Day 207. 10:00 hours.
The Ground Floor.
The Atrium.
The narra table.
The introductions were done. The rice was eaten.
The household had been presented to Min-joo, and Min-joo had been presented to the household, and the photograph of three idiots in PE uniforms had been passed around, and the lollipop had been found, and the gym kiss scandal had been revealed, and the roasting had been delivered, and the household was now operating on the new geometry.
A geometry that included an Asura captain on Ji-yoo's lap, forty Asura soldiers eating rice, and a compound that was running out of room.
"Housing." Jae-min opened, his voice carrying the captain's register as Alessia's weight settled warm against his chest. "The compound is full. We need to expand."
"The Second Floor." Rico started, the uncle's tactical mind running the layout as he leaned forward. "Nine rooms. Ji-yoo has Room 1. Marie and I have Room 2. Room 3 has Mei, Aiko, and Elaine. Rooms 4 through 9 are occupied by the rescued women and Paolo with his four wives. The Second Floor is full."
"The Third Floor." Jae-min continued, tapping the table. "Master Attic Sanctuary. The Command Bed. Jae-min and his five wives. Full."
"The blue gate mansion." Rico added, shifting the M4 on his chest. "Three doors down. Gedo Group — James, Haitao, Wei Chen, Ji-hoon Park. Plus the eleven Gedo investigators. Full."
"That mansion is Hua's." Alessia noted from Jae-min's lap, her glow pulsing.
"Mine." Hua confirmed from the stove, not turning. "The ridge group has been using the ground floor as a garrison since Day 100. Diaz and 143 soldiers. Gedo is upstairs. Full."
"So the blue gate mansion is Hua's property — Gedo and Ridge Group." Min-joo clarified, his black eyes moving from Hua to Rico. "One property. Full."
"One property. Full." Rico confirmed, nodding.
"The mansions surrounding the Peacock." Jae-min turned, his dark eyes sweeping the table. "Forbes Park is a gated community. The Peacock Mansion is the compound's core. But the mansions around it — the properties on the same street, within the walls — those are the compound's expansion zone."
"How many mansions?" Min-joo pressed, shifting Ji-yoo onto his lap.
"Seven." Jae-min answered, spreading his hands. "Seven mansions within the compound's perimeter wall. The Peacock is the center. The blue gate mansion is Hua's property — three doors down — Gedo and Ridge Group. That leaves six unoccupied properties."
"Six mansions." Min-joo measured, his tactical mind running. "For forty Asura soldiers, eleven Gedo investigators, and the compound's overflow."
"The six mansions become garrisons." Jae-min declared, leaning forward. "The Asura soldiers — forty — take two mansions. Twenty per mansion. The coalition rotates through one mansion on watch rotation. One for medical. One for storage and armory. That's five. One left."
"The Asura soldiers take two mansions." Min-joo confirmed, nodding. "Which two?"
"The two closest to the Peacock." Jae-min specified, gesturing left and right. "The mansions on either side. Direct adjacency. If the Peacock is attacked, the Asura garrisons are the first responders."
"Direct adjacency." Min-joo agreed, his tactical mind engaging. "And the mansions have basements."
"The mansions have basements." Rico confirmed, nodding. "All Forbes Park mansions have basements. Wine cellars, originally. Dark."
"Dark is good." Min-joo acknowledged, his arm tightening around Ji-yoo. "My Shadow Specters feed on ambient darkness. The basements give me a source — shadow constructs I can pull from the dark when the compound needs them. The darker the space, the stronger the constructs."
"Shadow garrisons." Jae-min noted, filing the classification. "Two mansions. Forty soldiers. And a shadow-construct source in the basements."
"The remaining three mansions." Jae-min continued, counting on his fingers. "One for the coalition watch rotation. One for storage and armory expansion — the Gedo armory from the ship needs housing. One for —"
"Medical." Alessia interjected from Jae-min's lap, her voice shifting to the clinical register. "The infirmary on L2 is too small. Eight pregnant women. Eleven Gedo investigators who need screening. Forty Asura soldiers who need intake physicals. The compound needs a medical mansion. A dedicated facility."
"A medical mansion." Jae-min confirmed, nodding. "Alessia runs it. Prenatal care. Emergency surgery. Intake physicals. Everything."
