Shepard kept the Normandy docked in Omega after Aria's bloody usurping of Patriarch, with the amount of losses Aria's men had suffered, the Cerberus crew made a welcome bolstering to Aria's fledgling police force, which was struggling without a leader with the loss of Grizz.

Shepard walked through the doors to Afterlife, it had been a welcome night's sleep after the war, although she had been somewhat disappointed when Garrus had opted not to join her.

He was already working closely with Gavorn, aiding in where Omega's streets needed a visible presence the most. He had switched gauntlets to hide the Archangel emblem, he had no interest in being recognised as a celebrity or hero, especially given Archangel's renewed notoriety on the station. In truth it was far beyond simple notoriety, Archangel was being spoken of in hushed whispers all over the station; an unstoppable force risen from the dead to seek justice and vengeance against those who would prey on the weak of Omega. His mission accomplished for the moment, he had returned to the shadows but whenever darkness would converge on Omega's denizens, Archangel would rise again as their stalwart defender. While the viral urban legend was a tad dramatic for Garrus' taste, even he couldn't deny liking the sentiment behind it even the smallest amount.

Shepard reached the holographic display table where Aria and Miranda were both already meeting, deep in discussion as to how distribute their respective manpower best. Around the table were Anto, Bray, Ahz and Serra. "Good morning" Shepard greeted them all. "What's everything looking like?"

"We're discussing Grizz' successor" Aria replied. "As useful as Gavorn has been in the interim, he's an exterminator, useful for keeping the vorcha in line but not so much policing an entire population."

"Gavorn has a pre-existing reputation as one of your best killers" Miranda agreed, "appointing him to such a position would likely be met with reaction that you were planning to take an approach to ruling similar to Patriarch. Right now your best strategy is highlighting your differences to the people."

"What about Anto?" Shepard asked. "He's got a previous history of dealing with Omega's people sans brutality, appointing your second in command for this shows you're taking the management of Omega seriously, plus he's just led the forces of Omega in the public display of fighting, he might be more well-received than you right now."

Aria seemed to consider the proposal. "What about it Anto?" She asked. "You up for it?"

Anto stepped forward and nodded. "I can keep the people in line and satisfied, but that means I won't be able to act as efficiently as your right hand anymore. I suggest Bray for my replacement."

"Brotherly bias may have something to do with that" Miranda noted.

Anto shook his head. "Bray afforded himself well in the battle, he led troops and he stayed alive despite heavy fire. He commands respect and he's always been more… discrete than I have been. He'd make a good fit."

Both Aria and Shepard understood the meaning between the lines, Anto had said his older brother would not make the same indiscretions that he had, selling Aria's private information to brokers for a side profit. "Consider it done" Aria said, "congratulations Bray, it appears we'll be working much closer together from now on." She turned to the salarian beside her, working diligently at the holo-table despite his arm in a sling. "While we are on the topic of promotions, Ahz, it's been unofficial for a while but consider yourself officially my highest officer for technological matters, my left hand if you will."

Ahz simply nodded. "A pleasure to be of service ma'am. I do have one piece of news you may be interested in."

"Oh?" Aria asked.

Ahz gestured to the holo-table. "I've been running diagnostics of the power grid, looking for discrepancies between after and immediately before Patriarch took Afterlife." The two grids overlapped, with one major bright spot completely absent from the other. "There's a spot on the map that was consuming massive amounts of electrical power while Patriarch was in hiding that has been totally dormant since he took Afterlife. I believe I have found his secret bunker he was running his cyber-operations from."

"Where is it?" Aria asked.

"D Deck" Ahz reported. "It's exceptionally well hidden, if Patriarch had decided to stay there I doubt I may have ever found it."

Aria rubbed her chin, examine the read out. "Send a team down there to scout it out" she ordered Bray, who moved quickly to follow her orders. "In the event that Omega is ever taken from me again, it may be beneficial to have a back-up base to launch similar strikes from." Aria looked at Miranda. "I appreciate the assistance Cerberus has committed to Omega" she said. "I've allocated a port for your ease of use. If you assist in providing additional food supplies and security for merchant ships in our system, I would certainly be open to further cooperation with your benefactor. Discreetly of course" she added.

Miranda nodded, "I speak for the Illusive Man. Show me what you need and we'll be happy to provide it."

"There is one issue left" Shepard said. "You said Patriarch had an agent on the inside of your organisation who aided him. If you trust Anto so closely and Grizz's loyalty is clearly beyond question, then who helped Patriarch? Your bar manager said no one else out of the ordinary ever met with Patriarch."

