Chapter 146

Above Elysium, 10 Ascendency ships part of the Ascendency's Quick Reaction Forces had already eliminated the ships from the Pirates and the Hegemony's remnants. The Quick Reaction Forces was a part of the Ascendency military preferably the Navy, Marines, and Spartans that would respond to Pirate and terrorist attacks of allied colonies within the Terminus Systems, and parts of the Attican Traverse.

This was part of the Ascendency's humanitarian efforts within the Mass Effect galaxy to defend the innocent from pirate and terrorist groups.

The defending force mixed with Pirate frigates and even a few cruiser class ships from the Hegemony's remnants put up little resistance as they were destroyed within seconds of the Ascendency ships arriving.

On the ground, the attacking Pirates and Hegemony's remnant forces found what was supposed to be an easy battle had turned into a fight for survival. A few of them tried to surrender and give themselves up as they would rather live in prison for the rest of their life then die, but the attacking Ascendency forces didn't accept their surrender.

These pirates and terrorists were wanted for various crimes, murder being one of the top crimes. It was only natural that these pirates were given a taste of their own ruthlessness and shown how it felt to be the powerless one.

After saving lieutenant Shepard, John alongside his squad and Shepard had fought their way towards a friendly controlled base, rescuing other Alliance soldiers along the way.

Arriving at the base, they saw injured Alliance soldiers being healed using nanites while Alliance and Ascendency marines stood guard around the perimeter.

As John and his team walked further into the base, the squad leader for the Ascendency marines had walked up to him.

"Master Chief, we have the location of General Krevok" said the Sergeant sending the information to John's helmet.

Receiving the information, John transmitted the information to the rest of his squad and quickly came up with a plan of attack. A few minutes after arriving at the base, John was already leaving onboard a transport ship towards where General Krevok was located.

Shepard alongside a few Alliance soldiers had tagged along as this was their colony and the lives that they couldn't defend were also their fault. There was nothing they could do about the dead at present except to kill the the Pirates and terrorists who took their lives so that they could be at peace.

In the transport ship, Master Chief analyzed the holographic map which displayed the location of General Krevok. The base was a former Alliance base and is heavily fortified and crawling with the remaining enemy forces on the planet. Already other marines and Spartans were converging on the base to surround it and finish off the General. Once in position they would wait for his orders before they started the attack.

"Drop us here." John pointed to a location slightly distanced from the base, covered by a thick line of trees. It provided a perfect cover for their initial attack. The pilot nodded, maneuvering the ship toward the indicated coordinates.

As they neared the drop-point, Shepard could feel his heartbeat rising. This was the final battle before they claimed victory, and he planned to make sure those bastards who attacked the colony paid for every life they took. He glanced at the Spartans around him, their faces hidden behind their helmets. Yet he could sense their resolve, their readiness for battle.

They would normally just blow the base up, but it contained a few captives from the colony that the Hegemony's remnants planned to use as slaves.

As the transport ship landed, John had commanded them to move out with Shepard and the rest of the Alliance soldiers following closely behind. They sprinted across the terrain, darting from cover to cover under the shadow of the trees. Nearing General Krevok's base, they slowed down, blending in with their surroundings.

Once they were in position, John checked on the other groups to see if they were in position yet. Getting confirmation that they were, he gave the green light to begin the final assault on General Krevok's stronghold.

"Go!" John commanded and with lightning speed, the Spartans attacked. Their movements were swift and precise, their shots landing exactly where they intended. Shepard and the Alliance soldiers followed suit, providing covering fire as they advanced closer to the base.

On another part of the battlefield, Spartans and Marines moved together towards the base. They used the terrain to their advantage, clambering over obstacles with ease as they closed in on the enemy forces. Each advance was met with resistance from General Krevoks forces, but they were a bunch of pirates and former members of the Batarian Hegemony which stood no chance against the Ascendency's marines and Spartans combined with the Alliance soldiers.

From above, two gunships had circled the area around the base, providing aerial support to the ground forces attacking the base. The gunships had turned the enemy forces vehicles into scrap metal.

The General's forces were being pushed back towards their own base, caught in a deadly pincer maneuver orchestrated by John and his team. Shepard could see the Master Chief taking out enemies one by one, his relentless assault causing panic and disarray among the pirates.

The fighting was savage, brutal even, but it wasn't mindless violence. This was retribution for atrocities committed justice for lives lost.

As they pushed forward, sporadic gunfire from the enemy forces diminished until it was almost nonexistent. Shepard saw Master Chief plow through a makeshift barrier, bringing down a few pirates in the process. His heart pounded with adrenaline as they neared the centre of the base.

There was a heavy blast door protecting the entrance to the base, but it didn't stand a chance against the Heavy weapons that the Spartans had. The blast door blew away in an explosion, revealing a dimly lit corridor.

"Keep moving!" instructed John. The Alliance and Ascendency soldiers filled the corridor, sweeping each room for any hiding enemies. They were met with minimal resistance as most of Krevok's forces had already been eliminated outside.

The deeper they went into the base, the more they could see evidence of the heinous actions committed by Krevok and his men. There were chains on walls, blood smeared on floors and disturbing devices meant for torture.

Finally, they reached a chamber heavily guarded by several pirates. As one unit, they took them out swiftly and cautiously approached the chamber.

Inside they found General Krevok standing in the middle of the room with his strongest soldiers at his side. John held up his hand making everybody hold fire as he approached the general. Whom General Krevok considered to be his most loyal and strongest soldiers had slowly backed up as John walked up to them.

"YOU SPARTANS HAVE RUNIED EVERYTHING!" General Krevok shouted as what was supposed to be just a simple raid on an Alliance colony to send a message had turned into a blood bath and in his view a complete military failure on the Hegemony's remnant's part considering they didn't have the capabilities to deal with the Ascendency's most elite soldiers.

John didn't say anything as he continued to walk up to General Krevok who had took out his gun and started shooting at John. But his shots were not at all doing enough damage to penetrate his shields, so he grabbed a grenade off his armor and threw it at John who grabbed it and threw it at the men who had backed up.

The men who had backed up tried to run but the explosion had gone off causing sending them flying into the nearby walls. Seeing this General Krevok attempted to run also but was grabbed by his neck by John.

Struggling to breathe and even speak words, Krevok was tossed into the air which surprised even him, but as he came down his body was cut in half by John's energy sword. The two parts of his body were split, and his now lifeless body hit the floor.

Some of the Alliance soldiers who saw this had to take off their helmets and puked on the side. They were soldiers, yes, but none of them could really stomach such brutal violence as this. John, however, didn't seem to notice their discomfort as he turned back to them.

"Get the civilians," he ordered. Shepard nodded, and immediately motioned for the other Alliance soldiers to follow him and gather up all the captured civilians.

The battle was over, and the colony was saved. A few hours later, Alliance forces had arrived and started their recovery of the colony, offering relief efforts to colonists/families who were affected by this attack. Their forces were already stretched thin as the fleet they had enforcing the law in this area of space had too many systems to patrol. But this incident would hopefully serve to increase the Alliance military efforts in the region.