"You'll be right back, right?"
Mitchell nodded.
"There and back. The Jaffa are very good at being prepared, after all, and Tao assured me that they were ready when I spoke to him last."
Jack nodded, and he and Melony stepped clear of the gate as it dialed up. An instant later it flared to life, and she hoisted the pack on her shoulder – which held a crystal and a mini ZPM, to make sure that she had enough power on the gate to keep it open as long as necessary, and a few rations. Just in case. On her hip was her Beretta, but it was the only weapon she was carrying. She didn't need anything else. Not where she was going.
"Make sure you have plenty of room here," she reminded Jack, who nodded.
"We're all set."
She didn't double-check him; she simply nodded.
"See you in a bit."
And she went through the gate, which shut down only a minute later – telling them that she reached the other side.
"How long should this take?" McKay asked. He had been in the group watching, mainly because he was just a little nervous at having 300 Jaffa coming into Atlantis.
"Not too long," O'Neill answered, leaning against the console instead of leaving the room. He was a little nervous as well – the Jaffa had been his enemies far longer than they'd been his friends, after all – but he hid it far better than McKay.
Sam smiled, because she knew he was hiding it – she knew him better than anyone in the room, after all – and Jack echoed that smile with a slight one of his own. He wasn't nervous… nah…
They weren't even waiting ten minutes before the alarms sounded throughout the control room, and the gate started dialing in.
"Wow."
Jack smiled at Weir.
"She said it wouldn't take too long."
He looked down at the room, making sure that the marines who were gathered with their weapons were out of the way.
"Lets not have any unfortunate occurrences," he reminded them. Many of them had fought the Jaffa in the past, after all. "They're allies."
The Marines nodded, and he could see them relax just a little – but only a little.
"Lower the shield," Weir directed. And it went down.
A minute later, it was Mitchell who emerged from the gate first – probably thinking that it would be a good idea to have herself between the Jaffa and the others, at least for the initial meeting.
Right behind her came the first of the Jaffa. Dressed in their full field armor – just as Jack remembered them wearing so many times before – and bristling with weapons, each of them was also carrying a couple of large rucksacks, which undoubtedly held the supplies they would need to be self-sufficient while they were offworld.
The Jaffa had obviously been informed that the room they were going into wasn't going to hold them all, because the first rank that arrived immediately moved off to the side, watching to see if someone was going to direct them somewhere else.
Teal'c had been given just that assignment, and the former First Prime gestured for the Jaffa to follow him. A quick look over at Mitchell, who nodded her approval, and the Jaffa followed him, stopping just outside the door as they were joined by even more warriors and still more. Jack wasn't counting, but the room filled quickly, even with them being siphoned off into the hallway.
"Oh my…"
He looked over at Weir, who was pale.
"Relax, Doctor Weir," O'Neill told her. "They're on our side, remember?"
She nodded, looking a little chagrined.
"It's not easy to remember."
Teyla was also pale, but for another reason completely, and Jack couldn't even imagine what she was feeling with that many Jaffa and symbiotes around. If Melony and Teal'c were overwhelming, this had to be like a freight train.
"You okay?" Daniel asked her, noticing the same thing Jack had.
She nodded, her eyes on the swarming Jaffa.
"There are so many of them… how can we lose with them on our side?"
"That's the whole idea," McKay said.
Mitchell had climbed halfway up the staircase, and was watching from that semi-lofty perch as her Jaffa emerged from the Stargate.
They look good, you have to admitShe nodded.
They definitely do.
The Jaffa were silent, only the creaking of armor, the step of heavy boots, or the rustle of a pack making noise as they filed in, and once one of them saw her, all of them looked towards her as they noticed her, each giving her a slight salute as they hurried out of the way of the others who were coming.
After what seemed like forever – although it was only fifteen minutes or so – Tao came through the gate, and stopped in front of Mitchell. Unlike the others, he wasn't carrying a weapon or a pack – probably he'd given it to one of his subordinates. The gate disengaged behind him.
"That is the last of them," he reported, as Jack and Weir walked down the steps to join them, followed by the others.
"Well done, Tao," Talon replied. "See that they're settled and then you and your lieutenants follow Teal'c, who will bring you to join us."
"Yes, my Lady."
The First Prime bowed, and then headed back down the stairs, following his men, and Teal'c. The Jaffa had been given one very large room – a sort of amphitheater as near as the Atlanteans could tell – for their use. Mitchell had conferred with O'Neill and Weir and they'd decided that it would be far more convenient to have the Jaffa all in the same place. The Jaffa wouldn't mind – the Atlanteans had managed to find plenty of mattresses for them to bed down on until they were moved to Talonopolis – where they'd just be camping out on the ground. Which would hardly kill any of them.
As he left the room, Melony turned to Jack and the others.
"They look good," Jack said, echoing Talon's earlier comment without realizing it.
Melony nodded.
"Let's make sure we keep them looking that way, shall we?"