<font color=#FF0000>(Rogue Jedi Order.)
(The very name a contradiction.)
(A rogue order?)
(A Jedi, who practices calm, and logic, and harmony... rogue?)
(It didn't make sense.)
(Then again, Jedi philosophy is not thought of by military Admirals. Perhaps there was something in the code that allowed for fluctuation, a nuence...)
(Or mayhaps they were just pretenders?)
(In any case, they had had their day. Reality now descended in the form of the second Inner Sanctum fleet. Approaching an orbit to the gas giant would be hard with it's thirteen moons, but plotting a course for one such moon would not be difficult...)</FONT>

<font color=#00FF00>Gash Jiren sat silently in his office at the pinnacle of the Great Temple, contemplating what appeared to a massive offensive on Yavin 4. Which was interesting, to begin with... he'd read the story on some half-pint news station about the Rogue Jedi Order, but didn't think RJO had attracted that much attention.

He gritted his teeth as the scanner feed greeted him with mocking calm. An armada of ships... closing fast. Gash neglected any announcement on the Temple's loudspeaker. It was pointless to get the Padawans riled up. Some might even foolheartily try to take on the fleet in X-wings.

Which was all they had.

Of their own, they had nothing. The RJO was a small venture as of then, only starting out. And yet, whoever the commander of this fleet was, he had the audacity and dishonor to assault him so early.

And whoever the commander was, Gash realized, he was a strong dark force. Even from such a distance, the power could be felt... a pulsing, hellish darkness radiating from one of the ships...

The Jedi Master tapped his desk's console, bringing up the hypercommunications address for Xylon Hexyra.

"Xylon... I implore you, my friend, I beg your assistance. I have assisted the New Republic, when they needed me, and now, I need the New Republic. Forces are closing quickly on Yavin 4, and I cannot defend against them."</FONT>


<font color=#FF0000>(The fleet closed on it's target, closing, preparing for the task ahead. It drew closer.)
(Closer.)
(Closer.)
(At a distacne of approximetly fifteen minutes travel time, the fleet stopped. The destroyers didn't fire, or launch fighters, only one single ship, streaking towards the moon, and making hurrid pace.)
(And transmitting.)</FONT>

Corran sudddenly sensed the dark presence. Immeaditly he hurried to where Gash was.
"Gash what's happening." asked Corran

<font color=#00FF00>"I'm not sure, Corran."

Gash murmured. He glanced around slowly as a low beeping was emitted from the console on his desk. He tapped a button on it, feeding the message through to the holoprojector.

'Gash... they've stopped.'

Gash stared at the visage of D31 for a moment, before responding.

"Stopped?"

'Dead. The fleet just pulled right the hell up and stopped. There's... yes... a small craft speeding toward Yavin 4.'

"A missile? Some sort of new weapon?"

'No. A ship. It's transmitting something... it's in... Yuuzhan Vong.'

Gash's eyes narrowed.

"Vong? That's impossible. The fleet is mechanical... Yuuzhan Vong abhor technology."

'I don't care. We're decrypting it... it's kind of scetchy, I don't know the language that well. But it... seems to want to land.'

"Land!?"

Gash stared at the droid's image.

"Alright. Divert them to the Lesser Temple... send them the co-ordinates. I will meet them there."</FONT>

<font color=#FF0000>'Unidentified Vessel, you are granted permission to land at the leseer temple. Coordinates..."
[They are letting you land...]
"Are you sure, sure, you wish to do this?"
(The two sets of eyes on him made him question himself again but his answer was the same.)
"Yes."
(Par Khai raked a clawed hand across the deck.)
[Exel will be furious when we arrive alone.]
"I don't care about him."
(He was doing this for him. And for her.)</FONT>

<font color="light blue">Brava Hartlink, just one of the many new students who had made their way to Yavin 4 to study Rogue Jedi, sat quietly meditating in the training chamber of the Rogue Jedi Order. Brava had not much experience but she showed much promise. She worked hard and was loyal to her Master, Gash Jiren. A dedicated student, Brava worked with determination, she was the type to believe that if a person set their mind to something, they could do it.

Meditation was an everyday part of Brava's training, it soothed her nerves and her mind, it even helped her to concentrate upon the force with better ease and efficiency.

