Teal'c always valued O'Neill's advice on how to conduct himself on Earth.
He remembered the first time O'Neill corrected an error. It was the very moment when he had officially joined SG-1, striding into the large chamber that housed the chappa'ai to take his place at his fellow warriors' side. He had carefully donned the odd green cloth of his uniform (so strange, to wear a garb that served as neither warding nor warning), retaining only his own staff weapon rather than using the Tau'ri projectile weapons they called "guns." Back straight, staff weapon held at precisely the right angle, Teal'c faced his new commander and formally announced, "Reporting as ordered."
O'Neill leaned slightly towards him and said quietly, "Sir. It's sir."
Concealing his surprise, Teal'c accorded General Hammond with the proper honorific. "Sir," Teal'c repeated obediently, receiving a faint smile in return.
Later, at a more auspicious moment, Teal'c pondered the apparent contradiction. His word choices had been carefully patterned after O'Neill's own exchanges and interactions with others at the SGC, which had led him to assume that the Tau'ri were uninterested in the formality of acknowledging rank and status. After further observation, however, Teal'c concluded that O'Neill had his own methods for determining which persons were deserving of respect -- one that had little to do with formal rank, but everything to do with skill and genuine valor. O'Neill's general irreverence bespoke an impatience with incompetence, an attitude that Teal'c both understood and approved. General Hammond was one of those rare few whom O'Neill genuinely respected, and after his own interactions with the SGC's commander, Teal'c had no difficulty in giving the man all the courtesy he did indeed deserve.
Captain Carter behaved differently, he noticed. She might disapprove of the actions of superior officers, but that dislike was restricted to a certain tightening of the skin around her eyes and a slight increase in the sharpness of her tone. Her diction and behavior remained impeccable, no matter what the provocation. Teal'c understood this, and even respected her determination to adhere to the demands of rank. But such a course of action was not for him. Teal'c might have accepted General Hammond's leadership and O'Neill as his immediate commander, but he could never forget that he had once led vast armies before he chose to give the Tau'ri his allegiance. He could not act servile, even if such formalized courtesy might help his cause. O'Neill's blunter methods suited him well.
His preference for O'Neill's guidance did not lessen his appreciation for Captain Carter's advice or Daniel Jackson's conversations. He enjoyed discovering the science behind the "magic of the gods" (false gods) with Captain Carter, and valued Daniel Jackson's in-depth discussions regarding culture and Tau'ri history. Nevertheless, he found that he learned the most from O'Neill's laconic direction -- and not just regarding the SGC and their struggle against the Goa'uld. He was most pleased on those rare occasions when he ascended from the depths of the mountain to breathe the fresh air of Earth in O'Neill's company, even if their purpose was nothing more than the nonsense of The Simpsons or a professional hockey game. From O'Neill, he learned how to answer a telephone, shop at a supermarket, play a video game, order a pizza. Perhaps these were not survival skills, but they were an important part of life on Earth, and thus Teal'c cherished them.
Teal'c could not truly reciprocate, although he tried. Knowing that his experience with Goa'uld thinking and Jaffa tactics were invaluable, he provided all such information freely. O'Neill readily followed his advice regarding Jaffa ambushes, anticipated movements, off-world expectations, and military thinking. But this did not carry the same intimacy, the same open trust, as O'Neill's sharing of the wonders of Earth and its teeming, noisy hordes of human beings untainted by slavery to the Goa'uld.
Teal'c dreamed that he would truly be able to return the favor someday, in some glorious future when Apophis was dead, the rest of the System Lords were thrown down, and the Jaffa were free. He would take O'Neill to Chulak and show him the open-air markets where one could barter for honey-glazed pak'til, explain how to wager at the kindi'it races on the mountain slopes, and invite him to spend an evening with Bra'tac and others in the barracks, where they would swap stories of valor and daring. There would be no alcoholic drinks, to be sure, but the steaming mugs of cider from the tapi groves, rich with spices that exploded on the tongue, would suit them well.
O'Neill had shown Teal'c his world. Teal'c hoped, in the fullness of time, that he could do the same for O'Neill.
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by Fig NewtonKapitel Bemerkung:
O'Neill's attitudes and preferences suit Teal'c best. Set in early S1, with very minor spoilers for Enemy Within.Site Navigation
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