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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, Alpha Origins	By : Veyron722skyhook Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 6171 -:- 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
- 11
- 12
- 13
I'm back at last!

Guess there's little I can say to convince you how sorry I am that you all had to wait so bloody long for me to finish this.

I guess all I can hope for now is that you still enjoy the chapter and aren't' too cross with me.

I will admit, quite a few bits were rushed because I started getting so desperate to finish this. But at the same time there are a few bits I'm happy with.

See what you think.

YEAR 3, Legends in the making

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

12 Years before the Battle of Arkadia

"Finally we were back to our usual stuff of fighting either Batarians or Cerberus. That usual routine however was not to last it seemed. Nor was it to last that we'd be looked upon as a squad like any other. Oh no. What happened next was about to change all of our lives, and would forever write our names in the history books...

Chapter 12

Give 'em Hell

The Endeavour was proving to be quite a ship. Despite that it was brand new, and hadn't been intentionally designed with Alpha in mind, it did feel like it was. It had pretty much all they could want. A gym, a place to relax, quarters for every one of them, access to more dropships and equipment, a place where they could fix their and further customize their armour if they needed to and also a training simulator.

Right now, Alpha was simply using the gym for their regular workouts. They had to admit, this gym had an even better and motivational atmosphere than the last one they used had.

Dash was currently running on a treadmill, Leena was bench pressing (with an awful lot of weight) Austin was doing chin ups, Sandra was sparing with Alaara in boxing, Kraan was taking a small break to have ahis version of a little snack (a while meal almost), and Ventra was simply practicing his archery.

Despite running at a high speed, Dash still wasn't that out of breath. He'd been doing this a long time after all. Unlike all the others, he valued lightness and speed over muscle and strength. Being the scout, he needed that speed.

He was unable to stop staring at Leena. Even after 3 years of working with her, it did still amaze him that a Quarian had that much muscle. It was almost frightening.

"I'm curious, Leena. Have you ever been mistaken for a man?" he asked.

"No." Leena grunted as she continued pushing the heavy weight. "Have you?"

"Ha! I love that one. Good comeback, Leena." Kraan laughed.

"Been waiting to use that actually." said Leena, managing a smile under her helmet.

"You've been watching too many movies again." said Dash.

"You kind of had that coming though, Dash." said Austin, now switching to doing chin ups with just one arm. "If you want to get a girl in your life, you shouldn't question her on her sexuality."

"Alright, fine. I'm sorry I said that." said Dash, finally stopping his treadmill and slowing down. "Still, Leena is quite big, you gotta admit."

"That I'm okay with hearing." said Leena.

Austin finally finished his own workouts and went to get a drink. He noticed Kraan sat near the drinks machine and he appeared to be cleaning his weapons.

"This is just too good. We get slick equipment, a nice ride, and a ready supply of every explosive there ever was. I think this'll do, boss." The Krogan grinned as he finished reassembling his mingun.

"I try to run a good outfit." Said Austin, dabbing at his sweat with a towel.

"I'm sure you do." Said Kraan. "Trust me, if I'm kept happy, then you'll be kept happy."

Austin then went over to the bench press while Leena stood over him to count his reps and challenge him. After several reps, the human finally started to reach his limit.

"One more, and flex when you come up." Said Leena.

Austin managed one more push and with Leena's help managed to put the barbell back on the rack.

"Blimey, I'm gonna feel sore in the morning." Austin groaned as he attempted to stretch to try and relieve the soreness.

"No pain, no gain. As you humans say." Said Leena. "Just remember "When it burns, it grows."

Alaara couldn't' help but chuckle slightly. The others soon get what she was laughing at, but they weren't impressed.

"Completely inappropriate, Alaara." She said unimpressed.

"I'm sorry, but…"

"Even I didn't really find that funny." Said Dash.

At that moment, Austin's Omni tool then bleeped. Another message from the Arkanes it seemed.

"Always when we're working out." Leena sighed.

Austin opened up the message.

"Looks like an investigation one this time." he said. "Horizon, a human colony in the Terminus systems has gone silent. The Council want us to investigate."

"Probably just a damaged transmitter."

"Beats sitting around on our assess all day doing nothing while we float around in space." said Kraan. "Let's go put some of this fancy new equipment to use."

As the dropship descended, the colony soon became visible from out of the cockpit. It was what Alpha had expected. There were definite signs that the colony had been attacked. Even though they were on the outside of the massive wall surrounding the colony, it was clear that there had been fighting of some kind.

"This doesn't look good." said Sandra.

"Batarians?" Alaara asked.

"We don't know yet, but we're gonna find out." said Austin. "Alright. Here's the plan. We'll scout out the area first, and then head inside the compound. We'll split up into two teams for this one. Alaara, you're in charge of team 2. Take Kraan, Ventra and Sandra with you."

"Yes, sir." Alaara nodded.

"Leena, Dash, you're with me."

From out of the cockpit, Austin then spotted a good place outside of wall to land.

"Drop us off here. Take team 2 to the far side of that wall." he said to Alexa.

"Got it." Alexa nodded.

The first team hopped out of the dropship. As they hit the ground, it then flew off to the far side.

"Heading to drop point 2. Good luck down there."

"You too." said Austin. He then turned to the team. "Keep your guard up. Whoever did this might still be around."

Everyone drew their weapons and began making their way to the entrance that would hopefully take them to the other side.

Unknown to them however, they were being watched. From behind a nearby boulder, a hooded figure slowly rose up with an assault rifle aimed right at Austin. The figure didn't fire though. Though now it was simply studying them.

The team all suddenly whirled around, their guns pointing right at the figure.

For a few tense moments no one said anything. Then the stranger gently lowered its gun.

"About time you showed up."

It was a female voice. More than that though, it was recognizably Turian.

She was dressed in medium Turian armour which had a fair few ammo pouches strapped to it. The biggest feature of her outfit was the hood and cape she wore. The hood hid most of her face which was already wearing a breather mask and the cape was a part of it, reaching all the way down to her hips and completely covering her left arm and left half of her body. The entire outfit had a Turian blue colour to it with a few silver accents here and there. She also had a knife holstered across her chest.

"Who are you? What are you doing out here?" Austin asked cautiously. He and the others lowered their guns a bit, but they did not totally relax yet.

"Helldiver Agent Telrass Valenka, class 3." the Turian replied.

Convinced now that this Turian was on their side, the team relaxed. Austin in fact was rather surprised. Was this really the Turian he had slept with a few years ago/ He had to admit, this different look was a big surprise.

"It's not polite to sneak up on people you know." said Leena.

"After all that's happened today, I can't afford to take any chances." said Telrass bitterly.

