Chapter 4
TEAL'C
At about midday Khon'du appeared at the cell again and requested Teal'c to step forward. He thought to fight them but with O'Neill among the missing and the others in the cell in jeopardy Teal'c thought it wiser to see what they wanted and to gain more intel.
He was escorted out of the cell block and instead of traveling in the same direction as O'Neill had toward the audience hall, he was taken to the Jaffa quarters. He was seated at a table with his Jaffa escort as well as Khon'du. They treated Teal'c as a fellow Jaffa, not an enemy. Slaves arrived with platters of food and after the meal they all retired to a field for exercise and then to the baths. There were small bits of conversation but Teal'c didn't feel as though he were being interrogated. He felt as though he were being tested and perhaps seduced. He considered telling them of the death of Ra but was sure they would not believe it. So he kept his counsel.
The next day, after Jack was taken from the cell, Jaffa came again and took Teal'c with them. It was much the same as before. In those first few days Teal'c was reserved, quiet and yet confident. He kept his counsel so that the other Jaffa were intrigued by this Jaffa, a First Prime, who had so much more experience, so much more knowledge of the galaxy than they did on their insular world. Their lives had been dull in this backwater and Teal'c brought excitement and the exotic to their lives.
Teal'c suspected that they would try to lure him to their ranks. When he would finally concoct a story of how he came into their midst and his obvious superiority they would be so desirous that he would join their forces and thus become better just by his presence. He would be powerful and once more exert the authority he had held as Apophis' first prime.
And again the next day, after Jack was taken from the cell, Jaffa came again and took Teal'c with them. It was much the same as before, only this time Khon'du engaged him in conversation.
"Why are you traveling with these slaves?" He asked as they walked to a large well appointed room.
"Are you not in service to the god Apophis, he who resides in darkness and rules over the dead?"
Teal'c was unaware of what they knew of the rest of the galaxy, they seemed rather insular.
"As you can observe I am among the First Primes of the god Lord Apophis. I have been in his service since my mother fled from a world ruled by Cronus."
He went on with a song and dance, as O'Neill would have put it, about his origins and place in Jaffa society. And using his imagination Teal'c told them of his 'real' Jaffa name and how he wound up with these humans.
"We have but one First Prime at a time. If he is lost in battle or succumbs to old age, another is selected." Khon'du said.
"Apophis has many thousands of Jaffa." At this there was an audible gasp among the warriors listening to the conversation.
Teal's went on with his concocted version of reality. "There is a First Prime of ground troops, a First Prime of Death Gliders and of each and every division of his army."
They were awed.
"What was your command?" one asked.
"I headed a battle group of Death Gliders. Over a planet on our border we were engaged in a battle with an enemy of great power, Mot, that carrion eater. There was great destruction on both sides. However our Hatak was damaged and fled. And my fleet of Death Gliders were decimated. My ship was damaged and I crashed on the planet of humans."
"Why did you not return to your home world and to the service of your lord, the god of the underworld, Apophis." Khon'du was suspicious.
"I was severely wounded. It took my symbiote many cycles to heal me. And I did not know the location of the Chappa'ai." He left unsaid that they who lose a battle often are slain by their god if they survive.
"What of the humans you travel with?"
"They sought a bodyguard as they traveled to secure markets for their trading partners. I thought if I aligned myself with them I could find the Chappa'ai and return to the service of my god, Lord Apophis." Here Teal'c to a deep breath for dramatic effect. The Jaffa listening seemed to be hanging on his every word. They had been isolated for thousands of years on this planet on the edge of Goa'uld territory.
"I fear my Lord Apophis will be displeased with my failure. Perhaps with time he will look more kindly upon me." Teal'c looked at his audience, they had some of the same fears and hopes.
"I did not reveal my true name to the humans, I told them nothing. When I could not find the Chappa'ai I tried to find other means to leave that world but found the people of that world extremely ignorant and primitive. I threw my lot in with these humans because they claimed to know where the Chappa'ai was. When I tried to connect with my homeworld, and I tried many, many times, the Chappa'ai would not blossom into life. So I traveled with these humans to your world and when I saw you…" Here again he took a deep breath and looked at all the Jaffa hanging on his tale, "I knew I could abandon them here and find a new home."
"No need to be on your own brother, join us. Serve Lord Sop'du, god of the borders. Join your brothers here."
"Is he not in service to the great god Ra?"
"We guard the very edges of Ra's domain. We have never seen him though we believe. We are his trusted servants and he has given us autonomy in our task."
Off to the side of the exercise fields there were five Death Gliders and an Alkesh. They were of an old style and Teal'c was sure these Jaffa knew nothing of the state of the Goa'uld System Lords and especially of the demise of Ra.
Khon'du noticed Teal'c observing the ships. "This is most of our fleet."
Teal'c nodded his head solemnly as if he were impressed. Their fleet was pitiable.
Teal'c realized there was no point informing Sop'du's Jaffa of the state of the war between the Tauri and the Goa'uld. Instead he saw this could be an opportunity. They brought him back to the cell after another meal fit for a Jaffa. Teal'c felt the need to meditate and think over the events of the day.
As Jack stood there he thought about his mission statement. It had been drilled into his head since day one. Hell, he had been one of those who formulated it. But as the leader of a team of four his mantra was "Keep them safe, allow them to succeed in their task and bring them home". Things rarely worked smoothly, occasionally FUBAR ruled the day.
O'Neill's second in command, Carter, was no longer the dewy-eyed naive captain so gung ho to charge through the Stargate. Nor was she so anxious to prove herself not only to her CO but also to herself. What had not changed was her desire to learn the mysteries of the universe and her loyalty and honor. She had matured into a loving, beautiful human being. And tonight he had to speak to her about saving the team.
Khon'du never returned but at the usual time O'Neill was marched back to the cell. He wondered if he could take the two Jaffa escorting him when two more fell in with them. At the cell door one of the Jaffa behind him struck a blow to Jack's back, a wicked kidney punch. He stumbled into the cell.
When he could get his breath and stand up straight Jack noticed Teal'c, sitting cross legged, eyes closed, deep in meditation.
Before anyone could ask him how he felt he asked "What's up with Teal'c?"
"He's been that way since he got back." Daniel said.
"Got back?"
"Jaffa took him for a few hours. They seemed benign, even cordial toward him."
