Private A Murderer in Maranatha

[Dev Ossian]

Maranatha, Alderaan

"Well, you didn't last very long," Dev said with a disappointed sigh. Looking down at the mangled corpse before him, he rested his hands on his hips and shook his head. "What a shame."

These Maranathans were such softies. Dev had thought they might actually prove hardier than the average victim, given that the refugee city was full of tortured souls with a unique physiology, but so far he hadn't noticed much difference even three kills into his spree. He supposed it was further proof that it wasn't just suffering that bred true strength. One had to already be strong; the suffering would bring that strength out of even the most unassuming creature.

He got to work cleaning the blood off his knives. The living room was splattered with black gore. It had been easy to break in; the place didn't even have a basic burglar alarm. Nobody else was home. Probably would take a while for anyone to notice this one was dead...

"Maybe I should switch to experimentation," he said, pretending to talk to the mutilated body. "I keep hearing about this Sith alchemy thing. It sounds pretty neat. You'd get to live on, albeit as a twisted monstrosity enslaved to my will. But you'd live, and that's all that most of you care about, right?"

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Word had spread about a string of killings in Maranatha. Cato found himself thrust back into a time where criminal violence was the norm in his life. It was expected. But here he had hung up the costume. Maranatha wasn't perfect, but in his eyes it was supposed to be safe from the troubles that plagued his old life.

This was where his family lived. Where his wife and daughter lived. Suffice to say, Cato had become much more attentive to their surroundings as of late. He made them walk wide around dark corners. Kept strangers at arm's length. Slept lighter than before. In a short time his routine had changed, even if he didn't admit as much outright.

Tonight, he woke up with his hackles on end. The reason indiscernible, at least at first. But the Force carried a scent of death, nudging him out of bed. Cato carefully slipped away from Inanna as she slept, creeping downstairs and looking outside at the darkness. The air became more unpleasant. He scrunched his nose, and went outside, locking the door behind him just in case.

It lingered around the house of one of his neighbors. He slowly, silently, approached their front door, and tried to push it open.

Dev Ossian​

 

[Dev Ossian]

Preoccupied with his victim, Dev hadn't had much of a chance to take a look around the house. Now he rifled through the contents, tossing things about. When he first started his spree, he had tried to make the crime scene he'd leave behind look like a botched burglary. But by now the authorities had wised up that they were dealing with a serial killer, not merely an unscrupulous thief, and there was little point in trying to make such a thoroughly mangled corpse look like an accident...

Now, he was just hoping to find something interesting among the dead Shi'ido's belongings. After some time, he found a box of fragrant cigars. "Hm," he murmured, plucking one of the cigars out and holding it between two black-clawed fingers, he sniffed it, took a bite, and promptly spat it out. Still spitting out dried tobacco leaves, he peered down at the lid of the box... which featured an image of someone smoking, lighter in hand.

"Oh." Tossing the one he had ruined over his shoulder, he took another cigar, put it between his lips like so, and used the lighter beside it to burn the other end. The smoke stung as it filled his lungs, but he fought the urge to cough, puffing away. "Huh. That's pretty good..."

Sensing another presence entering the dwelling, Dev fell silent, his head swiveling around to face the front door. He had busted the lock, of course, so there was nothing to stop this nosy neighbor or whoever from coming in. Concealing his body with the Force, Dev hastily darted into the shadows at the end of the room.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

The sight Cato was greeted with made his stomach drop. The desecrated corpse of his neighbor, mangled and decorating the room with black blood. There was no ulterior motive beyond wanton violence, that was clear. The serial killer at work, so close to the Harths' own home.

Despite his sickening demeanor, Cato showed little emotion on his face. He knelt down and grimaced, but didn't run away. DIdn't call the cops. He looked up, and began to study the space around him. If the killer was here, they weren't exactly jumping out at the knight. He walked with slow, quiet movements, attempting to clear the home of his suspicions before doing anything else.

Dev Ossian​

 

[Dev Ossian]

Though he had thoroughly concealed himself, Dev had forgotten about the cigar still dangling from his lips. The burnt end glowed like an ember in the shadows.

He noticed it eventually, of course, and quickly tossed it on the floor, covering it with his hoof. But the plume of smoke remained, drifting through the air.

Cato Harth

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato smelled the smoke before he saw it. He sniffed a few times, then spun around to see the last wisps floating through the air. The knight furrowed his brow, and stared intently at the shadows.

"You gonna keep hiding like a child, or you gonna show yourself? I got all night."

Dev Ossian​

 

[Dev Ossian]

Damn.

Dev scowled as the little man became aware of his presence. Oh well. Might as well make an entrance.

He took a step forward, the supernatural cloak falling away. Lips curling in a fanged smile, he loomed over Cato.

"So do I," Dev said, reaching out to seize him by the throat. The Force began to put pressure on Cato's windpipe even before his fingers clamped down and lifted him up.

"You should have minded your own business."

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato slowly craned his head up to Dev's eye level as he made himself visible. Not exactly what he expected, but he kept a straight face, swallowing his initial surprise. Pressure clamped around Cato's throat, lifting him off his feet. He grabbed the devil's arm, trying to loosen the grip, "Big horns…" He commented through strained breaths, "Compensating… for something?"

Cato dropped one arm, and struck upward, trying to hit Dev's elbow in the wrong direction, even break it if his Force-imbued palm landed right.

Dev Ossian​

 

[Dev Ossian]

"Actually," Dev leered, believing himself already victorious. "The size of my horns is indicative of virility..."

