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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
- 18
- 19
- 20
Guess what? I'm still alive.
I'm so sorry you had to wait so long for this. See I was originally writing a different chapter, but I just lost all interest in the idea. In the end I decided to scrap it all together, and rearrange my plan. Thus this one came instead. Now it's finally completed and I'm back on course.
Oh and for those who are interested, I finished this while on holiday. In fact, I'm writing these author notes while on holiday right now.
Anyway, enough talk. Hope the chapter was worth the wait. Huge warning though, this chapter is very dark and contains scene of extreme, and I do mean EXTREME, torture. PLEASE BE WARNED, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY SUCH THINGS!
Also big thanks to SpectreFanchin10 for beta reading this chapter.
YEAR 6, Inner Demons
2178: 6 Years after the battle of Elysium
9 Years before the Battle of Arkadia
"X-5 helped us turn the tide a huge amount by not only lending his intel and service to us, but also by accompanying multiple squads. For us however, things were about to get serious. We were unfortunate to fall into a trap and, well… let's just say that this latest encounter with our enemy was giving to leave us scared… both physically and mentally…
Chapter 19
The Daughter
Austin gave a yawn as he closed the apartment door. He'd just come home after a long trip home from visiting Nyarra. The two were still continuing their relationship, despite the long distance and the fact that Alpha being on missions so much did sometimes make it difficult for them to see each other. Still, they took opportunities where they could.
As Austin locked the door, he suddenly noticed how quiet everything was. There was no one in sight at all and it was all dark.
Strange. He would've thought that everyone would still be up at this time. It was then that he spotted a little note on the nearby table.
Shepard
Go out onto the balcony.
Simply shrugging, Austin headed out onto the main balcony.
He always loved the view this apartment had of the entire Arkadia city, and of course a fantastic view of the night sky with all the stars out and Arkadia's twin moons in just the right places. They were way closer to the planet than the Earth moon, so it made for quite a sight.
Austin looked around, but still he didn't see anyone. Where the hell where they?
Suddenly there was a loud bang. Austin whirled round to see something shooting into the sky, following by another and another. He reached for his pistol half expecting to be attacked any second, but then there was another bang and a bright flash. Austin looked up to see fireworks going off above the roof of the apartment. It was then that he saw Kraan and Ventra, their weapons loaded with fireworks.
"SURPRISE!" they both yelled.
Music then started to play as the rest of Alpha appeared, singing along to the tune.
"Happy birthday, congratulations! Happy Birthday with salutations! Happy birthday, may your skies stay blue… Happy Birthday to you!"
At the same time, Hawk appeared pushing a massive cake right up to Austin as everyone gathered round, still cheering happily. Kraan even gave him a thump on the back once he and Ventra had hopped down from the roof.
"Happy birthday, Shepard." Said Sandra.
"Oh you guys." Austin sighed happily as he shook his head. "Wow… big cake."
"Baked it myself, words and all." Said Hawk proudly.
"Never a disappointment with your cooking, Hawk." Austin smiled.
"Well go on, Shep. Blow out the candles." Said Dash.
Austin took a deep breath and blew out all the candles in just one breath. It was then however that he noticed something…
"Wait a minute… where's Alaara?"
Before anyone could answer however, the cake suddenly exploded as Alaara burst right out of it, completely naked.
"Tadaaaaaa!"
"Oh of course. Should've known." Austin sighed again.
"You honestly think I'd miss the chance to jump out of a cake, naked? It's probably the only chance I'll ever get to do that." Said Alaara, still not making any attempt at all to cover herself, even with Dash staring right at her.
"Well, there's always next year." Austin suggested.
"Yeah, but then it won't be a surprise." Said Alaara as Sandra finally handed her a robe which she put on. Sandra also at the same time noticed Dash was still staring with his mouth hanging open. A quick slap to the face brought him out of it.
"Shame about the cake though. Hawk must've spent weeks baking that." Said Austin.
"Depends what you define as a cake, Shepard. Haven't you noticed? It's fake." Said Alaara, as she picked up a piece, revealing it to just be plastic.
"Was made specially for Alaara to burst out of." Said Hawk, suddenly appearing again and wheeling in another cake, this one much smaller and with a Helldiver symbol on it. "This is your real Birthday cake."
"I honestly don't know what to say, guys. Thank you so much. It means a lot that you went to all the trouble for this." Said Austin.
"Why wouldn't we? You're our fearless leader." Said Leena.
"Make a wish!"
Austin took another breath and blew out all the candles.
"Happy birthday, boss!" said Kraan proudly as everyone clapped and cheered.
After about an hour or so of drinks, Dash had suggested they all play a game of cards. Some had been reluctant, but they'd eventually come round.
"I do hope I remember the rules, it's been ages since I've played a game of cards." Said Austin.
"Are four threes better than two aces? Oh, I can never remember!" Sandra sighed.
"Sandra, remember when I said "Don't show anyone your hand?" That rule includes announcing it to the table." Said Dash.
"You seem to have enough people. I have a thousand things to do." Said Hawk as he went to get up, but a few words from Troy stopped him.
"Losing money can be both relaxing and habit forming, Hawk. Give it a try." He said.
"If any man in history ever needed a hobby, it's you." Said Dash. The scout then turned his attention to the game. "Dealer starts. Ooh… I… believe… I'll start at… three credits!"
"Seriously! Who starts at 3 credits?! I'm starting at ten." Said Kraan.
"Sounds good. I'm in." said Telrass casually.
"Bolder the better, right? I'm in." said Troy.
"Me too." Said Sandra.
"Leena?"
"Just remember I'm still new to this game, so go easy on me." Said the Quarian.
"Don't worry. You'll pick up in no time." Said Dash. "How about you, Shepard? You in too?"
"Sure. In fact, I'll raise it another 5 credits." Said Austin boldly.
"You haven't even looked at your cards!" said Hawk.
"Our illustrious leader is betting we're bluffing." Said Troy.
"You are bluffing." Said Telrass.
"And with that, he was forced to run home completely naked." Hawk finished.
"He did not!" Sandra said in surprise, trying to contain her laughter.
"Good on him for not being afraid." Said Troy.
"HA! You're shitting us!" Kraan laughed, banging his fist on the table.
"That's how you know it's true, Kraan. You could never put that in a book." Said Dash.
"Troy, I'll bet you've got tons of stories to tell." Said Austin.
"I thought you'd never ask." Troy smiled as he lay back in his chair. "And I know just the one. Once I had to infiltrate a base full of Blood Pack mercs…"
"I like where this is going." Said Kraan.
"…the moment our soldiers spotted them after that, they completely burst out laughing. These Krogan and Vorcha all then looked at each and to their horror realized that all their armour had been completely coloured pink!" Troy finished.
"HA! That's even funnier than when Dash got slapped by that Asari." Kraan laughed, now a little drunker than before having consumed almost an entire gallon of Krogan ryncoll.
"You are such a devil, Troy. You nearly made my drink come out of my nose." Hawk chuckled.
"I've got one for you. It was on the night I got Excalibur for the first time…" Austin began.
"Let's just say that put a whole new meaning on "getting the point" when those two guys were done." He finished.
"Ha! Not bad!" Dash chuckled.
"Well done." Troy smiled.
"Ha! You ought to tell stories more often." Telrass laughed.
"That was scandalous. It would ruin us if anyone found out… Tell it again!" Sandra smiled.
"We definitely need another round of drinks!" said Ventra.
"And the dealer takes everything! I win again." Dash said proudly.
"Deal again. I've figured out your moves, Dash." Said Troy challengingly.
"As you wish, Troy. But I'll warn you now; this may cost you more than your money at this rate." Said Dash casually.
"Alright, you're on, Torres. Let's see if you're so called "good fortune" lasts one more round." Said Troy.
"Deal me in too. I want a chance to win my dignity back." Said Hawk.
"Good luck with that, mate." Austin chuckled.
"This should be good." Said Leena.
The table was full of barely contained sniggers as everyone tried not to laugh at the fact that both Troy and Hawk had not only lost the game again, but also both their clothes.
"Don't… say… a word… any of you." Troy said trough gritted teeth.
"I… I tried to warn you, Troy." Ventra chuckled, barely managing to contain his laughter.
"Never bet against Dash, you two. Especially when it comes to money. I don't know how he does it without cheating, but he's an absolute demon." Said Sandra.
"I'm leaving. I don't want to witness Troy and Hawk's walk of shame back to their rooms." Said Telrass.
"I do. I'm ready to record and everything." Said Leena, prepping her Omni tool.
"You will do no such thing!" said Hawk crossly as he stood up. Quickly noticing his mistake however, he immediately made a break for his room. Troy, seizing his chance while everyone was distracted, quickly did the same, though Leena did manage to get at least a few seconds of footage.
"Mmmm. Thanks for cooking more cake, Hawk." Said Kraan drunkenly as he stuffed another huge piece of cake into his mouth.
"You are such a pig, Kraan." Said Dash.
"That's it!"
Kraan immediately overturned the table and lunged at Dash. Everyone else just went about their business. Except of course for Alaara who all this time had been under the table, where Sandra had been sitting. What exactly she'd been doing under there, no one knew. One thing they did know however, she'd clearly gotten far drunker than even Kraan was right now.
"Whozat? Did I win?" she asked.
The following day, Alpha were already back into the field on another mission. They'd been informed by the Arkane Council of a message they'd received from a supposed former Hellspawn operative who wanted to defect. Apparently she had vital information on Hellspawn's operations that she was willing to offer in return for Alpha getting her safely to Arkadia.
With the objective in a rather remote location that was also in a no fly zone, there was so question Alpha needed to use the Hellraiser. As always, that of course made Dash mad with excitement at getting to drive his favourite toy again.
Fortunately, he'd reluctantly agreed to slow down, but only because Sandra looked like she'd throw up on the seats any second. Given how unpleasant that had been last time, Dash did not want it to happen again.
That didn't stop him from trying other ways to alleviate his boredom of driving slowly.
"STOP TURNING MY SEAT HEATER ON, DASH, OR I WILL FUCKING STAB YOU!" Hawk swore in annoyance.
After some time, they finally reached an extremely narrow canyon. The Hellraiser was far too big to fit inside, and with the area still in a no fly zone, they couldn't get the dropship to pick them up and deposit them closer to the object. With a bit of reluctance, they'd have to finish the journey on foot and do the same coming back.
