Chapter 22

Location: Stargate Command

Date: May 10, 2022

Time: 0730

It was quite strange for Ronac and O'rek to be standing here amongst so many Taur'i warriors, all of them equipped in their normal combat gear except for their IHPS helmets and combination active ear protection/headsets which were strapped either to their large backpacks or to their chests while patrol caps emblazoned with their ranks were on their heads, none lower than a specialist. But they were not off to battle, they were off to begin the next phase of their training with the SGC right alongside these soldiers who numbered more than two hundred personnel. Each was armed with either the XM5, the XM250, or the MG338, with three of them having an additional weapon strapped to their backs in their cases, Barrett MRAD sniper rifles. The MG338 was easily distinguished from its XM250 cousin by the fact that after qualifying and running with the weapon the gunners found that they preferred to keep the top handguard off to reduce weight of an already heavy weapon. But none of the weapons were loaded, strapped to the men's backs, not even the M18 pistols that every soldier and officer here wore on their thighs, hips, or chests.

All wore the standard SGC uniform, OCP fatigues complete with the new Soldier Protection System in the prototype stage with the military. It was augmented with certain features which mimicked the feel and shape of the standard one used in the Army and Marines. This one had been augmented with the SGC's own in-house plates made of the same material which had saved then-Colonel O'Neill's life on P3X-666 and many other SGC personnel since. This material was fastened within a ballistic shell of trinium to form plates that were the same dimensions and much lighter than those used by the rest of the military. The shoulder pauldrons and thigh sections that were optional on the current body armor also possessed similar inserts beneath the Kevlar layer. Their helmets had also been retrofitted with a layer of this anti-plasma material for additional protection for greater overall protection from direct attack by energy weaponry.

Things had been quite different from what the two Jaffa brothers were used to, having trained amongst their own people in their own style of combat, albeit this had changed somewhat from what their father had been taught to accommodate new tactics learned from the people of Earth. But now leaning directly from Earth was a new challenge the two brothers standing in the gate room with General Carter were eager to embark upon. They knew that they were oddities here, standing with not much in the way of gear, and holding their personal staff weapons and having their zats in their holsters instead of SGC-issued weapons. The two were getting glanced from the cadre of officers who were in charge of the large assembly of personnel which flooded outwards to the gate room hallways as they were preparing to head out to the Delta Site.

"You two have everything you need?" Carter inquired of the two as she gave a nod to a lieutenant after signing the final checklist of the rather large personnel transfer she was giving for this transfer to the Delta Site.

"Yes, and we thank you, General Carter, you and Dr. Jackson have been most kind to my brother and I," O'rek replied graciously, "It is a pity he was not able to see us off."

"He'll be along, he's got a few people to interview first," Carter shrugged.

"Indeed," Ronac nodded in return, getting a smile and a shake of the head from Carter at just how familiar it was.

"What is it?" O'rek inquired at Carter's smile.

"What you said, 'indeed', it sounded just like your grandfather."

"Daniel Jackson noted that as well," Ronac pointed out curiously, "Why the curiosity with that word here?"

"It's just…it became something Teal'c was known for. Along with…other things."

"I hope that we too shall become well known for…things," Ronac nodded in appreciation as the Stargate began to spin.

"Gentlemen, good luck at the Delta Site," Carter reached out and shook their hands, knowing that they'd be pretty busy for a while.

The two young Jaffa bowed their heads to the general and grabbed their staff weapons from where they had rested against their shoulders and made ready. It didn't take long before the Stargate activated, and the officer of the deck on the ground floor was given the all-clear to send their waiting personnel on through. It was certainly a unique experience for the gathered troops and officers who were seeing the Stargate for the first time in person. They'd received a briefing on it and what to expect when traveling through it, but it was not as easy to tell them to board a C-17 as it was getting the first group marching up the ramp. They were a little hesitant of course, not moving with the purpose of seasoned SG teams, but this was where the two Jaffa came in. Looking at the hesitant men the two nodded and began to just march on up, and without hesitation stepped through.

