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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Collector War	By : Veyron722skyhook Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 6229 -:- 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
- 22
- 23
- 24
Quite glad I got this one done quickly. Slowly getting back to my more usual pace if we're lucky.
The two Hammerhead mission ended up being rather short, so I decided to include some more character development in this one. Specifically, Griffin, Dell, Thane and Dash.
Hope you like it. You'll also hopefully know what the next chapter will cover when you read this.

Chapter 23
Firewalker
The Normandy was already en-route to investigate Project Firewalker.
In the meantime, Austin decided to once again have another little chat with some of the crew. He still hadn't yet talked to Thane since the Drell came aboard and he also felt he should have another talk with Jacob.
"Major. Can I help you with something?" Jacob asked.
"I'm more interested in just talking for a bit." said Austin.
"If you want, Major. Like Cerberus, you have ranks, but you're not the Alliance. No rules about fraternization. Your boat, your call. You want to get friendly with everyone, that's your business." said Jacob casually.
"Relax Jacob. I'm just interested in what makes you tick." Austin replied.
"Anyone else said that, I'd walk away. Most Cerberus people try to play like the Illusive Man, hiding bullshit behind a smile. But you – I like what I've seen. I'll give you a shot. What do you want to know?" said Jacob.
"So… you got any family waiting for you back home? When this is done it'd be nice to have someone to go home to." Austin asked.
"I'm an only child and no extended family. Never settled down. Didn't seem fair with this job. But, you can't miss what you never had." Jacob replied.
"You seem okay with taking a risk on me. Why?" Austin asked. He was actually curious as to why Jacob was trusting him and the Helldivers this well compared to Miranda.
"Soldiers like us know how important trust is to the crew. I've not seen it on a Cerberus ship, and certainly not from the people they put in command. But considering how friendly you Helldivers tend to be, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at seeing it here. Still, you seem to focus more on the job. A threat this big, you can't just throw people at it blind. They need inspiration." Said Jacob.
"There's a lot riding on this, but we can't give up everything." Said Austin confidently.
"Not always a choice we get to make. Good to try, though. I gave it my best back in the Alliance. Got labelled a troublemaker. They were always on the lookout for disruptive types. Cerberus wasn't any better. The only difference was that they put more effort into hiding how much they spied on us." Said Jacob.
"Let them watch you now. We're not hiding anything." Austin said without hesitation.
"Wouldn't matter if we were. It's not like they can reels us in anymore. The Helldivers are handling this whether they like it or not. Anyway, I should get back to prep. Nice talking with you, Shepard. Let's do it again some time." Said Jacob as he went back to his work. Just before he could though, Austin quickly spoke again.
"Just a minute. Any thoughts on how to prepare against the Collectors?" the Helldiver asked. He still felt it best that they upgrade if they could at all.
"Well, I know the Arkanes specked this ship to the original Normandy, but you were there—the Collectors cut her like butter. This armour just isn't top of the line anymore. People will die if we don't upgrade. Alliance had some new toys in secret development before I left. I could try and pull a few favours." Said Jacob.
The former Cerberus operative showed Austin what he had. It wasn't much, but Austin did see something they could use. One of Jacob's selections was Silaris heavy ship armour. Austin had a feeling they would need this. The specs of the armour didn't say if it was strong enough to withstand the firepower of a Collector Ship, but it was still worth investing in. It might just provide the edge they needed.
With that taken care of, Austin headed down to the crew deck. Before he chatted to Thane though, he immediately headed for the medbay. Griffin and Tali where still recovering from their injuries. Dr Chakwas immediately took notice of her friend.
"Hello, Shepard." She said.
"How are they doing?" Austin asked.
"Why don't you ask them yourself?" Chakwas smiled as she indicated to two of the beds. Griffin had removed his armour and was currently sat on the bed dressed in his suit mesh. Tali meanwhile, was lying on the bed, covered in a lot more bandages than Griffin. They mostly went over the parts of her suit from where the Collector Captains had shot her.
"You two okay?" Austin smiled. "You certainly look well."
"Still stings a bit, but it's getting better." Griffin replied.
