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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
- 12
- 13
- 14
Man I am in a good mood right now! :)

I finished this chapter in just 3 days, I'm very happy with it and I had so much fun writing it!

I've been looking forward to this particular chapter for quite some time, so to finally get to do it at long last after the multiple delays for chapter 12 was a very nice feeling. Now I could relax and get back into gear for this fanfiction again.

Also forgot to metnion a few things last time in chapter 12 I think you might be interested in (concerning me) that happened during the long months between chapters.

First of all, I finished college for the last time. The course I was doing was meant to be 2 years, but I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as the previous one I was doing back when doing the ME trilogy. So I decided not to return for year 2. That and also (and this is the big news) I got a job! Now getting paid and everything.

No more having to get up early, no more coursework, no more deadlines, and I'm getting paid. Things have gone very well for me.

Even used some of my new pay to get some major upgrades for my PC.

Anyway, enough about em now. The chapter.

There's an awful lot of references in this one, some of them rather obvious, but I'm still very happy with it. As I said before, I had a tremendous amount of fun writing it.

So please do enjoy! :)

YEAR 4, The Rise of Hellspawn

2176: 4 Years after the battle of Elysium

12 Years before the Battle of Arkadia

"So there we were. The Heroes of the Helldivers. After that, things seemed t get even better for us. We were allowed access to some even better equipment. There was on in-particular that really stood out of all of them that Dash made sure we put to incredibly good use. But our happiness was not to last. We had supposedly dealt with the worst that could be thrown at us. It was at this point that were about to find out just how wrong we were. This is how it happened. This… is how Hellspawn came forth…

Chapter 13

Hellraiser

A year had passed since Alpha's legendary victory. Since then, things had gotten even better for them. They'd been allowed access to lots of new equipment, a new dropship and they now operated a huge new way thanks to their new Overseer.

Right now, they were being given another new one by the Council. There was something interesting about it though.

"I assume you've been hearing about the recent raids that have been going on?" Spartan's hologram asked.

"Hard not to. Everyone talking about them." Austin replied.

"Cerberus is undoubtedly the most likely culprits, but without firm evidence we don't know for certain. Also these raids are completely random. We have been requested to provide escorts, but we have no idea the full extent of this problem. That is where you come in." said Tarnack.

"Xun has recently managed to dig up a lead that could help us find out which cargo shipment will be next to be hit. Apparently a man named Jack Daniels may know. Your mission is to find him, get the information room him, intercept the next raid and assess the full extent of these raids and above all find out who is responsible." One of the Councillors said.

"Where can we find this Jack Daniels?"

"Xun's intel suggests he is in a casino in Monaco. For a squad like you, this mission should be a walk in the park." Said Spartan.

"We'll get right on it, Councillors. We'll report back when we have something." Said Austin.

"Good luck out there, Alpha."

To avoid attracting any unwanted attention, Alpha had made Alexa drop them off on the roof of the casino on the side facing the sea.

"Overseer, this is Alpha. Checking comms. You read us?" Austin asked into his comm.

"Alpha, this is Overseer, reading you load and clear. Signal's strong, visual feeds are clear, everything's good on our end." Telrass replied.

"So, how does it feel to be watching over everyone?" Alaara asked.

"Honestly? I'm starting to wish you'd offered me this job sooner." Said Telrass. "Anyway, just so I'm clear on your plan, you mind running it by me again?"

"Simple really. We capture Daniels, get him out of here, make him reveal which supply transport is next to get hit, and who's behind this." Said Austin.

"Guns blazing, or stealth?" asked Ventra.

"Have a guess."

"Stealth it is then."

"First things first though, we need a way into the casino without being detected." Said Austin. "Overseer, Alpha, we need a way into the casino without being detected."

"Copy that. Searching schematics now."

"I love all the things we have to say now. Makes me feel like we're legendary professionals." Said Dash.

"For once, I actually agree with him."

"Okay, there are some air ducts on the roof that should get you inside. The rest will have to be up to you once you're inside."

"Copy that, Overseer."

"Gah. Vents. Why did it have to be vents?" Leena groaned.

"Where's this come from? You're an engineer. Crawling in vents is your thing." Said Ventra.

"Not when you've got wide shoulders and you weigh almost a tone. That's why I broke the Christmas tree two years back." Said Leena.

"You're not the only one that's done that, you know." Said Dash.

"Yes, we have told you a thousand times to stop skateboarding in the living room." Said Sandra.

"That's enough, Alpha. Stay focused." Austin interrupted. "Now, we just need to figure out which duct each of us should take."

As it turned out, crawling through the ducts hadn't been that easy or for that matter comfortable.

Austin managed to clear his without incident, but Sandra and Alaara ended up landing right on top of him.

"Ow."

"Landed right on my sai." Sandra groaned.

"This was our Overseer's idea, Shepard." Leena groaned, just managing to squeeze out of her vent with Ventra following behind.

"Whose hand is that?" Alaara asked.

"Sorry." Sandra apologised as everyone got up.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Alaara whispered.

"Course I did." Sandra smiled.

"Where are Dash and Kraan?" Austin asked, a little worriedly.

He soon got an answer however.

"Look out below!"

Everyone looked up to the duct they were all standing right under, and it already sounded like something massive was coming down it.

"Uh oh."

Kraan appeared first. Just when it looked like he was gonna crash into everyone however, he suddenly got stuck at the end.

"Phew. That was lucky." Said Ventra.

"Give me a hand here. I'm stuck." Kraan groaned as he tried to get out.

Austin and Leena took hold of Kraan's hands and managed to pull him out. In doing so however, he ended up falling on top of them. Dash then soon followed, landing on all of them.

"That was fun." He smiled.

"Get off me!" Kraan groaned as he pushed the scout off.

With that little mishap out of the way though, Alpha returned to their mission. They had all come out right above the main casino floor. Only a glass ceiling stood between them and the unsuspecting people below.

"Okay, let's see what we can see." Said Austin, taking a device from his belt which quickly cut a hole in the glass and then lifted it away. Giving everyone a perfect view of what was beneath them.

