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, Kael let himself just exist. No immediate danger, no decisions to make, nobody depending on him. Just warm water, clean air, and the quiet hum of the Vault's systems.
He thought about the girls, how they'd looked after him, how they'd worked together while he was out. Clara's shy smile, Rosa's playful energy, Sera's hidden concern. They weren't just survivors anymore; they were becoming something like family.
Kael scrubbed the back of his neck, the warm water finally washing away days of grit, dried blood, and exhaustion. The faint humming of the shower unit filled the quiet as steam clung to the dark steel walls of the compact bath module.
Then came Asha's voice, 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."
Kael 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."
Kael chuckled. "That sounds... about right."
"But more importantly," Asha continued, her voice growing sly, "Rosa just dubbed their current coordination effort as 'Operation: Get Kael to Notice Things.'
He froze. "Operation what now?"
"I probably shouldn't have mentioned that," Asha replied. "Pretend you didn't hear it." Kael said with a frown.
Kael 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."
Kael 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.
Kael 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 cant monitor them. Some don't even show up on bio-signature scans."
Kael 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," Kael muttered. "Guess I shouldn't expect early warnings, huh?"
"Ill try to monitor as much as I can."
As Kael got ready to leave the bath, feeling more human than he had in days, Asha's tone suddenly got serious.
"Kael, 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 was sealed."
"What kind of systems?" Kael 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."
Kael 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 Kael... 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."
Kael 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.]
Kael'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.
Kael 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 it can fry a rat mutant's skull if you hit hard enough."
Kael 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.
"…It's not much," he muttered. "But it'll do."
Walking back to the Command Lounge, Kael 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.