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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle	By : Veyron722skyhook Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 6104 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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
- 13
- 14
- 15
Hmmm, reviews got a bit sparse on the last one. Something up?

Anyway, the chapter...

Err, okay, I make no excuses. I just didn't find the Horizon mission very interesting compared to some others in the game, and it kind of shows in this. Hopefully though the later part of it makes up for it.

And I can definitely promise the next chapter, Genesis Revelation, will be much better.

Would like to thank my friend, Vital Info for creating the new character who appears in this chapter. :)

Chapter 14

The Hawk of Horizon

While en route to Sanctuary, Austin had received an incoming call from Miranda. He had a feeling that she should be warned about Leng. Being Ex-Cerberus, she would not doubt be a prime target for him."

"Good to see you're all right, Shepard." Said Miranda as her hologram appeared.

"Miranda, what's going on?" Austin asked.

"Couldn't meet in person. The Citadel is too dangerous right now. I heard about the attempted coup." Miranda replied.

"Yeah-with Kai Leng's help, Udina nearly seized control." Said Austin.

"Kai Leng? That slippery bastard's still alive?" Miranda asked with surprise.

"He's alive and right in the middle of all this." Said Austin.

"That complicates things. I'll be on my guard." Said Miranda. "Look, I don't have much time-but I learned what happened to my sister."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know yet, but my father was definitely responsible. If he's done anything to her, I'll kill him."

"Miranda…"

"Shepard, listen. I'm being hunted by Cerberus assassins. A lot of them. I need to stay out of sight."

"What? Why?"

"I heard a rumour, maybe more, that my father is working on something for the Illusive Man. Something big."

"Why would your father be working with the Illusive Man? Especially now."

"My father is ruthless about preserving his "legacy."

"Legacy?"

"He has an obsession with making his mark in history. Ensuring his dynasty lasts forever."

"And you think the Illusive Man made him an offer?"

"Exactly."

"Whatever's going on with your father can't be good. We have to figure this out."

"I agree, but… I need to do this myself. It's time I stopped running form him."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. I can't think straight until I know Ori is safe."

"Be careful."

"I can't promise that, Shepard. Could you?"

"I would at least try."

"Nice to see you haven't changed." Miranda smiled as her hologram vanished.

As the dropship headed to the sanctuary on Horizon, Ashley stood up from where she'd been sitting.

"What do we know, Austin? Ashley asked.

"EDI?"

"The Sanctuary facility was devoted to aiding refugees from Reaper-controlled systems." EDI replied. "The facility went offline recently, and no communications have come or gone since. It is unclear why Kai Leng or Cerberus would be interested in Sanctuary."

"We don't leave until we're one step closer to Cerberus." Said Austin.

"Sir, I'm picking up a signal from the facility. It's weak. I'll try to boost it." Said Cortez.

"This is Oriana Lawson. Stay away from Sanctuary. It's not what it seems. Please, you must listen to me! They're using…" said the message as it cut off.

"Miranda's sister? If she's here, Miranda can't be far away." Said Austin.

"That's our link to Cerberus." Said EDI.

"Approaching the L.Z." said Cortez as the dropship touched down. "Seeing some damage, Major, but no activity."

"Cerberus does not get the jump on us this time!" said Austin seriously. "Stay sharp, people."

"A lot of damage." Said EDI observantly.

"Yeah. But who were they fighting?" Ashley asked.

As the group proceeded further through the complex, they found even more wreckage. So far though there was no sign of Cerberus soldiers.

Austin found a nearby console and accessed it. It started to play a message with a very familiar voice.

"This is Miranda Lawson. If you managed to get this far, you must be desperate or stupid. Listen to me. This is not a refugee camp. This is a Cerberus facility run by my father, Henry Lawson. Turn back now. There is no help to e found here—all communication is being blocked from the central tower. Sanctuary is a lie. Stay away." It said.

"Okay. So, we've got Cerberus, Reapers, and Miranda's crazy father. Any ideas how this all fits?" Austin asked rhetorically.

The group proceeded outside. Despite the circumstances, it was actually quite nice looking.

"A security panel. EDI?" Austin asked.

