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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
- 5
- 6
- 7
Once again, I just want to remind you all that this fic is on AdultFanFiction and Deviantart as well. So just a word of caution in case this gets taken down.
Anyway, back to the story!

Chapter 6
Mordin & the Plague
Since there was not telling what hostilities they would encounter in the plague infected slums, Austin made sure to pick a non-alien squad with heavy firepower. He had selected Zaeed, Griffin and X-5. Not only did they pack the heaviest punch, but Austin was eager to see how well they did in action. Especially Griffin and Zaeed who he still had yet to get to know better. He was also eager to see all the various upgrades that X-5 had spoken of.
The four of them quickly rounded a corner which appeared to have a barricade of sorts. Several Turian guards suddenly popped out from behind it, but they stood down when they saw them.
"Don't shoot! They're clear to come in." said one of them.
Austin and the others lowered their weapons and proceeded around the barricade. There was a single door with one guard next to it.
"Good luck in there. The Blue Suns and Vorcha are shooting anything that moves." he said.
"Nothing we can't handle." said Griffin.
"Lock and load!" said X-5 enthusiastically.
The door opened and they proceeded slowly through the door and down the stairs.
"Hold it! I can see two mercs." said Austin as he raised his hand.
Austin switched to his M-13 Raptor and looked through the scope. He could easily take them both if he was quick enough, but he preferred to do this by the book.
"Zaeed, you got a sniper?" Austin asked.
The Bounty hunter nodded and swapped his M-8 Avenger for the usual Mantis Sniper rifle.
"You take the one on the left. I'll take the one in the right." said Austin.
"Gotcha." Zaeed replied.
They both crouched down and aimed at their targets.
"Look at them, standing around like bloody idiots!" said Zaeed.
"Target marked." said Austin as he lined the scope up with the Blue suns merc's head.
"Fire!" Austin ordered.
Both Austin and Zaeed fired in almost perfect sync and both mercs dropped instantly.
"Good shot, Zaeed." said Austin as he and the bounty hunter switched back to their Assault rifles.
The group proceeded further down the stairs. There where several bonfires currently burning. Closer inspection showed that they were in fact dead bodies.
"That's their best disposal method?" X-5 asked crossly.
"Plague control at its most basic: pile the bodies in the street, and burn 'em." said Zaeed.
"You're cold, old man. Ice cold." said Griffin. He sounded concerned that Zaeed wouldn't feel anything for this. Even Austin admitted that things like this where not the best way to dispose of dead bodies and was by no means what he would call Plague control.
They then saw a sick Batarian colonist. He looked in very bad shape.
"Human, Helldiver. Should've guessed. Bad enough you infect us with this plague. Now you lack the decency to wait until I die before you come steal my possessions." The Batarian coughed.
"Humans didn't create this plague." Austin argued.
"Lies drip from your mouth like the blood from my sores. The proof is there for all to see. Your species is the only one that dies not succumb to the virus. Yours, and the wretched Vorcha." The Batarian wheezed.
"We're here to find Mordin, not help some whiny Batarian." Said Griffin coldly.
Austin could tell that Griffin was one of those Helldivers that followed the example reminiscent of Colonel Garran Tarko. The Colonel had hated Batarian's right from the start because of their cruelty and slavery towards humanity. While this hatred gave him an advantage, the soldiers he trained as a drill sergeant rubbed off on them. These soldiers went on to pass these traits down to their own students, who in turn developed a searing hatred for the Batarians. Those soldier where mostly in the minority. In fact, the Colonel's way of teaching had died out many years ago after his death at the hands of Austin's Father, General Matt Shepard. The Colonel had been willing to execute all the Batarian prisoners despite the fact that they had willingly surrendered. Matt, who always made sure to do things peacefully and by the book, a trait he had passed on to his son, ordered the Colonel to stand down. When he refused, Matt got more forceful. The Colonel had attempted to convince the other Helldivers to follow his example. Some of them did, but most of them followed Matt's example. The civil war quickly came to an end with a bullet in the Colonel's heart from Matt's gun. Ever since then, the Colonel's way of teaching was quickly forgotten and was today a cause for dishonourable discharge. Thankfully though, no mentors in the Helldivers tried to carry on this legacy. Today, some Helldivers only hated any Batarian they saw because of personal reasons. Dash for example was one of them. That reminded Austin to have a look at Griffin's file. Understand his motivations better.
"Human Helldivers looking for the human sympathiser. I hope the Vorcha burn Mordin and his clinic to the ground." Said the Batarian. His coughing got worse. "I hope you… I hope… Damn it. Damn you. Can't…"
Austin fumbled at his Omni tool. But before he could access his medical supplies, the Batarian drew his last breath.
"Damn it!" Austin cursed under his breath. If he'd just been quicker, he could've helped the victim. This Batarian hadn't done anything. He wasn't a slaver, and Austin only hated the slaver Batarians. The others, he didn't mind. Although he hated their attitudes sometimes. They were always so rude, insulting, and racist simply because he was a human. It was what often led him to be more harsh and forceful with the, compared to other species. Being persuasive didn't always cut it.

The group proceeded further through he slums. There was something very haunting about a deserted street.
"Detecting motion ahead!" said X-5.
Austin and Griffin could also detecting motion but it was behind a massive pile of crates which were blocking the way.
"I can move these in no time." said X-5.
Before the robot could move however, Austin stopped him. That'll take too long. We'll have to blast our way through." he said. He was looking at Griffin as he said it.
"Good! I'm dying to blow something up." said Griffin. The large Helldiver walked up to the centre of the crates and took a large cylinder like device from his back. He placed it right next to the crates and began pressing various buttons on it.
"Would you like a small crater or a large crater sir?" Griffin asked.
"Just get us inside without killing the squad! Okay, Griffin?" Austin replied seriously.
"Roger that, Major." Griffin chuckled as he continued typing. "Was it red red green, or red green red?" he mumbled.
"And he's supposed to be the demolition expert?" X-5 asked.
Griffin finally finished and the explosives where set.
"All yours, boss!" he said.
Griffin handed Austin a small detonator and the group retreated to a safe distance.
"Fire in the hole!" Austin yelled as he pressed the button.
There was a massive explosion wand crates where sent flying everywhere. Large chunks of metal and shrapnel where also sent flying. After a few seconds, everything died down. From the sounds of things though, they had alerted the other Blue Suns mercs.
"Well... that was smashing." said X-5.
"Do you think I used enough?" Griffin asked as he went into cover.
"Less talk, more fighting!" said Zaeed as he opened fire on the mercs.
X-5 rolled out of cover right in front of the line of fire and instantly let all his guns run wild. The whole place was filled with explosions and gunfire as the robot gunned down merc after merc.
Griffin blind fired a few times before leaning out of cover to aim with his mini gun. He managed to time one his shots perfectly and he hit a nearby ignitable tank which instantly exploded sending several of the mercs flying.
Austin meanwhile went on the offensive and pushed forward. If any mercs got in his sight he gunned them down with his assault rifle. He was loving the M-76 Revenant that Dell had given him. It was perfect sort of weight, fire rate and seemed to respond perfectly to his touch. One merc fired several shots at him, forcing him to take cover. Fortunately, Austin was still able to return fire. He activated his shoulder cannon and moved it out of cover slightly. Because it was fairly small and the merc was watching for him, not a cannon, it didn't get fired on. Using the cannon's small camera so that he could see, he locked onto the merc and fired a charged plasma blast at the merc. The blast had a different affect than it did on the test targets and the mechs. The Blue Suns merc was vaporised by the blast and was disintegrated in seconds.
X-5 and Griffin finally mowed down the last of the mercs and the group took a moment to catch their breath.
"Nice shooting, Tex." said Austin to Griffin.
Griffin didn't say anything and simply saluted. But he was probably smiling under his skull faced helmet.
The group found a locked door on their way. It looked like an apartment. At first they were going to just leave it, but then Austin detected movement and they decided to investigate. After a brief hack the door opened. At first tit didn't look as though there was anyone there. But then two refugees popped out of hiding.
"Oh thank God, you're Helldivers!" Said the Female refugee.
"When we saw that door open, we thought those Turians had found us. Ever since this plague started, the Blue Suns have been out to get us. They're killing as many people as the disease." Said the male refugee.
"Why are the Blue Suns hunting you?" Austin asked.
"We didn't do anything! Pretty much every non0human in the district wants us dead!" said the female refugee.
"They think we caused the plague. Humans aren't getting sick, and that's all the evidence they need. God knows how many of us they've already killed." Said the male
"They should be looking at the Vorcha, not us! Ever since the plague hit, they've been taking over Blue Suns territory." Said the Female refugee.
"We're looking for Mordin Solus." Said Austin. He hoped they might have some information on the clinic.
