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Thursday,
26 October 2000 It's morning and Max, Michael, Isabel and Tess are entering the hidden room at the pod chamber looking at the granilith. Michael asks if Nasedo ever mentioned a rock collection, Tess wonders if it can hear them and Max studies it up close then says "We'll come back after school". Max and Michael are walking into school. Max says "After 9th period, we'll go back". Michael responds sarcastically "Way to prioritise, Maxwell". Maria stops Michael to ask if he got her message about Portishead tickets going on sale that day. Michael replies "Yeah" and rudely walks away from her. Max is surprised by his behaviour and says sarcastically "Nice". Michael responds "Hey, our agenda involves the four of us; there is no time for distractions". Liz comes up to them and asks Max what she should do about all the phone calls coming into Whitaker's office. Michael rudely interrupts her saying "Not now!" Liz tells Max she'll talk to him in trig and walks off. Max says to Michael "You know, mean people suck" and walks away from him. Michael's history teacher stops him to let him know that, after only one month, he is already failing his class - a new record. He tells him the 509th Bomber Group is in town for a reunion and instructs him to interview one of the veterans about his experiences during WWII and have the paper on his desk by 5pm. Michael is not happy about the assignment saying "Old people creep me out". In a room at the Pineview Lodge, Michael is interviewing former captain Hal Carver. The interview is not going well. Michael is being disrespectful and Hal is being curt with his replies. Michael asks Hal, what is different about Roswell now from the way it was during the war. Hal replies that he hasn't been back since '47. Michael asks why he left and Hal says "Don't you know what happened that year?" Michael replies that he knows about the "aliens" but his behaviour and tone imply that he doesn't believe any of it. Hal tells him they weren't crazy, they were lied to. Thinking Hal is just a crackpot, Michael gets up to leave. He stops when Hal says "They have black eyes, empty, vacant, ageless". He offers to tell Michael what he knows and Michael, resignedly, agrees to hear him out. He was 21 years old, grounded at a desk job for taking a girl on an unauthorised plane ride over Hoover Dam, when the call came in about the crash. Michael, playing the part of Captain Hal Carver, takes the call. Back at the lodge where Hal is continuing his story while cleaning his revolver, Michael is half listening while drawing a cartoon of a WWI aviator flying a biplane. Hal is saying some people thought it was a glider or a test missile but he figured it was the Commies. He and his friend, Captain Richard Dodie, were sent out to the crash site, 30 miles from the base. He wanted to stop for a candy bar, to flirt with the salesgirl, so by the time they got there, the place was buzzing with activity. Max is playing the part of Richie, who is a good guy but more rules oriented than Hal. Looking at the debris, Richie comments that it looks too small to be a B-29 and Hal says it's like no other plane he's ever seen. Colonel Cassidy, played by Valenti, comes up to them and wants to know why they are late. Hal tells him that Dodie was hungry. Hal asks what they are collecting and the Colonel tells him he'll tell him when he needs to know. He orders them to check in with Smith and then help out with the clean up detail. Before he leaves he looks Richie in the eye and says "I'll give you hungry". Richie is not amused by Hal's little joke. Hal is ticked off that, after all they did during the war, they are now being treated like maids. Richie says "Orders are orders". Looking again at the debris he asks "Do you think it could be an experimental aircraft?" Hal notices a small piece of metal fall from one of the boxes the soldiers are loading onto a truck. He picks it up and it easily crumples in his hand, but when he opens his hand it flattens out again, on it's own, with no creases. Amazed, he says to Richie "Get a look at this. Betcha people would pay good money to see this". Richie replies "Keep messing around Hal and neither one of us is going to see the inside of a cockpit again". Richie tries to take the piece of metal but Hal pulls it out of his reach, then pockets it. Being a ladies man, Hal is distracted when he hears the sound of a ladies voice. Maria is playing the part of Betty Osorio, a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Hal turns to check her out and likes what he sees. Betty is trying to get to the crash site but has been detained by Deputy Valenti (played by Kyle). She demands to speak to whomever is in charge and Colonel Cassidy comes over. She asks him if he has any comment to the reports that it was a flying saucer that crashed there. Her photographer