Escaping the fascist Federated Colonies was the easy part.

Genius engineer Miki Boudreaux found sanctuary on the planet Refuge for herself and her partner, Damarae telepath Talia Avi. They have plenty of delicious food to eat and don't need to fear death or capture at every turn. They might never have to pick up weapons again. It's terrific.

But Miki isn't as happy as she ought to be. While supporting Talia's recovery from a harrowing captivity, Miki's also grieving their failed revolution and the loss of their leader. It hurts that she doesn't even know how he died. She can't get past that alone – but she can't rely solely on Talia and their beloved companion Faigin, either, because they have wounds of their own. Refuge might have some answers, though...can Miki bring herself to reach out and ask?

Sometimes, accepting help is the hard part.