Oh my. I found this just as I was going to bed last night, with a torrent going in the background, so my attempts to comment then bombed spectacularly! Then I was out to lunch today, so am finally getting to comment!

I love your handling of the characters, from Connor's reaction to more roughing it, to his naive thoughts on exposing the whole anomaly situation, to his being totally wierded out by Ryan's sudden vulnerability. And Ryan was wonderful! It can be a hard thing to encapsulate, but you handled beautifully his reasons for joining the military, and how that has shaped his view of his people and his country - regardless of what corruption he faces. He cannot place innocents in the way of danger. And his reaction to Connor's backdown and understanding was breathtaking. As you said, vulnerability.

And that was a lovely last line! Of course they've parked near an anomaly! *g*