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

Chapter List
- 37
- 38
- 39
I still can't believe we've finally got to this bit! :)
Very little I can say really. Although I would like to once again thank Mastermind4892 for his contribution to this chapter by writing Shepard's first speech. (I did the second one myself)
Enjoy! This one'll be a blast!

Chapter 38
The Point of No Return
The Arkane Council observed Austin's hologram. Even they could not deny they were somewhat anxious about the next few hours. Who knew how this mission was going to turn it. Would it be victory, or a blood bath?
"Shepard. We wish we had more information for you. We don't like you heading through that Relay blind. But we have no choice." Said Spartan.
"You need not worry, Council. I'm not going alone. I've got my old squad and some of the best working with me. If we stick together, we'll make it." Said Austin positively.
"We knew your suit brought you back for a reason. We tend not to have favouritism for certain Helldivers, but we definitely make an exception for you. We've never seen a better leader." Said Tarnack.
"The first human Helldiver to take a ship through the Omega 4 Relay and survive. Despite the danger, it's a great opportunity." Said Avaritia, another female council member.
"Don't forget why I'm going through the Relay, Councillors. This isn't a field trip. We're going to destroy the Collectors! To stop their attacks on humanity." Said Austin defensively.
"Understood. But still impressive." Said another Councillor, Necrosis.
"We just wanted you to know, we appreciate the risk you're taking. Humanity couldn't ask for a better hero." Said Tarnack.
"Be careful, Shepard. Give the Collectors hell!" said Spartan.

Ahead was the glowing red Omega 4 Mass Relay. Its red colour and warning signs alone showed the danger it had. Despite this though, Austin remained calm. Spending the night with his new future wife had really got him well focused for the fight ahead.
He was on the bridge standing next to Joker. Alaara was also stood not too far behind him.
"Approaching Omega 4 Relay. Everybody stand by." Said Joker.
"Let's make it happen." Said Austin.
The holographic display lit up as Joker activated the IFF.
"And here we…go." Said Joker.
"Reaper IFF activated. Signal acknowledged." Said EDI.
"Major. The drive core just lit up like a Christmas Tree." Said Jacob.
"Drive Core electrical charge at critical levels." EDI warned.
"Rerouting!"
The Normandy sped at full speed towards the Relay. The familiar energy sound could be heard and then the ship was once again propelled forward.
"Brace for deceleration." said EDI after just a few seconds.
As soon as they did slow down however, hundreds of pieces of wrecked ship appeared in front of them. Joker was only just able to react in time.
"Oh shit!"
The Normandy just managed to miss all the major bits of the debris without a scratch. For now, they were in the clear.
"Too close." said Joker, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Way too close." Austin agreed.
The Helldiver looked out of the window into the vastness of the galactic core. Sure enough, it was as it had been described. Black holes and exploding suns. In addition to this, there were the wreckage's of hundreds of thousands of different ships. It was in a way a bit haunting. It was like looking at a massive graveyard of ships.
"These must be all the ships that tried to make it through the Omega 4 Relay. Some look ancient." said Joker.
"I have detected an energy signature near the edge of the accretion disc." said EDI.
Through some small gaps in the debris, they could make out something. It looked different to the wreckage, complete almost.
"Has to be the Collector Base. Take us in for a closer look. Nice and easy." said Austin.
The Normandy maintained a steady speed traveling through the debris. Only a few short minutes into it however, the alarms suddenly sounded.
"Careful, Jeff. We have company." EDI warned.
Austin looked out of the window to see what looked like several small sphere drones chasing them and firing beams at them. Must be some sort of drone defence for the Collectors.
"Taking evasive maneuvers." said Joker.
The Normandy started making all sorts of sharp turns to avoid these Oculus'. Joker then swung the Normandy around and headed straight at them.
"They're just pissing me off." he said, firing the Normandy's two guns in the process and managing to take out two of them. Dell's auto turret system was also being put to good effect. "EDI, take these bastards out!"
The ship shook violently as one of the beams hit the Normandy. There was no explosion sound though.
"As long as the new plating holds." said Alaara.
"Want another round? Come on, girl. Let's give it to 'em." said Joker.
Once again, the Normandy took evasive manoeuvres and the Oculus' chased them. It was brief before another alert sounded.
"Alert! Hull breach on engineering!" said EDI.
"It's in the cargo hold!" said Joker as a hologram of the Normandy appeared with the cargo hold flashing red.
"We'll deal with it. You keep the rest of them off our tail. Alaara, you stay here." said Austin.
"Aye, aye Major."

The Oculus hadn't wasted any time, it seemed. The cargo hold was an absolute mess. Dell's workstation was practically destroyed, as was the simulator and the Hammerhead had come loss from its clamps. The dropship still looked okay though.
Dell and Sill had taken cover behind the cargo bays control panel. Dell had a Helldiver assault rifle (which he'd learned how to use in case of an emergency, especially since he made them) and Sill also had a small pistol.
"You two alright?" Austin asked as he joined them.
The Oculus was still hovering overhead, scanning for targets.
"Yeah. But that thing is making a mess of everything." Dell complained.
Dash hopped over the edge and took cover behind a nearby crate. The Oculus seemed to notice him and fired a beam in his direction. It missed, but it still took a lot of Dell's equipment which elected an angry shout from the Arkane Quartermaster.
"HEY! I NEEDED THAT!"
The Oculus once again fired another beam in their direction which they were just narrowly able to avoid. Austin immediately returned fire, but his Revenant didn't seem to do any significant damage.
"We're gonna need a bigger gun." said Sill.
The Oculus hovered around a bit before retreating back through the hole it had entered through earlier.
"We're sitting ducks out here. I have to try to lose them in the debris field." Said Joker over the comm.

The Normandy headed into the field of debris and slowed down slightly so that Joker had enough time to react. It was almost exactly the same as flying through an Asteroid field.
The chasing Oculus' didn't seem to be as fast with their reactions as Joker, and so they hit the debris. That then simply left the Normandy with the problem of getting out of the field safely.
"Our kinetic barriers are not designed to survive impact of a degree that size, Jeff." EDI advised.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing we upgraded." Said Joker. "Going in."
A sharp shake put everyone in the cargo hold of balance. Dell even fell right on his face.
"Hold on to something! Joker's a great pilot, but he has his crazy moments." Austin advised as he held onto a nearby railing.
"Come on. Find some room." Joker muttered as the Normandy scraped rather hard against a piece of debris
"Kinetic barriers at 40%." EDI warned.
"Reroute non critical power. This is gonna hurt."
Joker held his breath as the Normandy continued speeding at the glimpse of the clear. If they could just make it through, they'd be out of the critically dangerous part of the debris field.
One final bit and he just managed to squeeze them through with maybe another scrape.
The Normandy shook again from the scrape. Tali briefly looked up to see if the drive core was holding. Nothing happened, it was doing fine.
The Quarian couldn't' help but breathe a sigh of relief. Her shield fortification upgrade it seemed was working well.
"Damage report…" said Joker.
"Kinetic barriers steady at 30%. No significant damage." Said EDI.
"Take the helm, EDI, and keep it slow. Let's see if we can avoid any more attention." SAID Joker, breathing a sigh of relief.
Suddenly there was a faint hissing sound from below.
"I have detected an enemy heading for the cargo hold." Said EDI. It seemed that one Oculus had managed to make it through.
"That thing again? This one's up to Shepard."

"That was a rough ride." Said Dell as he picked himself.
Right at that moment however, the Oculus reappeared through the hole again.
"TAKE COVER!" Austin yelled.
Everyone once again ducked behind something to avoid the incoming beam.
"Dell, I don't suppose you got anything we can use?!" said Liara.
"Well, one of you did bring a Collector Particle Beam back with you. That may pack enough punch." Said Dell as he tried to spot where the Collector weapon was among the mess. To his relief, it was within arm's reach and looked undamaged. Scooping the rifle up, the Arkane threw it to Austin and he caught it.
The Helldiver aimed at the Oculus and fired. Almost instantly, the beam seemed to do some extremely serious damage. First the central eye was vaporised and the beam seemed to carve straight through the other side.
Everyone immediately made sure to duck down to avoid the blast as the Oculus overloaded and exploded. More pieces were sent flying by the blast. Although this seemed to annoy Dell even more, he was pleased at least that the Oculus had been destroyed.
"And stay broken!" he said.
"You better get back up here, Major." Austin heard Joker say through his comlink.
"We're about to clear the debris field." Said Alaara.

Austin quickly hurried back up to the bridge. The massive Collector Base could be seen through the cockpit windows.
"There it is. The Collector Base." Said Alaara.
"See if you can find a place to land without drawing attention." Said Austin.
Before Joker could do anything though, the radar bleeped.
"Too late. Looks like they're sending out an old friend to greet us." Said Joker
The unmistakable shape of a Collector Ship detached from the main base and slowly turned itself until its laser was pointing in their direction. Joker immediately took evasive action, just managing to avoid the beam.
"Time to show our new teeth. Fire the main gun!" said Austin.
Garrus' new cannon upgrades flipped out of compartments on the Normandy's underside charged up and fired a bright blue beam at the Collector ship. The first shot alone damaged the hull badly and very nearly carved straight through.
"How do you like that, you sons of bitches?!" Joker cheered.
"Get in close and finish him off!" said Austin.
"Everybody hold on! Gonna be a wild ride!" said Joker.
The pilot once again dodged another beam and then swung around and went full throttle up to the Collector Ship. "Give 'em hell, girl!"
The cannons fired again and the beam cut straight through the Collector vessel in pretty much the exact same way that its beam had carved through the original Normandy two years ago.
"Some fine payback!" Austin thought.
"Look out!"
The Collector vessel exploded and the pulse disoriented the Normandy. Joker started panicking as he started to lose control of the ship.
"Mass effect field generators are offline! EDI, give me something!" he said, desperately trying to regain control.
"Generators unresponsive. All crew brace for impact." Said EDI.
The ship hit the Base's hull hard and skidded along the side before finally stopping. The force of this caused everyone to lose their footing. After a few seconds though, they were able to get back up.
"Is everyone okay?" Austin asked.
"Think I broke a rib… or all of them." Joker groaned.
"Multiple core systems overloaded during the crash. Restoring operation will take time." Said EDI.
"And everything was going so smoothly till now." Alaara sighed.
"Don't lose heart. We'll defeat the Collectors, but I plan to live to tell about it!" said Austin confidently.
"I'm glad you're in charge. What's our next step?" Joker asked.
"Is the ship safe here? How long do we have until the Collectors find this landing zone?" Austin asked.
"I do not detect an internal security network. It is possible the Collectors did not expect anyone to reach the base." Said EDI.
"In that case, we better use that to our advantage. Joker, you and EDI get the ship back up. Alaara, tell everyone to assemble in the briefing room. It's time for us to plan our attack." Said Austin.

Everyone had assembled. Each one of them was either checking their weapons or armour. Thane and Griffin were even praying.
As Austin walked to the front of the table, he nodded to Liara. Alaara also followed behind him and stood on his other side next to Sandra.
"This isn't how we planned this mission. But this is where we're at. We can't worry about whether the Normandy can get us home. We came to stop the Collectors, and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station." He said, addressing everyone. "EDI, bring up your scans."
EDI's robotic avatar appeared first. It then activated its holographic omni tool and projected a holo image of the Collector Base.
"You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the main control console here." She said.
"That means going through the heart of the station. Right past this massive energy signature." Said Jacob.
"That's the central chamber. If our crew, or any of the colonists, are still alive, the Collectors are probably holding them in there." Said Austin.
"Looks like there are two main routes. Might be a good idea to split into two teams then regroup in the central chamber." Jacob recommended.
"That's no good. Both routes are blocked. See these doors? The only way in is to get someone to open them from the other side." Said Miranda, pointing to the doors in the hologram.
"A few well-placed explosives would do the job." Said Austin, looking in Griffin's direction.
"There is insufficient ordinance to cause enough damage, Shepard." Said EDI.
"She's right. Even I don't think we have enough to blow through those doors. Sorry." Said Griffin.
"Okay. Let me think a moment. This isn't a fortress, there's gotta be something." Said Austin.
There was a lengthy silence while Austin racked his brain for a new tactic and he scanned the hologram for anything to exploit. Then he spotted something.
"Wait, what about here? Maybe we can send one or two people in through this ventilation shaft?" he said, indicating the entry point on the hologram near to where the Normandy had crashed.
"That's practically a suicide mission. I volunteer." Said Jacob.
"I appreciate the thought, Jacob. But you couldn't shut down the security systems in time." Said Kasumi. "You need tech experts for this, Shep."
"It's your call, Major. Who do we send into the shaft?" Jacob asked.
Once again, Austin was silent for a while. This was an extremely careful choice he had to make now. If he picked the wrong person, it could cost them dearly, perhaps even compromise the entire mission.
He had four choices: Leena, Tali, Legion or Kasumi. Anyone of them would do, it was just a matter of deciding which one he felt was the best. He didn't want to take any chances at all, especially if his wrong choice could get them or someone else killed.
In the end, Austin narrowed his choice down to the two Quarians. Leena was much older than Tali, but she was often a better fighter whereas Tali often benefited from better Tech skills. Eventually, he got fed up with trying to choose and made a better decision.
"Tali, Leena, you're the best techs we have. I'm sending you both in." he said.
The two Quarians nodded to each other and then stood to attention. Leena even saluted.
"We won't let you down, Austin." Said Tali.
"The rest of us will break into two teams and fight down each passage. That should draw the Collectors away from what you're doing." Said Austin.
"I'll lead the second fire team. We'll meet you on the other side of the doors." Said Miranda.
"Not so fast, Cheerleader. Nobody wants to take orders from you." Said Jack disapprovingly.
"She's right. I don't want you leading the second team. Some of us still don't trust you." Alaara agreed.
"This isn't a popularity contest. Lives are at stake." Said Miranda. "Shepard, you need someone who can command loyalty through experience."
Once again, Austin was left with another choice. This time though, he didn't need to waste time debating who. Sure, he could pick Garrus, Miranda, Jacob or Alaara, but the choice was easy since he'd had to make it hundreds of times before. He'd never been wrong before, and Austin sure as hell knew that she would not let him down now.
"Alaara, you're in charge of the second team." He said.
"Yes sir!" said Alaara proudly.
"You sure about that, Shepard?" Miranda asked doubtfully.
Alaara was about to furiously object to the former Cerberus operative, but Austin spoke first.
"Whenever we've had missions where we've needed to split up, Alaara's always led the second team. Plus, she commanded Alpha Squad for two years during my absence. I assure you, if anyone's qualified for this, it's her." He said supportingly.
Alaara remained silent and simply nodded confidently in acknowledgement.
"You're… you're right actually. I withdraw my objection." Said Miranda. "Alaara's disciplined and skilled. Excellent choice."
With that all sorted, Austin turned to everyone. His old squad and this new team that he had gathered stood before him. They did well at hiding, but he could tell they were somewhat nervous.
They needed some motivation. Fortunately, he knew just what to say. During some of his sleep with Liara, he'd been heavily contemplating on some stirring motivational speeches to keep their spirits up. He was actually quite good at this sort of thing; he had Zartrack to thank for that. Just a look at the Arkane General was enough to inspire a Helldiver army.
Clearing his throat, the Major addressed his army.
"I don't know what we're going to find in there, but I won't lie to you. It's not going to be easy." He said. "The Collectors made this personal by taking our friends and our crew. Time to get them back. But if they have been harmed... oh, if they have been harmed, then there is not a place on land nor amongst the stars where they will be able to hide from us. If they have hurt our people, then we will use the Collectors to send a message to the Reapers. A message saying that we will not go quietly into the night, we will not vanish without a fight, and we shall never surrender! Time to take the fight to the Collectors in person, for we shall deal such a blow that will leave their spirits faint and crippled. We will strike the strength out of them. We will leave them broken and shattered. And when we come back from this, alive and unscathed, then they shall say that "Never have so many owed so much to so few." Today, we give the Collectors hell!"
At this, all of Alpha Squad seemed to cheer. Even some of the team joined in, especially Grunt who banged his fists together. The others simply smiled. Samara even gave an approving nod.
"Certainty of death, small chance of success… what are we waiting for?" said Kraan eagerly.
"Let's bring our people home!"

Austin, Liara, Garrus disembarked first with Tali, Leena and Alaara, along with the second fire team following close behind.
"We're inside the ventilation shaft, Shepard. It's hot in here, but it's clear as far as we can tell." Said Leena through the comlink.
"Second team, are you in position?" Austin asked.
"Affirmative, Shepard. We'll meet you on the other side of those doors." Said Alaara.
The first team made their slowly through the base's tunnels, following the path to the door highlighted on their HUDs.
Their path was clear for a long time. Austin had thought they should have run into some Collectors by now. They entered another chamber which seemed to show the inside of the pipe. They could see Leena and Tali inside. They were moving well until they seemed to stop.
"We're stuck! Something's blocking the pipe." Leena groaned.
Some sort of gate seemed to be in their way and it was preventing them from progressing.
"Can you cut through?" Austin asked.
"That's a negative, Major. There's no control panel in here and the gate's too thick." Leena replied.
"Can you see a control panel or anything like that somewhere?" Tali asked.
"What about this?" Garrus asked.
Austin looked in the Turians direction to seem him standing by what almost certainly looked like a control for something. With little choice, Austin activated it. To his relief, the gate seemed to raise itself and the vent seemed clear again.
"That got it. Moving on." said Leena.
"And not a moment too soon. We've got company!" said Austin.
Several Collector soldiers, as well as Harbinger, flew down to the ground and fired on them.
"They're not blocking the path, Shepard. We can still get through to doors if we get this right." said Garrus.
Austin looked out of cover briefly to check. Garrus was right. If they stuck in diamond formation, they'd be able to continue to the doors and continue assisting Leena and Tali if need be.
"Good idea, Garrus. Diamond formation, don't stop!" he said.
Everyone stuck close together and all moved at the same time. With more than one gun firing at the same time, it was much harder for the Collectors to hit them. The Collectors continued to follow through the tunnels, but at least they were able to keep moving.
By the time they managed to reach the doors, more and more Collector reinforcements had joined the fray. Austin knew they couldn't take them all without the others.
He tried to get the door open, but it was still sealed tight.
"Anyone, come in." he said into his communicator.

From the other side of the doors, Alaara and the others were fighting off more Collectors while covering Tali and Leena while they sealed the door.
"Watch it! Seeker swarms!" she said.
The Asari then heard her Major's voice through her comlink.
"We're in position. We need this door open, now!" he said.
"You two, go! We'll cover you!" she said.
Both Leena and Tali hurried over to the door control panel and started hacking.
"Something's wrong. The doors stuck." Said Tali.
"Come on you bosh'tet, work!" Leena groaned.
The doors then opened. Everyone else quickly hurried in while Austin continued firing.
"Got it!"
"Here they come!" said Austin he kept firing with his Revenant. "Fall back!"
"Suppressing fire! Hold this line!" Alaara yelled as she and everyone else provided fire alongside Austin.
The next few seconds felt very long, but they held fast. Any Collector they got in their sights went down until the doors finally sealed themselves.
Everyone took a moment to catch their breath. Tali even slumped against the wall, panting and both shaking hands to congratulate each other.
"Everyone okay?" Austin finally asked.
"I think so." Said Tali.
"Good work, you two. I knew you wouldn't let us down." Austin smiled.
"Shepard, you need to see this." Said Miranda.
They were in the central chamber. All around the room was hundreds of the pods they'd seen many times before, all connected to some large tubes.
Miranda looked at some of the nearby ones. There were people still in them.
"Looks like one of the missing colonists." She said.
The nearest pod contained a female colonist that had obviously been taken from a colony.
"There's more over here." Said Liara.
The rest of the pods all contained the crew. Jack almost instantly spotted one particular one
"Kelly!" she yelled as she hurried up to the pod containing the Yeoman.
Austin quickly scanned the pods using his suit. To his relief, they were all still alive. At that moment however, something started to appear on the colonist. She seemed to awake and started banging hard on the case trying to get out.
"My god! She's still alive." Said Austin as he tried to get the pod open.
The stuff on the colonist spread even more until it covered her completely. It was then that Austin noticed it wasn't stuff, it was flesh! She was being melted!
Austin only tried even harder but he couldn't' get the pod open in time. He had to watch helplessly as the colonist was melted into grey liquid. It was horrible.
There was no way he would let that happen to the crew!
"Get them out of there! HURRY!" he yelled.
Everyone immediately ran up to a pod containing a crew member and either smashed or forced them open. Pretty soon, they had everyone out in time. Austin quickly spotted one more. Unsheathing Excalibur he jammed the blade into the pod's gap and pushed as hard as he could. The pod eventually split open and its occupant fell into his arms. It was Dr Chakwas!
"Karin! Karin, are you okay?" Austin asked desperately.
Chakwas seemed to groan slightly as Austin gently set her down on the ground. The rest of the crew seemed to be regaining consciousness as well. Kelly was even waking up in Jack's arms. Chakwas looked around a moment before she saw her old friend kneeling in front of her.
"Shepard? You… you came for us." She managed to say.
"No one gets left behind or forgotten, especially my crew." Said Austin as he gently helped the Doctor up.
Kelly also managed to do the same with a little help from Jack.
"Thank god you got here in time. A few more seconds and… I don't' even wanna think about it." She said, still a bit shaken.
"If they laid a finger on you, I'll kill 'em." Said Jack as she hugged Kelly.
"Where are the other colonists?" Austin asked.
"They were… processed. Those swarms of little robots, they… melted their bodies into grey liquid and pumped it through these tubes." Said Chakwas sadly.
Everyone seemed slightly disheartened by this. Griffin even made a cross sign with his hand and muttered a small prayer.
"Why are they doing this? What do they want with our genetic material?" Miranda asked.
"I don't know. I'm just glad you got here before it happened to us." Said Chakwas.
"So are we. But we still have a job to do." Said Alaara, smiling a bit. At least they'd managed to save the crew. It was better than nothing.
"We've done well so far. Let's hope we can finish the job." Said Liara.
Austin nodded in agreement.
"Gather round everyone. We need to plan our next move." He said.
Everyone did so and made sure they could see the spot in front of Austin.
"Sandra."
Sandra nodded and took a device from her belt. She then threw it gently onto to the floor where it locked itself into place started projecting full 3D holographic projections of EDI, Joker and the Collector Base as well.
"Joker, can you get a fix on our position?" Austin asked as the holograms
"Roger that, Major. All those tubes lead into main control console right above you. The route is blocked, but there's another chamber that runs parallel of the one your in."Joker replied.
"I cannot recommend that. Thermal emission suggests the chamber is overrun with seeker swarms. Mordin's countermeasure cannot protect you against so many at once."Said EDI as the part of the Collector Base flashed red on the hologram.
"They must have a weakness of some sorts." Said Liara.
"What about biotics? Could we create a biotic field to keep them from getting near us?" Austin suggested.
"Yes. I think it may be possible. I wouldn't be able to protect everyone, but we might be able to get a small team through if they stayed close." Said Samara.
"I could do it too. In theory, any biotic could handle it." Said Miranda.
"Major, who do you want to maintain the field?" Alaara asked.
Again, Austin was spoilt for choice and he needed to be sure he picked a biotic who was strong enough to maintain the field.
Overall, he felt that the three Asari on this team would be the best choice as they were natural biotics and didn't require implants like other species did.
Liara was well developed with her biotics, despite her young age but Austin knew from her mind that she hadn't before made a field that strong before and he wasn't willing to risk it. Alaara was much older, but Liara was actually a bit more powerful than her because Alaara was more trained in combat than her biotics.
Samara on the other hand had both advantages. She was older than both Liara and Alaara put together and she had more than enough experience due to her being a Justicar and nearly being 1000 years old. Overall, it seemed she would be the best choice.
"Samara and I will take a small team through the seeker swarms." He said. "The rest of you provide a diversion by going through the main passage. We'll open the doors from the other side and meet you there."
"Who should lead the diversion team?" Miranda asked.
Austin didn't even have to consider this time.
"Well, that's easy. Alaara, you're in charge again." He said.
"Yes sir! I'll make sure to keep them busy while you slip in the back." Said the Asari Captain.
"What about the rest of the crew, Shepard? They're in no shape to fight." Said Dash. "No offense."
"None taken." Said Kelly.
"Major, we have enough systems back online to do a pickup, but we need to land back from your position." Said Joker.
"We can't afford to go back, Shepard. Not now." Said Miranda.
"You won't' make it without help. Someone will go with you." Said Austin. "Any volunteers? Just remember that if you do help the crew back, you won't' be able to re-join us. If you wanna fight, stay silent."
"I will go, Shepard. Crew may need some of my medical expertise as well as Dr Chakwas." Said Mordin.
"Good idea, Mordin." Said Austin.
"Joker, need location of landing zone. Will meet you there." Said Mordin.
Before he and the rest of the crew left, Jack made sure to give a Kelly a tight hug.
"I'm coming back, Kelly." She said emotionally.
"You better. I'll be monitoring your frequency." Said Kelly.
"Thank you, for everything."
Jack finally let Kelly go and re-joined everyone else.
"Didn't know you went both ways, Jack. Not going soft on us, are you?" said Dash teasingly.
"Fuck you." Jack simply said.
"We've all got our assignments. Everyone move out!"

