Hello ladies and germs! And welcome to Chapter 10. Like I said earlier, these next few chapters will be used for Character and Realationship building. Last chapter was about Adrian and his past. This one will be about realationship building for a certain two. *Cough*. Excuse me... Anyways... As a Valentine gift, I'm posting early. What can I say? I love you guys :D. Okay, maybe more like mutually appreciate you, but still, it is something. Right?
I hope you enjoy this chapter like the last one. Enjoy.
Chapter 10: Gifts and Overthinking... Lovely.
Adrian POV
I woke up a little later than usual, however, I had an excuse. I was "recovering". And honestly, it was pretty nice to be able to sleep in. The Normandy was heading towards the Citadel for resupply and RnR, which is fine by me. I, and I'm pretty sure the rest of the crew, could use a break.
I stood up from my bed and stretched a little. I was still pretty sore from my injuries, but better than last night when I first woke up. A shower would be nice. Walking in to the personal bathroom my room had, I turned on the shower and turned to face the mirror. It honestly was the first time I looked at myself since we left the Citadel the first time. I had some fuzz on my face, and my ashy hair grew an inch or two. But the one thing that got me staring were my Biotic Burns. The blue wispy scars riddled my body. I wasn't completely covered, but anyone could see them. I sighed, and jumped in the shower.
The water was relaxing, which was great because sometimes the burns would start to agitate. I just stood there, leaning against the wall, or turning so the water could hit my back, or pointing my face towards the shower head. This was one of those few times I had to myself so that I could just think on what has happened, and daydream on what I would do with my life. You know, typical wishful thinking.
The first thing that came into mind were my parents. I couldn't make a decision if they would be proud of me or disown me as their son. I know my dad would be pissed, and hell my mom would be too. They would say that they never raised a son to be an assassin. That their son would be better off in either the Marines or a Doctor. Married with a beautiful wife, possible a child on the way, and a dog. That was what they would of wanted for me, and hell, it didn't sound bad either. But, they were dead, and in this universe, made up.
I shook my head to get the thought of my parents out of my head. And shook it harder when the memories of my old team came in. The last thing I would expect to pop up, was Eden. She was really the only one that actually gave a rat's ass about me. Well, there was Garrus. Tiffany said he actually visited me when I was out, but not as much as Eden. The talk last night would defiantly be the first of many. I told her about one of my nightmares, about Shun and the fire. Of course I couldn't tell her the whole truth, but she listened. And at the end she took my hands, and said that she will be willing to help me 'recover'.
A part of me was happy, almost giddy about it. Eden was a great gal, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't attracted. She was extremely cute, almost adorable with her child like habits. And she was… physically well built. But the one thing that would hold me back to actually try and further things was the very reason I ended all my relationships. I was an assassin, and would probably die as one. And the enemies I've picked up would use anything to get at me. Even if Eden was a hell of a fighter, and can probably hold her own, I still couldn't let the fact that she could be tortured or killed because of my "career". No, the thought of me and Eden being together would be just that. A thought. Wishful thinking.
I hoped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my waist, and started shaving of my fuzz. It may look cool, but it would eventually bother the hell out of me. And my hair would need to be cut. Just a trim, two inches and we be back in business.
I heard a knock on my door, which almost seemed to be near too perfect timing since I was walking out of the bathroom.
"Hold on a sec, I'll be right there." I quickly dried off, and slipped on a pair of athletic pants and a black muscle shirt. I am recovering. No need to where anything proper unless I really must.
Opening the door, I'm surprised to see Liara standing outside. The moment I saw her, I could tell she was timid. She was wearing a the same outfit she would when you are on the Normandy in the first game. She was shifting her feet, and was carrying a datapad.
"Need something Liara?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence. She cleared her throat, and took a breath. Jesus she is making this awkward. Spit it out already!
"Hello Spade." So I guess I'm still Spade to some of the crew. "I'm glad to see you are feeling better."
"Thanks. Feels good to get up and walk around." She nodded, and kept her glance away.
"Spade, there is something I wanted to ask you?" Oh dear, a quiz?! I can't handle quizzes!
"Alright, shoot. But make it quick, Garrus and Tali needed to talk to me." Part of that was true. Tali needed to talk to me about my omnitool. And Garrus. Well let's just say he is getting a visitor today, at least, Liara thinks he is. Liara nodded.
