The Long Frame

The Invader's ships didn't conquer--they destroyed. Those caught at the Connaught Range fought to the last. Connaught Range had a secret laboratory. When there was no hope, the soldiers, civilian researchers, and their families uploaded themselves into the protected Server Farm, fighting the monsters from their own minds to make a place of safety. Maybe the Invaders would find them. Maybe they would be rescued.
Maybe not. There was no way to tell. But no one came and over fifteen years of peace they made their own lives. Now, that's over. The Dragon is coming.