"Oh, yeah. Him. He's got a clinic on the other side of the district." Said the male refugee.
"Heard he's taking in refugees now. Trying to help plague victims. Offering protection from the Blue Suns and the Vorcha." Said the female refugee.
"Sure. A doctor with military-grade mechs helping people for free. On Omega? Grow up." Said the male refugee.
"Sounds like you don't think much of the doctor and his clinic." Said Austin.
"The Vorcha tried to muscle in – he gunned them down, just like that. Pop, pop pop. Didn't even use his mechs." Said the male refugee.
"Then the Blue Suns heard he was sheltering humans, and they went to burn down the clinic. He killed them, too. Then he went inside and got back to work. He' cold. Must be Salarian special forces or something." Said the female refugee.
"You can't stay trapped in this apartment. If you get to Mordin's, you might at least survive until the quarantine ends." Said Austin.
"Are you nuts? We'd never make it. The streets are crawling with Blue Suns and Vorcha. We don't even have pistols!" the female refugee objected.
"Besides, I'm not risking my life on a rumour that some Salarian might offer me sanctuary.
"I know you're scared, but your only hope is to Mordin's clinic. We're going to be under fire from the Blue Suns and the Vorcha, so we can't take you with us. But I promise you this: we'll do what we can to leave a safe path for you to follow me. It's risky, but I think it's your only chance." Said Austin persuasively.
"Okay… you're right. We'll never make it if we stay here. We have to try." Said the male refugee.
"We'll wait here for a while and give you time to clear the way. Then we'll head for Mordin's clinic." Said the female refugee.
"If we're lucky, maybe we'll meet you there." Said the male refugee.

They proceeded further into the slums. There were more and more bonfires all over the place along with the dead bodies of Blue suns mercs and a few Vorcha.
"Looks like we're nearing the gang wars. No way the plague killed the Vorcha. They're immune to disease." said Griffin.
"They don't put up much of a fight though. They're not the ones we should be worried about. It's the blood pack Krogan." said X-5.
"Lock it up you two. Stay focused." said Austin.
Griffin and X-5 ended their conversation and let their minds go back to the mission at hand. Although Griffin had only known X-5 and Austin for a while now, he was beginning to like them. Austin in particular seemed like an okay Commander. He understood why the rest of Alpha Squad had always spoken of the Major so highly.
The group took the high ground by heading up some stairs. They could hear gunfire in the distance.
"Hold here. Let me check it out." said Austin.
Zaeed, Griffin and X-5 remained where they were. Austin activated his cloak and went over to the edge.
Bellow, Austin could see a massive shootout between Vorcha and a very small number of Blue Suns mercs.
"Time to intervene, I think. Take offensive formation!" Austin ordered.
The others quickly went into cover while X-5 simply walked down the stairs. Several of the Vorcha took notice of him and fired. The shots however didn't do much damage to his armour and his shields took care of the rest.
Austin and Zaeed switched back to their snipers and stayed up top to even the odds out. Zaeed snipped two Vorcha while Austin managed to destroy several more flammable drums which caused many of the nearby Vorcha to catch fire. Griffin's voice suddenly came over the radio.
"I'm pinned down! They've got flamethrowers!" he said as he blind fired a few shots from cover.
Austin quickly saw where the Vorcha Pyros where. He smiled slightly when he saw that they had their backs turned to him, leaving their fuel tanks in view.
"They never learn." Austin thought to himself. The Helldiver took a few breaths, lined the target up, and fired.
The sniper shot tore through one of the tanks causing fuel to leak out. Only too late did the Vorcha notice before Austin fired another shot and the fuel ignited. The whole tanks exploded, taking the Vorcha and a few other nearby soldiers with it. Large chunks of burnt flesh where sent flying everywhere, along with a few pools of dried up blood.
With the path clear, Griffin vaulted over his cover and headed for a better spot to fire from. X-5 meanwhile was having a bit of a wrestle with a blood pack Krogan. The Krogan still had his shotgun in his hand but X-5 had grabbed his wrist. The Krogan however had done the same and was gripping X-5's other wrist so that he couldn't use his guns. If X-5 could've smiled however, he would have. The large rail gun mounted on the robot's back lined up with the Krogan's head. Before the Krogan could react, X-5 fired and the shot went straight through the Krogan's helmet, through his head and out through his back.
Zaeed and Austin finally finished the last Vorcha and switched back to their Assault rifles. They then continued through the slums.
"We're defiantly not in Kansas anymore." Griffin said as he resisted a well-known Earth line.
"The Blue Suns have given up a lot of turf. Just what I like to see." said Zaeed.
X-5 wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything to continue the conversation. Finally he resorted to one word.
"Ditto." he said.
Finally, they saw a sign that said Clinic. The entrance was being guarded by two security mechs and a human. They didn't seem intimidated by the Helldivers.
"No funny business once you're in the clinic- unless you wanna deal with those mechs." he said.
Austin nodded in agreement and they proceeded through the doors. Austin immediately holstered his M-76 Revenant. The others got the message and did the same, apart from X-5 who couldn't really put his weapons away. Instead he simply stood down.
The Clinic was defiantly what Austin had expected. It was full of sick patients, both alien and human. Most of them did seem to be in healthy condition though. Especially the doctors. However they where all human so that wasn't surprising.
Another one of the human guards took notice of the Helldivers.
"This clinic is a sanctuary, Helldivers. If you're looking for trouble, go somewhere else!" she said.
"It's alright, Miss. We're not here for that." said Griffin reassuringly.
"We're looking for Mordin. We need his help." said Austin.
"He's around here somewhere." said the Guard.
The group proceeded further into the clinic. More and more sick aliens where around. Some even looked as though they were already dead.
They turned the corner and finally found who they were looking for. Mordin certainly wasn't what they had expected. Like all Salarians, Mordin was fairly tall and head a thin body structure. He was wearing a white lab coat with a red stripe down the chest, gauntlets with mechanical hands of some kind, and an odd looking metal arm around the back of his neck. He also appeared to have his left horn missing and he had a few scars on his face.
"Professor Mordin Solus?" Austin asked.
Mordin took notice of the Helldivers. He walked up to them and scanned them with his omni tool.
"Hmm. Don't recognize you from area. Too well armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniforms. Quarantine still in effect. Here for something else? Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause." he said.
"Bloody hell! Does guy ever take a breath?" Austin thought. He'd never heard a Salarian talk this fast before. Especially without pausing to breathe.
"The Plague! Investigating possible use as bio weapon? No. Too many guns, not enough data equipment. Soldiers, not scientists. Hired guns, maybe?" Mordin continued.
Austin eventually decided to interrupt. It was beginning to sound like Mordin would panic. He didn't want that.
"Relax Mordin. We're here on peaceful terms. My name is Major Austin Shepard and I came here to find you. We're on a critical mission, and we need your help." he said reassuringly.
Mordin relaxed for a minute but then spoke again.
"Mission? What mission? No. Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?" Mordin asked.
"Isn't it obvious? Don't you know what I am? Austin asked in surprise. Then again, Helldivers didn't usually come to Omega frequently. Its lack of Government was just nothing but an accident waiting to happen.
"Of course! Helldivers! Am very sorry. Plague has mind very occupied. So, Arkanes sent you? Thought Helldivers only worked with their own. Why request aid from outside?" Mordin asked.
"A race called the Collectors is abducting human colonies out in our Terminus territory. We intend to find out why and stop them." said Austin.
"Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting these slums in engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar." said Mordin.
Austin nodded in agreement. Mordin then went to a nearby console.
"But, must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental controls centre. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them." he said.
"If that's what it takes, then we'll deal with the Vorcha." said Austin.
Suddenly there a powering down sound and many of the lights went red. Steam from the vents also stopped.
"That doesn't sound good." said Griffin.
"Houston we have a problem." said X-5 as he recited the same line in the film Apollo 13.
"Vorcha have shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates." said Mordin urgently. The Salarian took the cure from his desk and gave it to Austin. "One more thing. Daniel. One of my assistants. Went into Vorcha territory. Looking for victims. Hasn't come back."
"We'll keep an eye out for him. I promise. Let's head for the environmental plant." said Austin.

The road to the environmental plant was mostly clear. There where one or two Vorcha outposts, but nothing they couldn't handle.
Eventually they found themselves in an empty hallway. Austin then saw movement in a nearby apartment.
"Breach positions." said Austin.
Austin and Griffin took cover on either side of the door. X-5 took point and Zaeed took cover next to Austin. The door opened normaly and they waited before heading through. They could hear human and Batarian voices.
"Please... I'm telling you the truth. I work for Mordin at the clinic. I came here to help you." said the human, frightened. This had to be Daniel that Mordin had mentioned.
"We know you're spreading the plague virus. We saw the vials in your bag." said the Batarian. He had Daniel by the scruff of the neck.
