Victor faced forward, thinking of the people he was about to obliterate by saving Nexus. Eve, Rajia, and Miguel, about to be thrown out of an airlock. The little girl with the bracelet, living in squalor and subsisting off of the scraps of the rest of the station. He was about to spare them the awfulness they had all experienced. It might not be his right to make that decision, but making it he was. The intercom crackled back to life after the laughter stopped.

"I should probably tell you Victor, that you are being broadcast to the entire station. They all know, now. They know that you are abandoning them. You're no hero. No savior. You're a punk kid with a bad attitude who's always thought he was better than anyone else.

"I have something else to tell you, Vicky dear. You are probably under the impression that if you go back to that other Nexus, that past history and second chance floating directly in front of us all but accessible only to you, that this history will be erased. That's right, folks. Victor is trying to erase you. I am sure our brave Captain has assured you of this. Our brave Captain is a liar. She's known for some time now the same thing the rest of us have, going back in time doesn't change the timeline. It creates a new one. I am afraid there are no second chances."

The man was quiet a moment, giving this time to sink in.

"Think for a second, Vicky. If there's only one timeline and you go back and stop Nexus from breaking in two, that means our half -a-ship Nexus never comes to save you. That being the case, you die of any number of unpleasant things in deep space. If that

happens, you never go back to save Nexus. It's a paradox. The only way is if there are multiple timelines. Hell, we've even seen them out there, floating in possible space. But I'm guessing she didn't tell you that, did she?"

Victor felt his resolve waver. He knew it was true the moment the man on the intercom had said it. He had been trying not to acknowledge this fact, trying to convince himself that the selfish thing was the right thing. Trying to run away. He remembered the promise he'd made to himself in the vents, alone and hiding for his life.

I will never run from a fight again.

It was all he could do to stop himself from turning the ship around. He didn't want to run, but nor did he want to turn around. The events of his life, some of them anyway, had been turned into tales. Recorded. The incident with Dixon and his ultimatum had apparently come to be known as The Impossible Choice. Victor thought that was ironic. Then, just like now, the choice had been far from impossible. The answer then had been both.

That was when he remembered the bracelet. It was still in his pocket, despite Eve's advice. It would be easy for him to tell himself that he forgot, but honest truth was that, deep down, he had probably subconsciously taken it to punish himself for being such a miserable coward. His fathers voice, like a broken vid with looping sound, replayed disappointment and disgust. He had been secretly hoping that the shuttle would blow up the moment it touched the bubble.

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Victor realized that Dixon and him weren't so different. Destruction was deep within both souls, but Dixon's turned outward, hating and seeking to dominate the world instead of himself. Victor's was the opposite. That was why he had stood up to Dixon directly, putting himself in harms way when he could have perhaps avoided it. That was why he beat Roger in the space race, despite the fact that he knew the boy would never rest until he got revenge. That was why he had gone to face off against Dixon alone. Victor couldn't help pushing himself to the point of nearly being destroyed. The difference was, Dixon had faced the horror of what he was, learned to embrace it. Control it. Dixon was honest with himself. The comm crackled to life again.

"Well, what is it, hero? You know, me and the guys have been talking. We think we can find some more creative ways of dealing with Rajia and Eve. I mean, throwing such pretty little things out of the airlock seems like a waste. Hell, some of the less picky guys might even take a shot at Miguel."

There was mumbling and laughter. The man on the comm had to be controlling when he was broadcasting to the ship and when not. That meant Victor would have to play his next moves carefully. He pressed the response button on the comm panel.

"I'll say whatever you want, but let the others go."

"He speaks!" the man on the comm said, jubilantly. "Well this is more like it, Mr. Saint. Now why don't you just go ahead and admit that you are a false deity. Then you will admit that only the Dixonites are worthy to rule Nexus."

"Okay."

"Good boy," the man said. "Alright. Everyone's listening, Saint. Out with the truth."

Victor took a deep breath. "This is Victor Vance. Destroy the Dixonites if they do not immediately release Eve, Rajia, and Miguel. I am not abandoning you. I'm coming back."

It was the wrong decision, but it was the only way Victor could have it both ways. The truth was, that perfect, gleaming Nexus would always be right where it was. He had to resolve this situation, first.

His shuttle was nearing the bubble. He readied the controls to turn around as it hit the bubble's edge. It was a wide turn, and he felt strange as half the ship was inside the bubble, and half not. He took out the little bracelet and put it on, a promise not to settle for anything less than perfection. He would earn his name.

In his deepest thoughts he wondered if this were not another manifestation of his own subconscious tendency toward difficulty and putting himself in harm's way. Victor smirked. If so, he would embrace that. No more lying about who he was to himself. Dixon wanted to watch the Universe burn, but Victor just wanted to walk into the fire.

The shuttle stopped suddenly, the lights blinking off. Victor could see nothing for a full moment, the shuttle around him included. When he came to, he was standing where he had been in the shuttle, but the shuttle was inside the Nexus docking bay. The question was, which one?