Operation Jackknife

[Davin Jusik]

Davin sat across from Captain Gezzo in the low blue lighting of the stealth frigate's gunship bay. The mission was supposed to be simple, the frigate would intercept an enemy frigate coming out of hyperspace to search for survivors in a recent cruiser explosion caused by naval action. Presumably to kill them. After the frigate engaged Davin and Gezzo would launch themselves out of the gunship bay with jet packs and drift toward a hatch designated on the enemy frigate's specs for maintenance, breaching the shuttle and proceed to locate an infected life form, bringing them back for analysis.

It would be simple if it wasn't so damn suicidal. The intel for where the frigate had only been glimpsed twelve hours ago and the 73rd was the only unit close enough to respond. To ensure that the frigate didn't simply dart away when a huge party attempted to board them, stealth and discretion had to be used. Besides, the 73rd only had two operational jet packs in it's current inventory.

The frigate exited hyperspace and the sound of canons resonated throughout the gunship bay. The bay door slowly opened and air was sucked out as oxygen met the black. All the strapped in equipment quaked slightly as the air exited. After the pressure was equalized Davin undid his straps and walked to the edge of the open bay. Looking out onto the newly begun battle with a sense of awe as debris from the cruiser drifted and plasma went silently through space.

He charged his SR4 and keyed his com.

"Ready Captian?" He said calmly.

 

[Gezzo]

Gezzo looked out into the darkness of space and in the bright stars he was reminded of his childhood on Geonosis. Back then, when the hives were still divided by hate and war, all he wanted was to sail the stars in the Geonosian Dreadnaughts of old and bring glory to his people. Of course that was long before he realized his people were beyond saving, at least until he found a way to free them all.

"Ready Captain?" Davin said with a tone as calm as spring

Gezzo looked out towards their target, where glory in battle lied in wait for them "Yes Captain, are you?" Gezzo knew the captain had taken the loss of most the 73rd hard, even harder than himself. But Geonosian life and culture did not call for the grieving of anyone who was a warrior, for a warriors purpose was to die for the people and so was the way of the insectoid species. Humans had a much closer bond, and even though Gezzo would work to keep his men alive, their loss was nothing but inevitable to him.

 

[Davin Jusik]

"Extremely." The newly minted Colonel replied to the Geonosian as he pushed off into the black and activated his jet pack, giving him a thrust through the darkness and debris. He shut it off and drifted, passing bodies, pieces of star fighters, and further debris. The enemy frigate was approaching quickly and appeared to be cloaked in a backdrop of stars. The silence combined with the naval action that Davin witnessed was beautiful and awe inspiring.

As the he approached the frigate he braced himself for impact, tucking himself into a ball with his feet facing downward. His landed with ease and the magnetic locks on his boots engaged, allowing him a stable way to walk across the frigate's surface. As he headed toward the hatch his focus matched his anger.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

@[member="Davin Jusik"] @[member="Gezzo"] @[member="Thessa Kai"]

Judah had zero idea what was wrong with him but he didn't care.Whatever had taken control of his body had planted suggestions in his brain, started to control his actions. It was like he was a bigger, better, nearly indestructible version of himself. After the initial battles on Coruscant the young pilot had merely walked away from the Rebellion battle, listening to the voices that skittered about in his head and demanded his each and every step. He had tried resisting at first but the....thing....disease...whatever....was quite powerful.

Judah still got flashes of his old life ; walking through fields of crops, the sound of his siblings laughter, days at the Republic's Flight Academy.....Shaking his head, the young man went back to his main assignment : killing all aboard. He had enough ammunition to wipe out everyone, getting very close to reaching his goal as well. Blood dripped off his clothes as he shot indiscriminately. It didn't matter, young or old, man or woman. Everyone who was not with them had to die.

 

[Gezzo]

Gezzo followed close behind Davin, he felt so strange floating without even beating his wings. If it was unnatural for humans to fly he couldn't imagine how strange this must feel for his commanding officer. Slowly he approached the hull of the frigate, Davin tucked himself into a ball before landing, at which point his feet kicked out towards the ship. Gezzo was a little behind since he got held up by a massive piece of a destroyer that was floating about space, uselessly. Gezzo had no need to brace, as he was far beyond the point of being used to hard landings since war on Geonosis called for it on a daily basis. He simply bent his legs slightly as his specially made boots locked onto the metallic hull and clung to it like a larva to a wall.

 

[Davin Jusik]

Davin approached the hatch and pulled out a small device from a pouch on his utility belt, putting it on the edge of the hatch as he crouched. He motioned for Gezzo to step back and did so in turn. A small scarlet ring formed around the hatch and Davin kicked the hatch into the vessel with ease. Davin and Gezzo leapt in few seconds before the ship's programming lept into action and activated the hatch's shield to prevent a complete failure.

