Teal'c had no idea why he was in Daniel Jackson's office. The man wasn't there. By all accounts he should turn and leave, but something pulled him to sit in Daniel's chair instead, and wait. Without question the young man would be surprised to see him there, and they could retire to his apartment to take part in a session of Kel'Noreem. And possibly. . . talk.

Teal'c was troubled. Unnaturally so. He could not put his finger on it, but he knew it had something to do with his friend. His confession to Jack had also been a confession to himself. And he felt the need to confess to Daniel as well, in the hopes that this young, but highly perceptive friend could ease his pain. It was odd, how much the two of them had been through, often in opposition, yet fighting for the same goal. It was that goal that kept them bound to each other. At first the goal had been to free those enslaved by the Goa'uld, including Daniel Jackson's wife. The goal broadened, as they included the numerous races they had come in contact with along with the new technology that had been found, to ridding the universe of the Goa'uld threat for good. Then there was the chance to free the Jaffa, something that was ever closer to becoming a reality. They fought together for that goal, each putting aside their own differences and pain. Upon Daniel's return, the goal had shifted slightly.

As Daniel's memories slowly returned, his perspective changed. If there was any residual resentment, Teal'c did not feel it. He himself harbored no more guilt over their rocky past. And yet, Teal'c could not help but to feel that a core part of his being had been shaken loose and trampled on. It was Daniel's descension that triggered it.

He should have been relieved that his friend was back. But he wasn't. And it was the final nail in the coffin of belief for this devout Jaffa.

There were no gods. There was no heaven. Even Kehb turned out to be so much less. And Daniel . . .

Apparently, after death, there was no where to go. And he was tired of Daniel, his brother, pointing that out to him.

Angrily, he shoved at the papers before him, not caring if they mixed as they fell to the floor, not caring if Daniel had to spend hours reorganizing his work. Let him. Let him think on something else for a change, and not interfere with Teal'c's belief structure any longer.

Was it possible for a vessel to be so filled, yet so empty?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Dr. Jackson, are you quite sane?" General Hammond looked overtly concerned. He briefly considered sending the young man back to the infirmary, seeing as how it was his first full day back on duty, so maybe he wasn't as healed as thought. This was odd behavior, even for his rather unpredictable archaeologist.

Daniel Jackson was standing on his head.

Well, not exactly. He was laying on his stomach over the briefing room table, his head nearly touching the floor, his sling propped to the side and his good hand gripping the edge tightly. The toes of his boots were caught against the far edge of the table, hopefully preventing him from sliding onto his skull. Hammond's eyes were wide, his mouth agape, and his brows drew into tight puzzlement as he cocked his head down and to the side, trying to see Daniel's upside-down face.

The face turned toward him, red and smiling. "General! Sorry, I-I'm just trying to stretch my back. Been acting up since the uh. . .you know." He grunted loudly and eased himself up, rolling to his back and pulling his legs up. He spun and faced Hammond, swaying slightly against the oncoming head rush.

"Wouldn't it be easier to get some medication from Dr. Frasier?" Hammond asked, still uncertain as to the sanity of the scientist.

"Not really. I mean it's not helping. My muscles get tight, and I can't relax them."

The humor of the situation was sneaking in around the edges. "But surely there's another way to combat this, rather than making use of my table," Hammond said wryly.

Daniel winced slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Jack said he has a remedy, which scares me, so I think I prefer the table. Something about walking on my back."

"I see." Hammond said, amused, and he knew Daniel could see him picturing the scenario in his mind, and several 'letting him walk all over you' jokes following. "You wanted to see me, I believe, and I have a bit of news for you as well."

"Yes! Yes. I've been analyzing the data I have, and I think I know what it is the Tekani are so afraid of." Daniel sat gingerly and pulled a folder to him. He opened it, and handed the General some documents. "I had my information in my notebook, which luckily stayed with me through the collapse. I never thanked you for that vest, by the way, it proved more useful than the regulation vests. Much lighter."

"You're quite welcome. I'm glad it was serviceable." Hammond looked over the sheets and held out a page. "What is this?"

Daniel tried to thread his fingers in his customary manner. The pain stopped him, and he sat back. "That," he said, "would be the schematics to a machine. It was on a wall I was studying, and also on some old tablets I found, which served as their books. As you can see, it is very detailed." He raised his chin toward it. "Look at the construction of the room. What does it make you think of?"

Hammond frowned at the papers. He sifted through them, passing over some, studying others with close attention. "Well, if all of these machines were found in one place, I'd say it looks like a laboratory."

Daniel snapped his fingers at Hammond. "Exactly."

"But what does this mean?"

Daniel sighed in dismay. "Going over the writings, I can only assume this. The Tekani did originate in Belinrathe, but not as they think." He hesitated. "They were artificially created. Engineered. And as such, they have no official rights to the planet."

