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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Collector War	By : Veyron722skyhook Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 6229 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or it's characters. They belong to Bioware and EA. No money/profit is made by me from this.

Chapter List
- 31
- 32
- 33
I'm quite surprised I got this done so quickly. Still, at least now I can fully focus on doing Overlord.
Basically what's in this chapter, Jack's mission (with one or two changes I added just for a bit of fun) another romance couple and have even done a little tribute to Zaeed's voice actor Robin Sachs who died recently. At least he did finish voicing Zaeed for the upcoming Citadel DLC before he died.
Enjoy.
Also, a few people have been saying that they think that Sarah (Shepard's sister) is going to be paired with Garrus. I'm setting the record straight right now and teLling you that that is incorrect. Garrus will be paired with Tali in ME3. I have no problem with FemShep/Garrus, but it just seems like that relationship is bit too popular nowadays and I often see far too many fics on it compared to other ones like MShep/Liara. I promise you though, Sarah's relationship will be with a well liked character. One of my fans (you know who you are) is even incredibly eager to for it. (I told him so that I could get early feedback)

Chapter 32
Jack's Past
Since her little talk with Liara, Miranda had kept her promise and had ceased trying to get Austin's attention. Austin knew he shouldn't think like this, but he'd now made a small bet in his mind. Who would ask for his help next? Jack or Tali?
Jack certainly seemed more likely due to her… troubled past, and Tali was usually the sort of person who remained very focused.
As Austin exited the elevator, Kelly instantly turned to face him. She didn't even wait for Austin to say good morning to her. There was a worried look on her face.
"Shepard, I'm glad you came by." She said very quickly.
"Woah! Slow down, Kelly. Is something the matter?" Austin asked, nearly backing away by the Yeoman's sudden worried tone.
"It's Jack. She's been acting stressed all morning." Kelly replied as she tried to calm down a bit.
"Have you tried talking to her?" Austin asked.
"I wouldn't be this worried if I hadn't. I know it's a long shot, but is there a chance you can talk to her?" Kelly asked, almost pleading.
"I'll see what I can do." Austin replied as he put his hand on Kelly's shoulder reassuringly.
"Thank you, Shepard. I'm not sure what else to do." Kelly smiled.

Austin found Jack in her usual spot. True to Kelly's words, she had a somewhat stressed look on her face.
"Hey, Shepard." She said.
"You alright, Jack? Kelly tells me you've been a bit stressed all morning." Austin asked.
"Yeah. I got thoughts like little bugs crawling in and out of my head. I can't stop them." Said Jack.
The biotic convict then stood up and went over to the stairs. She then sat down on one of them. She did a look like she was struggling to think of what she needed to say to Austin.
"You know I have a history with Cerberus. You know how far back it goes?" she asked.
"Your whole life." Austin replied. "Jack, I'll listen to anything you have to say. Tell me what's bothering you."
"Cerberus raised me. First thing I remember is my cell door in a Cerberus base. They did experiments. Drugged me. Tortured me. Whatever chance I had to be normal, they stole it by trying to turn me into some super-biotic. The doctors… the other kids… Every one of them hated me. They let me suffer." Said Jack.
"What did they hope to gain by torturing a little girl? It's barbaric." Said Austin.
"That's putting it lightly, Shepard. It was something about pain breaking down mental barriers, and hot it might clear the way for a more biotic power. I'm sure there was a payoff due at some point, but I wasn't going to see it. I was wired up in a cell." Said Jack.
"They tortured you just to see if they could make a strong biotic? That's it?" Austin asked, almost in disbelief. He knew what Cerberus was like, but he never expected they could be this inhumane.
"Wasn't in a position to ask, Shepard. All I know is, a little girl crying in a cell, begging for the pain to stop…" said Jack.
"How did you get out of there?" Austin asked.
"There was some kind of emergency and I made a break it. The other kids came out of their cells and attacked me. So did the guards. I just killed everything in my way and ran. Guess my biotics had developed faster than they thought. I managed to get a shuttle off the ground. Drifted until a freighter picked me up. The crew used me, then sold me. That's my uplifting escape story." Jack explained.
"So there were other children in the base?" Austin asked.
"I didn't know much about them. I was kept separate. They hated me, just like everyone else there. When I broke out, I had to fight through them all. I showed them, but there's a loose end I need to deal with." Said Jack.
"You're sure it was Cerberus? It's not that I'm trying to defend Cerberus, in fact I hope it was them so that we can give 'em hell." Said Austin enthusiastically.
