests. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated on the ancient text. A language that had long ago died away and only one other knew how to read, that being Master Yaddle.
However, the name Surik had been lost to time. Falling out of use just less than 4000 years ago. What was available was the recording of one Meetra Surik as she was exiled from the Jedi Order. He watched the holo in silence only glancing once to the meditating form. The Force danced around him taunting Yoda, but doubt clouded the truth he was being shown. Cautious they would need to be about this mysterious stranger. Master Windu came closer to him and he shut the file down. One day he would need to give Mace access to this archive, but the Force had not signaled it was time. Master Yaddle had access and it would be another fifty years before Grogu was old enough to learn, but never had this knowledge been passed to one not from his species. Only the need to one day crossed his mind from time to time.
"Anything?" Windu knew not to ask much more than that. Even as Master of the High Council there was much that Grandmaster Yoda kept to himself. Had he known it was restricted to only his species he would have been more adamant about removing that restriction or destroying the knowledge.
"Old his name is. Last used during the Mandalorian Wars it was."
"At least you have his name?"
"Surik." With that Revan opened his eyes as the over view of the last 4000 years ended. Three periods had gone by since his time with several wars in between. The Post Manderon Period included the Mandalorian Wars had turned into the Jedi Civil War followed by the Jedi Purge. Then a three-hundred-year restoration followed by the Great Galactic War with the Sith Empire and the Zakuul Empire as the beginning of nearly two thousand years.
Then the Draggulch Period started with the New Sith Wars. This war rose and fell over the next thousand years ending with the Seventh Battle of Ruusan. Which after the Ruusan Reformation had been the longest period of near peace nearing the time of a thousand years. The Manderon Period had seen a lengthy period of peace, but had not given up its arms to then rely on only sector fleets. Even back then a sector fleets strength was only as big as its ability to maintain it, so the Republic would commission or decommission fleets depending on the needs and number of conflicts with rival governments or treaty clusters.
Seeing how large the Republic had become after the complete defeat of the Sith and the lack of another splinter faction becoming the next group of Sith had allowed the Ruusan Reformations to remain unchanged since that time. He was sure it was what the Jedi had done as well that added to its survival. The first entry that made his anger rise was the Mandalorian Excision. A complete waste of life that the Jedi Order fully supported. He had grown to respect the Mandalorians and their way of life. The other point that had made him mad was the removal of the rank of lord and basically the confiscation of Jedi property around the Galaxy to the point where only the Temple of Coruscant was mentioned.
The Jedi had always been part of the Republic except for the Pius Dea where they went into Recusal. Had they been as disarmed as they Jedi they would have never been able to leave. This was why the Jedi had always maintained separation as their loyalty was ultimately the will of the Force. Without the Jedi controlled systems they would have no influence in the Senate or any real power to counter corruption that had risen time and again in various governments. The Unification Policies was another point of contentions as the Republic had always stood on voluntary membership established by treaty and trade policies. He was not looking forward to what the Jedi Order has become.
"Conscious of your surrounding you now are. Explain to me who really you are." Revan looked at the green master and it figured that the order still had these imps around. Master Vandar Tokare had been a good master but also a thorn in his side unable to acknowledge that the Jedi had to face the Mandalorian Crusaders. Though he was not the main hindrance to the Jedi entering the war to stop them.
"Roketa the same always are you. Confusing your speech always is, when lack of context you create." Revan let a mild smile grace his lips as the Jedi master looked surprised at the name, he called him before he frowned. Though the name was a very short form of what they called their species. Nothing pronounceable really.
"No need to be mocking the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order."
"Why shouldn't I? He interrupted my history lessons for my name."
"Then who are you?" Master Windu did not like this man. He felt like a threat and it was not just his gut telling him as the dark side swirled around him as much as the light.
"I answered him your next."
"I am Master Mace Windu master of the High Council." Revan felt a liking to this man as he was not radiating just the light side. His mix of light and dark was similar to his own. Hopefully this would lead to him being the more practical of the two which he could better relate to.
"Master Yoda am I."
"You may call me Master Surik, Rey Van Surik." Revan stood and then stretched a bit. He looked to the chrono and was surprised it had not taken longer.
"I suggest you surrender your lightsabers as you are not a Jedi of this Order." He studied Mace for a few seconds before Revan let out a laugh and stepped around the Holocron coming closer as the Temple Guards moved to better cover him while the two masters did not move, but it did not mean they had not increased their awareness in the Force. Knowing how Vandar had fought but only seeing one blade on this master it was a possibility he used a different form then Ataru. From the way the dark master felt and his relax stance showed he most likely used Juyo. Revan was not so concerned, but he had not come here for a fight even if he mastered all forms and was war tested by hundreds of Mandalorians along with Jedi and Sith.