"How's Tali?" Austin asked, noticing that Tali hadn't taken notice of him being in the room and was still lying down on the bed.
"She's sleeping at the moment. She got quite a bad fever from her wounds. She should be fine in a couple of days." said Griffin.
The demolition expert adjusted himself slightly so that he was now sat on the edge of the bed and facing Austin.
"What about you?" Austin asked, still concerned for Griffin. He'd really grown to like to the Demolition expert.
"Doctor Chakwas tells me I'll be okay to leave the medbay tomorrow, but she's said I should avoid combat for a few days. Seems the bullet broke one of my ribs too." Griffin replied, wincing slightly as he put his hand on where the wound had entered his chest. He currently had a bandage over it.
"Sorry to hear that. You're a good fighter." Said Austin.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll do okay without me. Besides, it'll give the others a chance to catch up, so to speak." Griffin smiled.
Austin simply chuckled and shook his head.
"Nothing ever dampens your spirits, does it, Alex?" he smiled.
"Not really. Having a belief in something really helps." Said Griffin.
"You sound just like Ashley now. Speaking of which, how's it going between you and her?" Austin asked curiously.
"Better than I thought it would. We've made a few calls from time to time. I can see why you two where close friends. She's quite an interesting woman." Griffin replied.
"I did think you two would work well together. You both have many similarities." Said Austin.
"Hmm, a belief in God is the first. Add to that, we both believe there's a heaven of some sorts and we love serving in the military." Said Griffin.
"Has she said anything about me?" Austin asked.
"Other than hoping you're okay, no." Griffin replied.
"It actually works well for the both you that you're a Helldiver. That way she's able to pursue a relationship with you." Said Austin.
"What do you mean?" Griffin asked, slightly confused by this.
"She's an Alliance soldier. She's also very by the book, if you know what I mean. If you were in the Alliance too, she'd always say that fraternization is forbidden." Austin explained.
"Oh, I see. Because we're not part of the Alliance, it's okay. If I recall as well, we ourselves are allowed to become involved with other Helldivers. Alaara and Sandra are primary examples, if I recall." Said Griffin.
"Indeed. Also works for my relationship with Liara." Said Austin.
"I am still wondering actually when you're going to ask the question." Griffin smiled cheekily.
"That's private, Griffin." Austin replied slyly.
"Forgive me, Major. But it always warms my heart to see something like love flourishing, even during times like these." Said Griffin.
"Our mission's too important at the moment, but maybe when this is over I'll consider looking for a ring. Maybe an Azure coloured one…" Austin smiled happily as he started thinking of the possibility of actually getting a wedding ring for Liara.
He hadn't really thought it until now. Given how there was the possibility that they might not be coming back from this mission, though he intended to try and prove that wrong, perhaps he should at least consider proposing. Then if they truly did survive, he'd had something to look forward to. At the same time of course, he didn't want to rush Liara into something like this. True she'd remained faithful to him for two years while he'd been dead, and they'd been together for almost a year when they'd first met. Plus, Liara had said that it would soon be the anniversary of the day he died. Austin didn't know yet if that was something he should care about, but he knew Liara cared. Perhaps he should get her something nice, or perhaps spend the entire day with her, make a promise that he'd never leave her again.
The Helldiver quickly snapped his mind back to reality though before he could continue contemplating. He and the others still had a mission to complete. There'd be time to think about these plans later.
"Good talking to you again, Alex. Next time you talk to Ash, tell her I said Hi." Said Austin as he and Griffin banged fists.
"Will do, Shepard. Thanks for coming by."
As Austin turned to leave, he quickly turned to Chakwas.
"Do let me know when Tali wakes up, please." He said.
"I will, Shepard. She'll be alright. She just needs rest." Said Chakwas.
Austin left the medbay and now headed into the life support room. True to what EDI had said to Thane, it did feel rather dry compared to the rest of the ship. Austin was actually beginning to wonder why Thane had asked to be put in here. Perhaps he would find out if he asked. Thane seemed very civil after all; Austin doubted he would mind being asked.
Austin found Thane sitting at a small table. The Drell had set up a small bed next to it. He was currently continuing with his prayers by the looks of things.
