Once again time slowed dramatically. Lee brushed Nelson's hand off, but Kowalski was already on the move, flattening his captain beneath him as the gun went off.

The worst kind of déjà vu struck Nelson, freezing him in place, as Chip stepped once more into the path of the bullet. "No…" He had said that before… Before he'd come back in time to fix this mistake. It hadn't made a difference then, and he knew it wouldn't make a difference now…

But this time, Sharkey leaped, quickly as a cat though much less gracefully, carrying the XO to the deck and pinning him there. The bullet passed harmlessly above them, whining past Nelson's ear before it struck one of the windows in the nose. The admiral didn't worry about that; herculite had proven itself bulletproof. Instead he breathlessly took stock of his surroundings. Kowalski had scrambled away from Lee and now helped Patterson secure Nash. Sharkey was, by nature, infinitely more cautious, still pinning his superior down, despite Chip's angry bellow.

Nelson was the first to recover, now that the danger was over; now that the result was satisfactory. Odd that now it was all over, anger leaped up inside, a catalyst for his movement. A by-product of anxiety, of course, but he could no more have forced it down than he could have touched the moon. Now that all the principals had survived, he had the time and inclination to allow his anger free rein over such wanton self-sacrifice. He strode unerringly to where his first officer still lay on the deck, pinned under the overly cautious COB, arriving just in time to hear the chief say in a voice that was probably supposed to be soothing, "Not yet, sir. Just a moment more." Probably waiting for Nash to be dragged away from the scene.

But Nelson didn't wait; as he looked down at them, his fists clenched, he could feel the warmth of a flush suffusing his face. His eyes narrowed, and his lips pressed together in a firm, angry line.

For once, Chip – who was a master at reading any given situation – put a foot wrong. Looking up into Nelson's red face and angry eyes, the XO tensed and asked anxiously, "Lee…?"

Nelson exploded. The pressure inside had built up too much; his only option was to blow. "What the hell were you thinking?" He glared down into blue eyes that dilated under the onslaught, not unlike the eyes of a wild animal caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. "If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I swear I will bust you all the way back to plebe!" He shoved Sharkey away as the COB bounced up in wordless protest. "I have never in my life seen such a display of raw stupidity…"

"Admiral!"

Lee's voice, carrying the hint of a rebuke. Lee's voice… after zero hour. After Nash's shot, after the whole damned thing was over. He realized suddenly that he was the focus of every eye in the control room. Silence was the result of his outburst, and looking down into Chip's alabaster face and shell-shocked eyes, he found that for once he could read the man perfectly.

Those eyes turned aside just a split second too late. Nelson had already seen the hurt and the uncertainty that lingered deep in their depths, and all the words that still lurked in his throat died unsaid. Instead, he turned away, lifted a trembling hand to his pounding head, and looked blankly at all the men staring at him.

Too much… It was too much. He shut them all out and walked away.