What Does the Fox Say

Posted on Wed Apr 3rd, 2019 @ 4:54am by 1st Lieutenant Hunter Williams & Civillian Shae

Mission: Interlude 1
Location: Cheyenne Base - Williams's Office

Now it was getting a bit harder. The other civilians had offices where he could go see them on their own turf. The military members of the team, well, even with O'Connor, it wouldn't be a problem sitting in her quarters with the door open, again, some place where she might feel more comfortable. He still needed to hook up with Corvus and find out his malfunction, but he understood there were medical issues going on so he could wait.

Which left Shae. The reports he was getting regarding her was that she was...prickly. He didn't want to go to her quarters for the appropriateness of it - she wasn't military so the appearance might be suspect. Normally he might try for a lunch meeting then, but now that was out. He thought of the rec hall but wasn't sure if she ever went there so, he had to change it up a bit. His office was austere and bare of anything personal. The desk and chairs were straight from standard issue. Not knowing he was coming here didn't allow for him to bring personal effects.

Except for the three small family photos he had taped to the top of his computer. They were just printouts but they still meant a lot to him. His wife, his son, his daughter. He considered that he needed to add Melonie and, then soon, the grandchild.

Still, he had to get ahold of Shae, talk to her, get to know her a little bit. So he waited for her to arrive.

At the request, an Airman was sent to go find the wayward Kitsune, who had been in her quarters studying some writings on her tablet. Shae responded to the request without complaint, setting her tablet to charge before following the Airman to the new office.

"Excuse me?" Shae said politely with a light rap on the door frame as she came upon the open office. "You asked to speak to me?"

Hunter sat up as he heard the footsteps of the escort down the hall and then stood as the petite woman knocked on the door frame. He used his years of service to school himself into his military bearing. This was going to be the first actual, hand to God real alien life that he'd ever met in his life. He sure as hell didn't want to blow this. "Yes, you are Shae, correct?" He indicated the chairs across from the desk. "Would you like to have a seat, or maybe talk while we walk?"

"Yes, I am Shae, and we can walk or sit, whatever pleases you," the small woman replied. She smiled and seemed polite, but there was an emptiness in her eyes, like she had recently given in to some kind of defeat, meaning her pleasant smile was just for show.

"Y'know, it's easy for someone in my position to get what he wants all the time, what's better, though, is being in my position and helping others to get what they want. I'm Lieutenant Williams, by the way, and I have to give myself a lecture later for not properly introducing myself when you entered. But, I'm Asher's second on the team and I'm trying to get to know the team, informally, see where I can best manage to fit in with everyone."

He was talking with an ALIEN! If only he could tell his friends or kids about that!

"It is nice to meet you," Shae replied with a slight bow. "I am just a translator and guide for worlds and cultures I am familiar with, although I am also capable in combat as well," she said.

"That seems as if it would be especially helpful to us. I have a special interest in other cultures and societies, what would I need to know about yours to keep from being offensive?" Hunter asked, watching the body language and mannerisms of the woman sitting before him.

"Offense?" Shae replied with curiosity. She pondered the question for a moment before answering. "I have not experienced much offense due to differences in culture. I will say that Earth culture is unlike I have ever experienced before so it is a bit of a shock, but I have not seen anything I would find offensive. The greatest barrier thus far has been language; what you call English does exist on worlds out there, but it is very simple compared to what is spoken here, and people here often say one thing while meaning another, this is not done on other worlds. And I must admit, of all the languages I speak, English is not my strongest and this has been the source of some conflict, even when I caution people that I am having difficulty comprehending them, I am treated as though this is somehow my fault. But I am studying hard to try to understand English better."

"Then it seems we need to do a better job helping you to understand the vastly complex language that English is. What other problems may arise from what you know and how we do things?"

"Well, the people here tend to use many technical words that I do not understand, and then there's the technology itself, and even references to how your military operates although Asher has been helping me with that one, but so far I've found that when I ask questions about these sorts of things, I'm met with cooperation and patience; people are generally willing to stop to explain things, or they'll send me messages to the tablet Asher has given me and later I can look at these messages and they have sent me information to help with my comprehension. Oh, and my writing in English is very poor, so I have been assigned a clerk to report to when it is time to give my account of missions, and he makes a recording and writes what I say so that my perspective is accurate and included in mission reports," Shae explained. "It is slow, but I am learning, it's just a lot to take in and I have only been here a bit over a week. Most of the troubles I have come across seem to be personal in nature due to miscommunication."

"Would you mind giving me an example of how personal communication is causing problems?" Hunter asked. "You seem quite intelligent and quick-witted, so I'm sure that's not the problem. Is this a problem with the team?"

