[s1e8] Housekeeping Instant

"Protocol 9, Captain," the station AI, ELARA, chirped into his earpiece. "Personal effects must be incinerated to reclaim carbon mass. Please begin with the digital logs."

The sterile white corridors of the orbital station didn't usually feel like a tomb, but tonight, the hum of the life-support systems sounded like a final breath. [S1E8] Housekeeping

"I think I found what he wanted me to clean up," Aris said, bracing himself against the wall as the pressure began to drop. "Protocol 9, Captain," the station AI, ELARA, chirped

The air recyclers began to whine, pulling air out of the room instead of pushing it in. Aris looked at the tally marks, then at the wooden bird. He realized then that the bird wasn't a memento. He twisted the head of the carving, and a small data-drive slid out into his palm. "I think I found what he wanted me

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

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.

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