Mars Time: 19:50, February 18, 2295

  Room 886, 11th Floor, Silver Orchid Quarters (銀蘭舍), Dragon District, Xing Hong

  The autocab dropped Xin at Silver Orchid Quarters. Fourteen stories of prefab housing, exterior dulled to the color of old bone. Flickering signs rotated, announcing 'VACANCY' in five languages:

  'Spacious 1-2 bedrooms, fully remodeled. Heating included!'

  '寬敞房 單雙人床; 全新改建屋。含暖氣空調喔！'

  '広々とした1～2ベッドルーム、全面改装済み。暖房完備！'

  '?? ?? 1~2?, ???? ???? ??. ?? ??!'

  '??????? 1-2 ????????????? ???????????????????! ????????????????????'

  Though Xin suspected those units had been "vacant" for years, useful only for inflating occupancy statistics.

  The lobby door opened as he approached, metal scraping concrete. Inside smelled like recycled air and cooking oil, the ventilation system wheezing. Mrs. Chen from 884 nodded as he passed, always cooking something that made the hallway smell like that. Mr. Takahashi from 890 was fixing a bicycle in his doorway, asked no questions.

  Good neighbors in a building full of people who couldn't afford Eagle District's luxury.

  The elevator was broken again. Xin took the stairs, H?kon stirring in his pocket as they climbed up. The stairwell's lighting cast everything in jaundiced yellow. Someone had scribbled 'MARS WILL EAT YOU' into the wall between floors.

  Probably true.

  They reached the entrance, and Xin swiped his Nucleus Watch, its identification chip triggering the steel door's lock with a beep and a verdant flash across its face.

  The apartment was still the same. Kitchenette against the left wall, refrigerator humming loud enough to hear from the hallway. Bathroom to the right, door permanently stuck half-open because the frame had warped. Living space in between: a sleeping mat he could roll up during the day, H?kon's heated nest by the window where thin artificial daylight could filter through composite glass.

  Fiber optic cables snaked across the ceiling, connecting his quantum laptop to a repurposed server rack he'd salvaged from ZenFusion disposal back when he took a job through them.

  His workstation occupied the back corner. Scarred desk, office chair with wheels, and a custom-built rig running code he'd written himself, three terabytes of storage distributed across encrypted drives.

  Room 886. Home.

  H?kon scrambled from his puffer jacket's chest pocket the moment they entered, scales brightened from gray to warm copper, claws clicking.

  "Home! Pappa home! HAW-koon home!" He leaped onto the counter and did his circle-dance.

  That made Xin look. Whatever Doctor Nikki's injection was, it made H?kon brimming with energy, no longer drowsy and easily exhausted like last night.

  "Choc-o-late time, Pappa? Is okay?" The little Diabolisk asked, tail wagging with such enthusiasm his whole body wiggled.

  "Yeah, quite okay." Xin set the prescription bag on the counter. $3,400 of supplement Sigrun had paid for without hesitation. He still didn't understand why.

  He opened the cabinet above the sink, pulled out the chocolate cookies: the bag had the label 'Buddha's Umber Tonic' on it. Not entirely chocolate, but mixed with manufactured cocoa substitute fortified with extra vitamins. Xin had reckoned that if H?kon was going to have sweets, it may as well be one that contained something healthy.

  He took one cookie and broke it in half. H?kon waddled over, blue eyes bright. "HAW-koon good boy today? Brave in ad-ven-chure!"

  "You were very brave." Xin held out the cookie. H?kon clutched it like treasure, settled onto his haunches to nibble with focused intensity.

  "HAW-koon like Buddha coo-kie! Yum-yum-yum!" His scales rippled sapphire to gold. He was careful to not nibble too fast and let crumbs fall.

  "Eat slowly, yeah?" Xin turned back to the prescription bag.

  Inside were fourteen emerald-white capsules. Uranus-manufactured, top-tier. The warning label was printed in red:

  CATALYST-U, The DIETARY SUPPLEMENT of the Nucleus Age

  URANUS MEDICAL CONSORTIUM

  Take with 150~250ml of purified water

  WARNING: DO NOT CONSUME WITH INDRA-SPRITE [Risk of Psionic Cascade!!]

  Keep refrigerated. Administer once daily.

  'Catalyst-U. Hmm.' Xin's software engineer instincts flagged the information. Indra-Sprite, the regular psion's Aether potion, was sold at every corner store in Xing Hong. Why specifically that interaction? What kind of cascade? "Questions for later,I suppose?"