is trying to get pictures of the area. Cassidy tells her this is a restricted area, confiscates the camera and orders Deputy Valenti to remove them. She is outraged and protests vehemently as Deputy Valenti puts her in her car. Another car pulls up as Hal's voice over says "Our senior counterintelligence agent, Captain Sheridan Cavitt, was known around the base as 'Mr Brain', so I guess when you're lacking in other assets, you've got to trump up the one you've got". Alex, as Cavitt, gets out of the car and approaches Hal. He arrogantly orders Hal to get another man and take a designated troop truck to hangar 20. They are not to stop for anything, even if its a family of four bleeding on the roadside. Back at the lodge, Hal and Michael are walking out of the room and Michael is saying "I know the rest. The Feds made Marcel the scapegoat, blamed the crash on a weather balloon and it was all Cavitt's idea, if I remember correctly". Hal asks where he heard that and Michael replies that he'd been reading UFO magazines since he was eight. As he's lighting a cigarette Hal says "So you want to believe". Michael tells him he shouldn't smoke and Hal replies that his doctor has told him it doesn't matter what he does. They sit on a bench and Michael asks why he returned. Hal replies that some of his best days were spent with the men he served with on this base and this was his last chance to say goodbye. Michael notices another old soldier trying to fit into his old uniform jacket and asks Hal if he still fits in his. Hal replies that even if he did he couldn't put it on "because everything I believe that uniform stood for died in '47". He removes a small piece of metal, which was hidden inside his lighter, and hands it to Michael. It easily crumples in Michael's hand, but when he opens his hand it flattens out again, on it's own, with no creases. Michael stares at Hal in amazement and Hal says "A little something from way back when". It's nightime. Richie and Hal are in the troop truck, Hal is driving. Richie wonders if the reporter, Betty, is on to something. Hal says "She needs an exclusive, plain and simple". Richie thinks there's more to it if Cavitt is telling them to keep their mouth's shut. He's nervous that there might be something out there capable of destroying us. Hal is trying to reassure him he'll live to get married and buy a house with a white picket fence when the truck starts to slow down for no apparent reason. Suddenly there is a small bright lit figure in front of the truck, then it disappears under it. Hal swerves the truck off the road, upset that he may have hit someone. He and Richie jump out of the truck and run to the back. Hal checks the road and tells Richie to look under the truck. While he is there, Richie looks in the back of the truck, under the tarp. He sees glowing sacs and calls out to Hal. They both stand there mesmerised. At a table in a bar, Richie, drinking a beer and obviously shaken is saying to Hal "They were... glowing, right? I wasn't... wasn't seeing things?" Hal replies that they should have asked what they were and Richie says "Before or after Cassidy bawled us out for being 15 minutes late? Maybe they're waiting to see if they're friendly". Hal is against waiting and says they should blast them from the air right now. Richie says they have to wait for orders, then stumbles off to the restroom. Hal goes up to the bar to order more beers and notices Betty sitting there. She recognises him from the crash site and he identifies her as "that lady who got hauled off by the cops" but notes there are no cuff marks on her "pretty little wrists". They introduce themselves and continue to flirt. She has overheard part of his conversation with Richie and tries to pump him for information. He replies "Sweetheart, you just had to go and ruin our fun" then walks back to his table. Cavitt comes up to him and berates him for talking to a reporter. He reminds him what happened to Marcel and warns him to keep away from her. Hal tells him to go bother some dame and Cavitt leaves. Isabel plays Rosemary, Hal's 25 year old girlfriend who has already been widowed once and divorced twice. They are in her bedroom and he is watching her paint her toenails as he gets undressed. Hal's voice over describes their relationship as one of "simple pleasure". Rosemary tosses him a pair of socks saying he left them there. Looking hurt, he tosses them back saying "They're not mine". He pulls the piece of metal from his pocket and asks if she'd like to hear about his day. She smiles sexily, replies "Absolutely not", comes over and sits on the bed with him. He takes her in his arms says "That's my girl" and they kiss passionately. Hal stops kissing her when he hears a noise and notices a man standing outside her bedroom window. He goes to the window and tells him to "Get on out of here!" At the Crashdown, Michael and Hal are