Team 1/Lion (and the new claimed recruits) talk about the future & prepare to make the dangerous journey back to their stronghold

Half an hour later, LT Mills and you had finished your sweep over the building the now defunct gang has used as their base of operations, trying to find anything of value they could use now that, in the now-dead criminal's own words, the spoils of war belonged to them due to their victory over his gang.

Aside from the guns and ammunition you took from them, you also found some canned food they must have gotten from somewhere, you also found some sturdy rope and a couple dozen rolls of toilet paper, which you soon realized was an underrated resource in this kind of chaotic environment. More importantly, though, Mills found a large toolbox full of implements that you were sure Allen, the construction worker from your apartment, would appreciate. Come to think of it, they should also help with the maintenance of the building so Walter might be able to put them to good use eventually. So, you added them to the list of loot you were bringing back with you.

Thanks to Sergeant Foreman scouting the blocks around them from above with the solar-powered drone she was operating, Sergeant Garcia was able to return with the Stryker they had been **** to park out of sight while they prepared their ambush without stumbling into any bitters along the way. And thanks to the fact the gang had two pickup trucks of their own parked in the back of the building, they were able to add all the extra booty they had claimed from the building without saturating the space in the Stryker, and the other pickup truck they had found before Laurel and Kira used it to get closer to the entrance before the soldiers prepared to ambush the gangster on guard duty.

So, now that you had all packed everything valuable you could find, you just had to wait for Foreman to contact them back on her military-grade radio in order to report the safer route she could spot thanks to the drone. As a result, you decided to spend the next few minutes getting to know the five new women you ended up claiming after you first entered this building, especially now that they had all awakened and had had the time to shrug off the sudden electric shock.

Walking back inside, you found Sofia and the others, now with their clothes back on, talking with Laurel, and from what you were able to overhear, they wanted to know more about you. Which made sense, you supposed, but while it was now beyond obvious to you that Laurel felt extra grateful and loyal to you, the reality was that she didn't know you very well because she had only really known you for a few hours since her life changed forever due to their chance meeting.

So, you decided to answer their questions yourself. You coughed very deliberately so that they knew you had entered the room, as they had been engrossed in their conversation. They stopped talking instantly the second they noticed it was you and stared at you, a little nervously. So, you raised your hands in a placating gesture.

"Don't worry. I have absolutely no intention of being an abusive tyrant like Carlos," You said, honesty echoing from your words because that was, in truth, how you felt. "Just because it turns out I own you all, it doesn't mean I don't have a duty to you; just as you all now realize that you have a duty to me. Still, I am sure you have more questions since you woke up, so, feel free to fire away. But first, while I already know that one of you is named Clara," You said while looking at the tallest one of the group, who also happened to have short hair and the smallest set of breasts, "I would like to know the rest of your names. You accepted to join my group after I rescued you even before you knew that I, in fact, owned you after all, so we will be spending a lot of time together in the future. Better we get to know each other better now that we have some time and are not in a rush to rescue someone from a violent ****."

They glanced at each other for a moment before the one with the brunette in the ponytail beside Clara shrugged. "My name is Jane Parker. And in the interest of full disclosure, Clara also goes by Clara Parker."

"Oh. Are you sisters?" You asked them.

Clara chuckled while Jane rolled her eyes a bit. "Classic, that never gets old." Clara replied with an amused tone. "Nah. We are married," She said cheerfully before turning to Jane and kissing her full on the lips.

You raised an eyebrow at that, and then you chuckled yourself, especially once you noticed that Laurel looked pleasantly surprised. So, you decided to just roll with it.

"Well then, allow me to also assure you that, as with the relationship between Laurel and Kira, I have no problem with you continuing with your lesbian relationship back at our growing community," You promised while giving them a warm smile. "You love who you love, after all."

At that, Jane let out a deep exhale, looking relieved while a delighted Clara kissed her again. The entire time, Laurel looked at you with a look of respectful admiration, which, you had to admit, felt good for your ego.

"Yeah," You thought to yourself, nodding almost imperceptibly. "Being a benevolent leader that finds a way to provide for my people is the way to go."

Then you blinked when you noticed something missing from their hands. "Um, forgive me if I am ignorant of lesbian wedding traditions where you are from, but did you decide not to give each other wedding rings or did you lose them?"