  He twisted the seal, pulled out a capsule. Up close, he could see now the translucent shell, crystalline powder that seemed to pulse with its own light, like something alive trapped inside plastic. Each capsule was maybe two centimeters long, the powder glittering like crushed emerald mixed with silver dust.

  He filled a glass with 150ml water, then twisted the capsule open carefully, tapping its powder into the water.

  The water shimmered, powder dissolving fast. Color bloomed through the liquid: emerald green shot through with threads of silver that moved independently, swirling in a way that reminded Xin of circuit diagrams. The glass became warm in his hand, not hot but noticeably heated, as if the water had become energized.

  H?kon's eyes went wide, cookie in his claws. "Oooooh! Pretty-pretty water! Like magic pool!"

  "No rush, buddy. We do this after you're done with the cookie."

  H?kon ate faster, excitement overriding his earlier careful nibbling. Small crumbs fell to the floor, but Xin picked them up. When he finished, Xin showed him the glass of shimmering liquid. The Diabolisk leaned forward, sniffing. His scales cycled to curious azure, then bright copper.

  "Magic water safe?" H?kon asked, looking up.

  "Yeah, safe. Doctor Nikki made it special. It'll help you grow strong."

  "Like pappa?"

  "Probably stronger than pappa, buddy. Much stronger." Xin chuckled.

  H?kon extended his small snout, lapped at the emerald water with a forked tongue that flickered in and out. His first taste made him pause, scales rippling. "Yummy-sweet! Tingly in HAW-koon tummy!"

  He drank eagerly after that, small head tilted back, the liquid level dropping fast. Xin steadied the glass, watching. When H?kon finished, his whole body shivered, like electricity running through his muscle.

  H?kon's scales began to brighten, color flooding back like sunrise. The dull gray-bronze that had worried Xin for weeks vanished, replaced by brilliant sapphire. Gold streaks appeared along his spine, flowing down toward his tail. Silver highlights emerged at the edges of his scales, catching the apartment's LED strips and reflecting them back like tiny mirrors.

  The little Diabolisk's blue eyes brightened. "HAW-koon feel... feel like flying! Like strong-strong!" He leaped, actually left the floor for a full second before landing awkwardly. "Look pappa! HAW-koon jump high!"

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Good…good!" Relief flooded through Xin's chest, unexpected in its intensity. He'd been worried. More worried than he'd admitted to himself, watching H?kon's scales dull week by week, the little Diabolisk becoming lethargic, less playful. Now, seeing him vibrant again, practically vibrating with energy…

  "You look amazing, buddy. Doctor Nikki was right."

  "Sky Lady buy medicine!" H?kon declared, still doing little jumps around the apartment. "Sky Lady nice! Sky Lady best lady!"

  "Yeah. That she is." Thirteen capsules left. Thirteen days. Then...

  Xin stored the bottle in the refrigerator. $25,000 Atomic Dollars from the High-Grade Zephyrium bounty, minus rent, food, oxygen tax. Maybe five more weeks of supplement if he stretched. Seven weeks total before choosing between H?kon's health and other things. The math never worked in his favor.

  But that's tomorrow's problem.

  The television flickered to life as he went to turn it on. But it was not standard news he was. Instead, it was some kind of…meeting between big political figures?

  'EMERGENCY CAUCUS: FENRIS HORDE THREAT ASSESSMENT'

  Prefect Dilinur Altai, the leader of Xing Hong city, sat at head position, black silk with crimson accents. Other faction leaders surrounded her, some holographic. But whatever the subject, all appeared either annoyed or pent up.

  H?kon climbed Xin's knee. "What angry people talk about?"

  "I'd guess politics. Grown-up things." Xin settled against the wall, not wanting to change the channel. Something about Dilinur's tension said this mattered.

  DANTE IV POMPEO, CORPORATE CHAMBER DELEGATE, TERRA ALLIANCE spoke first. The television showed him in sharp detail: a mountain of a wide Valoran man whose two-hundred-centimeter frame filled the screen, white hair swept back from a face that anti-aging treatments had preserved but couldn't soften. His large jowls hinted at expensive meals, his blue business suit radiated power. Behind him, the Terra Alliance flag hung in display—twin eagles flanking a maple leaf, three stars above, navy and white.

