The First Sign of the Coup

 

“My dear Ke’Dro.” Ke’Dar was not happy to see his tall, muscular Twi’lek enforcer sitting at his desk. But he didn’t make a big deal of it. “You seem to have brought attention to our operation.” 

“You mean the Meedar?” She held up her glass and examined the brown liquid in it.

“I mean precisely the Meedar.” His voice was getting louder. “This business with Lordo and taking over his enterprise.” 

Ke’Dro sipped the drink. “One of the clone troopers smuggled a bottle of Devornian Punga Brandy. Before my last mission we drank the entire bottle.” She looked up at Ke’Dar. “Occasionally I wonder what would have happened if that clone trooper had not shared it with us.” She sniffed the whiskey and sipped it again. “I was still under the effects of the brandy when I ripped that Droideka’s head off.” She touched her metal lek. “I’m not sure if I would have lost my lek and eye, or if I would have died.” 

She took her feet off his desk and poured herself another drink. 

“What is your point?” He was getting angry. 

“Sometimes you have to take a risk.” She watched the fear in his face. “I wonder what would have happened. But I never regret what I did. If I hadn’t, that platoon of clones probably wouldn’t have made it into the city.”

She took another sip and looked up again. “Two months ago, when I started working for you, I was told you were expanding your operation.” She put her feet back on his desk. “For two months you have had me shaking down dock workers for uncollected debts.” She looked at the whiskey again. 

“Fine. In that time you were content to let a nuisance become a real threat.” She swallowed the last of the contents of her glass and challenged Ke’Dar with her eyes. “Now, I have dealt with it and expanded your business. 

Ke’Dar walked to the door and called Debin and Nolla in. “I need you two to deal with this disloyal wretch.” 

Ke’Dro waited until they entered the room. Both looked confused. Debin was surprised to see the big Twi’lek woman in Ke’Dar’s seat but he made no move to do anything about it.

Nolla growled her annoyance at the interruption.

“I’m going to need an explanation of my disloyalty.” Ke’Dro shifted a bit in the chair to make herself more comfortable. 

“You told me that I knew what must be done. So I did it.” She raised her eye’s to look at Ke’Dar. “Lordo was an active danger to your operation so I got rid of him for you. I also took the opportunity to expand your operation.” She thought for a moment. “I will admit it was somewhat personal. He sent a mercenary to kill me, after all.” She gave him a sinister smile.

Ke’Dar looked at Debin and Nolla for support, but neither seemed to provide it.

“You have some audacity telling me how to run my operation.” Ke’Dar was on the verge of yelling. 

“You have a good crew. Well mostly, Hagerty is dead weight, but he’s your son, so I don’t mind making an exception.” Ke’Dro was baiting the old man into acting. “Their potential is being wasted on debt collection by hard luck longshoremen and the occasional shop clerk.” She took her feet off the desk and took out the datapad he kept in the drawer. 

“When was the last time you collected from a Lancer? Or one of the middle city residents?” 

Nolla howled in the old man’s defense. 

“I understand.the logic of blackmailing them." She addressed the Wookie's statement. But one day we’re going to try something and it isn’t going to work.”

Nolla growled another excuse. 

“How many Lancers have we actually gotten fired?” Ke’Dro responded. 

Nolla gave a short growl and shrugged in resignation.

“Take a look for yourself.” She turned the datapad towards the Wookie. Nolla ignored the protests from Ke’Dar and took the device. 

Ke’Dro was amused by the stupid look on their boss’s face. It was obvious he never considered Nolla as anything but hired muscle. He assumed she couldn’t read.

Nolla set the datapad back on the desk and growled. 

Ke’Dro looked at the stunned Duro. 

“It’s still his business.” She responded to Nolla. “He’s just surprised at the expansion.” 

Ke’Dar stood silently. 

