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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, Alpha Origins	By : Veyron722skyhook Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 6173 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or it's characters. They belong to Bioware and EA. No money/profit is made by me from this.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Done at last!

So sorry that it took me so long to finish this. Hope none of you began to think I'd given up. If there's one thing I'll never do, it's leave a story uncompleted.

Anyway, this the final Crime Lord one. After this, we'll finally be moving on to a different part of the story.

Hope this at least was worth the wait, and I'd like to thank all who contributed to this.

Warning also, this chapter contains two sex scenes.

YEAR 3, The Criminal Element

2175: 3 1/2 Years after the battle of Elysium

12 Years before the Battle of Arkadia

"This was it. The moment it had all been building up to. However, it turned out we weren't the only ones after the Kingpin, nor did we realize the bigger game that was afoot. But above all, something else that only 2 of us would know about for a while was beginning..."

Chapter 11

Crime Does Not Pay

This was it. This was what all these past 2 years had been building up to. Only the Kingpin was left now.

Despite that two of the crime lords had died, the Arkanes it seemed had been very persistent in their interrogation of the other crime lords to the point where they'd finally been able to find out where he was.

Chances are though that he would not go down easily. Already, as Alpha began planning their infiltration of the Kingpin's tower, they could tell it wouldn't' be easy.

"So, I doubt this one is going to be any easier than the others." said Saphira.

"Even if he may believe we're no longer a threat, I doubt he'll have relaxed at all." Xun agreed.

"Kingpin's office is on the top floor, but the building is heavily guarded and fortified and their security checks and very thorough. It'd be impossible to get in there without some form of detection." Leena explained as she brought up a holo map of the building.

"How thorough are we talking exactly?" Austin asked.

"All the way up to the forty fifth floor. The last five though... bit of an unknown." Leena replied.

"This isn't a fortress. There has to be some way in." Austin thought to himself.

"Ventilation system perhaps?" Kraan suggested.

"Too small, even for Dash." Leena replied.

Everyone expected Dash to speak any second with some kind of bad joke. To their surprise however, he remained absolutely silent.

"Really? No jokes about that?" Ventra asked in surprise.

"Nah. Too easy." Dash shrugged.

"What about the roof?" Sandra asked, changing back to the subject at hand.

"Unguarded... but it's protected by anti-air units. We couldn't get the dropship close enough." said Leena.

"Maybe we don't' have too..." said Alexa, finally speaking.

"Alexa?"

"What's the detection range on these guns?" the pilot asked.

"4,900 feet." Leena replied.

"I think I'm beginning to see where this is going." said Austin intriguingly.

"If we position the dropship way out of sensor and gun range, you might be able to drop in on them." said Alexa.

"At that height we risk causing a crater from our fall though." said Xun.

"That's why I propose you use parachutes. Slow your descent once you're close enough, and then work your way inside." said Alexa.

"You know... that just might work." Austin agreed.

"The top five floors are armoured though and have no windows. The roof also has no access. The only way we can get inside is to abseil down to the forty fourth floor and work our way up." said Leena.

"That may not be all bad actually. Assuming these blueprints are correct, the alarm system can be accessed on the floor right below. If one of us infiltrates there and disables the alarm system, we can work our way up stealthily without them putting the whole building on alert." said Alaara, pointing to a highlighted area of the holo map.

"Normally I'd call that a bad idea. But hell, I'm all about bad ideas." said Kraan.

"Sounds like a plan." Austin nodded.

"What about Saphira, Shepard? Our parachutes are only designed for Helldivers." Xun asked.

"She'll have to share with one of us." Austin replied.

"Me!" said Dash, quickly putting his hand up. He quickly noticed however that everyone was giving him a "you must be joking" look.

"Alright, fine." he sighed.

"You can share mine, Justicar." said Kraan.

"Thank you." said Saphira.

"Okay then. Let's just run this through properly so we've got it straight. We jump from 5,000 feet, just outside of the anti-air gun's detection range, land on the roof and abseil down to floor 45 while one of us abseils down 1 extra floor, cuts through and disables the alarm system. We then regroup and work our way up to the 50th floor." said Austin.

"I'll handle the alarm system. I'm the tech and hacker expert anyway." said Leena.

"My thoughts exactly." said Alaara.

"What can we expect on our way up?" Dash asked.

"Unknown." Leena sighed.

"Still, it's a plan." said Sandra optimistically.

"Alright. Alexa, have the dropship prepped for tomorrow. Everyone else get plenty of rest. I need you all fully focused for tomorrow. Dismissed!" said Austin.

As everyone left for their own rooms to tend to their own business, Austin suddenly noticed his omni tool bleeping. He'd just received a message.

Heard you were in the neighbourhood recently. Come to this spot and make sure you're alone. I think we have some catching up to do, and I still owe you.

A Friend.

The message had a picture of what looked like an old alleyway.

He knew where that was, but still... Austin had no idea who this so called "friend" was. For all he knew it could be a trap. Since his squad had enough to worry about, Austin decided he'd handle this himself. Last thing the rest of his team needed was a distraction.

Austin arrived at the meeting place. He still had his weapons and all his armour on, just in case this "friend" ended up being a little unfriendly.

For a few long seconds he looked around. Perhaps he was early and the person hadn't got here yet, or perhaps they were in the shadows... waiting.

"I had a feeling you'd come in your armour. Can't say I blame you for being cautious." said a voice.

Austin immediately whirled round, his hand automatically going for the handle of his saw a figure walk out of the shadows. To his surprise, and also relief, it was an Asari. And not just any Asari, it was none other than his old... "Acquaintance" The Azure Angel.

"Oh, it's you." he said in surprise, relaxing and letting his hand drop from his sword. "Nyarra, was it?"

The Asari nodded.

"I must say, of all the people that message could've been from, you're probably the last I expected." said Austin.

"And why's that?" Nyarra smiled.

"Well... I just didn't think we'd run into each other again. Especially since you got your revised contract. How's that worked out for you by the way?" Austin asked.

"Better than I think either of us intended. Business for me has literally soared. I now own the club where I work. Occasionally I still dance though, and now I only sleep with people if I really like them or want to. Or unless they pay outrageous amounts of credits." Nyarra replied.

"Sounds like our help has really worked out for you then."

"I can never thank you enough, Commander Shepard, believe me."

"So anyway, why did you call me here? I doubt it was for something as simple as catch up." Austin replied.

"Take off your helmet a minute." Nyarra simply requested.

"Okay..." said the Helldiver hesitantly as he removed his helmet.

To his surprise, Nyarra suddenly pulled him into a deep kiss.

"Not that I'm complaining but... what the hell was that for?" he asked when they finally broke apart for air.

"I never properly thanked you." Nyarra smiled seductively. "Now how about we go back to my place and I show you how truly grateful I am? It'd give us a chance to catch up even more."

"Look... it's not really the best time, Nyarra. I have an important mission tomorrow."

"Well then, I'm sure another night with me will get you plenty of rest."

"Well..."

"I insist, Shepard."

There was a pause before Austin finally replied.

"Oh very well." he sighed.

"Come with me then."

Back at base meanwhile, Sandra was busy checking all the comm equipment, making sure it was fully operational for tomorrow. Just as she was starting to finish up, she heard the door open and Alaara walked in.

"Hey Sandra." she said.

"Alaara." Sandra nodded. The Helldiver though failed to notice a bit of the floor sticking out slightly, and her foot caught on it, causing her to trip and drop some of her comm equipment on the table on the floor.

"Oh blin!" she swore in Russian.

"Busy night?" Alaara asked as she helped Sandra gather up the equipment.

"Just making sure everything's ready for the mission." said Sandra.

"You know, you really shouldn't take yourself so seriously all the time. You should learn to relax more. Try and enjoy yourself." said Alaara.

As she handed a last bit of the equipment to Sandra, she felt her hand brush the human's. For some reason, the feel of Sandra's skin made Alaara's mind flashback to a few months ago during that party when they'd kissed to avoid detection. It actually brought back some rather fond memories of how it had felt. The Asari was unable to deny that she'd suddenly started to feel rather horny after that. Add to the fact that she was a little bored given the long waiting period before the mission and the fact that she found it rather hard to relax without previously having exhausted herself with sex. A bizarre thought started to come to her mind. She'd never previously thought of Sandra in a sexual kind of way till now. She was a friend obviously, and although Alaara had flirted with her before, she hadn't truly meant anything by it. It was her nature to be seductive and teasing. Tonight though... something felt different.

