Lamont looked up from the lens of his recorder, regarding the astronaut with a furrowed brow. “This is what I’m here for, captain. I’ll say it again: I don’t work for you."
The object of Lamont’s attention was miniscule. He crouched on the uneven ground and picked it up between his finger and thumb, examining it in the light of his lamp.
“What is it?” Captain Carter asked.
“A capsule. Aspirin, probably. Must be from Rosemary’s bag.”
Carter tentatively walked back to the abandoned bag and fished through it. After a moment, he concluded: “There’s no aspirin bottle in here.” He snapped the bag closed and set it down again.
Meanwhile, Lamont had returned the tablet to the ground and moved toward the rock formations at the edge of the cavern. Before long, he said: “Here’s another one.”
“Clever girl,” Francis smiled thinly. “Let’s go, then.”
“Right,” agreed Lamont. As Carter strode toward where the second tablet had been found, Lamont took a few paces back toward the center of the chamber. Standing over the ghostly luminescence of the mineral pool, he trained his recorder in the direction of Rex’s body, set his jaw, and began snapping photos.
“Don’t,” Carter entreated, his wide mouth working with emotion.
“Got to,” Lamont replied grimly.
“The devil you do,” The captain pressed, his voice taking on a menacing edge. “You’ve got better things to do than rob that boy of his dignity.”
Lamont looked up from the lens of his recorder, regarding the astronaut with a furrowed brow. “This is what I’m here for, captain. I’ll say it again: I don’t work for you. Ben Schultz doesn’t sign my paycheck. I’m here to document events as they happen so that the people back home can know if United Space can be trusted with the whole bleedin’ future of mankind.”
“Good lord!” Exclaimed Carter. “What are they supposed to make of this?”
Lamont stiffened his lip. “It ain’t over yet. And what they think won’t be up to us when it is. The only thing that’s up to us is what we do next. And what’s that?”
Carter inhaled deeply, his large fists clenched. “We’re going to find Miss Wells and get back to Westward alive.”
Lamont nodded. “Then that’s what I’ll document.” After a few more clicks of the camera, he pivoted and returned to the captain’s side, setting a bracing hand on the taller man’s slumped shoulder. “I’m ready,” He said. “Let’s find her.”
Next: Unnatural Suspicions