章 163: Chapter 161

Matriarch Benezia was picked up by the AIA for interrogation and to test how the Reaper indoctrination worked as well as a way to reverse the indoctrination. While no "Inhumane" methods will be used during her interrogations, the AIA is known for its highly effective methods of gathering information, especially from those who are unwilling to provide the information that the AIA was looking for.

After two weeks of interrogation, the AIA had extracted valuable information utilizing the Domain to extract and view the Matriarch's memories. They discovered a lot of Saren's bases located throughout the galaxy, as well as Sarens plans to attack Ilos to secure a device called the Conduit.

This intelligence was provided to the Ascendency military which bolstered their defenses on Ilos in preparation for the attack. Meanwhile, Shepard alongside additional forces from the Ascendency had begun hitting Saren's bases throughout the galaxy.

Most of them were within the Terminus Systems with a few being in the Attican Traverse, and even Citadel space. Saren having been proved to be involved in the attacks on Human colonies and involved in inhumane experiments was ousted from the Council Spectres losing a lot of his privileges and support.

So, when the Ascendency reached out to conduct operations against Saren's bases within Citadel space, the Governments of those species quickly gave permission and even cooperated on a combined military effort to attack Saren's bases which were all filled with Thousands of Geth.

As each day passed, Saren's bases were attacked and destroyed increasing his frustration even more. Sovereign was also getting agitated at how its plans were being dismantled. Because of this, the attack against Ilos was launched which saw 600 Geth ships plus Sovereign engage in a battle against a 400 strong Ascendency fleet followed by 3 Guardian Custodes.

The arrival of the Geth fleet was not a surprise but it provided an answer to the question that was circulating in the upper chain of command. Could the Reapers override the Ascendency's restrictive measures on the Mass Relays? With the arrival of Sovereign and the Geth fleet it provided them with an answer, the Reapers could somehow override their manipulation of the Mass Relays and still use it.

While the numbers were definitely on Sovereign's side, the Geth ships were no match for the MCU controlled fleet. The Ascendency fleet, with its advanced tactical algorithms and superior firepower, managed to outmaneuver the Geth at every turn. The Guardian Custodes, elite powerful ships designed to control entire systems, penetrated the core formations of the Geth fleet, exploiting weaknesses in their networked intelligence.

As the number of Geth ships began to fall under the relentless assault of the Ascendency fleet, the tide of the battle quickly turned. Sovereign, realizing the ineffectiveness of its fleet against the superior Ascendency ships, attempted a desperate gambit. It launched a direct assault on the MCU Admiral's flagship, hoping to decimate the command structure of the enemy.

However, the MCU Admiral was similar to the Forerunner Contender-class artificial intelligence which was composed of numerous AI "minds" or instances working in synchrony, thus giving it intellectual capabilities far beyond any other AI. This allowed the AI to command an entire fleet of ships.

Sovereign found itself outmatched, not just in firepower but also in tactical awareness. The AI Admiral predicted Sovereign's movements and intentions with alarming accuracy, maneuvering the Ascendency fleet to encircle Sovereign, trapping it in a pincer movement.

Sovereign found itself increasingly isolated, and the firepower from the Guardian Custodes combined with the MCU ships had overpowered its kinetic barriers. It was too late to run, but that didn't stop it from taking a few ships with it before it was finally destroyed.

The battle was won without any loss of life. Whether or not Saren was within Sovereign when it was destroyed was unknown and an ongoing search was currently going on. Until his body was found among the debris, Saren would still be considered to be at large.

The search went on for the next few days, however his body was not found.

On the other hand, the NDC was found to not be involved in the inhumane experiments being conducted. As such they were left alone to their business, with the exception that the peak 15 facility would remain under Ascendency control. There were complaints about it from the holding companies of the NDC, so the Ascendency formally bought the facility from the NDC.

Corporations were still corporations, no matter what the problem is, just give them enough money to stop their complaining.

———

As the start of 2185 began, a new problem had arisen within the galaxy. The collectors an enigmatic race that live beyond the Omega 4 Relay, in the Terminus Systems. They resemble human-sized bipedal insects with a chitinous exoskeleton, two anterior pairs of what appear to be vestigial limbs, four eyes, and a distinct, large, tapering head along with fully developed wings that allow them to fly over short distances.

They had started attacking not just human colonies, but colonies within the Terminus Systems as well. These attacks were coordinated, swift, and devastatingly effective, leaving behind little more than smoldering ruins and few survivors to tell the tale. The pattern was clear and alarming: the Collectors were not just abducting individuals, but whole populations.

The situation was dire, and surprisingly a few small Warlords had offered to pay the Ascendency for protection. The offer was rejected of course, because the Ascendency military was not a hirable service, instead the Ascendency formed, agreements with individual warlords, giving them security, in exchange for a garrison being established on their planet and would have to abide by Ascendency laws.

The main reason for this highly unreasonable demand was to force the warlords to change their minds, but the Ascendency doubted how desperate some warlords were.

With the Collectors emerging as a new threat, Axel officially tasked the AIA with gathering intelligence about their origins, motives, and operational capabilities. During an attack in the Terminus systems that was stopped by the Ascendency, a few Collectors had been captured for study.

The initial analyses were disconcerting. The Collectors appeared to be genetically engineered, possibly an offshoot or a servile race created by the Reapers themselves for tasks deemed too trivial or specific for their direct intervention. This hypothesis was supported by advanced technology found in Collector ships that bore similarities to Reaper tech, notably in its use of biotechnology.

After this, a Collector ship was tracked and monitored as it utilized the Omega 4 Relay. What they found was how the Collectors were able to use the relay when others couldn't. The Collector ship transmitted some type of unique signal to the Relay which allowed the collector ship to use it. This signal was successfully replicated by the Ascendency after weeks of analyzing it.

A fleet was sent through the Relay where they encountered a Collector base which they destroyed alongside the remaining collectors. The collector problem was short lived, and quickly dealt with, however the people who were already turned into collectors couldn't be saved as the Ascendency hadn't found a way to do that yet.

But this was just a short setback for the Reapers as their arrival was imminent and there was nothing that could be done to stop their arrival.