Despite that she was in the company of allies, she still didn't remove her helmet or lower her hood. Probably standard training for agents as well as Helldivers. Although admittedly, she didn't necessarily sound all that pleased to see them either. Now that Austin looked in more detail at her, it looked as though she'd been in quite a few fights. Her armour looked a bit singed and scratched. Her hood/cape was also fairly worn and torn.

"Which one of you is CO?" the Turian asked, finally holstering her assault rifle.

"Commander Austin Shepard, Alpha Squad. I believe we've met, Telrass." Austin replied.

"Thought you looked familiar." Telrass replied. Her tone remained unchanged. She sounded cold.

Austin had to admit, he was a little concerned. Had something happened to her after they'd last met?

"You know her?" Dash asked in surprise.

"I'll explain later. Right now though we have bigger concerns." said Austin.

"Agreed. The Batarians are practically everywhere." said Telrass.

"What type of Batarians? Slavers? Red Skulls?" Austin asked.

"Normal Batarians by the looks of them, but they're clearly not part of the Batarians as a whole. I think they may be a rouge faction."

"What makes you say that?"

"They're not taking any prisoners; even the colonists are getting killed."

"Are there any still left alive?"

"Yes. They should still be on the other side of that wall."

"Why aren't you with them though? What are you doing out here?" Leena asked a hint of suspicion present in her voice.

"Another squad of Helldivers and I were trying to sneak some of the colonists out. We hoped we might be able to get them to safety until reinforcements arrived. It didn't work. They killed everyone. I barely made it out alive. One of the colonists actually gave his life so I could escape. Been fighting for my life ever since." said Telrass, the sorrow clearly present in her voice.

At least that explained her attitude and tone. Who wouldn't be like that after what she'd endured.

"It's not your fault, Telrass. You fought as hard as you could, and those Helldivers died fighting. There are far worse ways to go." said Austin, trying to offer some comfort.

"I appreciate you saying that, but I'm not looking for sympathy, Shepard." said Telrass. "Anyway, the Batarians are heavily concentrated on a part of the colony to the south behind the wall. That's probably where the colonists have gathered. They're fighting back as best they can, but without Helldiver assistance, they won't last much longer."

"Then we need to get there fast." said Dash.

"Can you still fight?" Austin asked.

"I may be an agent, but I have training as a Ranger and tactics officer as well. And even if I was injured, I'm not gonna let that keep me from getting even with those animals." said Telrass.

That certainly convinced the others she was more than capable. Rangers were classes that specialized mainly in fighting on their own and were often to deployed out very deep in the Terminus systems were it was most dangerous, and the Helldiver's had less of a presence or influence. Both Helldivers and Agents could be trained in this class.

"I'm beginning to like her." said Leena.

"Alaara, this is Shepard. Change of plans, we need to get to the south of the colony. We'll rendezvous on the other side of the wall." Austin said into his comm.

"Copy that, Commander." said Alaara.

"Alright, let's move out."

Telrass it seemed wanted to take point, no doubt in case they got attacked so that she'd be the first to kill a Batarian.

"So you and this Turian…" Dash asked, keeping his voice down.

"You really wanna talk about this now, Dash?" Austin sighed.

"I'm just curious. Is she a friend or a "friend"?"

"Not following you."

"Friend as in you've known her a long time, or friend as in you slept with her."

"Slept with her."

"Someday you're gonna have to teach me how you do that, Commander. You always seem to have such a way with the ladies."

"I can hear you two." said Telrass irritably.

"You know for someone you slept with, she doesn't sound very happy to see you." said Dash.

"She's watched many friends die. Going through something like that changes you, a lot." said Austin.

"And you'd know all about that, would you?" Dash asked.

"All too well." said Austin.

"How?"

"That's for another time."

They continued further into they were literally inside the wall. As they went deeper however, it started to get a lot darker and bit more eerie.

"How we looking?" Austin asked.

"Getting dark and I don't have night vision goggles." Telrass replied.

"Wait one sec. I think I've got just the thing." said Leena. She then activated a holographic combat drone which she controlled from her Omni tool. "There. That should let us stick together."

"Neat trick." said Dash.

"We always visit such cheerful places." Said Leena sarcastically, looking around at the somewhat damaged and abandoned workings of the structure.

They continued on through the dark until finally reaching a simply massive chasm surrounded by an almost endless open space of the rest of the wall.

"Shit, this wall is big." said Dash in awe.

"We'll need more light to find a way across." said Telrass.

Leena maneuverer the drone off into the distance, taking the light with it.

"Hang tight. I'll get the drone to find two sticks to rub together. And by sticks I mean highly complex circuits that I am fully equipped to repair…" said Leena, starting to babble a bit with tech talk.

"Leena, keep the technical talk to yourself please." Austin kindly interrupted.

After a few seconds, the entire chasm started to fill with light.

"Right, that's got It." said Leena.

At the same time however, that brought forth some unwelcome guests.

"I may have overdone it!"

"We've got trouble!" said Dash, noticing several Batarians making their way across the bridge to their right.

"On our right!" Telrass yelled.

The gunfire quickly began as everyone went for cover. Telrass actually managed to push forward and she gunned down the closest.

"Pushing up." said Austin as he moved to nearer cover.

He suddenly spotted a Batarian scout hiding just behind were Telrass had moved up to."

"We got more of them! Watch out!" he yelled.

The scout lunged at Telrass only for the Turian to counter his Omni blade with her knife as she sheathed her rifle. She then drew her combat knife out of its heath and managed to stab the Batarian in the heart. She then managed to use the Batarian as a shield as she took out her rifle again and continued firing. Once she got close enough to the next Batarian, she shoved the body into him, slit his neck with the knife, and finally threw the knife at another, knocking him off his feet as it impaled him right in the chest.

"She's good." said Dash.

"Yeah. She certainly knows how to use a knife also." said Leena.

I'm moving forward." said Telrass.

"Got you covered." said Austin, providing cover fire.

Dash shortly moved up as well. There were still more Batarians in the next room. This time though, a large amount of crates in the centre separated them a bit.

"Going left." said Telrass.

"Okay, I'm going right." Said Dash.

While Telrass took the Batarians on the left side of the crates, Dash took the right. He even managed to pull off a slide as he continued shooting, taking out at least 3 with just that slide.

Austin and Leena soon followed with cover fire, making short work of the rest of the Batarians. Only one was left and he attempted to retreat.

"We got a runner." Leena called out.

"I'm on him." said Dash, calmly aiming his pistol. "I got him… I got him…"

Dash fired one shot. It hit the Batarian right in the head and he fell.

"Yes!"

The silence only lasted for about a minute or so as everyone crossed the bridge over the large gap ahead. At least now they were on the other side of the chasm they'd been stuck on earlier. As they were about halfway though, a blast door suddenly opened revealing more Batarians.

"More Batarians below!" Telrass called out

"I see 'em." said Austin.

