CHAPTER THIRTEEN – Solfege


Sweet love, renew thy force; be it not said
Thy edge should blunter be than appetite,
Which but to-day by feeding is allay'd,
Tomorrow sharpened in his former might:
So, love, be thou, although to-day thou fill
Thy hungry eyes, even till they wink with fullness,
Tomorrow see again, and do not kill
The spirit of love, with a perpetual dullness.
Let this sad interim like the ocean be
Which parts the shore, where two contracted new
Come daily to the banks, that when they see
Return of love, more blest may be the view;

As call it winter, which being full of care,
Makes summer's welcome, thrice more wished, more rare.

Sonnet 56 by William Shakespeare


The pain of seeing Jonas in Daniel's lab had lessened over the months. Although Sam was sure she'd never be without that little twinge of longing that hit her whenever she stepped into the room, Jonas had somehow found his own small corner in her heart, slowly and steadily easing away the resentment she'd first associated with the sight of him.

In some ways, she actually related better to Jonas, at least professionally. His knowledge of her kind of science had always been stronger than Daniel's, and intense study of Earth advances since his arrival had only made it better. His enthusiasm for learning was infectious.

Her smile, therefore, was genuine and uninhibited when she stepped through the doorway into Jonas's lab and saw him in his common oblivion. She couldn't see what he was working on, but there were several books open in front of him and a bagel on a plate by his elbow. He was idly tapping a pen in his left hand to the beat of something orchestral emanating softly from the speakers behind him. Sam shook her head. Someday she was really going to have to introduce Jonas to Pink Floyd.

"Jonas," she said, causing him to look up.

"Hey, Major," he said with a friendly smile. "How was your trip?"

"Great, thanks," she said. "The kids are getting so big!" Her visit to her brother's had been spontaneous, a decision made only on the second day of leave, but she'd very much enjoyed the five days she'd spent with him and his family. She peered thoughtfully at Jonas, wondering exactly how he spent his time when the rest of the team was off base.

"Sounds great," he said, jumping out of his chair and hurriedly shuffling some of his books around. "I've been working on something while you were gone. I'm really anxious to show you," he proceeded excitedly, beckoning briefly with one hand before resuming the shuffling.

"Actually, I just dropped by to say hi," said Sam. "I've got to check with General Hammond, get up to speed with what's been going on. Stuff like that. I'll swing by later today, okay? Maybe before lunch?"

"Okay, sure, maybe," Jonas said, glancing at his watch. "I guess that'll give us a few more hours to work while you're gone, anyway."

"Us?" Sam repeated, puzzled.

Jonas's only reply was a secret smile and a shrug. "I'll see you later, Major."

"Okay then," Sam said, giving him one more baffled, suspicious glance before she turned out of the lab again.


Amelia glanced at the clock on her wall as she slipped into her Keds. She snatched her security card and a scrunchie from the top of the bureau and dashed out the door into the hallway beyond. Pulling her hair back into the scrunchie, she hastened her footsteps. She couldn't rightly pull her hair up - there were only so many things you could do with a wig - but she could at least get it out of her face.

For the past five days, she and Jonas had worked incessantly on the obelisk project, as they now called it, and Jonas was anxious to present the results of their work to General Hammond and the rest of SG-1. The prospect was a bit daunting to Amelia. She was not, after all, officially sanctioned in any way to be helping. On the other hand, Jonas hadn't bothered to make her involvement a secret.

Hesitation aside, though, the work had been fascinating and enlightening. The music they had discovered gave her thrills - themes and patterns so alien to what she knew, breathtaking in their profound simplicity. She'd transcribed and memorized much of it already, regretful that it would likely be some time before it could be shared with the world.

Her other regret was that, with Jonas's teammates returning, things would now once more resume a semblance of reality. Since that fantastic, mesmerizing, unforgettable first kiss, they had spent nearly every moment possible in one another's company, and she found she wasn't ready to return to reality just yet. On the other hand, she'd been so happy these past few days that she wasn't sure she'd ever really be ready for it to be over, so maybe it was for the best.