"You and me both. Trust me, I know it was them. I was a kid, but I wasn't dumb. I know how to listen. It was Cerberus. Don't care how far down the chain it was. They thought they were so clever. Turns out, mess with someone's head enough and you can turn a scared kid into an all-powerful bitch. Fucking idiots." Said Jack, her mood di brighten a bit knowing that Austin thought the same as her about Cerberus.
"I know what you mean. I myself have seen some of the things Cerberus has done. If we… no, when we eventually find the Illusive Man himself, he's not even gonna get the mercy of being put on trial. He'll die on the spot with my sword through his heart before that happens, provided he has a heart to stab." Said Austin.
"Hope I get to see that when it happens. But that's not what I'm after anyway. I found the coordinates in your Helldiver's Cerberus files. I want to go to the Teltan facility on Pragia, where they tortured and drugged me. I want to go the centre of the place, my cell. I wanna deploy a big fucking bomb. And I want to watch from orbit when it goes." Said Jack, almost order like.
"I'm surprised you're not a Helldiver with an attitude like that. We're not busy right now, so we can do this right now if you want." Austin offered.
"The sooner the better." Jack replied.
"Then you'd better get ready. We've got a facility to destroy."
"I owe you, Shepard." Said Jack gratefully. "And tell Kelly I said thanks for sending you to talk to me."
"How did you…"
"I'm smart. I know she cares about me. Not that I mind of course."

The shuttle ride was mostly silent. Partly because there wasn't a lot to talk about, but mostly because the two squad mates that Austin had chosen to take for mission where Miranda and Urz. Jack of course despised Miranda to the core, regardless of whether she was with Cerberus or not. Urz on the other hand, Jack had a bit of respect for but he of course didn't talk and was a quiet Varren, only barking during a fight or when he was extremely excited.
"I forgot how much I hate this place. See the landing pad? Has to be on the roof, or the vegetation would overgrow it in a few hours." Jack finally spoke up as the dropship neared the landing zone.
"Shepard, I am picking up thermal signatures everywhere, except at your landing zone." Said EDI.
"Something's distorting the sensors." Austin commented.
"This was a secret Cerberus facility." Said Miranda.
"Yeah, they build their equipment to last. Assholes! It was a mistake coming back here, Shepard." Said Jack.
"Hey, you where the one that wanted us to come here. Get a hold of yourself. It'll be okay." Said Austin.
"I'm fine. Okay. Let's get on the ground." Said Jack.
The dropship doors opened, instantly allowing the rain from outside to flow in. Austin of course, being protected by his exosuit was bothered by the cold rain at all and it simply dipped and ran off the edges of its metal skin. Urz, being a Varren, wasn't that bother by the rain either, especially since he was also wearing armour. Jack seemed to mostly ignore it, despite her lack of much clothing. Miranda did seem a bit irritated by getting wet, but she did her best not to show it.
"Let's just get in there and plant the bomb in my cell. I want to watch this place burn." Said Jack.
Although the place was abandoned, they still had their weapons drawn just in case. It was easily possible they might encounter some wild creatures. A few wild Varren where definitely likely to be in here trying to perhaps scavenge some food or anything from the wreckage.
They first entered a large room of some kind. It was filled with a number of large crates.
"I never saw this room. I think they brought new kids in these containers. They were messed up and starving, but alive. Usually." Said Jack.
Austin couldn't help but think what this place might have been like in its prime. Seeing it in this destroyed state and with a lot of the vegetation having overgrown in it just kept making him think that.
Eventually, they found what looked like an old message recording of some kind. There was one person actually doing the log and the voice of someone off-screen could also be heard.
"The Illusive Man requested operation logs again. He's getting suspicious." It said.
"When we get results, he won't care what he did. But if he knew…" said the other voice.
The message seemed to deactivate itself automatically.
"It sounds like this facility went rouge." Said Miranda.
"You'd like to think that wouldn't you? He didn't say what they were hiding from the Illusive Man." Said Jack.
The next room was a lot bigger. It looked like what was left of a loading area.
"I remember escaping to this room. Fighting here. I saw sunlight through the cracks in the ceiling. Only a half-dead guard between me and freedom. He was begging for his life." Said Jack.
At that moment, Urz started sniffing the air. From the Varren's body language, Austin could tell that Urz sensed something.
"Stay alert. I don't think we're alone in here." He said cautiously.
Sure enough, as they rounded a corner they found several wild Varren. They'd obviously caught their scent too and they looked ready for a fight. The group however where quick to deal with them though. Urz in particular managed to take down three Varren on his own, the special armour providing him protection form their fangs.
