Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait for this Update. I'm in the middle of finals week so I've been busy. Anyway, here is the next chapter for Spade. Enjoy!

Chapter 6: Therum and Liara

Adrian POV

The crew and myself were waiting in the briefing room. Everyone was seated, but I was standing. I didn't feel like sitting today. I looked around the room, mainly observing everyone in the room. Ashley and Pressly, the two xenophobes of the group, are conversing with each other. Kaiden and Tali are also talking, probably about tech. Wrex is sitting by himself with his eyes close. I can't help but chuckle at the fact that he may be sleeping. As for Garrus, he stands and walks up to me.

"Hey Adrian. Managed to get some sleep?" He asked. I half smiled. A little conversation before a mission never hurts. As for sleep, the usual. I've been getting nightmares recently. Mainly about previous jobs and experiences. And it took me awhile to even close my eyes. Last night was the first night I've ever told anyone a bit of my life. Well, some of it. Some had to be made up so I can "fit in" in the universe. Nalik pulled some strings, and my history has been completely rewritten for Mass Effect. My parent's information, mine, everything. I cursed myself for even mentioning Mindior. I'm kind of hoping Shepard won't ask about it. As for Garrus's question, a quick lie won't hurt.

"Eh, I slept alright. Kind of nervous though. Been awhile since I've done group work." Garrus nodded.

"You'll get use to it. I always find it best to have people watching my back, rather than shooting at me." I shrugged. "And it's alright being nervous before a mission. Just don't let it get to you."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I hear. Don't worry, once I start shooting then I'll be fine." He gave me a Turian like smile. The doors open revealing Shepard. Everyone quiets down as she walks to the middle of the room, a datapad in her hand. She read it for a bit and looks around at the crew. Some nodded, other saluted. I just gave a small smile. Last night was different for me. I never really talked to anyone about my past. And I never really had a good conversation till recently.

"This mission will be our first mission against Saren. One of his allies, Matriarch Benezia, has daughter named Liara T'Soni. She is a Prothean expert, which will hopefully come in handy in the near future. Our sources say that she is on the planet Therum..." a picture of the planet came on behind her. "... It is a mining world, with some volcanoes dotting the surface. Liara is said to be at one of the dig sites that too discovered Prothean technology. There have been reports of Geth on the planet, so expect some resistance. Any questions?"

"Will we be dropping on the exact location, or further out?" asked Kaiden.

"Unfortunately, because of the Geth, we are going to take the Mako and fight our way there." She looked at Garrus. "Vakarian, is the Mako prepped and ready?" Garrus stood up and nodded.

"Yes ma'am," he said. So civil.

"Good. Any more questions?" I had one.

"Yeah. Who is going on the ground team?" Everyone looked at Shepard.

"This mission is extremely important. Everyone will be going on this mission." I nodded. Interesting. Guess this won't be the usual three man teams then. Not that I don't mind, just as long as Wrex doesn't start kill stealing, and Garrus getting dropped every second. Still, they are my favorite characters on the game. Shepard asked for anymore question. Everyone looked around, but none asked. Shepard nodded.

"Alright then, head down to engineering, and get prepped for the mission. Everyone dismissed." We all got up and headed down to get ready. Everyone, except Pressly of course. We all went to our lockers, and readied our gear. Shepard said I need armor and the requisition had a spare armor I could use. It was light Hydra armor. Not stylish like my jacket, but better than nothing. Once I placed the armor on, I did a HUD check for my helmet. Always need to check if everything works. Weapons on and some extra clips, I was ready.

Shepard got out off the elevator in her own gear. Since she was a Spectre she was given Medium Spectre armor. Must be nice. I also got a good look at her weapons. All N7 weapons. Well duh. She had an N7 Crusader shotgun, an N7 Eagle pistol, and an N7 Hurricane. Cool.

"Alright everyone, in the Mako. We will be touching down on Therum soon. Kaiden, I want you on the gun. Ashley, you'll be spotter." They gave a yes ma'am and we all go in the Mako. I was surprised to see that we all fit in the vehicle. Shepard and Ashley sat in the front, Garrus and I in the middle, and Wrex and Tali in the back. And of course Kaiden on the gunner seat.

