Chapter 5
The four officers boarded the second elevator that would take them to Level 28. Since their departure from the airport, Harm and Mac had been stunned into total silence. As the careers of both Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were laid out in front of them, the two JAG officers had to suppress the growing feelings of unease.
Considering Major Carter alone did not set off any alarms. A theoretical astrophysicist doing research into Deep Space Radar Telemetry did not present any cause for concern. In fact, it seemed like a believable, albeit extraordinary career for a theoretical astrophysicist. Unfortunately, the description of Colonel O'Neill's career had raised the red flags that were now occupying the minds of Harmon Rabb and Sarah MacKenzie. An Air Force Colonel who spent most of his life running Black Op missions didn't seem to match up well with an astrophysicist that graduated top of her class at the Air Force Academy. Unfortunately, Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were still being vague in their responses to the specific work they were doing now.
As the elevator opened up to Level 28, Commander Rabb decided to broach the silence. So, Colonel O'Neill, what would the Air Force need with a member of Special Forces deep inside a mountain?"
Making his way down the halls of the underground complex, Colonel O'Neill let out a soft chuckle before turning his attention back to Rabb. "Commander, sometimes I ask myself the same question."
Major Carter quickly chimed in, "Actually Commander Rabb, Colonel O'Neill's 'usefulness' will become apparent very shortly." She shot a mischievous smile at the Colonel, one that he returned when he caught the tone in her voice. Major Carter then turned her attention to the fourth member of their group. "So Colonel MacKenzie, you have been awfully quiet since we left the base. How do you feel about all of this so far?"
Mac returned her gaze with a nervous smile, "I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, Major. Or the gauntlet."
Carter returned the smile, "Colonel MacKenzie, you have no idea."
Mac turned to Harm as he returned her surprised expression. Before anyone else could make a comment, Colonel O'Neill led them into another room with numerous amounts of computers and electronic equipment. To their right was a glass panel, however the blast doors were down barring their view of what was on the other side.
Harm took in the surroundings with awe. "So Colonel, what is this room," he said as he swept his hand around pointing at his surroundings.
The Colonel turned to face the Commander. "Actually Commander Rabb, I am going to turn the floor over to Major Carter when it comes to explaining this room. That will come later though as we first need to check in with the General. If you and Colonel MacKenzie will follow me, I will introduce you."
The four officers continued their quest up the stairs and through a conference room before coming to a stop outside of the General's office. After a quick knock on the door and a booming "Enter" from inside, Colonel O'Neill led their guests into the office.
Out of respect for the two star in their presence both Harm and Mac came to attention. "Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie and Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. reporting as ordered Sir."
"At ease," replied the General. "My name is General George Hammond and I am the commanding officer of this facility. I would like to welcome you and hope your stay with us is a pleasant one."
Mac gave the General a curious look. "I'm sorry sir, am I to understand that you are the commanding officer of NORAD?"
The General briefly glanced at Colonel O'Neill with a smile before turning his attention back to Colonel MacKenzie. "I apologize Colonel, I was under the impression that Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were going to brief you about what we do here."
Colonel O'Neill quickly interjected, "Well General, we were going to tell them, but we thought it would be so much more fun just showing them."
"Very well," replied the General, "then I guess that leaves me to welcome you." The General picked up his phone and pressed the call button for the control room. "Sergeant, please open the blast shield to the embarkation chamber." After hanging up the phone, the General moved to the door and motioned for the JAG officers to enter the conference room. After all five officers were assembled in the conference room the General led them to the large window overlooking the gate room. As Harm and Mac stared through the window at the large, circular ring occupying the room below the General continued, "Colonel MacKenzie, Commander Rabb.welcome to Stargate Command."
Everyone in the room fell silent as the JAG officers took in the sight below. Finally Colonel MacKenzie broke from her reverie and turned to the General. "Excuse me General, but is this. object the Stargate?"
The General gave her a nod. "Yes it is Colonel MacKenzie."
Mac thought for a moment and then continued with her questioning, "Okay, I guess my next question is, what does the Stargate do?"
"Actually Colonel, I am going to let Major Carter explain that to you," the General quipped. The General turned to Major Carter and signaled for her to continue with the presentation.