"This looks like what's left of an arena." Said Austin as he observed some of the wrecked area that had several small walls arranged in circle. A few where toppled over and some weren't' arranged right. There were also one or two blood stains on the floor.
"That's right. They used to stage fights here. Pit me against other kids. I loved it. Only time I was ever out of my cell." Said Jack.
"What exactly where they studying?" Austin asked.
"Hell if I know. Maybe that's how they got their kicks. I never understood anything that happened here."
"How often did they do this?"
"I was in a cell my whole life. Sometimes they took me out and made me fight. Filled me with drugs. Other stuff. Time gets funny in a cell."
"Did other children die in these fights?"
"I was a kid, filled with drugs. I got shocked when I hesitated. Narcotics flooded my veins when I attacked."
"They actually rewarded you for attacking?"
"I still get a warm feeling during a fight."
"What the hell was wrong with those people?!"
"I don't know. Doesn't matter now."
"Got anything to say about that, Miranda?!" Austin asked in Miranda's direction.
Miranda was a bit lost for words and didn't say anything.
"Didn't think so." Said Jack.
"Let's keep moving."
They continued through several more long corridors. Austin could tell that Jack seemed a bit unsettled in this place. Not that he blamed her of course, this was where she'd grown up and lived hell. As if he didn't have enough reason to hate Cerberus already.
Eventually, they came across another holographic interface that had a log in it. Jack nodded and Austin accessed it.
This one had the security officer from the last one it.
"Security Officer Zemkl, Teltin facility. We've come under attack from a Helldiver squad! The subjects are out of their cells! They're tearing the place up! Subject Zero is going to get loose. I need permission to terminate – I repeat, permission to terminate! All subjects besides Zero are expendable. Keep Jack alive!" he said urgently. There was a brief pause as he heard the response in his earpiece. "Understood. I'll begin the -"
He was interrupted however when a Helldiver soldier suddenly appeared behind him. The Helldiver smashed his head on the console and threw him to the floor.
" Don't move!" he ordered as he had his gun trained on the officer. "Area secure."
Jack had heard enough and switched the hologram off.
"That's not right. I broke out when my guards disappeared – I started that riot." She said.
"Things might have happened that you didn't see. Besides, I've been detecting some rare chemical residues in certain areas. Those are the same residues found in the remains of a dead Helldiver when their suit vaporises itself. The Helldiver part certainly seems true." Said Austin.
"Perhaps. Could be I thought they were mechs. But still, the other kids attacked me. The guards attacked me. The automated systems attacked me. That doesn't leave lots of room for interpretation." Said Jack.
They proceeded a bit further into the facility. As they went down some stairs however, they found something rather unexpected. Two dead Varren. They'd just been killed very recently, and with bullet wounds.
"This place is supposed to be empty. Who the fuck shot that Varren? It's a fresh kill." Said Jack.
At that moment, Urz suddenly started growling fiercely.
"What is it, boy?" Austin asked cautiously.
"More Varren?" Miranda asked.
"I don't think so. Urz tends not to bark or growl at other Varren. When he does…" said Austin. "I don't think we're the only ones here.
Urz didn't bark but kept growling. Austin allowed him to slowly lead the way. They soon got an answer to who and what the Varren had been growling at earlier. There was a large red Krogan and several Vorcha in the next room.
"Blood Pack! I should've known." Austin hissed.
"What the fuck are they doing here?!" said Jack, also keeping her voice down.
"I don't know. Regardless though, I don't think either of us wants to sneak past them." said Austin.
"I was actually thinking the same thing." Miranda agreed also.
"Okay, here's what we'll do..." said Austin.
Before the Helldiver could continue anymore however, Jack instantly leapt over the edge, her biotics flared and the whole place practically turned into a war zone as she engaged the mercs.
"Or we can go with Jack's approach." Austin sighed.
He and Miranda popped out of cover and joined the fight. Urz did the same and leapt onto a nearby Vorcha, sinking his fangs right into flesh.
Jack had quickly dealt with the rest of the Vorcha so that left just the Krogan, who was proving very difficult for Austin and Miranda to take down. Even with all their firepower and all the biotics, Krogan always took so much to take down. Eventually though, Miranda and Jack managed to both fling a throw attack so powerful that it tossed the Krogan high into the air. Austin was unable to resist some target practice. Setting his shoulder cannon to automatic, it immediately locked onto the falling Krogan. The familiar red targeting laser appeared, a blue plasma shot was fired and the falling body was vaporised.
