- For other uses, see Jack.
- See Katz for other articles with titles that contain, either by relationship or by coincidence, this character's surname.
Jack Katz was a 23rd century Human man, a miner at the Pergium Production Station mining colony on Janus VI in 2270.
Biography[]
In the 2260s, Katz was studying geology in college when his classmate Ralph Antara faced a sudden financial hardship. Katz loaned him the funds needed to complete his studies.
By 2270, at 21 years old, Katz had become a geology expert. He had some training in unarmed combat, but knew little about marksmanship or ground vehicle operations.
In 2270, he reunited with Antara when he signed on at the Pergium Production Station, "buying in" shares of company stock as did other miners at the employee-owned company. During his training period, he was paired with Louis Handy and Randy Conway. Conway gave him initial lessons on how to operate a sizzle bug. Handy often quarreled with him, and two weeks later they had an altercation. The next day, however, Handy seemed more amenable, as he invited Katz to meet him and train in the southwest tunnels. Katz drove there in a tunnel runner, but he arrived to find an abandoned sizzle bug with its ore phasers still firing. He shut down the beams and discovered what was left of Handy in front of the vehicle. He rushed back to the main facility, but in his panic overturned his vehicle and had to walk most of the way. By the time he got back, others had discovered the murder, and Katz had become the prime suspect.
Katz was confined to quarters until he could be interviewed by an investigating team from the Federation starship USS Enterprise. Wanting to prove his innocence, he slipped out and searched for clues in the area where the murder occurred, including disconnecting the sizzle bug's mining scoop, only to be caught and arrested, this time for the murder of a Horta. Authorities believed that the Horta witnessed Katz killing Handy, and then Katz killed the Horta to cover up his crime. He turned down an offer to be remanded to a civilian spaceport for trial, believing events might turn out better where people at least knew him.
When the dead Horta was revealed not to be the All Mother, but rather a second, previously unknown Mother Horta, a search and rescue operation was launched. Katz remained under guard, unable to participate. (FASA RPG module: Witness for the Defense)
Appendices[]
Connections[]
| Pergium Production Station personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Billy Anderson • Ralph Antara • Ed Appel • Randy Conway • Homero Galdamiz • Louis Handy • Jack Katz • Davidson Leek • Laurel Levine • Roberts (miner) • Sam (miner) • Schmitter • Solon • Wilson Vanderberg • Klaus Wagner • Debra Weisskopf | 
|