Let's make this more official.
The rights of Mass Effect belong to Electronic Arts and Bioware.
Also to one of my favorite sci-fi authors, Drew Karpyshyn. Whatever they were paying you, it wasn't enough.
When they soared in the land was still burning. Every structure was in ruins and at the edge of the horizon were the silhouette of the perpetrators, massive machines blasting the landscape with lances of red energy. On the ground were grey and blue robotic beings, searching for anyone who survived the initial bombardment. The small, snub nosed craft touched down far from their sight, hovering a few meters off the ground to deploy a squad of troopers, covered in head to toe in armor. On their right shoulder guards was the stylized letter A with the planet Earth at its center; the symbol of the Systems Alliance. Over their hearts was the emblem of its most elite class of soldier, the N7. The team leader, a Demolisher, scanned the area for hostiles and when he found the landing zone clear, called up to the shuttle pilot.
"Typhos here. Team's on the ground."
"Good luck, although with seven of you guys, I should be telling that to the Reapers." The pilot called down as he left, leaving the squad to their own.
"Upsilon," Gamma looked over to his Devastator. "Have you found the direction of the signal?"
"Yes sir, at a nearby farm."
"Good, stay close to Omega and follow me, the rest take up the rear." They spread out into the fields of wheat, which but for their HUDs were impossible to see through. Holding their guns close as they crouched down to conceal themselves.
"The months we spent here had better been worth it." Omega grumbled.
"It has already paid in dividends," Upsilon said. "We are the best the Earth has to fight this new menace, the entire galaxy is full of information, and the sun at ICT was fine. On that note, how was Grissom 'Alecto'?"
"It was nearly one of the most boring moments of my life." Helen's disappointment brought a smile to everyone's face. "Then a new instructor showed up; you'd be surprised how honest she was about herself, and how honest others were around her."
"I didn't think you knew what fun was." Nero joked.
"I do, I just don't share it with anyone." Helen shot back. "Hope she's okay…"
Nero was puzzled for some time until Psyche spoke up. "Cerberus has laid siege to Grissom Academy. Considering their past methods and goals having a large supply of talented biotics can't be good."
"To think they were responsible for holding back the Collectors only few years ago." Epsilon mused. "With Earth under attack, they should be helping the Alliance."
"The Illusive Man is thinking about the wars after." Nero's tone was resentful. "When the Reapers are eventually defeated, the galaxy will belong to the strongest. He will make sure that humanity is the supreme force anywhere, by any means."
"Contact!" Epsilon's whisper got them all up at the ready to find a pair of Husks wandering out in a clearing. Spotting them as well, Nero immediately had one in the crosshairs of his Valiant.
"Give the word Victor, I'll bring them down."
Gamma flagged him down. "No, your shots make too much noise." Without a word, he sent Omega and Upsilon to subdue them. They swept to the sides and brought out their Omi-weapons. There was a flash of orange and a burst of black fluid from the Husks and they went down with a low gurgle.
"I love that part." Omega declared and they both fell back into position. At the edge of the wheat field Gamma heard a shrill wail and held everyone in hiding. Out of the corner of his eye he saw it pop in with a bright blue light: a Banshee. Stretched to beyond the limits of what a humanoid body was meant to withstand, it paced back and forth not as if it were lost, but more like it had lost something.
"It's not leaving…" Epsilon worried.
"What now?" Rho asked.
"Time to hunt the big game." With a few hand gestures from Gamma the team spaced themselves away from the sight of the Banshee: Epsilon and Rho on the right, Helen at left and Nero stayed behind Gamma and Upsilon at center. Once every one was in place they gave their confirmation to Gamma.
Gamma looked back to Nero. "You're the Xeno-Biologist, any tips?"
"Banshees, despite their twisted forms are still Asari. Autopsies show that all of them have a strange genetic mutation, whether they had it before or after conversion is unknown, there isn't enough organic material left."
"Quick and dirty version?"
"They have attacks similar to Warp, Charge and Shockwave, along with their own barriers."
"Rev up the Typhoon Upsilon, switch over to Incinerator Rounds and fire as soon as you see the barrier fall." He then stood up and constructed his Omi-Shield, the glow catching the eye of the Banshee. Sliding her overly long hand across the air, her Warp breaking the shield in one hit, spreading to his armor. To compensate he threw out his Energy Drain, siphoning off her barriers to add to his shields, buying enough time for him to bring his Valkyrie up. The two round bursts were followed with a Dark Channel blast and Hurricane fire from Helen to weaken her, and then the rest of the team opened up with everything they had.
The Banshee stumbled back as the bullets punched through her body, causing it to fall to its knees. With a pitiful moan it died, the corpse evaporating away into ash. Moving past it, they found the barn, or what was left of it. Omega couldn't help but chuckle.
"Should we look for a body?"
"Your not getting off not moving the wreckage, so lend a hand will you?" Epsilon said as he lifted a large plank of wood away. Forming two chains they quickly moved the rubble away and found the source of the beacon they were sent to recover on the armor of a passed out Asari Commando.
"Do we know who this is?" Helen asked, turning her over in order to see her face. "Any ID on her?"
"Aeian T'Goni, her squad was on assignment straight from Thessia to defend this colony." Upsilon said.
"Where's the rest of them?"
"There someone else here!" Gamma and Epsilon pull up more wood to find a young human girl, her leg and neck broken. Gamma winced at the sight.
"Must've died when the barn fell…"
"I doubt that." Upsilon said, keeping an eye on Aeian as her eyes fluttered open. Once she fully awoke, she struggled to her feet but collapsed and had to be held up by Upsilon.
"What…happened…" She said.
"Took a nasty hit, but you will be fine once we get you and the rest of your team out of here."
"Team's dead…Naeira turned into one of those things…wouldn't have made it without Hillary-Hillary!" Aeian started to dig franticly in random places, looking for her. Upsilon flagged Epsilon down, and he brought the body of the young girl with him. Upon seeing her, Aeian's chest began to heave as her entire body shivered with horror. Snatching her away from Epsilon, she sobbed heavily and curled up against Hillary.
"Nonononono…I'm so, so, so, sorry…I couldn't help you, I-it was so…." Aeian's words were choked up in her throat and lost in misery. Epsilon brought the opacity of his helmet down so she could see her face; the tears had stopped and her teeth were closed tight. She was too exhausted to keep crying but too emotionally drained to move except to cling tighter over the dead girl, murmuring incoherently. Epsilon stood up and sighed.
"She has emotionally collapsed, there's not much we can do for her."
"Then we do it my way." Helen moved behind Aeian and touched the back of her neck, and the Neural Shock knocked her out. "Johann, retrieve her."
Upsilon lifted her over her shoulder in a fireman's carry. Gamma placed his hand out to hold him back.
"I'm not going just let this happen without an explanation Helen."
"I'm doing my job." Helen shot back. "The mission was to bring her back, I care not what state she's in."
"Notice the marks on Hillary?" Omega pointed out. "I don't think they were accidents."
"It sounds like your accusing a Asari Commando of murdering a child." Rho said darkly.
"I'm accusing a Maiden of covering her own ass, Rho."
"But if that's true, then it's even more important that we help her now!" Epsilon's voice was hushed. "You don't just get better after killing a kid!"
"Yes," Helen said as she walked away. "You can. And either she will and become stronger, or she won't and we wasted out time trying to save her. Let's leave; we've got what we came for."