Baltar's New Prison:
"Call me Merovech," the disk said.
Baltar examined his visitor. The disk was a mass of circuitry that resembled a face that was glowing and flashed when it spoke. It, Merovech, was being carried by an ambuquad drone robot that was painted a shiny black with gold eyes. Merovech spoke with a strange accent, and since none of the other computers Baltar had encountered on Earth had accents, he could only assume Merovech programmed it deliberately to sound pretentious.
"I have been quite forthcoming since my arrival here," Baltar said, "so what do you want of me now?" He paced around the all white room. The plainness of it was driving him mad, and it was much brighter than he preferred.
"The question is," Merovech said with his accented voice, "what are we going to do with you? If we return you to the Galactica, you will be placed back on the prison barge for your own safety, and you won't be immediately available if we should need your information."
"Are you going to keep me imprisoned here?"
"That does sound appealing to most of the council, but I would prefer a more permanent prison for you."
Baltar suddenly realized he had spent way too much time with Lucifer. "You want something of me. I can read it in your flashing little lights, my friend. You need me for some reason."
"Mais oui, I do. But I see you for what you are. You represent the worst of humanity… you are greedy, and crave power. Those traits I can admire. Plus you are a survivor, I can definitely use someone like you."
"You want me to put you in touch with the Cylons, don't you? Is that really in my best interests? Are you certain it is in yours?" Baltar realized that the more he studied Merovech's flashing face, the more he could read him.
"I believe that you can devise a way it can be done in a way to ensure our mutual safety."
"In the right conditions," Baltar said.
"Everything comes down to cause and effect. We just need to devise the right cause for the desired effect. Which brings me to your prison."
"Yes, tell me about my new gilded cage."
"You desire power. You sold out your people in exchange for your own colony being subjugated under you. The Cylons did not honour their side of the agreement."
Baltar sneered. "Apparently, you can alter one side of an agreement when there is no other side. They never planned to let me live. I only fooled myself into believing differently. It was a nice dream."
"Before your betrayal you ran a mining operation. I propose then, to place you in a prison of your own desires. I am offering you governorship of one of our outer mining colonies."
"A sucessful mining operation?"
"Moderately. Ambuquad, provide Baltar with the details."
The black android stepped forward and offered Baltar a packet of papers in it's clawed hand.
Flipping through the papers, Baltar passed judgment. "It's not a big colony. The minerals it has been exporting reasonable." Then he checked the mineral layout of the planet.
Baltar started chuckling. "Your people have missed the most valuable ore on the planet. Tylium. We could refuel the Colonial Fleet… and the Cylon. We can refine solinite for explosives. This world is a gold mine, and you're not even exploiting the half of it."
"You will take the job?"
"Oh, yes, my sparkly friend. I certainly will. I think I may even enjoy this prison of responsibility and power you offer me."