“You’ll have to come with me,” Surit said. “You’ll have to act synced if we’re to make this work.” He had very little idea how that should even look. A sync meant he should have write access to Tennal: defensive techniques wouldn’t work, and writing itself should take very little effort, since Surit’s commands would go straight to Tennal’s subconscious. Surit remembered the vast, mesmerizing sea of Tennal’s mind and had to push the memory aside to think. There had to be a way.

Tennal didn’t seem to share Surit’s apprehensions. His eyes had gone harder, something vicious and crystalline about him. “Showtime,” he said. “I have an idea.”

A few minutes later, they emerged into the corridors, where the bright day-cycle light and the vivid Cavalry emblems on the walls made Tennal wince and put up a hand to protect his eyes. The Fractal Note was busier than it had ever been. Soldiers passed them, saluting Surit and glancing askance at Tennal. Surit’s entire back felt tense as he returned the salutes. As they left the dormitory level, Tennal looked around, narrow-eyed, then dropped back until he was walking one pace behind Surit’s shoulder. That didn’t make Surit feel better at all. It was technically correct for Tennal’s nominal rank, but having Tennal behind you felt like turning your back on a tiger.

As they crossed into the command module, transparent panels opened on a wall beside them, showing the black tapestry of space and the distant clouds of turbulence. Surit knew roughly where they were—he’d tracked the currents of chaotic space for years, since he’d tried to figure out the coordinates for the remains of Marit’s ship. It had taken him until much later to realize there was no point. Her ship would be a heap of scrap.

The rest of the fleet maneuvered behind the viewing panes. Shuttles passed back and forth around the larger ships like silver birds. One of those shuttles would be Surit’s new unit. Surit had memorized their docking time and set a counter in the back of his head.

Tennal’s gaze tracked the new fleet outside. “Fantastic. I was just thinking we didn’t have enough soldiers around. What’s that?”

Surit followed Tennal’s gaze to one of the larger ships. It must be one of the scanning ships that they’d bought from the Galactics. Tennal had immediately zeroed in on the most interesting part: one of the antennae produced a mild distortion field that Surit associated with Resolution tools.

“It finds paths through chaotic space,” Surit said. “It can shape them as well. They must have worked out how to solve the import problems.”

Tennal glanced sideways at Surit. “You’re an officer, aren’t you? Don’t you get your own ship?”

“I’ve been assigned a retrieval unit,” Surit said. “It’s a shuttle, though, not a ship.”