Hey everyone. Thanks so much for reviewing! I'm so grateful for your support! Here's part 2, and please be sure to send me any constructive criticism that you have to offer! It is GREATLY appreciated!
Snow: II
"Here," Jonas Quinn handed Dr. Jackson the piece of paper he'd been working on.
Daniel raised his eyebrows briefly, taking the paper from the alien's hand. He quickly scanned the words written there. "…This is in English."
Jonas gave a half shrug. "I don't know how to write in the other language. I only know the words to that song."
Without responding, Daniel spun in his chair to face his computer and brought up a digital photo of the tablet from which he believed the song, or whatever it was, to be written. "Could you say it again for me, please?"
Jonas sat back down and stifled a sigh. This had been going on for an hour now and he had the disheartening feeling that they weren't making much progress. He cooperated anyway. "Ig haleth ek dios, ig haleth yen numios. Fyè yekth humien faltiriros shièn mylaketh ek sienier yon faronth nough …"
Daniel turned around to look at his new teammate upon hearing the flatness of the other man's voice. Jonas raised his eyebrows and hands in a sign of mock surrender. "If you expect me to sing it every time then-"
"No, no, no, no, no," the archaeologist spoke quickly. "It's just that… well… when you said it there it sounded sad."
Jonas thought for a moment. "I guess it is kind of sad."
"Why?"
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, it's a beautiful poem, or song, but-"
"I guess it's just sad for me, then."
Daniel closed his eyes in obvious self-hate for a moment and gave a pained smile. "Of course. You must miss your family very much."
Jonas got up then and began fingering a small statue in an unconscious attempt to shrug off the question's poignancy. "No more than anyone else."
Daniel smiled compassionately. "Sometimes I miss Sha'uri so much that I just don't know how I can go on. Yet somehow I always manage to."
"We all must learn to live with our grief and our fears in our own way." He still was not making eye contact and spoke the words as if they were a chant he'd been practicing.
Daniel looked down and away. "Yah, well, sometimes I think that the greatest way to honor the dead is to go on in life. But sometimes that is the hardest part."
He heard a small laugh from Jonas, who now set the small statue back in its place.
"Why don't you go get some rest. I've got enough to work with for several… hundred hours."
"Are you sure?"
"You know how Jack gets when we're late for debriefings. You don't want to oversleep."
The younger man gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks Dr. Jackson. I'll see you in the morning."
Daniel smiled in return, then turned back to his console. He glanced at the on-screen clock. 2:30 am. Jeez. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. Maybe he should get some sleep as well. The debriefing was at 0700.
~*~
Two weeks later.
~*~
"I do not believe I am familiar with any such custom, O'Neill."
"Sure you are. I thought you helped me do it last year."
"I did no such thing. However, at the time you appeared to be strongly under the influence of a mind-altering liquid."
"Then who was it that helped me spike the punch?"
"Colonel!"
The gracefully graying man jumped and the Jaffa serenely turned to meet Major Samantha Carter.
"Major, what can I do you for?"
Sam merely blinked her light blue eyes in surprise at his slip.
"…For you. What can I do for you…" he winced slightly in embarrassment.
Teal'C merely observed the situation playing out before him, a slight smile on his face.
"Daniel's made a discovery and wants all of us to meet him in the debriefing room in half an hour."
Jack raised his eyebrows, apparently fully recovered from his earlier embarrassment, or at least attempting to appear to be. "Discovery?"
Sam smiled. "Something about cracking the language."
Jack's eyebrows remained up in a questioning expression.
"I believe the language Major Carter is referring to is that which Jonas Quinn apparently has the ability to speak."
"Ah. Right. That language."
Sam smiled again. "See you there, Sir."
"Of course."
Teal'C inclined his head as the Major parted from them.
Jack offered Teal'C a happy expression. "Well, I'm off to find out who it was that spiked the punch with me last year." And Teal'C was left alone to contemplate the bizarre nature of his earthling friends.
"Now, obviously what we're looking at is a digital photograph of the tablet upon which the song you hold before you is written. The copy you have being an English translation, of course."
The four members of SG-1, General Hammond and Dr. Janet Fraiser all opened their folders or shuffled through the handouts to find the translation in question.
"Now, obviously if you look at the translation it's several verses were apparently added in later."
"How can you be sure?" General Hammond flipped through the translation before him.
"Well, unless the Ancients wrote about cattle and sleighs I think it's fair to assume… anyway, from further study I was able to deduce that in fact only the first verse was directly translated into the language found in the cave. The other verses were apparently added later for aesthetic value or perhaps by mimicking the poet. But the first verse is translatable, meaning that whatever this song is comes directly from a form of the language of the Ancients, meaning that Kelowna must have had contact with them at some point in recent history."
"Maybe they needed Naquadria," Sam offered, glancing up from her report.
"Yeah, maybe… or maybe something else," Daniel shifted his glance to the youngest alien of the group who was looking through his report, blissfully unaware that everyone's attention was suddenly focused on him.
By the time he noticed the silence of the room, he looked up in perfect imitation of a deer caught in the headlights. "What?" He smiled uneasily.
Daniel closed his eyes momentarily, thinking. "Jonas, do you know of any of your planet's contact with the Ancients?"
The young man thought for a moment. "…Well, they built the Stargate…"
"When you uncovered the Stargate, were there any other artifacts, or inscriptions that would suggest the presence of an alien culture?"
"… Not that I know of. I also wasn't on the Stargate program then, so if there were I wouldn't know about it. However I'm sure I would have been informed of anything of significance regarding cultural influences-"
"Jonas…. How did your mother learn that song?" Daniel leaned against the briefing table from his position in the front of the room.
Jonas blinked. "…From… her mother," the Kelownan shrugged, not really understanding where Daniel was taking this.
"Exactly. So this song was passed down from generation to generation from the time of the Ancients."
Jonas slightly furrowed his brow and leaned back in his chair.
"Is that possible?" the General looked from Jonas to Daniel.
"Theoretically, yes. Oral cultures pass tradition down from generation to generation. The only reason we have the Odyssey is because it was part of the Greek cultural paidea even before the invention of writing. Now, it's possible that the Ancients had contact with Kelowna and some of their oral traditions have survived. We need to contact their planet and investigate this further-"
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Daniel, think of who you're talking about," Jack leaned forward slightly, raising his eyebrows, knowing that he didn't need to spell out the problems that Earth had had with Kelowna. He of all should know them best.
"Colonel O'Neill is right. The Kelownans may very well be in a full-scale world war. That along with our recent history with the people should be enough to dissuade any further contact," the General paused, not missing Daniel's heartbroken expression. Jonas wished he could disappear. He felt as though he had a big flashing red sign on his forehead that read 'Kelownan! Kelownan!' "However, in the present state of things I believe that what you're on to is more important, Dr. Jackson. Permission to send a probe through granted. Dismissed." With that the General rose and left the room and its occupants to their respective destinies.
