First Life: First Prime

Complete
Drama
Set c.1985
FR-T
Violence

Disclaimers:

Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, The SciFi Channel, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is written purely for my own entertainment, and that of anyone else who may happen to read it. No infringement of copyright is intended. It is not intended and should never be used for commercial purposes.

The original characters, situations and ideas contained within this work are the property of the author.

Author's Notes:

This is the final part of the First Life series, charting Teal'c's first experiences as First Prime of Apophis. It follows First Cries, First Steps, First Love and First Blood.

Acknowledgements:

All praise be to Sho, beta reader and would-be System Lord.

The Prophet, 8th April 2003

First Life – First Prime

Chulak
AD1985 in the Tau'ri reckoning

"I fear for my husband," Drey'auc admitted to Seteh'na one day. The two women had been friends for years, but this was the first time Drey'auc had mentioned her concern. Seteh'na's family had long been close friends of Teal'c's, and when Apophis granted his First Prime-elect the land and money to purchase a house for his family, Seteh'na had designed it for him. A lesser woman might have blamed Teal'c for the death of her betrothed, Va'lar, but Seteh'na knew what it was to be Jaffa. She understood the depth of the friendship between the two men, and that Teal'c had only obeyed the will of Apophis. Seteh'na inherited Va'lar's faith in Teal'c, and that faith ran deep enough that when she was in trouble, she had come to him for aid.

Fro'tac of the High Cliffs, a childhood friend of both Va'lar and Teal'c, but a man not given to sentiment, had begun making advances to Seteh'na very soon after Va'lar's death. At first she had been grateful for the company of one who had known her lover, but soon she came to realise that Fro'tac wanted more from her than companionship. She grew frightened and asked him to cease his pursuit of her, and when he continued to press his suit, she turned to Va'lar's killer. The night that Seteh'na came to them in tears, Drey'auc had comforted her while Teal'c went to speak with Fro'tac. Sitting with the other woman, comforting her, had cemented the bond between them the same way that – eighty years before – a shared fear of Ron'ac's violence had created a bond between Teal'c's mother Ry'auc and the priestess Kal'rhe.

"Teal'c is a strong and cautious warrior," Seteh'na assured her friend. "His world is fraught with peril, but he is a survivor." As she spoke, she bounced Teal'c's infant son, Ry'ac on her knee.

"That is not what I mean," Drey'auc said. "He says such strange things sometimes, and I fear that he shall fall foul of Apophis' anger."

"What strange things?" Seteh'na asked.

Drey'auc paused. She trusted Seteh'na more than any of her other friends, but she knew that she could not tell the woman that her betrothed had lived for over twenty years beyond his supposed death, before dying at the hands of his appointed executioner. How could she explain that Va'lar's look of sorrow and understanding still haunted Teal'c's dreams? Seteh'na remained unattached after fifty years, spurning a dozen offers of marriage and twice as many to become a mistress. How could Drey'auc ever tell a woman so devoted that her betrothed had taken a human wife, who had borne him three children before Teal'c slew them all, granting them a swift, clean death as a last favour to his old friend?

"He speaks blasphemy," Drey'auc admitted at last, because that was actually easier. She spoke in a whisper, as though someone might be listening. "He questions the power and divinity of the Gods."

Seteh'na was shocked. "But he is First Prime of Apophis!" She hissed, lowering her voice as Drey'auc had done.

"I know," Drey'auc replied. "And he was so proud when it happened; I felt sure that his doubts were forgotten. But then he went to speak with Master Bra'tac, and when he returned he was dour and pensive. He has been so ever since, and I do not like it. I fear he will do something foolish; that he will die and Ry'ac and I be cast out. So long as he serves well and diligently, this...madness is harmless enough, but if he should speak out of turn, then all of us might suffer. I want my son to know his father."

"If Teal'c speaks out against Apophis, you know that you are bound to report his blasphemy to the temple priests," Seteh'na said. "Perhaps they could help him."

Drey'auc shook her head. "He will not listen to reason," she explained. "He is convinced that he is right. I know that Bra'tac believes the same, and I would not be surprised to learn that the old man has spoken this heresy to other warriors that he has trained."

Seteh'na frowned. "My Va'lar was true to his God, always," she insisted. "He died for Apophis."

Again, Drey'auc felt a twinge of guilt for lying to Seteh'na. "Teal'c believed that the sentence was unfair," she admitted. "That the Gods execute their commanders rather than..."

"No!" Seteh'na snapped, startling Ry'ac and making him cry. Seteh'na tried to soothe and shush him, but in the end was forced to hand the child back to his mother. "I am sorry," Seteh'na said. "But I must believe that...I have to."

Drey'auc nodded her understanding, most of her attention focused on her child. "Hush, now, Ry'ac," she cooed.

"Let me try."

The two women turned to face the door, where Teal'c was just entering. Both felt embarrassed, as though he had actually caught them speaking of his beliefs behind his back. Moving quickly and not meeting her husband's gaze, Drey'auc handed Ry'ac to him, and kissed him briefly on the cheek. Gently, Teal'c began to rock and bounce his son, and almost at once, Ry'ac stopped crying and gave a gurgling laugh.

"You are so good with him," Seteh'na said, with quiet awe. As had her betrothed, she held Teal'c in a kind of reverence, and even Drey'auc's revelations could not shatter that at once.

"My father never held me when I cried," Teal'c said, softly, and Drey'auc felt a pang of jealousy. Although she knew that there was nothing between them, sometimes it felt as though Teal'c were more open about his past with Seteh'na than with his own wife. After fifty years, this could only be about the tenth time that she had even heard him mention his father, and most of the other times had been in Seteh'na's presence.

Ry'ac fell silent, and Teal'c lowered him gently into his crib.

"I should leave you alone," Seteh'na said. "It must be late if you are home."

"Not very," Teal'c replied, although he knew that she was merely making excuses; like all adult Jaffa, Seteh'na had an excellent sense of time. "I was able to get away early for once." Since becoming First Prime, Teal'c had been astonished, and somewhat overwhelmed by the volume of mundane clerical work that the role entailed. A week ago, he had finally caved in under the pressure and hired a young scribe to assist him in the awesome logistical exercise of commanding the Jaffa armies of Apophis, but the job was still fairly gargantuan. He was seriously considering hiring a second scribe to assist the first in assisting him.

Actually commanding the army in the field proved to be the least and simplest of the First Prime's duties. He had to receive regular reports from his armoury officer, an almoner, a purser and the recorder of the dead. Once that was done, he had to summarise the reports in case one of the underlords to whom Apophis occasionally gave some jurisdiction over the Jaffa forces wanted information fast. Teal'c regularly counted his blessings that he could read and write reports while his scribe attended to other duties: His ability to do so was rare among warriors, and even the majority of the Serpent Guard were illiterate.

He had to consult every veteran currently training apprentices over their methods, and the readiness of their chal'ti to become chal'ak and of their chal'ak to enter the field of battle; and he had to do so without insulting them. Perhaps worst of all, he had, with fawning attention to the precise forms of etiquette, to liase with the Goa'uld sorcerers who maintained the death gliders, teltacs, barques and cruisers flown by his pilots; with the Goa'uld pilots who flew the ha'taks that bore his warriors to battle; with the Goa'uld smiths and enchanters who forged the weapons that the Jaffa carried. Their mistakes – or their malice – could kill more Jaffa than any enemy, yet as gods – albeit minor ones – they were beyond the reproach of even a First Prime. Thus he had to balance getting what he needed from them with not offending their divine dignity; a difficult act, even for a man without Teal'c's pride.

"All the same..." Seteh'na went on.

"Stay," Teal'c offered. "I so rarely see anyone from the old days anymore."

"Surely not," Seteh'na demurred. "What of Fro'tac? Do you not serve with him?"

Teal'c grunted, impatiently. "Fro'tac and I do not speak more than we are required to," he said. "Not since...Well, you know what since."

Seteh'na averted her eyes, guiltily.

"It is not your fault," Teal'c assured her. "The blame is Fro'tac's."

"You are very kind," Seteh'na said. "But I should have stopped it sooner, and would have if I had not been flattered by the attention. I should go," she said again. "I too have duties to attend to."

"As you wish," Teal'c relented. He laid his hands on her shoulders, and kissed her softly on the crown of her head. "Be well, Seteh'na."

"Be well, First Prime," Seteh'na replied, bringing a slight frown to Teal'c's brow.

Teal'c waited while Drey'auc showed Seteh'na to the door. "Seteh'na," she began.

"I will tell no-one," the other woman promised. "But if I did not fear to bring this to the attention of the God, I would pray for Teal'c's head to clear. You are right, Drey'auc; this will be trouble."

*

As Teal'c was finding his new duties a burden, so Bra'tac felt the same weight lifting from his shoulders. Following the death of his wife and daughter, he had sometimes found life a burden, and wished for death to come for him, but he was glad to have lived long enough to pass the mantle of First Prime to his apprentice – and his friend – when he was strong and mature, and well-prepared for it. Bra'tac himself had become First Prime of Apophis at the tender age of sixty, and it had come close to killing him; literally. Already wounded, the pain of his initiation had nearly ended his life. He was glad that his survival meant that Teal'c assumed the role at eighty-five, as a full-grown and well-rounded warrior.

Teal'c had been a comfort to Bra'tac in his darkest hours. The boy's potential was incredible, even when his stubborn pride threatened to drive his teacher to murder. Moreover, it was through the boy that Bra'tac had found both a confessor and a confidant, the one in the mendicant chantress, Kal'rhe, the other in Ry'auc. Kal'rhe's wisdom had grounded Bra'tac, and the ceaseless care of his ne'pher had enabled him to cope with all of the other stresses that life had thrown at him.

Now however, even as the trials of commanding Apophis' army were lifted from his back, he found a new source of worry. For several years he had suspected that Ry'auc was hiding something from him, and now he was certain. Sometimes he would find her in hidden corners, weeping bitterly and pretending not to when she saw him. Troubled by this, he would slip away before he was noticed when he could, fearing to intrude. She seemed to have become clumsy of late, and was slower and less rigorous in her work. Bra'tac did not mind this; he had time now to keep his own house, and really kept Ry'auc employed merely for the pleasure of her company, but even that was lacking of late. She grew fey and distracted, and often lost the train of conversations. In a woman who had always been the most alert and perceptive of Jaffa, this caused Bra'tac great concern.

Now he could stand it no longer, and so Bra'tac sought Ry'auc out, finding her in the small room that she had occupied for so many years, sitting quietly at her table. She looked old, and it tore his heart to see her that way, for she was some ten years younger than he.

"Tell me what ails you," he demanded, with characteristic abruptness.

Ry'auc looked up at him with something like relief in her expression. "I have been dreading this moment," she admitted. "But I knew it must come sooner or later." Then she held out her hand, and Bra'tac saw that it was trembling.

"Are you afraid?" Bra'tac asked, sitting beside her.

"No," she replied. "But I can not make it stop. I used to be able to, with just a little concentration, but..." She sighed. "I have the cobra's curse. I have known this for years, but until recently my symbiote has slowed the progression enough that I could continue to function. Now...now I can not hide it any longer, and it is affecting my work."

Bra'tac was alarmed. The cobra's curse was a rare, degenerative palsy that affected a person's ability to control their own body; like a cobra's venom. In Jaffa the onset took decades, but the cause was unknown, and of course the Jaffa had no means of treating it.

"You do not have to work," Bra'tac assured her. "Let things be; I can take care of them now and let you rest."

"No," she protested. "I will not be kept, and I will not be useless. I am dying, dear Bra'tac," she said.

Now it was his turn to protest: "No! You have many years left in you, Ry'auc."

"By inches perhaps, but I am dying," she insisted. "And I do not wish to end up a shivering cripple, unable to move by my own volition. Do you not see that would be worse than death?"

Bra'tac felt something akin to panic as he realised what she was saying, but he could not deny the truth of her words. "I am still permitted access to all parts of the palace," he said. "I can take you to the royal sarcophagus at its heart, and..."

Ry'auc looked appalled. "No, Bra'tac!" She gasped.

"The Guards are loyal to me," he insisted. "No-one would ever know."

"You must not take such a risk." She reached out and took his hand.

Bra'tac clasped his free hand over hers and tried to will her trembling to subside, but to no avail. "I do not want you to die," he said.

Ry'auc smiled at him, with tears in her eyes. "You have always been so very kind to me," she said. "And to my son. You took us in when you had no cause, and you gave me something I had almost forgotten I could have: My dignity."

Bra'tac gave a melancholy smile. "You never lost that, Ry'auc," he assured her. "Even in the camps."

"In the camps I was a whore."

"But a dignified whore," Bra'tac insisted. "The proudest whore I ever laid eyes on."

Ry'auc laughed. "Well, thank you, my dear Bra'tac," she said. "Thank you for everything. You have shown me more respect and honour as your ne'pher than Ron'ac ever showed me as his wife, and that is something that I never hoped to receive from any man."

"Not all men are your husband," Bra'tac assured her. "Your son is not, for one."

"And nor are you, although..." She stopped, and looked away, blushing.

"Ry'auc?"

"It is nothing."

"If this is to be the end," he told her, gently. "Let us be honest with one another."

Ry'auc freed a hand an slid it around Bra'tac's waist, laying her head on his shoulder. "For all the trials of my life, I have but one regret," she said. "That my foolish haste might have kept us from ever living as man and woman. I should not have offered myself to you when I did, and had I known and trusted in you as I do now, I would not have done so."

Bra'tac laid his arm over Ry'auc's shoulders and held her gently. "There was folly on both sides, Ry'auc," he said. "I was in mourning, and your words were ill-chosen and ill-timed, but I should not have spurned you as cruelly as I did." He sighed. "I can not count the number of times I wanted to take those words back."

Ry'auc gave a small sob. Bra'tac stroked his fingers through her hair and shushed her gently, and his own tears fell on her head like rain.

"They say that there is no fool like an old fool," Bra'tac whispered.

"Oh, but we were young fools as well," Ry'auc reminded him. "And now we have nothing left but our folly."

"And Teal'c."

Ry'auc turned her face towards him and smiled. "And Teal'c," she agreed. "And that night," she added, reluctantly.

"Yes," Bra'tac mused. "That night." He knew immediately what she meant. The night a week after his daughter's death; the night of their sole physical union.

"We should not have..."

"No," he agreed, quickly. "Not then. And not like that." That night had been a strange and – although it was hard for him to admit – frightening experience, and one that had driven another wedge between them, deeper and wider than her insensitivity or his hard words. "I have wanted to take that back also."

"We could try," she suggested, reaching up to touch his face.

*

"You seemed very determined that Seteh'na should stay," Drey'auc noted, acidly.

"I worry for her," Teal'c replied. Crouched over his son's crib, he did not appear to notice her tone. "She has no one to care for her or keep her company. Whenever I see her, I think of how lonely I would be without you."

Drey'auc gave a cynical snort. "Perhaps neither of you would be very lonely."

Teal'c looked up, sharply. "What do you mean, woman?" He demanded, short-tempered as ever with her sly insinuations.

Drey'auc faced his flashing anger boldly, knowing that he would never level the full and deadly force of his rage against her, whatever the provocation. "I mean that perhaps if you had not married me, Seteh'na would not have remained unwed."

"You do not know what you are talking about, woman," Teal'c snapped, dismissively.

"No?" Drey'auc took a step towards him. "I see how she looks at you; and the way you care for her."

Teal'c turned away from her. "She is all but the widow of a good friend, dead by my hand. Even were I not a married man it would be obscene for me to pursue her."

"But she is not truly his widow," Drey'auc pressed. "No law or tradition would stand in your way."

"Why do you test me!" Teal'c snapped, spinning around and seizing her by the arms.

Drey'auc looked up at him, laughter and hunger in her dark eyes. "You know why?" She told him.

Teal'c's anger slowly dissolved, replaced as it always was by desire. He smiled, and pulled his wife into a rough kiss. Drey'auc put her arms around his neck and held him tightly.

"You play with fire," Teal'c warned her. "Some day I might hurt you."

"I do not believe it," Drey'auc assured him.

"I love you," Teal'c assured her, proving it with another kiss. "Although you drive me mad, but I am not a safe man to toy with."

Drey'auc looked into his eyes, her expression serious. "I know you," she said. "In fifty years you have never struck me, and you never shall."

"How can you know that?" Teal'c demanded.

"Because I know how far I can push you. And because if you ever raise your hand to me, I will kill you."

Teal'c kissed her again, with redoubled passion, folding her in his powerful embrace. "I shall not forget," he said, fondly, knowing that she meant every word.

"But something troubled you," Drey'auc said, gently, when they were forced to come up for air; being Jaffa, that was not for a long time. "Something that Seteh'na said."

"She calls me 'First Prime' now," Teal'c said. "As does Fro'tac, and the other survivors of my training company in the bash'ak. My closest friends balk at using my given name."

"My poor Teal'c," Drey'auc murmured, aware of the irony that she would normally have called him 'husband', instead of Teal'c, just as he called her 'woman', saving her given name for moments of great intimacy, such as this one.

"Ah, Drey'auc," he whispered. "I am fortunate to have such a wife. I am very fond of Seteh'na, but she would have been a poor substitute for you."

They kissed once again, yet more deeply, and both felt quite light-headed when they were disturbed by an insistent knock at the door. They tried to ignore it, but whoever was there clearly had no intention of going unanswered.

"Teal'c, my love," Drey'auc whispered. "Please find out who that is and kill them."

"Absolutely," Teal'c replied, reluctantly releasing his wife and going to the door.

"First Prime." The person at the door was a young man. Teal'c was not sure, but he thought that he might be one of Bra'tac's Chal'ti.

"Yes?" Teal'c asked, impatiently.

"Master Bra'tac asks that you come to his house at once."

*

Teal'c and Drey'auc went at once to Master Bra'tac's house, pausing only to wrap their baby against the chill of evening. Something in the tone of the messenger's voice, as much as the insistence that they come immediately, told them that this could not wait. Bra'tac met them at the door, and led them to his study, where Ry'auc was waiting. Teal'c's mother rose and fussed over her namesake, lying asleep in Drey'auc's arms, but quickly got down to the matter at hand. Bra'tac seemed very attentive of Ry'auc; unusually so, and it gave Teal'c pause.

"I shall be blunt," Ry'auc said, startling Teal'c. The summons had come from Bra'tac, and he had expected Bra'tac to speak.

"What is wrong, Good Mother?" Drey'auc asked, solicitously.

"I am dying, child," Ry'auc replied. "There is a palsy in my limbs, and I have decided that my time has come."

Teal'c was aghast. "You have decided?" He asked. "Then you are not truly dying?"

Ry'auc sighed. "I should have known that you would raise all the same arguments as Bra'tac," she admitted. "No, I shall not die for some years yet, but nor shall I really be able to live. Therefore, I have decided that I wish for the Rite of M'al Sharran."

"You can not do that!" Teal'c protested.

"Yes I can," Ry'auc insisted. "And furthermore, I shall."

"Mother...!" Teal'c pleaded.

"Please, Teal'c," she said, in a small, quiet voice. There was a long silence, in which Bra'tac and Drey'auc, understanding that this must be settled between the mother and the son, rose and slipped from the study.

"My condition is worse than I let Bra'tac know," Ry'auc explained. "I am alright for most of the morning, but my strength wanes, until by evening I can hardly hold a cup to drink. What will I be like in another seven years? In fourteen?" She went to Teal'c's side and knelt by his chair, folding his hands in her trembling grasp. "Bra'tac would devote himself to caring for me," she went on. "Or he could find someone to tend me as I tended Ariadne, but I do not want to be fed and tended like a babe in arms, and I do not want you to have to see me come to that. Better to go cleanly, when I can. In the end, it shall be easier for all of us."

"I do not wish to lose you, mother," Teal'c sobbed, tears falling from his eyes.

"Hush, my baby," Ry'auc whispered, leaning up to kiss away his tears. "I am sorry to leave you so soon. I so wanted to see Ry'ac grow up; but it is not to be."

"It is not fair," Teal'c protested.

" Life is not fair," Ry'auc told him. "You know that Teal'c, better than anyone. Your father did terrible things, but he did not deserve his fate. You and I did nothing to deserve seven years in the kresh'ta camps. Bra'tac did not deserve the suffering life has brought him." She pressed her son's face between her hands. "Did Va'lar deserve exile? Or death? Did Andromeda? Our people are slaves to cruel and capricious gods, Teal'c," she told him. "So long as that is true, what we deserve and what we receive bear no relation to each other.

"The power of the Gods could save me, but they would never allow it, though it would cost them little. Such is our lot."

"Why must it be that way?" Teal'c demanded.

"Because we have no power to change the way of the world," she replied. "Those who seek openly to challenge their gods will be struck down. All that can be done is what you and Bra'tac do; to try and protect those you can."

"Is it enough?"

Ry'auc hugged her son, tightly. "It must be," she said. "For it is all you have to give, and only the false, cruel gods would ask more than that."

Teal'c choked back another sob. "Tell me then," he said, forcing a calm into his voice that he did not feel. "What would you have me do when you are dead?"

Ry'auc smiled. "I should like to be buried with Bra'tac's family," she said. "I have served them for so long, I do not wish to be parted from them; even in death. You will look after him, will you not?" She asked.

Teal'c was confused. "Ry'ac?" He asked.

"No," his mother replied. "Bra'tac."

"Master Bra'tac..."

"Has leaned heavily upon me these last decades," Ry'auc assured him. "He is a fine, strong man, but losing Andromeda caught him unprepared."

"As it caught us all."

"Of course," she agreed. "But I was there for him as much as he would let me, and now I shall not be. You and Drey'auc will have to try and care for him without stifling. He is a proud man – almost as proud as you – and he does not take kindly to coddling."

"When will you perform the Rite?" Teal'c asked.

"When it is time for my prim'ta to leave me," she explained. "Within the month."

Teal'c gave a strangled cry. "It is too soon."

"It is too late," Ry'auc corrected him. "I should have told you this years ago, but I still wanted to protect you, my sweet boy."

"I am sorry that I can not protect you," Teal'c whispered.

"You have done better than that," she assured him. "You have made your old mother proud."

*

For the next few weeks, Teal'c tried to keep busy, but found that he could not. He was unable to concentrate on his work, and Ry'auc had entrusted all of the funerary arrangements to the same chantress who had buried Ariadne and Andromeda. He and Drey'auc spent a great deal of time at Bra'tac's house, less so that they could tend to Ry'auc, who still refused to be waited on, than so that she could spend her remaining days with her grandson.

"He has his father's eyes," Ry'auc commented.

"His grandmother's eyes," Teal'c corrected her.

Ry'auc smiled. "He shall be a thief of hearts," she predicted. "Not that any child of yours and Drey'auc's could be otherwise. Do you plan to have more children?"

Teal'c smiled back, but the expression was subdued. "If raising Ry'ac does not drive us from our wits, we hope to have at least one more once he is grown to manhood."

Ry'auc sighed. Teal'c knew that she was regretting that she would never see her second grandchild, nor her first as a grown man. In return, she knew that he understood, and so neither of them spoke of it.

"Did I ever tell you," she asked. "That I had the auguries cast for him when he was born?"

"For Ry'ac?"

"Yes," Ry'auc replied. "He will be a great leader of the Jaffa," she said. "He will never excel as a warrior, but mighty warriors will follow him."

Teal'c laughed. "What leader could the Jaffa have that is not a warrior?"

"He will not excel as a warrior," Ry'auc repeated. "I never said that he would not be one."

"What did my auguries say?" He asked.

"I can not tell you," his mother insisted. "It is bad luck."

"Superstitious nonsense," Teal'c scoffed, for while all children in the domain of Cronus had the omens of their birth read and recorded, those in the service of Apophis eschewed such archaic mysticism. In its place, Apophis' Jaffa took the far more modern and scientific course of guarding against fate with prayer and incantations over the child's crib.

For all this scepticism, Teal'c would have liked to hear more of his son's illustrious future, but he was never to have the chance. At that moment, Drey'auc interrupted to say it was time for her to feed Ry'auc, and before they could settle again, Bra'tac came out into the courtyard to tell them that a messenger had come for Teal'c.

"A messenger from the palace," he added, ominously. "Your presence is commanded at once."

*

The Serpent Guards at the doors of the palace inclined their heads respectfully when their commander approached. The doors swung wide to receive the First Prime of Apophis, and a slender woman in a white, silk dress stood waiting for him.

"Praise to you, Seket Paternyt-Apep," Teal'c greeted the woman with a small bow.

"Honour to you, First Prime of Apophis," Seket replied, her voice throbbing with the Goa'uld resonance. "My Lord Apophis bid that you enter his sanctum at once. My Lord also wishes to express his condolences on your impending loss."

"My thanks to Lord Apophis, and all my prayers and devotion," Teal'c replied, although he knew that these sentiments did not come from Apophis.

Few Jaffa, even few First Primes had ever been aware of it, but Teal'c knew that Seket was well-named Paternyt-Apep – the Witness of Apophis. It was her duty to see and hear what went on in the domestic and otherwise trivial doings of Apophis' servants, and so to remind those servants that Apophis knew all that they did. It was not Apophis' wish however that his witness ever speak to him of that which she learned, for the petty doings of his Jaffa were of no interest to him.

"However," Seket went on. "My Lord Apophis also questions the wisdom of a First Prime participating in a questionable ceremony, such as the one you plan for your mother's burial."

"I thank My Lord for his concern," Teal'c replied, holding a tight rein on his emotions. "But as Master Bra'tac has conducted such funerary rites twice before, I am confident that Apophis shall watch over and smile upon me." More than that, Teal'c was certain that on those two occasions, Seket had not informed Apophis of Bra'tac's doings, and so she could not take action now without revealing her own past oversight.

"Of course," Seket said, tightly, inclining her head in acknowledgement of this small defeat while masking as best she could her anger and resentment. "In Our Lord Apophis we place our faith. Attend him now; and may he look on you with the favour your service earns."

Apophis' throne room was a dark and cavernous hall, dominated solely by the mighty throne of the God. Flanked by Serpent Guards, Apophis sat resplendent on the throne, radiating a power and majesty challenged only by that of his Queen, Amaunet. Rumoured by some to be older and more powerful even than her husband, Amaunet stood at his left hand, wrapped in an aura of icy calm to match the uncanny pallor of her skin. While there were Jaffa on Chulak of many different colours, some darker than Teal'c, other's paler than Seteh'na, few had ever seen a woman as fair of skin as Amaunet. There was something almost inhuman about her, more so than any other God Teal'c had ever encountered.

"All praise to you, My Lord. I attend you at your command," Teal'c said, bowing low before his God.

"Arise, First Prime of Apophis." Teal'c caught himself before he could start in amazement. The voice that commanded him was Amaunet's.

Teal'c stood. "All praise to you, My Lady."

"Your Queen is troubled," Apophis said. He held out his hand, and Amaunet laid her pale fingers in his palm. "One of our servants has allowed a certain item to be lost; an item most precious to my beloved Amaunet."

"Is it your wish that I retrieve this item?" Teal'c asked.