General Hammond had been reluctant at first to grant Jonas permission to leave the base, something which Amelia thought was decidedly unfair. Not for nothing, though, was she a politician's daughter. With some subtle but gentle persistence, they'd finally talked him into giving them six hours out on a Wednesday afternoon. Amelia was provided with a car, Jonas with a phone, and they were told to report in every two hours.

They'd gone to the movies, as promised, whereupon Amelia learned that even aliens could pick up on and appreciate the fine art of hands not-so-accidentally brushing one another in the popcorn bag. Then she'd taken him to the park, rented two bicycles, and taught him how to ride - an experience that still brought a rather ridiculous grin to her face. The weather had been impeccable, and when Jonas finally had the hang of the bike, they'd raced long and hard around the winding bike paths, exhilarating in the rush of wind and addicting sunshine, made all the more sweet with the savor of romance.

Despite being confined to the SGC, the rest of their time had been enjoyable, as well. Amelia brought Jonas stacks of her favorite books and read portions of Dickens aloud to him every night, which he enjoyed, though he actually said he preferred Dickenson. A preference for poetry over prose was not something Amelia could relate to, but she had no objections listening to him talk about it. She was fairly certain she could listen to Jonas talk all day about anything - his discoveries, his passions, his interests - and be content with nothing more than the sound of his voice, but he offered so much more than that. Jonas was able to make Amelia open up in ways only Lydia had ever been able to before now - parts of her that she kept locked away, a habit born of a life lived under perpetual scrutiny.

Then there was the way he kissed her - tenderly, carefully, persuasively - in ways that left her stomach dancing and her head spinning for elated hours at a time. He had strong, warm hands and that smile that could disarm her from any line of thought without warning, particularly when it was directed especially at her.

Any thoughts of the future were pushed into the deepest, darkest corners of her mind in a vain hope that maybe if she ignored them, they would go away. She couldn't stay at the SGC forever and Jonas wasn't exactly an established commodity on Earth. She wasn't ready to realize the reality of a match with unequivocal obstacles such as she'd never imagined. Another reason she was dreading today.

Still, she had at least seven more weeks on base. Amelia squared her shoulders as she boarded the elevator, shoving the unpleasant thoughts away once more. She wasn't going to let them ruin her morning. If Jonas wasn't worried about it then she wasn't either.


Sam walked side-by-side with Colonel O'Neill as they stepped off the elevator at level eighteen. They'd left their briefing with Hammond together, and now looked to regroup with one of their wayward teammates. "It was the strangest thing, sir," she said. "I happened to mention lunch and he barely even noticed."

Jack's reaction did not disappoint. "That's a twist," he said. "If it was Daniel, I wouldn't be worried, but...is he feeling okay?"

"I think so, but...something's different about him." She shook her head, mystified.

"When's Teal'c get back?"

"Tonight, sometime. Late. You gonna stick around for that?"

"Yeah, I think I will. I'm all rested up. Anyway, it's not like there's much in the fridge at home right now. You?"

"Sure, I can stay."

They were approaching the doorway to Jonas's lab now, and they could hear voices from within. Voices and laughter. And music. Jack slowed his steps and paused, and an expression of quizzical curiosity came over his features as he listened.

"I think I've got this one," said a voice that was easily identifiable as Jonas's. The strange music played - soft, crystalline sounds in a simple, pretty melody.

"No, try again." At the second voice, Jack's face became even more speculative. "There was a different emphasis at the top of that last part," Amelia Kinsey continued. "Here, give it to me." After a pause, the music came again, this time with more confidence and finesse.

"Now you're just showing off," came Jonas's voice again, laughing.

"It's the only thing I've found that I'm better than you at. I have to enjoy it."

"You play the violin better than me."

"Hah," replied Amelia sarcastically. "Just give it time."

"Do you have the next part?"

"Oh, it's on a disc - over here. Hang on, I'll get it."