"Alright Joker. We are ready for drop." Awesome, my first Mako drop. I love rollercoaster's, so being in something that looks like it will have the same feeling as a drop zone is very exciting. Ashley did a countdown.

The next few seconds were fucking awesome! The Mako lurched forward, and soon enough we were plummeting to the ground. I felt my stomach rise to my chest. Then the Mako's jump rockets kicked off, giving us a sort of soft landing. The Mako jumped as it landed, and then it went to a stop. That wasn't so bad. Shepard looked back to see if we were all okay. She nodded and looked back.

"Commander, I'm picking up some readings, like off the damn chart's. It's a few clicks north of where you landed."

"Could be the dig site where the doctor may be," suggested Kaiden. Shepard nodded and we took off. Surprisingly Shepard wasn't really a bad driver. I was worried at first, but thankfully she took drivers education. Man, after all those fanfics I would read making fun of Shepard's driving, and here I am, and she is actually doing a better job. Who would of thought.

After about five minutes, something must of came on Ashley's screen. She started swiping and typing until she looked out the window.

"Geth Gunship! It's dropping Armatures! Marking them for you Kaiden!" Ashley yelled.

"This is where the fun begins..." I mumbled. Garrus seemed to chuckle at that. This is when I start questioning Shepard's driving. She was swerving and driving like a mad woman late to a dinner party at her in-laws. Kaiden was firing off the Mako's gun but so far the Armatures were holding. I couldn't tell if Kaiden was missing due to bad aim, or because of Shepard. Still, she wasn't letting us get hit by the Armatures main cannons. Kaiden fired the Mako's cannon, and hit the target. From what I could see the Armature exploded and then went limp. One down, one to go. Kaiden rained bullets on the remaining Armature, dropping its shields. He fired the cannon again. The Armature exploded like the one before, and fell to the ground. Shepard put the Mako to a stop. She looked back at us.

"Is everyone alright?" she asked. I nodded and so did Garrus. Tali said she was fine and Wrex tried to make a pun on the driving but I tuned it out. For some odd reason, my shoulder started to burn.

We headed after the quick battle. So far we met with small Geth scouting forces, but we made quick work out of them. I tried to collect my thoughts about this mission. If I remember correctly, there would be a-

"Small outpost up ahead." Huh? Well damn Ashley, at least let me finish a thought. Shepard stopped the Mako, and looked ahead.

"Maybe we can punch through with the Mako. The cannon is powerful enough" stated Kaiden. Someone is trigger happy.

"That would be no good, there is hardly any room for the Mako to maneuver. Plus those turrets will tear us apart," Wrex stated. He was right. The road was covered with boulders, and plus the gate was closed, so no way to ram right through. Then it hit me. The shortcut route from the game! If this world is anything like it, then it should be there.

"Maybe we can find a way around. Flank them and catch them off guard," I suggested. Shepard and Ashley turned towards me.

"Not bad Spade. Didn't think you would come up with anything," Ashley said with a tone. Really?

"Just doing what I do best, Gunny. Surviving. Any other way, and we could end up calling the Mako our coffins." She sent me a glare. Why is it that all the aliens are cool with me, but the two humans aren't.

"Spade is right. If we flank them, we would have the advantage. Alenko, you see a way we can use?" said Shepard. Ashley looked away, and mumbled. I shook my head.

"I see a path. Looks like it leads to the outpost." Shepard nodded, and with the turn of the wheel, we were off again. I readied myself, and motioned for the others to get ready as well.

Sure enough, we saw the outpost, and the Geth didn't see us coming. Shepard hit the gas, and I went back due to the force of the Mako. We crashed into the outpost, probably running over some Geth along the way. Kaiden started firing the gun, and Shepard gave the order to ready ourselves.

"Alright! On my signal, charge out and get to cover as quickly as you can!" We all nodded. Garrus took out a Phaston rifle. Wrex and Tali two Katana shotguns. I took out my Hurricane. Garrus opened the hatch, the hot air, and sulfur coming into the tank. Garrus and I readied ourselves, since we will be the first out.

"Go, go, go!" Garrus and I dashed out, dodging shots and returning fire. I readied my tech armor to give me a slight advantage. Garrus and I made it behind some small crates. We started returning fire to give the others some cover. I fired off an Overload, knocking a Geth down to the ground. We all had cover, and Kaiden was taking down any Geth coming out of the gate houses. At first it looked like we had a clean sweep, but then a Geth gunship came back, launching six Geth troopers and a Geth prime. Still, we had an advantage with the Mako.

