You enter one of the dozens of sparring chambers within the Shadow Academy of Lyspair, the simple square room utilized mostly by those learning the ways of the lightsaber. This five hundred square-foot room, rectangular in shape, is nearly barren. The floor is lined with simple padding, while the walls are made of dull, grey durasteel, gauged by innumerable lightsaber strikes, scarring the metal permanently.

The ceiling towers above you, nearly twenty feet in height, allowing for plenty of movement from the more acrobatic of Force users. There are no other adornments within the room, save for the entrance and lighting that bathes the entire room, yet seems to come from nowhere. All corners of the room are perfectly lit, with no visible shadows to speak of. There is nowhere for you to hide within the room, but… there's no room for your opponent to hide either.

Kenath Zoron looked down at his chrono in annoyance. It confirmed what he suspected: his apprentice was late for their training session again. Knowing that he was likely in the library with his head buried in a book, Zoron keyed his comlink and called his student. “Kyber!” he barked into the mic.

No response. His comlink chirped as it reported an error in the transmission.

He keyed it again, “Kyber, respond.”

Still no response and another chirp as the system registered another error. Zoron slapped the comlink against his thigh. “Piece of crap.” At almost the same time, the lights in the room cut out.

“Really?” Zoron said out loud, looking around into the darkness in disgust. “Is there a wizard around killing all the tech here?”

A voice crackled through the speakers in the training room. “No, Master, just me.” It was Kyber.

“Damnit, Kyber, we’re late. Let’s get moving.” Zoron let out a deep breath of exasperation as he spoke.

“Oh, we already are.”

Zoron heard movement in the darkness and he spun to face the sounds. He pushed out his awareness but felt nothing sentient nearby. Curious, he drew out his lightsaber and ignited it, filling the room with a pale blue light. He froze as he saw a wall of training droids arrayed against him.

“Uh, Kyber? What are you doing?”

The speakers flicked on again and his Apprentice’s voice came through. “Oh, I just figured it would be useful to reprogram some of the systems in the training room so that I could –“ Zoron felt something hit him square in the back and he went flying forward, “- distract you!”

Zoron tumbled forward and skidded to a stop on one knee, facing toward his Apprentice, who had perfectly played him into letting down his guard. A small smile cut across his lips, impressed at his Apprentice’s ploy.

As the telekinetic blow struck its master, Kyber had to admit that this all felt…wonderful. Weeks of planning, observation and research…it was all going to pay off. The droid body charged the Equite, lightsaber igniting as it ran. Its arms raised, bringing the lightsaber in with an overwhelmingly powerful overhead strike.

Zoron drew his blaster and fired, his keen reflexes more than enough to place an energy shot directly into the droids chest, the most vulnerable portion of this particular droids body, the very region Kybers silicone “body” was situated. The droid collapsed mid-strike, the Equite easily sidestepping the tumbling droid. Zoron tutted at his apprentice. How could it have such a good plan to start and end up so…half-baked. Drawing his lightsaber he approached the defunct droid body “I’m disappointed in you Kyber” he spoke with grim determination. His usual good-humored demeanor replaced by a mask of cruel indifference.

In two quick strikes, he had severed the droid-bodies legs and the pitiful arm still vainly clutching at its lightsaber. A swift kick would send the droid tumbling onto its back, its defunct head turning to face the Equite. Stepping on the droids neck, Zoron tore away the Krath uniform that covered the chest cavity which held his foolish and wounded apprentice.

Only to find it empty…well, nearly empty. Through preternatural reflexes, Zoron evaded the sudden blaster fire erupting from the droids chest. It seemed Kyber had set the droid-chasis to “autopilot” and replaced its control-module with its blaster-pistol, set to auto-fire.

Zoron would turn back around, as a strange electronic wheezing seemed to echo throughout the training hall. It was a double bluff! The wheezing soon resolved itself, at once mirthful and utterly cruel. Kyber was…laughing…and somehow transmitting that laughter over the intercom and through the training droids. “Sorry master…but I’m afraid I’ve prepared too much for our fight to end just yet”

With that, the gaining droids began advancing. And shimmering into view, crystals! Bright green luminous crystals, in seemingly all of their chests! When had his apprentice had time to make all of these? Or modify all these droids? No. It was another trick. They crystals must have been illusions. They HAD to be.

Still, that did not stop the oncoming threat of nearly a dozen training droids as their pace quickened and began charging at Zoron en-masse. Feeling his blood boil at the mass of durasteel constructs charging Zoron let out a mighty below, a battle cry, a roar. Tonight he was going to dine in hell, and disembowel every one of these kriffing droids until he finally reached his apprentice!

If Kyber had had a face, it would have smiled. Its master was absolutely correct in his first assumption, there was no sentient being amidst the training droids. It briefly wondered if its master would be able to discover its hiding place in time. Then dismissed the thought. It couldn’t be worried by doubts now. It needed to focus, because the next step would be the most critical.