[s1e8] Housekeeping -

Suddenly, the lights flickered. The door to Unit 402 hissed shut and the mag-lock engaged with a heavy thud .

Aris ignored her. He pulled a small UV torch from his belt and swept it across the wall behind the bunk. There, hidden behind a loose ventilation grate, was a series of tally marks scratched into the metal. Not days. Coordinates. "He wasn't a technician, was he?" Aris whispered. "His file states—"

"Captain, the previous seven scans yielded nothing but skin cells and hair follicles consistent with the occupant. He is officially designated as 'Spaced.'" [S1E8] Housekeeping

Aris stepped inside. The room was sparse—standard issue—except for a small, hand-carved wooden bird on the nightstand. Real wood. A relic from Earth. He picked it up, feeling the grain beneath his thumb.

"I know what the file says, Elara. But the file doesn't explain why a 'janitor' was tracking the trajectory of the dark-matter harvesters in the outer rim." Suddenly, the lights flickered

"Elara, scan the room for biological traces one more time," Aris commanded.

"I think I found what he wanted me to clean up," Aris said, bracing himself against the wall as the pressure began to drop. He pulled a small UV torch from his

Captain Aris stood in the doorway of Unit 402, the room of a man who had vanished three cycles ago. The manifest called this "Housekeeping." In reality, it was an erasure.