Kamon nodded. He didn't really care that Jace was here. He was just surprised.

"If you had wanted to come, all you had to do was tell me. I'd have brought you along."

He mulled over what Jace had said about visions. It disturbed him, the second one did.

"I don't like your second vision. Can you tell me more about it?"

I supressed a grimace, I had hoped that he wouldn't ask, but some how I knew he would.

"It was of this place; this building, only it was different. The walls were crumbled, the floor was broken, and there wasn't even a ceiling. At first it was a blaze, and there were cries of terror and pain. It was horrible, and then it all stopped and it was green, and there were vines growing over everything, crushing the stones.

Then off in the distance there was an explosion, and then the chants of armies. They marched, and hollered, multiplying at an inhuman rate. Then there was a pictue of the galaxy, and it was on fire as well, burning, and then turning green with the amies spreading over it."

Kamon didn't like it. It disturbed him greatly. It seemed important to him. It was something Gash should know.

"Have you told Gash about it? If you haven't, I suggest you do. I think its imperative that he know."

He was frightened by the account. The alien's Jace had described sounded vaguely familiar. He knew who they were, but he would not utter their name.

"I haven't talked to Gash yet, and I don't know if the aliens are going to attack us here. I was, and continue to be naive and slow, I guess."

I shook my self-doubt away, and then turned bac to Kamon, and then began to run down the hallways,

"Well, come on then. It will make things easier if you are there to get us through the guards and security. I doubt that we have much more time to waste."

Gash cleared his throat rather abruptly, appearing unnoticed at the head of the temple's common room. The Ossan sun shone in through one of the foyer's grand windows, its warmth bathing the Rogue Jedi. It was a reminder, to Gash Jiren, of all the things he'd fought for. All the things he'd almost died for. When Thrawn had invaded Ossus, he never thought he'd be defeated; when the Wrath virus was unleashed, he'd never thought Tilaric Brel would be brought down. Was he prepared to put it all on the line again?

Though he'd only cleared his throat at a moderate volume, every Jedi in the grand room heard him clearly and immediately was still. The Rogue Jedi Master's gaze brushed over the gathered Jedi, his head bowing slightly in greeting to a few of those whom he counted among his best students; Kamon, Brava, Jacen, Areis, a few others. Altogether, there were more than fifty Jedi throughout the room.

Gash's shortened hair, colored-contact altered green eyes, and lack of scars or Jedi robes may have suprised a few of the Rogue Jedi, but they were all smart enough not to show it. "I would say that most of you may be wondering why you have been called here today, but I'm sure you don't need to be told what you're thinking. This is... difficult." Gash said, and the stir was audible at his unusual weakness.

"There has been a... string of killings, in our sector. Not killings, a massacre. Twelve thousand dead, and who knows how many more since our last reconaissence mission -- three whole villages, completely devoid of any life. They have been occuring on a planet named Veresh, relative north of Ossus. The Rogue Jedi do not always involve themselves in planetary squabbles, but this is not a war. This, this is terrible. Brutal beyond description. Yet the local government turns down our help, even denies that any massacre is occuring. Something is wrong. But without government approval for our involvement..."

Gash trailed off. Some of the Rogue Jedi appeared less sure of themselves, especially given Gash's seemingly-shaken state. "We do not know what is responsible, but something is terribly, drastically wrong. Some of you have sensed it; I know that I have. In my dreams, in my meditations. Involving ourselves without the consent of the government may earn us the enmity of not only whatever is doing this, but the Vereshian government." He sighed. "I understand that you all value our code of ethics; some of you have families that you do not want to jepordize fighting a menace we know nothing about on behalf of a government which does not want our help. But..."

Gash motioned weakly at Kasien, who stood by a holoterminal next to him. A moment later, on the wall behind Gash, a great, terrible image was projected. It was the spy photo, of the ruined village; corpses strewn about with abandon, bodies left in grizzly execution positions, heaps of dead and blood covering the ground and the water.