"Jack, next time please check with me before you rush into a fight. I can't have you disobeying orders and starting unwanted conflicts." said Austin.
"Under the circumstances, it's okay to just attack mercs. You can't complain about that." said Jack.
"True."
They continued further and further into the facility. The further they got, the more wreckage there was. Jack certainly had made a mess of the place all those years ago.
"So strange to be back here. I feel like… I'm pissed off. I'm a dangerous bitch. But then I'm a little girl again. Shit, it's complicated. Let's just go plant that bomb." Said Jack.
The next room had some more wild Varren in it, but it was nothing to difficult. Further into the room showed that it was in fact a long corridor filled with doors, each one leading into a small isolated cell. All the other test subjects had clearly been in here.
"They kept children in this place?" Miranda asked in shock.
"This sort of thing surprises you?!" Jack retorted.
"I…
"Knock it off, you two!" said Austin sternly.
After a while, the group found themselves outside again. It had stopped raining now, and the night seemed peaceful. They were on some sort of balcony over a small garden. There could be what looked like a large window of sorts at one end.
"This… It's a two-way mirror? My cell is on the other side – I could see all the other kids out here. I screamed at them for hours, and they always ignored me." Said Jack.
The next room looked the same as the one they first been in when they came in, but this time it looked more like a torture chamber and it had no containers.
"I must have come through here when I broke out, but I don't remember it. This is a bad place." She said.
There were two holographic interfaces in the room. Austin guessed these where more log updates. The first one showed a scientist of sorts.
"Entry 1054, Teltin facility. The latest iteration of PergNim went poorly. Subjects One, Four, and Six died. No biotic change among the survivors. We lowered core temperatures of surviving subjects, but no biotically beneficial reaction occurred. As a side effect, all subjects died. So we'll not try that on Zero. I hope our supply of biotic-potential subjects holds up. We are going through them fast." It said.
"This is bullshit! They weren't experimenting on the other children for my safety!" said Jack as the log ended.
"You can't help what they did to others." Said Austin.
"You don't get it, Shepard. I survived this place because I was tougher than the rest. That's who I am." Said Jack.
"You move on, harder and tougher."
On the other side of the room was another holographic log. The log had had the same scientist from the last time. This time though there was urgency in his voice and explosions could be heard in the background.
"It's all fallen to pieces. A Helldiver squad's attacked the facility. The subjects are rampaging, and Zero is loose. We're shutting Teltin down. What a disaster. We'll infiltrate and piggyback onto the Alliance's Ascension program. Hopefully that will—who are…? Zero, wait!"
"Shepard, they started up somewhere else." Said Jack.
"Ascension is an Alliance program. It's a school for biotic kids. They don't torture children there." Said Austin.
"A lot of this… isn't the way I remember it." Said Jack.
"There was a lot going on."
"I was dumb. I keep my eyes open now, and I always shoot first. We're getting close to my cell. The place I came from. Let's keep going."
After going through another corridor, they were close to Jack's cell now. Right as they stepped into the next room however, they were met with a somewhat unwelcome sight. They were in the largest room yet, a massive loading bay, or what was left of it. In the room where more Vorcha, two more blood Pack Krogan and another Krogan dressed in more advanced armour. He noticed the group and spoke into his earpiece.
"Hey Aresh, it's Kureck. Yeah, the intruders are here. You want them dead, we have to talk creds. You promised us lots of salvage, but this place is a waste." Said the leader. There was a brief pause as he heard the reply in his earpiece. "Fine – we'll put 'em down. Then I'm coming in there, and we're going to talk salvage."
"What are you doing here?" said Austin.
"First we're gonna kill you, then we'll see." Kureck replied.
Everyone immediately pulled out their guns and the place was filled with gunfire. The good thing though was that the room was nice and large and there where more than plenty of spots to go into cover.
Miranda stuck back and used her biotics for far attacks, Jack went right up close with her more powerful biotics and Austin went on the attack with his Revenant. He hardly needed to worry about shots hurting him. Even if his shields gave out, his armour could withstand 24 hours of gunfire and attackers where usually dead within the first second of those hours. Urz of course stayed at his master's heels and relied on his own armour to keep him safe from rounds. A few times though he'd attack an enemy that got too close and would immediately eat them. He didn't eat the Vorcha though, something about their blood or flesh didn't appeal to Varren. He got lucky however when one of the Krogan tried to melee Austin and he bit into its leg. If he'd been allowed to take the whole body back to the Normandy, he'd be feasting on it for weeks.