Instantly, the facial expressions of the two women darkened. "Those vicious pigs took them from us when they stripped us naked and tied us up," Jane spat. "We hadn't had time to look for them since waking up yet."

"Ah," You responded in dawning realization as you placed your right hand in your jeans pocket. "Are these the ones? I found them in the back pocket of the gangster that shot LT Mills in her vest."

"Oh my god, yes," Clara replied, her eyes tearing up a little. "Yes, they are."

She reached out a hand to take them, but then she hesitated and took a step back as if on reflex. "Errr," She babbled, looking uncertain all of a sudden, "Master Michael, would it be alright if we..."

"Of course," You said, interrupting her immediately. "I may be your owner but I wouldn't dream of withholding your wedding and engagement rings from you. It's a symbol of your love and of your commitment to each other. And right now, with the governments collapsing, important oaths and commitments matter more than ever because breaking our word can lead to extra dangerous consequences and growing paranoia between surviving groups. So, go right ahead," You said, granting them the permission they sought as you extended your palm and showed them the four rings.

The married couple looked immensely relieved as they moved to grab their respective engagement and wedding rings each. You noticed after they put them on that both of Clara's rings had the distinction of being made of silver while Jane's were both made of gold. Only the engagement ones had diamonds in either hand, though.

"Thank you, Master," Jane said in a small voice right before Clara expressed her gratitude as well.

You paused for a moment while smiling back at them before turning back to the other two. "What about you two? I don't suppose you are also a married couple?" You asked with a chuckle.

They couldn't help but laugh at your attempt at humor, given the situation. "Oh, no," The one with the dirty blonde hair and larger tits replied when she stopped laughing. "I am as straight as an arrow. Ah, and my name is Camilla Bennet. Pleased to meet you, Master. And she is my best friend, Kayla Choi," She added while nodding at the darker-skinned woman of the group, who nodded in turn while staring at you with her almond-shaped eyes and muttering a greeting under her breath.

At the first response, you suddenly remembered that the power of your claim of ownership had given you the ability to easily shift Garcia's sexual preferences from fully lesbian to bisexual, at least when it came to you and you alone as far as guys were concerned. So, it dawned on you that you could theoretically bend the arrow of Camilla's sexuality the other way until it was no longer all that straight before making it worth it for her.

You shook your head in order to focus, but, inwardly, you knew you weren't done experimenting with the ability you had gained, since you still needed to unlock the secrets and uses of the deceptibly powerful marker. Still, that personal mission could wait, so you smiled back at the others.

"Pleased to meet you too. You should know that my group has been busy gathering additional resources all day, and we have had a LOT of success in the food, water, weaponry, and medicine departments. So, we should have a lot of supplies for a while. And when we get back home to my apartment building, we will have more strength in numbers while we continue to spend the next few days fortifying our position to defend against zombie hordes and trying to plan ahead."

Sofia, who was standing beside her sister Laurel, took that moment to speak for the first time. "That does sound like great news. Or at least, far better news than I have heard since this madness started," She admitted with a sigh. "I must say, it is good to be accepted by a group with more resources, a better stronghold, capable soldiers, and a MUCH **** leader than Carlos. Feels like a relief given everything."

You nodded in understanding. "We will all have to pitch in and do our part because if the group as a whole continues to benefit, so will all of us individually in various ways," You remarked. "But yes, it is my duty to do my best to provide as much as I can for the group that I am leading so, if you help me, I will do what I can to help all of you," You assured them, trying to lay down the ground rules of their new social contract, at least in a basic form. "And those who volunteer more frequently for missions and tasks we need to get accomplished will also be allowed to ask me for favors more often. Or for a larger share of specific supplies and objects that we may get to find or produce in the future."

The five recently claimed women exchanged some glances, but you couldn't notice disagreement in any of their expressions.

"I guess that makes sense, Master," Clara replied. "We will do our best to pull our weight for the sake of the group and earn the rewards you will grant us in return. Although..." She hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth again. "Could I ask for a favor in advance to be paid for with my services and skills soon after?"

You paused for a moment, considering. Then you decided to continue with a good first impression for these new recruits, given the circumstances. "Well, you are new to my group, but I am inclined to believe that you will be willing to do your part and take your own duties seriously," You said, confirming that you were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. "So, sure, you can ask me for a favor if it is within my power to grant, and we can worry about how you will repay it later."

