A/N: Sorry for the few days' gap in uploads. The move back from university took up a lot of time, and I didn't get chance to sit down and write. Will hopefully have a second chapter written up today to make up for it. Also, trying something new with radio dialogue, throwing it in italics for a little clarity - I'd appreciate some feedback in the reviews on whether it works, or whether it doesn't, because I'm still on the fence.

Astella Garrison, Nevos

Day 1, 1240

"Cambrai is away, stealth systems engaged. Good luck, ground team."

"Appreciate it, Cambrai. Contact Rilum on callsign Bravo for the supply team. Callsign Alpha's staying back to mount a defence."

"Understood. See you on the other side."

With a quick tap of his comlink, Andersen dropped the radio, reaching instead for omni-tool and pistol. He and the rest of his squad were filtering out into a corridor on the top floor of the building, checking weapons and glancing around cautiously.

"Windows face east into the city," Alec grunted, objectively. "Bunk rooms back between us and the elevator… north? South?"

"Office on the north end," Zel reported, already in the doorway. "Only a couple of windows, decent view of the flank though…"

"Set up there with your rifle," Andersen muttered. "Kan, cover her. Keep your heads down, pick off targets of opportunity. Rest of you, I want rifles in these windows facing east. Shore them up with whatever you can pull out of the bunk rooms. Barricades, people. Sam, south side?"

"Stairwell!" the detective replied, appearing at the top of it. "Leads down into an armoury. All emptied out."

"No windows?"

Sam shook his head.

"Saffiya, you catch that?"

"I… no, Andersen, I… sorry, it's a bit busy down here," the justicar replied, very calmly amidst a mess of background chatter and movement.

"We've got an elevated position, eyes on the main road east, and the north flank, but we're blind to the south, how copy?"

"Understood, lieutenant. You two! With me, south garage!"

The sound of hurried footsteps and the clunk of rifles took over the asari's channel, and a moment later it fell silent completely. Andersen just reached for his omni-tool - stepping back as he did to allow Alec past, dragging a desk towards one of the windows as a barricade.

"Bravo, please tell me you're out already."

"On the road now," Lynus confirmed, his channel filled with the hum and roar of engines and mass effect generators. "Three repulsorlift trucks, moving west over the coast road. Will stay low."

"Got your rendezvous?"

"Yes. Far side of the bay."

"Good. Cambrai! You guys clear of the city yet?"

"Out of the immediate strike zone already. Circling over the lowlands to make rendezvous," Akito's voice answered, sounding a good deal calmer than the other two. "Left you a present, though."

"Did you put a pretty bow on it?" Alec grunted, interjecting himself into the radio chatter as he finished propping up the desk.

"Afraid not. We launched a recon probe before we hit the city limits. Enemy air'll take it down fast, but until they do, we've got an aerial view of the Reaper infantry as they come down."

"Keep us updated, then."

"I was planning to. Make yourselves busy in the meantime, Alpha. Contacts just hit orbit, asari comm network's getting pounded."

Andersen nodded, and scrolled through his omni-tool, selecting a familiar old program. As he reached down to grab the sentry turret still folded up on his belt, the chatter became distinctly local, as the rest of Alpha settled down behind window frames and makeshift barricades - a desk, an overturned bunk, a couple of lockers from the ransacked armoury downstairs. The windows themselves had been knocked out by rifle butts and gauntlets, to stop the glass raining in as shrapnel when the Reapers hit.

"Sit your ass down, LT," Alec muttered, kneeling behind the desk and propping his Falcon up on it. "Reckon this is my show from here."

The engineer just nodded in agreement, and slumped down to sit next to him, his back to the desk, fiddling with the turret pod still clutched in one hand. He gave one quick glance to the right, and for a moment both men exchanged a worried, nervous look… then they were back to it, as Alec disengaged the safety with a click.

"Okay, I got the first shot," the now-service chief announced, calmly. "Element of surprise, we hit 'em hard with the Falcon. Rest of you open up when I drop to reload."

