Hello everyone, and welcome to the next chapter of Mass Effect: Spade. I would've had this on Sunday, however, I was having laptop and internet troubles and there for could not post anything until today. Anyway, with out further delay, enjoy!

Chapter 9 : Hell of a Headache.

Adrian POV

Omega. Five years before Eden Prime.

I was standing outside Afterlife. Waiting. I finally finished my training with Reina and Kadick. My skills are more fine, and my senses sharper. Honestly, best two years of my life. Yeah, it was hard adjusting to being in an alternate universe, but I managed. I'm just glad I have a translator and not have to learn the different languages of the galaxy. I failed Spanish in high school so a language that isn't Human? Forget about it.

Now, what was I waiting for? Oh yeah, Nalik. The Salarian told me to meet him outside the club for something "important". "Organization business" he would say. And that is one thing that bothers me. What Organization do I work for? They have to be loaded if they can teleport me from a different universe. But who the fuck are they? Can't be the Shadow Broker, or I would be sold for the information I have. And Cerberus is out of the question in due part that majority of the people I've worked with so far are alien.

"Adrian." I turned at the high pitched voice. There's Nalik, right on schedule, as always. The little Salarian walked up to me and we shook hands. Over the two years, he has trained me with everything Tech in Mass Effect, and also getting to know and understand different cultures and customs. That and the Salarian and I have become somewhat good friends. I don't trust him completely on the count that he electrocuted me to get here. Slimy bastard.

"Nalik. Good to see you," I said with a grin. I didn't have my helmet on, everyone would just look at me weird. "So what is this "Important Thing" you wanted to tell me," I asked.

Nalik looked around, as if someone may hear what we will say, or was watching us. Really Nalik? It's Omega, everyone watches everyone because either they were paid too, or they are just freaky that way. Take your pick.

Nalik leaned forward a little. "Can't say here. Come with me." And just like that we left the area. We walked through the market place for a while, then entered a residential area. I wasn't saying much, on the count of that we could easily get jumped here, and that didn't sit well with me.

"How was your training Adrian?" Nalik asked, breaking the little silence we had. I shrugged, trying to play it cool.

"It was alright. Tough as hell, but worth it in the end." Nalik nodded.

"You believe that you are ready to fight alongside Shepard?"

"Honestly, I don't think anything can prepare me for something like the Reapers Nalik," I said in a serious tone. It was true. Not even Shepard was prepared for it. No one will be prepared for it, not matter how many years of training. Nalik seemed to have taking the hint well, and he looked down. He, Reina and Kadick were scared, that was for sure. I told them what happened in the trilogy, and they didn't like it. Although, there really wasn't anything they could possibly do.

"Alright, seriously, where are you taking me?" I asked Nalik.

"We are going to meet with your teammates." That stopped me.

"Hold on. What do you mean by team?" Nalik just smiled and didn't answer. "Nalik. I thought I was teaming up with Shepard. You never said anything about me joining some posse."

"Consider this as practice. Besides, you are going to need something to do before you join Shepard." I sighed. I see his point. What can I possibly do for the remainder of my time? Oh I don't know… Maybe ACTUALLY ENJOY MY TIME HERE!

The next thing I knew we were entering an apartment. I didn't know if I should put my helmet on or not, seeing is how I was about to meet people I've never met. It got me wondering though. Could they possibly be like me?

"Nalik. Before we meet them I have to ask. Are they….You know?" I motioned at myself. He looked at me for a moment, getting a grasp at my question. He shook his head.

"No, they are part of this universe. It took a lot of energy and money to get you here. I don't think it would work a second time." I see. So I am the only one from my universe.

We walked in to the main room, and I could see three other humans. They all were geared up with armor and weapons. I wasn't, well not really. I had my helmet folded and tucked in my jacket, and I had my pistol, but that was it. There were two male and one female. One guy was wearing what looked like James Vega's armor from ME3. He had a blonde hair which was extremely short. From what I could tell, he was a soldier class. Avenger rifle, a Katana shotgun, and a Predator.

The other guy looked like from oriental decent. He was shorter than myself, and had black hair. His armor looked like a Sentinel's armor minus the Recon Hood. His weapons were an SMG and a pistol. Now as for the girl. She was similar height than the last guy. She had light brown hair kept in a ponytail. Her armor was like what Kasumi would wear, just no hood. She had similar weapons from the Oriental guy.

"Everyone, this is Adrian Dawn. He will be joining you today," said Nalik. I just crossed my arms and looked at the three. The soldier walked up. Guess he is the leader.