"By "enjoying yourself" do you mean sex? Because if so, I'm not surprised to hear you say..." said Sandra, but she was suddenly interrupted when Alaara suddenly grabbed the front of her uniform.

"You talk too much, sweetheart!" said the Asari.

The second the last word left her word, Alaara suddenly pulled Sandra into a kiss. Alaara half expected Sandra to really push her off and slap her this time, especially since they weren't' trying to hide from anyone. To her surprise however, Sandra did completely the opposite. The human actually started to not only kiss her back but also hugged one arm around her back while the other grabbed her behind. Alaara almost pulled away herself because of the sudden surprise. But her arousal and urges quickly took over.

Alaara almost immediately picked up the human in her arms and tried her best to maneuverer them into her room, despite the fact that both their eyes were closed and they were still kissing. Alaara could even swear she was feeling tongue. She'd never thought Sandra would ever be like this. Goddess only knows what she would be like in bed, and Alaara intended to find out tonight.

Managing to get a few quick glances in-between kisses, Alaara managed to get the door open and she immediately let them drop onto the bed. Sandra only seemed to intensify with her kissing and she even started to grab onto a bit of Alaara's uniform and tried to pull on it. Obviously the human didn't have as much experience in trying to get a partner naked quickly during sex as Alaara did, but the Asari did have to admit there was plenty of fire in this human. Despite that this was probably only a one night stand for the both of them, Alaara had a feeling this would be one she would not soon forget.

Rather surprisingly for Sandra, Alaara managed to get her naked faster than she would've ever thought possible. A quick bit of biotics and she was naked before she even realised her clothes had gone.

Alaara then temporarily stopped kissing Sandra and sat up slightly in order to pull her own uniform top off. The sight of the Asari's tits was something the entire squad had gotten used to over the past few years. Yet despite that, Sandra almost found herself hypnotised by the large blue orbs in front of her. In fairness, none of Alpha (expect perhaps Shepard) had even seen them this close up.

The Asari almost immediately resumed her kiss, surprising Sandra. That however quickly changed when Sandra decided she wanted to be the one who had the element of surprise. She suddenly flipped them both over so that she was now on top and immediately started to finger Alaara.

The Asari's surprised moans only helped spur her on. Never before did she ever think she'd see an Asari screaming under her touch rather than the other way around.

"You're... so... much... better... at this... than I thought!" Alaara moaned, her teeth gritted as Sandra increased her pace. She really was so surprised at this. Both by how forward Sandra was being with this, the fact that she'd turned the tables just like that, and above all how surprising the human's touch was. It was unlike any touch she'd felt before during sex. It was different, her hands felt strong, yet they had no indication of toughness or the sense that they had done a lot of fighting and using heavy, cold, metallic equipment, some of which might have been dirty. It was unbelievable.

"How's it feel to be on the receiving end for once?" Sandra smiled.

Before Alaara could give a proper answer, she suddenly felt the imminent feeling of an orgasm come out of nowhere and get to the point where it couldn't be stopped.

"OH GODDESS!"

Alaara screamed as she released, still panting heavily as she slowly came down from the euphoria. Sandra gently slowed down her fingering until she finally stopped. The human was tempted to taste what Alaara squirted on her fingers, but ultimately she couldn't bring herself to do it. Alaara it seemed though had been able to tell that was what she'd been thinking and swiftly grabbed the human's fingers and licked them clean.

"You'll probably still be tasting me at some point tonight anyway." the Asari panted, a new primal and animal look in her eyes.

With that, Alaara pounced on Sandra, fully intending to return the favour... and then some.

Austin was definitely treated to a rather surprising sight as he walked into Nyarra's room.

She'd certainly changed things a great deal. Her furniture looked new and more like the sort of thing rich people had. The fact that she now owned the club where she danced and had no doubt gained a huge amount of money now obviously meant she was very rich.

The bed though looked the same as the one she'd had before. Most likely she'd felt that she didn't want to spend loads of credits on a brand new bed when it was probably going to have an awful lot of sex in it.

"Nice!" Austin said admirably. "You've definitely come a long way, especially in just one year."

"And I owe it all to you." Nyarra smiled. "Now then, you get comfortable."

She then gently pulled Austin by the collar and threw him into the bed. "I'll just slip into something... more entertaining."

With that Nyarra disappeared into another room. Before Austin had a chance to even consider if he should take his clothes off, Nyarra emerged back out wearing a most surprising outfit.

She appeared to be wearing black stockings with long thigh boots, along with a corset that barely hid her large tits and crotchless panties with straps like a thong. She had black sleeves on her arms as well. Undeniably a dominatrix outfit.

"Well, what do you think?" Nyarra asked as she gave a little twirl to give Austin a full view. Austin was unable to resist staring at Nyarra's ass, which was fully exposed by the thong part of the outfit. He already started to feel himself hardening at the sight.

"A surprise, I'll admit… but not in a bad way." The Helldiver smiled slyly.

"Now, before we start, I want to make it clear who's in charge this time." said Nyarra seductively as she got on top.

"Wait... I'm not really into that whole handcuffs and whip thing." said Austin hesitantly.

"I wouldn't force anything on you." said Nyarra.

Convinced, Austin relaxed.

"How you gonna make sure I do as I'm told though if you're in charge this, as you claim? he asked challengingly.

"Simple really." Nyarra replied, gently reaching up until her finger touched an exposed part of his neck.

Austin then suddenly felt a massive jolt shoot through his body, almost like a rather harmless but somewhat painful electric shock as Nyarra used her biotics. This reminded Austin so much of what Alaara had once done to Leena to wake her up. Was this the same?

Regardless though, despite that this technique hadn't left him with any injury, it had stung. That certainly told him that Nyarra was serious about this. She would punish him if he didn't obey her. She was being the dominant one this time.

"Ow. Okay... consider me warned." Austin panted, still a tiny bit in shock over what Nyarra had just done. Now he had an idea how Leena must have felt when Alaara used her biotics to cause a shock that resuscitated her.

"Good boy." Nyarra smiled. "Now... strip!"

Preferring to avoid another biotic shock, Austin began taking his clothes off while Nyarra continued watching while knelt in front of him, gently touching herself as she watched. She even licked her lips when she saw the Helldiver's muscles again.

Finally, Austin was left in just his boxers. Since he was unsure if Nyarra meant those too, or wanted him to keep them on so she could do that bit herself, he left them on. That however ended up being a bit of a mistake as Nyarra suddenly gave him another shock.

"Those too." she said. "Don't go shy on me now."

Simply nodded, Austin slid off his boxers, exposing his currently flaccid member. He noticed Nyarra lick her lips again as she looked at it.

"What now then?" Austin asked, a tiny bit hesitantly.

"Lie down." Nyarra commanded.

Austin did so.

"Keep your hands where they are. You are not to touch me unless I say so. Understand?" Nyarra instructed as she knelt on top of Austin and gently took his cock in her hand.

Austin simply nodded.

For a moment, he thought Nyarra was going to take it into her mouth. But it turned out he was wrong. Instead, she surprisingly activated her biotics. What happened next definitely took Austin by surprise. He felt his cock go rock hard instantly in Nyarra's hands and it now stood completely erect, almost looking dark and purple from the amount of blood flooded into it and the veins practically bulging as his penis throbbed with ach heartbeat.

"There. That should keep you nice and hard for tonight." she smiled.

"Didn't know Asari could do that." said Austin, still coming down from the pleasure and surprise of what had just happened.

Nyarra simply smiled. She then opened her mouth and gave the head of his cock a long lick, electing a pleasured moan from Austin. Now she took his cock into her mouth, her tongue instantly began to swirl around its head.

It seemed as if she'd got even better since last time. She now seemed to be able to bring him twice as much pleasure as before. Her head then began to bob up and down as she took him in and out of her.

