Day 76-77 Post-Impact
Captain Zara Hassan had been trained to observe.
Fifteen years in Malaysia's special forces had honed her ability to read situations, assess threats, and understand the dynamics of any group she encountered. She'd infiltrated terrorist cells, observed criminal organizations, and analyzed enemy formations under fire.
None of that had prepared her for watching Sarnav Kish's wives train together.
They moved like a single organism. Seven women with different abilities, different backgrounds, different combat styles, flowing around each other with perfect coordination. No verbal communication. No hand signals. Just an instinctive awareness of where each other would be.
Ishani's light blades carved patterns in the air while Nisha's nature magic created obstacles for her to navigate. The blades hummed with energy, leaving trails of golden light that faded slowly. Minji's illusions spawned phantom attackers that the others dispatched with casual efficiency, each woman knowing exactly which illusions were fake because the others told them somehow. Ananya's rhythm magic kept them all synchronized, a beat Zara could almost feel thrumming through the training ground.
And Sana, the healer, moved between them with a different purpose. Not fighting, but supporting. Her Holy Light wrapped around the others in subtle ways, enhancing their recovery, keeping them at peak performance. The Japanese woman seemed to anticipate injuries before they happened, moving to assist before the need became obvious.
Most remarkably, through it all, they talked. Laughed. Teased each other about yesterday's sparring session.
"Ishani, you almost took my head off with that last swing," Minji complained, dodging a nature construct.
"Maybe don't teleport into my attack pattern then."
"It was an illusion! You should have known!"
"Hard to tell when you're showing off."
Zara made mental notes. The banter wasn't distraction. It was confidence. They trusted each other so completely that they could focus on conversation while executing combat maneuvers that would have challenged her best operatives.
"How does it work?" she asked, standing beside Sarnav at the edge of the training area.
"The coordination?"
"Everything. The way they communicate. The way they fight together. It shouldn't be possible without extensive unit training. I've worked with elite teams for years. We were never this synchronized."
"We have something better than training." He didn't elaborate.
Zara's jaw tightened. More secrets. More walls. The man was infuriating in his refusal to share tactical intelligence. "The Council requires transparency."
"The Council requires many things they're not entitled to." His tone was mild, but the steel beneath it was unmistakable. "Watch. Learn. Report what you see. But some things stay internal."
She turned her attention back to the training, frustration simmering beneath her professional calm. He was right, though. What she was seeing was remarkable. These women fought at a level that surpassed most Council units. If Harmony ever turned hostile, they would be a nightmare to engage.
Better to keep them as allies. Much better.
The negotiations resumed after lunch.
Deputy Minister Tan had come with a new proposal, one that attempted to thread the needle between the Council's desire for control and Harmony's insistence on autonomy. A "strategic partnership" that would allow joint operations, shared intelligence, and mutual defense commitments while preserving Harmony's internal governance.
On paper, it looked reasonable. Jiyeon saw through it immediately.
"Section four grants the Council 'oversight authority' in matters of regional security," she said, her voice calm but pointed. "That's a backdoor to controlling our military operations."
"It's standard language for any alliance agreement," Tan countered smoothly. "Merely administrative coordination."
"It's language designed to subordinate partners, not coordinate with them." Jiyeon slid a revised document across the table. "Our counter-proposal. Mutual consultation on regional threats. Joint operations by invitation only. No oversight. No hierarchy."
"That's unacceptable. The Council cannot partner with a faction that operates outside any chain of command."
"Then the Council will have to accept that some factions have grown beyond their reach."
The temperature in the room dropped several degrees. Tan's smile remained fixed, but his eyes hardened. This was the true negotiation. Not words on paper, but tests of will. Who would blink first.
The back-and-forth continued for hours. Sarnav let Jiyeon handle most of it, stepping in only when fundamental principles were at stake. This was her element, and she excelled at it. Every concession she made was calculated, every line she held was strategic.
Zara observed silently, making notes, trying to understand the dynamics. Sarnav led, but he delegated. He trusted his wives to handle their areas of expertise. It was efficient. Unconventional, but efficient.
More than efficient, it was attractive. A leader who didn't need to control everything. Who recognized talent and empowered it rather than hoarding authority.
She found her eyes drifting to him more often than professional assessment required. The way he carried himself, confident without arrogance. The quiet authority in his presence that didn't demand attention but commanded it anyway. The way his other wives looked at him with a mixture of devotion and desire that should have been unsettling but somehow wasn't.
She caught herself staring and looked away, heat rising to her cheeks beneath her hijab.
From across the room, she noticed the pale woman with the tablet watching her. The hacker, Jade. Her expression was neutral, but her eyes were cold. Calculating. The look of someone who saw everything and forgot nothing.
Zara recognized it. It was the same look she saw in the mirror.
Jade had been monitoring the government delegation since they arrived.