enjoying shakes and banana splits. Hal wants another split but Maria advises against it, since it will be his third. Michael, who is really interested in Hal's story at this point, suggests they check out some of his old haunts. Hal asks if he has any wheels and Michael goes into the back room to ask Maria if he can borrow her car. She wants to know what's with him and Courtney, saying she felt a need to spew when she saw them together in the alley. He is tired of her jealousy and says she has to accept the fact that their lives do not mix because he's an alien and she's a human. Maria tells him if he needs a ride to go find a spaceship. He appeals to her sensitive side by saying it's not for him, it's for Hal. She caves in, because she regrets never having a chance to say goodbye to her grandfather. He grabs the keys and as he's leaving he tells her to put their food on his tab and not to forget the senior discount. She calls him a jerk, under her breath. Betty walks into the bar and over to Hal. He wonders why she wants to meet in the bar instead of the coffee shop across the street. She takes him over to a booth and introduces him to Yvonne White, a base nurse played by Liz. Betty explains that Yvonne saw things she can't explain and thinks they should compare stories. Hal is upset. He tells Yvonne he's sorry but he cannot speak with her. He tells Betty not to call him again and turns to leave. Betty goes after him saying he should hear her out. Hal says "I came here because I thought this was a date". He tells her it was just a weather balloon. She says she knows he doesn't believe that and that if extra-terrestrials are here in Roswell, Americans have a right to know. He counters that she's not patriotic, she's just hard up for a front page headline, and leaves. Hal walks into Rosemary's bedroom saying "Babe, you wouldn't believe... " He stops in mid-sentence when he finds her sitting in her bed, pouring a glass of wine, with Deputy Valenti sitting next to her. She is in her slip, he is wearing his uniform. Hal very civilly says "Jim", Jim replies "Hal". Hal says to Rosemary "Were the socks his?" She points out to him that her bedroom has been ransacked. She explains that the Military Police were there and Deputy Valenti was helping her clean up. She tried calling him but the switchboard was busy. Back at the base, Hal brushes past Dixie, the Colonel's secretary, played by Tess, and storms into Cassidy's office. He demands to know why the MPs were at his girlfriend's house. Cassidy warns him to drop that tone of voice and asks him where he went that morning, then lets him know he was seen at the bar. Hal is shocked that he's being followed, saying it's a violation of his rights. Cassidy reminds him he was told to stay away from "that reporter". Raising his voice to a shout, he reminds him that there are plenty of lieutenants waiting to take his place in the cockpit of a B-29. That if he wants to get back in the air, he should shut up, stay on base and finish out his suspension in a compliant manner. He asks if he's made himself clear. Chastened, Hal softly replies "Yes Sir". Screaming even louder than before, Cassidy repeats "Are we clear!" and Hal calls out loudly "Yes, Sir!" Cassidy tells him to handle the telegrams and letters that need to be sent to the families of two privates who were killed in an auto accident that morning. He dismisses him and Hal leaves and goes to his desk, outside Cassidy's office. He's fuming inside. He throws his hat on his desk so hard it bounces off, hits the window then falls to the floor. He angrily opens the file and starts to type. He stops, picks up his desk lamp and throws it against the wall. He tries to calm himself, then picks up the phone and calls Yvonne White. He tells her they should meet without the reporter. She tells him she's been transferred to London and will be catching a bus at the airport that evening. He tells her he'll meet her there. It's raining. Hal and Yvonne are sitting in his car. She has drawn a picture of a humanoid with big black eyes. With her voice quivering with fright, she explains that there were two cadavers that looked just like her picture. She was pulled in to help with the autopsy. The epidermis, hands and organs were like nothing she had ever seen before - they were definitely not mammals. After the autopsy, a high ranking general told her not to talk about it. She called Betty because she had to talk to someone; she can't sleep and she wants to get as far away from Roswell as possible and try to forget she was ever here. He wishes her luck and she gets out of the car and heads for the bus. He's about to light a cigarette when he hears a woman scream. He jumps out of the car and runs for the bus. The driver and passengers seem totally oblivious that anything is wrong. He asks the driver "Where's the girl? The nurse that was here?" The driver