"No! Those vials contain the cure. Please... you have to believe me." Daniel pleaded.
"Maybe we should cut off your fingers. That should loosen your-" the Batarian however was interrupted by Austin and the others filling into the room.
"Look out!" one of the Batarians said as he drew his shotgun. The others quickly followed and the lead Batarian held Daniel at gunpoint.
"Don't move! One more step and we kill your friend!" he said.
"Nobody do anything they'll regret." said Austin calmly. He would rather avoid an unnecessary fight. These Batarians where just scared and confused.
"Shut up Helldiver! We're giving the orders here!" the leader shouted.
"Drop your weapons or he dies!" said the one with the shotgun.
"I know you're scared. Of the plague. But this man isn't to blame. If he was spreading the virus why would he come into Vorcha territory? They're immune." said Austin persuasively. Hopefully that would make them see reason.
"He's right. It doesn't make any sense." said the Batarian with the shotgun.
"If we release the prisoner, we can go?" the leader asked.
"You have my word on it." said Austin.
The leader lowered his pistol and turned to the others. "Let him go." The other Batarians did the same and then turned back to Austin. "You got what you wanted, Helldiver. Are we free to go?"
"We had a deal. You best get somewhere safe." said Austin as he lowered his rifle. The others did the same. Griffin seemed more reluctant, but he knew better than to argue with the Major.
"Human nobility. I didn't know such a thing existed." said the leader. He and the other Batarians quickly left.
"Thank you. I thought they were going to... to kill me. Did Mordin send you to find me?" Daniel asked.
"He did. It's too dangerous out here for you. Go help the Professor tend to his patients." Austin replied.
"Yeah, okay. I'll go right away. Thanks again. I owe you... well... everything." said Daniel as he left.

They proceeded further and further through the slums. More and more Vorcha and blood pack Krogan where showing up. That showed they were getting close.
Finally they found the last door. They proceeded through and found themselves in a very large room. There were two giant fans in front of them. There were also several Vorcha. The leader took notice of them. Austin and the others raised their guns.
"You no come here. We shut down machines, break fans! Everyone choke and die! Then Collectors make us strong!" the leader snarled.
"What do the Collectors want?" Austin asked.
"Collectors want plague! You work for doctor, turn on machines, put cure in air. We kill you first!" the leader snarled.
"That's does it! Kill 'em all!" Austin yelled.
Everyone immediately dove for cover and opened fire on the Vorcha. One of them launched several rockets at Austin but he dodged them. He then lined out slightly and fired several shots from his Revenant at the Vorcha. He synchronized this with plasma shots from his shoulder cannon.
Griffin threw several grenades at the Vorcha and also used his twin shoulder cannons to blast several more Vorcha. He then rolled out of cover and let his mini gun be unleashed. Several of the Vorcha had their own limbs ripped off by the mini gun's shear power.
With the Vorcha dealt with, the group proceeded to the fan controls.
"Shepard, I have scanned the room. The central control system is in an alcove in the centre of the back wall. You can inject the cure and re-initialize the systems there." came EDI's voice through the intercom.
Austin walked up to the control panel and inserted the cure. He then activated his omni tool and typed in a command to activate the systems.
"Cure in place. Now both the fans need to be reactivated." said X-5. The robot was then interrupted by a rocket impacting close to this position.
"More Vorcha up top! Find cover!" Austin yelled.
Everyone immediately went to cover from the rockets and did their best to return fire.
"We can't get clear shot from here, Shepard! They have us pinned!" Zaeed yelled over the noises of constant explosions.
Austin looked at X-5 and nodded. The robot nodded back. He knew what to do.
"You two, lay down suppressing fire! Cover me!" Austin ordered to Zaeed and Griffin.
For a moment, the two were confused, but they did as ordered. Austin immediately sprinted out of cover and ran for the nearest fan.
X-5 then activated his secret weapon. Two flight stabilizing Thrusters folded out of panels on his back and his feet changed shape to show two flight Thrusters. They all fired and X-5 flew into the air.
"I've gotta get me one of those." said Griffin as he watched X-5 fly with shooting range of the Vorcha and fired rockets back at them.
Austin meanwhile had already managed to activate the first fan and had now reached the second. Just as the door opened however, he found it filled with 4 Vorcha and a Krogan. He raised his rifle up instantly and pulled the trigger. It clicked.
"Not now!" Austin grumbled as he checked the ammo. It was empty.
