The landing strip unfolded beneath them like a carpet of light. Marker beacons pulsed in synchronized rhythm all the way to the main airlock tower, and beyond it the great tempered-glass dome rose like a second moon laid upon the plain. Inside the dome, thousands of figures filled the plaza and the walkways, a living sea of movement and colour. Flags snapped, lights winked, and above everything the huge dragon banner beat in the wind from the pressurisation vents.Ryan eased the DragonGP down, nose dipping, jets whispering as they bled off speed. The roar of the crowd was no longer a transmission; it was a living sound hammering through the hull. Children’s voices, deep chants, horns, the clatter of drums. Sarah felt it in her ribs. Matilda’s eyes were huge. Jackson clutched the seat back with both hands.The ship’s skids kissed the landing pad. A hiss of compressed air rolled past as docking clamps bit home. Lights flashed green. They had arrived.For a heartbeat no one moved. The cr

The holoscreen flickered once, twice, then steadied. Jack’s breathing deepened into the slow, even rhythm of sleep. His head tipped sideways against the sofa back, the blue ember of the NexusDragon fading completely from his eyes. One arm slid across Sarah’s lap without him realising. The roar of the crowd outside was only a hush now, like wind moving over stone.Sarah glanced at him, a faint smile curving her mouth. His lashes rested dark on his cheekbones; even in sleep his brow held the ghost of command. She smoothed a strand of damp hair from his temple, then turned back to the film.On the DragonTech holoscreen—one of the first high-definition units Dragon Corporation had built on Earth before shipping the design to Mars—the last act of Black Panther thundered across the wall. Wakandan ships banked and dove. The children’s nest of blankets glowed with reflected light.Matilda gasped at the fight on the waterfall. Jackson clutched a cushion to his chest. Emily leaned forward, chin

The aroma of fried rice and sizzling chicken reached the living area just as the opening roar of King Kong on the holoscreen echoed across the room. Jack stood, muscles still unfamiliar in their normal human ache, and followed the smells. Sarah led the way, a tray balanced carefully in her hands, Emily and Lena flanking her, while Matilda carried the small bowls of sauces and condiments.“Alright, everyone,” Sarah said, setting the tray down on the low dining table. The kitchen light bathed them in a warm, golden glow, reflecting off the metallic accents of the Martian habitat. “Fried rice and chicken. Simple, but real.”Jack inhaled deeply. The scent was intoxicating—not the sterile, rehydrated rations of the Dragon Home, but food that felt alive, tangible, human. Steam spiraled lazily from the bowls, mingling with the faint recycled scent of Mars’ thin atmosphere. Gravity here was lighter, but the ovens and kitchen equipment still produced the comforting weight of heat, of substance

The giant on screen roared, shadowing the hero as he leapt across crumbling battlements, and for a moment, Jack felt a visceral pull—not toward fiction, but memory. Mars, days ago, had been a battlefield unlike any other, when Kharzek, the alien warlord, had descended with a fury that shook the colony to its foundations. Three days of relentless combat, nights without sleep, the city of Mars’ early habitats trembling under alien fire—it all surged back now, mirrored in the cinematic clash before him.Jackson pressed closer to Jack, sensing the tension in his grip. “Dad… he’s… scary,” the boy whispered.Jack chuckled softly, ruffling his hair. “He was. Kharzek… was bigger than any giant, smarter than most, and ruthless. Three days of fighting, we barely slept. But the goal… the people we protected… that’s what made it all matter.”Sarah leaned forward, her eyes reflecting the holoscreen’s flicker. “I remember you telling us after it happened. You were exhausted, bruised, but you… you

The hologram pivoted once more, Earth rotating in miniature until a new swath of land came into view. The bright blues and greens dulled; the feed darkened as it swooped over a jagged industrial skyline ringed by marshland.Haida AI’s voice softened to a murmur. “Reidsville County. Local time, twenty-one forty-three.”Jackson’s sleepy head lifted from Jack’s arm. “That’s where you fought the bad guys, right?”Jack’s jaw set as the image expanded. “Yes. Many times.”Reidsville sprawled across the holoscreen like a bruise — a city of refineries and rail-yards trying to heal. Here the streets weren’t laced with gardens. The air shimmered with heat and chemical haze. And in the middle of it all rose a black monolith etched with a scarlet sigil: VK DIRECTIVE.Sarah’s fingers tightened on Jack’s knee. “That’s… his?”Jack nodded once. “Victor Krane’s headquarters. His private army called it ‘Directive Central.’”The hologram zoomed closer, showing the building’s surface. Once it had been a m