He held his SR4 at the ready and moved silently toward a corner which faced a hallway toward the left. He looked around it and aggresively moved toward the staircase. His helmet was picking up very distinct audio. Screams. Human screams. Gunfire. Coming from down them, the blueprints showed the bridge to be two floors up from the staircase. The screams meant contrary to prior intel, the ship hadnt been fully taken by machines.

@[member="Gezzo"]

"Gezzo. Secure the bridge, if you need backup I'll be up there before you can spit, but those people down there are still alive and I can't leave them to die in good conscious. Go." Davin said as he moved down the stairwell, rifle ready. The bridge was the primary objective but Davin was confident Gezzo could do it, there would probably only be a few droids guarding it. He'll, it might actually still be in the hands of the crew but with the AI running the show.


As he rounded the last corner he caught sight of the person responsible for killing all these innocents, it was someone he knew, a Republic naval pilot.

@[member="Judah Dashiell"]

Davin leved his rifle at the man's hip area and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"DASHIELL! You put those weapons down before I put you down, don't make me tell again."

 

[Thessa Kai]

[SIZE=10pt]@[member="Judah Dashiell"][/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She crouched low, pinned behind the galley counter. There were moans from the wounded around her that were quickly silenced by the killer’s shots. White-knuckled fingers gripped the blaster tightly. She checked one more time to make sure it was on stun. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Keeping low, she lunged from behind her cover and fire three stun rings in succession at her partner in the skies. Unlike Davin, she gave no warning. Aqua-lips remained in a thin line, iced-azure gaze hardened on the bloodied and changed Judah.[/SIZE]

 

[Judah Dashiell]

@[member="Thessa Kai"] - @[member="Davin Jusik"] - @[member="Gezzo"]

Judah mechanically turned, staring at the Army officer. He was shouting orders to put down the blaster, give up the fight. We can't let him win the voices said, mingling throughout his brain like a whisper. Kill him...kill him...Judah raised his blaster, his finger on the trigger. He was about to pull the curved piece of metal when the stun rings hit his body.

Dropping to his knees, blaster still clutched in hand, a moment of clarity.Like the voices stopped and the weird skittering he felt through his body had come to a standstill.Shaking his head, small droplets of blood flicked through the air. He frowned, touching his shaggy hair and drawing back blood.

"Whats going on?" His memories were hazy, like a dream. Judah looked around with confused eyes, tightening his grip on the blaster as fear set in.

 

[Thessa Kai]

[SIZE=10pt]Pushing herself to stand, she fought to keep her hand steady. Keeping her blaster leveled on the kid, she walked slowly toward his kneeling form. One hand released its grip on her blaster, scale-speckled palm raising in a flat, stop position. Her voice was surprisingly gentle, one she knew the kid probably hadn’t ever heard.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Judah, it’s Captain Kai. Just put the blaster down.” She couldn’t say everything was going to be okay, even though she wanted to. Everything wasn’t going to be okay. And it was her fault. ALL her fault. She had failed Judah, one of her star students.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Judah, look at me. Can you remember anything.” Her stride was still cautious, her own blaster remained raised at Judah’s chest. Iced-azure gaze flickered to Davin, giving him a slight nod.[/SIZE]

 

[Davin Jusik]

Davin nodded back and moved forward, blaster still trained on the man's hip, below his body armor. He slowly began to flank the young pilot as Thessa attempted to calm him down. If the pilot raised up Davin could shoot him before he had time to fire on himself or Thessa. Unfortunately the SR4 was a military rifle and in Davin's model's case, didn't have stun capabilities.

He really didn't feel like shooting the kid but wouldn't hesitate if given a reason. He was taking no chances with this one.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

@[member="Thessa Kai"] - @[member="Davin Jusik"]

Judah's frowned deepened. Captain Kai was talking to him as if he was insane, talking him down as if he was about to leap off a building. It was odd....his mind blurry about the events that just transpired. He turned a wary eye to Davin before looking back to his commanding officer...

"I-I...feel...." I feel like I want to cry.The second he completed that thought the nanites seem to come back to life. It was if a lightbulb came back on, the AI skittering through his veins once again and whispering in his head. The creatures inside him were back with a vengeance and they were demanding he finish the job.

Dropping the gun, the young pilot quickly reached into his waistband and drew a vibroblade. Captain Kai was his closest target, he had to finish what he started back on Coruscant. In a flash, Judah reached out to Thessa, stabbing the Galan in her bicep, shoving the blade in as deep as he could manage.