"Do you need something?" he asked as Austin approached.
"Have a few minutes to talk?" Austin asked.
"Certainly. We haven't had a chance since I joined." Said Thane.
"I assume you've settled in okay here?" Austin inquired.
"Yes. You're crew has also been very friendly towards me. Some of them also seem a bit fascinated with me. It's like they've never seen a Drell before." Said Thane.
"Well, to be fair, the Drell aren't part of the Helldivers. At least not yet, anyway. Also, you're people aren't often seen that much. As I recall, tend to stick to the Hanar world." Said Austin.
"I suppose that does explain it." Said Thane.
"Do you mind if I ask you something a bit more private?" Austin asked.
"That depends on what you are going to ask." Thane replied. "Though I think I can guess what it is."
"When we met you, you said you were dying." Said Austin.
"Yes. I thought you'd want to know more. You don't have to worry about the rest of the crew. My illness is not communicable, even to other Drell. It's called Kepral's Syndrome." Thane explained.
"Are you going to be all right until the end of the mission?" Austin asked, still a bit concerned. He'd hate to lose Thane before he was needed. Not only had the Helldivers gone through a lot of trouble to find and recruit him, but also because he had good skills. Skills that might just give them the advantage.
"I should be fine for another 2 to 3 years. The more time I spend in humid environments, the faster it progresses. I think it's safe to say that by the time my body is incapacitated; we'll be victorious, or dead. Either way, I won't be a burden to you." Said Thane.
"What exactly is the problem?" Austin asked.
"My people are native to an arid world. As you said, most of us now live on Kahje, the Hanar homeworld. It's very humid, and rains every day. Our lungs can't deal with the moisture. Over time, the tissue loses its ability to absorb oxygen. It becomes harder to breathe. Eventually, we suffocate." Said Thane.
"Can't they do something about that?" Austin asked.
"The Hanar have funded a genetic engineering program. They should be able to adapt us eventually. The project has only been running for a few years though. I don't believe my body will still draw breath by the time it bears fruit." Said Thane.
"Is there anything we can do here? The Normandy has a state of the art medical bay and we have some of the finest scientists in the galaxy." Austin offered.
"No, thank you. It's being attended to. If the medical minds in the Hanar illuminated Primacy can't solve the problem, I doubt your ship's medic could. No offense to her." Said Thane.
"It's alright. I understand what you're trying to say." Said Austin.
"Still, thank you for your concern, Shepard. Trust me. This won't affect my performance." Said Thane.
"Before I go, we need to have the best equipment possible to take on the Collectors. You have any leads I could chase down?" Austin asked.
"My old contact network often located rare equipment for me. Would you like me to get in touch with them?" asked Thane.
"Let's see what they've got." Said Austin.
Thane showed Austin what he had. Like Jacob, most of the equipment was still mostly pale in comparison to Helldiver tech, but there was a modular probe bay upgrade which could work very well for them. Austin approved them before the Normandy finally arrived at Zeona where they were said to find the location of this so called Hammerhead that Arnold had mentioned to him.

Austin sat in the shuttle, simply waiting until they landed. For this, he'd gone with Jack, Liara and Dash. The convict and the scout where currently exchanging some meaningless taunts with one another while Austin was simply thinking a bit more on what Griffin had said earlier.
"What are you gonna do if I do, kiddo? Kick my ass?" Jack laughed tauntingly.
"Helldivers kick all sorts of ass. Deal with it!" said Dash in a very cocky voice.
Jack couldn't really think of a good comeback to that. She was begging to understand why Dash was often called "The Helldiver with a mouth". Not only did he talk a lot, he had a sparkling sense of humour and always seemed to have at least one wisecrack. Sometimes it was annoying, other times it was downright hilarious.
"Alright. You win. Fuck you." Said Jack.
"Don't feel bad for losing, Jack. I've managed to annoy a whole Batarian slaver colony with my wisecracks." Dash smiled smugly.
The dropship eventually touched down and the doors opened. Jack made sure that her face mask was secure just before she ventured out. The hot atmosphere had a lot of ash, smoke and ash in it from the volcano and lava.
