Ask Not A Quack Doc

[Dr Ilana Morata]

-Theme-​

This week had been the slowest she had ever handled. She felt like time had just dragged on, and when it finally came to the end of the week, she knew it was time to check up on some patients. Truth be told... she was truly dragging her feet on this one. Something about the guy pissed her off to no end, but once again there was a mutual meeting place, and a mutual agreed time for once.

That was, if he didn't get shot or stabbed in between now and then. Truth be told, she couldn't trust him. There was just something about the man that felt like it was hidden, and it bothered. It wasn't new if he used an alias or a common namesake, but didn't those Bucketheads have clan names or something?

She waited in the cargo hold, willing herself to remain cold. It was so easy to hide behind a mask, before. And now would be no different.

He was just another body on the table, after all. She could handle that.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Reluctantly, Roland had made an effort to not take unnecessary risks for the past few days. There were plenty of things to do that didn't require strenuious activity. Plus, he didn't have many leads on several of his cases. On the fourth day he still exercised his arm and leg like the Doctor had directed before the appointment.

Aside from sending his droids to reconoiter and the occasional scouting work, the Rook clan member tended to his equipment. Maintaining his armor, cleaning, polishing every piece with care, his beskar'gam was hardy and could take a beating but it was more than just disposable gear. Each weapon in his armory he stripped down and cleaned at least twice. An encrypted check in the Sector Ranger office on Naboo came and went though his lack of findings was adding to his resentment of 'Little Courscant'.

Roland could have probably traveled to the Doctor's ship via jetboots. But that would used up the limited fuel and a swoop bike was probably easier on his legs. There was one such vehicle in his cargo hold that had been impounded and would have been auctioned off. Thankfully, the frugal Mandalorian made a bid and got it for a steal even though he rarely ever used it.

The quad five courier belonging to the arkanian doctor was still parked at the same location making it easy to return. Looking around at the surrounding area he made his way towards the ship. Everything seemed to be normal, a few other civilians walking around. They weren't in the lowest levels off the city and it wasn't an entirely lawless world. But Roland wasn't about to let his guard down.

The door to the ship was open and he made his way up the ramp, not trying to conceal his presence. "Afternoon, Doc. Hope I'm not too early." He checked a chrono to double check. It was just past mid-day in local time.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She glanced up at the voice, and exhaled slowly. She wanted to have a cigara, but resisted, instead tapped fingers on the countertop once before answering. "Come in."

When he would, she was seated on her stool, professional armor on, her datapad before her. Everything was clean and neatly in order, as though she had recently scrubbed everything stem to stern, and even she herself had cleaned up quite a bit since last they met. White hair was braided down, and face clean of make-up; beneath the outfit she wore a black tee shirt and slacks, and a long-cold cup of caf sat by her elbow. The diagnostic scanner seemed to be running a chem analysis when he would approach, but she was looking at her datapad instead, idly scrolling through before glancing up.

A bruise still shadowed her cheek, pale purple against the paleness of her skin.

"You're right on time, please take a seat."

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Stepping into the ship, he looked around as he took a seat, letting out a meager grunt as he felt some minor ache on both his legs from exercising more than just the basic directions Ilana had given him. Roland didn't skip leg day.

"You have some unrully patients after I left?" He paused and then raised a finger to tap on his helmet where his cheek would be. It wasn't necessarily his business but it was hard to miss and there wasn't exactly a lot of small talk to be had with the woman from experiences so far aside from the occasional witty flirtation or retort.

An audible sniff came from Roland, smelling the sterile air and recognizing heavily used cleaning products. At first his eyes looked around without moving his head, trying to see if there were any differences around the cargo hold other than it being clean. But he didn't find anything from just looking, his helmet turning to get a better view around him and not being shy about looking around anymore. "I gotta say. I thought a Doctor like you, with a ship, wouldn't stay in one spot for too long." The undercover ranger didn't stay put. Work and interests often lead to a fair amount of travel. "You like it here...on Nar Shaddaa?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She'd forgotten, but merely blinked, lightly touching her cheek. "That. Yes. Pregnant Zeltron and her possessive husband. She was a bit..." she winced at the memory, trying to not touch it. "I'll call it low-pain tolerant," she finally rasped. She watched as he seemed to glance about her cargo hold, and she wondered if he was always this paranoid.

Possibly. Dressed like that, he had to be bound for discrimination once in a while. In a way, she could sympathize. Her odd appearance didn't quite allow her to be full-blooded Arkanian. Always half, but still not enough to be ranked with her peers. Seeing that he wasn't going to step any closer, she sighed, crossing her arms. "I travel. But sadly, most of my patients are here. A few are core-bound... but not enough to justify flying out every other week. Unless I get more patients there, I'm stuck here." A hint of bitterness touched her voice, but she remained as calm as ever.

