Chapter Three

Jack wet his lips, thinking as hard as he ever had in his life. Teal'c was trembling, and his lips quivered, but there was absolute determination in his eyes. Had he ever killed anyone before at this stage in his life? With an American kid at this age, barring psychosis, Jack was fairly sure he could him talk down safely, but Teal'c was a terrified, traumatized child from an alien culture with a strong warrior mindset. Damn, he could really use the adult Daniel's cultural expertise now.

Lacking that, he went for absolute sincerity. Hell, it'd worked before with Teal'c, and in a far weaker situation. "Teal'c, I know Bra'tac too. I know he took you under his wing after you and your mother fled Cronus after the execution of your father." Teal'c swallowed hard, dropping his eyes briefly, grief infusing his face.

"Your memory has been messed up by exposure to this freaky energy field. Cronus is dead. You killed him yourself, both in vengeance for your father and to protect your teammates." Well, technically it was Teal'c's robot double, whom Harlan had apparently gotten right the second time around, but it didn't seem necessary to introduce that complexity now.

Now Teal'c lifted his eyes back to Jack's face in surprise. "I? I am but a boy, a trainee in the arts of war. How could I kill Cronus?" But the look on his face said he wanted to believe this, very much. The hand holding the zat had dropped slightly and his grip slackened a little. The smart thing to do might be to attempt to disarm the kid now. But this was Teal'c... and a failed attempt would destroy the trust Jack was building.

"Because you grew up, and became a man, and under Bra'tac's training you rose to the position of First Prime under Apophis. You joined my team, and fight at our side as a brother-in-arms. Now, some weird alien tech in this room physically transformed you back into a child, and apparently took away your adult memories, too. But you gotta believe me, we are friends." He infused all the sincerity he could into his voice, keeping his eyes fixed on Teal'c's because he knew he was most persuasive with his face and body language, and this was a tough sell.

"I... what you speak is nonsense! It is not possible!" But there was confusion and uncertainty in his voice, rather than that vibrating-on-the-edge-of-panic note, and his arm was completely lowered, the zat apparently completely forgotten, though Jack noted with approval that it wasn't pointed at either of them. Bra'tac was apparently very good at teaching weapons safety.

"Teal'c, look at yourself. You're wearing the same type of clothes as me, only they're way too large for you. That's because they're sized for a grown man. A very tall, muscular man at that. And look at the patch on the arm. It's the same as mine, see?" Because Teal'c was calmer, he dared to move his arm and tug on his sleeve to bring the patch into greater visibility, though he was careful to keep his movements slow and unthreatening.

Teal'c examined it, then pulled the jacket in his lap around with his free hand so that the shoulder patch was more easily visible. He then scrutinized it carefully, looking back at the one on Jack's jacket several times to compare both. Jack remained still, giving Teal'c the time he needed to work things out for himself.

"They are identical," the boy admitted finally, "but... you could have removed my usual garments and dressed me in these, to persuade me of your story." Some of the suspicion came back into his voice and his grip on the zat tightened again, but he didn't raise it. Partly convinced at this point, by Jack's estimation.

Fortunately, he was ready for the question. "Why would I do that? If I wanted to hurt you, why not do it while you were unconscious? I wouldn't need to set up this elaborate scene. And if I was trying to trick you in some way, why would I have left you a weapon?

"Quite frankly, I'm a little glad Bra'tac's not here now. He'd say I should have assumed when I saw you'd been turned into a child that you might not have your adult memories, and removed the zat immediately. In fact when he does hear... boy, he's going to have some uncomplimentary things to say to me! I just hope he leaves my nose alone!" exclaimed Jack, rubbing his nose at a painful memory.

"Zat?...Do you mean the zat'nik'itel?" asked Teal'c. At Jack's grimace and nod, Teal'c smiled slightly, hesitantly at Jack, now apparently provisionally convinced. "Indeed, Master Bra'tac can speak most forcefully when he feels that one has been... unwise." He rubbed his own nose as well. "Sometimes he gives his words... more emphasis," he said with fellow feeling.

Jack smiled back, feeling great relief that the crisis had been successfully averted. "Oh, yeah! Now, we need to get out of here, in case there's something in this room that's capable of reducing you in size still further." At this point Jack doubted that was the case, but there was no point it taking chances. Plus he wanted to get back to Carter and Daniel, in case they were also waking up right now. Yes, he had thought to disarm them, but if they were without their adult memories, there were still a lot of dangers on an alien planet beyond weird shrink rays and powerful lightning bolts.

Teal'c's eyes widened with alarm and he accepted Jack's hand to rise up with, albeit with his left hand. Still not willing to give up the zat, Jack noted. Well, Jack would have been suspicious if a new ally had insisted he disarm himself after first meeting, and to this incarnation of Teal'c that's what Jack was: A new ally he'd just met. Therefore Jack left it alone and concentrated on the other problem just revealed, that Teal'c's pants and underwear slid down without a hitch to puddle at his feet. Fortunately the T-shirt was long enough to make a reasonable tunic, but the boy still seemed dismayed.

Jack proffered the space blanket to the current Teal'c, which the boy accepted, face brightening. With a few deft twists, folds, and tucks he transformed the space blanket into a kind of toga on top of the overlarge tee that seemed to satisfy his modesty. He sent the zat back to its dormant position, and tucked it into a convenient fold of his toga. Then he accepted Jack's hand to step out of his now bucket-like boots, and kick off his now sack-like socks.

Jack asked, "Here, do you think you can carry this?" He handed Teal'c Carter's field pack, then slung his own over one shoulder. Teal'c accepted the backpack with some bemusement. Then Jack hustled the boy out of the planetorium, eager to check on Daniel and Carter.