"That shall be attended to by another of our servants," Apophis assured him. "We wish you to lead a select group of our warriors to bring the retribution of Apophis upon this errant and insolent vassal."

"She must be punished for dishonouring us in this way," Amaunet snapped. "We shall have revenge. She shall suffer for all eternity."

"Your Queen has devised a most elegant revenge," Apophis noted.

Amaunet smiled, coldly. Her eyes burned in the Goa'uld way, and so pale was her skin that the light seemed to suffuse her face with a demonic glow. "You will lead our warriors to the palace of this insolent witch. Her Jaffa and the officers of her court shall die, and she will be struck down, but not slain. The blow that you will strike her will only weaken her. You shall seal her in a chamber beneath her hall, and with her you shall seal a leper girl."

Teal'c could not hold back his question: "Why a leper girl?"

"Do not question us, First Prime," the Queen commanded, angrily. "The leper girl is cursed for her blasphemy; unclean-upon-unclean. Her corruption will infect the vile one who offended us, and so we shall be avenged. Once the chamber is sealed you will set the palace aflame," she finished, almost as an afterthought. "You will burn the town around it, and salt the earth."

"It shall be as you command," Teal'c promised, not wishing either Apophis or Amaunet to see a need to clarify the last order. As it stood, he could spare the people of the town.

"This shall be your first command as First Prime without the supervision of your predecessor," Apophis noted. "Are you ready to bear the burden of this mantle."

"Simply give me the name of this treacherous goddess to whom I must deliver your justice," Teal'c said. "And tell me where I might find her."

Apophis smiled. "We believe that she is known to you," he said. "Her name is Amut, and she holds the domain of Nagaz."

*

With a list of warriors in his hand, Teal'c went from the throne room to the office assigned him as First Prime. He studied the list as he walked, and sure enough he found that among the two companies assigned for this mission were the names of every Jaffa who had gone into their first battle at his side; or at least of those who still lived. It seemed as though Apophis had determined that those who raised Amut by destroying Zalian in her name were to bring about her fall.

"Kech'ek!" Teal'c called as he entered the office, and his clerk leaped to his feet. "Send out messengers to summon these warriors," Teal'c instructed, handing the boy the list. "And do you know of any other scribes who could work here with you?" He added, as an afterthought.

"My sister," Kech'ek replied at once. "She is skilled, but..."

"But few people want a female scribe," Teal'c finished for him. "Very well. When you have summoned those warriors to me, tell your sister I wish to employ her. She can assist you in clearing up this mess," he went on, sifting idly through the stacks of tablets and scrolls on the table.

"Yes, First Prime."

The boy left, and Teal'c sank wearily into his chair. The Jaffa existed to wage war in the name of their gods, and were taught from an early age to crave battle. But Teal'c did not want to go into battle, not now. Soon his mother would be dead, and he should be with her before the end, but gods cared nothing for such matters. Why should they? They preferred to avoid death, and never made reference to those of their number that no longer lived. To do so would be to acknowledge their own mortality, even if their deceased brethren had died by their command. Did Apophis ever know the Queen who bore him? Did he mourn her passing when she died?

Teal'c sat there, lost in contemplation, until he was dragged from his maudlin thoughts by a piercing scream.

*

The screams continued as Teal'c made his way to the courtyard, interspersed with a savage tumult of curses and blasphemies, as the screamer railed against Apophis as a false god. As he grew nearer, Teal'c could make out the soft whine of a pain-giver before each scream. To be able to withstand such punishment and still give voice, the victim of this torture must surely have been subjected to the same kind of pain, over and over again.

Teal'c emerged into the courtyard, and saw a squad of Jaffa arrayed near to the Gate. A tall, powerful man with an air of command led them, and held a chain in his hand. At the far end of the chain was an iron collar, fastened around the neck of a thin girl, dressed in ragged clothes. Her skin was marred by lesions, and given how rare sickness was among the Jaffa, Teal'c knew that this must be the leper.

One of the warriors held a pain-giver, and drove it again and again into the girl's side. As Teal'c reached them, he was drawing back for another blow. Teal'c grabbed his wrist and held it tightly. The other Jaffa struggled, but Teal'c was the stronger.

"You dare...!" The Jaffa began, half turning, a look of sadistic glee fading into anger. He froze when he saw Teal'c's calm, emotionless face before him, and fell silent.

"I do, Jor'lac of the Black Lane," Teal'c replied, tightening his grasp on his old enemy's wrist and twisting it, until he was forced to let the pain-giver fall. "You should not be harming the God's property for your own enjoyment." By Teal'c's lights, no Jaffa should harm anyone for pleasure, but he knew that the other man thought differently. Whether it had some twisted root in his defeat at the hands of Andromeda, or whether it predated his brutal murder of Teal'c's beloved friend, Jor'lac liked hurting women.

"This is outrageous!" The man holding the chain exclaimed. Teal'c was not in the least surprised to hear that he was Goa'uld. "Who is this who dares interfere with my detail?"

"He is the First Prime of Apophis," Seket informed the newcomer. "And he is correct, Apsis. This creature is not yours to play with." There was no love lost between Seket and Teal'c, and he had no illusions that she defended him from goodwill. This Apsis was an outsider – whether he commanded a detail of Serpent Guards or not – and she would support the First Prime – a fellow palace servant – against any outsider, Jaffa or Goa'uld.

"Bring her," Seket ordered Apsis. "Attend us, First Prime; and have one of your men see to the billeting of Lord Apsis' troops for the night."

"Yes, My Lady," Teal'c replied, signalling to his barrack prime, Nen'ac. Almost as old as Bra'tac and as retired as any Jaffa could be, Nen'ac's only remaining role was to attend to the use and maintenance of the palace barracks.

"Yes, First Prime?" Nen'ac asked.

"See that these Serpent Guards are given a place to sleep. Somewhere...suitable," he added.

"Yes, Master Teal'c," Nen'ac acknowledged. "I know just the..."

The barrack master tailed off as a scuffle broke out behind Teal'c. With a sudden twist, the leper girl had wrenched her chain free of Apsis' grasp and made a dash for the gate. Two of Jor'lac's Jaffa leaped to tackle her, but she evaded one and raked her nails down the face of the other. She hared past Jor'lac himself, and for a moment Teal'c felt a wave of sympathy for her plight. The moment passed however, and he realised that if he allowed her to escape, he and his family would suffer.

As the girl passed him, Teal'c reached out and snagged her wrist. She twisted and lost her footing, and a moment later Teal'c had her other wrist firmly pinned. He turned her about and held tightly to her thrashing form until Apsis could come and take up her chain once more.

"Damn you all!" She spat. "And damn your false god! I would wish you all to rot in the pits of Arallu, if only they were not the abode of more false gods!"

"Curse you!" Apsis snarled. "Jor'lac; the fire stick!"

"Do not be a fool," Seket sneered. "She was struck with the pain-giver not five minutes ago and she is able to outmanoeuvre your entire detail. You have clearly used it so much that it has lost all effectiveness. Just keep hold of her this time and come along." She turned towards the injured Jaffa. "And you," she said. "Get along to the temple and have the healers excise the injured flesh; otherwise you shall be tainted by her curse."

The Jaffa blanched, and headed for the temple as fast as he could whilst retaining a shred of dignity.

"This infection affects Jaffa?" Teal'c asked, releasing the girl to Apsis' custody a little faster than was entirely dignified.

"It is a holy curse," Seket replied. "Laid upon the girl by Apophis himself as a punishment for her blasphemies. She has been kept alive to suffer for her vile words, but now, in his mercy, Apophis has granted her the right to earn death in his service."

"Apophis is no more god than I am," the girl said, her voice oddly measured.

"Silence!" Apsis snapped, slapping her hard. Just for a moment, a shadow of fear crossed the Goa'uld's face, and he looked in horror at the hand that had struck the woman.

"Go on," the leper goaded. "Hit me again. Strike me until I bleed, if you think that your 'divinity' will shield you from my sickness."

Seket turned to the girl, and spoke to her in a language that Teal'c did not understand. Her tone was bland, but the leper blanched and fell silent. "You are a crude being," Seket told Apsis. "Why My Lord Apophis shows you any favour at all I shall never know."

Apsis hissed, but dared not speak out against the Witness.

"Mark me, First Prime," Seket added. "Do not allow your men to...interfere with the girl, or they shall regret it."

Teal'c looked the leper over, and decided that was unlikely to be a problem. He thought that she had probably been a great beauty once upon a time; honey-skinned, with black hair and black eyes. Now though, her face was a ruin of scabs and lesions, her arms were scarred, and her lop-sided gait suggested that her legs were equally ravaged and painful. Now that her screams had subsided, she held herself with a pride and dignity that touched Teal'c's warrior-heart, but only a shadow of her beauty remained to her, and few men would find her enticing now.

As if sensing his thoughts, she looked up at the First Prime of Apophis and winked. "It is not what is on the outside that counts," she assured him, in a sultry tone. "Give me thirty shes'tas and I will show you pleasures beyond your dreams." Somehow Teal'c did not doubt her words, and he shivered.

"Be silent," Seket said, without looking at the woman.

"It would not take long," the leper promised.

"Slut," Apsis hissed.

"Well, yes," she admitted, without offence. "But you know I am worth it."