After about a five minute gunfight, we won. Shepard order to get the gates open and the outer turrets of line so we wouldn't get hit. Shepard, Ashley, and Wrex went towards the entrance, and Garrus, Tali, and I walked towards the exit gate. Kaiden stayed in the Mako to watch our backs in case the Geth gunship comes back for another round.

Once inside the gate house we looked for the controls. Tali found the gate controls and I found the turret controls. We both got to work, while Garrus watched our backs. While working, I could hear Garrus and Tali talking. I chuckled when I realized Garrus was teasing her. Kind of like how he would tease her in the elevator rides. Hold on, Mass Effect 3 is when they form a bond. Maybe with a little manipulation, I can get those two together before the end of this journey.

After a few swipes on my omnitool and on the controls, the turrets were down. I looked over to Tali and saw the gates open. Well, that's done. We started to head back to the Mako.

"Hey Adrian. Can I ask you something?" Tali asked. She sounded nervous. I looked at her, waiting for the question. I felt kind of bad knowing that the skull was probably making her even more nervous.

"Garrus and I were talking about family, and I was wondering. Do you have a family to go home to?" she asked. I mentally looked down. Never really liked talking about my family. Yeah, I was in terms with their deaths, but I can't bring myself to wonder what they are thinking, knowing their only child is now an assassin for hire.

"My family is gone Tali. Passed away before I became an assassin."

"Oh... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

I shrugged. "You have nothing to be sorry about. You couldn't have possibly known about them." The conversation ended there. Good thing too. I hated talking about the past.

Shepard POV

We were waiting by the Mako. I saw Garrus, Tali, and Adrian walk out of the gate house. By the looks of it, Tali was asking Adrian something, but she and Garrus looked down. Adrian probably shot the question down. Could be something about his past. On my side, I could Ashley grumble something. I sighed.

"Something on your mind Williams?" I asked. She jumped a little, probably not expecting me to ask her something.

"Sorry Commander. I was just thinking. Alenko told me about last night. Do you really think we can trust Spade? After everything he has done?" Damnit, not this again.

"Look Williams, I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Kaiden. He saved my life, and not only that but Tali's as well. I've never heard of an assassin going back on a job, yet he did. He is different, and I know it." She just looked away.

I turned to see the trio come up to us. I ordered them to get in the Mako, and then we were off. The drive was easy, only running into small patrols. I was thinking about what Ashley said. Both she and Kaiden didn't trust Adrian. It was sad really. Anyone who is willing to fight Saren is an ally, so why do they not trust him?

After about thirty minutes, we ended up stopping. There was a small opening and the Mako wouldn't be able to fit. We all exited the squad, and we headed up the hill. I sent word to Joker to pick the Mako. Garrus worked hard to calibrate it for Therum, and I didn't want his work to go to waste.

"Something is wrong with the radar Commander. I can't pick anything up," Kaiden said. I checked mine, and sure enough, something was wrong.

"Geth!" I heard Tali scream. I looked up and saw a full platoon of Geth troopers.

"Get to cover, and push up the hill! We need to get to that dig site!" Everyone sprang into action. I shot back with my Crusader, taking out a Geth Hunter. I looked over my side and saw Wrex tackle a trooper and blast of its flash light head with his shotgun. I would shivered but the Geth deserve it after Eden Prime. Along the way I found a Hydra missile launcher. That would come in handy if things go south for us.

We slowly made progress up the hill. I was grateful that the team was working well together. Garrus and Adrian were in the back taking out any snipers or providing cover. Kaiden and Ashley were mainly providing cover fire, but Kaiden would sometimes use a Pull field and I would use a Warp field causing a biotic explosion. Kaiden and I worked well together when combining our biotic abilities. It was comforting knowing I had a teammate with the same abilities as I had. Although I was an L3 and he was an L2.

After we made it on top the hill, we could see the entrance of the dig site. I had a bad feeling in my gut, and apparently so did Adrian since he reloaded his rifle. We slowly made our way down, so far seeing nothing. Then, as if to make our lives harder, a Gunship flew by, dropping a Geth Armature.