They emerged on the other side, within the bowels of the new Delta Site gate room, a rather cleaner and larger room than the one which they had just left. It was unfinished of course, but it did have an iris and it had a copy of the Earth-made DHD computer system that the SGC itself had, which made it operational enough. The Stargate here was cemented near the concrete wall, recessed slightly back into it with rollers mounted like usual with a handful of wires on the walls and lights hanging above to make it feel like home. What made this place so much more unique was the large entirely-concrete ramp which was opened to reveal a massive garage below the gate room with enough room at the end of the long corridor to hold more than three hundred large armored vehicles in the cavernous space on either side. In the middle was a mustering point, with freshly-painted lines for vehicle parking and lanes for rapid and planned advance. But, right now it was full of construction equipment, supplies, and workers with tire marks from the outside faintly visible. This was what had been on the drawing board and ready to form the basis of the new Stargate Command, at least when the word was given and the personnel trained and put in place.

This was what was happening, and the two young Jaffa were quick to observe this. No Jaffa-controlled world had their Stargate so heavily-protected, nor did they keep the dial home device separate. The two were waved over to Colonel Mitchell who was standing off to the side by the wall as they shared a look.

"Tak'ma'te Colonel Mitchell," O'rek greeted him, giving him a bow, followed by his brother.

"Hey guys, hadn't seen ya since you were little, how ya been?" Mitchell greeted the two, holding out his hand and gave a firm Jaffa-style handshake to each.

"We have been well Colonel Mitchell," Ronac replied, "We look forward to beginning our training here under your leadership. I see that your people put great faith in you, if the presence of so many other warriors is to be observed."

"Yeah, sorry about that, we thought that we might have had a security breach, so it was decided to bring them here in case it was one of them. If the leak stops, we know it was one of them, if it continues, well the search continues. Anyway, let me show you around," Mitchell said as the first of the follow-on unit were coming through behind their officers who were being shepherded down the ramp into the large area beneath, acting as an impromptu staging area.

The two followed him into a side hallway, and they saw that here they were within an area eerily reminiscent of the great mountain fortress that they had just left, although this was dirtier, and was just a bit incomplete. There were men with tools and hard hats moving about, supplies and equipment were being moved back and forth, and there was a constant sound of power tools going off every so often. Beyond that, there was also a stagnant air to the place, with large shop fans placed with cords strung out on the ground to provide some measure of air flow.

"Sorry about the mess, still working on getting this place operational. Had to move some of our equipment in a little bit ahead of schedule due to the weather," Mitchell said as they reached a working elevator with an SF on guard at the door and slipped his ID card in and led the two inside, "There's a major storm going right now, so we'll be bivouacking inside just to be safe. Hopefully the air conditioning will be on by then so we won't be that uncomfortable."

"What kind of storm?" Ronac asked as they reached the main floor and the two were led out with a smirk by Mitchell to another hallway which led into the main corridor out and they saw the lashing rain getting yanked back and forth like crazy with the blue flashes of lightning in the distance and the rolling thunderclaps interceding the howling wind.

"Yeah, it's about a category three hurricane out there, we had to evacuate our research outposts but we've only caught the edge of the storm so…we'll be alright to resume operations in the next couple days. By then, the first batch of civilian trainees will be here along with Daniel. Then, we can really get you two started on the good stuff, and by the good stuff, I mean your training to prepare you for a position on SG-1."

"We will serve on SG-1? Like our grandfather did?"

"Under you Colonel Mitchell?" O'rek inquired.

"No, sorry fellas, my team days are behind me unfortunately. I've been tasked with managing the current training pipeline along with Daniel and Colonel Reynolds, you met him, General Carter's executive officer. He'll be here with the next recruits in a week's time, along with your team leader."

"And…who is the new team leader for SG-1?" Ronac asked.

"Well…if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

It wasn't all that difficult for Brenda to get back into her usual routine, she was a creature of habit and any deviation from it was a rather unpleasant feeling. Her physical health was fairly easy to handle. She'd signed a waiver allowing the SGC to utilize some classified medical treatments on her should she ever need it if she were to be injured while offworld. And so this had been allowed, a simple scan under a reverse-engineered Gou'ald healing device and her concussion was gone and after a few weeks under observation she was back home in Mount Pleasant at her house, nestled in a corner with a view of the harbor and the big USS Yorktown museum and a full canal which she routinely used as her favorite jogging path.

The house was small, she didn't need much space considering that she was overseas nine months out of the year most of the time, and lately had been a negotiations specialist, assigned to the IOA as a US representative. This had afforded her more time at home in the past few years, but she had her eyes on a bigger prize, a spot within the civilian branch of Stargate Command itself. She wanted to lead teams through the gate and explore distant amazing planets and meet new and unique people and races. It was all she could have ever dreamed when she saw someone familiar sitting on her porch swing on the back deck overlooking her small garden which was kept high to make it hard to peek in.

She was returning from a jog, and found herself rather flustered to only be wearing a pink running bra and black tights. The reason for the embarrassment was Dr. Daniel Jackson, relaxed and awaiting her return from her morning jog. If her born-again Christian mother were to see her bringing a strange man she wasn't married to into her house while wearing what she was, she'd probably have a heart attack. But to Brenda, having spent several years in the IOA, she knew that Daniel's presence here might mean something she had been praying for, for a long time. Maybe this was her chance at getting into an SG Team.

"Dr. Jackson," Brenda greeted him, flashing her best smile at him, avoiding her typical habit of batting her eyelashes, a habit which she formed in high school and perfected in college and had used many times in many countries since then to get what she wanted, whether it be personal or professional, "Hi there, I'm sorry I didn't know you were coming. I would've stayed to let you in," she said as she opened her gate and walked up and Daniel stood up and straightened his jacket.

"No that's alright, a little quiet has been a nice change of pace actually," Daniel reached a hand out, "You doing okay?"

"I'm fine yeah, got the sign-off from the doctors and I'm able to resume my duties whenever I get an assignment again."

"Well, they're not going to have one for you, because I've got one better," Daniel reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a sealed letter, "Congratulations. You've been selected to be amongst the first candidate class."

"I made it? I'm in?!" Brenda snagged the letter, staring at the blank outer envelope.

"Yeah, well, so long as you can make the cut in training," Daniel replied.

"Oh, I'm going to make the cut, all I needed was a foot in the door."

"You're pretty confident, aren't you?" Daniel crossed his arms curiously.

"Of course, I've wanted a chance at this for years, and I've prepared myself to take advantage of it every day since then. I am not going to let this slip," she held up the letter to accentuate her point.

"Well, I certainly hope not, the list was long and distinguished, and you know how much competition there was for a spot as team leader."

"And how many made the cut?" Brenda inquired curiously as she unlocked her door and opened it.

"That's still in the air," Daniel shrugged, "But your team will meet you at Cheyenne Mountain, and two…other members…are already at Delta."

"Wait a minute, I thought I got to choose my own team as a team leader?" Brenda did a double take.

"That would be true, if you were fully-trained and qualified for offworld missions. However, the IOA wants a flagship team ASAP, and is pushing hard for this to get done. So, they took the best and brightest and you'll need to learn to lead them as well as pull them together into a cohesive team."

"And…the military side, the Recon team?"

"Yeah…" Daniel silently smiled, scoffing internally at the enormous humor of it all, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you who you'll be working with."

Aquaria, Iris Island Ring Facility

"This is it," Admiral Queen said to himself as he looked down at the Stargate and the teams he'd been allowed to dispatch through the ring for the first time.

Below, eighteen elite Colonial special forces operators were assembled. They were divided into three teams of six, each one commanded by a senior officer, a Major, assisted by a senior NCO, and having specialists within each team such as a breacher, a sniper, a medic, and a demolitions expert. But first and foremost, each one of these men was a gunfighter and an operator, adept at blending in and making key observations and figuring out their significance. Both teams were wearing their normal wear of the Colonial special forces, specifically, they were in all-black, an identifier for them to pick one another out in what was supposedly a heavily-urbanized environment. It had been a long forty-eight hours for them. The permission to set out on this mission had been tough to get, until the staff weapon was demonstrated.

The waves of excitement caused by the plasma-based weaponry had caused made the green light inevitable. The stated objective of making contact with the father of the two young girls who'd arrived in their midst relaying story after story of who their father was and why he had sent the girls to the Twelve Colonies. From what the Colonials could gather the Jaffa had been the frontline armies of the once-dominant Gou'ald System Lords. But had thrown them off and established a free government, trying to unite their people. But despite the official stances and actions of the Free Jaffa government there were constant Jaffa extortions and harassments of Human worlds and settlements, using their technological superiority to force incredibly unequal trade agreements in some cases, but often, just making the oppressed outright tributaries with either food, gold, naquadah, or other goods being demanded and making examples of anyone who refused. The Jaffa government was either too corrupt or too inept to intervene, and so the Humans were quick to declare that they had enough, and fought back, going after the Jaffa with a mix of ambushes, raids, and bombings in an effort to get the Jaffa to stop their harassment and treat them with the respect they claimed to be showing.

