'The Interview' - Gen, PG - For Aurora on the occasion of her birthday....
A late birthday present for Aurora Novarum!
Title: The Interview
Rating: PG, Gen.
Length: 1,202
Characters: Daniel Jackson, Adrian Sanchez (OC)
Thanks: Great thanks to redbyrd_sgfic who beta'd this story at very short notice and was extemely helpful, too!
Adrian Sanchez shifted his weight on the hard, metal chair. First, he flew in from Chicago in the middle of the night, then it was seven hours of rigmarole starting at the crack of dawn-and he wasn’t even allowed to wait in an office. No, he was waiting in a concrete hall in the bowels of Cheyenne Mountain under the watchful eye of a guard who wouldn’t say anything but ‘sorry sir, I’m not authorized to discuss that.’
They came to him, for God’s sake, a call out of the blue from the government. When the call came, his first thought had been of his father. The government needed his son’s skills, the education that had required so much sacrifice. It would have made him so happy and proud. And not just the government, the U.S. Air Force. As much as his father had valued American democracy, he hadn’t thought much of politicians. The Air Force? That was different, much better. ‘Dr. Sanchez, we’re very impressed with your work.’ If they were so impressed, why was he kicking his heels in a hallway?
And what was with all the examinations? He could understand the security measures, fingerprints, hand prints, and retinal scans. He could understand the fine tooth comb they’d used on his personal and professional history. He could even understand the three hour psych evaluation. This was top secret, whatever it was. More than top secret, if there was such a thing. But what was the deal with the most complete physical he’d ever had? And the MRI? What the hell was that?
They’d told him this was a research opportunity beyond anything he could imagine, that his knowledge of ancient languages could aid a critical project-that his research was viewed favorably by very prominent people. He hoped that was true. He’d gotten some criticism for being a little too open to unproven ideas. If he was just here for the nice salary that’d been mentioned, he’d be gone by now. Maybe. It was a very, very nice salary. Better than an untenured professor could get anywhere. He’d be thinking about it, though. He’d sure be thinking about it….
The worst part was that he didn’t even have the job! All of this…stuff, and it was just to get him cleared for the interview that would get him the job, a thumbs-up from Dr. Jackson, or the heave-ho. He didn’t really know who Jackson was, either. Someone important, that was clear. An archeologist, they told him that. They just didn’t say what Dr. Jackson actually did, what he wanted with Sanchez, or what use the Air Force had for either of them.
People kept passing by, but none of them stopped. How long had he been sitting here? He looked at his watch. Almost an hour-and it was almost time for lunch. His stomach twinged.
Damn. He was exhausted.
The elevator at the far end of the hall opened and for a minute Sanchez got his hopes up, thinking someone had finally come to get him. No such luck. It was a soldier type-Marine, Air Force, he couldn’t tell the difference. No, not a Marine. This guy had a little more hair than the average Marine. More hair than Sanchez, too, even though the soldier looked a little older.
Leaning his head back against the wall, Sanchez closed his eyes and let himself start to drift off. Just for a moment…. He was so tired.
“Dr. Sanchez?”
Startled, Sanchez banged his head against the wall, and opened his eyes. It was the soldier, sweaty, dirt on his face, and covered with mud. He looked like he’d just come from a battlefield. God knows where he found mud on a base in the middle of a mountain. What did he want? More security checks? Small arms testing? Nothing would surprise him at this point. “Can I help you?” The soldier’s eyebrows went up. He looked like something was funny. Nothing funny here, soldier, just an expert in ancient languages and linguistics going nuts with boredom.
“Well…I hope so.” The soldier reached into a pocket on his pants and pulled out a small stone tablet, still damp with mud. “Can you read this?”
Sanchez reached out and took the tablet. It was covered with some kind of runes, and it looked old. Very old. “What are you doing carrying this around in your pocket? You shouldn’t have removed it from where it was found….” He scraped some of the wet mud off and looked its strange yellow color, rubbing it between his fingers, feeling the wetness of it against his skin. It smelled like the sea. He frowned. “Not in Colorado…ocean…. Where-”
“Moving it was unavoidable, I’m afraid. So…what do you make of it?”