His arrogance rose inside of him knowing he had a good chance of walking out of here if it were not for the unknown of these Temple guards. Then there was the other knights and younglings that were right around the corners listening in. It would not be the first time he gave up his weapons, but he would not let them examine these crystals. He pulled the blades to float in front of him and they both seemed to explode into dozens of parts and then collapse back together as he secreted both of the crystals inside his gloves. He smiled as the masters had their hands on their blades along with all the others. The temptation to do the same to theirs was almost too hard to resist. However, convenient of a trick it had been on the battlefield. No need to reveal it now.
"That was impressive."
"Never seen that done before."
"What a show off."
"I can do that."
"Shh, they'll hear you." Revan could not see the ones speaking, and they vanished as several of the masters were distracted to look to see which of the younger Jedi was talking. Still, their curiosity made him smile.
"Seems I have caused quite a stir." A temple guard took the hilts that floated in front of him. Looking them over for a moment before he gave them to a master who had yet identified herself. Master Nu looked over the hilts and their construction and found they had the feel of being freshly made, but the style was very old and favored function over craftbeingship. It was a design that was used during war utilizing the parts you had on hand or ones you could make. This gave the blades extra bulk and would have been awkward to use in a Makashi style.
"You have and as exciting as this has all been I am sure Master Jocasta Nu will appreciate her archives returning to the peace it knows." He nodded to Jocasta almost a bow as Mace pointed her out. He wondered if this woman was like Atris. Though in his opinion she was in a class of her own. To think he would have... He shook slightly as he pushed the thought from his mind.
"Any chance there is someone who gives free haircuts?" Master Yoda chuckled softly as Mace had snapped his mouth closed as this stopped his next sentence. Revan thought it was an honest question. Mace finally recovered as his scowl grew bigger.
"I think you have a lot of explaining to do. Also, you could use a chance to freshen up."
"Accomplish both we can. Listen to his story I will. Alone I must insist." Revan could feel the shook and wariness roll around the room. Yoda raised his gimer stick at Windu.
"To your barber he will go. Your quarters best for this is." Revan looked at the bald Jedi and then back to Yoda before chuckling.
"I need a haircut, but bald never suited me." It was meant and delivered just the way he intended as a true fact, but he noticed that it had affected Mace Windu. Why he could not figure as the Jedi looked good with his smooth nearly perfectly shape head.
"Follow you both I will to another barber perhaps." Master Yoda did not pause as he walked out of the archives and then jumped up on his hover chair. The master continued moving and maintained a speed that had Revan and Mace stretching out their strides. His pace made many Jedi lose sight of them and only the four, temple guards had kept up. After a maze worthy trip Yoda flew into a hair cutter.
"Find another cutter you all will." The initiates, padawans, and a few knights got up without a whisper leaving only the four barber droids. Revan took a seat as he concentrated on removing the weaving he did to his hair.
"Shave my beard off first." He ordered and the droid began his preparations. A minute later he slides a blade over his skin and then several more times before the entire beard dropped away from Revan's face. The droid took another fifteen minutes cleaning up the stubble and carefully shaving the excess skin build up and drained several pores. All this time Revan felt the master studying him.
"Figured me out yet Yoda?"
"Explain more you do. How you got here a good place to start it is?"
"The simple answer is I walked. The more complicated the hazier it gets. I woke up not sure of where I was or how long I had been there. The slightest movement left me weak to where I had to use the Force to move around. Sixty some days before I was able to do even the most basic combat exercises. It is time I spent reinforcing my tunics to building my lightsaber hilts. From there I left the long storage unit and wandered the under temple. It wasn't much different until I found the room between time. I am not sure how long I meditated but it ended when the room I was in crumbled. More I cannot tell you nor do I think I should." Revan with his hair now loose signaled the droid to cut his hair shoulder length. He had only thought for a second about keeping the full length. Or even cutting it short like he had done to wear his mask.
"Troubling your arrival is. Silent the Force on this matter is."
"Who are you really as I cannot believe you walked among us so easily. No one questioned you at all?"
"There was Quinlan Vos he thought I was a Kiffar and then Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. I gave them just as much information, my name and that I am a wanderer."
Where did you start out from?"
"Level two fifty was the lowest number before, but the level I was on was four seven five. Doesn't really matter everything is caved in or collapsed. Much of it was so dark even the Force had trouble showing me the way."
