In the year 2147 the unavoidable war between the ED and UCS adversely affected the Earth’s solar orbit. At first the symptoms were minimal, causing only slight environmental changes. Then the first signs of impending disaster were correctly interpreted in the year 2150 by the Lunar Corporation’s space scientists. They calculated that within the next few years the distance between the Earth and the Sun would shrink by nearly 17%, causing gravitational forces to rip open the planet’s outer crust, destroying all life forms on its surface. The LC warned the warring races about the danger. Now the only hope was a mass migration from Earth. But the war had forced all scientific activity into the realm of weaponry - space flight research had been almost totally ignored. But now all available resources were poured into the project. It soon became clear that the only escape route was to Mars. But settling so many people there would require enormous material resources. None of the races had the resources to do this. So they knew that not all of Earth’s inhabitants would manage to escape from the planet in time. Their response was sadly all too typical. Rather than joining forces to avoid disaster, another murderous war broke out over the few remaining resources. The heads of the Lunar Corporation soon decided to start exploring the Earth for the materials they needed. Doing this meant, of course, joining in the war......