“Runic, not one of the Germanic or Scandinavian languages... it’s ancient….”
“What?” The soldier looked startled for a moment, and then gave a laugh. It made him look entirely different. “Ah…. You mean ‘old.’
Staring at the soldier, Sanchez tried to find something to say to that. He couldn’t. Just humor the big, crazy soldier, Sanchez…. He can hurt you.
The soldier took back the tablet and put it back in his pocket. He opened another pocket on his vest and took out a small notebook, flipping it open and writing something. Handing it to Sanchez, he said, “What’s that say?”
Sanchez looked down at the page. Egyptian hieroglyphs. What was a soldier doing writing him notes in hieroglyphs? Could…no. Couldn’t be. But… He looked up at the ‘soldier’, and felt his face flush. “I…. Dr. Jackson?”
Jackson smiled and leaned down to tap the notebook. “What’s that say?”
“Okay, well….” Sanchez looked at the page again. “A million years into the sky is Ra, sun god; sealed and buried for all time, his door to heaven.” He looked at Jackson. Who was frowning. A lot. “Er…the last part could have other interpretations. Door to heaven would just be the most common. It could have other meanings….”
Jackson was still frowning. “‘Common’ is one word for it. Not the one I’d use. What other meanings?”
“Uh…gate to heaven? Door to the stars?”
Mouth pulling up on one side, Jackson shook his head. “So close…. C’mon….” He turned and started back up the hall toward the elevator.
Sanchez stood, but didn’t follow. “Dr. Jackson? Does that….Does that mean I didn’t get the job?”
Jackson stopped and turned back, his eyebrows high. “What? Oh…no, the job’s yours. Your research is excellent and your theories are insightful. You pretty much had the job when you passed the medical. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t an ass. Uh…you want the job, right?”
Sanchez nodded, his throat tight with relief that he couldn’t have explained.
“Good. I think you’ll fit right in here. The unexpected doesn’t faze you much, and apparently you can deal with odd questions from the military, although the fact that I was able to find that out is more ironic than you know.” He smiled and turned to start up the hall again, waving an arm for Sanchez to follow. “The translation should be ‘stargate’, Dr. Sanchez, and you’re about to see one.”
Title: The Interview
Rating: PG, Gen.
Length: 1,202
Characters: Daniel Jackson, Adrian Sanchez (OC)
Thanks: Great thanks to redbyrd_sgfic who beta'd this story at very short notice and was extemely helpful, too!
Adrian Sanchez shifted his weight on the hard, metal chair. First, he flew in from Chicago in the middle of the night, then it was seven hours of rigmarole starting at the crack of dawn-and he wasn’t even allowed to wait in an office. No, he was waiting in a concrete hall in the bowels of Cheyenne Mountain under the watchful eye of a guard who wouldn’t say anything but ‘sorry sir, I’m not authorized to discuss that.’
They came to him, for God’s sake, a call out of the blue from the government. When the call came, his first thought had been of his father. The government needed his son’s skills, the education that had required so much sacrifice. It would have made him so happy and proud. And not just the government, the U.S. Air Force. As much as his father had valued American democracy, he hadn’t thought much of politicians. The Air Force? That was different, much better. ‘Dr. Sanchez, we’re very impressed with your work.’ If they were so impressed, why was he kicking his heels in a hallway?
And what was with all the examinations? He could understand the security measures, fingerprints, hand prints, and retinal scans. He could understand the fine tooth comb they’d used on his personal and professional history. He could even understand the three hour psych evaluation. This was top secret, whatever it was. More than top secret, if there was such a thing. But what was the deal with the most complete physical he’d ever had? And the MRI? What the hell was that?
They’d told him this was a research opportunity beyond anything he could imagine, that his knowledge of ancient languages could aid a critical project-that his research was viewed favorably by very prominent people. He hoped that was true. He’d gotten some criticism for being a little too open to unproven ideas. If he was just here for the nice salary that’d been mentioned, he’d be gone by now. Maybe. It was a very, very nice salary. Better than an untenured professor could get anywhere. He’d be thinking about it, though. He’d sure be thinking about it….
