Industria Planitia may be far from the boundaries of Earth, but as time passed, the Underwood Industrial Empire joined those who dared to attempt what was previously believed to be unthinkable: To turn the Red Planet green.

In a joint session of the Congress of the Confederation, Grand Admiral Underwood proposed that the U.I.E. join forces with other nations with colonial holdings on Mars to tame the harsh environment of the fourth rock from the Sun. Given that it was along the same lines as the work being done to restore the region around Trinity River, the Governor-General of Industria Planitia, Dr. Lukas Indrick - arrived that morning aboard the UIEV Perseverance, the ship that ran from the colony to Underwood City - proposed that a number of geological engineers from that city, as well as scientists from the U.I.E.'s various colleges versed in ecological disciplines, return with him. The Lord Mayor of Trinity River was not keen on the idea, however; having the engineers go to Mars meant that they would not be actually working on Trinity River. The leaders of Amesport, New Providence, and Montagne Noire also protested, believing that the money would be better spent on matters "closer to home", such as building up the military to counter the fears of a renewed threat from Defileron - and possibly a landgrab by Vladimir Tsiolivosky, the new Caymarnian Emperor.

Backed by the Chancellor of Blackstone University, Illuminopolis' de facto mayor, Grand Admiral Underwood made clear that he supported the initiative. However, that did not mean the "Earthbound holdings" of the U.I.E. would be neglected either. To the contrary: The Ministry of Economics had indicated to him that, should the speculation of considerable metal resources in the region around Industria Planitia prove true, the goods returned from the colony would more than equal the expenses invested in maintaining it, and in fact produce a surplus that would allow them to accomplish both goals. Remaking the Red Planet into a habitable form would be an added bonus. "Industria Planitia is the future of the Empire," he said in his concluding remarks. "If we can pull this off, nothing will be beyond our reach."

With the support of the Congress (grudging in a number of cases, but support, nonetheless), Grand Admiral Underwood committed the U.I.E. to the initiative. To tame the Martian environment, the plan essentially called for brute force: to thicken and strengthen its weak atmosphere with mixtures of carbon dioxide, to raise its frigid surface temperature with greenhouse gases, to raise those conditions to allow for liquid water, and to make the air and soil support plantlife to produce oxygen. To increase the supplies to and from the colony as needed, five new ships were commissioned in the New Providence yards to run the Earth-to-Mars route to provide personnel - and more importantly, materiel - to carry out the mission. A historian at heart, Grand Admiral Underwood personally named the first two ships UIEV Erebus and UIEV Terror (only half-jokingly expressing the hope that they fared better than their namesakes) as well as three more for the men associated with those lost polar ships: UIEV John Franklin, UIEV Francis Crozier, and UIEV James Clark Ross. They complimented the UIEV Trailblazer, UIEV Perseverance, and UIEV Hyperion, which had been running the route since the colony was established. Reports of the progress were communicated between Governor-General Indrick and the U.I.E. Space Agency Mission Control Center in Amesport, as well as by the captains of the ships making the regular run to and from Industria Planitia.

The results were nothing short of spectacular.



Beginning with "baby steps", the plan called for the construction of specially-designed factories to produce the necessary atmospheric chemicals, as well as "forestation plants" to plant the seeds of the plant life that would grow on the surface. Much of the colony had to be redesigned, as the geological engineers brought along terraforming equipment to level the surface and remove larger rocky outcrops around the colony. A large part of the work involved tearing down and rebuilding the modular colony structures to make room for the new GHG plants, carbonate processors, and forestation plants.

As the landscape work progressed, the surveyors also happened to find strange crystals on the surface that obscured satellite scans, though their purpose remained unclear; they did discover that the crystals were attracted to the power generated by the colony, and powering them up cleared up the sensors. They were later found mysteriously shattered, again with no explanation.




"Lakes" were dug into the surface and filled with water produced by the colony's extractors and vaporators. As the temperature rose, the water liquified.




The forestation plants had begun first with lichens; as the surface conditions improved, grass began to grow in certain areas; further on came bushes and trees.




As a drastic measure, a massive payload was detonated at Mars' north pole with the force of a thermonuclear blast, the heat and energy causing the polar ice cap to melt, creating an ocean that covered much of the northern hemisphere. By some stroke of luck, Industria Planitia - located on a volcanic plain near the equator - escaped being swept away by the flood, essentially becoming an island surrounded by high crags. In a relatively short time, the Capital - the dome where Governor-General Indrick maintained his office - was surrounded by a forest. Though the atmosphere could not yet sustain biological life, he immense moisture released by the melted ice cap, combined with the introduction of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, began to take hold, and the inhabitants of Industria Planitia began to see blue skies for the first time since they had left Earth.

As time went on, the work steadily progressed; the Erebus and the Terror were regularly sent around Mars with vessels from other settlements, seeding clouds to produce rain (another novelty not seen by the colonists since leaving Earth) while trying not to make it toxic; seeding vegetation much like the forestation plants, in order to make it take hold; capturing ice meteors, for the water. The Hyperion was ultimately sacrificed in order to deploy a sort of "sunshield" to preserve Mars' weak magnetic field and contain the atmosphere, complimenting facilities built on the surface for that purpose (which also had the potential to produce "Marsquakes" in the otherwise seismically dormant planet).



After long and arduous work, the ultimate goal was achieved.

 
Communicating with Grand Admiral Underwood via a live satellite link with Mission Control in Amesport, Governor-General Indrick formally gave the order: "Lower the domes!"



Even then, the work progressed on expanding Industria Planitia itself. To celebrate the new beginning, Governor-General Indrick ultimately elected to relocate his seat of government. The "old" Capital would be preserved as a museum for future generations, while work began on the "new" Capital - a far larger district, one too large for a dome. From its spire, he would oversee his domain - and take pleasure in both the work that had been done, and the work that lay ahead. The new Capital and the fact that it was (and would forever be) non-enclosed was also a testament to the confidence of the Governor-General, the U.I.E., and the multi-national initiative that had done the work - they were certain nothing would ever go wrong.



The colony has since expanded even down into the canyon to the south, through a connecting tunnel on the canyon floor. Here, the soil remains more or less untouched, though the work is underway to change that.



The idea of a Martian colony being admitted as a full-fledged member state was looked at with skepticism by many within the U.I.E., but thanks to the terraforming initiative that has utterly transformed Mars, the question has been settled so far as its supporters - namely Governor-General Indrick and Grand Admiral Underwood - are concerned. Distance was of no issue before, and now that the colony is free of the confinements of domes and pressure suits, the remainder of the confederation now concurs: Industria Planitia is no longer simply a colony, but a city in its own right.