Astella Bay Highway, Nevos

Day 1, 1435

Clang.

Andersen wheeled around, just in time to see Alec pounce on a Marauder as it rounded the corner of his cover, grab it by the collar, and slam it into the front of Alpha's now-burning truck, metal grille shaking under the impact. Before anyone could think about finishing the turian off, the chief had gone for its throat with a silver combat knife, making messy work of stabbing into it before letting the body drop.

"Ammo check!" he barked, as he stepped back.

"Half a dozen rounds!" Saffiya replied, her voice far-off in the melee.

"Five!" Andersen shouted.

No-one else shouted.

"That's it?" Alec yelled, incredulously. "For fuck's… okay! CQB, people! Stick together, cover each other's backs! Don't let the shooters get a clear shot, and kill anything that comes round the nearest corner!"

Alpha and the remnants of Tarenna's platoon were… up against it, to put it mildly. The Oculi had buzzed off for now, but Reaper troops were encircling the ruined convoy, Cannibals and Marauders peppering the hulks with crossfire as human husks charged in like attack dogs. In truth, Andersen didn't even know how many of the asari were left at this point. He could hear Tarenna bellowing now and again, but his attention was on his own squad.

Thud. Shing! In a remarkable display of teamwork, Kan and Zel took down a sprinting husk as it rounded the corner of one of the trucks. The quarian crouched down and grabbed it around the midriff as it ran in, pounding his shoulders and head into its ribs. Before the creature could even think about tearing at his back, Zel had run in from behind the quarian to decapitate it with an omni-blade.

The rest of the squad were scattered around, fighting tooth and nail whenever the bastards appeared. Ethan was in his element, scrapping with every second husk and doing bloody murder with his omni-blades. Sam was hanging back at a distance, just watching the sentinel's back and stepping in where he was needed. Alec and Andersen were covering each other, sort of, and Aeryn was out of sight, off with the justicar… hopefully.

"LT, left!"

Crack. The engineer swivelled, putting a round through another Marauder's eye socket as it stepped out from the wreck behind him, attempting to line up a shot on the squad. It dropped with a limp thud, and lay still.

"Captain!" Alec called out, partly using the radio, partly just bellowing over the sounds of battle. "You alright?"

"Lots of wounded here!" Tarenna replied. "We're fighting around the truck, enemy's got us pinned!"

"Aeryn, justicar, get over to 'em!"

"We're trying!" Saffiya replied, frustratedly - the loud report of her Acolyte sounded out in the background, followed by the shing of a blade.

Off to the right, Andersen heard two electronic chimes, and his head snapped around just in time to see Sam and Ethan both hurl out incineration tech, omni-tools flashing. The two fireballs whizzed out of sight, and exploded noisily in the background, to shrieks and cries…

"Ravager down!" Sam reported.

"Ravager?" Alec snapped. "Jesus! Where's our evac?"

"Not… entirely sure it's coming," Andersen replied, checking the ammo count on his pistol - four rounds.

"They'd fuckin' better be!"

"Any chance we can move up the highway on foot?"

Crunch. To the side and very close by, Zel put her boot through a husk's skull as it hit the ground.

"Fuck all chance! No cover!" the marine barked.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, just running options…"

Thud. Bang!

"Well, we ain't got too many of those left! Just fight, damn it!"

Crack, crack. The engineer snapped up his pistol, just in time to nail two Cannibals as they came charging down the left side of the squad's truck, on Alec's flank.

"'Just fight!' isn't a long-term plan, chief!"

"No, but it's a damn good short-term solution! Watch out!"

The big marine came charging at Andersen, clearing the distance between them in a matter of seconds… and bull-charging a husk that had been creeping up on the engineer. He tackled it into the frame of the truck behind them, causing the whole structure to rattle loudly, then dispatched the creature with a swift knife to the temple.

"Another drop!" one of the asari screamed, as a deep rumble filled the air and a fireball came crashing down behind Alpha's truck.

