No
"Better hurry."
An icy wave of fear
Washes over me.
The air of someone passing,
Unnoticed in the panic,
Plays over
And over
In my mind.
His chair is empty.
He is gone.
The ra…dia…tion.
No.
I cannot think
Beyond the dread.
My feet find their own way through the halls,
As though on autopilot.
Better hurry.
Pull him out!
You can't!
My heart defeats my mind.
I rush at him,
The death chamber
In which he is trapped.
"You'll flood the whole compartment!"
He'll die.
"He's dead already."
"It's too late."
No.
My legs give out.
I stumble to him.
Desperation
His name comes to my lips,
Rips from my throat.
He stirs
Rises,
Movement
Slow
And stiff.
Burnt and broken,
He tugs at his jacket,
Immaculate
Even in death.
He turns
My heart sinks.
Skin peels in shreds.
Precious emerald rivers
Swell and run away.
The ra…dia…tion.
He follows the sound of my voice.
Each step an effort.
My mind races.
So much to say,
So little time.
Better hurry.
Unseeing eyes
Search,
Staring slightly past
Life
Death.
The world doesn't exist
Past this moment,
This moment is the world.
"Ship…out of danger?"
Yes, this was not for nothing.
We're alive
Because of you,
Because of this.
"Don't grieve, Admiral."
Don't grieve.
Don't grieve for my friend,
Brother,
A part of me that will
Never be the same.
"Is logical."
Damn logic!
Anything that deems you
Worth wasting
Does not deserve
To be.
"The needs of the many
Outweigh…"
He stops.
Can't keep his head up.
Oh god.
The needs of the few.
"Or the one."
Save your breath.
That test
It doesn't matter now.
All your life
Is a victory.
I choke on his name.
My heart breaks.
He slides down the glass,
Separating him from help,
From life,
From me.
"I have been"
Don't leave me!
"And always shall be"
Damn you, stop!
"Your friend."
I watch in horror.
He struggles to tug off a glove,
His last act
Pulls his hand up,
His last strength
The salute of his people,
His last message
For me.
Lets his tortured body
Ease to rest.
His last breath
Escapes his lips,
Cracked and bleeding.
No.
I feel my body give up.
Despair
Feel the glass between us as,
Even in death
He supports me.
My breath escapes me
In a sob
The moment gone,
I have all the time in the world.
He
Friend,
Brother,
Part of me that will
Never be the same,
He
Has none.