For a time... They came and brought war. Mankind wasn't ready for them. But, they were ready for us. They struck down our nations capitals. They unleashed disease. THEY started what would come to be known as the Cleansing.
At least that's what the fanatics called it. The Government that still stood called it the Purging. Of course, those who called it that were quickly eliminated. That is why it is now commonly called the Cleansing. Because we have no other choice but to call it that.
Though they did, for a time, bring war they also brought peace. After the capitals of the world fell to them, the rest quickly followed. Man realized they had no chance.
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Year 2050- After Helios-One crashed.
"Sir, I believe it's here." The President looked at his Finest General and nodded.
"Are you ready to die?" The General shook his head. The President nodded. "Nobody is." The General beckoned to the President to go out to the podium to give his speech. The President, felt weak so he slumped his arms in defeat. He had gotten very little sleep in the last few months when the giant craft was detected by Helios-One.
Helios-One was the first manned Mission to Mars. A lot of Propaganda was put behind it to say it would be a huge success and soon humans would be able to land on Mars and begin their new lives. But things went all wrong, Helios-One was intercepted by an alien crafted. Contact was lost with them, and presumably they had been shot down. But not before sending reports to NASA about a giant alien craft orbiting Mars. They sent the pictures to NASA. They quickly informed the President.
Like any government that had just discovered new life he kept this a secret. But, he didn't do it for the good of the people. He did it for himself, because he didn't know how to react. But, as he had feared the massive ship came to Earth. It was discovered by some astrologist. Though the government tried to swear them to secrecy it was too late. Someone let the secret out and the world knew. People around the world looked through a telescope to see the alien invaders. The people called for the government to open the doors to places like Area 51 but they were refused. But now it was time for the President to officially announce that the alien ship WAS coming to Earth.
"Are you ready to give your speech Mr. President?" Asked the Presidents Adviser.
The President smiled at his Advisers naive nature. Nobody would be ready to announce something like this. "I am." The President responded but in all reality he would rather be taking a nap.
He began to walk out to the podium. All the microphones from several News groups were set up. He was afraid he would somehow mess up his speech. Give hint to the ultimate fate of Helios-One.
Though Helios-One had been an utter failure they had called it a success. The Government claimed that they ship was now setting up a colony that was set to invite people to join them in five years. This was all a lie. However, nobody could disprove what he had said. For the last few months since Helios-One had crashed NASA had been producing fake reports to share with the general populous.
"Hello, my fellow Country Men. I stand here, before you today, because we have discovered that WE are NOT Alone." He gestured toward himself and then to the crowd. "It has been speculated for years now that alien life was real. And now, it has been proven. The Fanatics cry for us to open our doors to the public so they could see the inside of Area 51. But, that request shall be denied. The Aliens are real and now they are upon us..." He turned away from the microphones and coughed.
"Ugh... Excuse me I have been feeling a little ill. As I was saying. The Aliens are here, and now. We of course have retracted all our forces around the world to better protect you, our fellow country men. Do not fear, though these aliens are here we have no reason to think they are violent. No reason to think they will harm us. But, if at any time they attempt too. We will strike them down!" The President suddenly began to cough uncontrollably.
The secret service looked about not sure what to do. But, one of them eventually decided it would be best to get him out of there.
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Helios-One had been in space for approximately three months now. In the current route that the ship was taking would take approximately four more months, seven in total. It was a simple maneuver really. Helios-One had to change orbit from planet to planet. It would first leave Earths orbit fast enough as to not get pulled back down by gravity. Then as it would approach Mars some engines in the front of the ship would start to slow them down. So that they could be caught by Mars orbit and make a landing. 
Most likely however, the landing would be a tough one and damage the hull of Helios-One immensely. This damage however was compensated for. The Outer layer of the ship was mostly just iron. Meant to take a beating and extreme heat. This crash landing would however, make it impossible for the team to fly back to Earth. But, they all knew that a long time ago. Then they would start Terra-forming Mars.
It would all start with building the atmosphere. Once that was accomplished and CO2 (Carbon dioxide) was introduce algae of sorts would be introduce in small green houses where some of the CO2 from the atmosphere would be allowed to enter. Then the O2 (Oxygen) the algae produced from consuming the CO2 would be vented out of the greenhouse into the newly built atmosphere. This process would take several years to fully give Mars enough O2 to sustain a plant outside of the Greenhouse. Then at the same time a probe would be sent to the Dwarf Planet Ceres to search for potential sources of water there. It had been theorized that most of the water would have to come from Ceres for a viable living option. A drilling team would also be created, because for years it had been theorized that water was plentiful in ice form underneaths Mars surfaces. In theory if all the ice on Mars was harvested it could make an ocean eleven meters deep.
Soon after the atmosphere is big enough and plants can grow freely, which should take ten years or so, a human test trial would be run. A person would be chosen to go out onto Martian soil and see if there is enough oxygen to survive. If there isn't they would be quickly pulled back into the housing units. The housing units on Mars are made big enough to house a thousand people. Everyone on the ship would have an individual home that could house up to three people. The housing units should theoretically take eight years to accomplish. Until they are completed then everyone will continue to live on Helios-One.
The reason that the housing units are so big is to accommodate for potential families. The Purpose of the Helios-One Project is too colonize Mars and without any families there is no point to colonize.
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And For a Time there was progress.