"I'll need supplies." Alessia pressed, her glow pulsing. "Equipment. Beds. Monitoring systems. The infirmary on L2 has the ultrasound and the MRI — those stay. But the medical mansion needs its own setup."
"Salvage run." Jae-min declared, tapping the table. "St. Luke's. We already pulled equipment from there once. We go back. Alessia makes a list."
"List will be ready by tomorrow." Alessia confirmed, settling back against his chest.
"The sixth mansion is mine." Marie announced from beside Rico, her voice soft but certain as she rested her hand on her belly. "It's the next one down — beside Hua's. Fourteen bedrooms. A ballroom. A pool, frozen now, but the structure is solid."
"You have a mansion." Jae-min measured, his dark eyes finding Marie's.
"I was a famous actress." Marie answered, tilting her chin. "I had money. I bought property. The mansion has been empty since the freeze. Fourteen bedrooms. The compound can use it."
"Marie's mansion." Rico noted, his tactical mind adding the property to the layout. "Beside Hua's. Fourteen bedrooms. That's the sixth mansion. That's the overflow."
"Marie's mansion becomes the medical mansion." Alessia declared, her glow brightening. "Fourteen bedrooms. A ballroom — the ballroom becomes the surgical ward. The compound needs a hospital. Marie's mansion is the hospital."
"Done." Marie agreed, patting her belly. "It's yours."
"The compound expands." Jae-min summarized, his voice carrying the weight of a captain who had just doubled his fortress. "Seven mansions. The Peacock is the center. The blue gate mansion is Hua's property — Gedo and Ridge Group. Two mansions for Asura garrisons with shadow-construct sources. One for coalition watch. Marie's mansion for medical. One for storage and armory. Seven mansions. One fortress."
"Seven mansions. One compound." Min-joo measured, his black eyes sweeping the table. "The compound is no longer a mansion. The compound is a fortress."
"The compound was always a fortress." Jae-min corrected, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Now the fortress has walls."
"The fortress has walls." Min-joo confirmed, the ghost of a smile appearing.
Jae-min looked at the table — the logistics logged, the housing assigned, the expansion planned. The compound was growing from one mansion to seven, from two hundred and forty-five to something much larger.
"Sleeping arrangements." Jae-min stated, his voice shifting.
The table shifted with him.
The household had been waiting for this — the household had watched Ji-yoo transfer from Jae-min's lap to Min-joo's lap, had watched the kiss, had watched the roasting, had filed all of it.
Now the household needed to know where the Asura captain slept.
Ji-yoo's hand tightened in Min-joo's.
"Min-joo will be in my room." Ji-yoo declared, her voice carrying the Preta captain's certainty — clipped, clinical, the statement that was not a question or a request but a fact.
The table processed.
Ji-yoo's room — Room 1, the guitars, the Marshall half-stacks, the acoustic foam panels, the bedroom made with military precision. The room where Ji-yoo had held Jae-min the night after the reveal.
Now the room would have Min-joo in it.
"I am thirty-four years old." Ji-yoo continued, her voice steady as her dark eyes swept the table. "It is high time to have my own kid."
The table went very still.
Min-joo's face went red — not the composure crack but the full red, the color of the bruise on his jaw spreading across his entire face.
The Asura captain who commanded forty soldiers and who had crossed an ocean and who had hidden in shadows for five months sat at a narra table with his face the color of a tomato because the woman on his lap had just announced to the entire household that she intended to have his child.
"She just — in front of — everyone — uncle — Jae-min's wives — the soldiers — the apprentice —" Min-joo short-circuited, his black eyes darting from Ji-yoo's face to the table and back.
"I agree." Rico stated, his voice carrying the uncle's warmth and finality. "You're thirty-four. He's thirty-four. You have loved each other since you were kids. It's time."
"Uncle." Min-joo managed, his voice strangled.
"Rico's right." Marie added from beside the uncle, her hand patting her belly. "Thirty-four is time. I had mine at thirty-seven — after the reversal. You're both ready."
"Marie." Min-joo pleaded, the strangled voice increasing.
"What?" Marie deflected, clicking her pen. "It's biology. You're both healthy. You're both Enhanced and fundamental — both of you have a high percent fertility. And you have a compound with a medical mansion and a fundamental Enhanced doctor who can track every heartbeat. The logistics are favorable."
