Tamara nodded, dark hair swinging. “This,” she tapped the center of the wagon-wheel, where the spokes all intersected, “is the main engine. It doesn’t work anymore. The Dreamer AI has been keeping the rotational engines functional over the centuries, which is why the wheel is still turning and we still have gravity. But someone broke the propulsive engine a thousand years ago, and the autorepair can’t or won’t fix it. That’s why the ship is stranded. There are access tunnels in the spokes that are still passable, and since the engine isn’t on, we shouldn’t have any problem going through. It’s a faster route, and there are fewer creatures in the spokes.”

“If there is an obstruction in the spoke we will have no way of going around,” Indigo said. “We would have to backtrack, and potentially lose a day or days of travel.”

Tamara sat back. “Who’s new here, and who has survived here alone for half a decade? This is the only way we can get to the labs in time, and alive. If there’s an obstruction, we can use your sword to cut through. Unless you’d rather let species 019 tear you apart out here alone while Sean and I go through the center.”

Indigo studied the hand-drawn map. “I trust your expertise in this matter, lieutenant,” he said, and then I would swear I saw something like spite in his expression as he added, “And I would prefer not to get torn apart by manikins.”

“Okay, where to, then?” I asked loudly, interrupting the stare-down.

Tamara set the tablet back down then, with a sigh, handed it back to me. “Luckily, it’s not too far from here. What kind of supplies do the two of you have?”

“A few packages of dehydrated food, half a flask of water, a medical scanner, my sword, and a few more hull seals depending on size,” Indigo said.

Tamara looked at me.

“Uh, my pen,” I said, “my notebook, the flashlight, the tablet, and your knife. Oh! And my wits.”

“Really?” said Lantern-Eyes.

“We got blown through the hull,” I felt compelled to point out.

She was levering herself to her feet, still favoring her injured arm, but not so much as before. “Follow me,” she said, resigned. “Let’s get some supplies.”

Lieutenant Gupta’s nearest supply cache was behind four different barriers, each sealed in a different, creative way. I watched her untie the cords attaching a large sheet of corroded plastic to the wall, revealing the final door, which had two different deadbolts in it.

“Do you think it’s secure?” I asked, while Tamara slid the stiff bolts open.

“Watch the hall, Sean.” She shoved the door open—it slid into the wall, like most of the doors on the Nameless, but the door was so old and stiff it barely opened wide enough for her to sidle through.

“Indigo’s already watching it,” I reminded her. Indigo stood a few feet away, gazing back the way we had come.

“Sean.” Tamara’s face reappeared at the crack between door and wall. “I want you to look in the other direction from Indigo. Count to ten in your head, then look away. After another count of ten, look back. Do that four times.”