Ezekiel Daun

"Somebody wants you dead. That's fine by me. But he didn't stipulate how you were to die. Nor how long it should take. That was left up to me to decide. And we got all night."

- Daun's regular 'announcement' to his victims^(src)

Ezekiel Daun
Physical
Race	Terran
Gender	Male
Hair	Black
Eyes	Blue
Political
Occupation	Bounty hunter/assassin

Ezekiel Daun was a sadistic and mentally unstable bounty hunter. He had a cybernetic arm, and had a habit of recording holos of his kills, using them to unnerve later opponents and for his own entertainment.

Biography

Daun made many kills over the course of his career and established a name for himself for law and criminal authorities alike. One of the most well known examples was where he was given a bounty that didn't have a deadline, allowing Daun to take his time. Capturing both the target and his wife, he focused on the latter first, even though there was no bounty on her. He flayed her skin off her first, forcing her husband to watch the entire time before moving onto him. Various versions of this account popped up over the years, including one that said he brought a few kilos of salt with him to add to the torture. In another case, he removed a victim's fingers one by one.

Hunting Devils

Daun eliminates Ryk Kydd

In the 2490s, Daun was hired by former Confederate colonel Javier Vanderspool, who sought revenge against the surviving members of the Heaven's Devils and those associated with them. His first two targets were Clair Hobarth and Hiram Feek. Daun succeeded in eliminating them both.

In 2494, Daun tracked down former Devil Ryk Kydd, in the midst of a hit job in Tarsonis City. Daun carried out a hit of his own against the former marine, subduing him easily thanks to his cybernetic enhancements and unnatural speed. Unfortunately for Daun, he killed Kydd in far too short an amount of time for his liking. Vanderspool on the other hand was quite pleased at the kill, the proof of which being Kydd's decapitated head. Still, that left two more targets—Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay.

Through the Screaming Skulls, Daun lured Raynor and Findlay onto the Refurbish and Recovery Station 5034. He had killed everyone onboard by the time they arrived and as per his M.O., Daun used the holos of his former hits against Hobbarth, Feek and Kydd to unnerve the pair before confronting them in person. The three engaged in a gun battle, but while the outlaws had the advantage in numbers (and a bit of luck on their side), Daun's cybernetic strength and perseverance tilted the scales in his favor. However, the pair were able to escape the station and took new employment (and protection) from crime lord Scutter O'Banon.

As events on Halcyon demonstrated however, O' Banon's 'protection' was either non-existent or worthless. The pair were to extract Doctor Andrew Forrest from the Besske-Vrain & Stalz Pharmaceutical Corporation, but Daun beat them to it. He caused a blackout in the building and terminated the doctor before moving onto his real targets. However, through a combination of skill and luck, the pair were able to elude his wrath and deal some of their own—in the ensuring gun battle, Daun lost one of his eyes to a beaker filled with acid forcing him to replace it with an ocular implant fitted with a targeting laser.

Even then, Daun didn't give up, tracking the pair back to Deadman's Port. There he made contact with one of O'Banon's subordinates, ordering him to inform O'Banon that while he wouldn't make a play on Raynor or Findlay on his own turf, outside, they were fair game. This remained true as he tracked the pair to Bacchus Moon. An intended heist against the Covington Bank was botched, leading the two to flee to the penthouse above it, where Daun was lying in wait, having killed the lights and once again employing his usual tactics of psychological warfare via holograms and taunts. However, Daun's overconfidence and targeting laser worked against him and Raynor was finally able to down him. Daun survived, but was taken into custody by the authorities as well as Findlay.

Personality and Traits

"He don't just kill. He drags it out. Likes to torture his victims in every way possible afore he kills 'em. He knows just where and how to hurt."

- Tychus Findlay^(src)

Daun claimed to be able to "smell" fear, especially the "pure" fear of children, and could easily discern deception. This caused Raynor to believe he was an empath. Either way, Daun was very much a sadist, enjoying prolonging the death and consequent agony for his victims for as long as possible. However, he was still loyal to whoever employed him, willing to give them results, regardless of the means. This included killing innocents if it meant achieving his goals.