The Black Hole Mythdemeanour: A Star Runner Story

By Mark McDonough

“We are here today to remember the lives of three boys.” With those heart-wrenching words, Alana Perry knew that her best friends, Alexander Daniels, along with his two brothers were gone, lost inside a black hole. But when scraps of information begin coming to light, she begins to question everything until she’s left with only one possible hope – what if everyone’s wrong? This is Alana’s story of what life was like for those the Daniel’s boys left behind after they joined the crew of the Star Runner.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark McDonough
• Release date: Sep 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310065958

Mark McDonough

Mark McDonough has lived his whole life in Queensland, Australia. After growing up in Ipswich, he lived for a short time in Brisbane while attending University. Work then took him to Far North Queensland for a number of years before he moved to his current home of Toowoomba. For as long as Mark can remember, there have been characters clamouring to have their stories told – everything from the depths of time when dinosaurs ruled the Earth through to the vast reaches of space where only the bravest spaceships dare to fly and everywhere in between. Most were written in secret until, one day, those characters demanded that their tales be spread far and wide. Thus, was born Stargon Books. When he's not sitting with laptop or notebook in hand, he can be found at work, with his family or out on the football field where he not only plays but also referees and Coordinates an entire competition. Ultimately, Mark dreams of the day when he can write full time but until then, as he says, "I'm a wordsmith, it's who I am; if I didn't write, I wouldn't be me".

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THE BLACK HOLE MYTHDEMEANOUR

A Story Set in the Star Runner Universe

By Mark McDonough

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Mark McDonough

Current Edition 2019

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to http://www.smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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THE BLACK HOLE MYTHDEMEANOUR

A Story Set in the Star Runner Universe

I.

We are here today to remember the lives of three boys. Three remarkable boys who lived life to the full. They didn’t waste a second on the unimportant, the ordinary. They strived to excel, to be the best at everything they did. And they did; they were. Their example, their inspiration will be sorely missed.

On the podium, Captain Ian Daniels’ body spasmed as he held in the grief that Alana knew he must be feeling.

My boys died needlessly, tragically, he continued, his usually strong voice breaking on every other word. "We may never know how or why what happened happened. But that’s not what we’re here for today.

Today, we have gathered to remember Alexander, Peter and Nick. Our sons, here, he reached out behind him, encircling his wife with one arm and drawing her closer to him.

Her vision blurring, Alana savagely wiped at her eyes. It didn’t help.

While Captain Daniels’ voice blared out around her, Alana dropped her head, letting the tears fall unobstructed down her cheeks to splash into her lap.

This shouldn’t have happened.

Alexander was her friend. They were the same age – just fifteen – with parents in the command structure of Space Station Cygnus. His father was the Station’s Captain, while their mothers jointly administered the scientific arm of the station. They’d been in the same classes together for years, partnered in projects and assignments.

And he was a scientist, just like her. That, more than anything else, had drawn them together. Neither of them made friends easily. Alana was too shy and Alexander was too stiff, too formal, for any of their classmates to want to spend time with either of them.

It was only when their passion for science overwhelmed them did they come out of their shells. It was natural that the two of them should gravitate to each other.

A small smile crinkled the edges of her mouth as Alana remembered the intensity, the life that shone in Alexander’s eyes just two days before.

They’d been assigned by Alana’s mother, Commander Perry, to work together on Alana’s theory of wormholes. She’d been fixated on the idea for months, ever since coming