To the Colonials, long-time opponents of terrorist activity, of which this was an eerily similar pattern, this was not a subject with which they approached lightly. Much debate was made of the potential problems of contacting these people, but they also knew that they couldn't just ignore this, especially when potential access to advanced technology and an inroad to an intelligence network with untold access to various planets and cultures was on the table. So the mission was given the go-ahead, but was kept on the highest level of secrecy. The details were compartmentalized within the President's inner circle, Colonial Intelligence, and the program's military and highest-ranking civilian leadership. They would metaphorically stick their nose in, and sniff around, keeping on the down-low and maintaining an official stance of neutrality until evidence was brought forward or discovered on their own. But, just to be sure, instead of one team of six, three teams were being sent to dissuade possible hostile intent.

That didn't mean that the two youngsters weren't going to be ignored, at their advice the Colonial team would go in wearing long runty-looking robes and cloaks, concealing their uniforms and weapons. Supposedly there was a security detachment on the gate on the other planet, local governmental bureaucrats and police who wouldn't blink at the presence of another group of primitive traders but would definitely take issue with a group of heavily-armed soldiers showing up. To the Colonials this was a severely underwhelming security presence, one that they planned to take advantage of, if at all possible, and take the risk to achieve their strategic aims and objectives.

"Major Black," Admiral Queen said as he turned to see the detachment leader walking in, nodding to the officer who he'd known for some years, and knew the man for his extraordinarily decorated service history, the man being one of very few special operations personnel who'd gotten the unofficial Royal Sweeps of deploying on successful missions on every Colonial homeworld plus many others outside the main populated worlds, "Your teams set?"

"Yes sir, all personnel briefed, and all equipment double-checked, we're ready."

"Alright, mission objective, read it back for me."

"Sir, make contact with the father of the two juvenile females who were sent through the ring, ascertain intentions and disposition of him and the organization that he is claimed to be in charge of. As well, we are to ascertain the governmental presence of this world, and report back to brief diplomatic personnel on them prior to official first contact. We are also tasked with ascertaining a threat assessment posed by the Jaffa, and to attempt to gather technology and information that will enhance the defense of the Colonies. We are also tasked to avoid hostilities with any entity except in our own self-defense."

"Very well, that'll do, any questions or comments Major?"

"One sir, are these characters here going to be able to get us there?" Black smirked, motioning to his side where he had the numerous techs all on hand and going through probably their fifth system check in preparation for zero hour.

"All simulations prove we're ready. You're stepping through that thing today, make no qualms about it Major."

"Yes sir, permission to join my teams sir?" the bald headed man said with a nod, saluting the admiral.

"Granted, we dial in two minutes."

At two minutes' end it was a remarkably unceremonious affair, the dialing procedure began with a simple phrase.

"Beginning dialing sequence," from the officer on duty in the control room went out over the local intercom and the team down below began to line up and prepare to disembark.

Above in a large observation room with a bullet-proof window looking down at the gate room were the lead scientists and department leaders of the program and several senior officers looking on uneasily. One of the most nervous of these was Gaius Baltar, who knew that failure here was going to all but end his career considering he'd given his personal guarantee to the success of the dialing computer that they had come up with over the months of almost non-stop work. So as the inner ring spun smoothly and easily and the first chevron lit up they all heard the first call.

"Chevron one encoded," the intercom said matter-of-factly, getting a cheer from the scientists who were involved in that particular department.

"Six more, come on!" Gaius said as the ring spun again, and was met with relief as the second engaged.

"Chevron two encoded."

"Relax Gaius, we ran the simulations lords knows how many times, it works," Natasi said as she laid a nervous hand on his arm as he nervously gummed at his unlit pipe, a habit of his when he was worried.

"I certainly hope so," he said as the third chevron successfully engaged, "Yes, four more, four more."

It was a slow few moments before the ring's final chevron at the top had its final location, symbol number 32 according to a diagram Earth had provided, with its diagonal box and its little line jutting off were slid into position, and then it happened.

"Chevron seven, locked!"

The Stargate activated, a flood of what looked like bubbling water shot out of the ring into the interior, and formed into another water-like illusion as the event horizon shot forward, only to be sucked back into the stone ring's confines and rippled outwards forming the familiar water-like surface that would send matter across the galaxy. It had worked, the labors of hundreds of skilled individuals and billions of Colonial cubits had successfully done in six months what it took Earth years to do.

