Zasm Katth was a Human male Dark Jedi and a member of the Dark Side Elite, a group of darksiders who served the reborn Galactic Emperor Palpatine. In 10 ABY, Katth worked with another Elite named Baddon Fass during the search for the Millennium Falcon on the moon Nar Shaddaa, leading the operation from the Imperial Star Destroyer Invincible. Commanding a legion of Imperial stormtroopers, the duo unsuccessfully tried to recruit the famous bounty hunter Boba Fett to aid them in the search, but failed. They then located the Falcon, without its crew, inside Shug Ninx's hangar. When Solo reclaimed his ship and attempted to escape from the planet, Katth gave an order to activate the Invincibles tractor beam. However, the beam caught the massive Traffic Control tower instead, which flew toward the Star Destroyer and pierced it through, causing it to fall to the surface and killing Katth.
Zasm Katth was a Human male Dark Side Adept and a veteran servant of Galactic Emperor Palpatine. When the Emperor returned in a clone body, after his demise at the Battle of Endor he established the Dark Side Elite, an elite group of seven Dark Jedi, empowered with the dark side of the Force by the Emperor himself. Considering Katth to be one of his strongest darksiders, Palpatine made him a member of that elite group. In 10 ABY, Palpatine died another time during a confrontation with the Jedi Luke Skywalker and his sister Leia Organa Solo near the New Republic's Pinnacle Base.
With the leader of the Dark Side Elite, Executor Sedriss QL, temporarily taking control of Palpatine's Dark Empire in preparation for the Emperor's return in another clone body, he dispatched Katth and another Dark Jedi Baddon Fass on a mission to the moon of Nar Shaddaa. Given command of the Imperial Star Destroyer Invincible and a legion of Imperial stormtroopers, the pair were assigned to accomplish a number of objectives. First, they were to make contact with the bounty hunter Boba Fett and recruit him in the search for the Millennium Falcon, the starship of Organa Solo's husband, Han Solo. They were also to report on any sightings of the Falcon directly to Sedriss. Finally, the Dark Jedi were required to eliminate, Vima-Da-Boda, an ancient Jedi who had taken refuge on the smuggler's moon.
The Invincible crashes on Nar Shaddaa, killing Zasm Katth.
While stationed aboard the Invincible in orbit of Nar Shaddaa, the Dark Jedi soon witnessed the Falcon arriving at the moon. Katth and Fass attempted to lock it down with the tractor beam, but Solo's masterful piloting allowed him to escape and land in the abandoned Duros Sector. Knowing that they would be unable to locate Solo themselves in the mazelike passages of that area, Katth and Fass decided to enlist Fett's services after all. Confronting Fett, the two demanded him to provide his services for free, threatening to reveal his secrets and using the dark side on him. However, Fett unleashed his arsenal of rockets, blasting the stormtroopers accompanying Katth and Fass and making his escape in Slave I. The setback was only temporary, however, as Dark trooper team two reported that they discovered the Millennium Falcon stationed inside Shug Ninx's repair shop.
As they were making their way to Ninx's hangar, Katth and Fass sensed the presence of Vima-Da-Boda nearby. Unconcerned for the safety of locals, Fass ordered the dark trooper Grath to open fire at the crowd with his turbocannon. However, the Jedi was able to slip away unharmed. In addition to that, Dark Trooper Team Two was eliminated by Solo and his allies, who left the Falcon in order to search for Vima. Taking the bodies of the dead stormtroopers with them, Katth and Fass stationed a number of guards aboard the Falcon and returned to the Invincible. The Solos were able to rescue Vima and reclaim the Falcon, however. After evading an encounter with Fett, they attempted to escape from Nar Shaddaa.
However, Solo's rival Mako Spince, the man in charge of the Nar Shaddaa Traffic Control spire detected the Falcon as it was passing by and contacted the darksiders aboard the Star Destroyer. Having received that information, Katth ordered to activate the tractor beam to catch the elusive ship. However, Solo attempted to take cover behind the Traffic Control tower. Willing to capture Solo at all costs, Katth ignored all safety protocols and ordered to set the tractor beam on full power. Solo, however, maneuvered the ship behind the spire, losing the tractor lock. Katth ordered Fass to reengage the beam. However, having been set to full power, the beam started to rip through the massive construction and start pulling it toward the Star Destroyer. Having noticed that, Katth desperately ordered Fass to disengage the beam.
However, the order came too late, as the spire pierced through the engineering compartment of the Star Destroyer, killing the engineers and disabling the main thrusters. Fass contacted the crew of the ravaged deck, demanding them to stabilize the ship, but they were unable to do so, and the Star Destroyer plummeted into the surface of the moon, killing the entire crew aboard, including Katth and Fass. Emperor Palpatine, who had returned in another clone body, was disappointed to have lost two of his best Dark Jedi and reprimanded Sedriss for failing to prevent their deaths. Katth and Fass were eventually replaced in the Dark Side Elite by two other darksiders.
A veteran Dark Jedi, Katth was considered by Palpatine to be one of his most valued servants. As a darksider, his eyes glowed yellow. He wore a set of clothing similar to other Dark Side Elite members, with dark robes, heavy boots and gauntlets and a hood covering his head. Katth commanded the mission on Nar Shaddaa, having more authority than Fass. In his attempt to capture Solo, which he believed would lead to his promotion, he neglected the safety protocols on the usage of the tractor beam, which led to the destruction of the Invincible.
Considered to be one of Palpatine's most valued Dark Jedi, Katth had a developed Force sense ability, being able to sense Vima-Da-Boda while on the Invincible and later, while he and Fass were traveling through the streets of Nar Shaddaa.
Zasm Katth and his companion Baddon Fass were introduced in the 1995 comic book Dark Empire II 2 by Tom Veitch, although they were originally set to appear alongside the rest of Dark Side Elite in Veitch's planned short novel Lightsider. Katth was also featured in the audio drama adaptation of the comics. While the original comic depicts Fass as issuing most of commands, the audio drama switches their roles and even the dialogue from the comic. The article ComicScan: Comics That Almost Were in Star Wars Galaxy Collector 4 misspells Katth's last name as "Kath" and also mistakenly identifies an image of Katth as Baddon Fass, and vice versa.
The first issue of the Dark Empire II comic series includes a scene of Sedriss returning to Byss alongside four other members of Dark Side Elite. The comic does not explicitly identify whether Fass and Katth were among the group or if they were the two darksiders who were absent.
- The Essential Guide to Characters
- "ComicScan: Comics That Almost Were" — Star Wars Galaxy Collector 4
- Star Wars Handbook 3: Dark Empire
- The New Essential Guide to Characters
- The Official Star Wars Fact File85
- The Official Star Wars Fact File97
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia