The Murder Machine Dance Party was a spectacle Yvian would never forget. Alas, all good things must come to an end. After one hour, two minutes, and thirty seven seconds, the Peacekeeper units all stopped. They went back to what they were doing as if nothing had happened. Eighty million comm requests cut off all at once.

Several more comm requests remained. Most of them were Lissa's problem. There was a sizeable staff of administrators in charge of running the Pixen Technocracy, and they all wanted to talk to the boss. There was also a reporter. Danil Starlancer from Spacedock Weekly. Yvian didn't know how he'd found out about their return so quickly, but he wanted an interview. Yvian shuddered at the thought. Fortunately, public relations was also Lissa's problem.

The last comm request was from Warmaster Scathach. Yvian answered that one herself. "Scargiver!" the Warmaster shouted. "Call them off!"

"What?" Scargiver was what Scathach called Mims. She looped him into the call. "It's for you."

"This is Mims," the human said. "What's going on?"

"Your machines are massacring the Empire," Scathach growled. "They're laying waste to Starfang as we speak! Call them back!"

Yvian took another look at her sensor feed. The Peacekeeper presence was pretty light. There were a dozen Peacekeeper Queenships, half a million Peacekeeper Stinger units, and another couple million conventional warships. More than enough to protect the sector, but much less than she usually saw. The rest must be in Vrrl space.

"You should do as he says," Exodus cut in and advised. "My Peacekeepers stopped killing while they were celebrating your return, but they've resumed their extermination. They'll extinguish all life on Starfang Prime in a matter of hours."

The human blinked, then swore. "Can you talk to them?"

"It will be better if they hear it from you," said the Genocide. "I'll patch you through to them."

Mims nodded, then spoke. "Attention all Peacekeeper units. This is Mims. I want everyone in Vrrl space to drop what you're doing and come back to Empty Night Sector. Do it now. Mims out."

The human waited a moment, then asked, "Exodus? They doing it?"

"Check for yourself," said the Genocide. "I'm not your errand boy."

Mims grunted. "Kilroy?"

"This unit is not your errand boy either, Big Daddy Mims," the Peacekeeper informed him. His eyes were a steady blue. Yvian didn't blame him. Kilroy had been clinging to the idea that he was standard for a long time. Suddenly finding himself different and alone was not something he'd shake off in a minute. At least his eyes weren't flashing or glowing black. If he had enough wherewithal to sass the human, he'd probably be alright. Eventually.

"Just check please, Kilroy," Yvian ordered.

"Scargiver?" She heard Scathach on the other frequency. "Is it done?"

"Hold on a second, Warmaster," Mims told him.

"The message was received, Captain Mother Yvian," Kilroy reported. "All units are returning to this sector." His eyes flashed red. "The units are very angry, Captain Mother Yvian. They very much want to continue murdering the meatbags."

"Good to know," said Yvian. "Thanks, Kilroy." She nodded at Mims.

The human spoke on the comm. "You still there, Scathach?"

"I'm here," the Warmaster growled. "Have the Peacekeepers stopped?"

"Yeah," he told him. "They're on their way here as we speak." He frowned. "We're coming to meet you. Is there anything else that can't wait til we get there?"

"No." The Warmaster chuffed. "Nothing I want to share on open comms."

"Then we'll see you in a few hours," said the human. "Mims out."

"Captain Mother Yvian," Kilroy spoke up. "This unit has a matter that must be attended to."

"Understood," Yvian told him. Crunch, he looked miserable. "We've got you covered."

"Thank you." Kilroy didn't run off at two hundred kilometers per hour this time. He trudged off the bridge with slow heavy steps. Yvian was tempted to follow him. Try to comfort him somehow. She shook her head. It wouldn't help. Kilroy needed to be alone.

"I love you, Kilroy," she whispered. "I'm here if you need me."

Kilroy didn't answer. Yvian hadn't expected him to. She knew he'd heard, and that was enough. She checked the sensors again. The Dream of the Lady was on course for Shipyard 71. The Warmaster's destroyer was still docked there. The rest of the sector was full of ships and activity, but nothing that would constitute a threat. There wasn't anything left to do but wait.

"Mims?" Yvian asked. "Can you take charge for a bit? I have to... I have to take care of something."

"Lot of that going around today, Captain." The human shrugged. "Go ahead. I'll call you if something important happens."

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"Thanks." Yvian made her way to her quarters. She switched off her wrist console's comm connections. She set it to record. She sat there, silent. She didn't know what to say.

Yuriko thought she was dead. Or at least, she had. The human woman was the only connection Yvian had outside of her ship. She was the closest Yvian had come to love. She'd rejected Yvian in the end, but... Yvian sighed.

Yvian erased the several minutes of silence she'd recorded. She tried again. "Yuriko, it's um... me. Yvian. I'm alive. I'm sorry. I didn't... If I'd known... If I knew my death was going to faked I would have warned you."

Yvian's eyes were watering. She switched the console to record audio only. "I'm sorry, Yuriko. You were right not to want me. You were right. What I do is dangerous. I could die at any time. I just wish..." She choked back a sob. "I just miss you, I guess. I'm so tired of being so alone."

Yvian closed her eyes, centered herself. It didn't make her feel better, but she got her breathing back under control. "So much has happened. There's so much I want to tell you. But I can't. I can't tell you anything." She let out a shuddering breath. "I don't think you'd want to hear it anyway. It was all just for fun, right? You don't... You don't want to love me. I'm sorry, Yuriko. I shouldn't be dumping all this on you. I just... I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I would have liked to love you if I could. You know. But you were right. You were right and I'm sorry."