"Thank you General," Major Carter stated. She turned to the two guests and continued with the explanation. "To put it simply Colonel, Commander.the Stargate is a device that creates a stable wormhole between Earth and another planet somewhere within the galaxy. That planet, of course, must also have a stargate. Once the wormhole is established, a team then steps through the Stargate and emerges on the other planet several seconds later."
The silence that followed was the most deafening sound in the world. Finally, Harm stepped forward to continue the questioning. "So you have actually traveled to another planet?"
Colonel O'Neill jumped into the conversation, "Actually, we have been to hundreds of planets."
Mac responded to his statement, "So.have you found any other life on these planets?"
"Actually," responded Carter, "there has been life on almost all of the planets we have visited. In fact, most of the life we have encountered are descendants of ancient Earth that were transplanted to these other planets."
"Transplanted by whom?" Harm asked.
Colonel O'Neill interrupted quickly before Carter could respond, "Actually, that is a question best left for Dr. Jackson. Why don't we all have a seat around the conference table and I will call the remaining members of our team." As everyone took a seat around the table, Colonel O'Neill called down to the control room. "Hello Sergeant, could you please page Dr. Jackson and Teal'c to the conference room. Thank you."
As they sat waiting for the other two members to arrive, Harm's curiosity got the better of him and he turned his attention to the Major. "While we are waiting I was wondering if I could ask you a few more questions regarding the Stargate technology itself, Major Carter." At her nod, he continued. "Specifically how does the Stargate work."
Major Carter smiled at the naval officer's apparent interest. "Well, that can be answered in two ways; through physics and through actual mechanics. The specific scientific explanation is that the Stargate is a giant superconductor that generates enough energy to create a wormhole outside of our known dimensions of space and time. Because this energy needs to flow from a sort of positive to negative terminal, the wormhole connects to another stargate to complete its dispersion of energy. Once the wormhole has stabilized, matter can then safely pass through the wormhole and exit on the other end. Mechanically, which is probably the more straightforward way to describe the stargate, we enter a series on seven symbols into the dialing computer to establish a link to a specific stargate somewhere else in the galaxy. Each gate has a specific set of six symbols while the seventh symbol entered is the."
"Point or origin, or departure," Harm quickly chimed in.
Everyone around the table turned and stared at the Commander. "What?"
"How did you know that Harm?" Asked Colonel MacKenzie.
"It is basic mapping technique for a pilot. If you do not have GPS coordinates to fly to then you have to use points of interest on the ground as your guideposts. When you are try to draw that on a map before your flight you must choose several points that will intersect each other at the destination with one extra point being your point of origin. Otherwise, it is impossible to create a flight plan if you do not designate the starting point."
Everyone sat in stunned silence as they took in everything that Commander Rabb had said. Finally Colonel O'Neill spoke up and said, "I guess I had never really thought of that Commander Rabb. I mean, when we first tried to activate the gate we really had no idea what its purpose was so no one ever put two and two together when it comes to mapping points. Of course, now it makes sense."
As Colonel O'Neill and Commander Rabb continued their discussion, pilot to pilot, Major Carter handed out a packet of pictures with the Stargate symbols on them. As Harm opened his packet and began to scan the pictures, he noticed something very interesting. "Are these the symbols on the gate that are used to coordinate the destinations?"
Major Carter answered, "Yes they are."
"These look like representations of constellations. Is that what is used as the six intersecting points for the destination?"
Again, Major Carter was taken aback by the Commander's ability to figure out almost what took them two years to discover. "Again Commander, yes they are." After a brief pause Major Carter's curiosity got the best of her. "Commander, if you don't mind me asking sir, how the hell did you know that just now?"
Rabb met all of the stares now pointed at him. "I don't know. I just looked at the symbols and recognized several that appeared to be constellations in the night sky. From that I extrapolated that if these symbols are on the Stargate then they must have something to do with the coordinating system of the gate network. Why, was I not suppose to know that?"
"Are you sure you don't have a science degree under you hat there Commander?" Asked Jack pointedly.
Rabb chuckled and said, "No, I don't think so. If you don't mind, I just have one more two-part question for you Major."
"Go ahead"
"First, do you know how old the Stargate network is?"
"We estimate the Stargates were built by an alien race as far back as 50 million years ago."
The Commander contemplated her response and then responded, "Okay, if that is the case, then how is it that the Stargate system is still working today?"