"Shutting it down." Said EDI as she deactivated the panel.

"Wow. Look at that." Said Ashley as the waters slowly drained away to reveal a hidden door.

"Why go to the trouble of concealing it?" Garrus asked.

"Let's find out." Said Austin as he and the others slid down the ladder. "We have a back door into the facility. Let's move."

"I'd recognize Reaper technology anywhere, Austin." Said Ashley as she scanned a nearby pump. "Don't know how, but Cerberus is using it for something. Doesn't look good."

"And Miranda's caught in the middle. Let's pick up the pace." Said Austin.

"This is going to get ugly, Shepard. Nothing good ever came out of Reaper tech." said Garrus as they proceeded through the door.

"Some kind of control centre. No power, though." Said EDI.

"Look around for a switch." Said Austin.

"There." Said Garrus as he managed to get power up.

"What's that?" Ashley asked as a recording started to play on several screens.

It showed what looked like a recording of several of the refugees being forced into tanks and then being gassed.

"Those are the refugees." Said Austin.

"God, they're just rounding them up and slaughtering them." Said Ashley.

The recording then changed to show the tanks with husks now inside them, crawling around inside.

"They're being turned into husks." Said Garrus in shock.

It was only then that Austin noticed something moving in the hallway that their room overlooked. Austin activated the lights, only to find to his horror that loads of husks were crawling all over the place and snarling, obviously aware of their presence.

"Come on." Said Austin.

So far, they didn't' encounter any resistance. Austin reckoned though they soon would. Seeing another control panel, EDI activated it. It showed a recording of Miranda.

"Reaper forces have made a mess of the facility. I'm shutting down the power to the processing plant to lock them down." She said. "Should keep them out of the entrance as well."

The recording ended and another one started playing, this time of a more unwelcome face.

"Kai Leng! She doesn't know he's here." Said Garrus.

"Miranda Lawson has arrived sooner than expected. You want me to deal with her?" Leng asked.

"Only if she gets in your way. Stay focused on the research data. Find it and get out." The Illusive Man replied.

"Yes, sir." Said Leng.

"Damn it! Let's move!" said Austin as the recording ended. As soon as he opened the door though, he found the whole hallway swarming with the Reaperized zombies.

"Husks!"

The nearest one lunged at Austin, but was quickly cut in half by the Helldiver's blade. The rest were quickly dealt with.

"Gotta be more where they came from." Said Garrus.

"Terminal's damaged. Hang on." Said EDI as she worked on repairing it.

"Maybe we'll get some answers as to why the Reapers wanted this place shut down." Said Austin.

"It doesn't make sense." Said Ashley.

"I thought Cerberus was under the Reaper's control… what changed?" Garrus asked rhetorically.

"Got it, Shepard." Said EDI as the recording started playing.

"Heading to the tower to disable the communication scrambler. I have to get word out. Some refugees are turned into husks. Some are indoctrinated and shipped to the Illusive Man. Whoever's left us used in experiments. The data indicates that my father is trying to figure out how Reaper indoctrination works." Said Miranda.

"Tricking refugees with food and shelter only to turn them into test subjects. And for what?" said Austin bitterly.

"This is disgusting. The scale of this…" said Ashley.

"She mentioned shipments. Could lead to the Illusive Man." Said Garrus.

"Good catch." Said Austin. "Come on. Miranda said she was headed to the tower."

"Heavy resistance outside the tower!" said Miranda. "If you're receiving this, I've got evidence you can't ignore. Confirmation that my father is working for the Illusive Man."

The recording then changed to a different one that showed Miranda's father talking to the Illusive Man.

"I have your report on the process. Mr Lawson. Cut to the chase. Can you do it?" the Illusive Man asked.

"Theoretically, control is possible, yes. The Reaper subjects we converted are responding, but it's difficult to maintain." Henry replied.

"I thought that might be the case. Not to worry, Henry. With Sanctuary's help, we'll get it sorted." Said the Illusive Man.

"He's talking about controlling Reaper forces? Is that… is that possible?" Garrus asked.

"I don't know. I'll play the rest of it." Said Austin.

