Atlantech: The Early Days Volume One

Chapter 15: Harsh Words

"I can't seem to find anything in this mess," Justin sighed in disappointment while he sorted through all the parts he had excavated from the wreckage. "There's nothing here, it's all too badly damaged to be properly analyzed, and the only thing I can gather is that something must've become overheated." He scratched his head and raked his fingers through his hair. "Am I just wasting my time here? There's nothing here, no clues at all."

He removed the items from on top of the tool box and then collapsed down on top of it leaning forward with his head down. He hated to admit it, but he was already frustrated with the whole thing and disappointed in the lack of evidence the wreckage had left behind. There had to be something though and thought that maybe he would find it in the other half Atlantech had in their facility.

However, he wasn't too crazy about going over there. Artis Frederic meant well but he just wasn't the most exciting person to be around, and Justin knew he wasn't the only one who felt this way. Still, he had made the decision to commit to this project which unfortunately included tolerating Artis's jargon. He didn't like it but he wasn't about to back down just yet.

Justin continued pondering things in his head when Lynne suddenly arrived again to check in with things. Only there was something different about her now and it was something he quickly picked up on. Her expression seemed stoic and empty; no longer full of excitement and enthusiasm as she had displayed earlier.

"I know it's probably too soon to be asking, but have you found anything?" She asked.

Justin shook his head as he sat hunched over and noticed his model plane lying on the ground beside him with some visible scratches on the paint now.

"I cut through as much I could today," he sighed. "Doesn't appear to be anything of use."

"That's disappointing," she replied as she leaned up against the wall of the garage. "I can't say I'm not surprised though, given the state of things."

"There was something though," Justin mentioned somberly as he looked her in the eye. "The pilot had a picture with him when he died. It was either with a son or a younger sibling, but I saw it and I held it even before it crumbled into dust. I guess what I'm getting at it is, he lost somebody and somebody lost him."

Lynne immediately thought about Captain Grant in that moment and remembered the painful look she saw in his eyes as he told her his personal story.

"The whole thing is depressing me," Justin sighed. "I'm afraid to look any further now."

Her expression suddenly hardened. "That young man knew the risk he was taking when he volunteered himself," she explained. "If he wasn't aware of such a risk, then he was simply a fool."

Justin stared at her now, wondering why she was reacting so coldly to the whole thing.

"Taking risks is a part of life, it's what we as human beings do every day," she continued. "If we don't take risks then what are we living for? Certainly not for tomorrow or the future to come. Because without risks, there is no future. Do you understand, Corporal?"

"I know," he answered as he stood back up. "I'm taking one right now, aren't I? Because hell, I could die while working on this project, couldn't I? I don't even need to fly one of these things, I just need to be at the right place at the wrong time. That's really all it takes."

"No sense in arguing about this, Corporal," she replied. "Because it's clear to me your involvement in this project is based purely on emotion. You feel sorry for what happened just the same as I, so you want to try and figure out what happened, to find out what led to this man's demise. And while it's very noble of you, I fear that such an involvement will only break you in the end, and we need you to be focused not broken."