The transport pod settled into a soft, moist docking cradle at the base of Verdant Accord. The bio-city rose like a living mountain, its walls thick with layered bark, pulsing veins, and broad leaves that shifted position as the family stepped out. No metal, no static lines. Everything here grew, responded, and judged.
Sabrina led the way, her boots sinking slightly into the warm floor. Aiden walked beside her, steady as always. The twins flanked Elizabeth, who carried the weight of the Nexus connection in her posture.
They had come for the biological archives and defensive matrices Verdant Accord hoarded. Both the League and Purity wanted them. The family intended to claim them first.
A central stalk rose from the ground, thickening into a humanoid shape with fluid green-brown skin and deep root-like tendrils for legs. The avatar spoke with a voice that vibrated through the floor.
"You seek alliance. We test honesty in flesh. Prove your intent, or the city rejects you."
