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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
- 7
- 8
- 9
Sorry this one took so long to write. Things have been busy, but now I have some much needed free time which I will use to get the next chapter written as soon as possible.

Chapter 8
Team Archangel
Austin & Liara slowly came out of the best meld they'd ever had. For them, last night had been filled with nothing but lovemaking. Although the two had agreed to not let their relationship distract them from the mission, that didn't mean that there wouldn't be the occasional nights where they'd give in to their feelings and desires.
"Now that was a well-earned prize." Austin panted as he caressed one of Liara's breasts.
"This is very good practice you know." Liara panted.
"For what?" Austin asked, slightly confused.
"For when we'll eventually be making those little blue children you talked about." Liara grinned.
Austin grinned back.
Before they could continue, Kelly suddenly walked in.
"Major, we… Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" she said as she averted her gaze. Austin and Liara quickly hurried to get dressed.
"I hope you have a good excuse for not knocking, Chambers." Said Austin as he quickly pulled his shirt back on.
"I'm so sorry, Major. I thought you were alone. We're receiving an urgent message from the Arkane Council." Said Kelly. She was doing her best not to look since Austin still hadn't pulled his trousers on and his cock was still hard from last night.
"Alright, we'll be right there. Just let us get dressed." Said Austin.
"Yes, Major." Said Kelly as she headed for the door. She risked one brief glance at Austin as she did.
"And Kelly… knock next time." Austin added.

Austin walked into the comm room and the table lowered itself into the floor. A holographic grid rose up and scanned Austin as he walked onto it. Pretty soon a holographic image of the entire Arkane Council appeared in front of him.
"Major Shepard, we have an urgent situation that we feel only you can pull off!" said Spartan.
"What do you need, Councillors?" Austin asked.
"For the past several years we've had a Helldiver working undercover on Omega. They've been working to disrupt and slow down some of the merc groups there." Tarnack explained.
"I'm guessing things haven't gone all that well?" Austin inquired.
"Unfortunately, all three of the local merc groups have teamed up to fight them. This still wouldn't be a problem since Team Archangel are good at covering their tracks, but the mercs have managed to track them back to their hold out and the team are trapped." Said one of the unknown Councillors.
"If they are caught or killed we can obviously disavow all knowledge of their actions, but if the mercs discover who they really are, then Aria may forbid Helldivers from setting foot on Omega. We cannot afford that to happen. Omega's too damn important." Said another Councillor.
"What do you need us to do then?" Austin asked.
"Infiltrate the mercs as freelancers and get team Archangel out of there. We'll handle the rest." Said Tarnack.
Austin bowed his head slightly. "I'll plot a course for Omega immediately." He said.
"Good luck, Major. Give 'em hell!" said Spartan.
The Council vanished and the holographic grid disappeared back into the table.
"Joker, plot a course for Omega. I've gotta go see Dell." Said Austin.
"Aye, aye, Major." Joker replied.

All of Alpha Squad where assembled in the cargo bay. The where swapping their Helldiver armour for normal merc armour.
"Remind me again why we're going to rescue team Archangel dressed like this." Said Griffin.
"Helldivers going after a group of vigilantes raises too many questions. It's safer for us to go in disguised as freelancers." Austin replied as he fixed on the Death Mask that Dell had provided him with.
All of the merc armour had been made by Dell himself. On the outside it was normal looking armour that any mercenary would wear. On the inside however was another story. Dell had very cleverly installed Helldiver technology into the suits. Examples included plasma cannons that would appear out of hidden compartments on the shoulder, Helldiver suit computers, and older version of the tactical cloak and many other features.
"Undercover work, eh? This ought to be interesting." Said Ventra as he checked his sniper-bow.
"We are still bringing our weapons, right?" Griffin asked as he held up his mini gun.
"Those'll be fine. Helldivers aren't identified by their weapons." Dell replied.
"Good. I never go into battle without this." Said Griffin as he holstered the mini gun on his back.
"What about X-5? He's got Helldiver markings on him." Kraan asked.
"Sill's refitting him. He'll now just look like a mech under our control." Said Dell as he indicated to where Sill was currently welding a new shoulder plate onto X-5.
Joker's voice then came over the radio. "We're approaching Omega, Major." He said.

Alpha Squad disembarked from the Normandy, now all completely outfitted in Merc armour. Austin's omni tool bleeped and EDI once again appeared out of it.
"I have accessed messages between mercenary groups regarding plans to deal with team Archangel. There's recruiting station at Afterlife that may have information." She said.
"It'll be best to ask Aria first, but thanks for tip, EDI." Said Austin.
The squad proceeded into Afterlife, careful to not attract attention with their numbers. Aria motioned for Austin to sit down.
"Nice new outfit, Shepard." She said.
"Keep your voice down, Aria! I'm working undercover." Austin hissed.
"I see. Anyway, what do you need?" Aria asked.
"I'm trying to track down Team Archangel." Austin replied.
"You and half of Omega. You want them dead too?" Aria asked.
"No. I'm putting a team together. Archangel is on my list." Said Austin.
"Interesting. You're gonna make some enemies teaming up with Team Archangel. That's assuming you can get to them. They're in a bit of trouble right now." Said Aria.
"What kind of trouble?" Austin asked. Obviously he knew, but he didn't want Aria getting suspicious if he already knew.
"The local merc groups have joined forces to take him down. They've got them cornered, but it sounds like they're having trouble finishing them off. They've started hiring anyone with a gun to help them.
"Sounds like that's our ticket in." said X-5.
"They're using a private room for recruiting. Just over there." Said Aria as she indicated to a nearby door with a Blue Suns Batarian standing guard. "I'm sure they'll sign you up."
"What can you tell me about Team Archangel?" Austin asked.
"Not as much as I'd like. They showed up here several months ago and started causing all sorts of problems. If you make your own laws, which everyone here does, they make life difficult. They're reckless and idealistic, but they seem to know enough to stay clear of me." Aria explained.
"Which merc groups are after Team Archangel?" Austin asked.
"Blue Suns, Eclipse, Blood pack. They're Omega's major players." Said Aria.
At the mention of all three merc groups, Griffin, Alaara and Kraan exchanged concerned looks at one another. Each one of them had originally been in one of those gangs before becoming Helldivers. Kraan had been in the Blood pack, Griffin had briefly been in the Blue Suns and Alaara had once been an Eclipse merc a very long time ago though.
"Unless they're at war, you'll never see them together. But one thing they hate more than each other, is Team Archangel." Said Aria.
"Do you hate Archangel?" Austin asked. He hoped he wouldn't be making enemies with Aria too. Making enemies with three different merc groups that some of his squad had once been part of would be hard enough.
"I don't have time for hate. But I distrust them all equally. For now I'm happy just to let them kill each other." Said Aria.
"I appreciate the help, Aria." Said Austin.
"See if you still feel that way when the mercs realize you're here to help them." Said Aria.
"Sounds like I don't have much time then." Said Austin as he stood up from his seat.
"You've got all the time in the world. Team Archangel, not so much." Said Aria.
Alpha Squad proceeded down the stairs from Aria's booth and went over to the Blue Suns merc.
"I hear you're recruiting." Said Austin.
The Batarian nodded and indicated to the door.
"Hmm. Why don't you step inside?" He said.
In the room was another Blue Suns Batarian who was typing away at a console. He was addressing another freelancer.
"You'll get paid when the job's done just like everyone else. Who's next?"
The freelancer left and Alpha Squad proceeded into the room. The Batarian seemed to take particular notice of Alaara who wasn't wearing a helmet and had chosen to disguise herself with several face tattoos.
"Well, aren't you sweet. You're in the wrong place, honey. Strippers quarters are that way." he said.
Suddenly a gunshot zoomed right past the Batarian's head and impacted on the wall behind him. He was startled by it.
"Shit!" he shouted. He turned to see Sandra with her pistol raised, pointing in the Batarian's direction and with a bit of smoke pouring out of the barrel. She had fired that shot.
"Say that again about my bond mate again and next time I won't miss." Sandra threatened.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry! I was only joking." Said the Batarian.
"I don't hear anyone laughing." Said Austin coldly.
"Anyway, you lot look like you could really pack a heavy punch. Looking for a good fight?" the Batarian asked.
"Sure. If this is the place to go after Archangel." Said Austin.
"This is the place." Said the Batarian. He looked at all the others, slightly puzzled. "Are you all together?" he asked.
"We're a special team of mercenaries. We always work together. Trust me, we'll be worth the price." Said Austin.
"If you say so." Said the Batarian as he went back to his console. "Standard fee is 500 credits each. You'll get paid when the jobs done. If you die, your friends don't collect your share. You'll need your own weapons and armour… looks like you've got that covered. And, No. This does not make a you a member of the Blue Suns, Eclipse, or the Blood Pack. You are a freelancer. Period. Any Questions?"