"We've done it. We've found a way to co-opt their control signal. As long as the Reaper troops remain in close proximity to our signal, we can maintain control indefinitely." Said Henry.

"Excellent news. And how could we extrapolate this technique to apply to the Reaper's themselves?" the Illusive Man asked.

"That's a much bigger challenge." Henry replied.

"Seems the Reapers consider Cerberus a threat like us. The only difference being we want to destroy, they want to control." Said Austin.

"Figured Cerberus out. Tough break for the Illusive Man." Said Ashley.

"But it's good news for us. We finally have our link to Cerberus." Said Austin. "Lowering the access ladder. Come on! Let's move."

"Wait, Austin! There's more." Said Garrus quickly as the recording continued to show Kai Leng getting the jump on Miranda.

"Damn it! I hope she's ready for him." Austin cursed.

The group headed up to the comm tower. As soon as they entered they quickly found none other than Miranda, along with her father and sister. Surprisingly, there was one more unfamiliar face. Another Helldiver was on his knees and he had a suit disabling device on his head, a rare device that often had the ability to render a Helldiver's suit immobile.

Only a few had been made by the terrorist organization, Hellspawn before Alpha themselves had managed to stop their production and prevent them from ever being made again.

Miranda was on her knees. She looked as though she'd just come out of a tough fight.

"Shepard…" she said.

"Major Shepard. Excellent timing." Said Henry. He then turned to the Helldiver. "I knew your friends would arrive eventually."

"I told you before, I'm on my own." Said the Helldiver, with an Australian accent.

"Put the gun down, Lawson!" Austin ordered.

"No. Oriana tried to shoot me. Miranda's poisonous influence, no doubt." Said Henry.

"Real shame she missed. Where's Kai Leng?" Austin demanded.

"I don't know. Gone. He took my research and left us here to die." Said Henry. "That's close enough. Both of you! Kai Leng didn't finish the job, but I will."

"This ends here." Said Austin.

"On the contrary. Now that the Reapers are taken care of, we have a way out." Said Henry.

"Let... her... go!" Austin demanded again slowly.

"Shepard… don't let him take her." Miranda panted, still a little out of breath from her fight with Leng earlier.

"Shepard… please." Oriana begged.

"I think I'll kill you first. Wouldn't want your Helldiver friends to miss that. Any last words?" Henry asked as he pointed his gun at the down Helldiver.

Surprisingly though, the Helldiver seemed unfazed by this.

"Yeah. Sic 'em!"

A white wolf suddenly leapt over the Helldiver and ran straight at Henry. He was taken completely by surprise by this. So much so that the wolf was able to pounce on Henry, knocking Oriana out of his hands. In the process, Henry fell into several cables which he became tangled in.

The wolf meanwhile gently jumped off and simply growled at Henry for a moment.

"Ghost, here!" the Helldiver yelled.

The wolf obeyed and ran up to her master. As if knowing instantly what to do, Ghost bit the disabling device and tore it off the Helldiver's helmet.

"Good girl." He said as his suit reactivated and he finally was able to stand up again.

Henry was finally able to untangle himself from the cables and realised that his prisoner was finally free. He quickly noticed his gun lying at his feet. At the same time however, the Helldivers sniper rifle was near him too.

Both moved quickly to grab their weapons. Henry was able to get his easily, but the Helldiver was already one step ahead of him.

Just as Henry had his sights lined up, the Helldiver fired. The shot hit him right in the shoulder, smashing him against the wall. Miranda then seized the opportunity and threw a massive biotic warp which smashed Henry through the glass and sent him plummeting to his death.

Miranda took a moment to get her breath back as the Helldiver walked up to her and helped her up.

"You alright, Sheela?" he asked.

"My name's not Sheela." Miranda replied. "But I'm fine. Thank you."

"Did he hurt you? Are you alright?" Miranda asked as she helped Oriana up. "It's okay, Ori. You're safe now."

"I'm fine I just… I want to get out of here." She replied, still in slight shock over what had happened.

"We will… Give me a minute, okay?" said Miranda. She then turned to Austin. "Fancy meeting you here, Shepard."

"We caught a break. Are you alright?" Austin asked.

