Gaius pulls it together completely, rising up again among them, warming to his subject. "What have you done? What have you done to deserve this punishment? What sins have you committed?" Out over the PA, the Fleet listens in. This is the part they like best: the absolution. Whether or not it's God that loves you and made you perfect, or somebody telling you that you deserve better than what God's handed you, both stories come out of the same mouth. That's all they really want. Never mind the self-preservation that is Gaius's birthright, how he's turning the tide of their anger and doubt and disappointment in any direction at all, he doesn't care and barely knows he's doing it.

"What dark thoughts have you harbored that condemn you? Condemned you to wander through the universe without hope? Without light? So you have to ask yourself what kind of a father abandons his own children to despair and loneliness? Perhaps we are not the ones in need of forgiveness. Perhaps we're not. Perhaps we have been wronged! Perhaps it is God who should come down here, and beg for our forgiveness! Am I right? Am I right? Well, shout it to God! What have you done for me lately? Where have you been? There is a disease aboard this ship, and it is a disease of denial! Am I right? Well, don't tell me! Shout it to God!" Chief spots Hotdog across the crowd, and Hotdog immediately starts looking all sad and guilty and weird, and they push toward each other through the congregation, as they get more and more antsy, yelling back at Gaius, at God. At Bill Adama.

"Cottle told me," Hotdog protests, sad and worried for the Chief. "I didn't know. We need to... We should talk." Galen nods, and then BOOM. Not quite as far as Cally flew when Tory punched her, but pretty far, against a wall. Galen lands a bunch of punches, and when the crowd turns to watch and wonder what's up, Gaius doesn't really care enough to check it out. He just sits down to chill for a bit. They knock over an altar in their struggle; Gaius lights a cigarette. All he wants to do is lose himself in drinking and sex like always, and they keep fucking making him talk about God, and if he stops then they'll stop loving him, and he'll be alone again. But at least right now they have something else to look at.