There were a few signs of wreckage that dotted the area. In addition to this, there was also a massive crate of some kind.
The nearby wreckage appeared to be repeating some kind of recorded log entry.
"I don't think the ship is safe. We've run into the Geth far too often. I'm going to stay at the next site with Dr O'Loy. I'll think we'll be safe there." It said.
The team made their way over to the large crate. It was locked, but Austin could easily hack through the encryption. Within just a few seconds, a large ramp lowered itself down, revealing what was inside. Sure enough, they'd found the vehicle they'd been searching for, the Hammerhead. It actually bore some resemblance to the Mako Austin and the others had used on the original Normandy. It certainly shared the same front design and also had a large cannon on the top. Unlike the Mako however, the Hammerhead didn't have wheels, in fact it looked as though it had Thrusters of some kind. Could it hover? There was only one way to find out.
The team clambered into the confined space. Austin had to admit that the Hammerhead had a more comfortable and better designed interior than the Mako had. It still had the same seat positioning, but that wasn't a bad thing.
The Hammerhead had security protocols on it, but those where easily overridden. There was a gentle hum as the engines came to life and the vehicle slowly began to lift off the ground.
"This does feel rather weird, not having any wheels." said Austin.
"Let's just hope this one is easier to drive." Liara muttered.
"Well how hard can it be?" said Dash.
"Don't say that!" said Austin.
The Major very gently eased the controls over and the Hammerhead slowly turned. It certainly seemed to handle okay and the sensitivity was pretty good as well.
"Primary systems online." said synthetic male voice. "Welcome to the M-44 Hammerhead infantry fighting vehicle. This is your on-board VI."
An orange holographic map appeared on Austin's left. It was a rough 3 dimensional hologram of the area and it showed where most of the research material had landed from when the ship crashed. The first one was located just on the other side of the river of lava.
Austin took a moment to think. This thing was fast, something Dash would love, but he still wasn't sure if they could jump the gap. Then he felt a button on one of the control sticks. It was red. The holograms that were also being projected around the controls seemed to say, jump over it. Austin hated to risk it, but how else was he to find out what this thing did. As far as he could tell, there was no instruction manual.
"Strap tight, people. This may get a bit bumpy." He advised.
Everyone did so and made sure that they were properly secured in their seats, and Austin put his foot down on the accelerator pedal. To everyone's utter surprise, the Hammerhead's boost activated and it shot forward so fast that they literally sank into their seats.
"Woooooooohooooooo!" Dash yelled.
"Oh shut up!" Jack shouted as Austin eased the pressure down a bit and the Hammerhead's speed went to a more controllable level.
He then activated the jump just before they reached the edge and the Hammerhead jumped right over the lava.
"Mission objectives located." Said the VI.
Austin hovered the Hammerhead over where the VI was indicating. Another button on the holographic display flashed several times. Austin pressed it and the Hammerhead started to shake. Austin managed to keep it steady long enough for the vehicle to gather the research data and samples.
"Acquired." said the VI. "Caution: Guided missile system active."
"Look at that." said Liara, amazed as she had a look at the research data.
"I had feeling you'd say that." Austin smiled under his helmet.
The next objective appeared to be further away, on the other side of the crater they were in. Luckily, Austin saw a way of hopefully getting up and over. The Hammerhead jumped out, but soon found its path blocked by a crashed part of the ship.
"Obstruction detected. Recommend using conventional weapons to clear path." said the VI.
Unlike the Mako, the Hammerhead's cannon wasn't controlled by a separate person. This one was controlled by the driver. Austin gently manoeuvred the Hammerhead until the cannon was properly lined up with the wreckage and pressed the trigger. A small shot fired from the cannon and the obstruction
"Path is now clear." the VI observed.
After that, everything else was pretty simple. All they had to do was keep repeating the boost and jumps until they had all the research data that had been lost during the MSV Rosalie's wreckage. Finally, they had the last piece.
"Mission objectives completed." said the VI.
With that done and dusted, Austin radioed the Normandy and made the Hammerhead jump high enough to get into the Normandy's cargo bay. It would take some time for the data recovered from the wreckage to be examined and decrypted, but Liara had assured Austin that she'd be able to use the data to find the Prothean ruins that Arnold had made mention to in his message about the Hammerhead.
