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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle	By : Veyron722skyhook Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 6104 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or it's characters. They belong to Bioware and EA. No money/profit is made by me from this.

Chapter List
- 28
- 29
- 30
Finished at last!

First of all I am so sorry this got delayed! I had a lot of distractions last week and this chapter ends dup begin longer than I though it would, even with the changes. It also took me longer than t should have to do the parts from the game.

So I'm very sorry about that, and hopefully we won't have the same delay with the next chapter (which is the last one before the final battle)

Anyway, this is turning point int he story as we finally find out what the Catalyst is, and we also learn a new secret along the way.

I've had this twist idea planned for the story ever since I first saw Leviathan, so I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 29

The Secret of the Leviathan

About two days after the party it had been now. So far, still no sign of the Catalyst though.

As Austin stood before the galaxy map, debating on any kind of lead that was worth investigating, he heard his private terminal beep.

"Major, there's an Alliance researcher working on the Citadel Dr. Garret Bryson. I need you to meet with him right away.

Dr. Bryson has uncovered important new information about Reapers that could have a direct bearing on the war I'm officially directing you to support his efforts at the first opportunity. Please visit Dr Bryson's laboratory on the Citadel at once.

With almost no options left at all, Austin decided it couldn't hurt.

"… I want you to match this against all known locations and update the map. Then contact the field teams for a progress report."

"Yes, sir."

The eldest of the two Doctors turned to Austin as he entered.

"Major Shepard. We've been expecting you. Just a moment. And Hadley, could you gather the Leviathan data for us?" he said. "Apologies, Major; the rest of my team is out investigating leads right now. I'm Dr. Garret Bryson and this is Task Force Aurora."

"What's your assignment?" Austin asked.

"Our mandate is to investigate legends, rumours… old stories about the Reapers before anyone knew they existed." Said Bryson.

"That's an interesting goal, but is anyone doubting the Reapers exist these days?" Austin asked.

"The Alliance is still desperate for intelligence. Reaper motives, their operational tactics… anything that can give us an edge." Said Bryson.

"And how did you wind up in charge?" Austin asked.

"When the rest of the galaxy says something doesn't exist, I take that as a chance to prove that it does."

"So you're in it for the challenge."

"For the truth. Even as late as 2148, humanity still thought aliens were a myth. That was within my lifetime. Once that myth was proven to be reality, our entire history changed."

"Reapers were part of that reality, too."

"But even they have a history, Major. If we can just uncover it, there may be a weakness we can exploit."

"I could've used your help five years ago."

"Yes. If people had paid more attention t your Prothean beacon, we might not be in this war. But now, with new information we've uncovered, a breakthrough is near."

Bryson's assistant then walked in.

"Hadley, do you have the data?"

Before Austin could react in time, Hadley suddenly raised a gun.

"No."

He fired, hitting Bryson straight in the heart and killing him instantly. Hadley then turned to Austin, but the Helldiver reacted first. He quickly countered the scientists' arm and punched him to the floor.

"This is Major Shepard! I need C-sec at my location now!"

"You shouldn't be here… the darkness can't be breached…"

"Transit records show his name as Derek Hadley. He's worked here for a couple months." Said one of the C-sec officers.

"Shepard, I monitored a C-sec alert from this location. Were you harmed?" EDI asked, suddenly walking in

"I'm fine. But I could use your help sorting this out, EDI." Austin replied. "Take a look through their files. I need to know what this task force was up to."

"At once." EDI acknowledged.

"What? I…" said Hadley, suddenly coming too. "What's happening?"

"You tell me." Austin replied coldly. "You just shot your boss. He's dead. Why?"

"After you arrived… it was dark. Cold. Like I was somewhere else…" said Hadley, struggling to remember.

Austin suddenly interrupted and hauled Hadley over to Bryson's dead body and forced the assistant to his knees.

"Take a good look—you did that! You pulled the trigger and killed him!" Austin yelled, the sound of his suit changing his voice terrifying Hadley.

"No… no… I couldn't have!" "No, I'm not a murderer!" Hadley tried to object, shaking with fear.

"I saw you pull the trigger. Then you tried to kill me!" Austin yelled, seizing Hadley by the back of the neck, the optics on his helmet glowing and flaring with a fiery red.

"I swear, I didn't!"

"Major, this does resemble reports of indoctrination." Said EDI before Austin had a chance to get more violent.

"Indoctrination? Me?"

"What about that "Leviathan" Bryson mentioned? How does that tie in?" Austin asked, loosening his grip on Hadley.

"It's… some kind of creature. Our field teams have been tracking it." Hadley explained. "That artefact came in from our researcher, Garneau. He sent an audio log if you want to-"

He was suddenly interrupted however by a sudden amount of pain and he clutched his forehead.

"Turn back!" he said.

"What are you talking about?" Austin asked.

"The darkness cannot be breached."

At that, Hadley blacked out.

"Damn it. Get him to the clinic; see if they can tell us what's wrong with him." Said Austin.

"Yes, sir."

"Major, you'll want to see this. It's an outgoing message from Dr Bryson to Admiral Hackett." Said EDI.

"Dr. Bryson, you have an update?" Hackett asked.

"Admiral, the "Leviathan of Dis" that we've been investigating—I think we're really onto something." Bryson replied.

"Give me the brief."

"About twenty years ago, the Batarians discovered a Reaper corpse that had died in battle. They covered it up and denied it ever existed. But I'm intrigued by the arger implication."

"What could have killed a Reaper in the first place?"

"Exactly. That's the real Leviathan."

"It worth pursuing. Continue your investigation and update me on the progress."

"There is also a follow-up message from a few weeks later." Said EDI.

"Admiral, the Reapers and the Takaal are shadowing my field teams as if they're hunting Leviathan themselves. Whatever it is, I believe Leviathan is nothing less than a Reaper-killer-almost an apex predator-and it has them nervous. If we could just find it, imagine the impact on the war. I'm formally requesting assistance in tracking it down." Said Bryson.

"You'll have it. This is now your top priority, Doctor. Find that thing." Said Hackett.

"It appears we were meant to be that assistance." Said EDI.

"Anything capable of killing a Reaper could do a lot of collateral damage." Said Austin.

"Yet given the state of this conflict, I believe the saying "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" may be relevant." Said EDI.

"But we won't know unless we can find it." Said Austin.

"Bryson's assistant did say they recently received a log from their field researcher. It may yield more information." Said EDI.

"This must be the artefact the assistant mentioned. And here's the log." Said Austin, taking up the datapad.

"Dr. Bryson, it's Garneau. I'm sending you an artefact I found. About the only thing I there, in fact. Maybe it's nothing, but I'd swear Leviathan came through here. I'm going to crunch some numbers, burn up the rest of this project travel allowance. Maybe I can project our Reaper-killer's movements. I'll check in when I get to the next site."

"Garneau appears to be our best lead to track Leviathan, but he does not state a destination." Said EDI.

"Let's focus on what he does say, then." Said Austin.

"He mentioned extrapolating Leviathan's path."

"And crunching numbers. He wasn't flying blind, he had data."

"A significant amount of data, judging by this office."

"So how do we narrow it down?"

"Bryson and his colleagues evidently used a galaxy map search program in their hunt for Leviathan. It may help us locate Garneau."

"Does this tell us where Garneau went?"

"No. But we may be able to narrow down his location, if we find clues he was using in his search for Leviathan."

They searched around the lab.

"These are all murders in which the accused lacked a known motive and claimed memory loss." Said EDI.

"Just like Bryson's assistant. You think Garneau was following a trail of blackout crimes?" "Here's the time and date chart for the crimes. Can you filter for murders where the killer claimed memory loss?" Austin asked.

"Adding the search filer. You may examine the results on the galaxy map program." Said EDI.

Austin noticed that a large piece of Reaper was in the room too, protected by some kind of shield or barrier. Although most Reapers looked alike, Austin recognized which Reaper this part had belonged too.

"Sovereign, vanguard of our destruction. How's' that working out for you, big guy?" Austin chuckled.

"This appears to be encrypted data on Reaper fleet activity." Said EDI as she examined another datapad.

"You think it's relevant?" Austin asked.

"Possibly, but it is impossible to say without more data… and the decryption key." Said EDI.

There was also another message too between Bryson and someone else.

"Sir, this Bryson. We know the Reapers are after Leviathan. Studying Reaper hunting patterns could be vital to finding it." Said Bryson.

"That data is classified "top secret," Dr. Bryson. If it falls into the wrong hands…"

"It won't. The data's encrypted. I'll keep the decryption key safe… close to my heart."

"Close to his heart… what does that mean?" Austin wondered, trying to wonder where he'd heard someone say that before and what it meant.

"Bryson was tracking unexplained creature sightings…" said EDI.

"Bryson was not merely tracking sightings. He was attempting to extrapolate a course."

"And Garneau could've been following that course. EDI, can you add a search filter for systems along that projected path?"

"Adding this search filter to the galaxy map."

The lab also had some strange rocks. Austin's suit however identified them as meteorites.

"Meteorite fragment, maybe?" he said.

"He was studying it as an object of importance. We should look more closely at a sample." Said EDI.

"Meteorite sample… with traces of element zero. Would Leviathan need eezo?" Austin asked as he scanned the fragment with his omni tool.

"While it is not consumed as fuel during FTL travel, element zero will decay after several centuries of active us. If Leviathan is old enough, it would need to replenish its supplies." Said EDI.

"Okay. Can you give me a search filter for locations with element zero?"

"Adding the search filter now."

Austin also noticed a painting lying on Bryson's desk. It was the sort that had been painted by a child.

"By Ann Bryson – Age nine." He said.

"Records indicate Ann is now 28. She works for the Alliance." Said EDI.

"Bryson was keeping the encryption key close to his heart. What's closer than family?" said Austin, now realizing what it meant.

"An interesting hypothesis, but I detect no trace of an encryption key in this… art." Said EDI.

"The Rachni data." said EDI.

