Dark Spiral - The Man in the Mirror

Posted on Fri Oct 3rd, 2025 @ 10:29pm by Commander Rosa Coy

852 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Character Development
Location: DS9 / USS Sunfire

Rosa stumbled into her quarters aboard the USS Sunfire, the door sliding shut with a hiss behind her. She leaned against it, dragging her palms down her face. Her head swam—not just from the alcohol, but from the buzzing pressure of Coy pressing at the edges of her thoughts like a knife testing seams.

The reflection across the room caught her eye. The wall-length mirror, spotless as ever, glared back at her. Her own face—flushed, tired, eyes rimmed with shadow—looked less like hers and more like his.

She moved toward it, step by step, until she was staring herself down. The woman in the glass looked fractured, cracked somewhere beneath the surface. Rosa slammed her palms against the cold pane.

“Enough,” she whispered.

Enough of what? Coy’s voice uncoiled in her mind, smooth, smug. Of me reminding you who you are? Or enough of you pretending that you’re separate from me?

“You don’t own me,” Rosa spat.

I am you.

Her jaw clenched. “No. You’re a parasite. Hitching a ride in my body, twisting every thought until I can’t tell what’s mine anymore.”

Coy chuckled, the sound reverberating inside her skull until she wanted to claw her ears out. Parasite? No, Rosa. I’m survival. Without me, you’d still be the same fragile cadet you once were. Without me, you’d have broken long ago.

She pounded a fist against the mirror. “Without you, I’d still be me!”

The glass rattled but didn’t break. Her reflection sneered at her, though she hadn’t moved.

You need me.

“No. I need peace. I need silence. Just one moment where I can think without you pushing—without you whispering in my ear about what you want, about what I should want.”

And what happens when the silence comes, hm? Coy pressed harder now, his words wrapping around her like a vice. You know what silence means. It means loneliness. It means emptiness. It means staring into that void until it swallows you whole. Is that what you want, Rosa?

She turned away, fists trembling. “I want my life back.”

This is your life. And I’m not going anywhere. You could take a neural inhibitor, sure—but you and I both know what happens when you do that. Weakness. Loss of control. A moment of bliss followed by collapse. You can’t run from me. We’re bound. For better or worse.

Her eyes darted back to the mirror. She didn’t see herself anymore. She saw Coy—a shadowy overlay, masculine smirk behind her lips, cold hunger in her eyes.

“No…” Her voice cracked. “You don’t get to win.”

Win? Coy’s tone turned mocking. Rosa, there’s no winning here. There’s only existence. And if you deny me what I crave, what we crave, then you’ll feel it every moment until it tears you apart. You think the drinking helps? You think lashing out at your cadets makes the pressure fade? No. It builds. And it will keep building until you break. And when you do… I’ll be here to pick up the pieces.

Rosa slammed her forehead lightly against the glass, breathing hard, trying to ground herself. The reflection swam, blurred, doubled. Her own eyes looked wet.

“Shut up,” she whispered. “Shut up, shut up—”

You can’t shut me up. Coy’s tone softened, intimate now, slipping under her guard. Because you need me. Just admit it. Stop fighting. Stop resisting. Give in. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll feel whole again.

She stared at the glass, tears threatening. Her chest ached with the weight of him. “I’d rather burn.”

Rosa ripped herself from the mirror, chest heaving. She staggered back toward her bunk, toward the drawer where the neural inhibitor lay hidden. Her hand hovered over it, fingers twitching.

One press. One dose. A blissful silence where Coy couldn’t reach her.

She almost grabbed it. Almost.

Go on, Rosa. Do it. Coy’s voice dripped with venomous amusement. Turn off your own mind. Crawl into that void and pretend it’s freedom. But you and I both know what it is. Cowardice. Weakness.

Her palm closed into a fist. “No.”

No?

“No,” she repeated, louder now, defiance rising in her throat. “You want control. You want me pliant, begging. You think you’ve won because you can whisper in my head.”

She shoved the drawer shut so hard the metal rang. “Not tonight. Not like that.”

Then what, Rosa? Coy purred, curious. You’ll just lie here, shaking? You’ll cry yourself to sleep? That’s not you. That’s never been you.

Rosa turned sharply, heading back out the door before she could change her mind. “No,” she muttered under her breath. “If you want a fight—then I’ll damn well give you one.”

TBC

 

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