The battle intensified for several long moments before all opponents where finally dead. Jack finished Kureck by slamming him against the wall, then ceiling, then the floor and finally smashing his face in with a biotic punch. Violent, but against a Krogan, necessary.
"Only room left is my old cell. Whoever Aresh is, he's in there. I want to plant the bomb there, anyway. Might as well do it on his corpse." Said Jack.
Jack's cell certainly looked a mess. Nearly everything was smashed. There was an overturned desk and who knows what else.
They couldn't' see this Aresh person, but they knew he was in here. Urz was also sniffing, but the Varren didn't go looking until his master said so.
"Come out. We know you're here." Austin demanded. Nothing happened.
"Last chance…"
Still nothing.
"Okay, you asked for it. Urz, seek!"
Urz obeyed and started sniffing around. It only took the Varren a few seconds before he started barking at the wardrobe. Austin immediately forced it open and Urz dragged a man out of it. He kicked and struggled against the Varren's strong jaw grip.
"Get the hell off me you filthy creature!" he yelled.
Urz didn't take kindly to this, and threw him a few metres. Jack and Austin stood over him as he slowly got back up.
"Who are you?" Jack demanded.
"My name is Aresh, and you're breaking into my home. I know you, Subject Zero. So many years have passed, and I thought I was the only survivor." Aresh replied.
"My name is Jack! How the hell do you know me?" said Jack as she aimed her gun at Aresh.
"We all knew your face, Jack. They inflicted horrors on us so their experiments wouldn't kill you. You were the question, and I'm still looking for the answer." Aresh replied.
"Looks like you're not the only one pulled back here, Jack." Said Austin.
"I tried to forget this. But a place like this… it doesn't forget you. It follows you. I hired these mercs and came back almost a solar year ago. We're rebuilding it, piece by piece. I'm going to find out what they knew - how to unlock true biotic potential in humans. I'm restarting the Teltin facility. It will be beautiful." Said Aresh.
"I wanted a hole in the ground – he's trying to justify what happened by using it!" said Jack.
"You'd do the same thing to other children?! This was forced on you! You're no better than Cerberus!" said Austin angrily.
"Some were bought from poor families on Earth or kidnapped from colonies. Most ended up here the way I did: Batarian pirates. The Helldivers never stopped hunting Cerberus for that. They did such horrible things to us. They must have had good reasons." Said Aresh.
"There's no reason good enough! Are you nuts? You lived it!" said Jack angrily.
"This place was like a prison. How did you get out?" Austin asked.
"Your Helldivers eventually must've found where we'd been taken after the pirates sold us to Cerberus. Two Helldiver squads attacked the base, which provided a major distraction for the guards. We all attacked at once as they were taking us to the lab. The would've put us down, but then Jack got loose. When I came to, it was over – the guards, the scientists, and the kids were all dead. And you were gone. Only what was left of the Helldiver squads were still alive. They found me and took me back to civilization. They offered me a chance at being a Helldiver when I was old enough, but I turned it down. I wanted a more peaceful life." Aresh explained.
"I stopped it, all of it. Maybe the others did have it bad, but what you're doing is just as messed as them, maybe even more." Said Jack.
"Everything we went through must have been worth something!" Aresh retorted.
"We can blow up the place, but that still leaves him. What do we do with another you?" Austin asked.
"That's easy." Jack replied.
"Just leave me here. This is where I belong." Said Aresh.
"Fuck that." Said Jack as she threw a biotic warp at Aresh causing him to tumble.
"Jack, wait! He's trapped in his past. You need to move on from yours." Said Austin.
"He wants to restart this place. He needs to die!" said Jack.
"Look at him. He's crazy, and he's never going to restart this facility. My kin would sooner destroy it again anyway. You have to let it go. Killing him won't help you." Said Austin.
"It will help me!" Jack retorted.
"Your call then." Said Austin as he stood back a bit.
"What? You're supposed to be telling me to put the gun down! That's what you do!" Jack asked in surprise.
"I'm not your father, I'm your friend. Just be sure that this is really what you want." Said Austin.
"I… shit, is this right? Will killing him fix my head?" Jack asked.
"Only you can answer that, Jack. But remember, your past doesn't have to control you." Said Austin.
"You're right." Said Jack admittedly. "Get out of here. Go!"
Aresh didn't hesitate and ran. He narrowly managed to avoid Urz snap his jaws at him as he left.
"He's not worth chasing. None of it is." Said Jack.
"You did the right thing, Jack." Said Austin.
"Maybe." Said Jack. She then looked around for a second, a somewhat sad look on her face. "This room was my whole childhood. Give me a minute to look around."
