Chapter 119

A/N: Just for clarification, Axel does not know anything about the Mass Effect Galaxy. It was one of the things I considered when planning for this arc of the story. He knew about the Halo galaxy as that was what he was interested in, but he never played nor did research on any of the Mass Effect games.This decision was to change it up a bit as he was aware of the things that was going to happen in the Halo galaxy, and now he won't know about the things that will happen in the Mass Effect Galaxy, but he will eventually learn about the history of the galaxy involving the reapers.--------"Sir, we are now approaching the world of Lorek which is a colony world under the control of the Batarian Hegemony." reported the navigation officer.

"Very well," responded Axel, looking at the holographic screen displaying the upcoming Batarian world. In orbit he could see the defensive fleet circling the planet, clearly alerted to their presence. The Batarians were not a species to simply roll over and accept the dominance of another, especially not when they felt ignored and betrayed by the Citadel Council.

"Sir, we are receiving a broad-band transmission from the Batarian fleet," reported his communication officer. "They're demanding we turn back."

"Ignore them, we don't negotiate with slavers and terrorist." responded Axel as he turned to Omni. "Have the fleet open fire on the Batarian Fleet, and prepare the ground troops to liberate the planet"

"Copy that Sir," replied Omni. The order was issued to the rest of the fleet as the space above the planet lit up with incoming fire from the Ascendency fleet.

The defending Batarian fleet had no chance against the overwhelming number of Ascendency ships. And when you add the size of the Ascendency ships compared to the size of the Batarian ships, then the battle was lost the moment they tried to fight it.

The Batarian ships were picked off one by one, their kinetic barriers easily penetrated by the Ascendency's weapons. It was a devastation unlike anything the Batarians had ever faced. Their retaliatory fire barely scratched the Ascendency shields and soon enough, their entire fleet was reduced to smoldering debris floating around the planet.

"Commence ground invasion," commanded Axel. Within minutes hundreds of transport ships descended onto Lorek's surface.

The Batarians on the ground were unprepared for such an invasion. As Ascendency soldiers stormed their defenses, they found themselves fighting a losing battle. Technology that dwarfed their own, soldiers trained to perfection and officers whose abilities were trained and honed from decades of war and biological enhancements.

In the end, even the bravest of warriors cannot stand against an overwhelming force. The Batarians were forced to surrender. The slaver compounds were liberated one by one, slaves of various species were freed and taken to medical bays onboard the Ascendency fleet.

With a satisfied nod, Axel watched the proceedings on Lorek from his ship's bridge. His soldiers, efficient and disciplined as always, rounded up the last remaining Batarian resistances and secured them under Ascendency custody.

Even as his eyes scanned the holographic screens, his mind was already whirring with plans for the colony's future. Not only would he liberate the colony but eventually when he took over all the Batarian colony worlds, he planned to reorganize their government into a new one which would continue to respect their culture except slavery.

Slavery is an integral part of the batarian caste system however Axel planned to change that. Obviously, it would take decades to completely change something that was a part of their culture for centuries. Yet, Axel believed in the possibility of change. He believed that even the most deeply ingrained societal norms could be uprooted and replaced with fairer, just practices.

It took a total of 8 hours for the Ascendency to gain control over the entire colony. Already news of this invasion was spread around the galaxy because of the Batarians who publicly announced that they would not allow the Ascendency to claim their worlds.

Meanwhile, Axel announced that they should surrender now, and they could save the lives of their soldiers. Naturally they refused so Axel left a garrison on the world or Lorek alongside 20 ships to maintain control of the planet.

And now that he saw what the Batarians were capable of he sent 6 Guardian Custode accompanied by MCU controlled transport ships, to attack the Batarian colony worlds which were all located within the Terminus systems.

Over the course of the next 5 days, the Guardian Custodes tore through the Batarian colonies with ease, which was terrifying to the Batarians who had not won a victory since the war started. With each world conquered, the Batarians lost a lot of it's influence and power within the Terminus systems.

The enslaved were freed, while the slavers were executed. Normal civilians and Batarian soldiers were given just treatment and handled according to the established war time laws of the Ascendency.

The warlords and other independent factions of the Terminus systems made sure to stay away from the ongoing war as they didn't want to get caught in the middle of it. Mercenary groups such as the Blue Suns, Eclipse, and the Blood Pack had been hired by the Batarians to participate in the war.

But, even with their entry into the war, the Batarian defenses still got steamrolled by the Ascendency's military. It had gotten to a point that the Batarians tried one last time to ask for help in stopping the war from the Citadel Council.

Each Councilor had turned the other cheek as they only claimed that it was the Batarians fault for their practice of slavery. Next, they were sent to the individual governments of the Council species but were still denied any help.

The Turians, Asari, and Salarians had their own intelligence reports from the war, trying to learn how strong and advanced the Ascendency was. And from those reports they have gained significant intelligence on the Ascendency's weapons and ground troops.

From the reports, they found it to be too costly to get involved in the war, especially one within the Terminus systems which might cause even more problems with the other warlords.

As a result, the Batarians closed their embassy on the Citadel and severed diplomatic and economic relations with the other species, claiming to be betrayed.

They continued to fight the Ascendency until day 5 of the war, when Axel's fleet appeared within the Harsa system, which is the home system of the Batarian Hegemony.

Axel stood on the bridge, watching as the image of the Batarian homeworld, Khar'shan filled the screen. This was the last world that he needed to conquer and the primary world which he would need to begin his reform of the Batarian government.

"Commence the operation," he commanded as Omni transmitted his orders to the rest of the fleet. The plan was simple yet calculated. Just like how they took control of the colonies, they were going to strike at key points in Khar'shan's defenses without inflicting unnecessary damage.

As the battle started, the Ascendency forces moved with speed and precision. Batarian defenses crumbled under their concentrated assault, and within a few hours they had secured several key areas around the planet.

From there they pushed forward, freeing slaves and bringing down leaders that resisted. The Batarians threw everything they had at them, from their private armies to their slave soldiers, but nothing worked against the Ascendency's superior technology and training.

After a grueling twelve hours, they had achieved their primary objective, the strategic capture of the capital city. With their command structure decapitated in one swift stroke, the remaining Batarian forces fell into disarray.

The Ascendency soldiers moved swiftly and ruthlessly through the city, carefully avoiding civilian casualties wherever possible. They had become a terrifying sight amongst the Batarian soldiers as they could cut through the strongest Batarian defenses like they were paper.

The remaining Batarian commanders and government officials had no choice but to surrender, and they were quickly taken into custody.

Within hours the Batarian government had fallen along with their homeworld. Imperial soldiers patrolled the cities of the planet, and any resistance was crushed. Axel had already begun drafting up the new government for the Batarians which would hopefully in time begin to change how other species see them. They would have their own government, military, and control over their colonies, but they would mainly be a vassal state with a ton of benefits.