We're going to be doing one thing and one thing only.......

[Davin Jusik]

Davin wore a grim face in his dress greens as he marched into a small assembly area in a derelict military outpost on Coruscant. He walked in front of the motley crew the Division Commander had gathered for him and his unsanctioned mission to the edge of Sith Space. He dropped his equipment bag next to him. The collection of soldiers, pilots, Jedi, and other beings crazy enough to undertake such an assignment looked at him with curious eyes. They'd been told only enough to keep those who might try to make a story out of it away. Davin grinned as he began to speak loudly.

"Hello ladies and gents my name is Major Jusik and I'll be your commanding officer for the duration of our operation. Now I know you folks haven't been told much about the mission you've all volunteered for but I'm going to be kind enough to explain further and offer one last chance to back out. Walk away at any time before the frigate leaves if you wish. Our mission is not officially sanctioned by the Senate. If you're captured you will not be rescued by the Republic Military or forces contracted by the Republic Military. This mission does not officially exist and is only happening because certain elements of high command believe it necessary before and possibly during our coming conflict with the Sith Empire. "

"Now I know some of you Jedi have some inhibitions about killing but you better leave that behind you before you step on that frigate behind us. I don't expect you people to help us with the nastier bits but don't try to stop those of us who have to do the dirty work. We're going to be dropping into enemy territory without support or any hope of it. No friends folks. Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm tired of the Sith running around like they own the whole karking galaxy."

"Now I got a little bit of Tatooinian in me and our battle plan will be that of a Tusken resistance."

His grin grew.

"After serving with those bastards I can tell you first hand the type of brainwashed evil we'll be up against. They kill the helpless, bomb cities, planets. They have no respect for life and because of that they must be destroyed for their crimes against the galaxy."

"We will be cruel to the Sith, and through our cruelty they will know who we are. And they will find the evidence of our cruelty in the disemboweled, dismembered, and disfigured bodies of their brothers we leave behind us. And the Sith won't not be able to help themselves but to imagine the cruelty their brothers endured at our hands, and our boot heels, and the edge of our knives. And the Sith will be sickened by us, and the Sith will talk about us, and the Sith will fear us. And when the Sith close their eyes at night and they're tortured by their subconscious for the evil they have done, it will be with thoughts of us they are tortured with. They say fear is a Sith weapon but we will make it our weapon. Sound good?"

The stealth frigate started it's engines as he finished, creating a low whine over the whole assembly area.

 

[Kaia L'cwa]

Kaia blanched a bit. This man was extremely extreme. She didn't understand what was driving his motivations behind all of this, but the way he spoke put her on edge and made her nervous. Cruelty was not something that she was permitted to entertain. It was not the way of a Jedi. As a Zeison Sha she had no problem with this notion of cruelty to those who would pervade cruelty upon others. It created an internal conflict that she couldn't put down. Lifting a hand up, she chewed idly on one of the claws at the tips of her fingers. Should she take part in this or should she not? Should she condone such actions or argue against it? Surely if she didn't argue against it then there would be no one to keep the balance.

Stepping forward, she looked right at the Major. "Major, this line of talk concerns me. I have no problem doing what is necessary to stop those who would so willingly harm someone, but I strongly urge restraint and caution in our actions. I will do what is necessary to ensure the success of the mission, but I must exercise the position of balance to your position to ensure we do not go too far." She was not challenging his right to command, she was simply stating that she would act like the balancing position in the equation.

With her piece said, she stepped back into the ranks of the others. Though she knew that the Republic types technically did not command the Jedi in what to do, she was still willing to follow the more experienced senior officer. She wasn't carrying a lightsaber like some of the other Jedi were. That was chiefly because she didn't have one. The only weapon she carried as in the form of a cortosis weave disc upon her back. The discblade was the chosen weapon of the culture which she came from. Not the culture of the Cathar, but the culture of the Zeison Sha, the people she had inadvertently stumbled upon when she'd finally escaped from the people that had captured and abused her. It would work well on this mission, she was sure.

 

[Davin Jusik]

Davin looked at the young Jedi who stood before him and spoke.

"Go too far?" Davin said with a chuckle.

"I respect you Jedi and your code but those of us willing will do what we will, and I can guarantee you.... You haven't seen too far until you've watched them execute people on walls, or murder children, kill cities with gas. Order all the men in a platoon to fix bayonets and march into a village with the intent of mudering every last being in the village. Then the officer gets promoted. We'll be doing a fraction of what they've done to others. And they're armed. Leave if you wish, but do not attempt to hinder our progress."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Judah stood quietly at the back of the group, tempted to light a cigarette and take a few drags before they departed. His new Flight Captain had been making him do the most physically demanding tasks lately and the new Ensign was trying to cut back in order not to find himself wheezing mid-way through said tasks. It would be most embarrassing. Perhaps he should cut back on smoking period. It was a bad habit leftover from his farming past.