Though at that very moment, Brava could not set herself into motion, into preparing herself for meditation. It was as if something were stopping her, making her not want to concentrate on her meditation. It was...a ripple within the force.

This ripple was overwhelming, unlike anything Brava had ever felt before. It dove deep into her conscientious mind, not allowing her to concentrate. She knew not what to do, so she did the only thing she could do, she called upon her master through the force. If she could not help herself, perhaps he could.

Master Jiren, I...I feel a ripple within the force, one in which I can not identify. I wish to know what it is.

Gash recieved Brava's words as a quiet voice in his mind. The Jedi Master shook his head once, standing straight atop the lesser temple.

I... I have felt the presence before. But... something is different. Not wrong. Different.

The Jedi did not wait to find out if Brava had recieved his reply, but instead stared at the curious vessel before him, as it set down on the Lesser Temple's designated landing area, twenty meters below Gash's rooftop vantage point. There were hundreds of these temples of Yavin 4, all built by the warrior race, the Massassi.

"DeeThree?"

The droid stepped out of the doorway instantly, summoned by the sound of Gash's voice. D31 knew he had been ordered to remain on the ground to recieve the visitors, but seemed to have stayed by Gash's side instead. The odd energies given off by D31's advanced neural network made him easy to sense, for a Jedi.

"You know you shouldn't be here."

'I don't give a damn.'

"Yes, I know. Who did you send to recieve our visitors?"

'Garen.'

Gash's humanoid reptillian aide, a member of the Krick species, was exceptionally intelligent, loyal, and strong. If D31 was not to recieve the occupants of the mysterious vessel, Garen was a good choice.

"Good. He will lead them up here?"

'As many as will come.'

[These Jedi desecrate my land... our land...]
"Ah ah, Khai. You died here... at the hands of Sith."
(Ahnk turned and admonished both to be silent, in both languages. He watched as a Krick approached.)
[That's a species I'm not familar with...]
"He's a Krick. Good labourers..."
(Ahnk turned to Chang with a smile.)
"Don't forget, you consort with the Infidel Caste now."
"Conceded."
(Garen approached and was immediatly flanked by the Yuuzhan Vong and the Massassi with the humanoid in front not moving.)
"Garen intends you no harm... this Krick..."
(He stopped himself short as Par Khai ran his tnogue down Garen's arm.)
[He tastes like a coward. He tastes like a sissy.]
[If you do not cease, I will send you back to Exel in four pieces. Understood?]
[Yes, my master.]
[Go get the equitment case.]
[Yes, my master.]
(Garen watched on, not understanding a single word of the anchient language Par Khai was limited to. When the conversation ended, he turned to Ahnk again.)
"This Krick..."
"Is close to Gash Jiren, and were it not, this Krick would be a Massassi taste test. I have urgent buisness here. I don't have time to waste with underlings. Take me to your leader."
(Chang backed up from Garen, laughing to himself before he turned to Ahnk and reverted to Yuuzhan Vong.)
[Smooth.]
[It saves time, and in the end, he loses no sleep and feels no shame.]
(Ahnk retorted.)
[Is it true they've not yet found your ship?]
[Indeed. The cloak has been operational for four years.]
[Now that...]
(He laughed.)
[That is truly priceless.... ah, Ahnk. I remember our first encounter... do you think Exel will do it?]
[If it tells me so, it is true.]
[Yes, your mysterious sourth of errefutable truth...]
[Have I been wrong yet?]
[No.]
[Then mock not.]
[Pardon me.]
[You don't address me as master.]
[That is because you are not my master.]
[Before, you called me master.]
[You were a different man.]
(Ahnk said nothing for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.)
[Yes. I was a different man.]

The Krick aide entered silently, appearing befuddled and slightly paranoid. Garen's long-nosed reptillian face made his facial features impossible for others to read, but Gash was becoming fairly adept at it. Wind swept the top of the Lesser Temple ever so slightly, as temperature changes caused gusts. Twilight was falling... soon, Yavin 4 would enter Truenight, a stage where the moon fell behind the gas giant and was enshrouded in shadow. A fiercly cold shadow, which the amazing plants and creatures that covered the forest moon had learned to adapt to.

