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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, Alpha Origins	By : Veyron722skyhook Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 6170 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: 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
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Did you miss me?! ;)

It's nice to be back after 5 weeks!

So, here begins the start of Alpha Origins.

Before we start, probably just a few things I want to quickly say. Firstly: In case anyone didn't get it in my last chapter of ME3, I will no longer be doing weekly chapters. For Origins, I'm going back to the old ways of uploading chapters when they are ready. I know this may sound a tiny bit disappointing to some, but I assure you it's not me being lazy. It's better this way and now I won't feel pressured to finish a chapter before a certain deadline.

Also, if there are any people who are often not fond of prequel in general and have concerns about this, I assure you I don't intend to make the mistakes bad prequels often make.

I always had the idea of a prequel when I first conceived the trilogy and it was written with a prequel in mind by having loads of additions added to it that would be explained and expanded on in this. Continuity is also something that I will make sure is seen to, not just for the Helldiver side of the story, but also the Mass Effect as well. Another things I am aiming for this story is that it will have, not necessarily a darker tone from the trilogy, but a more gritty and serious one. Alpha's story is far from plane sailing, let me tell you that.

One more thing as well. There are still some parts of the story I haven't fully decided yet. Alpha Origins spawns 10 years, and although I've got loads of things to put in, I could do with more bits to fill in the gaps. So if anyone has any ideas, any at all that they would like to suggest or thing might be good for the story, do not hesitate to suggest them to me. As I have said before, I listen to feedback and am always open to more ideas.

Quick thank you to all the fans who were with me for the original trilogy and those who helped shape it and also for their help and some of the preparation for this.

So, without further ado, let's get on with it! :)

Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga

Alpha Origins

Prologue:

A dark but rather clear night had come over the planet of Arkadia. With hardly any clouds in the sky, all the stars were, glowing brightly in the sky as the planet's moon shone down on the surface.

A gentle wind swept the long grass lands while the sound of crickets could be heard in all directions. It was what any kind of being would call peaceful.

The peaceful silence however was suddenly broken when a figure suddenly ran through the grass, pushing aside as many strands of the tall grass as she ran through it.

The figure was a young Asari, barely just 6 years old. By the standards of her own species, she was still only a toddler. To human eyes however, she did seem the right height, and also looked five years old.

Right now, she was running, her breath panting hard and her azure blue skin gently sweating as she pushed as many strands of the long grass aside. Something was hunting her. She could not see it, but she knew where it was. A few metres or so behind her, more of the grass parted. Whatever was stalking her, was causing that. She could also hear faint footsteps running and a very faint growling sound.

The child dared not look back to see if her hunter was catching up with her. Right now, she was focusing on getting as far away as possible. She continued running as fast as her legs would allow her too, pushing aside any grass that got in her way or tried to hold her back.

Finally she found herself in an opening clearing where the grass had already been parted. She soon realised she'd come this way earlier. She'd gone in a circle.

She suddenly heard the sound of a twig snapping behind her. Then the slow sound of footprints. Very slowly, the Asari child turned to the source of the sound. The large black four legged figure of a Varren slowly came out of the grass, teeth bared and eyes staring hungrily at her.

The child immediately broke into a run again with the Varren giving chase. She could already tell the odds weren't in her favour, but she had to at least try to escape.

The Varren continued to close the distance between itself and the Asari. Finally it pounced when the child dared risk a quick glance. It knocked into the Asari, tackling her tot he ground. Lying on her back, she looked up as the Varren stood over her gazing down at what it had caught. The Varren growled and then slowly opened it's mouth, baring all it's teeth...

Then it started to lick her. The Asari giggled as she tried to push the Varren off her.

"Okay! Okay! You found me!" she giggled.

Finally the Varren stopped and simply panted happily like a Earth Dog, wagging it's tail in the process.

Kamara T'soni gave a small laugh as she managed to push Urz off her and the Varren allowed her to sit up and she worked on wiping her face.

"Yeah, you found me. Who's a good Varren? Huh? Who's a good Varren?" said Kamara cooingly as she patted Urz who gave a happy purr.

A voice then suddenly cam from not to far away.

"Kamara?!"

"Coming, Mum!" Kamara yelled back as she picked herself up. "Come on, boy!"

Kamara ran through the grass field with Urz following close behind, this time now longer trying to catch her. Soon the two found themselves leave the grass fields altogether. Lights of a massive city could be seen ahead align with the bright orange glow of a small bonfire. Several figures were either gathered around the fire or simply talking with one another.

"Over here, sweetie!"

Kamara looked to see her mother, Liara T'soni Shepard waving at her as she and Urz quickly ran up to her.

The 116 year old Asari simply smiled at seeing her daughter. She felt happy whenever she saw any of her daughters. Cuddled in her arms was the fourth and youngest of them, baby Aleena. Having been born only just 8 months ago, the little Asari need the full care of her mother. Not that Liara minded of course. It reminded her of when Kamara and the twins had been like this. She smiled as she remembered the memories. Only five years and they were already running around and playing just as children often did.

"Just checking where you were, Little Wing." she said. "Have you seen the twins?"

Before Kamara could answer, two more Asari children suddenly appeared from out of the grass.

"I have now." Kamara smiled as her two younger sisters, Etraa and Haraa came running up to join them.

The twins had both been born two years after Kamara so they were now 3. Despite their young age though, the two sisters got along brilliantly. They were often the jokers of the family, often liking to play small tricks or jokes. They were practical partners in crime. Like their elder sister they loved adventure and excitement, a trait all 3 of them took after their father, Sir Major Austin Shepard.

"Guess that means we win." Etraa smiled. She and her sister looked slightly dirty. Probably a result of them finding better hiding places from Urz. Haraa meanwhile just gave Urz and gently stroke.

