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The annoying tone of Mads' omni tool woke him up. He had sworn to himself ever since he got it, that he wanted to change the beeping sound, but technology had moved so rapidly in the time he had been gone, that he often found it difficult to master. He remembered how his seniors struggled with technology in his time, how they had troubles with creating an e-mail, or not falling for a Nigerian Prince offering them money.

He hit the answer button, the option without a hologram appearing. He couldn't really afford to be seen like a mess in this time and age. At least it was a familiar voice that came from the omni-tool. He had come to know him as some sort of brother. Harold Romanov was the current head of the Romanov family. He was pushing his 50'ties, but he was a good man. But, he was the type to work too much, which of course effected his relationship with his son, Joseph.

"Morning Romanov." Harold greeted.

"Morning." Mads replied in his usual hoarse morning voice.

"I see I have woken you up. You do realize that the omni-tool hold the function of setting an alarm, don't you?" Harold asked in a joking manner.

"I'm a busy man. I deserve some sleep." Man replied with a cough.

"That you are. I heard the news: The first human spectre? That's an achievement, and it's an honor for the house of Romanov." Harold remarked.

"Yeah, though I don't think it will be a walk in the park." Mads said while stretching out.

"Being a Spectre is not a cake walk. What's your assignment?" Harold asked.

"Technically that's classified, but the council can kiss my ass. We are hunting down a fella named Saren." Mads explained.

"Saren? That Turian Spectre?" Harold asked curiously.

"Bingo… You know him?" Mads asked back.

"No, but I have heard about him. Apparently he's a resourceful fucker. Has he gone rouge?"

"It's worse than that. He is leading an army of Geth."

"Really? Well shit."

"Yeah, he is the mastermind behind the attack on Eden Prime. Now it's a matter of finding the Turian prick, which is close to locating a needle in a haystack."

"You got any leads?"

"Yeah. Though I'm gonna keep that information restricted to as few people as possible."

"Fair enough."

"How is Joseph doing? And are you still in on that god forsaken project?" Mads had been rather frustrated after since Harold had told him about it. The project was about colonizing a whole other galaxy. He found idea stupid and wanted to hit Harold over the head for even joining the thing.

"Joseph is doing well, but I still have trouble reaching him. He has signed on for Andromeda Initiative though. Are you sure you don't want to come with us? It will be a new start." Harold had pleaded with Mads ever since he first told him about it. That was 5 years ago… Or there about. Mads had refused, though he was a man that had very few things to lose, he still felt a special connection to this galaxy, to Earth, to Russia. All these things were his home, and he would be damned if he turned his back on it to run.

"I'll stay here. Plenty of things that need solving." Mads replied.

"Not everything can be resolved with a bullet, Mads." Harold advised.

"Yeah, I know. Someone needs to stay here. Someone needs to hold their hand over the throne. There is a fair share of people who wants to try the crown on for size." Mads fired back.

"There will always be those types."

"By that saying, Andromeda will be no different. I rather stay where I know which way the wind is blowing, and what color the grass is."

"A conservative through and through."

"Yeah, I guess I'm guilty..." Mads sighed. "Anyhow, I gotta get going. I got a ship to run."

"A ship to run? You mean to tell me-"

"Yeah, they gave me command of the Normandy. It's still a top-secret ship, but it's really an ace in the hole in this fight."

"Did they promote you to Captain as well?"

"No, still Commander. Though, unofficially, I'm the captain."

"I guess that's a comfort."

"Yeah, but I'll be seeing you." Mads said.

"Sure thing." Harold replied, and closed to the call. Mads took a big breath as he rubbed his temples.

A few hours later

The cargo hold, SSV Normandy.

"Five… Six" Mads counted as he put the last bullet in the chamber of his 44. Magnum. He gave the chamber a good spin and placed the Magnum in his holster. He looked up to see his new team standing ready. He wanted to give the aliens a trial run, since they all had potential.

"Alright fellas." Mads yelled, instantly getting their attention. "Our target today is Dr. Liara T'Soni. Daughter of Benezia T'Soni. Since her mother is wrapped up tight with Saren, there is a possibility that Dr. T'Soni is as well. Our main objective to apprehend her and bring her on board for questioning." Mads explained as they all looked on. "Is that understood?" He asked.

"Yes sir." They all replied in union.