  "The Chamber's position remains unchanged!" His voice boomed as he gestured with large fingers. "The Fenris Horde represents a regional security concern. We see no compelling reason to divert Alliance resources from actual strategic priorities."

  PRINCE JOON-SEOK PAK, HEIR APPARENT OF CHOSON, IMPERIUM OF DRAGONS leaned forward, and his presence commanded attention. Sharp features, propaganda-poster perfect—pale skin that were smooth like an Imperial soap opera protagonist, dark hair swept back, amber eyes that assessed rather than observed. His uniform was a black trimmed ballistic robes in crimson and gold, high-collared and ornate with dragons embroidered across the shoulders. Behind him, the Imperium's flag filled the frame: a golden dragon coiled around a yin-yang symbol, like sunbursts across deep crimson.

  "Prefect Altai, you requested military aid against a local Radi-Mon situation. Yet Xing Hong voted independence in 2283. Resources are better allocated to Mars defense within our territories." He paused, let that sink in. "Perhaps you're regretting that referendum now?"

  Dilinur's expression stayed neutral. "Xing Hong IS Mars defense, Prince Pak. If we fall—"

  "Then perhaps you predecessors should have considered that before declaring independence."

  H?kon's scales shifted concerned brown. "Dragon man look calm but talk angry? Why?"

  "Sometimes adults have secrets that make them do or say things they don't mean."

  CHAIRMAN KOFI MENSAH, EMERALD DIRECTORATE appeared holographically. The third power broker looked nothing like the first two. Where Dante sprawled with age and Joon-Seok posed with aristocratic flair, Kofi Mensah was stillness. The Maridian's bald head caught the hologram's light, rich ebony skin smooth despite his years. He wore emerald green—a formal suit that had golden ceremonial cords draped across his shoulders, an ornate star medallion resting on his chest. Behind him, the Directorate's standard: a golden African lion looking to the left, set against deep green.

  His voice was deep, measured, each word carefully weighted. "The Emerald Directorate announces expanded commerce agreements with the Nordic Commonwealth. Queen Maren Fjeld ensures stable markets in the Jovian territories."

  "Despite the Fenris invasion?! Despite—" Dilinur's composure cracked slightly. "They're converting civilians into Radi-Mons, Chairman. They're killing and abducting innocents."

  "I'm sure, but trade transcends politics, Prefect." Kofi raised one hand. "We sympathize with your situation. But the Directorate engages commerce based on economic stability, not moral judgments about internal Nordic affairs."

  "They are NOT internal Nordic affairs. Not anymore." Dilinur stood straigher, voice raised. "My scouts have confirmed sightings of Draugs and Krakens—advanced Fenris creature types—leading those monsters, strutting about just outside the city!"

  H?kon tilted his head. "Green flag man say monster-place good for buying?"

  "Something like that." Xin's jaw tightened. Now that he had seen Fenris creatures plus their Draugs up close in the Warren, watching these politicians reduce it to "regional concerns" felt cold and rage-inducing.

  SISTER DEIRDRE MACCORMAC, ZORIAN COVENANT appeared and stepped onto her podium. The youngest voice in the room by decades was a petite blonde Valoran woman whose pale blue eyes burned with conviction. Her hair was pulled into a chignon that was already coming loose, wisps escaping around her face. She wore Covenant whites: high-collared uniform with gold trim running down the seams, a small winged emblem pinned above her chest. Behind her, the Covenant's banner blazed in warm orange: a white Orthodox cross with ornate ends, golden wheat sheaves radiating from its center like divine light.

  When she spoke, her accent was thick enough Xin had to concentrate. "Xing Hong'll not be standin' alone, Prefect Altai! Zori sees through all human deception, so she does! The Fenris corruption must be purged!"

  A pause. "But we've not the forces for unilateral action. Where are our so-called allies? What's the rest of the Seven Realms doin'?"

  H?kon brightened. "Shiny lady only one help! But too small?"

  "Yeah, buddy. Sometimes the honest ones stand alone."

  Prince Joon-Seok made a dismissive gesture. "Of course, the Covenant's religious fervor is admirable as ever. But what's our incentive?"

  "Incentive?" Deirdre's voice rose, accent thickening. "What incentive did it take for the good Samaritan to help the robbed man in the old texts? Since when do we need—"

  "Less preaching, if you will. Religions—" Joon-Seok raised his hand, callouses showing in his palm, sign of intense weapon handling. Many aristocrats in the Imperium trained in martial arts. "—don't mean as much to modern men and women as they did to the 21st Century barbarians."