 

[Davin Jusik]

@[member="Judah Dashiell"] @[member="Thessa Kai"]
Davin fired the moment the man reached into his waistband, aiming at his hip and downward across his leg. The military blaster rounds would no doubt stop the Judah and probably cause permanent damage in the process. Couldn't be helped, reaction and Thessa's safety depended on it.

 

[Thessa Kai]

[SIZE=10pt]Heart dropped. In the flicker of a span of a second, she saw Judah. And just as quickly, the window closed. But she was already walking toward him, blaster slightly lowered. She didn’t expect him to move so fast.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The point of the knife sunk into her flesh as the muzzle of her blaster pressed and fired against Judah’s chest over and over and over again. FLASH-FLASH-FLASH, the blue stun bolts lit up the small space she shared with Judah and Davin.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Her trigger finger continued to fire as she felt herself tip backwards, with the weight of Judah falling on top of her smaller form, until her back hit the ground. A pained gasp left her lips and her hand finally released the blaster as her palms pushed against Judah, surprisingly gently, as she rolled him off her body.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Sitting up, the room began to tilt and spin and she noticed the red-hot sticky liquid. Frowning, she raised bloody fingertips to her face and thought it was Judah’s, not realizing it was her own.[/SIZE]

 

[Judah Dashiell]

@[member="Davin Jusik"] - @[member="Thessa Kai"] - @[member="Gezzo"]

Judah was trying to move his hands to Captain Kai's neck to choke her when the stun rings hit. He was bleeding profusely from the large wound in his hip but due to the nanites controlling his body it didn't even register. The stun rings 'shut off' the nanites once more and left Judah stunned. When Thessa pushed on his chest he merely rolled over onto the durasteel decking.

He lay in pain, getting cold from the temperature of the decking and probably the wound. Flashes of what happened played out in his head, like watching grainy pictures quickly flash that he could only pick out bits and pieces.His hand went down to his hip and came back bloody. His eyes went to an equally bloody Captain Kai and then flickered to the Army Officer. He put enough together....the creatures had told him to kill Captain Kai, hence why he was shot.

"Sir....just kill me before they come back. Please...." Desperation colored his tone. Judah didn't want to survive like this. It would be much easier if the Officer just shot him between the eyes right here, right now.

"Please....it wont be long now..." Judah was all but begging and pleading by now as he laid on the decking. He was trying to keep enough willpower to stay sane and die as himself-die as Judah.

 

[Davin Jusik]

@[member="Gezzo"]

"What's the status on the bridge?" Davin keyed as he kept his rifle on Judah's head.

Maybe the kid was right, maybe Davin should just shoot him, save him the misery he may have to endure for the rest of his life. His finger hovered on the trigger as he juggled the options about in his mind. Alive would be better for a chance at a cure but alive they might not even be able to get him back to Republic space before the nanos infected something or caused him to change and attack, possibly killing them.

@[member="Thessa Kai"]

"Damn my kindness." Davin said as he pulled a large bag and out of his ruck with one hand, using the other to continue to keep the rifle trained on Judah. He tossed the bag to Thessa before pulling a oxygen tank used for emergency's in vacuum out, tossing it to Thessa as well.


"It's the bag we were supposed to put him in after we killed him, if we put him in it now with the tank he should have just enough oxygen to make it to the decontamination station we've got set up. You want him alive you put him in it."

He was going to ask her how the hell she managed to be on the ship after she acted next.

 

[Thessa Kai]

[SIZE=10pt]Hazy iced-azure gaze stared at the bag and oxygen tank, turning her head a little too quickly to look at the muttering Judah. A rogue, her rogue. Blood dripped down her arm from the dagger still lodged in her bicep and she cocked her head to Davin, a crooked and pained-drowsy smile curved on aqua-lips.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“You patch me up and I’ll bag him,” a shiver ran through her body, most likely due to shock. To emphasize the point, gaze drifted to the dagger protruding from her bloodied arm. "For kriff’s sake, a bacta patch would be nice right about now," she growled, unwilling to let herself lose control. It was easier to stay angry. Raising her blaster, she fired off a few more stun rounds into the downed pilot’s body. She was hoping it would eventually, knock him out.[/SIZE]

 

[Davin Jusik]

@[member="Thessa Kai"]

"Calm down Captain, it's just a scratch, you'll be fine." Davin said with a smile. He admired the pilot's fire and drive and could tell how hard she was trying to keep it together. He slung the rifle and moved to Thessa's side, pulling out a bacta patch and setting it on his shoulder. His HUD did a quick scan of the wound and determined that the blade had missed anything serious but it needed to come out,

Davin's gaze darkened a bit.