The Major frowned and said, "I am not sure what you mean Commander."
"Well, if I understand the basic rules of physics, the universe has been expanding since the Big Bang. Therefore, objects within the universe have been drifting apart from each other for 4.5 billion years. Now if the Stargate network was built 50 million years ago wouldn't the coordinates used back then to travel from stargate to stargate be invalid considering the stellar drift of all of the objects in space? In other words, nothing would be lined up like it originally was. How do you compensate for this?"
General Hammond decided it was time for him to get his two cents worth in right now. "Commander Rabb, make I ask how you are a lawyer and still seem to have a pretty extensive knowledge of astrophysics?"
Harm smiled back at the General. "Would you believe me if I said I watch a lot of The Science Channel?"
"Considering you don't even have a TV Harm, I would seriously doubt that." Said Mac, who had been silent through this entire exchange.
Before anyone else could respond to Mac's observation, Dr. Jackson and Teal'c made their appearance in the conference room. "Jack, you wanted to see us?" stated Daniel.
"Yes Daniel, I would like to introduce you to a couple of guests we have with us today. This is Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie USMC and Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. U.S. Navy. They are the JAG officers that have been sent in from Washington D.C. to investigate the incident with Major Wilkins. And apparently, Commander Rabb is also bucking for Sam's job."
At the Colonel's comment, both Harm and Sam blushed noticeably while the rest of the group around the table laughed at the scene playing out.
It is nice to meet you Colonel MacKenzie, Commander Rabb. My name is Dr. Daniel Jackson and I am the head of the archaeological department here at Stargate Command and as well as the archaeological officer on SG-1."
Mac sat up at Daniel's statement. "SG-1?"
Colonel O'Neill clarified for Mac, "That is the designation given to our team. Our team consists of myself, Major Carter, Dr. Jackson, and Teal'c here," the Colonel said pointing in Teal'c' direction.
Mac turned her attention to the one person who had not spoken yet and addressed him directly. "It is nice to meet you Teal'c. What is your job or area of expertise for SG-1?"
Teal'c bowed his head slightly and responded to the Colonel's question. "I was once the former First Prime of the false god Apophis and am now a member of SG-1. I provide my knowledge of the Goa'uld to the Tau'ri and also advise on the military strengths and tactics of the Jaffa that serve the false gods."
Mac's brow wrinkled up in a confused manner. "Okay, I think I got lost somewhere around 'First Prime.' I take it from your response, you are not from Earth?"
"Your assumption would be correct Lt. Colonel MacKenzie. I am a Jaffa from the planet Chulak. I came here to Earth seven years ago to join the Tau'ri in the fight against the Goa'uld."
"What exactly is a First Prime, Teal'c?"
"The First Prime of any Goa'uld is the highest ranking Jaffa in service to their god. I was once the leader of all of the armies of Apophis."
Harm set up and responded to Teal'c' statement. "Wow, that is quite the accomplishment for someone as young as yourself. You must have been an exceptional warrior to rise to power so quickly."
"My rise to First Prime was actually a long and challenging battle that took nearly eighty five years. It took me that amount of time to prove myself to Apophis for him to choose me as his First Prime."
Harm responded with a confused look, "I'm sorry, did you say 85 years?" Upon Teal'c' nod Commander Rabb came right back with another question, "If you don't mind me asking Teal'c, exactly how old are you?"
"I am 104 years old."
"104? How is it that you appear to be so young?"
"My symbiote keeps mean healthy so that I may live for many years. Many Jaffa have been known to live for as many as 200 years."
Now it was time for a confused Colonel MacKenzie to jump in here. "Excuse me for just a second. I think we are all getting wrapped up in a story that neither myself nor Commander Rabb know enough of the back story for. Things such as Goa'uld, Jaffa, symbiotes. Maybe it would be good if Dr. Jackson put this all into to context for us?"
"Of course Colonel MacKenzie," Daniel quickly interjected. "I suppose it is time for a more detailed background of the alien cultures we have encountered."
"Thank you Dr. Jackson."