Austin had made sure that he took Liara with him for the long walk. Just in case there was the unlikely possibility that Samara's barrier might fail, she'd be able to at least make one that might still protect them, even if it wasn't as powerful.
In addition to this, he'd also brought Jack with him as well as Sarah. Super biotics and plenty of firepower were what they really needed now.
Samara remained in the centre as she maintained the massive biotic dome that surrounded them all. It was quite an impressive sight. Austin also couldn't help but feel a bit safer now. It was a human trait, but he was sure the others felt the same way.
"Moving out. Try to stay close, Major." Said Samara.
Austin heard his radio briefly crackle into life but it was extremely static.
"Major, we're in positi…"
"Alaara? Come in, Alaara." Said Austin.
"Dammit! The swarms are interfering with radio contact." Austin groaned. "You ready for this?"
"I've got your back, brother." said Sarah.
"Ready when you are, love." said Liara.
"Let's kick some Collector ass!" said Jack.
"Alright. Let's do it."
"Let's go, Major." Said Samara.
"Remember, stay in diamond formation and protect Samara." Austin advised.
"Watch out, incoming!" Sarah yelled.
Everyone looked to see several Collectors flying down. Harbinger was also with them.
"I can't fight back from this position. Taking cover. Let me know when you're ready to move." Said Samara.
Everyone dove for some cover just as the Collectors opened fire. Samara's barrier was only meant to keep the swarms away from them, so a fair amount of Collector fire made it through. Jack and Liara used their own biotics to go on the attack; Jack in-particular was making a wondrous mess of the Collectors, while Sarah and Austin used their assault rifles. Austin also made sure to keep Harbinger's attention on him and away from Samara. If she got hit at all, the barrier would fail and they'd all be dead.
After several long minutes of fighting, the cost was eventually clear.
"We're clear, Samara." said Austin.
"Let's go."
"Alaara, do you copy?" Austin said into his comm.
"Just getting you, Major." Alaara replied.
"Give me a sit-rep."
"We're holding out okay. These things really need to work on their tactics." Said Alaara.
"Got one!" Austin heard Dash say.
"Great kid. Don't get cocky!" said Zaeed.
The long walk continued on through the chamber. Many times they had to stop in order to clear the path for Samara, but they made good progress.
Austin was starting to see the tubes again. They were getting close. As they continued however, the barrier started to move a bit slower. Austin's usual pace was now faster than it and he nearly stepped out of the barrier by accident.
"You alright, Samara? We're slowing a bit." He asked.
"Austin!"
Austin looked behind to see that Samara was really struggling. Having to maintain the barrier this long had weakened her and she was only just able to continue standing.
"I will hold on… as long as I can." She said weakly.
"We're almost there, Samara. Just keep going." Said Austin.
Samara continued moving as best she could. Pretty soon, the doors to the chamber were in sight.
"I can see the entrance. Need to get there soon." Said Samara.
The Justicar summoned up what strength she had left and her pace quickened into a light run. Everyone else quickly followed and sped up.
"Hold on. We're almost there." Said Austin, firing at more incoming Collectors.
"More of them are coming, Shepard! We've gotta get the fuck out of here!" said Jack as she threw a few
"Alright, let's move!" said Austin.
The team moved forward a bit more with Austin briefly pausing to fire on a Collector.
"Keep it up!" said Sarah as she also gunned down another Collector.
"Hurry, Shepard!" said Samara weakly.
Samara continued slowly moving, her determination and strong will driving her strength. But then, disaster.
Harbinger had possessed another Collector and that now meant that it could use biotics against them. Austin only noticed this too late as the possessed Collector threw a dark warp at them. Samara's barrier wasn't strong enough to block it and went straight through and hit her. Her concentration broke. The Justicar fell to her knees and the barrier failed.
"SAMARA!"
Austin hurried to the Justicar and helped her up.
The seeker swarms, now no longer held back by the barrier, regrouped into a single swarm and flew at their targets, who could only stare.
Something about this however seemed to stir something inside Liara. She almost felt lost and helpless, but at the same time this somehow gave her a new confidence that she'd never felt before. Something inside her seemed to be shouting words of encouragement to her. She also felt odd, something about her biotics felt odd, as though… they begged to be used. As though they seemed to be begging her to throw up another barrier unlike any barrier she'd managed to conjure up before and protect her bond mate and future husband. If he died… the mere thought of it seemed to fuel her anger. Fortunately, Liara acted and turned her anger, into action and she yelled at the top of her voice.
"No. NO!"
To everyone's amazement, the young Asari threw up another biotic barrier, the most powerful one she had ever done. The seeker swarms bashed into it and flew around helplessly trying to find a way past or a way inside, but to no avail. This seemed to snap everyone back to reality, Austin in particular.
"Quickly, keep moving!" he yelled. "Inside now!"
No one else wasted time and hurried through the open doors. Liara summoned up all her strength and channelled the barrier into a massive biotic wave that swept everything in its path away.
Panting, Liara hurried through while Austin fired a few shots to cover her and the doors sealed.
"Fantastic work, Liara! I can't tell you how proud I am of you." He said as he hugged Liara.
"That bit at the end… Goddess, I don't know how you managed it." Samara panted.
"Thank you. I've never done that before." Said Liara, also out of breath and nearly lost for words. "I fear that'll only be a one off though. I doubt I can do that again so easily."
"Regardless, you saved us, Liara." Said Sarah.
"Your powers are growing stronger, little one." Said Samara proudly.
The happy moment however was interrupted by Alaara's voice.
"Repeat! Shepard, do you copy?!"
"I read you! What's your position?" said Austin.
"We're pinned down at the door! Taking heavy fire!" Alaara replied.
"We're coming: just hold on!" said Austin as he and the others took up defensive positions while Samara activated the door controls. "Get this door open!"
The Collectors were coming thick and fast now. Alaara and the other couldn't keep this up forever or they'd be overrun.
To the Asari's relief however, the doors opened.
"Fall back! Everyone inside, now!" she yelled.
Everyone did so and they were soon all through. Griffin was the last one as he covered them with his minigun.
"Seal the door!"
Just at the very last second as the door sealed however, a stray round from a Collector rifle made it through. It broke past Griffin's shields, managed to carve through his armour and hit him in the chest.
The demolition expert grunted is the shot hit him and he fell to the floor.
"Griffin!"
Everyone ran to the downed Helldiver. He wasn't moving.
"Oh no." said Austin.
To everyone's shock however Griffin suddenly jumped up with a shark intake of breath, causing everyone to jump back slightly in surprise.
"What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." He panted.
"How did he survive that? He took it in the chest." Liara asked in surprise.
Austin fished inside the wound and pulled something out. Griffin's cross was bent and badly burned. It had stopped the round.
"Well I never." Austin chuckled.
"See? There is a God." Griffin smiled.
"Amen to that, Griff." Said Dash as he helped the demolition expert up.
"Alaara, you okay?" Austin asked as he noticed Alaara was slumped against the wall and panting heavily.
"Yeah. Just need to get my breath back." The Asari panted.
"You did well out there, Captain." Austin smiled as he patted the Asari on the shoulder.
"Thank you, sir." Alaara smiled under her helmet.
Sandra once again to the holo projector from her belt and threw it on the floor. The three projections once again appeared in front of them.
"Joker? Are at the rendezvous point?" Austin asked.
"I'm here, Major. Chakwas and the rest of the crew just showed up." Said Joker.
"Everyone's accounted for, Shepard. No casualties." Said EDI.
"Excellent. Now let's make it count. EDI, what's our next step?" Alaara asked, smiling at how well they managed to do so far.
"There should be some nearby platforms that will take you to the main control console. From there you can overload the system and destroy the base." Said EDI.
As the AI spoke, a highlighted path flashed on the map of the Collector base, indicating the path they'd have to take.
"Major? You got a problem. Hostiles massing just outside the door. Won't be long until they burst though." Joker warned.
Austin quickly got up on the platform. Everyone looked to him.
"We need time. We have to finish this before they get through." He said.
"Pick a team to go with you, and leave the others here to defend this position. We should be able to cover your back." Said Miranda.
Once again, the choice was easy. He knew exactly who he wanted to take for the final push.
"Okay. All of Alpha Squad, you're with me." He said.
All of the Helldivers acknowledged and climbed to join their leader. X-5 went to join too, but Austin stopped him.
"Not you, X-5. The others will need your firepower. Stay with them." He said.
"As you wish, Shepard." The robot nodded.
"We're ready when you are, Shepard." Said Alaara.
At that moment, Sarah suddenly jumped up as well.
"Sarah, what are you…"
"There's no way you're going into his without me. I'm not losing you again." Sarah's quickly said to her brother.
Austin didn't argue. To be honest, he'd actually hoped she'd come along for the final push as well.
"Anything to say before we do this?" Miranda asked
"You've done well, all of you. We came here to save our crew and we did it. For me, that alone is a victory. Now I say we do it again and we destroy this base. For us to do that, it's up to you to keep the Collectors from overwhelming us. I understand that some of you have a small sense of doubt, but you have something the Collectors don't have, and that's spirit. That can never be broken, it can never be defeated, and it mostly certainly cannot be killed." Said Austin motivationally. "The Collectors, the Reapers, they aren't a threat to us, they're a threat to everything, everyone. Those are the live we're fight for, that's the scale. Just remember that. We have to give everything, even if that means our lives. We will stop at nothing! We will fight for the lost! Make me proud, make yourselves proud."
"We'll do our best. Good luck, Shepard." Said Miranda.
"Whatever happens in the next few minutes, I know you'll fight and you'll win. Whatever happens… it has been my honour to lead you. Alongside Alpha Squad, I couldn't ask for a better team and I am honoured to have fought by your side. Now make yourselves heroes!"
"Well said, Major. Now let's go finish the job." Said Alaara.
The platform detached and started slowly floating away from the others.
"So this is it. The final assault." Said Ventra, making sure his bow was fully primed.
"Feels like old times, doesn't it?" said Leena.
"Yeah." Said Ventra. A thought then crossed his mind. "If this is the final assault, there's one thing I gonna make sure I do right."
To everyone's surprise, even Austin's, Ventra got down on one knee and produced a ring from a pouch in his utility belt.
"Oh my god!" Dash exclaimed.
"Leena vas Penthra, will you marry me?" Ventra asked.
"I… yes I will." Said Leena, almost lost for words.
Ventra got up and the two hugged each other.
"Fancy that. Now we've got two weddings to look forward to after this." Liara smiled.
"Two?" Sandra asked.
Liara retracted the armour around her hand and showed everyone her engagement ring. Everyone gasped and suddenly cheered with delight.
"By the Goddess!"
Sarah even hugged Liara while some of the male Helldiver thumped Shepard on the back.
"I never noticed you were wearing that. How long?" Alaara asked.
"I only proposed to her just last night." Said Austin.
"I don't believe it. Now I have a future sister in law." Sarah smiled.
"Guys, I hate to break this happy moment up, but we've got company." Said Dash.
Everyone looked in the direction he scout was pointing. Sure enough several more platforms were attaching to their massive one. From each one jumped a swarm of Collector Captains that Austin, Liara, Griffin and Tali had fought on the derelict Collector vessel not too long ago. This time though, there were many more of them to the point where Alpha Squad now found themselves facing a small army of these hybrids.
"Oh no. Not these guys again!" Austin groaned.
"This'll be a tough battle." Said Dash as he drew both his pistols.
"Come on. Overwhelming odds with little to no chance of success? How can we resist?" said Kraan.
"With me everyone?" Austin asked.
"To the end, Shepard." Said Alaara.
"Look and load people!"
Everyone went into battle stances and drew either their guns or melee weapons. It didn't matter either way since the Captains could fight them both ways.
"Crush them! In the name of Jeebus!" Dash cheered, trying to sound funny.
"It's Jesus, you idiot!" said Griffin crossly.
"That too."
"Give them hell, Alpha. Attack!"
Everyone charged and the Captains did too. Dash almost instantly did a kick on the first Captain he came into contact with. The others quickly followed, slashing, firing, punching, pretty much any form of attack there was.
True the Captains outnumbered them, but the Helldivers had way more skill and experience than they did.
"Ventra! Two already!" Kraan cheered.
"I'm on seventeen!" said Ventra.
"WHAT?! I'll not have a Turian outscore me!" said Kraan as he went to chopping down even more Collector Captains with his two handed axe.
"Nineteen!" said Ventra as he shot two more.
Kraan and Ventra often did this as simple friendly competition. Whoever got the most kills won. In some ways it also improved their performance in combat as they became determined and more focused on killing targets.
Amongst the Captains, Harbinger had taken over one of them. The Reaper instantly threw a massive dark biotic at them. It missed, but it shook the platform up a lot and even destroyed some of the small walls that they had.
Most of the couples in Alpha appeared to be sticking together. Alaara and Sandra were certainly staying together. The Asari provided biotic attacks and barriers while Sandra fired with her assault rifle.
Austin and Liara had become separated by Harbinger's biotic blast, but that wouldn't keep them apart for long.
Ventra meanwhile was fighting fairly close to Leena, but not back to back. Because of the different weapons they used, it did make it complicated for them to fight together. Leena for example preferred the use of her tomahawk and knife while Ventra always used his bow. The couple never complained about this though. They'd even worked out a small strategy for it. Ventra was able to spot targets for Leena that might be sneaking up on her and she drew most of the attention away from him.
The Quarian jumped over one of the platforms walls and sunk her tomahawk into the head of a Captain as she landed on it. Another one came at her, but she delivered a swift kick to the face which broke its neck.
Austin meanwhile was carving down a Captain with ever swing. It had been a while since Excalibur had carved through this many enemies. Liara wasn't far off either while she put her biotics to use as well. She could see though that a lot of the Captains did seem to be concentrating on him, most likely under Harbinger's orders.
Immediately reacting, she used her biotics to propel herself into the air and jumped over a Captain that had just been firing at her. She landed and started running to help Austin. The Captain turned to shoot her, but the Asari's plasma cannon, which had been left on automatic, instantly whirled around and fired. It was because of this that Liara hadn't worried about getting shot in the back.
Austin quickly went back to back with Liara and they now fought as one. Within seconds they started transmitting thought to each other through their telepathic link. Captain after Captain fell by their blades as they swung and parried and sliced. Both their plasma cannons were firing like mad as well. No doubt the targeting systems were having to work overtime because of so many enemies.
Garrus meanwhile was engaging with some Husks who had joined the fray. While he sniped each one form a distance however, he failed to notice that another one had snuck up behind him. It hit him hard and knocked him to the ground. Just as it prepared to deliver a fatal blow however, several pistol shots hit it until it fell over the edge.
Garrus looked to see that Dash had saved him.
"Thanks." Said the Turian as he got up.
Dash didn't say anything but simply nodded. He then twirled the pistol several times in a classic manner (like they often did in the movies) and then holstered it.
The Husks certainly added a bit more of a challenge to the fight, but it was nothing Alpha Squad couldn't handle.
Austin and Liara continued fighting back to back as more and more Collector Captains attempted to strike at them. Taking on one person with a sword was hard enough, two was nearly unbeatable. If one tried to backstab Austin, Liara would either be there to cover him or would send a mental warning to him so that he could thrust behind him.
Suddenly, a Scion charged out of nowhere and headed straight for them. The surprise of this didn't give them enough time to react and they ended up being separated. The Scion smashed Austin out of the way as it continued charging at Liara, who had no choice but to run.
Once the Asari was sure she was far enough however she turned and made a fast blind swing at the Scion's head. She failed to decapitate it, but she did cause and injury which left it temporarily blinded as her sword cut into its right eye. Unfortunately, it still managed to topple her and she lost grip on her sword.
As the Scion tried to regain its bearing's Liara quickly rolled back onto her feet and immediately looked for her sword. She spotted it lying near to where Dash was wrestling with another Husk that was trying to latch onto him.
Quickly using her biotics, she summoned her sword to her hand just as the Husk managed to topple Dash. It was at that same time that the Scion had regained its bearings and it noticed Dash on the floor who had managed to kill the Husk that had pinned him but he was still on the ground.