"Damn, that feels good!" he moaned.

Nyarra didn't say anything and simply went back down. This time though, she took him all the way until she reached the very base of his cock. She then let just a tiny bit out and touched it with her fingers and once again activated her biotics. For a moment, Austin worried she was gonna shock him again for talking. To his relief though, he was wrong. Instead, without warning, he suddenly found himself having an uncontrollable orgasm as wave after wave of cum shot from his dick and into Nyarra's waiting throat. With each large spurt she swallowed and sucked.

What felt like almost a minute passed before Austin finally felt his orgasm subside and Nyarra swallowed the last of his cum. She then slowly pulled herself off, letting his cockhead out of her mouth with a wet pop.

"See, Shepard? I can now make you cum whenever I want." she smiled, licking the taste of his shaft off her lips slightly.

"That was... I never knew I had that much in me." Austin panted.

"And I hope you've got more still left in you, because we're not done until I not only say so, but I've had my release too." said Nyarra, gently squeezing his cock a little tighter.

"So... what now?" Austin asked.

Nyarra gently reached up and unclipped the straps that had been holding up the part of the corset covering her tits.

Austin simply remained where he was, not daring to touch them in case she shocked him again.

Noticing the Helldiver's hesitation, Nyarra simply smiled.

"Go ahead. Suck 'em." she said seductively.

Austin sat up gently and took both the Asari's tits in his hands and took on of her nipples into his mouth. The Asari moaned in pleasure and brought both her hands up to ruffle the Helldiver's hair as he sucked.

"Ah yeah!" she cried in ecstasy. "Now, time for the main event. Stick your cock in my Azure and fuck me."

Austin lined his shaft up while Nyarra readjusted her position so she was right above him. Since Nyarra clearly wanted him to thrust in rather than her plunge down, Austin gently moved his hips up until his cockhead slowly went in.

"Mmmmmmmm! Either you've gotten even bigger, or I've grown tighter!" Nyarra moaned.

"Maybe even both." Austin also moaned as he once again felt the pleasure of the Asari's azure. The tightness, the wetness... it was heaven.

It was then that Nyarra became the dominatrix again. Putting both her hands on Austin's chest, she forced him back down, including his pelvis with his cock still inside her. There was a new look in her eyes, a wild and animal look. She then placed both his hands at his side.

"Keep them there! You can only touch me again when I say so!" she panted.

With that, she started to ride him really hard and fast. It was almost torture for Austin not to touch the Asari. Nyarra meanwhile was practically screaming as she rode the Helldiver's cock. True she'd had many before after Alpha had helped her, yet still she found this to be her favourite. So long, so thick, so juicy, and attached to one of the most handsome and charming human male's she'd known. If this Helldiver ever got a love interest, she'd definitely envy them.

Sandra gently yawned as she woke up. She quickly noticed she wasn't in her own room or bed, and the memories of last night's so called "one night stand" quickly came back.

Sandra had to admit, even after all that, she still didn't have any regrets. She'd practically grown accustomed to Alaara's constant flirting now, but up till now she'd never thought she'd give into them.

She then heard Alaara stir as she woke up from an obviously... sexual dream she'd been having.

"Mmmm, just like that, baby!" she moaned. "Yeah, you like that, don't you?"

The Asari then suddenly blinked as her eyes readjusted. She then noticed the naked human lying next to her.

"Well I'll be dammed. It wasn't a dream." she said.

"Well, they always say you never forget your first time, and admittedly that was my first time with a... well, woman-like figure." said Sandra.

"I have to admit actually, that was... different." said Alaara. "Never thought I'd say this, but that's the first time I've ever felt weird after sex."

"It's one thing to do it with someone, but it's another to do it with someone you know." said Sandra as she sat up in the bed, letting the covers drop from her body. Alaara was unable to tear her eyes off the human's naked back.

Something about it was just so...

Well, it was hard to think of the right words, really.

"Still, that's one way to work off stress I suppose." Alaara smiled, lying on her front in seductive pose as she watched Sandra starting to get dressed.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, Alaara, you are nice but... I don't feel that way about you." said Sandra.

"Glad we're on the same wave length. I was slightly concerned you'd think about bringing feelings into this." said Alaara.

"No. This was just for fun." Sandra agreed.

"Guess now you know why I've been trying to flirt with you so much." said Alaara, still unable to stop staring.

"Yes, I suppose I do now." said Sandra, trying to ignore the sexy Asari's undeniably hypnotic gaze, and the fact that the blue alien was still fully naked and not making any effort whatsoever to cover up. "Anyway, we'd better get ready. We're heading out in 20 minutes."

"For what it's worth, you've got one hell of a sexy body, Sandra. I'm actually gonna miss it." Alaara smiled as she finally worked on getting her own clothes on.

"And I know this isn't going to be the last time I'll see yours." said Sandra, causing a little chuckle from Alaara. "You have nice breasts though, that I will admit."

"You're too kind." the Asari smiled. Unable to help herself, she landed a quick slap on Sandra's behind.

Austin gently woke to find Nyarra already awake. She was still naked unsurprisingly and she was quick to notice that the Helldiver she'd just had sex with a second time had finally woken up.

"So, how was it?" she asked, gently lying down next to him again, unable to resist catching a few stares at his muscles.

"I have to admit it was... different to what I'm used to." Austin replied.

"I knew you would like it." Nyarra smiled proudly. She then handed Austin what looked like a credit chit.

"What's this?" he asked.

"The money you paid me last time. After all you've done for me, I think it's only fair I actually do repay you." said Nyarra.

"Keep it, Nyarra." said Austin, gently closing her hand around the credits again. "You need it more than I do."

"You don't mean that." Nyarra smiled

"No seriously, you probably do need it more than Me." said Austin. "I make a lot more money than that as a Helldiver every day, so your business will definitely get more out of it than I will."

"You truly have a generous heart. Why is the galaxy not full of people more like you?" Nyarra smiled.

"Hell if I know." Austin replied as he got up and started getting dressed.

The Asari simply remained on the bed and watched as Austin redressed and settled back into his armour.

"Good luck, for whatever it's worth." she said.

"Thanks." Austin nodded.

With that, he left. There was no need for goodbyes. The Helldiver had a feeling this wouldn't be the last he'd see of the Azure Angel.

Everyone remained silent as they waited for the dropship to reach its destination. They were making sure they remained fully focused on the mission ahead. No doubt they would need every bit of that focus. There was no telling what the Kingpin had in store for them.

One thing that was catching everyone's attention was the fact that Kraan seemed to be even more armed to the teeth than usual. In addition to the various ammo packs he already had strapped to various parts of his armour, he now also had two additional weapons.

"Did I miss something, Kraan? Are we going to war or something?" Xun asked confusedly.

"I'm heavy weapons guy. What do you expect?" Kraan replied.

"What's this?" Leena asked, pointing to one of the large weapons on Kraan's left shoulder and nearly touching it.

"Don't touch it!" said Kraan, recoiling slightly. He then took the massive weapon off his back and it unfolded into what was undeniably some kind of rocket launcher. It even had the ornament of a wolf placed on it. "This? This is my rocket launcher. It was raised by wolves."

"And this?" Xun asked, indicating to the large gun on the back of Kraan's waist.

"Grenade launcher." said Kraan. He then also took his massive minigun off his back. Recently he'd managed to make a few new modifications to the weapon. The gun now had an automatic aiming system for targets and only required input form it's user to fire. The aiming was done through use of an articulated arm attached to the user's left hip which steered it to aim at the target's centre of mass. This also made it easier for the user to carry since the gun was unbelievably heavy, even for a Krogan. He'd also fitted a retractable shield on the inner side of the gun that was designed to protect the shooter. Since it was attached and wired directly into the minigun, which in turn was attached and wired into the Krogan's armour, his helmet allowed him to see through it, allowing him to fire as much as he wanted and be fully concealed behind it.

"Do you really need all this stuff though? Even for what we're about to face, it seems a little excessive." said Xun.

"I believe there's a saying you humans sometimes have. Something along the lines of "Why the fuck not?" said Kraan rhetorically.

"He does have a point." Sandra admitted.