Following Garen were two beings who looked intensely out of place. One, the one which stood out most, was a member of the Yuuzhan Vong species, an oddity in the galaxy, to put it mildly. The other was a human, who- despite his apparent normalcy- radiated Force energy.

But it was a confused Force energy, like someone trying to feel their way through a dense fog. A quick dip into Ahnk's mind told Gash both the man's name- which he had suspected- and that he seemed to be close to coming out the other side of that fog.

"Ahnk Rashanagok, Sith Lord. The leader of many things, most recently the 'Inner Sanctum of the Sith'. Possessing a large fleet, which is currently hovering close to firing range around my Order's training world, on which we stand now. Your audacity is surpassed only by your current misplacement.

"Why are you here?"

"Why are any of us here?"
(He took his lightsaber from his belt. He twirled it in his hands.)
"The scientists say life is defined by what we pass on. Genes. We are here to breed, they say, so the population of our species survives... primal instinct, they say, the only one that matters."
(He throws his saber sidelong, and it bounces off Chang's armored cheat and into his waiting hands.)
"Yet others... say each of us holds a debt. To our gods... to the force... to contribute something... to add something to the universe, something lasting, something of importance... to add a trace of not only ourselves but of the very nature of our being, of our good, of our kind and gentle souls."
(He twists in his hands his Master's double-bladed lightsaber before throwing it to Chang.)
"But most don't even say a thought... they would answer, if asked, that by a series of chaotic events, a series of coincidences and chances they have arrived at their current destination, and that that same chaos with carry them through tommorow, and tommorow, and tommorow... towards an empty dusty death."
(He held up his hands, a gesture to show he was unarmed.)
"You ask, why am I here? So do I."

Gash smiled slightly, somewhat relieved that the Sith was not here to fight. Garen seemed to experience similar relief.

"Science, religion, and philosophy. Three conflicting views. You ramble without direction, and ask a paradox for me to answer.

"You lie."

The Jedi Master pulled out his saber, as well, throwing it to Garen. The reptillian caught it confusedly, examined it for a second, then eyed Gash. He only nodded to the reptile before continuing.

"You know why you are here, Ahnk Rashanagok. You avoid it with words, but language is folly and so easily given to lies. You know why you are here. Why don't you say it?"

"Let's..."
(He turned, trying to hide something from Gash he knew he felt through the force. He stumbled and fell. Chang caught him and braced him back to his feet. He shook off the help but was still quite shaken.)
"I've come to... talk to one who understands. I have... problems with my home life."
(He smiled, a fake smile, a horribly fake smile he knew Gash saw through instantly.)
"I want to talk... as men. No Vong, no lizard, no laser swords or star destroyers... me, you, and alcohol. Try and comprehend together a turning point... and look unto the future."
(He turned again, emotions betrayed in the force.)

Gash just stared for a moment. A Sith, bringing a huge fleet, landing on his planet with a Yuuzhan Vong and a Massassi, and asking to... talk!? Talk. Why couldn't he talk to his god damned Faleen henchmen or Massassi warriors, or...

The Jedi Master sighed.

"The Ryloth Brandy and Rhywen's Reserve are both in the lower level of this temple. 1 ABY. Good year."

Gash smiled uneasily.

"Let's go."

In a few moments, the odd pair sat at a stone table in a round chamber, brandy and whiskey sitting on the table before them.

(He sighed, then drew in a long breath.)
"Four years ago, this place was mine. I was the leader in the galaxy... the king fisher until... until I met Leia again. She trained me, did you know that? Yeah... she trained me as a Jedi. Way back when... before it happened. Before I got shot in the throat... before mom... was killed... before it became too much to handle. Before the dark side gave me an easy way. I never had a girlfriend... never played sports... anyway...I didn't come to talk to her, I came to kill her, and Amnde, and you, and Hex... every Jedi I knew I wanted dead, for letting her die... then my own student killed me... but I've accepted my death. Gotten past it even..."
(He took a drink then.)
"But you know... I saw my life flash before my eyes and man, was I dissapointed. I wanted my money back. What was it all for? Not. It felt like a waste, all of it. In my absense, we receded all we had and slowly took up influence in the Tion sector and Hapes cluster... but I see I'm heading the same way... and... some new occurences are making me think... I don't want to do it all again."