Daxium Ryiah
Archangel
Good men do terrible things for the right reasons
Daxium had been awake all night.
He stood motionless before the mirror in his quarters, the lights dimmed, his reflection half-swallowed by shadow. He glowered at himself until his eyes burned, until the man staring back no longer felt real, just a shape cut from guilt and resolve.
By the time the decision came, it felt inevitable.
He did not hesitate.
The corridors were silent in the deep hours of the station's night cycle. Daxium moved quickly, deliberately, bypassing safeguards he knew by heart. When he reached Katarine's door, his hands shook only once as he keyed the override.
The lock disengaged with a soft hiss.
He stepped inside.
Katarine stirred immediately. The haze of sedation still clung to her, but instinct pulled her upright. "Dax?" she rasped, blinking against the low light. "What's going on?"
Then she saw who he was holding.
James Terran lay slack in Daxium's arms, freshly unfrozen, skin pale and waxen, his body weak and unresponsive. He was alive, but barely.
Katarine sucked in a sharp breath and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "What did you do?"
"There's no time," Daxium said quietly. "You have to go. Now."
Her head snapped up to him. "What?"
"I've opened a path," he continued, forcing the words out before doubt could catch him. "It won't stay open long. Sinistra will feel it soon." He shifted James carefully, lowering him toward Katarine. "I'll hold her off as long as I can."
Understanding crashed into her all at once.
"No," Katarine said, panic sharpening her voice as she took James's weight. "No, you're coming with us."
Daxium shook his head. "I can't."
"You can," she insisted, gripping his sleeve. "We'll figure it out together. Please, Daxium. Don't do this."
He knelt in front of her, hands framing her face, forcing her to look at him. His expression was steady now, almost too steady.
"I won't abandon her," he said softly. "If I disappear, she'll hunt you down. This way… this way you have a chance."
Her eyes filled with tears instantly. "You don't owe her anything."
"I owe you time," he replied. "This is how I buy it."
For a heartbeat, neither of them moved. Then Daxium leaned forward and kissed her. It was brief. Fierce. Desperate. Everything he couldn't say pressed into that single moment. When he pulled back, his forehead rested against hers.
"I will see you again," he promised. "I swear it. This isn't goodbye."
Katarine's breath broke. "Dax.."
"Go," he said, gently but firmly, pressing James fully into her arms. "Before you lose the window."
The alarm hum began to rise somewhere far away, low, distant, inevitable. Katarine swallowed her sob, adjusted her grip on James's limp body, and stood. She looked back at Daxium one last time, memorizing him, carving his face into her heart.
Then she turned and fled. Daxium watched her disappear down the corridor, supporting the unconscious man with everything she had. Only when the door sealed shut did he finally let himself exhale.
And then he turned back toward the darkness, toward Sinistra, toward the monster he had become, ready to burn whatever time remained.
The End