"Go ahead." Said Austin.
"Nothing's changed… but it's all different." Said Jack.
The first thing Jack looked at was the large window.
"I thought that room out there was the rest of the world. I'd pound and yell. Never did any good." She said.
Next to that was a bed. Despite how old it must be, it still looked in rather good condition.
"Sometimes I dream that I'm back in this bed being tortured. I used to tie the sheets around my wrists and try to rip them off. I want to stop coming back here. Said Jack.
Jack then walked to the overturned desk. She gently ran her hand over it.
"I used this table for everything. It was like my best friend. I'd crawl under it to cry. I was pathetic." She said.
Lastly, Jack walked out of the room and looked at a large blood stain on the nearby wall.
"See the scarring on the wall here? That's where I killed my first man. One of the guards tried to stop me. Instead, I stopped him." She said, smiling a bit as she remembered the sensation. "Okay, no more wallowing. Let's blow this place to hell."
Austin and Miranda where both silent. Jack had the bomb trigger in her hand and flipping the cover on and off, still somewhat hesitant of pressing the button. After a few flips though, she finally pressed the button.
"Brace yourselves, ladies. Griffin told me that bomb he made pack a hell of a-" said Austin, but he was interrupted when the whole shuttle seemed to shake violently forcing everyone out of their seats. Even Urz lost his balance. "- punch." He finished.

Overall, that mission had gone rather well. A defunct Cerberus base was now destroyed, some Blood Pack mercs had been taken care of, Jack had taken care of her distractions and would now be focused on the mission and Urz had got a good little bit of exercise. It was a nice change for the Varren rather than him having his daily walks in the simulator, as was the case. (Walking him on the Normandy was rather boring and he hardly had any room. The simulator gave him plenty of room to have the exercise he needed, but it was still better for him to get some fresh air every now and then)
All in all, a job well done. Just at that moment however, it seemed a bit premature as Joker's voice then informed Austin of some rather bad news.
"Major, Jack Miranda are in the middle of a… disagreement. Can you head it off before they tear out a bulkhead?" he said.
"I'll deal with it." Austin sighed.
"Take pictures."
Austin immediately headed for Miranda's quarters. He could already hear shouting. The second the door opened, he saw Jack throw a chair right at Miranda which she narrowly threw to the side with her own biotics.
"Touch me and I will smear the walls with you, bitch!" the convict yelled.
The two made for each other, but Austin quickly stepped in.
"Enough! Stand down, both of you!" he yelled as he forced the two apart and kept them at arm's length.
"The cheerleader won't admit what Cerberus did to me was wrong!" said Jack.
"It wasn't Cerberus. Not really. But clearly you were a mistake." Said Miranda.
"Screw you! You've got no idea what they put me through! Maybe it's time I showed you!" Jack retorted.
Austin hated having to take sides in an argument like this, but he had little choice. It was easy for him to decide who he supported, she was right after all.
"The people I recruit are my business, Miranda. You leave Jack alone!" Austin ordered.
"She can't be trusted, Shepard. She's unstable. She's jeopardizing the mission." Miranda objected.
"Jack's doing just fine. Maybe you should take a look at your own attitude!" Austin retorted.
Miranda didn't say anything. She knew she couldn't' win this argument and simply went to sit back down, he expression clearly showing how angry she was.
"My thoughts exactly." Said Jack as she left.
"Are we good?" Austin asked as he too stepped outside.
"No even remotely." Miranda replied coldly.
The doors closed.
"Jack's right. She is a bitch."

Austin immediately wanted to check on how Jack was doing and he headed down to the engine room. To his surprise, he found that Kelly was there as well.
"Hello, Shepard." she smiled.
"Kelly. Jack." Said Austin as he acknowledged them both.
"I needed to wipe that place off the map. You took me there to do it, and I owe you." Said Jack as she lay back on her makeshift bed. "You don't know what it's like, Shepard. To have garbage like that following you. It marks you in ways you… you don't expect."
"I've made a lot of hard choices, Jack. Like what to let go." Said Austin sympathetically.
"Hard to walk away from it. You'd think it would get easier now that the place is a crater, but what else do I know?" said Jack.
"I never thought I'd see you show mercy, but you let Aresh live. I'm quite proud that you made that choice on your own." Said Kelly.
"He was trapped in the past, reliving it every day. Shepard showed how that could be me. I'm not getting stuck like that. I'm better than him, and I'm sure as hell not carrying that crater around with me." Jack replied.
"Do you think you're different now?" Austin asked.
