There was life out there. They had proof of it now. And the proof came in the shape of a weapon, so what did that tell him? - James S. A. Corey

When what came next didn’t matter, anybody could do anything. Nothing had consequences.

We're the ones who followed the rules here. We came with science teams and a hard dome. We hired them to build our landing platform, and they killed us. We're the good guys here.
And the moral high ground is a lovely place," Marwick said, as if he were agreeing. "It won't stop a missile, though.

She had to remind herself that war was always this way. Had always been. Cities had been falling under siege since the time there were cities. Mortars had fallen on schools. Soldiers had stormed hospitals. Bombs had set churches and parks and children on fire. Homes had been lost before now.