Hence, Daniel began his explanation. He started out telling the two officers of there encounter with Ra on Abydos and how he was left on the planet to live with the residents, mainly his new wife. He then told of his later return to Earth and the subsequent battles against the Goa'uld system lords Apophis, Hathor, Cronus, and many others. He also told them of the many cultures that had been encountered along the way including the Tok'Ra and the Asguard. He explained of the latest threats to Earth such as Anubis and how the war with the Goa'ulds was still being fought bravely from the front lines of the SGC. In all, it took Dr. Jackson a little more than an hour to tell his tale (with Jack keeping him on course) and when he finally wrapped up, the two officers from D.C. were left speechless. A strange quiet fell upon the room as Harm and Mac tried to comprehend everything that had been told to them. Finally, Colonel MacKenzie broke the silence.
"So these.Goa'uld," Mac began. "They assume the identities of the ancient gods of Egypt and use their advanced technology to further convince their underlings they are deities?"
Teal'c was the one to respond to this question. "That is correct Colonel MacKenzie."
"And you yourself was in service to one of these 'gods' Teal'c?" the Colonel continued.
"I did serve as the First Prime to Apophis, a very powerful system lord. Fortunately for me, I was instructed by a very wise Jaffa named Bra'tac. In his teachings to me, he was able to plant the seeds of doubt in my mind as to the truth behind the system lords. He too had been the First Prime of Apophis before me and had seen many things in his life that had convinced him that the Goa'uld were not gods. At first, I was not as accepting of his teachings, but in time I saw many atrocities carried out that made me question the true nature of the Goa'uld. However, it took meeting Colonel O'Neill and the rest of his team to finally convince me to turn against Apophis and fight for the freedom of all Jaffa throughout the galaxy. This is a battle that I believe will be won because of the efforts of the Tau'ri."
Commander Rabb now responded, "The Tau'ri, meaning humans from Earth?"
Teal'c nodded his head and answered, "That is correct Commander Rabb."
"Well," began Colonel MacKenzie. "I guess that gives us."
Her thoughts were interrupted by the Klaxons blaring loudly throughout the facility. All members of SG-1 were on their feet immediately as the voice rang out over the loud speaker, "unscheduled off world activation. General Hammond, please report to the control room."
"I think we are going to need to continue this conversation later Colonel, Commander," said the General. "If you will accompany me, I will show what this is all about."
The two officers gave each other a look of anxiety and followed the General into the unknown.
The four officers boarded the second elevator that would take them to Level 28. Since their departure from the airport, Harm and Mac had been stunned into total silence. As the careers of both Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were laid out in front of them, the two JAG officers had to suppress the growing feelings of unease.
Considering Major Carter alone did not set off any alarms. A theoretical astrophysicist doing research into Deep Space Radar Telemetry did not present any cause for concern. In fact, it seemed like a believable, albeit extraordinary career for a theoretical astrophysicist. Unfortunately, the description of Colonel O'Neill's career had raised the red flags that were now occupying the minds of Harmon Rabb and Sarah MacKenzie. An Air Force Colonel who spent most of his life running Black Op missions didn't seem to match up well with an astrophysicist that graduated top of her class at the Air Force Academy. Unfortunately, Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were still being vague in their responses to the specific work they were doing now.
As the elevator opened up to Level 28, Commander Rabb decided to broach the silence. So, Colonel O'Neill, what would the Air Force need with a member of Special Forces deep inside a mountain?"
Making his way down the halls of the underground complex, Colonel O'Neill let out a soft chuckle before turning his attention back to Rabb. "Commander, sometimes I ask myself the same question."
Major Carter quickly chimed in, "Actually Commander Rabb, Colonel O'Neill's 'usefulness' will become apparent very shortly." She shot a mischievous smile at the Colonel, one that he returned when he caught the tone in her voice. Major Carter then turned her attention to the fourth member of their group. "So Colonel MacKenzie, you have been awfully quiet since we left the base. How do you feel about all of this so far?"
Mac returned her gaze with a nervous smile, "I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, Major. Or the gauntlet."
Carter returned the smile, "Colonel MacKenzie, you have no idea."
Mac turned to Harm as he returned her surprised expression. Before anyone else could make a comment, Colonel O'Neill led them into another room with numerous amounts of computers and electronic equipment. To their right was a glass panel, however the blast doors were down barring their view of what was on the other side.
Harm took in the surroundings with awe. "So Colonel, what is this room," he said as he swept his hand around pointing at his surroundings.
