One Black Caf (and Don't Forget the Muja Muffin)

[Chaz de Coventina]

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There were days that started out so ambitiously, that had the stones to balance so gloriously upon hope and promise out of sheer force of will rather than any definitive reason, that even the most steadfast realist had to admit to being impressed and put aside their (very sensible) outlook in exchange for a little frivolous cheer. These were the mornings that great moments were born from; planets formed, cities were founded, revolutionaries rode forth victoriously - anything was possible.

Chaz de Coventina inhaled deeply as she passed through the sleek doors of the medbay, her shoulders held back with a purposeful air. Today the sharp tang of disinfectant that cut through the stale, recycled air was not unappetizing: it was invigorating. Hell, it was damn near inspiring. She took another bracing whiff and clucked her tongue in a roguish fashion; the feeling of accomplishment was snapping between her fingertips like static electricity, live and warm and real.

Or mostly real, at least. The sensation itself was certainly there. Chaz made a mental note to send Sanis Prent a thank-you six pack; her mornings had improved drastically since she'd met the man with the talent for procuring just about anything.

"Good morning, Magda," Chaz greeted cheerfully. The silver-skinned clinic manager looked up in unbridled surprise.

"Good morning," she returned cautiously. "Um... how are you?"

"Fantastic," Chaz said. "Better than that, even. Today, Magda, is going to be a wonderful day. I can feel it."

"Well, I certainly hope so." Magda smiled brightly and handed Chaz a datapad, the morning schedule displayed for her perusal. "You know, it's really nice to see you so chipper, Dr. de Coventina. I was worried that... well, I mean, I'm sure your new intern will appreciate the warm welcome."

"Yes, yes," Chaz nodded in blissful agreement, thumbing at the datapad with an easy, unhurried attitude. She made her way towards the bank of lockers that were tucked away in the small staff room behind reception, a benign smile fixed on her face.

Magda was right. It was nice to be in a good mood and really, she ought to put more effort into maintaining that standard. The half-dram of spice she'd indulged in last night had ensured a fantastic, dead-to-the-frelling-galaxy type sleep and by the stars was that ever an effective counter argument to every ridiculous anti-drug PSA out there. Not only was she at the top of her game for the day, she'd be able to, as Magda had brought out, give her new intern a proper induction into the clinic and--

Wait; what?

Chaz stopped, hand paused in mid-air above the physician's coat hanging inside her cubby. Eyes going wide, the woman spun around and darted back out.

"Magda," Chaz demanded. "What new intern?"

[Kala'ndryl Ryj]

The blonde didn't know if she could get much more excited than she was at the moment.

For the first time since she'd arrived at the Wheel, and since Ilias and his promises had disappeared, Kala had a purpose. A reason for being.

And she didn't care one whit that it had nothing to do with her Healing gifts of her Jedi abilities.

No, today was her first day as Dr. deCoventina's intern. She was going to learn to be a Doctor just like her mother once had been. Rin was even behaving himself, hanging back in his little hiding spot in her mind, having vowed to leave her in peace. Which was a wonderful thing, considering she'd need all the concentration she could muster.

Slender silvery-blue fingertips smoothed out the pale grey top she wore, ensuring it lay neatly over her matching pants, both fitted to her figure. Her sneakers were neatly tied on her feet and her silver-streaked curls were pulled back in a long, intricate braid that hung to her waist. While Akasha might profess herself as unartistic, she had neatly braided Kala's very long hair to keep it out of the way.

Wishing her roomate a good morning of training, she dashed off down the hallway and towards the cafeteria. Purchasing three cups of caf and several muffins, she made it to the medbay of the Knightfall with a few minutes to spare.

"Morning Magda! I brought caf...and muffins..." Kala said brightly, before pausing as Dr. deCoventina stepped out of the staff room.

"Magda," Chaz demanded. "What new intern?"

"Morning, Dr. deCoventina...your new intern is me. I'm Kala...and I brought ccaf and muffins." she smiled, holding both up, lilac eyes bright and wide.

[Chaz de Coventina]

Mother of meteors, it was a child. No, worse than that: a teenager.

Chaz stared at Kala for a full minute in absolute silence, her face etched with equal parts horror and disbelief. From top to toe, adorable hairstyle to sensible-yet-stylish shoes, the girl oozed a perky enthusiasm that immediately reminded the doctor of the Knightfall's resident mechanic, Lyanie Quez, and her unquenchable optimism. Supressing an inadvertent grimace, Chaz shook her head.

"Oh no, no, no," Chaz said quickly, index finger wagging in the air. "There must be some mistake. I don't have an intern. Administration has made an error, not surprising considering the general status of this operation. I would have been informed of... this."

"Dr. de Coventina, I put the memo in your inbox," Magda piped up, slight exasperation colouring her voice; the fact that the medic rarely ever glanced at the messages left for her was a continued point of conflict between the two women.