Even I gotta admit he looks pretty badass." said Dash. "Guns that size... I would not wanna mess with this dude."

"Damn right you wouldn't." the Krogan smiled.

"We're approaching the drop off point." said Alexa.

Everyone stood up and made sure their parachutes were as secure as they could make them. Austin meanwhile handed Saphira some goggles

"Make you sure you keep these on at all times, Saphira." he advised. "You don't wanna get something in your eye on the way down, especially at the speeds we'll be going."

Saphira nodded and strapped them on. At the same time, she secured herself to Kraan's front.

"Don't get any funny ideas." she warned.

Kraan simply nodded.

Austin nodded to Alexa who opened the doors. The wind almost immediately howled as it blew inside. Austin hoped Saphira was warm enough in her armour, because he had a feeling that at this altitude in the still very early hours of the morning, wind like this would be very cold.

From the looks of things however the Justicar seemed fine.

"Everyone ready?!" Austin yelled.

"READY!" everyone replied together.

"Right... In 3... 2..."

But Austin was interrupted when Xun suddenly jumped out ahead of everyone else.

"I hate it when she does that." Austin sighed. "Go!"

"Geronimo!" Dash yelled.

Everyone jumped.

Even from inside their armour, they could feel the force of the air rushing right at them as they descended at an incredible speed.

After several long minutes the clouds finally cleared, revealing the view of the city below them. The tallest of the buildings, which was their target, also loomed into view. At this, everyone pulled the chutes and simply glided slowly towards the roof.

"Well, that was fun." Sandra sighed as everyone landed and discarded their chutes.

"Alright, Saphira?" Austin asked.

"I'm fine." Saphira nodded.

The Justicar still needed to remain strapped to Kraan until they got into the building since the repelling liens were also only designed for Helldivers.

Leena meanwhile had already clipped on and was ready to abseil down.

"Leena, good luck." said Austin.

Leena simply nodded and dropped.

After a drop of a few floors, Leena finally stopped and began cutting through the window using her Omni tool. No way were any of Alpha going to smash the glass and go in guns blazing this time.

After a few long seconds, Leena finally had a full circle cut and was able to carefully remove it using a suction device. She then gently swung in and unclipped from her line. From the schematics they'd managed to obtain, the alarm controls were just down the hall from the room she was in, but even there she had to not be noticed. Even with her cloak on, there was still the risk of her being spotted if someone got too close and saw the camouflaged figure of her.

Before opening the door, the Quarian first took out the small drone spider once again and had it crawl under the door. From the feed she was getting, the coast looked clear. Very gently, she pushed the door open, shotgun at the ready just in case. After a few cautious seconds, the Quarian finally allowed herself to relax, convinced that the coast was indeed clear.

The Quarian walked up to the control panel and opened it. Unsurprisingly, the tech they were using was hardly top of the line and was software she was very familiar with. A quick Omni tool hack and a few tweaks, and there went the alarm.

Alpha simply waited patiently to hear the words. Sure enough, Leena's voice could then be heard through their comms.

"The alarm's disabled, sir." said Leena.

"Roger that, Leena." Austin replied.

Giving the hand single to the rest of the team, he and the others abseiled down and began cutting through as well.

It went smoothly for everyone except Kraan, who had a little trouble getting his harness and Saphira dethatched from him. Once Saphira managed to get free Kraan also managed to get free of his harness. However, he completely lost his balance and ended up falling right on Dash.

Sandra, Xun and Alaara had to do their best not laugh. Even Ventra was struggling to keep it in.

"Ow. You couldn't fall six inches to the left?" Dash complained.

"Next time I'll sit on you." Kraan warned.

"Give me strength." Austin sighed.

"Alright, the elevator's just around this corner." Said Leena.

As everyone rounded the corner however, they suddenly found themselves facing an entire small army of guard.

"Oh." Leena added.

"Wrong floor?" Dash tried to say innocently.

All the guards immediately raised their guns.

"Hell yeah! Boom time!" Kraan smiled.

The guards all opened fire, causing all but Kraan to retreat behind cover. A few shots hit Kraan, but they simply ricocheted off his armour. The mechanical arm which fixed the heavy iron gun to Kraan's body then moved, taking the gun with it until it was now in a position where Kraan could just take hold of it. The mounted shield unfolded in front of Kraan as well, now protecting him from any further rounds.

Some of the gunfire actually stopped as the guards noticed Kraan was about to return fire.

"My turn."

The moment Kraan's finger touched the trigger, the gun let loose firing over 166 rounds a second.

Kraan even took it from the next level as he used his left hand to then take out his grenade launcher as well, all while still keeping his right hand on the minigun.

"YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" he yelled over the loud noise of gunfire, explosions and screams

"Did you put something in his food, Dash?" said Austin, ducking to avoid a stray shot that hit the cover he was behind.

"I felt he needed a little... boost." Dash replied.

"Waste of ammunition if you ask Me." said Ventra, pausing quickly to fire one arrow which hit one of the guards straight in the chest, killing him instantly. "If you can't do it with one bullet or arrow, don't do it all."

Sandra then overheard a call on the comm systems.

"The rest of security's been notified!" she said.

"Go after the Kingpin before he evacuates! I've got this! GO!" Kraan yelled.

With Austin leading, all of Alpha continued on their journey to the upper levels while Kraan provided covering fire.

"Come and get some, ya little bitch!" he yelled.

The rest of Alpha entered the next room only to find a somewhat unexpected sight. There were dead bodies of more guards all over the place. This looked familiar.

"Guys? Do you think it's...?" Ventra asked.

"Yeah. Stay alert, people." said Austin.

The second he said that, another bloodied body was suddenly thrown from around a corner, and then the body's killer came around the corner as well... the exact same Krogan who beat them to the last crime lord.

The second the Krogan noticed the Helldivers, he immediately charged right at them, causing them all to scatter. Leena though stood her ground and actually managed to absorb most of the Krogan's charge.

"Think we're getting off on the wrong foot here." she grunted as she pushed against the Krogan and managed to a deliver a kick to his stomach.

"I was fighting Rachni when you humans killed people by throwing rocks at them. Don't think for a second that you can take me out." the Krogan growled.

The Krogan attacked again by swinging his war hammer. Leena managed to dodge to the side and drew her combat knife. This time ready, she managed to parry the Krogan's second strike with the knife. Despite her muscle mass, a swift movement of her arm allowed her to then swipe at the Krogan and she definitely felt the knife cut some flesh. It was only a very faint cut in the neck, but it was a hit nonetheless.

The Krogan rolled as he avoided a swing from Leena's fist. The muscled Quarian however was quick to whirl round, and in the process threw the knife directly at the Krogan. The knife spun as it flew and ended up carving through a piece of the Krogan's armour and embedded itself directly in the right side of his chest, drawing a bit of blood.

The Krogan emitted a slight grunt from the knife's impact, but remained unaffected by the pain of it in his chest due to his redundant nervous system. As Leena pulled out her gun, the Krogan threw a grenade at her feet. The Quarian only noticed a little too late as the grenade hit the floor and exploded, sending her flying and causing her to hit a nearby pillar.

Before the Krogan could finish her off though, the rest of the squad then attacked, firing their guns in full force.

"Attack!" Austin yelled.

"We're gonna fucking die!" said Dash, desperately firing in the hopes his shots would bring this unstoppable Krogan.

"Less bitching, more shooting!" said Sandra.

Though most shots hit him, they either bounced off his armour, or he simply ignored them as they embedded in his skin.

The Krogan then did a mighty jump, firing a few shotgun shots while in mid-air. Alpha avoided these shots, but that wasn't the only trick the Krogan ad up his sleeve. Just as he started to come down, he then drew what was undeniably a Warhammer from his back and smashes it into the ground upon landing. Alpha was lucky to have all jumped back out of the way in time as the weapon hit the floor.