Though everyone was in a good mood after the party yesterday, Alpha were a lot quieter than usual. Admittedly, the place they were in was so remote there weren't any life forms for miles.
"She certainly picked a very jolly spot for this extraction." said Alaara sarcastically.
"I spy…" Dash began.
"No." Sandra simply said.
"But…"
"No."
"Spoilsport."
"Watch it." said the comm expert warningly. "I have Sais, and I'm not afraid to use them on your throat."
Dash didn't say anything and remained silent.
"Well, that shut him up." Said Alaara, somewhat impressed that had worked.
After what felt like half an hour, they finally reached their destination. A remote house situated right in the dead end of the canyon.
While the rest of Alpha stood on guard to make sure the place was secure and no one tried to sneak up on them, Austin knocked on the door.
It gently slid open to reveal a blonde woman dressed in a normal scientist's uniform.
"Janet Goldanna?" Austin asked.
"You must be Alpha Squad." The woman said with relief. "Please, come inside. I just need to pack my things and we'll leave."
The interior of the house almost felt as though it was from a completely different building altogether. If anything, it almost looked more like a museum. There were several stone sculptures along with a few artefacts around the room.
Most noticeable of all was the collection of stone statues all around the large room. They had a very strange look to them though. If anything they looked more like stone sculptures of machines rather than organics.
Dash especially found them quite interested. Before he could reach to find out if they were made from rock however, Alaara suddenly slapped his hand away.
"Ow!"
"Don't… touch… anything." She said sternly.
"I appreciate you coming all this way for me." Janet said as she began packing things into a backpack.
"Don't thank us, thank the Arkanes. Besides, you said so yourself you had a lot of Intel to offer with your defection." Said Austin.
"Enough to really piss off the Commander. Even concerns his own daughter." Said Janet.
"Daughter?! He doesn't have a daughter. Does he?" Troy asked in surprise.
Given his history with Hellspawn and the Commander he was surprised that he of all people wouldn't know that.
"A long lost daughter he's been searching for, hoping to make her his successor. The intel suggests he's found her at long last." Janet explained.
"Who is she?" Leena asked.
"I wish I knew. The Commander was obviously careful. Shared the daughter's true identity only with his top lieutenants. Everyone else simply got Intel saying "She's closer than we think."
"For all we know, this daughter could be living a very peaceful life. If the Commander finds her…" Austin began, but he was interrupted when the entire room went dark.
"Oh for fuck's sake!" Dash swore. "We walked right into another trap."
"That you did." Janet suddenly said, her voice completely different and now with an unmistakable German accent.
There was the unmistakable sound of a gun being loaded. Alpha drew their own in defence, but the pitch blackness made it impossible to see.
"So… does this mean she's not defecting? I'm confused." Said Dash.
"Then allow me to shed some light on the subject, Dash." Said another voice, this one very familiar.
The lights then suddenly flickered back on and everyone jumped back slightly in surprise as the lights suddenly revealed none other than the Commander standing at Janet's side. Although she now looked completely different. Her red hair was completely gone; in place of it was blonde hair in a ponytail. She also seemed completely unafraid of the fallen Helldiver standing beside her.
"Commander." Austin said bitterly.
"Must admit, I was surprised the Arkanes sent you of all squads. Would've thought something like this was below your paygrade." Said the Commander. Keeping his submachine gun trained on them. "Oh, introductions. Alpha, allow me to introduce my top scientist, Elsa Gunther. She's proven to be quite an invaluable asset for me. Co-created the cleanser with me and even created X-5. Shame the robot's not with you this time. You just might have made it out alive."
"Who says we won't this time? Don't know if you've noticed Rodriguez but you're locked in here with us and we outnumber you." Said Kraan smugly.
"I suppose you think we're going to surrender now, do you?" Elsa asked calmly.
"Well, yes?" said Dash. There was a slight hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Sadly, I'm afraid I must disappoint you again, Alpha. Say hello to my little friends." Said the Commander.
Sounds of electronics and metal grinding suddenly filled the room. Alpha watched in complete shock as the statues that had been surrounding them suddenly came to life. Rocks cracked and crumbled as they fell off, revealing the statues to be actual robots.
Alpha were almost petrified by the sight as the Commander's own elite guard shed their disguises and immediately rallied to their master, swarming around him and Elsa as if to protect them. In fairness though, it was probably Alpha that need the protection more.
"Okay… these guys are new." Said Austin cautiously as he slowly placed his assault rifle on his back and reached for his sword and submachine gun.
"The Commander's bodyguards." Said Troy, a sigh of annoyance present in his tone. "Don't let the fact that their robots fool you."
"How bad can they be?" Dash asked.
As if responding instantly, one of the guards suddenly leapt over the rest and lunged at Dash with almost lighting speed.
Too fast for even Dash, the guard's staff hit him right in the face and the electric shock sent him flying.
"Ow!"
Austin immediately attacked back and the guard blocked his sword. Surprisingly it pushed back quite a bit against his blade, very nearly forcing the Helldiver back. Summoning up more strength though, Austin finally managed to push the guard off him. The guard back flipped and spun as it disengaged before once again settling in battle stance, ready to continue fighting.
"Does that answer your question, doofus?" Kraan asked as he and the others readied for a fight.
"Subdue them. Stun only, do not kill." The Commander ordered.
"We obey." The robots all said in unison with deep menacing voices. They then twirled their staffs intimidatingly in perfect sync with each other. It was like watching the same moving image side by side, one after the other.
"Never is a fair fight." Austin sighed.
"Hang on..." said Kraan, pausing to let out a disgustingly long and loud belch. "Alright, let's go."
The guards all attacked at once, most split up to fight Alpha one on one, but a few stated in pairs to attack from both sides.
All of Alpha were definitely unprepared for just how fast these machines were. Not only were they physically fast, but they spun their staffs so fast they practically became a blur.
Alaara, who only had her stun stick, was barely able to keep up. As she blocked an attack from guard, another lunged. The staff's tip hit her armour and she was immediately overwhelmed by a large amount of voltage. From inside her suit, she could already tell the charge was messing up her systems. Her HUD went static for a few seconds before the suit managed to recover again.
"Don't let their staffs touch you! They carry an electrical charge great enough to play havoc with your suits! Enough shocks and they can even shut it down!" Troy warned, managing to parry a guard's thrust with his own staff.
"Thanks for the advice." Dash groaned, finally picking himself back up and joining the fight.
While Sandra was holding her own against two more guards, he drew both his pistols and fired at them while they had their backs turned to him.
To the Scout's utter surprise however, one of the guards suddenly moved its staff behind its back as it spun, blocking all of Dash's shots.
Sandra attempted to take advantage of this and thrust with her left sai, but the guard simply used its free hand to counter her attacks while the staff arm continued blocking Dash's gunfire.
"How the hell are they doing that?" Dash asked.
"360 degree field of vision." The Commander replied as he and Elsa simply observed the whole thing. "It's impossible to catch them unaware."
The circular heads now made a lot more sense. Still, knowing that didn't' help Alpha at all.
Alaara especially was soon overpowered as a guard managed to break through her defence and hit her right in the helmet, the shock once again messed up her suit. Dazed and disoriented, the second guard then thrust its staff into her abdomen which only worsened the effect and sent her flying into the wall.
Sandra almost immediately noticed her bondmate was down and immediately disengaged from the guards he'd been fighting to come to the Asari's aid.
"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" she yelled, casting herself between Alaara and the guards.
One of the guards made the first move and thrust forward with the handle of its staff. Sandra blocked it with both her Sais, but in truth the guard had planned on that. It suddenly pushed the staff down until the handle became locked between her sai's blade, and the blade guards. Before Sandra had a chance to try and disengage, the guards suddenly threw her aside, causing her to crash against a nearby wall, rather painfully for her.
"Great, first we get betrayed now we're being harassed by an army of toasters." Said Dash, dodging another swipe from the guard he was fighting. His speed and agility did certainly enable to him to avoid them, but he couldn't keep it up forever.
"You will be incinerated." The guards said.
"Comebacks as well? You gotta be shitting me!"
"Why do they all keep talking at the same time?" Kraan asked.
"We are a single AI consciousness in many bodies. Destroy one, and you only increase the other's knowledge of how to defeat you." The guards all replied.
"What definitely scares me is that they're this intelligent and not cyborgs." Said Leena.
"More like Failborgs." Said Dash.
"Pun detected: Eradicate!" the guards said, immediately switching tactics and pressing the attack, surrounding Alpha from all sides.
Things quickly went from bad to worse. Ventra was the first to fall as multiple guards all shocked him and he fell to the floor, his suit completely deactivated.
Then Alaara followed.
"NO!"
Sandra charged in full of anger, only for the guards to down her as well.
Soon… only Austin remained… and he didn't last long either. The last thing the Helldiver saw before his vision went dark was the Commander standing over him.
"Lights out, Shepard."
Light slowly started to return to Austin's vision as he slowly opened his eyes. Almost every single muscle in his body ached from having such a high voltage coursing through it. As his vision cleared, he saw everyone else sitting beside him… only they appeared to be in their suit meshes, the armour nowhere to be seen.
"Shepard, thank the goddess you're alright." Said Alaara.
As she helped him up, Austin was able to see their surroundings a lot better. It was almost completely dark, and they appeared to be in some kind of cage. Austin would've thought they'd each be in a separate prison cell.
The place didn't smell very clean either, and there was the additional unmistakable smell of dead or rotting flesh.
"What… where are we?" he croaked.
"How can I put this lightly?" the Commander suddenly said as he emerged from the shadows. "You're in my world now."
Bright lights suddenly came on, revealing the rest of their surroundings.
Alpha's cage was next to several others, each one holding at least one prisoner, all of them aliens. None of them looked like Helldivers themselves, so it appeared they were normal civilians. Either way though, they were all prisoners like Alpha, and they were in a pretty poor state. Their clothes had practically been torn to rags, some even didn't have any. They were covered in dirt, blood, some of them even looked half dead.
The cages formed a half circle around a large variety of equipment, none of it looked pleasant. It was unmistakable that this place was a torture chamber… and the prisoners had to bear full witness.
"I reserve this place for very special guests. If ever an interrogation is needed, or someone needs a little… convincing, I bring them here." the Commander explained. "It's surprising just how much you can get out of people… once the pain starts."
"Might I ask how the hell you managed to get our armour off while we were in lockdown? And without setting off any of the security protocols as well?" Leena asked.
