On Mars Pathfinder (The Mike Lane Stories Book 1) by Jim Melanson Page A
Authors: Jim Melanson
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That had caused some pause and more than a bit of commentary when images of the MTV were revealed during the launch day video feeds. The fact that the Lander, Command Module, and Support Module were almost ninety feet long in total, and that they were all matte black, raised quite a few technical and military eyebrows. We simply told everyone the Support Module was full of new technology for space travel that we needed to proof and validate for the safety of future flights of humans to Mars. I was the first human going to Mars, after all. That seemed to keep most people happy in the long run. Most people .
The day after the trajectory burn, the Science and Space reporter for Fox News appeared on the early morning Fox & Friends program, and raised some questions. He made some suggestions about secret military missions, and government cover-ups in how the mission was planned and announced so suddenly. He then went on to suggest that the mission was solely to establish a weaponized military presence on Mars. He even referred to me as the “expendable package”. It was a pretty farfetched accusation considering this was a one man colony mission. I like to think that most people would have just snickered at him from behind their coffee cups, and got on with their day. However, John Portland had a reputation. He was the reporter known for some outlandish views and opinions that invariably turned out to be true.
Mr. Portland went straight to his suburban home after that early morning appearance. He arrived in time to see his young daughters off to school, and his wife off to work; kissing each one in turn. It seemed like his wife had only just pulled her car out of the driveway when his doorbell rang. There were two very tall and solidly built men standing at the door when he opened it. They hovered in his doorway in black suits and black fedoras, perfectly trimmed crew cut hair, very square jaws, wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses. After a brief discussion, they suggested to Mr. Portland that he should refrain from reporting any further wild speculation on the nature of the colonization mission, particularly the components of the space ship; the Support Module specifically. He informed them his opinion was protected by the First Amendment and that he would report on that which he chose to report on; including his own opinion and speculation. He further informed them that now he was even keener to investigate this topic, and that he would indeed continue his reports of said investigations, and that they did not intimidate him from finding out the truth about what was being sent to Mars.
The next morning, Fox News reported the unfortunate passing of John Portland. They reported that he had apparently committed suicide, by jumping from the balcony of his home, thus tragically ending his life. They judiciously chose not to report that it was a second floor balcony, and he fell only ten feet to the lawn at the back of his house. They may have been incensed and outraged, but there wasn’t a single executive at the news agency that wanted to fall from their second floor balcony as well.
The medical examiner, while unaware of the circumstances of the man’s recent on-air commentaries prior to his untimely demise, had a lot of unanswered questions on his hands. These questions were soon taken care of by a couple of visitors. As the two large men in black suits and black fedoras, perfectly trimmed crew cut hair, very square jaws, wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses hovered in the doorway of the medical examiner’s office; he somewhat nervously edited some observations out of his final report. Specifically, he removed reference to the observations that the 3 metre fall had apparently caused Mr. Portland to break an eye socket, a cheek bone, his neck, his left arm, six fingers and both legs. After Mr. Portland’s death, there were no more serious media stories anywhere concerning the Support Module.
Shortly after Mr. Portland, ahem , committed
The day after the trajectory burn, the Science and Space reporter for Fox News appeared on the early morning Fox & Friends program, and raised some questions. He made some suggestions about secret military missions, and government cover-ups in how the mission was planned and announced so suddenly. He then went on to suggest that the mission was solely to establish a weaponized military presence on Mars. He even referred to me as the “expendable package”. It was a pretty farfetched accusation considering this was a one man colony mission. I like to think that most people would have just snickered at him from behind their coffee cups, and got on with their day. However, John Portland had a reputation. He was the reporter known for some outlandish views and opinions that invariably turned out to be true.
Mr. Portland went straight to his suburban home after that early morning appearance. He arrived in time to see his young daughters off to school, and his wife off to work; kissing each one in turn. It seemed like his wife had only just pulled her car out of the driveway when his doorbell rang. There were two very tall and solidly built men standing at the door when he opened it. They hovered in his doorway in black suits and black fedoras, perfectly trimmed crew cut hair, very square jaws, wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses. After a brief discussion, they suggested to Mr. Portland that he should refrain from reporting any further wild speculation on the nature of the colonization mission, particularly the components of the space ship; the Support Module specifically. He informed them his opinion was protected by the First Amendment and that he would report on that which he chose to report on; including his own opinion and speculation. He further informed them that now he was even keener to investigate this topic, and that he would indeed continue his reports of said investigations, and that they did not intimidate him from finding out the truth about what was being sent to Mars.
The next morning, Fox News reported the unfortunate passing of John Portland. They reported that he had apparently committed suicide, by jumping from the balcony of his home, thus tragically ending his life. They judiciously chose not to report that it was a second floor balcony, and he fell only ten feet to the lawn at the back of his house. They may have been incensed and outraged, but there wasn’t a single executive at the news agency that wanted to fall from their second floor balcony as well.
The medical examiner, while unaware of the circumstances of the man’s recent on-air commentaries prior to his untimely demise, had a lot of unanswered questions on his hands. These questions were soon taken care of by a couple of visitors. As the two large men in black suits and black fedoras, perfectly trimmed crew cut hair, very square jaws, wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses hovered in the doorway of the medical examiner’s office; he somewhat nervously edited some observations out of his final report. Specifically, he removed reference to the observations that the 3 metre fall had apparently caused Mr. Portland to break an eye socket, a cheek bone, his neck, his left arm, six fingers and both legs. After Mr. Portland’s death, there were no more serious media stories anywhere concerning the Support Module.
Shortly after Mr. Portland, ahem , committed
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