"I'm guessing you travel often then, Rawl?"

Small talk wasn't her strength. She preferred keeping things to the point... but it seemed he specialized in it. She'd humor him for now, she supposed, after him there was no one else. Possibly afterwards, she would leave Nar Shaddaa and find a place that didn't always feel haunted to her.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Roland cocked an eyebrow wondering if that meant she had delivered a baby since their last meeting. The man shifted in his seat as she spoke about other work but nothing that stood out. He wondered how well she tended to get paid and if her business was actually all that successful. Most organic doctors he knew were highly intelligent, a characteristic present in the Arkanian woman before him. But if she did make a lot of money then she didn't show it off with a fancy ship, extravegant clothings or decorations. She was much more pragmatic.

"Wherever my work takes me." He answered simply. "Ever been to Mimban? Er...I think it was called something else once." On a single planet there was enough locations and named geographies that the Ranger could list of a dozen and chances were the doctor wouldn't know them. The same could be said about Roland. "Not a fan of...big cities." He added on the end with a shrug.

"Anyways..." He trailed off and waited for whatever directions she gave him. The Mandalorian wasn't sure if she was going to ask to check his vitals again and remove his chest piece though he had a feeling she would at least want to take a look at the wounds on his arm and leg.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She shrugged once, rising. "Been many places, all over the galaxy... Mimban sounds familiar, may have stopped there before," she spoke, then tilted her head, eyeing him. She wondered briefly if his work was bounty work, or something similar. From what little she saw, he was no stranger to pain, and it probably wasn't the first time he had been stabbed anywhere. In fact, even being under her care didn't seem to make him uncomfortable, but he seemed less inclined to follow her orders.

"Neither am I. Too many people," she replied dryly, then held out her hand. "I'll be checking pulse and other vitals first, and then your wounds. Fine by you?"

She had to assume it was, but with his culture and what little she knew of it, she had to double check. Plus there was no doubt of his lucidity; she doubted he would like her taking off his armor with little explanation beforehand. "I'll also be testing reflexes."

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Yet we're still both here on this shabla moon. He sighed, mostly because he knew he had to be here. Roland imagined the doctor was in a similar situation if she was telling the truth. From the sound of it, it was work priority over comfort.

First she wanted to check his pulse and vitals so all that was needed was for him to take off the plate from before and his gloves so she could access his hands and wrists.His eyes watching her hands but then looking at where he had received injury. The Mandalorian realized a mistake he made. He had replaced his body glove and was wearing the new one. That meant he was going to have to strip down a bit more than last time since she had just patched him up threw or over the sliced open undersuit. di'kutla shabuir. You could have just washed and worn the old one. Roland's eyes slowly closed as she checked his pulse, with this inconvenience happening he wouldn't be surprised if the Doctor noticed a slight increase in his heart beat or blood pressure.

When it came time to check his wounds he stood up and took a deep breath. He thought about asking her to give him some privacy for a moment but then began making sure the plates on his left arm were removed and then his leg. Keeping his boot on he would roll the undersuit leg up to where he had received the first laceration. But for his torso, the Mandalorian had to reveal his left side of his chest and back. Fair but freckled skin wasn't a surprise if the woman had been paying attention last time. But his build was athletically toned and nothing to scoff at. Underneath his helmet he clenched his jaw for a moment.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She took all vitals with light, swift, and practiced ease. His pulse seemed a little higher than normal, which was odd, but it wasn't in abnormal parameters. Was he nervous? She frowned slightly, but continued checking, having taken care this time to warm her hands with the caf slightly when another of her patients complained of her icy hands. She couldn't help it, she was a doctor, not a masseuse.

But it was the first touch of an emotion from him that caused her to blink in surprise. Discomfort... and a quick flurry of others that were gone just as quickly, but when she realized what he was doing she turned her face away, mindful of how it must have been difficult to literally remove his armor, and instead pretended like she had to scroll her datapad to give him some degree of personal privacy.

She knelt to check his leg first, mindful to not rip the bandages suddenly. "Keep cleaned and dressed another week, but it looks fine," she commented noncommittally, then replaced the dressings with fresh ones and fresh bacta. The same was done to the arm, but with "another three days, it's healing very nicely."

He had to be cold, so she would keep it quick and impersonal. But a sweeping gaze told her this man had been shot at and stabbed more times than she had, so perhaps her bet on his bounty hunting lifestyle wasn't too off the credits. But she didn't comment on that readily, instead she once again brought out the pin to test hand reflexes.

An idea came to mind. Probably a terrible one, but she'd see how he'd react. If he had a knee-jerk reaction...

Well.

Thank goodness she would have her armored coat on at least.