Apsis hissed again, in impotent rage. Against his better judgement, Teal'c found himself warming to this girl, but he fought against the sentiment, knowing he was to play a part in her destruction.

"I said, be silent," Seket repeated, fixing the leper with her gaze. Once more, the girl grew pale. She bit back a retort and stared at the ground in front of her. "And you should have known better," she told Apsis.

"She lies!" The Goa'uld insisted.

"We shall see." Seket halted at the doors of the throne room. "Take the girl in," she instructed Apsis. "First Prime, come with me."

Once the doors had closed behind Apsis, Seket led Teal'c to her office. It was very much like his own, but nestled at the back of a bustling, cavernous room, where dozens of scribes slaved over papyri and tablets, organising the affairs of the palace. The office itself was kept obsessively neat, and Seket moved with almost ceremonial precision as she crossed to a cabinet, removed a ceramic pot and a crystal decanter, and poured a goblet of wine from the latter. She moved to her high-backed chair, and gestured for Teal'c to help himself to klah'c from the pot.

It was hot, Teal'c noted, presuming that a slave must have placed it in the cabinet just before their arrival.

"Apsis is an ass," Seket began, with disarming openness. "I doubt that one so observant as yourself can have missed that."

"As you say, My Lady," Teal'c replied, diplomatically.

"He is, however, an ass in high favour, and so despite his monumental stupidity, he is to be given governorship of Nagaz. In such a role, he shall be permitted to appoint a Primarch to lead his forces; perhaps you can guess who he has in mind?"

"Jor'lac," Teal'c snarled, then caught himself, and quickly added: "My Lady."

Seket smiled, indulgently. "I know of your history with Jor'lac," she said. "And I do not care. However, our enemies have allied themselves for mutual gain, and for that reason, I believe that we should do the same."

"My Lady?" Teal'c asked, feigning bewilderment.

"You are skilled at evading this game," Seket told him, searching his form and posture with her eyes. "Less so at playing it. I could make things very difficult for your mother, without having to inform Lord Apophis of your plans, or I could ensure that her Rite of M'al Sharran, her funeral, and her grave are all undisturbed. If I have your cooperation, I can even take steps to make certain that she does not have to undergo the Rite until your return."

"My Lady is too kind," Teal'c replied, blandly, although his heart was twisting in his chest. "And what form of cooperation does a goddess require of her humble servant."

Seket's smile became predatory and triumphant, enjoying her advantage over Teal'c. "Apsis is a thug. By directing his brutality towards her rivals he has curried favour with Our Queen, but he is nothing more than a vicious hound; much like his Primarch-elect. This being so," she went on, he smile deepening as Teal'c reacted with anger to the mere mention of his enemy. "I can guarantee that one of them will make a fatal mistake; and sooner rather than later. That does me not the slightest good, however, unless I have a reliable witness there to see it happen. You are the only Jaffa in Apophis' service who could give evidence of a Goa'uld's failure or betrayal and expect anything but death."

"You wish me to report any such failure to you?" Teal'c asked.

"Not quite," Seket replied. She took a papyrus from her desk. "Keep this with you at all times," she cautioned. "It is a warrant for the execution of Apsis." She passed him another papyrus. "And this is for the death of Jor'lac."

Teal'c felt a trembling in his limbs, and just for a moment, he would have done anything that Seket asked of him.

"The wording is vague," Seket explained. "But the documents are valid, and bear the seal of Apophis. I shall give Apsis' secret name to your weapons, and if he steps out of line, you shall kill him. I am certain that you shall need no incentive of assistance from me should an opportunity present itself to exercise the warrant on Jor'lac, but I caution you that he must give you cause, or this shall destroy us both. The girl is the most likely opportunity," she added. "Both Apsis and Jor'lac shall be ordered not to touch her or injure her, but they share a delight in the suffering of women."

Something in her tone caught Teal'c's attention. "Apsis hurt you," he realised, speaking the thought out loud before he could stop himself.

"It is noth..." Seket broke off her denial. "Be silent!" She snapped, waspishly, but Teal'c could not have spoken if he had wanted to. He could hardly believe what he had just heard: He had committed the unforgivable sin of showing concern for a Goa'uld as though he were her equal, and she had responded to his sympathy. Teal'c shuddered to think what terrible violation Apsis could possibly have committed against Seket, to make a Goa'uld forget herself so.

"My motivation is none of your concern," she continued, trying to cover for her own lapse. "Do you understand my instructions?"

This was the test, Teal'c realised. Seket's hands were out of sight, doubtless holding a weapon on him, ready to kill him if he gave the wrong answer.

"I understand," he replied. "And I obey the command of My Lord's most faithful and trusted servant, My Lady Seket."

Seket searched Teal'c's face, but he had nothing to hide from her. She had given him the means to take his revenge, and avenging Apsis' crime against her was a small price to pay. At length, she nodded. "I am sure that I do not need to remind you that this commission must not interfere with the success of your mission?" She asked.

"No, My Lady."

"Very good. You are dismissed, First Prime. Have your troops ready to move in the morning."

"Yes, My Lady," Teal'c acknowledged. He hesitated a moment. "My Lady...?"

Seket cut him off with a gesture. She stood, took a hand device from her cabinet, and held it about an inch in front of Teal'c's chest. The gem in the centre of the device glowed, and she ran it along both of his arms and torso. His skin tingled pleasantly.

"You were not in contact with her long enough for the curse to pass to you," Seket said, lowering her hand.

Teal'c was startled that the goddess had divined his concern so accurately. "Thank you, My Lady," he said.

Seket merely nodded, dismissively, and Teal'c turned to go. At the door, a strange impulse seized him, and he looked back. "Apsis shall pay, My Lady," he promised.

"What?" She asked, baffled.

"For what he did to you," Teal'c explained. "I swear to you, I shall make him pay."

For a moment, Seket looked at a loss, a melancholy, almost vulnerable expression on her face. "If your faith is strong," she said. "You might find it informative to speak with the leper before her death."

"My Lady?"

"You are dismissed, First Prime," Seket reminded him.

Teal'c bowed, his mind racing as he tried to discern the meaning of her words. "Yes, My Lady."

*

The leper girl had been transferred to a cage within a dismal cell. He wrists were manacled to opposite sides of the cage, and a mild tranquilliser had been introduced into her system, to keep her from hurting herself. The tranquilliser had been designed quite specifically however to numb and incapacitate the body without dulling the mind, and so she was completely aware of her surroundings. Two guards waited outside the cell, but there was really no one within hearing range, and so she had ceased to force her blasphemous cries through her half-paralysed throat.

The guards were surprised to see the First Prime approaching, but they had been trained to duty and obedience, and at his gesture they opened the cell door and allowed him to pass. One of them belonged to Teal'c's Serpent Guard; the other was of Apsis' retinue; his presence here a deliberate insult to the competence of Teal'c's warriors.

Teal'c entered the cell and closed the door behind him.

"First Prime of Apophis," the woman greeted him in arch tones. "This is an honour. Have you decided to take me up on my offer?"

"I have not," Teal'c replied.

"Perhaps Apophis is less generous than Inanna," the woman hazarded. "I dishonour my Goddess by offering myself for any less than thirty, so I am quite prepared to lower my price."

"Who are you?" Teal'c asked. "Why do you defy the gods?"

"My name is Maewa," she replied. "I am...Or rather I was a priestess in the Temple of Inanna at Zabalam."

"You were a priestess, yet you offer your body for money!" Teal'c exclaimed, horrified. "Have you no shame?"

Maewa laughed in the face of Teal'c's indignation. "The priestesses of Inanna are prostitutes by calling," she told him. "Some are Jaffa, others human, as I am, but all offer their favours for thirty shes'tas a time."

"That is a lot of money," Teal'c commented. His own mother had, in the time when she had been forced to sell herself, charged a mere fifteen shes'tis a time.

"We have much training," Maewa assured him. "Even blighted as I am, I assure you that you would not feel cheated."

"That is not why I am here," Teal'c told her, gruffly, beginning to feel awkward in the presence of a woman so bold and direct. However they might behave in private, Chulakan women were expected to be meek and deferential in public or with strange men.

"Pity," she replied, moving her eyes searchingly up and down his powerful frame, in a manner quite different from that which Seket had employed.

"How did a priestess of Inanna end up the prisoner of Apophis?" Teal'c pressed.

"Apophis' First Prime does not know?"

"I am new to this office," Teal'c admitted.

Maewa laughed again. "That much is obvious," she assured him. "Well then, five years ago the armies of Apophis arrived on Zabalam, intent on seizing it from Inanna. We prayed to the goddess for aid, begging her to come and counter the assault, but she made no answer. Apophis' agent, Apsis, declared that as we were whores and harlots we should not be shown the deference due to conquered priestesses. He commanded the Jaffa in the battalion stationed to control Zabalam to gather us in a holding area. We were arranged from youngest to oldest, and when the Jaffa desired relief the next priestess in line would be required to provide it. I was but recently graduated from the status of bulüg-en – a novice – to that of full-fledged en-priestess, and so I was the first.