"Only where do we go?" Austin asked as he cracked his knuckles.
"Just head for transport depot outside the club. One of our boys will take you from there. Send in the next one." Said the Batarian.
Alpha Squad turned to leave as the door opened and a young man stepped in.
"Hey, is this where I sign up?" he asked.
At the mention of the boys voice, both Austin and Griffin turned to look at him.
"You look a little young to be freelancing as a merc." Said Austin.
"I'm old enough." The man objected. "I grew up on Omega. I know how to use a gun."
"You'll need to know more than that if you want to survive. Take it from someone who's been there and done that." Said Griffin.
"I can handle myself. Besides, I just spent 50 credits on this pistol, and I wanna use it!" Said the man as he took out a standard issue SMG.
Griffin suddenly grabbed the gun from the man. "Get your money back!"
"Hey! What do you-" he tried to say.
Griffin took the gun and smashed it several times. "Trust me, kid. You'll thank me later." He said. As he handed the now damaged and unusable gun back to the man.
Alpha Squad left Afterlife and headed outside to the where the Blue Suns merc was waiting for them.
"We're on the mission." Said Austin.
"I hope you're ready. Team Archangel's been annihilating you freelancers." Said the Batarian.
"We're ready." Said Austin.
"Get in." said the Batarian.

Austin had decided to allow Zaeed to accompany the squad as well. As the small shuttle landed, Alpha Squad disembarked. They were greeted by another Blue Suns Merc.
"It's about time they sent me some people who look like they can actually fight. They tell you what we're up against?" he asked.
"The recruiter was a little vague." Austin replied.
"We wouldn't get many hirers if everyone knew the truth. Team Archangel are held up in a building at the end of the boulevard over there. They've got superior position and the only way in is over a very exposed bridge. It's a killing ground. But they're getting tired, making mistakes. We'll have him soon enough." Said the Batarian.
"We'll get to him. Just point us at that bridge." Said Austin confidently. It was best to make a good first impression.
"I like your attitude, but we've got a plan. You'll be on a distraction team. Head straight over the edge and keep Team Archangel busy so the infiltration team can sneak in behind him." Said the Batarian.
"That's goddammed suicide!" Zaeed laughed.
"Pretty much. But you look like you can handle it. Head up to the third barricade and talk to Sergeant Cathka." Said the Batarian.
"We'll head there then." Said Austin.
"Good idea.
"In's gonna be easy. Out's gonna be a bitch." Said Zaeed.
"Let's find Team Archangel first before we worry about that." Said Austin.
Edi's voice then came through the headsets.
"Shepard, I have scanned the area but I am unable to plot any alternative paths to Team Archangel." She said.
"Guess we're going with the mercs." Said Austin.
"The heavy mechs and gunship possess considerable firepower. Weakening them before leaving will improve your chances." EDI advised.

The Squad felt a little uneasy amongst all the other merc groups, especially Griffin, Kraan and Sandra. Although it had been many years ago, they still worried that the mercs might recognize them. Merc groups didn't take kindly to their own defecting, especially to the Helldivers.
The first area they proceeded through appeared to be the Eclipse group. Sandra noticed how nervous Alaara was and patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. Leena, who was wearing more armour than the others in order to disguise her Quarian appearance, noticed a datapad nearby.
"Shepard, theres something about that datapad. Think you can distract them?" she asked.
"I'll try." Austin whispered.
Austin noticed the Eclipse leader and began a rather lengthy conversation with the Salarian named Jaroth. Leena meanwhile sneakily snatched the datapad.
Tarak:

I've spoken to Garm, and he and his men are on board. Assuming this operation is successful, we can count on high morale and extensive buy-in from the men. From the losses we've already taken, possibility exists that we won't have the men needed to continue on to the next objective. It's clear, though, that none of our organizations would be ready to move on Aria without the assistance of the other two.
Jaroth.
Leena hid the datapad in a secret compartment inside her suit and sent the contents of it to everyone else, just as Austin had finished speaking with Jaroth.
"They're going after Aria next? That's interesting." Said Ventra.
"She'd be interested in this." Austin thought.

The team next came across one of the two things they were looking for, the mechs. The Heavy mech in particular was stationary and waiting to be deployed.
"All yours, Leena." Said Austin.
Leena smiled underneath her helmet and went to work on reconfiguring the heavy mechs identify friend foe system. Within a few seconds, the Quarian had finished.
