5 Days
Chapter 1
Day 1
It hadn't been the best of days for Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Everything had seemed to go wrong from the time she woke up, and events were not looking on the bright side later that day either. One of the main issues of concern was the fact that John is now in the infirmary since he was injured off world and, although he was receiving good medical treatment from Dr. Carson Beckett, he was tattered up pretty badly: more specifically, he had 2 broken ribs, a black eye and a minor head wound. Carson had already informed Elizabeth that John should be off duty for at least a month and a half. This news had greatly disappointed her. John is one of the best military officers and, as she viewed it, she had just lost a month and a half's worth of his excellent military tactics. It was barely acceptable! The wraith are just becoming aware of their presence on Atlantis and want to use them as their food supply, yet Major Sheppard, one of the best military officers around, gets severely injured. Just great, Dr. Weir sardonically thought to herself.
There was another issue bothering Dr. Weir, and that was the fact she had to interview a Czech engineer by the name of…how do you say it? Zelandka? No, that's not right, Elizabeth silently reflected. She only hoped this man was cooperative and unlike Dr. Rodney McKay or Peter Kavanagh: those two seemed to give her a lot of trouble. However, Elizabeth did agree they were intelligent and well suited for their jobs. There was no doubt about that, but Dr. Weir had merely wanted someone who would be fairly high up in status on the tech team and lacked such characteristics as arrogance or uncooperativeness for a change.
Dr. Weir sat in the interview room, tapping her pencil in a rhythmic fashion. Soon enough, however, Dr. Radek Zelenka: the Czech engineer, walked into the room. He sat down in the chair which was on the opposite side of the table facing Elizabeth. Dr. Zelenka was a little nervous, but not overwhelmingly so. It was nothing he couldn't handle, and it most certainly wasn't his first job interview. Still, one would have to admit: the possibility of working on a planet in a galaxy far away was a little unnerving. Not unpleasant, mind you, just… a tad unsettling.
"Forgive me if I mispronounce your name," Dr. Weir began. "It's Dr. Radek Zelenka, correct?"
"Yes, you got pronunciation right," Dr. Zelenka replied. Radek did quite well with his English, but he wasn't entirely great. The tinge of nervousness could have something to do with it, however.
"I have looked over your files while I was waiting for you, and I must say: I am impressed." Dr. Zelenka gave a slight grin at this statement. Elizabeth continued by saying, "You've had experience with all sorts of technology, I see. Also, you taught physics at a university in Prague, Czech Republic. And… you are fluent in 2 languages; Czech and French, although you are quite fluent in English as well."
Radek nodded as he said, "That is correct."
"Why do you feel you are better qualified for this job than the other applicants," Dr. Weir politely inquired.
"I have experience with various technologies. Not just one kind," Dr. Zelenka began. "I also have doctorate in physics and arithmetic."
Elizabeth nodded to Radek in recognition of his words, smiled and answered, "Okay, thank-you very much for your time, Dr. Zelenka!" Dr. Weir rose from her seat and Dr. Zelenka did the same.
"No, thank-you for your time, Dr. Weir."
Dr. Weir shook his hand, and continued by informing Radek, "We will notify you if you have received the job position."