"Can you add a cross-reference for locations of sightings?"

"Of course."

It took some time to compile everything together, but once they'd found the right combination, they'd managed to narrow it down.

"Based on the search results, Garneau is in one of these three systems." Said EDI. "I have marked the Normandy map with possible locations."

"We're about five minutes out, Major." Said Cortez.

"What exactly is on this asteroid?" Austin asked.

"Mining facility. T-GES Mineral Works. Small operation. Could be a good place for Leviathan to hide." Said Cortez.

"We've all read EDI's notes on Bryson's lab. Any questions?" Austin asked to the others.

"Do we have any more information about what Leviathan could be?" Tali asked.

"Not really. We only know it killed a Reaper." Austin shrugged.

"But it is Garneau, Dr. Bryson's associate we are looking for." Said EDI.

"Right. If we find Garneau, we find Leviathan."

"Agreed."

"The Doctor was right: anything powerful enough to kill a Reaper needs to be investigated. I just hope Garneau has the answers we need."

"I'm reading Reaper signatures in the asteroid field." Said Cortez.

"Bryson said they were shadowing his field teams. If they're after Leviathan, too, Reapers are a good sign." Said Austin.

"That's not something you hear every day." Sarah laughed.

"Take us in."

The dropship gently set down and everyone stepped out.

"Don't go anywhere, Cortez. We'll grab this guy and be right out. Keep me updated on the Reaper situation." Said Austin.

"Yes, Major."

As soon as the group reached the entrance, they spotted several husks, including a Brute trying to claw at the door.

"Scouting party." Said Tali.

"Big scouting party." Sarah agreed.

"Welcome to T-GES Mineral Works. All guests need to sign in at Reception."

"They seem awfully calm considering there were Husks knocking on their door earlier." Said Sarah, holstering her weapon.

They walked up to the reception. There were two men at the desk.

"I'm Major Shepard of the Helldivers. You just had Reaper troops attacking your front door." Said Austin.

"Are they still there?" one of them said.

"I've taken care of them for now." Said Austin.

"I see. That will be all."

"That will be...?" Austin said, puzzled. It was now that he noticed how blank the expressions of the two men were. "Hello?"

"Yes, welcome to T-GES Mineral Works. How can we help you?" said one. "Yes. For the tour, please sign in."

"You don't seem worried about the Reapers. You know something I don't?" Austin asked. Something felt very wrong.

"T-GES Mineral Works is a small mid-level supplier of tungsten to the galaxy."

"That's not what I meant."

"Are you familiar with the applications of tungsten?"

"I'm looking for a researcher named dr. Garneau." Said Austin. "He would have arrived within the last couple weeks. If he's still here, I need to speak with him."

"We have no Dr. Garneau."

"Do you need to see a Doctor?"

"How about I just go in and look around?" Austin suggested.

"No. The access elevator is broken."

Austin noticed however that in fact one of the colonists had just done something which had caused the elevator to break.

"And now... we're done. Step away."

"Step away. You don't belong here."

"Something's wrong with them. Come on." Said Tali.

"Let's look around. Carefully." Said Austin, under his breath.

"We need to repair the elevator."

It was very tricky to get the elevator repaired without anyone seeing. Austin was thankful that he'd bought Kasumi along for this.

"The security log for the elevator said Garneau was here in the last week. Why would they lie about that?" Austin asked.

"No idea. Let's hope we don't have to look too far." Said the theif..

"I see a trend among the miners. They appear to be doing everything but mining." Said EDI.

"Attention. Comm system is offline. This message was not sent." it said.

"Bryson, it's Garneau. I've had to go into hiding, and I need you to come get me. I found another one of those artefacts here. They're more important than we realised. It's in the mines-here's the navpoint. That's where I'll be. If something happens... I'm attaching a passcode that I hacked together. It'll open any security terminal. Bryson... something is very wrong here. Please hurry. Garneau out."

"So he's still here. Do we have that passcode hack?" Austin asked.

"Yes. We just need to enter it at the security terminal." Said EDI.

"Punch in Garneau's hack and see what it gets us."

"Access granted."

"A ship dropped him off a week ago."

"It appears he had full access at one point before going into hiding." said EDI.

"Unknown male was involved in an altercation in the mines."

"Garneau was heading into the mines."

"Looks like he was taken to the med bay."

"You are in the mineral lab, a low-security, all-access area. The med bay is restricted to authorised personal with active patient file numbers." said the computer.

"I have the file number."

"Is that Garneau?" Austin asked with worry.

"I hope not." said Sarah.

"If you are looking for Garneau, you have found him." said a voice behind them. "I am Dr. Garneau."

The man who had said that was stood behind a sheet of glass.

"I'm Major Shepard of the Helldivers. Are you alright?" Austin asked.

"Yes. Only... I'm trapped in here." Garneau replied.

"Bryson's research led me to you."

"Bryson sent you?"

"He's dead, Doctor. Killed by his assistant."

"I see."

"I need you to tell me everything you've found on the Leviathan."

"Bryson seemed to think it killed a Reaper. It's a myth. A dead end."

"In your message, you said you'd found an artefact.

"I did? No."

"Yes, Doctor, you did. But now we've got Reaper forces attacking, so I need to break you out. We'll grab the artefact and go."

"Reapers. The darkness must not be breached."

"The darkness?"

"Why do you pursue me?"

"Doctor?"

"Leave the artefact You will not take what is mine."

"I don't belive we are speaking to Garneau."

"You. You killed a Reaper. I need your help."

"You bring only death."

The glass suddenly smashed, throwing everyone back temporarily and allowing Garneau to escape.

They all immediately gave chase.

After fighting through more Reaper forces, they soon managed to catch up. Garneau was lying near the artefact with several Husks slowly crawling towards him and a detonator in his hand

"The darkness can't be breached." he said.

"The artefact."

"Like in Bryson's office."

"Move! I've got a shot!" Austin ordered.

But Garneau didn't move.

"Turn back!"

He pressed the trigger. The artefact exploded taking all the husks and him with it. All that remained was the destroyed artefact.

"Shepard. Over here." said EDI as she picked up an artefact lying next to a dead Doctor.

"What've you got?" Austin asked.

"That was not Garneau-this is. It appears he's been dead for a while." said EDI.

"So Leviathan can have Bryson killed, can take over this colony, and can use them as puppets. Huh." said Austin, "Anything else useful?"

"Encrypted data, and a personal log with eight missed calls from Dr. Ann Bryson." said EDI.

At that moment, more of the miners suddenly walked in. They looked confused, almost as if they'd just woken up from a horrible nightmare.

"Who... who are you? What are we doing here?"

"I'm Major Shepard. Are you alright?" Austin replied.

"I think so. I feel like... I feel strange but... all right."

"Do you recognise this man?" Austin asked, indicating to Garneau.

"I've never seen him before in my life."

"Someone here killed him."

"Someone here? How is that possible? I'm so sorry..."

"Can you tell me anything about what happened to you?" Austin asked.

"Not really... I, uh, remember... It just seemed cold. I remember a feeling. Cold and dark."

"If dark was a feeling, that's exactly what I felt."

"That artefact: do you know where it came from?"

"Came out of the mine."

"Right... head office was supposed to send someone. That's about all I can..."

"Cortez, what's your situation? Can you bring the shuttle?" Austin asked into his comm.

"Affirmative. Strangest thing. Couple of minutes ago, the Reaper forces broke off and left." Cortez replied.

"Reaper... what's a Reaper?"

"What year do you think this is?" Austin asked, worried that he knew what they were going to say.

"2176."

This took Austin by even more surprise. He had thought they would say a year not too long before the war, but he'd been wrong.

"2176 was ten years ago." he said.

"What?"

"Let's arrange for these people to be evacuated into temporary quarantine." said Austin.

"Imagine losing ten years of your life. These people are in for a lot of surprises." said Kasumi.

"It now seems Leviathan not only has the power to destroy a reaper, but possess an indoctrination ability." said EDI.

"Could it actually be a Reaper?" Sarah asked.

"If it is a Reaper, then I want to know what it's up to. How long has it been out here, and, more importantly, why?" said Austin. "EDI, did we get anything from Garneau's notes?"

"Yes. they suggest that Garneau crated a way to block the artefact's mind-affecting properties." EDI replied.

"You mean like how I'm immune to indoctrination?" Austin asked.

"Precisely." said EDI. "The artefact seems to be the key."

"Agreed. When I head back to Bryson's office, I want you there."

"Yes, Major."

"I want to know just what the hell these artefacts really are and what they can do."

"You and me both. These artefacts are powerful... and dangerous." said Sarah.

"And we've got one sitting right in the middle of the Citadel."

"We need to shield the artefact they've got here right away."

"Using Garneau's data, I should be able to accomplish this without difficulty." said EDI.

The AI activated her omni tool and a blue holo shield encased the artefact.

"Despite the risk, this artefact remains our only link to finding Leviathan. Perhaps we could find more information about it here in the lab." said EDI.

"Agreed. Bryson's team might've turned up something we missed. I'll look around." said Austin.

"EDI, what project was Garneau working on when he found the artefact?" Austin asked.

"Basilisk."

"Got anything on Basilisk."

"Several ships, a mythical creature, and a rare, mid-tier enemy type in the Galaxy of Fantasy video game. It posses a gaze attack capable of triggering synced animation kills. Player forums describe it as "overpowered."

"I meant the Project, EDI."

"Oh. Then... no."

"There's got to be something here on this artefact. What about the server?"

"Bryson's assistant wiped the office server and destroyed all backups, likely before killing Bryson. However, records show new messages on Bryson's personal comm terminal upstairs."

"A message from Dr. Bryson's daughter, Ann. According to my records, she worked with her father." said EDI.

A holo of Ann was projected out of the datapad.

