Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Hunting Horror. Enjoy the 2000-word story. I don't own Star Wars. Lucas Arts and Disney do.
For him? Third was quiet as he focused on the environment while he started to think as he waited for Shaak Ti. The dark side existed on this planet. It was strong when it came down to it. Shaak Ti's presence had thrown that off, this planet's balance was damaged.
"I find it funny that you value the balance of things…" Third stated to which the Togruta looked up at him. "Yet you've thrown the balance of Felucia off. This planet isn't yours to own. Yet you broadcast this to the rest of the galaxy." Third added as the Jedi looked up.
"And the empire is any better?" Shaak Ti asked before Third collapsed from where he stood. "The empire has stamped the rest of the galaxy. They continue to destroy and conquer everything they find." Shaak Ti added while the Inquisitor rolled his eyes.
"I cannot believe that you say that while you hide here and do nothing to try and save anything." Third responded while he shook his head. "There is nothing you've done to protect the people you claim to. The Jedi are gone, they died before the purge. That didn't change simply because we destroyed the Jedi." Third stated while he started to pace in place.
Shaak Ti said nothing as the Togrutan knew that there was some truth to his words. The Jedi wanted nothing more than to say he was wrong… But in its way? He was right.
"The Jedi forsake their morals for the cost of winning." Third added before he leaped down. "Assassinating Count Dooku, pushing for more lethal measures to subdue the galaxy. You claim to care about the galaxy but it's a lie. There is nothing in the Jedi code about that, is there?" Third asked while he raised an eyebrow.
The Jedi master was silent as the inquisitor approached. He was disarmed, and so was she. She was aware of how this could end in violence if he wanted, but he was smart enough to know that in the use of force she was stronger.
"What would Mace have approved of if it stopped the war, hmm?" Third asked while he crossed his arms over his chest. "The Jedi were not any better than their enemies. You blamed someone who was a loyal Jedi for the crime of a fallen Jedi. Where were you when that happened, hmm?" Third questioned to which there was no real answer.
"On Kamino, ensuring the republic didn't collapse during the machinations of the Sith." Shaak Ti added as Third started to laugh to himself more than her.
"And yet there was so little care for the clones under the command of the Jedi." Third responded as he tented his fingers in his hands as he did so. "The Jedi constantly threw clones away and didn't care. No, there was always a justification. 'It's the will of the force, the code doesn't allow for bonds. The order didn't care about those people in its employ." Third added and seemed to snort at this.
"Don't say that as if you knew." Shaak Ti said while she leaped up to the level of the former Jedi warrior.
"I do because I LIVED in the order," Third stated before he crossed his arms. "The Jedi value the code more than the galaxy. You claim the clones were more than creations, yet you don't care at ALL if they died. The Jedi didn't reach out to those the war touched. The Jedi didn't let emotion cloud their judgment…" Third added as he started to walk back and forth.
Shaak Ti could sense what he would repeat. She was aware of what it carried, but the weight still hit the same at the end of the day.
"But Dooku's death was a rash decision fueled by his attack on innocent people." Third added with a sneer. "Maybe I'm corrupted, but at least I'm honest about it." Third, stated before he cleared his mind.
Shaak Ti sighed before she started to think of what to say next. There wasn't much she wanted to say in response to his jab at her honor. She also was well aware it was true to her knowledge. The clones were not sentient to the galaxy nor the Jedi if it meant being emotional towards them.
She started to think of what happened next. Shaak Ti was well aware of what the sith would do if they came here… If they arrived here in force? They'd destroy the entire planet if it meant they'd kill her when it came down to it.
Shaak Ti also knew these beings were formerly Jedi. They wanted to rip the galaxy apart and their knowledge of the Jedi meant they posed a larger threat.
'I should have killed him. He's a threat to the friends of the galaxy.' Shaak Ti thought as she started to pace back and forth in place.
There were indeed many issues she needed to handle while she was here… If the sith meant to have a war with the Jedi? She'd throw all she had at them before she died.
"Are we going to finish this fight?" Third asked while he raised an eyebrow. "I want you dead and there is no way I will allow the Jedi to continue." Third stated to himself while he shook his head.
Shaak Ti was silent as she waited for a response to come. She was within her right to turn it down… But if there was a chance to fight the former Jedi and save him? She'd be fine with fighting him if it meant he was ok.