"I'm taking a chance on our new crew members. Kaiden and Ashley, please welcome onboard Garrus, Wrex and Tali. All of them are new, but they have experience, or at the very least training. When we are there, you follow my orders as closely as you can. If you do, we might just be successful. Any questions?"

"Are we expecting any hostiles?" Ashley asked.

"There might be Geth stationed there to protect Dr. T'Soni. According to the file on her, she specializes in Prothean research. Whatever her purpose is on Therum, I would suspect that it has something to do with Saren's mission. Be alert, and stay in the bloody MAKO, and we should be fine." Mads replied.

"Any other questions?" Mads asked. No one spoke up, so Mads assumed all was understood.

"5 minutes to Therum, Commander." Joker informed them over the comms.

"Saddle up fellas. Garrus, I want you on the main gun, Tali, you take the engineering seat. The rest of you can sit in the back, while I drive." Mads ordered as he began to climb in.

"Not sure I trust you to drive, Romanov." Garrus joked as he climbed in after Mads.

"I should cane you for that… I really should. But you know what? I'll dock your wages instead" Mads replied jokingly.

"What, I get paid for this?"

"Not anymore" They both laughed as they settled in their seats. Wrex had a little trouble getting in, but he managed in the end. Mads lightly tapped the wheel as he waited for all of them to buckle down. Tali was looking through the control, mapping them out and learning their functions.

Mads hadn't driven the MAKO in quite some time, so he was trying to remember it. Luckily, the MAKO worked very similar to the old military vehicles he used to drive back in the day. He looked around to see most of them ready, and he was eager to see their reaction to what would come next.

"Wait a minute, how do we deploy this thing?" Garrus asked from his position at the gunner's nest.

"Oh, you'll see shortly." Mads replied, keeping it vague.

"30 seconds, I'll open the cargo door now. Have a fun trip, and bring back a souvenir, will ya?" Joker informed them.

"Wait a minute, there is no wait we can land in just 30 seconds." Tali remarked as she read the information the MAKO was feeding her.

"You're gonna like this." Mads smiled as he eagerly waited for the doors to open. As soon as they did, he hit the accelerator. The MAKO drove the small distance from its place in the cargo hold, to the Normandy's cargo door leading down to a nasty fall. Mads had tried the ordeal a few times, and he was looking forward to seeing their reactions.

"Wait NO!" Tali screamed as the MAKO drove over the ramp and fell into free fall. It was a glorious twelve seconds of pure laughter from Mads as he heard the screams and yelling from his crew mates. The only one remaining calm was Wrex, but he was a Krogan, so it wasn't fair to compare. They landed safely with the features the MAKO held, which were plentiful.

Mads had never seen anyone open a hatch quicker than Kaiden after that ride. He nearly jumped out for the love of his life to vomit his entire lunch up. Ashley went out to check on him, and Garrus seemed awfully quiet. Tali was quiet for a second or so as well, before she turned around, and landed a big punch on his right arm.

"You Bosh'tet! What the hell was that?" She asked. It was clear adrenaline was still in her blood, because the breaths she took were enormous.

"Being unprepared helped you guys not being dismissive of our approach, and this is the greatest laugh I'd had in a long time." Mads had trouble keeping the chuckle from entering his voice.

"Spirits! I thought I was a goner!" Garrus finally remarked, trying to catch his breath after the screaming. Mads poked his head of the hatch to see Kaiden still bend over, emptying his guts out on the hard rock below.

"You okay, lieutenant?" Mads asked with a grin. He spit out on the floor, then held his hand up, showing five fingers.

"Five minutes." Kaiden's voice was meek. Mads chuckled as he crawled back into his seat. It was clear they were quite cross with him at the moment, and he understood why. He sighed as he waited for Kaiden to regain his balance, and for the others to calm down a bit.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad." Mads remarked. Tali had crossed her arms and refused to look at him but Mads peaked around. "I know you are smiling behind that visor, Tali." It was more of a lucky guess, because she was. Romanov had that ability, to do a major fuck up and make people forget with just a few words.

"You finished out there, lieutenant?" Mads asked in a yell. He heard a grunt of confirmation as Kaiden settled back into his seat. "Then let's get on with the mission at hand, shall we?"

"Just drive before there will be a collective murder on you." Kaiden replied in his weak voice. Mads just laughed as he sent off. He quickly noticed that this place was, in fact, quite hot. Therum was known for its heat, mining and apparently Prothean ruins. Mads had peaked over at Tali's console, and was shocked at just how hot it was. He was forever grateful for the Alliance for having Air conditioning in their MAKOs.

