SG-1 returned through the wormhole, Jack laughing and slapping Daniel on the shoulder, Daniel who was thoughtfully tossing a couple of hundred pounds weight of naquadah from hand to hand. Sam appeared to be giving a most put out Teal'c a piggyback.
"SG-1." Hammond said, walking up the ramp. "I presume the mission was a success."
"Just peachy, Sir." Jack said jovially. "The Jaffa didn't know what hit 'em, the ship is history and we managed to relieve them of a large amount of naquadah into the bargain."
"Enough to power roughly three hundred naquadah generators, sir." Sam butted in.
"I believe you may put me down now, Major Carter." Teal'c commented from his perch, the normally robust Jaffa was looking a trifle green.
"Sure thing Teal'c, I went and forgot you were up there, you weigh no more than a rag doll these days." Sam replied, putting Teal'c down carefully, as if he might break. "Well we couldn't exactly wait for you could we?"
"Next time I believe I shall catch you up, Major Carter." Teal'c replied, clinging onto the railing.
"And the armbands did not come off?" Asked Anise timidly.
"N-o." Said Daniel. "Should they of?"
"Anise has something to tell you." Said Janet, coming up behind the Tok'ra as if to stop her running away. Anise visibly flinched.
"I may not have been completely open with you about the Atineek's extinction." She confessed. "The Atineek warriors' bodies eventually devised an immunity to the organism that the armbands use to increase the wearers physical attributes."
"So these babies are gonna' stop working and fall off?" Jack asked; looking like the world was about to end. "Damn sneaky snakeheads." He burst out. "No offence Carter, your dad, like a brother to me, but these damn Tok'ra always leave out the bad news when they share their little toys or schemes."
"Actually Colonel." Anise said, ignoring his outburst. "According to my calculations they should have fallen off shortly before you finished your mission." She pulled out her Tok'ra computer and pressed a few buttons, her face was a mask of surprise when she looked up. "Apparently there is no trace of the virus in their systems, most strange."
"You mean we get to keep them?" Piped up Daniel, carelessly tossing a block of naquadah over his shoulder where Sam fielded it before it could severely inconvenience Teal'c.
"It would appear that either Tauri physiology is significantly different to Atineek to the point that the armband technology is perfected, or my theories on the extinction of the Atineek's are drastically wrong. With a little more experimentation and study I'm sure I could…"
"Oh I think they've had quite enough lab rat experience." Hammond quickly said, before Janet had a chance to do the deed her eyes were already trying to do to the back of Anise' head. "Although I'm sure they'll welcome it if it means they won't have to attend their impending court marshal!"
"Yeah about that, general." Jack said, taking off his hat and holding it in front of him like a man at a funeral. "I'm really, really sorry about that, sir."
"Yeah, me too." Said Sam.
"Yeah, me, er, three." Added Daniel, even though he technically couldn't be court marshalled. There was a pause as all three looked at Teal'c who remained silent through the apologies.
"I have no need to apologise." He said, walking down the ramp to the awaiting SFs who took his staff and other accoutrements.
"Teal'c was actually following orders, and about the court marshals." Hammond said. "Given the success of the mission I think we can waive them under "diminished responsibility", dismissed." 'They should put a tick box on the form for "under the influence of alien technology.' He mused to himself as SG-1 filed down the ramp after Teal'c to their routine post-op check up in silence. The silence was only broken by an SF's screams as a backpack full of naquadah was dropped on his foot.
"Oh and Doctor." Hammond called after Janet, who was ministering to the SF's foot. "Make sure to use the really BIG needles." He said, just loudly enough for the retreating SG-1 to hear.