Tales of a Galaxy Nobody

[Medivh]

Derick Coburn HAD been someone.

During the Clone Wars, many had focused on the larger 'grand army of the republic', but before they had ever existed, planets had, if not armies, police and security forces to keep the peace, maintain order on a much more localized scale.  Even as the war was winding down, these security forces had maintained a great deal of independence from their more militaristic cousins.

Derick Coburn had been a rising officer in the ranks of the local security forces on a planet ((as yet undetermined)) that had benefited from the war, increasing in wealth and influence.  His community respected him as a leader, and his superiors had seen him as someone going places.

He HAD been that person.
But with the new galactic order, the Empire had taken drastic steps to incorporate local planet security into the larger body of imperial military might.  Coburn had seen his supervisors replaced or usurped, and the Empire laying a firm hand on his world, his people.

He had begun to accept it, to deal with it.  Afterall, the Empire wasn't exactly a force one wanted to face off against.  He could continue to rise, playing his role, and try to ignore the storm troopers that were stifling his world's independence.

Until one day.  That fateful day, when he had decided to the heroic thing, the 'right' thing.  An arrest warrant was put out for local yet peaceful dissenters, and Coburn had been ordered to bring them in to the local imperial base.  And instead of following orders, Derick Coburn had argued with the imperial commander, pointing out that the supposed criminals had really done nothing illegal.

The commander had given him a stare, a cold shrug.
"If you won't do it, i'll get someone else to do it.  I'm noting this in your file, Officer Coburn"

It had been such a brief statement, but that was it. That was the day his life changed forever.  A week later, the rising star was dishonorably discharged from the security force, his pension cancelled, and he was left with very little to his name.

That was how Derick Coburn became nobody.

At first, shock.
Then, attempts at finding a new job, somewhere, anywhere.  But he had been blacklisted. No one would dare hire him.

So Derick Coburn scrounged up his dwindling assets, the life savings he'd worked for, and bought a battered old Corellian freighter.  Anywhere but here.

he wasn't one of those great pilots, but, as long as no one attacked him, he could go anywhere, and try to figure out how to start a new life for himself.

He left one morning, without even saying goodbye.

No one would miss him - he was nobody, after all.

TBC

[Medivh]

Coburn had made his way to the outer rim, where being black listed by the Empire didn't matter.  At first, he thought to use his previous experience working as security detail for some local forces, but as it turned out, enforcing the law had very little to do with what security forces were doing out here.

It was more like gangs, private forces that were controlled by the underlords of the galaxy.  The Hutts were known to employ almost armies of rogue individuals, most of whom lacked scruples, or had learned to ignore them in order to survive.  Derick Coburn still hoped he wasn't that desperate.

He found his first paying job, working as security detail for a small spaceport in the outer rim.  The world had not yet been taken over by the Hutts, and the Empire was paying it little mind.  The port city itself was struggling to maintain independence from two criminal factions that were pitted against each other.  Coburn's job, basically, was to maintain the status quo.

The uniform was informal, but sufficient - a bland jumpsuit with a small patch on the right shoulder, and a belt-holster to hold his blaster rifle.  Coburn would patrol the space port on regular rounds, breaking up the squabbles that generated in the local cantinas, and making sure neither of the threatening factions walked too freely throughout.

He was making his way past one cantina, when he heard the shout.

"You cheated!"

That told him a lot already. Sabaac was a common past time in these parts, and more often than not, a game that went badly for an individual led to some of that brawling.  Coburn made his way into the cantina, glancing around the dimly lit room for just a moment before spotting the comotion.

Around a sabaac table, were four individuals, one of whom was standing now and pointing at the man across from him.

"I know you cheated!  The cards are rigged!"
Coburn stood back for a minute, waiting to see how this played out.

"I won that hand fair and square! Your just a sore loser!"
"I know a cheater when I saw one"

Coburn brought his hand down to the blaster at his side, fingering the strap and getting ready to pull his weapon if need be.

"You're just making stuff up.  Come on now, pay up, and let's end this"
"Oh, I'll end it alright"

Coburn sensed the ramp up, knew by experience that if he didn't step in soon, gunfire would result, and in fact, he saw both men reaching down to their sides.

"Hold it right there!"  Coburn's weapon was out and pointed at the two of them, "hands in the air, where I can see them"

The accused cheater raised his hands while turning to face Coburn.
"I'm innocent, officer"
"liar! I-"
"Hands up, sir"
The second man gave Coburn a death-glare but raised his hands as well. Coburn now approached the table, glancing down at the lit up cards.

"Do you have any proof that this gentleman cheated?"
"I don't need proof I saw it"
"well sir, you can either submit proof, or you can pay him"

Another death glare.  The man hesitated then pulled some credits from his coat, tossing them to the collector.

"There.  There are your ill-gotten gains.  And as for you"

He turned to Coburn now, pointing a finger at him.
"As for you, I would watch my back if I were you.  You're still new here, but you should know how things are run.  You mess with me, you'll suffer. And believe me, I know how to cause suffering."

He turned abruptly, knocking down his chair as he haded toward the doorway, Coburn watching patiently, gun ever drawn.


The bar tender looked over to Coburn, shaking his head.

"You shouldn;t have stepped in.  That guy is going to cause you trouble.  You have no idea what's going to come next"

TBC