"Ah. Would you mind just..." he tried to say. But the Vorcha and Krogan all attempted to melee him.
Austin instantly reacted and threw the currently empty Revenant at the Krogan's feet. He wasn't throwing it away, just using it as an advantage. He could retrieve and reload it once he'd taken care of this. The Revenant caused the Krogan to lose his balance and tumble.
Austin blocked one of the Vorcha's melee attacks with his wrist and grabbed its arms. The Vorcha tried to struggle to lose the Helldiver's grip, but Austin was twice as strong. He aimed the Vorcha's loaded rifle at another one of its men and made the Vorcha pull the trigger. The charging Pyro fell to floor causing its fuel tanks to briefly rupture and leak fuel. Only too late did the other Pyro notice and the flame from its flamethrower ignited the leaking fuel. Fortunately, Austin and the Vorcha he was currently wrestling with weren't caught in the blast.
Austin then freed his left elbow and used the blade on it to slice the Vorcha's throat.
One final Vorcha lunged at him, but Austin unsheathed Excalibur and used it to slice the Vorcha's rifle clean in two. The angry Vorcha snarled and tried to use the severed rifle as a melee weapon. Austin however countered the blow and twisted around as he trapped both the Vorcha's arms with his free hand. With a lightning fast reflex he then twirled his blade in his hand so that he now held it backhand and thrust it into the Vorcha's back. The Alien grunted painfully before dying.
That now left just the Krogan. The angry brute roared and charged at Austin. The Helldiver however simply shrugged and threw his sword. The spun towards the Krogan before it cut right through the Blood Pack soldier's helmet, right through the hard crest and embedded itself right in the Krogan's skull.
Despite being disoriented though, the Krogan still charged. Austin quickly adjusted his strategy and activated both his omni blades. Just as the Krogan almost touched him, he thrust them right into the where both the Krogan's hearts where. Both opponents skidded to a halt and the Krogan went limp. Now completely dead, Austin allowed the Krogan's corpse to fall off his blades. He gripped Excalibur by the handle and tried to pull it out but it was embedded rather deep. He put his foot down and the Krogan's head and tried again. This time, Excalibur managed to slide out of the Krogan's skull. It was dripping with Krogan blood. Austin didn't worry about it though. The blood wouldn't leave marks. Excalibur's Kartalrium blade was stainless and it had survived far worse.
Austin walked up to the control panel and enabled the final fan.
"Both fans online. Mission accomplished." said X-5 happily.

Austin and the others returned to the clinic. Everyone already looked much better. They found Mordin in the same place they'd left him. Daniel was there was well.
"Environmental systems engaged. Airborne viral levels dropping. Patients improving. Vorcha retreating. Well done, Shepard. Thank you." said the Salarian.
"And thank you from me as well. Those Batarians would've killed me. For a second there, I thought you were gonna shoot them after they let me go." said Daniel gratefully.
"I was tempted for a minute. But in the end I figured they didn't deserve to die." Said Austin.
"Merciful of you. Risky. Would've killed them myself." said Mordin coldly.
Daniel seemed appalled at that.
"Professor, how can you say that? You're a doctor. You believe in helping people." he said.
"Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients, sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps. Go check on the patients. Lots of work to do. Think about what I said." said Mordin.
Daniel left the room. He still didn't look happy.
"Good kid. Bit naive. He'll learn. Letting him take over the clinic. Should be able to handle it now that Vorcha are gone." said Mordin.
"Well, we've cured the plague. Are you ready to help stop the Collectors?" Austin asked. He knew he didn't need to ask. Mordin had just said that he'd be leaving his assistant to take over. But Austin always liked to be sure.
"Yes. Unexpected to be working with Helldivers. Many surprises. Have heard many impressive stories about them. Just need to finish up here at clinic. Won't take long. Meet you at your ship. Looking forward to it." Mordin replied.
"We're heading out. See you on the Normandy." said Austin as he and the others left. It would be nice to get back and get some rest after all this.

Liara walked Mordin into the comm room. There was a large table in the centre of the room which had a holographic image of the Normandy projecting above it.
"Welcome to the Normandy, Professor Solus. It's an honor to have you on board." said Liara.
"Yes. Very exciting. Helldivers working with non-Helldivers. Unexpected. Am keen to know why." Mordin asked.
"It's not that we can't handle this ourselves. But this mission is different to the ones we've all had in the past. The Arkanes are taking no chances with this. We need more than just our best soldiers. We need the very best of the best. Right now, that's you." said Austin.