Until then, Austin stuck around in the cargo bay and spent some time exercising in the simulator.

After about two hours, the Major finally took a break. As he came out of the simulator, he found Dell tinkering around with the Hammerhead, while Sill was scraping off the Cerberus paint in order to give the vehicle a small refit with Helldiver technology and to also give it Helldiver logos and paint scheme.
Austin went up to the Mako and looked at Dell. He was currently under the Hammerhead and appeared to have a few tools scattered around him. He'd been busy.
"Interesting new vehicle you got for us, Shepard. Sill and I can think of a lot of new tech ideas from this alone." Dell grunted as he acknowledged the Helldiver Major standing over him.
"Must say, I'm quite impressed with it myself. Certainly more fun than that Mako rover." said Austin. "What exactly are you doing?"
"Just making sure it's in the best of conditions. And as you've probably noticed, Sill's taking off the Cerberus logos. Don't want their symbol on our vehicle, even if it was theirs." Dell replied.
"Is that hard at all?" Austin asked.
"Try to remember who you're talking to, Shepard. I helped build the Helldivers. This is easy compared to that. In fact, many engineers could learn a lot from the simple systems I've adopted... OW!" Dell shouted. He'd cut his finger on a sharp piece of metal.
"You alright?" Austin asked concernedly.
"Fine. Fine. Just a scratch!" Dell said. "Shit! That hurt." he cursed under his breath.
"I can come back if you're busy." said Austin.
"No, it's fine. I've been meaning to talk you anyway. Something I need to ask." said Dell as he slid out from under the Hammerhead.
"Sill, would you mind taking over for me for a bit? I need to talk with Shepard." he asked.
"Sure thing, Dad." said Sill as she stopped her original job and walked over to where Dell had been. "Shepard." she acknowledged.
"So, you have something to ask of me?" Austin inquired.
"Yes, now that you're here though, I'm not sure how I can begin." said Dell.
"Just take your time if you're finding this hard." said Austin reassuringly.
"Okay. Here goes." said Dell as he took a deep breath. "You remember Sill's mother? My wife, Uthenra?"
"Yes. What about her?" Austin replied.
Dell gave a small sigh before replying. "It'll be our wedding anniversary soon, you see. She knows that I and Sill are currently serving with you and that we can't come home. So she suggested that she come on board the Normandy instead. At first I didn't like the idea seeing as how dangerous it might be, but all this has started to get me thinking. I have confidence that we will survive our mission to defeat the Collectors, but a part of me still knows there's the possibility we might not." he said.
"I promise you, Dell, we'll destroy the Collectors, and we'll have a tale or two to tell when we come back." said Austin confidently.
"I do admire your confidence, Shepard. You share Zartrack's bravery. But still, the future is unpredictable, and I promised my wife that I would at least ask you this. With your permission, I would like for Uthenra to come aboard the Normandy just for the day. It might help keep my spirits up, so to speak." said Dell. At the same time, the Arkane engineer bandaged up the deep cut on his finger.
"I suppose I can understand how you feel." said Austin as he thought long and hard about this choice. As long as it was just for one day, there wouldn't really be any problem. Besides, the entire crew was trained to handle some of the worst. Also, if he and Sarah where in Sill's position, they too would want to see their mother again before heading through hell and back.
"Tell her that she's more than welcome to come aboard if she wants. As long as it's only for one day, I'm sure there'll be no problem at all." he said.
Dell was lost for words at the Major's response. He'd had confidence that Austin would understand, but he'd mostly assumed it would be a long shot.
"I... thank you so much, Major. I cannot thank you enough." he said, gratefully.
Austin simply smiled and patted Dell reassuringly on the shoulder. "I'll look forward to meeting her." he said.

The next day, Liara managed to finish her decryption of the Prothean data and now had the location of a dig site. The planet that the Prothean site was located on; Kopis in the Hoplos system of the Hades Nexus cluster was also the last known location of Dr Cayce, one of the scientists who'd been testing the Hammerhead.