"I'm at the dig site in the Pylos Nebula. Project Scarab paid off. I've got another artefact like the one Garneau found. I think it could be affecting people's behaviour. You need to shield the one in your office. I tired to warn Garneau, but I can't get through. We've got Reaper scouts coming in toward the main site. I'm heading to the secondary base to grab what research I can." she said.

"Ann Bryson was attempting to contact Garneau on the asteroid colony. She seems to know something about the artefact." said EDI.

"She sounded worried." said Austin.

"If Reaper forces were approaching, her concern was warranted."

"Let's hope we can get to her before they do."

"So, this dig site is under attack?" Liara asked.

"Yes, the attack means the Reapers are one step ahead of us. We need to pick up the pace. And since Bryson's daughter is our only lead, our objective is clear." said Austin. "Cortez?"

"Nothing so far, major. If she's down there, she hasn't responded to our hails. Getting some strange signals, though. Give me a minute." said Cortez. "The artefact she uncovered may have caused additional complications."

"Take us in closer." said Austin.

"Copy that."

The dropship flew closer. It was no visible that Harvesters were swarming the area.

"We have hostiles." said Cortez, trying to manoeuvre the Hellhound safely

"Take us in!"

"Major! On the landing platform!"

Liara slid the Hellhound's doors open to revolt he platform. Sure enough, they could see Ann clearly.

"That's her!"

"Attention, Hellhound! This is Dr. Ann Bryson! We are under attack!" said Ann through the radio.

"Okay! Let's get…"

But he was interrupted when a harvester rammed in to the dropship. Everyone hung on tight as Cortez tried to regain control.

"Get us over there!" said Austin.

"Negative. It's too hot! Heading to lower platform—hang on!" said Cortez.

The dropship flew past and everyone quickly jumped out.

"Hello? Is anyone there? I'm coming down!"

"No! Stay where you are! This is Major Shepard of the Helldivers—it's too dangerous! We'll come to you!" Austin quickly said.

"Yes, okay! You should take the elevator up on the far side!" Ann recommended.

"Copy that! We're on our way!"

"Elevator's online. We're coming up." said Austin.

"Please hurry. I think Hopkins is dead." Ann replied.

After fighting through even more Husks and Takaal, the team finally reached Ann.

"He tried to run. I told him not to, but he wanted to help the others. Where did everyone go?" she said.

"I'm sorry. They didn't make it. Doctor, I need you to come with us." said Austin.

"Oh, god. Yes, of course." Ann nodded.

Austin helped her up and the team kept her covered.

"I… was at another dig site when they attacked. I got back as quick as I could, but… what's happening?"

"Shepard, look." said EDI.

Austin looked up to see what looked like a large cave painting of several natives trying to fight what was unmistakably a Reaper.

"I'm not sure, but it might have something to do with these paintings. Is that Leviathan?" Austin asked.

"Yes… yes, we think so. It's old. Much older than my father thought. And there, as if the natives were under its power. Clearly a Reaper, but acting alone. Not like any Reaper we've seen before." said Ann.

"Doctor, I understand you found something recently."

"The artefact. Yes, of course. Incredible. It's just ahead." said Ann. "It may sound strange, but I'm certain it affects people-their behaviour. I've only had a short time to study it."

"Not strange at all. Did you find anything?" Austin asked.

"Not much, but I did learn something about the energy it generates."

"Get down!"

Everyone quickly went into cover. Several Marauders were gathered around another one of the artefacts. One of them even appeared to be caught and suspend in some sort of field it was generating.

"What're they doing?"

"They've activated it somehow. I've never managed anything-"

But Ann was suddenly interrupted when she stood up,her face was completely blank and expressionless.

"Doctor?"

"They've learned too well. The darkness must not be breached…" said Ann, her voice speaking in a cold and emotionless tone and slowly growing deeper.

"Shepard!"

"Take it out!" Austin yelled.

"Got it!" said Tali as she unloaded her shotgun into the artefact and it exploded, freeing both the Marauders and Ann from its control

"You okay? Cortez, we have Ann Bryson! Need a pickup!" said Austin in to his comm as the marauders attacked.

"On my way, Major!"

The team covered Ann's escape as she hurried in to the dropship. The others then followed and it sped away in to the sky.

"You okay?" Austin asked.

"Yeah, Major. I think so. I blacked out." Ann replied. replied.

"Leviathan took control of you. We cut connection before you got hurt." said Austin.

"Leviathan itself? That's incredible." said Ann.

"The Reapers and the Takaal seem as interested in it as we are."

"Yeah, it certainly seems that way."

"We were hoping you could help us figure out why. But first, Doctor, I have some bad news…." said Austin, but Ann changed the subject before eh could tell her.

"Ann, please. Suppose Leviathan's broken way from the other Reapers? Never went back to dark space? Like a rogue or even a defector." she said. "I have to call my father. He'll want to know."

"Ann, you need to listen to me, okay? Your father is dead. I'm sorry." said Austin, very slowly and with some regret.

"He's… what, dead? He can't be dead."

"We met with him, hoping to find out what he knew. Something happened."

"Something happened?"

"You're not the first to lose control." Austin explained. "Your father's assistant. One minute he was fine, the next-he drew a gun on your father. I tried to stop him… but I just wasn't fast enough."

"I can't believe this." said Ann, sounding almost on the verge of tears.

"We have to find out what's behind it all. You're the only one who can help us." said Austin. "Ann?"

"I… I want to see his office."

"We'll arrange for transportation and meet you there."

Austin and EDI entered the lab once again, but they couldn't see any sign of Ann.

"Hello? Ann, are you here?"

The Helldiver heard what sounded like crying coming form upstairs. Motioning for EDI to remains here she was, he walked up the stairs and found Ann sat on the floor at the foot of the bed, her legs crunched against her chest and her head in her arms, her eyes red and her cheeks stained with tears.

"Ann?"

"Oh, Major. Yes, I'm sorry. Just… this is hard." she said.

"I know. Are you alright?" Austin asked.

"Yes. No. I don't know. My father and I didn't leave things in a great state."

Austin decided to offer Ann some more comfort. He gently walked up to Ann and sat down next to her resting against the bed.

The presence of the Helldiver sitting next to her offered Ann some comfort. Despite that he had his armour on and his face remained hidden by his mask, she could somehow feel the gentleness from him and still hear the peaceful tone in his deepened voice.

"An argument?" Austin asked sympathetically.

"Yes. It was trivial. A disagreement on how to file some of the specimens. I was mad about something else. I don't remember what. I took it out on him. So stupid."

"Hey, it's alright. I can come back." said Austin as he was about to stand up.

"No, please. I'm okay." said Ann, putting her hand on the Helldiver's armoured shoulder and stopped him. "Seeing all this again… He was so obsessed. Crazy sometimes."

"I didn't get a chance to know him." said Austin,

"Sometimes I felt the same way. He was a great man, a pioneer. But he could be distant. I felt like an inconvenience growing up." said Ann.

"You sound angry."

"I was angry. Still am, I guess. But sometimes he was so full of stories he nearly burst. I loved that about him. It's why I signed up for this work. I can't' believe he's gone."

"We'll figure this out."

"We have to. I need to know what's on the other end of the artefact, what he died for."

"We need your help. You're our last chance."

"You're right. Let me dig into my father's work. To see what I can find."

Austin stood back up and helped Ann up onto her feet.

"Ann. You sure you're up for this?" he asked gently.

"Yes. When Leviathan took control of me, I remember being somewhere cold and dark. But my father taught me to never be afraid of the dark."

While Ann went about looking through her father's work, Austin noticed that James had suddenly joined them.

"What brings you down here, James?" he asked.

"Heard you're closing in on the Reaper killer. Anything that can scare-those bastards has to be worth a look." the soldier replied.

"That's what I'm hoping." said Austin, he then turned to Ann who was studying the galaxy map with EDI. "Ann, I know this is hard, but if there's anything more you can tell us…"

"I don't there's anything more I can tell you." she replied. "But maybe I can show you."

"What are you saying?"

"The artefact only sends out a signal when Leviathan's controlling someone. So let it control me. You could trace the signal."

"You mean let it take you over? That's too dangerous." said Austin.

"It's my call, not yours. You said I'm you last chance to find this thing." said Ann forcefully.

"We have no idea what will happen."

"If we wait, the Reapers will get to Leviathan first. I'm the only one here who's spent enough time with it to do this. You're looking for something to fight the Reapers, Major. I'm looking for the monster that murdered my father."

"We still don't know exactly what we're looking for." said Austin.

"Then let's find out."

"Major, this thing we're doing with Ann… sounds dangerous as hell." said James.

"I know, and I agree all too well." Austin agreed. But he knew he there was little he could do to change Ann's mind. "EDI?"

"Energy signature locked in. Waiting for activation." said the AI.

"Are you sure about this, Ann?" Austin asked as Ann sat down in front of the artefact's shield.

"Yes. I'm sure." she nodded.

"I'm gonna be right here." said James supportingly as he stood behind her so as to keep her still. True there was little damage she could do against a Helldiver and an AI, but it would be better if there wasn't he risk she could hurt herself or risk the two forcing to defined themselves and injuring her.

"Okay. I'm ready." said Ann.

"James…" said Austin, hesitating for a moment. "Drop the containment shield."

James nodded and deactivated the shield. Austin could already feel the difference in the atmosphere as the artefact's influence no longer remained contained. It felt all too familiar to how indoctrination felt when it attempted to control him. He could hear the faint whispers in his head and could feel the artefact's influence trying to claw at his mind but consistently begin blocked with his strong will and immunity. He did his best to remain focused, but he did always find it hard. Although indoctrination could not control him, it could still have some small effects on him. Headaches and confusion were two of them

"Anything?" he asked, trying to let his focus not he task overwhelm his focus on the whispers.

"Nothing yet. Wait. There's something. I feel a chill…" said Ann.

Austin felt it too. The faint whispers became louder and he could feel the artefact's power getting stronger.

"EDI?"

"No trace yet."