"Where is your armor?" he asked. His voice was deep, which I expected. As for the question, I activated my omnitool and turned on my Tech Armor. He looked at it for a moment, then nodded. "That'll do."

"I wasn't asking for your approval," I said.

"Excuse me?" He walked right into my face, trying to be intimidating. Have to try harder than that. "You want to say that again hotshot?"

"I said, I wasn't asking for your approval. And, next time you get into someone's face, check for any dangers." I nodded down, and he looked to see my pistol aiming right for his gut. He looked at me for a moment, then started to laugh, but not in a mocking way.

"You and I are going to be quick friends that is for sure. Nalik said something about you being unpredictable. I'm Robert. Robert Peers." He extended a hand. I kept my pistol in hand, but shook his hand.

"Adrian Dawn." He smiled for a bit, then took a few steps back. I holstered my pistol. The girl shifted for a moment.

"That accent. Where are you from?" she asked. This time I smiled.

"New Orleans, Louisiana." She smiled at that.

"Really? I'm from Baton Rouge." That caused me to widen my smile.

"You don't say? Cajun or Creole?"

"Cajun of course."

"Blues or Jazz?

"Blues." Okay, this last one is important, and she better get it.

"Saints?"

"Who dat?!" I laughed.

"Thank you lord! May I please have a name?!" She stared to laugh as well.

"Stephanie Theriot. Pleasure to meet you Adrian Dawn."

After our little greeting, the shorter guy next to Robert walked up to me.

"I'm Shun Akinawa. It is an honor to meet you." He bowed in greeting. I chuckled.

"I don't know about honor, but good to meet ya."

Nalik cleared his throat to get our attention. We gathered around and looked at him.

"Well, glad to see introductions are out of the way. Now, the Organization and I are pleased to have you all be a part of us. You will be our agents on the field, and when we call to you, you will be there to answer. No matter the mission. You will be known as Theta squad, which means you will all be part of the same team from here on. Get to know each other and trust in each other."

He took a breath, and smiled at us. "I can see great things from you all. Make me and your trainers proud."

Omega. Four year before Eden Prime and Adrian meeting Eden.

"Adrian! Take down that sniper!" yelled Robert. I responded quickly, aiming my sniper rifle and taking down my target. It has been a year since we all got together as a group. I was the Infiltrator of the group. Robert was the soldier, Steph the Adept, and Shun was the Sentinal. We were a well balanced team, and all good friends. Over the year we have all grown stronger together, as cliché as that sounds. We were all Earthborn. I and Stephanie from Louisiana, Robert was born in England, but moved around. And Shun was from Japan. And get this, apparently the Organization has been around for a long time, since Robert was born into it. Who knew. The only thing they didn't know, was about me. How could I tell them? That the universe they knew could possibly be destroyed at anytime.

Aside from Organization meetings, we were a group of mercenaries for hire. However, since I was trained to be an assassin, I had to do some jobs on my own. It worried Steph, but I told her I would be fine. I also picked up the name Spade, thanks to Nalik.

A storm of bullets ran past me, forcing me into cover. "I could use some help over here!" I yelled.

"Shun! Steph! Give him so cover. Adrian! Make your way towards us, we are getting close to the objective!"

I waited until the bullets stopped ramming at my cover. I could hear biotics and screams, signaling for me to haul ass. My Tech armor was activated, and I switched to my Hurricane. I took off in a dead sprint towards my squad mates.

We were in a large building in upper Omega. Our objective was to hack into the buildings system and erase everything in the records. Apparently the mercenary group hold up in this shit hole were able to find information about the Organization, and we were ordered to delete it. I had no idea how a merc group was able to find info on a secret organization such as ours. Nalik said that someone went rogue, and that Reina and Kadick were dealing with it.

We were about two doors down from our objective, and so far we were advancing rather quickly. By the time I reached Robert, Steph fired a Singularity, which Shun unleashed a Warp field, causing a Biotic explosion. That gave us time to switch. I took Steph's place and Robert took Shun's. Now it was time for the non-biotics to go to work.

"Step aside babe, Big man needs to work." I said to Steph with a smirk, although she couldn't see it due to my helmet. She and I have grown… closer over the past couple of months. We weren't official, just some occasional flirting. She does care though. She hates it when I do solo jobs, and Robert told me that she didn't sleep for the day's I was gone (It was a tough job…). What made it show that we were "close" was one time I came back from a job injured. She freaked, and went to work patching me up. She scolded me for not being careful, and said that backup was always around. Robert and Shun left me to take the heat. Some friends right. After she patched me up, she asked me why I had to fight alone. My answer surprised her. I told her that I was an assassin, and that my targets had friends that would want me dead. I told her that I didn't want her to be a target for enemies. That she was too special for me to have that happen and that in order to protect her, I did my job solo. We ended that night in her bed. With sighs, moans, and satisfied smiles.

