Plans to put humans on the surface of Mars had been underway before the Ghian probe had entered Earth’s aerospace, and by 2035 – the same year the Ghians made contact with Earth – there had been several aerodrome structures suitable for human habitation established, although they were purely scientific in nature and were not considered adequate for civilian life. Plans to terraform Mars for permanent human habitation were not considered feasible… but with the technology that the Ghians had shared, what was considered a far-flung fantasy was suddenly achievable within the century.
With their combined efforts, the first forest, colloquially named The Red Wood, had been seeded surrounding a crater known as Columbia Hills. The Martian air was seeded and the atmosphere was manipulated to cause rainfall with a pH acidity of 6.0, filling the crater with fresh water and starting the first lakes and streams. By the year 2280, although there were not yet any oceans, the world had been dotted with green forests and deep lakes – Mars was considered terraformed: a human could survive an extended period on the planet’s surface without protection (although they would find it uncomfortably cold).
The Riklid attacked Mars only hours after their initial raid on Earth: now that humanity had made Mars their home, the Riklid turned their superweapon against it as well. The combined efforts of humans and Ghians were being turned against them, and Mars suffered every attack that Earth had suffered. Desert storms unlike any that Mars had experienced before had battered the homes and aerodromes that the humans and Ghians had established. There was no escaping the Riklid.
