Lieutenant Saxon Kreeger sat in the provisional security office aboard the USS Manhattan, the space still carrying the unmistakable mark of transition rather than permanence. The workstation panels were functional but not yet personalized—standard-issue interfaces, uncalibrated display preferences, and stacked padds awaiting review.
He had already made one adjustment: order.
Reports were aligned by priority—internal security status, crew transfer manifests, access authorization logs, and preliminary shipwide threat assessment summaries. Nothing decorative. Nothing unnecessary.
Kreeger’s gaze moved methodically from one data set to the next. His posture remained rigid, composed, the kind of stillness that suggested readiness rather than rest. Every few moments, his hand would pause over a padd, make a brief annotation, then set it aside with precise economy of motion.
“Shipboard integration variance is within acceptable limits,” he muttered under his breath, more observation than conclusion.
A new report blinked into the queue—systems synchronization discrepancies in Deck 7 access controls. Minor, but not irrelevant. He flagged it immediately for follow-up and cross-referenced it against crew arrival logs.
No assumptions. No gaps.
The Manhattan was still settling. So was its security structure.
Kreeger leaned back only slightly, eyes still fixed on the data streams.
“Establish baseline first,” he said quietly to himself. “Then refine.”
Another padd was opened. Another layer of the ship’s reality unfolded under review.

Lt. Saxon Kreeger
Chief of Security
USS MANHATTAN