A Quiet Man Speaks

Author: Badgergater

Email: [email protected]

Spoilers: Nothing specific

Season:***Late One or early Two***

Episode: None

Pairing: None

Warnings: None

Rating: Anyone

Summary: Teal'c speaks of the Tau'ri and of O'Neill in particular

Category: POV, thoughts

Disclaimer:

Author's Pledge: honest, accurate information about every fic, so the reader can make an informed choice. I have no need to obfuscate, hide or pretend my fic is anything but what it is.

Author's Note: WHen Teal'c speaks, people should listen....

-------------------------------------------------------------------

I am Teal'c of Chulak.

How I ended up here, on Earth, among the Tau'ri, the fabled homeland of my race, is a strange and lengthy tale.

I was once the first Prime of Apophis, a man proud of his rank, a man devoted to serving his God. It was an honor I labored hard to achieve, and in which I took great pride. I believed that I was blessed to be allowed to be the instrument of my lord's glorious plan. I believed that someday all would be revealed to me, and that my God would reward me and my people for our obedience and obeisance.

I carried out his orders with the blind belief of a zealot.

And then, eventually, I began to think for myself, to see that Apophis was not a God, but a sham, posing as a deity, holding my people in thrall as he also held so many other races. We were not his beloved people, subjects of a benevolent and all-knowing God, but simply playthings for him to use and toss away as his whims dictated.

It took me many long years to realize these things.

In time, I vowed to free my people from a slavery they did not even know existed.

/-----\

Long years I waited, and searched for others I could fight beside. There are many races among the galaxy, many inhabited planets that serve the Goa'uld, some few who don't. I, and my people, we needed an ally.

I despaired of ever finding one.

And then I met O'Neill of the Tau'ri.

Locked in among the hundreds of cowed prisoners in Apophis' dank cellars, I encountered one man whose face showed no fear, whose gaze challenged, whose voice spoke of being free, whose eyes blazed with the passion of freedom.

I looked into his eyes and recognized a fellow warrior, a man of honor and courage, and a brother.

When he asked for my help, not to save himself but to save innocent others, I knew I had found my ally.

/-----\

In that one day, in that one moment, I learned all I needed to know about ColonelO'Neill. I knew nothing about him, except that he was a warrior, honorable and determined. That he understood what it meant to be free, what it meant to be responsible, and that he honored the code, that a warrior protected his people, that he thought of himself last, that he left no one behind.

O'Neill serves no god. He serves his people, his country as they call it on Earth. He fights when he must, avoids battle when he can, and obeys his leaders, but never blindly. Though he is merely a human, I know that Master Bra'tak would be proud to claim O'Neill among his apprentices.

My early days among the Tau'ri have not been easy. I soon learned O'Neill was but one of many, not a man of power on his world. Hammond of Texas commands O'Neill, not as a god, but as a fellow warrior, as I once heeded the words of Bra'tak. Hammond is a good man who claims to be nothing more than a man.

Both Hammond and O'Neill have fought for me, to protect me from those of their own kind who would use me, who would treat me without respect.

Though there is much to admire in the Tau'ri, they are confusing and chaotic.

It is a strange characteristic of the Tau'ri, spawned I imagine by their cherished freedom. They do not have one goal as a people, but fight among themselves. When I asked O'Neill to explain, he simply shrugged and stated, "That is how we are," and I nodded, as if I understood, but I did not. It took me much study and contemplation to understand that with freedom comes disagreement and dispute, even chaos. I have learned that freedom means having the courage to allow others to think and do what one would not do oneself.

It is not an easy thing.

But it is a good and true thing.

/-----\

I had come to Earth thinking the Tau'ri were perfect.

I quickly learned they are not, though some of them, the best of them, strive to be.

Yes, they have at times been a great disappointment.

O'Neill has not.

He is a strange man, this man of honor. Even after all this time among humans, I fear I will never understand O'Neill's sense of humor. At first, I assumed it was my own failing, my lack of understanding of this culture. But I have since learned that many Tau'ri do not understand O'Neill either.

I was much relieved to make this discovery.

What I understand of O'Neill is that he is a warrior in the truest sense. A warrior does what must be done, regardless of the personal cost, or the sacrifice required. He will lay down his life for his comrades, or his people. He will fight with every ounce of his being, and never concede defeat.

That is O'Neill.

I also did not understand the frailty of humans. Without a symbiote, the human body is slow to heal, often cannot heal itself, and thrives for but a short time. Yet, though I appreciate the strength and health my symbiote provides for me, I now understand the price I pay for those rewards.

O'Neill makes it plain that he would never trade one for the other. I do not know if I would again, but, as O'Neill says, "That is neither here nor there." I am what I am, and he is what he is, and he wishes to be nothing else.

Humans are strong willed. O'Neill has shown me that. He 'went to bat' for me when I accompanied him back to Earth. Not until long after did I understand the struggle he undertook on my behalf, to fulfill his promise to me that I would be a member of his team. Often, O'Neill has been forced to battle his superiors to keep that promise, but he does so willingly and without complaint.

O'Neill is a man of great loyalty, not to a false god, but to his comrades in arms.

/-----\

I risked much to rescue three humans on Chulak, many months ago.

Though we have not yet reached our goals, though I have not yet fulfilled my own dream of freeing my people, I have not regretted that sudden decision.

Victory will come. The Goa'uld are many and vicious, and will not be easily defeated.

But somehow, I know the Tau'ri will stand. They will find a way to succeed when others have not.

They are unique, these humans.

It is what makes them puzzling, but it is also what makes them strong.

----- The End -----