“What about the Meedar?” The old man finally said. “Lordo was a small time operation. The Meedar control the drugs and prostitution in most of the lower city. They also have control of three of the clan holdings.” Things had gotten out of Ke’Dar’s control. He had dreams of building a criminal empire, and buying a hab in the upper levels of Concord Harmony. “He hadn’t considered what it would take for that to happen.

“Arrange a meeting with one of their people and we will explain to them that you have no intention of moving on their turf.” Ke’Dro tried to calm him down.

She stood and patted Nolla on the arm as she walked out of the room. Nolla gave a confused growl and Debin was still dumbfounded. 

Ke’Dar could see that he was no longer in control of his organization. Nor was he sure he could do anything about it. He had underestimated the Twi’lek badly.

Kyla looked up as she sat down at the booth. “Ke’Dar’s going to tell me to kill you isn’t he?”

Ke’Dro leaned back in the booth. “Probably. And you’re welcome to try. But I’d hate to lose a skilled scrapper.”

I Shot the Sheriff

Sera leaned over the bar and sipped the bitter drink in front of her. The human man standing next to her stroked her right red lek with a gloved hand. “How much to take you home.” 

His heels lifted off the ground slightly after she turned and grabbed him by the neck. He was now eye level with the tall Lethan Twi’lek woman. The look in her purple eyes drilled into his head. Sera clenched her other fist and let the man drop. 

He fell to his knees, gasping for air. 

With wounded pride he stood and reached for his holstered blaster. 

Sera’s hard cybernetic fist connected with his face. His weapon came to her other hand as he collapsed to his knees again. He held his bloodied and discolored nose.   

It took him a second to realize that she had two blasters, one of them his, both pointing at him. 

“Run.”

She holstered her pistol and placed his on the counter, then went back to her drink.

The man stood and lunged for Sera. She sidestepped and hit the back of his neck with the side of her hand. As the solid metal of her cybernetic hand struck his spine he collapsed to the ground. 

The rough crowd in the cantina laughed at the man lying on the floor. 

He struggled to his feet through intense pain. “I’ll get you; you twin tailed bitch.” He limped out of the bar followed by two tough looking people. 

The bartender wiped the counter next to her. “Watch your back. That man is the law here.”

“Then why were you laughing when I took him down?” Sera lifted her glass so he could wipe under it.

“I said he is the law. I didn’t say people like it.” The yellow zabrak bartender told her.

“Thanks for the advice.” Sera set the glass down. “One more.”

Mejun Rau sidled up to the bar next to Sera. 

“I reckon you just stirred up a gandark’s nest young lady.” The old togruta was probing for something. 

Sera sipped her drink. “How do you figure old man?”

“A lot of folks around these parts are afraid of that man.” He paused. He seemed to find what he wanted. “Melchon was a stormtrooper sergeant until the Empire pulled out. He deserted and set up shop here. Now he preys on the refugees and farmers. Taking what he wants.”

Rau left the bar.

She dropped a few coins on the counter then picked up the man’s blaster pistol and regarded it. “How much for this?”

“Come back when the owner is dead, and I’ll give you a fair price.” He looked up at her from his menial task. 

Sera set it back on the counter and dropped a couple more coins on the counter. “Keep an eye on it. I’ll be back.”

The bar had gone silent with those words and all eyes fell on her back as she stepped through the cafe doors. 

Mejun leaned against the wall outside the cantina. “You gonna kill that man?” 

“You plan to defend him?” Sera turned. 

He raised his hands so she could see him. “Looking like I ain’t.”

“Well, it looks like he isn’t going to do the job himself. And I also figure most folks here don’t get much justice from him.” Sera said without looking back. 

Mejun followed her. “You’d be right on that account.

“How many people does he have?” Sera slowed so the Blue skinned man could catch up.

“About a dozen.” The old man said as a blaster bolt sizzled the air between them.

“More than enough for the likes of you, whore.” Melchon yelled. His sounded smug and overconfident.

Sera counted ten men and women behind Melchon. One was a big guy with an oversized cybernetic arm, even for him. They stood with blasters at the ready. It was obvious they were itching to shoot someone. 

