[ WP ] In the far future , a primitive but sentient race of creatures has come to populate Mars . An alien race has discovered Mars and decides to invade the solar system . They never detected the folks on the planet next door though ...

`` You ever wonder why they came here, gunny?'' I was checking the connections between my pulse rifle and my HUD while we flew in on the Skyjumper. 
 
 `` Nah, I leave the figurin' to the scientists and the politicians. I just go where I'm told.'' The gunny was nearing his two hundredth year, not old by the standards of humanity, but certainly old by the standards of the Corps. There was an old quote I remembered reading somewhere that said,'beware any man who grows old in a profession where most die young.' They musta had the gunny in mind when thinking of that. He had the same close-cropped hair as every other marine, but his face was a rugged and chiseled mass of scruff and scar tissue. I guess you'd call him handsome if you saw him on the street, but here, in the cargo hold, he just looked dangerous. He was finalizing the checks on his exosuit, making sure everything read green before we entered the drop zone. 
 
 `` Still, you got ta wonder why they decided to pick this solar system. Not like there are n't billions of others.'' The gunny's voice sounded almost amused, like the Kriel just had bad luck landing on Mars. 
 
 The Kriel were the sixth race of Aliens that mankind had discovered when venturing through the stars. After we discovered the Origami Drive and could fold space, we basically went all over the place. That's when we met the Julkin, the oldest known race in the Universe. They had been allies with us since basically day one. They showed us things we never even dreamed of, and in return, we served as the Julkin Empire's armed forces. The Julkin were n't really warlike, but they occasionally had to deal with invasions and threats from the Uxiel and the Nerian, which was n't really a problem for us. Turns out that Humanity was the most warlike race in the galaxy, if not the whole damn Verse. So, not wanting to fight us, the Julkin hired us, and together we've spread among the stars, their technology and diplomacy leading the way, with our military always ready to respond if things went sideways. Of the military arms deployed to combat, none saw action like the Corps. Which basically catches us up to the present. 
 
 See, while we were off running around the galaxy, the Terran Federation declared the first solar system, Sol, an untouchable preserve. It was a historical site, with only Earth being inhabited. They decided that even with our terraforming capabilities ( A gift from the Julkin ), we would n't alter the home system. So it was for nearly three of our centuries, until these new guys, the Kriel, showed up. They made a beeline for Mars and began to colonize it immediately. Obviously the brass was n't too happy about that, and the Julkin were sent in to peacefully explain that our Mars was n't supposed to be touched. When both of the Ambassador's heads were sent back to the delegation, sans the body, the brass decided that negotiation was pretty pointless. 
 
 `` Ya ever wonder why they never decided to even call Earth and see what was going on? It's not like it's that far.'' I never figured that one out. You could n't settle on Mars without being aware of humanity. We had outposts and stations all across the Sol system, and the Kriel definitely received hails and communiques not to land. I guess some folks were just stubborn. 
 
 `` Nah, I just assumed they did n't know to talk. Not like it changes anything. They made the first move when they killed the ambassador, and now we're going to politely remind them that the Corps owns this little red ball of dirt.'' The gunny finished his checks and leaned back, resting his armored head against the side of the Skyjumper. I did n't think there was going to be anything polite about this, but I did n't wan na say anything to the Gunny. 
 
 `` LZ in 5! Ready marines!'' The colonel was bellowing over the intercom. I tensed a bit, feeling the artificial muscle bundles in the exosuit respond to my mental commands. 
 
 `` Ooh Rah!'' The reply was a deafening shout, as the entire platoon responding as one. 
 
 `` Drop in 3, 2, 1!'' The floor beneath me gave out and I fell like a stone, hurtling towards the red planet below. Nearly forty meters, and then I landed with a bone jarring crunch, the force absorbed by my suit. I was moving as soon as I hit the ground, forming up on the Gunny. Plasma blasts echoed as the first rounds of the engagement were fired. The Kriel had started this fight, and now the Corps was going to finish it. 
 
 
 
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 It took us nearly a month to completely finish the Kriel on Mars, and once that was done, we set about politely reminding them that it was n't really all that okay to attack our system and kill our ambassador. Our techs and spies backtraced their jump logs and led us right to their home system. Now, after nearly a solar year of fighting, they were on the ropes, preparing to either sue for peace or make their last stand. Unfortunately for them, the ambassador in charge of negotiations was the brother of the one they had killed on Mars, so I doubted the terms would be all that favorable. Not really my problem though, when it came down to it. I just went where I was told and shot who the brass told me to shoot.