The Scion threw Dash and then charged him. As the scout landed he quickly acted by continuously rolling so that the Scion couldn't crush him. It worked and the massive Husk under up running over him.
The Scion quickly noticed that it had missed its target though and it charged again. This time though, Dash was ready for it as he got back up on his feet.
As the Scion smashed another normal Husk out of its way as it charged, Dash did a quick draw with his pistol and he fired. The shot hit the husk right in the head and it fell. The Scout narrowly jumped out of the way as it skidded to a halt, now lying there dead.
Dash breathed a sigh of relief but he only had a brief moment to relax before he spotted another Captain running at him. Worse still, its arm was morphed into a sword. Dash fired a shot which hit the Captain, but it's didn't go down. He fired again, still it didn't' die. By this time, it had got too close. The Collector Captain managed to sever Dash's rifle with it blade arm, but it didn't hurt him just yet.
It spun and swung for another strike but Dash countered it with his forearm. The Captain tried again with a lunge, but Dash countered that too and seized his chance. Using his other free hand, the Helldiver scout activated his own omni blade and decapitated the Captain.
"Too close for comfort." Dash panted in his mind. Any later, and it might have been him that had suffered that fate instead.
Austin and Liara were once again fighting back to back with another. Despite that Alpha Squad was holding out well, they both knew they couldn't keep this up forever. There were so many Captains.
Harbinger was still in control of the Captain he was possessing and he shot another dark biotic blast at them. They both avoided it however and it instead took out a lot of Captains.
Griffin was either using his minigun to take out Captains from afar or would use his massive gauntlet if they got too close.
Two Collector Captains suddenly toppled Austin to the ground. As they readied for a killing blow however, Liara quickly cut them down only for another two to then punch her. The same happened again though as Austin cut them down with Excalibur before they could kill her.
Dash meanwhile was fighting against several more normal Husks. Just as he took out the last one however, a Collector Captain suddenly lunged a punch which quite by accident hit him right in the crotch.
"Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"
The scout fell to the floor clutching the searing pain between his legs.
"Not again." He groaned.
"Stop whining you, big baby! You had to see that coming." Said Kraan as he helped Dash back up.
The Captains continued to come thick and fast. It was getting to the point where they were all driving Alpha Squad into the centre. Now the Helldivers were surrounded.
"We can't keep this up, Shepard! There's too many of them!" said Alaara.
"Everyone get down!" Griffin yelled.
No one even considered hesitating and instantly dropped to their knees. Griffin brought his large gauntlet back and then slammed it very hard into the ground.
The platform that Alpha Squad was on remained still, but the others that were attached to it were shaken greatly to the point that they ended up breaking apart and falling into the pit that the platforms hovered over. The Collector Captains were also caught in the blasts and they fell along with the wreckage. It was so unexpected for them that they didn't' have enough time to use their wings to fly to safety.
All of the Helldivers took a few moments to get their breath back.
"How did you do that?" Dash asked in surprise.
"It's prototype that Dell made for me. Hadn't tested it until now." Said Griffin.
"Hmm, nice one, Griffin. You should lead with that next time." Said Austin.
"Yeah. Sorry, Boss. I can only use it once. It's kind of a one off.
"Well, at least the Captains are all dead." Said Alaara.
"Final count: 32." Said Ventra proudly as Kraan put his foot on top of a dead Collector, his axe embedded in its head.
"Hmm. Not bad, for a Turian." Said Kraan. "But I myself am sitting pretty on 33."
Ventra looked rather jealous with this. Rather surprisingly he then fired an arrow that embedded itself in the Collector Captain dangerously close to Kraan's foot.
"What the hell, Ventra?! You could've taken my foot off!" the Krogan shouted.
"33." Ventra smiled smugly.
"It was already dead, you idiot!" Kraan shouted.
"It was twitching." Said Ventra.
"It was twitching, because it's got my axe embedded in its nervous system!" said Kraan crossly. To prove his point, he moved the axe slightly. With each movement of the axe, the dead Collector Captain jarred violently.
Austin walked up to the control panel. The platform started moving again as it made its way into the main chamber.
"This is it. All the tubes lead to this spot. EDI. What can you tell us? What are they doing?" Austin asked.
"The tubes are feeding into some kind of super-structure. It is emitting both organic and non-organic energy signatures. Given these readings, it must be massive." Said EDI."Shepard, if my calculations are correct, the super structure… is a Reaper."
To everyone's horror, the AI was right. The super structure came into view and they saw the definite design that a Reaper had. But its shape was different, almost… human.
"Not just any Reaper…" said Austin. "A human Reaper."
"Precisely." Said EDI.
The huge reaper still only looked partially completed, but it was definitely human. It had the face, upper body and arms resembling a human. It had no legs though since its spine wasn't connected to anything.
Attached to it were several tubes injecting some sort of fluid into it.
"It appears the Collectors have processed tens of thousands of humans. Significantly more will be required to complete the Reaper." Said EDI.
"This thing is an inbred abomination! EDI, how do we destroy it?" said Austin.
"The large tubes injecting the fluid are a weak structural link. Destroying them should cause the supports to collapse, and the Reaper to fall." Said EDI.
"Right then. Alpha, split into two teams. Take two tubes each." Said Austin.
Alpha Squad split into two and took either side of the human Reaper.
"Ready… FIRE!"
Both squads emptied their guns at the tubes and they exploded. The currently inactive human Reaper became dislodged from the rest of its supports and it fell until it was out of sight. It was seriously unlikely that the massive machine could survive that, especially in its unfinished state.
"Shepard to ground team! Status report!" said Austin.
"It's Grunt! You're missing a hell of a fight, Shepard!"
"Head to the Normandy!" said Austin. "Joker, prep the engines. I'm about to overload this place and blow it sky high."
"Roger that, Major." Said Joker.
Austin pulled the reactor core out of the central platform and began setting it to overload and destroy the base.
"Uh, Major. I've got an incoming signal from the Arkane Council." Said Joker.
"This really isn't the best time for them to be calling us." Austin groaned. "Alright, patch them through."
Sandra once again threw the holo device to the floor and it projected the whole Arkane Council in front of Austin who stood up to address them.
"Shepard. You've done the impossible." Said Spartan.
"I have my team to thank for that. None of this would've been possible without them." Said Austin.
"Their actions will not be forgotten, and they will be greatly rewarded for all they've done." Said Tarnack.
"No offence, Councillors, but is that all you called us for?" said Kraan.
"No. We felt it best to tell you that you now have a choice to make." Said Avaritia.
"What do you mean?" Austin asked.
"We've been looking at schematics that EDI uploaded. From them, it seems that the base doesn't necessarily have to be destroyed." Said Necrosis.
"A timed radiation pulse could still kill the remaining Collectors. But it would leave the machinery and technology intact." Said Avaritia.
"What are you saying? You're saying that we should use this technology?! It liquefied people! Turned them into something horrible! Using this technology would be wrong!" said Austin, almost appalled that the Arkanes would even think of something like this.
"I agree. We'd be disrespecting the dead!" said Liara.
"We know that. Many of us agree with you." Said Tarnack.
"But you just said…"
"We have been attempting to decide amongst ourselves whether or not the base should be spared. Each time, the results have been the same. Half of us want it destroyed; the other wishes it to be spared." Said Spartan.
"In the end, we have decided that we cannot make this decision ourselves, and so we have decided to let it fall to you." Said Tarnack.
"Councillors, are you sure about this? I'm just a soldier who takes orders from you. Sometimes I don't always see beyond the immediate as you do." Austin asked.
"You're the one who has the ultimate choice, Shepard, because you're there right now. Even if we ordered you to preserve the base, you could still do otherwise. Better simply that we let things happen as they should." Said Councillor Krellick.
"Whatever secrets we might learn, it isn't worth the risk. For all we know this base could also have indoctrination technology. If so, we definitely cannot take that risk." Said Austin.
"It's your choice, Shepard. Just be sure that you make it for the good of everyone as well as yourself. For once, I'm afraid you yourself will have to look beyond the immediate." Said Avaritia.
"I've made my decision. We'll fight and win without it. I won't' let fear compromise who I am." Said Austin as he went back to setting the core to overload.
"Very well, Shepard. I guess all we can do now is simply wish you good luck in the final hours. You'll have a hero's welcome waiting for you when for you when you return to Arkadia." Said Spartan.
"Council."
"Major."
The holograms disappeared and Sandra pocketed the device.
"You made the right choice, Shepard. We'd be no better than Cerberus if we used this base." She said.
"Thanks. I just hope this is definitely the right thing." Said Austin.
"No regrets, love." Said Liara as she put her hand reassuringly on Austin's shoulder.
"Okay. Let's move. We've got ten minutes before the reactor overloads and blows this whole station apart." Said Austin as he slid the reactor back into the platform.
Just as he stood up however, the whole platform suddenly shook violently. SO much in fact that everyone lost their footing.
"What the hell was that?" said Sarah as she got up.
To everyone's shock, a massive arm appeared and latched onto one of the platform. Following it was the terrifying form of the human reaper that was now fully conscious and operational.
"Oh Goddess!" said Liara.
"God help us." Said Griffin.
"Hold your ground!" Austin yelled. "If the Alliance and the Helldiver fleets can take down Sovereign, then we can kill this thing too!"
Everyone cheered and started firing on the massive Reaper.
The human Reaper swiped at the Helldivers many times, but managed to miss due to how small they were in comparison to its huge size. It also seemed to have some sort of beam in its mouth that would charge up before firing.
As the Reaper brought its arm down onto one of the platforms, Austin leapt onto it so that when it moved again, he was now on top of the Reaper and had a clear shot at its face the entire time.
The Human Reaper gave a metallic roar at the constant gunfire it was being bombarded with and tried to shake the Helldiver off. Austin ran further up the Reaper's arm until he reached the head. Having lost sight of him, the human Reaper once again turned to the rest of Alpha Squad. As Austin clung to the Reaper's head, he started scanning for a weak point. If the Reaper had any, it had to be on the head somewhere. It wasn't easy holding on since the Reaper kept moving a lot, but Austin Helldiver armour enabled him to keep a tight grip.
After a few moments, his suit identified a weak point on part of the head, and it could be penetrated with the right weapon. Austin activated his omni blade and plunged it into the metal as he started cutting. To his relief the human Reaper didn't seem to feel any pain from this, at least not yet. Austin continued cutting until the gap was large enough. Reaching in with his hand and using all of his enhanced strength, he ripped a large metal plate off until it exposed some sort organic substance. Whatever it was, it obviously had to be crucial if it was protected.
Without even hesitating, Austin drew Excalibur from his back and plunged it in all the way up to the hilt. The Human Reaper screamed in pain, so much so that its right arm smashed away a whole platform before it then reached for its head to try and garb Austin. The Helldiver quickly withdrew his sword, jumped off the Reaper's head and ran back down the way he came.
Before Austin could reach the end of the arm however, the human Reaper spotted him. Using it's free hand, it quickly grabbed him and threw him off. Austin was only just able to grab onto the edge of the furthest platform before he fell off.
Griffin and Liara quickly noticed and helped the Major up.
"You okay?" Liara asked.
"Yeah. I'm good." said Austin. "That's things not going down easily."
"You either hurt it, or just pissed it off." said Griffin.
"And we're starting to run low on ammo. We're obviously hurting it, but we're not causing enough damage. We need something that packs a bit more punch." said Liara.
The three of them quickly went back into cover to avoid another swipe from the human Reaper. The Austin remembered something. Something that he reckoned would finish this abomination for good.
"Leena, you still got that Nuke Launcher?!" he yelled over all the noise.
"Yeah. Why?" Leena asked.
Austin simply looked at Leena for a moment before the Quarian understood.
"Good thinking." she said.
She quickly took the Nuke Launcher that she'd first tested on Haestrom from her back and threw it to Austin.
The Helldiver found it difficult to get a good shot since the Reaper was moving so much. If it would just stay still long enough.
"Hold still, you son of a bitch." he muttered.
Somehow, for some unknown reason, that seemed to work. The Human Reaper remained still as it seemed to focus on him.
"Sheeeeeepaaaaaard." it just managed to say as it opened its mouth and charged up its beam again. That however was just the opening that Austin needed.
"You're terminated, fucker!"
He pulled the trigger and a massive nuke shot forward, straight into the Human Reaper's mouth. The massive machine was taken aback by this as it seemed to swallow it. There was a brief pause and then its eyes and heart core exploded and burst into flames. The Human Reaper flailed about violently as it died. As it did however, it fell on all the platforms, causing them to become dislodged and start falling. All of Alpha was luckily on the same one but it was shaking about violently, so much so that no one could stand upright and one of them nearly fell off.
Austin just in time managed to slide down and catch Liara's hand before she fell over the edge. As he pulled her up, another explosion form the Human Reaper tipped the platform and it plummeted even faster.
"HOLD ONTO SOMETHING!" Austin yelled.
The platform smashed against the walls violently for several painfully long seconds before it then seemed to crash into something hard and stopped. Austin could hear a lot of groans from everyone which at least told him they were alive.
"GET YOUR FOOT OUT OF MY BACK!" he heard Kraan yell.
Austin picked himself up and made sure Liara was okay. As far as he could tell, no one was hurt.
"Well, that could've been worse." Dash chuckled.
This was prematurely said however, as the second the last word left his mouth; the human Reaper's massive head suddenly fell on the platform. It had become detached from the body, but it still forced the platform down which made it even harder for some of the others to crawl out of the wreckage.
"YOU'VE GOT TO BE JOKING!" said Sarah.
"I'm gonna feel that in the morning." said Austin as he rubbed the back of his neck.
At that moment, the radio suddenly crackled into life and Joker's voice could be heard.
"Do you copy? Major? Come on, Shepard, don't leave me hanging. Do you copy?"
Austin quickly reached for his wrist and activated it.
"We're here, Joker. Did the ground team make it?" he said.
"Yeah. Everyone's on board. We're just waiting for you." said Joker.
Alpha didn't need to be told twice to head back to the Normandy as something else had now found them.
"Seekers!" Sandra yelled.
"Run!"
Austin fired a few cover shots from his pistol as everyone sprinted as fast as they could. He quickly ran to. As they did, Harbinger's voice boomed throughout the base.
"Human, you've changed nothing. Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater. That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction."
Austin simply ignored it and kept on running. He let his determination to get out of this alive fuel him, his determination to finally have a peaceful moment where he could hold Liara and they could both look forward to their wedding. The Collectors had taken him away from her once; they would not do it again!
The Normandy hovered into view, its cargo bay doors open and with everyone firing at the Collectors as Alpha jumped to safety. Only Austin was left now. As he kept running, a large piece of debris suddenly fell and smashed away a large chunk of the edge. He'd have to jump.
Just before Austin could start running faster though, he felt a sudden pain in his back and he fell to the floor. A Collector round had hit him.
"Agh!"
"AUSTIN!" Liara yelled.
The Asari couldn't' do anything but look and just hope that Austin made.
"Come on! You can make it! Jump!" Alaara yelled.
Austin struggled against the pain to get back up. He was unsure if he could make it. The pain would slow him down and the jump looked extremely far. But then he suddenly heard a voice in his head.
"Get up, Austin! We're not leaving without you!" he heard Liara say.
This seemed to be all Austin needed. Using all his might, he picked himself up and sprinted at top speed towards the edge, and jumped.
For a brief moment, everyone held their breath as they watched Austin. It almost looked as though he wouldn't' make it, but he just managed to catch onto the edge. Liara didn't' even hesitate and she hauled Austin up. Just as Austin felt his feet touch metal however, another shot suddenly hit him, this time in the chest, and it felt a lot more painful.
"Dammit!"
"Seal the door, now!" Alaara yelled.
The Normandy began to rise up as it begun it's escape. The cargo bay doors sealed themselves and all view of the Collectors and the base disappeared from sight. Austin could heard Joker and EDI's voices over the loudspeakers as he was hurried to the medical bay.
"Detonation in 10, 9, 8…"
"Yeah, I got the gist of it, EDI! Hold on!" said Joker.
That was the last Austin heard as he felt the Normandy speed up and he lost conciseness.