Joker's voice suddenly came in over the comms in the MAKO. "Commander, we are picking up several hostiles in the area. I figure it's your welcome party"

"Thanks Joker, I'm sure Garrus will show them our gratitude." Mads replied.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the first Geth creatures showed up. These were not the regular troopers, but rather four legged beasts, which were capable of dealing damage beyond the small arms of their brethren. Garrus was as much of a marksman with the canon on the Mako as he was with a sniper rifle… At least if you would believe his record file. Tali fed Mads with whatever updates there were. She was doing an excellent job and Mads was beginning to see why Quarians had a good track record for being capable engineers.

"If this major Geth presence isn't damning enough, then I don't know what is. I wonder what they are looking for." Mads thought out loud.

"They are probably here to protect that Asari." Ashley replied. Mads was noticing Ashley had a distaste for the Aliens. He caught her looking either angry or dirty at Tali, Wrex and Garrus. Kaiden mostly kept himself quiet.

"Maybe, either way, Dr. T'Soni has a few things to answer for when we get there. I hope to arrest her, so please, keep your finger off the trigger. Understood?" Mads asked as he looked at Garrus and Wrex.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Garrus asked in a joking offended voice.

"Because I know you like to deal justice by yourself. I need information, not a body." Mads clarified, still giving him a smile. Garrus just gave a grunt of acknowledgment. They had taken down at least a dozen of those Geth Armatures as they were called, Tali had been nice enough to correct Mads on that. The Mako had taken a few hits, but nothing they couldn't repair. Now, they were faced with solid rock formations, which was too much of a challenge for even the Mako.

"Alright fellas. From here, it's on foot. Keep formation and keep alert." Mads ordered as he crawled out of the Mako, rifle in hand. They all got out, one by one, and established a perimeter around the Mako. There were no Geth in sight… Yet. They moved out, slowly, one step at a time. There was no need to risk themselves here. They went through a small valley, cuts out between the rock formations.

"Stay sharp people. This is the perfect place for an ambush." Mads advised as they moved along, keeping their eyes and ears trained in all directions. "Jesus fucking Christ, this heat is unbearable." Mads remarked, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"It's not meant for any living beings. Hostile environment is the biggest killer." Kaiden replied.

"Yeah… God, I miss St. Petersburg." Mads muttered to himself.

"What was that, commander?" Ashley asked.

"Oh, nothing… Erh… Garrus, try and gain some high ground and get a vantage over the place. Put the sniper to good use." Mads ordered.

"Yes sir." Garrus said in a mocking voice as he began to climb the rocks to get up. They continued along the path carved out for them, wondering when the Geth might show up.

"This doctor better be fucking worth it." Wrex snarled.

"Agreed." Mads said. They began to emerge from the rock path and saw what looked like civilization. "Garrus, I see some sort of mining facility up ahead, can you confirm your visual? over" Mads asked in to his ear piece.

"Copy, I see it. There is a path leading into the mines. I assume this is the stairway to the Prothean ruins? Over." Garrus answered.

"Affirmative. Do you see any hostiles? Over."

"Negative. Over."

Mads raised his rifle none-the-less. There was bound to be something hiding there, just waiting to jump out and take the shot. Mads was glad he had a person like Garrus with him, who could lay down covering fire with a sniper, or take out the enemies while they were focused on the main group.

They were approaching the mining site faster, but stopped dead with a single hand gesture from Mads: Don't fucking move

"What is it?" Ashley asked concerned.

"Listen." Mads ordered. They all did so, and heard the faintest noise of a ship coming in hot. Mads pointed to cover, and quickly jumped down as the ship flew in. "GARRUS! GIVE ME A STATUS RIGHT NOW!" Mads demanded as he checked that all 4 other members were behind cover. A loud bang was heard, and the mechanical sounds of movement that only a Geth creation could make.

"Shit, they just dropped in a big boy. Seems to be a tough one. I see troopers as well." Garrus informed them, and he waited for them to open fire. If Garrus shot first, then there was a big chance the Geth could pin point him.

"Alright boys, open fire!" Mads yelled. Mads peaked his head over gun and let the rifle roar as it shot like fury of hell. Wrex got up and charged straight in after the lonesome Geth standing on the sideline. Mads focused fire on the big creature, while Ashley and Kaiden helped Wrex clean up everything else. Garrus also laid down fire, but their bullets did little to even dent the armor on the thing.

