A/N: To Kalinysta - Thank you for your reviews! Regarding your scientific observation in chapter 9, I gave Mia blue eyes under the assumption that Jack could still carry the recessive gene from, say, his mother, and pass it on, even though he himself displays the dominant brown-eyed gene. That being said, I haven't studied genetics since the 10th grade, so I appologize if this is horribly innaccurate!
To everyone still reading and reviewing: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love hearing your feedback, and I'm so glad people are enjoying the story! Now, without further ado...
The klaxons were blaring obnoxiously throughout the base, startling Mia from her work and sending the General rushing from his office as Walter Harriman's voice announced "Unscheduled off world activation," over the base's loudspeakers.
"We're receiving the Langaran IDC, Sir," added Walter, as General O'Neill made his way into the control room.
"Open the iris," he commanded. Down in the gateroom, the iris unfurled from its position across the event horizon, revealing the shimmering blue of an active wormhole.
"Stargate Command, this is Jonas Quinn responding to your earlier message," said the young scholar's voice as it crackled over the grainy radio frequency.
"Jonas, it's good to hear from you again," replied O'Neill gaily. "Are you up for a little jaunt back to Earth? We have a puzzle for you."
"I'd love to come, General. How soon do you need me?"
"Is now okay?"
A brief silence followed O'Neill's flippant question as Jonas likely consulted with someone else on his end of the wormhole. O'Neill fidgeted where he stood, impatient as always to have a plan of action underway. "That shouldn't be a problem, General," replied Jonas. "My schedule can be cleared for the day."
"Excellent," replied O'Neill, doing a somewhat dubious Mr. Burns impersonation. Again, silence followed, and moments later, Jonas Quinn stepped through the Stargate, grinning from ear to ear as his feet touched the metal platform leading into the rest of the SGC.
"Mia, there's someone here I'd like you to meet," said General O'Neill, interrupting her work once again. She glanced up sharply, mildly annoyed with the General, and then remembered their conversation regarding an alien linguist who might be able to help. Rising to her feet, she held out her hand as Daniel had taught her, saying "You must be Jonas. It's very nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too," replied the dimpled man, grinning widely at her. "Mia, is it?"
"I'll just leave you two to the introductions," said O'Neill awkwardly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other before turning quickly for his office. "You kids play nice," he added over his shoulder, facing them again from his doorway. "I'd hate to have to separate you." Smirking, he shut the door quickly, leaving them to work. Mia rolled her eyes.
"So, what are we working on here?," asked Jonas curiously, studying the notes and files now strewn over the full length of the briefing room table. Mia quickly filled him in on the situation with SG-1 and General O'Neill's hunch that the text found by SG-12 and omitted from the briefing could possibly make the difference between success and failure for the flagship team.
"I've identified the language as belonging to the Furlings," she continued, "but I can't seem to translate this dialect with the information we have on base." Jonas sat down, pouring over her notes with a speed and intensity she had never before seen. As he read, his brow furrowed in puzzlement. He reread her notes, occasionally referencing the images taken by SG-12 on their last mission.
"This is really strange," he said at last, still frowning at the documents spread out before him.
"That's what I thought too," said Mia. "I've never seen a dialect vary so greatly from the original." Jonas nodded thoughtfully, adding, "There could be a time factor involved. The evolution of a language can be fairly drastic at times, especially when you're looking at it over hundreds or even thousands of years."
"Does this help us?," Mia asked hopefully.
"Not really," sighed Jonas, his face suddenly breaking out into his wide, happy grin again. "But that's half the fun." Eyeing him sceptically, Mia sank down into the chair next to him, bracing herself for a very long day of translations.