Still? She wanted nothing more than to decline… But there was a chance. She had to take it…
"Will it get you to back down from vendetta?" Shaak Ti questioned while she raised an eyebrow. "I will fight to the death. Do not expect anything less than lethal force." Shaak Ti added to which the former Jedi hummed.
"Hmm." Third stated while he started to walk away. "I don't expect that to be true, but I'll fight you." Third stated while he raised an eyebrow.
He said nothing while he started to dwell on the battle at the moment. If this battle was indeed allowed? He would be able to handle his mission to the best of his talents when it came down to it.
He still wanted to make the Jedi pay for what happened to him. Third planned to take her down and he planned to defeat her as thoroughly as possible.
"I am going to defeat you when the dust settles." Third stated with a smirk as he did so. "This is blasted insanity." Third said while he started to walk back and forth.
Third, started to hum to himself while he frowned to shake his head.
Still? Shaak Ti started to best ponder while she frowned to herself as she hummed to herself. He was rather hopeful that this came down to tactics that he was able to handle with ease at this moment. It did seem to bother him yet it was no more annoying than it was before.
Shaak Ti seemed to say nothing as she raised an eyebrow at the former Jedi who mocked her stances. This had been for nothing and it seemed to show more and more that it had been for nothing. Their stalemate only made him ponder what the Empire was to do if they attacked in force. They'd lose many ships and troops attacking her on her home turf and he wasn't in a position to report anything.
Third pondered his limited options at the time. Try and fight off an entire planet, hoping he'd make it to the nearest outpost or try to kill a Jedi who was clearly out of his league. Either option was stupid, the empire would easily murder him for failure or perhaps use him as an example of what happened to people who failed… That? Or they'd probably use him as a toy for years longer. He didn't wish to remain here surrounded by his failures.
The Togruta Jedi stared at him only for a moment. This place seemed to be a lot harder to conquer than he had realized and it seemed as if everything here was designed to turn something into food. Perhaps it would be him next or perhaps this place was going to fall apart faster than he wished it to. There are no signs of this place not collapsing from the lack of attention placed on it.
"What will happen if we can't honestly stop it? This place seems like a cage." He heard as he stared at someone who seemed to sit on one of the plants around him.
Third could only roll his eyes at them and sighed to himself. There was only so much he could do to stop her, only so much he could try. He couldn't run from this place; he couldn't try and stop it. He couldn't flee to another planet, try to make sure that it had been a lie when it came down to it. There was so much more on the line. He had a lot more on the line than simply his own life.
He had been interested in what happened next. It had become harder for him to fathom the fact she hadn't killed him, then again? He had been ready for this more than anything. The more he pressed onward, the more she'd come after him, striking him with all she had, he'd hold nothing back at the moment. The sooner he dealt with it, the sooner he'd be able to go home and relax. This wasn't doing anything, nor did he expect it to at the second. She was a slave to her code, a shell of what she had been at the second. The more he tried to fight it, the more she'd press back.
Still? She had no real goal, no real objective rather than to face the empire. It had become a self-defeating, argument that had started to need to be healed. He was honestly curious when it came down to it. She had been curious when it came down to it.
He had been healed by this. He was going to be healed whether or not it seemed to question when it came down to it. There was going to be blood on their hands one way or another. It was going to be almost impossible when it came down to it.
He stared at the Togruta Jedi and called his lightsaber to his hand. He slowly appeared to himself. It had been honestly a lot harder to fathom when both considered it.
"Do you think that code is worth all this? All the pain and suffering in the galaxy?" Third, questioned as he stared at Shaak Ti. "How many people died while the Jedi played their games trying to tell who lives and who dies? That's it?" Third, stated before he seemed to question when it came down to it.
There was so much more on his plate. She was honestly harder when it perhaps considered it. There was so much more on the second when it come to their politics, the fact she said nothing proved his point.
He had to ponder what was to come as of the second. This was going to end sooner or later. It had been interesting.
Author notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that I will be making the next chapter longer. The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show both Shaak Ti and Third talking more at the moment for the second. The next chapter will be 900-6500 words at the moment, until then, Lighting Wolf out!
P.S: Next chapter will be delayed. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!