"It needs to come out Captain, hang on, this is going to hurt. On three." Davin said.

"Three, two, one."

He yanked the knife out quickly, applying the bacta patch in one smooth motion before sticking her with some numbing medication in the shoulder so it would move quickly down her arm. Luckily the knife that was used was straight and without any of the nasty jagged edges that would make removal difficult.

 

[Gezzo]

"What the satus on the bridge?" Jusik asked through the comm, but Gezzo didn't answer quite yet for he was in the presence of the enemy. He had stormed through the corridors of the ship like he had stormed through the catacombs on Geonosis, keeping low and fast without stopping. Now he was against the wall of a corner that sat on the edge of a corridor that lead to the bridge. The blast door was closed tight and in front of it stood two droids with their weapons held at the ready as they awaited for unsuspecting victim. Unfortunately for the Omni controlled droids, the Geonosian was much aware of their dark ambitions, mostly due to the fact that that there was a small collective of bodies outside the doors. Gezzo checked to make sure the slugthrower that he brought was loaded, then did one last check of the other tools he was going to need.

When he was ready, Gezzo popped around the corner and threw an EMP grenade down range at his metallic foes. The droid popper exploded with a magnificent wave of blue energy that washed over the droids. The two guards shook violently as the pulse rocked their processing systems, Gezzo didn't worry about finishing them off with his gun as he quickly ran to the door and threw a specially made breaching charge onto the locking mechanism of the blast doors. He dove for cover in a small crevice of the wall before hitting the detonator and shaking the hall with an explosion and lighting it with fire. That was easy enough, now came the fun part. Gezzo sparred no time flipping back around the corner with his gun held high. Beyond the black smoke that obscured his view of the bridge he could here the droids

"Breach detected." They buzzed as Gezzo ran into the room. The first droid he encountered was easy pickings, the bug threw a single round into its head and blew it clean off. The deactivated body of the droid fell limp to the ground as Gezzo kept his same pass, his buggy eyes catching every small detail as he fired his 15 round shotgun, pumped and then repeated. The slugs hit the metallic monsters with tremendous force and tore them apart with each energized projectile that made impact. When Gezzos weapon clicked, signalling it went dry of ammo, he thought he might be in trouble...that was before he noticed the bridge was surprisingly ill defended. He had plowed through only three droids on the bridge before the enemy was wiped out. This was the only good news...the whole crew was dead on the bridge.

"I'm on the bridge now, the crew is dead and i'm going to see if the control panels still work

 

[Judah Dashiell]

@[member="Davin Jusik"] - @[member="Thessa Kai"]

Judah closed his eyes, waiting to be shot. Nothing came. He couldn't possibly be dead, his hip felt like as if it was on fire. He opened one eye to see a blaster ready to blow his head off then the Officer mutter something and devise some sort of plan. Maybe they were throwing him out of the airlock.....he heard something about airlock. And a bag...he was going in a bag? He was growing colder and weaker......feeling the stirrings of the creatures inside of him. They almost felt....angry....

"No..don't..." He muttered out loud to the creatures before Captain Kai let loose with the stun bolts. The young pilot sunk into sweet oblivion, the darkness encroaching around him. Seconds later, he lay still on the durasteel looking half-dead.

 

[Kodiak Mosthal]

Kodiak dropped out of hyperspace in his TIE Fury and was on route to meet his master on a uncharted world. He could see another ship, though it didn't show up on scanners. It became clear it was stealth. Seeing it just sit there made Kodiak nervous, especially with the recent devastation at the summit.

Kodiak sighed and changed his course towards the ship. He suddenly felt a dark power wash over him. He could feel the droids of Omni on the ship. He set his ship on course and got up to leave for his personal quarters.

He was in his formal black clothes. He needed to be ready for anything. He changed. He went from a formal man to a dark being. A Fallen Jedi. He know wore his dark metallic armor with his robes hanging off from his arms and legs, tattered from previous battles. He had his blue and red lightsabers in his belt. Also with him was several thermal detonators, detonation charges, and a blaster pistol. He kept the pistol in case someone ever got a hold of his lightsabers. He then put on a helmet. It covered his whole head and face. It was a dark iron. It made him appear more demon and machine then man.

As he returned to the bridge he noticed he was only seconds away from boarding distance. He decided to raise a comm and try to see if anyone was alive. "Hello stealth ship, this is Kodiak Mosthal of the New Rebel Alliance. I sense some trouble, is everything alright. Over." He wanted to wait until he got a response before boarding.