"What kind of question is that? I used to be one of you and I still have my suit. Do you really think I wouldn't have it studied to learn all there is to know?" The Commander replied. "Don't worry, I haven't had them melted down… yet."
"I swear, Rodriguez, when we get out of here you are gonna wish you were never born!" said Hawk.
"You think that scares me, Hawk? It's an empty threat." The Commander replied back calmly. "Besides, even if you attempt to escape…"
His gaze scanned the various other cages, as though he was looking for a specific prisoner to point out as an example.
He then took notice of one particular… an Asari, not much more than 10 years old.
"Open that cage." He ordered.
One of the nearby guards did so. The Asari recoiled back in fright as the Commander walked into her cage and grabbed her by the arm.
"No! No please! Leave me alone!" she cried, struggling as the Commander hauled her out.
"LET HER GO!" Alaara yelled.
"You see this Asari child? Let her serve as example to the lot of you of what happens to those who dare stand in my way."
The Commander hauled the Asari over to a nearby vat of some kind and pushed the lid off. An unmistakable hissing sound could be heard coming from the vat. Whatever it was, it was far from harmless.
The Commander forced the Asari's head right up close and she attempted to push herself away in desperation to stop herself from touching the liquid.
"Come now, don't you want some liquids? You must be so thirsty after all that time in your cage. Here, have a sip." Said the Commander.
He then pushed the poor Asari's head down just enough that her mouth touched the substance. The hissing suddenly got louder and the Asari screamed in pain
Now it was clear what was inside the vat. It was acid, and an incredibly strong one.
The Commander's expression as unreadable, but he looked like he was admiring what he had just done.
"I think you need a little more." He said.
"NO!"
Alaara could only watch helplessly, tears streaming down her cheeks as the Commander forced the entire Asari child's face into the acid. More and more scream could be heard as the Asari struggled to break free, but the Commander's immense strength was just too much. After several seconds, the Asari suddenly stopped her struggle, and went completely limp.
Very gently, the Commander lifted the Asari's face out of the acid.
The sight that greeted Alpha's eyes… well, it was s sight that would definitely haunt them forever. The poor Asari's' face had been completely eaten away. No eyes, pretty nothing.. All that remained was the flesh layers that the acid hadn't eaten.
"Hmm. I think it's actually an improvement. She looks less alien now." He said cruelly. He then did something even more cruel by giving the head a violent twist, causing it to become completely separated from the body, which fell to the floor. He then threw the head into Alaara's lap. "Here, have it as souvenir."
"I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!" Alaara yelled.
"Oh… I very much doubt that." Said the Commander calmly. "I suggest you all get used to each other's company and make yourselves at home, because I assure you… you're going to be here for a very, very long time. Tomorrow… well, let's just say I can't wait to show you my toys. If you have anything more to say, say it now. It'll be your last chance today."
Alpha didn't say anything. After what they'd just witnessed the Commander done, they weren't going to give him the satisfaction.
"Not even you, my dear?" the Commander asked, his gaze falling on Sandra.
Sandra simply looked up at the Commander, a cold look in her eyes.
"I have nothing to say. Least of all to you… Father."
Everyone suddenly looked at her in surprise. Had they just heard that? Sandra had just called the Commander father?
Austin could only guess she was doing this as some kind of escape plan. Try and confuse the Commander.
However… the Commander's response ended up being completely different to what they thought he might say.
"How long have you known?" he asked, his dark and terrifying voice still as clam as ever.
"Ever since I first learned your name." Sandra replied.
A few seconds passed with the Commander saying nothing. Then finally, without a word, he simply turned and left.
"Okay… I'm confused again. You said that to shock him, yet he completely went along with it. How the hell does that make sense?" Dash asked in confusion.
"Because I didn't say it to shock him, Dash." Sandra replied. "It was the truth."
"Sandra, I think you can drop the act now…" Dash began, but he didn't finish.
"I'M NOT LYING, DASH!" Sandra interrupted, her voice cracking and tears slowly streaking down her cheeks. "It wasn't a lie. I am the one he's been looking for. I am his daughter."
"But this can't be true. You told me you never knew your father." Said Austin.
"Never knew him in person, but I always knew his name. My mother's friend knew a lot." "I was told he was a Helldiver. That one of the reasons I joined, I hoped to find him. I hoped to somehow reconnect with him, have a family I'd so long been denied. Yet when I looked through the names of every Helldiver his name wasn't there. After that, I just assumed the man had faked it or something. But it was when Zartrack revealed the Commander's name that I realized the horrible truth." Sandra explained. "Remember what he said? The Commander's name was struck from all the records after he betrayed the Arkanes."
"I… I almost don't' want to believe It." said Austin.
"Trust me, Shepard. Neither do I." Alaara sighed.
"Hold on though, if you've known all this time, how'd you manage to keep this from Alaara if you two are bondmates?" Hawk asked in confusion.
"Because she didn't." Alaara replied.
"What?!"
"I share all her memories, just as she shares mine. When she realized the truth, so did I." said Alaara.
"I made her promise to keep this a secret, even from all of you." Sandra explained. "I'd hoped to one day tell you, but I didn't think I could ever bring myself to. How could I possibly say that I was the daughter of our arch enemy? How could I know how you would react? How could I know what would happen if you knew?"
No one replied.
"I hoped also that the Commander never found out, but sadly on the day he escaped from Arkadia he saw my face. Everybody who knew my mother always said I looked just like her."
"Well… this is… certainly something we never would've seen coming." Said Dash, trying to sound optimistic.
"Dash, I know you're trying to help, but maybe it would be best if you just kept your mouth shut." Said Kraan.
"For once, I actually agree."
"I can't imagine how horrible this must be for you, Sandra. I… I honestly don't know what to say." Said Austin.
"I don't expect you to say anything." Said Sandra. "I just hoped that revealing the truth to him somehow might give us a chance… but it didn't."
"Well we know now he's not going to kill you of all people. He may be a monster, but I doubt he'll kill his own daughter." Said Troy.
"Oh I think he will, Troy. I'm a Helldiver. I'm the thing he hates more than anything. He's probably going to let that override any thought of care he may have for me." Said Sandra.
The Commander looked out over the vast plains ahead. It almost reminded him of Inferno. Normally, he would've had Alpha taken to Hellspawn's main base there for torture but he was a very cautious man. A Helldiver, even in defeat, was still dangerous. He of all people knew this.
Thus he'd brought them to what he called his "Research Base" It was so named because his tortures, despite being horrible, did help him to learn a few useful things about his enemies. How to make them suffer without killing them, how their anatomy might work, and they also served as test subjects for his… secret weapon.
His contemplation was interrupted though when Shadow came up behind him. She bowed her head in respect as well as placing her arm across her chest, a Helldiver trait he'd passed on to her through his training.
"Master."
"Tyranny?"
"With all due respect, Master, why keep them alive? Might it not be more simple to just kill them all now?" Shadow asked.
"Because they're still useful to me. The possibilities of what we can learn from them are endless. Alpha squad are after all the best of the best."
"I… understand, sir." Shadow sighed, she did her best to mask her disappointment but it was no good.
The Commander though noticed this and put his arm on her shoulder.
"Have patience, my apprentice." He said, in a surprisingly reassuring way. "Rest assured, when I'm done with Shepard, he'll be all yours. You'll be able to settle the score with him soon enough."
"And what of the Russian? What of… your daughter?" Shadow asked.
"Oh I have big plans for her. Speaking of which, its time I spoke to her at long last."
He then turned to one of his bodyguards.
"Bring my daughter to me."
"Yes, Supreme Leader."
Alpha immediately took notice of the guards marching up to their cells.
"The human female will come with us!" they ordered.
"She's not going anywhere without us!" Dash yelled.
The guards however were quick to act and immediately shocked everyone with their staffs, causing them to scream in agony.
"NO! STOP! I'll come, just leave them alone." Sandra pleaded.
The guards stood down as Sandra slowly stood up and began to walk as the guards relocked the cell behind her, leaving the others to watch helplessly.
Sandra soon found herself in the main control centre, with a massive window overlooking the vast desert. No surprise Hellspawn had a base her. A place this remote, not even the Helldivers had a chance of finding it.
The guards made sure she kept the same pace as them as they marched her up to the Commander, who had his back to them as he once again looked out the window.
"Supreme Leader, the prisoner as ordered." They said.
The Commander slowly turned to face them.
"Those won't be necessary." He said, indicating to Sandra's shackles.
The moment her shackles were taken off however, Sandra immediately lunged at the Commander, her hands going round his throat. The guards immediately reacted and hit her multiple times with their staffs, the shocks causing her to cry out in agony.
"STOP!" the Commander yelled, causing the guards to immediately freeze. "Stun only! Do not kill her."
"Apologies, master."
"I should've killed you." Said Sandra coldly.
"And I should've killed you." Said the Commander, gently sinking down onto one knee until his helmet was eye level with Sandra.
Shadow, who'd also been standing there the whole time simply remained where she was, not saying a word and barely moving.
"There are times when I wish you had."
"Look at you, so much like your mother." The Commander said. He touched her face a bit before she forcefully shrugged it off. "You even have her eyes."
"Frankly, I'm glad to not take anything from you."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, dear daughter. You are a strong woman and a fierce fighter. You don't seriously think you got that from your mother as well do you?"
"Doesn't matter. Either way, I am ashamed to be your daughter. You're nothing but a monster to me!"
"I didn't choose to be this way, Sandra. I was forced to be. Life is cruel, unfair, always surrounding you with bad people and never shows mercy to you. I'm not the monster here, Sandra… it's those aliens. Those… things you call your friends, those… somehow smart creatures that you think are like us! They think the galaxy is theirs, they think they're so much cleverer than us! Think of all the harm they've done! To you… to me… to humanity! We have to live alongside them simply because those blind fools in the Alliance think we should coexist with them. They would, given their way… have us mate with them." He said in disgust. "To them, those… things are not so different from us. But they're wrong. They are nothing like us, and they never will be."
"You're fucking insane." Said Sandra.
"Oh no, dear daughter. I'm not insane, I'm just more open minded than other people." "I'd like to share with you a revelation that I've had. It came to me when I tried to classify non-human species. I realized that they're not actually life forms. Every life form in this galaxy instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but aliens do not. They move to a new area, and they multiply. And multiply until every natural resource is consumed until in the end the only way they can continue to survive is to spread to another area."