"Fuck! The shields are too powerful!" Mads remarked as he let his rifle cool down. "We need another approach! Or we'll be toast!" Suddenly, Tali had an idea. She put her shotgun away for a moment and began to type away at her omni-tool. She knew what she was trying was possible, she just hoped it would be in time. They continued the fight, Mads had no time to pay attention to what Tali was attempting. He hadn't even noticed she stopped firing at the Geth creature.

"Yes!" Tali exclaimed as she finished the hack on her omni-tool. "Its shield is down!" She yelled.

"Great work! Focus fire!" Mads ordered as they all began laying down hell on the big creature. The creature didn't last long from the combined fire. It yielded in no time at all. Mads laughed as the thing fell, almost rocking the earth as the heavy weight collided with the hard rock below it.

"Nice work Tali! You probably saved all of us." Mads remarked as he gave her a pad on the back.

"Oh, it was nothing. I'm sure you would have taken it down eventually." Tali replied, with a slight blush on her cheeks. This was one of the few times she was glad the mask hid her face. She liked getting compliments. They were few and far between with her own father, the man who she tried to impress all the time.

"I appreciate the faith you have in me Tali, but I think it's safe to say you saved the day here. We probably won't have lasted much longer if that things fired up its main guns. Remind me to pay you a bonus." Mads remarked.

"What? No bonus for me?" Garrus asked as he came down from the high ground of which he had been standing on.

"You hurt my feelings Garrus, that's a serious offense nowadays." Mads joked as he gave Garrus a slap on the back.

"Thanks, Commander." Tali said, but it wasn't much louder than a whisper.

"Hey, you keep it up, and you'll be the best here." Mads smiled. "Come on, let's go find the good doctor." Mads ordered as he pointed to the mine entrance.

"I've got to admit, I don't really trust that elevator." Garrus remarked as he looked down the elevator shaft.

"Let's hope it's built to last. Come on, we can't stall this any longer." Mads remarked as he waited for the elevator to come up. They all entered the elevator, and was quite alarmed at the noises of protest the elevator made to the combined weight of them all.

"Okay, that doesn't sound good" Ashley observed.

Mads pushed the button to go down, and slowly it did so. Not without its creaking noises. The whole place looked ancient; in fact, the Prothean ruins looked more modern than the tech this mining company was using. It stopped, probably a feet short of the level they were supposed to get on off.

"Wait a minute, is that safe?" Kaiden asked.

"You got fucking feet, right lieutenant?" Mads asked back.

"Yeah?"

"Then fucking jump." Mads said as he took the first jump down. They all did, the elevator sounded worse with each departure. Only Tali and Wrex was left in the end, and the elevator really didn't like Wrex moving about. As soon as Wrex jumped off, it was the end of the elevator. The capable snapped.

Mads usually operated on pure instinct. That's what got him so far, so when he heard the noises, he jumped, landed on his stomach (Which knocked the wind right out of his lungs) and took hold of Tali's wrist just as she screamed in pure terror at the prospect of dying. He held on tight, and he could feel Wrex keeping a tight grip on his boots. Slowly, they pulled Tali up. Mads could feel how tense she was.

"Are you alright?" Mads asked concerned. That was a traumatic event is there ever was one. "Do you need a minute?"

"No! I'm… I'm fine!" She was focused on not appearing weak in front of the Commander. Not after all the respect he had given her within their short time together.

"Okay." Mads nodded. Just then, Mads heard the faintest noise coming from down below them. It was a female voice, and it sounded like she was calling for help. Mads gestured for them to move down. They did so, slowly. They were not in the mood for any more surprises.

He saw an Asari, hanging the air behind some sort of shield... or barrier. She was dressed in a lab outfit, so Mads assumed this was the one. "Hello? Thank Goddess! Someone came!" Liara was relieved in that moment, seeing actual living beings.

"Woah, is that Prothean tech?" Mads asked. Liara looked confused at him. "Right… Dr. T'Soni I presume?" Mads asked.

"Yes… That's me."

"Well Doc. I'm Mads Romanov, I'm a citadel Spec-… I'm a commander with the alliance navy, and I would sure like to ask you a few questions, but first, how the hell do we get you out of there?"