"Armature! Get to cover!" I yelled. Not only was there the Armature, but Geth troopers started moving in as well. Shit. The troopers would be too easy. Someone would take a trooper down but then would have to quickly get into cover. I looked over and saw Adrian struggling to get a shot out. That is when it hit me. His sniper rifle had those abilities.

"Adrian," I called through the com. "I have an idea, but I'm going to need your help."

"What do you need?" he asked.

"You said that your rifle can fire off explosive rounds. You think an EMP round will destroy the Armatuer?" I could see his head shoot up and look towards me.

"Shepard, my rifle is powerful, but not that powerful. If anything, an EMP round will just weaken the shields. Not deplete them." Damnit.

"What about if we combine an Overload tech with the EMP? Wouldn't that work?" suggested Garrus. There was a moment of silence in the com. I heard Wrex firing a Carnage tech towards the Geth. By the sound of him laughing, I assumed he hit a target.

"You know, that actually might work. It would drop the shield almost completely. That should allow enough time for you to use that missile launcher you picked up." I nodded towards Adrian and he then he disappeared. Probably using an active cloak. I waited for thirty seconds, then contacted him.

"When will you be ready?"

"I'm ready now. Just waiting for the shield to drop." I nodded. I took a peak from my cover and noticed a Geth trooper heading towards me. Reloading my Crusader, I quickly moved out of cover, and fired the single slug ripping the Geth apart. I went back to cover, and looked over at the squad. Garrus, Tali, and Kaiden were probably the best to use Overload.

"Garrus, Tali, Kaiden! On my signal, I want all three of you to fire an Overload at the Geth Armature. That will give Adri- Spade a clear shot!" I saw all three nod and get to a firing position. I peaked over and watched the Armature slowly walk towards us.

"Now!" I watched the three omnitools light up and saw the electricity coursing through the four legged Geth. I saw it stumble for a second until it regained its posture. I waited, my heart pumping the adrenaline. Second's were more like minutes. I heard my radio go on, static and breathing on the other end.

"Firing EMP round." The radio shut off, and then a loud thunder like sound rang through the small valley. I looked up and saw a large blue orb like object fly through the air towards the Geth. Once the orb slammed into the Armature's head. The mech started to stumble. This was my chance. I quickly took out the Hydra and started priming the weapon. Once primed I aimed towards the Armatuer and realised the trigger. A barrage of rockets fired from the launcher and met their target. The Armature exploded. Sparks, flames and synthetic coolant flew in all directions. The Armature was destroyed.

"Target down. All clear ." I sighed in relief.

"Good work Spade."

"My pleasure." I smiled softly, but quickly pulled a serious face. I gave the hand signal to form up. We all walked towards a ramp that lead up towards the entrance of the dig site. I looked around, seeing the group getting ready for another push. I looked over and saw Adrian walking towards us. He held his rifle close to him as he loaded a fresh clip. He nodded towards me. I nodded back and looked at the group. With everyone together it would be cramped and there wouldn't be a lot of room to maneuver. That and I don't want to risk any Geth blocking our only exit. Some will have to stay behind.

"Alenko, I want you, Wrex, and Garrus to stay here. Stop any Geth that try to enter the dig site." He saluted, and motioned Wrex and Garrus to join him. "Williams. You, Tali, and Spade will come with me to find the doctor."

Adrian POV

The way down to Liara was uneventful. Every now and then we would stumble upon a Geth turret or a corpse. Once we were at the elevator, I readied myself for the meeting. I never really liked Liara, but if keeping her alive is a priority then I have no choice but to oblige. Once we walked up to her, I tried hard not to laugh. She looked ridiculous caught in the biotic bubble. While Shepard was talking to her, I tuned out the conversation. Ashley seemed to do the same, so we both kept watch. I knew we would be attacked, but being the fact that not everything will happen the same way, I kept a watchful eye. I started getting a bad feeling, and seeing that I'm on higher ground, I took out my rifle and switched it for normal rounds. Ashley noticed and stepped towards me.

"Expecting trouble Spade?" she asked. She couldn't see my face because of my helmet, but I smirked.

