Chapter 1:

The Widow

"I don't like this Captain. It seems a little strange in my eyes," Kephkah whined annoyingly. He always whined annoyingly.

"Are you sure it's not that foot of yours playing with your head, Kephkah?"

The glimmering metal crutch stood out on the deck. Kephkah looked down only to realise what a fool he'd been, encouraging stacks of laughter to spread around the vessel until Aram Tararn was left in tears. Karan, observing, merely tilted his head to the right in disapproval and waited until they reached their destination. The darkness engulfing him gave him time to think and the crew stayed quiet following Aram's jest. They understood that the power lie with their captain and when the captain disapproved they shut their mouths.

The ship was heading for an established human colony by the name of Terra Nova, a place renowned for it's platinum deposits and ever growing population. The humans were developing so quickly, it seemed. Karan was scarcely a man when he had heard of First Contact; a brief but bitter skirmish decorated with blood, one that determined how the galaxy would see the humans for decades.

In his spare time, he thought of home, of Telah, Craza and Ghorek; friends, companions and family all back on Aratoht, awaiting his arrival from the harshness of open space and the reality of piracy; dirty, vicious and cruel yet an utter necessity should one want to live freely and fully as Karan believed all batarians should. He remembered the warm rains of his youth and the constant, hammering sound of the newly established mining community putting him to sleep, the occasional clanging of slavers and slaves passing his window through the night on their way to another deposit. The thought put his mind at peace.

The Widow shuddered briefly as the hull was hit by harmless debris. Kephkah, distressed, looked at Karan for validation of safety. Aram intervened.

"Don't piss your pants, Kephkah, it's probably just some worthless, harmless crap.." Aram said with a grin that cut deep "..Somewhat like you."

Kephkah shifted where he stood and looked like he might aim to rebuke Aram, but after careful consideration, remained silent. Karan sighed.

"A master gunner relies on his crew to protect and aid him. Insulting crew members won't get you anything but trouble."

The ship was silent. Kephkah looked reassured.

"Besides.. Kephkah hails from Aratoht just like your captain.. we take what we can and do as we will.. and you know all about that don't you Aram?."

That garnered some chuckles from the crew. Aram seemed relieved that he wasn't humiliated further and extended a hand towards Kephkah and exclaimed,

"Better a crippled batarian than a healthy salarian eh!?"

Everyone extended their voice to agree apart from Karan. There was no need to do so. He kept his crew in order and established his dominance by doing so, and by doing so previously he had already captained three different vessels, all successful ventures that made Karan a rich man.

The Widow was newest of these three, a light cruiser Karan and Aram had captured from some turian mercenaries three years prior. She had a sleek metallic interior and could house up to 150 men with their own state of the art rooms, with a bed, a bathroom and a chest for personal possessions. She was well equipped with an ETL and 20 cavilan cannons making the most of her weaponry, as well as having an FTL drive and some of the best shielding money could buy. She was the pride of batarian pirates and even her enemies could not help but be impressed. They called her the Widow for her impressive bite in battle.

Aram cursed as a galling noise went through everyone's ears, followed by the voice of Baz on the intercom.

"What was that?" Kephkah whined again. There was a brief moment of pure stillness.

"Captain, I need you in cockpit."

"..And I need a new set of ears you turian bastard!"

"Bite me Aram."

Karan allowed these conversations to happen between Aram and Baz because they were often beneficial to him. Aran; his right hand and closest friend he had; Baz; his helmsman and link to turian pirates. They always somehow made it work for him in some shape or form. He made the walk towards to cockpit in a quick, dignified manner, his boots making each step resonate in the crew's ears with a deep melodic rhythm as they watched him move to the door, before continuing their blathering once again.

Baz was sitting, cross legged on the frigid iron floor, barefoot as always, playing with his deck of cards.

"You know, a pilot often calls his captain to his station for an important reason." Karan mused loudly.

Baz stumbled to his feet and placed the deck on his desk, picking up a datapad whilst there and rushing back to Karan.

"This is important. Take a look."

The datapad indicated a change. Changes irked Karan, especially ones that could jeopardise his safety.. but it was merely a change in target.

"Admiral Stephens.. I see. Why the change?"

"It only said "Lindholm is not to be harmed", sounds a bit off to me personally."

"Perhaps Kephkah fears were well placed?"

Baz shook his head.

"Or perhaps we're simply over-thinking the matter. We're nearly there Captain, I say we cut this guy down, take our credits and get out of there as quick as possible"

Karan thought heavily. A smirk crept through his usually expressionless face.

"Don't feel the need to rush, Baz. I'd like to speak to the crew. Fix the intercom."

"I'll get Zal on it."

Ten minutes later, the crew almost filled the deck completely, heads sprouted across the room like weeds in a garden. Karan was grateful of how obedient his crew were, he wouldn't have got this far otherwise. A certain number of people he knew, including Aram, Kephkah and Zal were in a sea of unknown or unacquainted faces. They would know him soon enough. A captain should know his crew as a crew should know their captain, lest their loyalty shift elsewhere. That was highly unlikely however. Respect for Captain Karan Zuh'thalu went as far the Spectres and the Council. Batarians were secretly honoured that he was one of them and rival pirates could not help but admire what he had done in his short few years as a pirate. Karan knew of the legacy he would leave behind shortly as pirates oft times never live long but determination was a driving factor in making sure it would last as long as he could possibly make it. Now was the time to debrief the crew on the mission.

"As I'm sure you all know, this is a bit different to our usual everyday pirating." Karan said in a loud declaration that oozed sovereignty and power. All eyes shifted on him, with mouths airtight and silent. Obedience encapsulated all.

"But the contact offered us a hefty sum of credits for this to be done, and we all know how much we like credits."

A soft muttered laughter spread throughout the crowd. The captain waited for silence then continued.

"But this is not a simple raid or stealing from a passing craft. This is a special high risk assassination on a high ranking Alliance admiral on a human colony with an overwhelming army that would insurmountable should we try and face them head on."

The words hit the crew like a hail of bullets. They were barely literate.

"..which is why I call for a change of tactics. Some of you are aware already, we'll be taking the stealth approach, which is good news for most of you as surely you think it means less work."

The laughter was more noticeable this time. Karan severed it like a cleaver.

"You'd be wrong. I want everyone ready at their station whilst a small ground team and I are on Terra Nova. Should we be discovered I want a quick and clean getaway with my hide still in one piece as I assume you fine gentlemen want as well?"

Silence.

"Then let's nail this bastard."

The roar of agreement was deafening. Every crew member yelled their thoughts in unison.
"YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!"