Cape Canaveral, FL | August, 1958 | 05:28

[anekanta]

Six weeks had passed from the last time Kara Thrace had been at the Cape. She'd learned one hell of a lot about Earth in that short amount of time; waiting tables was often hard work, but it was a great way to keep her fingers on the pulse of happenings at Patrick Air Force Base as everyone from tourists to locals to the military families

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[bingo_faced]

"Bingo! Bring your shit!"

Lieutenant Albert M. Calavicci grunted out a response in the midst of packing, "Jesus, Snobbig, I've got another twenty minutes. Why don't you cool it, huh?"

It was only then the massive lieutenant came around the corner, his forehead glistening with sweat under a very curly dirty blond mess of hair. Didn't look too happy, either. Jackie "Snobbig" Gibbons flared his nostrils to take in a long deep breath, and as he did so, his green eyes grew wider and wider, like two inflating balloons.

"Oh, here it comes." Al shook his head, looking down at his bunk in a manner only those familiar with Gibbons would understand.

"I SAID get your SHIT, BINGO!" Two huge hands clapped down on Calavicci's shoulder, practically driving him to the bunk below, if not for his grip on the mattress above. "COMMANDER says NOW!Bingo groaned, winced, questioned whether he still had hearing and decided he did, followed quickly with the desire to no longer have hearing, and finished up with a very befuddled, "Huh

[bingo_faced]

Before Calavicci could protest, he was off the ground. Struggling for leverage and the ground and god, oxygen, the young astronaut-hopeful was forced to drop everything he'd hoped to take with him in favor of kicking and flailing for escape. "Put me down," he croaked, but Gibbons wasn't interested

[anekanta]

Startled didn't even begin to cover how she felt. She'd have sooner expected the President of the United States come rolling in. Frak - she'd have sooner expected Laura Roslin to enter the interrogation room than Al. Where she'd been buoyed by round after round of shutting down interrogators, there was no mistaking how quickly her smug little smile faded now. Kara swallowed hard, folding her arms across her chest and slumping back in the hard metal chair, attempting to draw her expressive face into the shadows. Her posture bespoke of outright impudence, and she even put on a glare to match, but her eyes told a story she didn't want anyone to read

[bingo_faced]

Al wasn't stupid enough to assume anything they said would go unheard. He had seen the crowd on the other side of the wall, numbering more than a dozen. The minute and a half he'd spent there had been more than long enough, as it was cramped and smelled a lot like there was blood in the water. "Glad you agree." A halfhearted try, but a try.

He looked anxious, especially as he sat down across from her. Folding his fingers together acted to hold the silence for a moment, but from beyond the glass came a distant "I cannot beLIEVE this!" Calavicci raised an eyebrow, turned, and gave the glass wall a look. And what the hell was Gibbons doing there?

Finally, he turned back to her and rubbed at his face. "Ka--" Al cleared his throat. "Captain." A pause. What was he going to say? After a humorless chuckle, he leaned forward until he was well lit. "I... I don't know how else to tell you this, but these guys aren't believing me when I tell 'em you're from around here." A thumb pointed back over his shoulder.

[bingo_faced]

Commander Stern had started the day late and determined to not be frustrated by the those that had preoccupied him before, including Foster. He met with the doughy Air Force representative first thing. The heart-to-heart about protocol and maintaining a cool head was painful, at best. Foster's obvious injuries seemed to have helped their agreement along. How they got to a resolution didn't matter to Stern -- he was getting too old for ego-driven bullshit.

Agreeing upon a course of action, Stern and Foster parted ways to fulfill their roles. Stern went to collect Calavicci and Foster went to meet the expert.Upon his arrival back at the cell, the commander found his patience growing ever thinner. He whispered harshly as he unlocked the door. "Bingo, up and out

[anekanta]

Kara had dutifully followed Foster across the base, surprised that he didn't appear to be leading her to another building, but instead out into the open. She half-expected that she was being taken to her own execution, but that didn't stop her from wheedling the posturing little jerk - hey, if she was going to go down, she'd do it fighting with her last breath

[bingo_faced]

Stern was a bit surprised Thrace had bothered to ask. He had expected the road to be long, especially considering the woman's performance the previous day. His mother had always told him the best way to get a person on his side was to show them a good meal and an ear. The woman (bless her soul) had to be right after so many years dealing with her son.

"Well, Captain, I reckon there's a lot I really want to know, but let's stick with what I need to know." Because each hour brought more and more questions. Kara, of course, made no answer because nothing had been asked

[anekanta]

Kara certainly appreciated the man's forthrightness - it was far more respectful treatment than she'd gotten heretofore from his colleagues, and honestly, it was probably more than she'd earned. Still, though the answer he was waiting for was a relatively simple one, she let the question hang between them for a long moment.

It wasn't really that she didn't want to unburden herself to someone, it was just that she wondered how much she could tell him without being remanded to a mental institution. It also wasn't just her fate that hung in the balance - so long as Bingo's future remained uncertain, she didn't want to lay all her cards on the table.

At long last, she stopped and turned toward the water. Stern stopped alongside, and though he turned toward the horizon as well, she knew she has his full attention."Tell you what, Commander - I'll answer one question for every answer you give me." As a vote of good faith, she added, "So to answer your question, no, I pose no threat to this country." Now that she'd said as much, she waited