"I know that place is gone. But I still kind of want to kill every person I see. No offense." Said Jack.
"Well, that's a start. I'll take what can get with you, Jack." Austin smiled.
"You did a lot, Shepard. Shit, I'm not good at this soft stuff. Just… thanks, okay? Let's… let's get back to work." Said Jack, managing to smile back a bit..
"I'll leave you two alone." Said Austin as he turned to leave. "And Jack, I trust this sort of thing won't side-track us again?"
"Yes, Sir! Major, sir?! Whatever." Jack chuckled.
"See you round."
With that, Austin left, leaving Kelly and Jack alone together.
"You okay?" Kelly asked.
She stood up from her usual spot and sat down next to Jack on her bed.
"Kelly, I'm not complaining, but why do you care so much? I know we've been together for a while but it's just been sex." said Jack.
"We both know that's not true, Jack. I've seen it in your eyes. I can't deny that I care for you. I want this to be more than just sex." said Kelly calmly as she held Jack's hand.
Jack seemed to grow a bit saddened by this. Her tone of voice indicated emotion.
"I... I know, and... I care about you too. Shit. I never thought I'd say this, but I see you as more than just a friend." she said
Kelly moved herself closer and went to kiss Jack, but the convict stopped her.
"But we can't. I don't' want you to get hurt." she said.
"Why do you do this to yourself, Jack? Why do you push me away? I'm not trying to use you." Kelly asked.
Jack hesitated for a long while before she finally spoke.
"Murtock, a guy. He used me like the rest, for sex, for biotics. It was fun, and he ruined everything. We tagged a weapons frigate with a Batarian escort and got separated. He had a choice, leave with the guns or come back for me. Idiot dumped the score and waded into the squince. I made the shuttle, but no way he was getting out." she explained.
"And?" Kelly asked.
"I fly for a day or so, and then the shuttle kicks out this recording. He set it to play if he hadn't checked in. He figured that would mean he was dead. Talked about the future we were supposed to have, how he had planned to set us up a home, how he... how he loved me and he was sorry it wasn't going to happen." said Jack.
"You feel like his death was your fault." said Kelly as she put her arm around Jack reassuringly.
"No. He did it to himself. You feel, you get sloppy. It's that damn simple. He found out, and you'll find out."
"If he'd left you, you would have died." said Kelly.
"So what? You ever see me flinch, or run? Death is easy, fucking on-off switch. But this... it just burrows in. Like those husks, you end up with nothing inside. I'm supposed to take that and say "thanks dead guy." said Jack.
"I can't make all that go away, Jack. Not in a few talks." said Kelly, a bit more serious this time.
"No kidding. Told you we wouldn't work. Guess you'll be spending more time upstairs." said Jack.
"No. I'll be here with you." Kelly smiled.
"But you just said…"
"I said I couldn't fix it. I didn't say you weren't worth staying for anyway." Said Kelly.
"Okay, what the fuck, Kelly?" said Jack.
"So you're crazy. So what? That's practically stamped on the boarding pass for this mission." Kelly smiled.
"It's just gonna hurt, or you'll mess around, or I'll end up killing you or something." Said Jack.
"And?"
"And… that sucks." Said Jack, her voice starting to break. She looked like she might cry.
"So it'll suck. But how much fun is it gonna be on the way?"
"I… I…"
Jack finally let all her barriers down. Tears filled her eyes causing her makeup to smear and run down her face as she sobbed into Kelly's shoulder.
Kelly kissed her a few times on the cheek and neck to make them feel better. Jack let out a comforted sigh and leant her head on Kelly's shoulder and eventually hugged her back. Sensing her distress, Kelly hugged her more tightly, and ran her hands all over Jack and kissed her a few more times.
"Shh, shhh. I'm here Jack, I'm here. It's alright." She said soothingly.
After a while, Jack finally calmed down and looked into Kelly's eyes.
"I need some time. I've never truly been in love before, so I don't wanna rush into love making. It's different from simple sex." She said.
"It's okay, Jack. I'll be there for you." Kelly smiled.
They slowly drew towards one another and kissed. They remained like that for a long time.

Down in the engineering deck meanwhile, Griffin had gone down to get rid of some of the garbage. Zaeed had mostly set his residents in the room that had the garbage cube maker. All around the room where several different souvenirs of Zaeed's.
"Griffin, I was just waxing goddamn nostalgic." he said as the Helldiver stepped.