"Actually, Mom called me back. It's not over yet." said Kamara.

"Playing hide and seek again?" another voice asked.

All three Asari children looked to see their father walking up to them. Liara simply smiled as her husband sat down next to her and they shared a quick kiss.

"Dada!" Aleena said happily. Liara handed the baby over to Austin who hugged his youngest daughter.

"It's almost unfair when Urz join in. He wins nearly all the time." said Etraa.

"Yeah. He found me very quickly." said Kamara.

"He's a Varren. It's to be expected." Austin smiled as Urz gave a happy bark.

"Can we go play with the others?" Kamara asked, pointing over to where several other children were playing.

"Just make sure you play nice with them." said Liara.

All three Asari children nodded and joined the others. Urz simply settled down next to his master.

Austin put his arm around Liara as she rested against him, taking baby Aleena back into her arms. Only 5 years it had been and now here they were enjoying a well earned peace. Ahead of them lay the vast plains of the planet of Arkadia, and just were they were sat outside was the Arkadian City, home to the insect alien race, the Arkanes and also to their creations, the Helldivers. A multi species group that all used highly advanced exosuits, the Helldivers were known throughout the galaxy as not only the largest multispecies organisation ever, but also the force that had helped win the Last Cycle.

10 years ago, a warning left behind by an extinct race was discovered which told of their extinction at the hands of sentient machines known as the Reapers who wiped out life every 50,000 years or so as part of a cycle of extinction. Using this warning, an attempted Reaper invasion was stopped by Austin himself with the aid of his Helldiver squad, Alpha, and the crew of his ship, the Normandy. Among that crew was the Asari sitting next to him who had become his wife about 7 years back.

Though the invasion had been prevented, the extinction had only been delayed. 3 years after, the Reapers finally arrived and so began the war. Though there were a lot of battle and many sacrifices, eventually the Reapers were defeated, thus the war had come to e=be called the last cycle.

5 years had passed since that war, 5 years since Austin himself had destroyed the Reapers and led the entire galaxy to victory. Today though, he was retired. His life as a Helldiver was behind him. Nowadays though, he had a new life as a father, a husband and he still remained a legendary leader in the eyes of his friends, the ones who had fought beside him in the war and were with him today.

Every year, every single one of them gather on Arkadia to not only honour the friends they lost in the war, but also honour the bonds of friendship that the war helped them make.

Austin looked around at all the others. Many of them had become couples just like him and Liara and had had children of their own who were all playing with each other happily.

Garrus & Tali Vakarain. A Turian male and a Quarian female.

Austin had met the two 10 years ago when they joined his crew on the hunt for a rouge agent that eventually led to the race against time to stop the Reaper invasion. Garrus had originally been a C-sec agent but had grown tired of having to confine himself to many of the rules. Quitting C-sec, his time serving under Austin had inspired him to join the Helldivers himself and he soon became a part of Alpha. Like Austin though, he was now retired also.

Tali had been a young Quarian on her pilgrimage, her right of passage into adulthood. She too became a part of Austin's crew and had remained ever since. Now that her entire race had their home world back, they no longer needed to be confined to their suits, or at least wear masks. In fact, while Tali herself still had a suit on, she had her mask off and her turban lowered, letting all see her face.

Now the two were happily married and their four children were currently playing with the others.

Two Turian boys, Vertus and Taraguss, and two Quarian girls, Tildeesa and Liadav.

As Austin looked at the couple, happily watching their children, they both smiled and nodded at him. He nodded back.

Next there was Alaara & Sandra.

A human field comm expert and an Asari second in command, they had been a part of Alpha Squad since the very beginning. Now happily married and also retired, they'd had at least 5 Asari children, Lalare, Kesseri, Veelars, Teelkrin and Beskrin, and had now recently had two human children as well. Aiden and Denise.

Ventra and Leena.

Another Turian and Quarian couple, they had also been in Alpha since the beginning. Also retired, they'd had two children. Gatris, a Turian girl and Meelik, a Quarian girl. They were even thinking about possibly trying to have a Turian child.

Troy and Xun.

One a Helldiver Spy and the other an information broker. Troy had been a Helldiver spy for many years. Hell, he'd been a spy probably just a year or so longer than when Alpha Squad had first been formed. By all means, he was considered a very old friend. The same could be said of his love, Zhi Shang Rhen, also known as Xun. Having been a valuable source of information for the Arkanes and the Helldivers, Xun had eventually been given a suit of armour of her own and had from then on served as their own information broker. Nowadays, she and Troy were married and had only recently had a child, a girl whom they had named Alice in honour of Troy's former lover before her death.

Griffin and Ashley Wilson.

Griffin had joined Alpha Squad 9 years ago during Austin's temporary absence from Alpha Squad during which Alaara had been in command. Ashley Madeline Williams meanwhile was an old childhood friend of Austin's having original joined the Alliance with him before he changed careers to the Helldivers.

Though the two did still continue their military careers, they had been still been able to date one another. Now married, they'd had three children, two girls Amy, Mina, and boy, Kaidan who was named in honour of Ashley's old friend from the Normandy 10 years ago, Kaidan Alenko.

Jack and Kelly Chambers.

Jack was a former convict who had originally been taken from her family by the terrorist organization, Cerberus with the intention of experimenting on her to make her a biotic weapon. Kelly Chambers was the former Yeoman of the Normandy along with its psychologist.

Jack had been recruited by Austin to serve on a team he had put together for a suicide mission 7 years ago. Originally reclusive and full of anger, she had only just agreed. With time though, Kelly had talked to her many times and had slowly brought down her barriers. The two had eventually become a couple. Nowadays they worked at Grissom academy teaching many of the students there.

Urdnot Wrex and Bakara.

Two Krogan. Wrex had once had been a bounty hunter before becoming involved in Austin's team 10 years ago when the truth about the Reapers was first discovered. Sometime after, he left and became the new chief of his clan in an attempt to unify his race. When the War began, he managed to negotiate the cure of the Genophage, a genetic weapon that had been used on his kind long ago in another war to keep them under control. With the help of Bakara, a shaman immune to the Genophage they had both witnessed the birth of a new age for the Krogan. Now their kind was flourishing. In fact, some of their own children were here with them today.

Dash and Jet.

Dashiell Torres/Dash was another veteran of when Alpha Squad had been formed 20 years ago. Natasha Soarin/Jet on the other hand was rather new. She was a former pilot who had become a Helldiver and had joined Alpha just before the beginning of the war, but had been welcome with open arms.

She and Dash had grown close during that time and were now married. So far they didn't' yet have any children, but these days they had said they were considering it if they can get it to work with their careers.

Jacob and Kasumi Taylor.

Jacob Taylor had once been in the Alliance, but after the delay of the Reaper invasion he joined Cerberus. 2 years later however his feelings began to change and he eventually defected upon coming across Shepard and his Squad. From then on he'd worked as a Helldiver agent. Kasumi Goto was also another that Austin had hired to join the team on his suicide mission. Known as the best thief in the galaxy, she proved to be a valuable help to them. Now the two were married and had a son.

Hawk and Miranda.

Like Troy, Hawk was also an old friend of Alpha's who had worked with them on a number of occasions. Despite having lost his eye at some point and temporarily retiring, he alter returned to fight alongside Alpha in the war. Miranda Lawson was also another former Cerberus agent who had defected to the Helldivers. They had also married and had two children.

Finally there was Sarah and Samantha.

Commander Sarah Shepard was Austin's sister. Unlike her brother, she wasn't a Helldiver and was instead an Alliance N7 marine, or at least she had been. She had also retired with her brother after the war and had married the woman she'd fallen in love with, Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor. They'd also had two children thus so far. A girl, Alexa, and a boy, James. They had named James after Sarah's friend, James Vega who had died fighting in the war.

Among the couples were plenty of other familiar faces.

Urdnot Kraan, Alpha's heavy weapon Korgan expert.

Urdnot Grunt, another Krogan team member recruited during the suicide mission.

Joker and EDI, the Normandy's human and AI pilots, who were also a couple.

General Zartrack, Austin's mentor.

Dell Arturus, his wife Uthenra, and their daughter Sill, an Arkane family that was close friends with Alpha and had helped them in the war.

Legion, a Geth infiltrator with the ability to speak who had played a vital part in the Geth Quarian peace.

Former assassin Thane Krios and his son, Kolyat.

Samara, an Asari Justicar.

Dr Chakwas & Dr Michel, the Normandy's former medical doctors.

Zaeed Massani, a bounty hunter also originally hired for the suicide mission.

And finally Queen Meeralack, the matriarch of the organic Takaal.

Even she honoured the sacrifices of those in the war and the allies her race had gained in the war. Already her people now had an embassy on the Citadel. There had even been talk that the Takaal may be close to joining the Citadel Council after the Arkanes had quit their own position due to the many restrictions and frustrations they'd found.

Many of the adults were simply talking with one another while the children played. It always brought a smile to Austin's face knowing that in only 5 years they had also come this far.

Eventually, many of the others started to head inside while the children continued playing. While Liara joined them, Austin decided to stay. He liked the outdoor air, and it was a very beautiful night. The nearby campfire would also be a good source of warmth and all the children were old enough to be sensible around it. Urz also remained by his side to keep an eye on the children. Ever since Kamara had been born, Urz had almost become like a second father tot he children. He'd looked after them as though they were his own, and he'd often let them ride on his back when they were little. Baby Aleena especially enjoyed this.

As Austin took a seat in front of the campfire while still watching the children play, he gazed up at the night sky. He was reminded of nights many years ago, back when he was a much younger man. It reminded him of days he hadn't thought of in a very long time. It had been almost 20 years now since that fateful day when it all began.

Austin was suddenly interrupted when he saw practically all of the children sitting in front of him on the other side of the fire. All of Alpha Squad surprisingly had also remained behind and were sitting with their young.

"Let me guess. You're hoping for another story?" he smiled.

"Yay!" they all cheered together.

Austin simply smiled. Ever since the first anniversary of the war, he'd become well known among all the children not just as the legendary hero that destroyed the Reapers, but also as a great story teller.

"Hmm, well then, what could I tell you this year?" he said, trying to think of something.

"Tell us that one how you fought that bad Geth!" one child said.

"We hard that last year. We want something new." another one said.

"Why not our story?" said Dash. He'd only meant that as a joke, but rather to his surprise, all of the children seemed to cheer and agree to that. Even the rest of Alpha liked the sound of that.

"Really? You want to hear the 10 year story of how Alpha Squad first came together?" Austin asked. He had to admit, this was rather new. Still, he wasn't complaining.

"I think they'd enjoy it." said Liara, cuddling Aleena in her arms. " Some of us newer faces are also curious."

It was true, that some of Alpha's newer members didn't know the full story of the legendary Alpha Squad.

Austin gently settled himself so he was sitting comfortably and looked in to the fire as he tried to think of where to begin.

"Well, you're reaching back decades from now. 20 years to be exact. True this would begin when I first met everyone, but truth be told... I would say that all this first began on Elysium." he said.

"Back where you first earned your fame among others." said Etraa.