"Shepard, I'm so glad you reminded me, I almost forgot" Aria said with a sinister tone. Without warning, she drew her pistol and shot Serra in the head.

Everyone in the war room froze, on edge by the abrupt gunshot. Serra was more than proficient at holding a personal biotic barrier from her years on Omega but she hadn't had them up in a place where she had assumed was safe. Her head snapped back from the force of the bullet before lolling back down. Blood run quickly down from the hole in her forehead before she crumpled, slamming into the holo-table on the way down. "Serra fed Jax all the bullshit he needed to hear. She wasn't part of my organisation, I wouldn't let her get that high but running Afterlife put her in more than position of power to help Patriarch. Taking me out gave her the premier bar on the station, all the credits and information one could ever hope for. When I didn't die, she hoped she would slip back again under my service, completely unnoticed. All the hate and lust for power on this station" Aria remarked, looking as Serra's body was dragged away as everyone began to move again. "And I got betrayed for fucking credits." She turned back to Shepard as Ahz wiped the blood discreetly off his panel. "Was there anything else?"

Shepard nodded. "Just one thing. When Patriarch stole the Queencode, you tight beamed a message directly to Jax's omnitool, despite the fact we were in stealth mode in a different cluster, how did you know his location?"

Aria's face betrayed a hint of displeasure. "As you said, you were very hard to find. I had to pay for the information, the Shadow Broker charged me an exorbitant amount for his services."

"The Shadow Broker knew our location?" Shepard asked.

Now Aria's expression turned to a grin. "'Knew'? He knows it constantly Shepard, it wouldn't surprise me if he had surveillance installed on your ship, counting the sit-ups your crew does in training. He knows everything and what he doesn't know, he can quickly find out." When Shepard didn't immediately reply she turned back to Miranda. "Now, where were we in discussing our partnership?"

Shepard shook her head as the two women left, making notes on a data pad about Cerberus' future with Omega. She exited the war room and walked through the bullet scarred ruins of lower Afterlife, crews of vorcha already working repairs. Shepard accidentally knocked a bottle with her foot that had an expensive looking label on it. Recognising the bottle, she knelt and pocketed it into a holster, knowing exactly the occasion she would use this for. Amongst it all, Fist was still there against the last part of the bar not destroyed with a beer and two whores standing bored beside him. Shepard didn't bother to strike a conversation as she left into Omega's streets. The smell of smoke was still strong in the air. The crematoriums of Omega had been running near constantly with so many dead to dispose of; the pockets of ashes vented in the vacuum to drift amongst the stars for eternity. Shepard made her way easily through the Omega street markets which were slowly growing again, Harrot enjoying the lack of competition, to Jax's family home. She found him sitting at the table, Kelly with her arm around him. Jax was leaned forward, his hands joined against his lips, looking away. Shepard followed his eyeline to see a feminine figure illustrated under a white sheet draped over it; his mother. "Jax…" Shepard tried but Kelly shook her head, clearly this wasn't something she'd be able to resolve.

"I know all the crematoriums are blazing around the clock out there" Jax said. "And I should just take her to one, it's our way of life out here. But I just can't. She's not just one amongst millions, she's my mother. I'm not ready to let her go, not yet."

"Holding onto her won't do you any good" Shepard said, not unkindly.

Jax nodded, reaching up to give Kelly's hand on his shoulder a squeeze. "We need to go don't we?"

"I'm afraid so" Shepard confirmed.

"Where's the fight?" Jax asked, sounding tired.

"Who said there was a fight?" Shepard asked.

Jax shrugged. "There's always another fight."

"Illium" Shepard told her. "We're going after the Shadow Broker."

Both Kelly and Jax looked up at her. "That's a dangerous enemy to have" Jax noted.

"The Broker knows wherever I am whenever I am there" Shepard told Jax, "and has done business with the Collectors before. They nearly stopped Cerberus from bringing me back. The Broker poses a threat I can no longer ignore."

Jax nodded, looking back to his mother. "I'll make the arrangements then, I'll be ready within the hour."

"Actually," a voice came from the door, "I would suggest you wait."

The room looked to see Miranda at the door. "Why would I wait?" Jax asked.

"It's Aria's habit to keep track of the noteworthy incidents on Omega" Miranda told him. "An Ardat-Yakshi hasn't made it beyond Asari space in centuries, leaving victims on Omega is noteworthy."

