Surit might’ve thought there was no future, but Tennal had never made a habit of agreeing with anyone unconditionally, so he didn’t see why he should start with Surit’s ghost. In the absence of Surit, Tennal could make a good case to be the ranking officer, if Basavi would play along. This ship was fueled to chase Surit. It was all smoke and mirrors, but this was their ship, and their smoke and mirrors.

When Basavi stumbled into the room, dragging the medic, she found Tennal disconnected from the brain scanner and examining the unit’s hand-drawn map on his wristband.

The medic stopped in the doorway, clearly taken aback to find him up. “Are you—”

“I’m unsynced,” Tennal said, “I’m awake, and I’m feeling particularly insufferable today.”

The medic’s eye twitched. “Lie down.”

Tennal didn’t move. He looked at Basavi. There wasn’t even a hint of a smile on her blank face; in fact, Tennal had the strong impression that she was furious. Interesting. She saluted. “Captain. We’re near your target. Lieutenant Yeni’s whereabouts have been unknown for three days. You’ve been unconscious.”

Three days. They’d lost Surit three days ago. “Why didn’t we turn around?”

Basavi went even more furious. She opened her mouth, but at that point, the speakers in the room crackled. Basavi must have been allowing someone to eavesdrop through her wristband.

Istara said, through the ship’s speakers, “Did you forget you had a plan, Halkana? Did you come up with another way to stop Oma’s creepy brainwashing thing? Or can you just not hold a thought in your head for more than twenty-four hours?”

“I’ve been unconscious!” Tennal said to the speaker. All the rest of the crew should know was that Tennal and Surit weren’t synced, not why or how parts of Surit’s architect abilities had been cauterized onto Tennal. “I’ve had a traumatic medical experience, Private Istara. I need sympathy and reasonable workplace adjustments.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Istara paused. “Glad you’re back. But we had a plan.”

Basavi said, “Lieutenant Yeni sent the order to continue, before he left. We discussed it.”

Basavi had clearly argued to go after Surit and had just as clearly lost. Tennal was inclined to be on her side—they had to get Surit while he was still alive and fix this somehow. Of course, Surit would still be alive. There were no other options.

“We’re at the lab,” Istara said. “Yeni wanted us to carry on, so we carried on. And I don’t want that remnant-addicted fucker as legislator any more than Yeni did.”

Tennal hesitated.

“What if there’s nothing in that module,” Basavi said, with the air of someone carrying on a three-day argument. “It was abandoned twenty years ago. What if it doesn’t help us, and we still have to try and stop Governor Oma?”