He quickly took a grenade from his belt and threw at, causing some of the Batarians to retreat for cover from the blast.

"Telrass, they're pulling back to you." said Dash.

"I've got them!" said the Turian, charging ahead into the fight.

"Wait!"

Telrass it seemed though had the situation under control. By the time the rest of the team joined her, she'd already taken out 3 Batarians.

"Nice shot." said Leena as Telrass managed a headshot on another.

"Let's mop 'em up." said Dash, performing another slide shooting, managing to take out the last few.

"We good?" Austin asked as they scanned the area.

The silence however only lasted a few seconds before several loud thuds came from a nearby open vent. A Batarian heavy suddenly burst through and opened fire, forcing all but Telrass to take cover.

"We've got one more! Heavy!" said Leena.

"Telrass, don't get too close!" Austin yelled.

Too late. The female Turian ran at the attacker only for him to swat her aside, causing her collide rather hard with a pillar.

"Twisted my ankle!" she groaned in pain.

"Hang tight. We've got him." said Dash.

The Scout immediately opened fire with his pistols, only for them to have little effect on the Batarian's heavy armour.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIEDIEDIEDIE!"

Leena meanwhile managed to sneak up from behind and attempted a stealth kill only for the Batarian to spot her a bit too soon. He attempted to melee the Quarian with his minigun only for the Quarian to block it. A somewhat heated wrestle soon began to unfold as the two muscled warriors attempted to overpower each other.

At the same time, both Austin and Dash snuck round either sound, waiting until they had the right opening. Sure enough, that moment soon came when the Batarian managed to bang his minigun into Leena's head, temporarily disorienting her. He then flung her aside to turn his attention back to the other two. Only too late however, did he realize they were ready for him.

Dash once again opened fire with his pistols while Austin took an incendiary grenade from his belt and primed it.

"Eat this!"

The Batarian turned right as Austin threw the grenade and it hit the heavy square in the face. Almost immediately, his entire face and armour caught fire and he screamed in pain as he was literally burnt to a crisp.

Extreme, but under the circumstances, necessary.

"Phew. That was rough." said Dash.

"Take their ammo. We're probably gonna need it." Austin ordered as he helped Leena up. He then walked over to Telrass and applied some medi gel to her ankle. He then attempted to help the Turian up.

"I don't need your help! I'm alright." said the Turian, shrugging off the help.

"You're welcome." Austin sighed.

The team continued on until they finally emerged into the sunlight again.

"Alright! We made it through the wall." Dash cheered.

"Nice work, Telrass." said Austin.

Telrass simply nodded in acknowledgement, her expression remaining unchanged.

At the moment, the second team of Alpha arrived from another side in the wall. Telrass, who was still somewhat jumpy pointed her gun at them, only for Austin to force it down gently.

"It's okay, they're with us." he said.

"You run into any Batarians on your way through?" Alaara asked.

"A few. Nothing we couldn't handle though." Dash replied smugly.

"Who's this?" Ventra asked.

"Telrass Valenka. She's a Helldiver agent." Austin replied.

The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a voice through everyone's radio of the remaining colonists.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me? Is anyone receiving? Hello?"

"This is Commander Austin Shepard of Alpha Squad." said Austin.

"Oh thank god! More Helldivers. Are you the reinforcements? How many of you are there?"

"Just an 8 man squad, but trust me, we pack a hell of a punch. What's your position?" Austin asked.

"Just follow the gunshots."

Sure enough, the faint sound of heavy gunfire could be heard in the distance.

"Copy that. Just sit tight and hold on. We'll get to you as quickly as we can." said Austin.

"Hurry. We won't last much longer at this rate."

Suddenly everything seemed to go much darker for a while. Everyone looked towards where the sun had just been only to find something absolutely massive blocking it out.

"What… the hell is that?" said Sandra in disbelief.

"Doesn't look friendly." said Ventra.

It was a ship of some kind, but unlike any ever seen before. Estimates on its length had to be at least 2km, making it larger even than The Legacy. Mostly black in appearance with some signs of significant damage it seemed to resemble some kind of large squid with mechanical arms longer than its body.

"That is a bigass ship." said Dash.

The ship began changing its course as it slowly descended and flew slowly over the colony.

"The Batarian's flagship." Telrass said, almost growling in anger.

As the massive ship slowly flew over, several small dots began to detach and head in the same direction that as the gunfire. They were dropships.

"It's dropping off more troops." said Ventra.

"Lock and load, people. Things are about messy." said Austin.

The whole squad broke into a run, heading in the direction that the drop ships were heading. Some of the Batarians quickly took notice and opened fire.

"Spread out! Telrass, stay close to me!" Austin yelled.

"I can handle myself, Shepard!" said Telrass, charging off to take cover behind a nearby crate.

"Girls with guns." said Kraan, nudging Austin.

"Going left!" said Sandra as she jumped down to the lower ground to engage the Batarians directly.

"Got you covered!" said Austin, providing cover fire from the high ground.

"Alright, Alaara! Let's see some magic." he said.

Alaara immediately ran at the largest group. Using her bitoics she leapt several feet into the air. As she began to fall, she charged up a massive biotic blast with her hand. Right as she landed, her fist hit the ground and a massive biotic blast sent every nearby Batarian flying.

"If that hit your chest, I'm sorry. I was aiming for your crotch." said Dash as he shot another Batarian.

Another dropship then gently hovered over the area. Unlike the others however, it seemed to be carrying something rather large.

"We got another dropship." said Ventra. "It's got a tank walker!"

Everyone immediately made sure they got to cover upon hearing this. Tank walkers, even for them, meant big trouble. Despite that the Batarians didn't often have access to the most advanced resources out in the terminus systems, they still managed to build formidable weaponry against the Helldivers. Twice as large and twice as deadly as a heavy mech, tank walkers were practically mobile tanks on robotic legs.

The walker detached from the dropship and landed hard on the ground. All of Alpha quickly opened fire in a hope to destroy or at least weaken the walker before it could get properly set up. Despite the constant gunfire however.

"Careful, it's getting set up!" Austin yelled.

Gently rising up from the small crater it had created, the tank walker began taking aim at where Alpha was fighting.

"Look out!"

The tank fired just as everyone managed to get to cover, the shot just barely missing them.

"Whoa!"

"More on the right!" Alaara yelled as more Batarians dropped of just to the right and came up alongside the walker.

"I got these guys!" said Kraan, letting his minigun loose.

Austin and the others meanwhile concentrated their fire on the tank walker. A few well-placed shots managed to hit one of the tanks legs, damaging it enough that some of its armour plating was blown apart which temporarily caused the walker to stumble and in doing so exposed a temporary weak point.

"He's down, but not out." Said Ventra.

"Light him up!" Alaara yelled.