Wait-What did the insane Army Major just say? If he hadn't been off daydreaming as usual he might have caught it. Something about not being rescued and fear and Sith. It was the best his brain could put together at the moment. Paying a bit more attention now, Judah caught what the Major was saying to the Jedi Padawan. Killing? The young pilot did not sign up for hand to hand combat. Hopefully the freighter had a X-Wing aboard.

"Major Jusik, why did you bring such a diverse group together? Your unit could have done this on their own honestly. This...This is such a motley group of Republic personel...

 

[Davin Jusik]

"Can any of my men use the force? Are they pilots? No. Is this mission off the books. Yes. We need people with certain skills beyond just combat, though we have nfantrymen as well." He replied to the young ensign's inquiry.

 

[Kaia L'cwa]

She sighed and shook her head. This was already starting to get to be not so good. "Do not presume that I do not know the horrors of this galaxy, Major. I was a pleasure slave until a few years ago, taken when I was only a young kit. I know pain, suffering, and agony. My pride was wiped out when I was taken." She crossed her arms beneath her chest and stood there looking at the ground for a few moments before she took a deep breath and looked up. She wasn't about to throw a pity parade in her own honor. She was just pointing out to the Major that she might be a Jedi, but she'd seen an experience some of the things that he was talking about on her own. She knew terribleness, but she still didn't believe that they should go too far.

Of the books or not, Kaia was going to make sure that innocent people were not harmed in all of this. She would go along with it, and she would fight and kill any and all Sith forces that they encountered, but if they did anything to put innocent people in danger then she was going to step up and speak against doing it. If no one did that, if no one reminded them who they represented, then they would only end up turning into the very thing that they fought and she wouldn't just stand by and let that happen. Someone had to be that voice.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Understood Major"

To Judah it still made little sense. What did he know? He was a stupid farmboy fresh out of Flight Academy. Deciding since it seemed this was a suicide mission, the pilot dug into his front pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Finding the lighter in the same pocket, Judah flicked it open and lit the end, taking a drag. If this was going to be his last he might as well make it a good one.

 

[Davin Jusik]

The Jedi was beginning to irritate Davin immensely, if the Division Commander hadn't insisted for Jedi to be present he never would've brought any along besides Darron if he was up for it. Most of them were not built for combat or the horrors that went along with it. He could tell by the way she spoke she was either talking of attempting to cause the Jedi to be more merciful on the Sith or she was assuming innocents would be harmed in some way.

"Don't presume that all soldiers are heartless bastards who want to harm everyone in the karking galaxy. "

His tone was harsh. He didn't have time to argue with subordinates who had a mute point or assumed he would allow civilians to be killed.

He relaxed a bit and assumed a calmer tone.

"While I respect up what you've overcome this operation will require everyone to be working one hundred and ten percent on the same page. There is no compromise involved. I've informed you of the facts of the mission and whether you want to come or not is up to you but the the mission will not bend around your moral objections."

 

[Kaia L'cwa]

She left it as it was. This guy was hardline, and kind of a jerk really. She'd just laid out that she'd had her entire pride slaughtered around here, and she'd been taken as a pleasure slave when she'd been just a kit, but he still seemed to think her providing perspective was a bad thing. A lesser person would have gotten angry. Kaia just pushed it down and away because there was no place in this for her to feel anger. Anger would just lead her down the same path of the Sith that they were going to destroy. She was not like them and she wasn't going to start acting like them. She would go, and she would do what was necessary, but if anyone got crazy and went after the weak, the defenseless, the innocent, she would be there to stop them. "I will go and I will do what is necessary."

 

[Davin Jusik]

Great. He already had conflict within this group and they had yet to disembark from Coruscant. Jedi didn't seem to understand the way a military unit was organized and that if you wanted to tell the CO not to "presume" anything that maybe you should do it privately or in a more respectful manner. If she caused issues and became a threat to the lives of his team he wouldn't hesitate to tie her up somewhere and arrange for transport back to Republic Space. Yes he was being a jerk but for someone who'd seem her whole family die she didn't seem to understand when anger or harshness was necessary, probably the whole Jedi aspect.

"Good. When you're ready load your gear." He said with a gesture toward the frigate and a turn as he picked up his own bag and walked onto the vessel's entrance ramp.