Hammond was dumbstruck for the second time in ten minutes.

"Now, I haven't told the Dumante Council about this. I'm not certain I should. I wanted your opinion on the matter."

"What would it mean if word of this leaked out?"

"I can only think of one thing. I believe, as I discovered the lab buried in the sand, they realized what would be uncovered and wanted to hide it at all costs. Apparently they knew the risk; they knew there was a chance that they were genetically engineered but desperately hoped it wasn't true. That lab hasn't been used for generations. They are now their own living, thriving society, a free society."

Hammond looked down his nose over nonexistent frames, forgetting he had no glasses on, and hadn't worn any in ages. It was an old habit. "Free?"

Daniel nodded. "They were engineered as slaves, to work the planet where they were created. Why, I'm not certain. One can only assume they depleted the resources, and that was why the planet was abandoned." He gathered his thoughts, which demonstrated to Hammond that a rather confusing explanation was at hand, and that he would have to listen with both ears on.

"The Tekani were not alone on Telanos," Daniel said. "The Rianah, who created them, are of the Tekani also, I guess you should say they are the 'original' Tekani. The Tekani that came to us for help were created in a similar image to the Rianah, but much more able to endure the harsh conditions of the climate on Telanos. Now, interestingly enough, these two factions have had little contact with each other since, only enough to know that the other exists. Then interest in the Belinrathe ruins rekindled, and each tried to claim the planet Telanos as their own. Apparently, whatever the planet has held for them in the past, it holds again, and both the Tekani and the Rianah want it. The Tekani were trying to get there first by demonstrating that they had rights to the world by true birth. And if you think about it, engineered or not, they were in fact born on that world."

"I'm sure the Rianah won't see it that way."

"That's definitely a problem."

"So the Tekani wanted to hide the evidence that they had been genetically engineered generations back?"

Daniel nodded. "I think that's why they wanted to see if the temple existed, to see if it was true, and why it was destroyed, because it was, and it stands as the only remaining evidence." His blue eyes were sincere. "I honestly don't think they meant me harm. I think I was there at the wrong time. I was beginning to suspect what was going on. . . and I snuck back against their wishes with a small crew of workers." Daniel winced, and lowered his head.

"All of those workers died."

Daniel nodded, and lifted his eyes to Hammond's. "Yes," he said boldly, but his voice shook.

"Given the chance to do things differently, would you have made the same call?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes. Because I believe destroying the evidence was a good thing. If the Rianah were to find out that the Tekani was created in their likeness by their ancestors, they might regard them as an inferior race, and enslave them once again. At the time, I wasn't sure if the Tekani knew this, and I was prepared to tell them. So yes, I would do it again." He clenched his fist and lightly pounded it on the table. "I wish the others didn't have to die. But for all I know, they were the ones that planted the charges, or whatever, that brought the beams down on us and buried the site. They may have been ordered to stay behind to insure the temple was destroyed. I may have just been caught up in something that was going to happen anyway."

"It was suicide."

"It was in the name of the Tekani."

Hammond studied the man seated across from him. "Do you really accept that?"

Daniel shifted. "I think I don't want to feel responsible for their death, so it sounds good."

"You're not responsible, son," Hammond said with a gentle sigh, and reorganized the sheets of paper. "You acted in the best possible manner, with the best possible motive, and that is why you are with us now." He leaned back. "Now speaking for myself, I think you did the right thing. Which leads me to my news," he leaned forward and opened a folder, pulling out another sheet, "I've received a message that the Tekani are severing all ties and communications with us. We are not to return, and we are to lock out the gate address. I've also heard that they are dismantling their own stargate."

Daniel nodded faintly. "They never used it anyway," he said thoughtfully, "their own system was enough for them." His smile was soft. "So their secret is safe."

"For now. And if it doesn't remain so, we won't know about it." Hammond leaned his elbows on the table, giving Daniel a bold look. "Are you satisfied with that?"

"Truthfully?" He frowned. "No. This feels unfinished. I want to go back and help them sort this out. So instead," he waved his hand in the air, "we're just going to file this away."

"By their own request, not ours. Actually I should say, by their demand."

Daniel sighed and accepted the papers passed back to him. "And we have to respect their wishes. Seems like a waste, though. All that time and effort." And lives.

"It may well have saved a world. I say it was time well spent. Just do me a favor," Hammond leaned forward again, "You're familiar with the rule that you should never go swimming or spelunking alone?"

"Yes?"

"Never visit underground temples without first consulting an adult. Preferably a certain general who literally has no more hair to lose."

Daniel laughed and grinned, despite himself. "Yes, sir."

Hammond stood after watching Daniel take his leave. He walked over to his cabinet and pulled out the bottom drawer. A red folder lay inside, and he retrieved it and leafed though the documents. Then he snapped it shut and crossed the room to stare down at the stargate.