"That should slow them down." She said as she stood back to admire her work.
"Good work, Leena. Next time they activate that, they're in for a nasty surprise." Said Ventra as he patted Leena on the back.
After a small walk through all the rooms that where filled with mercs the squad soon found who they were looking for.
"Cathka?" Austin asked.
Cathka's assistant indicated to another Blue Suns Batarian working on a gunship. The Batarian stood up when he saw Alpha Squad.
"Sergeant Cathka…" he said. He retracted the visor he had on his helmet. "You must be the group Sulki mentioned. You're just in time."
Were you waiting for us?" Austin asked.
"The infiltration team is about to give us the signal. Team Archangel won't know what hit them. Got any questions? This may be your last chance." Said Cathka.
"Are you leading the assault?" Austin asked.
"Ha! Tarak doesn't pay to fight. I just plan the attacks and fix the damn gunship. You freelancers get the privilege of…" Cathka was then interrupted by an incoming message.
"Check. Bravo team, go go go!" Cathka ordered.
Cathka's assistants and a few other of the mercs left the area, leaving only him and Alpha Squad.
"Team Archangel have got quite a surprise waiting for them. But that means no more waiting for me. Gotta get her back to 100% before Tarak decides he needs her again." Said Cathka as he went back to working on the gunship.
Austin then noticed an electric welding tool. That would be perfect. The Helldiver picked it up and walked over to Cathka.
"You're working too hard." He said.
Before Cathka could react to this Austin jammed the tool into the back of the Batarians armour and his whole body violently spasmed as several thousand volts coursed right through him.
Austin casually left the scene and re-joined his Squad.
"Team Archangel doesn't have much time left." Said Ventra as he unholstered his sniper bow.
"What the hell are we waiting for?" said Zaeed.
Several of the mercs leapt over the barricade and started firing at the upper levels of the building were Team Archangel where held up. One of them fired a grenade at them, but their sniper returned fire and landed a headshot on him.
Austin and the others quickly followed and unholstered their preferred weapons.
"Come on. We'll give these guys a surprise of our own." Said Austin as he loaded his Revenant.
They followed the mercs into Team Archangel's base before they executed their plan. As soon as they were in the building they opened fire on the mercs. They tried to make it quick and unnoticeable, but one merc saw it.
"There with Archangel!" he yelled.
He was quickly silenced though when Ventra caught sight of him. Before the merc could even try anything, Ventra loaded his sniper bow, sighted along the path of the bullet and pulled the trigger. The string on the bow released in time with the firing of the shot and it zoomed straight through the merc's helmet and impacted on the wall behind.
The Squad proceeded further up the stairs, guns blazing. Two more mercs where waiting for them, another was trying to hack the door to Team Archangel. Austin shot the second closest merc, Leena short circuited the furthest ones omni tool, and X-5 picked up the closest and smashed his head against the wall.
With all the mercs now having been dealt with for now, Alpha Squad proceeded through the door.
Team Archangel instantly took notice of them and pointed their gun at them. Oddly enough, they appeared to be wearing the same sort of sets of armour that Alpha Squad where wearing as well.
"Team Archangel?" Austin asked.
Team Archangel's leader stepped forward and motioned for his team to put their weapons down.
"I was wondering you would all show up. It's good to see you, Alpha Squad." He said.
All of Alpha Squad looked slightly surprised. How did they know who they were? Austin however was most surprised.
"Hold on, I know that voice…" he said as he lowered his Revenant.
The leader removed his helmet revealing a scarred but happy face.
"Captain Arnold Winchester, at your service, Major. It's damn good to see you again, Austin." He said.
"Arnold! God, it has been so long! You look well." Said Austin as he removed his Death Mask and shook hands with Arnold.
"You know them? Liara asked.
"Yeah. Arnold and I both trained under Zartrack. As for the others, I've worked with Omega squad once before." Austin replied.
"Hang on… Omega Squad?" Dash asked as he tried to suppress a laugh.
"Before you ask, it was pure coincidence." Said a female member of Team Archangel. "We were not chosen for this mission because we share the same name as this place."
"Still working with this loser I see, Catherine." Austin said in a joking manner.
The female solder, Catherine Danvers, removed her helmet and smiled at Austin.
"You look good for someone who's supposed to be dead, Major." She said.
"It's a long story." Said Austin. "So, since when did you start calling yourself Team Archangel?" he asked.
"It's just a name the locals gave us for… all our good deeds. We don't mind it, but please… it's just Omega Squad to you." Said Arnold.
