The Crossroads And The Cane

Final Mission

It is a wonder to me as to why I was never more prepared for what occurred during that investigation. I had spent some of the best years of my life as a pilot in the Air Force before working for NASA's Office of Inspector General, however, the time at the helm of government service isn't what opened me up to many of the "fringe" incidents that I had researched. As a child, I experienced something that I don't speak of much, and to this day I swear it not to be a dream. Upon going to sleep once on Halloween Night, I awoke to the sound of whispering around my bed. While my eyes were able to distinguish figures in the darkness, my body was completely paralyzed, and could not move my head to properly assert who was around me. In the darkness, my single night light cast a shadow of a figure that was in no way humanoid as what seemed like tentacles sprouted out of its head and danced on the walls. I screamed but no sound came out, but their whispers grew louder into full-fledged screams in another language unfamiliar to me. The final image imprinted in my memory was an almond-shaped eye, within a palm with three fingers reaching toward me. I awoke the next day and told my mother who assured me that the nightmare was the cause of too many sweets before bed coupled with a recent obsession with horror movies. Despite her explanation, I was completely sure that what I had experienced was real, and soon started my own crusade to research and prove the authenticity of my account. So while I am commissioned by the government to conduct investigations, on my personal time I conduct investigations of things they don't know about.

On July 15, 2030, NASA along with additional funding from private conglomerates launched the first manned mission to observe the surface of Neptune. The mission was no small feat as it would take over a decade to reach it and equal time to return. Realistically, the personnel on board would begin and end their career off of this one mission. I recall starting my military service, and it wasn't until my first few years at NASA that I received word that the individuals on the mission were on course to return to Earth. It would be a momentous occasion and a step forward for man, however, it didn't turn out that way. As the pod approached Earth, there was no radio communication from the personnel on board signaling that something had gone wrong. On that fateful day, the pod crash landed in the Great Basin Desert, and it was reported that the force of the crash alone would not contain any survivors.

Part 2

I woke up to the sound of my cell phone blaring a lame tune I had heard the night before. Still drunk from sleep, my supervisor rushed his communication on the phone. "Head over to the coordinates I'm sending you. Super X-6 has just crash-landed in the desert. We need you to assess the situation." he stated forwarding a file by text message. I agreed and then with little urgency went through my normal morning routine. As horrible as it may seem dead people on a two-decade-long mission didn't come as a surprise to me, nor did it constitute an emergency. In a few hours, I made it to the airport, following the news as the president had already made a statement on television praying for the families of the astronauts as well as interest in investigating the cause of the disaster by appointing a presidential commission. It was a fast response in my opinion but to my understanding, OIG was the last to know what happened.

I arrived around midnight at the location in the desert and in the distance from the road, I could see spotlights around a billowing smoke. Overhead helicopters circled the area dropping water in an attempt to contain a fire that continued for over a day. I was ordered to stop at a checkpoint by two soldiers. I lowered the window and flashed my badge at a sergeant observing the other officer already drawing his weapon. "Identification please," he ordered in a stern voice.

"Special Agent Samson with NASA OIG," I responded still paying attention to the other soldier.

"Agent Samson we have received orders to escort you to HQ. Please turn off the vehicle and leave the keys on the dashboard." he continued.