"Now, Jack Daniels is a very heavy gambler. He's in here somewhere." Said Austin. "Overseer, we're gonna need an ID verification on Jack Daniels."

"Copy that. Sending it to you now."

Everyone's HUD soon showed a picture of their target. A quick scan of the room below soon found a match.

"Positive match. There he is." Said Alaara.

Daniels was at one of the roulette tables surrounded by quite a few people watching the game. In fairness, he wasn't doing that bad.

"He certainly likes to play dangerous, I'll give him that much." Said Dash

"What's the plan then, Boss?" Kraan asked.

"Leena, you in position?" Austin asked into his comm

"Ready and waiting, Commander." Leena replied.

Having separated from the group, Leena had gone to the main power room.

"In exactly 2 minutes and 17 seconds, cut the power." Austin instructed. "When the lights are out, we drop down, grab Daniels, get back up here out of sight, and we're out of here."

"Taking him alive then?" Kraan asked.

"Obviously."

"Fine." The Krogan sighed.

Everyone took their repelling liens and readied to drop down through the hole in the ceiling.

"Okay. Ready in 3… 2…" but before Austin could say "1" everyone suddenly heard what was undeniably the sound of cracking glass. "Please tell me that's not the glass."

Everyone looked at Kraan hoping to hell that they were wrong. Unfortunately, they weren't. From under the Krogan's feet were the undeniable signs of the glass cracking, and unfortunately for them it was barely seconds from completely breaking apart.

"That's not good." Kraan sighed.

"You fat fu…"

The glass ceiling smashed apart and everyone fell right onto the roulette table, completely destroying it under all their weight.

The entire casino almost immediately fell silent and froze as they stared this sudden unexpected appearance of 6 Helldivers who had just fallen out of the ceiling.

Errrr… bonjour?" Dash tried to say innocently.

Kraan meanwhile was trying to push everyone off of him, since they'd once again landed on top of him. In the process he accidently ended up pulling the trigger on of his guns. The resulting shot caused the entire crowd to scream and panic and they immediately run for the exits.

Before Daniels had a chance to disappear into the crowd, everyone immediately drew their weapons on him.

"Don't move!" Austin ordered.

"What is the meaning of this?! You have no firm evidence I've done anything wrong." The human said crossly.

"You've got some important intel we need, Mr Daniels." Said Austin. "And since you're not willing to share with us, we're sorry about this."

"Huh?"

Kraan then suddenly brought the butt of his rifle right into Daniel's forehead, knocking him clean out. The Krogan then hoisted the unconscious human onto his shoulder.

"Got him. Let's get out of here." Said Alaara.

"Shepard, what's going on in there?" Leena asked, obviously having heard the commotion.

"Long story, Leena. Kill the lights, now!"

On cue, the lights went off. However, after only a few brief seconds, they suddenly came back on again. Then they suddenly started to flash on and off continuously.

"Are the lights supposed to do that?!" Ventra asked confusedly.

"Leena, what are you doing?" Austin asked.

"Little busy right now!" Leena replied, sounding as though she was in a struggle.

The unmistakable sound of a gunshot then confirmed this. Before Austin could give the order for Alpha to head to the power room to help Leena however, there was then the sound of a body falling and the lights went out again.

Using their night vision, they then spotted Leena.

"Sorry about that. One of Daniel's bodyguards tried to kill me." She said.

"Anyway, let's make our heroic escape." Said Dash.

Just as Alpha were about to reach the exits however, every one of them was suddenly covered by a shutter.

"Oh no."

"Lockdown, ay?" Dash asked challengingly.

"What do we do?" Alaara asked.

"Hold this a minute." Said Kraan as he handed Leena Daniels' unconscious body. "Alright, everybody, stand back. I got this."

The Krogan then charged right at the shutter. The outcome however… was not as expected. The worst damage Kraan managed to do was create a massive cartoonish dent of himself in the shutter.

"Never mind." The Krogan groaned dizzily.

"And you say I'm a headache for you." Said Dash. "Guess I'm gonna have to break the surprise early."

The Scout then took a small device from his belt. It unfolded into what oddly looked like an old earthen gamepad from the 21st century. Dash then pressed the back button.

"What are you doing?" Sandra asked suspiciously.

"Evening the odds." Dash smiled.

Everyone's head immediately turned as something massive suddenly smashed right through the doors. It was a vehicle of some kind, but unlike any Alpha had ever seen before.

"What the…"

The massive vehicle was indeed massive. Larger than an Alliance Mako. Nearly 3 metres tall and 5 metres long in fact. It had six massive off road wheels that were large enough to be half the size of a human.

Despite being painted black, it was undeniably some kind of tank. It had the metallic look and shape of one. It was all angles and straight lines. It was uniquely shaped though. Something about the front had a very Rhino like shape to it. It even had a few spikes here and there, two on top of the front especially to give a horn battering ram like appearance. No wonder it had just smashed through the wall.

Various other tool accessories decorated the vehicle in the same way they would on a normal military vehicle. A spade, an axe, a hammer, some other smaller tools designed for if there was any problems, a winch on the front and even a spare wheel on the front left hand side. There was also a chain that seemed to go across the vehicle. Though it didn't seem relevant, it did somehow give this vehicle a tougher and almost monster truck like appearance. There was also a 60mm cannon on the top right hand side with both a riot suppressor and minigun attached to either side of the cannon.

Another noticeable thing was a spoiler on the back. It appeared t server the purpose of both providing downforce and being air brake. As the vehicle started to slow down, the spoiler and several other flaps on the body and the ones covering the wheels changed their angle, providing more stopping power.

From the looks of things at the front it only had had one windshield which was were the driver was meant to sit on the right. The other side was just black and armoured.

As the vehicle headed towards Alpha, it then turned and braked into a power slide so that its left side was now facing them. Alpha barely had any time to react as the vehicle headed at them. Just as it looked like it was gonna run them over however, a door on the side suddenly opened and as the vehicle power slid at them, they all went right through and into the vehicle itself. Only Dash was an exception. He instead jumped. The vehicle went under him just enough as the driver cockpit opened and he landed perfectly inside.