"Well I didn't get it," Chaz snapped back. "And I certainly don't recall ever volunteering to be a mentor. I don't mean to sound rude," Chaz paused, hand rolling in the air as she gestured at the girl, searching for her name as she turned to address her, "Kala, especially since you've so thoughtfully brought refreshments, but who in the bloody hell authorized this?"

[Kala'ndryl Ryj]

For lack of anything else to do, she carefully walked around both the Doctor and Magda, stepping into the tiny staff room. She set the coffee down and put the muffins on a cheerful little plate that looked completely out of place. Must have been Magda's influence.

Blinking, her fingers twisted into the hem out of sheer nerves as she opened her mouth to reply and closed it again. She thought for a moment, trying to divine an answer to something that didn't seem to have one.

And that's when it occurred to her.

"It was probably Ilias. He knew he was leaving, decided not to tell me, and dumped me off on you instead. I'm sorry...should I go?" she said quietly, digging the toe of one sneaker into the floor. Hoping neither of them spoke Nautolan, Kala cussed at Ilias under her breath, and not for the first or last time.

[Chaz de Coventina]

"Yes."

"No."

The overlapping voices transformed into matching scowls as Magda and Chaz entered a fierce staredown. Neither woman moved for a long, uncomfortable moment, during which the physician seemed intent on communicating a message via various tensing muscles in her jaw; Magda, for her part, countered each and every one with an impressive arch of her flaxen brows that dismissed each offensive so definitely that the woman might have been assured of a future in interrogation.

Chaz was the first to cave, with an irritated curl of breath. "No. There doesn't seem much point in leaving, Kala; this mess isn't your doing."

Magda nodded primly and gave the doctor an approving smile. Infuriating little kapsh'a hound.

"Come on, then."

She jerked her head toward the humble staff room and marched in with shoulders bunched in irritation. Kala would follow, presumably, and if not, well; that would be that.

The caf was a compelling touch, though. Chaz had to admit that much. Picking up one of the steaming disposable cups, the doctor took a warming sip and inhaled a slow, deep breath through her nose. What doesn't kill us, Chaz, what doesn't kill us.

Footsteps - stealthy, almost silent - fell behind her and Chaz cleared her throat.

"You're here for an internship," She said, turning slowly to pin the girl with a keen look of appraisal. "Why?"

[Morgan Evanar]

Knuckles wrapped gently on a durasteel wall just inside the medbay. The rest of Morgan followed surprisingly quietly. For something as tall and heavy as he was, the long, wiry slicer-come-Jedi barely made any noise when he moved.

"Allo?" He asked, since he didn't see anyone immediately when he poked his nose in. It was clear he wasn't entirely awake yet. Someone in the Rebellion wanted a physical workup since he was now officially part of the Wheel. Morgan hadn't ever had a physical since... since ever, that he could remember. Nar Shadda isn't exactly known for it's health system. And since Morgan was seldom sick for more than a day, there hadn't been any need to see a doctor for more than stitches.

Out of his element, he was nervous. How did this work?

[Kala'ndryl Ryj]

Kala followed, her steps soft and tentative as she slipped around the door to the tiny staff room. She caught up another of the soft disposable cups, letting the warmth seep into her fingers. It helped steady their trembling, and left her with the dangling question of if anger at Ilias or nerves about the likely coming questions brought it on.


"You're here for an internship," She said, turning slowly to pin the girl with a keen look of appraisal. "Why?"Blinking, she almost didn't hear Chaz ask the question, though she did notice the stare she'd been pinned with. "Because I want to be a doctor. Just like my mother was. I mean, I'm going to be a Jedi too, some day. If I ever get training. But that's besides the point. I don't want it to be the only thing that I am. My mother was a doctor and my father was a jedi. I want to follow in both of their footsteps."

She smiled softly and dipped her head, taking a sip from the cup. "My mother was human and my father was Nautolan, Doctor deCoventina. I know that stare. I can breathe underwater, and my skin changes color when its wet, so does my hair."

Pausing, she turned to look back at the door, listening intently. "I think your first appointment is here, Doctor. Want me to go sign him in and show him to an exam room?"

[Chaz de Coventina]

Idealism. Wonderful.

Chaz smiled thinly at Kala over her caf. Well, if all else came to naught at least she had the chance to study a new biological structure; Chaz had never treated a Nautolan, though she knew they followed typical amphibian phsyiology. It would be interesting, then, to see where Kala fell on that scale.

"Do," Chaz nodded. She gave the girl a once over and made a face. With an air of efficiency, Chaz strode to a storage bin in the corner and lifted the lid, rummaging around for a moment before unearthing a uniform smock, wrapped neatly in a sterile pack. She thrust it at Kala.