 

[Thessa Kai]

[SIZE=medium]“They’re doing what?” The growl left aqua lips as her knee banged against the desk drawer in the broom-closet of an office they gave the flight captain. If it were up to her, she wouldn’t even have an office but something about paperwork being a captain, blah, blah, blah.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]“Yes I understand what off-book means but why wasn’t this cleared by me…wait they depart whe--…..nevermind.” Slamming the comm down, she grabbed her satchel and stormed out of the broom closet, maintenance droids twittering and chattering as they scuttled beyond the warpath of the grumpy Galan.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Judah was the first in her sights. HER responsibility. Whoever was in charge…ohhhh, they were going to have words…some serious WORDS! Without breaking stride, she marched past Judah, grabbing the cigarette from his mouth and throwing it to the ground storming up the freighter.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Her voice boomed through the ship, surprisingly loud for a female. “WHO is in charge here?”[/SIZE]

 

[Davin Jusik]

"I'am." Davin replied with a calm tone as he approached the very angry flight captain. He'd handled the Jedi situation incorrectly and didn't plan to overreact to someone else because of his own issues.

 

[Kaia L'cwa]

Kaia lingered at the back of the group, gauging the rest of them as they boarded the ship. Most of them seemed more than eager to take part in all of this and that was kind of worrying her. She was afraid that they were going to go in and just destroy anything in their path, regardless of whether they should or not. That's why she'd spoken up. She understood that the Major didn't want her to question him in front of his men, but she had to make sure that they all understood that if they went too far, she was going to stop them. There was a line that shouldn't be crossed, and she was there to ensure that it wasn't crossed, but also to assist in ways that only someone with the Force could.

After everyone else had gone onto the ship, she followed, only to have a very irate woman, who made her think of a fish, storm up after her. She stepped to the side to let her pass and then walked in after her. Eyes looked around the ship, but she lingered so that she could listen to Thessa talk to Davin. She didn't have a rank in the Republic, and strictly speaking she didn't really have to take orders from Davin, but she was still curious as to the inner workings of the Republic, so she thought she would listen in.

 

[Thessa Kai]

[SIZE=medium]Fuming, she hooked her thumb over her shoulder, motioning to an empty cargo-hold on the freighter. “A word. Please,” waiting for Davin to walk in first, she followed him and pressed the door closed from prying ears and eyes. “Explain to me why the Frak I wasn’t made aware of this mission when it involves one of MY personnel?” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Her fist clenched at her side, anger flashing in her gaze as she stared down the Major.[/SIZE]

 

[Davin Jusik]

Now in the privacy of the cargo hold Davin could be less tactful.

"Why don't you ask the karking Brigadier General who selected him?!?!" Davin exclaimed angrily.

"Maybe you should be asking yourself why your freakin subordinate didn't inform you himself?"

Davin's stare was colder than Thessa's, here was a Naval Captain who didn't seem aware of what the term discreet or secret meant. She had to have yelled at some lower ranking subordinate who'd probably just filed the papers to transfer the pilot out, if the general got wind whoever it was had run their mouth their military career was sure to be at an end.

"Do you have any professional bearing or is it in your MO to stroll up to a stealth frigate moments before disembarking, yelling, DEMANDING, to speak to whoever's in charge?"

 

[Judah Dashiell]

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

Judah was leaning against the vessel, still smoking his cigarette-well his second, when his boss came strolling up and started to give the Major a piece of her mind. Blowing out a string of smoke, the young pilot considered intervening. It was not the fault of either person that he was chosen for this assignment because Judah simply wasn't chosen, he had volunteered to go. It was quite a risk but one he was willing to make. His fellow pilots might stop viewing him as a crop duster if all went reasonably well.

Throwing his cigarette to the ground and stepping on it, Judah went to the pair.

"Uh...Captain Kai....Major Jusik.....No need to argue. I volunteered for this assignment"

 

[Thessa Kai]

[SIZE=medium]“I have plenty of professional bearing,” her voice was eerily quiet. “I have a job to take care of my people. Something I’m sure you can understand.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]And it was a scary job. She wondered if Mazen felt like this all the time or if things got better. She hoped things got better.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]She cringed slightly, hearing Judah speak through the closed door. So the kid volunteered.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]“It looks you just got another volunteer, Major.” There was no way she was letting Judah take this one alone. She had a responsibility. Without another word, the door slid open and she strode out, iced-azure gaze focusing on Judah. "I hope you know what you're jumping into. You can count this as part of your training. I'm comin' along."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Nuff said.[/SIZE]

 

[Davin Jusik]

"Fine by me. We need more people anyway." Davin replied. Hotheaded pilot and her pupil would make a good addition for a mission like this, knowing what their fate might be.

He just hoped the Captain knew what she was getting into.