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Fortunately for Shepard's temper, shortened considerably by her interview with the asari councilor, Thessia was a relatively short trip from the Citadel.

As they approached, she could tell something was wrong by how quiet Joker had become.

"Talk to me," she said quietly.

"Reaper activity. Lots of it. There's activity across most of the planet."

Before Shepard could respond, she heard a gasp of dismay from behind her and turned to see Liara standing there. This was why Joker preferred to keep people out of the cockpit, a position she agreed with—except when it came to herself, naturally.

"Get us in however you can manage, Joker. It's vital," she told him, before turning to join Liara. "This may get dicey."

"I'm coming with you."

Shepard stopped and looked at her friend. Everything in her said to leave Liara on the Normandy, that she wouldn't be able to separate herself from the horrors happening around her. But she couldn't do that. There was no chance she would have benched Garrus if the mission was on Palaven, or herself if the mission was on Earth. She owed Liara the same amount of trust.

"All right. Suit up. EDI? Can you raise the scientists? Are they in the temple?"

"Negative, Commander. All channels are scrambled across the spectrum."

"Shepard. What if we're too late? My people are dying down there."

"Liara, we have to do this. We have to get to the temple and find this artifact. There simply is no other option. Do you understand me?"

"Of course, Shepard. You're right. Let's go."

On the shuttle, they could see Reapers landing, one by one, rolling across the planet. To shake Liara out of the horrified fascination with which she was staring at the screen, Shepard asked her about the artifact, and the temple.

"Oh. Yes. It's … it's the Temple of Athame. My mother took me there once when I was a child. I thought it was a history lesson—it's several thousand years old. And, for some reason, has classified government funding. So maybe there was more to my visit, even then."

"What do you mean?"

"I went digging through my mother's files. She had heavily encrypted records on this place, some dating back centuries. I still can't crack most of them. Whatever is going on with the temple, it's well hidden."

"Whatever it is," Shepard growled, "I bet we'd all have been a lot better off if the asari government had told me about it months ago."

"Shepard, you have to understand, the asari don't trust easily. They—"

"Don't give me that, Liara! Who else has been out here fighting this war, getting the Crucible built, holding back the Reapers with everything they had? I have. If the asari still don't trust me, after all of that—"

"Yes, they're probably short-sighted," Liara agreed. "But you don't overcome centuries of built-up reserve in a couple of years. This is lightning fast, if you look at it from an asari standpoint."

Shepard understood where her friend was coming from, but she didn't think the asari who were dying on Thessia even as they approached would think this mission had come lightning-fast. And neither did she.

The shuttle landed with some difficulty. Almost before Shepard, Liara, and Kaidan had their boots on the ground, Cortez was back in the air, trying to avoid being caught by any Reaper forces.

Shepard moved her team along until they came to an asari stronghold. Not much of one—it was clear the Reapers had been pressing them hard, and not many were left. The lieutenant in command, Kurin, was not impressed by their arrival, despite having been warned that they were coming.

"Look, Commander, my perimeter is collapsing, and I'm getting my people out of here while I still have some."

"This is important," Shepard told her. "We may need your help."

"Unless you can give me a damned good reason to stay, we're not dying for a field of rubble."

Liara winced, hearing her beloved home referred to as rubble. "Is ending the war a good enough reason?"

Kurin looked from Liara to the Reapers and back to Shepard. "You three are going to end the war, right here and now?"

"Well, not exactly," Shepard admitted. "What were your orders?"

"Classified," Kurin snapped. "Which just means we'll die without knowing why."

"We're after a relic inside the temple. It's important. We get our hands on it, we can build a weapon that will neutralize the Reapers."

"Big words, Commander. Unfortunately for you, we haven't been able to raise the scientists in the temple. One of our outposts has been trying, but no luck."

"All the more reason why I have to get there. Can you direct me to the best route, given the current circumstances?"

Kurin shook her head. "I've lost enough people here today. If your relic has lasted this long, it will still be there later. My people won't be. I'm pulling out."

"No." Liara's voice was sharp, and firm. "Lieutenant, if we don't get to that temple, this will be the last anyone will ever see of Thessia. This will be the end."

For the first time, Kurin seemed to falter. "And you really think you can stop all that from happening?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"I know," Shepard told her, "because it's the only chance any of us have got."

Kurin looked both of them in the eye, then nodded. Clicking on her comm, she ordered her outposts to hold their positions and carve a path open to the temple. Looking back at Shepard, she nodded. "That's the best I can do for you, Commander, with the people I have left."

"We'll make it count." Shepard looked at the rows of bodies laid out. "Your people will not have died in vain. I promise you that."

"Just … make sure the galaxy knows the war was won on Thessia, will you?"

"Of course." Shepard signaled her people, and they climbed over the barrier and got ready to head for the temple.