Below them sat Mars, a ruddy-green and blue gem. In the north, a vast ocean swallowed thousands of kilometers, its coastline strung by thousands of tiny, specked islands. Cutting through the middle of the planet, a massive shallow sea dominated and more than doubled this available coastline, resulting in seemingly endless beaches. To the south was a mountainous icecap, kilometers high. Like most newly terraformed planets, it was truly a landscape of extremes. 

It was also the home to nearly three billion humans, and an entire fledgling ecosystem. Something worth protecting.

Sitting in orbit, Glass reached out to the planets with his senses, taking in the world. Overall, Mars radiated a tiny fraction of the energy Earth did, mostly because it had far fewer humans and animals. It also owed to the gravity, he knew. Even with its modifications, it still had only two-thirds Earth gravity, and this had a negative impact on the strength of its inhabitants. Still, barracks of soldiers held strong enough men and women, and the warriors of the planet shone brightly, like any other world's. Impressive, for what it lacked in manpower.