"Am flattered, Major Shepard." said Mordin gratefully. "What exactly are full details?"
"We don't have much I'm afraid, but it's better than nothing. The Collectors are abducting human colonists from the fringes of the Terminus Systems. More specifically, the ones on Helldiver territory. Our territory. No distress signals are sent out. No signs of attack." Austin explained.
"There is virtually no evidence that anything unusual happened at all... except that every man, woman, and child is gone." said Liara.
"Gas, maybe? No. Spreads too slow..." Mordin began, but Austin quickly stopped him.
"You don't have to sit there and guess, Mordin. We've collected samples from one of the colonies. I'd like you to analyse them and figure out how the Collectors did this." he said.
"Yes. Of course. Analyse the samples. Going to need a Lab." said Mordin.
"There is a fully equipped lab on the combat deck, Professor Solus. If you find anything lacking, please place a requisition order." came EDI's voice. Mordin looked confused by the sound.
"Who's that? Pilot? No. Synthesised voice. Simulated emotional inflections. Could it be... no. Maybe. Have to ask. Is that an AI?" Mordin asked.
"Yes. EDI is the ships artificial intelligence. She originally worked for Cerberus, but she defected. She's on our side now." said Austin.
"An AI on board? Non organic crew members? Arkanes and Helldivers more serious about this mission than I thought." said Mordin.
"The Collectors have taken tens of thousands of colonists. We'll do whatever we must to find and stop them." said Liara.
"Of course. Can't risk being captured like colonists. Need to identify, neutralize technology. Need samples. Which way to the lab?" Mordin asked.
"Follow me, Professor Solus." said Liara. She escorted Mordin out of the room and Austin soon followed.
As Austin entered the CIC, he decided to have a quick chat with Kelly.
"Mordin's psych profile warned of hyper behaviour, but he is like a hamster on coffee. He's going to be a very productive member of the team." said the Yeoman.
"That he is. Just hope he's not going to be a regular patient of yours." Austin joked.
Kelly laughed slightly. She couldn't help but smile happily at Austin. There was something about him that she found very compelling. She should try to get to know the Major better.
"Anyway, is there anything you want to talk about?" she asked.
"Anything important I should know?" Austin asked.
"You have one new message at your private terminal. I think that's it." said Kelly.
"I'll let you get back to work then, Kelly. Don't let me take up your time." Austin said politely.
Kelly managed not to blush at that. He was such a gentleman.
"Oh, I don't mind, Major. I'm always happy to talk to you, no matter what its about." she said.
"Well, I'm glad you do, Kelly. But I really should go. I have some things that need taking care of. I wouldn't mind talking to you later though." said Austin.
"I'll look forward to it, Shepard." said Kelly as she went back to her work.
Austin went over to his private terminal. He had one new message. From what it said, the Arkanes had recently enlisted the help of a thief named Kasumi Goto for the mission. She could be met on the Citadel. It looked like that was where they were heading next. He then suddenly got another one. This one was from General Zartrack. It read that the Arkanes had hoped to learn from the mistakes of the original Normandy. Unfortunately, there were a few things that they hadn't been able to include at the time. Zartrack was therefore advising Austin to make sure that the Normandy was upgraded as much as it could be. If they were going to fight the Collectors, they'd need the very best.
Austin decided to go to Mordin before he went to Dell first. At least check on how he was doing.
"Shepard. How can I help he asked?"
"Do have any ideas for ways to prepare for the Collectors?" Austin asked.
"Ideas, yes. Expensive, but worth it." said Mordin.
Mordin showed Austin what he had in mind. Mordin had an omni tool upgrade planned and lab upgrade as well. Austin approved both of them.
"So, is the lab working well for you, Mordin?" Austin asked.
"Quite satisfactory. Found a few surveillance bugs. Destroyed most of them. Have notified EDI of their presence. She apologised and said that they were meant to be have been removed from the Normandy upon reconstruction. Nothing unexpected. Just need more samples. More Collector data., tissue samples. Anything you can get, I can use. Find new tech." said Mordin.
"Have you got a minute to chat? I like to know my crew." Said Austin.
"Of course. Plague on Omega dealt with. Plenty of time to analyse Collector intelligence. Impressive laboratory setup. Missed working for operations with a budget. AI in particular very helpful. Best setup I've seen since work with Special Tasks Group." Said Mordin.
"Is Daniel settling in all right?" Austin inquired.