"Well, you and Shepard seem to be close. Not in an explicit nature! Just that you too are good friends, at least you seem that way, and I wanted to know more about her. But not stalking! I'm just curious about her. She is different than most humans and-"
I brought my hands up and clapped as loud as I could, snapping her from her rambling. Geez, this woman talks way to much when she is nervous. She jumped at the clap and looked at me.
"Slow down Liara. Take a breath, and try again. You had a question, right?" She nodded and took a breath.
"Sorry. I'm just a little nervous. I've never talked to an assassin before. I was afraid you may shoot me." She brought her hands up after she said that. "I mean no offense!"
I sighed. "Don't worry Liara, I'm not going to shoot you. Now will you ask your questions, or do I have to get Eden?" Liara jumped again, and shook her head.
"No no no no. I just wanted to ask about her. I was going to invite her to lunch at the Citadel, and wanted to know what to ask her." Oh, so she didn't want to make a date awkward. Okay, I can go with that.
"Alright then. Well, we are teammates, but I don't know everything. All I know is she is easy to talk to, and you should find out yourself." I put my hand on her shoulder, trying to be reassuring. She looked up and smiled a little.
"Alright then. I guess that is the traditional way, is it not." She had a shy smiled, and I smiled back and nodded. I brought my hand back, and went back to my room to put shoes on. The door was still open and Liara watched, which was a little weird.
"There you have it Liara. Just talk with her." I looked at the time on my terminal. "If that's all Liara, I should head down to engineering. Tali needed to see me about my omnitool." Liara nodded, and gave a shy wave goodbye. I stood there for a moment, and then headed towards the elevator.
Even though the elevators were slow as hell, it was a good time to think. Liara was really going to ask Eden out to lunch, huh? Well she has competition with Kaidan. That guy has been trying to get a date with her ever since the mission started. Poor guy, at least he tries. Still, I couldn't help but feel bothered about it. Liara is a good person… for now. And Kaidan is honorable. But them being with Eden, and during RnR? I don't know, it just didn't sit right. Could it be a date? No, the mission comes first. Right? What if I asked Eden to a lunch? Would I be able to find out more about her as well?
I shook my head. I can't think about this, and I told myself in the shower that it wouldn't, and shouldn't, work. Even though I need to protect Eden for the Organization, I can't allow myself to get closer with her. Now that I think about it, there are plenty of reasons why Eden shouldn't be with me. One, the Organization. They want me to protect her and help fight the Reapers, and I doubt they would like it if I was in a relationship with their "Chosen One". Two, I'm an assassin with a bounty on my head. Zace and Ieris weren't the first who tried to collect. And Thirdly, and most importantly, my "situation". I'm from a universe where she is nothing more than a fictional character. How would she react to that? How would I react to that? She has too much on her plate, and my problems aren't one of them. I can't have her go through that.
The elevator finally came to a halt and the doors opened to the engineering floor. Garrus and a few other Marines were fixing up the Mako. Ashley was at the weapons, and Wrex was being… well Wrex. I headed towards the engineering room and saw Tali talking with Adams. I never really got to talk to him, only a few hi's and hello's. Thankfully, he doesn't look down or sneer when I walk buy. Pretty respectful guy from what I can tell.
"Hey Tali," I said as I walked up to her. She turned, and even though she had a face mask on, I can tell she had a smile.
"Adrian! Good to see you out of the medbay. How are you holding up?"
"Better than when I woke up. Still a little sore, and the burns I can ignore." She nodded for a bit and her head slightly tilted down and facing towards my left. She was looking at my scarred wrist. If I could describe the scar, it was the size of a wrist watch.
"It is good that you are doing well Adrian. However, I wish I could say the same about your omnitool." Oh no..
"What happened?"
"To put it bluntly. Its fried. You can't use it anymore." My heart dropped. Losing one's omnitool is like losing a part of your identity. In a soldiers stand point, losing your ability to fight.
"Were you able to salvage anything from it? Like a program, or some data?" Tali looked down for a moment.
"Sorry Adrian. I couldn't salvage anything. The tool is completely fried. I don't even think the Geth would be able to get anything." Damnit!
"So all my Tech Powers?"
"Gone."
"Fuck!" Now I know what it feels to go through a power reset, only this time there aren't any powers. Imagine playing mass effect, but without using ANY abilities. Think long and hard on it. The fun of the game would be lost. That is what is happening to me. The data on my omnitool can be replaced, it was mainly personal and contact information, but my Tech powers? That is months work of program coding down the drain. And what sucks even more is I didn't bother to memorize any of it.
