Chapter 148

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On Heshtok, the Vorcha homeworld, an Ascendency team had been present on the planet for a few years now having established a base within the harsh environment of the planet. Their mission was to study the Vorcha and see if they had the ability to establish themselves as a proper galactic civilization.

However, from their initial arrival on the planet, the Ascendency had to fight many Vorcha clans since similar to the Krogan, the Vorcha only respect strength and also communicate through violence. As a result during their arrival, they fought off many clans and forced the remaining clan members into one massive clan.

And what kept the Vorcha compliant was the Ascendency providing them with resources to live. Their planet Heshtok has limited resources due to overcrowding and the extermination of most of their ecology which also led to the planet being covered in weeds and vermin.

Because of their fast breeding, the Vorcha homeworld had become overcrowded resulting in the planet being stripped of its natural resources by successive generations. The lack of resources resulted in a tight-knit, clan-based society in which rival clans wage constant war against one another for control of the scarce resources.

They are constantly fighting each other over basic necessities, which made each generation of Vorcha stronger and more aggressive than that which preceded it, but their continual lack of resources has kept Vorcha society extremely primitive.

But after years of study, it was found that the Vorcha habit of using violence to communicate was not completely innate. It was something that slowly developed over time as they grew up and fought other clans for resources.

Axel had a plan for the Vorcha which involved their limited lives. With their research into genetic enhancements being far above any civilization, they could find a way to increase the Vorcha life span from just 20 years to 200 years which would hopefully change the way they lived and thought. With longer life expectancy, they would be able to eventually become a space faring society or perhaps Axel could simply turn them into trained soldiers to fight within the Ascendency military.

Though an ambitious plan, Axel was aware of the problems that would arise. There would undeniably be resistance from some Vorcha clans who wouldn't understand what the Ascendency was trying to do, but that would not be much of a problem. Since the Vorcha communicated through violence then all Axel needed to do was show them violence and forcefully subjugate them.

———

Meanwhile on Tuchunka, Axel had just arrived above the planet in response to the rising Krogan conflict led by Urgnot Thrak. A few Krogan clans had joined with clan Urgnot and started to kick the Council Demilitarization Mission forces off of the planet by attacking their bases and any patrols that they saw.

In response the Council sent more forces to contain the situation. But their efforts were met with an even stronger Krogan response who called for them to get off their planet.

The AIA had been monitoring the situation for a few months now watching for any developing situations. And one such situation had just popped up, 5 clans including clan Urgnot had gathered in a single location for a massive clan meeting to discuss what their future plans should be.

This was the perfect opportunity for Axel to personally get involved and shut down this persistent problem that had been on the rise for the past few years. There were a few ways to deal with the Krogan problem, but Axel chose the most simple and direct action that the Krogan could understand, violence.

Within the hanger of his ship, Axel took a transport ship down to the surface where the meeting place was taking place. With him was his Honor guard which he specifically made sure consisted of Sangheili, Jiralhanae, and Spartan-IIs.

The inclusion of these particular species in his Honor Guard was a statement in itself: the Sangheili, known for their unyielding honor and martial prowess; the Jiralhanae, infamous for their brutal strength and ferocity; and the Spartan-IIs, the pinnacle of human martial capability.

On the ground Urgnot Thrak was addressing the massive gathering of Krogan clans, "The Council tried to push back, but we sent them running, those Salarians and Turians. It's about time we showed them that the Krogan are not weaklings to be dictated," he roared, his voice echoing through the air, causing a wave of cheers among the gathered Krogan.

Just as Thrak was getting into the heated part of his speech, the sound of a descending transport ship overpowered his voice. "Look at this, the Ascendency descends upon this meeting to shut us down." shouted Thrak as he noticed the Ascendency flag painted on the side of the ship.

The crowd quieted, their attention shifting to the ship that was making its way towards them. When the transport ship touched down and its doors slid open, out stepped Axel, flanked by his Honor Guard.

