Part One: Noise

It was lunch hour and the commissary was abuzz with activity. Air Force men and women crowded the small dining area, lining up by the counter to order their meals or milling around tables talking about everything from their latest mission to the price of petrol.

The four members of SG-1 were seated together at a table in the corner, Carter and Jonas involved deep in discussion while Teal'c observed them and O'Neill concentrated on his food. Distracted by Jonas' enthusiasm, Carter placed her spoon inside her half eaten bowl of jelly and rested her elbows on the edge of the table to listen more intently. Their new alien friend had been watching the discovery channel, again.

'What I'm curious to know, Major Carter, is how these birds are able to navigate a direct course from a location 24,000 miles away to the exact same place they nested in the year before.' Jonas dipped a piece of broccoli into his ice cream and looked at her expectantly before putting the food into his mouth and chewing noisily.

Carter scrunched up her nose and frowned in disgust, pushing her bowl further away. Jonas certainly had a way with food, she thought, appalled and amused at the same time. 'Ornithologists have been studying bird migration for decades, Jonas,' she responded, trying not to watch (or listen) to him eating. 'And they still haven't discovered the answers.'

O'Neill, sitting directly opposite Carter, seemed oblivious to their conversation. He polished off the last square of red jelly from his second serving, shoved the bowl aside and stared eagerly across the table at Carter's discarded dish.

Meanwhile, she continued with her explanation. 'Some of them believe that since most birds are at flight during the night, they use the stars to navigate.'

Jonas paused to contemplate her comment, an ice cream covered broccoli stem suspended in his hand between the plate and his mouth.

'Uh… guys,' O'Neill studied the food in Jonas' hand quizzically and then took the opportunity to interrupt. 'I know this is all important, save the universe kinda stuff, but… are you gonna eat that Carter?' He pointed with his fork towards her leftovers.

The three of them, slightly surprised by the Colonel's interruption, eyed him as if they hadn't even known he was there. Carter was the first to respond, and, unable to maintain a straight face, she gently pushed the bowl towards her CO, a soft smile creeping up her cheeks. 'Go ahead sir,' she replied.

'Thank you,' the Colonel beamed, stabbing his fork into the bowl and looking from Carter to Jonas and back again. 'That's all. Carry on,' he waved his hand for them to continue.

Carter grinned and turned back to Jonas as O'Neill shovelled a blubbery square into his mouth.

Just as the Kelownan was about to fire off another question, the unscheduled off-world activation siren blared throughout the commissary, red lights flashing over the faces of USAF staff as they chowed down. Before any of them could even react to the alarm, an extremely shrill, penetrating scream, like nothing they'd ever heard before, reverberated throughout the room. The four of them covered their ears desperately and grimaced in agony, O'Neill's bowl of jelly shattering into tiny pieces in front of him as the sound got higher and higher and eventually died. All around them, people coiled in pain, glass littering the floor and tables.

Seconds later, Carter turned to the Colonel, who was gently massaging his ears and working his jaw in circles as he glared indignantly at what was left of his dessert.

'Sir?' she managed to say, pain charging up her temples to her skull. But O'Neill was already on his feet and heading, out of kilter, towards the control room, rubbing the side of his forehead with the palm of his hand. Teal'c followed, almost knocking over their table as he charged to his feet and out the door. After quickly assessing the damage around them, Jonas and Carter pursued them, confused and uncertain as to what the hell had just happened.