Unexpectedly, he felt a painful blow to his elbow. The pressure was far greater than the puny human should have been able to inflict. The Force was behind it, increasing the strength of the hit.

Dev was forced to release his hold on the man. "Ow," he grunted. His elbow was not broken, but it hurt like hell. He retaliated with a blast of telekinetic force aimed squarely at Cato's center of mass, hoping to pin him to the wall.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Sure man," Cato grunted, rolling away as soon as the strain on his throat was loosened. He rubbed at his now-sore neck, "We all tell ourselves something like that."

The devil reacted by trying to launch him with a concussive burst, to which Cato raised his hands in resistance. He skidded across the floor, bumping against the wall but sparing himself a more painful impact. "Care to tell me your evil plans?" He began to circle to Dev slowly, not quite making a move of his own yet.

Dev Ossian​

 

[Dev Ossian]

"Care to tell me your evil plans?"

“What?” Dev asked, bewildered. “Why would I tell you my plans?”

In truth, he had no plan. But even if he did, why would he tell this random stranger he was trying to kill what they were?

Since the little man didn’t make a move, Dev pulled out a knife and lunged at him, stabbing toward his chest. He would've tried to prolong the torment, but this foe was slippery. Better to simply dispatch him.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Some people fall for it," He shrugged, "You're no fun."

The killer lunged forward, and Cato sidestepped him. He stuck a leg out, hoping to trip him in the process, but either way stepped back to put a bit more distance between them, "Mkay, so here's the deal."

Cato brandished the hilt of his lightsaber, "I'm gonna beat the shit out of you."

He ignited the saber, "I'm gonna kill you."

"Then I'm gonna cut those big stupid horns off your head, and stick 'em on my wall." His words treaded an uncomfortable line between exaggerated trash talk and a genuine threat. But considering this guy had violently murdered several of his neighbors, and was a threat to his family, Cato had no qualms about getting aggressive. Jedi values took a back seat in stakes like this.

A moment later, he lunged forward with a broad diagonal swipe of his blade.

Dev Ossian​

 

[Dev Ossian]

Dev kept his feline eyes fixed upon Cato as the human gave his little speech. When he lunged forward with his lightsaber, Dev dodged the swipe, then kept evading him as the burning blade slashed through furniture and gouged holes in the walls and floor. He abandoned his dagger in favor of a lightsaber hilt (albeit a very strange looking one of clearly alien make), but did not activate the blade.

They eventually wound up near the mangled corpse of Dev's latest victim. "What was this one to you, hm?" Dev asked. "Or what about all the others? Did I kill a friend of yours? A relative? Your wife and kids?"

Another lunging blow came toward him. Dev activated his lightsaber in order to block it. The blade which emerged from the emitter was pitch black—and rather than emanating light, it plunged the room into darkness.

Cato Harth

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato made several attempts to cleave through the killer, never quite landing a hit on him, but certainly tearing up the room. He slowed as they got closer to the body, wearing down from his aggressive assault, and showing some level of respect for the dead individual. Cato gave Dev no response, not until his last comment, "You killed kids?" Visible disgust.

"I bet you feel real big for that, huh?" He flourished his blade, and attacked again, only for the room to envelop in darkness. Cato stumbled in surprise, swiping in a wide arc before pushing back to create some distance and recompose. Once the initial confusion settled, he smirked, "…I know that crystal," He had one of his own, after all.

"…Where did you come from?"

Dev Ossian​

 

[Dev Ossian]

"Oh yes," Dev sneered. "I kill for fun.

"But you can't tell me you genuinely care about these people. They're an abstraction, a statistic. You want to avenge them to feed your ego."

The nightstone crystal proved effective, throwing his opponent into confusion. Dev thrust forward with the blade, using the Force to see where the human was standing.

"…Where did you come from?"

"A little planet called Zaathru." Another slash. "I'm sure you've never heard of it."

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato's expression twisted, "Why not? Can't comprehend that not everyone share your twisted, manipulative worldview?"

The light went out, and Cato moved out of the way just in time as he acclimated his sixth sense to the Dark. The Force flared in warning, and the killer's blade bounced off of his own once, then twice. In response he swiped towards his arm with a quick slash, then raised a hand to try and throw Dev back with the Force.

Cato blinked. So maybe there was a connection to be made after all. "Oh so you won't tell me your evil plan, but you'll tell me that." A leaping strike, "You ought to be more careful with your words."

Dev Ossian​

 

[Dev Ossian]

“Convincing yourself that you care is a worldview. I only speak the truth.”

Blades crashed together audibly in the dark. Dev felt the Force push toward him, his hooves skidding across the floor. But he dug his heels in and pushed back.

“Why not? You won’t find it on any map.” He stomped forward, thrusting his blade toward Cato.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato just groaned, not wanting to dignify that with a response. They traded blows until he created a gap between them. Dev pushed back, and Cato centered himself against it as well.

"If you say so," He sung. The two continued to mirror each other as he then thrusted forward, their blades striking off each other. He spun around quickly to try and bisect the killer, "That's alright. I already found it."

Dev Ossian​

 

[Dev Ossian]

The duel progressed until their blades locked in a bind. Dev grinned over their crossed lightsabers, shoving Cato backwards.

"That's alright. I already found it."

His grin instantly vanished, replaced by confusion. “What?”

Cato Harth

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato grinned even as he was pushed back. He flourished his blade, only to abruptly pull out his blaster and fire several shots at Dev, "Oops. Guess you shoulda kept your mouth shut after all."

"Interesting little planet, that one. You one of the 'play god' types?"

Dev Ossian​