Tali shifted a little, and started looking around. What is she nervous about? I was about to ask, until my vision was covered.
"What the hell?" I asked.
"Guess who?" I heard Tali said. She started giggling, and I brought my hands up to feel two hands covering my eyes. Really now? I just lost the most important thing in my life and someone thinks it is cool to cover my eyes?! On the other hand, it was a little challenge and I don't back down on challenges. I kept feeling the hands, trying to see if touch could help win me this. It was evident that they belong to a woman. I mean come on. Can you really think a guy would play "Guess who" with another guy?
In my head I was thinking of every female in the ship that would actually play this. The only two I could really think of was either Eden or Tiffany. Ashley did come to mind, but I doubt she would even act this way in the first place. Eden was a likely choice because this was normally how she acted when we aren't getting shot at. And Tiffany? That was a long shot, but who knows. Then it hit me. Eden and Tiffany are both biotic and, call me crazy, but whenever they would touch or make contact with my skin, they had a different feel to them. Well, actually Eden was the only one that felt different. Her touch was cool and soothing. Others just had a strange glow effect. I griped the hands, and I could feel my scarring responding. Okay, so they are a biotic. Now, I focused on how they felt. I smiled.
"Eden." The hands moved away from my eyes, and I turned to see Eden there. She mocked whined and had a slight pouty face. I laughed, and Tali giggled a little only to cause Eden to laugh a little as well. "What are you doing here Eden? I thought you were in the CIC?"
Eden kept her smile and looked at Tali. "Tali and I wanted to surprise you with something." I cocked an eyebrow. A surprise? What kind of surprise?
Eden moved next to Tali and counted to three. After one Tali brought her hands up.
"Surprise," they said in unison. I was waiting for them to yell, but since we are in the engine room and Adams and the others were trying to work, yelling would only disturb them.
I looked at her hands, and honestly was shocked at what I saw. It was an omnitool, and by the looks of it, it was newly issued. It has never been used. I took the little wrist watch like device and strapped it on my wrist. Right over the scar. Sorry Wrex, I don't plan on showing that scar off anytime soon.
The omnitool activated on its own, and started to scan its new user. They way omnitool's work, is that they first scan the user. Blood type, age, date of birth, the works. And it is all harmless. Then it will connect to the extranet, establish a network, and then its finished. Like an I-Phone, but more personal. The only thing you need to add are the different programs, like apps.
After it finished it scan, the amber colored tool glowed, and the next thing I saw took my breath away. On the little screen was the N7 symbol. This is a special forces grade tool. And the fact that it was N7 made it even more rare. Military grade tools are expensive and specially made for combat purposes. Special forces, like N7, are a grade higher, hell of expensive, and multi-purpose. They are like the master key to everything. And I mean everything.
"Eden… Wha- How did you…?" I was speechless. She giggled and gave a light shrug.
"Tali found it on Feros. At first we thought it was a standard issue military omnitool, but after she did a scan we found it to be N7. That, and seeing how yours is fried, we wanted you to have it." She took a moment and I could see her biting her lower lip and shifting her feet. "Do you like it? I mean, I've seen you work with your older one and would understand how you wouldn't want anything else. I just, well you know, wanted to help you out." Was she scarred that I wouldn't like this? Wait… She was. She was nervous that I wouldn't accept this. It was amazing, that was for sure.
"Eden. Tali. This is great. Honest. Best gift I've received in years. Thank you." I gave them the most sincere smile I could give, earning a smile from Eden and I'm pretty sure Tali. Tali took a step forward and pointed at my new omnitool.
"And, as a bonus, it already has combat programs for you to use. Eden took a look at it, and said that this was a tool N7 Paladin's used."
N7 Paladin's? The guys with shield right? To make sure, I checked the tool's programs. There wasn't as many as my old one, but I would live. From what I could see there was a standard Incineration tech, a Snap Freeze, and Overload. Alright, Snap Freeze was an exclusive Paladin class power. I kept looking at the powers, and sure enough I found what I was looking for. With a jerk of my hand, and clenching my fist, a large amber shield took form. Sweet. I was beaming, and Eden and Tali could tell. I may have lost my old tool, but this new one is a huge step up.