The interior of the vehicle was unsurprisingly spacious. There two rows of eight seats on either side. Clearly this thing was meant for carrying troops. For a military vehicle however the seats looked surprisingly comfortable. They were even on a slight incline so that the occupant was leant back.

Two more seats were up front. On the right and slightly elevated, the driver's seat where Dash was sitting and the left a passenger seat. It was in darkness because there was no window, but it had plenty of technology. Obviously designed for navigation and other such things.

Alpha picked themselves up, still a little in shock at what had just happened. This thing had just come out of nowhere.

"Where the hell did this come from?" Austin asked in amazement.

"Welcome, my friends to the HK93 Rumbler Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Or as I prefer to call it…" he paused for dramatic effect. "The Hellraiser! What do you think? Perfect name, huh?"

"That… actually is the perfect name." Kraan said in amazement.

"Of course it is, brah. You guys always underestimate me." Dah smiled. It was impossible for him to hide how smug he was being. "Now find a seat and strap in. We're out of here."

Despite this vehicle's sudden appearance, Alpha didn't feel like asking questions right now, especially under the current circumstances so they did as Dash had said. They each found a seat and sat down. Sure enough, the seats were indeed rather comfortable. Quite surprising.

At first, Alpha struggled to find any harnesses. Austin however soon realized it didn't have any. It actually had restraints more like what someone would find on a roller coaster. They folded down and secured the occupant in place. Everyone soon followed and secured their own harnesses. Daniels was put in one of the far ones at the end, still unconscious. Sandra meanwhile took the front left passenger seat.

"You know it's funny. My mother warned me about getting into cars with strange men." Said Alaara as she secured her restraint.

"Trust me, Alaara…" said Dash as he started the engine. A massive roar suddenly bellowed from the Hellraiser, making everyone jump with surprise as the engine fired up. The loudness was almost deafening. It almost sounded more like the roar of a mighty animal rather than an engine. "This isn't a car."

The Hellraiser accelerated almost immediately. Alpha instantly felt the force of the acceleration try to pull them to one side. They could see why Dash had insisted on them strapping in tight. It was anyone's guess of just how much power the engine in this thing had.

The vehicle performed several donuts, taking out all the nearby columns of the casino before finally speeding out of the entrance, landing on a nearby car in the process which became completely crushed by the Hellraiser's immense weight.

"Whoops. Sorry." Said Dash, though admittedly he sounded more sarcastic about it than sorry.

He immediately accelerated again. The Hellraiser's wheels temporarily spun as they found grip on the crushed car, crushing it even more. Finally, the vehicle sped off into the streets.

From a nearby rooftop, a cloaked figure observed the whole thing from her sniper rifle. She had to admit, she was surprised to see Alpha again this soon after their last encounter. Nevertheless, she'd made a promise that she'd kill them next time they met, and The Helldiver Slayer kept her promises.

"Poor, poor animals. You should never have left the forest." She said. "Now you deal with me."

This time, the Slayer wasn't alone either. She'd be having some assistance for this little chase.

"We've got a fix on Alpha, they're in a vehicle."

"Make and colour?"

"Err, it's a black, six wheeled… tank."

The Hellraiser sped through the streets of Monaco, weaving in and out in-between other ground based vehicles. Credit where it was due, Dash was controlling this thing very well. He also hadn't tried to hit something just for fun. Well… not yet anyway.

"Overseer, this is Alpha. We have the target and are now en route to the rendezvous point. Keep your eyes peeled for a… massive black tank." Said Austin.

"And the fact that it's being driven by Dash." Kraan added.

"Roger that. Don't keep us waiting." Said Telrass.

"You heard her, Dash. Let's move it!"

Dash quickly complied and settled into the cruise.

"You know it's a weird feeling being in this. I'm partly worried about bumping into things because it's so big, and at the same time not worried about bumping into things because, well, who cares?" said Dash.

It wasn't' long however before Sandra suddenly spotted something in the rear view display. Several bikes appeared to be following them, and the leader looked frighteningly familiar.

"We've got them." Said the Slayer.

"Der'mo! Slayer on our tail." Said Sandra.

Dash also looked at the rear view feed to confirm this. Turned the rest of the squad could as well.

Over each seat was a small console with a screen in the middle allowing the squad to see different views outside of the vehicle as well as other things if they wished.

"Pedal to the metal, Dash." Said Austin.

"Bikes against this thing? They're gonna be eating our dust." Said Dash as he accelerated fully.

The bikes were quick to give chase as they followed.

"ETA to rendezvous point?" Austin asked.

"2 minutes, 37 seconds, sir." Said Dash.

"Are you sure you know how to drive this thing?" Sandra asked worriedly, holding on for dear life to her harness, not just because of her usual travel sickness, but also because Dash's driving was starting to get a bit scary as he pulled all sorts of power slides and was barely using the brakes.

"Of course I do." Said Dash confidently.

"Are you sure he even should be driving this thing?" said Kraan, sounding just as worried. "A massive six wheeled tank with a cannon and minigun on the roof, driven by him?"

"I'll have you know, Kraan. I'm the only one of this team that has a license, and is actually qualified to operate this thing." Said Dash.

"He does have a point." Ventra admitted.

"Fair enough. Just try not to park us up a tree." Said Alaara.

"Noted." Said Dash. "Recommend you all hold tight though. It's gonna be a bumpy ride. Please make sure your seats and tray tables are in their upright and locked positions."

Despite the many twists and turns of Monaco's streets and the many different vehicles on the roads, the Hellraiser just seemed to keep getting faster. A few accidental moves on Dash's part did cause him to take out a few café stalls, but he didn't' run anyone over which was at least a relief.

The Slayer and the rest of her men however stayed on the vehicles tail, even the debris failed to get in their way.

"She's gaining on us!" Sandra warned.

"I've got just the thing for her." Said Dash. "Deploying oil slick."

Sure enough a quick press of one of the buttons on the dashboard deployed a large slick of oil from the Hellraiser's rear.

Despite this though, the pursuing bikes just kept going. Were they really gonna try and drive through that?