"You would be correct, Etraa." said Austin. "Feels like a lifetime ago now, but I remember it as though it was yesterday. Things were very different back then, and I was a very different man. I was still a Lieutenant back then. Just a simple Helldiver soldier sent on a mission to improve relations with the Alliance. Little did I know that that day was the day that would change my life, forever...

Chapter 1

Elysium

The occasional turbulence and rocking of the Alliance shuttle was gentle enough that it was a comfortable ride for all it's soldiers. Normally Allaince soldiers who came to Elysium were here for shore leave, and that was true of many of the soldiers now sitting in the confined space of the shuttle. There were a few though in armour. Some of them were on duty. Most of them were engaged in simple light conversation discussing how they were going to spend their leave or what they had planned. The conversation among the soldiers in a rumour however was different. It was regarding the figure sitting in the shuttle with them.

"So this is one of those famous Helldivers we keep hearing about." said one of them, looking at the large armoured figure impressively.

"Man, I gotta get me one of those." said another.

"Yeah, like the Arkanes are gonna spend millions to protect your scrawny ass, Johnson."

"Hell, you won't be mouthing off when I've got my super suit. I'll go ninja on your ass."

"Now that I'd like to see."

Despite the conversation though, the Helldiver sitting among them didn't say anything. In fact, he barely moved. It was certainly awkward for the soldier sitting next to him. She was female, with short blonde hair and green eyes. Like her fellow soldiers, she too was dressed in Alliance armour.

Unlike her fellow soldiers however, she was not part of the conversation.

"Why'd do you think this guy's here?" asked one of the male soldiers. " I mean, Helldivers don't often come here without good reason."

"You could ask him." another suggested.

"I'd have better luck getting Alice here into bed. This guy hasn't said a damn word since he got inboard. Beginning to think he's dead in that thing."

"Leave him alone. He obviously doesn't wanna talk to you." said Alice, trying to sound defensive.

She knew it wasn't much use though. How could she speak for a Helldiver? Especially when she was in the minority among several other cocky male soldiers.

"So what are you, his mind reader?" one of them said.

Alice didn't respond and simply settled back in her seat again. Despite this though, she was unable to stop herself from occasionally staring at the Helldiver sitting right next to her. He was so close that she could hear his suit's breathing. It was hard for her not to risk glances. Admittedly, she too was fascinated with this Helldiver like her fellow soldiers. She'd heard all sorts of stories about them and had never seen one before in person. She was both nervous and excited. Th temptation to try and start a conversation was very hard to resist, even though she knew she probably wouldn't get an answer. Why would this Helldiver talk to her when he wouldn't' talk to the others? What made her special to deserve his attention. Besides, it wasn't like they had much to talk about.

After risking another glance, she brought her eyesight down again to look at the floor, simply waiting until the shuttle finally touched down.

Once again though, she couldn't' help it. She risked one more look at the Helldiver. When her eyesight looked right at his triangular helmet however, she was shocked to find that it moved and was now staring right at her.

Almsot instantly, Alice quickly averted her gaze, hoping that the Helldiver hadn't seen her trying to catch another glimpse. Her heart was beating so hard in her chest and she felt it get rather hot.

What came next however took her by surprise.

"You know, I can see you looking at me." sad the Helldiver.

Alice did her best to remain casual, but was shocked beyond measure that this Helldiver had actually talked. After what had been almost an hour and a half now, this Helldiver that hadn't said anything and had ignored all the other soldiers had finally said something, and to her of all people.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare, I just..." Alice managed to say.

Now that the she was able to look directly at the Helldiver, Alice finally got a good look at him. Unlike other Helldivers, this one didn't look as though he'd customised his armour much. At best he'd simply fitted desert coloured parts in certain places. He also had a few extra ammo packs and holsters for weapons. Other than that though, he had the default look of every Helldiver who first received their suit.

Either this Helldiver was new and had yet to customise his armour, or perhaps...

Alice quickly put the thought aside though. It was impossible. No one could steal a Helldiver. Fromw hat she knew, each suit was DNA locked to it's user and thus only obeyed and worked for them. Any attempted unauthorised use would yield no results at all.

"Curiosity is not a sin." said the Helldiver. "Just be careful how you use it."

Hearing the Helldiver's voice again allowed Alice to hear that this Helldiver was definitely a male with a british accent. His voice was naturally deepened and had a synthetic tone applied to it from the suit.

Other than that though, Alice had little else. She couldn't tell whether this Helldiver was cross at her or anything. The triangular shaped helmet covered a Helldiver's face entirely, and they very rarely removed their helmets without removing the rest of the armour. To see a Helldiver in armour but without the helmet was unbelievably rare. This was part of their training by the Arkanes to make them unpredictable to enemies and in a way to make them more imposing and intimidating. If Alice had heard right though, they did use other means to convey emotions. Often they would use body language and very precise tone of voice to help people better understand how they might feel or what they might be thinking.

Alice was hardly surprised though that the Helldiver next to her hadn't said a word to anyone. Helldivers often didn't interact with Alliance soldiers and the ones sitting near him were hardly the best of people to talk to. She had a feeling that this Helldiver probably felt the same way that a celebrity would when they were forced to deal with several overexcited fans. Not fun.

Alice finally found her voice again and managed to speak another sentence, trying her absolute best to hid show nervous she was.

"I've just... never seen a Helldiver before." she said. "You also gave the impression you didn't want to talk."

"Only to those guys." said the Helldiver.

Although the Alliance soldiers were now talking with each other and seemed oblivious to him talking, he did keep his voice down.

"Yes. They're not everyone's cup of tea." said Alice, finally starting to relax a bit more. "To be fair though, you can't blame them. We've never seen a Helldiver before. It's like having a member of the Citadle Council sitting with us."

The Helldiver looked at her for a moment, his expressionless optic eyes attached to his helmet lightly glowing.

Alice feared she had gone too far saying that and had a feeling that was the last she was going to get out of him. But then he spoke again.

"True. I guess I just don't like a lot of attention." he said, giving a small sigh.

Alice didn't really know how to respond to that. It was understandable. Some people preferred to be left alone. She eventually felt it best to just leave it at that.

The Helldiver noticed her slightly disappointed expression though.

"But at the same time, it doesn't hurt having one person to talk to." he added.

Alice's modd brightened and she look back at the Helldiver. She could not deny she was starting to warm up to him now. He had talked with her above everyone else, he'd just said that he wanted to talk and there was also something about his voice that she found quite calming, despite it's slightly intimidating sound.

"Ummm... thank you. That's very nice." she said, managing a smile.

"What's your name?" the Helldiver asked.

"Meerum. Sergeant Alice Meerum." Alice replied, extendign her hand.

The Helldiver then reached across with his own gauntelted and armoured hand and shook hers.

"Shepard. Lieutenant Austin Shepard." he said.

Alice almsot froze. The Lieutenant part was the first thing that her mind registered and she immediately sat up straight.

"Oh... I'm sorry, sir. I didn't realise..."

She attempted to salute, but Shepard waved it off.

"It's alright, Alice." he said. "There's no need to stand on formalities at the moment. Right now I'm but simple soldier, just like you."

Alice was rather taken aback. For someone who had originally just ignored everyone, this Helldiver was surprisingly polite. She managed a smile which was met with a nod from Shepard. She was starting to feel like she was actually talking to a person rather than just an expressionless suit of armour.

"Sorry, Shepard. I guess I'm still a bit new to taking with Helldivers."

As Alice finished speaking, she suddenly realised something else. The Helldiver had said his name was Shepard. Could it really be...?

"Wait a minute, did you say Shepard?" she asked. "As in the Shepard? The first soldier to originally start in the Alliance and then join the Helldivers?"

Shepard sighed, but it sounded like he was chuckling at the same time.

"Just when I thought you hadn't noticed." he said.

"I... well, I don't know what to say." said Alice, unable to hide her excitement.

Not only was she speaking with a Helldiver, but she was also speaking with a well known Helldiver. She'd heard about him from other soldiers. Lieutenant Austin Shepard, son of General Matt Shepard of the Helldivers and of Captain Hannah Shepard of the Alliance Navy. Sole survivor of a Thresher Maw attack on Akuze and the first ever person known to originally start in the Alliance and then change becoming a Helldiver.

"Just don't go blurting it everyone." said Shepard. "As you know, I don't like a lot of attention."

Alice nodded understandingly.

"It's a real honour, sir." she said, making sure to keep her voice low. "They tell among stories of you among the brass."

"They have been known to exaggerate." said Austin, trying hide that he clearly was a bit flattered.

"Even so, you're still well known among many here." said Alice. "Speaking of which, why are you here? I mean, assuming you are allowed to talk about it."

Shepard was silent for a moment.

"I'm here to try an improve relations between the Alliance and the Helldivers. Admittedly not the best assignment." he sighed.

"Well... "Alice began, trying best to think of how to say what she was about to. "If so, why ignore everyone?"

"Soldier morale's not in the job description." Shepard replied. "Besides, I don't like being some Alliance or Helldiver poster boy. So I started off in the Alliance then joined the Helldivers. It's not that big of a deal."

Alice thought of replying to that with "When was the last time it happened?" but decided that would be one step too far. This guy seemed very friendly, he last thing she wanted was to ruin the moment.

"I may not agree with you..." she finally replied. "...but I understand."

Shepard started at her for a moment, then replied. "Good. No more need be said."

He then changed the subject.

"I'm guessing your not here for shore leave?"

"Sadly no. Someone's occasionally got to do the extra work." Alice sighed.

"You seem willing though."

"If I don't, who will?" Alice replied.

"Admirably said." said Shepard.

"Some people don't fully understand what being in the Alliance is about. It's about fighting for humanity so that they'll always have freedom. If we let someone take that freedom from us, what's the point?" said Alice.

She couldn't tell for certain, but she had the strangest feeling that Shepard was smiling at her under his helmet. Before the conversation could continue, the engines outside changed their sound indicating they were coming in to land. Many of the soldiers started picking their bags and weapons up or taking them down from the overhead racks. Shepard stood up and took his own bag down. Alice couldn't help but also notice he seemed to be holding something else. It almost looked like... a sword.

The shuttle then gently touched down and the ramp lowered itself. Bright sunlight spilled into the cabin and everyone began slowly walking out. Alice and Shepard then joined them. As they reached the bottom, they prepared to go their separate ways.

"I doubt this goodbye." said Alice. "But I will say it was nice to meet to you, Shepard."

The two shook hands.

"Same." Shepard replied. "Nice to have someone to talk to for a change."

The two separated and walked off. From behind his helmet, Austin watched Alice leave. He had to admit he found her reason for being here quite admirable. Not that he thought badly of the Alliance. Hell, he'd had a childhood friend who'd joined the Alliance with him back in he day. Sadly they didn't see each other anymore. They had tried to keep in contact, but ultimately they became to busy to find time.

The Helldiver took a moment to admire Elysium. Quite the place. Nice open fields, great sunlight, plenty of luxuries to enjoy. It would certainly be hard for him to resist enjoying himself while he was here. Hopefully if negotiations with the Alliance went well here though, perhaps he might get a chance.

Bringing his mind back tot he task at hand, he headed to Elysium's Alliance barracks. He soon found the officer in charge.

"Ah, Lieutenant Shepard. We've been expecting you." said the Captain.