Every communication they sent. Every encrypted message they thought was private. Every report Captain Zara Hassan filed with her superiors. Jade saw it all. Knew it all. It was what she did.
What annoyed her was how much of Hassan's reports focused on Sarnav.
"Exceptional leadership capabilities."
"Commands genuine loyalty."
"Unlike typical awakener factions."
And, most irritating: Personal assessment deleted before sending.
Jade knew what that meant. She'd seen the undeleted version. The way Hassan had written about him. The professional veneer barely covering something more personal underneath.
Another woman looking at her husband.
It shouldn't have bothered her. The system was designed for multiple wives. She'd accepted that when she bonded. But there was a difference between accepting it intellectually and watching some government soldier circle around Sarnav like she was considering making a move.
"You're going to crack your tablet if you keep gripping it like that," Minji observed, appearing beside her.
"Shut up."
"Ooh, more tsundere than usual. Let me guess." Minji followed Jade's gaze to where Zara stood near Sarnav. "Jealousy?"
"I'm not jealous. I'm professionally concerned about security risks."
"Sure you are." Minji grinned. "You know, if you're worried about competition, there's an easy solution. Remind him why he married you."
Jade's face flushed. "I don't need relationship advice from someone who says 'GG' after sex."
"That's valid feedback! It enhances the experience!" Minji wandered off, still laughing.
Jade stared at her tablet, not seeing the data on the screen. Minji was an idiot. But she wasn't wrong.
She found him in his office after dinner, reviewing reports from the Herald engagement. Always working. Always planning. The idiot never took breaks.
"Don't you ever stop?" she asked from the doorway.
He looked up. "Jade. What do you need?"
"Systems update." She stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "The government's communications are clean. No hidden agendas beyond the obvious power grab."
"Good to know."
She hesitated, then moved to perch on the edge of his desk. Casual. Professional. Not jealous at all.
"That soldier woman keeps watching you."
"Hassan? She's assessing our capabilities. It's her job."
"She's assessing more than your capabilities." The words came out sharper than intended. "I've read her deleted reports. She's not just here for military intelligence."
Sarnav set down his tablet, giving her his full attention. "Are you jealous?"
"What? No! I-it's not like I care who looks at you." The denial came too fast, too defensive. Classic Jade. "I'm just flagging a potential security concern. That's my job."
"You killed a spy last week for less than looking."
"That was different. He was an actual threat."
"And Hassan?"
"She's..." Jade trailed off, unable to articulate the difference. The spy had been easy to eliminate. Cold calculation. But Hassan was complicated. A potential ally. Someone they might need.
Someone who wanted what Jade had.
"She's annoying," Jade finally said.
Sarnav stood, moving around the desk until he was standing in front of her. Close. Too close. Her heart was racing, which was stupid. They'd been married for weeks. She shouldn't still react this way.
"Jade."
"What?"
"Look at me."
She did, reluctantly. His eyes were warm. Understanding. Seeing right through her walls like they weren't even there.
"You don't have to be jealous."
"I'm not—"
"You monitor everything. You know everything that happens in Harmony. You know I haven't touched anyone except my wives." He reached out, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "You know you don't have anything to worry about."
Her breath caught. "Then why does she look at you like that?"
"Because I'm worth looking at." The arrogance should have been annoying. It wasn't. "But looking isn't having. And the only women who have me are the ones I've chosen." His hand moved from her hair to her chin, tilting her face up. "Women like you."
The tsundere armor cracked. It always did, eventually. She hated how easily he could do that.
"Idiot," she whispered.
"Genius, actually. The system confirmed it."
"Shut up and kiss me."
He did.
The kiss started fierce, all the jealousy and frustration pouring out. She grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer, biting his lip hard enough to taste blood. He responded in kind, hands fisting in her hair, kissing her with a hunger that made her knees weak.
"I hate you," she gasped between kisses.
"No you don't."
"I hate that you're right."
He lifted her onto the desk, scattering reports and tablets across the floor. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him between her thighs, feeling his hardness pressing against her through their clothes.
"Someone might hear," she protested weakly.
"You're the one who closed the door."
"I—that wasn't—" She gave up on explanations when his mouth found her neck, teeth grazing skin. Her hips ground against him involuntarily. "Diu..."
He pulled back, smirking. "What was that?"
"Nothing. Cantonese nothing."
"Say it again."
"Make me."
His hands found the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head. Her bra followed, revealing pale breasts with nipples already peaked from arousal. He cupped them, thumbs brushing across sensitive tips.
"Say it."
"Sei yan..." The curse slipped out as pleasure sparked through her. "You're a bastard."
"And yet here you are." He lowered his head, taking one nipple into his mouth, and she arched into him with a moan. His hands worked her pants open, sliding inside to find her already wet.
"Don't you dare tease me," she hissed.
"Or what?"
Her nails dug into his shoulders. Hard. Drawing blood. "Or I'll make you regret it."
"Promises, promises."