She flashed me a smirk, and flared a little. She knew I loved that a bit TOO much.

"Ready Adrian? We are going to push them back, while Stephanie and Shun work on the door." I nodded. Robert gave the signal for three seconds. I readied my omnitool for a Incineration, and I could tell Robert was readying for a Carnage. It was our favorite combo. Stephanie and Shun could have the Biotics, but when it came to Tech powers, Robert and I were unstoppable.

He brought his hand down, and we went to work. Together, our combination of Carnage and Incineration caused a nice explosion. We charged towards the remaining mercs. Robert, with his newly bought Scimitar shotgun, and I with my SMG, we outmatched with mid to short range. While we were fighting I could hear Shun going to work on the door. Aside from me, he could hack through anything. There was even a moment where he hacked through Aria's network to get us some names for potential work. The guy was a hacking prodigy, I swear!

"Clear!" I heard Robert say.

"I got the door!" followed Robert. The door opened and inside were some computer terminals. Shun went to work at the main computer at the end of the room and started his hack.

"We should hurry and finish this before reinforcements show up. I don't want to get stormed in a place like this," I said. Robert nodded in agreement, and ordered Stephanie and I to take positions just in case.

"So, you guys up for Afterlife after this? I'll buy," said Robert. That guy loves to drink. I smiled.

"I'm down. A cool glass of whiskey should do me good. What do you think Steph?" I asked the Adept. She smiled, and nodded.

"Sure, just as long as I don't have to play nurse when we get home." I mocked a whine.

"But I love that game!" and that earned me a slap to the arm, and laugh from Robert and Shun.

"What about you Shun?" asked Rob. He brought a finger up saying he was busy. I chuckled.

"Nah, hacker here wouldn't join. He's to pure and honorable," I said. It was an inside joke with us. After our first completed job, we all went to the bar to celebrate the Omega way. Getting drunk. The only thing was that Shun didn't drink, saying that it was un-honorable to waste away in a bar and that would should reflect on the lives. I told him that whiskey was my way to remember the dead. Something I picked up from my dad. When he was home he would pop open a bottle of the best whiskey he could buy. He would say the names of falling comrades and buddies, taking a shot after every one. Some would say that it was a sign of PTSD. He said that it was the only way he knew how to remember them. I'm just keeping the tradition going.

After that we fell silent, trying to listen out for any merc who thought they could take us on. The minutes felt like hours as Shun was working. It didn't fell right. It shouldn't take him this long to finish.

"What's the holdup Shun?" asked Robert.

"I'm making copies and downloading everything."

"What? Why?"

"This is our one chance to learn about the Organization. You even said it yourself that you wanted to know more about them, and this is our chance."

I remember that discussion, somewhat. We were all curious about this secretive organization we all worked for. Who were they? What is there purpose? Are we fighting for the right cause? Questions like that. Shun was extremely passionate to borderline obsessed with finding out more. We didn't really know anything about it. Even Robert didn't know that much, and he was born into it. I wanted to say that most of it was me joining Commander Shepard, but they would think I was crazy. Hell, I think Stephanie would think the same thing. I just laughed it off, and said they worried too much.

As Shun was working away, my helmet was going off. The HUD was picking up massive heat spike in the room.

"Hold up. I'm picking something up…" I double checked the scan, and sure enough, heat was rising pretty damn quickly. I activated my thermal scan to see where it was coming from. To my surprise it was coming from behind the main terminal Shun was. The hell? What could be causing that? My eyes widened when I realized. I got up and headed towards Shun.

"Shun! Get away from tha-"

A large blast of fire exploded from Shun's position, launching me back. I was dazed, fading in and out. I tried to see what was going on, but there were only bright red blurs. I could hear people screaming. Stephanie? I couldn't tell. My vision slowly faded, but the last thing that would flash in my mind, was fire consuming Shun.

Present day. Normandy SR-1 medbay. 2100 ship time.

I bolted upright, sweating and trying to catch my breath. Then a sharp pain ran through my chest and I went back down. I looked at myself, and I could see that my biotic burns started glowing. I panicked and tried to get up, only to feel a hand stop me. The hand didn't glow this time, and I looked up to see Doc. She was saying something, but I couldn't hear. My ears were ringing. I felt a prick on my arm, and turned to see Tiffany given me a dose of that serum. My body instantly started to cool itself, and after a few moments I was back to normal.