"So?" Jax asked, bristled about his sister being labelled a 'victim'.

"I asked EDI to take a search through Aria's records now that we've been given limited access" Miranda explained, "your sister's body was kept to determine cause of death, she hasn't been cremated."

"Nef is still out there?" Jax asked.

Miranda nodded. "Aria isn't entirely sure where her body would be given Patriarch recently reorganised Omega's processes but she's promised me she will find her."

"How can you be sure?" Jax asked.

"Because I made it a condition of our partnership between Omega and Cerberus" Miranda told him.

Jax was awestruck. "I don't know what to say" he managed. "Thank you."

Miranda waved the compliment. "You don't need to. My sister is nearly everything to me, there's nothing I wouldn't do for her. For you, this is the least I could do."

Jax couldn't find the words. Miranda had staked a massive Cerberus initiative on finding the corpse of one young woman in all of Omega. She had risked losing a massive bonus all to give him closure. Jax had never really looked to closely at Miranda as a person but knowing she had a sister like him, knowing how he felt, he suddenly felt ashamed of the way he had treated her since coming on board. It was amazing how much of a person she suddenly seemed to him.

"In the meantime, this apartment will remain locked down" Miranda told him, "your mother's remains will be safe here."

"We'll go to Illium" Shepard told him, "and when everything is ready, you can lay your family to rest properly."

Jax rose, resolved in spirit. "What are we waiting for then?"

The rush of the Normandy's engines streaked through the orange Illium skyline as sunlight glittered off its silaris armour. Jax had been at a communications console for the duration of the trip, keeping tabs on the status of Omega, rebuilding from the meteor strikes and the decimation of its population was going to be a long-term effort. Despite the cause for celebration though, there was also a sombre mood amongst the crew. For while Omega had been retaken and liberated, the Ferris Fields colony had been completed abducted by the Collectors Shepard had been forced to allow through. One of the crewman, Jax didn't know his name, had had a brother stationed there. Now he was just another casualty amongst the tens of thousands already gone, presumed missing likely forever. It was another line of red in an increasingly long ledger, next to Freedom's Progress, New Canton and Horizon. After all the excitement of Omega and being involved in the thick of action for so long, it felt strange when Shepard didn't elect to take him ashore with her, instead opting for Garrus and Tali, familiar faces to help put her contact Liara T'Soni at ease. Jax was unable to ignore all the looks he was given, mingling back amongst the crew again. Most only knew through gossip as the one who had engineered the mutiny against Shepard and left the Normandy disabled. Some of the crew regarded him with a sense of contempt, others held the distance in a mix of awe and fear and others had accepted Shepard's forgiveness to include their own. Either way, as the trio from the original Normandy strode past him and out the airlock, Jax was unsure of what to do with himself. The news from Omega was normal, Jacob had restored his privileges to accessing the armoury again, Mordin had given him a clean bill of health on his physical, it was odd. Jax wondered how the rest of the crew were so used to it; being amongst the most lethal, deadly forces of destruction in the galaxy relegated to waiting on a ship for Shepard's beck and call. Together, none bar maybe the Collectors could stop them, and yet they were expected to stand by when there was still so much yet to be accomplished. It was almost as insulting as it was annoying but everyone seemed tolerate it in their own ways. Thane and Samara had their mediations, Miranda and Jacob had their extra duties as part of Cerberus, Mordin could live the lifespan of an Asari and still have more tests to run and songs to sing, Kasumi made her own mischief and the rest seemed to be able to pent up their rage through complete motionlessness. Jax was less well-trained, although the last time he had been let loose on Illium, he and Jack had committed something akin to a terrorist attack, albeit against less than innocent victims. He flicked through old mission reports, reading that Samara had indeed been successful in killing Morinth. He gave a snort of amusement at the line 'body of Ardat-Yakshi could not be taken for study', Miranda had graciously omitted the reason the body was so unrecoverable was Jax had left a bomb beside his sister's killer, just to be certain. Unless Cerberus had coffins that were the size of a matchbox, there wasn't much in terms of remains to recover. Jax swivelled in his chair disinterestedly, turning to see an amused Kelly looking at him with a smile. He could do nothing but smile back, he couldn't wait to camp out with her again in the shuttle, enjoy the feeling of shared isolation. As he drifted in and out of the thought though, an alert suddenly blared.

"What have we got?" A crewman asked.

"Multiple emergency calls!" One replied, "looks like an explosion a few blocks from here, Dracon Trade Centre."

Kelly and Jax met eyes. "Okay, despite my history, I promise I didn't do this one" Jax said quickly, prompting an eye-roll from her. He looked over at the crew member. "Do we have images?"

"Linking into the video feed from Illium emergency dispatch drones now" EDI reported. An image appeared of a massive skyscraper, smoke billowing out of it.

"I see multiple blast points" Jax reported, swapping between feeds. "Blast sizes are all relatively similar, this looks more like a coordinated strike than a chain reaction accident."

"Commander Shepard is onsite" EDI reported, "Specialists Vakarian and Tali'Zorah as back up."

"And Liara?" Joker asked.

"Status unknown."

Joker would've clenched his jaw if he weren't afraid the tension he felt would break it. He watched as a drone zoomed in the trio entering through the main lobby, obscured by belching smoke. The bodies littered around were obvious. A skycar lifting through the frame caught his attention. "Identify" he ordered EDI, narrowing his eyes as the identity registry came up. It was a rental vehicle, and the one who had paid for it was Citadel Council Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Requisitions. "A spectre?" Joker mused. "Whoever's messed with this place is about to get double of what they bargained for."

"Shepard has been engaged" EDI reported.

"Switch to heartbeat filter" Joker ordered. Thermal vision would be useless, the entire building on fire would be an indistinguishable heat spot. He watched as the three dots registered to his friends moved through the building quickly, the collection of dots in their way disappearing one by one. It was quietly brutal, watching each dot representing a life be extinguished as it came too close to Shepard.

"Shepard has reported the presence of explosives" EDI reported. "Receiving image from helmet-cam."

A package was displayed on the screen in front of Jax, a collection of cylinders likely filled with accelerant, a detonator hastily wired onto the front. "Sloppy work" Jax observed, "this looks like a hell of a rush job, whoever bombed this place didn't have time to plan this attack, this looks like a desperate attempt to depopulate the whole building as opposed to launching a precision strike."

"If it's desperate, they might have made a mistake" Kelly said from over his shoulder, watching intently.

"Shit!" Joker suddenly said, monitoring Shepard in real time as opposed to examining the image of the explosive. "Shepard just dropped three floors and is now moving fast, something big just happened."

"Is this how it always goes?" Jax asked Kelly. "We sit here, watch and commentate like we're watching showdowns the Armax Arena?"

"You watched the Armax Arena showdowns on Omega?" Kelly asked.

Jax shrugged. "Aria cancelled the vorcha fight pits. Her reasoning was 'no one is going to pay to watch those little goblins eat each other when they do it on the street for free.'"

"Charming" Kelly remarked. "But yes, there's not a lot we can do from here. Watching is a habit you may have to get used to, we can't all be hanging over Shepard's shoulder on every mission."

And so Jax watched, he watched as Shepard's signature blazed a path of destruction over Illium even he would be proud of, a massive amounts of traffic violations as Shepard's skycar pursuit led to a number of trucks crashing, proximity charges being deployed before smashing into a cheap slutty hotel that wouldn't have been out of place on his block. They watched the footage as an extended firefight occurred before the inevitable; Shepard defeated her foe. The commander was quick to return to the ship and avoid questions, Joker had them off-world in no time. Clearly whatever they had gained on the Shadow Broker was incentivising them to move fast. Jax didn't also fail to notice they had returned with another crew member, an Asari that must've been the famous Liara T'Soni which had anyone in the know excited.

Kelly's hand slid over his shoulder, making him look up. "Hey you" she whispered with a smile. Her other hand joined his other shoulder and ran down his chest as she knelt down. "Day shift ends in thirty minutes, you have any plans for after?"

"I think I may have one now" Jax replied softly, giving her hand a squeeze, not caring that they were in full view of the crew in the CIC. Memories of her lips on his flooded through his hand, from the soft touch on Omega to the fierce passionate crashes in the crew quarters.

That was when Jax's communicator buzzed in his ear. "Jax, report to the conference room."

Jax made his way promptly there, nodding to Garrus as Shepard stood over Liara's shoulder. The Asari was totally fixated on the holographic display, a ship of totally alien design hung suspended, rotating as the readouts highlighted items of note. "What is it you need?" Jax asked.

"This is the Shadow Broker's ship" Shepard told him, indicating the display. "We're going to be breaching it in an hour. Liara has more than capable hacking programs but this is the Shadow Broker we're talking about. In the event they don't hack through his door…"

"You want me to blow them off their hinges" Jax finished.

"Is that a problem?" Liara asked, finally taking her eyes off the Shadow Broker and fixating them on him.

Jax eyed her warily, he had seen that gaze before, in himself; it was bloodlust. Liara had plans for the Shadow Broker, plans he had once held for Sidonis, plans Aria had held for Patriarch. Councils didn't rule the galaxy, it wasn't money and power wasn't even close. Vengeance ruled the galaxy, and Jax could already tell they were aiding and abetting hers. "No" he finally said, albeit a tad uneasily.

"Then gear up" Shepard ordered. "Shuttle lifts off in sixty."

Jax nodded and exited, leaving the others to continue their planning. Kelly was waiting for him outside. "Are we still on?" She asked.

Jax shook his head sorrily. "I have a mission; night shift will have to wait."

"Don't keep me waiting too long" Kelly said in a tantalising tone with a flirtatious smile.

Jax grinned. "No ma'am." A quick, easy mission, that was all that lay in between him and an amazing night.

Lightning flashed as Jax ducked a missile before returning fire desperately at the rocket drones hovering at the front of the ship. Beside him, Shepard jumped over cover, returning fire from the Shadow Broker's private army climbing out of manholes seemingly everywhere around them.

Jax heard Liara scream as she lifted a soldier into the air with a singularity, he quickly flew out behind the ship, at the mercy of the lightning. Jax yelled out as he was tagged in the back, although his shields held strong as he turned and punched a bullet right between the eyes of a solider.

"Liara!" Shepard yelled, "how's that program coming along?"

"I don't know Shepard!" Liara called back, placing a solider into a stasis. "I've never broken into the Shadow Broker's base before. Not this one at least!"

Shepard cursed under her breath. Two soldiers were approaching her, trying to flank her in cover. Shepard aimed down the middle of them and fired on the lightning capacitor, unleashing a salvo of deadly shocks on all the troops near it. "Jax?" She asked.

"Still here Shepard" Jax reported, keeping the drones occupied. "Breach charges are a go on your word."

Shepard looked around, another wave was already emerging. "Do it" she ordered and Jax nodded. He ran across the ship, ducking as bullets whistled by his ears. A lightning strike hit the pylon beside him, making him flinch as he ran, the thunderclap near deafening. Liara's shunt program was cycling through the last bar as he reached it, arming the first charge. Jax reached towards the door as the display turned green. "Hatch is open!" He yelled as he hastily shoved the charge back into its pouch. He drew his pistol again and provided cover fire as Shepard and Liara quickly hurried past him into the dark bowels of the ship, the door hissing shut behind them, silencing the storm outside as the one within rumbled. They marched for about a minute down the corridors unchallenged before Shepard halted them; the sound of running footsteps was audible. The trio took cover quickly as a hail of suppressing assault rifle fire came down the hall, followed by a trooper who, amazingly, fired a rocket launcher from the hip at them. It exploded harmlessly against Shepard's cover as she fired back, ending the trooper's delusions of grandeur. It was slow, bloody work; the Shadow Broker seemed to be able to throw innumerable fodder at them as they killed their way towards the central operations deck. The cramped dark gritty hallways with pipes and wires hanging everywhere reminded Jax very distinctly of Omega as he helped Shepard and T'Soni pass through the prison block, and met a drell held to a horrific torture. The excess power absorbed by the ship from the lightning storm was programmed to vent into Feron, Liara's contact. Now Jax understood why Liara's eyes held such vengeance. The Shadow Broker was two quickly murdered troops away, Jax emptying his clip through a shattered breastplate as Liara's rage was expressed through sheer biotic force at the other. Shepard led through the next door and at the end of the room, the Shadow Broker, shrouded in the darkness, was waiting. He minimised a screen at his table as they approached. Shepard pointed her weapon, Liara and Jax followed suit. The Broker folded his hands together, studying them.

"Reckless, even for you Commander" he noted. His voice was low, and rough. It exuded power and confidence, Jax had to force his heart to settle. He had never believed in monsters, but if he did, he would imagine they spoke like this. Jax edged around the room as the Broker and Shepard exchanged words but the Broker seemingly never lost sight of him.

"You travel with fascinating companions Doctor" the Broker said, turning ever so slightly. "Archangel's lackey will be an excellent bargaining chip for bringing in his leader, the bounty on him from the mercenary guilds has tripled since Patriarch's death." Jax reloaded his pistol in defiant response.

"You're not laying a hand on anyone" Liara warned. The pair traded barbs for a moment more before the Broker stood, and Jax realised he didn't just sound like a monster, he was one. The Broker towered over all of them, standing at least ten feet, maybe twelve.

Without warning, the Broker slammed a massive fist through his table, fracturing it with a burst of sparks. Jax could barely react as he picked up the largest piece and threw it like a child's toy, slamming straight him. Jax coughed, the table had hit him like a train. His lungs were winded, his vision blurred. The table had him pinned the floor but he could still the gunfire ringing out. Jax tried to focus, he had to get back in the fight. His vision dipped in and out of blackness as he tried to push himself out from the under the table, his hip was firmly pinned to the floor. Jax heard the sounds of flesh meeting flesh, Shepard had engaged the Broker physically. He had to help, she had brought him to blow through a door that Liara had opened herself and now he was trapped under a table. Jax tried to wiggle but his suit was too thick. Coming on an idea, Jax reached to his back, feeling for his shield battery pack at the base of his spine. Mentally counting down, Jax unclipped the pack and pulled it away, creating enough space between him and floor to drop and roll away as the table came down. Jax swore as it crushed the shield battery against the ground, the Shadow Broker had a massive assault rifle capable of throwing a truckload of lead downrange, and here he was without even shields. He took cover against one of the pillars and risked a look out.

Shepard was straining against the Broker, he was pressing down on her with a massive shield spawned from an omnitool. Jax watched as the Broker flipped Shepard away sending her crashing into T'Soni and knocking them both to the ground. Jax's eyes widened as the Broker brought his assault rifle to bear on them. Without knowing really what he was doing, Jax charged. He fired two shots but they bounced harmlessly off the kinetic barrier. Jax remembered Shepard's lead and discarded the pistol, bringing his fist around with a flying uppercut. The Shadow Broker's head snapped back, a line of spit flying from his mouth. The Broker replied with a backhand that sent Jax spinning. Jax looked up wildly, the lights in the room were clouding his vision as he ducked the next swing on instinct before catching the barrel of the Broker's assault rifle. Jax screamed as it opened fire beside his head, the sound, even through his earplugs was deafening. The barrel grew hotter in his grip. Jax pushed it, holding it away from his head, the barrel searing the skin on his palms. Jax could nothing but the grip the barrel harder, screaming as it suddenly stopped, the clip empty. Jax delivered another punch to the chest of the Broker, forcing him back a step. Jax had no gun, his hands were badly burned and he had to stop the Broker. He had no clue where Shepard or Liara were at the moment, his senses were so badly disoriented, he could barely see or hear. All he knew was what was in front him, like seeing down a tunnel. Jax reached into his pouch and withdrew the breach demolition charge, still armed, and slapped it onto the Broker's chest. Jax looked up at the Broker and gave a mad grin as he activated the five second timer but the Broker's arm shot out and grabbed Jax's wrist. Jax's grin died, the Broker was holding him against the bomb Jax had just activated. Four seconds. He tried to pull away but the Broker held firm. Three seconds. Jax looked back up at the Broker's eyes, full of rage. Jax thought of everything he could do in that moment but at that moment, Shepard could be behind him, still down, injured. He had a chance to do something, give something more to the fight. He couldn't risk her falling, not when he knew how much she meant to Garrus. Instead of trying to pull away, Jax pushed the charge even harder against the Broker's chest. Two seconds. Jax thought of Kelly. The Broker roared again and devoid of any other options, Jax roared back, he could see the timer between his fingers as it dropped below one second. When Jax had set off an explosion, he had always been accustomed to the wave of heat from the detonation. He had detonated maybe hundreds of devices, possibly even thousands. This was nothing like any of them. There was no wave of heat. There was only cold. Jax tried to take a breath and found none. The shockwave had been somehow so gentle, and yet Jax felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his lungs. He stumbled back, his ears ringing and his mind tried to process what had happened to no avail. He looked around and saw Shepard staring back at him, shocked. She looked down at something and Jax lifted his hand to see what she was staring at, only, there was no hand there. His brain tried to process why his bloodied forearm was blunt at the end before the answer finally dawned on him. "Oh" he managed in a hollow whisper. If only I had clocked out with the day shift he thought before all the pain and darkness suddenly rushed back to him all in a moment and he collapsed lifelessly on the floor.