"Not at first, but there was too much at stake for either side to back down. The UN formed the Colonial Marines as a deterrent, I think, made of soldiers from every member country. I’m not sure we were ever supposed to be deployed, but once you have a weapon it’s oh-so tempting to use it. After a year of political stalemate the Moles acted for themselves and killed the reprints. That forced the UN’s hand; they bought a Jupiter Mission ship from NASA, retrofitted it for the military. We were directed to reestablish Earth-based control, which was the polite way of saying kill everyone who refused to surrender. You know, stick a flag in the Martian soil, claim it for the starving and hopeless back home."