"Are we so different? Do you not remember how humanity used to before we became a part of something bigger?" Sandra asked.
"We are nothing like them! You tell yourself we are not that different, but all you're doing is letting that lie influence you until you're nothing but a simple drone, following orders that were laid by some person who went mad with compassion for things different and were then followed by those who are blind to the truth. It's only because those who can see are afraid of standing out, being outcasts that they don't' act differently. But I have no such fear. I embrace the difference proudly. I gladly call myself an outcast from the rest of humanity because I am the only one who truly sees, I am the only one who is truly willing to do what must be done." Said the Commander. "I suppose you may ask how can I be so unfazed at slaughtering these things I say are not life forms? Well, there is another organism in existence that follows the same pattern as the one I just mentioned. Do you know what it is?"
Sandra didn't reply.
"A virus." The Commander answered. "Aliens are a disease, a cancer of this galaxy. They're plague, and Hellspawn… is the cure. I'm going to be honest with you here and now, Sandra. I'm going to tell you something that no one has ever heard before from me. I… hate this galaxy. This… zoo. This prison… Whatever you want to call it, I can't stand it any longer. It's the smell. I can taste the stink of everything non-human, everything not of our planet Earth, and I every time I do I feel as though I have somehow been infected by it, as though its burning me like the fires that burnt my whole face off, forcing me to forever be encased in this armour. It's repulsive, isn't it?"
Still Sandra did not reply. She didn't want to give her father any kind of satisfaction by saying anything to him.
"This galaxy has been sick long enough. It needs to be healed, and to do that I must eradicate every single diseased cell until only the healthy and pure ones remain."
"You're no better than Cerberus or the Terra Firma!" said Sandra.
"Oh you're quite wrong about that, daughter. Cerberus simply want Humanity to dominate the other races. A very noble cause, I won't deny, but they're ambition is so… limited. The Terra Firma meanwhile want humanity to stand completely apart from the other races. Also a noble cause, but the same problem with Cerberus, they're just not thinking big enough." Said the Commander. "I on the other hand wish to go all the way. Imagine it, a whole galaxy with just humanity. No more alien laws, no more Citadel Council treating us like filth, no more Batarians enslaving us, no more galactic wars, no more regulations holding us back for the sake of other races, just humanity as the ultimate… and only power in existence."
"And what then? Once you have your "perfect galaxy" what will you do with it?" Sandra asked.
"Simple really. We continue as we always have as a species. Under my rule, Humanity would be completely united as a race. No more petty differences, no more religions to divide us, no more discrimination against different coloured skin, no more civil wars for pieces of land or territories, no more rules or regulations regarding experiments or science projects that might be holding us back and preventing us from becoming more advanced, no more restrictions dictating what children can or cannot do. Just freedom for the human race, with me as its great leader." The Commander replied.
"Deceit and self-interest will never be virtues humanity honours." Said Sandra.
"You think so, do you?" the Commander asked.
"I know so. You claim you want to help humanity, yet you've never even been a part of it. You represent the worst in US!"
"And you, my daughter are so close to having your neck crushed. I should kill you for your insolence…" the Commander growled, his hand suddenly going around her throat, threatening to squeeze… but he soon let go after just a few seconds. "But I won't. You have so much more potential, Sandra. You do not yet realize your importance, but I can help you to."
He then stood up and turned his back to Sandra.
"Join me, my daughter. With our combined strength we could end all this needless conflict and bring order to the galaxy. Rule by my side and succeed me when I'm gone. All this and more will be yours, you would lead humanity to a new age."
"Go… fuck… yourself!" Sandra replied coldly.
"Defiant to the end…. but brave. Just like your mother." Said the Commander. "You make me proud in a way, Sandra, just as you would've made her proud too. But since you will not join me, you leave me no choice."
"Go ahead then, do it. I can die knowing that one day you will lose, and all your delusional dreams will come crushing down." Said Sandra, hanging her head as she braced for the inevitable.
"Oh don't worry, Sandra. I'm not going to kill you. Don't get me wrong, I will kill you eventually, but now is not the time. You may be a Helldiver, but you are still my daughter. So I will leave you for last. I speak the truth when I say it will be only time I regret taking a life." Said the Commander.
"Rest assured, I won't regret when I kill you." Said Sandra coldly.
"Take her back to her cell. We're done here." The Commander ordered.
The guards obeyed and marched off, taking Sandra with them.
"I'm… sorry it didn't go as you'd planned…" Shadow tried to say.
"She's made her choice, just as I made mine." The Commander simply said. "She and her friends can fight all they want, they won't stop what is to come, for them and all their kind."
The guards reopened the cell and threw Sandra back in, relocking the door behind her.
"Sandra! Are you alright? Did he hurt you?!"Alaara asked.
"I'm alright." Sandra replied, sitting up on her knees.
"What went on up there?" Leena asked.
"He asked me to join him. I told him were to shove it." Sandra replied. "I know that could've been a chance for me to try and release you, but I'd sooner break up with Alaara than do that, and that's never going to happen as long as I have breath in my body."
"I love you!" Alaara smiled as she hugged Sandra tightly.
"So what now?" Hawk asked.
"I won't lie to you… I don't know. I can't see any way for us to escape this place. No one else knows were here and we've now way of contacting help. I don't want to give up, but… I fear this may indeed be the end." Austin sighed.
"Whatever happens, we face it together… even till death." Said Dash optimistically.
"I fear tomorrow we're going to endure far worse."
Sure enough, that sentence was 100% correct.
Right now, Austin had been strung up to some kind of device that was keeping him firmly locked in place. What was unusual however was that the Commander had put him back inside his armour.
"You're probably wondering why I've put you back inside your suit, aren't you?" the Commander asked, slowly circling his prisoner as everyone else watched from within their cages.
"You're going easy on me because I'm human." Austin replied mockingly. "Not like you to go soft."
That was met however by the Commander suddenly touching a device to his armour which immediately electrocuted him with so much voltage it caused him enough pain to kill a normal human. His suit was protecting him, but he still felt the pain.
"Hardly. You probably know this already but Helldiver armour is what protects you from high amounts of voltage that would normally be lethal to a normal human." The Commander explained. "What you probably don't know however is that the suit absorbs it and converts it to power by use of a default setting. If that setting is turned off, it simply lets you get electrocuted. The armour still protects you of course… but you feel every last volt coursing through your body."
"Shocking, isn't it." the Commander said in a very cruel way.
"We're POWs, you bastard!" Austin groaned through gritted teeth.
"You really think I care about some rule that was invented decades ago? Hellspawn isn't a military. Besides, even if it were, Helldivers are not a recognized uniform to us, so this armour invalidates your rights. Aliens, have no rights at all here either. So to tell you the truth, I'm free to do with you all as I please." Said the Commander.
"This the part where you start asking us questions then?" Austin panted as the pain started to fade.
"What could you possibly tell me that I don't already know?" the Commander replied. "Besides, torturing you for no reason is way more fun... for me at least."
"What's the point of all this then? If you're not gonna question us, why not just kill us?"
"You don't fear death. You welcome it. Your punishment must be more severe."
By the time Austin's torture was over, he'd been electrocuted so many times, he could barely feel some of his muscles. He was strong, but even he had a threshold.
The next day the Commander selected Dash. Already the Scout was taking a hard beating, literally. The Commander had bound his arms behind his back and was beating him hard with only his fists. Unlike Austin, Dash hadn't bene put back in his armour.
Already, the floor was stained with blood, and Dash's' face was covered in blood and bruises.
The Commander hit him again really hard in the chest, causing Dash to groan once again in pain.
"Now that one looked like it really hurt." The Commander said.
Dash tried to speak, but he seemed to only be able to manage a weak whisper.
"You might want to speak up, kid. I think you may have a collapsed lung. That always impedes the auditory." Said the Commander, leaning in close.
As the Commander brought Dash's head up however the Scout suddenly spat blood right onto one of his helmet's eyes. Angered by this, he threw Dash's head back onto the floor.
"Now that was rude!" he said, wiping the blood off his eye. "Your other teammates at least have some manners."
Dash managed to turn his head to face the Commander, baring a smug, but blood stained, smile.
"I suppose I'm going to have to teach you a lesson for doing that." Said the Commander.
"Worst you can do is bore me to death. You may act all scary, but once people get to know you, they stop being afraid." Said Dash weakly.
"I suppose you're right…" said the Commander. His gaze then fell slightly.
Without any kind of warning he then suddenly raised his foot and brought it right down on one of Dash's' legs so hard there was unmistakable loud crack. Dash screamed in pain as his leg was completely broken by the force.
"But that should change things."
Dash gritted his teeth as best he could in attempt to fight the constant agony he was now in.
"Not so confident and cocky now, huh? No smartass comment for this?" the Commander asked, circling Dash. "Maybe I need to hit a little… harder!"
He then stomped on Dash's other leg. There was another loud crack and once again Dash cried out in pain.
"The thing you're good at most in your squad, and I've just taken it away. I guess you could say I've… defeated you."
"That's lame, even by your standards." Dash laughed weakly, despite that his eyes were watering from the pain.
"Hmmm. Still not thorough enough I see." Said the Commander, somewhat impressed by Dash's resilience.
"I hope you have something better than broken legs in mind, because if my own team mates couldn't shut me, I doubt you will."
"Well… unlike your friends… I'm not afraid to do this."
The Commander then swung a punch right at Dash face, hitting him so hard there was another loud crack. Another scream once again came from Dahs, but this time it was different. He was keeping his mouth shut.
The Commander had broken his jaw.
"Lost for words now, aren't we?" the Commander asked cruelly. "Oh, do cheer up. How about giving us a nice… big… smile?"
Dash only replied with an angry mumble.
"Fine. Have it your way."
Grabbing him by the neck, the Commander threw him back into the cage with the others.
"Don't worry, you'll heal soon enough. But those injuries are the first of many. Never forget that."
The following day it was now Leena's turn. Alpha was worried the most about her. Any exposure to the outside world could potentially kill her. Despite how strong and muscular she was, her immune system was the same as any Quarians.
"Now your session is definitely going to be difficult for me. Despite my extensive knowledge of your species anatomy, there's only so much I can do without killing you. You're tough, yes, but with these poor immune systems you have, I can barely do anything before you get killed." Said the Commander.
"Guess you can only threaten me then." Said Leena.
