The following is a private video log of LCPL Daniel Kincaid's opening statement at the trial of RADM Michael Abbot.
Lance Corporal Daniel Kincaid, clean shaven for once, looking slightly uncomfortable in his dress grays, stands up from the defense counsel table. He has a steno pad — a reporter's notebook — in hand with some chicken-scratch writing on it.
"I'm not a lawyer like Captain Remick here. I'm not going to pretend I am. I'm a Marine now, a detective. Before I was a detective, I was a reporter."
He waves his steno pad, as if the mere gesture would confirm that.
"But there is one thing that detectives and reporters do that I think is better than what any attorney does. They both ask questions. They ask questions, they poke holes, and they try to figure out where the weak points are. That's what I'm going to do here over the next few days."
He walks over to the video set-up and plays the video of Abbot with the Cylons yet one more time.
"Damning, huh? But as the prosecution's witnesses talk to you, I want you to ask some questions. Did anyone ever talk to this version of Michael Abbot? Does anyone know it's really a Cylon? Don't the Cylons know we're alive? Don't they know who our Commanding Officer is? Don't they know it would throw the ship into disarray if our commander was believed to be a Cylon? Don't you think they could make a robot that looks like Michael Abbot? Do you think they're above that? And if their goal was to create fear and suspicion and turn human against human, well, haven't they succeeded?"
He crosses closer to the jury box, looking the Members now in the eye, one by one.
"But in the end, folks, this isn't about whether Michael Abbot lives or dies. He's told me he doesn't really care what happens to him; it's a sacrifice he is willing to make for the ship. This isn't about Michael Abbot. It's about Lauren Coll, who was shot by a man who had no proof she was a Cylon, but was applauded by some as 'courageous' anyway. It's about Sofia Wolfe, whose locker was vandalized, all because someone thought she was a 'Cylon sympathizer.' If you do your job right — if you ask the questions I've suggested, if you look at this case based on the evidence and not just passions or prejudices or fears — the message you'll send with your verdict — no matter what it is — isn't one of revenge or pity. It's a message that even though we're scared, even though we're uncertain, even though we don't know what's going to happen next, we're going to keep it together. We're not going to succumb to fear, a weapon that's more dangerous than any Centurion. We're going to remember that every human life is precious — all the moreso now — and that we're not going to take it without a damn good reason and a whole lot of thought about it."
He takes a step back then, moving back to defense counsel table; he's done.