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 Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2023 1:09 pm
The sensation of traveling was not unknown to Devyn, but it was a bit jarring all the same. It wasn’t like when Michael brought him to Sessrumnir, or when he used the phone Soleiyu made him to travel to Alastor.
This method had its own unique sensation, and it felt like his entire body was still vibrating faintly. It had been a long time, and the platform they’d used was old and worn–even with whatever help Alastor had given them while they were assembling it. Most of the work had already been done, all they had to do was have faith in it.
Devyn was glad that they had.
Sessrumnir’s energy signature was next to him the entire time they were moving, and he kept a firm grip on his hand. Not enough to be bruising, but enough to assure that nothing would tear them apart.
He’d been overenthusiastic in his efforts, perhaps, but they’d arrived together, and in one piece.
Devyn just didn’t know where that was.
The air was noticeably thinner, but not so much that he felt like he needed to use the device Michael had given him. Not yet, at least.
Wherever they had arrived, it was dark. It smelled earthy and wet, like they might have been in a cave, but there was a noticeable air current, and as soon as his vision cleared and his eyes adjusted, he realized that there must have been a distant light source because he could make out some of the shapes around them.
The ground was firm, but not rocky. They hadn’t arrived on a platform and he could feel short, soft grass shift beneath his boot. It was cooler than Villefort, but the temperature was a welcome change. He’d gotten a bit warm between the effort it had taken to assemble things and the pressing issue of the unknown as they prepared to leave. He wasn’t anxious, but he arrived with a solemn expectation that weighed far more on his shoulders than the excitement of being here could combat.
At least, if they had even arrived on the island.
He could hear water in the distance, but no more than a faint trickle. He imagined a creek more than a river. He heard no insects, no birds. He heard his heartbeat, and the soft exhale of Michael, next to him.
He squeezed Michael’s hand once. “I’m in one piece, are you?”
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Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2023 8:11 pm
As they were transported from the platform to… wherever they ended up, Michael had the sudden regret that he hadn’t tried tying himself and Devyn together. Surely that would have been more secure than just holding each other’s hands, right?
But it seemed as though everything was okay. For now. He blinked a little at the darkness around them, but Devyn’s hand was still in his own, and he gave it a squeeze in return.
“I think so,” he responded, trying to decide how he felt about the thinness of the air. It wasn’t something he thought he needed help with yet, but it brought forward faint memories of being in the air, peering over the water for any sign of wreckage or life preservers--
They were in the sky. On solid ground. Not above water, despite being able to hear it in the distance.
Michael took a breath. Quietly so not to alarm Devyn into calling their adventure off. He’d promised he would tell him if anything got to be too much, but as long as he could focus on where they were, he thought he would be just fine.
“At least we didn’t end up stuck in stone or dirt,” he tried to joke, but it was pretty dark, given the fact that they should be proud of their borrowed accomplishments. It meant that maybe Lucien was able to get off the planet, after all.
“Any idea where we are? Do you think there was a cave in the island? It certainly looked big enough to have one.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2023 8:29 pm
Devyn laughed softly, mostly because it was very good that they didn’t get stuck somewhere. He hadn’t even considered that as an option.
…Lucien must have, there must be some protocol to prevent that. They’d arrived at what seemed to be an empty space but it didn’t seem as though it was completely random. It was somewhere safe–presumably–that let them get their bearings about them.
“I have no idea. I hope we made it to our destination, but if Lucien was trying to reach anywhere else, we might have wound up there instead. We’ll have to look around a bit.”
He waited for a few seconds longer, to make sure that Michael was steady, before he started walking towards the faint glow of a distant light.
The ground didn’t crumble beneath them, and it seemed like they weren’t too far away from an opening. Devyn didn’t have a chance to get claustrophobic because every step they took seemed to illuminate the area a bit more.
Within a moment, there was enough light to make out moss covered rocks, and shortly after he could see Michael’s expression enough to judge what emotions he was hiding. The glow of the necklace had helped before, but it wasn’t bright enough to make out much.
As they moved, the breeze grew stronger. It felt like being atop a tall hill. More than once, he caught a strange, familiar fragrance that he couldn’t place. Flowers, but he didn’t know what kind. They grew on vines, and clung to the walls of the cave, and when they rounded a corner, sunlight spilled into the cave. They were in the shadows still, but it was easy to see.
Bright blue skies were on the horizon, but green grass danced and swayed far enough away that he wasn’t afraid of finding the edge of supposed island any time soon. He slowed slightly, to give Michael a chance to ground himself. From where they stood, there was the dark path behind them, and the exit of the cave a few hundred yards in front of them. To their right, he could make out another path.
White stone, covered with dirt, led out of the cave from here, and deeper into it in the direction they hadn’t come from.
The sight of old stone pathways was not unique. The sight of them here was.
He could make out what seemed to be ivy covered ruins outside of the cave, but he didn’t know if that was only his eyes playing tricks on him.
…Either way, these were not natural things.
Someone had been here before.
Someone had been here long enough to pave paths, and leave ruins.
He said nothing, but he didn’t have to. The necklace glowed brightly–not just for him. He knew he was excited, and enthralled by this new mystery, but even he seemed to be aware that the necklace wasn’t just connected to him.
It was connected to his world.
Something here was making it glow brighter.
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2023 6:15 pm
Michael was surprisingly grateful for the discovery of the second path. He could see the blue sky ahead of them, the grasses, the sunlight. And for a moment he felt frozen. His heart had picked up speed, but he knew he was just over thinking things. He was only getting worked up because he knew where they were, and not from any imminent danger.
But still, when Devyn seemed interested in the ruins, Michael had no intention of encouraging him to ignore them.
The breeze was at least calming, as was the scent of flowers and sun kissed grass. And Devyn’s presence was grounding. If he hadn’t been with him, Michael wasn’t sure he would have been able to make it this far. He felt silly for getting worked up over nothing.
Still, he took a breath to steady himself again, and glanced down at the light coming from the necklace.
In the two years that he’d had it, he could only remember it glowing that brightly when it was close to the Core. So the fact that it was glowing so brightly now was surprising.
Michael cast a small glance over at Devyn to make sure he was okay, and to try and determine if there was anything to be concerned about.
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2023 7:07 pm
When Michael looked at Devyn, his eyes had already found his way to meet his gaze. Of course he’d worry about Michael. He knew he hated the idea of flying. Devyn wasn’t quite sure if this counted–there was no aircraft to maneuver, no box to be trapped in. Here, there was only open space.
Devyn didn’t release his hand. He didn’t say it out loud, but the promise that they could leave at any time was still on his mind.
“This island has been in the sky for a thousand years,” he said, because he still assumed that’s where they were. He didn’t think he should look for the edge of it to find out, especially not with Michael here. “I doubt us being here will be enough to bring it down. If something seems wrong, I’ll get us out of here.”
He raised Michael’s hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.
“I feel…”
The words didn’t come to mind as quickly as he wanted them to, but he didn’t want uncertainties hanging in the air. “Safe, here. Guarded. A bit uneasy, but not unwelcome. I don’t know how to describe it. A bit like I’m somewhere I shouldn’t be, but also like I’m supposed to be here. Maybe it’s just because I’ve been trying to get here for so long.”
That was still true. He still wanted to explore up here. Up until very recently, he’d treated it like some great adventure. Now, he was afraid he’d find a pile of tiny bones. He intended to be careful where he stepped not just because he thought he should worry about falling through a hole but because he didn’t want to hear the crunch of bones, either.
There were few places where he felt unwelcome. Even Villefort called to him these days.
Most of the time such places felt hostile because of the men running it, but the world itself and its empty ruins rarely seemed like they tried to chase him away. For all of the uncertainty here, Devyn felt the familiar pull beckoning him onward. Maybe it was because he struggled to stand still, or because he was good at getting lost anyway, but there was a hum of energy here that he struggled to describe.
In some ways it felt similar to the energy of the Core of his world, but in other ways it was completely foreign to him.
And yet, it felt like coming back to a faraway home. A place forgotten by time and memory, but remembered, somehow–somewhere–in his starseed. He raised one hand to rub at his chest without much thought. It didn’t ache, but he felt a small pressure there anyway.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 6:16 am
Michael knew the unspoken promise was there, and when he caught that look in Devyn’s eye, he straightened up a bit more and tried to show him at least a small smile in reassurance.