"Now whoever said I was gonna do that?" the Commander asked rhetorically. "To make you suffer, I don't need to break limbs, or cut something off… I just need to do one… little… thing…"
He then suddenly grabbed Leena's mask, and ripped it right off. Leena almost immediately held her breath. Skin contact alone would probably make her sick. Breathing the air in here… there was no telling what that would do to her.
"Hold your breath all you like. You're already exposed. That alone is going to make you sick for a while." Said the Commander.
Leena remained unfazed and continued holding her breath in desperation. So far she showed no sign of struggling and as a result, the Commander soon got bored of it.
"Fine… I've run out of patience."
He then punched Leena hard in the stomach, forcing the breath out of her and her body instinctively forced her to breathe again.
"That's it. Take deep slow breaths." Said the Commander cruelly.
Because Leena was facing away from the cages, no one saw her face. As the Commander observed the Quarian closely he could already see Leena's eyes had gone bloodshot. Then she started coughing.
"That'll be all for you. Anymore and you may die." He said, placing Leena's helmet back on.
As the guards forced the now very sick Quarian back into her cell, the Commander sought out his next victim. His gaze soon fell on Ventra.
"The Turian next…"
One of the soldiers standing guard hauled Ventra to his feet, while at the same time keeping the rest of Alpha from interfering, despite their best efforts.
"Now you're kind, I have quite a bit of knowledge on when it comes to anatomy. There were already quite a few studies conducted on them by humans during the first contact war. So already I know plenty of ways to make you scream." Said the Commander as Ventra was strapped in place.
"That supposed to frighten me?" Ventra asked bravely.
"No. Now is not the time for fear." The Commander, leaning in close enough for Ventra to hear the fallen Helldiver's suit breathing air into his almost dead lungs. "That comes later."
The Commander took notice of Ventra's fingers. The Turian also noted how he seemed to be eyeing his three fingered hands.
"Oh how easy it would be. One little movement of my hand and…"
Several loud cracks suddenly followed, followed by a cry of pain from Ventra as the Commander did exactly what he'd just said.
"Couldn't help it." he shrugged, his other hand holding one of Ventra's mandibles in a mocking way.
"You know, it really does puzzle me how you can talk with these things. I once tired an experiment on another Turian but he unfortunately died without a word. I guess now's as good a time as any."
The Commander walked up to the nearby vat of acid he'd used on the Asari and took a small scoop out of it.
"I trust you're familiar with this?"
Ventra began to struggle as he gazed almost in fright at the container as the Commander slowly drew closer and closer.
He then seized Ventra by the neck, holding him in place. Ventra struggled even more violently against the Commander's grip, but it was no use. Very slowly, the Commander tipped the container and allowed the acid to pour onto Ventra's left mandible.
The Turian screamed in agony as the acid began eating into his mandible. Within just a few seconds, the acid had eaten it completely away. All that was left was the part where it joined to his face.
"Still able to speak?" the Commander asked cruelly.
"Fuck you!" Ventra spat, fighting the pain as best he could.
"Still some fight left in you. Very admirable." Said the Commander.
His hand then shifted to one of Ventra's head crests.
"Tell me, do you feel through these?" he asked.
"If you…"
"You'll do what? I've bent your fingers out of place. Without them, your bow is essentially useless. Besides, I'm sure you don't need all these crests." Said the Commander.
There was another loud crack followed by another cry of pain.
In the Commander's hand was the broken off head crest.
"Hmm. Even in males, it's pure bone. Quite fascinating, I must admit."
Now it was Troy's turn.
"Now I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you, Troy." The Commander said.
"Why? Get anymore of your face burnt off?!" Troy retorted.
This was met with backhand to the face, causing Troy to spit blood.
"I'd almost forgotten how much a smartass you can be." The Commander growled. "No. The news is that I won't be torturing you today. You see, Trojan made a request that she be the one to do it. She has some unfinished business with apparently."
Said cyborg immediately emerged from the shadows and walked up to the bound Troy.
"I can't believe you'd do this, Sonya. After everything you and I went through? What we had? You'd just forget it completely?" said Troy.
"Is it really so surprising? You broke her heart. And besides, she doesn't even have it anymore." Said the Commander.
"I don't believe that. I still believe the woman I once loved is still inside that shell."
Trojan's head tilted to the side slightly as if in surprise.
"Show him." The Commander ordered.
Trojan removed her trench coat and let it fall at her clawed feet. She then activated her Omni tool and pressed several buttons.
Several loud hisses followed and steam shot of several points on Trojan's body as panels began to open. First her lower legs opened up, revealing only cybernetic legs, then her upper legs, both her arms, and finally her torso opened.
Troy's eyes went wide at what he saw. He'd expected to see some of Sonya's human body by now. The organic parts that were still left of it, but no… all that was there was a see through compartment of bubbling liquid, and inside it... was Trojan's spinal cord. Various tubes and wires were connected to various parts of the spine, most likely so that Trojan had a direct connection to her body.
Apart from that, all that was inside Trojan's torso was her body's internal exoskeleton. No lungs, no heart, nothing.
"Oh Christ."
Then finally steam emitted from Trojan's head. Parts of the screen that made up her mask shifted, unlocking it.
Trojan slowly reached up and grasped it in her hand. Then she slowly lifted it away…
If Troy hadn't been shocked before, he was definitely now.
The see through container that housed Trojans' spinal cord extend all the way up, even into the head itself, and inside the head… was her brain. Like her spinal cord, which the brain was still connected to, various tubes and wires were also connected into the brain. There were even ever several computer chips fused to the brain in various places along with what was very clearly a CPU.
Troy had expected to see Sonya's face, or at least her eyes glaring back at him, but they were gone too. Nothing else whatsoever, just the brain and the bit of the spinal cord that needed to be connected.
"Holy Christ! There's nothing left!" said Troy, sounding almost like he might be sick. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?!"
"I saved her. It was either this or die, she chose to live on. She took the path that many would've refused, the cold road to immortality." Said the Commander.
Troy once again looked back at Trojan. He'd still been clinging on to some hope that the woman he'd loved was still inside there and that she'd only lost her limbs at best. But this… a brain in a jar…
"Sonya is dead, Troy. There is only Trojan." Said the Commander. "Your girlfriend died long ago when she took a vow silence to prove her loyalty to me. She even went so far as to cut out her own tongue to ensure she never broke it."
Troy was all the more shocked by this. Sonya had gone so far as to self-mutilate herself?
"Nevertheless, the memories of how you broke her heart still haunt her, and now she wants you to suffer for it."
Trojan placed her mask back on and it resealed. The panels on her body also resealed and she also put her trench coat back on.
She then reached forward and touched Troy's shoulder. The second her cold metal hands touched him he was electrocuted. Unlike Austin, he didn't' have his suit on, so the voltage was a lot lower to the point where it wouldn't be lethal, but still enough to cause Troy excruciating pain.
It was pretty much the same for the next few hours. Dozens of electric shocks followed by a few beatings. To be honest though, Troy got off pretty easy. It did indeed seem like the human members of Alpha weren't' getting it too bad compared to the aliens.
When it finally came round to Alaara's turn, everyone was nervous about this one especially. Sandra in particular feared what the Commander would do to her bondmate. Even though Alaara was a battle hardened 300 year old Asari, she was still the most sensitive of Alpha. Already she had been almost in tears upon seeing the Commander murder that Asari child.
"If you think I'm gonna let you or any one of your men rape me, think again. Touch me, and I'll bite your dick off!" she said defiantly.
"I may be a cruel man, but even I have my limits. Besides, I wouldn't even dream of letting my men dirty themselves with your filth." Said the Commander.
"Now you're just being mean." Said Alaara smugly.
The Commander then walked up to another nearby table and picked up what everyone immediately recognized as the whip that Hawk used.
"I must say, Hawk, this is a very interesting whip. Sharp as well. Why don't we find out just how sharp?" he asked.
Sandra could immediately tell where this was going and began banging on her cell bars.
"Leave her alone, you bastard!" she yelled.
Despite the constant pounding, the Commander ignored her as he slowly walked up behind Alaara.
He then grasped Alaara's clothing and with one tug tore it right off, leaving her completely exposed.
"Let's see. Start with… 25."
Sandra's shouting and banging only intensified. Very slowly, the Commander unfurled the whip and let it drop to the floor.
Alaara tried to struggle all she could, but she knew it was inevitable. Despite still trying desperately you break free, she shut her eyes and braced herself.
The Commander then cast the whip back… and swung.
The familiar whiplash sound echoed throughout the entire prison and it was all Alaara could do to not scream as she grit her teeth in pain as blood dripped from the dozens of open wounds on her back.
Despite that it was over quickly, the pain of both experiencing and having to watch it was still in everyone's mind, apart from the Commander of course.
"I'm impressed. Feared you might pass out from It." he said.
Alaara didn't' give him the satisfaction of replying and just stared at him, an angry look in her eyes.
"So much blood. Why don't I clean them for you?" the Commander asked rhetorically as he touched one of Alaara's open counts painfully. He then released her from the device and forced her over to the acid vat. He noticed Alaara's somewhat panicked expression. "Oh don't' worry. No acid this time. This time, it's just good old fashioned water."
He instead lead her over to another one, this one containing just water. Alaara was quick to notice some very familiar objects of some kind floating in the water. Before she had time to react though, the Commander immediately grabbed the back of her head and forced it right into the water.
Alaara almost immediately felt the air rush out of her lungs as her entire face was submerged in ice cold water.
Unable to struggle against the Commander immense strength Alaara almost felt as though she'd pass out. Fortunately before that could happen, the Commander finally pulled her face back out of the water and she immediately took a sharp intake of breath.
"Oh, did I forget to mention the ice? Well, now you know." He said cruelly.
The torture went one for another hour before the Commander finally felt Alaara had had enough.
Now came Sandra's turn. Alpha had thought the Commander wouldn't' torture her, but it seemed even she wasn't exempt from it.
"Definitely an advantage that Helldivers have is that you can take the punishment a lot more than you normally could." Said the Commander.
Sandra didn't say anything. Number 1 because she didn't want to give him the satisfaction, and Number 2 because he was beating her constantly.
"So of course, I don't need to hold back as much." He continued. "Though you'd be surprised just how resilient sentient life is. Even when impaled directly on a spike, they'll still cling to life as much as they can. My famous ancestor himself learned this."
"Boring me with a history lesson now?" Sandra asked.
"You're his descendant too, daughter." Said the Commander. "No doubt you've heard the name, Vlad Tepes before?"