"Sex for us was a form of prayer, so as that ha'shak Jor'lac..." She tailed off, for the first time seeming ill-at-ease. "I prayed for the Goddess to strike our enemies down in this moment of distraction. When that did not happen, I prayed for her to strike down Jor'lac, at least. At the last, I simply prayed for her to let me die.

"She did not answer me," Maewa finished in a small voice. "I stopped believing that day."

"In Inanna?"

"In any god. I had been marked down to become an avatar of the Goddess one day," she went on. "And so I knew a little more about the Goa'uld than most. I knew that the Goddess' essence would be transferred to me through one of the emanations carried by the Jaffa. I had seen the ritual of implantation in which a host becomes Goa'uld, and I had often wondered how such a fragile creature could be divine. At that moment, I realised that they were not. If Inanna would let this happen to her chosen, it must be because she was powerless to act, and so she could be no divine creature; thus nor could any other Goa'uld.

"After I had been called on three or four times, I knew that I could rely only on myself. I killed the Jaffa who came for me with his own knife, and fled. Some of the others escaped in the confusion, but they wanted only to return to the remains of the temple to pray for Inanna's aid, believing that some dearth of faith was responsible for her silence.

"With my faith in gods destroyed, I went to the people. I told them that no aid would come from the skies, and tried to rally them to fight back themselves. I actually managed to muster quite a respectable force before the end. We became enough of a threat that Apophis announced the largest bounty ever levelled at a mere human from an undeveloped world would be placed on my head."

"That is quite an honour," Teal'c agreed. "Was that how you were captured?"

Maewa shook her head. "I almost wish I had been betrayed for something so base as money. After almost a year, Inanna finally responded to the calls of her priestesses. Her warriors came in her sky-ships and from the Chappa'ai, and drove Apophis' forces from Zabalam. Her temple was restored and her worship resumed. My fighters saw this, and all that I had tried to teach them was blown away in a gale of religious hysteria. They ran back to the temple," she continued, bitterly. "Fell to their knees and begged for forgiveness. They were frightened and desperate, and in their fear they made Inanna an offering."

"You," Teal'c realised.

"I," she confirmed. "The treacherous heresiarch. In her 'mercy', Inanna granted me life in exile, but that was a lie to appease those who still held me in some regard. She did indeed send me through the Chappa'ai, but instead of a remote world, she sent me to Apophis as a peace offering."

Maewa looked at Teal'c, her eyes narrowing shrewdly. "You seem less upset by my blasphemies than you should be," she noted.

"It would seem futile to grow angry with one in your position," Teal'c demurred.

She leaned towards him as far as she was able. "Please," she begged. "I have little to offer anymore, but whatever I can give is yours."

"If I release you, my family will suffer," Teal'c replied. "I can not allow that."

"I do not wish you to let me go," she said. "Do you think I want to live like this? But you have it in your power to end my suffering."

"You will be dead soon enough," he promised.

"Do you not understand what is to happen to me?" Maewa cried, desperately. "Do you think I goaded Jor'lac and Apsis because I enjoyed the pain? I could not hope for a swift and gentle death from them, but any death would be preferable to the life Apophis has condemned me to."

"Apophis has declared you are to die..."

"It is a lie!" She snapped. "Can you not see his mind, First Prime? Do you not know how the prim'ta becomes a walking god? I am not to be allowed to die, Teal'c; not for a very long time. I did not just question the gods, I led others to do the same: Humans and Jaffa. For a few, short months, I persuaded enough of the Goa'uld's followers to turn from them that I became a danger.

"I made them fear me, Teal'c, and they will never, ever forgive me for that.

"For my crime, I am to suffer for aeons as the diseased vessel of a false goddess. You will wound Amut, and seal her away with me, and as her host dies she will pass to the only new one available, even my raddled form. She will be unable to cure me of this plague, and unable to find another vessel, but the chamber will have a mineral spring, and that is all a Goa'uld requires to live for many, many years. She shall be trapped in this leprous form until Apophis sees fit to release her, or her strength at last gives out, or she finds the courage to die." She gave a bitter laugh. "I loathe the Goa'uld with all my heart, but even were I not the chosen vessel, I would think this too cruel a thing to do to Amut."

"What shall become of you?" Teal'c asked.

"I shall abide," Maewa assured him. "Trapped more absolutely even than Amut; a prisoner not just in this diseased flesh, but in my very mind. They say that the host is aware of nothing, but...Perhaps it will be a kind of death, but I do not dare to hope it." She sighed. "So you see, it would be a kindness to kill me."

"I am sorry," Teal'c said. "But I can not. I must obey My Lord Apophis, or my wife and son shall suffer."

Maewa nodded. "I understand," she said. "Rebellion was easier for me than for many, since I had no-one who depended on me. But if you will not help me, I shall have to try and find another way out. Of course," she added. "I know of your doubts now. I could force you to aid me, but I do not wish to hurt you and yours to save myself."

"You are very kind," Teal'c replied.

"You seem a good man," she told him. "I am sorry."

"For what?"

"For the fact that you must be a slave," she said.

*

Disturbed by Maewa's words, Teal'c rested at the barracks that night instead of returning home. He sent word to his wife at the house of Bra'tac via messenger, but she had long-since gone to her own house when Bra'tac answered the door to admit a pair of hooded figures.

"Kal'rhe," Bra'tac greeted the chantress. "And Tan'aul," he added, acknowledging her former tok'ai novice, now a full-fledged mendicant priestess, but still her teacher's constant shadow.

"Bra'tac," Kal'rhe returned. "I am sorry that we have taken so long to come."

Bra'tac shrugged off the apology. "I know that we are not your only duty, however fondly you regard Teal'c and his mother."

"And you," Kal'rhe assured him. "You have a great heart and a noble spirit, Bra'tac." She smiled, kindly. "But let us not speak of such things at this sad time. I should go to Ry'auc. Tan'aul, stay with Master Bra'tac; I would speak with my friend alone."

"Yes, Tal ma'te," Tan'aul acknowledged.

"Good evening, Kal'rhe," Ry'auc greeted her old friend. As she had told Teal'c, by this time of day she barely had the strength to sit up in bed, and her arms were trembling uncontrollably.

Kal'rhe sat at Ry'auc's bedside, and folded the other woman's shaking hands in her own. "Dear Gods, Ry'auc," she whispered. "How can this be? How can your condition have become so desperate without any of us noticing?"

"Do not blame yourselves," Ry'auc told her, almost managing to mask the fear in her voice. "I went to great lengths to hide this."

"You have extraordinary strength," Kal'rhe told her, pressing her hands firmly.

Ry'auc gasped, feeling a warming glow pass out of the priestess' palms and into her limbs. The trembling eased, only a little, but the relief was great. "How...?" She asked.

"Never mind that," Kal'rhe said, pushing back her hood, something that she almost never did, even in private. The silver raven tattooed on her brow revealed her past as a temple priestess of Cronus; not something calculated to bring favourable reactions on Chulak.

Ry'auc gasped again. "Kal'rhe," she whispered. "You look so young."

"Looks can be deceiving," Kal'rhe assured her. "I may not show my years, but I feel them, and more besides. But I did not come here to talk about myself."

Ry'auc shook her head. "You are a rare woman," she told Kal'rhe. "Bra'tac thinks that there is something uncanny about you."

"Bra'tac is a perceptive man, but superstitious."

"He is also right," Ry'auc noted. "But I am more interested to know how it is that a woman such as yourself still lives alone in the camps. Surely there are men who have been interested?"

"I entered the temple when I was all but a child," Kal'rhe replied. "The first I really knew of men was when your husband tried to..." She broke off, awkwardly. "Although as a mendicant I am no longer sacrosanct, I have been wary of men since then."

Ry'auc grimaced. "I am sorry to have brought you to that," she said.

Kal'rhe shrugged. "Certainly, I have never found a man to whom I wished to give myself completely, but this is not to say that I have remained a stranger to men," she assured Ry'auc, with a coquettishly smile. "Tan'aul seems to be modelling herself on me, although abstinence is less in her nature than it is in mine. I have almost lost count of her lovers, but I am pleased to see that she has outgrown her need for a permanent keeper." The priestess smiled. "And we are speaking of me again," she observed.

"What is there left to say of me?" Ry'auc asked. "My life is done."

"Not yet," Kal'rhe replied. "And while life remains within you, I wish to learn all I can about you. You are now my oldest, and almost my only friend, but there are still secrets that you hold from me."

"Such as?"

"Such as the fact that since I saw you last, you and Bra'tac have become intimate."

Ry'auc blushed. "It was..." She paused, deciding not to brush off or belittle what had occurred. "It is something that should have happened long ago."

"I know it is," Kal'rhe agreed. "Our people live in a hard, cruel world, but if ever two Jaffa deserved a little happiness in each other, they are you and Bra'tac." She squeezed her friend's hands again. "I can also see that something is troubling you," she added. "What is it that you fear."

Ry'auc sighed. "I am so close to death," she admitted. "Yet I fear that my son shall precede me into the duat."

"It shall not happen," Kal'rhe promised. "His destiny is far from complete, my dear friend. I do not think he will die for some time yet."

"But I am so afraid..."

"He shall live," Kal'rhe promised. "You shall survive until his return, and he shall sit by you in the Rite of M'al Sharran."