<<Meh Ni ganar kar'taylir gar cuyir hmarsiryu, Ni jimeh dinuir gar d'amiyuba.>>

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

"Great." He replied simply and chewed the inside of his cheek a little. "Fine if I do more than just the morning and afternoon exercises?" He had been doing more than that already. But he also was glad to hear the wounds were healing fine. That meant he hadn't stunted the healing. Then again maybe she would have given him a few days instead of a week if the Mandalorian hadn't spent his mostly ship-confined days passing some of the time by working out. Though he probably could put an extra air freshner in there now that he thought about it.

The woman made a bold move. Perhaps not every Mandalorain would have reacted the same way to hearing what they considered an aruetii, an outsider, could speak such an uncommon language these day. Underneath the helmet, his brow furrowed and turned his helmet more towards the Doctor. He stared for a moment, mostly in surprise. "V-vai'nar gar hibirar...mando'a?" He didn't know what else to say. It just brought more questions to the forefront of his mind.

Once she was done he placed his undersuit back around himself steadily. It still hurt a bit but he was too busy thinking about other things to really be bothered by that. Most of which was motivated by the desire to findout if she had crossed paths with others.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

"You can do as you like," she shrugged, cleaning up everything once again, keeping everything tidy as she moved. Old habit, it was far easier for her to maintain than if she cleaned up all at once after each patient. "And no need for a follow-up, once you leave you're free and clear." She didn't stare openly, but couldn't help one last assessing glance before turning away, disposing her gloves and washing her hands.

Again, another spike of emotion. It seemed the only way she could gauge any emotion from him was by catching him off-guard; she kept that information filed away for later, by at his question, she glanced back up to where his eyes might be, features calm. <<Ni rejorhaa'ir gar, gar ru uhyih sol'yc Mando Ni ganar urcir.>>

No doubt he'd have many questions, and she'd allow him to ask them, but give him the time and space to. She knew she was an outsider, but she took great pride in learning languages uncommon or rarely spoken by the general public; as a Doctor, it was a matter of principle, as many of her patients refused to speak Basic for any love of any of their deities, and though the primary alternate speech here was Huttese, she was expanding her repertoire to many other languages.

Knowing she surprised him was a nice little experience, though, but then again... maybe not the wisest of ideas, because perhaps now she was definitely on his radar. And that could be a very, very bad thing for her tentative sanity right about now.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

The plates he had neatly set aside were placed back on his body until he was once again fully clad in his armor. When she spoke again, he didn't respond right away. When he did he did so in basic "Then you probably also know it's rare to find one of my people these days. And even rarer to find an aurtii that speaks our language. Consider me curious." Behind the visor his eyes narrowed but his body took a deep breath expecting to hear an answer. She was tense, maybe afraid he would lash out. That would be stereytyping maybe, but then again he remembered the last time he cross a Solus clan member. Don't escalate. It's the only way she'll feel like sharing anything that matters.

The Mandalorian fished a small clear plastic bag from a pouch. "There's this torn cloth I came across. I think it might belong to who I'm tracking down but I don't think he's dead." Roland held it out for her to examine if she wished. "There's a portion of it that looks more cleanly cut, actually reminding me of what I had on my undersuit." He gestured to the bandaged arm that was now covered and looking like there was no injury. "But another, but the other sides are mostly ripped so I think he got away and need to know. Do you think you could tell if there was any poison residue or traces of anything that could help?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Ah, so it had to be uncomfortable for him to hear an outsider speak his language. She could sympathize to some degree, but she was curious. At first, she didn't respond, but merely finished up tucking scanner and other tools away, then giving a thoughtful look. "Part of a physician's sworn duty is to be respectful of another person's culture, language, and considerations; when you treat a Mandalorian whose child knows very little Basic, your first desire is to see them treated in the language they know more. I take very seriously the cultural considerations of all my patients, regardless of walks of life. But even an outsider can have limitations of knowledge; my linguistic base is not as complex as a native speaker, I'm afraid, nor do I know all your cultural customs beyond what historical databases provide."

In short, she didn't know as much as she liked, but she earnestly tried her best as a sworn duty to her calling. It wasn't care, it was good work, and good work kept patients, and therefore, a steady credit line.

She glanced at the bag, then snagged a pair of gloves. "Do you want me to analyze with my scanner for foreign material, or any other traces that may connect to said person?" She tilted her head, eyeing him. "Genetic material as well, perhaps?"

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

"Hm" He murmured after the answer she gave. It seemed honest enough.