I retracted the shield and looked at the omnitool again. I may not have my tech armor, but the shield would be nice. And by looking at some more, I could tell that there was some room for me to add some modification programs to the shield. This was awesome. Power reset may suck, but receiving new Tech completely over shadows it. And the fact that my combat is heavily based on the use of Tech Powers, having something new to work with is just as awesome. Over all, I had four Tech Powers and space for two more. Special Forces grade omnitool's pack a lot of usage data and programming. They were meant to finish a hack five times as fast, but in order to have that speed you need to use more storage data and space. It does balance out and is extremely helpful, so even though I may not have my old tool that has over every Tech Power, this new one is just as good.
"Honestly, this is awesome," I said looking at the two. Tali was nodding and Eden smiled.
"Well at least we replaced one of your damaged items." As soon as she said that, Tali brought a hand to where her mouth would be. I frowned.
"What?" I asked. Eden sighed and rubbed the back of her arm, looking away.
"Well, your jacket was torn up. Your shield is completely fried. And your helmet may be damaged as well. Whatever Ieris did with that Overload, she knew what she was doing. She pretty much took out all your Tech."
Damn it! That was one thing I did NOT want to here. The shield I knew would be a lost cause. Hell it was malfunctioning before Ieris. My jacket is replaceable, although it was my favorite. But my helmet? That is just as important as an omnitool. Even though I'm starting to hate it and it brings back memories, it is an important tool in my arsenal.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a breath. "Where is my helmet?"
"In your locker," said Eden. I nodded.
"Alright, well I better go and have a look at it. Hopefully I can still use it, and if not maybe the data can be salvaged." I rubbed the back of my head and shrugged. Aside from that, I was still pretty happy. "Anyway, thanks again. I'll catch ya'll later."
I left the engine room and went to my locker. I was relieved to see my weapons there, all intact and ready to go. My jacket was there too and just by looking at it I could tell it was a lost cause. Oh well. Then I saw my helmet. It was banged up, that was for sure. The right eye area had a large scorch mark that had a few cracks in it. It also had some dents here and there. Nalik is going to be pissed.
Helmet in hand I headed to the elevator. I was about to preform some high tense surgery on my helmet, and having everyone in the hanger be here and ask what I'm doing would be very disturbing to my work. Unfortunately, someone used the elevator, so I have to wait for about a year until it came down.
I stood patiently, helmet took under my arm and my new omnitool opened. I was checking the extranet. Mainly for Citadel news feed. So far nothing interesting, just a lot of journal articles about Eden, since she was the first human Spectre. Some informative, some bias, and some just celebrity gossip. Nothing to important. There was one about me, or well, Spade. Pretty much that so far there hasn't been any murders, and the man hunt for me is still ongoing. Well at least they are trying.
"What are you looking at?" a voice asked. I jumped and turned to see Eden giggling at my jump.
"Jesus Eden, don't do that again." She was still giggling and brought a hand up.
"Sorry. I didn't think you would be so jumpy."
"Yeah, well when you aren't paying attention, anything could cause someone to jump."
"True enough," she said with a smile. I gave a small smile back and turned back towards the elevator. It finally came down, and Eden and I moved aside for those who came down to this floor. We both entered, I hit he button for the top floor, and we stood silently as the elevator went up. We were the only ones in the elevator, so it may have been a little awkward. But, only just a little.
"I'm sorry about all your stuff Adrian," Eden said with a small guilty tone. I looked at her.
"Don't apologize Eden. I can figure something out. Besides, you and Tali replaced the omnitool, and I'm pretty sure I can replace a leather jacket." She nodded, and then looked at my helmet.
"What about your helmet?" I shrugged.
"I can't fix it physically, but I may be able to salvage the programming installed within the helmet. It's complicated, but I may be able to do it. If not a buddy of mine on the Citadel can fix it. Hopefully."
"I've been meaning to ask, what can your helmet do?" I let out a breath. To some, they may think that it is a very over powered helmet that can do about anything. But in a Tech perspective, it is way more complicated. One, there is what I call "the Iron Man Cursor". Basically it is like this. Iron Man's helmet had a tool that would allow Tony Stark to look at certain functions. With a blink of his eye, the function would activate. The comics explain a little about, and the movie showed something like it.