"Quite well. Safe and secure. Neighbourhood mostly quiet with plague gone. Left him the security mechs, just in case. Can't be too careful. Also tired of mechs. Noisy. Never used them in STG. Err, no offense to X-5." Said Mordin.
"So what kind of research were you doing in the Special Tasks Group?" Austin inquired.
"Not simply research. Several recon mission. Covert, high-risk. Served under young Captain named Kirrahe. Studied Krogan Genophage. Took water, tissue samples from Krogan colonies." Said Mordin.
The name Kirrahe made Austin remember the events of Virmire. The planet where he and his team had destroyed Saren's base and discovered the truth about the Reapers. It had also been where Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko had died.
"You worked with Kirrahe as well? What a coincidence. His team helped me destroy Saren's cloning facility on Virmire." Said Austin.
"Heard he was part of that! Jury-rigged explosives? Always got job done with limited resources. Good Captain. Bit of a cloaca, though. Loved his speeches. Hold the line! Personally preferred to get job done and go home. Probably military bravado. Jargon, chest ponding. No offense." Said Mordin.
"I should go. Nice talking with you, Mordin." Said Austin.
"Should get back to work Need to study. So much data. Here if you need me." Said Mordin as he went back to typing at his console.

Next, Austin headed down to the cargo hold. All of Alpha Squad and X-5 appeared to be practicing on the shooting range. Except for Griffin and Ventra, who were happily chatting and joking with one another, and also Sandra and Alaara how where probably having sex again judging by the moans and screams of pleasure coming from the top of one of the large pile of cargo crates. Dell meanwhile was at his workbench and Sill was busy hanging upside-down from the ceiling via a magnetic cable and was welding a new grate into place.
Dell took notice of Austin.
"What can I do for you, Major?" he asked.
"I was wondering if you had any upgrade ideas for the Normandy. Anything that may give us an edge over the Collectors?" Austin asked.
"As a matter of fact I do actually. Sill and I have been debating on whether to ask your permission to automatically install these upgrades. But now that you've asked me though, there's no need. Let me show you what we have in mind." said Dell.
The Arkane typed away at his omni tool and several holographic images of plans and schematics for upgrades appeared out of it.
From what Dell had in mind, the Normandy could be equipped with several small auto turrets that would be handy for shooting down pursuing fighters. The firepower wasn't really strong enough for a Collector ship, but it would be fine against smaller vessels. Other ideas included a backup power system, several firepower upgrades for Helldiver weapons, suit upgrades, and the best bit, a full reality simulation program. Austin immediately approved the last one. It would take up far less space than the shooting range and it was perfect for full reality training. He also approved the auto turret idea. The others, he decided to put on hold. Dell, Sill and Mordin where busy enough as it was.
Austin looked over to Griffin and Ventra chatting to one another. They were both sat on small crates and where cleaning their preferred weapons as they talked.
It was now that he noticed that Ventra had made a few new changes to his armour. The Turian Helldiver had added a cowl of some kind to his armour and it was now covered in a jungle camo colour. Although it was certainly a huge change from his usual appearance two years ago, it came as no surprise to Austin. It was mostly to do with his sniper rifle.
Ventra's sniper rifle had been designed and built specially by him. It was mostly built from the parts of an M-98 Incisor sniper rifle. Ventra had modified it to have a one shot reload cycle and a rather bizarre feature, a bow and arrow.
From a very young age, Ventra had always had a bit of a thing for archery. As a young child he had done archery as a hobby. Eventually he had given it up when he joined C-sec. After he had left C-sec to join the Helldivers however, things changed. It turned out that archery was another very old technique that the Arkanes allowed the Helldivers to pursue along with fencing and martial arts.
Ventra chose to revive his archery talents and eventually it all came back to him. Originally he had been equipped with a separate bow and arrow and used it separately to his sniper. He then ingeniously decided to combine the two together. He reengineered his sniper rifle so that the bow was attached to the front. He could also rotate the bow to use the gun as a crossbow or it could be detached altogether.
He had also very cleverly engineered the bow's string in such a way that it allowed the string to be released the same time as a round was fired.
When Ventra had first used the weapon, many had considered it an odd concept. Ventra's immense skill with the weapon though quickly changed their minds and their odd opinions on the sniper vanished.

Now, as a little teaser, that simulator that Dell is working on will and interesting role in a future Chapter. When Miranda eventually joins the team, she discovers it can be used for more that just combat.
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Collector War