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."