Finding a way: Mass effect 3

Thessia - part 1

"Stealth systems engaged, Commander," Joker said as they entered the system. "Thessia is under heavy attack, ma'am. Reaper activity across most of the planet."

"Can you raise the scientists at the temple?" she asked.

"Negative, all communications are scrambled across the spectrum."

"Aubrey!" Liara said urgently, joining them on the bridge. "That's my home down there...my people. I have to go!"

"I know. Grab your gear and get to the shuttle. Kaidan and EDI, with us," she ordered as they all strode purposefully from the bridge.

James was suited up and waiting at the shuttle when they got there. "Commander, I wanna help," he said, but his gaze was fixed on Liara. Aubrey looked like she was about to refuse, but then saw how Liara relaxed slightly at the thought of him joining them, so agreed.

Somehow, Cortez managed to get them to the LZ without incident. They jumped down from the shuttle into the middle of a war zone. Small fires burned everywhere, smoke billowed across the sky, debris and rubble littered the streets, and the metallic roars of Reapers firing their laser weapons echoed in the distance. It looked just like Earth had on the day they had left and the fear, hurt, sadness and anger all flooded back to him.

Liara gasped in dismay, "Goddess, no....my home..." Her voice cracked and Kaidan knew she was experiencing all those same feelings. James placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she leaned into his support.

"Channel those emotions, Liara. We're going to need them," Aubrey advised, squeezing her hand in comfort, as they moved forward to the woman shouting orders at the small squad holding a barricade. Even though her advice had been for Liara, he heeded it, too.

"Lieutenant! The eastern perimeter's been breached and the outpost is running out of ammunition," a subordinate reported to her.

"Get reinforcements to the perimeter and tell the outpost we're all running low, so they damn well better make every shot count!" The Lieutenant turned to them as they jogged up. "You must be Commander Shepard."

Her team was defending a make-shift barricade set up on this side of a bridge with a minigun positioned at one side of it. One person was operating the minigun while another held a barrier over her and others were maintaining barriers over those that were popping up and firing rifles at the advancing Reaper forces. They would rotate between the one holding the barrier and the one firing weapons so as not to exhaust their biotics.

Suddenly, a rocket launched from the other side of the bridge arced toward the barricade and exploded right in front of it. The blast took out the barrier around the Asari manning the minigun and she went flying through the air to land in a twisted heap behind them. Kaidan didn't have to check her body to know she was dead. A giant hole appeared in the middle of the barricade from the blast and several other soldiers went down.

Aubrey darted into the space the blast had made, taking up position next to an Asari soldier and they brought up barriers together to plug the hole.

"We need someone on that minigun!" their Lieutenant shouted.

"On it!" he yelled, seeing that everyone else was still in disarray.

"Liara, cover him!" Aubrey ordered, gritting her teeth in concentration.

He got to the gun and targeted the dozens of husks swarming the bridge toward them, unloading a steady stream of semi-automatic high caliber rounds at them. He saw Aubrey's sword dart out into the mass several times, impaling those husks that his bullets missed. Several brutes appeared behind the husks and he switched to them, leaving the rifle fire from James and the Asari soldiers to handle the husks.