"I'll be fine. Really. I don't know how you managed it, but I'm grateful you're here."

"Been a long time, Shepard. Nice new look." Said the Helldiver.

"Have we met?" Austin asked, curiously. There was something very familiar about that Helldiver's voice and his look.

"Bishop Morgan? Ring any bells?" the Helldiver asked.

"Oh my god! Hawk?!"

Now Austin recognized him.

Many years ago, Alpha Squad had often found themselves working with a lone Helldiver soldier who went by the nickname Hawk.

"G'day, mate. Good to see you again." Said Hawk as he and Austin shook hands warmly.

"What are you doing here? I thought you retired." Austin asked happily.

"Retirement? He barely looks older than you, Shepard." Said Miranda.

"Eye injury actually." Said Hawk.

His helmet retracted to show that he was missing his right eye, and it was covered by an eye patch. He had several cars overt the right of his face, some of which went over his eye of course. He had very short brown hair, and also a stubble. The area around his mouth and chin though was more grown than the rest.

"Why are you wearing an eye patch? You've got a cybernetic eye." Austin asked.

"Had to keep it hidden so that no one suspected I was a Helldiver." Hawk replied as he lifted the eye patch up.

Sure enough, instead of an empty eye socket, he had a cybernetic eye.

"That's true." Austin agreed.

"Plus I thought it made me look more dashing." Hawk smiled.

"Well, it mostly worked." Austin chuckled. "How'd you end up out here?"

"Well, I live her. Or at least I did until Cerberus came along. I've evaded capture using my training." Hawk explained. "I spotted her, and decided to follow her. Tried to gun down her father, but he must've spotted me."

"Well, good thing that Wolf listens to you." Said Austin as said Wolf walked up to the Helldiver and sniffed him.

"Her name's Ghost, mate. She's my pet." Hawk corrected.

"Oh. Sorry." Austin apologised as he gave Ghost a gentle stroke.

"So how did you end up here, Miranda?" Austin asked.

"Finding my father didn't take long once I confirmed he worked for the Illusive Man. Just had to follow the lies. Once I saw what this place was… I couldn't just walk away." Miranda explained.

"Of course."

"Things got really complicated when Reapers showed up. And Kai Leng." Said Miranda.

"You survived. Not many people could do that." Said Hawk.

"When Shepard mentioned he was involved, I took a few precautions. Probably saved my life." Said Miranda.

"Miranda, this whole thing was a huge risk. You should have told me." Said Austin.

"You have a war to win, Shepard." Said Miranda.

"We all do." Said Hawk.

"True. But this was my fight. It's been a long time coming." Said Miranda.

"Well, you did it. It's over." Said Austin calmly.

"Yes. I just wish my sister didn't have to see all this."

"About your father…"

"I'm glad he's gone. I'm sorry if that sounds cold."

"After what he did… I'm perfectly willing to agree."

"Same." Said Hawk.

"It's finally over for the both of us. We can stop running." Said Miranda happily.

"Yes, you can." Austin smiled under his helmet. He then turned to the others who were examining the terminals. "What's our status? Any intel we can use from this place?"

"Research data is gone, but we've got basic facility information. Shuttle arrivals and departures, Cerberus included." EDI replied.

"No direct links, but it's a start." Said Garrus.

"Grab anything you can off the computer. We'll take it back to be analysed." Said Austin.

"I can do better than that." Said Miranda.

"What?"

"Before Kai Leng took off, I planted a tracker on him. If you cat fast, you'll track him right to the Illusive Man." Miranda explained.

"A tracer? Sounds like you thought of everything." Said Hawk impressively.

"Not quite, but… nobody's perfect." Miranda smiled.

"Thanks, Miranda. This is… exactly what we need." Said Austin, almost in surprise that they truly were on the verge of ending Cerberus once and for all.

"Thought you might need some good news. And I've got some more. With your permission, I wish to re-join your crew." Said Miranda.

"If the Arkanes allow it, you're more than welcome." Austin smiled. "We'll also get Oriana someplace safe. Get this scratch cleaned up."

"Before we go, let's make sure everyone knows about this place." Said Austin as he walked up to the control panel. "Communication scrambler disabled."