The Colonel turned to face the Commander. "Actually Commander Rabb, I am going to turn the floor over to Major Carter when it comes to explaining this room. That will come later though as we first need to check in with the General. If you and Colonel MacKenzie will follow me, I will introduce you."
The four officers continued their quest up the stairs and through a conference room before coming to a stop outside of the General's office. After a quick knock on the door and a booming "Enter" from inside, Colonel O'Neill led their guests into the office.
Out of respect for the two star in their presence both Harm and Mac came to attention. "Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie and Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. reporting as ordered Sir."
"At ease," replied the General. "My name is General George Hammond and I am the commanding officer of this facility. I would like to welcome you and hope your stay with us is a pleasant one."
Mac gave the General a curious look. "I'm sorry sir, am I to understand that you are the commanding officer of NORAD?"
The General briefly glanced at Colonel O'Neill with a smile before turning his attention back to Colonel MacKenzie. "I apologize Colonel, I was under the impression that Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were going to brief you about what we do here."
Colonel O'Neill quickly interjected, "Well General, we were going to tell them, but we thought it would be so much more fun just showing them."
"Very well," replied the General, "then I guess that leaves me to welcome you." The General picked up his phone and pressed the call button for the control room. "Sergeant, please open the blast shield to the embarkation chamber." After hanging up the phone, the General moved to the door and motioned for the JAG officers to enter the conference room. After all five officers were assembled in the conference room the General led them to the large window overlooking the gate room. As Harm and Mac stared through the window at the large, circular ring occupying the room below the General continued, "Colonel MacKenzie, Commander Rabb.welcome to Stargate Command."
Everyone in the room fell silent as the JAG officers took in the sight below. Finally Colonel MacKenzie broke from her reverie and turned to the General. "Excuse me General, but is this. object the Stargate?"
The General gave her a nod. "Yes it is Colonel MacKenzie."
Mac thought for a moment and then continued with her questioning, "Okay, I guess my next question is, what does the Stargate do?"
"Actually Colonel, I am going to let Major Carter explain that to you," the General quipped. The General turned to Major Carter and signaled for her to continue with the presentation.
"Thank you General," Major Carter stated. She turned to the two guests and continued with the explanation. "To put it simply Colonel, Commander.the Stargate is a device that creates a stable wormhole between Earth and another planet somewhere within the galaxy. That planet, of course, must also have a stargate. Once the wormhole is established, a team then steps through the Stargate and emerges on the other planet several seconds later."
The silence that followed was the most deafening sound in the world. Finally, Harm stepped forward to continue the questioning. "So you have actually traveled to another planet?"
Colonel O'Neill jumped into the conversation, "Actually, we have been to hundreds of planets."
Mac responded to his statement, "So.have you found any other life on these planets?"
"Actually," responded Carter, "there has been life on almost all of the planets we have visited. In fact, most of the life we have encountered are descendants of ancient Earth that were transplanted to these other planets."
"Transplanted by whom?" Harm asked.
Colonel O'Neill interrupted quickly before Carter could respond, "Actually, that is a question best left for Dr. Jackson. Why don't we all have a seat around the conference table and I will call the remaining members of our team." As everyone took a seat around the table, Colonel O'Neill called down to the control room. "Hello Sergeant, could you please page Dr. Jackson and Teal'c to the conference room. Thank you."
As they sat waiting for the other two members to arrive, Harm's curiosity got the better of him and he turned his attention to the Major. "While we are waiting I was wondering if I could ask you a few more questions regarding the Stargate technology itself, Major Carter." At her nod, he continued. "Specifically how does the Stargate work."
Major Carter smiled at the naval officer's apparent interest. "Well, that can be answered in two ways; through physics and through actual mechanics. The specific scientific explanation is that the Stargate is a giant superconductor that generates enough energy to create a wormhole outside of our known dimensions of space and time. Because this energy needs to flow from a sort of positive to negative terminal, the wormhole connects to another stargate to complete its dispersion of energy. Once the wormhole has stabilized, matter can then safely pass through the wormhole and exit on the other end. Mechanically, which is probably the more straightforward way to describe the stargate, we enter a series on seven symbols into the dialing computer to establish a link to a specific stargate somewhere else in the galaxy. Each gate has a specific set of six symbols while the seventh symbol entered is the."
"Point or origin, or departure," Harm quickly chimed in.
