Ascendance

Humanity's first expedition to Mars to create a permanent colony, does not go as planned, or does it? In an unprecedented act of goodwill, corporations from America, China, and Russia, team-up to fund the daunting venture.
While the Martian landscape proves to be a challenge for the fledgling colony, problems begin for Earth when the colonists inexplicably stop communicating. NASA constantly sends messages, which go unanswered, as they watch the colony expand.
Russia and China, two of the three nations whose corporations funded the first expedition, send a second force, one whose intentions are unknown until they arrive. Will their actions start a war, or will peace prevail?
Seven years later, a third expedition is sent to Mars; their discovery is as mysterious as it is frightening. Staring at the Martian sands, the expedition’s leader is left with more questions than answers.