Istara didn’t seem to care about Halkana family politics. They floated their screen up from their workstation and expanded it. “The coordinates in that message,” they said. “It’s moved, because chaotic space does that, but I think that’s where the lab should be.”

“The lab?” Tennal said blankly, his thoughts still clearly on his sister.

“You know,” Istara said, as if Tennal were being particularly dense. “The one where the remnants came from. Why would someone send you that?”

CHAPTER 26

“All right,” Tennal said, slapping his hand on the wall. A light-screen spread from his fingers to fill the space. They were in the flag chamber: the table that had held thirty Cavalry officers now had him, the two first-class rankers, and the medic, who might know about remnants. And Surit. Tennal had to remind himself Surit was there, a separate person and not just another node of the Tennal-and-Surit hybrid. “So we have a choice. Oma will be landing on Orshan Central soon. On the other hand, some anonymous person has decided to send us a message about the old laboratory in chaotic space. There must be something in there. Relevant to our choice: Oma is an unthinkably powerful architect who can brainwash people who get near her. Surit and I should be immune to brainwashing, but that doesn’t mean we’re immune to her writing us. And I don’t know how Oma’s picking her targets, but you’re vulnerable,” he added, jabbing a finger at Istara and Basavi. “As is any other architect on this ship.”

“Um,” Basavi said.

“It won’t come to that,” Surit said. “We’re—I’m not bringing this unit into a situation where that might happen.”

“Um,” Basavi said again.

Istara gave Basavi a hard stare, and whatever they saw there made them give a heartfelt groan and drop their head onto the table in front of them. “Savi.”

“I’m not vulnerable,” Basavi said, with the slow inevitability of a dirt grinder breaking through the side of a mountain. “I’m a reader.”

Tennal found himself stranded in a pure vacuum of shock. “What?”

“Just do us both,” Istara said, their voice muffled. “Lights, you might as well.”

Basavi stared at the wall on the other side of the room and said, “Private Istara is also a reader.”

Tennal reached out for Surit and found Surit’s mind just as blank.

“I know you two,” Tennal said to Basavi accusingly. “I’ve known you for weeks! Istara said they were an architect! They said you both were!” The two of them hadn’t come across as much more than neutrals, but Tennal had taken Istara at their word: some architects were barely visible.

Basavi gave an unforthcoming shrug without taking her eyes off the opposite wall. “It’s personal.”

“Why lie about it?” Surit asked, genuinely bewildered.