Down below, the orders were simple.

"Major Black, you have a go, may the Lords be with you," Admiral Queen said with finality, having initially had a speech ready to go, but instead, he chose a simple phrase, one he'd adopted from a previous commanding officer. There was not to be any pomp and circumstance, not when it could be avoided, such was the man's instinct.

"Thank you admiral," Major Black said as he tossed the rob on which he wore up to salute and then turned back to face his team, "Alright, we're going through. We'll be headed out further from home than anyone back home would believe possible. There's no telling what we'll find or who we'll encounter. Just remember one thing, out there, the people of the Twelve Colonies are embodied in us. Out there, we are the Colonies. Let's get the job done."

It wasn't a long speech, but it was the right one in his own mind. To an extent they were going to be diplomats, and had been chosen for their records of having level heads and keeping to standard operating procedure when it mattered most. And for other times, when an adjustment on the go was required, they were all counted upon and always made the right call. Out there through the Stargate would be the ultimate test, and so they were readied for that. With one last equipment check they began to trudge up the ramp, the metal clicking beneath their boots until Major Black got to the very face of it, and lifted his hood up. With his equipment covered up he was through in easy step coming out while feeling chilled and shaken, a feeling remarkably similar to that felt by all Colonial special forces during the requisite phase one training in the near-arctic conditions experienced on Aquaria at the Special Forces Induction Center, which weeded out the weak from the strong for special forces duty.

But the Stargate's effects were temporary, what he stepped into was more of a draw for his attention. It was as the two children declared, the ring here was on a stone platform with a large greenhouse built around it. Supposedly it was only a year old, having once been in the center of the city but now moved to its outskirts downriver. All around Major Black were fancy flower beds and a fountain ahead of him with marble decorations all around it with what they knew to be the DHD in its unique dark stone in the middle of the fountain with a bridge arching over the fountain. It was a place of unique fanciness and unusual laxity of security. But it was present, in the form of two black uniformed men wearing a tall pointed Pith helmet with a circular badge in the center with a crown emblazoned upon it. But between them was a man in a suit with a monocle of all things on his face standing before a marble podium with a book and an ink pen on it. It was all as the two girls had informed them. So far, so good.

"Welcome to his majesty's crown colony of Abthinia," the man greeted them pleasantly, quite pleasantly considering how dark it appeared to be outside, "I am his majesty's official secretary Beran Nool. What brings you to our fine world?"

"Here to see a friend," Black said as the rest of his team arrived and stood behind him.

"Any weapons to declare?" the man in the suit said.

Black now faced the first crucial test of their intelligence. The elder of the two girls had stated that it was very, very easy to get past the greeter and the police at the ring if you had a bag of gold or silver or something of equal value. A bribe was in order, and the men had been well-prepared for it, and Black reached down and untied the large leather pouch filled with blank gold coins and lifted it and deposited it confidently onto the stone pedestal, getting a look from the man.

"Just this," Black winked, and flicked a coin he'd taken out earlier as proof to the man, "Just businessmen."

"Indeed…" the man said as he took the bag, opened it and peered inside, while the two police looked at one another with sideways glances. Black then lifted his hand and snapped his fingers.

Behind him, two of his men took out similar bags of identical coins and tossed them to the two sentries, who caught them, and gave the bags a jingle and a look. Both smiled and nodded, satisfied with the generosity. And apparently, so was the civil servant.

"Well, everything appears to be in order, enjoy your stay gentlemen."

"Thank you, sir," Black said as he gave a two-finger salute and he and his men began to walk, following the directions of the two girls who said that the building continued forward, into a large atrium area with a large veranda out front and to avoid the side halls due to the fact the local military kept troops there as an emergency response. But that they were all on the take and that the local government was pretty lax about double checking itself despite its relative complexity.

It was as advertised, the men were quick to pass through the immense and rather impressive greenery cultivated here at the greenhouse which they now realized the point of. The building was a trap. If an opposing force tried to take over through the ring then the glass façade would allow easy reconnaissance and absolutely no physical cover for the attackers, allowing for a swift counterstroke to fall on their heads while providing what were stated to be primitives an impressive introduction to the people of this world. Their next destination was unknown. They were told they'd be met by the girl's father.