Then it happened, the buzzing started and Ann started struggling wildly against James' grip. Austin too could feel as if he was surrounded completely by noise and he found it hard to think clearly as the indoctrination worked it's influence on Ann and attempted to pass onto him.

"Holy hell." said james as he tired to keep Ann still.

"Signal is tracking. Maintain connection." said EDI.

"Turn back. The darkness cannot be breached." said Ann.

"Dios!"

"Main connection." said EDI,

"Listen to me. I found you. And the Reapers are right behind me." said Austin,

"You have brought them." said Ann. Then it happened. She gently looked up at Austin.

Only Austin could see this, but he wished he couldn't. Ann's eyes were as black as the void itself and the skin around them was cracked and pale. Then she spoke, her voice different. It didn't sound like the voice of a signal being. It had an unusual echo, as though a great multitude were speaking leviathan's words in perfect symphony.

"You are a threat."

"So are you. I've seen what you can do. The war needs you." said Austin,

"There is no war. There is only their survival." said Leviathan.

"EDI, do we have enough?" Austin asked, his head starting to throb slightly as Leviathan's influence grew stinger in an attempt to control him. It was to no avail, but that didn't mean it was plain sailing or Austin. He felt very cold and could not deny that his body was shivering ever so slightly as Leviathan's mind brushed against his.

"Partial lock. Maintain connection to narrow the search." said EDI.

"You heard her. We got enough. I'm hitting the shield." said James.

"Do it!" Austin said quickly.

James didn't hesitate and hit the button.

For a few tiny seconds before the shield reactivated however, another voice suddenly joined Leviathan's. It was different. It sounded female, but it wasn't Ann's.

"YOU WILL NOT FIND US!"

The shield reactivated, encasing the artefact once again. Ann stopped struggling and austin felt everything return to normal. He felt the warmth of his suit return to his skin and he stopped shivering. The whispers also stopped and everything seemed so quiet it was almost frightening.

"Man." James panted.

"Ann, are you alright?" Austin asked.

"Yes… I think so." Ann panted.

"Did we get anything?"

"Yes, but at best it has been narrowed down to a planet somewhere underwater. But we have no way of knowing where." said EDI.

"Good it's a start at least." said Austin. "And I might know some people who can help us."

"Major, I sensed something else. Anger." said Ann.

"It knows we're getting close." said Austin.

"It's protecting something." said Ann. "I don't' know what, but it has a secret that it will do anything to protect, and it's more than willing to kill you to do so."

"Come on, let's get you some help."

The salty smell of the sea filled Austin's nostrils as he looked out over the vast big blue from the balcony of the ship.

The best the search ad been narrowed down was that it was somewhere underwater on this planet. Rather than use the Normandy for exploring however, Austin had heard word that a Helldiver team had possession of an old navy ship that had been constantly refurbished and upgraded over the years called The Revenant.

To everyone's surprise, the squad that owned that was none other than Havok, so it came as pleasant surprise to be working with them again. Of course, two squads alone wasn't quite enough to crew a massive cargo ship (which was essentially what it was, just upgraded with Helldiver tech and weapons) so there were plenty of other Helldiver agents as crew on board.

Of course, none of the Normandy crew could come and Austin had decided it would be better if only the Helldiver members of the crew came on this voyage. At least he could leave knowing his sites would take care of everything. With Alaara going with him, he'd appointed Sarah to be in charge of the Normandy until they returned, something she'd been happy to accept.

For now, most Alpha and Havok were enjoying the calm sunny weather. Some of them were even treating it like a cruise and sunbathing out on deck. Brute of course didn't mind. Even he was enjoying the calm weather as he let the ship steer itself.

"Enjoying the view?" he asked as he joined Austin on the balcony next to the bridge.

"I guess so." said Austin. "It's nice. Once again easy to forget there's a war going on."

"Never hurts to look on the bright side of things." said Brute. "You yourself said that once."

Austin simply nodded. A question hen popped into his head that he'd been meaning to ask.

"How did you come to possess this ship?" he asked.

"It was passed down to me." Brute explained. "You see, I had an ancestor who was a naval captain back before space flight. This same ship belonged to him and he bequeathed it to his son, who was a naval man too. It continued to be passed down through the generations of my family right down to me. Witch each captain it was attend to and upgrade dover countless decades until it became as it is now."

"If I didn't know a better, I'd say it was the Normandy in boat form." Said Austin, he quickly corrected himself though when he realised he'd said Boat. "Ship. What do you use it for though?"

"Mostly for exploration like we're doing now, but it has occasionally seen combat." Brute replied.

"Ever run into pirates?"

"When have we never." Brute chuckled.

Austin found Liara near the front of the ship admiring the amazing view of the sea

"This is nice. Reminds me of that cruise we took on our honeymoon." the Asari smiled as Austin wrapped his arms around her.

"Yeah. That was pleasant." the Helldiver smiled.

"I know I've said it before... but I love you so much." said Liara.

"I love you too Liara."

The two kissed as they enjoyed the sight of the sun slowly setting.

Two days now and still nothing yet. But there was still plenty of place to look. This planet after all had even more water and less land than Earth.

"We've searched a lot of these areas. There's not much left that seems likely." said Brute as they poured over the maps.

It was currently night so it was rather dark out.

"What about this area? Just southwest?" Austin as he indicating to a spot not he map.

"Risky. There's no land southwest for hundreds of miles. Takes us way outside the shipping lanes. I don't want us blind in these waters." said Brute

"You said so yourself, this ship is used for exploration." said Austin,

"Yes, but there's nothing left out there to explore." Brute replied.

"Well then what have we lose?" Austin asked rhetorically.

Brute had to admit that the Major had a good point there, but still...

"What is it exactly that you're looking for?" he asked. "Pardon me for asking, but they didn't really brief us before we left."

"We're looking for something called Leviathan. It is said this thing killed a Reaper, and that it could even be a Reaper. If there's any chance it could help us, well..." Austin explained. He noticed however that Brute had turned his back and was looking out the window. His body language suggested he knew something.

"What is it?" Austin asked."You know something, don't you?"

Brute sighed and nodded to Normica.

"Seven years ago, my team and I were out on those same waters doing some cargo shipping as a favour to the Arkanes." he explained.

"We picked up a castaway. Found him in the water. He'd been drifting for days." said Normica.

"He said his ship had run aground of an island. An island, hidden, in fog." said Brute.

"He was almost insane, not just from starvation and lack of fresh water, but of something else..." said Normica.

She unlocked a safe int he wall and took out several scraps of paper which she then put on the table. They looked like drawings of some kind. One of them was instantly recognisable as the shape of a Reaper, or rather Leviathan.

"He spoke of a creature he'd seen. Neither beast, nor man, but something monstrous living on that island." said Brute.

"And there's more. He drew all these strange drawings."

"Why'd Leviathan leave a survivor?" Liara asked, just as puzzled as Austin.

"What else did he say?" Austin asked.

"Nothing. When we found him the next morning, he'd stuck a knife through his heart." said Brute.

At that moment, one of the crew members walked in.

"Captain, the weather's starting to change." he said.

Brute nodded and he and Normica headed up tot he bridge, leaving Austin and Liara with the drawings.

The crew on the bridge were being very cautious, especially with the darkness and cloudy weather.

"I can't figure out our positions, something's going on with the instruments." said one of them as brute and Normica walked in. The Captain took the helm. It was true the instruments were going crazy, the compass especially was spinning all over the place.

"Check our position. Use the stars." he said.

One of the crew members walked out to do so, but quickly came back in.

"There are no stars, Captain." he said, causing worry from some of the others.

"What's that?" Liara asked, taking up one of the drawings.

"What?"

"That. That right there."

"I don't know. Maybe it's a coffee stain." Austin said as he took the drawing and took a closer look at it. As he

"Is that a..."

Before he could finish, there was a very faint haunting noise out in the wind and a sudden gust of wind snatched the drawing out of the Helldiver's hands.

"Dowse the lights!" Brute ordered, hoping it might provide some illumination through the fog.

Dash meanwhile had been up in the crow's nest admitting the view. With the fog however, he was no actually trying to help and was keeping a look out for anything. As the fog began to clear up a bit for him, he then started to notice a large black shape appear.

"Wall! There's a wall ahead!" he yelled.

Soon the fog cleared the others on lower level as well. Brute almost immediately began hauling the wheel to right in an effort to steer away.

"Stop engines!" he yelled quickly.

Despite stopping the engines though, the ship didn't slow down in time.

"Brace!" Brute yelled just before the ship hit the wall hard.

It wasn't enough to cause damage, but it still shook the whole ship up.

"Give me some power!" Brute yelled.

The ship slowly began to move forward again. As it did though, Austin noticed another problem.

"Rocks!" he yelled. "Rocks!"

"Rocks to starboard, Captain. To port! Rock everywhere!" Dash yelled from up above.

Brute did his best to navigate through, but the waves from the rough weather made it extremely difficult.

Finally, it became too much as a huge wave hit the side of the ship and it beached itself on one of the large rocks.

"What's the situation?" Brute asked.

"She's stuck hard against the rocks, but other than that, there's no damage." Said Normica. "However we don't' have any chance of going anywhere until the next high tide."

"So until then, we're stuck here." Said Austin.

"I'm afraid so." Said Construct.

"Well it could be worse. At least we're not shipwrecked." Said Jet."

"Then I want us to be ready to set off by the next high tide." Said Brute. "We're leaving this lace."

By the time the tide was high enough, the waves had picked up again. Still, those would hopefully help.

"Lighten the ship! Anything that's not bolted down goes overboard!" Brute yelled over the sound of the rain.

The whole crew almost immediately took to throwing as much as they could overboard except for their weapons and anything that must not be thrown away.

"Chuck everything except for the potatoes!" Hawk yelled to one of the cooks he'd been working with.

There was a loud creak as the ship slowly started to come loose. Then with a sharp lurch, it finally dislodged from the rock.

Both Alpha and the whole crew cheered.

