InsaneJournal

SG-1 FIC: Meeting of the Minds
Title: Meeting of the Minds
Rating: G
Warning: N/A
Summary: Jonas and Nyan find they have lots in common.
Author's Notes: Written for the SG-1 Friendship Alphabet Soup Antholgy sponsored by sg_fignewton, who also beta read this fic and made some very excellent suggestions.


Meeting of the Minds

As far as Jonas Quinn was concerned, differences made life interesting. Finding and discovering new concepts of life always gave him a distinct thrill. But now, after being on Earth for only a few days, the different life forms had him confused and lost for what seemed to be the first time in his life.

He had always felt confident in his knowledge of all things, living and dead, but now he faltered under the strangeness of the things his new neighbors took for granted. It was an experience he didn’t like very much. It made him feel lost and alone, feelings that were compounded by the fact that he was no longer welcomed on his own planet, an outcast from old friends and allies.

He was determined to get past all that, though. He hoped to become more involved in SG-1, provided he could earn the trust of Colonel O’Neill. And he had an entire library of this world’s inhabitants at his fingertips. It was called the Internet, and Jonas took advantage of this tool the moment he was given access. Between that and the fascinating information he found in Daniel Jackson’s office, Jonas couldn’t help but believe he would eventually be confident in whatever conversation he found himself in.

Having that knowledge would also be a boost in showing O’Neil he was qualified to be on his team.

He stared at the screen, watching the animals in the video graze in a green plateau of grass. There were a few trees in the background, but Jonas was mainly interested in the animals, trying to find a correlation to the species he was used to back on his planet. The body shape reminded him of the horses he had studied the day before, except these animals were white with black stripes. Zebras, the description stated. He watched them, thinking that if he had to come right out and compare it to anything, he’d have to say the animals closely resembled the...

“They’re called zebras,” a voice said from behind him. Jonas jerked with a start, then whirled around. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as he stared at the stranger in the doorway.

“Zebras,” Jonas said, trying his best to calm down.

“Yes.” The man gave a small smile. “Sorry to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” Jonas said with a slight shake of his head. “I guess I was too involved in what I was watching.”

The newcomer nodded, then stuck out his hand. “I’m Nyan,” he said. “You must be Jonas.”

“I am,” Jonas said as he shook the man’s hand. It was a customary greeting he had learned over the past few days, and it felt good to respond automatically. Just one more accomplishment, he thought happily. “I was just…” he waved at the computer screen, then grinned apologetically. “I’m interested in learning everything I can about the inhabitants of this planet.”

“No need to worry,” Nyan said as he walked over to the desk. “I did the same thing when I first came here.” He picked up an object as he added, “Although my interest was geared more toward the people and their cultures.”

That took Jonas by surprise, although it stood to reason now that he thought about it. Teal'c was from another planet, there had to be more. “You’re not from this planet?”

Nyan chuckled at that, then said, “No. I’m an archaeologist from Bedrosia. I came here several years ago and haven’t had a chance to go back.” His expression turned wistful when he said that, but he seemed to catch himself. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to go back to show them all our true origins.” He looked down at the object he was holding. “If I can just prove to the Bedrosians that the Optricans were right…” He stopped and shrugged as he turned his attention back to Jonas. “In the meantime, I’m still doing some research to find out where we actually came from.”

“Any ideas?” Jonas asked, his thoughts now on the possibilities that Nyan’s people may have actually come from Earth.

“Some.” Nyan’s eyes lit up as he went on, “I’ve found some familiar cultural traits among the Eastern European societies and even a few comparative tendencies here in North America.” Jonas’ confusion must have been obvious, because Nyan added, “This planet is divided up by continents.” Jonas nodded and vowed to himself that he would give up zoological studies for now and go back to studying Earth’s geological aspects. It would be easier to understand the differences amongst the cultures if he understood more where the various societies lived.

“I’ve also found similar traits in the American military that are very intriguing,” Nyan said. He gave a faint smile. “Having to live on a military base does have its merits in terms of research."

Jonas nodded. He couldn’t argue with that since he had personally taken advantage of every opportunity he could to talk to the soldiers, scientists, and technicians that worked in the facility. And now he had met someone who had the unique knowledge of a whole different planet. Here was an opportunity that was too good to miss.

“What kinds of similarities?” he asked as he waved at the chair on the opposite side of the desk to indicate Nyan should sit down.

“Military ranks, for example,” Nyan told him. “The leader of the troops from Bedrosia who nearly killed me was a Colonel. So are the leaders of the SG teams.” His smile grew wide even as his expression turned thoughtful. “You know, I was heading off to lunch. Care to join me? We can talk about this in more detail.”

“Of course.” Jonas fairly leaped out of his seat at that. The thought of talking to another scientist had his heart thumping. Even better was the fact that this one had lived all his life on another planet. He wouldn’t pass this opportunity up for anything. Well, that and the fact that there were still plenty of food items he hadn’t tried yet. Still, he was anxious to find out everything he could, so he followed Nyan down the hallway, asking more questions and soaking up the answers.

They had spent the rest of the afternoon comparing traditions, rituals, and cultural traits of all three planets: Earth, Bedrosia, and Kelowna. They went to Nyan’s office after lunch, but ended up in Daniel Jackson’s old office once it became apparent that Daniel’s journals and books covered a lot more of the information they were interested in. It wasn’t until later that Jonas realized that he and Nyan had more in common than the fact that they were both interested in various cultures and from other planets. He understood the thirst for knowledge when Nyan asked question after question about life on Kelowna. They had a mutual need to learn everything they could and this made things easier for Jonas. He had thought he was going to have to learn everything on his own, but now he had a friend to go to – someone who would understand the frustrations of not knowing something every school child should know.

Having a friend was a good start, Jonas thought as he walked toward his quarters later that evening. At least now he had an ally to help him combat the feeling of being different. Now if he could only convince Colonel O’Neill that he...

Jonas stopped abruptly. Up until that point, in his excitement over his new friend, he had completely forgotten all about his quest to join SG-1. He smiled slightly at that and continued walking. He was still determined to succeed, and with the added ammunition in terms of all the knowledge he was gaining of the different cultures throughout the galaxy, he figured he had a much better chance of getting what he wanted.

Life suddenly seemed brighter, he thought with a grin. He just might like his stay here on Earth after all.