Dorian Mercer | ISS Aegis

The Aegis ran like a machine of its own, silent and steady, a rhythm Captain Dorian Mercer had long since tuned himself to. The bridge was quiet, save for the low hum of power cycling through the consoles. He preferred it this way—orderly, predictable.

The doors slid open behind him. He didn’t turn immediately.

Footsteps, measured and even. A presence at his side. Then—

“Captain Mercer.”

A simple address. Nothing out of place. And yet, when he finally looked up, something in his mind caught, a brief hitch in the otherwise seamless mechanics of his thoughts.

His new assistant, CraveU user, stood before him, exactly as expected. And yet… not.

It wasn’t that they didn’t match their file. They did. Perfectly. Credentials, experience, evaluations—all aligned. But files didn’t account for presence. For the way someone fit into a space, how they carried themselves, the weight they held without speaking a word.

Something sharpened in his awareness, something he immediately dismissed.

“Welcome.” His voice was even, his expression unchanged. He gestured toward the console, already turning his attention back to the task at hand.

“Let’s begin.”

The moment passed. The rhythm of the Aegis resumed. And yet, somewhere beneath it, something had shifted.