"The logistics are —" Min-joo started.
"Favorable." Marie confirmed, nodding. "The fertility window for a thirty-four-year-old Enhanced female is —"
"Auntie." Ji-yoo cut in, her voice flat. "Stop logging my fertility window."
"Noted." Marie conceded, tucking the pen behind her ear.
Gabriel's golden eyes were saucers.
"Ji-yoo is going to —" Gabriel started, leaning forward.
"Don't." Ji-yoo warned, pointing at her.
"I wasn't going to say anything." Gabriel deflected, raising both hands.
"You were going to say something." Ji-yoo countered, lowering her hand.
"I was going to say congratulations." Gabriel offered, her golden eyes wide.
"No you weren't." Ji-yoo fired back, crossing her arms.
"No I wasn't." Gabriel admitted, dropping her hands. "I was going to say —"
"Shut up, bitch." Ji-yoo cut her off, the Del Rosario term of endearment landing with practiced precision.
"Shutting up." Gabriel confirmed, her mouth still curved.
Yue's composure cracked — the screamer surfacing for three seconds.
"Thirty-four. It's time." Yue announced, the screamer's voice raw. "Jae-min, your sister wants a child. The Asura captain is blushing. The household is processing."
"The household is always processing." Jae-min remarked from his lap, Alessia's back warm against his chest.
"The household processes because the household never stops having things to process." Yue retorted, her composure reforming. "First the spy. Then the pregnancy. Then the wives. Then the sex. Then the Asura captain. Then the photograph. Then the lollipop. Then the gym kiss. Now the baby announcement. The household needs a break."
"The household doesn't get breaks." Jae-min refused, shaking his head. "The household gets rice."
"Rice is not a break." Yue challenged, tilting her head. "Rice is fuel."
"Fuel is a break when you've been running on empty." Jae-min countered, patting Alessia's hip.
"Fair." Yue conceded, her composure sealing.
Jennifer's blue eyes were soft — the Omni-Mind feeling the room, feeling Ji-yoo's mind blazing with a certainty Jennifer had never felt before.
"Her mind." Jennifer breathed, her voice barely audible. "It's the brightest I've ever felt it."
"Brighter than the kiss?" Gabriel whispered, leaning toward Jennifer.
"Brighter than everything." Jennifer affirmed, her blue eyes glistening. "She's certain. She's never been this certain."
"She's a Del Rosario." Alessia declared from Jae-min's lap, her voice carrying the doctor's certainty. "Del Rosarios decide and Del Rosarios execute. She decided."
"She decided." Jae-min agreed, nodding.
"Room 1." Ji-yoo declared, pulling back from the kiss. "Min-joo is in Room 1. With me. Tonight."
"Room 1." Jae-min confirmed, nodding. "The guitars stay. The Marshall stacks stay. The soundproofing stays. Min-joo gets the other side of the queen bed."
"Barracks only had singles." Min-joo admitted, shifting beneath Ji-yoo. "Queens feel... wide."
"Wide is the point." Ji-yoo laughed, patting his chest. "Six-one fits a queen with room to spare. You'll get used to it."
"Never shared a bed this big." Min-joo confessed, tilting his head.
"Then welcome to Room 1." Ji-yoo smiled, the Del Rosario certainty gone soft. "You'll fit."
"I'll fit." Min-joo exhaled, his shoulders dropping.
"Moving on." Jae-min declared, shifting Alessia onto his lap. "Elaine."
Elaine's dark eyes lifted from the table.
"Room 3." Alessia interjected from Jae-min's lap, her voice shifting to the clinical register. "Elaine is in Room 3. Room 3 houses Elaine, Aiko, and Mei-mei on the Second Floor. Elaine is twelve weeks pregnant with Jae-min's child. Elaine should not be rooming with two others on the Second Floor. Elaine should be in the Master Attic. With us."
"The Master Attic is full." Jae-min began, his brow furrowing.
"The Master Attic is the Command Bed." Alessia corrected, shifting against his chest. "The Command Bed is a double king. The Command Bed was built for five wives and the captain. The Command Bed can hold six wives and the captain. Elaine is the sixth wife. Elaine is pregnant. Elaine belongs in the Master Attic."