replies "There's no nurse here, pal". Hal gets off the bus looking somewhat dazed. Hal walks into Cassidy's office. Dixie has just placed a pile of envelopes marked CONFIDENTIAL in his in box. Hal asks her how he can locate a troop transport plane going to London. Dixie gives him a friendly warning to drop whatever he's after. People are starting to say he has a screw loose. He thanks her for the heads up and offers to take her to Hoover Dam again sometime. She leaves the office for a hair appointment and he picks up the top envelope and opens it. He scans the report then pulls out a picture of a corpse of a young man with a silver hand print on his chest. At hangar 20, Hal gets by the guard by convincing him Cassidy sent him but he's stopped, before getting in, by Richie, who does have clearance to be there and knows Hal does not. Hal reminds Richie that they both know it wasn't a weather balloon that crashed and tells him he's seen a classified report. Richie tells him he has to leave. Hal asks him "What are you more afraid of, what you know or what they're keeping from us?" Richie replies "I can't go down that road with you Hal, I'm sorry. Just let me do my job". He tells the guards that Captain Carver is done there. They block his way so Hal leaves. In the desert, Betty gets out of her car and walks over to Hal in his. She apologises for being late, blaming it on car trouble. He offers to take a look but she's already taken care of it. She says "Cars are like men, Carver, give their cable a little jiggle and they'll be fine till morning!" Hal replies "I didn't know you were so handy, Osorio". They share information. Her contact at a funeral parlour told her the base mortician ordered four child size coffins. He tells her about the phoney auto accident report on two privates who were actually at the debris site. "They stumbled upon two sacs 6 feet or so in diameter. Before they could notify a commanding officer, something came upon them. Now, one witness says it was two figures glowing white. The men tried to pull their guns and there was a blinding light". Betty, shocked, says "Aliens killed them?" He explains that their families have a right to know what really happened and gives her the confidential file he took from Cassidy's office. She asks him if he's willing to go on the record and reminds him that after the story runs he'll either be considered a hero or a traitor. Michael and Hal are leaning on the Jetta in the same spot in the desert. Michael senses that Hal is feeling rather down right now. He changes a bottle of soda, that he finds in the back seat of the car, into a bottle of beer and brings it to Hal, explaining that the owner of the car is "a little bit of a drinker". Hal asks if it's the "firecracker from the diner" and if they are going steady. Michael stumbles over his answer and finally says "Whatever there was, it's over". Hal replies "Not from where I was sitting. You know, I'd never been in love before but... but on that night, beneath the stars, and with that woman, and with all that we knew... I should have kissed her then". Michael asks "Why, what happened to Betty?" Hal asks him if he has another beer. Richie is at the bar, drinking a beer. It appears he's had several. Hal comes up to him and asks "Tough day following orders?" Richie replies "I'm a coward, Hal. Don't! rub it in". Hal says "You're drunk". He asks him what's wrong. Richie looks around then leans towards Hal and whispers "You were right. I saw stuff. I heard (looks around again) I heard what their plans were. I... I was a good soldier. I went along with it. I'm not... I'm not proud of myself. Makes you wonder if I'm on the right side. Are we on the right side Hal?" Hal replies "It's gonna be OK. We've got friends. We've got people who want to know the truth, just as much as we do. And by tomorrow the world will be one step closer to it". He tells him to "check the morning paper, it will all be there". He offers Richie a ride home but he declines. Hal offers his hand to shake; Richie hesitates, then reluctantly shakes hands. When Hal leaves, Cavitt, who was dressed in disguise as a civilian, comes over to Richie at the bar and says "Well done, Captain". He puts his hand on Richie's shoulder and Richie shrugs it off, snarling at him "Don't touch me!" The next morning, Hal buys several newspapers from the PX but the story isn't in any of them. He uses a payphone to call Betty at work and is told she isn't in; he doesn't leave a message. When he gets to his office, he notices discharge papers on his desk. He goes into Cassidy's office and finds Richie there, who tells him he's holding down the fort. Hal starts yelling at him, asking if he knew about the discharge, telling him he sold him out. Richie yells back that he had no choice, he was following orders. He tells him to sign the papers and make it easy; to pack his things and take the