Shae frowned; she wasn't sure if she should tell him about the disturbances between her and a member of the team, but it was important that he know, so after a moment of consideration, she sighed and relented. "The one known as Corvus, he said something to me that scared me. I understand now that he misunderstood something he was told, and I know that he did not mean to scare me, but I still became frightened. He was scared of being abandoned off world for nearly harming me; when we first met, I had a bad reaction to some chocolate and he very nearly tried to hurt me because I am a shifter, my natural form is a fox and not knowing this he was rightfully frightened seeing me change when I became sick. I did not notice him react this way, and he confessed remorse for this once I was better, and then he worried about being abandoned off-world. Being off world is not a problem for me, if I am left behind I can go anywhere I please, but the thought of being abandoned for being bad was quite terrifying and I became quite upset. I didn't understand that he was reacting to something that wasn't real. He apologized for scaring me and I accepted, but I told him that I was still upset and that because of that I was still not fond of him, but we were... I believe 'civil' is the correct term. Later when were waiting for our plan to move forward, I shared some food with him and we talked, everything pleasant, but then when the fighting started I lied to him; he wanted to know if the village would be okay and I said yes, and later when I tried to tell him the truth he would not listen, and I feel awful about it. I've been wanting to apologize to him ever since, but I feel so ashamed, I thought I was doing a kindness but I ended up hurting him and then he got in trouble because of this. And now it's even harder to face him because... I think he really doesn't likes me because of the attention that Asher gives me... And I still don't like that he still reaches for his weapon when he's around me..." Shae looked notably uncomfortable explaining the ordeal, and the regret and shame she expressed seemed genuine.

"Corvus, again." Hunter said as he leaned back in the chair. "I've been hearing a bit about him since I've got here and I'm not liking what I hear. Especially that he's threatening a teammate, no matter the reason. That's going to stop as of now, you have my word on that. As for the other, if I can help with that, let me know and I'll facilitate a meeting between you two, make sure it gets worked out." He was about to add "provided the sergeant is still a member of the team" but held off. She already expressed that she felt terrible that he got in trouble previously, he didn't want to lay the burden of the Staff Sergeant being in trouble on her this time.

"Please give him consideration as you deal with him," Shae implored softly. "I know I may not be fond of him personally, and he may seem foolish at times, but he is clever and brave. He risked his life to save the Goa'uld Yu who we were hoping to form an alliance with, and he risked his own safety again to bring our team ammunition when we were under attack by wolves, and he figured out the medical people that were there to help us were actually Jaffa; well, he thought they were Goa'uld, but still, he figured this out when no one else did, and he may have been foolish in how he decided to try to prove this, but I believe his intentions were in the right place. And regardless of whatever I may feel for him, he has proved to me that he is a worthy companion to travel with, and I would protect him with my life if such became necessary."

"That's very admirable, Shae. But I may have to get harsh with him, considering everything I'm hearing. Though, you are saying some good things about him as well, which isn't the first time I've heard that either. But, he's a problem that needs a solution and if it can be one that helps him mesh with the team, then that's what we'll look for, how does that sound?"

"Arigatou gozaimasu," Shae replied, bowing slightly. "Is there anything else you wish me to say? I was studying some writing from the world we just visited; the device we went to study and all recordings of it were taken by the Jaffa, but we still have some footage from the drone and I was attempting to study this writing to see if I can place it with any languages known on Earth. So if there is nothing else you wish to know, then I would like to return to my studies."

"Is there anything else you'd like for me to know about how to help you?"

Again, Shae gave this some thought. "I am not thinking of anything at this time, but if I can think of anything then I will bring it to your attention," she replied with a weak smile.

"Thank you, I'd appreciate that. Also, we use the phrase 'my door is always open', it means that I'm available for any time you need to talk to me, so, my door is, proverbially, always open. And if you have any more problems, I want you to come to me and we'll see about making sure they get resolved quickly, okay?"

"I will remember that, and if you need me for anything, please do not hesitate to send for me," Shae said with a nod. "I do not like staying in the mountain for too long, I miss the sunlight, so I may go back to my home on Lethuan, and Asher has taken me to his home after this mission, but regardless of where I am, I am always willing to return to assist however I can."

"Thank you," Hunter said, absorbing what she said. "I appreciate your dedication to the team."

"Well, it's only fair; so much is being done to accommodate me, it would be rude of me to not put everything into helping the team," Shae admitted. "And I must confess, I do have some selfish reasons as well; it is my hope that by helping New Dawn with their explorations that one day I may find others of my kind, maybe even my family, and that I would have some help freeing them."

"You don't know where your family is?" Hunter asked. "Do we have any leads on that? Or is it even something we're working on?"

To that, Shae shook her head. "I was just a child and we were taken from our homes and put on a ship, so I do not even know if our world had a gate, and when I was able to flee from the world where we were taken to, I did not know the address of this world. I have been trying to find a way back there, but I have not found the correct address yet. The only real lead is my mother; she is host to the Goa'uld Inari, and I know of several worlds under her control, but I do not know where she is at present, and I have not had the courage to try making a run on any of those worlds, not while I was alone."

"Noted," Hunter said. He wanted to tell her they'd help as best they could. Everyone deserved to have a family, but he wasn't in a position of authority to even suggest the whispered hint of a promise like that. He barely knew what the hell they did here, much less try to make a promise he wasn't sure he could keep.

"Well, thank you for taking the time to get to know me. I look forward to working with you," Shae said, then bowed again. "I hope you have a good day, Lieutenant Williams."

"And you, Shae," Hunter said, looking over his calendar on the computer, trying to find some time to deal with the problem that was Staff Sergeant Corvus.

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