"Cortez. We need a pick up at the tower." Said Garrus into his comm.

"Roger that."

"Hawk, you're coming with us. The Arkanes will want to talk to you." Said Austin.

"Doesn't look like I have much a choice." Hawk shrugged. But he sounded fine with it.

"I wasn't in favour of your diversion to Sanctuary, Major. Too many unknowns." Said Hackett. "But I was wrong. The Cerberus lab you raided hinted at something big, but we never expected this. All those refugees, all that… slaughter. Just to study indoctrination."

"It definitely needed to be shut down." Said Austin. "What they learned about the Reapers wasn't worth all those lives."

"It's useful, Major… but you're right. The cost was too high." Said Hackett.

"Do we have a location on the Illusive Man?" Zartrack asked.

"Yes. We had a tracer on Kai Leng when he reported back." Austin replied.

"Good. That gives us the chance we need to take Cerberus out of this war for good." Said Matt.

"Agreed. We need to end Cerberus and focus on the Reapers." Said Austin.

"The intel you sent looks good. The Helldiver fleets are ready to go." Said Zartrack.

"I regret to say that the Alliance fleets aren't. They're very far scattered. It'll take too long to mobilize them." Said Hackett.

"You need not worry about that, Admiral. We've been at war with Cerberus a long time, it's personal. You can continue focusing on the Crucible, we will take are of Cerberus." Said Zartrack.

"Then let's do it." Said Hawk confidently.

"I'll notify the attacks to prepare. Rendezvous with them when you're ready. Shepard out." said Matt as his hologram vanished.

"We'll make sure the Crucible stays safe and hidden. Good luck. Hackett out."

Hackett vanished too, leaving just Zartrack.

"I've spoken to the Arkane Council regarding Miranda Lawson's reinstatement to your crew. She has their approval." Said Zartrack.

"Glad to hear." Said Austin.

"There's still the matter of Sergeant Morgan. He has recently requested to join your crew as well.

"Have you?" Austin asked in surprise as he turned to Hawk.

"Seeing all of this, it's clear to me now that I can't stay in retirement any longer." Said Hawk.

"Since it was only a semi-retirement, the Council have agreed to let you back in." said Zartrack.

"Well, if that's what you want, it's not like we haven't' worked with you before. You can't just instantly join Alpha Squad though." Said Austin.

"I'm not asking to join Alpha Squad, Shepard. I'm simply asking to join your crew." Said Hawk.

"Well then in that case, it's good to have you back, Hawk." Austin smiled as he and Hawk shook hands.

"Very well then. Put them through the tests while you're on your way. Zartrack out."

"Tests? Seriously?" Hawk asked as Zartrack's hologram vanished.

"Not my call, Bishop. Standard protocol. You of all people know that."

"Fair enough…

Austin walked Hawk down to the third level where the simulator was. Miranda was also there to observe. She'd been very pleased to be allowed back. Plus, Alpha had welcomed her back with open arms.

Though they'd distrusted her at first due to her being former Cerberus, her time working with them had earned their trust, and she had come to trust them too. Plus, she hadn't given them any reason to not trust her.

"Perfectly simple. You do 3 rounds of this. Your score will determine if you're in." she said as the simulator slowly started to activate around Hawk.

"Shouldn't be too hard then." Said the Helldiver.

He couldn't' help but look at Miranda for a bit. She was very beautiful, and it was hard to keep his eyes, or eye in his case, off her.

"Just want to you know, sheela. I get a target in my sights… Pew! I take it down." He said braggingly.

Miranda didn't reply to this and simply pressed a button. This activated the simulation.

"Oh shit!"

Hawk immediately whipped out his rifle and began firing at all targets. There were twenty in total. Just before he could hit the very last one however, he was a bit too slow and it landed a shot on him.

Because it was a simulation of course, it wasn't a simple round that would bounce off his armour. Training simulations like this had the enemy equipped with special shock guns that sent a charge through a Helldivers suit and momentarily paralysed the user.

The shot hit Hawk square in the chest and he fell to the ground from the charge.