Everyone around the table turned and stared at the Commander. "What?"
"How did you know that Harm?" Asked Colonel MacKenzie.
"It is basic mapping technique for a pilot. If you do not have GPS coordinates to fly to then you have to use points of interest on the ground as your guideposts. When you are try to draw that on a map before your flight you must choose several points that will intersect each other at the destination with one extra point being your point of origin. Otherwise, it is impossible to create a flight plan if you do not designate the starting point."
Everyone sat in stunned silence as they took in everything that Commander Rabb had said. Finally Colonel O'Neill spoke up and said, "I guess I had never really thought of that Commander Rabb. I mean, when we first tried to activate the gate we really had no idea what its purpose was so no one ever put two and two together when it comes to mapping points. Of course, now it makes sense."
As Colonel O'Neill and Commander Rabb continued their discussion, pilot to pilot, Major Carter handed out a packet of pictures with the Stargate symbols on them. As Harm opened his packet and began to scan the pictures, he noticed something very interesting. "Are these the symbols on the gate that are used to coordinate the destinations?"
Major Carter answered, "Yes they are."
"These look like representations of constellations. Is that what is used as the six intersecting points for the destination?"
Again, Major Carter was taken aback by the Commander's ability to figure out almost what took them two years to discover. "Again Commander, yes they are." After a brief pause Major Carter's curiosity got the best of her. "Commander, if you don't mind me asking sir, how the hell did you know that just now?"
Rabb met all of the stares now pointed at him. "I don't know. I just looked at the symbols and recognized several that appeared to be constellations in the night sky. From that I extrapolated that if these symbols are on the Stargate then they must have something to do with the coordinating system of the gate network. Why, was I not suppose to know that?"
"Are you sure you don't have a science degree under you hat there Commander?" Asked Jack pointedly.
Rabb chuckled and said, "No, I don't think so. If you don't mind, I just have one more two-part question for you Major."
"Go ahead"
"First, do you know how old the Stargate network is?"
"We estimate the Stargates were built by an alien race as far back as 50 million years ago."
The Commander contemplated her response and then responded, "Okay, if that is the case, then how is it that the Stargate system is still working today?"
The Major frowned and said, "I am not sure what you mean Commander."
"Well, if I understand the basic rules of physics, the universe has been expanding since the Big Bang. Therefore, objects within the universe have been drifting apart from each other for 4.5 billion years. Now if the Stargate network was built 50 million years ago wouldn't the coordinates used back then to travel from stargate to stargate be invalid considering the stellar drift of all of the objects in space? In other words, nothing would be lined up like it originally was. How do you compensate for this?"
General Hammond decided it was time for him to get his two cents worth in right now. "Commander Rabb, make I ask how you are a lawyer and still seem to have a pretty extensive knowledge of astrophysics?"
Harm smiled back at the General. "Would you believe me if I said I watch a lot of The Science Channel?"
"Considering you don't even have a TV Harm, I would seriously doubt that." Said Mac, who had been silent through this entire exchange.
Before anyone else could respond to Mac's observation, Dr. Jackson and Teal'c made their appearance in the conference room. "Jack, you wanted to see us?" stated Daniel.
"Yes Daniel, I would like to introduce you to a couple of guests we have with us today. This is Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie USMC and Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. U.S. Navy. They are the JAG officers that have been sent in from Washington D.C. to investigate the incident with Major Wilkins. And apparently, Commander Rabb is also bucking for Sam's job."
At the Colonel's comment, both Harm and Sam blushed noticeably while the rest of the group around the table laughed at the scene playing out.
It is nice to meet you Colonel MacKenzie, Commander Rabb. My name is Dr. Daniel Jackson and I am the head of the archaeological department here at Stargate Command and as well as the archaeological officer on SG-1."
Mac sat up at Daniel's statement. "SG-1?"
Colonel O'Neill clarified for Mac, "That is the designation given to our team. Our team consists of myself, Major Carter, Dr. Jackson, and Teal'c here," the Colonel said pointing in Teal'c' direction.
Mac turned her attention to the one person who had not spoken yet and addressed him directly. "It is nice to meet you Teal'c. What is your job or area of expertise for SG-1?"
Teal'c bowed his head slightly and responded to the Colonel's question. "I was once the former First Prime of the false god Apophis and am now a member of SG-1. I provide my knowledge of the Goa'uld to the Tau'ri and also advise on the military strengths and tactics of the Jaffa that serve the false gods."
