Belmac got back to the lounge and saw the crying man being comforted by a young woman along with Dr. Koch. "Doc?" he called to her and she drifted over to his side.
"Arch, these people are starting to lose their minds," she whispered to him.
"I see. Who's the crier over there?"
"Cardon Titus is the guy and the lady is his friend Regina Atlas. They work together on Cetus Station."
Archer closed his eyes briefly. "About Cetus…"
"Yes?"
He sighed. "Never mind."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"We don't have to worry about Cetus."
"Oh Gods," Liz moaned.
Archer glared at her. "I don't see Jove or Saturn swooping in to help us, now do you?"
Liz shook her head. "Have a heart Arch."
He barked a short laugh and everyone stared at him. "Yes I laughed. Got a problem with that?"
"So you think this is… what? Funny?" Smits yelled.
He shot back, "Oh I think it's hilarious! Once again the human race has to battle the Cyclons! A joke – a complete and utter joke by the Universe at our expense."
"You ought to be ashamed," Liz hissed at him.
"Ashamed? Oh yes I am. I'm ashamed that people created the Cylons, as servants, so why are we oh so surprised when they turn on us? Not once but twice!"
"But they're machines," Smits rebutted. "Machines; toasters."
Kepler cleared his throat. "But we made them too intelligent. My grandfather fought in the first War. He told me they were… tricky."
"Right you are, Mr. Kepler," Archer said clapping his hands slowly. "Too smart by half. The early models were made to do the dirty work. Mining, refining, picking up garbage…" he paused. "But I guess they figured out they didn't want to stop at sweeping the streets now did they?" He forcibly clamped his mouth shut before he said any more for he was just this far from screaming.
"Now they'll be sweeping us out of the way," moaned the crying man.
Archer crossed the room and peered into the red-rimmed eyes. "Mr. Titus, right?" In this state Titus didn't look like much but his arms and shoulders bulged with muscle and his hands were corded by massive sinews.
"Ye…sss," the man stammered then wiped his face on his sleeve dispersing floating spheres of salty tears to the air currents.
Archer nodded. "EVA tech, am I right?"
The man nodded. "Yep. Good at it too."
Archer clapped his hand on Titus' shoulder and the tissue under his shirt felt like high-strength carbiron. "We may need you and you're strength." He looked at the woman who was hovering near him. "And you are Ms. Atlas."
She was a dark-haired beauty with dark green eyes that looked as deep as the Whirlpools of Hesperus. "I am."
Archer looked at her closely trying to ignore her loveliness. "Miner."
"Ore extract specialist," she corrected him. "Cardon, uhm, Titus, he does the tough stuff while I get to sit inside and run the drill rigs remotely."
"Good with servomechs then."
She smiled faintly. "I try to be," she said but the confident way she answered told him more than she admitted.
"Any time on Zed Prime programming?"
"No. Not really."
"Captain?" Smits interrupted. "I have; that is I used to. Long time back."
"Me as well," added Amanda Newsome. "I have a minor in it."
"Good," Archer answered. "Smits and Ms. Newsome I'll have my cargo master set you up on a console. I need you to think about reprogramming our cargo modules software. They have simple brains but we may need them to do a little more than just come and go and hold station waiting to be docked."
Kepler glared at Archer. "Oh no you're not! I see what you're doing!"
Archer whirled to face him. "I am Captain of this vessel and I will say and do what must be done," he growled so Kepler wilted and the rest of them got that scared rarbit look.
"Captain?" Regina asked in the strained silence. "Just what are you proposing to do?"
Captain Belmac scanned the room by turning his eyes and his neck and rotating his body so all of them could see his face. "I'm, we, are fighting back of course."
The old man strapped to the seat stirred, yawned, and caught his eye. "Good." His hands trembled as he reached out, unsnapped the seat restraint and pushed off the seat. "About bloody time we did something. You all thought I was drugged, but not enough to not hear a lot of blubbering and moaning and crying," he glared at Kepler. "And bitching." He swung his wrinkled face at Archer. "Captain," he made a half bow in the air. "We are at your disposal."
Archer shook his head. "I'm sorry to say this but I will need all of you. I know that each of you," he paused, "all of us have lost family today, and friends and lovers," his chest got tight. "But we can hit back. My ship has plenty of propulsion and full ore pods clamped to us."
Regina shook her head. "I used to go hunting with my dad on Libran for crocigators. Just me and him in a flatbed skimmer with a couple of broad-bore guns."
Archer grinned at her. "You get it then."
The woman put her fists together, pulled them to her chest and then threw her hands forward and apart. "Boom!"
"Right," Archer answered. "Boom."
Amanda Newsome blinked her brown eyes at him slowly and her freckled face broke into a rueful grin. "You are insane."
"No," Archer shook his head. "Desperate and, I hope unpredictable to our enemies. Our families will be avenged." Somehow he must have hit the right tone, for as he watched they all started to smile, nod, and give every sign they were willing to help.
Only the doctor trembled at what he had just said. Idiot, she thought to herself. He's going to get us all killed, were the panicked words that raced through her mind.
