6. RefugeThe Radiant Dragon drifted in interstellar space, light-years from the nearest sun, its only companions starlight and cosmic dust and the faint pull of myriad gravities.
Selene had seen no sign of pursuit from Concordance, but she wasn't taking any chances. She would follow Refuge approach protocols to the letter, pause for long days while the Dragon ran through its self-diagnosis scans. If there was any indication she or the ship had been compromised – if even one of the grains of sand she'd trodden in on her boots turned out to be some sort of bug or weapon – they'd deep-clean and repeat the whole jump/jump/jump/hide process. And repeat until they were absolutely clear.
Which all meant that her prisoner was a problem. Taking him to the Refuge was a death sentence for Malleus –