The Collector General fumbled at the base's control panels in vain. It knew it was doomed, and Harbinger (who was possessing it) knew that as well.
"You have failed. We will find another way." the Reaper boomed.
A blast staggered the general and it held onto the main display for support. It looked up to see the hologram of Harbinger's true Reaper form returning to hibernation mode.
"Releasing control."
The General looked around, confused. This was all different from the last thing it remembered. How long had this happened? All these questions flooded it's mind.
Before it could get any answers though, it slowly looked behind it to see the incoming blast.
Everything went dark, and then there was nothing.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Liara asked, doing her best to hide her tears.
Austin was lying on one of the beds in the medbay. Normally his suit would go into lockdown when he passed out, but because they were on a Helldiver ship they had the technology to deactivate so they could tend to his wounds. Both Dr Chakwas and Mordin were examining the holes in his armour were the round had entered.
"I think so. At most, they're just flesh wounds." said Dr Chakwas.
Despite that the doctor was still partly in shock after her abduction, her determination to save her friend overwhelmed that.
"Yes. Should recover fairly quickly. Helldivers tough. Injected with special serums to help improve healing. Makes them tougher, stronger. Should recover fine." said Mordin.
At that moment, Austin suddenly groaned and slowly moved his head.
"Austin!"
Liara quickly held his hand and looked into his eyes. They'd removed his helmet as well to make sure he was still breathing.
"Did we make it?" Austin asked, smiling at the sight of Liara's face.
"Yeah. We made it, love." said Liara, a tear of happiness escaping her eye and making its way down her cheek.
"How are you feeling, Shepard?" Dr Chakwas asked.
"Pretty good. I've felt better though, I won't lie about that." Austin groaned as he sat up. Liara made sure he did it slowly so as not to stress himself. "Give it to me straight. How bad?"
"It's not as bad as it could have been actually. Your suit took the worst of it so the rounds didn't go deep enough to cause any significant damage. You should be fine." Liara replied.
Austin nodded and gently lowered himself down from the bed until his feet touched the floor.
"Don't strain yourself, love." Said Liara concernedly.
"It's okay. I'm fine." Said Austin reassuringly.
"Recommend plenty of rest, Shepard. Wounds should have plenty of time to heal." Said Mordin.
"Noted, Professor." Austin smiled. He then turned to Chakwas. "What about you, Karin?"
"I'm still a little shaken after all that. But I'll be fine." Said Chakwas. "You and Joker came for me. I've never had truer friends."
Austin went up to the Doctor and hugged her. She hugged him back.
"I owe you my life, Shepard." She said.
"Use my first name just once, and we'll call it even." Austin chuckled.
"I'll have to work on that, Major." Chakwas smiled.
"Where's the rest of the team?" Austin asked.
"Alaara told them to simply wait in the cargo hold." Liara replied.
"Right. Before we tell them to rest, there's something I need to sort out with them." Said Austin.

