Bankor

"It is, but you've made it a reward for responding to you the way you wish." he explained. "Then, you replace that reward with attention and affection. Soon, they'll be satisfied knowing they've pleased you."

Sitting up, Cole began brushing the goat in his arms, Piper pawing at something in the sand half heartedly. “I don’t expect all that. I don’t even know how long I’ll be able to keep them. I don’t see the Captain of my next assignment being too open to having a pair of goats aboard. Being on a planet is one thing, but space,” he trailed off with a half-shrug.

"You may need your own ship then." he suggested. "Something customized with medical facilities."

Cole gave the man a probing look, "I'm working on that."

"That's good to hear." he nodded. "Maybe you can give me a lift, sometime."

Half-shrugging, "sure." He finished brushing out Pepper's coat, and released the little animal. The pair seemed tired out from romp, standing side-by-side in the shade, scratching the base of each other's tails.

Galen reached over to scratch one of them around the neck. "They really are nice goats."

Something like a smile finally broke on Cole’s face, a lopsided twist to the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, I expected them to be troublesome.”

"I'm sure they'll find ways to get into trouble. But, I'd have trouble getting upset with them."

He switched to scratching the other one.

One of the goats yawned, Cole seemed pensive. “I couldn’t blame them for being goats, I just expected,” he shrugged vaguely.

"Why did you get them anyway?" he asked.

Cole’s lips pressed together, and he looked at the small creatures, somewhat reluctantly, “I don’t know.”

"Well, they're probably happier with you than with Jo." he assured him as he continued petting the goats.

He'd heard something about goat curry after Jo popped up near Rygor, and his mouth twisted slightly, "I suppose that's true."

"Well, if you need help with them, or anything else, let me know." he offered. "I owe you that much."