"How'd you know who we were in the first place?" X-5 asked.
"You're not the only one with merc disguises you know. Plus, every Helldiver would know X-5 no matter what he's wearing." Said Arnold.
"You nailed us good a couple of times by the way." Said Ventra as he moved his neck around a bit.
"Concussive rounds only. No harm done. We didn't want the mercs getting suspicious." Said Archangel's sniper.
"Uh-huh." Said Ventra hesitantly.
"If we'd wanted to do more than take your shields down, we'd have done so." Said the sniper.
"Besides, you're taking your sweet time. We need to get moving. No doubt the Arkanes sent you to get us out of here." Said Archangel's heavy.
"Well, we got here, but I don't think getting out will be as easy." Said Austin.
"No it won't. That bridge has saved our lives, funnelling all those witless idiots into scope. But, it works both ways. They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way." Said Winchester.
"So we just sit here and wait for them to come to us?" said Alaara.
"It's not all that bad. This place has held them off so far. And… with all of you we now have a small army. So I suggest that we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defences an take our chances. It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan." Said Arnold.
"I didn't like sneaking anyway. Time to spill a little merc blood!" said X-5.
"Let's see what they're up to." Said Garrus as he looked through the scope on his sniper rifle. Ventra and Archangel's sniper did the same.
"Hmm. It looks like they know their infiltration team failed." Said Garrus.
"Scouts. Eclipse, I think." Said the Archangel sniper.
Through their scopes the snipers could see several light mechs jumping over the barricade. Ventra lined his sight up with one of them and took a shot at its head. There was twang of released string and the round blew the mechs head completely apart.
"More than scouts. One less now though." He said as he loaded another round in, pulling the string on his bow back at the same time.
"Indeed." Said Garrus.
"We'd better get ready. This is gonna be one hell of a fight." Said Arnold.
"The Heavy's and Snipers should stay up here. They can do a lot of damage from this vantage point. The rest of us will guard the entrance." Said Austin.
"Just like the good old days, my old friend." Said Arnold.
All the snipers and heavy's stayed on the upper levels while Austin and a few of the others headed back down to the entrance on the lower levels.
"Leena, we need some sentries here! X-5, cover her!" Austin yelled over the sound of gunfire as the mechs and Helldivers let loose their weapons.
X-5 immediately obeyed and got in front of Leena as the Quarian began setting up her famous mobile sentry turrets.
Several of the mechs fired on X-5, but the robot's armour absorbed the shots or repelled them. X-5 returned fire with his machine guns and also his rail gun.
"Oh, I haven't had this much fun in years!" the robot laughed.
The sheer firepower ripped most of the mechs apart before X-5 was eventually forced to stop in order to reload. By that time of course, Leena had finished building two sentry turrets and they were already firing on the mechs. The Quarian stayed behind the cover shield of one of them so that she could monitor the turrets progress and make repairs if necessary. Occasionally though, she would fire a few shots from shoulder cannon, which launched EMP projectiles rather than plasma. Leena preferred to have something more technical, rather than destructive means.
Liara and Alaara meanwhile where using their biotics to their advantage. Liara was better at defence than attack, but Alaara was the opposite. While Liara put up biotic barriers to offer more cover for the others, Alaara used her biotics to attack. She even managed to create a massive biotic implosion which crushed the last few mechs.
After that however, the Eclipse themselves started turning up.
"Heads up, Shepard! They're deploying their troops!" came Griffin's voice.
"Concentrate on the ones that can do the most damage! We'll take care of the rest." Said Austin.
The whole place became of gunfire, biotics, and tech powers as Team Archangel and Alpha Squad held the line.
Ventra finally sniped the last of the first wave of Eclipse. From behind the barricade, Arnold could see Jaroth.
"If you want something done properly…" he said. The Salarian then reached his hand to his ear. "Alright let's see how you handle this, Archangel!"
There was a loud hum of machinery and everyone took this moment to reload their weapons for another fight.
A large hovering loading claw flew over the barricade and dropped a folded up heavy mech.
"Go!" Jaroth ordered.
The Heavy mech activated, unfolded and slowly stood up.
"Online!" it said.
"Damn it! They're sending out the heavy mechs!" Catherine said into her comm.
"That problem should take care of itself." Leena smiled from behind her helmet.