The Slayer's bike went first. Surprisingly though, the Slayer actually tried to stand up on her bike. Just as the bike's front wheels started to touch the oil, she suddenly jumped using her biotics and leapt right over all the oil, pulling the bike with her. She then flipped. The bike landed first, completely clear of the oil and then she landed back on it.

Since the rest of her men weren't able to do that, they had to try and drive through. A few of the ones on the far side were able to drive around the oil. Most of them managed but one ended up slipping and fell right off. Another made it, but ended up colliding with another car, knocking him right off his bike. The rest continued following the Slayer.

"Now that's just cheating!" said Sandra.

"She's persistent, I'll give her that." Said Dash.

One of the bikes attempted to get close to the Hellraiser, even going ahead of the Slayer. That however was a huge mistake as there was a reason the Slayer was keeping her distance.

Dash immediately pulled a sharp turn causing back right side of the Hellraiser to crash right into the back sending both it and the biker flying.

Austin could tell Dash was dying to say a one liner after that, and he a feeling he knew which one.

"Go on then, Dash. You can say it." He sighed.

"That guy's on a roll." Said Dash.

Everyone just shook their heads and sighed with a slight chuckle.

It quickly changed back to slight fear however when Dash pulled another right and went through a tunnel rather than going left and his speed continued increasing.

"Dash, slow down! You're going the wrong way!" Sandra yelled.

"This is a shortcut." Dash argued.

"You were supposed to go right back there!" said Sandra.

"Stop backseat driving!"

"I'm not backseat driving, I'm passenger seat driving."

During the argument however, they failed to notice the Slayer come up behind and then get alongside them. It was as the Slayer fired a few gunshots however the argument was interrupted. Unsurprisingly though, the shots barely did anything and simply bounced of the Hellraiser's armour. It was a tank after all, what had the Slayer expected?

"Okay then, Slayer. You asked for this." Said Dash.

He then forced the Hellraiser to the right. The Slayer just managed to jump onto the vehicle as it crushed her bike against the wall of the tunnel.

"She's on the roof!" Alaara yelled.

"This should get her off." Said Dash as he readied to push a red button on the top right of the steering wheel.

"What does that do?" Austin asked nervously.

"This? Oh, it just triggers the afterburner." Dash replied.

"Afterburner?!"

Rather than elaborate, Dash instead just pressed the button. The afterburner on the back of the Hellraiser immediately fired and the entire vehicle shot forward at incredible speed. Had anyone not been wearing a harness they would almost certainly have been flung against the very back.

The Slayer tried to hold on, but the shear speed so fast that ultimately her hands couldn't' hold on and she was forced to let go.

"Okay, Dash, we lost her! Maybe you can slow down now?!" Austin managed to say as he held onto his harness for dear life.

"I'm trying! The brakes aren't responding!" said Dash, continuously trying to stop the Hellraiser with no success.

"If we die in this thing, Dash, I'm gonna kill you!" Kraan yelled.

The Hellraiser continued with stopping. Eventually it ran out of road as they were driving right at the edge of a cliff. The vehicle crashed through both a set of roadworks and the railings on the cliff's edge.

Everyone, even Leena, screamed. Well, Dash also didn't scream either, he instead just laughed.

After what felt like a terrifying several minutes, the Hellraiser finally landed on the roof of a building. It spun quite a few times as Dash struggled to regain control before finally settling, just barely less than a centimetre from falling off the edge of the building.

"Everybody okay back there?" Dash asked, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Heehee! Let's do that again." Alaara laughed dizzily.

"Dash, is there a sick bucket anywhere?" Sandra groaned.

"No, but there's toilet in the back…" Dash replied.

The very second he said that, Sandra immediately bolted out of her seat, ran all the way to the toilet and threw up right in it for several seconds before finally stopping. She looked terrible.

"Thought you were taking pills to stop that from happening." Said Dash.

"I did and they've worked up till now. You driving is so crazy that not even the pills could've stopped me from doing that." Sandra groaned, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself down.

"It wasn't that bad." Dash argued.

"You nearly got us killed!" Sandra yelled.

"I know. You don't find that exciting?"

"NO!" everyone yelled simultaneously.

"Everyone's a critic." Dash mumbled. "Anyway, we're at the rendezvous point, so Alexa should be here soon. Let's get out and pop a flair so she can see us."

"How's she gonna transport this thing though?" Ventra asked.

"You'll see."

Everyone except Dash got out and Alaara lit a green flair.

Sure enough, Alexa soon came into view.

Only a few days prior to this mission, they'd recently got a new dropship. This new one was three times as large as the original Hellhound and to be fair was actually classified as a gunboat.

As the gunboat hovered over the roof of the building, it slowly descended down. It was now that Alpha suddenly noticed there was a surprisingly large slot in the centre at the bottom. That hadn't bene there earlier when they'd headed out.

As the gunboat descended, the Hellraiser fitted almost perfectly into the slot. Locks then engaged, locking the vehicle firmly in place, leaving just it's wheels exposed at the bottom.

"So that's why Dash insisted we get this new gunboat." Said Austin.

"I wanted it too actually as well." Said Alexa.

The gunboat then started to take off, taking the Hellraiser with it.

"Errr, what are you doing? We're not on-board!" said Austin.

The gunboat then did a gentle turn so that it's right side faced them. The side door then opened to show Telrass standing there. A ladder then fell down.

"Wanted to show that off as well." Said Alexa.

"Have to admit, that's cool." Said Sandra.

The sudden loud sound of metal clanging attracted everyone's attention. Everyone turned to the source of the noise to see the Slayer suddenly burst out of the door and the nearest building and drive right at them on another bike.

"Oh no."

The Slayer continued driving and jumped right off the building, now heading right at them. At first, the length of her jump didn't' look enough and it looked like she was going to miss the roof they were on. However as the bike started to fall, the Slayer then activated her biotics and pushed against the bike to jump.

"Everybody, up the ladder! Go!" Austin yelled.

The Slayer completed her jump with a role and landed on the roof, unfolding her telescopic bow staff as she did. True Alpha could've just fought her, but given what happened last time they weren't' sure of that. Also with Daniels on-board the gunboat, they could not afford the chance of the Slayer getting to him. No doubt he was her real target.

