A century has passed since the end of the Great Martian War, the great war machines have long been dismantled, and that cold, calculating intelligence across the vast gulf of space is no more.
And yet, something remains.
When humans arrived some ten years ago, there was little enough left of the once great Martian race which had briefly sought to conquer Earth. Those that had died on Earth perhaps had suffered a more merciful fate at the hands of bacteria and the occasional lucky strike of shell or shot. On Mars the first humans set foot in the corpse of a civilization, a few inscrutable remnants clinging to life in the ruins of mighty towers and great temples to unknowable gods, or struggling vainly to draw water from the dusty canals. Native life on the surface of Mars was quickly extinguished, for while a hundred years may seem a long time, it is well within the capacity of humans to extract blame from such distant times, and the memory of the black smoke over the world's great cities was still within living memory, if only barely.
Now though the true extent of the Great Race of Mars has been discovered, however, in the vast catacombs and chambers beneath the planet's surface. Endless capillary passages, spiraling down and through the planet's cold core. A few trips have yielded great riches, whether purely material or in the form of alien technology not seen even in the invasion, perhaps the last fruits of the scientists of the Martian race to save themselves. The expeditions are increasingly fraught with danger, however, for while the upper tunnels proved only mildly hazardous, those groups which descended into the deeper levels almost never returned. The few that came back emerged from the lower levels either vastly wealthy or totally insane.
In light of recent contact with realms beyond Earth, the various Terran governments have extended a number of different offers, writs, contracts and backroom deals to various mercenary groups and individuals. Tax free settlement rights, noble titles, mouth-watering sums of money. Very little is not on offer when it comes to Mars.
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So, this is a little adventure I'm plotting out to get things rolling for SPACE RUSSIA on NS again. I've gone back and rewritten quite a few things (as those of you familiar with my past incarnation might have guessed from the above,) for a much more steampunky 'Tesla-on-a-rocket-ship' feel with War of the Worlds as a jumping off point of sorts. Earth is pretty fucked up at present, if you've ever read The Peshawar Lancers you have a good idea of the current situation over there, and Mars is awfully enticing despite its lack of water and rather thin (but still breathable) atmosphere. Various Earth nations are enticing adventurers from all over the galaxy to join them in their quest for glorious xenotech, and offering grand rewards to those who bring it to the Star Trek rubber-forehead aliens will meet with minimal problems, but if you couldn't pass for at least mammalian in a bad light then there will probably be 'friction.'
If you'd like to jump in, leave a quick writeup on the individual or unit you'd like to send into the gasping darkness of Mars. What are their motivations? Their equipment? Any sort of special abilities/powers? Maybe a little bit of history. How do they feel about tentacles? That sort of thing.
