Arrayed in front of the active Stargate, SG-1, General Hammond, and a phalanx of soldiers waited for Bra'tac's IDC. Joanna fidgeted a little, very aware of Teal'c's solid form next to her. She frowned slightly. He was entirely too self-possessed after what happened last night; while she, on the other hand, was trying to figure out a way to get him in that supply closet Jack seemed to like so much.
"It's Master Bra'tac's code, sir," Davis called down.
"Open the iris," Hammond answered back, and with a familiar grinding of metal the iris retracted to show the shimmering event horizon. Moments later Bra'tac, Rak'nor, and Ishta stepped through, followed by Rya'c and a handful of female Jaffa.
Waiting until they had reached the bottom of the ramp, General Hammond greeted the small group. "Welcome back to Earth."
"Thank you, Hammond of Texas," replied Bra'tac. "Teal'c." The old Jaffa turned to his former pupil. "Tec'matay."
Teal'c grasped Bra'tac's forearm. "Tec'matec, old friend." He looked over at the Jaffa behind his mentor. " Rak'nor, Ishta. It is good to see you again," he said in Goa'uld.
That's Ishta? Joanna felt a jolt of surprise as they continued speaking. I gotta start paying more attention during briefings… Surprise turned to something darker as Ishta smiled up at Teal'c and he gave her a very definite kiss.
"Uh oh… " Sam's eyes flashed from Joanna's rigid form to Teal'c's smiling face as he kept talking with Ishta and Rak'nor.
"What?" Daniel asked, listening to the conversation in Goa'uld with half an ear.
Sam turned her head toward him, keeping her voice low. "Remember the last time Teal'c saw Ishta? If Joanna is anything like the original, she's not going to be willing to share."
Daniel shook his head, keeping his voce down too. "I asked after Nara a few months back, to see how she was doing, and Ishta came up. Teal'c indicated their relationship had basically petered out. Besides… " Daniel trailed off, cocking his head slightly as he continued to listen, " …it seems Rak'nor and Ishta are …tauret'nor. That was in way of a congratulatory kiss." He frowned, mulling the unfamiliar Goa'uld word over. "It denotes an intimate bond. I think," he added.
"Ok, fine, but what does it actually mean?" she hissed back.
"In our terms, they're going to be married."
Sam made a silent 'Oh' of understanding, looking at the two Jaffa with new eyes.
Rose leaned forward, having heard the entire whispered exchange. "Well somebody better tell Joanna; the last time I saw that particular expression on Jack's face, ten seconds later Maybourne was against the wall with a pistol shoved up under his jaw… "
Before they could do anything the rest of the group swept out of the Gate room to meet with Dr. Fraiser; Daniel, Sam, and Rose being carried along, leaving Joanna standing with Jack. He glanced down at her stony expression.
"I'm sure it meant nothing." Jack frowned, puzzled himself at his friend's behavior. "Teal'c's not the kind to mess around, you know that."
Joanna glared at him. "To be honest, Jack, the only thing I know about Teal'c is that I start acting like a sixteen year old with a bad crush anytime he's around. And that, in all likelihood, is a knee-jerk reaction courtesy of Loki. I've known him for—what—a total of five days? He could very be the kind to mess around."
"Hey!" Jack grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Teal'c's so not that guy, ok?" He paused, watching her blink back tears. "If I know you, you've read his dossier, you know the kind of man he is. He wouldn't lead you on."
"Dammit." Swallowing hard, Joanna looked away. "I hate that he makes me feel this way. Fucking Loki."
"It ain't Loki and you know it." Tossing an arm over her shoulder, Jack led Joanna out of the Gate room and up toward the conference room.
By the time they arrived Joanna had regained most of her control; ignoring Hammond's censorious look for being late she again slid into a chair at the end of the table while Jack took his usual spot on the general's left. Unfortunately this gave her an unobstructed view of Ishta, bracketed by Teal'c and Rak'nor.
"You've mainly had success with manufacturing the tretonin?" Janet picked up where she had left off when Jack and Joanna came in.
"Yes," Ishta answered. "We used my own prim'tah to begin with, then others as it became clear that the process was going to work."
"Bully for you," Joanna muttered under her breath, torn between admiring Ishta for doing what it took to keep her sisters alive, and loathing her for what she was to Teal'c.
