War Dogs - Greg Bear

\nAn epic interstellar tale of war from a master of science fiction. \nOne more tour on the red. Maybe my last. \n \nThey made their presence on Earth known thirteen years ago. \n \nProviding technology and scientific insights far beyond what mankind was capable of. They became indispensable advisors and promised even more gifts that we just couldn't pass up. We called them Gurus. \n \nIt took them a while to drop the other shoe. You can see why, looking back. \n \nIt was a very big shoe, completely slathered in crap. \n \nThey had been hounded by mortal enemies from sun to sun, planet to planet, and were now stretched thin -- and they needed our help. \n \nAnd so our first bill came due. Skyrines like me were volunteered to pay the price. As always. \n \nThese enemies were already inside our solar system and were moving to establish a beachhead, but not on Earth. \n \nOn Mars.\n