He was fine. Just a little apprehensive. He was still on his feet, and it wasn’t as though he was afraid of heights necessarily.
But he wanted to know what this place was. He wanted Devyn to explore and discover what it had to offer, especially with how the necklace seemed to be humming with energy.
Michael had been to the Core of Devyn’s world before. Seen how it destroyed the Chaos that had tried to trick Devyn into thinking it was Percy. He’d seen how the light from it had coated Devyn in a kind of protective energy as they fought the source of the Chaos.
He wasn’t sure if it felt similar to that, but Devyn’s confidence and curiosity was contagious. And if he felt safe there, then it probably was.
Especially now that the Chaos was gone. Michael had a sinking feeling that Lucien hadn’t been as lucky if the island was overrun at the time. But he was still hoping Devyn’s friend had made it off the planet and away from the Chaos.
“I’m not worried,” Michael promised, his hand still in Devyn’s although he didn’t discourage him from holding it close.
“You said you and Percy found some old ruins in the caves of Sessrumnir before, didn’t you?”
He had to ask. He wasn’t sure if his memory was from this life or his last, but he was pretty sure he remembered Devyn talking about it more than he remembered what he was talking about.
And yet, even as he thought about it, he rubbed at an nonexistent injury to his shoulder.
“I wonder if this is something similar. Something lost to history but significant to Alastor.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 7:28 am
“Maybe,” Devyn was quick to agree. There was plenty that had been lost to time and war, especially here on Alastor. “We’ll have to visit Sessrumnir and see if we can investigate.” He had chosen his word carefully, because he’d nearly said snoop, but Lucien was still on his mind.
“There’s so much I want to know. So much I want to see. So much I want to do with you.”
He raised Michael’s hand to his lips and kissed the back of it again, which was quickly becoming a habit to soothe both his husband and himself. There was a brief pause between that and when Devyn spoke again; he eyed Michael as he rubbed the shoulder, and while a faint look of recognition crossed his features, he said nothing of it.
He sometimes struggled with past and present. It wasn’t something Micahel should have to deal with. Long ago, Devyn had learned to resist–for the most part–the memories of his past life.
“I wish we had more pages from some of those books, the ones with the lore. You know, this island circles my whole world, maybe–”
He was quiet for a moment, because this was something he should be excited for. He wanted to suggest that maybe they could ride it across the ocean, just to see what was on the other side. He didn’t know how long it would take. He didn’t know how safe it was. He didn’t know if they’d be able to see anyone down there.
The weight of finding Lucien subdued so much of his enthusiasm that he regretted even having the thought now, when it seemed wrong to be in a good mood.
He squeezed Michael’s hand and looked towards the opening of the cave, and the other path once more.
“It looks like there’s a lot of ground to cover. If he took his stasis pod with him, he might have left it somewhere safe.” So, somewhere in the cave made sense. “But he might have wanted it to be available for a quick escape.” So, maybe outside.
“Where do you want to start?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 7:34 am
“I don’t think Percy has any memories he can share here,” Michael hummed softly, although it was meant more as a joke than anything serious. He hoped it would help keep the mood light. Or as light as possible since they were cautiously searching for what might be a grave among the new things to discover.
“I think if we’re going to find anything, it’ll be inside,” he nodded towards the path of the cave, but paused to cast an exasperated look (at himself) in Devyn’s direction. “That’s not because I’m trying to avoid going outside,” he quickly clarified, because he was pretty sure he kept seeing Devyn glancing over at him. And he could swear he could feel the concern in the pulse of the necklace at his chest, especially with how much energy it had now.
“I’m okay. I’ll let you know if I’m not,” he promised. As long as he was holding Devyn’s hand, he was pretty confident that he would be grounded enough to explore with him.
“We’ll have to make sure we have a lot of food prepared if we’re going to be camping on an island in the sky,” he mused, giving Devyn’s hand a squeeze. “If we can get up here pretty easily, we could always stockpile supplies a bit, at least until we’re ready. I think we might be able to get Soleiyu to make a device that will track exactly where this thing goes so we’re not caught off guard. It’ll help with planning any journeys.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 7:47 am
Devyn nodded, forever appreciative of Michael’s patience and consideration and skill at planning and looking after him. “I know most of this was unexpected but we’ll be better prepared for next time. I packed a lot of those papers up to bring back with us to Earth. I’ll try to get them translated so you and Soleiyu can help me go over them.”