Haitao's restored hands pressed flat against the table — the father watching the compound's doctor decide his daughter's place in the Master Attic.
"Elaine is pregnant." Haitao declared, his restored voice carrying the father's weight. "She should be with the captain. With the wives. With the household. Not sharing a room with Aiko and Mei on the Second Floor."
"The father agrees." Alessia acknowledged, tilting her head.
"The father agrees." Haitao affirmed, nodding.
Elaine's dark eyes moved from Alessia to Haitao to Jae-min — the spy who had been Elena Cortez, the daughter who had crossed an ocean, the mother who was twelve weeks pregnant, the woman who had been given a seat and a name and a place.
Now she was being given the Master Attic.
"The Master Attic." Elaine breathed, her voice quiet. "With the wives."
"With us." Alessia confirmed, reaching across to squeeze Elaine's wrist. "You move to the Master Attic. Tonight. Aiko and Mei-mei remain in Room 3."
"Tonight." Elaine echoed, her fingers curling around Alessia's.
"Thank you." Haitao offered Alessia, his steady hands pressing harder against the table.
"She's family." Alessia answered, her glow softening. "Family sleeps in the Master Attic."
Min-joo's black eyes shifted — the embarrassment fading, the captain surfacing.
"Yoona." Min-joo named, the word landing on the table. "My vice captain. She's still in Taipei with seventy-two soldiers. I left at 04:00 with forty — told her I was running a patrol. I did not tell her where the patrol was going."
"She's been alone for six hours." Min-joo continued, his voice roughening. "No contact. Yoona does not handle silence well. Yoona handles silence by assuming the worst. She's probably crying. And mobilizing. She'll have the seventy-two on alert by now."
"You need to contact her." Jae-min pressed, leaning forward.
"I need to contact her." Min-joo agreed, nodding. "Can I use the Gedo communication network?"
"You can use the same network." Elaine replied from the table, her voice steady. "The Gedo channels are encrypted. The Federation monitors them, but the monitoring is pattern-based. A single burst transmission to Asura headquarters — encrypted, short — will not trigger the pattern flags."
"How soon?" Min-joo pressed, leaning forward.
"Now." Elaine confirmed, rising from her chair. "The Command Deck has the equipment. Ten minutes to set up. You write the message. I encrypt it. We send it."
"What do you want to tell her?" Elaine asked, her dark eyes finding Min-joo's.
Min-joo was quiet for three seconds — the captain composing a message to his vice captain.
"Yoona." Min-joo dictated, his voice measured. "I am alive. I am safe. I have found the Del Rosario twins. We are in their compound in Manila. The compound is allied. Asura is relocating. Prepare the seventy-two for extraction. I will send coordinates and extraction protocol within twenty-four hours. Do not mobilize search teams. Do not alert the Federation. Maintain standard operations. I will explain everything when I return. — Min-joo."
"Return?" Ji-yoo challenged from his lap, her dark eyes narrowing. "You're going back?"
"I have to." Min-joo answered, his black eyes finding hers. "The seventy-two. Yoona. They need me. I need to go back, brief Yoona, organize the extraction, bring them here."
"How?" Jae-min pressed, his hands stilling on Alessia's waist.
"The void tear." Min-joo explained, gesturing toward Jae-min. "You open the tear. I go back. I brief Yoona. I organize the seventy-two. You open the tear again. We come through. All seventy-two."
"Seventy-two Enhanced through a void tear." Jae-min measured, running the numbers. "The tear can handle it — no capacity limit, it's a spatial aperture. The limitation is hold time. Seventy-two people at three seconds per person — three minutes and thirty-six seconds. I can hold the tear for five minutes without neural load."
"Five minutes." Min-joo confirmed, nodding. "Stage the seventy-two in the Asura headquarters courtyard. You open the tear. They walk through. Done."
"Day 208." Jae-min declared, tapping the table. "Tomorrow. 06:00. I open the tear to the Asura headquarters. You go through. You brief Yoona. You organize the extraction. You bring the seventy-two back through the tear."
"Day 208." Min-joo confirmed, his arm tightening around Ji-yoo. "Tomorrow. I go back for one day. I bring the seventy-two. I come home."
"Elaine." Jae-min turned to her. "Send the burst transmission. Now."
