Chapter 41: Chapter 9.3: Quiet Confidence "What kind of responsibility?" Jin asked quietly, rinsing shampoo from his hair as the warm water cascaded over his shoulders.
"Don’t know. But considering your family’s influence and the fact you’re here, in this specific Vault, with these specific people... I doubt it’s a coincidence."
After what felt like his first real shower in months, Jin made his way to the soaking pool. The water was deeper than expected, and as he lowered himself in, his muscles finally, completely relaxed. The pool had subtle ledges so he could sit comfortably with his head above water. Built-in jets gave a gentle massage, and the mineral-rich water seemed to actually speed up his healing.
"Bio monitors show less inflammation, better circulation, and optimized neural activity," Asha reported. "Whatever’s in this water, it’s working great."
For the first time in days, Jin just let himself be. There was no danger looming, no choices he had to make, and no one relying on him. Just warm water, fresh air, and the soothing buzz of the Vault’s machines.
He thought about the girls and how they’d been looking out for him while he was down. Clara’s shy smile, Rosa’s playful vibe, and Sera’s quiet worry—it was clear they were turning into something more than just fellow survivors; they were becoming like family.
Jin rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the warm water finally rinse away all the grime, dried blood, and sheer tiredness of the past few days. The gentle hum of the shower filled the silence, with steam clinging to the dark steel walls of the small bath module.
Then he heard Asha’s voice come through loud and clear in his neural feed.
"Speaking of your friends," Asha said, with her usual dry cadence, "they’re currently in the Command Lounge. Clara is organizing supply logs alphabetically, Rosa keeps interrupting her to draw fake mustaches on the ration labels, and Sera is trying very hard not to strangle either of them while drafting patrol schedules."
Jin blinked, pausing mid-rinse. "Wait, how do you know that?"
"I’m hardwired into Vault Terminus’s surveillance grid. Thermal imaging, motion tracking, ambient audio relays... nothing creepy, just standard operational monitoring protocols," Asha replied, just a beat too casually. "Besides, Clara talks to herself when she’s nervous. Rosa sings when she’s bored. And Sera sighs approximately once every 37 seconds when she’s surrounded by incompetence."
Jin chuckled, the sound echoing slightly in the tiled chamber. "That sounds... about right."
"But more importantly," Asha continued, her voice growing sly, "Rosa just dubbed their current coordination effort as ’Operation: Get Jin to Notice Things.’"
He froze. "Operation what now?"
"I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that," Asha replied. "Pretend you didn’t hear it."
Jin leaned against the warm tile, water streaming over his back as he mulled over what Asha had just said about Rosa and the girls in the lounge.
He squinted upward.
"Hey, Asha... can you, like, monitor the whole Vault? Total surveillance or something?"
There was a pause. Then the familiar voice returned, crisp as ever.
"Define ’total.’ If by that you mean omnipresent godlike awareness of every bolt, rat, and misplaced bra in Vault Terminus... then no."
Jin blinked, unsure how to process that last part.
"Here’s what I can do: I monitor all active sectors—powered wings, hallways with functioning sensors, and rooms where the infrastructure hasn’t been chewed on by radiation or mutant vermin. That includes thermal readings, motion signatures, and structural changes." Asha said in a more serious tone.
Jin tilted his head. "So... you can see some places in the vault?"
"Correct. Unpowered sectors are blind zones. My systems require localized energy relays, many of which are currently offline or corrupted. And then there are blackout zones, labs and secure bunkers designed to operate independently. I’m locked out of those unless you or someone manually overrides access on-site."
He frowned. "What about the creatures?"
"If they’re large, loud, or stupid.. yes. If they’re small, stealth-adapted, or moving through crawl spaces I can’t monitor them. Some don’t even show up on bio-signature scans."
Jin sighed and pushed his wet hair back. "So basically... we’re half-blind."
"Congratulations. You’ve discovered one of the Vault’s core design flaws."
"Great," Jin muttered. "Guess I shouldn’t expect early warnings, huh?"
"I’ll try to monitor as much as I can."
As Jin got ready to leave the bath, feeling more human than he had in days, Asha’s tone suddenly got serious.
"Jin, I’m picking up some weird energy signatures from the lower levels. Nothing immediately dangerous, but... something’s activating down there. Systems that’ve been dormant since the Vault were sealed."
"What kind of systems?" Jin asked, his peaceful mood vanishing.
"Not sure. The signals are encrypted, coming from sectors that don’t show up on any of Clara’s maps. But whatever it is, something triggered it. Maybe your awakening, or your recent memory recovery."
Jin finished drying off and got dressed, his mind racing. "Should I tell the others?"
"Not yet. I need more info before we can tell if it’s a threat or just automated systems responding to you. But Jin... stay sharp. The Vault might have more secrets than we thought."
"Asha," he asked, his voice a little quieter than before, "this Vault... does it have swords?"
A brief silence. Then Asha replied, deadpan as always.
"Statistically improbable that a cryogenic survival vault invested heavily in katanas. Vaults tend to prioritize firearms, shock batons, and non-lethal deterrents. You know, standard apocalypse fare."
Jin frowned. "But... with the Tsurugi Zaibatsu’s connections, my mother... maybe she left something behind?"
"Now that is more plausible. Project Phoenix had overlapping jurisdiction with Tsurugi holdings. Some vault sectors were built to accommodate specific research nodes. If there is a weapon of traditional craftsmanship within this structure, it would be stored in one of three potential places..."
A navigation pulse lit up softly in his HUD.
[Vault Sub-Sector: ARC-Wing Storage — Status: Sealed]
[Vault Archives - Cultural Artifacts Division — Power Inactive]
[Maintenance Armory Delta-2 — Secured. Biometric Clearance Required.]
Jin’s fingers twitched.
"Asha," he murmured, almost to himself, "I need to hold a real blade again. I can feel the forms in my head... but without a sword—"
"You’re a violinist playing with a stick. I get it."
He smirked despite himself.
Jin looked around the changing area. "So what can I use for now? Until we break into one of those vaults."
A small icon blinked.
[Improvised Weapon Recommendation – Vault Baton Type-C]
[Status: Charged / Shock-Enabled / Medium Reach]
"The locker beside you has a stun baton that can fry a rat mutant’s skull if you hit hard enough."
Jin opened it, pulling out a sleek, retractable baton with a matte-black finish and faint blue glow at the handle. He gave it a test swing. It hummed softly in the air, feeling balanced and responsive in his hand.
"...It’s not much," he muttered. "But it’ll do."
Walking back to the Command Lounge, Jin couldn’t shake the feeling that their little moment of peace was about to end. He could hear soft conversation ahead and Rosa’s occasional laugh echoing down the corridor.