True enough, all of the team, along with Alpha Squad, were gathered in the cargo hold. Most of them were either chatting happily with one another over their victory and some of the couples were even kissing each other.
As soon as they saw their leader again, they cheered.
"Never thought they'd put you down, Major!" said Alaara.
"Knew you'd get through it, Battlemaster!" Grunt cheered as he banged his fists together.
After a few minutes of accepting congratulations from everyone, Austin urged them to quiet down. Once he was sure they were all listening, he finally spoke.
"Thank you all for that." He said gratefully. "I just wanted to say that I'm proud of each and every one of you. We destroyed the Collectors and we walked out alive with no casualties. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we didn't just give the Collectors hell, we proved wrong that this wasn't a suicide mission."
Everyone clapped and cheered again. Once again, Austin waited until they'd quieted down before he spoke again.
"Now, I am aware that some of you may eventually be leaving after that this. Some of you have duties that you must still attend to and things like that, while others have something new planned. I understand this perfectly and do not blame you for having to leave. I would however like to ask that you do come back at some point. We have a special occasion to celebrate, and your all invited." He said.
"And what might that be?" Jacob asked.
Austin turned to Liara and she once again showed her engagement ring.
Once again, everyone clapped and cheered. Sarah and Alpha Squad, who were already aware, just simply smiled.
"Congratulations, Shepard." Said Jacob.
"So yes. As you now know, eventually there'll be a wedding. It'd certainly make it worthwhile if you were all able to attend." "Regardless, we've won a great victory today. And though this is still far from over, although the Reapers are still on the horizon, now is a time for us to enjoy the victory we've fought for and earned. All of you get plenty of rest, that's an order!" Austin smiled.
Most of the team disappeared to head to their usual spots on the Normandy. Jack in particular slung Kelly over her shoulder before carrying her off. Austin could only hope they didn't make too much noise.
Only Alpha Squad was left now. It was then however that Austin suddenly noticed that Dell and Sill were working on something that looked very familiar. It was X-5. He'd been extremely badly damaged to the point that he looked beyond repair.
"Oh no. What happened?" Austin asked.
He took a lot of the fire covering our escape. It was brave of him. But at the same he's now been this badly damaged." Said Sill.
"Can you fix him?" Liara asked.
"I think so. The damage is extreme, but I think he can be salvaged. We may have to give him some redesigns though. Many of his old parts are beyond repair. Something that's also a cause for concern is that his head got partially blown up. I don't know yet whether his main chip is intact or damage. I just worry if it might change him at all."
"If anyone can fix him, it's you, Dell." Said Austin as he patted the Arkane on the back. "Keep me posted on your progress. If you need anything at all, tell me and I'll make sure we get it."
Dell nodded and went back to working on the damaged robot with his daughter.
"At least when he wakes up we'll be able to tell him we won." Sill smiled.
"That we will, my daughter. That we will." Said Dell.
Liara stood next to Austin and held his hand as she noticed his concerned expression.
"He'll be fine, Austin. Besides, you should be enjoying the victory." She said.
"Yeah. I suppose so." Austin smiled.
What happened next took Liara completely by surprise. Austin suddenly pulled her into such a deep kiss that she lost her footing. Fortunately of course, the Helldiver was there to catch her.
When they finally did separate, Liara was afraid she might swoon.
"Was saving that for you when we won." Austin smiled.
"Well, since you say that…" Liara panted.
Austin noticed her wink at him and he instantly got the message.
"True. We were gentle last night. I say we make the most of this victory." He smiled.
"I love you." Said Liara.
"I love you too." Said Austin.
Once again to her surprise, Austin picked Liara up in his arms and carried her bridal style to the elevator and pressed the button for their quarters.
Though it had been a rough ride, they had triumphed. The Collectors were defeated and now the Reapers lacked some very loyal servants. Although their work was still far from done, it was definitely a victory to rejoice over.