"This is too bloody easy," Black said as he passed through the lit atrium, passing another roving pair of police giving a nod as one of his fellow majors came up next to him, Major Blenn.

"I know, toss a few bags of coins at the frakkers and they'd sell their souls. Not too impressed so far," Blenn shook his head as they passed through a glass door which led to a crisp and cool night with a road leading down to towards a well-lit and rather tall cityscape in the distance.

"You don't seem to understand something then," a new voice said, causing the men to whirl around, hands to their hidden weapons but keeping them out of sight, "The riches of galactic trade make corruption inevitable."

From the shadows along the side of the building, standing from a bench, was a man wearing a leather coat and dark trousers who also wore a simple flat cap. He had his hands in his pockets, one of them obviously holding a weapon.

"We're friends from afar," Major Black stepped forward, relaying the requested code phrase to verify his identity.

"So you got my message? Are my girls safe?" the man lowered his voice, changing tone immediately.

"They're safe. They keep asking when they can go home," Black relayed softly.

"I sent them to your people for their protection. I have a bounty on my head, it wasn't safe for them anymore. Not with what's been going on."

"And what has been going on? You better speak quickly friend, because if my superiors were very concerned about the tale told to us by those little girls then you can bet that they want answers, real answers. First, how do you speak our language?"

"I speak many languages, when you travel as much as I have and know as many people as I do you learn tongues or you fail, and to fail means death."

"Alright then, and your daughters, they said you had technology, what kind of technology?" Major Black asked again.

"It's not safe to speak here, bribery goes both ways. If you can bribe that official then so can the Jaffa, and they have a lot more gold and silver than you do. Follow me, my truck's over here."

He turned and began walking, leading the party to a parking lot which had six large 6x6 olive green military trucks parked next to the building and a pair of sedans while a pair of bright orange and white sedans with sirens and lights on the roofs were over next to them. A simple beat-up flatbed truck with a large complex grill of once-polished metal bars in the front and large circular lights with a tarp over the bed was over away from the light with a man standing next to it, hand in his jacket as he saw them approach. Black saw this and grabbed the man by the arm and halted him in place.

"Hold on, tell your boys over there to show themselves."

"You see him don't you?" the man said as he pointed to the man.

"All of them," Black stated, cold-blooded intent evident in his eyes, "Do you think I'm stupid? If you're as wanted as you claim then you wouldn't roll around with just one man now would you?"

The man looked at Black curiously, then a slow smirk appeared on his face and he then lifted his fingers to his lips and let out a loud whistle, and one additional man stepped out from behind a tree to the right, where he wasn't even seen until he stepped out onto the concrete. Black released the man and they continued to the truck.

"Your men can get in the back, I'll tell you what I can on the drive in," he stated as he got the driver's side door and opened it, intent on driving himself.

"Go 'head," Black said to his men and went to the passenger side and got in, seating himself on the hard bench seat, noting the rather rudimentary interior, if one could even call it that. With the turn of a key the truck struggled to life, warbling heavily as the man pulled them out onto the road and headed to the city.

"My name is Tyry, my planet was once vassal to a Gou'ald System Lord, a particularly nasty one at that. We were slaves, forced to labor in the fields and live in squalor with barely enough to feed ourselves because his Jaffa would come and take our harvests, leaving only enough for us to just barely survive. When the Jaffa rose in rebellion we thought that things would get better with no false god to worship or serve. But it didn't," the man informed him, "Instead, the Jaffa extorted us, offering their 'protection' for a portion of our harvests. We were ignorant at first, thinking that they were bluffing, we paid for that with our town set to the torch in the night. Of course we reported them to the Jaffa Council, hoping that the values they espoused were true, and that they'd handle their own. But they didn't, the Jaffa who led those lousy raiders was on their so-called Council!" the man said angrily.

"And you weren't believed?" Black asked incredulously.

"No, I accused him of lying, and…they let him beat him to an inch of my life until he was satisfied he'd showed the others his anger at being accused was genuine. It didn't take long after that for the Ori to come, and gave us our first real breath of freedom. Our people prospered because when we were given weapons to match those of the Jaffa who extorted our people we beat them back and they never came back. We didn't believe in Origin, we just wanted a way to stop the Jaffa," the man sighed, knowing that anyone who said that they'd joined the Ori Crusade willingly was accused of being foolish these days.

"The Ori, they were advanced?"