Mac's brow wrinkled up in a confused manner. "Okay, I think I got lost somewhere around 'First Prime.' I take it from your response, you are not from Earth?"
"Your assumption would be correct Lt. Colonel MacKenzie. I am a Jaffa from the planet Chulak. I came here to Earth seven years ago to join the Tau'ri in the fight against the Goa'uld."
"What exactly is a First Prime, Teal'c?"
"The First Prime of any Goa'uld is the highest ranking Jaffa in service to their god. I was once the leader of all of the armies of Apophis."
Harm set up and responded to Teal'c' statement. "Wow, that is quite the accomplishment for someone as young as yourself. You must have been an exceptional warrior to rise to power so quickly."
"My rise to First Prime was actually a long and challenging battle that took nearly eighty five years. It took me that amount of time to prove myself to Apophis for him to choose me as his First Prime."
Harm responded with a confused look, "I'm sorry, did you say 85 years?" Upon Teal'c' nod Commander Rabb came right back with another question, "If you don't mind me asking Teal'c, exactly how old are you?"
"I am 104 years old."
"104? How is it that you appear to be so young?"
"My symbiote keeps mean healthy so that I may live for many years. Many Jaffa have been known to live for as many as 200 years."
Now it was time for a confused Colonel MacKenzie to jump in here. "Excuse me for just a second. I think we are all getting wrapped up in a story that neither myself nor Commander Rabb know enough of the back story for. Things such as Goa'uld, Jaffa, symbiotes. Maybe it would be good if Dr. Jackson put this all into to context for us?"
"Of course Colonel MacKenzie," Daniel quickly interjected. "I suppose it is time for a more detailed background of the alien cultures we have encountered."
"Thank you Dr. Jackson."
Hence, Daniel began his explanation. He started out telling the two officers of there encounter with Ra on Abydos and how he was left on the planet to live with the residents, mainly his new wife. He then told of his later return to Earth and the subsequent battles against the Goa'uld system lords Apophis, Hathor, Cronus, and many others. He also told them of the many cultures that had been encountered along the way including the Tok'Ra and the Asguard. He explained of the latest threats to Earth such as Anubis and how the war with the Goa'ulds was still being fought bravely from the front lines of the SGC. In all, it took Dr. Jackson a little more than an hour to tell his tale (with Jack keeping him on course) and when he finally wrapped up, the two officers from D.C. were left speechless. A strange quiet fell upon the room as Harm and Mac tried to comprehend everything that had been told to them. Finally, Colonel MacKenzie broke the silence.
"So these.Goa'uld," Mac began. "They assume the identities of the ancient gods of Egypt and use their advanced technology to further convince their underlings they are deities?"
Teal'c was the one to respond to this question. "That is correct Colonel MacKenzie."
"And you yourself was in service to one of these 'gods' Teal'c?" the Colonel continued.
"I did serve as the First Prime to Apophis, a very powerful system lord. Fortunately for me, I was instructed by a very wise Jaffa named Bra'tac. In his teachings to me, he was able to plant the seeds of doubt in my mind as to the truth behind the system lords. He too had been the First Prime of Apophis before me and had seen many things in his life that had convinced him that the Goa'uld were not gods. At first, I was not as accepting of his teachings, but in time I saw many atrocities carried out that made me question the true nature of the Goa'uld. However, it took meeting Colonel O'Neill and the rest of his team to finally convince me to turn against Apophis and fight for the freedom of all Jaffa throughout the galaxy. This is a battle that I believe will be won because of the efforts of the Tau'ri."
Commander Rabb now responded, "The Tau'ri, meaning humans from Earth?"
Teal'c nodded his head and answered, "That is correct Commander Rabb."
"Well," began Colonel MacKenzie. "I guess that gives us."
Her thoughts were interrupted by the Klaxons blaring loudly throughout the facility. All members of SG-1 were on their feet immediately as the voice rang out over the loud speaker, "unscheduled off world activation. General Hammond, please report to the control room."
"I think we are going to need to continue this conversation later Colonel, Commander," said the General. "If you will accompany me, I will show what this is all about."
The two officers gave each other a look of anxiety and followed the General into the unknown.