"Deploy the gun!" Alexa yelled.

The massive gun on the bottom of the gunboat activated, aimed at the Slayer and the gunner opened fire. The Slayer however threw up a biotic shield around herself. Each round became absorbed by the biotic field.

This allowed Alpha the chance to escape though. The Slayer couldn't' go after them and maintain her shield at the same time. If her biotic shield failed, one round from the gun would rip her apart.

Just as there was only Austin and Sandra left however, the gunboat's gun suddenly sparked and stopped firing.

"The gun's jammed!" the gunner yelled.

Deactivating her biotic shield, the Slayer continued her advance.

"Come on, Sandra!" Austin yelled, holding his hand out of Sandra just as the gunboat was beginning to move away, taking the ladder with everyone else on it with it.

Sandra jumped and managed to grab Austin's hand. Right as she did however, the Slayer suddenly fired a grappling hook at her which latched onto the back of her neck. The pulling force of the Slayer was strong enough that Sandra lost her grip on Austin hand.

"SANDRA!" Alaara yelled.

Austin just managed though to grab onto Sandra's leg and held on as best he could.

Got ya!"

"Leaving so soon, Alpha?" the Slayer tautened as she attempted to pull Sandra out of Austin's grip.

"Put your back into it, Alexa. Full power!" Telrass yelled.

"Hold tight!" Alexa yelled as she pushed the thrusters all the way to full.

The full force of the gunboat's was enough to pull the Slayer off her feet. Now it was even harder for Austin keep hold of Sandra's leg. The Slayer meanwhile kept the grip on her grappling gun. Sandra all the while was treated to being upside down and flying. She was certain this was gonna make her sick again.

"Evasive manoeuvres!" Telrass yelled.

The gunboat kept as Alexa tried to smack the Slayer into a building. Austin quickly saw where this was going and he managed to swing Sandra to the side, taking the Slayer with her. Due to her being on the very end of the line, the bounty hunter was now on a collision course with the nearest building.

The Slayer though noticed this too and she seemed to just remain clam about it. She instead braced for the impact and let go of the grappling gun. As she smashed through the glass window on the building she then broke into a run. She ran past all the bewildered people, over desks and tables, and right through several more walls before finally smashing out the other side of the build and grabbing back onto the grappling gun.

"This bitch is really starting to piss me off." Said Telrass.

Finally fixing the grappling gun to her belt, the Slayer started to climb up the rope. Austin knew he'd have to act fast. Using his strength, he pulled Sandra's leg up until Leena could reach it.

"Hold this." He said.

"Shepard, be careful! She's crazy!" said Alaara.

"You think?"

Austin managed to climb down Alaara until he was close enough to the rope. He then took his combat knife and readied to cut it. The Slayer only noticed a little too late. Austin cut the knife and she fell. At first it looked like she'd fall to her death, but fortunately for her they passed over a building with a nearby swimming pool on the roof and she fell into that instead.

At least Alpha was now out of harm's way from her now.

"Au revoir, Slayer!" Dash yelled.

As the Slayer rose out of the water, she watched gunboat disappear into the distance.

"Well played, Shepard." She said. "Game on."

Daniels gently opened his eyes as he regained consciousness. She did however he found Austin's expressionless Helldiver helmet starting right back at him.

"Wake up, Mr Daniels. We have much to discuss." He said.

"You won't get away with this, Helldivers." Daniels groaned.

"I think you'll find we already have." Said Austin calmly. "Which cargo shipment is the next target for these raids, and who's behind them?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Is this information really worth all the trouble?"

"Screw you!"

"I've tried to be reasonable." Austin sighed.

Kraan then suddenly walked forward, grabbed him and the chair he was tied to. He then opened the gunboat's door and held out Daniels just enough that it did feel like he'd fall out any second.

"I'm losing my patience!" said Kraan.

"Alright! Alright!" Daniels screamed.

Kraan reluctantly pulled the human back in and set him back down in front of Austin.

"I won't be able to control my friend here much longer. You better give us something we could use." Said Austin

"Alright. Alright. The one tomorrow heading out from Sur'Kesh." Daniels panted.

"And who's behind these raids?" Austin asked again.

"I don't know. I never found out and I didn't' ask. I swear."

"Do not lie to us." Kraan growled.

"I'm not. I swear, I don't know who's behind this."

"Very well then. We believe you." Said Austin. "Now you get to take a nap."

Before Daniels could say anything, Kraan then suddenly knocked him out.

"Pilots, plot a course for Sur'Kesh. We've got a raid to intercept." Said Austin.

For now, Alpha simply waited. They were hoping to catch the ones responsible the act and attempt to make sure the cargo transport got through. At the same time though, they might not even show up.

With the long wait, that meant there was plenty of time for conversation.

"So Dash, I think we're all dying to know where the hell you got the Hellraiser. In all my years as a Helldiver, not once have I heard of or seen a vehicle like that." Said Austin.

"I'm glad you asked actually. It's a rather interesting story." Dash smiled smugly under his helmet.

FLASHBACK

6 Months Earlier

Dash couldn't' help but admire the sheer size of these archives as he walked through them. He was essentially in a warehouse were the Arkane's unused prototypes or inventions were stored.

He was being accompanied by the one in charge. An Arkane named Dell Arturus. Though Dell was more a Quartermaster for the Arkanes, he was also in charge of the archives. Some even gave him the nickname "Archivist"

"Environmental procedures, defence projects, consumer products: all prototypes. None in production, on any level whatsoever." Said the Arkane.

"None at all? Wow. People aren't kidding when they say the wealthiest place is a graveyard." Said Dash.

"So what exactly is your interest in some of the stuff I have down here?" Dell asked.

"I've always heard stories of certain Helldivers getting access to rare one of a kind prototypes. I was told my squad could be one of them." Dash replied.

"Anything in particular you had in mind?" Dell asked.

"Can't really say without seeing for certain what you have."

"Trust me, Mr Torres. It'd take a year to go through everything I have in these archives. They're that big."

"I can see."

After a short while, Dash then notice one of the massive ships that stood out. A gunship of some kind. Far bigger than the even the traditional gunships.