Anyway, I explained as easily as I could about the helmet. From its face scanning, to tracking. Pretty much the works. I told her about its different fields of vision, and how I can connect it with my Sicarius rifle. As I was talking, I could see Eden looking at me. She was actually listening. She didn't have a "wow, you are a total geek" look, but an interested look. In a way, I felt good about it. After I finished, she nodded.
"Wow, sounds like some complicated stuff," she said. I laughed a little.
"Oh yeah. Took me about a year just to get everything down to an art. And having it damaged is very bad. I need to get it fixed up, ASAP."
"Is it okay if I join you?" What? I looked at her with a confused look. She cleared her throat. "I know it may be boring, but Tech in a way fascinates me. Being a Biotic myself, I never got the chance to work with Tech, and seeing you and Garrus and Tali work with like it is an art. Well, I just want to know more about it. If it is alright, of course." I looked away for a moment, and then shrugged.
"I don't see why not. If you're not busy, than by all means. The company may speed the process up."
She smiled and nodded. Well this is new. I never really showed how Tech works, or well, how I work with Tech. This may just be interesting. I hope I don't bore her. This is going to be serious Geek Squad in a matter of minutes.
"So what do you plan on doing when we get to the Citadel?" she asked, breaking the silence again. The elevator is that slow for two different conversations.
"I'm not sure. Get a new jacket is one thing. Maybe hit the bar while I still can. What about you?"
She shrugged. "Not much myself. Liara invited me to lunch, and so did Kaidan. Aside from that I don't know." I chuckled.
"Guess we are both not that into planning, huh?" She giggled in response to that.
"Guess not." She looked away for a moment then looked back at me. "How about we spend the RnR together. I did say I would help you, so this would be the best chance for it." I shrugged. She did say she wanted to help me out. Why not.
"I don't see any harm in it. Sure, why not." She smiled.
"It's a date then."
"You sure you want to call it that? And what about Liara and Kaidan?" I asked.
"Yes I'm sure I want to call it. And they'll understand. I'll just tell them I have business to take care of." I shook my head, but smiled none the less.
"Alright, but don't run to me when they start yelling at you for ditching them." She laughed.
"I'll be fine." The elevator opened. "Now let's go, I want to learn about this Tech stuff." She took off for the quarters, and I followed. She called it a date. I couldn't help but chuckle at that. Earlier I told myself not to get close, and yet here she is trying too. I think. Who knows, maybe it will only be two friends spending time together. Or maybe it will lead to something. I don't know, but my mother always said that you can't shape fate to your own accord, it will shape you. Maybe fate has something in store with Eden. For all I know, RnR is going to be very interesting.
Alright, there ya'll have it. This was manily some fluff with Adrian and Eden. And also a Power reset. So for all of ya'll who said Adrian was overpowered, well there you go. It was going to happen whether people said it or not. As for why I pretty much made him a Paladin, I'm not sure. I just really love that shield you know? I'm more of a N7 Slayer/Shadow fan myself. Even though my character is more Pheonix Adept and Female Sentinel, but still, I like those two N7 characters.
Anyway, back to Spade. Next two or three chapters will be the RnR. More realationship building and some character stuff as well. And I'm just going to say this, the Liara scene was hard for me. I am one of those few fans that really... dislikes Liara. Hell all three of ME1 LI(Love Interest). I don't know, I just didn't like them. Liara was annoying to me, that and she was always dropped when I used her. I know people said Garrus was always dropped, but for me Garrus was a fucking BAMF. So was Wrex :D.
Also, and I know I'm rambling, but this is some news. I will be updating my profile page (which needed to be done since October, I just never did). But, I'm going to be adding stuff to my page. Basically it will have a list of projects that are out like Spade. A list of OC's I have created and have been introduced through-out my Fics. And, as a little bonus, of some Fic's in the "work-shop" that will be coming in the future. I don't know, I just want another way to connect with readers and let them know of things to come. My page will be updated hopefully by Sunday.
So, that should be it... Yeah, I think it is. If ya'll have any questions, or just want to talk about ideas or writing, be sure to drop a message. Also, if you need help shaping an idea, don't be afriad to hit me up. I love helping people out, and even though I'm not a beta-reader, I can care less. Help is help, no matter who it is from. And I know forming an idea can be difficult, hell I scraped some idea's because I couldn't shape the idea, and that is really how good ideas become forgotten. So yeah, just drop me a message and I'll get back to you.
Thanks and keep on reading, no matter the story.
KD