Laconia, Martian Conglomerate
2185
They called it the Great War. I call it the end of an era. For a hundred and thirty years, the Martians have existed against all sense and odds in an otherwise rational and sane universe. Their spite fed them, their resilience made them, but their actions defined them. To the Martians, they weren't just the future of mankind - they were the definition of it and all of its glory. They forged an empire across a galaxy, moving in a confusing amalgam of politics, corruption, war, and death.
Eventually, our arrogance caught up to us.
Spanning four quadrants and billions of people, it was not the Nyteborne nor some other foreign power that spelled our downfall. An empire of lies only lasts for as long as those lies can be maintained. And the Conglomerate was built on nothing but lies. And now that our cities are in ruin, and the empire has since drawn its last breath, we only have a cold reality to keep us warm at night.
I walk through the streets of the capital, and find myself reflecting on areas of the city still in ruin. Reconstruction continues but some scars just cannot be easily repaired. Laconia, like many cities, will forever bear the marks of our sins for generations to come. Our days were always numbered - we were fools that couldn't see that. We were blind and held captive to our own hubris. It is a heavy price to pay.
The last days of the empire were swift. As we ate each other alive - the Nyteborne overran our Gamman colonies. By 2178, all of Gamma had been lost. In the confusion, the Beta colonies under the Nalar League pressed for independence. Meridian (Separatists) was eventually defeated, they never recovered their losses after the battle of Sol. To this day, a cold war exists between MarCong and Meridian in Delta, where the last of our colonies remain.
The Security Council of the Martian Forum, composed of the nations on Mars, enforced measures on the Conglomerate following the war. Post-war reconstruction has begun, funded by Martian neighbours. As the economy and the Conglomerate's people recover, we all have had to pay a price. Hawking was ceded to the Menelmacar as reparations. A 'contraction' of many corporate colonial worlds has been enforced, with migrations moving inward towards Mars as territories are re-consolidated. The new post-war government is now under my command at the discretion of these powers.
It is a post I never wanted, but one I must dutifully fill. I do not know what future the Martian Conglomerate will have, but I know its past. An era has come to a close, and a new one begins. The old Conglomerate is no more, its government disbanded, its politics and society shattered. Ashes to ashes.