[s1e8] — Housekeeping

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

The "Housekeeping" wasn't about the dead man. It was about the witnesses. [S1E8] Housekeeping

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. "Captain, the previous seven scans yielded nothing but

"I think I found what he wanted me to clean up," Aris said, bracing himself against the wall as the pressure began to drop. Captain Aris stood in the doorway of Unit

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—"

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.

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