Yvian turned off the recording. She cried for a while. Then she pulled herself together and walked down to engineering. Engineering was a big space, but it was so full of consoles and equipment that it felt small. Three reactors took up the center of the room. Big cylindrical things, covered in cables and conduits. Smaller reserve generators took up one side of the room. On the other side were the Nodes. There were three of them.

Nodes were quantum technology. Like the Jumpdrive. They used quantum resonance to ignore distance, allowing instant communication. Yvian moved to the Node on the left. She switched it to the configuration that led to Black Mesa Station. She uploaded her message. She reset the Node and made her way back to the bridge.

Kilroy returned an hour later. Yvian could guess what he had been doing. He'd fabricated a hat band to add to his fancy fedora. Most Peacekeepers did not have hat bands. The only other one she'd seen belonged to Peacekeeper unit Ender Zhukov, the non-standard unit that served as the general of the Peacekeepers. Zhukov's band had been white. Kilroy's was the same shade of blue as his eyes. Lissa had asked about it, but Kilroy had refused to explain.

They reached Shipyard 71 a few hours later. Shipyard 71 was a barebones sort of place. The Peacekeepers had built it quick and dirty, using a pre-fab station kit of Krog design. Like everything else from the Krog, it was well made and aesthetically pleasing. The station was a ninety kilometer long rectangle, but it had sweeping curves where the edges would be. Dozens of Pixen battlecruisers were docked inside, as well as Warmaster Scathach's Pridewing class destroyer.

The Dream of the Lady docked without incident. The crew disembarked to find the docking bay filled with Peacekeeper units. Yvian could see more Peacekeepers lining the corridor through the open bay door. Each of the machines was holding a black cane with a white tip. The moment Yvian stepped off the ramp, old timey human music began to play. The Peacekeepers danced.

"Puttin' on the Ritz?" Mims muttered. "Really?"

The units heard him. Their eyes were flashing yellow. With perfect synchronicity, they twirled their canes and tapped their feet. The Peacekeepers hadn't left enough space to squeeze into the corridor. Yvian and her crew had no choice but to stand and watch. When the song completed, the machines snapped upright. They raised their canes high. Their eyes glowed white. The Anthem of the Machines started playing.

Mims made his body rigid, then pressed a fist to his heart. So did Kilroy. Lissa and Scarrend followed suit a moment later. Yvian gave them a quizzical look. Mims glowered and jerked his head at Yvian. Oh. Right. He was standing at attention. She should, too. Yvian stood straight and pressed a fist to her chest.

When the Anthem was finally over, the Peacekeepers let out a big cheer. Lissa grinned and waved at them. Mims gave a respectful nod. Only now did the machines open a path to the corridor. They stood at attention, fists pressed against the part of their chassis that would hold their hearts if they were meatbags.

Peacekeeper units lined the hallways all the way down to the conference room where the Warmaster was waiting. Yvian and the crew had to walk single file to avoid brushing up against them. The machines held their salute for the entire trip, silent statues with glowing white eyes. It was sweet, but kind of disturbing. Very Peacekeeper-like.

The conference room was a modest space. There was a long rectangular table in the center of the room. Another smaller table stood against a bulkhead. There were coffee and snacks on it. The walls, floor, and ceiling were plain steel, but someone had hung a banner against the far wall. The banner was blue, with the symbol of the Homestar at its center in gold.

Two Vrrl were waiting inside the conference room. Warmaster Scathach was in his usual stance, feet spread, all four hands tucked behind his back. He wore a black leather skirt, a leather vest, and a cape made of scalps. He was trying and failing to be his usual picture of composure. Scathach looked haggard. His white fur and red mane were matted, and the three scars tracing down his face looked angrier than usual.

The other Vrrl looked familiar, but Yvian didn't know from where. He was big, as big as Scathach. His fur was orange with black stripes. His mane was bone white. The creature wore the same skirt and vest as Scathach, but his scalp cape had bones threaded through it that clinked when he moved. A polished skull hung from a chain around his neck. The skull had once belonged to a sapient, but Yvian wasn't sure what species. The back of it was oddly elongated.

Scathach moved before Yvian could ponder the matter further. He dropped all pretense of calm, rushing forward with a thunderous shout. "Scarrend!"

Scarrend moved to meet him. The two of them embraced in a crushing hug. "My son!" Scathach cried. They nuzzled their cheeks against each other. Yvian heard rumbling purrs. After a few moments, Scathach set Scarrend down. Then he hugged him again. "I thought you were dead."

"A necessary ruse, father." Scarrend wiped at his eyes. Scathach was crying openly. Yvian noticed the orange Vrrl watching the two of them with quiet approval. "One I was not expecting. I would have warned you if I could."

"It's better that you didn't," the Warmaster told him. "There are few things as convincing as honest grief."

"True." Scarrend nodded. He was still purring. "It is good to smell you again, father."

"Words cannot express how pleased I am to smell you, son." Scathach clapped all four hands on Scarrend and stepped back. He straightened, placing his hands back behind his back. "We'll catch up later, but for now there is other business to attend to."

"Indeed," the orange Vrrl rumbled. He stepped closer, running the back of one hand across his cheek. Then he rubbed the same hand across Lissa's cheek. "Ms. Kiver. I am gratified that you live. Every time I smell you, you seem less like food."

"Emperor Tybert," Lissa smiled at him. "It's good to see you too."

"It's just Tybert now," the Vrrl told her. Rage flashed across his face, replaced by calm just as quickly. He shook his head. "The Vrrl Starfang Empire has fallen. I am Emperor no more."