[Viktor makes a little mm noise in agreement, but doesn't say anything further on the matter. His feelings on Thorne aren't exactly a secret, but he does know not to run his mouth around strangers.]

I never had formal schooling either. At least, not until I was a young man.

[And given the fact that Viktor appears to be in his thirties, perhaps Alyx can guess that it was maybe a college-type situation. Even then, his time at the Academy was mostly spent on the theoretical, so Viktor considers most of his mechanical engineering skills to be self-taught. He doesn't seem to care that Alyx doesn't consider himself an mechanic--even a little know-how is good enough for him.]

I imagine you'll be able to make sense of the blueprints. I tried to make them accessible.

[For all of the aforementioned reasons.]