Sure enough, the Heavy mech did a full 360 and opened fire on the Eclipse. All the soldiers where completely unprepared for this and some of them retreated. Using this to their advantage, Alpha Squad resumed their fire on the Eclipse. Despite everything, none of the mercs even got close enough to even have a hope of landing a shot at them.
Eventually Jaroth himself joined the fray and managed to severally damage the mech. Garrus however saw this as an opportunity. He took a deep breath and aimed for the mechs head. Without even a hesitation, he pulled the trigger and the, mechs head exploded.
The Heavy Mech fell to its knees and it began to go unstable again.
"Get down! It's gonna blow!" Austin yelled.
The mech exploded in a large mushroom cloud as Alpha Squad went into cover. Jaroth it seemed got caught in blast, and all that was left of him when the smoke cleared was a charred corpse.
"Looks like that's all of them. Come find us before they regroup." Said Arnold.
Austin and the rest of Alpha Squad headed back up to higher ground where Team Archangel where recovering and resupplying while they had the chance.
"You're kicking ass, Shepard. They barely touched us, and we got Jaroth in the process. We've been hunting that little bastard for months." Said Arnold.
"We've still got the Blood Pack and Blue Suns left. Think we can make a break for it?" Austin asked.
"Maybe. Let's see what they're up to." Said Arnold.
The Helldiver Captain took a small sensor and threw it over the barricades. From inside their suits, the Helldivers could see the outlines of the mercs.
"They've reinforced the other side heavily. But they're not coming over the bridge yet. What are they waiting for?" Arnold asked.
Before anyone could answer, the whole place shook slightly. There was faintest sound of an explosion and an alarm began ringing.
"That didn't sound good." Said Sandra.
Catherine accessed her omni tool and assessed the situation.
"Damn it! They've breached the lower levels!" she said.
"Well, they had to use their brains eventually." Said Archangel's heavy.
"You'd better get down there, Shepard. We'll keep the bridge clear." Said Arnold.
"We didn't come all this way just to let you die!" Griffin objected.
"Griffin's right. Let's spilt up. Keep some of my squad here to help you. No offense, but you don't look in the best condition to fight." Said Austin.
"You sure, Shepard? Who knows what you'll find down there." Said Catherine.
"X-5, Griffin, Kraan, Ventra and Garrus, stay here. Keep Team Archangel alive." Said Austin.
All of the Helldivers that Austin had chosen nodded in acknowledgement.
"Thanks, Shepard. You better get going." Said Arnold.
"We're on our way." Said Austin.
"Go down a level. The basement door's on the west side of the main room behind the stairs. We'll radio directions if you need help, but you have to get down there quick. Good luck." Said Arnold.

Alpha Squad quickly followed the instructions and found themselves facing two doors on either side, and a shutter.
"Split up! Liara and I will take this one, second team, the one on the left, third team, the one on the right!" Austin ordered.
The Squad split into two teams and headed through each door leaving just Austin and Liara.
"Just you and me, love. Ready?" Austin asked.
"Always!" said Liara.
Both lovers took cover either side of the shutter as Austin hit the button.
"Commencing shut down!"
At that moment, Blood Pack mercs appeared and fired on the two of them. Austin quickly returned fire with his Revenant and Liara threw several biotics at their attackers. Enemy after enemy fell as they were peppered with biotics, SMG fire and Assault rifle fire.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the shutter sealed and Austin and Liara took a moment to catch their breath.
"Oh, I love you." Liara panted.
"I love you too." Said Austin.
At that moment, the rest of Alpha Squad re-joined them.
"Shutter's sealed. The Blood Pack won't be getting in for a while." Said Alaara.
At that moment however, Austin's omni tool beeped and holographic image of Garrus appeared.

"Get back here, Shepard! They're coming in through the door." Said Garrus.
At the same moment, Garrus could see a spark moving down the door seal and several blood pack troopers came through led by the Krogan, Garm.
"Raaah! Rip them to shreds!" he ordered.
Just as he finished speaking however, a Vorcha next to him was shot straight in the head. Garm looked up to see Garrus reloading his sniper.
"Watch my back. I'll deal with Team Archangel." Garm ordered.
Some of the Vorcha snarled in acknowledgement only for several more shots to gun them down. Austin and the others had returned and they all had their guns at the ready. There was also another Krogan with Garm who charged at them. Kraan however quickly noticed and jumped down just at the right moment. As the ex-Blood Pack Krogan landed on his target his shear weight caused the other Krogan's neck to snap as he fell to the floor.
