There once was a strapping young lad, by the name of Lucian. He's going to be our main character for now, so please take this opportunity to get acquainted.

Lucian lived on a rather miserable planet. So miserable, in fact, it didn't even get it's own name. It was stuck with "Casonia VII", on account of being the seventh planet in orbit of the star Casonia.

As you might expect from a planet so far from it's star, it was rather cold. On a warm day, you could expect a toasty -5°c.

Lucian tried not to let it get to him. After all, what choice did he have? Even if he could afford a shuttle ride out of here, there wasn't much to see. Casonia VII was almost dead in the middle of a cluster of mining systems, and at least around here his mining rig had temp control. Most of the time. 

Ah well, Lucian couldn't complain.

No, seriously, he couldn't. 

Company policy.

-

The tannoys in the dorm hallway started to crackle, working up the courage to make an announcement.

It would almost be cute, if it weren't for-

"IT IS 20:00 STANDARD TIME, AND 8:52 LOCAL TIME. YOUR 15 STANDARD MINUTES OF POST-AWAKENING PREPARATION TIME HAVE ENDED. PLEASE PROCEED TO YOUR STATIONS."

that.

Lucian sighed. He hadn't even finished shaving yet.

Ah well, it'd probably be fine. After hastily splashing away the shaving cream, he decided to take one last look in the mirror before leaving. Just to make sure.

What greeted him wasn't pleasing. 

Surprisingly, he'd managed to shave enough to pass as clean-shaven, if you squinted hard enough. It was almost... good?

The rest of his face was most definitely not.

No longer hidden under patchy facial hair, the greasiness of his pale as snow skin was clear to the world. He hadn't seen the sun in months.

His non-facial hair wasn't faring much better. Having soaked up rather too much sweat and not enough allotted shower timeslots, it hung oily and messy around his face, thankfully steering clear of his eyes.

Smudged glasses rested on the tip of his nose, framing dark crescents of fatigue.

Behind the glasses, as you'd expect, was a set of eyes. While their bright green colouration suggested passion, something about the way they stared into the mirror radiated an energy of melancholy.

He was one of the most well groomed people in his block.

-----

Excerpt from Aurora Mining personnel files:

LUCIAN REID

Age: 19 Standard years

Height: 5'4

Weight: 47.3kg

Position: Spotter, *ACR Groundbreaker XVI*

Salary: 450 Aurora Chit/Cycle, 10 Credit/Cycle

Company Debt: 14,410 Credits

History: Born 3274 AU in Casonia VII Colony Beta-1. Hired 3289 AU as apprentice spotter. Promoted 3292 AU to current title. Transferred 3294 AU to outpost Phi-15.

Yearly AIAT Results (3294):

-Company Loyalty: 16%
-Deference to Superiors: 70%
-Obedience: 82%
-Conclusion: Unlikely to cause further issues. Do not promote.

Other notes:
-53 disciplinary infractions on record (52 level 0, 1 level 3)
-Abnormally low fraternisation levels.
-Mild optical disability. 
-For previous AIAT results or full AIAT report, please contact Omega-4 records dept.