Melchon wore a dirty set of poorly maintained stormtrooper armor. The left leg and right arm had been replaced with some makeshift metal plating. The helmet, under his arm, had a shattered eye hole and carbon scoring in a couple of spots. 

“I doubt that.” Sera responded as she drew her blaster and shot the helmet from under his arm.

Most of the group behind him barely stifled their laughter. She figured the pay was good enough for them to follow him. They seemed to be a mix of mercenaries and refugees. 

He leveled the standard issue E-11 blaster rifle at her and fired. 

Between her Jedi reflexes and his predictable shot, she dodged out of the way and knocked the old man to the ground to get him out of the line of fire. 

“Shoot her.” Melchon yelled. “Double pay for anyone who kills her.”

Sera dodged in out of the fullisade of blaster fire and leapt into the middle of the crowd of shooters. As she hit the ground, she used the force to scatter and knock the people around her off balance. Two people lost their footing and fell down. 

She stepped through the guard of one of her assailants, snatched the blaster out of his hand and caught him with her palm under his chin. She hucked the pistol at a woman nearby and caught her between the eyes. 

Sera ducked low and moved towards the next person, bending the barrel of his blaster and pulling it from his hand. She punched him in the sternum and forced the air from his diaphragm, he doubled over and collapsed.  

Sera had forgotten the big guy and he caught her with a wallop to the side of her head. She had managed to roll with the hit, but it was powerful and stunned her for a second.

The crowd was too tight for anyone to shoot at her without hitting someone else while she was down. The big guy moved to slam his fist into her head. Sera rolled to the side, and one smooth motion pulled her Shoto from under her jacket, cut the metal hand off in a flash of purple, and replaced it in the rig, barely giving anyone the chance to see what had happened. She twisted to her feet and used a force assisted kick to knock him to the ground. 

The sound of the igniting lightsaber and the thud of the big guy caused the group to stop firing in confusion. They looked around at their downed compatriots and the big guy’s rapidly cooling arm on the ground. 

“What are you doing?” Melchon yelled. “Kill her.”

No one complied.

“Looks like loyalty is in short supply sunshine.” Sera smiled.

He fired the blaster several times at her in desperation. Sera dodged and deflected the blasts while closing the distance between the two of them. 

Melchon bolted towards the old man and grabbed him, holding the blaster to his head.
“Seriously I’ll kill him.” His shaking finger tightened on the blaster trigger. 

She stopped two meters from the man and his hostage. The togruta showed no sign of fear. 

“You a coward? If you shoot him, you're dead. The old man has made his peace.” Sera took a short step closer. 

Melchon saw the lack of fear in the old man’s face. He knew the game was up. 

“You take a shot at me”, Sera continued, “you have a very small chance of hitting.” She took another step. “If you miss, you’re dead.”

“You drop the rifle, and I don’t kill you.” She took a third step.

Melchon looked at the group of his former gang and the big man on the ground. 

In that moment of hesitation Sera yanked the rifle out of his hand using the force and caught it. 

“I told you to run.” She pointed the blaster at him. 

Melchon dropped the old man and bolted away from sera towards the edge of town. 

A red lance of blaster fire struck Melchon in the back of the head and he fell to the ground, dead.

“Why’d you do that?” Rau asked. “A Jedi wouldn’t kill anyone like that.”.

“It is kind of you to mistake me for a Jedi. But the order is dead. There are no more Jedi” 

Sera checked the charges on the rifle and looked at the motley gang behind her. “You still here?”

The people still standing lowered their weapons and disappeared into the crowd that had gathered. 

Sera walked to Melchon’s body and pulled off his chest plate then handed it to Rau. “Looks like you’re the new sheriff.”

When she returned to her spot at the bar, she looked at the bartender. “Now, how much for the blaster?” Sera stood at the bar and regarded the zabrak behind it.

He put several credits on the bar and took the weapon.

Sera finished off her fresh drink, took the money, and left.