Ohm-Lai liked Galand. It had been long since the Ruling Families ruled over the world with excess and tyranny. In their absence, the world had flourished, including the once-banished H'kig. Indeed, one of the sayings he had learned in his time on the world had struck a chord with the Jedi. It could have come from the Code itself.
I have no fear of a death suffered in the cause of truth, the alleviation of suffering, or the abolishment of evil.
The man mulled the words over in his mind. They were good words, wise words. Words he had claimed to live by for his tenure as Watchman. Yet perhaps words he had not truly embraced, instead preferring complacency and comfort. Certainly, being a Watchman was not the easiest job, nor the safest, but compared to many, especially among the Jedi, his tenure had been far from what might be considered the most devoted. It hadn't been needed for a long time. He had been in hiding among the worst of the war years.
He still remembered the time before that and the legends of the time before the plague annihilated galactic society to the extent that they were still trying to rediscover and decipher what had happened in the past. It was still vague, but there were legends, and a few time-lost survivors who had known the ancient Republic, before its corruption and stagnation paved the way for the Sith to form their Galactic Empire from the very core and bring about the first era of galaxy wide Darkness.
Only a few brave souls were left from the days before then and they sought out, raised, or trained, the stories were unclear, the next generation of heroes who fanned the old flame back to life in what eventually became the New Republic. Yet that too was lost. Even the post-plague Republic had not lasted for long before succumbing to corruption, until the One Sith destroyed it in a series relentless assaults.
A series of warlords and governments had risen and fallen in the Core since then, with the Galactic Alliance being the most stable. Stil, the Sith had infiltrated and brought about its end from the inside, at the height of its power, and from the very grandmaster of their own Jedi Order. How had they been blind? What was it about Jedi, about themselves, that kept them blind to the threats on the inside.
That thought brought about a laugh as he set down his pastry. The Jedi had often been spiritually blind, but here he was, physically blind. Yet even as he sat here, savoring pastries, there were those in the Core, and across the galaxy who were suffering, oppressed, and in fear. Others were blinded by propaganda, too focused on survival to look beyond themselves.
Ohm-Lai set down the pastry and steepled his fingers, a frown etched across his face. What was suffering? It was pain and fear. Could one live fearlessly without some assurance of security, of safety? In his experience, no. That anxiety of the unknown ate its way through all but the strongest individuals, which he realized he was not, and sought to be resolved. Great swathes of the galaxy lived in a nebulous state, at peace and managing their own affairs, but vulnerable to the depredation of bandits and the ever growing threat of the Sith Empire.
Jedi were scattered and few, with most being concentrated among the Silver Jedi along the opposite of the galaxy where he dwelt. News spoke of new Jedi on Coruscant and the Core, but they were not ones he thought could be looked to for hope and a sense of comfort. They were harder, more militant. Soldiers and conquerors in their own right. He ran a wrinkled hand through his hair before resting his face in his hands.
What was he to do? What could he do? He was a single Jedi working for a small planetary government. No longer part of an order, no longer part of a grand government. No contacts or friends to call upon. Just a single blind Jedi on an out of the way world.
The cause of truth, the alleviation of suffering, and the abolition of evil.
Ohm-Lai raised his head and pushed aside the pastry. The Force was moving and he getting a sense of where it was directing. A message was set out, dispersed among those he knew had contacts among those who sided with the Light, and with freedom. There were still a few in the Core and Mid Rim, although those two regions were far more akin to himself than the rugged freedom fighters of the Outer Rim and Unknown Regions. People who had been comfortable enough, focused on surviving and eking out what semblance of normalcy and stability they could. But the time had come for them to stop relying on others.
They had to band together and stand up for themselves and their own worlds if they ever wanted to bring genuine, harmonious peace back to their regions of the galaxy. They had no Merrils, no Starchasers, no Kerrigans, or Skywalkers. All they had were themselves. But it would have to be enough.
The message was sent.
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Ohm-Lai waited in the meeting room. It wasn't massive, but it was sizable enough to hold those he anticipated. Not very many, but enough to begin a movement. The blind Jedi sat in one chair while beside him sat his old friend, Tala Bramsin, one-time Antarian Ranger of the Galactic Republic, and erstwhile freelancer. The two sat, with a few flagons of wine, cheeses, meats, and crackers for those who might come. Not to renew the Republic. No, that was something they could not do, but to establish something greater than themselves.
The Freedom Warriors.
Ohm-Lai had stumbled across them while researching the ancient Republic. Very little was spoken of them, except they were soldiers who fought alongside the Republic Jedi, fighting Sithspawn and soldiers tainted by the Dark Side. They had stood up against impossible odds to protect their homes and families. Ordinary individuals capable of extraordinary deeds.
This was who he had invited. And what he hoped would be accomplished by them all, together.