"Survival rule number one. Always expect trouble." I couldn't see her face, and she couldn't respond. We heard some rubble fall over and some footsteps. She took out her Avenger, and I aimed with my rifle. I switched on an electrical scanner on my HUD. There was some interference, meaning that something was in this cave. Shepard walked up to me, and looked out.

"You see anything?" I shook my head.

"No, but I'm catching some movement down there and electrical interference. Might just be a glitch on my HUD, but can't be too careful." I notice her squint her eyes to see if she could see anything. Her noise wrinkled when she did that, and I couldn't help but chuckle. It was kind of cute, seeing the hero of the galaxy doing something a little girl would do. She took at her SMG and loaded it.

"Well, only one way to find out." She said with a smirk. I couldn't help but smile, even though she couldn't see it. I switched for my pistol, and we then head down to look for another way to Liara. As soon as we passed the drill, Geth soldiers started moving towards us. I activated my Tech Armor and fired off some shots. Tali and Ashley were busy with their own fight, so it was just me and Shepard. I fired an Incineration Tech, catching a trooper on fire. Shepard saw this as an opportunity and sent off a Warp field, causing an impressive fire explosion.

I looked over to Shepard, and noticed her looking at me. She had that look on her face that she had when she and Kaiden were working together on the way up here. Then it clicked. She wanted the same thing with me, except this time with my Tech skills. I quickly holstered my pistol and activated my other Tech tool. I took a breath and then took off. I fired two Cryo blasts and sprinted towards Shepard. I slid next to her, and saw her biotic flare. She spun her arm around and fired two Throw fields towards the Geth. Next we saw two Cryo explosions. Three down. I saw another Geth come around the corner. Acting fast, I quickly sent an Overload. The initial blast rattled the Geth's shields, and I could see the blue sparks left from the blast. Over my head, flew by what I could tell as a Warp field, hit the Geth and cause a Tech Burst.

I smirked and looked at Shepard. She smiled at me. I heard footsteps, and saw Ashley and Tali staring at us, dumbfounded.

"Keelah... I've never seen anything like that before," said Tali. Ashley chuckled.

"I'll say. You two make a deadly pair." I took of my helmet, and brushed my hair. Shepard walked towards me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Looks like you'll be joining me on mission's more often. That was the first time I ever combined my Biotics with Tech. It was fun actually." I chuckled.

"As weird as it sounds, it was. As for the missions," I gave my best Han Solo salute I picked up and slightly smiled, "I look forward to it."

Shepard smiled and turned back at the wall where Liara was held captive, by her own foolish mistake. Well, at least it was keeping her alive. Knowing that I will probably need my helmet in the near future I put it back on.

"We still need to find away to the doctor. Any ideas?" Shepard asked. Tali walked down from her little slope and headed towards the drill.

"Actually, I might have an idea, with a little help from Ashley." That's surprising. Ashley working with aliens? Never would of thought. Shepard asked about the idea. "How about we use the drill? It might be able to punch a hole to the other side." Shepard contemplated the idea, and nodded. Tali looked as if she jumped with excitement and got to work on the drill.

After about a minute, the drill powered on. Tali ran towards us, and yelled for us to get to cover. The four of us ducked behind some boulders. The drill fired a large stream of energy into the wall underneath Liara. The explosion was fierce and seemed to rattle the mountain. The four of us looked up and saw blue light coming from the hole the drill made. Looks like we have a way in.

Once inside, Shepard hit a switch, and the doctor was released. She said her thanks, and asked about the explosions. At this point I had my helmet back on, and once Liara saw me she freaked. She flared her biotics and was about to launch something at me, but Shepard stopped her.

"He is on our side Dr. T'Soni," Shepard said in my defense. The doctor looked at her cross eyed, and I sighed. Shepard explained how I "saved her life" from the assassins and that I'm a willing member of the Normandy. Liara looked skeptical at first, but after Shepard explained she nodded.

"I guess I should also thank you for my rescue." She sounded nervous. I was about to answer, until the ground started to shake.

"What the hell was that?" said Ashley. Aw shit. I remember this.

"I think when you activated the drill, it caused a seismic reaction. These ruins are standing on top of a dormant volcano. If we don't hurry, we will be caught in the eruption," Liara explained.