Thrak nor did numerous other Krogan recognize who Axel as their clans weren't present when he first visited the planet, and Axel's picture wasn't exactly something that was public knowledge. Most meetings take place on Atlas station or through liaisons and representatives, so his face is not public knowledge, at least in this galaxy.

Thrak had walked up towards Axel flanked by his own Krogan guards who followed behind him. The human standing in front of him was the tallest human that he had ever seen, and he wondered just who this human was.

"Who are you human?" Asked Thrak.

However once Axel got close enough to him, he grabbed Thrak and headbutted him, sending him stumbling to the ground. The gathered Krogan roared their surprise and anger but did not intervene. One of the Spartans had handed Axel a towel to wipe the Krogan blood off of his forehead. It was clear to all present that the human had challenged Thrak in the traditional Krogan way.

One of the Krogan standing next to Thrak had charged towards Axel but was intercepted by one of the Jiralhanae who sent the Krogan flying into a nearby wall with his gravity hammer.

Axel didn't say or do anything but just watched the situation unfold as he trusted his Honor guard plus the Jiralhanae and the Sangheili know more about martial prowess than he did.

Next one of the Sangheili stepped forward and started addressing the crowd, "You Krogan need to learn your place, we have saved your pathetic species from extinction yet now you conspire against us. We have been working alongside your race to help you reclaim your place on the galactic stage, yet you turn against those who pulled you from the brink of oblivion. Your actions dishonor your clans, dishonor your world, and dishonor yourselves." The Sangheili's voice echoed across the area, capturing the attention of the gathered Krogan.

In response to his words, the crowd bristled and murmured amongst themselves, their aggressive nature prickling at the insult but their respect for strength holding them back from outright attacking. Thrak slowly got up from his position on the ground.

"You dare!!, I don't care who you are, you challenge me and now I will kill you myself" Shouted Thrak as he charged towards Axel. This time, however, Axel met his charge head on.

Thrak who was much shorter than Axel was like an ant trying to fight a giant.

Both hands clenched into fists, Thrak lunged towards the taller figure, the wrath of his ancestors fueling his every move. His eyes, aflame with rage and defiance, were fixed on his target.

But Axel seemed to be a statue, utterly unmoving in the face of the Krogan's attack. He waited until Thrak was nearly upon him before he stepped to the side and delivered a kick towards Thrak's back. The force sent Thrak sprawling forward onto the dusty ground.

With a roar that echoed across the gathering, Thrak picked himself up and turned back to face Axel. The crowd fell deathly quiet as they watched the spectacle before them in disbelieving silence.

Rather than charge again though, Thrak stood his ground and bared his teeth in a snarl at Axel. "No human can beat a Krogan," he growled out.

"What about that human who bested the Krogan almost 10 years ago" replied Axel. He was referring to his first visit to Tuchunka when he had a fight with numerous Krogan clans.

"I refuse to believe that, those Krogan were weak and unworthy of even being Krogan," refuted Thrak.

"Then what would that make you Thrak?" Axel retorted, a smirk on his face. The crowd reacted with a flurry of murmurs and whispers; the Krogan had a long-standing admiration for strength, but this kind of verbal brutality was unusual in their confrontations.

With a deeper growl, Thrak spat back, "Stronger than you, human."

"Prove it," Axel challenged.

Without a moment's hesitation, Thrak charged at Axel again. This time, though, Axel decided to finish off Thrak and end this fight. Once Thrak got close, Axel grabbed him by his head and slammed it against the ground. He then repeatedly pummeled Thrak's face with punches until he didn't even look Krogan anymore.

A few punches later he stood up and looked down at the now dead Krogan. He had ended the problem that had arisen, or so he thought until he saw the reaction from the rest of the Krogan.

These Krogan were war fanatics at best, and they would not accept being beaten by a human who was considered the weakest compared to their enemies, the Salarians and Turians.

The other 4 clan leaders had stood up and ordered their clan members to attack the human so that word of this didn't get out to the rest of the Krogan and make their cause appear weak.

The 20 Honor guards that were present had formed a circle around Axel and prepared to repel the Horde of Krogan charging at them.