Star Wars: Doc the Doctor

The Doc was the oldest Junker in Jent's village, perhaps the oldest Junker alive, at the ripe and rusty age of fifty-two. He was the village leader of two generations past, the grandfather of Werrin and had retired to become the tribe's scholar and medic.

An eminent scholar, the Doc spent most of his free time deciphering and reading texts, teaching the young, and building Junker compatible cybernetics. Being the only doctor for a mostly cyborg race, the Doc was well versed in the science of mechanical prostheses.

Jent made his way to the Docs' place, on the other side of the village, an area that Junkers called 'the nexus', where all the village's original tunnels converged. The village could be broken up into several major areas: The bazaar, the nexus, the barracks and the depot; all centred around the residential area.

The quickest way from were Jent was now, the depot, to the nexus was through the bazaar, the village's marketplace. Jent left the depot and made his way through the crowds of Junkers trading, haggling and plying their crafts. The bazaar housed most of the village's mechanics, traders and alchemists, it was a perpetually busy place, that you could find almost anything in.

Other than catching a few curious glances, Jent and Ian passed through the bazaar mostly unseen. The surrounding Junkers being too absorbed in their business to notice or care.

Having reached the nexus, Jent walked into the infirmary. Its walls were lined by copious amounts of tattered books and parchment, and at the room's centre, there was a stainless steel table.

"Hey, Doc you about?" Jent called out. "Ahh, Jent ma-boy, I'll be down there in a jiffy," Doc's croaky voice replied.

There were some loud banging sounds from above, and moments later, down a spiral staircase, came the Doc.

The Doc had a wrinkly face, a hunched back and a plaited beard that grew down past his knees. Beards were a rarity among Junkers, only beginning to grow in a Junker's forties, and most Junkers that survived to such an age donned them with pride.

"What have you got there ma-boy?" asked Doc on his way down the stairs.

"An off-worlder Doc. I found it inside one of the old ships, it crashed into it in some sort of pod... The ship collapsed and the off-worlder did 'something', saved the both of us and he's been out cold since." Jent said, sighing.

"An off-worlder," a toothy smile broke out on Doc's face, he jumped on the spot and pumped his arms in the air. "Haha, an off-worlder, a real honest to god off-worlder, that's great, wonderful, glorious, fan-bloody-tastic." The Doc was hyper and extremely energetic for an old man.

"Doc... Doc... Doc!" Jent shouted, louder each time. Hearing Jent shout, the Doc snapped out of his giddy stupor and got serious, "out cold, did you say?" Place him on the table, he gestured to his operating table and Jent put Ian on it.

Doc strapped on a pair of goggles. On the goggles, various disks of glass were attached to flexible wires, Doc bent one of the wires placing a glass disk in front of one of his eyes, "let's get a closer look," The Doc said, inspecting Ian.

The Doc checked Ian's breathing and looked for any visible wounds. Finding none, he then picked up a small device and placed it on Ian's wrist, a few seconds later it beeped and flashed white. "Humm, not poisoned then," the Doc muttered looking stumped.

"Ah-yes, you said he did 'something' and that he's been 'out cold' since... What exactly was it that he did and how long has he been out cold?" asked the Doc. "He... ugh... um...," Jent struggled to find the right words and wasn't sure if the Doc would believe him even if did.

"Well, spit it out then boy, the off-worlder's life could be in danger!" The Doc cut in.

"He held up a steel support beam mid-fall... without touching it," answered Jent.

The Doc stared blankly at Jent for a moment, then looked down at the child, stared a while longer before looking back up at Jent, "Without touching?" The Doc asked and Jent nodded in reply, "A support beam?" Jent nodded again "Mid-fall?" Another question; another nod.

The Doc fell back, into a swivel chair, and spinning on it, he stroked his beard vigorously. The old man spoke a word with each spin, "Humm... Something... Somewhere... Jent... No... Similar... Jet... Jed... Jendi... Jedi, ah-ha that was it Jedi, Jedi," Doc stood up, wobbling on his feet for a moment before continuing to talk.

"An old off-worlder childrens tale I decrypted... At least I thought it was a tale, I've got it here somewhere," Doc started searching through draws and it wasn't long before he pulled out a dusty old book. The book's binding was all but destroyed, its pages mouldy and decrepit.

The Doc wiped off some dust, confirmed that he had the right book and opened it up.

"Ahh, here it is, the Jedi, a sort of species that wields 'bright swords' and can move objects using 'the pressure'... There are pictures, come look," Doc said, beckoning to Jent.

Jent walked over and took a look.

"Err, Doc... are you sure this is right, they don't exactly look the same?" Jent said looking at the little green man in the book and then at Ian, a pale white boy.

"Humm yes, I see what you mean, perhaps this species gets greener as they age... This one certainly has a lot of wrinkles on its forehead, a sign of age maybe?" Doc said, pointing at the little green man.

"Urgh," A groan was heard behind the two Junkers and they both turned to face Ian.

"He's waking up. He's waking up!" The Junkers cheered, jumping and dancing in tandem.

Eyes half shut, Ian yawned before looking up.

"Huh... Joe Rogan and... Torbjorn?"