Hammond glanced over sharply at her. "Did you say something, Ms. O'Neil?"
Lifting her head, Joanna looked back at him with guileless eyes. "I said 'Good for her,' sir. Lead by example and all." The smile she gave was as equally ingenuous. Not totally convinced of Joanna's altruistic motives, Hammond nevertheless let it slide.
"Did anyone have a reaction to the tretonin like Mala did?" inquired Janet after a slight pause.
"Two." Ishta turned back to the doctor. "We reimplanted their prim'tah and have been working on why they cannot tolerate the drug."
"We'd be happy to help you figure out why," Hammond assured her.
"How have you been coping with the loss of your symbiotes?"
"At first it was disconcerting," Ishta told Janet, "but we have adapted. Even though there is no direct connection between the prim'tah and ourselves, we are still aware of its presence. Pa'tel likened it to no longer being with child."
"That makes sense," Janet commented, scribbling noted on her pad.
Hammond smiled. "The information you've been able to acquire on Goa'uld activities, along with the people you've sent to join the Resistance, have been very helpful to us."
Inclining her head, Ishta smiled in return. "It is the least we could do for your aid in helping us survive."
"Ishta and her warriors have turned the tide in many a battle. We are indeed thankful to have her." Rak'nor bestowed a warm glance on Ishta, the 'we' in his words obviously indicating a more personal 'I'; unfortunately Joanna missed the exchange, peevishly contemplating the grain in the table instead of listening to what was going on.
"We have a lot of things to accomplish, and I know you're anxious to get started." Hammond interjected, looking at the visiting Jaffa as he stood. "Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you while you're here."
The group broke up, Ishta going with Janet and Sam to the infirmary, Bra'tac and Rak'nor staying to talk strategy and tactics with Teal'c and Jack. Seeing Daniel and Rose leave as Rya'c came in, Joanna got up to go with them.
"Will you not be remaining, Joanna?" The deep tenor of Teal'c's voice stopped her mid-stride. "I am certain your insight would be a valuable addition."
Turning, Joanna looked at him, searching for any sign of duplicity, but saw none, only his usual open gaze. The small seed of doubt was still there though; coming back to the table she sat next to Jack as the smaller group moved closer together.
~~~~~
"That's too risky!" Jack glared at Joanna. He stabbed at a map spread out on the table. "This section has guards all over it, there is no way you can get in without some heavy, and I might add, unacceptable, losses. No way."
Joanna returned his stare. "A small force could get in if we timed that distraction right over in this area. Yes, it would be risky, but if we pulled this off it would give Anubis' weapons development a major setback."
"Yes," Bra'tac cut in, eyes skimming the map, thinking hard. "It could work." He leaned back, clapping Teal'c on the shoulder. "She is cunning, this one. You have chosen well."
Teal'c bent his head in acknowledgement as Joanna looked at Bra'tac, puzzled, but was distracted by Jack ranting again.
"Do you know what you're up against, fer cryin' out loud? Anubis is now one of, if not the most powerful System Lords out there! This here is a suicide mission, and you don't have the men to throw away on it."
Joanna sighed, looking at him in frustration. "Two years ago I went up against this base, which was at that time held by Apophis. I know how to get in here, Jack."
"No offense, but everything you 'know' was put there by Loki. Who knows how much he tweaked to get the result he wanted," Jack threw at her.
Indignant and resentful, Joanna was going to rip into Jack when Rak'nor spoke first.
"What happened when you attacked the fortress?"
She deflated, her righteous anger gone as she turned to him. "We got pinned down here," she said, pointing to a section of the stronghold. "Teal'c captured a few of us." Glaring at Jack, she silently dared him to say anything. "So now I'm familiar with the inside."
"How did you escape?"
Lifting her chin, she answered Bra'tac's question. "I played along with his demands enough to let Sam get back; Hammond then made certain the location of the base got to Heru-ur who attacked it, giving us a chance to escape."
"What did my father— the other Teal'c-- what did he want?"
Joanna looked over at Rya'c's young face and felt very old. "Information and… submission." She paused, then turned back to Jack. "It can be done. What do you need to see to sign off on it?"
"Planning," he shot back. "And big honkin' guns."
