The ride through the wormhole had been inexplicable. He had sensed a twisting, turbulent, speed coaster at the same time it felt to take a simple step. He was so disoriented it took him a moment to register the threat they had walked into.
He glanced around; whereas the place they had left had been Earth-like he now had no problem telling that they were on an alien planet. It was dark and the light from the sun was red and the rock formations were unlike anything he had ever seen except for maybe in comic book hellscapes. The air was arid and hot and the men's tattooed foreheads glistened with sweat as they focused their weapons at them.
Michael glanced apprehensively to Jack who was...smiling?
"Hey ya fellas!" He called out in a jolly voice.
"Stand aside!" Came a commanding voice from the crowd, "It is O'Neill, leader of the Tau'ri!"
The crowd parted revealing a man with a burn on his forehead and Jack took the few steps down and clasped forearms with him, "Rak'nor. Hope you don't mind our stopping by."
"Not at all. We are glad to see you O'Neill." The other man replied, bowing his head. "In fact your timing is fortuitous. There is one who would be greatly pleased to see you."
Jack grimaced and stepped back, "Unfortunately we really can't stay. Just hoping we can borrow your GDO so we can head home. Wouldn't you know I left home without one…again."
Rak'nor nodded, "I must insist you come with me." He turned and strode away leaving Jack and Michael little choice but to follow.
Michael's sense of dread had been abating but quickly returned. "Jack...friends of yours?"
Jack indicated Michael that everything was okay with a hand, "We're fine; this just may not be as fast as I hoped." He raised his voice again and addressed Rak'nor as he jogged to catch up. "Look, I know I haven't been around in a while but you know any treaty business can be handled through Teal'c or Daniel. If you want I can probably make my way here next month but now just isn't the time."
Rak'nor shook his head, "It is not what you think O'Neill."
Jack sighed, "See, it's just that this is my little brother here and I've already got him in a boatload of trouble and I need to get him home before his wife decides to hate me before she even meets me."
At that Rak'nor stopped and turned, his attention focused on Michael. "You are brother of O'Neill? By blood?"
Michael looked to Jack in confusion who just gave a small shrug in return.
"I am." Michael tried to sound confident but felt anything but.
To his surprise the other man broke into a wide smile and clasped their forearms together. "Then you are brother to the Jaffa as well. Tec Ma-Te. It is a great honor to meet you brethren of O'Neill. You are welcome at Da'Kara."
Michael's eyebrows rose and his jaw slackened. He looked to Jack who just shrugged again. "The Jaffa are a very welcoming people." He explained.
Rak'nor shook his head, "It is not so. We are a very cautious people. Our history demands it. But for those who have fought alongside us, bled with us, provided us haven, won us our freedom and been family to ours, we shall always be welcoming. O'Neill is an honored name among the Free Jaffa."
Michael blinked and looked to Jack who was busy kicking patterns into the red dirt on the ground. Rak'Nor seemed not to notice or mind Jack's lack of acknowledgement of the praise, turning on his heels and beckoning over his shoulder, "Come, in here."
Their eyes had to adjust as they entered the dark cavernous room. Jack's friend Murray, no...Teal'c, was at the head of large table. Wearing what looked like ceremonial robes over a black t-shirt and green cargo pants he commanded the attention of the room as he indicated a star map.
"We believe the Lucian alliance to have out posts here, here, here..."
"Sweet." Jack whispered before he walked forward, placing a finger on a planet, "And here."
Teal'c's head shot up and a broad smile crossed his face, "O'Neill!"
"Hey-ya buddy. Whatchya up to?" Jack grinned as the two men embraced forearms and Teal'c placed large hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack grimaced but did not step away.
"It is very good to see you my friend."
"Yeah, well it's good to be seen." They released hands and unconsciously Jack pulled at his bad arm.
Teal'c turned his attention to the table, "You are dismissed. I apologize for taking your time and grateful for your willingness to assist."
"Uh...Actually..." Jack turned to the men who had risen to leave, "You all may want to hear this. My brother and I" All heads turned to the door where Michael still stood. Jack ignored them, "Were being held here by Lucian forces; a real smuck named Ventirii. Had a contingent of Jaffa in his enforcement squad. The lead guy was 'Ranorku', looked like one of Amaterasu's gang. The rest were from all over. Ventirii' people were experimenting with their symbiotes to allow regular non-snaked humans to operate goa'uld technology. I don't think they had much interest in the Free Jaffa and we had to take out a number of them to escape and destroy their facilities but there may still be some there. At the very least we left a tel'tek by the gate."
An older member of the contingent stood, "Thank you GeneralO'Neill. We will discuss this knowledge and determine how to proceed. We are glad you are well."
Jack nodded and turned to Teal'c, "Now, if you don't mind..."
Teal'c nodded, "We shall depart immediately."
A/N: Thank you for sticking with me through everything and super thanks for the supportive reviews! Things will wrap up rather quickly from here but there are about 4 more chapters left before I officially close the book on this one.
For the record, some of this was inspired by the episode The 5th Man, Allegiance, Abyss, Full Alert and a few other instances where the writers provided Jack with a solid strategic countenance as opposed to just reacting to situations as they occurred. I was also watching season 7 and reflecting on how even though there are more light hearted aspects of that season, Jack really does come across as a responsible and respected base commander; something that would have been hard to imagine in earlier seasons. This character development and these subtle strengths are things that really pull me to Jack's character and I like exploring. Just thought I'd provide some context :-)