There was always so much to do. Not that he was complaining! Every now and then he felt the weight of it all, most often when he was confronted with something he’d rather not deal with.
Looking for bones ranked pretty high on the list of ‘fast ways to sour a mood’. Of course, he could hope that they’d find nothing there. He could hope that the only thing they came across was evidence that Lucien had made it out.
Maybe finding nothing was better than finding anything at all.
A thousand years was a long time. He held no illusions about what remained–or didn’t–beneath the ground where his loved ones were buried.
“We’ll see how things go here today before making too many plans. I’m not getting ahead of myself,” he reassured. “We’ve only just gotten over being sick, it would be silly of me to be planning big things already.”
He was planning big things already, anyway.
Gently, he tugged Michael’s hand as he began walking down the other path, back into the darkness of the cave. This was already more illuminated than the last, and it took very little time to realize it wasn’t because there were cracks in the wall but because someone had taken the time to carve openings into the stone. They were simple, but smooth, and consistently spaced windows to the outside world. There were no glass panes, but it didn’t seem as if they’d broken out; the point must have been to have light and a steady air flow.
Though it was a bit dim in places, for the most part Devyn found that he could see very well down here. It helped that the sun was angled in such a way that they were able to make the most of its light through the window; this might have been more difficult at night, or when the sun was on the other side of the island.
The old stone path gradually shifted into stairs carved into the stone of the cave, and the path was wide enough that Devyn and Michael could still walk hand in hand if they stayed close.
Flowering vines seemed to grow aplenty here, and they had a rich, pleasant smell. Their petals ranged from white to pale yellow, and some of the stamens even seemed to have a fine golden powder. He didn’t know where they were going, but with only one path so far, it was easy to head that way.
Once more, he rubbed at his chest. It didn’t hurt, but he couldn't tell if it was dread or excitement or the change in air pressure, or–
It could have been many things. This was a realm of unknown.
“It seems sturdy back here,” he mused. “I haven’t seen any shadows shifting. If there was something dangerous up here, maybe it’s long gone.”
Or just good at hiding.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 8:09 am
“If there is anything dangerous, I’ll protect you,” Michael promised, and although he was sincere, he was pretty sure he’d get an amused look for the comment, at the very least.
Devyn was strong. Confident for a good reason. Devyn didn’t need anyone protecting him, and Michael knew that. But that didn’t mean Michael didn’t feel protective of him, even if it was probably considered wasted effort.
“Looks like this must have been an important place at some point. I’d like to know how anyone managed to get up here in the past. I bet there’s got to be a connection that was lost to time, but maybe it’ll be easier to find back on land if we figure out where people arrived,” Michael wondered, casually moving past his previous comment so he didn’t have a chance to feel embarrassed about the suggestion.
Devyn trusted him to have his back, yes. But even thinking about it now, it sounded silly when he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, and had for hundreds of years.
“And you’ll make me a cheat sheet of your lettering, right? I want to be able to help translate those texts eventually. Between you planning our next adventures at least.”
He kept an eye on Devyn, of course. He could see the way he was rubbing his chest, but didn’t comment about it. Not yet at least.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 10:04 am
Michael received the predictably amused look he had expected, but Devyn nodded like he approved of this. “My hero,” he praised. If he was intent on protecting Michael, he understood that the only fair thing to do was let Michael protect him as well.
Besides, Michael deserved to be the Knight in shining armor, he’d earned it with more than just his title. How could Devyn resist such pampering, anyway?
In better times, in a more certain scene, Devyn would have been inclined to introduce his particular dramatics, but instead he swung Michael’s hand while they walked. He had an undeniably energetic aura around him, but such was neither good nor bad, and his enthusiasm and dread balanced each other out quite spectacularly.
“When we get time, I’ll teach you how to read my language.” He felt Michael’s eye on him, and then couldn’t help but laugh. “...Are we just going to keep worrying about each other the whole time we’re up here? I love you.” He patted his chest and explained, “You know how this old scar gets before a storm. Weather changes affect it a bit. I think I’m just getting used to being up here. It is a bit achy, but storms in Destiny City have done far worse. I think you’re right, about this being somewhere important.”