Since this was now up close and with melee weapons, Austin did the same, swapping his assault rifle for his sword. As he attacked however, the Krogan quickly countered the attack and knocked him away with another swing. He then turned to Ventra just as the Turian fired an arrow. The Krogan brought his hammer up just in time for the arrow to bounce harmlessly off. Before he could attack back however, he was suddenly distracted when he felt Dash jump onto his back. It was a rather poor attempt though. With one swift move of his arm, the Krogan threw Dash off of him, right into Xun. In the process though, the Scout managed to grab his Warhammer and he lost grip of it. Still that didn't' stop the Krogan though. Right as Ventra tried to attack again, the Krogan quickly delivered a hard punch first to the stomach and then an upper cut to the face which caused Ventra to fall on his back. The Turian managed to fire another arrow as the Krogan grabbed his foot, but it missed. Using all his strength, the Krogan then threw Ventra right into the rest of the team.

Only Austin was left. Right as the Krogan turned to him however, the Helldiver was quickly up and he thrust forward. The Krogan failed to react fast enough and the sword stabbed right into his left shoulder, causing him to stagger back slightly from the blow. Still though this barely even seemed to affect the Krogan. He delivered several swift punches to Austin, knocking him to the ground and then pulled the sword out of his shoulder. Despite the significant bleeding though, he barely even gave the impression that it was affecting him. Krogan regenerated fairly quickly after all.

"Kraan, we could use some help here. Get your fat ass over her now!" Dash yelled into his comm.

Sure enough, just as the Krogan bounty hunter was about to stomp on Austin's' head, Kraan suddenly burst through the wall and head-butted the other Krogan, sending him flying a few feet. Clearly angry at this, the Krogan got back up and readied for another fight. Kraan simply cracked his knuckles.

"Come on then, bitch. Make my day." he said challengingly.

The Krogan charged Kraan first causing him to tackle the Helldiver to the ground. Kraan though was quick to return the sudden attack with a kick which knocked the normal Krogan off him.

Kraan had to admit, whoever this Krogan bounty hunter was, he had to be fairly old by Krogan standards. Despite that he was facing a Helldiver; this bounty hunter packed one hell of punch. Hell, he'd managed to tackle Kraan to the ground. No easy task, even for another Krogan.

The bounty hunter was quick to get back on his feet and resume the fight. The two Krogan wrestled fiercely with each other. While Kraan was resorting to brute force and the strength of his armour to try and take down his opponent, the bounty hunter was relying more on trying to pin his opponent to the ground.

Despite how hard Kraan was hitting, still he didn't seem to make any huge difference. The bounty hunter seemed to just keep taking it all, even a rather painful looking punch to the quad didn't seem to affect him. There was the unmistakable sound of a light grunt, but that was it. Any other Krogan would've had a way more noticeable reaction than that.

This did seem to make the normal Krogan angry though and he managed to throw a rather hard punch at Kraan which hit him in the helmet. Kraan in turn tried to throw his own punch, but the bounty hunter grabbed his wrist. Kraan attempted to punch with the other hand, but the bounty hunter blocked that one with his hand.

Then came a rather frightening sound. The sound of metal creaking. Kraan almost couldn't believe it. This normal Krogan was very nearly crushing the armour on his right arm. That shouldn't even be possible.

Acting quickly, Kraan managed to land a kick in the bounty hunters stomach, causing him to let him go. The bounty hunter though was quick to return this by grabbing Kraan and head-butting him. Against a Helldiver though, even for a Krogan that wasn't the best idea. The only damage it did was make Kraan stagger back as the bounty hunter's head collided with his helmet with a load clang. Kraan of course then returned the head-butt with his own which had so much power and strength behind it literally sent the bounty hunter flying and smashed his helmet completely off.

Right as Kraan was about to attack again however, the bounty hunter looked up at him. Kraan almost froze when he saw the bounty hunters face directly. Could it really be?!

"Father?"

"Kraan?"

Kraan quickly noticed everyone was ready to attack again. Quickly though eh cast himself between them.

"Wait! Everyone stand down!" he said quickly.

"What the hell are you doing here, kid? I thought you left Tuchanka to join the Blood Pack." said the bounty hunter as he gently got up.

"I did. Didn't like it, became a Helldiver instead." Kraan replied.

"You know this Krogan?" Austin asked.

"Urdnot Thrax." said Kraan. "My very violent father."

"The Thrax?" Austin asked in surprise. "Heard impressive stories about you."

"And I've heard a great deal about you, Helldivers, if the extranet is to be correct." said Thrax. "I am... surprised though. I did not think my son would be working among aliens, or leading them for that matter."

"Uhm, he's not the leader. I am." Austin corrected him.

"What?!" said Thrax in surprise. "You're taking orders from a human?!"

"What's so wrong about that?" said Austin, trying not to sound insulted.

"Kraan's the strongest among you. He should be leader, not some tiny weak human." said Thrax crossly.

"Now just a minute..." Saphira tried to say.

"Dad, I assure you, Shepard is a worthy leader. I've been under his command for 3 years now, and he has proved himself formidable to our enemies, and more than capable of earning respect from this team and me. He is more than worthy of being considered a Battlemaster to me." Kraan interrupted.

"Really? I find that very hard to believe." said Thrax.

"You might be surprised." said Kraan as he picked up Thrax's warlord hammer.

"Oh, you don't want to do that, boy." Thrax warned.

"Not me, him." said Kraan, indicating to Austin as he handed the hammer back to Thrax.

Seeing where this was going, Austin drew his sword while everyone else stepped back. If he wasn't going to prove himself to Thrax with words, then he'd prove himself by combat.

As Thrax took a hold of his hammer again, the end dropped to the floor as the old Krogan had to hold the weight of it once again. He was still somewhat shaken and exhausted from his son beating him, and the fact that some of his earlier wounds were still regenerating.

Dash and Alaara couldn't help but chuckle slightly. It looked like Shepard was going to mop the floor with this Krogan bounty hunter in a duel.

That however quickly changed when Thrax suddenly attacked with so much force, strength and speed that Austin only just had enough time to bring up his blade and block the attack.

It had been most clever of Thrax. The whole thing of him appearing weak had just been a ruse for him to make his opponent think they had nothing to worry about, thus gaining him the element of surprise.

Austin only managed to two blocks before Kraan managed to knock his blade too far to the side and he used the end of his hammer to hit Austin in the face. The knock hit Austin's helmet so hard that it practically vibrated as Austin staggered back from the blow, disoriented and his ears ringing from the clang of the metal as the vibrations still worked on settling.

"Oh, you alright?!" said Thrax mockingly.

Austin however was quick to return this with a counter as he spun around Thrax and then kicked him in the back, causing the old Krogan to stagger slightly and grunt from the kick.

Now the duel became properly serious. Thrax now knew that he couldn't play tricks on this Helldiver or mock him, because he'd be just as quick to return the favour.

This time though, Austin changed his strategy. Rather than trying to attack Thrax, he instead resorted to defence and let the Krogan do all the attacking. Let the Krogan vent his rage and try to prove himself, all Austin needed was the right opening. Just as Thrax finally managed to overload Austin's defence, the Helldiver finally thrust when he saw the right opening. As Thrax swung for a disarming blow, Austin thrust and he managed to catch the handle of Thrax's Warhammer right in the little gab between his blade and the sword's blade guard on the inside. Acting quickly, Austin rotated the angle until he felt the Warhammer's handle become firmly locked between the blade the and guard. Then with a final mighty push of strength he pulled his sword to the side, snatching the Warhammer clean out of Thrax's hands and throwing it to the side. Before the Krogan even had time to react, Austin swiftly brought the sword back up and pointed it right at Thrax's neck. Thrax quickly got the message. It was over. The human had beaten him.

"Not bad for a human. I'm impressed." The old Krogan panted, still somewhat surprised that a human had managed to disarm him like that, especially so quickly.

"Now…, perhaps you'd be kind enough to tell us why you're here?" said Austin gently sheathing Excalibur.

"I'm a bounty hunter. When you first went after every other crime lords, Aria T'loak hired me personally to hunt down and kill the Kingpin. That's why I'm here finally after two years." Thrax explained.

"You were at the last crime lord's place as well though… and then you killed her." said Saphira.

"That was different. After Kallun was killed, the Kingpin then hired me to hunt down and kill the last one, hoping that doing so would prevent you from finding him. Seems he was wrong of course. Anyway, now I'm here to complete Aria's contract." said Thrax.