Ry'auc looked up at the chantress. "I do not think so," she said, regretfully. "I do not think that my prim'ta will consent to stay that long."

Kal'rhe descended the stairs with a heavy tread. "She is resting," she told Bra'tac. "But the Rite will have to be performed soon. I am afraid that we may not have time for Teal'c to return from this mission, and I doubt that Apophis would grant him leave from duty to attend."

Bra'tac gave a mirthless laugh. "It would be suicide even to ask. This is the first time he will be sent on a mission without my supervision and guidance. I have no doubt that he shall do well, but his performance shall mark him for the rest of his life. Should he fail...he will be replaced as First Prime, and his successor ordered to execute him."

"Yet it means so much for them both," Kal'rhe sighed.

They were interrupted by a pounding at the door. "I shall answer," Tan'aul said, leaving the older Jaffa to talk.

Kal'rhe pursed her lips in thought. "Perhaps...Bra'tac; could you gain access to the palace apothecary?"

"Of course," Bra'tac replied. "But why?"

"There is a herb," she explained. "Pal'ok root. It can slow the development of the prim'ta for many years, although in this case it may be too late to apply it."

"It would be."

Kal'rhe turned in alarm at the resonant voice, cutting herself off before she could ask the Goa'uld who she was. As a mendicant she was theoretically autonomous, but angry Goa'uld rarely cared much for theory. The newcomer had the body of a slim, dark woman, and she was plainly travelling incognito, dressed in a Jaffa robe. Behind her stood a Jaffa, a bodyguard no doubt, with Tan'aul watching both warily and rubbing her shoulder.

"Praise to you, Seket Paternyt-Apep," Bra'tac greeted the seneschal with great deference. "What brings you to my humble dwelling, My Lady?"

"I have not come to answer questions," she replied. She turned to face Kal'rhe. "You are correct, Daughter; pal'ok root would be too little, too late, and hardly worth the risk of possessing a drug so very illegal." She reached into he robe, and withdrew a small pouch.

"This is pa'neri," she explained. "Similar in its effects to pal'ok root, but more potent. What you have there, mixed with water, will cause the prim'ta within the Jaffa Ry'auc to fall into a sort of biological stasis. She will be weakened, but the prim'ta shall not emerge until the dosage wears off."

"Why?" Kal'rhe asked, boldly.

"That is not your affair," Seket replied. "Do as I say, and the woman shall live to see her son's return; otherwise she shall not. I care little which choice you make, but be sure that you destroy all traces of the drug that remain. It is death to all within these walls if you are caught with it. Fare you well, Jaffa."

The Goa'uld swept out, followed by her bodyguard, and Tan'aul stood aside to let them pass.

"Are you well, Tan'aul?" Kal'rhe asked when they were gone.

"I did not know she was Goa'uld," the younger woman replied, rubbing at her shoulder again. "I tried to close the door on them and her guard thrust me aside."

"I know who he is," Bra'tac assured her. "Goddess' orders or no, I shall see he is punished for hurting you."

"Thank you, Bra'tac," Kal'rhe said, laying a gentle hand on Tan'aul's injured shoulder. "You were not badly injured?" She asked. "And...?" She tailed off, with a questioning glance at Bra'tac.

"The child is well, I think," Tan'aul replied. "You are now the third to know," she explained to Bra'tac.

"I am honoured," he told her. "And I trust that your child shall not have been harmed in defence of my home."

"We shall know soon enough," Tan'aul said. "For now we should look to Ry'auc. Tal ma'te; do you believe that the drug will do what the Goa'uld says it shall?"

Kal'rhe shook her head, slowly. "I do not know," she admitted. "But I can not see that we have any alternative but to try it and find out."

*

Teal'c was reviewing the list of warriors at his disposal and the preliminary reports of the scouts on Nagaz, when Kech'ek brought his sister, Kereh'ke, to see him. Teal'c idly confirmed his appointment of girl – who was young enough that the skin around her tattoo was still raw – and dismissed them both for the night, but Kereh'ke hovered for a moment.

"What is it?" He demanded.

"The seneschal said that you left this in her office," the girl said, holding out another tablet. "I am to return it to you, and say that you should be more careful."

Teal'c took the tablet, hiding his confusion. "Thank you," he said. "Now run along."

The girl dipped a curtsey and left, and Teal'c turned his attention to the tablet. As he had suspected it was not his; in fact he had never seen it before. It was a copy of an order, slated to be delivered to the First Prime by Jor'lac. It instructed that Apsis' two sections, under Jor'lac's command, were to join Teal'c's force, with Jor'lac as second-in-command of the combined company.

Teal'c was in two minds over these orders. On the one hand, he needed the troops; taking Nagaz would be tough even for a complete company, let alone a half. On the other hand, he hated the idea of fighting at Jor'lac's side. Jor'lac was a good officer however, and if he conducted himself professionally, he and Teal'c could work together. Then again, these orders should have been conducted to him already; seemingly Jor'lac intended to surprise and humiliate him in the morning, and that did not speak highly of his professionalism.

Teal'c felt certain that Jor'lac would try to undercut his authority and embarrass him as much as possible, counting on Apsis' favour to protect him. Doubtless Jor'lac would be disappointed when Teal'c did not argue his assumption of command.

The First Prime of Apophis reached inside his armour and touched the papyrus roll that carried the warrant for Jor'lac's death, and he smiled, grimly.

Rising from his seat, Teal'c went down into the city, and to a small but favourably-located dwelling. Teal'c knocked, and the door was answered by a petite, well-endowed young Jaffa woman, wearing a robe so ludicrously oversized that Teal'c knew it must belong to her lover. He asked for Fro'tac, and the girl called into the darkness behind her.

"Well, this is a surprise," Fro'tac remarked, coming to the door. He wore nothing but a blanket, and as he faced his old friend he wrapped his arms and the blanket around the woman. "It is some time since you have deigned to visit me at home, First Prime."

"We both know why that is," Teal'c reminded him.

"Aye," Fro'tac agreed. "But I still say that I did nothing wrong. Va'lar and Seteh'na were unwed; nothing bound me against wooing her."

Teal'c began to answer, but cut himself off, and took a calming breath. "I have not come to renew old disputes," he said, then paused again. "Actually," he admitted. "I have; but not that one."

"Jor'lac?" Fro'tac asked.

Teal'c nodded.

"Go back to bed, woman," Fro'tac instructed his lover.

"Yes, Tek re'ma," she replied, meekly, but her eyes flashed dangerously as she said it. Teal'c knew that Fro'tac did not much care for submissive women, and while propriety clearly held her from answering her patron back in front of a visitor, Teal'c guessed that there might be hell to pay once he was gone.

"Tek re'ma?" Teal'c asked, with mild incredulity. "Do not tell me that you have settled on a single woman?"

"Some years ago," Fro'tac confirmed, uncomfortably raising the subject of their long estrangement. "Her name is May'cu, and she is a baker's daughter. I may never gain status from our relationship, but I eat well, and she has other charms that are more apparent when she is wearing her own robe instead of mine."

Teal'c nodded, distractedly, unwilling to either enter into a critique of May'cu's ample charms, or to resurrect another old debate; that over the merits and failings of the Chulakan system of re'mata. While it allowed a form of social acceptance for cross-caste relationships, Teal'c had always been of the opinion that such couples should be permitted to wed freely. Instead they were bound to the inequitable estate of re'mata, which operated in all regards as marriage, save that a man needed no proof of cause to dissolve the pairing with his mistress.

"What is on your mind, old friend?" Fro'tac asked, sensing Teal'c's unease. "Surely you are not thrown by the fact that we return to Nagaz?"

"No," Teal'c replied. "Only that we return with Jor'lac, and I do not trust him."

"This is a child's feud," Fro'tac said, patiently. "You must rise above this. You are First Prime of Apophis and he is a..."

"He killed Andromeda," Teal'c announced.

Fro'tac fell silent for a long moment. "What?" He asked, at last.

"I have known for years, but had no proof. I believe however that he will try to defy me on this mission, and then I will have him!"

"But he is Apsis' favourite," Fro'tac argued. "And he is not to be trifled with. He has come far since our days as students."

"But I am First Prime," Teal'c reminded his friend, choosing not to speak of Seket's commands. "Yet I can not be everywhere. Jor'lac shall serve as my second tomorrow. That is the command of Apophis," he added, knowing that Fro'tac might fairly have expected that honour to fall to him. "It shall keep him from me, for if I divide my force I shall have to entrust a part of it to him. Therefore I need you to stay close to him. It is known that we have had our differences, and I have it in mind to make out that you have found my disfavour again. I shall give you a demeaning squad command, and place you under Jor'lac. If I judge him correctly..."

"He shall favour me to spite you," Fro'tac realised.

Teal'c nodded. "If he disobeys me, you shall inform me at once."

"And he shall pay for An'auc's murder," Fro'tac agreed. Whatever differences he and Teal'c had, Fro'tac would no sooner forgive Andromeda's killer than Bra'tac himself would. "It shall be as you say."

"Thank you, old friend," Teal'c said.

"Thank you," Fro'tac replied.

"For what?"

"For trusting me again," Fro'tac explained.

Teal'c gave a wan smile. "Do you remember that first battle?" He asked.