To someone, at some point in time. He wished he knew.
As they ascended the stairs, he could make out carved murals to their right, illuminated by the windows to the left. Moss and vines and dirt obscured much of the images, and every now and then he was tempted to brush at the wall and see if anything looked familiar.
What he did see looked foreign, or so distantly familiar that he felt like he should know something more about them.
When they were better prepared, they could get it cleaned up and take pictures and do proper research. He wondered if Peter would be interested in visiting up here, too.
The stairway was spiraling a bit; it was easy to see with the curve of the wall, but more than that, the shadows cast but the sun outside shifted, too. Ahead, he could hear the faint trickle of water again, but this sounded less like a current and more like a fountain.
Ahead of them, just out of sight, the stairway ended and opened up into a large, open room. Pillars had been constructed to help support the cave ceiling, but the walls had all been carved to be smooth. The windows were larger up here and offered a clearer view to grass fields outside of the cave. There were a few more paths leading into other areas, but these weren’t as illuminated as the one they were on. Old murals and carvings adorned the walls, and unlit sconces were placed intermittently about the room.
The open space suddenly felt like a breath of fresh air, and there was a large, arced doorway that led outside. There was no door here, and no sign that there had ever been one. To their right, an intricate fountain easily a few heads taller than either of them was still pumping clear, sparkling water. It had some moss growing in places, and could use a good scrub, but there was something striking and beautiful about the white marble. It was no more pristine then the statues on either side of it–twin women, mirroring each other, wearing flowing robes. They had no faces, and one of their arms was broken and on the ground.
Their palms were open, as if they once held something, but there was no indication what it could have been. Beneath the open windows, benches lined the left wall. They were just slightly curved to match the circular shape of the room, and fit perfectly against the wall. There were six of them, but one had a large crack in the middle and another had broken two legs and had angled sharply downward on one end.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 10:28 am
Michael had huffed when he was called out on them just worrying about each other the whole time, but didn’t say anything else on the topic. A squeeze of his hand was enough to tell Devyn that he loved him too.
While he and Devyn could talk, and Michael felt very comfortable talking to him about anything and everything, he also never felt as though they had to talk in order to tell each other how they felt.
In a place like this, where they didn’t know what to expect, and were already in awe of everything, Michael didn’t want to disturb it with too much casual conversation. Especially since they didn’t know if they would be finding anything here that needed to be laid to rest elsewhere.
The room itself was surprising, because Michael had no idea what they were going to find. Obviously this meant that there were people who had been there before, and took great care of the place, because despite its age it was still in good condition. Well, except for where the statue and bench had cracked, among other pieces that could use some help being repaired.
“It’s beautiful. Do you have any legends about two women and water?” he couldn’t help but ask. He didn’t know what their significance was, nor could he make out any of the murals that they’d passed on the stairs, but he seemed to be having the same thought as Devyn about at least one thing.
“I bet Peter would love to see this. He could probably help clean and repair everything. That’s what he went to university for, you know. Art restoration and preservation of historical objects. Things like that. I guess mom really rubbed off on him. Maybe don’t drink the water until I can get it tested,” he said after a moment and eyed Devyn to make sure he didn’t get any ideas. It was probably safe since there was moss growing around the edges, but still. It wouldn’t hurt to test it first.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 11:16 am
Devyn’s attention had stalled on the statues, but for all the legend and lore he could recall, these two didn’t seem to hold a place in his memory. The corner of his lip twitched after a few seconds, when Michael’s words sank in. He shook his head. “No, we’ve got water. I’ll resist the urge to see if it tastes as clear as it looks.”
He had so many things he needed to talk to Peter about, he needed to make time to catch up again. “Maybe your mother would like to come up to see sometime, too. Now that we know where this place is, I suspect it will be easier to reach. I have some degree of control over where I wind up when I travel from Earth.”
But that was a thought for another day. He knew he’d want to come back, it was just a matter of when--and all of that depended on what they found here.