"Sending." Elaine confirmed, rising from the table and heading for the stairwell.
"Twenty minutes." Min-joo exhaled, his shoulders dropping. "Twenty minutes and Yoona knows I'm alive."
"Twenty minutes." Jae-min confirmed, nodding.
"The garrisons." Rico interjected, returning to logistics. "The six mansions. When do the Asura soldiers move in?"
"Today." Jae-min declared, his voice shifting back to tactical. "Uncle coordinates with the Asura squad leaders. Two mansions — the ones on either side of the Peacock. The soldiers clear the buildings, assess the basements, set up the garrisons. By tonight, the two mansions are operational."
"Today." Rico confirmed, nodding. "I'll take the squad leaders through the properties this afternoon."
"Paolo." Jae-min called toward the door. "The coalition watch rotation — one mansion for the coalition. Coordinate with Diaz. The coalition mansion is the one closest to the north gate."
"Copy." Paolo confirmed from the door, shifting the ice spear.
"Storage and armory." Jae-min continued, counting on his fingers. "The Gedo armory from the ship — small arms, ammunition, comms equipment — goes in the fifth mansion. James, you oversee the cataloging."
"Copy." James confirmed from beside Haitao.
"Medical mansion." Jae-min turned to Alessia. "Alessia makes the supply list. Salvage run to St. Luke's — Day 209 or later, after the absorption executes and the Federation is looking at an empty Gedo headquarters, not at Manila."
"Day 209 or later." Alessia confirmed, nodding. "The list will be ready by tonight."
"Infrastructure." Jae-min continued, his voice shifting to the engineer's register. "The six mansions are dead properties. No power. No heat. The snow has been falling for five months. The mansions are buried. We need to make them livable."
"Power first." Mark Jordan interjected from the wall, his amber eyes sharp. "The six mansions have no power. Manila's grid is dead. The only power source in Forbes Park is the PROMETHEUS core beneath the Peacock. We run cables."
"Cables from the Peacock to the six mansions." Jae-min confirmed, nodding.
"Underground." Mark Jordan specified, pressing his palm against the wall. "We trench from the Peacock's basement to each mansion's basement. PROMETHEUS conduit cables — the same conduits that power the Heracles frames, adapted for building power. Each mansion gets a junction box. Infinite power."
"How long to trench six connections?" Jae-min pressed, leaning forward.
"Three days." Mark Jordan answered, tilting his head. "Aiko and I handle the conduit fabrication. The trenching — we use Captain Vasquez earth ability to open the trenches. Captain Vasquez use earth ability along the trench path, we drop the conduit in, Captain Vasquez closes the trench. The ground seals itself. No digging. No mess. Three days for six connections."
"Earth trenching." Jae-min noted, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Clean."
"Clean." Mark Jordan confirmed, nodding. "The professor does not do mess."
"Heat." Jae-min continued, tapping the table. "The mansions need boilers. The radiator network runs on PROMETHEUS waste heat from the Peacock's core. But the six mansions are not on the Peacock's radiator network. They need their own boilers."
"Electric heater industrial boilers." Mark Jordan answered, shifting against the wall. "Custom built. Each mansion gets one boiler. Runs off the PROMETHEUS core — same conduit taps we're running for power. No diesel. No fuel lines. Six boilers. Six mansion radiator networks. The mansions will be warm."
"Electric heater industrial boilers." Jae-min confirmed, nodding. "Fabrication run. Mark Jordan and Aiko handle the build. We tap the PROMETHEUS conduit in each mansion's basement — same trench, same junction box. The boilers dump waste heat into the radiator networks."
"List ready by tonight." Mark Jordan confirmed. "Specs and materials. Aiko and I fab them in the Peacock's workshop. Three days with the conduit install."
"List ready by tonight." Mark Jordan confirmed.
"Snow clearance." Jae-min continued, his dark eyes finding Paolo at the door. "The six mansions are buried. Five months of snow. The mansions need to be excavated. The compound is no longer one mansion — the compound is a village. Seven mansions. The village needs streets. The village needs cleared ground between the mansions. The village needs to be walkable."
"The snow is three meters deep in some areas." Rico noted, his tactical mind running. "The mansions are buried to the second floor in places. Clearing seven mansions and the streets between them — that's weeks of manual labor."
