Chương 149: Chapter 147

Elysium wasn't the last Alliance colony to be targeted by Pirates and terrorists, but it was the only mildly successful one. Ever since the attack on Elysium, the Alliance had formed an agreement with the Ascendency for establishing Planetary defenses on each colony that they had established and any future colonies that they would establish.

The Alliance would pay for the construction and maintenance of the planetary defenses and would be taught how the controls for the defenses worked. Within the main control tower for the planetary defenses would be an Alliance tower control team alongside a VI. Sharing or allowing other empires, even Allies to use or gain access to Ascendency Ais which are considered a security concern considering how dangerous they could be in the hands of other empires who don't know how to handle them.

But a VI, while slightly less capable than an Ascendency AI could respond to threats in microseconds, redirecting defensive measures and launching counterattacks faster than any human-operated system could.

The very first system to gain such planetary defenses was Elysium itself. It was essentially turned into a futuristic fortress planet, an impenetrable stronghold that would serve as a lesson for those who dared to attack the Alliance territories. The other colonies followed suit, bolstering their defenses one by one until every colony that was in dangerous areas of space was fortified against pirates and terrorists.

Already, the Alliance and the Ascendency over the past decade had become closer to each other considering the connection that the two had, having a race called humans present within both empires.

As a result, the Alliance adopted a few technologies from the Ascendency and made it their own. It was not on the Ascendency's level but the fact that they could develop their own version of it and implement it on warships showed how capable they were.

Innovation and adaptability were key traits for a successful empire, and the Alliance was proving that they were capable of both, even if only by a little.

The Turians on the other hand had secretly built up their fleet to have more active dreadnoughts than they were allowed. Knowledge of this was limited to only a select few within the Turian Hierarchy which limited this information being discovered by anybody else.

They had a long plan established to eventually take revenge for both the first contact with the Ascendency and the battle of the Citadel. In public they showed their neutral side making it seem like they weren't planning anything against the Ascendency and had opted to forgive the humiliation that they received.

———

Shepard alongside all the marines present during the battle of Elysium was awarded with medals and recognition for their actions on Elysium. Despite the accolades, it was a victory that Shepard found hard to accept, haunted by the lives lost and the horrifying brutality of the battle. But what else could they have done?

At a reception in Shepard's honor at the Alliance Headquarters on Earth, the recently promoted Admiral Hackett took the stage with an unusually solemn face. "It has been said that war is terror. However, in these trying times, it takes courage to face that terror," he began, his voice echoing through the great hall. "The man we are honoring today has shown us precisely this courage. Lieutenant Shepard not only led our forces into battle but, alongside our ascendency allies, saved countless lives."

As Hackett continued his speech, Shepard looked out across the sea of faces, soldiers, commanders, politicians... people who trusted him with their lives and loved ones. The responsibility felt heavy on his shoulders.

Once the ceremony was over and most of the guests dispersed, going back to their daily activities. Shepard on the other hand had talked a bit more with Admiral Hackett who talked more about the pirates and terrorist that attacked Elysium.

The following year, Shepard would be involved in another battle on the Alliance colony of Akuze where they were sent Shepard and a team of marines on scouting mission, however the scouting mission went wrong when a thresher maw showed up and attacked them.

Thresher maws were giant, worm-like creatures notoriously hard to kill and could burrow underground, making them a deadly surprise for any soldier.

Shepard's team was decimated in seconds. Soldiers were thrown aside like ragdolls; their bodies crushed under the thresher maw's massive form. Only Shepard managed to evade the initial attack with quick reflexes. His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he scrambled for cover, the sounds of annihilation echoing around him.

With each passing minute, his survival seemed less likely. The thresher maw was relentless, its destructive power unlike anything he'd faced before. A feeling of dread fell over him as he realized that he might not make it out of this alive.

But Shepard refused to give up. He knew that he had a duty to fulfill: to protect the Alliance colonies from threats, be it pirates, terrorists, or even monstrous alien creatures. He would not die here on Akuze.

Bracing himself, Shepard bolted from cover, drawing the thresher maw's attention away from the ruins of his team and focusing it on him. He fired shots at its massive body while evading its attacks, hoping to distract it long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Just when Shepard felt his strength waning, the sound of rapidly approaching aircraft could be heard from the sky. Suddenly, the sky was lit with streaks of red and orange as several Alliance ships swooped down from the clouds above. Heat-seeking missiles crashed against the thresher maw's hard exoskeleton, sending shockwaves rippling across the ground.

The creature let out an enraged shriek that could be heard from miles across the planet. It escaped back under ground, allowing a shuttle to land and pick up evacuated Shepard from the area. Once the area was clear they would come back and retrieve the bodies of Shepard's fallen crowds, but for now they would retreat.

His entire squad was killed during the ambush, and he was the only one to survive yet again. Whether it was by luck or not he would remember the battle that happened today and all those men that he lost.

———

Within the Ascendency home galaxy, Axel was currently doing a colonial inspection of every colony to show face to the public and personally see the state of the colonies. While he was an Emperor only in title and not like those Emperor's in history, he was no puppet controlled by politicians; his rule was characterized by hands-on approach and a keen understanding of both the intricate political landscape that the Ascendency navigated and the needs of the people.

The power of unity would ensure that the Ascendency always had strength that could be derived from that harmony. His ideologies were evident in how the Ascendency was created and how it continued to exist even with numerous cultures and religions constantly colliding with each other.

Alongside the colonial inspection, he performed a military inspection to ensure that everything was using the most recent technology, and any old technology was to be updated. The inspection took 6 Months having to visit hundreds of worlds consisting of colonies, military outpost, research facilities, and Forerunner worlds.

After the inspection, Axel returned to the Ark where the Council had gathered, a diverse group of representatives from every species within the Ascendency.

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A/N: Planning to do a Wolfenstein focused fanfic sometime in the future and just wanted to hear some of the readers thoughts on it. It will be an overpower fanfic again which is what I mostly write.

Here is the baseline of what I have so far:

Being considered one of the most useless Gods within his pantheon, Lothar was cast out of the God Realm to the world of Wolfenstein as punishment and forced to survive. His powers are limited yet he was still a god giving him a major advantage in the world and against the Nazi menace.

His powers will be limited, but remember that he is a God so he has a much greater advantage when starting from nothing. It will be another technology focused story but more just on the planet.