[ WP ] We finally get men on Mars and they discover an old Soviet flag placed down decades ago . The Soviets won the space race but for whatever horrifying reason did n't say anything .

The ear-to-ear grins the Astronauts wore just moments ago were replaced by emotionlessness. Though they had become accustomed to the unnatural silence of space, the four Astronauts now felt a silence of a different kind. Not the kind on a still morning on the beach, where Ross had once stared at the stars and dreamt of the ones he'd visit. Not the silence of the backseats of cars, where Derek had fallen asleep during the family trips to New York. Surely not the silence that fell upon the room Chris and Corey sat in while they told their Mother about the upcoming mission to Mars. No, this was a silence of both time and place, no thoughts or thinking was being done. How could it? 
 The Red Four, as they were called, had just landed on Mars for the first time in human history and to the applause of millions on earth. People were lighting fireworks, drinking and celebrating a monumental human achievement without realizing that what we had achieved had been achieved before. 
 Ross broke the silence 
 `` How?'' 
 A typical three letter question paralyzed a group of doctorate-holding astrophysicists. 
 `` How does no one know about this?'' 
 He inquired again, again to deaf ears. 
 Corey took a few limp steps forward, extended his bright white glove and felt a familiar fabric. The clothes he was used to were all made of a certain fiber, one that was sure not to deteriorate in high pressure. This felt familiar though, earthly on a place that should have never had contact with earth. 
 It was cloth, red cloth. Redder than the sand they stood on. 
 `` Soviets'' Corey muttered. 
 They all knew. The hammer and sickle were about as recognizable as mickey mouse to a bunch of military veterans. It was the universal sign of evil and oppression, but they hand n't the slightest clue of how it beat them there. Or why, even the Russians, were celebrating their successful landing. 
 
 `` They kept it a secret''....Chris finally broke his silence. `` But why?'' 
 
 The ship they rode in for the last nine months was a beautiful shade of silver. Painted beautifully with American flags and the NASA logo. It stood 40 feet high and towered over the men, giving them shade as they trained with it in the hot summer. The fifth crew member, as they called it, was the mighty ship. And although they could not decide on one name, the various titles it held all were significant to its pilots and its journey. And it was gone. 
 