"Hmm. This looks interesting." The Scout said as he took a close look.

"Advanced Helldiver gunboat. Far more powerful than the usual dropships you Helldivers are used to." Dell explained.

As Dash looked underneath, he noticed what appeared to be a massive empty slot on the bottom.

"Why does it look like it's missing something on the bottom? What's with all the space?" he asked.

"It's designed for carrying vehicles externally. It ultimately wasn't put into production because there weren't enough vehicles properly designed for this." Dell replied.

"Well I know someone who would definitely love this. Even if it doesn't' carry a vehicle, the size and firepower of this looks good. And it also looks rather cool." Dash smiled.

"I'm guessing you'll take it?"

"Yeah." Dash nodded. Just as she was about to say that would be it however, he then noticed something else. It mostly had a cover over it, but he could definitely see some wheels from what was exposed. "Wait, what's this?"

He walked up to it and pulled the cover off completely. What he saw literally made his jaw drop.

"Wow!"

Dell walked up next to Dash. Despite that the Helldiver was wearing a helmet, he could see the awe in his eyes.

"The Rumbler? Oh, you wouldn't be interested in that."

Dell was beginning to regret saying that now. Currently he was strapped tightly into the passenger seat while Dash took the Rumbler for a spin around the nearby test track. If he'd known what kind of driver Dash was however…

It wasn't that Dash was bad, he was actually a pretty good driver and he was controlling the vehicle very well. It was the fact that he insisted on going so fast and barely used the brakes that was scaring Dell a bit.

"What the hell is powering this thing? It's a monster!" Dash laughed in amazement.

"A 2000 horsepower engine." Dell replied, trying not to sound as nervous as he was.

"2000?! Blimey that's a lot."

"She was built as an Infantry Fighting Vehicle for long term exploration." Dell explained.

"I notice also there's an afterburner on the back of this thing. How does that work?" Dash asked, still trying to find a button that said "afterburner" on it.

"You should see there's a red button on the top right of the steering wheel. That will boost you into a ramp less jump." Dell replied.

Dash quickly saw which button the Arkane meant and he immediately pressed it.

"Whoa! NOT NOW!" Dell yelled as the Rumbler suddenly shot forward and quickly reached its top speed of 210mph

But the Rumbler just kept on going. Eventually Dell could see the approaching turn at the end of the main straight. If Dash didn't' slow down, they were definitely gonna crash and… probably die.

"SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN!" he yelled.

Mercifully, Dash started braking and also took his finger off the afterburner button.

"Afterburner disengaged." Said the Rumbler's on-board VI.

"Please don't do that again." Dell panted with relief.

"Just trying to get a feel of her. That's all." Dash chuckled happily. He was struggling to think of any other moment in his life where he'd had more fun than this. Plus, Dell's reactions were a little funny for him. To get another one, he then took his hands off the wheel. "Look, no hands!"

"HEY!"

Dash just laughed and put his hands back on.

Finally they reached end of the test track. Dash did a power slide as they crossed the line and then the Rumbler finally stopped.

"Must say, you handled her surprisingly well." Dell admitted.

"It's as if she was built with me in mind." Said Dash proudly. "She's amazing. How come they never put her into production?"

"Well originally they were going to. Right as production started however, the Council ultimately decided that it was too expensive and wasn't worth all the money. It cost nearly a billion credits to make each one. So as a result, only two exist. The prototype which you saw back there and this one you just drove which is the very first official Rumbler. She was fully completed just before production was shut down. Rather than dismantle it however, they instead had me look after it."

"So this one is superior to the prototype?" Dash asked.

"Yes. And of course I've kept her updated and in top condition. I have secretly hoped someone would eventually take her off my hands. She's too powerful and mighty to be kept in storage." Said Dell.

"Well… after that there's no way I'm leaving this behind." Said Dash.

"Good choice. The gunboat back there was also designed with this in mind as well. So that's a win win for you." Said Dell.

"One thing though. Is it possible you can make a few modifications?" Dash asked.

"Like what?" said Dell a littler cautiously.

"Well… I'll write a list if it helps."

END OF FLASHBACK

"So you're saying the Hellraiser is actually modified compared to how it's meant to be?" Sandra asked.

"Yep."

"How exactly?" Alaara asked.

"Well…" Dash began.

But before the Scout could continue, he was suddenly interrupted by a massive explosion. The transport had suddenly fallen under attack. Already Alpha could spot what looked like a small army of mercs surrounding the transport as it fell having barely just taken off.

"Round 'em all up!" one of them ordered as some of the Salarians on the transport got out.

They looked like mercs, but they were surprisingly well armoured and well equipped. They were dressed in mostly black armour with a very dark camo colour and light blue optics. They appeared to have three separate types of units. The large Heavies with M-76 Revenants and shields, the Snipers and finally the specialist that had backpacks and traditional assault rifles or SMGs.

Before the mercs could round up and possibly execute the Salarians, Alpha immediately charged and opened fire. This immediately caught the mercs attention and they opened fire.

"Who the hell are all these guys?!" said Kraan, diving for cover to avoid the incoming fire.

"Don't know, but they're well-armed." Said Sandra as he blind fired a few shots.

"We need to get to the civilians." Said Austin. "Kraan, Alaara and Ventra provide cover fire. Rest of you with me."

"Yes sir."

Alpha split up into two teams and flanked the mercs from both sides. They only took out a few while the others went to cover, but that wasn't Alpha's priority. Right now, their priority was the Salarians. Innocent lives always came before the mission.

They soon managed to reach the Salarians who were quick to recognize their saviours.

"Keep your heads down." Said Leena.

"Overseer, this is Alpha! We're pinned down by an unknown enemy and taking heavy fire. We have civilians with us, I say again, civilians in danger and in need of extraction!" Said Austin.

"Just hold on. We're en route to your location." Said Telrass.

Alpha held the line as best they could until the gunship finally appeared, still carrying the Hellraiser externally underneath it. The mercs quickly took notice.

"All fire teams, take down that gunboat!" one of them yelled.

The gunboat opened fire with it's now fixed gun which caused some of the mercs to seek cover. Finally the gunboat touched down between Alpha and the mercs. The door on Alpha's side opened.