Jack had apparently had his share of eavesdropping. He moved forward, Sam following his lead. When they stepped into the doorway, neither Jonas nor Amelia seemed to be aware of their approach. Jonas's back was turned, watching Amelia with his arms crossed as she skirted the edge of the table, heading for the opposite end of the room. As she passed him, Jonas reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her close to him. Then, to Sam's utter astonishment, he kissed her swiftly and softly. Amelia gave a surprised sort of sound at first, but then she smiled and complied, giggling against Jonas's lips before yielding. Jack and Sam could only stare, dumbfounded.

It wasn't necessarily the fact that Jonas had kissed - or rather, was kissing - Amelia that was surprising. It was more the obvious familiarity he had with doing so. What had they been doing all week? Then there was the fact that he was being flirty - a role Sam had certainly never attributed to Jonas, and one that would take more than a little getting used to. She risked a glance at Jack, who was making a comical expression of uncomfortable disgust. He returned Sam's glance and made a 'yikes' face before turning back to the scene before them.

Jack cleared his throat loudly, and the enamored couple jumped slightly, breaking off and turning around to stare at the intruders with surprise. Amelia stepped lightly away from him and the pair turned to face Jack and Sam fully. They both looked amusingly sheepish.

"Colonel," said Jonas, quickly regaining his composure. "Welcome back. Did you have a nice leave?"

"Yes, but apparently not as nice as yours."

While Sam suppressed her urge to laugh - Jack sometimes got his fun in the strangest places - the Colonel turned his gaze to Amelia, laughter in his eyes. "Miss Kinsey," he finally said, "I hate to interrupt, but I need my socio-political nerd back now." He raised his eyebrows meaningfully at the girl. Amelia blushed profusely.

For the first time, Sam recognized the source of the music - the handheld device Jonas had recovered from the ruins on P3X-651. What in the world was Amelia doing with it? "Jonas," said Sam, instinctively knowing something was going on with greater weight than two flirting young people, "what was it you wanted to tell me about?"


General Hammond was not pleased.

"Mr. Quinn, you know better than this! Do I need to remind you of the sensitive nature of your work? You can't just let a civilian have such blatant access to such sensitive details of our work here! There are protocols, clearances—"

Sam hadn't seen Jonas look so uncomfortable since those first few weeks he'd been on base. "I'm sorry, General," the young man began earnestly. "She had clearance, and it wasn't a mission in any way connected with—"

"That's not your call, Jonas," said Jack soberly. Standing beside Sam, he seemed unusually subdued. She could sense his surprise and disappointment.

"Her clearance did not extend to this situation, and I think you probably knew that," General Hammond added.

Jonas sighed and hung his head for a moment, as though collecting his thoughts. "General, Colonel," he began again, looking up between them. "I'm truly sorry. You're right, I should have realized that there were protocols involved. I was just so caught up in the work. General, Amelia's brought us a lot farther on this project than you probably even realize. As soon as we figured out the connection between the colors and the music, it only made sense to enlist her help. It's likely she knows more about music structure and patterns than anyone else on this base, and—"

"Son," said General Hammond, holding up a hand, "I'm not arguing with you. But my point still stands. Jack's right. It was not your decision to make." He sighed, and looked around uncomfortably. "Besides, we still have to take into consideration who she's related to."

Jonas's eyes flashed defensively. "That's ridiculous. Amelia would never—"

"We're done here," said General Hammond, giving Jonas a warning glance. "Please exercise a little more discretion in the future, Mr. Quinn. As for your discoveries, I don't deny they will be useful. I may even consider allowing Miss Kinsey to further participate in the project, but first I want to review your work more myself and make an informed decision. Until such time, she's to have nothing more to do with this. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

Looking sadder than a lost puppy, Jonas turned and departed without a word.

Jack and Sam exchanged uncomfortable glances, and after giving Jonas an adequate head start, followed in the direction he'd gone.

"This wouldn't have happened if we'd been here," Jack said.

"I know, sir. But you know how excited he gets. He probably didn't stop to consider. And his obvious attraction to Amelia probably didn't help, either."

