Flash Fiction Friday prompt 159 Pride Before the Fall. 1000 words.

He hummed to himself as he strode through the hallways heading for that final mission brief.

As he walked he thought about the mission ahead and his meteoric rise to fame.

Jeff Tracy was 25 and on the top of the world. He'd been flying fighters for USAF at the minimum age of 18 instead of the usual 23. He was smart, likeable and worked hard, and he used these to climb through the ranks until he was a Major by the age of 25 when he was headhunted by NASA for the mission of a lifetime.

Mars. The red planet.

Space had been his target since he had been old enough to remember the names of the constellations, but Mars had never even occurred to him. When NASA had told him their mission goals his mouth had dropped.

NASA had their rules, their restrictions. To be selected he still needed to make the grade. He – they, for he had persuaded NASA that his best friend Lee Taylor would be an asset to them – would be gone for three years. That meant that one of the rules was no family.

Didn't matter to Jeff. He had no plans to settle down until he was done with NASA, and that would be…never. Once they returned from Mars he had plans to be the first to sign up to be one of the first settlers there.

The hum turned into a whistle. Not wanting a long-term relationship didn't mean he had no drive, and that last free weekend he had Jeff had met a red-headed, green-eyes beauty. They had had a fantastic night together. Lucille Evans had been smart and funny and very, very British and he had been entranced.

Not enough to avoid slipping out of her bed before the sun's rays touched the window.

Mission brief over and it was one last chance to grab whatever he wanted to take with him before they went into isolation. One month of quarantine, three years in space, three months isolation on return with lots and lots of psych evaluations throughout.

Three and a half years later and Jeff Tracy was a household name and he was on top of the world.

He traded on that name to start preparing a business for when he wasn't working for NASA. NASA would always come first, but there was a lot of time in between where he was performing experiments and kicking around, and Jeff had too much drive, too much ambition to not do more. So he networked and planned and plotted until he had a workable business model and a potential partner who would be able to keep the business going once Jeff moved to Mars.

That next year was spent building up the business and preparing himself for the mission. NASA had announced a five-year mission to start a settlement for scientific advancement and his had been the first name on the list.

The second name had been Taylors.

The third was his bitter rival – Aston Carter.

Carter was old NASA and had hated to have Jeff and Lee, two much younger men, on the same mission as him. Jeff had needed to keep on his toes to make sure that he didn't give Carter any cause to get him removed from the mission.

Today he was heading into Houston. While no longer being the centre of space travel, it was still called Space City for a reason, and he loved his home here. Jeff hadn't long arrived at the base when his phone rang. His PA, Betty, sounded upset as she informed him that two policemen were here to see him.

Betty showed them into Jeff's office and left to make drinks as he shook hands with the men.

'Officers. What can I do for you?'

'We have received a call from San Antonio. You may want to sit down for this.'

Jeff remained standing, frowning at the officers. He didn't know anyone in San Antonio.

'Just tell me what is going on please.'

'There was a major car accident this morning on the I10. Lots of cars and lots of people injured.'

'And what has that got to do with me?'

'Two of the injured were a woman and a child. Hospital records show that you are listed as the boy's father.'

'No – no, that can't be right. I don't have any children.'

The officer passed him a picture of a woman and a child about four years old. He had piercing blue eyes and brunette hair, and Jeff swallowed. The boy looked just like pictures his Mom had shown him of himself at that age, and he definitely recognised the woman.

Now Jeff sat down, rather suddenly as his legs gave way. Of course, Betty chose this precise moment to bring the coffee in. She fussed a little until Jeff snapped at her, but it was what he needed to get himself under control.

'Thank you, Betty. Gentlemen, I cannot help you. This child is not mine, despite what the records say.'

'Well, Sir. The boy's Mom is badly hurt and we need someone to take responsibility for the boy or we will need to call Social.'

Jeff sighed as his boss walked in. He stifled a groan. Of course news spread fast.

'Jeff, everything alright?'

'Yeah, Carl. These officers are mistaken and are leaving.'

The two men shrugged and Betty led all three men out. Finally Jeff was on his own. On his own to think over the bomb that had fallen in his lap.

He had no doubt that the child was his. What he needed now was damage control. Having a child automatically disqualified him from the first settler mission to Mars.

He had had the whole world at his feet. Jeff had been so proud to be that man, the first man to settle Mars. But now he was falling as his world crumbled around him.

All his dreams were finished by a one-night stand.