diff --git a/src/kernel/ally.c b/src/kernel/ally.c
index 3ebc7c1ce..ed53cbce4 100644
--- a/src/kernel/ally.c
+++ b/src/kernel/ally.c
@@ -12,12 +12,10 @@ ally * ally_find(ally *al, const struct faction *f) {
 
 ally * ally_add(ally **al_p, struct faction *f) {
     ally * al;
-    if (f) {
-        while (*al_p) {
-            al = *al_p;
-            if (al->faction == f) return al;
-            al_p = &al->next;
-        }
+    while (*al_p) {
+        al = *al_p;
+        if (f && al->faction == f) return al;
+        al_p = &al->next;
     }
     al = (ally *)malloc(sizeof(ally));
     al->faction = f;
diff --git a/src/kernel/ally.test.c b/src/kernel/ally.test.c
index fb35d25f7..c5c47298f 100644
--- a/src/kernel/ally.test.c
+++ b/src/kernel/ally.test.c
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ CuSuite *get_ally_suite(void)
 {
     CuSuite *suite = CuSuiteNew();
     SUITE_ADD_TEST(suite, test_ally);
+    SUITE_ADD_TEST(suite, test_ally_null);
     return suite;
 }