"Advanced?! Yes! So advanced that they nearly swept the Jaffa and the Tau'ri from the stars! But…something happened, one day the Priors just came to a realization that what they were doing was wrong. Thankfully most of us had those thoughts already, and to see the Priors do likewise was a weight off of our shoulders and their armies dispersed or returned to the place they'd come from. But…what was left were the Jaffa who'd been effectively defeated by the same people they'd once walked all over, and didn't like it. While their government made efforts to control their wayward brothers, their hammer returned to us, seeking retribution for the dishonor of their defeat on those of us who'd joined the Ori, and even choosing to punish those who resisted despite being opposed to the Ori."

"Sounds like a kid at school I used to know," Black noted, taking this in its entirety, seeing a pattern developing that was rather disconcerting.

"I guess there's ways to relate for everyone. That's how me and my family began, by fighting back. We'd discovered a vein of gold running in the mountains outside our settlements. The Jaffa saw our riches through the eyes of their traders, who we dealt with on cordial terms, and the same warlord wanted it for himself. When he sent his warriors to demand tribute as apology for our people siding with the Ori we donned our old armor, took up our staff weapons and challenged them to come take it. The Jaffa warlord turned to their government, and he claimed we were Ori holdouts, and so they invaded. We stood no chance, despite turning to the Taur'i for help, but they didn't, not until it was too late."

"The Taur'i, Earth?" Black scoffed, "They didn't help you when you were being attacked?"

"No…we were defeated that day. Hundreds died, our villages…my family's farm, destroyed from space. But we weren't beaten, and we still aren't beaten. We wage that conflict now, targeting the Jaffa warlords who we know are responsible for the suffering and oppression of our fellow Humans. I figure…if we do enough damage to those warlords then the Jaffa government will be forced to act to rein them in, as we've stated categorically that we only want to be treated equally to their government. And with their new leader being Teal'c of Chulak…perhaps that is now possible. But his enemies are my enemies, the same warlords."

"I sense there's a but?"

"There is. On the eve of Teal'c's election a bomb was detonated on Chulak, killing many and wounding even more innocent Jaffa, people who we have no quarrel with. One of the injured was his son. I'm convinced it was not the work of my people, but rather someone else who wanted to turn Teal'c against us. This is why I need your help."

"How exactly do we help you? You hardly know us, and we know nothing about you or the Jaffa," Black said point blank, "So before you continue telling me this story why don't you get to the point?"

"I need a protector, someone that Teal'c would need to get through to get to me. He's no bloodthirsty fool, I met him…once. If met by the threat of war Teal'c will not start one if the other side is willing to come to the table, he's an honorable man. But I cannot go to the Taur'i to get through to him, we tried that once and I lost my wife," the man said with a heavy sigh as they arrived within the outer suburbs of the city, and the Colonials saw that they were going to be greeted with quite a familiar setting, one that they hadn't honestly expected out here.

"What happened?"

"We asked the Taur'i if they could arrange for a conference with the Jaffa leadership after one of our retaliatory strikes on a Jaffa shipyard. We were riding high, three Ha'tak class ships were destroyed on the ground. Our leadership thought that we had made our point and were in a position of sufficient strength to be treated as such. But not even a day later we were ambushed before the meet. Our intelligence had informed us that Earth told the Jaffa where we were going to relocate, and they attacked us. More than fifty of my men were killed or executed. My wife was wounded as we retreated. She didn't make it, which is how we ended up here. I'm through putting faith in them, but I have faith in diplomacy if given a chance."

"So why us? How did you hear about my people?"

"A trusted associate of mine said that Earth had contacted you, and they said that you were powerful, you have many ships, many armies. All the things that would make the Jaffa think twice about acting in an aggressive manner if you were to stand firm against them. And that you were powerful enough that Earth would not allow a war to occur, and they'd force the Jaffa into a negotiated settlement."

"Why should we help you? Why should my government risk war with an alien entity we have no quarrel with in order to help someone who has basically confessed to waging a war of terror?"

"Because I have something you need," the man said as he stopped the truck at a traffic light, turning directly to look at the major, "Your people are not on the same level as the Jaffa, let alone the Taur'i. Oh yes, my sources are extensive enough to know that your ships have no shields and no energy weapons. Without them you are vulnerable. But I can give them to you. All I ask is for you to intercede in this conflict before it becomes an all-out war."