"We're on it-"

Skree!

"…oh, goddamnit."

The chief and lieutenant exchanged a nervous glance, clutching pistol and knife more tightly as a slender, skeletal form emerged out of the fire. A group of husks went barrelling off to the left, chasing the asari, but the Banshee itself came stalking over towards Alpha, making slow progress up the side of the truck and shimmering with biotic fury… Andersen raised his pistol to fire, but before he could, Alec had pushed a hand over the gun's muzzle, shooting him a warning look.

"Barriers," he muttered, simply.

"Shit…" the engineer nodded. "Zel, Ethan, we need biotics!"

The turian and the sentinel glanced up, looked at each other, then nodded and hurried over. Sam and Kan lingered behind, now partnering up with each other to hold off the steady trickle of husks still pushing on their flank.

At a furious wave from Alec, the two biotics ducked down behind the nose of Alpha's truck, out of sight, both channelling bluebell flames to their arms as the Banshee wandered closer, still screeching, eyes fixed on the marine and the engineer… Andersen simply braced his pistol, keeping a firm grip on it with both hands. Alec, meanwhile, was glancing at their two colleagues, one hand clutching his knife, the other outstretched with an open palm, holding them back…

The Banshee drew closer, and closer, and closer still… it was almost to the front of the cab when it swung out an arm, delivering a furious rush of biotics - the two commandoes dove apart, narrowly avoiding the shot as it slammed into the truck behind them, denting and twisting the metal chassis. The monster took another step, then a second, finally stepping beyond the front of the truck's cab. Glancing to his left, Andersen saw the chief's hand still outstretched, now counting down. Three, two, one.

Now. As he clenched his fist, the two biotics swung forward, going for the Banshee's back with a combined barrage that made all the hairs on Andersen's arms stand straight beneath his armour. A single loud whump of biotics sounded out, and the Banshee screamed as its barriers disintegrated. It took a stumbling pace forwards, tried to turn…

But before it could round on the biotics, Alec was right up next to it, charging once again. He drove his knife in twice, just above the hip, darted around to go for its spine-

And caught a biotic knock round the back of the head as the Banshee twisted, dealing him a stunning blow. He bounced away, tumbling down by the truck at Zel and Ethan's feet, but Andersen didn't find time to watch him rise. On pure instinct he stumbled to his feet, raised his sidearm once again, and pulled the trigger:

Crack, crack! His last two shots, right through the back of the Banshee's brain as it rounded on the biotics and the fallen marine. The asari's twisted skull bobbed and shook, rose back in a scream… and then the creature was dropping to its knees, tumbling to the ground, dissolving into blue ash and fire as a horrible death rattle filled the air…

"I'm out," Andersen muttered breathlessly, shoving his pistol back into his belt empty.

"Worth it," Alec grunted, half-humoured as he pushed himself up onto his knees, then his feet, using the side of the truck cab for support. "Christ…"

"You alright?" Ethan asked, quickly.

"Fine. Get back up there."

The marine waved them away, and Cash went sprinting back to the flank with Zel at his heel. Alec just recovered his knife from somewhere around his feet, and stepped over the Banshee's ashen remains to reach Andersen's side again.

"Too close…" he murmured, making sure none of the others could hear.

"Yeah," the engineer nodded, quietly. "Told you 'just fight' was a shitty plan…"

"For once in your life, don't be smug…" Alec chuckled mirthlessly, taking a few deep breaths before shaking his head clear again. "We gotta fight. Still the only plan we've got."

Andersen nodded in reluctant agreement, reaching for his omni-tool and wreathing it in flames. The marine just wiped his knife clean on the sleeve of his armour, before looking around for the next battle. Off to the right, Kan was stabbing the shit out of a fallen Cannibal, as Sam and Zel wrestled with its fellow, and Ethan threw biotics at an approaching pack of husks. Somewhere in the distance, far out in the bay behind them, the Reaper's cannon burnt the sky once more, sounding out across the city like a death knell...