"Let's go!" said Austin.

"Get them on board." Said Telrass as she helped Alpha get the Salarians on board.

"Alexa, get them somewhere safe. We'll take care of these guys." Said Austin.

"I'm running of ammo, Shepard, and guns…" said Kraan. He then noticed something even worse. "Oh shit! And they've got a tank!"

A large tank soon joined the fray and fired a shot. It just barely missed the gunboat.

"Alexa, drop the Rumbler off." Said Dash.

Wanting to get out of there quickly, Alexa did as she was told. The gunboat's locks on the Hellraiser disabled and took off, leaving the vehicle on the ground. Dash quickly hurried up to the Hellraiser. It's cockpit opened to accept it's driver and Dash jumped in.

"Dash, speed isn't going to destroy that thing. I hope you know what you're doing." Said Alaara.

"I know exactly what I'm doing." Said Dash.

From inside the Hellraiser, Dash pressed a very special button. The engine turned off and a slight hum started to emanate from it. Then it suddenly began to change.

"Activating battle mode!" said the Hellraiser's on-board VI.

The arches over the six wheels extended outwards from the main body, the wheels rotating slightly as they did so. Now clear of the body, they'd become now become gyroscopic, allowing them to rotate a full 360 and point in any direction. Compartments on the Hellraiser also opened and several new weapons slid out. Two missile like launchers on the roof just above the cockpit, two rocket launchers on the front on the inside of the front wheels, two mass accelerator cannons on each side and finally some extra thrusters on each side underneath the spoiler.

The main cannon and minigun also came online and rotated until it faced the mercs and the tank.

"60mm cannon: Operational."

The main cannon fired a round which hit the tank dead on, causing to explode.

"Take that thing down!" one of the mercs yelled.

The mercs opened fire, but every single shot they fired simply bounced of the Hellraiser's tank armour.

The Hellraiser then rotated on the spot until it faced the mercs. The minigun looked ready to fire. Austin was quick to notice this.

"Leave some of them alive if you..." He quickly tried to say.

Dash however beat him to it. Instead of firing the minigun, he activated a third weapon that was attached to the main cannon's right side.

"Riot Suppressor: Engaged"

The weapon fired at the mercs, each shot instantly knocking them out as it fired rubber round rather than live.

"What'd you say, Shepard?" Dash asked.

"Never mind."

Several more tanks suddenly joined the fray along with a few other mercs.

"You take the mercs. I'll handle the tanks." Said Dash.

Austin nodded and he and the rest of Alpha resumed the battle.

The tanks fired their own mounted miniguns at the Hellraiser, but as before with the mercs, the rounds simply bounced off the vehicle's armour without any damage. The Hellraiser returned fire with its own minigun. A few well-placed shots even managed to hit a critical weak point on one of the enemy tanks and it exploded.

Seeing that this tactic wasn't' working, the tanks fired their main cannon rounds at the Hellraiser simultaneously. At first it looked like the rounds were going to hit the Hellraiser and cause some serious damage. However, the Hellraiser simply strafed to the side and the rounds shot straight past. It then returned fire with its main cannon, taking out another tank with a single shot.

Three more tanks appeared. It looked like the Hellraiser would quickly get overrun. But when it came to this thing, Dash had another trick up his sleeve. He just needed to wait until it was fully charged up. Although Dell had assured him all the weapon systems worked and had done simulations on them, he hadn't been able to do a field test. As a result, some of weapon diagnostics were still running. The one Dash needed though had already completed and was just charging up now. He only needed to hold on just a little bit longer.

Another strafe to left to avoid another round from an enemy tank and he finally got the notification he'd been waiting for.

"Missile barrage weapon energy fully charged! Missile barrage ready!" said the VI.

Dash immediately tapped the X button several times, each press caused the Hellraiser to lock on to each enemy tank. Once all were finally locked, the Scout simply had to watch the fireworks.

Several homing missiles all fired at the same time from the Hellraiser rocket launchers. Each one shot into the air and then made short work of each tank they were locked onto. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing scrap metal left.

Having just finished with all the mercs, the rest of Alpha had just seen all that as well.

"You didn't tell us the Hellraiser could do that." Said Austin in amazement as the Hellraiser reverted back to its original Super Pursuit Mode.

"I was about to." Said Dash.

FLASHBACK

3 Months Earlier

A few days after Dash's test run of the Rumbler had passed. Now he was back have a look at the new modifications that he'd been informed that Dell had finally finished. He found the Arkane at his desk checking on what looked like some kind of power core. Probably a new invention or prototype he was working on.

"You told me the modifications were finished?" the Scout inquired.

"Indeed." Said Dell as he picked up a device that had been lying on his desk and clicked a button on it. "Mr Torres, allow me to introduce, your new transportation."

Two doors on the floor nearby slid open and a platform rose up from inside them. Only… there was nothing there.

"Maybe you've been down here too long." Dash sighed.

"The ultimate in Arkane engineering." Said Dell. To Dash's surprise he then banged his hand on something invisible twice, causing a loud clang to emit.

"You must be joking!" Dash said in shock, suddenly realizing what Dell was now telling him.

"If there's one thing I never do, Mr Torres, I never joke about my work." Said Dell. "I will admit, it was incredibly tricky getting it to work properly. But I managed to give it… a cloak."

He then pressed another button the device and out of nowhere appeared the new Rumbler.

"Oh very good." Said Dash, managing to find his voice again.

"Almost the same as your own cloak. To the casual eye, it's as good as invisible. I should point out though, Stealth mode works when riving at a certain speed." Dell explained.

"So I have to drive slowly?" Dash asked, sounding rather disappointed.

"You don't really have a choice. When stealth mode is activated, the main engine switches off and the Rumbler is then powered by an electric motor. Completely silent." Said Dell.

"Fine. If that's how it has to work." Dash sighed.

"Need I remind you, Mr Torres, that you Helldivers have a license to kill, not to break the traffic laws." Said Dell.

"Spoilsport." Dash mumbled. "Still, nice to see you included what I requested though."