honourable discharge. Hal says "You'll have to drag me off this base". He starts to leave but stops when Richie says "You always were a punk, Carver. Why couldn't you be a lazy, self-centred, son of a bitch this time?" Hal punches him and Richie hits the wall. Richie, barely keeping his anger in check, yells at him "A lot of people are very very upset. They wanted to get rid of you but I convinced them to treat you like one of us. Sign the resignation, Hal, or they're gonna change their minds and take it one step further". He shows him photos taken of Hal and Rosemary in her bedroom. Hal reluctantly signs the papers and says "I hope you enjoy your white picket fences, Richie, because you sure as hell earned it". That night, Hal goes to the bar and the bartender gives him a letter that came for him that day. He teases him that if he's going to use the bar as an address for mail he'll have to charge him rent. The note says "For safe keeping. Call when you get this. Betty 555-2136". There is a key attached with a tag that reads "Bldg 7354". Hal calls the number and Betty's sister tells him that Betty died in a car accident the day before. In Bldg 7354, Hal uses the key to open the door. He goes to the morgue and finds the sacs that were in the truck. They are glowing and dripping fluids. There are two sacs with 4 pods each. On the floor are two dead medical technicians. They have silver hand prints burned through their clothes and imprinted on their chests. Leaning against the wall are 4 small coffins. Hal takes pictures of all of this. Suddenly he sees movement from behind a curtained screen. Two small, glowing white figures with big black eyes emerge from behind the screen. Hal stares at them in shock. Strange noises emanate from them. One of the figures raises his hand and Hal, frightened, ducks behind the table one of the sacs is on. He peeks out from behind the table and his voice over says "Have you ever heard the sound a mother bear makes, when anything gets between her and her cubs? It's something to be afraid of. Now, in that moment, though, I realised I'd been afraid of the wrong thing. It wasn't us they wanted". Hal backs away and says to the figures "Save them". He leaves the morgue and starts down the hall when he sees MPs about to enter the morgue. He pulls the fire alarm and calls out to them so they will follow him instead of entering the room. He takes off and they follow. He is stopped by a chain link fence that he has to climb in order to get beyond it. In the process he drops the camera on the wrong side. He hesitates, wondering if he should go back for it when the MPs arrive and start shooting. Hal and Michael are with the Jetta. Hal is using his revolver to shoot bottles off the roof of an abandoned truck. He asks Michael if he wants to try. Michael asks "What did you see? What was in those sacs?" Hal replies "I never planned on telling this much of the story, kid. I never have". Michael beseechingly says "Please!" Hal reluctantly continues "They looked like human foetuses. There was four to a sac, eight total. That night I packed my things and never came back. The base was on full alert. There was no way anybody, or anything else, could've escaped. And that's the story of Hal Carver; the only time I ever stuck my neck out to save anything, and it all went to hell". When he finishes he goes to light a cigarette but stops in astonishment as Michael uses his powers to smash the remaining bottles on the roof of the truck. Michael turns to him and says "You saved me". Then he snaps his fingers and uses his powers to produce a flame with his thumb, offering to light Hal's cigarette. The cigarette drops from Hal's open mouth. He shakes his head in amazement and then hugs Michael. At school, Michael comes up to Liz and apologises for his behaviour earlier that day. She thanks him and asks if Max asked him to be nice to her. He says "No, I came up with it myself". She tells him she likes it and he smiles, pleased with her response. Michael has brought Maria to see the granilith and says "Meet the reason I haven't been returning your phone calls". Awestruck, Maria says "My God! What is it?" Michael replies "I don't know. But eventually I'm hoping we can find out". Surprised, Maria says "We? You didn't even choke on that". Michael responds "Well, today I had a little history lesson, and here's the thing... I owe more to you than I can imagine. To Liz, Alex, Valenti, to some old guy named Hal, who lives in Tampa and plays shuffleboard. I never realised it. So here it is... " He holds his hands out to her and continues "thank you". She puts her hands in his and says "Your welcome". He seems troubled so she asks "What's wrong?" He replies "You know those pods that housed Max, Isabel, Tess and me?" She says "Yeah, before you were born? He continues "Well, there's another set of them, and they're somewhere out there". |
