Author's Note: This entire fanfic has been rewritten from scratch as of January 2015. If you've read anything prior to this chapter you will have to reread it again, as the entirety of the story has changed. Apologies for the inconvenience.

The Martian heat ray is a weapon that is intended to melt through its target through the sheer concentrated energy that it focuses at a single point, and was the primary weapon on Mars utilised by the Martians. It was used to great effect against both armoured and unarmoured Terrestrial military targets during their invasion of Earth. On a planet as cold as Mars it makes sense that one of the most lethal weapons conceivable to them would be intense heat, for nothing on their planet they have seen withstanding intense heat which all on the surface of their planet is unused to.

However, on the planet Earth the effects of Man-induced global warming had rendered a need for heat immune machinery increasingly pressing, so humanity developed advanced cooling technologies to shield his machines. As our home planet became even more and more heated machines were needed to be able to maintain operation at temperatures beyond the boiling point of iron. As such, the initial volley of Martian heat rays did no damage to the Terrestrial machine that lay within.

That very leviathan then crawled out of the large rocket like an insect emerging from a cocoon. The large machine of Man, though lower in height than the thirty meter Martian fighting machines, was much larger in bulk. A large ironclad for land, mounted on caterpillar tracks, blackened from the smog and dust of Earth's atmosphere.

The Martians, seeing that their heat rays had failed to do damage, raised another gun-like appendage; the poisonous black smoke, the secondary weapon used by the Martians. Firing a canister each at the land ironclad of Man, the Martians hoped to poison the Terrestrial beast.

This too was a futile attempt, for the atmosphere of Earth was no less poisonous than the thick black cloud the Martians fired at the land ironclad, yet another issue that Man had brought upon himself. Yet another factor of our inhospitable Mother Earth that had prepared us for this day. The poisonous smoke failed to make it into the lungs or skin of the Terrestrial pilot of the machine before it was filtered out.

"My. Their black poison is even less lethal than the factory smog of our home planet," First Harmony Green noted lightheartedly. "Mother Earth has truly made us strong. Commencing counter attack."

First Harmony Green aimed the radio and remote controlled weapons of the land ironclad.

Throughout Man's history Terrestrial Man has always focused on his ability to used ranged weaponry, and this ranged weaponry came in the form of kinetic projectiles. He would initially throw sharp stones, and later would invent the sling, the throwing spear, and the bow. With machinery he would invent crossbows and catapults. With gunpowder he would make cannon and the hand gun. This trend forever continues even into the genocide wars, for the weapon design has a simple idea behind it: Any object will shatter if you smash at it with another object that has enough kinetic energy and/or pressure.

These same weapons principals were utilised by the automated weaponry on the land ironclad; the firing of a heavy, dense, sharpened metal shell by accelerating it with electromagnetic energy from rails allowing it to accelerate to several kilometers per second; far more than enough penetrating power to obliterate any Martian fighting machine.

The weapons, each aiming at a separate Martian machine, fired simultaneously, creating loud ripping noises as they launched their shells. Within moments each of the fighting machines fired upon burst in red; their pilots smashed together with the metal of the machines.

Though my concern was suddenly taken elsewhere when I noticed a disturbance in the radio frequency of First Harmony Green. After a pause she elaborated, "My ears are bleeding..." in a disturbed manner. "I'm deaf now."

"Oh gosh," was all I could say. It appears that the pressure of the atmosphere of Mars had increased the volume of sound interpreted by the human ear, which subsequently bursts from immediate overuse.

The remaining fighting machines, meanwhile, seeing the futility of their task, had begun to flee across the Martian fields of red.

"Please eliminate the rest, First Harmony Green," I remind the Terrestrial woman on the red planet. "Lest they reorganise."

Re-aiming and reloading the automated guns she swiftly complies. In only a few moments more I see from my satellite camera the scurrying tripods burst into the same red as their slain comrades.

Harmony Green First then set to continue her establishment of her base.

"A pity about your hearing, by the way," I relay to her idly.

In a joking manner, indicating that she thought little of it, she responded, "I suppose you can't win a war without having a few casualties."

As more and more terrestrial machines rolled out of the Terrestrial space rocket I notice a movement from the hatch of the land ironclad from one of the camera feeds.

"Harmo... What in the name of Mother Earth are you doing?" I ask, grunting with my bodily vocal chords in my surprise.

"Getting some fresh air..." I hear a reply. "I want to be the first of Mother Earth's children to get that luxury."

Slowly, with assistance from hundreds of mechanical arms and servants controlled by remote wires and radio from inside the land ironclad, I see the figure of the physical Terrestrial woman emerge slowly from the hatch, and seat herself down, staring up at the alien world around here.

"It's a lot easier to move here than home," she notes. "With just over a third of Earth's gravity, and much less pressure. I can actually move without hurting myself. You should come down here and try it."

For the briefest of moments I feel mildly jealous of her being able to experience the Martian planet, but this jealousy is quickly eliminated as she begins to send the physical experience over the radio telepathy link, allowing me to share on the moment.

She takes in a deep breath. "Ah... the air smells so funny without a respiratory tube. Yet it still tastes cleaner." She looks up at the alien sky, as she says. "It's amazing, that this place is further from the sun, yet you can still see it here."

"Congratulations, First Harmony Green. You are true to your name in being first; the first to set foot on Mars, the first to breath air, and the first to see the sun."

A pause came before she replied; longer than the time it would take for radio to reach from her to me. "Yes... I wish Mother Earth could be like this."

As the machines she controlled continued to labour away she merely sat atop her land ironclad. She was not in any danger in doing so, for I could see no Martian movement towards her from my satellite cameras, and so we spent the time chattering idly, even as we readied for further slaughter.

Upon completion of all tasks the woman got back into her land ironclad. The battery of self propelled radio controlled railgun artillery readied for her command.

"Fire Star Link detecting Martian evacuation movement. Sending co-ordinates."

"First Harmony Green receiving co-ordinates. Eliminating Martian movement. Battery firing."

On command the battery of railgun artillery fired their shells, taking in account calculations for Martian machine movement speed, difference in air pressure of Earth and Mars and gravitational effects, windspeed, and so on. Upon landing the shells quickly killed the Martian evacuees.

"Fire Star Link detecting that all Martian intelligence within range of First Harmony Green has been eliminated."

"First Harmony Green relocating... North I think."

With a churn the black land ironclad began to move, spouting out smoke from its engine as it does so. The small self propelled artillery pieces surrounding the land ironclad move alongside it, like soldier and worker ants around their queen.

A/N: After so long I've finally decided to start work on this a second time.

Note that this time I have a more clearly defined setting IMPORTANT: This is based off of what happens after the Martians failed in the original War of the Worlds novel, and is set in a universe parallel to ours. More info on the differences between their world and ours in chapter 2 author note at the bottom.