"You're going to kill the Kingpin... all on your own?" Alaara asked, trying to hide the fact that she was finding that hard to believe.

"You're either very brave, or rather foolish." said Leena.

"Says the squad whose asses I just kicked and would've killed if not for my son here." said Thrax.

"He has a point. Best you lot managed to do was give him some more battle scars." said Kraan, clearly indicating to the wounds Thrax had sustained from Excalibur and Leena's knife, which were already starting to heal at a slow but very steady rate.

"If you're only here for the Kingpin though, why did you attack us? We meant you no harm, but you forced our hand." said Xun.

"I got warned about you, and to deal with you if you got in the way. Seems I underestimated you though. You're not like other Helldiver squads. Something about you all is different."

"Ooooh. Hear that? We're special." said Dash proudly.

"Except you." Thrax quickly added.

"What?!"

"Back to the point!" said Austin, quickly changing the subject. "We have a decision to make. What happens now?"

"If I may, Shepard. We're all after the same thing. True Thrax is here to kill the Kingpin, but his help could benefit us. Why not simply engage in a very lengthy truce... for now." Saphira suggested.

Austin took a moment to consider this and then turned to the others.

"What do the rest of you think? He asked.

"Long as he doesn't try to stab us in the back, I suppose we can live that." said Ventra.

The rest of the squad nodded and murmured amongst each other in agreement. Convinced, Austin turned back to Thrax.

"Well, Thrax?"

"I suppose I can tolerate working with you lot for now." Thrax shrugged. "Out of curiosity though, what if I refuse?"

"Then I may be forced to let you son kill you. Personally, I'd rather not. But if it comes to that..." said Austin.

"Fair enough." said Thrax. "Well, what are we all standing around here for?"

"Move out." Austin ordered.

Just as everyone else followed, Kraan quickly paused to punch Dash in the helmet.

"Ow! What was that for?!" the Scout complained.

"That's for calling me fat!" Kraan replied.

There sat the Kingpin. He didn't seem surprised or shocked to see Alpha. Then again, he did have someone with him to make him feel safe. Stood at his side, was none other than the Helldiver Slayer, still as intimidating and ever.

A little strange considering that she had killed Kallun under the orders of whomever Kallun had betrayed the Crime Lords to sell weapons to. But perhaps the Kingpin had just assumed that she wanted in on Thrax's job.

Regardless, she was here now, the only obstacle between Alpha and the Kingpin. This one obstacle though did not move easily.

"So… you came after all." said the Kingpin. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

His eyes then fell on Thrax.

"I'm disappointed, Thrax. After my most gracious payment you've now decided to turn on me?" he said.

"Aria hired my first. You should've been quicker." Thrax simply said.

"Pity. I'd so hoped to hire you again one day." the Kingpin sighed.

"That guy is big." said Sandra.

"That's what she said." Dash joked.

Due to the sexual nature of that joke, Alaara seemed to be the only other one who found that funny.

"How do you put up with this one?" Thrax mumbled to Kraan.

"Occasionally punching him and laughing at his clumsiness. He can't even do smooth talk with an Asari." said Kraan.

"We're only gonna say this once, Kingpin. Surrender now before this gets ugly." said Austin.

"I commend you for making it this far, Alpha Squad. But sadly, all journeys must come to an end. I won't even waste time delaying the ending." said the Kingpin. He then turned to the Helldiver Slayer. "Slayer... deal with them."

Without saying anything, the Slayer slowly walked down the steps until she was on the same even ground as Alpha.

"This time we'll do it together." Austin said quietly to everyone.

"I was about to say that." Xun whispered.

"Alive or dead, it's your choice. I'd rather this didn't get messy." the Slayer finally said.

"Too late for that." said Austin as he and the others readied for a fight.

"Have it your way then." the Slayer sighed as she also readied for a fight. "Shall we dance?"

Everyone attacked at once, hoping the Slayer wouldn't be able to take them all at the same time. Dash even yelled "FLOWER POT!" for some completely random reason in hopes of it being a battle cry. Naturally though, it didn't' work. The Slayer surprised all of them by jumping into the air and practically kicked down so many of them in just a few quick strikes that they temporarily fell to the floor. She then landed back on her feet like it had been nothing.

This only left a few standing, all of which were forced to prepare for another imminent attack.

"I love fighting rookies." Said the Slayer mockingly.

"Is it too late to run?" said Dash nervously.

"If we don't fight, she'll pick us off one by…" said Sandra. But she was suddenly interrupted when the Slayer used her biotics to charge right up to her, and grab her by the neck. "…one."

The Slayer then threw her into Leena and they both hit the wall hard.

"Ow!"

Kraan attempted fire his gun at the bounty hunter, but she quickly countered the minigun, delivered a swift punch to the Krogan's midsection and then kicked him in the back, causing him to stumble, and his head to collide right into Austin's crotch.

Austin only had a minute to grunt in agony before the Slayer then hit both him and Kraan with another biotic charge which caused them to smash through one of the walls into the next room.

Next the Slayer went for Dash and Alaara. The Asari attempted to shoot at the bounty hunter, but the Slayer rolled to avoid this attack. Getting back up, she grabbed both Helldivers and slammed their helmets against each other. With both Helldivers disoriented by this, the Slayer continued her attack with a punch to Alaara's stomach, another punch to Dash's face, sending him spinning, a kick to Alaara's head, which finally made her go down, and another strike which disarmed Dash. She then followed this with a series of quick but very hard punches to Dash face before then tripping him up and aiming a punch right at the one place he didn't' want to get hurt.

"Wait wait wait!" Dash tried to say, but the Slayer didn't listen.

The bounty delivered a swift punch to Dash's crotch causing him to yell in pain. She then finished this with a kick that sent him flying, still clutching his privates in pain.

"HEY SLAYER!" said a voice.

The Slayer just managed to duck in time to avoid a knife as it shot over her. She then turned to the knife's source, Xun.

"Remember me?! Step away from the idiot!" she said as she drew her katana.

The Slayer didn't respond and simply readied for another fight.

Before either opponents could attack however, they were interrupted when Leena, mustering up what strength she could, managed to knock a large pillar over, separating the two.

"Leena, what are you doing?! You're messing up my plan with Kraan. I was supposed to distract her for him." said Xun. Only too late however did she realize what she'd just said.

The Slayer immediately turned to see Kraan standing behind her with his rocket launcher primed.

"You ratted me out, you idiot!" the Krogan cursed.

Desperately, he fired without giving his rocket launcher time to lock on. The Slayer managed to charge out of the way just as the rocket impacted on the fallen pillar behind her. Kraan desperately fired again, but eh Slayer pulled off an even more shocking move. As if time had almost slowed around her, she suddenly kicked the rocket while it was in mid-flight so hard that it literally ended up facing the other way and headed straight at Kraan.

"Oh shit!" the Krogan cursed.

Too slow, the impact of the rocket on the ground sent Kraan flying.

The Slayer then biotically charged again, grabbed Kraan and threw him at Ventra just as he tried to take aim with his bow. The two Helldivers collided with each other with a loud clang.

"Ow!"

"What do we do, Shepard?" Dash groaned as he and most of the others managed to get back up.

"Keep fighting." Austin groaned, also trying to fight through the pain of the beating he and the others were getting.

"We just tried that." Dash complained.

"Try harder!"

"How? She's putting up one hell of a fight." said Dash.

"Then put up a better fight!" Thrax yelled.

The Slayer used a biotic charge again, causing her to slam right into Dash, at the same time snatching one of his pistols out his hand. Austin attempted a swipe with his sword, but the Slayer ducked under it, hit him in the stomach, and then hit him the face with the butt of Dash's pistol, causing him to be sent flying a few metres. Kraan fired a rocket, but the Slayer avoided it and then kicked Kraan, causing him to also fly into Saphira who stumbled right into the Slayer's kick which then pinned her to the floor with Dash's pistol pointed right at her head.

"Oh no! Saphira!" said Sandra.

The Slayer pulled the trigger... and the gun simply clicked.

"Out of ammo? Dash, I told you to stock up!" said Austin.

