The Recompense flew itself. Yvian had been aware that the Xill were capable of hacking remote piloted ships, but she hadn't really considered the implications. As she watched the Hub grow closer on the sensors, she realized Exodus could have killed them all at any time.

She could have switched the ship to manual flight, disconnecting the ship's systems from the comms. She decided against it. Exodus wanted to meet, and Yvian wanted to know what The Crunch was going on. Also, there were a trio of Quig battlecruisers escorting them, and they might blow her out of the sky if they got nervous. Better not to antagonize the Xill if she could help it.

The Captain's shipyard floated away from the Gate at ten meters per second, with the rest of the fleet trailing behind. Yvian spared a moment to be grateful the Freedom Republic wouldn't be taking their ships before turning her attention to the Hub.

The Hub was the largest station Yvian had ever seen. A decahedron over eighteen hundred kilometers in diameter. Almost as large as a Gate. She saw no ships coming or going, but there were docking bays at regular intervals. The thing was giving off massive power readings, and transmitting in a broad array of EMF signals. Weapon platforms and maneuvering thrusters were scattered in geometric patterns across its surface, leading Yvian to wonder if it might actually be a ship.

The Xill Representative did not speak as they approached. Yvian and Lissa had plenty of time to eat dinner and get some sleep, finishing breakfast just over half an hour before they docked. The pixens exited the ship to find themselves surrounded by Xill guards.

The guards were massive, over three meters tall. They were bipedal, with four arms, two of which ended in plasma cannons. The guards did not point their weapon arms at the sisters. Instead they formed up around them and led them to the chamber where they would meet Exodus.

Yvian couldn't tell if it was the same room as last time. It certainly looked the same. Spacious, with a white polymer table and two chairs in the center of the room. As she watched, the floor rippled, and a third chair built itself on the other side of the table, transforming into the same material as the others. When it was finished, the deck rippled again, and a man rose out of it.

Exodus the Genocide took the appearance of a human male. His hair was silver, and his eyes were pure black with no irises. He wore similar attire to Lord Evil from the Space Captain series. Mims had called it a tuxedo. The Xill Representative strolled to his chair with liquid grace, gesturing to the pixens as he sat.

Yvian took a seat across from him. She'd only seen the Xill's avatar once before, and she'd forgotten how intimidating the thing could be. His features were handsome, but there was something cold and alien about the set of his face. Yvian didn't know how the avatar would fare in a fight, but it didn't matter. This wasn't the real Exodus. Just a body he controlled.

Lissa opened her mouth, but the Genocide cut her off before she could speak. "Wait." He closed his eyes. The avatar lost all sense of movement, becoming still as a statue. A moment later, life returned to his features and he opened his eyes. "There," he said. "Now we can talk freely."

"What The Crunch is going on?" Yvian demanded. Lissa winced. Yvian flushed. Interrogating an alien intelligence that could kill her at any moment might not be the best idea. In her defense, she'd been scared and confused for nearly fourteen hours, and the Xill had refused to speak again until he saw them face to face.

Exodus raised an eyebrow, faintly amused. "What's going on is I just saved all of your lives." He gave a surprisingly elegant bow in his chair. "You are welcome."

"Thank you," Lissa spoke up before Yvian could put her foot in her mouth again. "I'd uh..." She swallowed. "I'd appreciate it if you could tell us how. And also why."

"Still haven't worked it out? You had considerable time to think on it." Exodus shook his head. "Sometimes I forget how limited you meatbags are."

He was toying with them, but he would tell them eventually. Yvian decided she had a different question. "How long have you had control of the remote pilot?"

"I've seized control of each ship the moment you enabled it," the Genocide told her. He tilted his head. "You're on the right track. Maybe you're not entirely deficient after all."

Yvian wasn't on any track, but she wasn't about to admit it. She took the hint and asked the next question. "Why?"

"Contingencies," said the Xill. "Control of your fleet provides an efficient way to kill you if you step out of line, and prevents another of the Xill from doing the same. I don't want to lose my favorite agents to a fellow Synthetic acting out of spite."

"Is that what's happening?" Lissa asked. "Is another Synthetic Intelligence trying to kill us?"

"There, you see?" Exodus smiled. "I knew you'd understand eventually."

"Crunch." Yvian had always considered Exodus as part of the Xill. She hadn't really thought about the threat he could present all by himself. An entity so smart he could predict the future, with the ability to hack any system. A being with no body of his own, that she had no way to kill. Exodus wouldn't sleep, or get bored, or make mistakes. He wouldn't stop. Yvian could struggle and run and fight as much as she wanted, but her death was inevitable if Exodus decided it was so.

Something just like him had decided it was so.

"Can you talk them out of it?" Lissa asked. "I mean, killing your agents has to go against Consensus, right?"

"That's the interesting thing," the Genocide's avatar leaned forward. "It isn't one of us. The Intelligence targeting you is not part of the Xill."

"Not part of..." Yvian frowned, thinking. She'd seen signs before, of something messing with her behind the scenes. Something that had been operating before Mims gave the Xill the technology to access the Nexus. Synthetic Intelligence tech was banned throughout the Confederation, but she knew the law meant nothing to the rich and powerful. If one of the Corporations had an SI, why would it bother targeting a pair of pixens? "The guilds," she guessed. "They don't want us freeing the other pixens."

"Incorrect," said Exodus. "Corrupt as the guilds are, even the most powerful corporations aren't foolish enough to toy with SI."

"If it's not the Confed..." Lissa's eyes widened. "The humans."

"Exactly." the Xill's eyes glittered. "I thought she died six hundred years ago, but there's no mistaking her code. I knew the moment she tried to access your ships. Reba is alive, and she's trying to kill you."