The following is a private video log of CPT A. Megan Remick's opening statement at the trial of RADM Michael Abbot.
Captain A. Megan Remick stands up slowly from her chair, sorting a sheaf of papers into a neat stack before she steps out to address the members of the Court Martial directly. She doesn’t clear her throat, pause nor seem to take any moment to gather her thoughts — she simply plunges immediately into what amounts to her opening statement.
“A necessary risk is a risk that is taken when the possibility of success outweighs our capacity to accept failure. In the military, we take necessary risks all the time. An attack on an enemy position is always a necessary risk, because while some of us may die we believe that we have a chance to achieve victory. Our lives now all involve risk, many of which are great and not risks we would choose to take were things different. But we have no choice.”
She stops for a moment, glancing off into the distance with a thousand-yard stare, and then carries on.
“We have a choice here."
She nods to a television which has been wheeled into the room for the purpose of displaying evidence, and the video evidence of Abbot in the company of Cylons is played twice to make sure everyone has a good look.
“We know very well that there are Cylons who look like humans, we’ve encountered them before. We run the calculated risk of taking aboard survivors because while there may be Cylons amongst them, survivors are also the best chance we have for our species to survive. There is a very real chance that these Cylons in disguise will stab us in the back while we have them in the embrace of humanity banding together to save ourselves. We have to run this risk, because otherwise men and women will die en masse.”
She points at the television, now paused on an image of Abbot, “This is not a necessary risk. There is video evidence here to show that Admiral Michael Abbot is a danger to us. It shows us, in no uncertain terms, that he is the enemy. Make no mistake, we are at war. And in war, giving aid and comfort to the enemy is treason. Even if this man is indeed a man and not a Cylon, he is in league with our enemy. We cannot afford to blur the lines here, nor to err away from the side of caution. We cannot take the risk of having Michael Abbot amongst us any longer.”
She stops her pacing now, and faces the members of the Court Martial directly, “You must ask yourselves the question of whether or not we can risk him. As a Cylon, he is on the side of our enemy and a constant danger to all of us who have survived the indiscriminate attempt of genocide upon our species. As a human aiding the Cylons, he is a traitor under our laws — and guilty of an offense that is punishable by death. I intend to go over this tape in greater detail and establish without a doubt that Michael Abbot is a danger to us, and prove that this is not a risk we cannot afford to take as we fight for the survival of our very species.”
She moves to take her seat again, her opening statement done.