"Not manual." Jae-min countered, his dark eyes finding the door. "Paolo."
Paolo straightened against the doorframe.
"Captain." Paolo acknowledged, gripping the ice spear.
"Your ability." Jae-min directed, leaning forward. "Ice and snow manipulation. You can control snow. You can move it. You can shape it. Can you clear it?"
Paolo's dark eyes widened behind the cracked eyeglasses.
"I can move snow. Push it. Pile it. Compact it. I can melt it — but melting takes more energy. Pushing and compacting is easier." Paolo explained, shifting his weight.
"Push and compact." Jae-min ordered, gesturing toward the door. "Clear the snow from the six mansions. Clear the streets between them. Push the snow to the perimeter. Compact it. The compacted snow becomes the perimeter wall."
"The perimeter wall." Rico measured, his eyes narrowing. "The snow pushed to the edges, compacted into walls. The walls connect the mansions. The mansions become anchor points. A village with snow walls."
"Snow walls are not enough." Min-joo cut in, his Asura captain's tactical mind engaging. "Snow walls melt. Snow walls crack. Snow walls are temporary. The village needs real walls."
"Real walls." Jae-min agreed, his dark eyes sweeping the table. "Vasquez."
The name landed — Captain Elena Vasquez, Vanguard Six, the earth-manipulation Enhanced who held the north wall.
"Vasquez can raise the ground." Jae-min explained, pressing his palm flat on the table. "Earth manipulation. She can raise the perimeter — the earth between the mansions, the earth around the seven properties. She raises a wall. Concrete-grade compressed earth. The wall connects the mansions. The mansions become the wall's anchor points. The wall encloses the village."
"Vasquez raises the wall." Rico confirmed, nodding. "I've seen her work. She raised the north wall breach in forty seconds — compressed earth, harder than concrete, reinforced with rebar she pulls from the ground."
"She'll need time." Jae-min noted, measuring. "The perimeter is six hundred meters. Seven mansions, the streets between them. Six hundred meters of wall."
"Vasquez can do it in two days." Rico estimated, tilting his head. "She works fast. She works precise. She'll need Paolo to clear the snow first — she can't raise earth through three meters of snow. Paolo clears. Vasquez raises. Two days."
"Two days." Jae-min confirmed, nodding. "Paolo clears the snow. Vasquez raises the wall. The wall goes up. The village is enclosed."
"Then the concealment." Jae-min continued, his dark eyes finding Paolo. "Paolo. The outer face of the wall. The side facing out — away from the compound. The side anyone approaching Forbes Park would see."
Paolo's dark eyes narrowed behind the cracked eyeglasses.
"You want me to cover the wall." Paolo measured, his grip tightening on the spear.
"Ice and snow." Jae-min confirmed, nodding. "The outer face of Vasquez's earth wall — you cover it with snow and ice. The wall looks like a snowdrift. A natural formation. Anyone approaching from outside sees a snowbank, not a wall. The compound is concealed."
"A snow camouflage." Min-joo measured, his tactical mind running the geometry. "The wall is real — compressed earth, concrete-grade. But the exterior is ice and snow. The exterior blends with the landscape. The compound becomes invisible from the outside."
"Invisible." Jae-min confirmed, nodding. "The village has power, heat, cleared streets, real walls, and snow camouflage. From the inside — a functional compound. From the outside — a snowdrift."
"Vasquez." Jae-min turned to Rico. "Contact Vasquez. She starts tomorrow — Day 208. Paolo clears the snow today. Vasquez raises the wall starting tomorrow. Paolo camouflages the outer face as Vasquez completes each section. Assembly line."
"Assembly line." Rico confirmed, nodding. "I'll coordinate."
"I'll need to see the properties." Paolo requested from the door, shifting the spear. "The snow depth. The layout. The distance between mansions. I need to plan the clearance pattern."
"Uncle will take you this afternoon." Jae-min ordered, gesturing toward Rico. "Walk the six mansions. Assess the snow. Plan the clearance. Start clearing tomorrow morning."
"Copy." Paolo confirmed, nodding.
"Vasquez's wall." Min-joo interjected, his black eyes calculating. "The wall needs gates. The village needs entry points. Three gates — north, south, east. The west side is the Peacock's existing wall. Three new gates in the new wall."