Austin saluted.

"Captain."

"You may stand at ease." said the Captain.

Austin did so and relaxed. The captain then motioned for him to follow and he matched pace.

"It's almost a shame you're not here to enjoy shore leave here. Elysium is definitely the kind of place you'd enjoy." said the Captain.

"I couldn't agree more, sir." said Austin. "I understand that many of the brass are here as well for our... negotiations."

"Yes." said the captain. "The meeting is planned for tomorrow morning. In the meantime though I'm sure you could use some rest. It must've been a long trip."

Austin could not deny some rest before tomorrow would be nice." he said.

"Then by all means. I will come by when the meeting is due to begin." said the Captain.

Austin saluted and left.

At the moment, Austin's wasn't terribly tired and he figured that some it wouldn't hurt to try and watch the sunset a bit.

It didn't go well however. A young Alliance private who had obviously not been hardened, or for that fact, matured by his training had suddenly come up to him and had started going on about how he was a huge fan and it was such a pleasure to be in his presence. Worse still, the guy seemed to recognize who he was and started going on about Austin's Alliance career. For a time, Austin tired to ignore him and simply read a magazine. He even muted his audio feed, but he could still see the young fan mouthing away at him like some nerd meeting his all time hero.

Finally, it became too much for him. Just as the private was starting to mention how he'd first seen a Helldiver in a Blasto movie, Austin suddenly pointed in the other direction.

"Hey, is that Blasto?" he said.

Right as the private looked in that direction, he suddenly brought his elbow right into the private's face, knocking him out instantly. Placing the magazine in the private's arms so that it looked like the guy had simply fallen asleep, he got up and decided it would be better to get rest. He clearly wouldn't get any relaxation out here.

"Rookies." he sighed.

Austin headed to where there were available rooms. He soon found one that was vacant and made himself at home. The bed was small, but it would do. He wouldn't be here too long after all. Plus, he could easily sleep in his suit if he found it too uncomfortable.

Right now though, he definitely needed to get out of his suit. He'd been inside it all day and he hadn't had a chance to properly rest since he left Arkadia.

His Helldiver armour slowly opened up as pieces either slid away or rotated out of the way until he could finally step out. Pausing to stretch and flex his muscles he then unzipped the skin-tight full body suit mesh that he'd been wearing inside the armour until he was just left in his boxers. Pausing quickly to give his face a wash, he looked at himself in the mirror.

For a soldier he had surprisingly long brown hair which reached all the way down to his neck. Given however that Helldivers didn't have the same sort of restrictions when it came to hair, it made sense that was allowed to have it that long. The hair was pretty much let down without anythign tying it back, so it did frame his face a little bit, but only on the sides. It had a bit of a rugged look as well, most likely because it was so hard to use a comb on. One or two scars also adorned his face. A small one on his right cheek, and acid burn on his left and also one on the right side of his forehead, causing two small partings at the front of his hair as a result. He had brown eyes and was also cleanly shaven. A small bit of his right eyebrow was also missing as a result of another small scar on his forehead.

One or two scars adorned his fairly muscular body as well, but they did little to distract from his physique. Any woman who saw him like this right now would almost certainly find it hard not to be distracted. Helldiver training, regular workouts and a healthy lifestyle kept him in good shape. Not to mention that the small enhancements that Arkanes gave to all Helldivers made him slightly stronger and more endurable than a normal human.

Leaving his suit to seal itself back up, he slowly climbed into the bed and drew the covers over him. Letting his tiredness finally take over, he slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to his sleep.

Hours passed until Austin finally woke up. Gently opening his eyes, he sat up and stretched. As he finished washing and stepped out of the shower, he suddenly heard something. A very faint boom coming from outside. For a moment, Austin froze to try and hear the sound more clearly. Then it happened again, this time louder and he also felt it through some faint shaking of the whole building.

Knowing an attack when he heard and felt it, Austin quickly pulled his boxers and suit mesh back on. Right as he was about to enter his suit however, a sudden explosion tore away a huge portion of the wall. Many of the supports to the building collapsed and a vast part of the floor gave way.

Austin found himself sliding down, his armour following him as the floor tipped it over.

Desperately, Austin tried as best he could to push himself closer to the armour. If he could just get close enough, he could get back inside it and he would no longer have to worry about the fall killing him.

Pushing as best he could while he continued to slide down the slope, he final managed to touch the armour. It instantly reacted to the light touch of its master and opened up. Getting a firm grip on a piece of the armour, Austin managed to pull himself in and the armour resealed itself. The armour's systems quickly activated and the optical feed and HUD appeared on the inside of the helmet.

Austin readjusted himself so that when he landed, it would be on his feet. His body skidded along the floor as he finally reached the bottom. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he rolled to reduce the impact. Due to his speed, he ended up slightly losing control and fell on his front. But at least now he wasn't falling anymore.

Picking himself up, he now saw a new sight. Elysium was no longer the usual beautiful paradise it had been when he arrived. There were explosions and fire all over the place and much of the ground had been turned up. The sky was dark as many Batarian and pirate ships hovered over the battle, drops of troops deploying from each one. The Alliance was already fighting, but they weren't taking back any ground.

"Bloody hell." Austin gasped to himself. This had been the last thing he would've expected to happen on this mission.

An object then suddenly landed next to him. He recognized it as the bag he had brought her with him. He was most thankful that had survived as he quickly pulled it towards him and opened it up to reveal all his weapons inside. He immediately took them all out and holstered them to his back. The sword that had also been strapped to the bag was also unclipped and he strapped it tight to his back. Austin then slowly rose up and drew out his Helldiver assault rifle.