"Speak freely."

The gathering of his fellow Rogues had begun. Many of the faces that wandered the floors of the temple he had not seen in a long time, some changed from thier experiences since he remembered them.


Ren had changed.

Athough, apart from loosing his physical presence at the hands of Lupercus Darksword, Ren had changed for the better.


Now he was part of the force, one being of pure energy, existing in the vast continuum of endless light.

He gazed around the hall, noticing his old friends and collegues, watching them come together, for what might just be thier last time.


A being of his position couldn't even see ahead to the future, though the ripples across time and space told a tale all unto themselves. A dark cloud of evil had once again settled upon the galaxy, threatening the existence of everything. Soon they would all realise what they had to do, realise what they had to sacrifice.


Soon my friends, soon, a trial of great magnitude will befall you, and you must prepare yourselves. The thought echoed around him.


So he remained there, hidden from the eyes and ears of his friends, but there nonetheless.

Kamon and Jace sprinted up to the door of the theater. Kamon motioned for the guards to let them in. The nodded and opened the doors.

Kamon walked in, but did not walk up to the front or take a seat. Instead he drew on the Force and sent Gash a message.

I need to talk to you in private. It's important.

As he waited for Gash to reply, he looked at the scenes, It was horrific. It reminded him of a single alien race. That race could mean the galaxies doom.

The priest sat back in silence, the faint glow of his eyes growing more and more attuned to the faint patterns of blood outlining Zeralin Lah's vonduun crab armor, no doubt an indifferent symbol of conquest, and glory. Gracefully, his mutilated fingers stroked his serpentine whip, hardened into a twisted staff of delicate design.

Such graceful creatures - obedient, unlike the inferior infidel slaves conqured in the most recent assault on Veresh. The priest stood, and perhaps out of condescension, or disdain, spoke in a harsh tone.

"This was no true victory, Warmaster." he began as he arose, his serpentine staff extended outward from the shadows of his flowing cloak; in a graceful dance at his side, it hardened on command. "Siditious as it may seem, Warmaster, true victory can only be met when true honor is brought to Yun-Yammka. To crush a few villages is inferior next to the true will of the gods, Warmaster. Your celebration will be short lived, if we are discovered."

His attention shifted to the man bowing humbly before the warmaster, Zeralin Lan, commander of the assault. "I trust you left no trace of our prevailing existance, commander?"

Closing his remarks, the voices of the room hushed by the religious outspeaking of the junior priest, he returned to his seat, stroking his serpentine staff with humble grace and affection.

It had been some time since Arriana had seen Gash, let alone any of the Rogue Jedi, and it seemed that this fact had been disregarded today. She did not question this at all, especially having seen the small cycle of recon photographs now showing to the group of Jedi. Each depicted a scene of slaughter, with bodies piled like animals, burning slowly but surely as the few survivors – some children – stood by and watched, wide eyed. Such things as these she had not seen in a long time, and even as a tool of the Darkside had not committed such dreadful acts.

Pensive, she chewed on her lower lip. With her hands resting behind her on the back of a chair, she relaxed her posture somewhat, dark eyes moving from the twin-hilt on her waste back up to Kasien and Jiren. Both of whom she had worked with, and both of whom undoubtedly wondered just where she’d disappeared to for so long.

…

She said nothing, at first waiting for the input from the others present. Quickly it was obvious that people were reluctant to vocalize their thoughts, thus she contributed:

“I have no problem with going in and fighting whatever this… plague is.”

Corran stood at the back of the Jedi Temple quietly hiding his amazement at Gash's change in appearance and Ren's as well. But the amazement died when he saw the recon photos. Corran was no stranger to carnage, but this was something on a massive scale, something he'd never seen before.

A thought immeaditally burst into his mind. Who had done this? But he didn't want to say anything lest he disturb the thoughts of the other more senior Rogue Jedi. Suddenly Arriana broke the silence and he decided to voice his thoughts.

"Who could do this?"