"Huh. I guess this is the first time my laziness has ever saved a life." said Dash.

He was quickly interrupted though when the Slayer suddenly kicked Saphira so hard that she knocked into both him and Austin at the same time.

"You idiots! Let me show you how it's done!" said Thrax.

Before he could even turn to attack however, the Slayer suddenly punched him in the face so hard that he went flying and soon landed right beside everyone else.

"Nice demonstration, Kraan's father." said Dash sarcastically.

"Shut up, retard!" Thrax grumbled.

"Never heard that one before." said Leena.

It was then that Ventra noticed that the Slayer was standing under what looked like a large sculpture or monument of some kind suspended above her.

"Hey guys, look up there." he said.

Quickly getting the message, Xun took out some of her throwing knives and threw them right at the wires holding the sculpture in place. The Slayer only had a moment to look up before the sculpture supposedly crushed her.

"I can't believe that worked." Dash cheered.

However, the sculpture then slowly rose up, with the Slayer quite literally holding it up on her shoulders.

"I fuck! That didn't work." Dash cursed.

"I knew that wouldn't work. She's a bit of a badass." said Thrax.

Using all her strength, the Slayer then threw the sculpture right at them.

"Uh oh."

What happened next however ended up being quite a memorable sight, everyone that had a melee weapon capable of cutting unsheathed theirs and with just one very swift movement cut the sculpture into pieces.

For a moment, everyone was surprised that had worked. Even the Slayer herself looked a little surprised.

"That was cool! Let's do it again." said Dash.

He was quickly interrupted though when the Slayer used another biotic charged and kicked Austin into everyone else, causing them to be knocked over like bowling pins.

"Alright, that's it. Come 'ere!" said Thrax, quickly getting up and unsheathing his war hammer.

"Kraan, does that rocket launcher have heat seeking on it?" Austin asked as he and the others picked themselves up once again.

"It does, yeah." Kraan groaned.

"Well in that case, lock on and let her rip." said Leena.

Kraan took aim while the Slayer continued to fight Thrax. He didn't fire though.

"What are you waiting for?!" Xun asked.

"I might hit my father." said Kraan.

Thrax sure enough was engaging the Slayer one on one. The Slayer certainly seemed to be handling this fight differently. She knew a direct attack wouldn't work, so she was waiting for an opening.

Thrax swung, but the Slayer dodged to the side and punched him in the shoulder. Thrax attempted to swing again, but the Slayer ducked under, then kicked him in the stomach and punched him in the face. Growing all the more irritated and angry by this, Thrax attempted to thrust. The Slayer though countered the attack and then delivered a biotically charged punch which sent Thrax flying right into another pillar so hard that it cracked and then fell on him.

"Ouch. Even for a Krogan that's gotta hurt." said Ventra.

"You're all clear, Kraan. Now shoot her!" said Austin.

"Fire in the hole!" Kraan yelled.

Kraan fired. The missile immediately headed straight for the Slayer who then ran straight at the opposite wall. Just when it looked like she had nowhere else to run however, the Slayer suddenly ran up for the wall for a small bit, then jumped and flipped over. The missile continued following, but it had now changed course. Both it and the Slayer were now heading directly towards Alpha.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! RUN!" Ventra yelled as he and the others tried to push each other out of the way.

A biotic charge and punch from the Slayer though once again knocked everyone to the floor as she continued running from the missile. Only Dash was left standing as she suddenly slid under his legs. Dash then noticed the missile heading right at him.

"No! Not..." he said as he feared he would be hit. Fortunately though it ended up going right past him. "OH thank god. For a minute I thought I was..."

As he turned to see what had happened to the Slayer and the missile however, he suddenly noticed how the Slayer had managed to get behind one of the fallen pillars and since the missile was following her, it ended up hitting the pillar itself, causing a massive explosion, and debris to shoot everywhere.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

Everyone got hit by something, this time knocking them down for good.

As the Slayer reappeared from out of the smoke she couldn't' hep but step on Dash's privates one last time as a humorous insult.

"Ow." he winced. "Why won't you just kill me?!"

The Slayer then took several small devices from her combat belt and threw each one at the Helldivers. As they attached, everyone immediately felt their suits become heavy and founds themselves unable to move.

"I can't move. My suit's completely offline." Austin said.

"Mine too." said Leena. "Something's jamming them."

"Helldivers. You never learn." said the Slayer as she shook her head.

"Bravo, Slayer." said the Kingpin as he clapped slowly. "Now... finish them!"

The Slayer looked back down at Austin who in turn looked up at her, straight into the optic eyes of her expressionless helmet.

Very slowly, the Slayer raised her swords, ready to deliver the final blow. Most by this point would simply accept their fate. Austin though did not close his eyes. He wasn't going to wait for the end. He'd stare into the face of death itself if he had too.

What happened next however, took everyone completely by surprise. The Slayer twirled both her swords... and then sheathed them.

"What are you doing?" the Kingpin asked in surprise.

The Slayer slowly turned to face the Kingpin. For a long time, she didn't say anything, but then finally spoke.

"They are beaten. You may do as you will with them, but I won't kill them." she replied.

"Maybe I didn't hear you right. It sounded like you said, you wouldn't kill them." said the Kingpin, making sure he had heard right.

"I did say that. My... Master doesn't want any association with the crime lords anymore, and that includes you." said the Slayer

"After all I've paid you... After all the opportunities I've given you... and this is how you repay me?!" the Kingpin yelled angrily.

"It's nothing personal, Kingpin. It's just business. The Helldivers are yours to do with as you please. Kill them if you must, but they will not die by my hands. As of now, our association is terminated."

As the Slayer turned to leave, Austin managed to speak up.

"Why? You'll never get a better chance." he asked.

The Slayer looked down at Austin, remaining silent for a few moments before she replied

"Even I live by a code, Helldiver. All hunters have rules." she said. "You keep your life, but if ever we meet again, next time I will not hesitate to kill you all."

With that, the bounty hunter activating her omni tool and vanished. Seemed she'd managed to scavenge a Helldiver's cloak at some point in her career as well.

"Typical. You can't rely on anyone these days. You've gotta do everything yourself. Still, I suppose if you want something done properly..." he finally said, taking a gun in his hand and walking down the steps until he stood over the defeated bodies. "At least you're all where I can finish you off."

He then walked up to Saphira and pointed the barrel of the gun right at their head.

"I think I'll start with you first, Justicar. Wouldn't want your friends to miss that." he said.

A shot suddenly rang out...

The Kingpin literally screamed in agony as Thrax shot him in both knees, causing him to fall to the ground. The Old Krogan gently got up and walked over to the Kingpin.

"When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk." he said.

Saphira meanwhile got up and set about removing the suit jammers from Alpha's armour, allowing them all to reactivate and move again. As Austin got back up, he suddenly noticed that Thrax was about to shoot the Kingpin in the head.

"WAIT! Don't kill him!" he yelled quickly. "We need him alive!"

"I'm being paid to kill him. I don't leave a job unfinished." said Thrax.

"Thrax, he has Intel that is vital to us, and will keep god knows how many lives safe. If he's dead, that still leaves so many things like his money, and criminal empire out there." said Saphira, also taking Austin's side in this.

"After two years, I'm not losing the money I was promised for two years!" Thrax growled, his finger now dangerously close to pulling the trigger.

"We can pay you! Hell, we can pay you double what you were promised." said Austin.

"Hmph. Usually, it's the victims saying that." said Thrax.

"I mean it, Thrax. I and Alpha can pull the necessary strings to make sure you're compensated for giving him to us." said Austin.

"I've been promised 200 million credits for this guy's head. You really think you can top that?" Thrax asked.

"How's 400 million sound?"

Thrax had to admit, he was surprised by that. He was now starting to reconsider this. Perhaps he just might the Helldivers' offer instead.

"Don't listen to them. Just kill me!" the Kingpin yelled.

"Father… don't do it." said Kraan.

"Kill me!" the Kingpin yelled again.

"It's not your lucky day, pal." said Thrax. For a long moment, everyone feared he was about to pull the trigger... but he didn't. Instead, he lowered his gun with a sigh.

