It is the year 2021. The first manned mission to Mars has been launched as a joint effort between NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the ESA (European Space Agency). If all goes according to plan, the crew of eight will start a temporary scientific colony until they have gathered enough water to fuel their journey home.

   But all does not go according to plan...

   When the lander touches down on the surface of Mars, the hatch opens and the first human to stand on the red planet steps to the door. Scott Harrington looks towards the camera mounted on the leg of the craft, and begins to give his speech... "For eons, mankind has known only one home: Earth. This day--this day, we look to the future, a future in which mankind, united as one, is no longer confined to a single globe. It is a small step from this platform to the red surface below, but with this step we usher in a new era. This new age will be one of exploration, and we will finally see what humanity united can do!" He bounds down the ramp to the surface, proclaiming, "I claim this world in the name of humankind!" Four other crew members march out behind him, and plant four flags--the Stars and Stripes, the Union Jack, the European Commonwealth's colours, and a banner of a blue and green globe on a black backdrop: Earth.

   No sooner are the flagpoles driven into the rocky Martian soil than a volley of blazing green bolts flash by, coming from some unseen site to the north. A matching volley flies from the south, much thicker than the first. The possibility of alien life had not been one that either NASA or ESA could afford to ignore: the five astronauts dash into the craft. After all eight have swiped their keycards through the scanner, a wall panel retracts, exposing eight high powered gas chamber rifles. They grab their weapons and dart outside--and transmission is lost.

   NASA and ESA quickly make the strategic decision to transmit only until the planting of the flags. There is no reason for the civilian populace to know of what has happened. Well, not until the governments do, at any rate...

   The United Nations holds an emergency meeting. The situation is presented in its entirety. UFO activity and unexplained missing persons have increased nearly a hundredfold in the last years--there is alien life, and it is definitely visiting us. Now, the first known outright attack against humanity has apparently occured, and sitting idly by can no longer be justified. The President of the United States proposes that a force be formed to fight the menace, and the UK and the members of the European Union agree readily enough. After long negotiations, USA, UK, the nations of the EU, Australia, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, India, Israel and New Zealand ratify a charter which establishes a global organization, above all law in the lands which support it, to learn about the alien forces--and fight back if it decides it must.

   There is a story stretching back much farther, of course... (NOTE: The following section has not been updated to match changes in the story. Please wait...)

   In the year AD 1947 a fighter in New Mexico was dispatched to intercept an unidentified object on flight control radar. It found a strange craft, which, in case it was of human origin, it was promptly ordered to shoot down. The craft did not fight back, but in the 'firefight' a weather balloon was shoot down. Of course, the UFO was shot down as well. The rancher, W. W. Brazel, discovered the crash before clean up could commence, which is the only reason the populace learned of it. Three alien corpses were recovered, and the balloon was used as a cover up story.

   Over the next few years, the aliens attempted to begin communications with three nations- Russia, USA, and Germany. Germany had few resources with which to respond, and no interest in doing so. The USA and Russia, however, decided it was in their best interests to intensify their space programs to discover the nature of these alien beings. The fact that the nations were at odds with one another helped significantly, because the populace was able to view the rush into space as a competition between them.

   Over the following decades, the governments began to honestly believe their coverups. The aliens had stopped contacting them, and interest in the space programs began to dwindle...

   In 2002, however, the same three nations which had been originally contacted were contacted again (of course, Germany is now a part of the European Union). This time, however, they recieved actual transmissions. The messages were unintelligible, but the reaction clear. All three jumped back into the space race; the destination: Mars. In 2018, alien activity on Earth intensified significantly. UFO sightings more than quadrupled. Abductions increased 2000%. The nations were preparing to launch their missions to Mars... In the year 2020 the USA launched its Martian voyager. It arrives in AD 2021, lands at the south polar region... and is lost.

   Of course, there is a HUGE plot behind the aliens, but you'll get to find out what it is when you play the game... yes, this applies to most of the people working on the project, too.