Mandy Goes to Med School (D2 EE/ME, Side Job)

[Nekoinu]

"Right. Was just, well, surprised. My own family wasn't that impressive," she said with a shrug.

[Cole Ormont]

"Have you met Captain Organa? Try not to faint if you do," Cole teases, though his expression is still neutral. One of the soldiers approached with a question and Cole rotated the holomodel the soldier was using, "now, what do you see?" Understanding dawned on the soldier, and they returned to their seat to continue the simulation.

[Nekoinu]

"I haven't had the pleasure," she said, "What's he like? I just know that he's from Alderaan, obviously."

[Cole Ormont]

"I haven't met a better man. Reliable, intelligent, he has a... presence about him. You know when he walks in the room." Cole cleared his throat abruptly and ran a hand through his hair.

[Nekoinu]

"Sounds like I really should meet him," she replied with a bright smile. "I like what you soldiers do. That sounds weird... the Jedi can't do their duties without the help of the Republic is all."

[Cole Ormont]

He didn't understand what she meant by that, "likewise, the Republic would not be the same without the Jedi."

[Nekoinu]

O'nera let out a nervous laugh. "We maintain order in the galaxy. The Jedi and the Republic could not do it without one another. That's what I think, at least."

[Cole Ormont]

"I quite agree, Jedi Aeser." The datapad he'd been holding loosely chimed an alert and he looked down at it. One of the soldiers glanced up nervously and Cole caught her eye, beckoning her over. He gave her some tips, "now try the simulation over from the beginning," tapping at the datapad and resetting her session.

[Nekoinu]

The Jedi peeked at the screen. "What are they doing exactly? A simulation on medical stuff?"

[Cole Ormont]

"Mmm," he said by way of agreement, and pulled up the holomodel. It depicted a soldier lying on the ground, clutching his leg. Cole zoomed in. The soldier had a wound stretching from his inner knee almost to the groin, there was a piece of shrapnel sticking out of it. "The holomodel lets them practice treating realistic battlefield injuries with realistic reactions and consequences."

[Nekoinu]

"Huh. Is that what you trained off then, Doc?" She shook her head. "Stupid question, I guess."

[Cole Ormont]

"It's one of the tools in my kit, but I've had more experience with the live thing than anyone should."

[Nekoinu]

The Jedi nodded. "I can imagine. I've experienced my own share of it. I never had to look closely at the bodies though."

[Cole Ormont]

"I doubt I need to tell you how much damage a body can take before it becomes a body. I've seen soldiers having their limbs stitched back on before they could be put in a kolto tank." He shakes his head, and there are hard lines around eyes, ageing him in an instant.

[Nekoinu]

"Jeez Doc, you're making me feel a little bad." She shifted her eyes about. "I can only imagine some Imperial Docs feel the same whenever I fight any of their soldiers."

[Cole Ormont]

"Whatever the propaganda says, I don't every Imperial doctor is a crazed sadist with access to medical implements. I'm sure that the other side has it's fair share of people who do better patching people up than putting holes in them in the first place."

[Nekoinu]

"If only we were all like that, huh? If I had any talent for it, I'd be doing stuff like you, Doc."

[Cole Ormont]

He smiles, just a little, he's finding he likes the bubbly Jedi, "the uniform might give it away, but they did try to train me for the killing part, but it just didn't take. I don't have that killer's instinct."

[Nekoinu]

"There is no Death, only the Force," she said with a shrug. "That and letting someone go around spreading discord doesn't sit well with me."

[Cole Ormont]

"I doubt that is much comfort to the people whose sons, daughters, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, parents, and friends don't come home from the front."

[Nekoinu]

"That really makes me feel better," she muttered. She scratched the back of her head. "So......."

[Cole Ormont]

A chime sounded on Cole's datapad, something more insistent, demanding attention. He tapped the screen, "so, it's been a pleasure, Jedi Aeser, but I need to move the class on to the next exercise. If you'd like to stay, I can pair you up with one of the soldiers," and indeed there were already a few soldiers in the group sharing datapads and working together.

[Nekoinu]

"If you think I can," she said hesitantly, "I mean I definitely can. Yes." She nodded.

[Cole Ormont]

With a small approving nod, he points to one of the men, "Harding, pair up with Jedi Aeser," his tone was authoritative, but not cold. "Soldiers, next exercise," he taps at his datapad and a prompt appeared on the soldiers' screens. Harding tapped it, and a holomodel appeared. A female soldier was crumpled on the ground of a jungle planet.

"After a minor skirmish, your unit has been moving north-by-northwest for 47 minutes when one of your squad collapses. Investigate and provide first aid."

[Nekoinu]

O'nera looked at the screen and pressed it a few times. "Man, if only I could try to use the Force to heal them. Hm..."