"Here. Put this on. If you're going to be shadowing, you might as well look as though you belong."

[Morgan Evanar]

Blessed (cursed?) with great hearing, Morgan could hear a back and forth between two women, one who sounded young. Shortly thereafter, a pair of women emerged from around the corner. One had silver skin and pink eyes. One looked pretty normal, and smelled annoyed.

"Hi." Morgan pulled out a small datapad from a pocket on his multi-pocketed pants, and slipped a data chit into it. It had his little slice of the Alliance Top Secret medical database, and it was nearly blank.

"I'm Morgan. I've only seen a doctor twice. I also babble when I'm a bit nervous and I'm apparently babbling so I must be nervous." He showed the pair his datapad with his nearly-blank record before they could speak.

"I was told that I need a physical. I know what that is but not what it entails. De-physical-virginize me." Morgan put an oversized palm over his face a tenth of a second later.

"Welp."

[Chaz de Coventina]

"There's probably no need to be nervous."

One ginger brow arched in an appraising manner, Chaz took the proffered datapad, skimming over it's contents. The man - Evanar, Morgan according to his file - might just as easily have come without it for all the information it provided. They would have to pull out all the stops - a somewhat tedious procedural back-and-forth that normally would have had the doctor sighing in frustration. This time though... well, maybe having a student who needed to learn wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

"We're going to have to do a complete workup," Chaz decided, flashing Morgan a routine smile that came across as somewhat brittle. "Don't worry, Mr. Evanar, it sounds more intimidating than it is.

"This is Kala," Chaz gestured to the girl. "She is, to borrow your phrase, a physical virgin as well. If it's alright with you, she'll be assisting me. If it's not, you can file a grievance with Alliance administration later."

The physician turned and slid open a deep drawer, pulling from it a flimsy gown. She handed it to Morgan. "Strip and put this on, please."

[Kala'ndryl Ryj]

There was no use in trying to hide the wicked smirk that curled her glossy lips.

Physical virgin...right...

She was only thankful that the Doctor was facing Morgan and not her while the expression lit her features. Pleased that she managed to get it under control as the drawer was opened and the gown removed, she took a moment to open her own smock and slip it on over her clothes. A crisp, neat shade of white, it buttoned down the front and had two large pockets, perfect for a datapad, stylus, and other little things she'd likely carry around during her duties.

Lilac eyes met Morgan's gaze, and Kala proffered a demure, proper smile, before turning to straighten the instruments and diagnostics the Doctor was pulling out of the cabinets and drawers and placing on the waiting tray.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan blinked. What?

"Uh, ok." Morgan pulled his shirt off, pulled the papery gown on. He kicked his shoes off and removed his pocketed pants and undergarments from underneath the medical smock on.

[Chaz de Coventina]

"Right, Kala, look sharp," Chaz exhaled and gestured to the instruments, shining in their orderly rows atop the utility cart. "These are the tools you'll need to diagnose a patient. They may not look like much but trust me, technology has advanced tenfold in the last decade alone. If he's got a dormant carcinoma, an autoimmune disorder, the beginnings of a cold, these will allow you the chance to catch the first hint, if you're paying enough attention. Respect them."

"Have a seat," Chaz glanced at Morgan and then pointed to a low hovergurner, locked against the far wall and covered in a thin sheet of steriplast. Gods, he was a tall one, all limb and lank; it seemed incongruous with his size that he should look so anxious in the confines of the modest medbay.

"Where are you from, Mr. Evanar?"

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan swung his long body onto the gurney in a light and nearly silent way.

"Nar Shadda. I was adopted. My birth certificate says Anaxes, though." He explained. Morgan paused, and realized he'd never discussed it with Adia. Mom. One of those complicated things in the universe. For someone who'd shared so little of his time, they sure had a lot in common.

"I probably should ask my genetic mother about it sometime."

[Chaz de Coventina]

Ah, Nar Shadaa. She'd been there on an aid campaign once. It was the only time she had ever been mugged and propositioned while performing a colonoscopy; Chaz still couldn't work out how it'd happened.

She made a face and added the information to his bare-bones chart.

"You're in touch with your biological mother, then" Chaz paused and looked up, stylus poised above the datapad. "How is her health? Any unusual conditions?"

[Morgan Evanar]

"Well, no, she's in perfect health last I heard." Morgan thought about it for a second.

"She's 1.75 meters tall and needs roughly 3000 calories baseline. And was a Kaminoan prototype. We both react oddly to most painkillers and alcohol doesn't do much." He elaborated. It probably was important.

[Chaz de Coventina]

Chaz blinked.

"Ah," she was trying to recall what she knew about Kamino; certainly she'd never treated a... prototype. Given that height seemed to run in the family, it was safe to assume that Evanar had probably inherited a few more interesting traits.

"'Oddly'. Let's start with that - can you elaborate?"

[Morgan Evanar]

"Most don't seem to do anything, and a few others induce a light hallucinatory response." Morgan though about it.

"I could give you a list. Most of the ones that have addictive side-effects fall into the do nothing category. Probably didn't want a ton of injured clones wacked out on painkillers if they could avoid it." He pondered aloud with a shrug.

[Chaz de Coventina]

"A list would be helpful for future referencing," Chaz nodded. It would eliminate a great deal of trial-and-error foolery, a time consuming song and dance that did nothing but wreak havoc in emergency situations.

"If you're agreeable to it, I'd like to perform a full Bioscan," before the ominous sounding procedure could worry Evanar, Chaz held up a hand. "It's painless. All you need to do is lie still and look pretty."

[Morgan Evanar]

"Sure. I can manage that." Morgan swung his legs up onto the table, mindful to not flash the doctor or her assistant. He put his hands behind his head. It looked very casual.

"So, Doc, does this look work for me, or should I stick to shirts and slacks?"

[Morgan Evanar]

Bump !:twak

[Chaz de Coventina]

"I'm sure I wouldn't know, Mr. Evanar. Perhaps Kala is versed in cutting-edge exam room fashion. Mind your head," Chaz warned as she reached under the table, snapping open the fastenings that held a slim flexisteel half-circle flat against the underside. The band swung up and locked into place above the man's head and for a few moments there was silence as Chaz, with forehead creased in attention, adjusted the mechanism until it was a sparse few millimeters away from Evanar's face and centered above his eyes.

Kala had released and set up a similar frame at the other end of the table looping above the Jedi's ankles. Chaz nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, you'll need to remain very still for the next few minutes. Too much movement interferes with the scan."

Before Evanar could respond she pressed an unseen sequence of keys on a slim readout screen at the side of the exam table. There was a sharp click and then a warm humming noise filled the room, the sound like a swarm of mechanical summer bugs buzzing in a fading afternoon sky. A pale blue forcefield shot through with veins of pulsing white light crackled to life, held suspended around Morgan by the two bands. It rippled rhythmically, wave of energy flowing in an endless loop from iris to ankle and back again.

Chaz studied the readout screen with keen eyes. "There's been trauma to your midsection within the last six to eight months. Ring any bells? Don't move now, just talk."

[Morgan Evanar]

"Took a stick of re-bar through the chest." Morgan explained.

"It really hurt." He added.

[Kala'ndryl Ryj]

"This look works for you just fine." Kala supplied, slightly less than helpfully as she grinned before she turned to adjust the frame over his ankles.

She was distracted for a moment by the wealth of detailed data scrolling across the screen, watching intently as Chaz manipulated it with little effort.

"There's been trauma to your midsection within the last six to eight months. Ring any bells? Don't move now, just talk."

"Took a stick of re-bar through the chest." Morgan explained. "It really hurt." He added.

Re-bar. Through the chest.

And it hurt.

Well of COURSE it did...Kala barely stopped herself from saying it aloud, instead managing a discreet cough. Silver-tipped fingers danced across the portion of screen in front of her as she took notes to add to the scan and the Doctor's file for future reference.

Wonder if it left a scar, she mused as Chaz continued.

[Chaz de Coventina]

"Well, against all rational conclusions, it doesn't seem to have left much in the way of damage beyond some superficial tissue imprint. Kala, look here: do you see that blue? We like that color. That color is our favorite color because it means that our job is uncomplicated," Chaz gestured to the readout screen, currently displaying a inverted outline of Morgan's frame. The majority of the body was a uniform shade of blue with a handful of areas, re-bar wound included, faded to a soft grey wash. "Well, you're very fortunate. What was it, a double-dare?"

Before Evanar could answer, Chaz let out a disbelieving laugh. A fluctuating scale had appeared in the upper right corner of the analysis screen, codes below it indicating it was a measure of the oxygen levels in the man's lungs. Underneath that was still a further column, a calculation that corrected itself as the levels changed.

"With a metabolic rate like that, you must be very popular in the mess hall," Chaz said. Despite the fact that food within the convoy came mostly in the form of phytonutrient cubes, portion control was a dramatically sensitive subject taken very seriously by those Alliance troops on KP. "Another gift from your mother, I take it."

[Morgan Evanar]

"It's totally her fault." Morgan confirmed with a goofy grin.

"I might have modified my portion card." he added. "But I'm not much for dares."

[Kala'ndryl Ryj]

"Dares can be highly entertaining...especially when it involves holding your breath underwater...there was this time, on Naboo, when..." Kala blinked and then managed to blush as she realized she'd spoken the completely rambling thought out loud.

"Never mind. Shutting up now. Fetching datapad."

The blonde nodded and picked up the datapad Chaz had left on the counter behind them, using the stylus to make notations and completely avoid everyone's gaze.