“Is she all right, Caregiver?” Thrawn asked.

“She will be,” Thalias said, pressing her hand against Che’ri’s forehead. The cool and the pressure felt good. “Sometimes sky-walkers come out of Third Sight with sensory overload that presents with aches and sparkle-vision. If it goes into a full-on spell, it can take some time to throw it off.”

“All the more reason to stop for now,” Thrawn said.

“Yes,” Thalias said. “At any rate, I’d like to give Che’ri a few minutes here to start her recovery before we walk back to the suite.”

A small bit of comfort whispered through the pain. None of Che’ri’s other momishes had ever really understood these overload spells. One of them had even gotten angry with her. It was nice to have someone who knew what they were, and what to do about them.

“Take all the time you need,” Thrawn said. “I’m not surprised she was affected so strongly, given this system’s parameters.”

Che’ri frowned, opening her eyes and peering at the planet the Springhawk was moving toward. It didn’t look any different from any other planet she’d seen on this trip. What was so special about it?

“Not the planet,” Thrawn said.

Che’ri jerked, the movement sending another wave of pain through her head and shoulders. The captain’s voice had come from right behind her.

Captains didn’t usually get close to their sky-walkers. She didn’t know if they weren’t supposed to, or if they just didn’t. But Thrawn was standing right beside Thalias. Almost close enough to touch.

“Look at the tactical display,” Thrawn continued, pointing at one of the big screens beside the viewport. “It gives you a wider view of the system as a whole.”

Che’ri squinted at the display, trying to sort out all the lines and curves and numbers.

And then she got it, and felt her eyes go wide.

There wasn’t just one star out there, like she’d thought. There were four of them.

“Quadruple star systems like this are quite rare,” Thrawn said. “I imagine navigating into the middle of one takes an extra toll on Third Sight.”

“Yes, I imagine it does,” Thalias said, shifting hands to bring her other, colder one onto Che’ri’s forehead. “Why are we here? I mean here?”

“Do you really want to know, Caregiver?” Thrawn asked.

Thalias’s hand against Che’ri’s forehead suddenly went stiff. “Yes, sir,” Thalias said. “I really do.”

Thrawn stepped around to Thalias’s other side. “A refugee ship was found drifting in one of the Ascendancy’s outlying systems,” he said, his voice low. Maybe Che’ri wasn’t supposed to hear this part? “We’re following the likely vector the ship came from in the hope of identifying the people. A question, Lieutenant Commander Azmordi?”