"Tepes?" Ventra asked in confusion.
"It means the Impaler. He was a bloodthirsty butcher." Austin explained. "Inflicted unspeakable tortures on innocents. Cutting off their hands and feet, gouging out their eyes, and then impaling them on iron spikes."
"They had it coming." Said the Commander.
"And what makes you think you're his descendant?" Sandra asked.
"I found records confirming it. I'm descending from him through a long lost blood lien that went into hiding, and eventually even forgot about their ancestry. Through my mother, I inherit this."
"And your father?" Sandra asked.
The Commander's reply however came in the form of another punch.
"Do not ever speak of him!" he said. "Anyway, I'm sure that if he knew about all this and could see me now… he'd be proud. I have built an organization so sinister, and so powerful… by comparison it makes the empire of Genghis Khan seem like a water pistol."
The torture went on, like before, for another hour or so before it was finally over.
"I think you've had enough now. You may have had it easy, but we don't want to ruin that pretty little face now, do we?" said the Commander as he threw Sandra back in the cell.
Hawk, being the usual defiant one that he was, had resisted the most. Even now as he was strapped in place he was still trying to break free.
The Commander though remained calm and unaffected regardless.
"I had planned to use your own whip on you, Hawk. But I've changed my mind." He said, taking something out of what was undeniably a furnace of some kind. "I think instead, we'll go for something more… hot."
Sure enough, in his hands was an iron, the end red hot.
"Don't expect me to beg, Rodriguez. You're only making it worse for yourself, because when I get the chance, I'm doing the same to you… tenfold." Said Hawk.
"Oh, you really shouldn't have said that." Said the Commander.
"And why is that? Is the man with a burnt face getting angry?" Hawk asked mockingly.
The Commander was silent for a moment, the question obviously sparking a somewhat painful memory for him.
"No, you just gave me the idea of what to brand you with."
He then touched the tip of the iron to Hawk's skin. The Helldiver screamed in pain as the Commander slowly drew the number 10 onto his skin as a burn.
"Agh you son of a bitch!" Hawk groaned.
"Threaten me all you like, Hawk. It's not gonna scare me, not like how I can scare you." Said the Commander.
With the hotness ultimately having gone out of the iron, the Commander put it back. He then got an idea when he spotted another torture device on his nearby table. Alpha watched nervously as he picked up a knife.
"Now this is definitely one thing you won't be able to do to me." He said. "You see, I don't have any eyes due to my eyelids being burnt off. Thus I have a special implant connected to my brain that receives a signal from my helmets optics. They are my new eyes now, and I don't feel pain if they got cut off or destroyed. I can just repair them."
Hawk began to struggle again upon realizing what the Commander intended to do.
"You on the other hand… you don't' have the advantage." Said the Commander, grabbing Hawk's face and forcing his right eye open. "I am very tempted to force you to share Shadow's perception of things."
Hawk tried to struggle, but he couldn't' break free. Both he and everyone else watched, frozen in shock as the knife edged closer and closer to Hawk's eye. It was just about to touch…
The door suddenly opened and a Hellspawn soldier walked in and stood to attention.
"What is it?" the Commander growled, angry at having been interrupted.
"Sorry to disturb you, Supreme Leader. But, Mr Arma is requesting your presence. He says its important." The soldier replied.
"One moment of peace. Can he not give me that?" the Commander sighed in annoyance. "Go and tell him I'll be there in just a second."
"Yes, Supreme Leader."
The soldier left and turned his attention back to Hawk.
"Saved by the bell it seems." He said.
Thornton was currently looking out over the empty planes. He turned to face the Commander as he heard the fallen Helldiver's metal footsteps.
"This had better be worth the interruption, Thornton." The Commander said, glaring down at Thornton.
"Why are you still keeping them alive?" Thornton asked crossly. "I thought Hellspawn's goal was to wipe out the Helldivers."
"How many times do I have to have this conversation with you, Thornton?!" the Commander said, crossing his arms in annoyance.
"Have you forgotten why I truly joined you?" Thornton asked. "I'm not in this for the money, or the booming business, not truly. For me, this is personal."
"Don't think for a minute that I have forgotten, Thornton. I know you want them dead as much as I do because they put your father out of business."
"You promised me we'd kill every Helldiver. Yet you're keeping them alive? Why?!"
"You know damn well why!"
"Oh I see. You don't want to kill your own daughter."
"My daughter has nothing to do with this, Thornton." The Commander growled, the tone of his almost demonic like voice causing a cold chill to run down Thornton's spine. "Alpha have vita knowledge on Helldiver operations. Killing them will just be a complete waste. Besides, do you not want them to suffer?"
"Fuck their suffering! I just want them dead!"
"Let me ask you something, Thornton. Do you truly hate them for putting your father out of business? Or is it because the loss of your father's business caused him to abuse you, and you refuse to blame him?" the Commander asked. "Because the way I see it, you want someone to blame for what you endured, and the way see it there are two party's responsible: Your father, or them, and you appear to have chosen them.
"Even if I changed my mind now, what good would it do me?" Thornton replied. "My father's dead."
"Your refusal to blame him because of some family relation really does surprise me, Thornton."
"Could you want your own mother and father dead?"
The Commander remained silent for a moment before replying.
"My mother tried to kill me." He said, sounding as though he was barely containing his anger. "And in return, I burnt her… alive."
Thornton was somewhat shocked by this and lost for words.
"I will forgive your disrespect this time, Thornton. But let me be clear, should you ever dare to insult me or fall out of line again, I will be forced to… terminate our association, and you'll realise just how dependant on me you've really become. Am I understood?" the Commander asked.
"Yes… sir." Thornton replied, somewhat reluctantly.
"Good."
His argument with Thornton had fortunately caused the Commander to forget about what he was going to do with Hawk. Instead, the following day he had moved on to Kraan, and he didn't waste any time.
The very first thing he had done was take a knife and shove it right into where Kraan's plate attached to his head.
"I'll bet that hurt, didn't it? Believe me, that's nothing compared what I'm about to do. Because I've got it stuck in just right." He said.
Kraan's eyes widened as he realized what the Commander was planning to do.
"Oh yes… I've had plenty of other Krogan to practice on and I've become extremely efficient and tearing their plates. I'm told the mere thought of it drives you mad."
Kraan was almost petrified with shock, so much so that he was frozen with fear.
"Leave him alone!" Hawk yelled.
"I'll deal with you in a second, once I've taught this weak creature some respect." Said the Commander. "I'm going to count to three, there will not be a four. After that… I think you can guess."
The Commander grasped the handle of the knife and readied himself.
"One…"
"Two…"
"Thr…"
"I thought you were supposed to get stronger the madder you got. Well get mad, you dumb monster!" Alaara yelled.
What happened next took everyone by surprise, including the Commander. Kraan's left hand quite literally broke free of the restraint and grabbed the Commander's arm.
"I'M ALREADY MAD!" Kraan growled, his eyes opening, revealing to be almost completely blood shot red.
"Impossible!" the Commander said in shock.
Kraan then broke completely free and head-butted the Commander so hard he fell into ice water vat. Before the fallen Helldiver had a chance to get out, Kraan immediately sealed the vat back up, trapping the Commander inside.
Kraan then walked up to the Alpha's cage door and managed to tear it off. He panted angrily several times before he managed to calm down as his eyes returned to normal.
"How the hell did you do that?" Leena asked weakly, still rather sick from her exposure.
"Blood rage. Never thought that'd happen under stress though." Kraan replied. "You alright?"
"I'll survive. You?" Hawk replied.
"I have a knife stuck in my head… I'm good."
"Someone's gonna have to carry Dash. There's no way he can walk like that." Said Austin.
"I will, you'll need Kraan and anyone else in good condition to fight." Leena coughed.
"Are you sure, Leena? In your current state the exertion could be fatal." Said Sandra.
"I may be sick, but I still have 275 lbs of muscle. Dash weighs nothing by comparison, and for once that wasn't an insult." Leena replied.
Dash gave a mumbled grunt of pain as Leena picked him up and slung him over her shoulders.
"We don't have much time. Someone will have probably…"
Sure enough, the doors suddenly burst open and a squad of Hellspawn soldiers burst in, their guns all trained on the suit less Alpha.
"Don't move!"
"Oh bloody hellfire." Austin sighed, putting his hand sup.
"Back in your cages! NOW!"
To everyone's surprise however, a still naked Alaara suddenly appeared almost out of nowhere and actually started to fight the soldiers.
A backflip alone took out at least 3 soldiers and she then kicked the one to her right hand side in the face. At the same time, she even grabbed one of the soldier's guns and threw it into the face of another.
Two more soldiers opened fire, but Alaara literally slid under the legs of a third one and then used him as a shield. Naturally of course, the soldier was dead within seconds and Alaara was quick to discard the body as she threw at the two soldiers who had shot him. The body only knocked one down, but it did distract the other long enough for Alaara to suddenly lunged at him, as she latched onto his neck, she swung around the soldier, kicking another right in the face and causing his neck to snap. Even without her armour, Alaara had a strong kick.
Another soldier attempted to shoot from the side, but Alaara kicked him to the ground too. A second attempted the same, and Alaara kicked him too. At the same time, she then threw the soldier she'd been latched on to the floor. In her crouched position, Alaara's eyes took a quick moment to scan the area.
She noted definite movement out of the corner of her eye as one of the soldiers who been knocked down earlier was getting back up and reaching for one of the rifles. The nude Asari immediately reacted. She grabbed the soldier's arm just as he managed to grab the rifle and forced it away from her and latched both her thighs around his neck. The soldier struggled to free himself, but was unable to overcome the strength of Alaara's legs. The Asari then gave his wrist a violent twist, causing it to crack violently as the gun fell from his hand.
Alaara finally did the same with her hips. There was another crack and the soldier went limp as his neck broke.
"Nice work, Alaara, despite how… exposed you were." Said Austin, trying to ignore the fact that Alaara was still nude.
"Not my first time. I've done some of my best work naked." Alaara panted proudly, not even bothering to try and cover herself up as she picked herself up.
"She has, believe me." Said Sandra. "And no, I'm not talking about sex. She once fought a whole squad of blue sun mercs naked with nothing but a towel as a weapon."
"Well after seeing that, I won't argue." Said Austin.
"I think it's about time we got out of this hell hole." Said Hawk.
"Yes…"
Austin paused as he looked at all the other prisoners.
"…all of us."
Out of armour, and this time battered and bruised, Alpha had never felt more vulnerable. What's more, they had dozens of prisoners to escort as well.
For whatever reason however, Alpha managed to make it, completely undetected, to where Hellspawn had been keeping their suits.
Everyone immediately opened them up and got back into them. Even Dash was able to get back into his, but he was forced to put it in lockdown and allow Leena to still carry him since both his legs were still broken.
As Alaara sealed her own armour back up, having also managed to finally redress in her suit mesh, she then set about re-holstering all her weapons, as did the rest of Alpha. It was as she got to her stun stick however she suddenly noticed something.
There was her stun stick… and right next to it was another. It was completely identical. Alaara had to admit, she'd always thought her stuns stick was one of a kind.
As she took both sticks in her hand, she tested the weight and then gave them both an experimental swing. They both felt exactly the same.
"Hmm. It's pretty much a perfect copy. I'm sure Rodriguez won't mind if I take It." she said.
"Dual wield, huh? Good idea." Said Sandra.
"Learned from watching you, love." Alaara smiled.
With their armour back on, Alpha did at least have a better chance of defending themselves. But that didn't mean they could relax yet. After all, most of them were in rather bad condition, and they had all the other prisoners to defend.
A sudden loud noise caused everyone to halt. Then followed the unmistakable sound of fighting, and it appeared to be coming from the nearby hanger which coincidently enough was where Alpha had also been heading in hopes of escaping.
"Hold up."
The prisoners remained behind while those of Alpha that could fight took up position by the door leading into where the fighting could be heard.
"On three." Said Austin. "One… two… three."
Sure enough the sight of Hellspawn troopers greeted Alpha's eyes, so that didn't surprise them. What did surprise them however was who they were fighting against.
"Zartrack?"
Sure enough, there was Zartrack… and Xun and X-5 and another Helldiver with a cyborg arm. Austin immediately knew who that was.
That Helldiver was none other than General Matt Shepard, Austin's father.
It wasn't long before they'd dealt with the last of the Hellspawn troopers and were quick t notice Alpha and all the prisoners.
"Shepard!"
"What are you doing here?" Austin asked, surprised, but pleasantly so.
"Rescuing you and Alpha." Zartrack replied.
"How'd you find us?"
"We got worried when you were overdue." Matt replied, finally speaking for the first time. "With help from Alexa and Telrass we traced your last known signal and managed to eventually find our way here."
There was a sudden explosion as one of the hanger's walls was completely destroyed. When the smoke, dust and debris cleared it revealed none other than Alpha's gunship, carrying the Hellraiser beneath it.
"And that must be the cavalry." Said Zartrack.
The moment Zartrack finished however a small army of Hellspawn troopers burst into the hanger, behind them was the Commander, Hades, Shadow and Trojan.
The Commander instantly noticed his former mentor among everyone.
"Master. How fortuitous I should find you here." He said.
"We're walking out of here, Rodriguez." Said Zartrack.
"I think not. If anything, I think you'll be joining them."
"Over our dead bodies."
"As you wish." The Commander sighed. "Hades."
Hades slowly began to walk towards the Helldivers, cracking his knuckles and ready for a fight.
"I'll warn you right now, I'm not afraid to hit a woman, or an old man. So I suggest you…"
He was interrupted however when Matt suddenly walked forward and punched Hades with his cyborg arm. The punch caught the muscled giant completely off guard and he was literally sent flying several feet before crashing hard into a wall.
"And we're not afraid to hit you either." Said Matt.
"Well, that's made things more interesting." Said the Commander, a slight hint of surprise in his voice. He then turned to his men. "Kill them. I want Alpha alive."
The troopers all opened fire, forcing everyone into cover. The gunship though returned fire, forcing some of the troopers to also take cover.
Austin and some of the others readied to engage but Zartrack stopped him.
"No. Stay back. Most of you are in no condition to fight. Besides, we need someone to protect the other prisoners. Get in your gunship and head back to the main fleet." He said.
"But..."
"That's an order.
Austin knew better than to argue and simply nodded. Whilst he and the others headed for the gunship as it provided cover fire, Zartrack, X-5 and Xun all engaged the Hellspawn troopers. Only Matt did not engage since he was focusing solely on Hades who had just recovered from earlier.
Before the giant had enough time to react, Matt immediately charged. The sheer force of his charge pushed Hades right back. When the Hellspawn giant finally managed to slow them both down he attempted to grab at something in order to attack, but Matt once again turned the tables. With his cyborg arm, he grabbed Hades and literally threw him other his head and hard onto the ground. Matt attempted another punch while Hades was down, but he quickly rolled out of the way and onto his feet. At the same time he also swung a punch at Matt, but the Helldiver blocked it with his metal hand.
Matt then gave the wrist a violent twist electing a painful grunt from Hades. Matt then followed this with several punch to the face and the torso. Normally Hades could take this kind of thing because of his enhanced body and armour, but this... this Helldiver was actually hurting him. Previously only Kraan had given him a challenge.
Hades finally got an opening and landed a punch on Matt with enough force that it sent him flying into a nearby crate, which became dented from the impact of the Helldiver's armour.
"Not bad for an old timer." Hades panted, slowly walking up to Matt.
"Age only slows you down if you let It." said Matt as he picked himself up.
"I'll bear that in mind."
Hades then once again swung a punch. Matt once again grabbed this one. This time however he forced Hades' fist to his right and used his cyborg arm to punch Hades across the helmet. He then followed this with a kick to the back of Hades' knee, causing him to stumble to his knees.
Before the Hellspawn giant had a chance to try and attack again, Matt grabbed him from the back by the neck and flung him down onto another nearby crate. The force of Hades' armoured helmet caused the crate to become dented and crushed under the force and weight. Matt then followed this with another punch which caused Hades' head to dent the crate even further.
As Hades finally managed to get back up, he swung as he turned. Matt backed away just enough and the fist missed him. Hades attempted another attack with his other fist, but Matt blocked it. He then grabbed Hades with both hands and threw him violently to the floor.
As Matt swung another punch at Hades however, the giant managed to avoid it, causing the Helldiver to miss. Hades immediately seized the chance while Matt had his back to him and punched him hard, sending him flying into a Hellspawn fighter, completely smashing it in half.
When the Helldiver finally managed to get himself free, he found Hades right in front of him. He attempted a punch with his metal arm, but Hades grabbed it, forced it away and then used his other hand to grab him by the neck. Lifting the Helldiver up off his feet and then smashed him down on the floor hard.
With the Helldiver down, Hades seized the chance and punched him hard. There was a loud clang as Hades' fist connected with Matt's helmet, but it didn't appear t do any significant damage.
When Hades attempted another punch Matt was ready for it this time. He moved his head to the side, causing Hades' fist to miss and hit the ground instead. He then grabbed onto it with both hands and pushed both his feet against Hades' face.
In an attempt to shake the Helldiver off, Hades smashed him several time against the wreckage of the fighter Matt had smashed earlier. This caused the Helldiver's grip to loosen and Hades was able to throw him back onto the floor.
Matt however reacted before Hades was able to attack again. He swung a sharp kick at both Hades' legs, causing the giant to fall flat on his back.
With Hades dazed by the fall, Matt seized the chance. He grabbed Hades with his cyborg arm and literally threw him up against a nearby crumbled wall so hard that it caused so much wreckage to fall on him he was completely buried. Any normal human would almost certainly have been killed by that, regardless of how tough and strong they were.
"Well that takes care of him." Matt said to himself.
Alpha and their gunship meanwhile had made it back to the Endeavour along with several other ships of the Helldiver fleet.
As soon as they were docked Alexa especially seemed overjoyed to see everyone again.
"Thank goodness you're alright." She said as she literally flung her arms around Troy and hugged him, much to the Spy's surprise.
"Why does he get a hug?" Kraan asked in confusion.
Alexa suddenly realised that everyone else was present and immediately let g.
"Errr, anyway..." she said embarrassingly.
"Wait. Where's Sandra?" Telrass asked.
"I swear I saw her get on. I..." said Alaara. And then she realized where her bond mate had gone. "Oh no..."
The Commander watched the battle that was taking place from the top of one of the facilities buildings. The loss of this facility was a shame, but it hardly worried him. After all, this wasn't Hellspawn's main fortress. He would never be stupid enough to have everything take place there, if he did the organization might have compromised long ago.
"FATHER!"
The Commander didn't need to turn to know who it was. He'd recognize Sandra's voice anywhere.
"I knew you'd come." He said, slowly turning to face her. "Are you going to kill me then?"
"I would certainly like to." Sandra replied coldly.
"In your weakened state? I doubt it." Said the Commander.
"Enough talk."
Sandra drew both her Sais and readied for a fight.
"You won't beat me, Sandra. You can't." The Commander said calmly.
"I can sure as hell try."
"Have it your way then… daughter."
With a sigh, he drew his sword.
Sandra was the first to attack as she ran right at the Commander and thrust. For some reason he didn't even bother to try and defend himself. To Sandra's utter surprise, both her Sais tore right through the Commander's armour and stabbed into his abdomen.
Sandra was almost left in shock that she'd actually managed to do that. What worried her right now however was that the Commander didn't appear to be showing any sign of pain. He hadn't even cried out when the Sais stabbed into him.
What happened next however was completely unexpected. The Commander swung his sword inside and it connected with both Sais. The sheer force of it broke them completely.
Sandra only had a moment to process this before the Commander then kicked her, causing her to fall hard on her back. When she got up not her knees she looked in shock at her now broken Sais. After all she's been through, all that these Sais had done... and they were broken.
"As I said before..." the Commander said, still showing no sign of pain at all.
In anger, Sandra thrust with her right, hoping somehow that her broken sai could still do some damage. The Commander however raised her hand and actually let the remainder of the blade stab right through his left hand. As before, he didn't emit any kind of cry in pain. All he seemed to do was grunt ever so slightly. While this did seem to hurt, it didn't hurt to the same extent that it would a normal human. A small amount of blood appeared to be trickling out of the wound, but once again it didn't look like the Commander was hurt by it. Sandra couldn't help but notice how while the blood was still red like any other human blood, it was a much darker red, almost as though it had black tar mixed into it or something like that.
"You can't kill me."