The worst part was that he didn’t even have the job! All of this…stuff, and it was just to get him cleared for the interview that would get him the job, a thumbs-up from Dr. Jackson, or the heave-ho. He didn’t really know who Jackson was, either. Someone important, that was clear. An archeologist, they told him that. They just didn’t say what Dr. Jackson actually did, what he wanted with Sanchez, or what use the Air Force had for either of them.
People kept passing by, but none of them stopped. How long had he been sitting here? He looked at his watch. Almost an hour-and it was almost time for lunch. His stomach twinged.
Damn. He was exhausted.
The elevator at the far end of the hall opened and for a minute Sanchez got his hopes up, thinking someone had finally come to get him. No such luck. It was a soldier type-Marine, Air Force, he couldn’t tell the difference. No, not a Marine. This guy had a little more hair than the average Marine. More hair than Sanchez, too, even though the soldier looked a little older.
Leaning his head back against the wall, Sanchez closed his eyes and let himself start to drift off. Just for a moment…. He was so tired.
“Dr. Sanchez?”
Startled, Sanchez banged his head against the wall, and opened his eyes. It was the soldier, sweaty, dirt on his face, and covered with mud. He looked like he’d just come from a battlefield. God knows where he found mud on a base in the middle of a mountain. What did he want? More security checks? Small arms testing? Nothing would surprise him at this point. “Can I help you?” The soldier’s eyebrows went up. He looked like something was funny. Nothing funny here, soldier, just an expert in ancient languages and linguistics going nuts with boredom.
“Well…I hope so.” The soldier reached into a pocket on his pants and pulled out a small stone tablet, still damp with mud. “Can you read this?”
Sanchez reached out and took the tablet. It was covered with some kind of runes, and it looked old. Very old. “What are you doing carrying this around in your pocket? You shouldn’t have removed it from where it was found….” He scraped some of the wet mud off and looked its strange yellow color, rubbing it between his fingers, feeling the wetness of it against his skin. It smelled like the sea. He frowned. “Not in Colorado…ocean…. Where-”
“Moving it was unavoidable, I’m afraid. So…what do you make of it?”
“Runic, not one of the Germanic or Scandinavian languages... it’s ancient….”
“What?” The soldier looked startled for a moment, and then gave a laugh. It made him look entirely different. “Ah…. You mean ‘old.’
Staring at the soldier, Sanchez tried to find something to say to that. He couldn’t. Just humor the big, crazy soldier, Sanchez…. He can hurt you.
The soldier took back the tablet and put it back in his pocket. He opened another pocket on his vest and took out a small notebook, flipping it open and writing something. Handing it to Sanchez, he said, “What’s that say?”
Sanchez looked down at the page. Egyptian hieroglyphs. What was a soldier doing writing him notes in hieroglyphs? Could…no. Couldn’t be. But… He looked up at the ‘soldier’, and felt his face flush. “I…. Dr. Jackson?”
Jackson smiled and leaned down to tap the notebook. “What’s that say?”
“Okay, well….” Sanchez looked at the page again. “A million years into the sky is Ra, sun god; sealed and buried for all time, his door to heaven.” He looked at Jackson. Who was frowning. A lot. “Er…the last part could have other interpretations. Door to heaven would just be the most common. It could have other meanings….”
Jackson was still frowning. “‘Common’ is one word for it. Not the one I’d use. What other meanings?”
“Uh…gate to heaven? Door to the stars?”
Mouth pulling up on one side, Jackson shook his head. “So close…. C’mon….” He turned and started back up the hall toward the elevator.
Sanchez stood, but didn’t follow. “Dr. Jackson? Does that….Does that mean I didn’t get the job?”
Jackson stopped and turned back, his eyebrows high. “What? Oh…no, the job’s yours. Your research is excellent and your theories are insightful. You pretty much had the job when you passed the medical. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t an ass. Uh…you want the job, right?”
Sanchez nodded, his throat tight with relief that he couldn’t have explained.
“Good. I think you’ll fit right in here. The unexpected doesn’t faze you much, and apparently you can deal with odd questions from the military, although the fact that I was able to find that out is more ironic than you know.” He smiled and turned to start up the hall again, waving an arm for Sanchez to follow. “The translation should be ‘stargate’, Dr. Sanchez, and you’re about to see one.”