What light through yonder broken window is that?

[Shakrin]

"There can be balance without conflict. It just takes a severe gravity being added to the situation to negate the action of creating the conflict."

Yes, he had finally found someone worth recruiting to his cause. She had the potential to think beyond the order she had fallen into and the government it ascribed to. She was willing, it seemed, to pursue avenues towards galactic piece that might negate the existence of her government. Shakrin hadn't ever felt so relieved in his life. The burdens of his goal had been weighing on him alone for years.

"Help me create a future of peace. Work with me on it. It will require things that both of us are adverse to, but I assure you that we will strive to only do what is necessary. We can do this if we work together and begin forming the right group to do it."

@[member="Leori Sheltrak"]

 

[Leori Sheltrak]

@[member="Shakrin"]

"It almost sounds like you're suggesting ruling by fear." That was not something that Leori was okay with. But she wasn't jumping to conclusions nor judgments.

"Slow down. I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself." Leori commented.

The Jedi Master paused. "You can't expect me to jump in without a further thought."

 

[Shakrin]

"No, quite the opposite. Not ruling at all."

@[member="Leori Sheltrak"] was right. He was getting a little bit antsy. Who could blame him, though? He was excited to finally find someone that might actually be right for helping him. Above all things, though, he had to convince her that they could work together to achieve something greater than what had ever been achieved before. The only problem was, his idea was extreme. Lots of bad things, and lots of good things, would have to happen for his plan to come to fruition. This was going to be difficult to sway her on, but if she truly had an open mind, she could help him work the kinks out.

"There will be a lot of bad things that happen to make this possible. I will not lie to you about that. Things have to be broken in order for them to be fixed. What I'm proposing is rather simple. Each planet rules itself. The only overaching body is a galactic police force made up of citizens from all over the galaxy. They will put down any aggression towards other planets, but each planet will govern itself, by its own rules. People will be free to come and go, moving to a planet where they find happiness, but war will not be allowed to follow with them.

"This is only a base concept and it needs much refinement, but I can't do that on my own. I need people who want to see peace, who can see beyond the current ruling powers, to help me develop this further. From our conversation, I think you're the first person who might be able to help me do that."

 

[Leori Sheltrak]

@[member="Shakrin"]

"There needs to be some form of government, or there will be more chaos and violence. It will be complicated. There is no easy solution. I believe what you described would in fact be ruling by fear. Fear of consequences for any attempt for a world to grow or expand. I think that the task you've taken on is too difficult to achieve. I think you should be thinking of how you can start smaller and not how to change the galaxy over night. It will take time. It is unlikely that such a drastic change will occur in our lifetime."

Essentially, Leori thought he was too ambitious.

 

[Shakrin]

"Oh, quite the contrary. Colonization is all well and good when the world being colonized is unpopulated. It's not like I plan for this police force to run around and beat down anyone wishing to expand. As I said, people would be free to come and go as they please so long as they don't bring violence with them."

It was a rather simple concept, really. Before the age of space travel every planet with a populace was self governed. They had their own laws and rules that their people abide by. Essentially he was calling for a return to the past, but with the advancements of the present. It was a vast undertaking, to be sure, but it could be accomplished. It would take a very long time, probably longer than his lifetime, but to think of the wonders it would do for the galaxy at a whole! Yes, this was much too important to allow thoughts of it being too ambitious to stand in the way. Grand ambitions were the only way to change anything.

"I understand it is a massive undertaking and it very likely will take longer than my lifetime to come to fruition. But everything starts somewhere and then grows. All it takes is one person to begin things, and I aim to be that person. This galaxy is as corrupt as it has ever been, and I cannot sit idle and allow it to further destroy itself."

He looked around briefly.

"I plan to topple governments, Leori. I will be hated. I will be written of in history as a monster, but those who come after, to clean up the mess, will fix everything as it should be so long as they have the proper instruction. I do not care what my reputation is or how history views me. I don't do this for myself, I do it for the future of everyone. Even toppling governments requires small tasks at first, but I can do nothing on my own. It takes more than a single person to fix what is broken in this galaxy. That's why I need you, a healer, someone who can think of her own free will without relying on false orders to guide. I need your help."

@[member="Leori Sheltrak"]

 

[Leori Sheltrak]

@[member="Shakrin"]

Leori listened to Shakrin. He was talking about it as though it was already a done deal. There were a great many things that he hadn't seemed to consider yet.

"You certainly cannot do all of this yourself." She agreed.

"I just don't see how it could possibly work. You would need the cooperation of everyone. And that simply will not happen. Tell me how you hope to accomplish this."

 

[Shakrin]

"It is a very tall order, and there will always be those who disagree with it. Not to say that this is my intent, but it is similar in scope to what the Galactic Empire wished to do. I don't plan to subjugate people, of course, but something of this magnitude is necessary. The fact that there has never been a time without war in the galaxy makes drastic measures a must."

He was losing her. He could tell it, and that bothered him. She had the potential, but now she was doubting. She was going to turn back into one of the sheep again if he didn't somehow manage to get through to her the importance of what he sought to do. If they didn't do this, what hope was there for the galaxy? It would just continue to kill itself, over and over again, as it had for as long as people could venture off their worlds. That wasn't something he could sit by and allow to happen. The Republic was doing just that. The Jedi did just that. They let the galaxy eat itself.

"If you don't take risks, there can be no reward. If we don't take risks, the galaxy will destroy itself as it has been since forever. I don't know what you want in life, but what I want is peace. True peace. If that means that some people, including myself, must die, then I am willing to take that on. But I cannot sit by and do nothing like the Republic and other galactic powers do. Your squabbles, the squabbles of these galactic powers, destroy this galaxy and that isn't acceptable to me."

@[member="Leori Sheltrak"]

 

[Leori Sheltrak]

@[member="Shakrin"]

Leori stood up from the table. He actually mentioned the Galactic Empire, peace and killing people within moments. This would be the end of the conversation for Leori. She had given her view, and given him the opportunity to elaborate. It was done.

"It was a pleasure meeting you today, but I must be going now. May the Force be with you."

 

[Shakrin]

Lost her. A pity, really. She'd showed true vision, a willingness to question, and then she'd lost in the moment she realized that in order to save the galaxy you had to break it of the false security it clung to. The sheep were quick to return to their shepherd, as he found.

"Yes, a pleasure. If you change your mind about following blindly, leave a note here in this book. I'll check periodically."

He watched her go, shook his head, and went back to his reading.

@[member="Leori Sheltrak"]