The rest of the Vorcha put up quite a fight but ultimately fell in the end. Garm however was far tougher. Not only was unaffected by pain due to a redundant nervous system that all Krogan had, but he also had a biotic barrier which was doubling his shields. What the Krogan didn't count on however was Alaara and Liara combining their powers together. The warp tore Garm's barriers apart in seconds.
X-5 then saw this as an opening and unloaded his guns into Garm. The Krogan was thrown right across the room and pinned against the wall by the sheer power of X-5's guns. Tons of blood painted the walls and the floor as each round tore through his armour. The Krogan lay dead in a pool of his own blood.
Alpha Squad quickly regrouped with Team Archangel.
"Thanks for the help, Shepard. They hardly got through to us, and we took out Garm and his Blood Pack. This day just gets better and better. He was one tough son of a bitch" said Arnold.
"Only the Blue Suns are left. I say we take our chances and fight our way out." Said Austin.
"I think he's right, Captain." Said Catherine.
"I agree. Tarak's got the toughest group, but nothing we haven't faced before. Besides, he won't be expecting us to meet him head on in…" but Arnold was interrupted by the sound of a window smashing. Through the hole they could see the gunship. It was flying. It still looked badly damaged though. Clearly, disabling Cathka had done the job. The drop ship could still do damage though.
"Get to cover!" Austin yelled as everyone sought cover from the gunship's fire.
"I thought we took that thing out already!" Catherine shouted over all the noise.
"They fixed it, but not completely. I made sure of that." Said Austin.
At that moment, Blue Suns troopers dropped from the gunship through the open window.
"They're offloading troops! Watch your back, Shepard!" Arnold called as he and Alpha Squad opened fire.
The Blue Suns troops fell within seconds. For a long time all was silent.
"They don't just give up that easily. They'll be back." Said Catherine.
Suddenly, they head the sound of Thrusters again. The Gunship reappeared.
"Archangel!" came a voice. It was Tarak! "You think you can screw with the Blue Suns?"
Catherine whirled around just as the gunship fired on her. Most of the shots missed her, but some managed to hit her armour. With her suit damaged, Catherine crawled into cover out of line of fire. However she failed to notice that the drop ship had lowered itself so that the rockets were in line with her.
"This ends now!" said Tarak as the rocket fired.
"Look out!" Garrus yelled.
Just in time, the Turian pushed Catherine out of way. But Garrus wasn't fast enough to avoid the rocket himself and it impacted very close to his face sending him flying and rendering him unconscious on the floor.
"Garrus!" Austin called as he managed to make his way over to the down Turian. Ventra did the same and checked for a pulse while avoiding fire from the gunship.
"He's unconscious, but still alive!" said Ventra.
"Right, let's finish this!" Austin said coldly.
"Enemies go boom, Sir?" Griffin asked in a joking manner as he fired on the gunship.
"No. Enemies go kaboom!" Kraan roared as he fired a massive charged shot from his dual plasma cannons.
The gunship exploded as the plasma impacted on it. With all the danger now over, Alpha Squad quickly rushed over to their fallen comrade. There was now a worryingly large amount of blue blood pooling from Garrus's face.
"We need to get him back to the ship, quickly!" Austin ordered.
"Come on buddy! You're not gonna die on us now!" said Ventra as he helped pick Garrus up.
"Radio Joker! Make sure they're ready for us!" said Austin.

All of Alpha Squad where gathered in the comm room. They had just finished their report to the Arkanes who had been very grateful that Omega Squad had been rescued. Right now though, whether the Arkanes where happy or not was the least of their concerns. Garrus was still in the med bay being treated by Dr. Chakwas.
Finally the doors opened and Ventra walked in.
"How is he?" Leena asked worriedly.
"We've done all we could, but he took a bad hit." Said Ventra.
All of the Squad bowed their heads slightly in sadness. They were braced for the inevitable. Austin, didn't really know how to respond. He ultimately just resorted to hugging Liara who looked like she might shed a tear for her friend.
"The Doc's corrected with surgical procedures and some cybernetics. Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality, but…" said Ventra. But he was interrupted by the doors opening again. To everyone's surprise, the stood Garrus. Clearly injured, but alive.
"Shepard." He said happily.
All of Alpha Squad clapped and cheered as Garrus walked into the room. Some even shook hands with him. Austin and Liara both smiled. Austin was still a bit concerned though. The entire right side of Garrus's face was burnt and very badly scarred. He had a bandage of some sorts over most of it, but it still looked painful.