He spun her around, bending her over the desk. She heard his belt unfastening, felt him pushing her pants down, and then he was pressing against her entrance, hot and thick.
"Say please."
"Fuck you."
"That's the idea."
He thrust in with one hard stroke, and she cried out, hands scrabbling for purchase on the desk's surface. He didn't give her time to adjust. Didn't treat her gently. He knew what she wanted, what she needed, and he gave it to her without mercy.
"Sei yan!" She clawed at the desk, at his arms, anywhere she could reach. "Chur sei ngo... fuck me harder..."
He obliged, his pace brutal, each thrust driving her forward against the wood. The desk shook with the force of it. Her glasses fell off somewhere. She didn't care.
"This is what you wanted?" His voice was rough in her ear. "You wanted me to remind you who you belong to?"
"I don't—ahn—I don't belong to anyone—"
"Liar." He bit the junction of her neck and shoulder, hard enough to leave a mark. "You're mine, Jade. Every monitoring system. Every surveillance protocol. Every tsundere denial. Mine."
"Diu lei—" The curse dissolved into a moan as his angle shifted, hitting something deep inside her. Her walls clenched around him, pulling him deeper.
"Say it."
"No—"
His hand found her clit, rubbing circles that had her seeing stars. "Say it."
"Fine! Fine, I'm—hou suen—I'm yours, you bastard, I'm yours!"
The admission broke something inside her. The walls she kept so carefully maintained crumbled, and all that was left was sensation. His cock pounding into her. His hands on her body. His teeth at her throat. Everything she pretended not to need, everything she pretended not to want.
Her orgasm hit like a wave, crashing through her with enough force to make her scream. She came in Cantonese, a stream of curses and endearments that would have made her grandmother faint. Her nails carved furrows down his arms, drawing blood, marking him as surely as his bite had marked her.
He followed moments later, spilling inside her with a groan that vibrated against her neck. They collapsed against the desk together, breathing hard, sweat-slicked and satisfied.
"I hate you," she mumbled into the wood.
"Love you too."
She wanted to argue. Couldn't find the energy. Instead, she just lay there, feeling him soften inside her, feeling the evidence of their coupling leaking between her thighs.
"You scratched me bloody," he observed.
"You deserved it."
"Probably." He pressed a kiss to her shoulder blade. "Feel better about Captain Hassan?"
"...Shut up."
Later, curled together on the small couch in his office because neither wanted to move, Jade let herself have a rare moment of vulnerability.
"I don't like sharing."
"I know."
"The system says I have to. The network makes it bearable. But I still don't like it." She traced patterns on his chest, her sharp nails gentle now. "When I see other women looking at you, I want to erase them. From databases. From records. From existence."
"That's concerning."
"I know that too." She sighed. "I'm not a good person, Sarnav. I never pretended to be. I killed that spy without hesitation. I monitor everyone in this compound because I don't trust anyone who isn't family. I would burn down governments to protect what's ours."
"I know."
"And that doesn't bother you?"
He was quiet for a moment. Then: "The world ended two months ago. Good and bad mean different things now. You protect the family. You keep us safe from threats I can't even see. That matters more than whether you're nice about it."
She processed that, her brilliant mind turning it over. "So you accept me. All of me. The paranoia and the jealousy and the willingness to kill."
"I married you knowing exactly who you were."
A strange warmth spread through her chest. It took her a moment to identify it as happiness.
"You don't have to like sharing," he continued. "You just have to trust that no one replaces anyone. Every wife is different. Irreplaceable. Including you."
"Including me," she repeated skeptically.
"You see everything. You know everything. You protect us from threats before we even know they exist." He kissed her forehead. "No one else does what you do. No one else could."
She was quiet for a long moment. Then: "If that soldier woman does become a wife, I want full surveillance authorization on her for the first six months."
"Done."
"And she has to pass my security protocols."
"Naturally."
"And if she hurts anyone in the family, I'll make her disappear without a trace."
"I'd expect nothing less." He was smiling. She could hear it in his voice. "Anything else?"
"...No. That's acceptable."
It was, she supposed, the closest she would ever come to giving her blessing.
But she'd be watching. She always was.
Via the network, she felt the other wives' amusement at her possessiveness. Minji's teasing satisfaction. Ishani's approving recognition of a fellow predator. Even Sana's gentle acceptance.
Family, Jade thought. Strange. Chaotic. Hers.
She'd kill anyone who threatened it.
[DAY 77]
[WIFE COUNT: 7/32]
[ESSENCE: 759,100 / 1,000,000]
[HP: 12,847]
[HARMONY SAFE ZONE STATUS][POPULATION: 955][MYTHILI: HOSTING GOVERNMENT DELEGATION]
[GOVERNMENT STATUS: NEGOTIATIONS ONGOING]
[ZARA HASSAN: UNDER OBSERVATION]
[JADE: SATISFIED (TEMPORARILY)]
[NEXT: STRATEGY]