"Well, I was looking through the Prothean technology, and I must have accidentally turned on the switch for this field. I have been stuck for quite a while. I believe there is a control panel… But-"

"But what?"

"It's behind me, and I'm not sure how you can get to it."

"Not to worry, Dr. T'Soni. As a Russian, I'm quite resourceful." Mads smiled as he took a quick look around. Liara (And the rest of the crew for that matter) looked at him confused but Mads just pretended to not see it. "We're going to look for a way in, you just sit tight." Mads made a small chuckle sound. "Not that you can do much else." He chuckled as he began to descend down.

There was a couple of Geth hiding out on the lower parts of the mine, but they were no match for the team. Mads was looking around for a secret door of some kind, the rest were also looking for possible ways in. That's when Mads noticed the giant laser facing the lower part of the Prothean ruin.

"Tali?" Mads summoned her. She came quickly.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Do you think you can turn on this laser? I think we can use it to cut a path through that part down there." Mads theorized as he pointed to the rocks in the lower part.

"I can try." Tali replied as she began to work on the laser. Mads hadn't even turned around before the Laser shot it's beam through the lower part, creating the hole for them to enter. He had expected it took at least a few minutes, but Tali must have done it in 15 seconds.

"Jesus! That was quick!" Mads laughed.

"It only had minor security features on it. It wasn't hard to hack." Tali explained.

"I'm so glad we have you here. If I had done, it would probably have taken ages!" Mads laughed as he began to make his way down. "Once again, Mrs. Zorah saves the day!" Tali once again blushed. She was being showered in compliments, for what she considered minor things, and she loved every second of it, even though her Quarian background told her to be modest, and not take pride in it.

They all went on the lift, and quickly reached the position of Dr. T'Soni, who was still very much hanging in midair. It didn't look comfortable in the slightest, and he was pretty sure she wouldn't like what came next. Mads hit the switch and watched Liara fall to the floor.

"Thank you! I have been stuck for ages, now, what did you want to ask me abou-" She was cut off mid-sentence by Mads forcing her to her knees and handcuffed her.

"Dr. T'Soni, the clock is 4:53 am, and you are being placed under arrest under the suspicion of colliding with a known terrorist and outlaw." Mads explained as he placed her in handcuffs.

"What? What's the meaning of this!" Liara was visibly confused, which made Mads think.

"Your mother, Benezia T'Soni, is currently helping a known rouge Spectre by the name of Saren. I will now bring you on the SSV Normandy for formal questioning." Mads informed her. Liara was processing what she was being told and was really confused.

Mads brought her back on her legs and gestured for them to move out. They went back to the lift, which would lead them to the surface. Mads hit the button and waited patiently with a hand on Liara's shoulder as the lift slowly went up.

"Saren probably sent the Geth here to collect me! I had nothing to do with any of this! There was a Krogan here earlier, who wanted to take me away!" Liara proclaimed.

"Please, Doctor. I would advise you to be quiet." Mads suggested. But, Liara was telling the truth. As soon as they hit the top floor, there was a Krogan waiting for them.

"Thank you, you saved me the trouble of getting her out myself. Now, hand her over." The Krogan demanded.

"No chance, step back." Mads ordered. The Krogan laughed.

"I like your attitude human. Too bad I must kill you." The Krogan then pulled out his shotgun and began to open fire. Mads threw Liara behind them, and quickly pulled out his magnum. He took aim, and fired three shots at the Krogan, all were hits. This only served to piss off the Krogan warlord even more, as he began to charge after Mads. Mads managed to dodge him in the nick of time, and fired two shots, each hitting the kneecap of the Krogan. The Krogan buckled under its own weight, Mads finished him with a single shot to the head, only it didn't kill him.

Krogans were known for their regeneration powers, but that wouldn't matter as Mads felt the cave began to shake violently. So, he decided to tail it out of there, and in turn, he denied the Krogan the honorable thing, to be killed in battle. The Krogan cursed Mads to hell as they all left.

The Normandy was waiting for them, and they couldn't get off the planet soon enough. Luckily, the crew of the Normandy had already retrieved the Mako, which saved them the headache.

Mads placed Liara in the room behind Dr. Chakwas' med bay and began to plan how he would question her. There was a lot to cover. But, they had completed their first mission, which was a stunning success… Sort of, now he had to report it to the council, which he really didn't want to do. They would find something he did wrong and lecture him on it from their high horse.