"Tough son of a bitch! Didn't think you'd be up yet!" said Ventra happily as he thumped Garrus warmly on the back.
"Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?" Garrus asked.
"No worse than usual, buddy." Said Ventra.
"Hell Garrus! You were always ugly. Slap some face paint on there, and no one will even notice." Austin smiled.
Garrus and some of the others couldn't help but laugh at this.
"Ha-agh! Oh, don't make laugh. Damn it! My face is barely holding together as it is." Said Garrus. "Still, it's probably for the best. Everyone was always ignoring you and hitting on me. Time for you to get a fair shot at it."
At that moment the door opened again and Arnold stepped in. He was now no longer in the merc armour and had swapped it for his proper Helldiver armour.
Arnold hadn't done much to his armour. Some of the noticeable things he had done though was replace the right arm with a massive gauntlet arm that was painted red. Like Griffin, he also had a skull image painted onto his visor. All the other bits where pretty much the default stuff that all Helldiver armour had.
"Good to see you're okay, Vakarian." He said. He then turned to Austin. "I need to speak to you and Garrus… in private." He said.
Austin nodded and the rest of Alpha Squad left the room. Liara paused briefly to give Austin a kiss before she too left. Arnold then turned to the two of them and retracted his helmet.
"First off, I wanted to thank you for coming to get us, Austin. I don't know how much longer my squad might have lasted out there." Said Arnold.
"Don't thank me, thank the Arkane Council. They're the ones who gave us the orders to rescue you." Said Austin.
"Still, it'd be rude of me not to thank you, old friend." Arnold smiled. He then turned to Garrus. "I owe you a very personal debt, Garrus. You risked your life to save one of my squad… and for that I am truly grateful."
"Thank you, Captain. How are your squad doing?" Garrus asked.
"They're recovering, but they're fine. They all think you're a damn hero for what you did. In fact, if it where up to me I'd recommend you for a medal. My Squad mean a lot to me, especially Catherine. She and I are… very close." Said Arnold.
"Just doing my job, Captain. I'm just glad that she's alright. She might not have been as lucky as me if I hadn't intervened." Said Garrus.
"So what's next for you, Arnold?" Austin asked.
"We've booked passage on another ship back to Arkadia. After that, we'll probably be reassigned back to recon missions. Something I'll be very glad of. My squad have been through a lot on Omega, I think they'll be happy to go back to their old work." Said Arnold.
"Good luck to you then, Arnold." Said Austin.
"You too, Austin. If anyone can take down the Collectors, it's you." Said Arnold as he took his leave and left the comm room. Austin then turned back to Garrus.
"Are you sure you're okay, Garrus? That does look very painful." Austin asked as he indicated to the scars.
"Really, I'm fine, Shepard. At the very worst, it just stings a lot. Dell said I was very lucky. My helmet took the worst damage, in fact he said if I hadn't been wearing it, I would've probably lost my face." Said Garrus.
"You did good out there, Garrus. I'm very proud of what you did." Austin smiled.
Garrus smiled back and the two shook hands.
"I'm fit for duty whenever you need me, Shepard. If you need me, I'll be seeing what I can do with the forward batteries." Said Garrus.

Austin headed into the CIC to plot the next course. He noticed that Kelly had a rather concerned expression her face.
"How is Garrus doing? His injuries looked painful." She asked.
"He's fine, but I do worry about him. He's been through a lot, and not just physically." Said Austin.
"There's something about him. I just want to hold him close and whisper "It will be all right." Said Kelly.
"Are you attracted to other species?" Austin asked. Austin guessed that was a stupid question since she served on a Helldiver vessel. Only groups like Cerberus would think differently.
"Well, part of my job is predicting the motives and feelings of humans and aliens. Intimacy brings understanding. And passion is nice wherever you find it. Character matters, not race or gender." Said Kelly.
"I'm glad you think so, Kelly. Anyway, is there anything important I should know?" Austin asked.
"You have new message at your terminal, Major. It looked like an important one." Said Kelly.
"Talk to you later, Kelly." Said Austin.
"Always nice chatting with, Shepard." Said Kelly as she went back to her work.
Austin walked up to his terminal and read the message. It looked like it was from Aria. Apparently, she had something that she wanted him to take care of. Seemed odd that she would call him, but it wouldn't hurt to have a look.

Next chapter will involve Patriarch, the datapad from the mercs and Aria showing her real gratitude towards Shepard. Aria fans, keep an eye out. The next chapter might just be up your street.
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Collector War