Bankor

Cole spent time with his goats every morning, squeezing the time in between shifts at the Medical Facilities. Thanks to the control they were now exerting over the region, there was less pressure on the surgeon, so he took the chance to take the goats down to the lake so they could cool off. He took his jacket off, putting it on the ground next to him, shading his eyes with a hand as he watched the little animals frolic.

"They're having fun." Galen smiled, watching the critters run about. "Don't let them get too far away from us, though."

Looking up in surprise, “morning,” he ran a hand through his hair and returning his attention to the goats. “They know who feeds them. I have more trouble keeping them from following me around than keeping them from running off.”

"Any source of water in a desert is vital to the survival of all local creatures, including predators." he explained. "How are you this morning, Doctor?"

Cole lay back in the black sands in the shadow of a tree, one hand behind his head, resting on his jacket, the other blocking the sun. “This heat is so draining, I haven’t had any energy for days.”

"We'll move out in a week or two." Galen sat against the tree. "We should enjoy the peace while we can."

Cole murmured in agreement. “Two weeks and I’ll be longing for the desert. Command looks to be leaning towards the tropics as our next destination. I’m dreading the humidity.”

"That will make Navi happy." he smiled. "He'll feel right at home."

“There’s supposed to be an order of non-Jedi Force sensitives out there. Might be interesting for you.”

"That's interesting. Maybe they can help me with an issue, I have."

Turning his head to look at Galen, “problem? what sort of problem?”

"A ghost." he sighed. "A Jedi, it seems. I'm not sure, though."

“A ghost?” A closet fanboy, Cole was familiar with the Jedi ghosts portrayed in Vera Hawke, “that’s a good thing, right?”

"I'm not sure." he shook his head. "From what I know, there are two kinds of ghosts. Some Jedi are wise and knowledgeable enough to guide others through the Force, even after they've died and left the physical world behind. Some Sith leave traces of themselves, impressions of their power and echoes of who they once were, clinging to something physical as a way to live on."

He took out the saber, looking it over. "The Jedi this used to belong to, seems to be somewhere between those two possibilities."

“Things are rarely as black and white as the Jedi would like us to believe.”

"Definitely not." he nodded. "But, this is something unusual and I hope I can learn more."

Cole nodded, “good luck.”

"Thanks." he sighed. "I'll probably need it."

Cole remained silent for several long minutes, savouring the rare moment of relaxation. Eventually, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, watching the goats for a little longer. Raising a hand, he dusted off the sand against his thigh and brought his slender fingers to his lips, whistling sharply. The goats stopped as if frozen before suddenly galloping over to the surgeon, leaping into Cole's arms, getting sand and water all over his uniform.

Galen suppressed a chuckle. "You've trained them? That's impressive."

With an awkward chuckle, Cole produced some cubes of cheese from somewhere and fed the treat to the pair, the goats nibbling at his fingers. "Trained? not really. They just really like cheese." Producing a brush, he wrapped an arm around one of the wiggling kids, it struggled for several moments, until he started pulling the brush through its fur, combing out the worst of the sand. Apparently jealous, the other goat began nudging and butting at Cole's arm.

"That's training, Doctor." Galen smiled. "Soon, they'll be happy to respond just for some affection."

"Well, I suppose that's true, but I wouldn't say they're anywhere near trained." The goat not being brushed was now behind Cole, repeatedly butting the doctor's shoulders, being steadfastly ignored.

"No, but they are difficult to train." he shrugged. "That they respond to you at all is still significant. They can tell you care about them."

Cole ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck, "oh, I thought motivated by food was just par for the course." Releasing Piper, he reached behind him for Pepper, but the goat sprang away, before bouncing back to butt Cole's shoulders. The doctor dropped onto his back, grabbing over his head with both hands, the goat bleating in protest as it was captured and rolled up into Cole's arms to be cuddled.