"Hah. Yeah. Something's up with Jonas, eh?" Jack asked, with a somewhat lighter tone.

Sam smiled slightly. "Right," she said, then added, "you didn't really have to embarrass them like that, sir."

"Of course I did," he said defensively. "They embarrassed me first." He sighed. "Well, unless liplock means something totally different back on ol' Kelowna, I'd say we've officially moved from speculation to...dammit," he concluded with a scowl.

Sam chuckled softly. "I think it's sweet," she defended bravely.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "You mean besides the whole going against protocol bit?" He held up an indignant finger as they approached the elevator once more. "No, Carter. Not sweet. Annoyingly saccharine, maybe, but...this is bad."

"Because of Kinsey?"

"Yes, because of Kinsey." He swiped his card into the reader vehemently.

"Frankly, sir...don't you think that's their problem?"

Jack made a face but did not reply. Instead, as they boarded the elevator, he said, "I just hope he didn't sleep with her."

"Colonel!" Sam exclaimed, half incredulous, half laughing.

"Well!" he said defensively. "You don't know what they've been up to."

"It's none of your business."

"Jonas is a member of my team. If his life is in danger from ratty, vengeful Senators it certainly is my business."

By this time Sam was aware that Jack's whining was mostly just theatrical and no doubt intended for her benefit. The truth was, once she got past the embarrassed feelings of intrusion, the memory of the enjoyment on the two younger peoples' faces was leaving her feeling a little bit wistful and envious. The fact that she'd witnessed it with Jack, of all people, certainly didn't help matters.

"Kinsey is in Washington D.C.," she said encouragingly as the doors slid closed before them and the elevator began descending. "Far away, and what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"Let's just hope it stays that way."


It felt wrong, Jonas thought, giving the briefing without Amelia. Although he understood General Hammond's disappointment, and even his point of view, but it didn't change the fact that this work was as much hers as it was Jonas's. Nevertheless, it needed doing, and he was the one to do it, with a little help from Sam.

Jonas's arms were laden with folders, which he immediately began distributing amongst the assembled personnel - consisting of SG-1, SG-8, and a few other scientists and geologists. General Hammond entered the briefing room from his office, shutting the door behind him. Major Carter likewise shut the door to the hallway.

"SG-1 and SG-8," General Hammond greeted as he sat down. "Thank you for coming. Jonas Quinn and Major Carter have come up with some interesting theories concerning the artifacts of PX3-651. Mr. Quinn?" he said, nodding at Jonas.

"Thank you, General." Major Carter inserted a disc into a nearby computer and turned on a display screen at the far end of the room with a remote control. The image that popped up was of the Ancient headset that had become so familiar to Jonas of late, followed by another of the hand device. "These devices," she said, "were recovered by Jonas and SG-8 a few days after the initial survey of PX3-651, their second visit to the planet. They were brought back to the SGC for study."

Major Carter pushed a button again, and the screen changed. "As far as we were able to tell, the headgear device did nothing more than produce streams of holographic images visible to the wearer. These are graphical depictions of the sequences." The screen now showed several smaller windows, each showing the flowing patterns of shifting color that Jonas could almost now subconsciously set to music on his own. Major Carter pushed another button and more variations appeared. "To date, Jonas has managed to catalogue over three-hundred distinct sequences," she said. Then she handed the remote to Jonas.

He accepted it and proceeded to the next slide. "We knew fairly early on that these devices were somehow connected, their purpose to gain access to the Ancient power crystal manufacturing sites, as described in the holocube that also came with the devices," he said.

"With a little bit of outside help, we figured out that the spectral colors in the graphic displays were representative of musical sequences, and the handheld device is used to create the necessary musical tone. The 'passcode' the obelisk is asking for is musical," Jonas concluded.

"How can you be certain?" Teal'c asked.

"Well, we can't be. Not for certain. Not until we test our theories, but it makes sense."

"Taken in context of everything we've found on the planet," Sam said, "it actually makes a lot of sense. I read through Jonas's notes on the device. There are certain observations that support his theory. For example, in the complete body of variations, they have only identified twelve distinct hues of color that are ever used."