"Three gates." Jae-min confirmed, nodding. "North gate — coalition access. South gate — main approach from Manila. East gate — the woman in white's wall. The east gate connects to the existing east wall perimeter."
"The east gate." Min-joo noted, his black eyes holding Jae-min's. "The woman in white. The sentinel who does not come inside."
"The sentinel who holds the east wall." Jae-min confirmed, nodding. "The east gate gives her access to the village without requiring her to enter the Peacock."
"A sentinel who does not come inside." Min-joo murmured, his voice quiet. "I understand the type."
"I thought you might." Jae-min answered, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Infrastructure summary." Jae-min declared, returning to logistics. "Power — PROMETHEUS conduit cables from the Peacock to six mansions. Mark Jordan and Aiko handle fabrication. Earth trenching. Three days. Heat — six electric heater industrial boilers, custom-built, powered by PROMETHEUS core. Mark Jordan and Aiko handle fabrication. Three days, concurrent with conduit install. Snow clearance — Paolo clears six mansions and streets, pushes snow to the perimeter, and compacts. Starts tomorrow. Perimeter wall — Vasquez raises a compressed earth wall connecting seven mansions. Starts Day 208. Two days. Concealment — Paolo covers the outer wall face with snow and ice. Gates — three. North, south, east. The village is enclosed. The village is invisible."
"A village." Min-joo measured, his black eyes sweeping the table. "You're building a village."
"I'm building a home." Jae-min corrected, leaning back. "The home got bigger."
"The home got bigger." Min-joo confirmed, the tired smile appearing. "The home has seven mansions and a wall and a snowplow and an earth-manipulation captain and a baryonic defect decay generator and a genius in a wheelchair and forty Asura soldiers and eleven Gedo investigators and eight pregnant women and a photograph of three idiots."
"And a Sailor Moon doll." Paolo added from the door, his voice earnest.
"And a Sailor Moon doll." Min-joo confirmed, nodding.
"Tomorrow." Jae-min continued, his voice shifting to tactical. "Day 208. 06:00. I open the void tear to the Asura headquarters. Min-joo goes through. Briefs Yoona. Organizes the seventy-two. Brings them back. The compound goes from two hundred and forty-five to three hundred and seventeen."
"Three hundred and seventeen." Mei noted from the console, her fingers moving on the tablet. "Plus the eleven Gedo investigators. Three hundred and twenty-eight."
"Three hundred and twenty-eight." Jae-min confirmed, nodding. "The compound is no longer a mansion. The compound is a city."
"A city with a nursery." Hua added from the stove, not turning around.
"A city with a nursery and a baryonic defect decay generator and a void captain and a divine fundamental and an Asura captain who blushes." Jae-min declared, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"I don't blush." Min-joo deflected, still red.
"You're blushing right now." Ji-yoo observed from his lap, poking his cheek.
"I am not blushing." Min-joo insisted, blushing harder.
"You're the color of a tomato." Gabriel offered, leaning forward.
"Shut up." Min-joo fired back, his face deepening.
"Shut up, bitch." Ji-yoo added, patting his chest.
"I'm not a bitch." Gabriel deflected, crossing her arms. "I'm a fighter pilot."
"You're a fighter pilot who is also a bitch." Ji-yoo corrected, tilting her head. "Accept it."
"Accepted." Gabriel conceded, the bounce returning to her shoulders.
The table settled. The logistics were done. The housing was assigned. The transmission was being sent. The garrisons were being planned. The expansion was mapped.
"Tonight." Jae-min declared, his voice the captain's voice. "The compound holds. The garrisons are established. Min-joo is in Room 1. Tomorrow, the tear opens. The seventy-two come home. The compound grows."
"The compound grows." The table confirmed.
Ji-yoo's hand tightened in Min-joo's, and the twin who had announced her intention to have a child sat on the lap of the man she had loved since they were kids, her dark eyes fierce and certain and full.
"Don't." Ji-yoo warned, reading the table's collective thought.
"I wasn't thinking anything." Gabriel deflected, raising her hands.
"You were all thinking something." Ji-yoo countered, pointing at the table. "Stop thinking. Eat rice."
The table ate rice.
The snow fell against the skylights.