"Just so you know, some targets are harder to hit from others." Said Miranda smugly as she stood over Hawk.

On his second try, Hawk did much better. He hit most of them with a headshot and finally shot the last one. With that, the simulation ended in record time.

"Yeah! The Hawk's on a roll!" he cheered.

"You missed one." Said Miranda, indicating that Hawk had hit one in the leg rather than in the chest or head like the others.

"Aw come on. That's gotta be a record or something." Said Hawk.

"The record for a non-Helldiver is all 20 kills." Said Miranda.

"Who did that? Let me guess, X-5?" Hawk asked in mocking manner.

"No, me." Miranda smiled, quite smugly for her. "If you're gonna shoot at something, kill it. Otherwise… take up knitting."

Hawk simply shrugged and turned to Austin, who had also been watching.

"Was that a pass at least?" he asked.

"You'll find out after the other test. You'll need your melee weapons for this." Austin replied.

"Right. Who am I fighting?"

"Her."

Hawk turned to see Xun standing not too far behind with the handle of her Katana extended into a Naginata.

"Oh Crikey." Hawk sighed.

Even he knew that Xun couldn't be beaten. Then again, he guessed that wasn't the goal. The objective of this was to simply hold his own against her.

"Long time no see, Hawk. You look well."

"So do you, Xun."

Hawk only had a quick minute to get out his two handed tomahawk before Xun made a lunge at him that he was only just able to dodge. He managed to parry a few blows, but Xun then went for his chest with the blunt end of her weapon. The blow momentarily knocked the Helldiver back before Xun then swept her Naginata under Hawk's legs, tripping him up.

As he landed flat on his back, Xun aimed her blade at his neck. Her way of telling opponents to yield and that she'd won.

"Ooooh! That's gotta hurt." Said Austin.

"Again!" said Hawk as he got back up.

"Again?!" Austin asked in surprise.

Even the gathered crowd was surprised by this. No one went back for seconds against Xun, regardless of how quickly she'd taken them down.

Xun simply shrugged and they resumed their sparring. Hawk this time resorted to attacking more often rather than just defending himself. Despite this though, the battle didn't last too long and a quick thrust from the blunt end of Xun's weapon knocked Hawk to the floor again.

"Aaaand he's down again." Miranda sighed.

"Again." Hawk groaned as he got back up.

"You're funeral, mate." Austin sighed.

Hawk went completely on attack this time, making it much harder for Xun to find an opening. Despite this though, she still found one. Hawk once again fell flat on his back.

"Stand down, Xun." Austin quickly said as Xun once again had her blade at Hawk's neck. "Okay everyone, show's over."

"Again." Said Hawk, once again getting back up.

"Again?" Austin asked.

"He's a dead man." Miranda sighed, shaking her head.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to Austin.

"Wait, I almost forgot something…"

What happened next took everyone by surprise. Just as Xun had got into her battle stance, Hawk literally went onto his hands and wrapped both his legs around her waist, tackling the Chinese Helldiver to the floor.

"Whoa!" said Dash.

"Yep. Bishop always cheats." Said Austin.

"Sorry about that, Xun." Hawk panted, obviously pleased with himself for doing that.

"Tell me I didn't see that. I have never seen Xun take a hit." Said Dash as Hawk helped Xun up.

"7 years of retirement and he still hasn't changed." Said Austin.

"Maybe." Said Miranda.

"I know I fought dirty, but in all fairness, we're in a war here. You think our enemy is going to show the same courtesy of fighting fairly?" said Hawk.

"You make a fair point." Said Miranda.

"Rule stills stands for when you're sparring with the others. They won't thank you for that." Austin reminded him.

"Anyway, how did I do?" Hawk asked.

"85% Surprisingly enough, that's five more than your original recorded score." Said Miranda.

"What can I say? I've made sure to stay in shape during my… absence." Hawk shrugged.

"You're in. Welcome to the Normandy." Said Austin as he and Hawk shook hands.

"Just like the good old days." Said Hawk, casting a small glance at Miranda.

So... Cerberus are about to be taken out of the picture.

But little do the Helldivers know of the darker powers...

See you next time! Don't forget to keep leaving those reviews.
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle