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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Collector War	By : Veyron722skyhook Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 6240 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or it's characters. They belong to Bioware and EA. No money/profit is made by me from this.

Chapter List
- 19
- 20
- 21
Well, that was quicker than I expected, considering how long this ended up being. Just felt I should let you all know in advance, the very end contains the start of another sex scene. The full bit will come in Chapter 21, which will be Zaeed's loyalty mission. Haven't quite decided yet which one to do next, but I should have my mind made up by the time I've done 21.
Please do let me know fully what you think of this one. I've been trying to improve my action writing a bit better, and this contains some of my improvements. If they're good enough, I'll keep it up and hopefully, it should be pretty good at this when we get to the Collector base battle. I'll also need the good writing for the epic battles I have planned for ME3. By the way, if any of you have any ideas for Helldiver ME3 that you'd like to suggest to me, just PM me. I listen to all feedback and I'm happy to also listen to any ideas people might have.
Enjoy!
Oh, one more thing. A big thank you to LegionnaryPrime for coming up with the title for me. For anyone unsure, it's a reference to the Assassins Creed saying "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted" It works well since Thane himself is an Assassin.

Chapter 20
Everything is permitted
Kasumi hadn't spoken at all since coming back from Bekenstein. Even Kelly was a bit worried about her. The Yeoman reckoned however that with bait of time, she would eventually get over it. Austin didn't blame the thief for her depression. Losing a lover was not easy. In fact, Liara actually sympathised with Kasumi since she knew how the thief felt. She had felt exactly the same way when Austin had died two years ago.
As if Austin isn't have that to worry about, Miranda and Jacob's full defections had now been done. Because of this, the two ex-Cerberus operatives where now on board. Although it had been his choice that they be transferred to his crew, Austin was still uncomfortable having them on board.
Jacob was actually alright. In fact, reports of the interrogation said that he'd willingly provided any valuable information he could. Obviously, he'd been unable to tell them where the Illusive Man was; even the leader of Cerberus took precautions with his men. But the Intel provided had still been very useful. Plus, given that Jacob was once in the Alliance, Austin did suppose it was worth giving him a chance.
Jacob had requested to be posted in the armoury since he was pretty good with weapons and felt he would best be of help in there. Alpha Squad, and even Austin himself, had been rather uncomfortable with the idea of an ex-Cerberus agent having access to their weapons. Fortunately, Kraan had eventually said that he would stay in the armoury as well so he could keep an eye on Jacob. It had been two days now and surprisingly, Kraan had said that Jacob was good to have around. He was very friendly to the Krogan. In fact, during dinner later that day Jacob had sat down with Alpha Squad and had attempted to start a conversation. Alpha had been resilient at first, but after a few minutes they'd eventually been chatting very well with him.
Miranda on the other hand was completely the opposite. According to the reports, it'd been much harder to get information out of her. Although she'd willingly defected, she'd still shown a very negative attitude towards it. In fact, that attitude was present even here. She was bossy, she always seemed to think of herself as having authority among the other crew and she had even at one point tried to order Alaara around. This had ended up in a very violent argument, so much so that Alaara had actually slapped Miranda very hard and told her to fall in line. Austin had managed to step in before it got any worse, but he had not been happy. Naturally of course, he had sided with Alaara. She was right after all. She was second in command, not Miranda. Still though, Miranda had argued that if she was to be a part of this team, she should have some authority. At that point, Austin had nearly shouted at her. Eventually, Miranda had reluctantly apologised coldly to Alaara and had promised that she would stop bossing everyone around.
Since Jacob had settled into the last vacant quarters, Miranda had set up hers in a separate room. There was a small office on the crew deck that had been left vacant ever since the Normandy had been built. Miranda hadn't actually complained about it though since she felt it was just to her liking.
Last on the dossiers was the Drell assassin, Thane Krios. It would still be a while before getting to Ilium again though. Still, Austin had plenty of people to talk to in order to pass the time. Though he didn't trust Jacob, he at least decided to have a go at talking. Who knows? Perhaps Jacob would be an okay person.
"Major Shepard. Good to finally be able to talk you in person." Jacob said as he saluted.
"You may stand at ease at ease, Taylor." Said Austin.
Jacob did so and relaxed.
"Thanks. There hasn't really been time to settle in and take stock. I wanna say that working with you is a great opportunity to do something that matters. It's a privilege to serve on the Normandy, Major." He said.
"Let's get one thing straight, Taylor. You're here because you were Cerberus. You're here so I can keep an eye on you and Lawson. Don't expect special treatment. You may work for the Helldivers now, but you still where Cerberus. I'll be keeping an eye on you." Said Austin forcefully.
Jacob seemed a bit disheartened by this, but did not try to object.
"Fair enough. I can't say I blame you anyway. I'll just have to earn you're trust." He said.
"Hopefully you will. I'm hoping we'll be able to get past our differences eventually." Said Austin.
"At least you're giving me a chance. Most Helldivers hate Cerberus on principle." Said Jacob.
"I'm one of them, Taylor. But under the circumstances, I am willing to give you a chance." Said Austin.
"Understood." Said Jacob.
"So, what's your story, Jacob? I'm told you served in the Alliance before joining Cerberus." Austin inquired.
"Yeah. 5 years in total. Stationed all over the galaxy. Even spent a couple of years as a Corsair." Said Jacob.
"Ah yes. I've heard of them. An Alliance initiative if I'm correct. Hired independent star ship captains and used them for missions that fell outside official Alliance jurisdiction." Austin asked.
"Yeah. Technically, we weren't part of the Alliance. I we got caught, they could disavow any knowledge of us. We were supposed to be free from restrictions and rules, but there was still enough red tape to sink a cruiser. I finally just gave up."
"So what brought you to Cerberus?" Austin asked.
"I guess I just got tired of never making a difference. So much of what we did in the Alliance just seemed pointless. I thought things would be different after the attack on the Citadel. But nothing changed. Politics, bureaucracy. Same bullshit, different leaders!" Jacob nearly complained.
"That's too far, Taylor. Calm down." Said Austin.
"Sorry, Major. It just irritates me so much." Jacob apologised.
"If you disliked it so much, why Cerberus and not the Helldivers? Helldivers have a lot less restrictions." Austin asked.
"At the time, things were different. Back then I wasn't very uncomfortable working with Aliens. That's mainly what led me to Cerberus. Now days though, I'm not so sure." Said Jacob.
"What did Cerberus do to make you doubt them?" Austin asked.
"A lot. They've been called terrorists, and with good reason. I think you of all people know what I mean." Said Jacob. Austin simply nodded in agreement.
"Glad you are starting to things in a different light, Taylor. With luck, we'll have no problem." Said Austin.
"Fair enough, Major. Let me know if you need anything." Said Jacob as he went back to work.
"Shepard." Kraan nodded to Austin as he left the armoury.

This time for returning to Illium, Austin decided on taking Liara with him again, followed by Kasumi, since Austin felt a bit of air might do her good and finally Miranda.
Since Miranda no longer worked for Cerberus, she no longer wore the cat suits she'd worn. She had thought about wearing a black one, but even that had been forbidden. Instead, Miranda was clad in a black set of armour. It had originally been Cerberus armour, but it had now been specially modified. It was black with yellow stripes on it and also had a Helldiver symbol on the right breast plate. Miranda also had a holographic visor over her eyes. It actually suited her rather well if Austin was honest. A bit embarrassingly though, it still failed to her hide Miranda extremely sexy body. Her ass still stuck out and the armour's chest had had to be refitted so that her large breasts could fit comfortably inside. Still, at least now it wasn't skin tight and people weren't being distracted by her, even with her strutting.
Austin had no significant information on Thane Krios so he felt that another visit to Xun was in order. As they entered her office, the Helldiver information broker looked very happy to see her old friend again.
"Shepard! Good to see you again!" she said happily.
"You too, Xun." Austin nodded.
"Please have a seat." Xun said as she indicated to the chair in front of her desk. "So, what can I do for you?"
"I'm looking for Thane Krios. He's supposed to be here on Ilium." Austin replied as he sat down.
"The Assassin? Yes. He arrived here a few days ago." Said Xun as she read from a datapad in her right hand and held her metallic Chinese fan in the other, occasionally using it to fan herself. "My sources tell me he may be targeting a corporate executive, Nassana Dantius. He contacted woman named Seryna. Seryna has an office in the cargo transfer level. Perhaps she can tell you where Krios is."
"Thanks, Xun." Said Austin.
"Anytime, Shepard. If there's anything else you need, let me know." Xun smiled under Chinese decorated Helldiver helmet.
"So, how's your own work going?" Austin asked.
"Nothing new I'm afraid. Everyone needs information these days so much that it often holds me back from trying to find new leads on the Shadow Broker." Xun sighed. "Speaking of which, I still need that data I told you about."
"Oh, yes. Thanks for reminding me. I completely forgot." Said Austin.
"Not at all. Let me know when you hack those terminals." Said Xun.
"Talk to you later, old friend." Said Austin as he got up from his seat and left Xun's office.
"Spirits be with you, Shepard" Xun said in Chinese.

The system hacking was pretty simple. It simply involved hacking one server and then quickly uploading the data to another while it was open. After doing this about 5 times, Austin had finally got all the data uploaded. Xun's voice came in over his intercom.
"Shepard, this is Xun. I've got the data. Come by my office alter today when you have time." She said.
That would have to wait until later. Right now, Austin had a Drell assassin to recruit.

The group made their way to the cargo transfer levels of Illium, Sure enough; they found an office with two Asari at desks.
"Seryna?" Austin asked.
"Who wants to know?" replied a purple Asari. Austin guessed this was Seryna.
"Major Shepard of the Helldivers. Xun told me you might have information on Thane Krios." Austin replied.
Seryna stood up from her desk and turned to the Asari sitting near her.
"Tana. Cover for me." she said. She then turned back to Austin. "Over here."
They were now out of earshot of everyone else.
"Yeah, I know who Thane Krios is. I might have passed him some information, but I didn't hire him. What you want to know about him?" Seryna asked.
"Maybe you could help me find him." Austin suggested.
"I can tell you, but you won't stop him. When he contacted me, I checked up on him. The man never gives up on a job. I ran security for Nassana Dantius. Then I found out she was having people killed to cover up her dirty secrets. She fired me when I confronted her. Her loss. I might have been good enough to stop Thane from taking her down." said Seryna.
"Nassana… Nassana… why does that name sound familiar?" Austin said as he tried to remember where he had heard the beam Nassana Dantius before. It sounded very familiar.
"She was a representative on the Citadel a few years ago." Seryna replied.
Then the Helldiver remembered. Two years ago, just before the battle of the Citadel, an Asari had recruited him to rescue her sister from kidnappers. It turned out though that the sister had actually been a slaver and had been blackmailing Nassana. The Asari had lied to Austin.
"Right. She had me kill her sister – the slaver." he said.
"I thought that was just a rumour. Well, you know what she's capable of, then. She has even more power here in Nos Astra. She uses it to keep her friends in check and her enemy's dead." said Seryna.
"So where do I find Thane?" Austin asked.
"The Dantius Towers. Penthouse level of Tower One." "There's a second tower, still under construction. If Thane is smart, he'll go in from there." Seryna explained.
"It doesn't sound like Nassana's just going to let us in." said Austin.
"She's as smart as she is paranoid. No one's getting in or out of there without a fight. I can get you in, but you'll only have one shot. You'd better be ready." said Seryna.
"Let's get going, then." said Austin. He didn't really have anything else that needed doing at the moment. He could go back to talk with Xun, but he ultimately decided to get the recruitment done first before anything else.
"Good. I'm tired of this crap. We'll go tonight, as soon as the shift workers clear out of Tower Two." said Seryna.

Since they'd once again be dealing Eclipse mercs, Austin changed his choice to now have Alaara, Ventra and Grunt. Not only would he need Alaara's experience with Eclipse mercs, but Grunt's hard fighting styles and also Ventra's archery skills would mostly likely prove handy. True enough, Ventra had now switched permanently to his bow and arrow and hadn't made a request for a replacement sniper rifle. Austin actually approved of his. Now Ventra and Garrus could have slightly different uses. While Garrus could handle the sniping, Ventra would be able to handle situations better suited for a bow and arrow. If they were in a jungle for example, Ventra would be very good at hunting. The Turian could also do stealth kills. All sniper rifles these days weren't fitted with silencers anymore, which was rather disappointing.
Ilium looked extremely pretty at night time. The millions of bright and coloured lights reminded Austin of the times when he'd looked out at the vast city of Arkadia at night when he was much younger.
"Admiring the view?" Alaara asked.
"It reminds me of home." Austin replied.
"Home as in Arkadia?" Ventra asked as they climbed into Seryna's sky car.
"Yeah. Remember that I was born and bred in space. Arkadia's only ever been my true home." Said Austin.
The sky car doors closed and the car slowly hovered of the ground before speeding off into the slowly setting sunset.
"The towers are heavily guarded, and you'll find more resistance closer to the penthouse. So, this assassin—you planning to stop him?" Seryna asked.
"I'm just here to make sure he survives." Austin simply replied from the passenger seat.
"Hmm." Seryna simply replied.
At these sorts of hours, there were much less other cars up here in Ilium's high skies, so they didn't have to worry about being held in traffic or anything like that. Soon, two large towering skyscrapers could be seen in the distance. True to what Seryna had said, one of them was still under construction.
"There they are: the Dantius Towers. You'll have to get up the second tower and cross the bridge to the penthouse. Her mercs will fight you every step, but it's your best chance." Said Seryna.
"Nothing we can't handle." Said Ventra as he checked one of his arrows.
"Why don't we just save time and take the shuttle up?" Austin asked.
"She's got mercs with rockets just waiting for you to try. You'd get maybe half-way up before they shot you down. Besides, your assassin won't go in that way. Best to go in low." Said Seryna.
"All right. Let's do this." Said Austin.
"Hold on." Said Seryna as she began steering the sky car away from the main crowd.
The car flew for several more miles before setting down on a small pad on the outside of the towers. Even at this altitude, it was clear this was intended to be the entrance when construction had finished.
"Don't linger too long: they'll be here to greet you soon enough." Said Seryna as they all got out. Austin briefly paused to just look at the sheer size of the tower as he went to close the car's door. "Good luck, Shepard."
The door closed and Seryna flew the car away.
Everything seemed mostly quiet, but for a Helldiver, silence was far from peaceful. They were always trained to sense danger in a way that many people would not. Some were even clever enough to use the training in such a way that they could predict a person's action before they even did them.
A shot suddenly rang out in the distance. The team looked in the direction. Two Salarian workers were attempting to flee from two LOKI and Fenris mechs. One was shot instantly while the other attempted to run. He didn't get far though before the mechs shot him as well.
The mechs quickly reloaded their guns as they suddenly noticed the three Helldivers and Grunt standing just outside the glass window covering the entrance. The mech dogs also took notice and immediately started running at the intruders.
"Enemies already. Good! I'll tear them apart!" Grunt roared as he unholstered his Claymore shotgun.
The three Helldivers did the same and unholstered their preferred weapons as they went into cover.
The Fenris mechs smashed through the glass window and ran at their targets. One of them jumped at Ventra as the other ran at Grunt. Ventra was quick to react to this situation as he stood up from cover slightly. As the Fenris mech nearly landed on him, he brought his bow up like a shield. Just as the robotic dog landed on his arm, he quickly flung it away in the other direction.
The other Fenris mech meanwhile ran directly at Grunt who wasn't intimidated by this at all and charged the dog.
The Fenris mech that Ventra had just counter attacked rolled around on the floor slightly before it managed to get back up. Once again, it ran at the Turian. But this time, Ventra was ready for it. He quickly took a stun arrow from his quiver and drew it back on his bow. He paused very briefly as he waited for the dog mech to get a bit closer.
Grunt meanwhile was now wrestling very violently with the other Fenris mech who was attempting to pin the Krogan to the ground. Austin and Alaara meanwhile where taking cover from the LOKI mechs who had now managed to catch up with their dog counterparts.
The other Fenris mech readied to jump at Ventra, but the Turian released his bow string. The stun arrow shot at its target and went right through the Mech's neck and embedded itself in the ground. The Fenris struggled as much as it could to get free, but it was no use. The mech was stuck to the ground.
With the dog unable to do anything, Ventra simply walked up and brought his left wrist back. His own omni blade activated and he plunged it into the mechs torso. The dog jarred for a minute before it then shut down and went limp. Ventra then pulled the arrow gently back out. He liked to reuse his arrows if possible. They were designed to be used more than once anyway.
Grunt meanwhile finally managed to pin the other Fenris mech to the ground, but found that he'd dropped his Claymore during the wrestling.
"Grunt, catch!" Ventra yelled as he picked up the dropped Claymore and threw it to the Krogan. Grunt caught and smashed the end hard into the mechs face.
"Too late! Now you're dead!" he yelled as he unloaded two rounds into it.
Alaara meanwhile was keeping the mechs occupied while Austin was cloaked and sneaking up behind them. The Major materialised out of nowhere right behind one of the mechs and grabbed it around the neck. The other LOKI mech took notice of this and went to aim at him, but Austin grabbed the gun arm of the one he was currently holding onto and aimed it at the mech. He fired several shots which hit the mech in the chest and finally managed to take out its head. The other one still struggled violently to break free of his grip, so much so that it even managed to give him a punch as its arms flayed about wildly.
"Ow! Shouldn't have done that!" Austin said crossly as he gave the mechs neck a violent twist and finally tore its head off.
"Guess it's too late to try and take it stealthily." Said Ventra.
"Come on. Let's get moving." Said Austin.
As they proceeded through the entrance, they found the body of one of the Salarian workers that had been shot earlier. However there was only one.
"I could've sworn there were two of them." Said Alaara, puzzled as she looked around.
Then they suddenly heard a voice.
"Help…" it whimpered.
They immediately looked in the direction of the noise. Sure enough, there was the other Salarian. He was bleeding from his gunshot wound, but still alive.
"You're still alive?" Ventra asked.
"I can't feel my legs… my chest is killing me." The worker managed to say.
"Who did this to you? And why?" Austin asked as he knelt down in front of the Salarian.
"We're just night workers! Nassana… sent them after us… She sent the mechs to rounds us up, but we didn't hear… They just started shooting…" the Salarian wheezed. He sounded as though he could barely breathe.
"They just attacked you?" Alaara asked.
"Yes… we were too slow. It was horrible. Everyone…screaming… The mercs said there was no time. Nassana wanted us out of the way… immediately." The Salarian said. That was before he started to cough very badly, blood spurting out of his mouth. "Then… the dogs… I can't breathe…"
"Here. That should ease the pain and keep you alive until help arrives." Said Austin as he activated his omni tool and applied some medi gel to the Salarian's wounds.
"Really? This guy? Why?" said Grunt. The Krogan however fell silent when Austin gave him a cold stare from behind his helmet.
"We never leave innocents to die, no matter what their race." He said as he helped the Salarian worker. "How's that?" he asked.
"I think I'm better… Find the other workers. Help them." Said the Salarian. He sounded better now and could at least stand.
"We'll do what we can." Said Austin.
"Thank you." Said the Salarian as he limped off.
"Let's get moving." Said Austin.

They took it slowly so as to avoid attracting attention. They were also careful to make sure the coast was clear and also that there weren't any security cameras.
"It's a shame we can't bring everyone on these missions. Leena would certainly be a big help here." Alaara sighed as Austin threw a sensor grenade into the open. Nothing showed up.
"Keep your eyes open. I've got a feeling that we're bound to run into some mercs pretty soon." Austin advised.
They proceeded up a nearby ramp before arriving at another level. There was a small tunnel just above their heads. Just as the door closed however, they suddenly heard voices coming from inside the pipe.
"Hey – I think he went in here." They heard a man's voice say.
"Well, go get him." Said a woman.
"You go."
"Get your ass in there. Nassana's not paying you to stay around."
"Fine… but I…" the man went to say, but he was cut off as there was suddenly the sound of a struggle of some kind. Then suddenly, the limp body of an Eclipse merc fell through the pipe and landed at their feet. Alaara and Ventra couldn't help but flinch slightly in surprise.
"Think that was the Assassin?" Austin asked as he examined the body. As Austin had suspected, the merc's neck had been broken.
"Must've been. Eclipse mercs don't turn one another just like that without good reason." Said Alaara.
At that moment, Ventra hushed everyone and told them to be silent.
"Hear that?" he asked.
Everyone listened for a moment. They could just hear the faint sound of voices. There were more mercs nearby.
"Take it slowly." Said Austin.
The four of them slowly made their way to look around the corner. As Austin looked around however, he found an Eclipse Asari staring right at him.
"Crap." Austin groaned.
Almost immediately, all the other mercs appeared out of cover and aimed their guns at them.
"Freeze!" the Asari yelled.
Austin looked at the others and simply nodded. Almost immediately, each one of them ran. Grunt and Ventra ran to cover while Austin and Alaara ran to either side of the lobby they appeared to be in. The Eclipse mercs instantly opened fire on them and the whole place was filled with gunfire, thermal clips, and loads of floor and wall plates being shot off.
Austin fired several shots from his Revenant as he ran behind on of the pillars and to the other side of the room. Even here though, the Eclipse had obviously been alerted somehow and they opened fire on him too. Most of the shots missed the Helldiver and simply hit the walls instated which made an absolute mess of everything as the air was filled with dust and concrete and many other pieces of the building materials that had been used to build this lobby. Some shots did manage to hit Austin, but his shields and armour were designed to absorb these and they simply bounced off. Nevertheless, Austin rolled behind one of the pillars so that his shields had long enough to recharge. Though his armour could take this sort of punishment, it had its limits.
"Reloading!" he shouted as he disposed of his current thermal clip and put a new one into his Revenant. He also switched his plasma cannon on and turned the setting into automatic. It was times like these that he was very thankful that Dell had included this setting when he made the plasma cannons.
Alaara meanwhile had run to the opposite side of the room. Bricks and plates were flying everywhere from the constant gunfire. Two more mercs aimed at Alaara and fired. What the Asari Helldiver did next however, took them by surprise. Alaara ran at the wall and flipped right over their gunfire. She landed just out of their range and took cover behind the pillar she'd landed in front of.
The closest merc continued firing on the pillar as he advanced closer to it. As he did however, his rifle ran out and he quickly fumbled with another thermal clip on his belt. Alaara immediately made her move and ran out of cover.
The merc only noticed too late as the Asari Helldiver kicked the rifle out of his hands and then gave him two kicks in the face, the last of which broke his neck. An Eclipse vanguard then appeared and fired several shotgun rounds at Alaara as she ran back into cover.
Austin meanwhile was still pinned by behind the pillar on the other side of the lobby. Still he waited until they'd stopped firing to reload before he made his move. As the constant barrage of thermal clips ate away at the other side of the pillar, the Helldiver Major waited patiently. Finally, the gunfire ceased and Austin bolted out of cover, both his Revenant and his plasma cannon blazing. The combination of thermal clips and plasma fire managed to cut down at least five of the mercs.
The Vanguard who had shot at Alaara earlier had now aimed at Austin as he was advancing forward. Alaara noticed this and once again ran out of cover. Since the Vanguard was so focused on Austin, she never even saw the Helldiver coming. Alaara brought her leg right up and kicked the Vanguard's shotgun right out of her hands and then flipped it right over. With a lightning fast reflex, Alaara took the merc's shotgun in her hands and aimed it at the Vanguard's back. The Asari failed to react in time and Alaara shot her down instantly. Alaara even managed to gun down one of the other mercs before the rest noticed her and she retreated back into cover.
Austin meanwhile was still running as he was shooting. There were only about 3 of the mercs left now. Grunt and Ventra had taken care of the rest. As the mercs continued firing, Austin did a very fast roll. As he did, he unloaded his entire fresh clip into any merc he could. Now there were only two left as he got back into cover.
Once again, he waited until there was a break in their fire. When it came, he once again bolted back out and fired a plasma shot. The Merc held targeted went back into cover and stayed there as Austin ran forward. The other one meanwhile ran out to try and help his friend, but Austin fired another plasma shot and this one caught him.
The final merc attempted to melee Austin by smashing the butt of his rifle into the Helldiver's face, but Austin brought his wrist up and blocked it. With his other one, he quickly activated his omni blade and thrust it into the merc's chest.
There was a long silence as everyone took a moment to get their breath back. At that moment however, Austin's HUD lit up to show three silhouettes in the next room. Everyone immediately went into defensive positions and Alaara opened the door.
"Please… don't kill us! We'll go… we'll go…"
There were 3 Salarians in the rooms, all of them workers. Austin quickly lowered his weapon and the others did the same.
"Hey, look… they're not Eclipse. They're Helldivers! You're here to help us… right?" one of the Salarians asked.
"It's one reason we're here. Come on out. It's safe enough." Said Austin reassuringly.
"Thank you. We are in your debt." Said one of the Salarians as he and the others calmed down.
"Maybe you can help us. We're looking for someone. Not a merc – he's on his own." Austin asked.
"Well whoever sealed us in here…" said one of the Salarians.
"When he found us, I thought we were dead. But he just closed the door and locked us in." said the other.
"Could be him, but that's odd behaviour for an assassin." Said Alaara.
"Assassin?" asked one of the Salarians.
"Here for Nassana, I bet. She's got it coming. You treat people like this; it always comes back to bite you in the ass." Said the other.
"If I were you, I wouldn't stay too long. It should be safe down on the lower floors." Said Austin.
"I was just thinking the same thing. Let's go everybody." Said the lead Salarian.
He and the other left, one stayed behind briefly.
"Thank you. And tell your assassin to aim for her head… 'cause she doesn't have heart!" he said coldly.
"Get moving." Said the lead.
The final Salarian left and now it was just Austin and the others.
The only way up now was by using the elevator.
"I've got a feeling that elevator isn't coming down empty." Said Alaara as Austin pressed the button to summon the elevator.
"We should get behind… stuff." Said Grunt.
The three Helldivers agreed and went into cover behind some nearby crates and Austin took cover behind several staked floor plates.
After a few seconds, the elevator arrived at their floor. Austin's heart was beating rather fast in his chest as he kept thinking of what was going to be in that elevator and how many.
"Mezzanine. Have a pleasant stay." Said elevators synthetic female voice.
The doors flung open and two Eclipse engineers and a Krogan bounty hunter walked out. The whole place once again became a filled with gunfire as the team started shooting. The engineers fell rather quickly due to the fact that they'd been completely unprepared for the Helldivers, but the Bounty hunter proved more difficult.
That all changed however when Grunt suddenly did the same thing he'd done to Fenris mech before.
"I… am… Krogan!" he yelled as the two Krogan wrestled violently with each other. While the Bounty Hunter was much larger, Grunt was much stronger and he let his rage drive him. Within a few seconds, Grunt knocked the bounty hunter's weapon out of his hands and started using his Claymore like a club as he continuously hit the bounty hunter in the face. So hard in fact that Grunt was causing the other Krogan's face to bleed with each strike.
None of the Helldivers dared shoot in case they accidently hit Grunt. Besides, it didn't really look as though the tank bred Krogan needed any help. The Bounty hunter then suddenly grabbed Grunt's claymore and attempted to push him back. Grunt quickly countered this attack as he head butted the bounty hunter so hard that he toppled over. Grunt didn't waste any time and pinned the Krogan bounty hunter to the floor and kept smashing the Claymore into his head non-stop.
After several hits, Austin finally grabbed Grunt and just managed to pull the Krogan away.
"Grunt, that's enough! Grunt! He's finished! You've done enough!" he yelled.
Grunt struggled for a bit, but eventually managed to calm down.
"That was fun." He panted.
Now that Grunt had calmed down, everyone filed into the elevator and Austin hit the up button with his forearm. The doors closed and the elevator began its journey up the tower.

The elevator doors opened to show one Eclipse merc. He was on his own and appeared to be talking through his comlink to someone.
"I haven't heard from Teams Four or Five. Don't worry; my team is always ready to go. I don't know where he is, not yet. Don't worry about it. We don't need any reinforcements. I'll take care of it." he said.
The group approached the merc very slowly so as not to alert him
"It's under control. I'll go down there myself." He said, still oblivious to the three Helldivers and Krogan now standing behind him.
"Let me handle this. I know how Eclipse thinks." Said Alaara. Austin simply nodded.
"Turn around, very slowly." He said as he activated his plasma cannon and pointed it at the merc. Ventra also drew an arrow on his bow and readied to fire, and Grunt also pointed his shotgun.
"Damn it!" the merc cursed as he noticed them.
"Tell us where the Assassin is, and we might let you live." Alaara demanded.
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be wasting my time talking to you. You're clearly not one of Nassana's mercs. You're Helldivers. What do you want?" the merc replied back.
"You've got two ways down: express or coach – your choice." Austin said intimidatingly.
"Look pal, even if I knew where he was, I wouldn't tell you." Said the merc.
"Not the answer I was looking for." Said Alaara.
"I've got nothing more to say to you…" the merc said, but before he could finish, Alaara gave him a sharp kick which smashed him through the glass window he was stood in front of and he was sent plummeting down, screaming as he fell.
"How 'bout "goodbye." Alaara finished coldly as she watched the merc fall.
"Harsh, but I guess he had it coming." Said Austin.
The group turned back. There were two doors on either side of the elevator they had just come out of. As they entered, they heard raised voices. There were more mercs and they appeared to be communicating with a female voice. Austin quickly recognised Nassana Dantius' voice.
"He's all over the place." said one of the mercs.
"What do you mean?" Nassana asked.
"We've got reports of him on multiple levels. We think he's traveling through the ducts…" the merc replied.
"I'm not paying you to think. Just find him. Now!" Nassana yelled.
"Take 'em." Austin whispered.
Ventra nodded and drew another arrow back. He let it fly and shot forward, taking out two mercs in the process.
"What the…?" one of them said. But before he could do anything, Austin fired a plasma shot at him and he was quickly disintegrated. Once again, the group noticed that there were more Salarian workers in the next room.
"Are you guys alright in here?" Austin asked as they entered.
As soon as he spoke however, one of the Salarians suddenly pointed a gun right at them.
"Get back! Get back… I'll shoot." He said.
"Drop the gun, lizard." Grunt threatened.
"I don't want to hurt you… but I will. I said get back! I'll do it! Please… don't make me do it." The Salarian said hesitantly.
"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. What's your name?" Austin asked in a clam and gentle voice, despite his sinister voice tone from his helmet.
"I… I'm Telon. Don't… come any closer." Said the Salarian.
"Telon, I'm Major Shepard. I don't work with the mercs, and I don' work with the mercs and I don't want to hurt you. I'm here to help you." Said Austin gently.
"I… all right… here…" said Telon as he handed Austin the pistol. "I… don't feel so…"
Telon suddenly fainted. Another one of the Salarians ran up to him and kneeled down over him.
"Telon!"
"Slow and easy." Said Austin as his plasma cannon locked onto the Salarian's sudden move.
"He's my brother. I just want to see if he's alright. Are you the ones who… shot the merc?" the Salarian asked.
"I don't think so. We certainly didn't kill that particular one. Your brother didn't do it?" Austin asked as he looked at the dead body of an Eclipse merc.
"No. Telon was standing here with me." Said the Salarian.
"What happened, exactly?" Austin asked.
"The merc found us and shouted at us to move. We panicked, and he shouted more. I thought he was going to kill us… then… his head just exploded. Telon picked up the merc's gun, but we were too afraid to leave. Then you showed up." The Salarian explained.
"That's a clean head shot alright." Said Ventra as he examined the merc's body.
"There are still mercs up here. You should get to the lower levels" said Austin.
"No need to convince me." Said the Salarian. He then gently helped Telon back onto his feet. "Telon… come on, get up."
"Can we go home now?" Telon asked.
"Yeah, we're getting out of here." Said the Salarian. He then turned to Austin as they left. "Thank you."
The group headed back out as the Salarian's left. Nassana's voice could once again be heard shouting over the radio for her mercs to report back.
"Where is everyone?"
"Will somebody please give me a report!"
Austin walked up to the panel and accessed it.
"It's about time! What's going on down there?" Nassana asked.
"I'm afraid your men aren't able to respond, Nassana." said Austin.
"Damn it!" Nassana cursed and the transmission ended.

The group continued their journey towards the bridge. They were now so high up that was starting to get very windy. Pretty soon, the bridge was in sight. As expected, more of the Eclipse where waiting for them.
"I don't care what you do; no one gets across that bridge!" Nassana's voice yelled over a loud speaker.
The mercs opened fire and the whole thing now turned into a bridge battle. Despite this though, the Helldivers where slowly pushing forward.
"What the hell are you waiting for? Just kill them!" Nassana yelled.
The mercs now started using rocket launchers and one of them deployed two security drones.
"Heavy fire! Get to cover!" Austin yelled as he ducked behind a nearby crate on the bridge. The bridge in particular suffered from the worst of the wind and it was now extremely difficult to keep balance. Even Ventra's aim was being thrown off and his arrow's weren't hitting their targets as the wind kept blowing the arrows away when they were fired.
Despite this though, the group eventually managed to make it to the other side. Now it was just a matter of finishing the rest of the mercs off.
"I'm sending in reinforcements." Nassana yelled.
Sure enough, an Asari biotic came out of the nearby door. Austin fired on her, but she had a biotic barrier up. Clever.
Austin dove back into cover to avoid the Asari's biotic attacks. At last now, they were all out of the wind.
"Can you take her?" he asked Alaara.
"Maybe. She's a tough bitch." said Alaara.
The Asari Helldiver came out of cover and launched her own biotic attack at the Eclipse Asari.
The two biotic attacks smashed into each other and now both Asari where locked as they attempted to overpower one another. Anything that wasn't fastened down was caught in the biotics field and floated around.
"Damn it! Finish them off!" Nassana yelled.
The Eclipse Asari groaned and attempted to overpower hear opponent. Sweat dripped from her skin and her nose bled slightly due to her severe amount of concentration. Alaara however, didn't budge and gave a mighty push. Her immense biotic powers overloaded her opponents and the Eclipse Asari was flung against the wall. She hit it hard and fell to the floor dead.
"Good work, Alaara." said Austin.
No more of the mercs where left now. Nothing would stand in the way now of reaching Nassana.

Now they were in the penthouse. Sure enough, behind a large desk, stood Nassana Dantius. There were a few other Eclipse soldiers with her.
"Shepard? But… you're supposed to be dead!" she said, rather surprised to see the Helldivers.
"Oh really? Am I not?" Austin said sarcastically as he pretended to examine himself. "Well, I guess I got better."
"And now you're here to kill me." Said Nassana coldly as her mercs loaded their weapons and pointed them at the group. Alaara, Ventra and Grunt did the same and also drew their own weapons. Now both sides where in a Mexican stand-off.
"Maybe. Perhaps I just missed your generous company." Said Austin sarcastically.
"Screw you, Shepard!" said Nassana irritably.
"Still charming as ever, I see." Austin smiled sarcastically.
"I'm sure you find this all very ironic. First you take care of my sister, and now you're here for me. Well, you made it this far. Now what?" Nassana asked.
"You really think I'm here to kill you?" Austin asked back.
"Do you have another reason for destroying my tower? Decimating my security?" Nassana retorted.
"I'm just looking for someone." Austin replied.
"What the hell are you talking about? Is it credits? Is that what you want?" Nassana asked coldly.
"All the credits in the world won't make this problem go away, Nassana." Said Austin as he heard the very slightest sound of some bumping in the ceiling. He knew what it was almost instantly.
"Who the hell gave you the right to play god?!" Nassana retorted angrily. "I may not be perfect, but look at you. We both kill people for money. What's the difference?"
"You've brought this on yourself. I wouldn't stop it, even if I could." Austin said coldly as he crossed his arms.
"What do you mean? Of course you can stop it. Just don't…" Nassana went to say, but again the bump happened, louder this time. Nassana noticed her mercs where looking around. "What?" she asked irritably. As if she didn't have enough problems.
"I heard something." The Asari merc replied.
"Damn it. Check the other entrances!" Nassana ordered.
As the Asari merc left however, a figure suddenly dropped out of the vent right behind Nassana and the others.
"You… stay put. When I'm finished dealing with this nuisance, you and I are going to… Who…?" she said, as she suddenly noticed a Drell assassin snap the neck of one merc, punch the throat of another, shoot the last and then fling her arm aside as she drew her gun. Only too late did she notice the Drell's other arm had his own pistol pointed at her stomach. He pulled the trigger. Nassana groaned in pain as the bullet became embedded in her skin and she slowly felt the life leave her.
Thane Krios slowly laid the Asari's body gently on the desk.
"So, this is our guy? Good." said Grunt.
Austin waited for a long moment for Thane to say something. To Austin's surprise, it looked like he was praying. Very strange.
"I was hoping to talk to you." Austin said as he finally broke the silence
Thane looked up at Austin for a moment before he finally spoke.
"I apologise, but prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken." he said. He had a somewhat raspy voice.
As Austin stepped a bit closer to Thane, he finally saw the Drell properly without the sun in his eyes. He had light green skin and was dressed in some sort of dark grey outfit. It was fairly tight fitting, obviously designed for fast and flexible movements.
"Don't bother! You honestly think she deserves anything less?" Austin asked uncaringly. He shared no concern for Nassana's death.
"Not for her. For me. The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone. Take you, for instance. All this destruction… chaos. I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me." said Thane as he circled the desk until he was now on the other side. "Well… here I am."
"How did you know we were coming at all?" Alaara asked.
"I didn't. Not until you marched in the front door and started shooting. Nassana had become paranoid. You saw the strength of her guard force. She believed one of her sisters would kill her. You were a valuable distraction." said Thane.
"You used me. So you could kill her!" said Austin, a bit cross with that.
"I needed a diversion; you needed to speak with me. You certainly fulfilled your end of the bargain. What would you like to discuss?" Thane asked.
Ventra, Alaara and Grunt finally lowered their weapons as they finally saw that Thane wouldn't be a threat to them.
"Someone's been abducting entire human colonies. We're going to stop them. We already know the culprits – a race called the Collectors." said Austin.
"I've heard of them. Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 relays. No ship has ever returned from doing so." said Thane.
"They tell us it's a suicide mission. I intend to prove them wrong. Plus, to be fair, they told me it was impossible to get to Ilos." said Austin.
"A fair point." Thane laughed slightly. "This was to be my last job." he said as he looked out at Ilium's still setting sun. "I'm dying. Low survival odds don't concern me. The abduction of your colonists does."
"I hadn't heard that. Is there anything I can do?" Austin asked concernedly. The dossier hadn't mentioned at all that Thane was dying.
"Giving me this opportunity is enough. The universe is a dark place. I'm trying to make it brighter before I die. Many innocents died today. I wasn't fast enough, and they suffered. I must atone for that." said Thane. He then turned to face Austin and held out his hand. Austin shook it. "I will work for you, Shepard. No charge."

Thane walked into the comm room to find Austin, Alaara and Jacob waiting for him.
"I've heard impressive stories, Krios. Sounds like you'll be a fine asset to the team." Said Alaara welcomingly.
"That is if you're comfortable having an assassin watch your back." Jacob added.
"I've accepted a contract. My arm is Shepard's." said Thane calmly.
"Uh-huh. Don't know about you, but I'm loyal to more than my next pay check." said Jacob coldly.
"Obviously he is, too. He's doing this mission gratis. What's your concern, Taylor?" Austin asked.
"I don't like mercenaries. An assassin is just a precise mercenary." Jacob replied.
"An assassin is a weapon. A weapon doesn't choose to kill. The one who wields it does." "Where shall I put my things? I'd prefer someplace dry, if anything is available." said Thane.
"The area near the life support plant on the crew deck tends to be slightly more arid than the rest of the ship." Said EDI as her robotic avatar popped out of the table.
"Ah. An AI? My thanks." said Thane. The Drell bowed and then left the room.
"He seems quite civil." said EDI as her avatar disappeared.
"We need all the help we can get. He's not what I expected in an assassin. He may surprise you." said Austin.
"Yeah. And he may not." said Jacob.
"Mind your attitude, Taylor." Said Alaara coldly through gritted teeth.
"Still having a bit of trouble with him?" Austin asked as Jacob left the room.
"Jacob's alright. He's doing okay with everyone else. Miranda's still the same old Cerberus bitch ice queen." Alaara groaned slightly.
"That sounds more like something Jack would say." said Austin.
"She and I ended up talking for a bit while training in the simulator. She even joked that she wished she'd been there when I slapped Miranda for mouthing off to me." Alaara chuckled slightly.
"Yep, that sounds like Jack." Austin sighed.
"I should get back to work, Shepard." said Alaara as she saluted and went to leave..
"Alaara." Austin acknowledged as his second in command left the comm room.

"I'm surprised by Thane's spiritual side. His psych profile mentioned little of it, and he carries himself with such cold confidence. I'm not sure if I find him scary or sexy." Kelly commented when Austin came to talk with her.
"A lot of women like bad boys." Austin smiled.
"That is a dirty stereotype." Kelly laughed.

Now that the team was finally complete, Austin simply had to wait until the Collectors made another move. In the meantime, there was still plenty to keep him busy. Zaeed still had his own mission after all and Austin got the feeling that soon some of the others would have a certain thing that needed taken care of if they were to focus on the mission.
Since the Normandy was en-route to Zorya, Austin once again decided to have another chat with the crew. Samara was his first choice since he was starting to like the Justicar. There was something about her that brought out the best in him. The only other person that he knew could do that was Liara.
As expected, Samara was still in the observation room as was in the exact same meditation pose where she had been left. Still she was maintaining a biotic field of energy as her eyes glowed.
"Shepard." she said as she acknowledged his presence.
"I wanted to check in." said Austin.
"I am always happy to talk with you." Samara smiled. Her biotic field disappeared, but her eyes still remained glowing.
"I'm interested in hearing more about Justicars. The one my team worked with told us much, but she was rather young. I felt you might have more experience." said Austin.
"But of course." said the Justicar as she motioned for Austin to come closer. "I sense you are tired. Come and meditate with me. It will clear you're head." she said as the Helldiver walked up to her.
"Err… okay." Austin said hesitantly as he sat down next to Samara and mimicked her meditation position. Surprisingly it did actually seemed to help as Samara held his hand briefly and seemed to send some sort of mental imprint into his mind. His mind instantly relaxed and he felt calmer than he had for a long time
"Justicars hold a unique place in Asari culture. Justicars are from another era. Young Asari grow up watching vids about our adventures. Pure fiction, of course. Some Asari are uncomfortable with us, but so few Justicars exist that most have never met one." Samara explained.
"There are only so few?" Austin asked, surprised.
"Few Asari wish to make the sacrifices necessary to become one of us. And the training has a high casualty rate." said Samara.
"I know what that's like. Helldiver training is hardly what I would call easy." said Austin, remembering how the training pushed its soldiers to the limits. The Arkanes after all needed the best to wear the Helldiver exosuits.
"But it is worth it end the end, isn't it, Shepard?" Samara asked.
"Yes. Though I would say that while my side is about freedom, yours is more about justice." said Austin.
"Quite right. It is a life of constant danger. Throughout the entire galaxy, there are only a handful of us at any time." said Samara.
"I mean no offense by this, but why would anyone want to be a Justicar if it's that dangerous?" Austin asked.
Samara's expression seemed to sadden a bit before she eventually replied to the question.
"It is a deeply personal matter. Sometimes the most brutal path is the only honest one." she said.
"I know what you mean. Some Helldivers I know have joined for very personal reasons." said Austin, sharing Samara's feeling.
"It is fair to say that you and I are very much alike, Shepard. Both of us serve an order and fight for a noble cause." said Samara.
"Very true." "Can I ask about the Justicar code? It seems central to your life." Austin asked.
"It is five thousand sutras, and covers every situation one can encounter. I have memorized every word. There is only the Code." Samara explained.
"Sometimes justice calls for mercy." said Austin.
"It does not exist to bring about spiritual enlightenment. Its purpose is to punish the wicked and protect the innocent." said Samara.
"Strange. The Helldiver code is similar." said Austin.
"How so?" Samara asked curiously.
"We are granted certain freedoms from restrictions and rules to enable us to do our mission properly, but we still have a special set of rules to obey to make sure that we don't become corrupted by that power or attempt to abuse it." Austin explained.
"I am starting to notice a lot of similarities between our two orders." said Samara.
"Well, I'll bet Justicars existed before the Helldivers did. Maybe your order was an inspiration for them." Austin suggested.
"I would think so. You and your crew are honourable worriers to fight alongside. It is like working with other Justicars." Samara smiled.
"The Asari I've spoken to seem conflicted about Justicars." Austin inquired.
"In this age, people see shades of grey everywhere. The Code of the Justicar is black and white. I might seem a hero to many, but I would kill all of them if I had to." Samara explained.
"That seems a bit cold." said Austin sternly.
"Does not mean I take no pleasure in doing so." Samara finished.
At that, Austin understood. He was very much the same too. Just because killing was common in his line of work, it did not mean he had to enjoy it.
"So, what role do you think Justicars have in Asari society?" Austin asked.
"I would certainly say that they are very similar to your Helldivers. In human terms, I'd say the closest equivalent is a knight errant, in your medieval lore. Perhaps mixed with a bit of Samurai." Samara replied.
"You know about knights errant and Samurai?" Austin asked. He was pleasantly surprised that the Justicar knew so much about human culture and history.
"When I knew I must leave Asari space, I made sure that I visited Arkadia first. There, I stayed a few years and studied the history, culture and morals of new species. When I was a maiden wandering the galaxy, humans had not yet arrived, nor did the Helldivers yet exist." said Samara.
"What did your studies tell you about my people?" Austin asked.
"You are more individualistic than any other species I have encountered. If three humans are in a room, there will be six opinions. I like your species; I am curious to see what you will do." Samara smiled.
"What does your code say about killing?" Austin asked.
"I am compelled to kill the wicked. If a Justicar is involved, peaceful solutions are long past." Samara replied.
"You make killing sound so casual." said Austin, a bit surprised that Samara would be used to this sort of thing. Then again, he couldn't necessarily argue. He was the very much the same.
"I remember each being I have slain. They are always in my thoughts." Samara replied.
Austin decided to just leave it at that and pick another topic.
"Does the Code forbid romantic involvement?" he asked.
For a moment, Samara hesitated before replying.
"It does not. However, I would never be interested in such. That part of my life is well behind me." she said.
"You could meet someone who reawakens those desires." Austin suggested. He quickly realised how that might sound however and sincerely hoped that Samara wouldn't take that the wrong way. To his relief however, Samara remained clam, and there was no hint of anger or shyness in her voice.
"I am nearly one thousand years old. I know myself and my desires." she said. The Justicar then smiled slightly as she looked directly at Austin. "But your curiosity is quite welcome."
Austin couldn't help but avert his gaze for a minute as he attempted to get rid of the image of a nude Samara out of his head. Samara seemed to notice his embarrassment.
"Do not worry about being embarrassed, Shepard. Many young males of your age fantasize about Asari like me being naked. I am used to it these days." Samara said casually. She did look as though she might just be laughing a bit.
"Before I go, do you have any suggestions about using some of the resources we've gathered?" Austin asked.
"I can use some of them to increase our fuel reserves so we can explore further. Shall I tell you what is required?" Samara replied.
"Sure. What's it gonna take?" Austin asked.
Samara showed Austin what it would take to make her design for the fuel upgrade. It only really required a lot of Element Zero and the right scientific expertise to build it. Nothing that Mordin, Dell and Sill couldn't handle.
Thank you for the talk. Also, thank you very much for allowing me to meditate with you. It's helped a lot. Let's do it again sometime." said Austin as he stood up.
"It had been my pleasure, Shepard. I'm glad we spoke." said Samara as she went back to her own meditations.

"Hey, Shepard. Come for another chat?" Jack asked as she noticed Austin.
Once again, Austin had decided to have another chat with Jack. She still seemed cold to him, but her attitude certainly seemed to be improving.
"Tell me something I don't know about you." said Austin.
"Nothing to tell. Why?" Jack replied.
"I like to get to know the people I'll be working with. If you'd really rather not, I'll just go." said Austin. If Jack really hated him talking to her that much, he'd just leave her alone. After all, he knew what her temper was like and the last thing he wanted was to piss her off.
"No, stay. I hate to admit it, but I think I'm getting used to you talking with me." "Something you don't know, huh? Obvious stuff like what's up with my ink, or something else just as boring? You're not really interested unless it affects you. I've been through all this shit before." said Jack as she stood up and once again leant against a nearby pole as she usually did during their talks.
"You're a hard person to like, Jack. Such a shame." Austin sighed as he crossed his arms.
"Really? I had no idea. What other amazing insights do you have that I'm too stupid to see?" Jack asked in a somewhat teasing manner.
"I'll bite. What's with all the tattoos?" Austin asked as he looked at the ones he could see. It wasn't easy now that Jack was wearing her new, less revealing outfit.
"Some are for prisons I've been in. Some are for kills. You know, good ones. Some are for things I've lost. Those aren't your business. They're nobody's business. And some are because, hey, why the fuck not?" said Jack.
"You're tough, but you can't have survived alone all these years." Austin inquired.
"When I was starting out, I ran with this girl Manara and her boyfriend. They knew their way around. I thought they'd help me. Right. They helped me into their bed. And when we finally did take down something big, they helped themselves to my share of the take. I knew where it was heading, and I got them first. Never bothered with friends after that." Jack explained.
"You work pretty hard at not letting people get close." said Austin.
"I've been with lots of people. If you're asking about a boyfriend or girlfriend, no. It's a waste of time and it never works. You let someone get that close, it just means they need a shorter knife. Lonely and alive works just fine, thanks." Jack replied.
"Seems like you miss it a little more than you want to admit." said Austin.
"Pick every little word apart if you want, but it doesn't change the way the galaxy works. Come on, you've been around." said Jack.
"I have to go, but we should do this again." said Austin as he turned to leave. Before he could however, Jack stopped him.
"Wait. My turn with the questions. People usually walk by now. Why are you really asking all these things? You eyeing me up? Because if this is just about sex, maybe you should just fucking say so." Jack asked.
"No! Let me get this straight tight now. I am not looking for that. I appear to have given you that impression, then I'm sorry. You're an okay person, but I don't feel that way about you." Austin said sternly, making sure he made his point well and truly clear.
"Should hope so. You're Asari certainly wouldn't approve of I suddenly threw you down on this table and peeled you out of your uniform." Jack teased.
"And I certainly hope you don't try. I may be a polite person, but I'm not afraid to hit a girl if I have to." Austin said confidently.
"Just maybe, you're starting to become okay, Shepard." Jack smiled, impressed b Austin's willingness to stand up to her.
"Jack?!" came a voice.
"Kelly?"
Sure enough, the Yeoman herself had stepped down into the hold.
"Oh, hello, Major. I hadn't realised you were down here. I came to talk with Jack." said Kelly, a bit surprised to find Austin down here.
"It's fine. I was just leaving anyway." "Actually, before I do, I have one more thing to ask, Jack." said Austin as he turned to leave.
"Fine. Shoot." said Jack.
"I've picked up a lot of resources. Can you use them to help against the Collectors?" Austin asked.
"Since you mention it, yeah. I ran across the schematics for making L5X implants, still got 'em in my head. Wanna know what I need? Not usually my thing, but I've learned how to get things done on my own." said Jack.
Austin examined the schematics and approved for them to be built. He decided that he'd talked long enough and left Kelly and Jack to their talks. He couldn't help but notice the way the two women were looking at each other as they started talking. Could it be? Maybe. Jack and Kelly. It was certainly an interesting combination.
Anyway, Austin went back to his quarters He felt it best to just have a little nap before Zorya. If he was lucky, Liara would be there and he could hopefully get a cuddle with her on the bed. As the elevator went up, it suddenly stopped and opened again. Speak of the devil, Liara then stepped in.
"Hello, Austin. Heading up to our quarters?" she asked as she planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Just fancied a nap really." said Austin.
"That's funny. I figured you'd be more interested in a shower with me." said Liara seductively.
"I didn't realise that was on the list." Austin smiled.
"Oh, it definitely is." Liara whispered into his ear as her hand reached down and touched his member through his trousers. He could already feel himself stiffening a bit.
Austin simply smiled and pressed the button as he and Liara began kissing one another very passionately. This would be just what he needed.

I can't help it. What can I say? I like writing the sex scenes. Not only are they good fun, but they help Helldiver Saga go over the top from time to time. That is my goal in writing these stories after all. Over the top action, over the top violence, over the top Sex. Why not go all the way. This fic is rated MA after all. (Here's hoping that this site eventually grows a brain again and either gives us that rating, or stops deleting fics.)
See you next time! Hope you enjoyed this.
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Collector War