Relics and other objects strongly imbued with the dark side of the Force were taken there for purification. There, Orla would work with some of the great Masters to strip the dark energy from the idols in that safe, sacred space, where it could sink into the vergeance, dissipate into the cosmic Force, and again be made whole.

Orla sighed as she thought, In theory, anyway. Reality might be a whole lot more dangerous.

Reath took his Wookiee charge to the spacedock infirmary, to reunite it (her, as it turned out) with her parents. This infirmary only handled less critical health concerns: vaccinations, minor injuries, the occasional quarantine from travel. At least, that was the plan.

Nothing after the hyperspace disaster had gone according to plan. That was made clearer than ever to Reath when a medical droid whirred through the infirmary doors, giving him a look at what might as well have been a war zone. After the first burst of shock, he heard the ecstatic growls of two Wookiee parents coming to retrieve their daughter.

He submitted to thanks, hugging, and even some grooming before leaving the reunited family happy together. As soon as he had, he hurried toward the doors to figure out how he could help.

Every flat surface of the infirmary—beds, counters, floors—was almost entirely covered with the wounded from the Journeyman explosion. While those on the floor seemed to have more minor injuries, like broken limbs or lacerations, some of the ones in the beds were hooked up to multiple monitors and regulators. The constant whirrs and beeps could not drown out the moans. While a couple of organic physicians were hurrying from person to person, both they and the handful of med droids were clearly overworked.

“Why aren’t they in hospitals?” he muttered.

Although he was speaking mostly to himself, a hovering pill droid nearby replied, “All hospitals are at capacity in the aftermath of the hyperspace disaster. Every medical facility must operate at full strength.”

Or beyond it, he thought, taking in the incredible overcrowding. Reath saw a woman lying on the floor looking up at him, and knelt by her side. “What can I do for you?”

Mostly, people wanted water. A lot of them also wanted painkillers, which the med droids begrudgingly allowed him to access. At first Reath wondered whether he ought to be dispensing those so freely—but this was an emergency, and he’d worry about the recommendations later. Above all, he realized, they wanted someone to pay attention to them and reassure them that everything would be all right.

Usually he could do that. But sometimes they asked questions he couldn’t answer. “Did anyone else from our transport get out?” “We were taking vaccines to Crothy—has anybody reached them? Have they been able to contain the fever at all?”