Unlike the streets below, with the sounds of gunfire audible in the distance, the tower itself was full of quiet, huddled people. Newscasters, crew, secretaries, janitors, people who, for whatever reason, had not abandoned their tower refuge.

She could not decide whether this was wise or not, but it didn't matter. "Systems Alliance!" She wanted to make absolutely sure no one decided to turn her into a Swiss cheese in a moment of panic.

"Glad to see you, ma'am!" Three infantrymen lowered weapons as Shepard entered.

"Chief Shepard, SSV El Alamein, Officer Greg…"

"Carmichael." Greg supplied, looking with relief at the Alliance troops.

"What's the situation Chief?" A grim-faced infantryman demanded. He had a bloody nick on his head, evidence of having fallen.

"Anyone here tried to using that tower? Send out a jamming signal or something…?" No deprecation, or irritation at lack of action, merely a request for information.

"No one here's a tech." Lowe, according to his nametag, declared. "We've been trying to keep the civvies calm." He and other soldiers grouped in, huddling to conversation would go mostly unheard. "What's going on, Chief?"

"All hell's breaking loose!" The third, eighteen at the oldest, supplied shrilly, despite attempts at calm.

"No it's not." It was, but she refused to let this detail sway help, now she had it again. "We've got batarians crawling around like stink on shit. I need to get to the tower's powerbox. We've got fighters on the ground…"

The room shook, a deafening boom drowning out screams from the civilians.

"You and you!" Shepard pointed to the other two infantrymen. "Those rifles aren't toys! We've got high ground, keep an eye on the streets; keep 'em clear! Greg! I want an eye on the stairs. You," she waved to the mediamen, "get some of this crap against those doors. One way in, one way out!" She motioned to the fire exit. Blocking oneself in might be foolish, but it was better, with these civilians, than trying to defend four entrances with less than a half-dozen soldiers. "Lowe, bring your rifle, come with me."

No one argued with Shepard; the soldiers directed the civilians to follow her instructions before heading out to do so themselves. The infantrymen left to keep an eye on the street, in hopes of dealing with threats before they got in the building.

--J--

"What're three well-armed Alliance infantrymen doing here?"

Lowe looked abashed. "Putting on a good show, I guess. You, Chief?"

"Supposed to be on shore leave. Some vacation, eh?" Thank goodness she could count on little to no interference getting from here to the roof.

Lowe snorted in agreement. "So why isn't the Alliance blasting the shit out of these guys?"

"That, is the million credit question." She would love to know. It had been…hours…since this started. At least, it seemed like it to her.

"And if you get this…this signal out?"

Shepard suspected he didn't care, as long as the answer worked out to 'hang tight, kid, we'll be okay'. There was no need to crush his will to survive by making things sound as fatalistic as they probably were. "Hopefully, it'll buy our guys on the ground time to make a good counter. I'm going to try and cause the batarians' mods to overload and blow."

"Then?"

"Then you're going to keep your head down, keep your cool, and hang out here for a bit." Shepard had no plans to abandon this current place of safety. Not unless the batarians looked ready to sacrifice a dropship to knock the tower over. High ground and limited access put the small party of fighters in a better position than they would have elsewhere.

And there were the civilians, too.

She wished she'd chosen to specialize with a sniper rifle, as opposed to sticking with her shotgun.

Sweat rolled down her face as conversation stopped as the two soldiers huffed unabashedly as they lugged selves and gear up the stairs, floor by floor, flight by flight. Her vision began to blur as sweat and grime got into her eyes, stinging them worse than ever.

The air still hung hazy when Shepard and Lowe slid out of the stairwell onto the roof. The muffled quiet inside made the noise outside seem all the louder. The rapport from rifles below rose like sparks to meet them.

Shepard approached the tower, yanking the casing off the powerbox.

"What branch are you with?" Lowe asked, cradling his rifle nervously, ready for something to pop up at him.

"Marines." She dragged jumpers from a pocket in her fatigues, hooking them between the omni-tool and the powerbox.

"I just thought…"

"Look, I'm all for conversation Lowe, but I need to concentrate, okay?" Polite spoken as she could manage. Shepard closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then set to work, her fingers dancing across the interface of her omni-tool, which beeping and blipping incoherently to Lowe.

Lowe wanted to walk over to the edge of the building for a better look at events streetside, but did not dare leave the Chief alone. Her attentiveness to her omni-tool made it clear she could not brace for an attack and do her self-appointed task at the same time.

"And this won't foul our rifles?" He couldn't stop the itching question, once he thought of it.

"No." Shepard's hands remained steady, surprising herself.

A muffled boom shook the building, return fire popping below.

Shepard gave a whoop, as her omni-tool made a noise like a small fan or turbine winding up. Her batarian-modded assault rifle, lying where she had pushed it, gave a pop as non-standard mods exploded, rendering the rifle useless.

Lowe's firearm remained functional.

"There!" She snapped the powerbox shut, pulling her shotgun off her shoulder. Back to basics. "I can remote activate the…" she stopped, seeing the non-tech's non-comprehension. "Never mind."

As long as the antennae stayed operational, she could remotely send out another pulse. The tower could pick her unique signal from some distance away.