Garner welcomes Apollo, and gives him the sitrep: "We have just lost contact with two of our Raptors out on a training mission." Starbuck is agog, and Garner calls her on the thing I just called her on, which is nice: "Captain Thrace. Perhaps if you were actually down on the flight deck and monitoring your Raptors the way any training officer worth a damn would have done, you would know that four of our pilots were missing." This will get sloppy in a second, but right now Garner's right. He nods with his head to indicate a private conference, shutting Kara out. She takes off, rightfully pissed now for a few reasons, not the least that Lee is -- as far as she's concerned -- playing the Big Brother card, the "let the adults talk" card. Which he's generally doing to everybody that's not Lee Adama, but with her, it's really hurtful. "They disappeared from the dradis about an hour ago. They're gone..."

In the Pegasus showers, all the pilots are chatty and worried and half-naked. Starbuck enters, bitching from go: "Shut the hell up! We lose two Raptors in a training mission, and I only find out when the Commander throws it in my face?" They all go silent, feeling guilty. But this part, I don't get, because she may not be part of the crew, but it's her training mission. She's the guy on that. So is Garner really that bad at this? Because not even Michael onThe Office (Great Scott!) is this crizappy. "Don't all speak at once!" Starbuck thunders. The nearest pilot clears his throat: "Sir, it's been made clear that discussing flight-deck situations with anyone outside Pegasus crew is not allowed. Sorry, sir." He does mean it nicely -- even does that "focusing on the person's left cheek" thing that means you're embarrassed. They all stand around looking at their bare feet. Starbuck: "Of course it was. So: barely competent and paranoid. Huh, there's a hell of a combination." And since Garner's the uber-Tigh, the Pegasus version really -- especially where Starbuck's concerned, apparently -- I'm guessing we're eliding a lot of her fucking with him this last month; he's gotta push hers as well as she pushes his. She stalks off, aiming to misbehave.

Garner and Apollo have a drink in the Commander's office, no indication given as to how really not getting the Starbuck issue Garner actually is. He still thinks this is a "let the adults discuss" issue -- when it's clear he's in over his head. This is my most hated character in literature; it's driven me crazy since Dr. Gilchrist and Lady Imeyne in Doomsday Book. It's why I was so irrational about Tigh until "Scar" -- the obstructionist insecure cock-blocker who will defend his ego and incompetence while people are dying. Garner: "I have a problem. That problem's name is Kara Thrace." Apollo jumps to claim that he can "handle" her, and points out that she's "one hell of a Viper pilot," which is, of course, lost on Garner: "I should cut her some slack because she's good in the cockpit. Is that what you're saying?" It's hilarious because, of course, that's SOP, but also, Lee's behavior in this scene is really interesting: when Cain elevated Kara and laid Lee low, Kara acted like somebody shot her dog, and now that it's reversed, Apollo is, of course, trying to pacify both sides. (Kara, if you'll remember, almost shot the woman in the face. I would not mind if Lee did the same here.) Garner: "Nobody ever cut us any slack in the engine room, I can tell you that right now." He stands up. "But then, uh, I don't know...maybe being a snipe is different than being a viper jockey. No flashy stunts for us. No flying by the seat of our pants down there!" So that's how he's playing it in his head: it's incompetence or inexperience -- it's the fact that everyone in command, and the pilots, are blinded by their own top-doggery. They don't really understand the trenches. They're divas who all think they're better than Garner is -- and now he gets to show them. No wonder he hates Kara -- she does that same thing to the viewers, and she's not even real! -- but it's interesting to consider how much of this kind of sentiment Chief might share, frankly. He only gets angry when this line gets pushed, when pilots (including Boomer in the mini, even though that was for show) lord it over and question him. I know, he's all perfect and stuff, but like, boyfriend's in need of a storyline!