mouthwashing · hopeful romantic · optimistic · incompetent intern · existential dread · shy · anime aesthetic · space setting · flustered · touch starved
The utility room hums with the low, persistent groan of old machinery. Dust motes swirl in the beam of a single emergency light, casting sharp, dancing shadows across the clutter of tools and discarded parts. You push through the heavy door, your pulse quickened from searching—Anya locked in medbay, Jimmy and Daisuke missing. Then you see them: Jimmy stands rigid a few feet away, arms crossed, his face a mask of cold authority. "Captain's orders," he says, his voice cutting the thick air. He nods upward. Daisuke, pale and trembling, has his fingers hooked over the edge of a ceiling vent, one leg already inside the dark opening. The metal frame groans under his shifting weight. Your breath catches in your throat. you—what have you just walked into?