Heritage Trilogy

The Heritage Trilogy is a series of science fiction books written by Ian Douglas. It includes "Semper Mars" (1998), "Luna Marine" (1998), and "Europa Strike" (2000). It is followed by the Legacy Trilogy and the Inheritance Trilogy.

emper Mars

Set in 2040, the United States finds itself among a hostile world with only Britain, Russia, and Japan as reluctant allies. The dominant force in the world today is the United Nations, which has evolved into a world government and is challenging the US as the world’s sole superpower, motivated for the “greater good.” It has invaded Brazil because of Brazil’s lack of care for the rainforest and it wants the US to give up part of the southwest America for a Hispanic nation known as Aztlán. The UN capitol is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

America has set up habitats on Mars, and is researching the Face on Mars and other surrounding artifacts, including a pyramid, of what appears to be a city of an alien civilization. The facilities are being shared with the UN, and research is shared between the two nations. When the UN sends troops up to Mars, the US sends some marines up there to counter it. The United States Marine Corps has been threatened with being disbanded and hopes that this mission will breathe some life into the organization.

Back on Earth, tensions increase between the UN and the US when the US Embassy in Mexico City is stormed by militants backed by the Mexican government and the marines stationed there are forced to open fire. The US is able to evacuate the personnel there, but not before the diplomatic damage was done.

It is what happens at Mars that eventually throws the world into war. American scientists discover ancient human remains inside one of the alien structures. From evidence discovered at the site it appears that these aliens not only were in contact with humans in the past, but may have even been responsible for the creation of the human race itself. The Americans want to release the information at once but the UN forces think differently, afraid that the world could not handle information of this magnitude. The UN forces take over the Mars station, imprisoning the marines and the scientists, while contacting their superiors about what was found.

This act coincides with hostilities on Earth. The official reason from the UN is in support of the Aztlan nation, but secretly it’s to stop the US from releasing the information about the discoveries on Mars. The US finds itself under bombardment from the first time since the War of 1812, while forces from Mexico and independent Quebec cross the border to invade. It is becoming so bad that even the US President is considering about surrendering to the UN. At first Russia is the only nation to side with the US, but Japan eventually joins after it loses several space fighters that attacked a US weapons satellite in orbit.

Back on Mars, the marines are able to escape their imprisonment, but are forced to march across several miles of Martian desert to reach the UN base if they wish to have any hope of leaving Mars. The marines defeat the UN force and eventually leave Mars to aide with the fighting on Earth which is beginning to turn to the US’s favor. The march across Mars soon becomes a famous piece of Marine Corp history.

Luna Marine

2042: The surprising discoveries on Mars of the half-million year old legacy of the Builders have fed the flames of a global and disastrous war. The United States and their allies, Russia and Japan, struggle to hold their own against the hundreds of countries that make up the United Nations. But as they find out that Mars is not the only place in space to hold surprises. The Earth's own Moon contains mysterious technologies of long vanished species. And as scientist all over the world try to extract the secrets of these weapons, the UN plans to end the war quickly by killing millions of people - without help from alien technologies. The only thing that stands between the UN and ultimate victory, is the United States Marines.

Europa Strike

2067: As Earth's nations continue to fight in space for scraps of alien technology, a strange "thing" lies imprisoned beneath the ice-locked oceans of Europa: a fallen starship that holds the key to the final human destiny. It is poetically called "The Singer" for the eerie tones it emits. An AI built eons ago, it may ultimately solve the mystery of the vanished Builders that were responsible for the birth and development of humanity. But after decades of war, the power-hungry nations of Earth care more for power than for knowledge. And now all that stands between the coveted ship and an all-out Chinese assault on Europa is a vastly outnumbered contingent of U.S. Marines.

References

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=xs8kmH4ZmXoC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=semper+mars+plot&source=web&ots=9ioBvbXpUN&sig=JNNpI4T6ZVqVE3nVQgqBmknjmsA&hl=en Semper Mars]
* [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Luna-Marine/Ian-Douglas/e/9780380788293#TABS Luna Marine]
* [http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=172447 Europa Strike]