"He's all yours. Don't make me regret this." he said.

"You won't. Trust me." said Austin.

"You keep your word… and I just might trust you." said Thrax.

"What are you gonna do to me?" the Kingpin asked worriedly as he gazed up at the Helldivers towering over him. "What are you gonna do?!"

"Not my place to say." Austin replied coldly.

"I'm just doing my job. He paid me so much for all this."

"What are you talking about?" Saphira asked.

"He's the one behind all this." the Kingpin replied.

"Who's "he?" Austin asked, trying his best to hide his concern. After all they had been through, to suddenly find out that someone else was behind this... "Are you saying someone else has been behind the crime lords?"

"Tell us! Who's behind all this?"

"And so the truth comes out." said a deep voice, causing everyone to turn to the screen behind them. All that could be seen was a... "I'm disappointed in you, Kingpin. I expected more."

"I'm sorry. I did my best." said the Kingpin.

"Clearly it was not enough."

"So you're the one who's been behind all this. Frankly I'm not surprised… Shadow Broker." said Xun.

"I must admit, I'm just as surprised to hear your voice, Xun." said the Shadow Broker. "You've been somewhat of a rival in my business."

"The feeling's mutual, believe me." said Xun bitterly.

"So you've been behind this all along."

"It's almost a shame really. You've come all this way only for it end to be all for not. Don't bother trying to trace this, you will fail."

"We won't' forget this, Shadow Broker! Even if not by our hands or in our lifetime, one way or another you will answer for this."

"I doubt it. Pray our paths do not cross again, Alpha Squad. Next time I will not be so forgiving.

"We're done here." said Austin. "Dash, secure him."

"You're under arrest, Kingpin." said Dash dramatically as he secured the crime lord. "Heh! Always wanted to say that."

Alpha stood before the Arkane Council as they were being congratulated. It wasn't a big ceremony or anything like that, but it certainly felt nice for all of them to be back home after all of this was now over. Now they could get back to doing normal Helldiver stuff. Also in attendance was General Zartrack himself, obviously there to offer his own congratulations. That and he hadn't seen his favourite student for some time.

"You've done very well, Alpha Squad. It may have taken two years, but you did it nonetheless. And to think we almost lost hope." Said Tarnack.

"Never give up, never surrender as I always say." Said Dash.

"Dash, you've never said that." Said Leena.

"I have now."

"Keelah, you can be so annoying."

"It wasn't a total victory though, Councillors. The Shadow Broker's still out there and we may never track him down at all. Not to mention he Slayer is also still out there." Said Austin.

"It certainly has become clear that this Helldiver Slayer is a problem that will not go away easily. Said one of the Council.

"Glad we agree on that. We may have been unprepared for her, but when was the last time someone stood up to entire squad of Helldivers, a Krogan bounty hunter and a Justicar, and held her own?" Austin asked rhetorically.

"Troubling indeed. Especially about the way you described the way she fights. It sounds very familiar, and not just to how any Helldiver fights. I think we'd all like to know who this separate faction she's working for is. Who is this... "Master" of hers?" said Zartrack.

"Regardless, Alpha's successful completion of this mission should not go unrewarded. You've certainly proven to us that you work and fight well as a team. Therefore, we've commissioned you you're very own ship. Now you will able to journey anywhere you require for your missions, and possibly even investigate your own leads." Said Spartan.

Alpha were almost left lost for words after hearing that. To be given your own ship by the Arkane Council was a very huge honour.

"We're honoured, Council. Thank you." Austin finally said.

"You have earned it, Alpha. Despite the odds, you succeeded. Not many squads like yours could pull of a mission like this successfully." Said Tarnack.

"You're assistance is also greatly appreciated, Justicar Saphira. Is there anything that we can do to thank you?" Spartan asked.

"Your gratitude is all I require, Council. I did nothing more than follow my code." Said Saphira modestly.

"Nevertheless, you and the Justicars have shown themselves to be friends of the Helldivers. You and your order are always welcome here." Said Spartan.

"One thing I would ask though, Councillors." Said Austin.

"Commander?"

"Urdnot Thrax should be rewarded for his help too. He also possibly gave up the payment he was promised in letting us have the Kingpin. I think all of us agree he should be compensated." Austin requested.

"We'll see to it that he is paid what you promised, even if he is not here to accept our thanks directly." Said Tarnack.

"If that is all, you are dismissed, Alpha."

With that, everyone left. After all, they had a new reward to check out. Zartrack though stayed.

"What do you think, General?" Spartan asked.

"I think they seem to be doing rather well, not just as team but also with their missions." Zartrack replied.

"So you think we should finally consider forming more multi species squads?" Tarnack asked.

"Are we not firm supporters peace and unity among all?" Zartrack replied.

"The general raises a good point."

"Seems then that Alpha have brought about a new generation for the Helldivers. It remains to be seen what the future holds for them." Said Spartan.

Walking into the massive hanger where every single ship of every kind in the Helldivers was docked. It didn't take Alpha long to spot the one that now belonged to them. Docked very near to where they were was a 1.5 KM Helldiver carrier class ship. It almost looked like a giant gun attached to a rocket booster.

Admittedly, Alpha had thought they'd be getting something a bit smaller, but none of them were complaining about it being huge.

"Oh hell yeah! Take a look at that! We are going in style now, brahs!" said Dash.

Even Alex looked impressed.

"We're gonna need a bigger crew." She said.

"For a moment I thought you were gonna say "bigger ship"." Said Sandra. "The only thing possibly bigger than that is the Legacy, and that's not finished yet."

"So what's she called?" Austin asked.

"The RLS Endeavour." said Leena.

"Nice."

Everyone then turned to Saphira. They knew that with all the crime lords apprehended, it was time for them to part ways.

"I just want to say, Saphira… thank you. I don't know if we could've done it the same way without you." Said Austin.

"You're too kind, Shepard." Saphira smiled. "It has been an honour to fight at your side. I'm almost sad to be saying goodbye to you all."

"Where will go now?" Xun asked.

"Wherever I am needed. Wherever I must serve the code." Saphira replied. "I think I'll head back to Thessia first.

"Tell you what, why don't we give you a ride there? Be a much better way of saying thank you and farewell." Austin suggested.

"I'd be more than welcome." Saphira smiled.

"What are we waiting for then?! Let's ROLL OUT!" said Dash dramatically. "Oh wait, wrong franchise."

Thrax had decided to return to Tuchanka after leaving Alpha. Something about the fact that his son had joined the Helldivers made him think that perhaps there were better things he could be doing, other than being a bounty hunter. These days, the Krogan weren't at their best at all.

As the Krogan exited the shuttle he'd arrived on, he opened the message he'd just received. Though he had ultimately decided to retire being a bounty hunter, he was at least pleased to see that Alpha were keeping their end of the deal. Sure enough, the message was from the Arkanes expressing their gratitude at him helping Alpha, and that they had transferred the promised payment into his account as promised.

Just as Thrax closed the message, he suddenly noticed he'd received another one. It was from Aria.

Thrax

As I understand it, the Kingpin has been arrested by the Helldivers. I'll admit, when I first heard about that, I was just about ready to deny you your money. But then I heard that you actually assisted these Helldivers. It's not what I asked, but the fact that the Kingpin is now in the Arkane prison does at least mean he won't' be a problem anymore. No one has ever escaped or broken into that prison, and I really doubt that someone like the Kingpin will. So, I've decided that because I am in a good mood after hearing this news, and due also to the fact that you did have a hand in the Kingpin's arrest, I'm paying you what I promised. Plus, a little something extra. I hope it pleases you.

Aria T'loak

Thrax was very surprised by this. Not only had he been paid double by the Arkanes, but now he'd just been paid what he was promised as well. With that much money, he could easily retire now. The Krogan though had other ideas. True he was retired as a bounty hunter, but that didn't necessarily mean he was going to settle down. That wasn't his style after all.

Overall, I'd say that went rather well, apart from the fact it took me so bloody long to finish.

Hopefully the next one won't take anywhere near as long. Until next time.

Leave reviews if you can. They really do hope, trust me. :)
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, Alpha Origins