"All ahead, both engines!" Brute yelled triumphantly.

"Aye aye, Captain." Normica smiled.

Brute quickly took the wheel as the ship finally started moving again after a whole day of being stuck.

"Right, time we left this godforsaken place." He said, turning the ship towards the clear.

"I agree on that." Said Austin.

As soon as they were clear from the rocks however, something burst out of the water right beside. When the sea finally cleared it revealed a ship of some kind that was unmistakably Takaal.

Austin recognized that ship. He and Alpha had seen it before. It belonged to Captain Raachlaar, one of Skarlack's deadliest warriors. He was essentially the Takaal version of a pirate. He assaulted ships and took anything of use. Very few survived his attacks , and those who did were handed over to the Reapers.

As the ship finished rising, the Takaal crew stepped out onto deck.

"Lord on high, deliver us." Griffin prayed.

All of the Takaal roared challengingly at them, clearly ready for a fight.

"I'll handle this, everyone." Said Dash, stepping right to the edge so that everyone could see him. To everyone's surprise he even picked up a simple jar of dirt. The scout then rised it into the air and yelled to the Takaal.

"Oi! Fishface!"

Raachlaar and all the other Takaal looked at him, puzzled.

"Lost something? Ay?" said Dash as he waved the jar of dirt around. As the scout stepped to the side however he didn't look where he was going and felld own the stairs.

"Damn it, Dash." Austin groaned.

"Still got it!" Dash suddenly said as he held the jar up. Rather surprisingly, it wasn't cracked at all.

"Come to negotiate, eh, have ya, you slimy git?! Look what I got!" he continued. He then started signing. "I got a jar of dirt! I got a jar of dirt, and guess what's inside it!"

Almost everyone had a look under their masks that said "What the fuck is he doing?"

"Enough!" Raachlaar interrupted uncaringly.

The guns on his ship then activated and turned on The Revenant.

"Why is that these things never work in real life?" Dash mumbled to himself.

"Hard to starboard?" Brute asked.

"Hard to starboard!"

No one knew who said it, but Brute didn't even hesitate and he hauled to wheel to the right as hard and as fast as he could.

"HARD TO STARBOARD!" Raachlaar yelled to his own helmsman. "Send these Helldivers to the depths!"

The ships cannons opened fire on the Revenant, one shot managing a hit and blowing a hole in the back. The ship then turned and began pursuit.

"They're gaining on us!" One of the crew yelled.

"Can't this thing go any faster?!" said Jet.

"It's a ship, not a speedboat!" said Brute, wrestling with the wheel through the rough waves.

"We have to make a stand. We must fight." Said Austin,

"I hate to agree, but you're right." Brute nodded, he then turned to the crew. "Load the guns! Prepare for attack!"

The crew quickly hurried and readied the ship's on-board guns. All the whil however, the Takaal ship was continuing to close the gap between them.

"They're gonna luff up on our port quarter. They'll rake us without ever presenting a target!"

"Lower the anchor on the right side!" said Liara. Everyone simply looked at her though puzzled. "On the starboard side!"

"It has the element of surprise." Said Austin, suddenly realizing what his wife was suggesting.

"You're daft, Asari. You both are." said Brute, now catching on. "Lower the starboard anchor!"

The crew were also surprised by this and didn't know how to react.

"Do it, now!" Brute yelled.

The crew obeyed and quickly dropped the anchor. Their speed began to slowly decrease until it finally caught on a rock. The whole ship almost instantly stopped and gradually began to turn due to the engines still going.

"Hold on!"

Liara quickly grabbed onto Austin as the whole ship started to sway to the side. It still wasn't having the desired effect. But then Liara noticed that Brute still had his hands on the wheel.

"Let go!"

Brute did as he was told and took his hands off. The wheel spun at tremendous speed and the ship literally did a full 360 turn.

This did indeed have the element of surprise, but the Takaal were quick to react.

"Hard to port! Ready the starboard guns!" Raachlaar yelled.

The two ships soon came into line, guns ready to fire.

"FIRE!"

"FIRE ALL!"

Both ships opened fire. The whole battle became almost clouded in gunfire and smoke.

Brute narrowly managed to doge a shot as it fired through the cockpit and shot off a piece of the wheel.

"Stop blowing holes in my ship!" he yelled.

A sudden shot from the Takaal ship suddenly hit the Revenant's mast and it cracked falling to the ground and taking Dash with it. Fortunately, the Scout managed to jump out as the mast hit the Takaal ship, providing the crew with a perfect opportunity to board the Revenant.

Almost immediately, the Takaal attacked. All the Helldiver crew drew their weapons and the two sides clashed.

Dash meanwhile, who was still stuck on the other ship looked around for a way back now without getting detected. He then spotted a grapple gun that about tho be fired. That would do.

Using his speed, he ran up to the gun and hopped on the grapple just as it fired. He was almost immediately flung forward as the grapple embedded itself in half to he bridge, knocking Brute out in a shower of glass and metal.

"Wow! I wanna do that again." said Dash as he hopped down and joined the fight.

Brute meanwhile was recovering from the earlier attack. As he did however, he saw Raachlaar walking along the fallen mast and onto the Revenant's deck.

"Who gave you permission to board my ship?!" Brute growled as he managed to get back up, taking up his sword.

"I don't need it." Raachlaar replied, drawing his own sword. "I've never needed it."

"Well then, if it's a fight you want, you've met your match." Said Brute, going into a fight stance. "To the death."

"You'll need Shepard to make it mine."

"He'll be making his own fun."

The others meanwhile were fighting Raachlaar's crew. Though the Helldiver crew were great fighters, Raachlaar's crew outnumbered them.

It was as it looked like they were about to be overrun though that something truly unexpected happened.

When one Takaal managed to trip Liara up, it looked as though that would be the end. But then something stabbed the Takaal from behind, and it wasn't' Austin.

To everyone's shock, several more Takaal suddenly climbed out of the water and onto the hull of the ship, but they weren't like the others. Something about them was very different. These ones wore different armour and had very dark skin. Most noticeable, they lacked any sings of synthesis on them and they were covered in seaweed. Some of them even had barnacles on their skin.

Even more surprising, they not only attacked the Helldiver crew, they attacked the synthetic Takaal.

Both sides were surprised by this, but were quick to defend themselves. The battle soon turned into a 3 way fight, with neither side having an equal advantage. Surprisingly though, the Takaal that had emerged from the sea were beginning to win against the synthetic ones. Pretty soon in fact the only Takaal left on the deck were the sea ones.

Even more started to emerge on the other ship. Taken by surprise, the synthetic Takaal were almost overrun, and soon, their ship was dragged down to the depths.

The suddenness of this caused Raachlaar to be distracted. This allowed Brute an opening and he managed to run the Takaal Captain through.

"Get off my ship."

He then flung the Takaal into the sea for him to be taken care of by the sea Takaal.

Pretty soon, the synthetic Takaal were all dead, but that didn't mean the Helldiver's problems were over. The new Takaal were gathering in greater numbers and now had the whole crew surrounded.

"Got any bright ideas?"

"Not unless they suddenly go away." Dash replied.

The second Dash said that, the sea Takaal suddenly hesitated and retreated back into the water.

"Okay… I did not see that one coming." said Dash.

"So what's with these new Takaal? More to the point, why did they attack their own?" Brute asked as everyone took a breather from the fight.

"Because I don't think they were even with the Synthetic Takaal." said Austin as he scanned one of the dead sea Takaal. "What do you not see one these ones?"

"The synthesis weave." Normica replied.

"Exactly. I think these organic ones are a separate faction."

"Why did they attack us too though? That's what puzzles me…"

"Hmm, I wonder…"

Before Austin could continue though, something massive hit the ship very hard that knocked everyone off their feet.

"What the hell was that?" said Dash.

"We must've hit a reef."

Many people looked over the rail trying to see if they had indeed hit anything, but there was nothing.

"Look!" one of the crew suddenly yelled.

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing.

A huge mass suddenly rose out fo the water and headed straight for them

"Now what?" Brute groaned.

The mass rose even further and hit the boat again. This time though, as it did it rose out of the water completely. The huge appearance of a massive sea monster appeared before the crew. They nearly went pale.

"Oh… My… God." said Jet.

"Lord save us." said Griffin.

The monster was simply massive. Twice as long as the ship itself, only the upper half of it's body was visible while the rest was in the sea. The upper half had arms like a human, but the similarities ended there.

The upper half had several openings not he chest all of which emitted a long tentacle with a toothed mouth on each end which tried to snap and grab at the crew. The head meanwhile had six glowing eyes and a secondary jaw inside it's own.

As the crew worked to try and repel the beast as it held onto the froth of the ship, Austin spotted a nearby explosive barrel. This gave him an die,a but he wasn't' sure how he was gonna make it work.

The crew were able to quickly get out spears and harpoons to fight the creature and it's tentacles. One crew member even managed to pin a tentacle only for the creature to then open it's mouth and an extremely long elastic tongue shot out and grabbed him before pulling him in.

That however solved Austin's problem. He picked up the barrel and lit a fuse on it. He then threw it up in to the air so the monster could notice it. Sure enough, it's tongue shot out again and grabbed the barrel, taking it into it's mouth.

"Now, stand by for sushi." said Austin.

There was a small pause, then a large boom from within the monster. Surprisingly though, it didn't have the desired effect. Instead the creature just seemed to regurgitate, spraying the crew with a lot of slime and even spitting out the crew member it had swallowed earlier who even rejoined the fight almost instantly.

"Give that guy a raise." said Austin.

Another tentacle shot at Austin, but he managed to dodge it. At the same time, he swung his sword and it carved throughout he tentacle, severing the hard part compeltely.

As he ducked to avoid another one, Austin suddenly noticed something.

The monster had pulled itself up on the ship's front and he remembered Brute telling him the Revenant had a retraceable blade not he front which could be used as a ram, and that monster was practically resting right where it was currently hidden.