I slowed my breathing down, but my throat burned like hell. I slowly sat myself up, only to have a wicked headache. I groaned and brought my hand to my head, trying to rub the pain away. Doc handed me a glass of water, and I slowly started to drink. I could tell my throat was signing when the cool water flowed. Didn't help the headache though.

"How are you feeling Mr. Dawn?" asked Doc. I took a moment, moving my body trying to wake up. My shoulder, arm, and chest were sore. That's right, I was shot. Again.

"I'm alright. Sore and a nasty headache. How long have I been out?"

"About a week. You lost a lot of blood, and you were fatigued to the point of collapsing," Tiffany said. I looked down. A week? How much did I miss?

"I'm going to get the Commander, she ordered me to wake her once you did," Doc said, and she left the room.

"How are Garrus and Eden?" I asked.

"Garrus was completely exhausted and had to sit out for the remainder of the mission. However, he wasn't here for as long you were."

Remainder of the mission, huh? Guess that means we weren't on Feros anymore (Thank God).

"The Commander also suffered from exhaustion, but she went back on the field. She said she wouldn't rest until the mission was complete."

I chuckled, only to groan in response due to my head.

"Sounds like Eden," I said. Tiffany smiled.

"When we left Feros, she would come and visit you, only leaving to check on the crew or for a transmission from the Council. In fact, quite a few members came in to check on you. Tali and Garrus mostly. Wrex did come in once, but only, and I quote, 'To see your new battle wounds'."

I shook my head. I wasn't surprised why Wrex would come in. Garrus I figured cause we fought together. Tali was a surprise though.

"Why did Tali come in?"

"Well she was worried of course. That and she wanted to try and fix your omnitool since it was damaged." My eyes widened and I looked at my wrist. There was no omnitool, but a nasty scar in its place. Wrex is going to love this one. I think. The door to the medbay opened and Eden came walking in followed by Doc. She looked like crap. Her black hair which was usually straight at times, was know all over the place. Someone has a serious case of bed head. Her clothing suggested that she was indeed in bed. She wore a black tank top that had an N7 on it, and a pair of grey sweatpants that folded to her mid calf and a pair of black socks on her feet.

"Thank you. Doctor Chakwas, Smith. Go get some rest," Eden ordered. The two nodded and left the room, leaving me and Eden alone. I tried to sit up straight, and doing so I checked my chest, arm, and shoulder for any scars. Sure enough I had two circular scars from bullet wounds, and one line from when a bullet grazed me. Alright, not too bad. Eden pulled up a chair and sat next to my cot.

"Hey Adrian. How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Aside from being extremely sore and a terrible headache, I'm doing just great." She nodded.

"You had us worried. You lost a lot of blood before we could get you to the Normandy. And your burns flared on the way there which made it worse." I bit my tongue on that. I hated feeling like a burden, and my burns only made my case even worse.

"Sorry about that. Won't happen again." She frowned this time, and looked away. Okay, someone has something on their mind. "Something wrong?" I asked her.

She started messing with her thumbs, like she was trying to word whatever she was going to say. I just waited patiently. No need to rush her. She took a breath and looked at me. Did I ever mention that she had really Green eyes? They were amazing, that was for sure.

"This was the second time you risked your life for the team and get injured for it. Why?"

This time it was me that looked away. My face went emotionless. All the memories from before flashed into my head. Meeting my team, fighting together. Then seeing them all go. Shun being taking by that explosion. Robert and that damn Warp field. And Stephanie. I didn't even want to think about what happened to her. All could have been prevented. All of their deaths could have been stopped if I was careful. That is what causes me to act the way I do. Because I've lost what I could live for.

"Is it me?" A voice snapping me back to reality.

"What?" I asked, looking at Eden.

"Is it me? Do you feel like you have to protect me? Because from what I could see, all you have been doing is watching my back."

Well it is my mission to protect throughout this mission. But can I tell her that? No. I can't.

"Somewhat like that…" I mumble, looking away. She leaned forward a little so that I could see her. She wanted a better answer. Stubborn woman. She reminded me of Steph. I sighed. "Remember the team I told you about? The one before this." She nodded. "Let's just say that the nightmares I have is about them. And is a reason on why I do what I do."

It took her a moment to get it, but when she did her face dropped.

"I'm sorry…" I shrugged.