The surprise of the attack left him and his focus now shifted to fighting and drawing back the attackers. He broke into a run to join the other Alliance soldiers currently taking cover behind pieces of debris thrown up be the explosions.

His presence among them was most welcome as he took cover trying to look for the one in charge.

"Are we glad to see you. We were beginning to think they'd killed you." Said one of them.

"Who's in charge here?" Austin asked.

"Our Captain and Commander's dead. You're the only Lieutenant we've got left." One of them replied.

Austin was unsure how to respond to that. He'd clearly heard this soldier just say that he was the highest rank right now. The looks of everyone else of expectation made him a little uncomfortable, but he pushed this feeling aside and cleared his throat after a long pause.

"Do you have a radio?" he asked.

"We already got call out. Reinforcements are on the way, but at this rate we won't be able to hold them off." Another soldier replied, quickly ducking to a void a shot as it hit where his head had been.

Austin quickly glanced over cover to get a look at the battlefield. There were more soldier fighting on the front lines, somewhere he believed they were needed. Mortar fire however prevented the others from joining them. There were also some wounded between them and the front line. Austin's first priority became getting them to safety.

"We need to get to the wounded. They'll die out there." He said.

"Cover out there's very bad." Said one of the soldiers.

"I'll cover you all." Said Austin.

With very few other options, the soldiers were forced to obey. While Austin kept them covered, many of the medics hurried out into the field and began dragging the wounded to safety.

To everyone's surprise, Austin seemed to fire with a lot of precision. Some shots from the pirates also hit him, but they either simply bounced off his armour and shields or when they did actually knock him, he didn't seem to acknowledge it. Soon all the wounded were in the clear and already being treated.

"Move up to the front line!" Austin ordered.

So far, things were not in their favour. As the pirates kept on coming, more and more Alliance soldiers fell.

Alice was forced to duck as another round to the head too the life of another soldier she'd been fighting beside. How had it all gone to hell so quickly and so easily? Just a few hours ago, the fields of Elysium were like a paradise. Now they looked like the sight of a war that had been going on for years.

Many Batarians were part of the assault too. Including one that seemed to be their leader. He was more plea than other Batarians and wore red armour which made hims hand out more. Alice could only fear that Shepard was dead, otherwise he would be here now fighting these guys off.

An explosive round suddenly hit the ground near to her. Alice tried to run, but barely got more than meter away before it went off. The explosion sent her and several other soldiers flying and her vision temporarily went dark.

Although the colour di eventually return to her eyes, her vision was still blurred and she felt so weak that she couldn't muster enough courage to get back up. All around her, ALice could see the shapes of either dead or wounded Alliance soldiers. The Batarians and pirates simply walked over their corpses, shooting any that still lived as they advanced.

Alice then looked up to see a Batarian standing over her, readying his gun. Took weak to move and still feeling dazed, Alice could only brace for inevitable. She had hoped to die fighting if it really was her destiny to die young, but regardless she did not fear dying.

The Batarian slowly pointed his gun at her head, and readied to fire.

Just before the trigger could be pulled however, several shots suddenly hit the Batarian in the chest, causing blood to start leaking from each wound. A concussive shot then hit him, sending him flying against the wall of the trench and he fell to the floor, clutching at the badly bleeding wounds he now had.

Alice managed to look to the side enough to try and see who had saved her. Her vision started to clear up now and she could just make out the shapes of several more Allaince marines and a lone armoured figure.

"We will kill them all." said Shepard as he reloaded his assault rifle and then fired another round, finishing off the Batarain. He then turned to the other soldiers. "Tend to the wounded! Everyone else, hold this line!"

He then noticed Alice lying among the other bodies and hopped down into the trench. Extending his hand, ALice took it, groaning slightly as she was helped up.

"You alright?" Austin asked as he put Alice's arm around his shoulder.

"Head's... still spinning." ALice managed to say as Austin helped her to a medic an set her down one of the beds.

As Austin looked around, he was unable to deny a small feeling of dread. There were bodies everywhere. Some dead, some wounded and some bleeding so badly that it was astonishing that they weren't dead already.

Although Austin had been trained to handle something like this, that had all been simulations. Seeing the actual blood and hearing the real screams of soldiers dying and crying out in pain, some even crying as some rounds ripped them apart so much their innards spilled out, was something else.

Austin did his best to not let it get to him though. His strong will and experience with loss enabled him to handle it and at least bury the painful sympathy he felt for these poor Alliance marines.

"They just keep coming! We can't hold this..." a marine yelled shortly before a shot hit him right in the head, killing him instantly.

For Austin, that was the last straw. Quickly rising to his feet, he picked up a discarded harness and then literally tore a HMG turret from it's stand. Tying both ends of the strap to either ends of the gun, he then slung the strap over his shoulder. To everyone's surprise, the Helldiver then pulled himself out of the trench right into the enemy line of fire. They knew all too well what he was doing. He was going to take on the attackers single handed... by himself!

The Batarians and Pirates were momentarily surprised when they saw a lone figure rise from the trench. It was only as they got a clear look that they saw this wasn't a normal soldier. This was a Helldiver.

Some of the Batarians stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of one of the armoured worries some of them had grown to fear and hate.

"He's just one Helldiver against all of us! Kill him!" the leader yelled.

With the strap keeping the HMG up, Austin was able to use just his right hand to aim the huge weapon while his left used his assault rifle. Rerouting all of his suit's energy to armour and forward shields, he opened fire.

Body after body fell as every single bullet managed to hit a target at least once. They attempted to fire back, but the sudden aggressiveness and the fact that this Helldiver wasn't going down didn't help. Despite that several rounds impacted on Austin, he fought through it. He was fully aware of his suit's HUD warning him of each impact and how his shield were only just coping.

