[Lyseil Panteer]

Carrying with her a small surprise, Lyseil gave a knock on the door to the room that Cole and Niall shared. Though this time she was seeking the good doctor rather than Niall.

"Captain Ormont, sir? Are you there?"

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

He was, having taken a free moment to shower and change before the staff meeting. He kept Lyseil waiting for several long moments as he pulled on a shirt, tucking it in neatly, and pulling his jacket on as well. He buttoned up the uniform, buckled on his utility belt that contained his varied array of implements and drugs, jogging it against his craggy hips so that it settled into its familiar, well-worn place, and finally called out, "enter."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Thank you," she said politely as he gave her permission to enter, and she smiled brightly as always as she stepped inside the room.

*sigh* I wish I had such a tidy roommate like Cole or Niall... Was her first thought as she could tell that the place was in much better condition than the frat-house bed that was Sabine's bunk. Her arms were tucked behind her back, as she seemed to be keeping something hidden there.

"Good afternoon, captain. I hope I didn't come at a bad time?"

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

Cole kept his bunk with the kind of regulation efficiency that the Navy ingrained in its recruits, only it had been driven into him by his own father, not a commander. But, in addition to that, there were no personal effects on Cole's side of the room. Not a single holograph, knick-knack, or tchotchke belonging to the doctor could be seen; the closest thing to jewellery visible on his person was the dog tag laced onto his boots - in case the lower half of his body every needed to be identified.

"Not at all, Sergeant, what can I do for you?"

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Well..." moving her arms to no longer hide what she had with her, Lyseil proudly held up a thermos and two plain cups. "I wanted to thank you, for patching me up from that sniper-shot. I know, I know, it's your job, but still I am very grateful!"

And she had heard later of how much of a bad shape Cole himself had been in that day, having been shot himself, so she was feeling even a little bit guilty of it.

"I hope you like tea? I promise this is much better than what they serve in the mess hall."

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

Cole's eyebrow twitched with scepticism, but he indicated to the tiny table and seats that could be folded into the wall, "why don't we sit?"

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Thank you," she bobbed her head and smiled, carefully placing down the cups and the thermos on the tiny table. Once again with a pang of jealousy since the tiny table in her room was the storage place for Sabine's collection of beer cans.

"I am so envious of how tidy your room is..." she couldn't help but to comment. "My bunkmate is worse than a fratboy."

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

Cole sat, or slouched, dropping into the seat like a marionette with cut strings, adjusting his pants as he did. One leg was flat against the wall, his other knee askew at solid hundred and twenty degree angle, or more. "Who are you bunking with?"

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Sabine Kelborn," she sighed as she sat down on the other chair. Much more dignified than the manspreading as she daintily crossed her legs at the ankles. "Don't get me wrong, she can be an absolute joy at times, but... stars, she's sooo sloppy when it comes to keeping things tidy!"

With a brief chuckle, Lyseil opened up the lid on the thermos.

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

"Interesting, personnel tend to have better habits than that." Cole half-shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, "it's easy to be tidy when you don't own much." He sniffed and remembered something, getting to his feet again. Crossing the tiny space, he opened a drawer and took out possibly this most improbable thing one might imagine the surgeon keeping alongside his clean shirts: a box of chocolates.

Returning, he placed the box on the table. They certainly weren't as fancy as the ones Lyseil had shared with him over lunch. Cole dropped into his seat again, careful not to bump Lyseil's knees with his long and ungainly limbs.

[Lyseil Panteer]

"See? I thought so too! Goodness, I remember back at basic being hounded for not being tidy enough, and I thought myself a tidy person beforethat," she grinned a little and her eyes followed Cole as he fetched something from the drawer... oh, chocolate!

Taking into consideration the cramped space, Lyseil did wait for Cole to sit first before pouring the tea. There was a pleasant spicy aroma to the dark tea. "Hah, are you hiding your chocolates in there from your bunkmate?" she remarked as she could see better what he had brought out.

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

Cole's expression soured momentarily, "a gift from another... grateful patient." Returning to the previous topic, "if there was one thing that Brigadier Admiral Ormont did right, I can certainly say that the state of my bunk was never an issue in Basic."

[Lyseil Panteer]

Lyseil wasn't quite sure what caused the souring of Cole's expression, but decided to give it some light humor before moving on. "Ah, I see. Don't worry, I hide my snacks too. I really hope Sabine hasn't found my one bottle of wine yet though... hm."

She offered the first cup to Cole and poured for herself afterwards. "It's a spiced tea I picked up on Cerea. They say it's supposed to be very healthy and good for your body, but, well, they tend to say that about almost anything they produce there." Lyseil smirked a little. "Does it happen often that patients treat you to a little extra to show their gratitude?"

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

"First time for everything," running a hand through his hair he cast his thoughts back. He seemed to recall a soldier stopping by with a bottle of whiskey so they could have a drink together. Cole picked up the cup and sniffed it curiously, "strange thing about tea is that I've always liked the way it smells more than the taste."

[Lyseil Panteer]

The scent seemed to have some familiar parts; cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. Then there were some scents that were less familiar, which were probably some spices local to Cerea that were less known outside of that planet.

"Really? Hm... yeah, I guess I can see that with some teas. I do hope you like this one, though!" she gave a hopeful smile.

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

Cole sipped the tea, the spices and tannins translating on his tongue as a sort of bitterness that couldn't be countered with sugar; but he enjoyed the scent, and he nodded to Lyseil, "it's lovely."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"I'm glad!" Lyseil was bright as sunshine and took a sip of the tea as well. She seemed to be a tea-type of person at least... and this way she didn't have to overdose on sugar.

"So, ah, you said Brigadier Admiral Ormont? ... A relative of yours?"

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

Bright as sunshine was an excellent way to describe how he always felt a headache coming on around the perky scholar-cum-soldier. “Yes, my father.”

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Huh." It seemed a few pieces clicked together for her now. "I see now what you meant before about family expectations - and how that must've been difficult to meet when a military-career was not your first choice."

Lyseil offered a sympathetic nod before taking another sip of tea. "If I may ask... do you think you still would've pursued becoming a doctor if you hadn't been pushed into the military?"

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

“I doubt it,” Cole took another sip of the tea before applying his long, slender fingers to opening the chocolates. Lifting the lid, he offered Lyseil first choice, “medicine was my last-ditch effort to not be responsible for the death of others. And even if I had been interested at sixteen, I wouldn’t have been getting into med school after being disowned.”

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Hmm... so what would you have wanted to do then, if not med school?" She wondered what kind of dreams he had had when he was younger, before a dominating father had crushed them.

Since he was offering, she picked out a piece of chocolate and had a little nibble. "Mm, so good..."

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

Cole picked out a chocolate, popped it in his mouth, and chewed thoughtfully before answering. Washing down the sweet, he finally said, “who knows? I was sixteen and bad at sports. All I knew back then was I liked to learn and didn’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps.”

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Sounds like you could've been a fine academic then," she offered with some encouragement. "I know some worlds have scholarships for bright minds, so it could've been an option for you. Well... sorry... it is what it is now. I guess I just like thinking of possibilities sometimes."

[Dr. Cole Ormont]

He murmured non-commitally. A lot of people had had a lot to say about it, but it was ten years gone now, and Cole had dedicated nearly a decade of his life to refining his skills. He was good at what he did, he was proud of that much. “Now that we’re reaching the end game, what will you do next, Sergeant?”

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Huh, now that's a question," judging by her tone, it was something that had been on her mind a lot. "I should finish my degree, but... I don't know, after seeing the damage to Garig Port, I can't help but wondering if I can do more to help? Maybe somehow persuade more of my home to help? They're going to need so much to rebuild and recover from this war, we can't expect them to do it on their own."

"That's... not the Republic way. We look out for eachother, right?"