Liara of course had practically begged to be brought on the mission and had even attempted to bribe Austin with a full on strip show, and a tittyfuck. While Austin had loved this, Liara hadn't really needed to make the effort. He'd been planning on taking her anyway since she was their Prothean expert. Since he'd already got that sorted out, Austin now just had to decide who else to take. Of course it wasn't compulsory that Austin had to take a full team. It could just be him and Liara, but still, they didn't know what they'd find. Eventually, Austin decided to take Samara and Sarah with him.
The Hammerhead hummed into life as the Normandy's cargo bay doors opened. Dell and Sill had now finished their work on upgrading, refitting and repainting the vehicle. Instead of being white with yellow and black Cerberus markings, the Hammerhead was now grey with black makings. It even had the traditional Helldiver logo on it and few extra armour additions.
Austin activated the thrusters as the Hammerhead fell in order to slow the landing, and soon they were hovering just above the ground. Ahead of them, was the ruins. However there was an obstacle in the way. There was a massive kinetic barrier covering the entire dig site.
"Kinetic barrier detected. Kinetic barrier strength beyond conventional weapon capability. Recommend disabling power sources." said the VI.
The power sources weren't difficult to find since there where blue lines heading away from the kinetic barrier. The real difficult parts where that the dig site was guarded by an awful lot of rocket drones where buried all over the place. Austin quickly took evasive maneuvers to avoid the fire and quickly returned fire on the drones. Despite the drones increased drone numbers though, the Hammerhead soon found the first of the kinetic barrier's generators.
"Kinetic barrier strength reduced." said the VI.
Austin quickly did the same to all the others, as well as destroying more of the rocket drones. The kinetic barrier was down very quickly.
"Kinetic barrier deactivated. Path is clear."

Austin set the Hammerhead down inside the main area. The rest of the way into the dig site was too small for the vehicle to fit, so the team continued the rest of the way on foot.
To say that Liara speechless by the sheer sight alone of these Prothean ruins would definitely be an understatement. The Asari was acting exactly the same as she had done when they'd first set foot on Ilos 3 years ago.
"Goddess, this is amazing. The architecture is just..." she said as she tried to think of a suitable word to describe the sights that where greeting her eyes.
"This isn't secretly Ilos, is it? It feels like it." said Sarah.
"Let's try and remain focused people. We'll have to time to study the ruins better once we find what we came here for." said Austin.
Liara reluctantly followed, but she did make a note of everything she saw. Soon, the team found an audio log. It was from Dr Cayce.
"Dr O'Loy must have been indoctrinated by the Reapers. I found him sending our data to a Geth ship. I won't be responsible for another Geth attack, another Eden Prime. I've silenced O'Loy... forever." it said.
"Sounds to me like he was having a nervous breakdown." said Sarah.
"Fear can make people do a lot of things, both bad and good." said Austin.
The team proceeded further through the ruins. Soon, they could see signs of a battle. There were several dead bodies of Blue Suns mercs and even Cerberus soldiers and scientists. They soon found another audio log. In the distance, they could see some sort of large stone barrier. It looked as though it was protecting something.
"It's too late for me. They're still in my head, stealing my thoughts. I can't keep them out. I've got no choice but to destroy this relic and myself." said the audio log. Once again, it was Dr Cayce.
Austin activated a nearby console and the stone barriers retracted into the ground, revealing the Prothean artefact that they had come for. Surprisingly, it was some sort of large silvery sphere, a mysterious, but at the same time rather beautiful sight.
"By the Goddess! This is incredible!" said Liara, barely managing to contain her sheer excitement.
"What exactly is it?" Austin asked as they approached the sphere. It was emitting a low and gentle humming sound as they got closer.
"I'm not sure. I've never seen a Prothean artefact like this before." Liara replied.
"Whatever it is, it is quite beautiful." said Samara.
Austin decided to take risk and stepped closer to the artefact.
"Austin, wait..." Liara said. Before she could finish though, Austin touched the artefact.
The sphere seemed to ripple slightly from his touch and then started vibrating. Everyone immediately stepped back.
"That was your fault." said Sarah quickly.