"Then we better get moving. Let's go!" yelled Shepard. We got on a huge platform Liara said was an elevator. She hit a switch and we started to move up. Shepard contacted both Joker and Kaiden, telling them to get ready for extraction. The earth around us started to quake. I was getting nervous. I took out my SMG and loaded it. Shepard looked at me, and noticed my nervousness. She gave me a reassuring smile, and I felt a little at ease.

Once the elevator stopped, my nervousness came back. There stood a large Krogan and a small battalion of Geth troopers and hunters behind him. I activated my Tech and readied for a fight. Shepard tried to reason with the Krogan, but to no avail. The Geth moved into action, and we did the same. Ashley gave Liara some cover. Tali and I fired a mixture of Sabotage and Overload towards some unfortunate Geth soldiers. Some fell, but others stood strong. Shepard sent a Warp towards the Krogan and some Geth, buying her some time to get to cover.

It was chaos. The Geth tried to surround us, and the Krogan was sending a barrage of biotic powers and shotgun shots. We were almost pinned, but luckily the team worked well. Ashley and Tali would take out any Geth that came to our side. Shepard and I teamed up again, combining our skills to take out any Geth in front of us. So far it looked like we were winning, until I saw the Krogan charge up in biotic energy, and fire a Warp field towards Shepard. My mind flashed to a memory. A friend that was killed due to a high energy Warp field. Out of instinct, I rushed to Shepard as fast as I can.

I shoved Shepard out of the way. She looked at me confused, but then her expression changed. I turned only to be slammed by the Warp field. The burning mass effect fields tore through my Tech Armor and my hard suit. I could feel the scars on my chest tear through more skin. I landed hard on the metal floor, knocking the air out of me. Ashley and Tali were at my side within seconds. My HUD was breaking out, and my lungs burned as I tried to breath. I tore my helmet off, and saw both Shepard and Liara combining their powers to take down the Krogan. Liara used a Warp to take down the Barrier and Shepard sent a fierce Throw field. The reaction caused a devastating biotic explosion, killing the Krogan instantly.

Shepard ran towards me, and helped me up. She looked pissed.

"Don't ever do that again! Damnit Adrian, you could of died!" Shepard yelled at my face. I looked down, breathing hard. I felt like shit. I've had some nasty injuries, but this was probably the worst. I could feel my skin tearing and burning. I noticed my armor. The chest plate was destroyed. Couldn't be used anymore.

I looked at Shepard. "You know what Shepard, I would say something but right now, I just don't give a damn." My tone was dark and cold, and I could tell she wasn't expecting that remark. I stood up and placed the helmet back on my head. A quick reboot for the HUD and after a few seconds it was fine. The cave started to quake, and the tremors were far more fiercer. Shepard ordered us to move, and we all took off.

By the time we made it out of the cave and back into the Normandy, my chest was burning and my breathing was labored. I stumbled to my locker. I ribbed off my upper armor, and tore my helmet off. I ungracefully placed everything in my locker. Weapons, helmet, everything I could still use. Even with the armor off, I found it hard to breath. That must of been a wicked Warp field. I turned, feeling someone staring at me. To my surprise I saw the ground crew, Tiffany, Liara and Chakwas. Shepard looked shocked, hell they all did. Confused, I looked around, trying to see if there was anything in the cargo bay. Nothing was out of the ordinary until-

"Aw! Damnit!" I yelled. The burning started to take its toll. I looked down at my bare chest, and noticed that my scarring had worsing. The swirls on my chest grew, and the blue scars know traveled down my arm and ended at my wrist. The burning increased and I felt my world start to darken. The pain was unbearable. I tried to look around, but all I could see were blurry figures heading towards me. Then, my world went black.

There you have it Ladies and Gentlemen! Hoped you enjoyed this chapter. With Liara in the crew, things might just get interesting. And what about Adrian? Will these burns overcome him during the journy? Only one way to find out!

Also I would like to give out some Shout outs: Kamika111 for helping me with any translations, it has been a huge help! Also for FtDLulz and Soverign X22 for following and reviewing this story since chapter 1. And of course to All of YOU that have been reading and supporting the story. Honestly, it is a huge confidence booster.

Like I said before, I'm in the middle of finals week, and plus this month is always a busy month for me. I will update but probably not as soon as I would of liked. Still there will be updates, so don't worry.

Thanks again everyone!