Shocked once again, Sandra attempted another desperate thrust with her left, but the Commander countered it with his sword. At the same time his left fist came back, allowing the sai to slide out. Sandra attempted to lunge with her right again, but the Commander blocked that too and pushed it down. He then head butted Sandra, causing her to stagger back, dazed and followed this with a punch which made her stagger back even more.
Sandra attempted another lunge with her right, but the Commander just let it stab into his shoulder. He then simply forced it out with a simple push, making Sandra stagger back even more followed by a punch to the face.
He then grabbed Sandra's shoulder kneed her right in the stomach. Despite her armour, the hit literally knocked the air right out of her lungs. To add to this, he swung his arm right into Sandra's throat. Being the un-armoured part of a Helldiver, this attack caused her to temporarily stop breathing.
She only had a moment to process this before the Commander then kicked her so hard she fell on her back. Holstering his sword, the Commander slowly walked up to his daughter and then jumped. The impact of him landing on her caused the ceiling floor to give way and they both fell through into the floor below.
Sandra barely had a moment to recover before the Commander then kicked her, sending her flying. Sandra used this to her advantage however and managed to roll back onto her front. Before she could pick herself up however, the Commander kicked her in the face again, which made her fall onto her back again.
Once again she attempted to get back up, but the Commander punched her to the side, dazing her. He then punched up which did at least force her back up onto her feet, but with her vision blurred and head spinning, she could barely make out anything. He swung another punch which she did just manage to block with both her arms but the Commander was quick to respond with a punch to the stomach.
He then grabbed Sandra by the neck and smashed her into a nearby wall several times. Another head-butt followed knocking Sandra back. The Commander finally followed by a swing which knocked her right back down.
As the Commander raised his foot and brought it down to finish her off however, Sandra suddenly felt a newfound strength in her. She immediately grabbed the Commander's foot. The Commander was caught off guard by this, allowing Sandra to then push and throw him with such force that she threw him right through a wall.
The Commander grunted and groaned in pain as he hit the next wall and landed on the floor. Seemed his daughter had inherited some, if not all of his strength.
Sandra slowly picked herself up, finally feeling her strength and stamina return to her.
Both opponents charged at one another, Sandra even running through the hole in the wall she'd made. The Commander managed to get the upper hand and slammed Sandra into another nearby wall. He managed about three punches before Sandra managed to block the fourth. Using all the strength she then grabbed the Commander and threw him right across the room, causing him to crash through several consoles and lab equipment.
As Sandra ran it him again however, the Commander turned the tables again. He managed to grab a nearby discarded grenade launcher and fired it. The explosion, being almost at point blank range, sent both of them in opposite directions.
The Commander got off easy, the only significant damage being to the left side of his helmet and also losing his left optic eye.
Sandra wasn't so lucky. Her armour took the worst of it, but it was still enough to weaken her greatly. Try as she might, she couldn't' get back up. She felt too weak and too beaten.
Seeing his daughter's weakened state, the Commander picked himself back up. He drew his sword again and pressed his foot hard down on Sandra's chest, pinning her in place. He then reached down and grabbed her helmet.
There was the loud sound of creaking and cracking metal as he literally tore the helmet off, exposing Sandra's bloodied face.
"You fight well." He said. "You make an old man proud."
"You're a monster!" Sandra spat.
"Funny, you're grandmother said the exact same thing to me... before I killed her." The Commander growled. As he spoke he slowly made a cut on Sandra's left cheek with the tip of his blade.
Very slowly he raised the blade, ready to deliver the final blow.
"Farewell, dear daughter."
A sudden noise however interrupted him.
A large portion of the building was suddenly blown away as Alpha's gunship hovered into view. The Commander barely had time to react before Alaara suddenly threw a biotic warp at the ceiling causing it to fall on the Commander. Sandra managed to push her father's foot enough and move out of the way just in time.
As she looked at the wreckage the Commander was now buried under, she knew he was still alive. In fact just a few seconds later, his fist burst out.
When she looked back at the gunship however she saw Alaara reaching her hand out.
"Come on!" she yelled.
Though Sandra wanted so much to end the Commander while she had the chance, after the fight she'd just been in she knew there would have to be another time. Her father was just too powerful.
As the Commander began bursting his way out of the rubble, she ran to the dropship and Alaara pulled her in.
The dropship took off and was gone from view just as the Commander finally freed himself from the rubble. He watched the disappearing craft with a sense of satisfaction.
This was not the end. He would be seeing his daughter again soon enough.
It was inevitable.
"Don't ever do that again." Said Alaara as she hugged Sandra tightly.
"Sandra… I know this might not be what you want to hear, but we need to tell the Council about your parentage. If they find out about this and you didn't tell them, there's no knowing what they might think." Said Austin.
"I know, Shepard, and I agree with you." Sandra nodded.
"Excuse me?"
"I agree we should tell them. No more secrets. It is a bit soon considering our state, but they need to know."
The Council had been most eager to talk to Alpha when they'd returned. Sandra's news however came as a complete shock to them. Despite her fears of their reactions however, they seemed to take it well.
"And then we decided to come here and explain the truth to you. That's about it." Sandra finished.
"We've long heard rumours that the Commander had a daughter, but this finally confirms they were true." Said Tarnack.
"Troubling that we never saw this family connection before when Sandra first joined us." Said another councillor.
"You erased all records of the Commander when he betrayed you, including DNA samples. You had nothing to compare mine to." Sandra explained.
"Be that as it may, this makes her especially dangerous. She can't be allowed to remain unmonitored." Said another councillor.
"Sandra's commanding Officer should have a voice in this!" said Tarnack. "Shepard, you probably know her better than we ever will. What is your say on the matter?"
"The situation doesn't require a reaction. We just thought you should know the truth." Said Austin, almost in a defensive manner.
"And now that we know, we can't ignore the threat she represents to all of us. To allow her to remain as a Helldiver, our enemy's own flesh and blood… it's inconceivable."
"Is it?" Spartan asked rhetorically as he finally spoke, his voice causing the other councillors to fall completely silent. "Was it not from Sandra and her squad that we first learned about Hellspawn and the Commander?"
"Councillor Spartan is right. Both Sandra and her squad have proven themselves time and time again. The fact also that she herself has told us about this revelation only further proves where her true loyalty lies… with her squad, and with us." Said Tarnack supportingly.
"It was perfectly natural for you to fear our reactions, Sandra. But what matters now is that you stay true to the path you are on, and help us to put an end to your father." Said Spartan.
"I intend to do nothing else until that is accomplished, Councillors. That monster may have conceived me, but he is not my family, not truly! My teammates, my friends… they are my true family and I would gladly give my life for any of them." Said Sandra.
"I couldn't have put it better myself. Sandra is both a fine soldier, and a dear friend. I trust her with my life. We all do." Said Austin.
All of Alpha nodded in agreement, especially Alaara who held her bond mate's hand, not even caring if the Council noticed.
"There you have it then. I need no further proof of Sandra's loyalty." Said Spartan.
"Agreed, and I believe the best course of action is to leave Sandra where she is. Regardless of her origins, she has chosen to fight for us. She is a Helldiver like any other, and she is to be treated as such." Said Spartan.
"You may go now, Alpha. You have all suffered at the Commander's hands and it is best we let you heal. We wish you all a speedy recovery." Said Tarnack.
"Thank you, Council." Alpha all said, bowing their heads in respect.
"Dismissed."
"All of you, I… I don't know what to say. Thank you." Said Sandra.
"You don't need to thank us, Sandra. We're here for you, and we always will be. Especially Alaara." Said Austin.
"Still, the fact that you all stood by me, even after the fact I kept all this from you… it means a lot."
"You expected otherwise? The Council said so themselves that it was natural for you to fear what might happen. But that doesn't matter. What matters is now, and right now all I see before me is a Helldiver through and through, not the daughter of our arch enemy."
"Exactly." Said Alaara. "To be honest, the closest thing she's ever had to a father is you."
Everyone cast the Asari a rather odd look, even Sandra.
"I said that out load, didn't I?" Alaara asked with embarrassment.
"Awkward." Said Alexa.
Returning to their apartment at long last, everyone immediately went to their rooms to get some well-deserved rest. Only Sandra and Alaara remained behind.
Sandra was still rather saddened at her broken Sais, which she had in her hands.
"Damn shame. I really liked those sais." She said as she put them down onto the table with a sigh.
"Well… I think I might just have the thing to cheer you up, love." Said Alaara.
"You really think this is the time for you to get naked?" Sandra chuckled.
To her surprise however, Alaara didn't get naked. In fact, the Asari disappeared into her, and Sandra's, room for a few seconds before coming out a few seconds later with a small rectangular box.
Sandra stood up and looked at the box with interest. What was inside she wondered?
"Go on. Open it." said Alaara.
Sandra gently opened the lid. What she saw inside made her jaw drop. Inside was a completely new set of Sais. They had a somewhat more advanced look compared to her old ones and appeared to be engraved in a similar fashion to Shepard's sword. In fact, the style also bore similarities to Excalibur.
"Oh my… Where did you get these?" she asked, almost lost for words.
"I was able to get Shepard to pull a few favours." Alaara smiled proudly. "They're made from a combination of Kartalrium and black carbon fibre, similar to his sword."
Sandra gently took the Sais out of the box and gave them a few experimental swings along with weighing them in her hands. Sure enough, they had almost no weight whatsoever, yet they didn't feel different to her at all. She had thought at first they might take some getting used to, yet now they felt no different than her previous ones. Only difference was that they felt lighter.
As she gently ran her hand over the smooth part of the blades, she noted how the combination of Kartalrium and Carbon fibre made the surface so much smoother than her original sais, yet at the same time the metal did not feel like it would shatter the second it touched something, it felt firm and strong. And the sharpness… well, Sandra didn't have to be an expert on blades to know what these things could cut through. She'd seen Excalibur tear right through the armour of a tank once and the blade hadn't even been scratched, worn or blunted whatsoever. If these new Sais were anything like that, she'd almost certainly be a force to be reckoned with.
Finally looking back at her lover, Sandra smiled and literally threw her arms around the Asari.
"I love you." She said, trying to hold back a tear of joy.
"I love you too." Alaara simply smiled as she hugged her bondmate back. "Now, we don't go somewhere more private so I can get naked for you and lick your pussy?"
Sandra simply sighed… but it was a very happy one, one that usually meant yes.
Next chapter is planned to be just as dark as we explore the origins of the Commander and the legend of an old ghost story.
See you soon.
- 18
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- 20
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, Alpha Origins