Everyone once again concentrated their fire on the weak point while the walker was temporarily down. They definitely dealt a good deal of damage, but eventually the walker once got back up.

"Shoot its legs out!" Austin yelled.

Alpha once again opened fire, their rounds continuously wearing down the walker's armour. The weak point also helped do even more damage. Eventually, a well-placed shot managed to once again cause the walker to fall, once again exposing its weak point. This time though, Alpha knew how to put it down for good.

"Alaara, now!" Austin yelled.

"I got him!" said the Asari.

Using her biotics, Alaara propelled herself high into the air until she had a clear shot at the walker's weak point. Just as she started to feel gravity pulling her back down she charged up a massive biotic attack and shot it directly at the walker.

The biotics hit the walker's weak point dead on and it completely exploded.

"Alright, team! Way to go!" Dash cheered. "Thank you, thank you..."

In all his celebration however, he'd failed to notice two Batarians still standing behind him, who were about to take aim.

Sandra though was quick to notice and attacked from behind, stabbing both Batarians in the back of the head with her Sais.

"And thank you." said Dash as he turned and noticed this.

"How many times have I told you?! No celebrating till the fight is over!" said Sandra crossly.

"How many times have I told you, I assumed it was over?!" Dash argued.

"Knock it off, you two! We've still got a colony to save."

This was only further stressed as the Batarians flagship began to descend, casting a dark shadow over most of the colony as it blotted out the sun... and it looked like it was dangerously close to where the last of the colony were pinned down

"MOVE IT, ALPHA! DOUBLE TIME!"

Alpha broke into a run as they continued through the colony. Soon they ran into the survivors.

"Thank god you arrived. I don't know how much more we could take." Said one of them.

"We'll get you out of here safely. You have my word. But first we need TO clear the airspace so our dropship can get in." Austin promised.

"We've got more incoming!" one of the colonists yelled.

More Batarian dropships soon came into view, dropping off more troops.

"This is it, Alpha! LIGHT 'EM UP!" Austin yelled.

The place once again became full of gunfire. Rather than concentrate on the Batarians however, Alpha first focused on the dropships. It wasn't long before the sky was soon clear and Alexa soon hovered into view.

As the dropship touched down, the side door opened and Alpha provided cover fire while the last few colonists hurried in.

The second the last one was in, the dropship took off again. A few shots from the Batarians hit it, but it remained unfazed by this. It was only the dropship flew out of sight though that Austin noticed Telrass had abandoned the group and was heading right at the Batarians.

"Telrass, no!" Austin yelled.

Telrass though remained oblivious to Austin and charged head first into the oncoming Batarians. It took the enemy by surprise admittedly, but against all of them… Telrass probably wouldn't last long.

"Why does she always do that? She's gonna get herself killed." Austin sighed.

"Go help her, Commander. We've got this." Said Alaara.

"You're sure?"

Alaara nodded.

With a another sigh, Austin left the others and went after Telrass, gunning down a few more Batarians as he went.

He reached Telrass just as one of the Batarians knocked her down. He was quick to gun that one down though.

"Telrass, you can't just charge ahead of us." He said as he helped the Turian up.

"I have a score to settle." She said.

"And getting yourself killed is part of that?"

Before Telrass could answer, another dropship landed and several more Batarian soldiers hopped out. They quickly noticed and two and readied for a fight, surrounding them from all sides.

"We'll talk about this later. Right now though…" said Austin as he and Telrass stood back to back.

"I think I get the picture." Said the Turian.

The Batarians attacked first. Austin took some, while took the rest. A few times they'd even throw their attackers at one another, allowing for much quicker takedowns.

"Shepard, here!" Telrass yelled as she tossed another Batarian to Austin which the Helldiver quickly killed with a shot to the head.

Finally as Austin knocked down the last of the group he was fighting, he noticed one was still standing. Something about this one though was different. He looked as though he'd been waiting until he had the Helldiver all to himself.

"You!"

"Do I know you?" Austin asked, a little puzzled.

"You should. You should especially recognize me after my omni blade gave you that scar." Said the Batarian, tapping a place on his helmet where Austin remembered getting a scar there from when he had fought on…

"Oh, you. Back to finish things then?" Austin asked, now recognizing this Batarian as the same one he'd fought on Elysium.

"Indeed. And this time you will know me as Balak as I cut you down, Commander Shepard." Said Balak as he drew his omni blade.

Austin didn't say a word and simply drew Excalibur.

He let Balak attack first and almost instantly brought his blade up to defend.

Compared to last time, Austin actually had the upper hand. He'd training and practicing his swordsmanship for the last 3 years since Elysium. It certainly showed as well. With each attack or parry he moved much faster and every move of his arm was more controlled and precise.

Balak though definitely had more ferocity in his swings, so that meant he hit full force, despite that he was fighting someone who was three times as strong as him. By comparison, Austin was a much calmer fighter, so both opponents had their advantages and disadvantages.

The duel continued for a fair few tense minutes. Austin at first seemed to be pressing the advantage, but soon Balak started to gain the upper hand. Eventually, he kept making Austin back away so much that the Helldiver backed into a wall. Balak then struck several times before finally clashing in a blade lock.

"Give up, Helldiver! We overwhelm you." Said Balak.

"You should know by now that we never give up." Said Austin.

"You're alone against me. Don't think you'll win this time."

"Well that's where you're wrong, Balak." Said Austin.

Balak suddenly felt a few taps on his shoulder. He looked to suddenly see Telrass standing right behind him.

"A Helldiver's never truly alone." She said.

Before Balak could react in time, Telrass delivered a swift punch to his face, causing the Batarian to stumble. Austin immediately seized the opportunity and managed to force Balak's blade to the side. As he finally had the blade out, he then swung inwards with his own blade and it cut a vast amount of Balak's helmet off… and taking one of his eyes with it.

The Batarian cried out in anger and fell to his knees, clutching at where his eye had originally been. When he looked up, he found both Excalibur pointing at his neck, and Telrass' rifle pointed at his head.

"It's over, Balak." Said Austin.

"Not yet." The Batarian growled.

The sudden loud hum of an engine drew everyone attention to the Batarian ship which was now taking off.

"The ship's leaving!" Alaara yelled.

"The Helldivers before you will prove helpful in us taking the next fight to you directly." Balak smiled evilly.

Telrass immediately went up to Balak and held a knife to his throat.

"Where are they going? Tell us!" she barked.

Balak though simply grinned evilly. At that moment, one final Batarian dropship suddenly hovered down, it's main gun aimed right at them.

"You'll find out soon enough." Said Balak.

Kraan quickly noticed and took aim with his rocket launcher.

"You two, duck!" he yelled.

"Kraan, wait!"

But it was too late. Kraan fired a rocket and hit the dropship causing it to immediately spiral out of control. Austin barely had enough time to grab Telrass in his arms and shield her from the blast as the dropship exploded on impact with the ground.

When the flames and smoke finally subsided, Austin let Telrass go.

"Thanks." She simply said.

"Don't mention it." Austin nodded.

"Balak's gone!" Telrass cursed. "We should go after him."

"Let him go. We've got bigger problems to worry about right now." Said Austin, looking up at the sky worryingly as the Batarian's ship finally disappeared from view.

"Have you confirmed that they're heading for Arkadia?" Austin asked.

"Their trajectory suggests no other destination, Commander." Alaara sighed.

"Well if the Helldivers are their target, why didn't they destroy us using their ship?" Dash asked. "Apart from the fact that we're the main characters of this story obviously."

"Why would they? Why waist the weaponry? They probably don't think that one ship with a full size crew is the same threat as an entire army, especially against that dreadnought." said Telrass.

"Speaking of which, where the hell did they get that kind of technology from? The Batarians don't have anywhere the necessary amount of resources, let alone knowledge to build a warship that advanced." said Leena.

"I don't know. Right now however, we need to think about how we can stop it and rescue the Helldivers the Batarians have taken captive." said Austin.

"Why would they even keep them alive anyway? Why not just kill them?"

"As Helldivers, we do know about Arkadia's defences and how they work. The Batarians are probably just keeping them alive to learn them."

"Then what we need to do is catch up to that ship. Disable it, take it over, and get them back." said Kraan.

"We're technologically outmatched in every way. A rescue attempt would be suicide." said Telrass. "We need to gather with the rest of the fleet... to balance the terms of the next engagement."

"Our comms are down and most of the fleets on the other side of the galaxy right now. By the time we've "gathered" it'll be too late and there won't be an Arkadia to save." said Sandra

"I'm afraid he's right. It's up to us to stop them." said Alaara.

"How?!" said Telrass.

"I have a plan." Austin finally replied. He didn't sound fully confident though.

"You've got a plan?" Telrass asked questionably.

"Yes." Austin replied, slightly hesitant. "Well... I have part of a plan."

"What percentage of a plan do you have?" Kraan asked.

"You don't get to ask questions after that nonsense you pulled on Horizon!" said Alaara crossly.

"I just saved your asses!" Kraan argued.

"We've already established that you blowing up a dropship and causing to nearly kill us as it crashed is not "saving" us." said Dash.

"When did we establish that?"

"Like 3 seconds ago!"

"Well I wasn't listening. I was thinking of something else."

"She's right, you don't get an opinion." said Telrass. "What percentage?"

"I don't know. 12%."

"12%?! You've gotta be shitting me, because that is not a plan."

"It's barely a concept." Leena sighed.

"You're taking her side?!" said Austin.

"It's better than 11%." said Dash optimistically.

"So what if it's better than 11%! What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Telrass argued. "They're in a massive dreadnought three times the size of our ship, we can't contact the Helldiver fleets because our communications are damaged, we can't try and rally them because it'll take too long, and you say you've only got 12% of a plan. The odds are not in our favour."

"ENOUGH!" Sandra shouted. Quite surprising for her. "This argument is getting us nowhere! If we're gonna stop them, we need to work together and stop fighting amongst each other. If we can't even do that, they've already won."

"Never heard you shout before, Sandra. It's kind of hot." Alaara smiled. However she noticed everyone giving her an odd look. "Bad timing?"

"Very." said Austin. "The point is, none of us are going to stand by while those Batarians murder billions of innocent people, be they human or otherwise.

"But stopping them... Even for us, its impossible." said Telrass. "You're asking us to die."

"Yeah. I guess I am." Austin sighed.

A long silence of hopelessness followed before finally being broken by Alaara.

"Shepard, I have lived most of my life surrounded by bad people. I would be grateful, to die among my friends." she said.

"You are our leader, and a hell of an ass kicker, Shepard. I will fight beside you." said Leena. "And in the end, I'll see my old love again."

"My blade arms are yours, Shepard." said Sandra.

"Kraan?"

"Course I'm with you. You wouldn't last a day without me." the Krogan smiled.

"I could say no, but that would create a major plot hole in this story." said Dash.

"You know , Dash. You are the weirdest guy I've ever met. But hell, maybe we just might need a little crazy." Austin sighed.

"I'm with you all to the end as well. Not about to let Kraan get all the kills." said Ventra.

"And you, Telrass?"

"You think we can do this? Why not." Telrass shrugged. "At least we'll give them hell no matter what."

"Hmm. I like the sound of that." said Dash. "It's why we're called Helldivers, is it not? We dive into battle and give the enemy hell."

"Alright then. If this is to be the end for us, then we'll give them hell before we go!"

"HOORAH!"

"And that whole scene totally wasn't just taken from Guardians of the Galaxy because the author thought it'd be funny." Dash mumbled sarcastically.

"SHUT UP, DASH!"

"Okay. Here's what we're gonna do." said Austin as he pulled up a holo map of the ship that Leena had managed to acquire from one of the dead Batarians from Horizon. He also pulled up a galaxy map alongside.

"The ship has impenetrable shields and armour, so we can't use conventional weapons. However, we ourselves can make it through. The plan is that we'll space jump onto the hull of the ship. We'll get inside, find the other Helldivers, disable the shields long enough for Alexa to dock, get off the ship and we then make them chase us away from Arkadia... into here."

Austin indicated to a spot on the galaxy map which zoomed to show what was unmistakably...

"But... there's a black hole there." said Ventra.

"Precisely." said Austin. "Even with its shields down, our weapons won't have any guaranteed effect, so our best option is to lure them close enough to the black hole."

"That's it?" Telrass asked.

"That's it."

"It's certainly a plan but... the likelihood of this succeeding is less than 4.3%." said Leena.

"Don't start going all Spock on us now, Leena." said Dash.

"But still, this is practically a suicide mission. The odds aren't in our favour and there is a good chance we will die." said Leena.

"But at least we'll take those Batarians with us." said Austin. "If this is to be our end, then we will face it together. Any questions?"

"If any part of this doesn't work... what's plan b?" Dash asked.

"There is no plan b, Dash. It's either this, or nothing. Or we just hope the rest of the Helldiver fleet can take that ship down." said Austin. "But I have faith this'll work. We take 'em down and save our home, or we die trying."

"Certainty of death, small chance of success... what are we waiting for?!" Kraan asked rhetorically.

"I'd recommend you all get some rest, everyone. I need you fully focused for what is to come. This may be a suicide mission, but as long as I'm in command of this squad, I'm damn well gonna do all I can to make us live to tell about this."

Austin walked down the hallway where everyone's quarters on the ship were. Mostly everyone was still in bed, but a few had gotten up early. One of them Austin thought would've been Alaara, but at the moment he couldn't find her. He would've thought his lieutenant would be up just as early. Then again, Alaara had never totally been by the book.

Seeing that Sandra was still in her room, he decided to at least ask.

"Sandra?" he asked as he knocked.

"Yeah?" the comm expert replied from within.

The door then unlocked and opened. Sandra was still in bed and had the covers over her so that she wasn't exposed in front of her squad leader.

"Just letting you know, we're approaching the relay. We'll be at Arkadia shortly." said Austin.

"I'll be ready in a few minutes." Sandra yawned.

"Have you seen Alaara by the way? I checked her room, but she wasn't there. Not usually like her." Austin asked.

"Haven't seen her myself. Maybe she's down in the armoury." Sandra shrugged.

"Maybe." said Austin.

There was a tiny hint of suspicion in his voice. It did look like Sandra was making a bit more effort than was actually necessary to cover herself. Something about Sandra's voice also sounded impatient, as though she were waiting for Austin to leave. Was she hiding something?

Whatever the reason though, it wasn't hugely important right now. Alpha had an upcoming fight to focus on after all.

"Okay. See you in 20 minutes then."

With that, Austin left and the door closed behind him. Sandra quickly locked it again. As soon as she did, the covers suddenly flew off to reveal someone what Sandra had actually been hiding.

"You think he knew I was here?" Alaara asked cautiously.

"No. I think we're good." said Sandra.

The two relaxed and lay back down.

"So... what happens now? Are we... What did this mean?" Alaara asked.

"Now, we both decide what happens next." said Sandra.

"It feels so strange. I never thought I'd take a bondmate, let alone a human. Errr, no offense."

"None taken. Believe me, I feel the same. I never even knew I was truly into other women."

"Well, technically..."

"I know. I know."

The two simply stared at each other for a moment, both almost hypnotised by the sight of each other. Alaara then surprisingly rolled on top of Sandra and kissed her. It was almost a minute before they finally separated.

"I love, Sandra." said Alaara passionately as she stroked her bondmate's dark hair. "Perhaps, I shouldn't have said that. Too much too soon. Why am I being such a baby about this?"

Her babbling however was quickly stopped by Sandra, first with a finger to the Asari's lips, and then a kiss.

"I love you too, Alaara." the human smiled.

"What are we gonna tell the others though? That's what I'm really nervous about." Alaara asked.

"Well Dash is obviously gonna make some rude joke. We know what he's like." Sandra sighed. "As for the others, I just don't know. Especially since you're the second in command of this squad."

"Then perhaps its better we don't tell them yet." Alaara suggested. "Wait until the right time, maybe. What we have... I really feel as though I want us to work."

"I do too. And you're right. Maybe now isn't the best time to tell them. Especially when we're about to undertake a possible suicide mission." Sandra agreed.

"Speaking of which, we'd better get ready." said Alaara as she gently got off her new bondmate and got out of bed. "I should go on ahead so they don't suspect anything."

"Right."

As Alaara worked on getting dressed, Sandra was unable to resist staring at her. Even though she'd had the entire night seeing the Asari naked, and had seen her naked plenty of other times before that, she still found it hard to tear her eyes away. Despite some of the occasional scaring the Asari had (some of which looked suspiciously like scars from sexual torture) they did very little to ruin her well sculpted form. Little no fat, nice and firm muscles, and plenty of size where it counted in "certain areas"

It was also now that Sandra fully noticed that Alaara's beasts had returned to their normal size. Though she wasn't' surprised, it was almost a little disappointing. Because of how much Alaara had managed to enlarge them last night through the use of the Union Only abilities that Asari very secretly possessed, it almost made her natural size look tiny in comparison.

"Have I ever told you how sexy you look naked?" the human asked.

"I believe you did just last night when I had your head down below." the Asari smiled, fully aware that she was being watched from behind.

"I see the stories they tell of Asari endurance are not exaggerated."

"Oh, there are stories now are there?" Alaara chuckled.

"You have no idea, lover." Sandra smiled as she too then started getting dressed. "Seriously though, before you go... I just wanted to say, thank you. I didn't think I'd ever find someone to truly love until I met you."

"I know." said Alaara, finally zipping up her suit mesh. "If we get out of this alive, I'm gonna make sure we have a victory celebration like no other."

It was quite fortunate actually that the Endeavour had been fitted with a stealth drive. It was still very much experimental, but right now that was hardly Alpha's top concern. What mattered was that it worked because all the Batarians had to do was just detect them on their sensors and they'd be history.

As the ship cleared the relay, Alpha could already see the massive Batarian ship getting close to Arkadia. It had already made short work of the planet's defence fleet and was getting ready to drop off troops. Alpha would have to act fast.

"Alright, people. This is it." said Austin. "You all know what's at stake here. So no heroics. We stick to our plan, and hopefully we just might make it off alive."

Once the dropship had got close enough, the side door opened.

"Good luck, Alpha." said Alexa. "Give 'em hell."

Everyone jumped, letting the lack of gravity slowly move them towards the ship's hull. As the all touched down, Leena began hacking the airlock they'd landed beside.

"Okay. If there's any sense of design in this ship, you should be entering somewhere near the cargo bay. Shouldn't' be a soul in sight." said Telrass through the comm.

Since Telrass was not a Helldiver she'd reluctantly had to sit this one out. She was however managing to make use of the Endeavour's tactical technology and was currently monitoring everyone's life signs and visual feeds. In a way she was almost serving the role of Alpha's overseer, which meant that she was now serving as Alpha's key source of mission briefing, Intel and logistical support.

Overseers often weren't used much with Helldiver teams due to their advanced technology doing much of the work. Still, a few squads could choose to have one if they so desired. Some squads had even been known to function even better with one, especially when they went on really important or dangerous missions.

Soon as everyone was inside, Leena closed the airlock. The air pressure then equalised and the other doo opened. As everyone filed out however, they found themselves face to face with loads of Batarians.

"Shouldn't be a soul in sight?" Leena asked Telrass irritably.

"Okay. My mistake." the Turian admitted.

"Oh bloody hellfire." Austin sighed.

"KILL THEM!"

The whole room became ablaze with gunfire and explosions. It was any wonder that this didn't' rip a whole in the ship's hull.

"We're not afraid to die!" one of the Batarians yelled.

"Good. Because we're not afraid to kill you." said Kraan suddenly appearing right next to the Batarian and blowing his head off.

Once the final Batarian had been dealt with, Austin accessed the nearest terminal.

"We need to find out where they're keeping the others." He said. "Here it is. Cell block 2187. Alaara, take half of the squad and go get them. We'll hold 'em here."

Alaara nodded and took half of Alpha with her. The others meanwhile secured the room. To try and least stop the Batarians from sending reinforcements down, Dash answered the comm.

"Errr, everything's under control. Situation normal." said Dash, using his suit's voice modifier to sound like a Batarian.

"What happened?"

"Uh, had a slight weapons malfunction, but everything's perfectly alright now. We're all fine here now. How are you?" Dash replied, trying his best not to stutter or slip up.

"We're sending a squad up."

"Uh, negative. Negative. We have a reactor leak here, so give us a few minutes to lock it down. Highly... Very dangerous." said Dash quickly.

"Who is this? What's your operating number?"

Realizing now he wasn't gonna fool anyone, Dash quickly took one of his pistols and shot the console, destroying it.

"Boring conversation anyway." he said. "Alaara, you better hurry up. We're gonna have company real soon."

Alaara and team 2 took it slow through the corridors. Soon they managed to reach the prison cells.

A few Batarians were keeping watch while two of them still worked on interrogating the other Helldivers. They'd of course used suit jammers on the Helldivers, hence why they weren't using their lockdowns.

"Alright, let's do this quickly and quietly. Everyone line up for a sync shot." Said Alaara.

Everyone separated and took up positions where they had clear shots at all the Batarians.

"3… 2… 1… Fire!"

The shots all fired instantaneously, killing each Batarian and causing them to fall.

With all hostiles cleared, Alpha got to work on freeing the Helldivers.

"What are you doing here?" one of them asked as Alpha worked on opening the restraints.

"Rescuing you. What does it look like?" Alaara replied. "Commander, prisoners have been secured. No casualties."

"Roger that, Alaara. Proceeding with phase 2."

The other team soon reached a place on the ship where Leena could hack directly into the systems.

"Leena?"

"On it." Said the Quarian.

After only a few moments though, Leena found a little problem.

"Okay. Slight complication, Shepard. This system is far more complex than I anticipated." She said.

"All I need to know is if you can hack It." said Austin.

"I can still hack it, but I'll only be able to give us a small window, after which the Batarians will regain control, lock off all the docking tubes and I won't able to hack in again. We've only got one shot at this."

"Alaara, you catch all that?" Austin asked.

"Affirmative. Alaara replied.

"It's your call, Commander." Said Telrass.

Austin took a few moments to consider this before finally speaking.

"Leena... do it." he said.

Leena initiated the hack. Now Alpha just needed to find the best docking tube.

"Alright. Systems are offline. Telrass, we need to find the nearest docking tube for Alex to dock.

"Okay, give me a minute. Now that Leena's hack gave the ship's schematics, I should be able to find one." Telrass replied. There was a brief little silence. "Okay. There's one near where you are. I'm sending coordinates to your suits."

"Alright, Alpha. Let's get off this ship."

From inside the bridge every screen went dark and the lights flickered.

"What just happened?" the captain asked.

All the systems are down." One of the crew replied.

"Get us back online, now!"

"We're trying, sir."

"Sir, we've detected unauthorised access to one of the docking ports."

"So, those Helldivers really are on-board the ship." Said the captain. "How long until we have control of the ship again?"

"A few minutes at most."

"Send a squad after them. They must not get off this ship!"

"Alexa, we're at the docking tube." said Austin.

"Docking now."

From inside, the could hear the sound of Alexa docking at the tube. A few seconds later, the lights on the door changed from red to green and it opened.

"Okay, everyone in! Let's go! Let's go!" Austin yelled.

Just as everyone finished getting in, leaving only him however, he had a thought.

"I have an idea. You go on ahead." he said.

"Shepard we can't afford to wait for you. If we don't leave quickly, the ship will come back online and destroy the dropship." Alaara argued.

"Then take off and get back to the Endeavour without me. I'll find another way to get to you." said Austin.

"But..."

"That's an order, Lieutenant. Now go!" said Austin sternly. "I'll be fine. Trust me."

For a moment Alaara simply stared at Austin before finally replying.

"Yes, sir." she sighed. "Be careful, Shepard. Whatever it is you're gonna do... good luck."

"I won't need it. I'll make my own luck."

"Did you really think we wouldn't find you, Helldiver?" the Captain asked.

"Well, anything's possible. You haven't exactly impressed me today." Austin replied calmly.

"Kill him."

The Batarians raised their guns and prepared to fire. It was as Austin flew this back hit a door that he noticed what was undeniably an airlock button.

"Sorry I can't stay, chaps. But..." he paused for dramatic effect. "...I should go."

With that, he quickly hit the button. Only too late did the Batarians realize that he had just opened the airlock he was standing in front of. The second the door began to open, Austin immediately felt the vacuum of space pull at him. Within just a few seconds he was quickly swept off his feet and pulled at full force into space. The Batarians meanwhile desperately tried to hold onto something while one of them tried to close the airlock. Unfortunately for them, in the end they couldn't' hold on any longer and they too got spaced by the vacuum. Unlike them however, Austin didn't suffocate. His suit kept him completely safe from the vacuum and supplied him with a constant flow of clean air. He just had to hope he'd picked an airlock close enough for the dropship to spot him.

Both Alexa and Sandra were watching closely from inside the dropship's cockpit, waiting and hoping to see how Austin planned on getting to them, or what he was doing.

"Over there!" said Sandra, pointing to a sudden open airlock.

Alexa quickly noticed and maneuverer the dropship into position. She also temporarily opened the door so he could get inside. Once he was in, the door closed again and the dropship immediately headed back to the endeavour.

"Shepard, apart from Dash, you are the craziest human I've ever met. I don't know whether to kill you... or kiss you, frankly." Alaara smiled.

"What were you doing anyway?" Leena asked.

"I'll explain later." Austin replied.

On cue, the Batarian ship quickly came back online.

"That ship, take it out!" the captain ordered, pointing to the Endeavour.

"Sir, what about Arkadia?"

"I WANT ALPHA DEAD NOW!"

The ship immediately began opening fire. Rather than return fire however, the Endeavour instead turned and suddenly zoomed off into space, disappearing from sight.

"They activated their mass effect core!"

"Go after them!" the Captain yelled.

"Yes, sir."

The ship quickly followed and engaged its own mass effect core.

It was only thanks to the ship's pilots that they managed to slow down a good distance from the nearby black hole. Hopefully, if this plan worked, the Batarians would appear way closer.

"Hold on though. What's to stop them from just using their own mass effect core to escape the black hole?" Leena asked.

"Well, a certain someone might have sabotaged their core while he was on-board." said Austin smugly.

"So that's what you were doing."

"You could've just told me." said Alaara.

"The time it would've taken for me to explain wouldn't have been worth it." said Austin. "Basically, I sabotaged it enough that it can use only 1 jump. A second attempt will cause an overload and it'll explode."

Sure enough, the Batarian ship swiftly appeared as well, way close to the black hole and immediately got caught in its grip. The shear gravitational force began to tear the entire ship apart piece by piece. A small explosion as even noticeable as it's mass effect attempted to fire again.

"Commander, the enemy ship is losing power. Their shields are down." Said one of the pilots.

"Contact them." Said Austin.

"Aye"

A holo appeared on the screen of the Batarian captain. He seemed to be the only one left on the bridge. Seemed he wished to go down with his ship.

"This is Commander Austin Shepard of Alpha Squad. You're ship is compromised. Too close to the singularity to survive without assistance which we are willing to provide." Said Austin.

"Shepard, what are you doing?" Telrass asked, turning her back and lowering the volume of her voice.

"Showing them compassion. Probably the only way to earn peace with them." Said Austin.

"Well not to sound cold, but I don't think they deserve it." Said Telrass.

"I would suffer the end of my race a thousand times. I would rather die in agony than accept assistance from you." Said the captain.

"Your choice." said Austin.

Everyone simply watched as the black hole continued to consume the Batarian ship. Pretty soon the gravity force started to crush it and it soon broke apart completely and was finally consumed, leaving nothing left.

"Well they certainly suffered a "crushing" defeat." said Dash, causing everyone to sigh a little at his bad joke.

"Pilot, turn us around. Let's go home."

Upon their return to Arkadia, Alpha had almost immediately been given a hero's welcome. Having known it was them; the Arkane Council had been quick to congratulate them and had insisted that they be publically awarded for this victory.

The entire Arkane Council and what looked like the entire population of Arkadia were gather in the massive hall.

"Today we gather to honour the heroism of this Helldiver squad. They have dealt a huge blow to the Batarians, saved a colony and above all have saved us all." Said Councillor Spartan. "Alpha Squad, words alone cannot express our gratitude for what you have done."

"Nothing more than our duty, Councillor." Said Austin modestly.

"I admire your modesty, Commander Shepard. But nevertheless, we refuse to let you go unrewarded for this." Said Councillor Tarnack.

Spartan then walked up to a Helldiver that was carrying a case of some kind. The Arkane opened it to reveal what was undeniably several medals. But not just any kind of medal…

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Dash whispered.

"Dash, be quiet." Ventra hissed.

"As councillor of Arkadia, it is my honour to present each of you with the cross of glory, the highest commendation be can bestow." Said Spartan as he placed each medal on Alpha's armour. "From this day forth, your names shall forever be known as the Heroes of the Helldivers."

The entire audience clapped and applauded.

"Now I know how the characters at the end of Star Wars must've felt." Dash whispered.

"Spirits, do you ever shut up?" Telrass groaned through gritted teeth.

"No, not while I'm awake."

Spartan then turned back to Alpha.

"I know you will probably say no, but is there anything you would ask of us?" he asked.

"Well… since one is asking, Councillor…" said Austin, casting a glance at Telrass. "Telrass Valenka has been an invaluable ally for us. It's fair to say in fact we might not have won this victory in the same way or at all without her help. Better still, her experience as a Helldiver agent makes me strongly believe that she would be a perfect candidate for the role as our overseer."

"What?" the Turian said is surprise.

"I see no reason why not, Commander. We would be more than happy to make the arrangements… assuming she wants the position." Said Tarnack.

"I must admit, I am surprised. I did not expect to be offered that sort of position." Said Telrass, just managing to hide the shock in her voice.

"I think you've earned it. Certainly your assistance while we were on-board benefited us greatly. Not to mention that your survival skills on your own against the Batarians are also to commended." Said Austin.

"I guess I can't really say no, especially in front of this crowd." Telrass sighed happily. "I accept your offer, Commander Shepard."

Now that the ceremony was over, the celebrations had begun. Despite their new popularity, Alpha had managed to find a spot where they could have some drinks in peace. It was fair to say though that no one celebrated like Helldiver.

"Damn, Leena! I knew you were touch, but I've never seen a Quarian dare drink a whole pint of ryncol without vomiting and passing out!" said Kraan, trying to keep his balance despite that he was definitely the drunkest out of all them.

"I drunk some acid once and still survived. This is nothing compared to that." Leena laughed as she detached the "straw" from the port on her helmet.

"Wait, you drank some acid?" Ventra asked in surprise, and slight worry.

"By accident of course." Leena added.

"So… what happens now?" Alaara asked

"We do we as we've always been doing, Ventra. We do our job, and give our enemies hell." Austin smiled as he poured himself a drink.

"Here's to giving 'em hell then!" Kraan cheered as he raised his glass. Everyone else also did so and finally drank.

"Anyone know any good drinking songs?" Dash asked a little drunkenly after downing his drink.

Kraan started, then the rest of squad quickly joined in. Even Austin and Leena, who weren't often known for this kind of thing.

"NOOOOOOONE CAN BEAT THE HELLDIVERS, 'CAUSE WE'LL HIT THEM WHERE IT HURTS! UNLESS YOU KNOW A TAVERN WITH LOOSE CARDS AND LOOSER SKIRTS! FOR EVERY BLOODY BATTLEFIELD, WE'LL GLADLY RAISE A CUP! NO MATTER WHAT TOMORROW HOLDS, OUR GUNS BE POINTING UP! WE'LL FIGHT UNTIL THE END, AND UNTIL YOU'RE DEAD AS WELL! WE'll DIVE HEADFIRST INTO BATTLE AND WE'LL ALWAYS GIVE 'EM HELL!"

Videos of Alpha's victory ceremony played across the many holographic screens. A figure sat behind them on a throne of some kind, almost completely hidden in the shadows. He examined the videos very closely. These particular Helldivers weren't like the others. Something made them different. Not to mention they had just won this special victory and were now seen as heroes. It remained to be seen what the future brought for them, but he would definitely be keeping his eye on them from now on. The last thing he needed was them interfering.

As he finally turned the screens off and settled more comfortably into his throne to think, the massive symbol that had been hanging over him the whole time was slowly revealed out of the shadows. A ring of skulls, each one of every alien race in the entire galaxy.

In the centre, half the skull of a human. The other half, what was left of the battered and severally beaten helmet of a dead Helldiver…

Definitely the last two ending scenes I'm very happy with. One shows that Alpha are all friends, and the other... well, you get the idea.

Now I defintiely promise the next one will be upa lot sooner. I've been looking forward to the next one for quite a while, and I've already had most of the dialogue written down for months.

And if I do break that promise... you have permission to write as many hateful comments as you like.

One or two other things to say. I will admit right now that the final battle in this chapter was a bit anti climatic. Hopefully in the future I'll make some changes to rectify that.

Also regarding the bit with Alaara and Sandra. They are indeed in a relationship now and I aplogise for there being no sex scene. We will see a flashback of it in a later chapter though, that I can 100% guarantee.

See you soon. Sorry again for the delay.
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, Alpha Origins