He was right. Dell had indeed followed his instructions to the letter. Then again, it probably hadn't been that difficult anyway. Most of the changes Dash had asked for had simply been appearance ones. He hadn't asked for it be faster or have any really complex changes, he'd only asked that the Rumbler's appearance receive a few small changes. The most noticeable especially out of the ones Dash had asked for were the tools, a spare wheel, the chain, and a spoiler at the back that was also hydraulic so it could double as an airbrake.

"Indeed. Nice actually that you didn't go mad with them." Said Dell.

"She already looked badass. I didn't want to spoil that." Said Dash.

"You must really like this thing." Said Dell.

"Oh I do, and I'm sure the others are going to as well." Said Dash.

"Now, I think you'll also be interested in seeing two more modifications I felt you'd benefit from." Said Dell. "You'll notice of course it only has that cannon and minigun as its primary weapon. Well…"

He then pressed another button and the Rumbler suddenly began to change.

"Activating Battle Mode!"

The arches over the six wheels extended outwards from the main body, the wheels rotating slightly as they did so. Now clear of the body, they'd become now become gyroscopic, allowing them to rotate a full 360 and point in any direction. Compartments on the Hellraiser also opened and several new weapons slid out. Two missile like launchers on the roof just above the cockpit, two rocket launchers on the front on the inside of the front wheels, two mass accelerator cannons on each side and finally some extra thrusters on each side underneath the spoiler.

"Not anymore." Dell finished.

"WOW!" said Dash in amazement.

"As you can see on the top there, missile barrage launchers. On the front, rocket launchers, on the sides mass accelerator guns in case you run into shielded enemies, and some extra thrusters on the back so that you can make a quick dodge to the side if you need to avoid an incoming projectile. You'll notice also the wheels have changed. They are now gyroscopic, allowing them to turn full 360. This allows the Rumbler to move in any direction, do a full 360 turn on the spot and even strafe from side to side."

"Incredible! One question if I may." Said Dash. "This winch, how strong is it?"

"The Rumbler itself weighs 24 tonnes. That winch can pull things up to the same weight. Though no guarantee of success though if you intend to haul the Rumbler up the side of a building." Dell replied.

"You read my mind." Dash smiled.

"It's in the job description."

"And the last feature?"

"Ah, now this I'm particularly proud of." Said Dash as he showed Dash the device he'd been holding earlier and it unfolded into what looked unmistakably like a Gamepad from early 21st century.

"An old Earth gamepad?" Dash asked, confused.

"The remote control for the Rumbler." Dell corrected. "Simply unfold and press start twice."

The Arkane did so and the Rumbler suddenly roared into life. Dash jumped slightly from the sudden loud engine sound and backed away from the vehicle as it started on its own.

"Now, use the triggers and the left thumbstick very gently to drive the Rumbler."

Dell provided a demonstration but he wasn't brilliant at it. He managed a few small movements before then trying reverse which then caused the Rumbler to bang against a nearby crate.

"Well in my defence, it's surprisingly difficult to drive this way, but with practice…" said Dell.

"Well let's see how she responds to my touch." Said Dash as he took the gamepad from Dell.

Under his control now, the Rumbler suddenly accelerated forward. Dash then drove it out of the warehouse and into the open where he immediately then had it do a power slide which then went into a triple donut.

Dell looked at Dash with both shock and amazement. This Helldiver had had no practice with driving the Rumbler this way whatsoever and yet he was now controlling it like he'd known all along. Finally Dash drove the Hellraiser back into the warehouse… and had it drive right at them.

Dell was just about to run away, but Dash simply stayed calmly where he was. Finally he took his finger off the right trigger and applied the brakes using the left trigger. Both the Rumbler's brakes and airbrakes deployed and the vehicle slowed down and just 2 seconds… barely in inch from hitting him and Dell.

"Goodness me." Said Dell, almost in shock.

"I think we understand each other." Dash smiled smugly.

"Grow up, Torres." Dell sighed.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Dash, usually we've criticized you a lot and thought you're mad. But now…" said Kraan in amazement.

"I had a feeling you'd have that sort of reaction." Said Dash smugly.

"We are definitely keeping this." Said Austin approvingly.

"Anyway, we should examine the raiders?" Dash asked.

"Yes." Austin agreed, his mind snapping back to the mission at hand. "I'm a little worried. Because they're clearly not Cerberus."

Alpha picked up some of the bodies and investigated. They had nothing unidentifiable on them.

"No ID's, no logos, no markings, nothing." Said Alaara. "Whoever these guys are though, they're well organized."

"These are definitely not normal mercenaries. They're soldiers, and they've been trained." Said Sandra.

Austin sighed. It seemed this was worse than they'd realized. True they had won, and these "raiders" would now think twice before attacking anymore transports. But it still left everyone the question. Who were they?

"Overseer, this Alpha, all hostiles have been dealt with." Said Austin.

"Copy that, did you find out who they are?" Telrass asked.

"Yes and no. They're clearly not Cerberus, but we can't' identify them at all." Austin replied. "Best you inform the Arkane Council at once. We've got a new player in town."

Quite a lot of Batman references I'll admit, especially for Arkham Knight, but it was fun to include them.

I should say actually, I've had the idea for the Hellrasier for an awfully long time. I always had the idea for Alpha to have a vehcile long before Arkham Knight was ever announced. Originally it would've jsut been an APC tha they would've only used briefly and it would've then been destroyed.

After Arkham Knight was announced however, I decided to sit down one day and make it myself... out of Lego. The design went through quite a few changes over the next year or so, but it's now reached the final version which I am happy with and has been included in the chapter. You can find pictures on my Deviantart.

You can expect the Hellraiser to be appearing a lot from now on. Rest assured though, I'm not going to overuse it.

Now, I'm going to admit now that I don't know how long chapter 14 will take. I'm collabarating with a friend on this next one, and although we do have a plan and outline for what's going to happen, there is always the risk of something happening that might cause a delay. I have faith that there won't, but the future is always unpredictable. So just to warn you, there is a chance this next chapter might take a little bit longer.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I know I did!

Until next time! Please do leave plenty of reviews. :)
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, Alpha Origins