"As though it were yesterday," Fro'tac replied.

"And now we march to destroy the one whom we set up," Teal'c mused. "Is it not madness?"

"Such is the will of our God," Fro'tac shrugged. He paused. "Seteh'na told me that you kept all of Va'lar's writings when he died. Did that include his prayer to Amut?"

"Yes," Teal'c replied. "I still have it, although I doubt it would be wise to display that one."

"He should have been a priest," Fro'tac said.

"He should indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"I miss him."

Teal'c looked at Fro'tac, realising that he had never admitted this thing before. He clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder, feeling closer to him than he had in years. "As do I," he replied.

*

Nagaz

Three Jaffa warriors stood watch over the Chappa'ai, idling at their posts, for few visitors ever came to Nagaz, and fewer invaders. When the device thundered into life they were sharp enough to respond, but the arrival of a Serpent Guard distracted them, and by the time they realised this was an attack, two were dead and the third soon followed. At the outpost that watched the road it was the same; the Jaffa died before they even knew that they should be fighting instead of saluting.

As his company advanced on the fortified town and the fortress of Amut, Teal'c felt bad about the raid. The warriors of Amut wore the same armour as his Jaffa, and her personal guard wore the Serpent Helm, even as he did. From their reactions, it was clear that no declaration of hostility had been made, or if it had then Amut had concealed the fact from her followers, and there was no honour and little glory in such slaughter of the unsuspecting.

At the town, the gates stood open, and Teal'c sent two squads to secure the walls, under the command of his own former apprentice, Shak'l, and led the remainder directly up the slope to the fortress. He shot Fro'tac a meaningful look; if Jor'lac was going to make his move, it would be where he could massacre the most innocents in sacrifice to his God.

There was already fighting within the fortress, and although the walls were strong, the gate was open. Inside, they found the garrison divided between those loyal to their mistress, and those who held loyalty to Apophis higher. The former were killed, Teal'c's elite company easily tipping the balance, while the latter were obliged to surrender.

"Shall I arrange their executions?" Jor'lac asked, gleefully.

"No," Teal'c replied. "The Jaffa of Amut are to die, these are warriors of Apophis. Their only crime is folly, and Apophis alone shall decide how deep that runs, and whether they must die for it."

"As you command, First Prime," Jor'lac muttered.

"Where is Amut?" Teal'c asked the garrison prime.

"In her throne room," he replied. "It has strong doors, but few defenders remain."

Teal'c nodded. "Bring up the cannon," he ordered one of his squad leaders. "Have a messenger return to the encampment at the Chappa'ai and inform Lord Apsis that the palace will be secured for his arrival within the hour. Jor'lac, round up Amut's advisers and their families, and lock them within their chambers. They shall stay there while the palace burns."

"With all due respect, First Prime," Jor'lac said. "We should secure them more thoroughly. They could seek to take their own lives, robbing their deaths of suffering."

"My orders are that they are to die," Teal'c said. "In what manner was not specified. The servants are to be expelled from the palace with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The second section will clear the city, and..."

"First Prime," Jor'lac said again. "You can not mean to spare these enemies of Apophis? Your orders..."

"My orders made no mention of the servants, or the townsfolk," Teal'c snarled. "Do not question me again, Jaffa!" He looked away as the cannon squad arrived. "Jaffa, kree," he told the remaining warriors, who were watching to see if he would strike Jor'lac. No-one moved. "Kree!" Teal'c barked, and the warriors hurried to obey him.

Teal'c motioned for the cannon squad to follow him, and strode towards the throne room.

*

The doors of the throne room burst open in a pall of smoke and dust. The last remnants of Amut's guard fired into the haze, and two Serpent Guards were felled as they emerged, but Teal'c came out unscathed, dropping his enemies with lethal accuracy, and the fight was brief. Amut reached for a fallen staff weapon as Teal'c approached, but thought better of it.

"Kree'ta, First Prime," she snapped, her voice trembling. "I am the goddess, Amut; servant of Apophis and your mistress. I command you to lower your weapons and explain this absurd assault on my sovereignty."

"By order of Apophis, you are to be sealed within a polluted tomb," Teal'c announced. "You are declared traitor and enemy, to be shown no deference."

"No!" Amut snapped. "It can not be."

"You are condemned, for failing in that duty that Queen Amaunet set for you, and losing that which was precious to her."

"I do not believe...First Prime. This is absurd," Amut gabbled. "I shall speak to My Lord, Apophis," she declared.

"You are not to leave the palace," Teal'c told her. "Nor to send any message."

"You can not do this to me!" She pleaded. "I am a goddess! I can not be cast down over a stolen trinket." She held out her hands in supplication. "Have mercy, First Prime of Apophis," she begged. "Your kindness would not be forgotten. I am not so mighty as Apophis, but I will reward you as no Jaffa in the service of My Lord was ever rewarded."

Teal'c frowned. "Jaffa, Kree'ta," he ordered, and the two surviving warriors retired from the room.

Amut's face lit up. "Yes," she whispered, gleefully. "You shall have gold and jewels and the fairest maidens to serve you," she promised, slowly lifting her hand. "I shall..."

Teal'c dropped his staff weapon, lunged forward and caught Amut by the wrist, twisting her around before she could blast him with her ribbon device. He held her tightly and ripped the weapon from her left hand.

"Unhand me!" Amut squealed. "I should not have tried to deceive a brave and wise warrior such as yourself, but spare me and I swear that I can make it worth your while. If it is I that you desire..."

"Be silent!" Teal'c spat, still holding her in a vice-like grip, with her back pressed against his chest. Roughly he swung her to face her own throne, and an inscribed stone tablet that hung on the wall behind it. "Read!" He commanded.

"What...?"

"Read!"

"I...'All praise to Amut'," she began. "'Mistress of Nagaz; Lady of Battle. Bringer of Fire; Giver of Honour; Mighty and Proud; Oh you Strong and Majestic'..." She broke off, sobbing. "Why do you mock me?" She demanded.

Teal'c shook her hard. "The man who wrote that," he said. "Do you remember him?"

"Yes!" She cried.

"Tell me!"

"He...He was a Serpent Guard; young and handsome. He was the first Jaffa to write a prayer to me, in the first days of my divinity."

"What was his name?"

"I do not know," she whimpered.

"His name was Va'lar," he whispered in her ear. "He was my friend, and I killed him for failing Apophis. I mourn him a little every day, but I am glad that he never saw you come to this. He held you as a paragon of divine grace and dignity, and yet you face your end as a snivelling coward!"

"How dare you speak to a goddess so?" She demanded, but her voice was weak and quavering.

"If you are a goddess," Teal'c said. "Then you owe this to me. For my friend's sake, I have spoken this prayer to you a thousand times, and you never had so devoted a worshipper as Va'lar of Chulak. As your disciples then, you owe us a death that does not betray what you were to Va'lar." He pushed Amut away and stepped back, sweeping up his staff weapon to cover her.

"What do you want from me?" She gasped.

"You are condemned to a fate worse than death," Teal'c said. "But for the sake of Va'lar, try to face it with some dignity."

Something in Teal'c's voice seemed to catch Amut's attention, and she looked up, a glow in her eyes beyond the Goa'uld fire. He could see the change occur in her, the pride returning to her bearing and expression, until she glowed with such strength and nobility that it seemed wrong to strike her.

"So be it," Amut said, her voice steady. "Do what you must, First Prime."

Teal'c nodded his head in grave reverence. "Thank you, My Lady." He pressed the trigger, and shot her through the abdomen.

*

Teal'c emerged from the throne room feeling dizzy and slightly nauseous. He had laid his hands upon a goddess; a condemned goddess perhaps, but a goddess nonetheless, and whatever his beliefs had been, it was only now that he truly realised how small and mortal the Goa'uld were.

A small group of Jaffa were waiting for him, along with Maewa, securely chained.

"Are you well, First Prime?" One of the Jaffa asked.

"I am fine," Teal'c replied, although he felt weary to the bone. "The goddess Amut waits in her prison; the leper shall be sent in to her in one hour, as Apophis commanded." Amut had descended into the chamber as much as possible under her own power, her stoicism at the end impressing Teal'c in spite of himself. As Maewa had predicted, the chamber was Amut's bathing pool, where the mineral spring would feed her symbiote and sustain her for many years.

"Do not blame yourself," Maewa whispered, as Teal'c passed close to her. The look of pity in her eyes told him that she meant what she said, but it still only made him feel worse for condemning her.

 "Teal'c!" Fro'tac burst into the antechamber.

"What is it?" Teal'c asked, turning away from Maewa.

"We have sealed the advisers and their kin within their chambers, and gathered the servants as you ordered, but Jor'lac is not releasing them, and has sent away all but his own squad."

Teal'c shivered at a memory of dead civilians, lying where Jor'lac has slaughtered them in the last attack on Nagaz.

"I thought you should know, so..."

"Thank you, Fro'tac," Teal'c said, clapping his hand on the other man's shoulder. "Tell me where Jor'lac has the prisoner's held."

"In the courtyard of Amut's harem," Fro'tac replied.

"Find two squads who you trust and join me there," Teal'c ordered.

"Yes, First Prime."

*

*