"We'll have to send one below. If the lower levels are collapsing then the upper levels could be at risk."
"Investigate this we should." Mace gets up and leaves while Master Yoda continues to stare intently at Revan. The droid finally finishes and Revan stands.
"Dangerous you are not, but danger you will attract."
"Seems that is my life. If I can get a shower and a meal, I can find my way out of your order's hair."
"Leave you could, but feel you will stay."
"I follow the will of the Force, Roketa." Yoda sighed before his gimer stick flicked out. Revan was not going to let this Master hit him with this stick as his hand blocked his harmless strike.
"Don't like the nickname for your species, Master Yoda?"
"Unknown even to me that name is. derogatory does it appear to be."
"I don't think I can even remember half of the characters of your true name. Last time I attempted it I woke up two days later."
"Better not to know it is. Quartermaster we shall go. Assign you quarters that being will." Revan got more than just quarters. He got a full knight's issue as if he had lost everything. Several tiny items he didn't recognize, but he would find out in time. The medical exam was one of the hardest as he had scars on top of scars before, but now most of the worst of the scars was gone. He could still feel some of the deeper scars, but nothing showed on his skin except his stomach hole and the mask impression.
He had not made a very good first impression with Master Vokara Che as he over used the word classified. All he admitted to was a few lightsaber scars and a few deeper blaster scars that still showed up on scans. He needed a second shower after all the poking and prodding and he still had not had the first. By the time he got the evening meal the eating hall was nearly empty, so he ate in silence while going over everything in his mind. Things he had learned while in the holocron had been disturbing. The Jedi over all felt like Jedi, but this Jedi Order was nothing like the order in his day. They felt detached from their emotions to a point that it was not healthy. The only ones that showed some emotions were the initiates and Anakin. Though they were not in balance either.
He needed more information and now he had a basic key code to the archives. For seven days he meditated, ate, or studied history, politics, economics, and governmental structure. Even his understanding of current Datari buying power was weak. The most disturbing facts leaned heavily into giving the current Chancellor more and more power and this Military Creation Act would make Sheev Palpatine a very powerful being. Dangerously so that the Force was also telling him to be wary. A feeling he knew very well. If his feeling was right this chancellor could very well be a Sith, but other than one suspected sighting ten years ago this man could not be a Sith. Revan would have to get near him, but he doubted that would be allowed even after they created an identity for him.
It turned into a calm before the storm. Time that Revan needed to get back into top shape and he had been getting messages he was exceeding his nutritional intake by eighty five percent. Meditation, combat simulations, and utilizing Force techniques or reinforced walls was his daily routine other than studying the current politics. He was stretching in one of the larger training salle when he felt the whirlwind walking up closer to him. The only other thing was learning and integrating the newer lightsaber technology. Which strangely was behind on a few things from his time. He really needed to go out and find a few other crystals to integrate with his hilts.
"Padawan Anakin alone?"
"Master Surik and I came to work on my next series of Form V katas." Revan had seen him spar a few times and the urge to spar with him was tempting, but that he would have to use Juyo to keep up with the prodigy would not be looked on with favor. He thought for a second and changed his mind.
"You need to use form seven."
"Vapaad sorry I have been forbidden from learning it."
"I am a master of all seven forms, and this Vapaad is not one of them."
"It is the Jedi version of Juyo, created by Master Windu."
"Ah that mess. Sparred with him the other day and he was not happy when I sent him to the mat twice and disarmed him the third time."
"How?!" Revan just smiled not telling him that Vapaad relied on the dark side in another opponent. Their duel had moved with lightning in this very salle until Revan focused solely on the light side. A little Force sever and the duel ended every time. Anakin was still waiting for an answer that Revan was not ready to give, but then he could tell.
"A Jedi does not know himself until they learn all they can. This can be as a consular learning the complexity of the political structure on a multi country world in order to come up with a treaty that would work. Or a healer learning the distinct biology of the Yavin gnat in order to understand how the Yule Fever is transmitted. Then there is the guardian Jedi who must face a Sith like warrior race. They use a form of Juyo and he has never studied it because he was forbidden, and on that planet, he cannot protect his charge and dies just before they do. Are you a guardian or a consular that does not need to master all aspects of lightsaber combat?"
"I am a guardian."
"Good then we are not going to learn Vapaad." Revan moved to pick several different training lightsabers. He settled with using only six blades. He brought them up with the Force and ignited them all. Anakin's eyes grew large as all six blades surrounded him.