Austin quickly had another idea. Given the adrenaline of the moment, he didn't have too much time to think it through.

"Hey, lobster breath! Over here!" he yelled, waving his arms to get the creatures attention.

It worked and the creature shot it's tongue out again. Like the tentacle, Austin timed it right and dogged it. This time though he used his sword to impale the tongue rather than sever it. The monster made several angry roars as it tried to free itself, but was stuck.

Austint hen hurried up tot he bridge.

"What are you doing?" Brute asked, following him.

"I've got an idea. It's crazy, but it just might work." Austin replied, searching for the blade control.

He soon found it. The monster howled in even more pain as the blade sprang out of the front of the ship and impaled it in the stomach.

"Got it!"

Brute could see now what Austin was trying to do and caught on to his plan.

"Now, full speed ahead!" he said. "Better brace yourself."

The ship sped right at the rocks. Everyone quickly found something to hold onto s they braced. The monster gave one final scream as it was crushed between the rocks and the ship itself, killing it.

As the blade retracted,t he creature's body slowly began to slide off and down to the depths.

"Do you know something, Shepard. You're a genius." said Brute as Austin withdrew his sword format he creates tongue.

"Just doing what I can." Austin smiled under his helmet, he then suddenly noticed one of the creatures tentacles heading at Brute from behind. "Watch out!"

He pushed the Captain out of the way, but failed to move himself. The tentacle hit him and took him over the edge wit it.

"Shepard!"

"AUSTIN!" Liara yelled.

Austin struggled to free himself as the tentacle wrapped around him. Although the creature was dead, it had very strong grip. Just when it started loosening and he looked like he was going to be free however he suddenly hit the edge of the rock face. The back of his collided with it and everything went black.

"Shepard! Shepard, are you alright?! Shepard!"

Austin managed to regain his consciousness. He was still in the grip of the tentacle and was close to the sea bed, so deep that it was almost impossible to see.

Drawing Excalibur, he managed to finally cut the tentacle apart, freeing himself just as he felt his armour hit the sand.

"I'm okay. I can read you." He replied as the creature's body hit the sea bed too.

"Austin! Thank the goddess you're alright." Said Liara.

"You signal's coming almost form the bottom of the sea. What's the pressure like down there?" Brute asked.

"Enough to crush me. The suit's doing fine though, so I should be okay." Austin replied.

That was not a lie at all. Helldiver suits were designed for the harshest of conditions. They could survive and space and were strong enough to cope with pressure like this. True no Helldiver had ever gone this deep before, but that didn't mean it was impossible.

"What about that creature? Is it dead?" Normica asked.

"Yes." Austin replied, looking at the corpse of the creature.

"You'd better get back up then. Can you see the ship?"

"I'm not coming up yet." Said Austin.

"What?"

"That thing can't have been there by coincidence, nor can those organic Takaal. We're close… and I can feel something down here."

He could just feel the faintness of a foreign presence in his mind, but it was enough for him to recognize it. It felt exactly the same as the presence Leviathan had.

"Austin…" Liara tried to say.

"I'll be okay." He said calmly, his swords offering his wife some encouragement.

Using his suit's weight, he was able to walk on the sea bead. He continued down several more drops, following the presence in his head as it grew stronger.

"The readings from your suit are spiking. Something is definitely down there with you." Said Brute.

"I know. I can feel it in my mind. It's trying to control me, but it can't. It's times like these I'm glad the Rachni Queen gave me this gift." Said Austin.

"Just don't die down there."

Pretty soon, Austin found himself in a simply massive underground cave and he stood before an almost bottomless pit. Then the place started to rumble and bubbles rose up.

"What is that?" said Austin as he backed away cautiously. What he then saw left hi frozen in shock.

A huge mass slowly rose up. It was huge, practically the same size as a Reaper. Hell, it looked like a Reaper. But at the same time, this definitely wasn't a Reaper. It looked… organic. Like an actual, living, organic Reaper. There was no doubt in Austin's mind. He had found Leviathan.

"You have come too far." It said, it's voice echoing around the cave, despite it being underwater.

"I had to find you." Said Austin.

"This is not your domain. You have breached the darkness." Said Leviathan.

"You killed a Reaper. I need to know why."

"They are the enemy. One that seeks our extermination and of those we protect."

"What are you talking about?" I thought you were a Reaper."

"They are only echoes. We and those we protect existed long before."

"Then what are you? What is it you're protecting"

"We are but guardians, and those we protect…"

Austin felt Leviathan's presence in his head increase so much he almost feared it would be too much. Still his immunity held though.

"Good luck with that. I'm immune." He said.

But then another voice joined them. The female voice from before…

"To indoctrination perhaps… but not us."

There was a bright flash and everything changed…

Austin found himself in what looked like a desert of some kind. Only there was no sky or stars or anything like that.

The sands shifted several times, causing the Helldiver to lose his balance before it finally settled. When it did however, several more organic Takaal suddenly appeared out of the sand. Austin drew Excalibur from his back. He could only hope his skills would not fail him.

Right before the Takaal could attack however, the sand suddenly swept around him almost dissolving the Takaal like they were made of sand.

"Now now, my children. That is no way to treat a guest." said a female voice.

All the sand disappeared and Austin found himself in an almost empty void. Something large then rose up in froth of him and he found himself gazing upon a simply massive female Takaal. She was almost as tall as Leviathan and it was only because of some invisible platform that Austin stood at waist width with her.

Austin could already guess this must the leader. She already stood out form the others. She was clothed from head to toe in a long dark robe which was abraded with jewellery and gold. Her crest was also much longer than any other Takaal and several gold necklaces hung from each one while others wrapped around both. The obvious sign that she was female was also her hair. Like Mirage, she had dreadlocks but they were much longer. So long in fact that they reached down to her stomach, and each dreadlocks was decorated with jewellery of some kind. She looked down at Austin casually. She was obviously not surprised to see him.

"Bravo, human. No one has ever made it this far into our midst before… alive that is." she said gently clapping.

Austin remained calm. He was pretty certain there was a reason this Takaal ha come before him, otherwise he'd be dead already.

The large Takaal, who was clearly the Queen waited for a response from the Helldiver, but she didn't get one.

"You don't seem afraid. Are you not surprised to see us?" she asked questionably.

"Not as much as you might think. You're not like the ones I've met before. You're different." said Austin. He was pretty sure this Takaal knew what he was talking about. She and Leviathan had clearly been watching him for a long time.

"How clever you are, little Helldiver." the Queen smiled. She had a somewhat strange voice. She sounded youthful, but at the same time spoke with a wise old tone. Hardly surprising though considering that she was probably millions of years old.

"Who are you?" Austin asked.

"I am Meeralack, Queen of the Takaal." the Queen replied. "You stand in the presence of royalty."

Austin slowly withdrew his sword, hoping for the right reaction. Sure enough, he got it.

"You seem quick to trust." said Meeralack curiously.

"You knew I was coming. Surely you must realise I can't do much harm, especially to one so… big as you, your majesty." said Austin respectfully.

"You've withdrawn your guard. I suppose it is only fair." said Meeralack.

She then suddenly diapered then reappeared at Austin's level, now standing the same size and height as a normal Takaal. She was almost as tall as Skarlack so she dwarfed Austin by a few centimetres. At the same time, the large form of Leviathan also appeared, looking down over the two.

"Now. Perhaps you would kind enough us to tell me why you are here and why you have been pursuing our guardians." said Meeralack, gently circling Austin as the long train of her dress dragged behind her. The dress was so long that it touched the invisible floor and hid her legs.

"Guardians?" Austin asked.

"The Leviathans, as you call them."

"You know more than you're letting on." said Austin. "Why are there two factions of your people? Why are some of them synthesis?"

"And why should I tell you that?"

"You said so yourself, no one has ever made it this far into your midst before. I'd say that's earned me the right to some answers."

Meeralack looked at Austin for a moment. She then gave Austin a smile that said "Well played."

"You always have been the persuasive type, Major Shepard." she said. "It would make more sense if I showed you. Open your mind."

Austin gently allowed this and he felt images flash before him, images of a time so long ago.

"Millions of years ago, our people were once a proud race. We were one of the most advanced races of our time. Back then, it was an older, darker, time of chaos. The other races… they were primitive, violent, and most of all selfish. They waged many wars with each while we isolated ourselves, simply observing and studying. But the galaxy could remain blind to us for only so long. Soon, they found out about us, and they grew jealous of us. Despite our technology, they were much better fighters, vicious and unrelenting."

The visions showed the many wars that other races waged with each other and then how they attacked the Takaal. It was strange to see this sort of thing happen after what Austin had seen Skarlack and the synthetic Takaal do.

"We were almost overrun… had it not been for those who had been watching over us."

Then Leviathan and several more of it's kind appeared, driving the attackers away.

"The Leviathans saw us as victims. They deemed it unfair that the others treated us this way, and so they drove away our attackers. For a time, we lived in peace, but it did not last long. Alone, the other races could not stand against us, but they soon found out that if they worked together, they could overcome even the Leviathans. Against the entire galaxy, we knew we didn't have a chance."

The other races united and attacked, the destruction and chaos was so great it almost put the Reapers to shame.

"Death, destruction and suffering made us desperate, Our best minds banded together and we created an intelligence that had the power to protect us. From that, we constructed a form for it, forged in the image of our protectors. Thus it was that the first Reaper was born, you call it Harbinger."

Sure enough, the visions showed the construction of Harbinger.

"Soon others followed, each one based off of the intelligence we had created and made in Harbinger's image all of them sharing in a hive mind so as to coordinate and communicate with each other."

Other Reapers followed until there were around 100 of them.

"Against the Reapers, our enemies were no match whatsoever. Very soon, they begged for us to accept their surrender all so that they would not be completely exterminated."

The Reapers practically layer waste tot he attacking races. They fell to their knees before the Takaal, most especially Meeralack. Even back then, she'd been Queen.