"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong." We fell silent for a moment. I tried to forget the memories, but you know what they say. You can never forget it. No, a cool drink could help though. It always does.

...No it doesn't.

"Come on. You have been lying here for a week. You must be hungry." Now that I think about, I really was. And food sounded like a gift from the heavens.

Eden helped me up from my cot, and I thanked god for me wearing pants. That would be extremely embarrassing for both of us. I didn't realize how sore I was until I started walking. My legs didn't move for a week, so walking wasn't that easy. But sure enough, I was able to get to the mess table. Eden went to the kitchen area to grab me some food and something to drink. Most likely water. I can't wait for the SR-2 and its awesome bar.

She walked to the table and slid a try of food to me. It was pasta with some chicken mixed in. A salad, and what looked like a brownie. A very poor excuse of a brownie. I started eating, slowly, and was happy to know that this actually tasted good. We sat silently, which was surprising. I thought Eden would leave me alone, but she didn't. She sat there, a bag of what looked like Wheat Thins in her hand.

After a while, my tray empty, I stared at the plate for awhile. Eden noticed, and put her bag down.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. I looked at her and she had a slight guilty look. "I visited you when you were out. I noticed that you were having a nightmare, and I wondered if you wanted to talk about it. Get it off your chest, you know?"

I thought about it for a moment. It wouldn't I guess.

"Yeah, Tiffany said something about you coming to see me," I gave a small smirk. "Nice to know you care Eden." I saw her smile and look away. When she wasn't "Commander Shepard", she would have these little quirks about her that was slightly childish. It was cute. I chuckled for a bit, then took a breath. "I guess talking about it wouldn't hurt. If you are up for it?" She looked at me and nodded. She adjusted her seating to where now she was sitting cross legged, and she cupped her hand in her lap. Even though she had terrible bed head, she looked really cute. Damn it woman!

Anyway, I told her of the nightmare. Well, more like a memory burned into my skull. I told her about meeting Robert, Shun, and Stephanie. Explained which each of them could do and the role we played. What kind of jobs we did. Of course I left out the Organization. Didn't want Eden getting suspicious. And I left out me and Stephanie. I wasn't ready to talk about that. I then told her about what happened to Shun. The raid into the building, Shun hacking his way into the terminal, and then the explosion.

"Next thing I knew, I woke up in our hideout. Stephanie walked up to me, and broke the news. Shun was dead. And there was nothing I could do to save him."

"You can't blame yourself Adrian. By the time you realized what was happening, it was too late. Shun shouldn't have taken so long to transfer the credits." I told her another lie. I had to. "You tried to save him, but you couldn't. But I think that if Shun would of picked who should live that day. He would pick the team, not himself."

That got me. I never thought of it that way before. I was too busy hating myself that I didn't consider what they may think. If Shun knew about what was going to happen, he would tell us to get out of there. It was his honor after all. I smiled, and not a half ass smile, a real one.

"Thanks Eden. Once again, you help me through my denial. Of course, it will take time for me to fully accept it. But this is a step." She smiled and leaned forward taking my hand into hers. Her biotic flared again, and the cool soothing sensation was there with the touch. I caught my breath at the moment. Her hands were soft and smooth. Not calloused like most soldiers. No, she took care of her hands and skin. Even though they were smaller than mine, her fingers were long and slender. I looked at her, and she cocked her head, smile widening.

"And I'll be there to help you Adrian. Every step of the way."

Now that, ladies and gentlemen, will be the few times I'll admit that my heart slightly skipped a beat. I mentally groaned. Damn this woman. She just had to care about the assassin. And of course I can't help but respond in the only way I know.

"You sure you know what you are getting yourself into Ma'am?" I said in a flirtatious tone mind you. She squeezed my hands. Oh god.

"I think I can handle it. We are going to the Citadel for a resupply and RnR. Maybe you can show me that cool Cajun style you brought from New Orleans." I laughed a little and squeezed her hand this time.

"Careful Eden. They say the Devil lives in New Orleans. Don't want a demon to follow you home, now."

"I think I can handle this demon."

Alright then! Well there you guys go. Some background on Adrian. I'm not sure if I said this last chapter, but the next few chapter will be character development and relationship building. Now, will that mean Eden and Adrian are together? No. Will it happen? Maybe.

Another thing is the chapters will also explain a few things. Like one the Biotic Burns Adrian has. And a little more on The Organization. Either and that, you just have wait and see.

Also a big thank you for the reviews last chapter. It was good to see some of the pen names that have been following the story and reviewing. It was awesome!

Thanks again and keep reading

KD