She asked him a series of questions which made him slowly raise his shoulders. "If that's forensic-speak for 'anything and everything' than yes, please." He continued to hold the bag until she was ready to take it or if she wanted him to put it somewhere. Roland wasn't sure how much she was capable of doing with her current equipment or if her skills carried over into that field. He was not as well versed in those types of sciences. But he was also hoping that it might yield some answers for him. Not to mention he would consider the Doctor a potential contractor for this type of work in the future depending on how things went.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Her lips twitched again at his glib words; she took the packet from him carefully, eyeing the fabric carefully. "I'll be taking samples," she rasped quietly, giving him a sideways glance. She then stepped over to her diagnostic array. In one drawer was a dissection kit; from within she took some sharp-nose scissors and then began carefully cutting small sections of squares from the fabric.

Each one was set in a different liquid medium to test for 'anything and everything'. The last square, however, was simply on a plate, and the rest left integral or as intact as she could. When she was done, she initiated the sequence tests, then gave him a sideways glance.

"We have some time before any conclusive results. Caf?"

Perhaps she could smoke, as well, but she'd start with caf. Answers had to come from somewhere, after all. And what better way to get some answers than by playing a gracious host?

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Roland stood and watched her work for a bit until it came time to just wait. "I don't have anywhere to be at the moment." He confessed and accepted the invitation.

He wasn't sure if the caf was already made or not but he had brought his own straw just in case. "You wouldn't know which clans you've crossed paths with in the past by chance would you?" The Mandalorian found a seat that was a little more comfortable and pulled out his datapad.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She nodded and stalked ahead, taking the cold cup with her. She went to the small dinette area, then tied her hair back. Making and brewing it were second nature by now; she was so used to not being able to sleep, why would she bother anyways?

Her dreams kept her up, but they hardly mattered anyways.

Soon, the scent of fresh caf wended through the air, but when she caught what he said, she shook her head, settling in before the table and lacing her fingers together. "No, usually when there were Mandalorians I was too busy treating them to catch clan names.. but maybe..."

She booted up her own datapad, scrolling with an absent frown. "Contacts, medical considerations... here we are. Is Skirata a familiar name?" she tilted her head slightly, giving him a level amber-eyed stare.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

If her answer was true then that meant she didn't learn Mando'a from a Mandalorian. Even more peculiar. "How did you learn my language then...if not from a Mando?"

The woman must have looked up other records of passed patients on her datapad. His eyes scrutinized the device for a moment, wondering what else was on there about others. There could be mob kingpins on there for all he knew. But it didn't do him much good now even if it held the geneology of Jabba the Hutt.

"I've heard of the Skiratas. Wasn't sure if any more of them were still around." The Mandalorian tried recalling what specifics were known about the clan and if it overlapped with Clan Rook. Some things were stereotypes but some with traditions. "Last thing I heard about them they became...obscure...after a lot of the MandalMotors moved operations around the time of the Great Purge. That's what the stories say at least." Most of the movements of tribes and warbands didn't have the same relaible trail of history. It was both a boon and a curse since it meant they weren't easy to hunt down but also left something to be desired in terms of history.

"If you would be willing, I'd like to reach out to a comrade." The Doctor seemed like the person who wouldn't give out information without a price if at all. But also Roland did not want to push too hard. If he were a Mandalorian living underground, he wouldn't want anybody tracking him down.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

At his question of how she learned the language, the answer came easily enough. "Historic language database," she answered simply, glancing up to him. "There wasn't much, but the syntax was simple enough to piece together, and most of the language itself is not a difficult grammar study, providing much of it isn't iambic." She wasn't bragging; for her it was a simple matter of piecing languages together, particularly extant ones easier to go by verbal communication.

At the question of reaching out to a comrade, she tilted her head slightly. "Go ahead. Are they helping with this... research... as well?" she asked blandly, but the chirp of the caf machine meant it was ready. She got up without waiting for an answer, then poured out two mugs, handing him one as she also brought over cream and sugar. Briefly, she wondered how he could drink through the helmet, but for now she wasn't going to be idly speculating. She briefly wondered who this comrade was... and if she would have to move after meeting them.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

As far as Roland knew, the Galactic Empire had made an effort to control the culture as much as it could after the Great Purge. But that meant it had maybe resurfaced recently. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. he thought to himself and took a breath.

The Mandalorian's posture tilted back in visible skepticism at the Doctor's casual explination for her easy adoption of the man's language. "I suppose I picked it up easily enough." It was a language that was adopted by numerous species after all so simplicity had its worth.

Roland would have asked for the contact information but the sound of the caf finishing and her change of attention stopped him. He held the cup of coffee as it was offered but didn't drink from it. He knew just from looking at the cup and holding the mug that it was too hot for him to drink right away. "You seem like the type that likes learning." He paused and switched to mando'a to get his point accross. <"have any exciting pursuits lately?"> Of course it was more lose to her profession. The same word for hunt could mean hunt or interests.

@Killa Ree