The Jaffa were almost without exception in the main auditorium area they had been assigned, and it only took a moment to gather together those who had been elsewhere. Talon had Tao assemble them in a briefing room – a very large one that would hold all of them but wasn't filled with their supplies and no other distraction. Melony stood at the front of the room, watching as they filed in and took seats in the chairs that had been set out for them. Three hundred Jaffa. All of them strong, proud and competent – and all of them watching her expectantly, waiting for the word.

She wondered how many would live through the upcoming confrontation, and felt a pang at the thought of losing any of them.

We're not going to

But what if we do? She asked, silently, none of her doubt showing on her expression, although Talon could feel it plainly. We don't have the right to ask them to-

They're better off now than they ever have been, Hot Shot, Talon told her. They know how we feel about them, and this is the first time in their history that they'll ever be going into a battle that they actually volunteered for. You'll see…

She wasn't all that comforted – of course, she was the one who had asked for them to volunteer.

You didn't even want to bring them in on it, he reminded her.

But I did it, anyways.

They'll be fine

You can't promise that.

But I can promise we'll do everything we can to make it happen

And so they would. For that matter, they already had. She nodded, and took a deep breath. Talon would actually be addressing the Jaffa, not Melony, but she didn't mind that. It wasn't completely necessary – most of the Jaffa were used to having Mitchell speak to them instead of Talon – but it would be more effective for those who didn't know her all that well, and there were a lot of them in this group.

She looked over at Tao, who had just entered the room with the last of the stragglers, and he nodded, silently telling her that they were all there.

Here we go, hey?

Talon gave her a wordless reassurance, and then Melony felt the familiar jarring as the symbiote took over and shunted her to the little place in her consciousness that she was put when he had control of her body.

Talon raised his hand for silence, and the slight murmuring of the few conversations that had been taking place amongst the Jaffa stopped immediately as three hundred faces turned to give their full attention to the system lord. Their system lord.

"As you are all aware," Talon began, his deep voice easily heard by all the Jaffa in the room. "We're preparing for a major offensive against a previously unseen foe."

There were nods, but no one said anything, and Talon continued.

"This foe – who refer to themselves as the Wraith – are literally life suckers. If they get their hands on you, they will literally suck the life force out of you."

Now there were assorted murmurs among the Jaffa, who had all heard the rumor, even though this was the first confirmation of it. Talon let them discuss it for a moment, pleased that he didn't hear any fear in the tone of voices – and not at all surprised about that. They were simply interested, and surprised, perhaps, since many had probably thought it was just a story.

Talon raised his hand again, and the murmuring stopped.

"So, we will make sure they don't get close enough to touch us. Understand?"

They smiled. A truly fearful sight, but one that made the little part that was Melony smile as well. Talon continued.

"The Tau'ri need us. And you have responded to that call. But that doesn't mean I expect you to die for them – or for me. You're not expendable, and I will be incredibly annoyed if any of you are hurt."

There were nods, and a few surprised looks. Which Talon understood completely. The Jaffa – who knew that Talon was different from the rest of the system lords – although not all of those who were in the room just then had really had a chance to have that difference shown to them like it was being just then – were gratified that for a change they were being looked after, instead of being simply used as shock troops. Disposable shock troops, at that. Talon cared about them and their welfare, a distinctive change from their former masters.

Again, Talon continued.

"We have a plan. It's risky and complicated, and I want to make sure that all of you understand your roles before we leave this room. So I'm going to go over it with you, and make sure you understand what the Tau'ri want you to do. And then I'm going to give you the option of changing your minds about being here, and allow you the chance to return to your homes if you decide you don't want anything to do with it."

Now the room was completely silent, and they were all looking at her intently. She could see curiosity in their expressions and fierce determination in the eyes of those closest to her. And knew without Talon telling her that none of them would opt out of the plan. No matter how dangerous or tricky it was.

Talon looked at Tao, and nodded, and the First Prime turned the lights low in the room. At the same time, the blank wall behind Melony was suddenly lit up as a slide projector that had been set in place before the meeting was turned on. The first picture on the 'screen' was a Wraith dart.

As the Jaffa looked on and listened carefully, Talon began to tell them the plan.

OOOOOOOO

"You didn't really expect any of them would go home, did you?"

It was several hours later, well into Atlantis' night, and Melony, back in control of her body and feeling wiped out and guilty, had retreated from the briefing room and had gone to look for Jack to let him know that the Jaffa were behind the plan one hundred percent. It had, of course, always been possible that once they'd heard the plan the Jaffa would decide not to participate, although Jack had obviously anticipated the reaction of her Jaffa as well as Talon and Melony had.

She shook her head, and sighed. They were sitting in his quarters – well, she was sprawled on his bed and he was sitting on the edge of it – both of them holding a cup of coffee. She had been slightly surprised that Sam Carter wasn't in his room as well, but hadn't asked about it, and Jack hadn't said anything in explanation.

"I suppose not. But I could have hoped…"

Jack nodded, reaching out with his free hand and rubbing her back lightly.

"It's not so easy being the most powerful system lord ever, is it?"

"It wasn't easy being in charge of SG-2…" Melony said, closing her eyes and letting Talon deal with the tension headache she was getting. "It's overwhelming to be responsible for a billion Jaffa."

"There's only three hundred here," Jack told her, reaching out and taking her coffee cup from her hand before she spilled it. She was relaxing nicely – from the casual backrub he was giving her, and he had a feeling Talon was doing something as well – and he didn't want her to spill her coffee on his bed. "Just worry about them for now, okay?"

She nodded, but didn't open her eyes.

"I am."

It wasn't exactly what he'd meant, but he smiled, and set her cup on the stand beside his bed, reaching over and taking a blanket from the bottom of the bed and covering her with it. It wouldn't be the first time she fell asleep in his bed – and he hoped it wouldn't be the last.

"Get some sleep, Melony," he whispered, leaning over and kissing the back of her head before standing up and heading for the door. "I'll see you in the morning."

She mumbled something, but she didn't move – Talon had taken over and was putting her to sleep so she wouldn't toss and turn all night as she'd expected to. She needed her rest, after all. The hard part was just beginning.