Griffin nodded to him as he put all the waste into the machine. With that taken care of, he could now focus on talking to the Bounty hunter that he secretly looked up to a bit due to the fact that he'd founded the Blue Suns, the very merc group had briefly been a part of and learned how to use explosives from.
"You've certainly set up very well in here." said Griffin as he admired the place.
"If I'm gonna be staying here a while, I may as well make myself comfortable." Zaeed shrugged.
"It's nice. You've got a good collection of souvenirs." said Griffin.
He noticed an old Avenger assault rifle and went to pick it up to have a better look at it. Before he could however, Zaeed stopped him.
"Hey, don't touch! That rifle's older than you are. I call her Jessie." "That's my lucky charm. More men have been killed with that gun, than died in the Skyllian Blitz. The day I laid her to rest was the saddest day of my life. I'd give up every weapon I own for one more mission with that shitty old rifle." said the bounty hunter.
"Sorry. I hadn't realized." Griffin apologised.
"You've no idea, Wilson. I was down and out when I found that gun. Jessie was the first weapon I got my hands on. Took her everywhere. She didn't have much punch, but… reliable as all hell. She'd already been through a lot by the time I got her. Still, I never had to recite her once. Damn good rifle. I remember her first kill, Turian arms dealer out of Omega. I ran through miles of filth and rust to hunt him down. When I finally cornered him, that gun was caped in two inches of the foulest sludge you can imagine, but Jessie wanted that Turian dead. So two shots, and he died right there."
"Then why not still use it?" Griffin asked curiously.
"I don't take Jessie into battle anymore, had to retire her about 5 years ago. I was hunting down this Batarian slaver, forgot his name not important." Said Zaeed. This time there seemed to be a bit of regret in his voice, and even a hint of sorrow. "Carved my way through a hundred Batarian mercs, I don't remember ejecting a clip once. Jessie just kept firing. Reached the slaver and he got in my face so I went to blow him away and… nothing. The old bitch had finally jammed. So I smashed his face in with the butt of the gun and called in the job. After that, Jessie couldn't be fixed. Nothing anyone could do. Like she'd… finally had enough blood and was ready to rest. Been resting ever since."
"I'm sorry to hear that. It'd be like Shepard breaking his sword, Excalibur." Said Griffin sympathetically.
"Yeah. Sometimes the old ways are the best, but no weapon will ever compare to Jessie in my eyes." Said Zaeed.
"What's this?" Griffin asked as he pointed to what looked like a model of a Turian ship. "Hmm, didn't expect you to be the sort of person to collect model ships, Zaeed."
"Oh yeah. That's a model of the Verrikan. Turian frigate, hell of a ship. I led a mission to bring that thing down from the inside with just five men and whatever guns we could bring. No chance of success, but we did it. Everyone died, but me. So I made out like a bandit. My first impossible mission as an independent contractor. There's been many since, but nothing so goddamn sweet as watching that Turian warship crash planet-side." said Zaeed. He smiled a bit as he remembered some of his old war stories.
"Hmm, sounds like you seen it all and done it all. Got any other good war stories?" Griffin asked.
"Hundreds." Zaeed replied.
"What about this?" Griffin as he pointed to a Blood Pack Krogan helmet.
"Beauty, isn't it? Pried that of the Krogan Warlord Gazaak. Used to run the Blood Pack out of Omega 17 years ago. Wasn't even a job. The guy just thought he'd hijack a freighter I was hitchhiking on. Big mistake. I goaded Gazaak into one on one combat. Took out his legs, grabbed his gun and killed every Blood Pack bastard in the room. That was the most beaten Krogan I've ever seen. Kept the helmet to remind of that pained expression." Said Zaeed.
"You know, with Vido gone the Blue Suns could learn an awful lot more from you." Said Griffin, rather impressed.
"If only it where that easy." Zaeed shrugged.
"Well, think about it. Many of them will be scared of you after that. He tried to kill you, but instead you killed him."
"I turned my back on that life a long time ago. I should let you go. Talk more later, Griffin." Said Zaeed.
Griffin got the message and felt it best to just leave the Bounty hunter alone.
"Thanks for the talk, Zaeed." He said.
"The least I can do for what you did for me on Zorya. Believe me, killing Vido does more than solve my problems. It also solves hundreds of other problems as well." Said Zaeed, his face flashing a brief smile of appreciation.
"See you round."

R.I.P Robin Sachs. You will be missed.
Also, do not worry. Shepard will get Miranda's loyalty back. It'll be in a slightly different way to the game though and I think fans will approve of it.
See you soon! Overlord next, I also can't wait to see your reactions to the special cameo in that one.
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Collector War