"Why is that significant?" General Hammond asked.

"Because there are exactly twelve pitches in a chromatic scale before it begins again, Jonas said. "If each color represents a particular pitch—" he trailed off meaningfully.

"It's even more straightforward than that," Major Carter said. "I believe the wavelength of each color is directly correspondent to the wavelength of the pitch it represents. The color red has the lowest frequency in the visible light spectrum. Likewise, the pitch we call C natural has the lowest frequency musically."

"When white light is split, it forms a band of seven colors," Jonas continued. "Likewise, there are seven pitches in a major scale, and if Major Carter is correct, they would line up something like..." He paused the flowing images on the screen and pointed with his hand at the rainbow color in order. "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti."

"...a deer, a female deer," Colonel O'Neill muttered as he doodled something on his notepad. There was a pause as everyone turned to look at him, and he looked up.

"What? It's a good song."

Jonas didn't get the chance to ask what the Colonel was talking about, as Doctor Weythe chose that moment to speak up. "I think you're right," he said from further down the table. "We've found several other artifacts that were suspected of being instruments of some kind, including two more of those handheld devices."

Jonas was nodding again. "It might be that these Ancients, whatever their history, had made music an integral part of their culture and society, in ways more than just recreational."

"So it's a musical lock, like in the Willy Wonka movie?" Colonel O'Neill asked, leaning forward skeptically.

"We believe so, sir, yes. None of our other ideas have even come close to activating the obelisk's function. Assuming it's still capable of working, that is."

"Okay, for the sake of argument, let's say you're one-hundred percent right about this," Colonel O'Neill continued. "How the heck are we supposed to know what 'code' to use?" He made quotation marks with his fingers as he spoke.

"Once I understood the pattern of the musical notation system," Jonas said, "I was able to understand parts of the holocube's information that didn't make sense before. When the obelisk prompts for a passcode, it plays a stream of graphics similar to those you see with the headphones, except in the case of the obelisk, the pattern is totally random. The holocube indicates the handheld device is to be used to open the door, using specific types of harmonies in conjunction with the notes the obelisk projects. It's just a matter of knowing how to read the music, sir."

"And do you know how to do that, Jonas?" Colonel O'Neill asked, raising his eyebrows in speculation.

"I do, Colonel. With a little more study, I'll be even better."

"Then study as hard as you can," said General Hammond, rising to his feet. "As soon as you're confident enough, I want to try and get this thing open. I'm sure you'll all agree that we can benefit greatly from an increased knowledge of crystal technology. Dismissed."

With a swift glance at his teammates, Jonas quickly took the opportunity to follow General Hammond to his office. "General?"

"Yes, Jonas?"

He could sense the rest of SG-1 lingering in the doorway, though he didn't meet their eyes. "It was Miss Kinsey who helped me learn so much about music, General. She knows as much about this technology as I do. If you let her continue helping me, this will go a lot faster."

Jonas could see that this issue was still a sore spot for the General, but he also knew that his argument held weight. There was a moment of tense silence as SG-1 stared at the contemplating General. Jonas held his breath.

At last, Hammond nodded slowly, albeit with some reluctance. "Very well. But her role in this is only to instruct. I want no information divulged to her about the goals of this mission, or anything beyond her place as a technical advisor. You may go now, Jonas."

"Thank you, General." Feeling very satisfied, Jonas grinned happily at his teammates and went to find Amelia.


A/N: I was very happy with the team tension that came out of this chapter. I thought the fact should be addressed that in a situation such as this, random civilians wouldn't just be allowed to get involved in top secret projects on a whim.

Dear nice person who asked me about the nomination… mullute? I'm so sorry, I deleted your messages not realizing that they were PMs and not replies that I could find later online. Thank you very much for your very nice words, and don't worry about the nomination. It doesn't qualify till the whole story is posted, anyway, so I have to focus on that first.

Another update in a couple hours…

Saché