"Targets of opportunity," Andersen added, in quiet sync with the marine. "Tarenna's soldiers can handle the bulk fighting. We go for officers, artillery…"

"…and the big bastards," Carter nodded, in agreement.

"What if they hit the roof?" Kan asked, matter-of-factly.

"Hope they can't work an elevator?" Alec shrugged, with a mordant laugh.

"And if they claw their way down the elevator shaft?" the quarian persisted.

"Kan, it's fine," the lieutenant interjected. "Left them a recon mine outside the elevator doors."

"A recon mine?"

"Neat little gadget. Tag it on the wall, it scans for hostiles, gives me a proximity warning… then blows them all to hell on a trigger pull."

"…nice."

"Very."

"Heads up!"

All eyes shot left, to the end of the corridor nearest the office. Ethan was already craning his head up through the window, rifle in his arms, as he yelled:

"Fireballs, up high!"

"Confirmed," Akito's voice added, chiming in over the radio. "Got eyes on contacts, fast moving…"

Andersen gave his pistol one final check, glancing over at Alec - the marine's eyes were fixed on the street, rifle pressed hard into his shoulder.

"…impact. Two miles to your north. Half a dozen more closing, immediate."

"Yeah, we get it," Carter grunted. "Anything close?"

"Drop at the end of the road. East. Incoming."

Alec nodded wordlessly, and lowered his eye to his rifle. The air outside was thick with the sound of gunfire and screams - there was a murmur of activity from the asari platoon below, and across the city, Andersen could see tower blocks lighting up as the troops garrisoned within began to open fire on the invaders…

"Another one coming down. Close."

The squad's heads dropped as another screaming meteor slammed down on the main road east, smashing right through the façade of a shop on the right-hand side of the street. There was another murmur from the asari below, more panicked this time, and a couple of warning shots flew out towards the impact site, bright rounds tracing the path.

Crack crack crack crack… quite suddenly, a burst of crimson fire announced the reprisal. A lone Cannibal came staggering out of the smoke, firing wildly. It fell a moment later, as one of the asari troopers landed a quick burst, but more shapes were shifting in the haze, rushing from the end of the street…

Without a word, Alec squeezed the trigger. There was a quiet thunk and a grenade went flying. Even as a mob of Reaper creatures came stumbling down the road, the marine tracked them down the road with slow, deliberate trigger pulls, scattering half a dozen rounds in the wind. A moment later, the first one hit.

Bang! A Marauder dropped, shields flaring as the grenade took a chunk out of its chest. Two Cannibals to its side were sent flying by the blast, and quite suddenly carnage ensued, as the rest of the grenades struck home. Bang, bang, bang, bang… half a dozen bright flashes lit up the road, skeletal forms falling clumsily to either side. Alec just ducked beneath the barricade as shots began to fly, ejecting his spent clip and reaching for another. The air outside was thick with crossfire, as the asari below continued to exchange shots with the Reapers.

"Got two more," Alec muttered, as the Falcon's fabricator gave a small whir and blinked into life again.

"Save them for targets of opportunity," Andersen replied, reaching for his omni-tool rather calmly as a stray round pinged through the window above them, bouncing off the far wall. The chief just nodded, tossing the loaded Falcon down beside the window and reaching for his rifle.

"Alpha, this is Cambrai."

"We hear you," the engineer nodded, chattering on the comlink even as Carter - along with Aeryn at the next window - rose up to pour down rifle fire on the street below.

"Oculus drone just took down our probe, we're blind. Confirm."

"Solid copy. How'd it look before the probe went down?"

"Lots of incoming from the north and east. There's an asari garrison to the southeast, holed up in the shipyard. Lots of fighting down there. They're keeping hostiles off your south flank for now."

"Understood, Cambrai. Bug out, we'll meet you at rendezvous. Tell Bravo to hurry the hell up."