Bankor

Cole had gotten his hands on a number of technical manuals. He could have used his bunk to read, but studying in the same environment that knowledge was to be applied helped reinforce the learning process, mentally linking the sounds and smells of the busy hanger to the information he was reviewing. The surgeon found the most out-of-the way corner he could, trying not to hamper the engineers and mechanics going about their jobs.

Footsteps approached.

"Well Doc, you got the book the right way up at least..."

A tall Shistavanen with a wolfish grin was looking down at him. Taking a seat he looked at the cover.

"Not a bad place to start. Been a while, how's it going?"

“It’s been busy. Same for you, I imagine.” Most of Cole’s days thus far had been spent in the Medical facilities, tending to an endless parade of wounded from sun up until well into the night. He looked tired, thinned out. “Maybe I can pick your brains over something.”

Rav nodded. "Yeah, been busy with repairs and training up some resistance folks as junior mechanics." It wasn't glamorous work but Rav took it seriously.

"Fire away Doc, maybe I can help."

Pulling up a tech manual on his datapad, Cole showed it to Rav. It was for a fairly stock-standard light freighter. Slow, ponderous handling, the kind that would take a few passengers. "I told you I was interested in getting my own ship, and I should be able to make a deal with the Republic for one of their older freighters that's being decommissioned." Running a hand through his curls, he looked at the greasehound, "thoughts?"

"Initial thoughts - ask a friend who knows what they're doing to look it over first. If it's being decommissioned there's probably something wrong with it, or it costs more to fix it and keep it runnin' than to sell it on and upgrade."

He scanned the specs. "Well, it is peacetime, so I guess you just have to watch for pirates. That'll do for getting you around. Not so great for a firefight but you'll be avoiding those anyway, right?"

"That's certainly the plan." Cole looked thoughtful for a few long moments, "if Command are to be believed, there's nothing wrong with the freighter beyond being an older model. A bunch of them are being replaced with new ships." He looked at Rav uncertainly, pulling up a blueprint, "I can't really get a feel for scale from this," he pointed to one of the passenger rooms, "you know those diagnostic beds we use over in the Medical Facilities? Would that fit in here?"

"Mind if I grab that from ya Doc?" He held out a hand for the pad and, assuming Cole was happy, took it.

"Let's see. Yeah, you see this wall? It's mainly just filler. You could either rip it all out and have like a mini med bay, or just pull out some panelling and it'd be more of a squeeze but you'd keep the other room." He smiled warmly at the blueprint. "That's the good thing about these old models. Totally customisable."

Cole had happily relinquished the datapad for Rav, running his empty hand through his curls, watching the wolfish muzzle and eyes as the man spoke, "you make it sound so easy." His guardedness softened, "it says six passengers. I don't have that many friends, I'd happily sacrifice two passenger beds to have enough room to work with one patient."

"Well, it's easy when you know how. Like, think of a totally routine procedure you do. Probably took 10 years to make it look that easy, right?"

He scrolled through the schematics and nodded. It looked totally doable.

"Yeah, I hear you Doc. Not so different my-damn-self. Hmm, you take out this wall, or that wall, and you've got room for a table and an assistant if you need it."

Cole actually chuckled, "how old do I look to you?"

Rav squinted at the doctor. All these damn humans and part-humans looked alike to him. They didn't mature as fast as his people either.

"Ah... Guess I didn't cover Xenology Doc. Medium... Medium young? What's that in human years? 25? 30?"

Cole made a gesture to show he wasn't bothered, "it's all right, you weren't far off. I'm 26, and I'm getting very close to ten years since I started my training." Pointing to his stripes, "when you're dealing with military, you can generally pick someone's age by their rank." One side of his mouth turned up in a smile, "can I ask how long you've been doing your thing?"

There was a raspy chuckle. "Since I was a pup Doc, since I was a pup. Guess it'd be...hmm, does coma time count?"

He scratched his head in the universal gesture for I haven't the foggiest. "Well I guess I was...13 in human years when I got to the Military academy. Then they sent me to the Engineering Corps soon as I graduated. Been fighting for a long time now. Guess I'm, a bit older than you Doc?"

Instant, burning curiosity came over Cole's expression, his eyes glittered, brimming with concern and fascination. "Coma time? You were in a coma?"

"Yeah." He replied, matter-of-factly. "For a year or so. Ooh wait, maybe longer. Well one minute I'm fighting Mandos and Imperials on Balmorra. The next minute a building comes down on me. Then I'm waking up on a medical frigate and the war's over."

He shrugged. "They were asking for volunteers to retake Bankor from those Kryze fucks, so I signed up and checked myself out."

Cole blinked. He reached out, as if he intended to touch the Shistavanen's face, studying Rav intently. His other hand had produced his mediscanner like a magician. "I wish I'd known, I would have had you come in for a full medical by now. Can I get a quick scan?"

Rav gave him a confused look. "Ah, sure. If you think it'd help? I mean I kinda figured I'd fall over dead, or not have woken up at all if it was that bad."

His eyes flicked to the medical scanner. "I can still fix those birds better than any of those clowns. Well, except the Chief, he's not a clown. Although I am finding it hard to recall any building specifications." A hand came up to his chin which he rubbed in thought.

It only took a moment for the mediscanner to take its readings, "call it a precaution," and an excuse to talk to you. "Just because you're not expecting trouble doesn't mean you shouldn't be prepared for it." He put the device away and ran his fingers through his curls, "is mechanics a natural aptitude for you?" the doctor seemed genuinely interested.

"Sure. Okay." He waited for the Doc to run his checks. "Same reason we do spot checks on the equipment. Yeah, I've been messing around with machines since I was a little pup. If I wasn't out hunting I'd be making or breaking some device or other."

Cole imagined a smaller version of Rav with big, dewy eyes, tinkering about in a starship engine, and the thought made him smile. "Is there an equivalent of a first aid course for starships?"

Baesal had a mission! Well...had been selected for a rescue. She did not know why her particuliar set of skills were required but she still had accepted.

She was now busy preparing her gear at the other end of the hangar

Oddyn came to the hangar because it turned out to be an obnoxious experience to take care of his armour in the impromptu barracks area. The abrasive sand had been getting everywhere.

"All hail the Queen." He greeted Baesal with a casual tease in his voice.

''I wild Raider appears on the horizon'' she replied while rummaging through her stuff

''What can I do for you today?''

"I don't know. Maybe tweak the repulsors in my armour some more. I might be able to scrape enough for supercharged magnets." He approached. "What are you doing?"