MEDIC

Chapter 1. Touch Down

Edited 21/05/23 - clearer read, spelling fixed, extra bits thrown in to flesh out.

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The plane touched down on the frost ridden runway and woke you from a restless sleep. The flight hadn't been an overly smooth one and despite the many hours you'd been in the air you'd had very little rest, your body ached for a comfortable bed.

Rubbing your tired eyes you rummaged around in your pack and glanced over your transfer papers, making sure to keep them to hand to give them to the commanding officer...whoever they were.

Your new base was situated off the beaten track in the arse end of nowhere, you'd been told very little about it, other than the nearest city was Kazan, the largest city of Tatarstan, Russia.
You'd had a brief check on your phone to scope out the vibe of the general area, you might not have been told much but you wanted to at least get a feeling of the climate this time of year, at present it was -26 outside, a far cry from the blazing heat of your previous Iranian outpost.
You quietly prayed that they'd have weather appropriate gear to give you, because other than your 20kilo pack of desert-ready clothing, you had fuck all.

The moment the aircraft door opened you felt the air being knocked straight out of you, the sheer intensity of the cold here was unlike anything you'd every experienced before.
Bundling your collar shut in a meagre attempt to keep your neck warm you quickly exited the plane and were met by a new face. Before all else, the first thing you noticed about this man was his distinctive mohawk, you'd been told that this base was unlike any other that you'd been stationed at before but you'd assumed that was simply to do with the environment...not the complete lack of standard military dress code.

"Oi oi, took ya long enough! Welcome to paradise!"

That was the second thing you noticed, his thick Scottish accent. Despite his loud and rather over-the-top first impression the man had an extremely warm and welcoming aura about him, almost goofy. You knew you'd get on well with him.

"Sergeant John MacTavish, call me Soap, nice to meet you, doctor."

He grabbed your hand and gave it a firm shake before you even have time to register that he offered you a hand to shake in the first place.
You grinned at his odd callsign and made a mental note to yourself to ask him how he got it later on.

"P-pleased to meet you, Soap. Please just call me Dove, there's no need for formalities."

The Scottish soldier grinned, idly rubbing the thin scar that ran down one eyebrow and onto his cheekbone.

"Right you are, Dove! Come on then follow me, freezin' my tits off out 'ere."

Again before you had time to respond, Soap had turned on his heel and was quickly marching himself in the direction of the nearest building on the base. You quickly slung your pack over your shoulder and offered the pilot a nod in thanks for the smooth flight over before you jogged after him, eager to not miss out on anything Sergeant MacTavish had to tell you about what to expect from life on your new base.

"First stop is handing the boss your papers, then I'll take ya to your new digs n' let you settle in."
Soap grinned at you from over his shoulder, his quick pace a testament to the excitement of having someone new to give the grand tour of the base to.

"The boss?" You had to raise your voice slightly to compensate the wind that was beginning to whistle between the walls of the base, the sheer ferocity of the cold bit into your cheeks and ears as you felt them burning in futility to keep you warm. Soap spun to face you, opting to walk backwards for a spell as he addressed the obvious confusion in your voice.

"Damn you've really not been told anythin' about us have you? Eh, probably for the best. Captain Price is who we're off to see, you'll like him. Kinda like our base dad, though don't go tellin' him I told you that."

The Sergeant gave you another playful grin and turned back around to face the correct way. You couldn't help but chuckle, despite how tired you were from the flight you couldn't wait to meet the rest of your new team mates and you wondered silently if they'd be as...quirky, as Soap.

It wouldn't be long until you found out just how quirky your new team was.