Murphy's Physics
Murphy's Eighth Law: "Behind every small problem there is a larger problem, waiting for the small one to get out of the way."
Three parameter laps weren't enough. As soon as Jack had finished his circuit of the landing site, he began yet another sweep, seeking for more than the usual potential dangers. He had a deeply uneasy feeling brewing in his mind, after having listened to So'len's story. He placed his feet carefully, looking for snakes.
He sensed a presence behind him but he didn't turn to look. He knew it was Teal'c. If it wasn't Teal'c, he knew Teal'c would be right behind whoever it was, friend or foe. Jack couldn't explain it, and it would never occur to him to try. He just 'knew' it. He let his eyes roam over the trees and bushes, waiting for his friend to join him.
Teal'c stepped up beside him, turning so that he and Jack were facing past one another's shoulders. The expression on his face, normally of eminent composure, was now one of granite disquiet.
Jack waited for a long moment before speaking. "What's on your mind, T?"
The jaffa's answer was an eloquent silence.
"Come on, Teal'c," Jack said cajolingly. "Throw me a bone, here. What's eating you?"
It was the way that Teal'c didn't raise his eyebrow that told Jack his friend was seriously upset. He didn't press Teal'c any more, knowing he would get no answers before the jaffa was ready to talk.
Together, they continued to sweep of the area. Neither man wanted to return to the ship, to stand idle while Sam, Daniel, and So'len laboured over the final repairs; the delicate realignment of the control crystals. After the Tok'ra had told them the truth, each member of SG-1 had worked determinedly to bring the ship back to readiness, quietly digesting the news they had heard. With Jack, that news had not digested well. And, apparently, he wasn't the only one who had trouble swallowing it. Once the structure of the hold had been repaired, there was nothing more that Jack could help with except to guard his companions as they finished fixing the technical thingums. He had ordered himself and Teal'c out on patrol.
Jack was beginning to think he had memorize every cracked limb and gouged patch of earth by the time Teal'c finally decided to speak his mind. There came a subtle difference in the way the man carried himself. Jack raised his fist, then opened his hand palm down, motioning gently. He and Teal'c both melted into the bushes, where they were quite invisible to any casual observation.
"The words of So'len have left me with a great sense of disquiet, O'Neill." The jaffa's voice was just loud enough to be heard. "I have pledged my allegiance to the Tau'ri, but my heart is sworn to the goal of gaining freedom for all Jaffa. It is something that I have worked toward and dreamed of all my life. It is with the need for the sustaining power of a prim'ta that the Goa'uld enslave the Jaffa. Through our association with the Tau'ri, an alternative to this slavery has been found. The substance Tritonin has freed me and many of my kinsmen from the power the Goa'uld hold over us. I have allowed myself to hope that it would lead to freedom for all of my race.
"But the production of Tritonin also depends upon other races. The Tok'ra, from whom the substance originated, and the Tau'ri, who have worked with the Tok'ra to perfect it. While I trust you and General Hammond, I realize that there are others among the Tau'ri who might use this dependence by the Jaffa to manipulate us. And like you, I have limited trust for the Tok'ra. It has been demonstrated that certain individuals among the Tok'ra that they will do whatever they deem necessary for their own survival, regardless of loss of comrade or ally." Teal'c fell silent after this statement, the conflict within him reflecting upon his features.
Jack watched him, his own feelings mixed. He was glad that Teal'c had spoken to him of this privately, and he was also filled with trepidation, because what Teal'c was telling him had occurred to him earlier, and he could not defend it. "Teal'c," Jack said at last, his long fingers worrying the strap from which his P90 hung, "I am hoping that we're going to find a way to make Tritonin without the help of ANY kind of goulds, or better yet, a way to make it so that your people won't need either drugs or symbiotes. It's just going to take time."
"This is a hope that I share, and in my heart I believe that it is possible. But upon contemplating the words of So'len, the true matter for my distress is revealed to me."
Jack waited as Teal'c paused, his impatience finally winning. "Well? Reveal it to me, why don't you?"
Teal'c raised his head proudly, as if bracing himself for punishment. "I feel temptation, O'Neill."
Jack blinked. "Temptation?"
"Tritonin frees me from carrying a prim'ta, an act as truly distasteful to me as the idea of it is to you," Teal'c gave his human friend a small smile. "But the strength and perfect health with which I was enabled by that act is useful to a warrior, and I find myself entertaining a conflicting desire. Should the Tok'ra succeed in cultivating a new queen, her children will still need to come to maturity before they can take a host. And so it comes to my mind, unbidden, the idea of bearing a prim'ta that will not grow into an evil being..." Teal'c stopped, unable to continue. There came a long moment before he added, "I do not see the Jaffa and the Tok'ra becoming such good allies that we would be entrusted with this task. There is much mistrust between our races. But I find myself yearning for that strength again, and wishing to use that power granted by a prim'ta to fight as I have been. It pains me to wish for freedom and power. It seems that one cannot possess both and remain good of heart."
"It seems that way." Jack felt a wave of anger on his friend's behalf. Just the idea of the thing had ruffled Teal'c's feathers in a way Jack had never seen before. No one should have to be used as the Jaffa had been used by the Goa'uld. "There are better things to be had than freedom or power, T."
Teal'c turned his dark eyes to meet Jack's. "Indeed."
Jack nodded and looked away. Teal'c had a stare deeper than outer space. "Well, since we're 'sharing', I'll tell you what's bugging me: the idea of making more goulds... even friendly ones, if you can call the Tok'ra friendly, which I don't. Still, wiping out the Goa'uld is a fine ambition, and one that I tend to want to support."
It was another long, quiet moment before Teal'c rumbled gently his response. "So long as the Tok'ra do not become as the Goa'uld have become."
"T, I'm glad you said that; because I've been thinking it ever since we met the Tok'ra."