There was a bright light for a second and everyone was briefly blinded. When it cleared, it appeared at first as if the artefact was, gone. However, once their sight readjusted, they saw that the artefact was still there, but had shrunk. The now very small sphere fell to the ground and landed with a very loud clang.
"Okay... what just happened?" said Austin.
"I wish I had answers for you, love." said Liara as they once again walked up to the sphere. Nothing happened this time.

For now, Austin had placed the orb in his and Liara's quarters. Liara had said that it was a very nice decoration and that she would study it next time she had some free time. She'd even rewarded Austin for taking her with him, by saying that she was planning on returning the favour by getting him a surprise present in return. Austin thought at first that it would simply be a sexy one, but Liara did make it sound as if that wouldn't necessarily be the case.
As Austin sat admiring the orb, his private terminal bleeped. He accessed it to find a message. No doubt it was about what had happened down there. To his surprise, the message was a from a very familiar face.
It has been a while, Shepard. The Council have told me how well you've been doing so far. I'm very proud by your progress. Good work also with finding the Prothean ruins.
The burst of energy that coincided with your retrieval of the Prothean artefact contained coded information. Most of the data was beyond our ability to track, but the threads we were able to decrypt have provided new avenues for research on energy transfer and biotics. It will keep the scientists busy for a while for years.
The data indicates that the artefact is currently inert and not dangerous. So, as a suggestion, you could give it to Liara as a present. I know she'd love it. I hope your relationship with her is also good. In my experience, it's always good to have something to not only fight for, but to come back to.
On the subject of the artefact though, so of our scientists have wondered, that if Cayce had more time, would he have unlocked its secrets? They will continue his research. We'll make sure also to keep Cerberus away. Last thing we want is them snooping around after they nearly got you killed.
Good luck out there, Shepard. Give them hell!
Your friend and mentor
General Alkatraan Zartrack
Austin finished reading and looked back at the orb on his table. He touched it again briefly and it rippled. A nice little souvenir, if he did say so himself.
At that moment, EDI's avatar then appeared behind him.
"Yes EDI?" Austin acknowledged.
"Miss Lawson would like to speak with you in her office, Shepard." said the AI.
"Miranda? What the hell does she want?" Austin asked, a bit surprised that Miranda would want to talk with him. He and the ex-Cerberus operative still weren't on the best of terms. "If she's had another argument with Alaara again, I'm throwing her in the holding cells." he mumbled to himself. He then turned back to EDI. "Tell her I'm on my way."
"Of course, Shepard." said EDI.
The AI vanished and Austin steppe into the elevator. He sincerely hoped that Miranda wasn't planning on trying to argue with him about something.

Dash simply stood, gazing at the several Cerberus troopers surrounding him.
This wasn't real of course. It was just the simulation that Dash and Jack had created after they'd decided to have a contest with one another to try and prove who the faster fighter was and who could get more points.
"Alright. You'll all have to ask yourselves one question. Do I feel lucky?" "Well… do ya… punks?!" the scout taunted as he looked around at his enemies.
The troopers remained unfazed by this though and simply continued circling the Helldiver scout.
"Come on, let's dance." said Dash.
The Cerberus troopers aimed their weapons, but Dash immediately went for his dual pistols and aimed at the trooper's feet.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" he shouted with each shot. "BANG!"
Another shot went into another trooper's knee. The troopers that had been shot hopped about on one leg clutching their injured feet. Some even fell over, clutching their injuries. Dash hadn't managed to shoot all of them though and they immediately opened fire on the scout.
Dash however simply ran an all the bullet's missed him.
Dash was already fast because his armour was much lighter than the others, but also because it was fitted with loads of speed enhancers. So now, Dash was able to run at nearly 60 mph. He was that fast. Dash also did an awful lot of exercises and did at least 3 hours a day on a running machine to keep him fit. Doing this for so long had allowed him to run for long periods of time without having to stop for breath or consume water.
"Feel the speed! THE SPEEEEEED!" Dash yelled as he practically ran circles around the other troopers.
The two troopers looked around wildly, and fired at Dash, but he was too fast for them. Within seconds even, Dash had already tripped up one of them and he threw the trooper over the edge of the tall building he was fighting on.