There was so much to see but he didn’t feel like he deserved to see it. Not if Lucien was still up here. The combating emotions were enough to erode his enthusiasm, but he kept moving forward, anyway. There would be more days after this one. If they got the hard part done, he could enjoy this discovery.
The necklace Michael wore, that looked so much like the core of Devyn’s world, had all the energy and excitement he didn’t let himself tap into. Even if there hadn’t been enough sunlight to see well in here, the glow from the golden orb mimicked a miniature sun, anyway.
“I have no idea how large this place is,” he mused. “I don’t know how high up it goes, or how deep these paths might take us. I don’t know what I expected to find up here,” he admitted. “I dreamed of many things. There’s something familiar here, but I couldn’t tell you what it is so I worry it’s just my imagination. I have a great desire to head to one of the capitals and ransack their libraries to see if I can find any information, but.” At that, he exhaled. He had some idea where to draw the limit on his to do list. For now.
“I’ll prioritize Arista and Villefort, I think. Those are places I know, places I know I can fix.” The Hall was already in such good condition; it needed more work but it was functional at least. It was open and ready to receive visitors, or travelers, or anyone who needed a safe space.
Even if they hadn’t found their way there yet.
“But if I have some free time, maybe we can make that trip, too. At this rate, I might need much more help than I imagined. Especially if I ever want to have free time with you.” He kissed Michael’s cheek again, because he wasn’t sacrificing that no matter how long his list of projects was.
…He owed him a proper date after everything they’d been through on Alastor. Maybe they would head home after they finished up here, but he supposed how that happened depended on when–and if–they found any trace of Lucien.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 12:52 pm
It was sweet that Devyn was thinking about Michael’s mother and how she might like to visit. Michael knew she would. She wanted to be as involved in her children’s lives as much as they let her, and he felt a pang of guilt about being so private and reclusive about many things.
There were just some things that he didn’t want to burden others with, especially not his mother. Not when she had so much else to worry about. Michael felt bad enough having burdened Devyn with his problems.
“Arista and Villefort are a good start,” Michael agreed as he continued to look around the room, still curious about the fountain and the statues, but turned to show Devyn a smile after the kiss.
“Thank you for letting me join you up here. We’ll have plenty of time together, I promise. And next time we’ll bring something to help us map the place out. I bet Soleiyu can figure out a device to track the tunnels as we go,” he suggested, already amused by the challenge Soleiyu would have to accommodate all their requests.
His eyes were back on the statues after another moment. It seemed strange that they would just suddenly degrade over time that they’d break. Sure, it was possible. There could be weak points in the stone they were sculpted from, but the bench didn’t look like it had collapsed naturally.
Michael took a few steps close to where the statue’s arm was on the ground, and crouched down to get a better look. Nearby, it seemed like there had been gouge marks dug into the stone floor. Something heavy must have dug into the stone, but the layer of dust and dirt and flora over the centuries seemed to hide most of the damage that had been done.
“I don’t think this broke on its own. Look, there’s pieces scattered from here to that bench,” Michael nodded at the pieces of debris, as though something had crashed into the arm and then the bench.
Curiously, he stood back up and walked towards it. Bending down again, he carefully lowered his hand to the ground, but seemed to hesitate for a moment before picking up a small piece of metal that didn't look like it belonged there.
“Titanium, possibly. It’s got a good strength to it,” he said to Devyn as he turned the piece the size of his palm in his hand, before holding it up to Devyn. It had obviously broken off something larger, under extreme stress.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 1:12 pm
Devyn watched as Michael made his way around the room to examine it. A few things had caught his eye, but it was easier to be distracted by Michael–especially when he found something.
He followed after him, hands on his hips as he observed the room. It was already unfamiliar to him, so it made it difficult to tell what was out of place–except, obviously, titanium.
Michael would know that better than Devyn, and he trusted this assessment.
“That’s not from Alastor.” Michael must have already suspected as much; most of Alastor’s metals were heavier. They used archaic means to temper and form theirs, and this was clearly technology well beyond what his world had harnessed.
Technology a Mauvian would have mastered easily.
His brows knitted together just slightly, and he turned to try and trace the trajectory of the damage. If it had broken off of Lucien’s pod, there was still a chance that he’d gotten off world safety. As long as they didn’t find wreckage, maybe…
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