| “ | Lucheng's files on Mars are locked down tight. I had to take a break from cracking them. I am not surprised. Apparently, it was a very secret project. Now you've got me curious again. I'll visit their firewalls later. |
„ |
| ~ Sombra and Juno Teo Minh |
Project Red Promise was a secret project initiated by Lucheng Interstellar to terraform Mars.
History
After the successful establishment of the Horizon Lunar Colony, Lucheng Interstellar set its sights on a new frontier: Mars. Though their initial proposal for the project was denied by the United Nations, Lucheng kept its plans in motion, forming a group of scientists and engineers in secret.[2]
The project was initiated sometime after the Omnic Crisis and decades before Null Sector's global invasion.[3] Red Promise would be a multi-stage initiative with the end goal being making Mars a new home for humanity.[2] The first and smaller wave set up Red Promise Colony upon the Martian surface. It was intended that a second, larger wave would arrive close to two decades after planetfall, bringing with it additional personnel and supplies. The first wave landed on Mars without a hitch and set up the colony,[3] with construction completed within months.[2] One hitch was that one of the program's staff, Jiayi Teo, had been impregnated by fellow scientist Khiem Van Minh.[2] Jiayi gave birth to her daughter, Juno Teo Minh, on Mars, and over the years, she became a full-fledged member of the team.[3]
As the Red Promise Team continued to terraform the planet, they faced unforeseen repercussions. Their alterations to the planet’s surface had kicked soil and debris into the atmosphere, resulting in dust storms that grew more violent year after year. Eventually, these storms grew to such a magnitude that they began to question whether life on the colony could be sustained. To make matters worse, their attempts to contact Lucheng Interstellar received no response, and the second wave of Project Red Promise never arrived. Not knowing when – or if – assistance might come from Earth, the scientists had to confront the truth: the colony’s days were numbered, as were their own.[2]
The years spent living on the planet had left the Red Promise Team with only enough resources to guarantee a single person’s safe journey to Earth. There was no question of who would make that trip: Juno.[2] They constructed a ship for her to reach Earth.[1] Juno eventually relented, but rather than seeing her departure as an evacuation, she made it her mission to find help on Earth.[2]
By the time Juno reached Earth, the Red Promise team was still alive.[1]
Known Members
Red Promise personnel
- Dr. Shing (Earth-based)
- Jiayi Teo
- Juno Teo Minh
- Khiem Van Minh