The other trooper tried to run but Dash stopped him with seconds. The scout hopped onto the trooper and aimed both his pistols at the trooper's neck.
"Open wide!"
Dash fired and the trooper's head exploded, causing blood to spill all over the place.
Before Dash could savour this victory however, more gunshots whizzed past his head. In all the excitement he seemed to have forgotten about the last three enemies in this simulation, the Centurions.
Dash however didn't worry and simply ran again. This time though, he slid right under one of the Centurion and straight between his legs, both dual guns blazing right at the Centurion's crotch.
"Sweeet!"
The Centurion screamed in pain and fell to his knees, clutching his injury. This was only brief though before Dash sliced his head off with his elbow blade. The Scout then simply aimed his gun as another Centurion ran at him. The Centurion stopped as he found the gun be pointed right at his face at point blank range.
"Oh Fu…"
Dash fired and the bullet blew a large, bloodied, hole in the Centurion's helmet.
"Hmm, I just invented a new colour. It's called hint of brain." Dash chuckled.
Only one was left now. This one was a fair distance away, but Dash would be at him before he could blink. Dash could just shoot him, but he always liked to show off. He may as well end the simulation in style.
Dash ran at the Centurion who fired at him blindly as he backed away in fright. Dash jumped and punched the Centurion, causing him to lose his balance and fall over the edge.
"Wooohoooo! Best - ride - ever!" Dash yelled with joy in between punches. He was on top of the Centurion as they both fell. The Centurion quickly realized that with him below, the fall would kill him and he attempted to struggle. Dash's constant punches however kept him at bay.
There was massive explosion of dirt, rubble and concrete as the Centurion and Helldiver hit the ground. The dust eventually cleared and Dash clambered off the now bloodied and broken dead body of the Centurion.
"You just got owned, Cerberus. Suck it, Illusive Man!" he said.
"Simulation complete. You achieved an increase of 25% in speed on that round, Mr Torres." said EDI.
The environment around Dash quickly started dissolving into loads of tiny holographic cubes and was quickly replaced by the real environment of the Normandy's cargo bay. Jack was stood just a metre or so away from the simulator pad. She looked a bit cross due to the fact that Dash was within a shot at beating her score.
"The final score, is Jack: 2581, Dash: 3000" said EDI.
"Fuck!" Jack swore.
"Yes!" Dash cheered. "So, still wanna see who's better?"
"You've certainly got a mouth on you, Dash. And you are funny, I'll give you that." said Jack. Despite losing, she didn't look as though she was going to lose her temper. In fact, she was doing very well since she often used to simulator daily to either de stress or just work off some steam. Now she didn't really see the need to take her anger out on real things. Not to mention to the fact that she was slowly growing comfortable serving on the Normandy.
"They don't call me the Helldiver with a mouth for nothing, Jack. Besides, a lot them are so boring. No sense of humour… apart from my team of course." said Dash smugly.
"We should do this again sometime." said Jack.
"Why? So you can lose again? No one's ever managed to outrun me. My speed is rivalled only by the lightning." said Dash.
"Maybe that should've been your name." Jack joked.
"In your dreams, thunder." Dash retaliated.
"Huh, big mouth and a smartass. You're not so bad, Dash." Jack smiled, not only was impressed with Dash's clever humour, she was also impressed that he was brave enough to say things like that to her without worrying about pissing her off.
"Is that a compliment I hear, Jack?" Dash asked jokingly.
"Fuck you!" said Jack as she left the cargo bay.
"I thought so." said Dash as he folded his arms.
There was then a sudden movement from behind Dell's desk and both he and Sill slowly came out of hiding.
"Is she gone now?" Dell asked, nervously.

Sorry if the Hammerhead missions where rather short, but it is basically the same objective of gathering data and destroying pylons. Not much variety you can write about that I'm afraid.
So, as you should know, Miranda's loyalty mission is next. Lately a few reviews have said I've been portraying Miranda as being a bit weak. Well, that should hopefully change after her mission. After that, she will start to change and she will start to get along with everyone.
See you next time!
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Collector War