"For more than four thousand years, we lived in peace, the dominant race among all others, ruling over them with the Reapers ensuring that none dared to ever oppose us. But in that time however, something about the Reapers began to change. All the while, their hive mind intelligence continued to evolve."

"Let me guess. They got smart enough to wonder why they had to take orders?" Austin asked.

"That'd be one way of putting it, yes. Against our will, they attacked all organic races, harvesting their genetic material and from it, creating many more of themselves. Soon the Reapers had a small army at their disposal. Then they turned to us too."

The Reapers int he visions began to wipe out everything int heir path, harvesting them into new Reapers, and soon they attacked their creators.

"Unprepared and with our population still recovering after the losses we had sustained all those years ago, the attack came as a complete surprise. Even the Leviathans could not protect us."

The Takaal home world changed from a peaceful planet to nothing but fire and chaos.

"Without any other choice, we fled our own world, forced to let the Reapers destroy it as we fled into the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Without any way of following us, we believed the Reapers would be stranded. But they were just as immortal as us. For the next 65 million years, they created the mass relays, the Citadel and from them created the cycles."

The visions ended and Austin's vision returned to normal.

"But why?" he asked.

"To build up their armies. Perhaps they somehow believe that they need more of themselves, constantly stuck in a loop believing that they need more. And all the while, they search for signs of us, hoping to find us and end it once and for all. We created them, so they believe that only we know how to destroy them." said Meeralack.

"I still don't understand how the Synthetic Takaal fit into this." said Austin.

Meeralack seemed to look a bit more saddened by this. Almost as though she was speaking about this with regret.

The visions then resumed to show the Takaal and Leviathans settling deep underwater not his planet.

"For many cycles, we built a new life for ourselves here. But not all were happy about it. One in particular stood out from the rest."

A very familiar Takaal filled the visions. It was weird to see him without his synthesis markings.

"Skarlack?"

"My best General. He believed that other races did not deserve to die or suffer because of what we had done. Our people were in no position to challenge the Reapers though, and I had no wish for us to sign our own death wish." Meeralack explained.

Skarlack and many other Takaal, including Mirage, began to argue with Meeralack and the others before finally leaving, splitting off from their people altogether.

"But Skarlack was not the only one. Many others agreed with him, in the end I was powerless to stop them. A whole army of our people deserted us… among them, my own husband."

The Takaal left their people and soon began work on constructing a device.

"During the final days of the current cycle, they created a massive device with such power that we feared the worst would happen if they used it. I believe you're familiar with it?"

"The Crucible."

"The very first of it's kind." said Meeralack. "But when the time came to deploy it, the Reapers had discovered it. Skarlack and my husband prepared to end the war once and for all. But when the choice came… Skarlack discovered something. The death and pain of loss along with the suffering and destruction he had seen had pushed him to the very limits. He saw that there were other options, besides simply destroying the Reapers. He began to think differently."

Skarlack and Meeralack's husband, Krallock. stood before the Crucible's beam. It was ready to fire, it only needed the command.

"You cannot be serious. How can you believe that the destruction of the Reapers is not the way?! It's the only way!" Krallock argued.

"The Reapers are the most powerful beings in the universe. If we found a way to regain control of them, imagine the possibilities! We would rule the galaxy, we could rebuild our old empire a thousand times over, make it stronger and greater than ever!" said Skarlack.

"You've lost your mind! I will not let you do this!" said Krallock, putting his hand on Skarlack's shoulder and stopping him.

"Stand aside... your majesty!" the General warned. "I will not ask again!"

"You'll have to kill me!" said Krollack, drawing his weapon.

A fierce battle followed as the two Takaal fought one another. Despite Krallock's skill though, Skarlack was clearly the better fighter and he soon managed to disarm his opponent. he then seized the Takaal by the neck and brought him up to the beam.

"A sacrifice is needed anyway." he said.

"Even if you kill me, there will be others. And they will see the truth that you cannot." Krallock choked.

"We built this crucible… and we can just as easily destroy it." Skarlack snarled. "No other race will ever truly be able to destroy the Reapers."

At that moment, something suddenly broke off front he Crucible and sped off into the far reaches of space.

"What have you done?!" Skarlack snarled, tightening his grip on Krallock's neck and edging him further towards the beam. Krallock's could feel the beam as it tired to eat away at his skin.

"Ensured that one day, even it takes hundreds of cycles, the Reapers will fall."

"Not if i kill them first." said Skarlack, and with that he flung Krallock in to the beam.

The Takaal was practically disintegrated by the beam until it was nothing but green particles. Austin found it very unpleasant to watch and he could not deny that he felt a little sick in hiss to mach watching it. Meeralack also looked on the point of tears as she watched her poor husband become practically disintegrated by the beam. Most likely she had never dared see this more than once.

A green wave then swept front he crucible, capturing all Takaal in it. The Reapers who were attacking, suddenly stopped their attack as the wave swept over them and their victims.

Skarlack now stood before the crucible, his synthesis markings present and the true power of this ability now at his fingertips. He emitted a loud roar of triumph as he held his staff up at the sky.

"It should've ended that day, but Skarlack's change of mind prolonged it. On that day, the outsiders became what they are now. Synthesis was born, and they became the Reaper's willing servants. It seemed the Reapers were very influential." the Takaal sighed, trying to hold back the sorrow she felt.

Austin now understood Meeralack a bit better. To live for more than 65 million years as a widow...

But still, that did not change that the Takaal were the real reason all this had happened.

"And now it seems we pay the price for you mistake." he said.

"I know what you've lost! I know what has happened each time! Nothing but death and suffering, and we have had to watch for 65 million years! That is the curse of immortality!" Meeralack yelled back angrily, a tear making ti way down her cheek.

So it seemed this species was far different than their synthetic counterparts.

"How was it you've remained in this same spot so long without the Reapers finding you?" Austin asked.

"Over the cycles, the thrall races were controlled, removing traces of our existence as we directed them to. In this way, our survival was kept from the Reapers. Today, we reach out through the fragments and watch for discovery." said Leviathan, suddenly speaking again after along silence.

"You mean the artefacts we found?"

One of said artefacts then rose up on a pedestal, almost like a crystal ball.

"Tools for exploring the events of this cycle from the safety of this world. Through them, we watch, we study, and remain in the shadows." Leviatahn explained.

"Okay, you've made your point. Will you stop the cycle?" said Austin.

"We have searched your mind. You are an anomaly-yet that is not enough." said Leviathan.

For a moment, it looked as though they were about to leave. After all this, Austin was not going to let that happen.

"Wait!"

"The Cycle will continue as it has always done." both Leviathan and Meeralack said in synch.

"No! You've been watching. You know this cycle is different." said Austin.

"We will survive. You will be free to return toy our war, but we will not help you. We will not sacrifice ourselves for one cycle." said Meeralack.

"The Reapers know where you are now! You can't just watch anymore—you have to fight! Even if you survive the battle today, the Reapers won't stop—ever. Join us. Fight with us and we have a chance to end this once and for all!" said Austin.

There was a very long silence. The finally Leviathan spoke first..

"You confidence is singular."

"I've earned it out there fighting, where you should be." said Austin.

"It is clear why the Reapers perceive you as a threat and why the outsiders have a reason to fear you. Your victories are more than a product of chance." said Leviathan.

"Strange. You remind me of him a little bit. A leader that never gives up, is not afraid to stand up to superiors, and willing to die for others." said Meeralack as she slowly circled Austin. "The prophecies may yet be true."

"What prophecies?" Austin asked.

"Long ago, the Oracle of our people foretold two prophecies during our dark hours." said Meeralack.

She then walked up tot he artefact not he pedestal and moved her hands around it. It began to show more visions, but this time inside the artefact itself.

"The first one is that the Reapers would eventually meet their death at the hands of a warrior wielding a blade of Kartalrium."

The only figures that were shown were shadowed silhouettes. One in particular, stood one other the many corpses of dead Reapers, and held up a sword that glinted in the light.

It wasn't hard for Austin to guess that was him. He was pretty much the only Helldiver alive that had a blade of Kartalrium. Dark Excalibur had been forged format hat too, but it's master was now dead and the blade was now locked up.

The vision then changed to show something else. It showed Skarlack apparently being defeated by a unseen being composed of pure bright light. That looked awfully familiar.

"The second… is that Skarlack himself would meet his end by the hands of a being… known as the Catalyst."

"The Catalyst…" a thought suddenly popped into Austin's mind. If the Takaal and the Leviathans had watched since the beginning, then surely they must know... "What is it?"

Meeralack gave him a questioning look.

"What makes you think I know?"

"Don't play games with me! You've been observing for more than 65 million years. You must know something. I refuse to believe that even one such as you didn't know the key to ending this." said Austin, his demanding tone surprising Meeralack.

"But why should I tell you? What makes you think your cycle is so special?" she asked.

"Because our Crucible is practically complete. All we need is the Catalyst. We can end this war." said Austin. "I'm not asking you to join our fight. I'm not asking you to lay down your own life for us. And I don't care that you've given up. You can remain blind to the Reapers, but now that they know that you're here, they will not be remaining blind to you. I beg you, only help us once… That is all I ask."

Meeralack turned to her back to Austin, she hated to admit it, but he had a point.

"You can try and hide it all you want, but I can see the pain in your eyes. Seeing the suffering that cycles endure pains you. You want to see it end as much as I do. I can end the cycles once and for all, but only if you tell us what the Catalyst is." said Austin. "You do know what it is, don't you?"

There was once again a long silence. The Meeralack walked up to the artefact and once again used it to look back into the past. Austin could not see what she saw, but he knew she had to be looking.

Then the Takaal slowly stepped back in surprise. She then looked right at Austin with amazement.

"Surprising." she said. "All this time… I never would've thought."

"What do you mean?"

Meerlack once again used the artefact to show Austin more of the vision of th first crucible when it had been fired. This time though, it focused on the part of the crucible that had broken away.

