Carter told her.
Michael had found him trapped. He had worked beneath the damaged vehicle while everyone else waited for the area to be cleared.
Michael had joked with him, trying to keep Carter calm.
After freeing him, Michael pushed Carter away when the ground collapsed.
Carter remembered one final detail.
Michael's last words were ordinary. He had joked that Carter owed him a beer.
That small memory broke something inside Lena.
For years she had wanted a heroic story about her father.
Instead she received something better.
She received a human memory.
Her father had been frightened. He had joked. He had saved someone. He had been himself until the end.
Lena cried quietly.
Carter looked away.
For once, the room gave her privacy instead of an audience.
Chapter Seven — The Investigation
The confrontation did not end in the locker room.
Carter had already contacted the Inspector General before the incident. After recognizing Michael's tag, he had begun requesting archived maintenance records and reviewing the old accident.
Now the investigation could begin properly.
The original maintenance records were located.
Several documents contained unexplained corrections.
A former mechanic remembered being ordered to change a maintenance status.