"Help's on the way! Just need more time!" he kept telling himself.

Another dropship attempted to open fire on him while also deploying more troops. A quick angle of hsi body however, and the HMG tore the cockpit apart, sending the ship spiralling out of control and taking out several more Batarians and pirates as it crashed in a big fireball.

Despite this though, some Batarians managed to get close enough and attempted to melee him. Austin managed to gun down one with his rifle and then swung the HMG, knocking over the one to his left. He quickly resumed fire and took out several more Batarians and pirates with well aimed strikes.

Reinforcements had to be here soon. Even the Allaince wasn't that slow to respond to a distress call. The thought of that did at least provide soem comfort int he fact that Austin was facing a whole army by himself. So far though he was on no critical state, his shields were holdign and he still had plenty of ammo in each gun. He let that optimism keep him going.

Taking down two more dropships, Austin let the HMG do most of the work first. More and more Batarian soldiers and pirates fell from the heavy machine gun fire and the battlefield soon become a mess of alien and human bodies, both Alliance and otherwise.

More got close, but the Helldiver quickly took them out. Finally the HMG was empty. Discarding the weapon, Austin now went on the attack. Charging into the horde, he gunned or punched down any that got in his way. True this was more the preferred attack of a Krogan, but it would do.

There were more dropships incoming, but they were deploying troops further away. Soon, Austin had carved down the entire first wave until he found himself staring solely at the Batarian leader. The two simply stared at each other for a moment.

"You'll have a lot to answer for." Austin said bitterly, gently slowing his breathing down.

"If I am to die here, at least my death will be known as having laid waste to this world. Proof that the Allaince is not invincible." said the Batarian.

He then aimed his gun and pulled the trigger. All he got however was a click. It was empty. The Batarian groaned in frustration and threw away the now useless gun. He then surprisingly activated his omni tool and a blade appeared from it.

"Hmm, going to be like that is it? Have it your way." said Austin.

Holstering his assault rifle on his back, Austin then drew out his sword. The bright silver of the blade glinted in what sunlight there was and the handle shone, reflecting the fires around them.

The Batarian attacked first and leapt from the high ground. Austin however managed to counter the attack to the side as the Batarian came down on him.

"I've killed one of your kind before, Helldiver." the Batarian taunted. "Imagine how I will be seen among my people when I kill you too."

Austin didn't reply and simply stood his ground. Secretly he did feel a little smug. This Batarian was unaware of just how good he was with this sword. He had earned it from his own mentor as a gift for being one of the finest at fencing. This also was hardly the first time he's fought out in the field.

Reaming calm, and sticking mostly to defence for now, he let the Batarian relent all his rage with each strike, sparks flying from their blades as the holo of the omni blade clashed with the sword's Kartalrium blade. Eventually he decided to change that. Parrying a lunge, he now attacked. Rather than the Batarian whose strikes were wide and sacrificing speed for force, his were more controlled, they stayed more in and they were also much faster.

The Batarian then cheated and as he parried Austin's blade, grabbed his arm with his free hand. As he tried to swing upwards, Austin used the blade on his wrist to at least counter as best he could. Unfortunately, the Batarian's omni blade did hit from th bottom of his helmet, the omni blade carved upwards cutting through the metal. Autin just managed to close his eye in time as the blade sliced some of his face, just narrowly avoiding his eye and destroying one his helmet's optics. With his feed momentarily down, Austin was left blinded, only able to see with one due to his left having blood in it from the thin but somewhat deep slice on his face, but also since he could only see out of the breach in his helmet.

The Batarian then punched Austin, causing him to lose his balance and fall, his sword falling from his grasp. Confident of victory, the Batarian readied for the final strike. A sudden explosion however distracted him. Both he and AUstin looked up to see several Alliance frigates suddenly enter the fray. Many of the pirate and Batrains began falling back. Austin breathed a sigh of relief. Reinforcements were here at last. Quickly taking advantage of the distraction, the Helldiver unsheathed his comabt knife and plunged it into the Batarian's leg.

The Batarian cried out in pain and instantly back away from Austin, forced to limp due to knife now stuck deep in his leg.

"You just ran out of time." said Austin.

The Batarian ran, limping as best he could as he retreated from the battle, several of his soldiers helping him into a dropship as it evacuated troops from the Alliance fleet now laying waste them.

Austin took a moment to get his breath back. He then reached up and removed hsi helmet and wiped what he could of the blood on his face out of his eye. Now at least bale to see again, he tried to see his reflection in the helmet. From what he could see, the wound didn't look as bad as it could've been. He reckoned at worst, he would have another scar when the wound had a chance to heal. Placing his helmet back on, his optical feed managed to come back online. Austin slowly picked himself up, retrieved his sword and headed back to the front line. He could already hear the cheering of Alliance marines. Soon the cheers grew even louder when they caught sight of him. Almost immediately, they began swarming around him, practically calling him a hero.

For a moment, Austin sighed. He'd come here hoping to avoid too much attention from the Alliance and yet now he had all of it. There was no denying that this event was going to thrust him into the spotlight now, not just among the Alliance, but among the Helldivers as well. His act of fighting of the attackers single handed until reinforcements arrived would definitely not go unnoticed.

If only he had know however, that while he had been a Helldiver for some time now, his story was only just beginning.

Off to a good start if I do say so myself.

If you are afraid the rest of Alpha may not be introduced for another few chapters, don't be. Chapter 2 will introduce everyone else and we embark on Alpha's first ever mission.

Until then, I hoped you enjoy this. Feel free to let me know on your views and I look forward to us all enjoying this new adventure we'll embark on with this fic.

As I said before, it's good to be back! :)
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, Alpha Origins