Doctor of Not Getting Your Face Eaten By an Alien

Posted on Wed Apr 3rd, 2019 @ 4:55am by 1st Lieutenant Hunter Williams & Civillian Ravi Azad PhD

Mission: Interlude 1
Location: Cheyenne Base - Ravi's office

As Hunter came to the right area and looked for the name on the office doors - most of which were curiously just printed out and taped up - he figured this must be the right one. It, like Braedyn's, was open already, but Hunter stopped and knocked anyway before poking his head inside. "Dr. Azad, you got a moment to chat?"

"Of course," replied Ravi before he even looked up to see who had spoken. Once he did, he saw someone he did not recognize. "What can I do for you, sir?" he asked politely.

"First, knock off the 'sir' crap. I used to work for a living, then for some strange reason, I came back to the suck. Though this assignment so far is less suck filled than most. Then, allow me to introduce myself, I'm Lieutenant Williams, United States Air Force. I've been brought in to second SG1, so we'll be working together and I'd like to get to know a bit about you." Unlike Braedyn, he didn't chide Ravi for not offering a seat, he just took it, leaning forward to watch Ravi while he waited for a response.

"I- I see," replied Ravi nervously. "Well, what would you like to know?"

Hunter leaned forward and plucked a framed picture off the desk. "Good looking woman, your wife?" he asked, "Any kids?" He looked over the desk but didn't see any family photos or any with kids in them. But, from what he knew of the engineer's age, his kids could be grown just as much as Hunter's were.

“Sister,” replied Ravi. “I never married. No children. My father died when I was twleve and I spent so much time helping to raise my younger siblings, I think I feel as if I have already raised a family,” he added with a grin.

"Best feeling in the world, isn't it? Watching children grow up to become responsible, decent adults?" He replaced the photo from where he grabbed it. "Gotta tell you how much I respect anybody that takes on that kind of challenge. Going from brother to parent can be extremely difficult."

"It was not easy," Ravi replied. "My mother insisted I just be a boy, but I could see that my younger brothers and sister were struggling. They needed the help."

"It's an amazing testament to your character that you took on that responsibility. Now you're here, and as the 'old man' of the team, I'm betting you got a lot of flak for being 'dad' here?"

"It is a difficult habit to break, yes," Ravi agreed with a grin. "I have already had one teammate call me 'dad' jokingly."

"Comes with being the old guy around a bunch of over-testosterone kids, doesn't it? But, enough of complaining of age and the punk kids of today, tell me a bit about what you do here."

"To be honest, I have not quite figured it out, yet," admitted Ravi with a grin. "I mean, I am an engineer, but all of this... well, it is a bit above my head. I am supposed to make sure everything continues to function properly. I have been studying everything we have, all the data on the gate and other technology day in and day out. I only hope my understanding is sound."

"Well, make sure it is, so that you can break it down into small words to explain it all to me," Hunter said. "What's the biggest worry we've got regarding our tech?"

"That it is so far advanced from what I have seen so far, I may not be able to work with it," Ravi replied.

"That's..." Hunter said, shaking his head, "not something I wanted to hear at the moment. But I'm sure you'll be able to figure something out. I mean," he grabbed the photo again, "Is this the face of someone who is disappointed in her big brother?"

"Most certinaly not," replied Ravi with a genuine smile. Afshan was proud of all of her big brothers and made sure to tell them so at every oportunity. They were all proud of her, too, of course. "I shall do my best, sir," he promised.

Hunter held up the photo next to his head. "Excellent because I'd like to see more of," here Hunter assumed a high pitched falsetto voice, "'my brother is my hero! Yay! He saved the day!' rather than 'oh no! ALIENS ATE OFF MY FACE! Why didn't my brother save us with his big brain!?'" He put the photo back on the desk. "Do you want your sister's face eaten by aliens?" he asked, resuming his normal voice.

Ravi chuckled at the dramatization. He couldn't help it. "Of course not, sir," he replied, still grinning. "Her face is far too beautiful for that. I shall endeavour to ensure that no face are eaten by aliens."

"There we go," Hunter said as he replaced the photo again. "My man, Ravi, Doctor Of Not Getting Your Face Eaten by Aliens! That's your official role on the team," he said as he stood and backed toward the door. "I'll get you a little ID card or badge or something."

"I would wear a T-shirt that said that," Ravi replied. "Everywhere. All over town!"

"You the man! T-shirts, for the whole team, right? Each person gets their own for their position. Definitely 'Doctor of Not Getting Your Face Eaten By an Alien!' for you!"

Ravi could only laugh at that as the other man left his office. He was going to like working with this Hunter Williams guy.