Deep in dark space, several glowing eyes it up, illuminating the blackness. Harbinger's true Reaper form had exited hibernation mode. Then more and more lights followed behind it as thousands more Reapers awakened after almost 50,000 years of long sleep. Very slowly, they began their long journey towards the Milky Way.
Even without direct routes to the galaxy, they were patient machines. They'd waited 50,000 years for this and even more before that. They could gladly wait a little longer for the next cycle to begin.
True Shepard had destroyed the Collectors, but the Reapers had many other servants. Not to mention that they still had yet to reveal something else. Hibernating with them also was another species. Like the Reapers themselves, these ones were immortal and so they had been around since the very beginning. The Reapers still had yet to reveal their deadliest servants: The ones who lead their armies in war, the ones that were said to be neither organic nor machine.
As they began their final advance towards the galaxy that the primitives foolishly called their own, a single overwhelming and almighty thought that spoke with the authority of a god, echoed throughout their collective mind.
"THE CYCLE CANNOT BE BROKEN."
The battle of the Collectors was over, but the war for the galaxy would soon begin…

We'll see these new servants in ME3, and don't worry. They don't have a minor role and were simple stuck in there just for the sake of originality. They're practically the main antagonists in ME3.
Now, should say of course that ME2 most definitely does not end here. There's plenty more stuff coming, believe me. After all, we've still got Lair of the Shadow Broker, Shepard and Liara's wedding (which is also a join wedding with Ventra and Leena) Arrival, and also one more romance couple which a good friend of mine (you know who you are) is so eager for. I promised it would be in ME2, and I keep my promises.
There will be a few other things as well that I have planned that are post ending. Most especially a chapter where the Helldiver get hundreds of new upgrades and we even get a new Normandy (still the SR2 but with a major refit to the point that is technically a new ship) So I'm looking forward to that.
I can't really say anything about the next chapter since the contents f that one are a closely guarded secret (and before you ask, no. It's LOTSB just yet. That will be the chapter after the next one) I'll probably at least say that it will have a fair amount of explicit sex and heavy partying.
Should be fun though. :)
Until next time... which I hope will be soon.
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Collector War