"That part of the Crucible my husband sent away… that was the Catalyst. It flew far beyond the range of even the outsiders. Only we were able to keep track of it. Finally, it came to rest on a far off planet. For millions of years it lay dormant. But that all changed a thousand years ago, when it was discovered." she said. "And I think you can figure out the rest for yourself."

The rock and soil around the Catlayst was slowly moved away to reveal none other... than an Arkane. The vision then once again shifted to show the technology being used to make something all too familiar.

"Are you telling me… that the Catalyst… is a Helldiver?!" Austin asked, almost lost for words. All this time, the Catlayst had been right under his nose?

"More specifically, one particular Helldiver. More specifically... You." said Meeralack.

"Me?! But… how's that possible."

"Think. You're a clever man, Shepard." said Meerlack.

For a moment, Austin tried to think. How was it that he could be the Catalyst. What made him truly so special from over Helldver beside his sword? And then it hit him

"The Prothean beacons!"

"Bingo." Meeralack smiled. "The catalyst protocols exist in every Helldiver, true. But they lay dormant, locked so deep inside the suit that even the Arkanes could not detect it, and therefore could not activate them. But the Prothean beacons managed to activate these protocols in your suit."

Then Austin remembered something else. A question that had been with him for nearly two years...

"Wait a minute… When my suit brought me back from the dead, it said something about Protocol Catalyst. Was that…"

"Indeed. The Catalyst is not technically alive, but it has some form of sentience through you. As long as the Catalyst exists inside your suit, it will never allow you to truly die." said Meeralack.

"So what does this mean? Do I have to connect myself up to the Crucible somehow?" Austin asked.

"You must let your suit interface with it's beam. It can complete the sequence from there." said Meeralack, using to artefact to learn what was needed. She then paused.

"But there's more…" she added. "There is a missing piece that you do not have."

"Like what?" Austin groaned.

"There is a part of the Catalyst that still remains on Arkadia, buried far below where it can never be reached." said Meerlack.

"That's just great!" Austin sighed, just about ready to kick something over in anger. To come this far...

"Fortunately, it can still be used." said Meeralack.

"How?" Austin asked, his head suddenly coming back up with hope.

"If your Crucible touches Arkadian soil, and your suit complete the sequence… It will work. Without it, the consequences are too terrible to imagine." said Meerlack.

All of a sudden, the place seemed to shake and there was the faint sound of Takaal whispers.

"What was that?" Austin asked.

Meerlack once again concentrated not he artefact. Her eyes closed, then reopened.

"After all this time…" she said.

"What is it?! What's going on?!"

"It's the Reapers. They have finally reached the final part of their plan."

"What plan?"

"Have you ever wondered why it is they never attacked Arkadia? Why they never tried to eliminate the greatest threat first?" Meeralack asked.

"I will admit, it has puzzled me." said Austin.

"The Reapers realize that you have a chance at destroying them. Even without the Crucible, they know of what your Helldivers are capable of." Meeralack explained. "They also know about your treaties. If they attack directly, almost all of the galaxy unites together to fight them. So instead, they decided to rob you of your allies. In doing so, they leave you alone in this fight, and they in turn build up their army of husks."

"But we've ruined their plan. Our allies still stand." said Austin.

"You recent victories have forced their hand. Both the Reapers and the Takaal have grown desperate, and they have still managed to increase their armies a lot." said Meeralack. "Skarlack also knows you are here. The Reapers are left with little choice. They are withdrawing their forces and are mobilizing to attack Arkadia."

"Then we don't have much time." said Austin. "We'll get the Crucible to Arkadia. One way or another, it will end there."

"And what of us?" Meeralack asked.

"You don't want to fight, that's your choice." said Austin. "But you want an end to this as much as I."

"You are free to go… and we will fight, but not for you, or any lesser race. We will only fight for those we protect." said Leviathan.

"And my people will also fight." said Meerlack, turning back to Austin a new hint of confidence and courage in her eyes. "As much as I try to deny it, you are right, Shepard. We cannot hide any longer. And if we die… we will take our outcasts with us. My people and our guardians are at your disposal."

Everythign suddenly went bright and Austin found himself back underwater. Now though, instead of just leviathan in front of him, there were two others and an entire swarm of organic Takaal.

Meeralack also stood in front of him. Even in organic form, her race still lack lungs, so they could easily survive underwater. She touched Austin's helmet and communicated a message to him telepathically. Her voice was that of her own, and Leviathans.

"Mobilize your army. We will be ready when you give the order. Now go, fulfil your destiny!"

Austin quickly activated his hydro boosters and his suit sped upwards towards the surface.

When he finally broke the water's surface, he immediately spotted the Revanant just before he suddenly felt rather light headed and passed out. The crew almost immediately hauled him on board.

"Austin! Goddess, he's freezing!" said Liara.

Austin then suddenly let in a sharp intake of air and coughed.

"Don't ever do that again!" said lira with relief as she hugged her husband. AUstin hugged her back then quickly picked hismelf up.

"We don't have much time." he said.

"What do you mean?" Brute asked.

"Captain, get us back to the Normandy! This war is closer than ever to being over." Austin ordered.

Several huge masses suddenly burst out of the water. Both Leviathan and Takaal were rising to the surface. Ships and beings that were more than millions of years old had finally returned to the surface.

"What the hell…" said Kraan, raising his gun.

"No, don't!" Austin yelled, quickly pushing it down before the krogan could fire. "Their on our side."

"What went on down there?" brute asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." said Austin.

"You?! How is that possible?!" said Zartrack as Austin finished telling the tale.

"There'll be time to explain later, but not now. The enemy is on our doorstep." said Austin.

"On our doorstep? They've retreated. What is going on?" Anderson asked.

It was true that the Reapers had withdrawn from everywhere. It struck everyone completely by surprise.

"They may have retreated, but it's not over." said Austin."They're mobilizing to attack Arkadia."

"Are you sure?" Matt asked.

"I wouldn't say so if I wasn't." said Austin.

Both Matt and Zartrack looked at each other with concern. The Helldiver were strong, but this...

"Listen to me, I know what we need to do." said aUSTIN. "We have to get the Crucible to Arkadia. If we do… this war will definitely end."

"Shepard… Arkadia is well defended, but I have doubts on whether we can withstand the full might of the Reapers." said Zartrack.

"I have no intention of bringing the Crucible to Arkadia without the resistance. We've been recruiting them all for a long time. This is the moment we've talked about for so long. It's time." said Austin.

"Then ready your army, Shepard. Arkadia will prepare for war. We'll hold them back as long as we can until you arrive." said Zartrack.

"I'll get the fleets ready. Good luck to us all." said Hackett.

"I hope we're ready for this." Said Anderson as he and Hackett disappeared.

"I guess all I can say is… good luck and give them hell." said Austin.

"If this is to be our final battle… we'll do far more than give them hell, son." said Matt.

"You pull this off, Shepard, and I just might retire." Said Zartrack.

"Then until we meet again. General. Father."

Austin quickly walked into the CIC and stepped up to the galaxy map.

"Traynor, open up a comm channel." He said.

"To who?" Traynor asked.

There was a long pause before Austin finally replied.

"Everyone."

Austin soon had a solid link throughout the entire galaxy. He cleared his throat, stood up straight and began to speak.

"To all who are receiving this message, my name is Sir Major Austin Shepard. Many of you may know me as a Helldiver. But today I do not stand before you as a Helldiver. I stand before you as a person. Today I came to you as a leader, the leader of what will soon become the finally offensive against the enemy that seeks to wipe us out, the Reapers. For a long time, many of you have been preparing for this moment. You have added your support to the Reaper Resistance, waiting for the day when the time would come for us to band together and launch the final attack on our common enemy." He said.

Some of the people in the CIC started to turn and look at the Major as he gave his speech, his voice being heard practically everywhere.

"For too long many of us have stood apart from one another. If this war has shown us anything, it is that we are doomed to extinction if we do not work together." Austin continued. "All of you… put aside the petty differences and grievances that have splintered us for so long. If not for forever, simply long enough that we may win this war. As you probably know, the Reapers have retreated and halted their attacks on your world. But this is not a time to rejoice. This war is not yet over. As we speak, the Reapers are mobilizing to attack Arkadia. To that end, on behalf of the Arkane Council, I call upon all the races in the Helldivers to honour the treaties you signed. The Resistance I have gathered… you know what to do. And finally… to anyone else, to the entire galaxy in fact… I ask you know… join us. If not for us, for those you care about, for those you love. End the suffering and death once and for all."

Now Alpha had fathered to hear the rest of this as well.

"Some of you may doubt our odds of success. I share those concerns, but if we let these emotions rule us, the Reapers have won already. We have the chance to destroy the Reapers and end the cycle forever. Is that not worth fighting for? Is that not worth dying for?"

Now the rest of the crew had finally joined. They looked up at their leader with admiration and respect. Miranda had been right, he had this fire that made everyone want to follow him into battle.

"I do not know what the future holds for us, but as long as I live, as long as every Helldiver and any who oppose the Reapers has breath within them… we will unite, we will prevail, and we will give the Reapers hell. This will be.. The Last Cycle!"

The message finished and the entire Normandy clapped and cheered.

"Damn. That's the best speech I've ever heard." Said Sarah.

"And some of that I just made up off the top of my head." Said Austin, quite surprised himself that he'd just said all that.

He then turned to the rest of the Normandy, his crew.

"You all know what lies ahead. I recommend you all get as much rest as possible. We are all going to need it for the coming battle ahead." He said. "Whatever happens, I know you will not let me down. Carry on. Our final battle is about to begin."

For anyone who's concerned whether there'll be a love seen chapter before the battle, don't be, because there will be one. As excited as I am to start working on the battle of Arkadia, it'd be wrong of me to leave one final love scene for our favourite couples.

So until next week. You have my word also I will work the best I can to make sure there's no delay next week. I can't promise there won't be, but I'll damn well try.

See you soon! :)
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle