Zaniah

Zaniah, a character in the Across the Void book, is the Senior Engineer of the Atlas and one of Pax's love interests. She is first seen in Chapter 4.

Appearance
Zaniah has pink and orange hair, orange eyes, purple lipstick and tan skin with constellations scattered across her body. She wears a white suit with intricate motifs and translucent sleeves. Her shorts are also white, with similar motifs.

Personality
Although she is one of Pax's love interests, not much is known about her. However, she is shown to be a criminal and a terrorist given that she helped the assassins hired by Jura and Vanguard extremists. In Chapter 10, Deimos explains that the stars on their skin reveal their destinies and Zaniah's indicate that she will destroy the lives of those around her, a curse on all she touch, a bad omen. She usually keeps her face emotionless, but there are moments when she has a profound sense of pain in her eyes. Because of her stars, she has been running from what they believe is her prophecy. She tells Pax that before she met her, she didn't have the courage to stand up; she thought she wasn't worth a speck of stardust.

Across the Void

 * Chapter 4: Among the Crew
 * Chapter 7: Mark of the Lektra (Off-Screen)
 * Chapter 8: Stowaway
 * Chapter 9: Cross-Examination
 * Chapter 10: A Little Party Never Killed Nobody
 * Chapter 11: Under the Mask
 * Chapter 12: Last of the Assassins
 * Chapter 15: Library of Souls
 * Chapter 16: Espionage
 * Chapter 19: Breaking Point (Determinant)
 * Chapter 21: Homeworld
 * Chapter 22: Sanctum

Pax Elara
Zaniah is one of Pax's love interests. Zaniah tells her that the galaxy seems sparklier with her in it. When Pax unmasks her in Chapter 12, she tells her that the assassins told her that they would kill everyone on board if she didn't help them with kidnapping the senator and signing the documents that they demanded her to sign. She believes that Pax is the only one who has ever cared about her. If Pax decides to save Zaniah (for diamonds) and keep her secret from the crew, her brother, Eos will keep it from the Vanguard as a favor for his sister.

If Pax decides not to ask Eos to keep Zaniah's secret, Zaniah understands that she is not worth saving. Eos says he has to confine Zaniah to her quarters. In Chapter 15, they tell Captain Elara about Zaniah and she tells the crew and passengers that she was the one who gave the Atlas' coordinates to the enemy. Titania is angry and Holmes is shocked because he thought she was their friend. In Chapter 22, Titania asks her if she'll betray them to the Void, but Zaniah tells her that she wants to kill the Void.

Main Character
Main Character meets Zaniah when he/she tries to bond with the crew in Chapter 4. Although she spends more time with Pax, she tries to redeem herself by helping Main Character against Prince Barlow in Chapter 22. If Main Character does not overcome Barlow in his/her mind (premium choice), he kills Zaniah and Holmes in front of Main Character.

Trivia

 * Zaniah was confirmed to be part of the Thol alien race in Chapter 4.
 * In keeping with the astronomy naming theme of the story, Zaniah, or Eta Virginis Aa, is part of the Eta Virginis triple star system in the constellation Virgo.
 * Her crimes include attempted murder, terrorism, aiding and abetting, kidnapping and conspiracy.
 * Zaniah is the first female love interest in the Choices universe to turn out to be a villain.
 * The name Zaniah is of Arabic origin, which means "beautiful".