Chapter 13
While they hovered off Chunder to bring the boilers back up to pressure, Race had a fleeting thought of staying here, or heading for some planet in the Cluster before the news of the Jacarantha Incident preceded him, waiting a few weeks until the storm blew over. Even a grim manhunter like Geremé Slavin could only stay alert for so long.
But Slavin could out-wait me easily. If he waited too long Joss and Janinda might be dead, or gone beyond his power to follow and find them, or changed out of all recognition. Perhaps worst of all: he might be changed too much, have grown beyond their capacity to follow. He couldn’t bear to have Joss — and Janinda! — saying “Sir” to him.
They pulled out of the Imperial Cluster quickly and confidently and located the very bright star that was
