Everything would have seemed almost normal, except for the fact that there wasn't any sign of a living thing. Even the vegetation was dead. Flower beds were full of twisted stalks. A massive tree was bare of leaves, the spiky branches reaching out like pleading arms. They could see that once-flowering bushes meters tall had run down the center strip of the wide boulevard. Now dry leaves and blooms were kicked up by the wind.
The Jedi were silent as they viewed the eerie sight. Obi- Wan had seen civil war and environmental disaster, but this felt worse. Even in his bio-iso suit, he imagined he could smell death in the air he breathed.
Ahead they saw the large med center. Here, at least, there were signs of activity. They could see medics in bio-iso suits inside the courtyard.
Curi pulled up the speeder, and they got out. The sound of his footsteps was unsettling to Obi-Wan. Encased in the white suit, his audio perception was muffled, making everything seem not quite real.
Curi hurried over to a medic and handed over the medications. "We don't know if these will help," she said to the Jedi. "We are trying anything. Thank you for bringing them."
She leaned against the wall, exhaustion showing in every line of her body.
"You need rest," Soara said. Beneath her usual bluntness, Obi-Wan sensed real concern. He could see why. Curi looked ready to collapse.
Yet somehow Curi reached down and called up a reserve of strength. She straightened and shook her head. "There can be no rest for me. Don't you know that? Not when I'm responsible for this." She looked over the city again. "For all of this horror," she whispered.
"What do you mean?" Siri asked.
"Didn't Galen tell you?" Curi sighed. "We own a research laboratory here. I run the financial side. Galen is the scientist. The toxic emission came from our lab. We still don't understand how it happened, though that doesn't make us any less responsible. Galen has been working day and night on the evacuation effort. He could have left long ago."
"And you?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I was in the Clear Sector, as was Galen, when we heard. I came here. I was trained as a medic originally. Here is where I was most needed."
"It was brave of you to come," Soara said.
Curi pressed her lips together. "It was the least I could do."
"Have you investigated the leak at your lab?" Siri asked.
Curi shook her head. "I didn't have time to review safety procedures, so I just ordered it shut down. It was clear very quickly that we were dealing with something that moved very fast. I came back when I knew we were running out of time to help the sick. We didn't realize that the sick would turn into the dying. We had no idea what to expect. Galen was involved in weapons development, you see. He was experimenting with the toxin for a future bio-weapon. He had no idea what he had."
"What do you know about the toxin?"
"We know more about what it isn't than what it is," Curi admitted. "We know it isn't a virus. It isn't a gas, but it has been carried through the air. Somehow it is absorbed into the system, but we aren't sure how. It could be through the skin. The particles are so microscopic that even a bacta bath would not clear it all away."
"It doesn't seem that you have the same problems here that the Clear Sector does," Obi-Wan observed. "There's no sign of panic or noting."
Curi nodded tiredly. "There was no time for panic. The dying cannot riot. Those who couldn't make it here to the med center are dying in their homes. I make the rounds. I do what I can. That is very little."
"What other kind of help can we give you?" Siri asked.
"You have brought the medicine. That was a great help.
Perhaps you could patrol the city and find out how many still need help. I haven't been able to get to every dwelling. You can help us organize. People will listen to you. Once the ships arrive, they will have more advanced med care. We might be able to save a few. You have to give them hope, at least." Curi's voice faltered.
Obi-Wan nodded, then turned to the others. "We should split into two teams. We can call two of the Padawans here, and two Masters can return to the Clear Sector."
Ry-Gaul nodded.
"We might be able to move another team back after accomplish something here," Soara said as Siri nodded in agreement.
Curi looked from one Jedi to the other. "But you can't return."
"What?" Soara asked.
"Didn't Galen tell you? Once you cross over to the Isolation Sector, no one is allowed to return. It is forbidden. Until we know that you're not carrying the toxin back on your skin or clothes, we can't risk it."
"We're wearing bio-isolation suits," Siri said.
"Yes, but you can't wear them back to the Clear Sector,"
Curi explained. "The toxin may now be on your suit. Even if you remove it, some residue on the suit may touch your skin.
Until we know how much of the toxin is needed to cause the epidemic, we can't let you return." She looked at them helplessly. "I'm sorry. I thought you knew. When the evacuation ships arrive, you will be able to undergo bio- cleansing aboard ship. Then I imagine there will be a quarantine period. We don't have the facilities here."
Obi-Wan looked at the other Jedi Masters. Curi's news was exasperating, but Jedi did not waste time on such emotions.
He knew that, like him, they were all thinking of what to do next.
"We should contact our Padawans with more detailed instructions," Soara spoke crisply.
"They will have to handle any problems in Tacto," Siri said. "Perhaps we should contact the Jedi Council and ask for an additional Jedi team, or maybe two."
"By the time they arrive, the evacuation ships will be here," Obi-Wan said. "The Padawans will have to handle things on their own."
He could see that none of them liked this prospect. Some of the Masters had not had their Padawans very long. It made him uneasy to think of Anakin in an unstable situation without him. But there was no other solution.
Obi-Wan activated his comlink. He was relieved when he heard Anakin's voice. He knew the communication between the two sectors could be difficult. That would be another problem.
"We have a problem here," he told Anakin. "We are unable to return to the Clear Sector. You and the rest of the Padawans will have to manage that aspect of the mission."