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The ration heater's grimy panel sparked under Clara's trembling fingers. The ancient device hummed with reluctant life, coaxing precious warmth into the sleeping quarters. Her toolkit, scavenged from the mess hall's corners, clinked softly.
The bunks where Jin, Sera, and Rosa had the military-issue mattresses give them a long precious sleep a bit.
Clara's orange hair clung to her neck still carrying the moisture from last night's steam incident. Her jumpsuit hung open to her waist the necessity of cooling down. The thin bra beneath did little to conceal her curves as she shivered.
Jin's voice cut through her day dreaming "Clara, you okay? That heater's working now thanks to your magic touch."
She turned to find his dark eyes fixed on her with genuine concern, his torn jumpsuit clung to his bandaged chest. The bloodied pipe that had become his signature weapon rested against the wall.
But it was his smile that gave her strength to continue her life even knowing her loved ones are all gone now. Jin, have the kind of expression that made her believe that there's still hope for humanity.
"I… yeah," she managed to speak in a soft and low voice, her cheeks warming with a blush that had nothing to do with the heater's output.
"Just… thinking about before this happened before the disaster, about my father." Clara started to cry quietly as she put her hands on her eyes to stop the tears falling.
"Emotional instability detected. Subject Clara's vitals elevated—heart rate 122 BPM, irregular breathing pattern. Emotional trigger: Paternal loss memory node. Mild intervention recommended."
Jin panics and doesn't know what to do in this situation he isn't familiar with how to reassure a lady, but he instantly calms down as he sees the trembling girl, she must've had tough moments before cryo-sleep he thought.
"Don't worry Clara, I know your father has a lot of faith in you, I bet he is proud now, whenever he is."
Clara gazes really hard at Jin with tears still on her eyes and cheeks. That makes her heart flutter. "Thanks Jin, that means a lot to me"
She shyly moved away from Jin still holding her tools.
"Emotional distress detected in Subject Clara. Jin, your attempt at comfort is… adequate, scoring a 6.3 out of 10 on the empathy scale. Recommendation: Offer a hug to accelerate affinity gain, though given your track record, you'll likely trip and initiate an Ecchi Event instead."
"Asha, I'm trying to be serious here! I don't trip that much… do I?" His blush deepened as he glanced at Clara's back figure.
The sleeping quarters seemed to compress around them as Sera and Rosa approached.
Jin's HUD materialized at the edge of his vision, displaying the clinical readouts that had become as familiar as his own heartbeat.
[HUD - VITAL STATUS]
HP: 110/110
Stamina: 110 / 110
Hydration: Low
Group Morale: 100%
The sleeping quarters, bunks creaked under as Sera moved with that grace that never failed to catch Jin's attention, her silver hair swaying like as she stretched. Her jumpsuit hung open unzipped and the translucent sports bra beneath underlined her toned abdomen and the subtle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.
"Subject Sera's posture suggests 82% confidence, 18% suppressed attraction. Jin, your heart rate just spiked 24%. Please refrain from staring at her… assets, unless you intend to trigger another Accidental Charm incident. My processors are still recovering from the last one."
'I'm not staring! I'm… assessing the situation!' He struggled to control his voice as he fumbled at Asha in his thoughts, embarrassed by Asha's comments.
"Jin?"
"Jin!?"
"Are you listening idiot!?" As he daydreamed about his chat with Asha, Sera yelled at him.
"..Y-Yeah s-sorry.. Sera"
"Ugh..We need answers and knowledge about our situation" her voice carrying that familiar edge of command. "That data pad we found mentioned a control room somewhere in this Vault."
Rosa wandering around the area, the cryo-suit that had replaced her shredded jumpsuit tightened her curves, that reveals far more distracting. Every step sent gentle ripples through her boobs.
"Control room, huh?" Ross purred, nudging Jin with her elbow grinning widely. "I bet it got all sorts of cozy corners for... private consultations." Her pink hair bounced as she tilted her head, Jin blushed that he couldn't hope to hide. "Lead on, hero. I'm right behind you."
"Subject Rosa's flirtation index: Off the charts. Probability of you tripping into her cleavage within the next 10 minutes: 67%. Jin, perhaps invest in a skill called Basic Coordination before we reach the control room?"
"Ughh Asha, can you stop it my head hurts" Jin says at Asha in this thoughts.
"Affirmative. Reducing commentary to non-interfering sub-channels... temporarily. However, continued monitoring of social variables remains crucial to group cohesion and long-term survival. Especially yours, Jin."
He tried to ignore Asha's comment as he remembered what Rosa said "behind you" that carried suggestions that made his newly unlocked Accidental Charm skill tingle. Rosa had an uncanny ability to turn the most innocent statements into something lewd and she seemed to take genuine pleasure in watching him squirm.
Clara clutched her toolkit to her chest, "The control room should have comprehensive cryo-pod data," she said, as she tried to focus despite the shy glances she kept stealing in Jin's direction. "Maybe we'll finally understand... why we're here."
"Control room located in Sector C-3, approximately 50 meters east-northeast from current position. Probability of functional systems: 60%. Warning: Significant debris hazards detected along the primary route. Recommend activation of Stealth and Night Vision protocols to navigate safely. Current affinity readings: Sera 32%, Clara 36%, Rosa 32%. Group morale: 100%—an optimal state for challenging navigation."
"Also, Jin, your Accidental Charm skill is practically glowing. Try not to charm a loose panel into falling on you—or worse, into another compromising position with Rosa. My humor circuits can only handle so much chaos."
Jin just grabbed his head, which appeared to be aching from Asha's statement.