"Well, sir, you said that you owned an entire apartment building, and as you now know, Jane and I are a married couple," Clara began. "So, it would be really, really appreciated if we could have an apartment of our own, even if it's not one of the bigger ones inside your building. Assuming you have the space, that is," She added quickly.

Jane nodded vigorously at her wife's request. "The past has taught us to value our privacy, Master. So yes, we would be grateful if you accepted, and if so, I will also work alongside Clara to pay you back this favor."

You scratched your chin for a moment as you contemplated their request for a moment. You did some calculations based on the number of people and families already in the building with their respective apartments and noted the fact that when you returned home, there would be 7 more people joining you that would need space of their own, between these four women they rescued from being ****, along with Kira, Laurel, and Sofia. Plus, there were still the 8 other members of LT Mills Special Forces Squad that you were hoping to be able to find soon enough. Still, from what you could tell, even with that there would still be enough space.

And besides, if you gave them what they wanted, they had openly vowed to work hard to pay you back this favor. And that gave you some...interesting ideas.

You inhaled rapidly and then nodded firmly. "Well, as it happens, more than half of the families of the building abandoned their respective apartments and took their chances fleeing elsewhere in the first chaotic week of this undead infestation," You explained, as you reminisced of the days before you found the marker and became the owner of your own domain. "So, we do have plenty of empty apartments in our 10-story building at the moment. As a result, while I anticipate more recruits in the future who will have a vested interest in joining our growing community, I believe I can grant your request."

They let out a sigh of relief almost simultaneously. "Thank you so much, Master!" Jane replied with a grateful expression. "We will definitely earn our keep."

"Yes, you won't regret it!" Clara added, smiling widely.

You chuckled. "I believe you. Now may I ask what..."

You trailed off and tilted your head when you noticed that Sergeant Foreman's voice was coming out from the radio, calling out for you. You quickly grabbed it.

"I am here, Sergeant. Continue, over."

"Sir, it took longer than I expected to chart a safe route because there were many walking corpses in nearby streets," She began. "But eventually, it occurred to me that if I were to get the unmanned aircraft closer to the ground so that they could more easily hear the noise its engine made, I could quickly draw a few large herds away from this neighborhood. It took some maneuvering, and the horde kept growing along the way, but by now I have successfully managed to lure them west, in the direction of the coast," She explained. "And now that I have returned the drone to your block after scouting ahead, I can tell you that the streets are clear for the moment, so we should not waste this opportunity to return back to base quickly, over."

You smiled at her report, feeling impressed. "Excellent work, Foreman," You praised. "We will do just that and head to our transports. Continue being our eyes on the sky as we drive back home just in case, and call out in advance if you see any dangers. Supreme Commander Michael, out."

LT Mills and Garcia, who had been quietly standing guard at the entrance of the room ever since you sought out the recently claimed women to talk, each raised an eyebrow while looking at you with an amused smile. "Supreme Commander, sir?" Garcia asked.

You looked at them a little sheepishly for a moment but then you shrugged. "Well...I own a full third of your Special Forces Squad, so, it feels like an appropriate title when it comes to you four at least, as far as the chain of command goes. Unless, of course, you believe that you would obey the orders of any surviving general or something if we happen to meet them over me?" You asked, looking at them with a bit of curiosity as you did so.

They didn't even hesitate for one moment to shake their heads, though. "Of course not, sir. You, and no one else, owns us in every way, so our absolute loyalty, now and forever, ultimately lies with you." Your good lieutenant responded immediately.

"I will have no higher commanding offer for as long as I live, Master," Garcia responded with a bow of her head and a look of adoration. "So, yes, I suppose Supreme Commander definitely fits."

You took a moment to look at them more closely. You knew that, in the end, they wouldn't feel so strongly about any of this without the marker, but their immense devotion was still more than a little touching. So, deciding that between that and their splendid success in the mission the two of them deserved a reward of their own when they returned home, you smiled back at them.

"Good to know. Well then, you heard Foreman. Let's take advantage of our window of opportunity and head back home."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. And for those wondering, yes, I will soon make more character profile chapters about the new members of the group so that it is easier to keep track of the cast and who is who.

Also, while I already have some ideas for how to make the lesbian married couple repay the favor to the MC, I am open to suggestions in case any of you are interested in sharing.

Thanks for reading, and until next time.