  "How dare you! These are sacred wisdom of our ancestors—" Deirdre was almost shouting now.

  "They are zealotry which had pushed the Sol System into a reckless world war." Joon-Seok's grin was visible. "Thankfully, most nations don't endorse such stupidity anymore—"

  "We're discussing resource allocation and finance!" Dante spoke, cutting them off, not looking up from his tablet. "Where I'm from, the Corporate Chamber runs cost-benefit analysis. Quarterly. Intervention shows negative expected returns."

  "Negative returns?" Dilinur leaned forward. "Chamber Delegate Pompeo, if Xing Hong falls, Mars's neutral trade hub collapses. Your corporate interests lose—"

  "The Chamber has diversified holdings. We survived the loss of Washington and New York. The nuclear bombs which sank California couldn't hold us back. We'll survive regional instability on Mars. The Alliance military exists to protect Alliance citizens and territories." Dante finally looked up to make air quotes. "Not some independent city-states that chose 'freedom' over security."

  Joon-Seok nodded, an unexpected smile forming on his snowy countenance. "The Delegate makes a sound point. The Imperium faced similar calculations during the Xing Hong Secession Crisis. Territories that declare independence must accept the consequences of that independence."

  H?kon's scales shifted to confused brown, staring at the television. "Why dragon man and big man friends now?"

  "Because they both get something from saying no," Xin whispered.

  Deirdre's hands gripped her podium. "So you'll let innocent people die because they're not your people? Is that what we've become? The Seven Realms, so proud of survivin' the wars, and we'll just watch while—"

  "Sister Deirdre." Kofi's deep voice cut through her rising emotion. "I understand your passion. The Directorate respects the Covenant's moral clarity. But Delegate Pompeo and Prince Pak raise legitimate questions about resource deployment in an era of limited military capacity." He raised both hands. "None of us has what it takes to start, or sustain a Fourth World War."

  Dilinur's dark eyes fixed on Kofi. "Chairman Mensah, you announced expanded trade with Queen Maren. You're profiting from this."

  "The Directorate trades with all stable governments." Kofi's expression remained neutral. "We don't make moral judgments about internal governance structures. If the Nordic Commonwealth maintains market stability—"

  "They're harvesting women!" Deirdre's accent was nearly incomprehensible now. "Turnin' civilians into those...those breeding monsters! And you're talkin' about market stability like it's the price of wheat!"

  "The evidence for systematic harvesting remains circumstantial," Joon-Seok said coolly. "Refugee testimony. Unverified intelligence. The Imperium does not commit military forces based on sensational claims."

  Dante nodded. "Same for the Alliance. Show me hard data. Satellite confirmation. Corporate intelligence networks. Not stories from beggars who have obvious incentive to exaggerate."

  "I've seen the reports!" Dilinur's composure cracked. "My scouts have confirmed sightings of Draugs leading Skuggr packs just outside this city. Advanced tactical variants. The Fenris Horde isn't some random hive in a crater. They're growing, and they're coming here!"

  "Then perhaps," Joon-Seok said with aristocratic precision, "Xing Hong should have maintained defense treaties instead of declaring independence. Sovereignty has costs, Prefect Altai."

  "You're punishin' them for wantin' freedom?" Deirdre's voice cracked. "That's what this is? Political revenge?"

  "No one's being punished." Kofi raised a calming hand. "We're simply acknowledging reality. The Directorate sympathizes with Xing Hong's situation. We truly do. But military intervention requires unanimous consensus among the Seven Realms or bilateral defense agreements. Xing Hong has neither."

  H?kon tilted his head. "Green flag man sound nice but say no?"

  "Yeah, buddy. He's really good at it."

  Dilinur stood straighter, and Xin saw something shift in her expression. She'd known this would fail. This entire caucus had been theater—creating a record for later.

  "Let the record show," Dilinur said carefully, voice cold as Martian night, "Xing Hong requested formal military assistance from the Terra Alliance, Imperium of Dragons, Emerald Directorate, and Zorian Covenant. All declined or offered insufficient support."

  She paused, let that hang in the air.

  "When the Fenris Horde reaches Mars in strength rather than scouts, when Skarn's forces take this city and use it as a staging ground for attacks on your territories, when the neutral trade hub that benefits all of you falls into hostile hands..."

  Another pause. Her dark eyes swept across each face.

  "Remember this meeting."

  The broadcast cut to commercial.