Almost a Statesman, by KatieM (PG)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: AU

Pairing: none
Categories: AU, futurefic, Teal'c, gen, drama, character study
Warnings: deaths of minor canon character
Author on LJ: katie_m
Author's Website: Katie's Stargate SG-1 Fanfic
Link: Almost a Statesman

Why This Must Be Read: Because there are way too many of us that wish that this wasn't in the AU category, and think that the Jaffa deserved a better storyline than the one they got slapped with in S9-10.

The story diverges from canon sometime towards the beginning of S7 – most specifically, Death Knell never happened, and the Jaffa remained at the Alpha Site. Written intelligently from the POV of Ry'ac, this is the story of "Teal'c of the Tau'ri" – with both the positive and negative connotations abscribed to that nomenclature. The fic draws us a picture equally based in hope and realism, as the Jaffa, new to this strange, wonderful thing called "freedom," stumble along the path towards a brighter future.

Teal'c, as percieved by his son, is simply awesome. The cameos from the rest of SG-1 are wonderfully in character, as are the minor canon characters, like Rak'nor and Ry'ac, and some excellently drawn original ones. This is what I imagined Teal'c would become, once the Jaffa won their freedom – and despite SG-1's temporary loss, I only wish the Jaffa would have had him as their gain.

Two months after going on that mission, Father was challenged by a young man named Tsorak, who was a year my elder. Tsorak claimed jomo secu, as Father had years before, and Father did not refuse him.

The jomo secu challenge is to the death.

I asked Father about that, after. Whether he'd expected the challenge, and whether he'd known beforehand how he would behave during it. "I believed they would see I was in the right," he said, "and I made no decision about Tsorak until he was down."

Rak'nor still believes that Father should have killed Tsorak, and I believe Father when he says he considered it. It was an easy win for him, and had he not considered the possibility, he would not have kept Tsorak pinned so long, long enough for the noise from the spectators to fade from excitement to almost complete silence. I don't think Tsorak quite believed it when Father let him go-he laid there for some time, long enough for Father to back away, lay down his weapon, show the gathered crowd his empty hands.

"This death is unnecessary," he said. "I am clearly victorious. Tsorak has behaved foolishly, but honorably; I trust he will show better judgment in the future."

A moment of stillness, followed by a rising buzz from the crowd, and then Tsorak came for him again. Father put him on the ground-the boy was injured by then, even had he been a match for Father when healthy, which he was not-and said, again, "Your death is unnecessary. Desist."

"You reject the challenge?" someone asked.

"I do not. I reject the idea that it must end with death."

"Kytano is dead," someone else said, very clearly. Tsorak, ashamed, was backing away, pride not overcoming his desire to live.

"Kytano was a goa'uld," Father said. "What kind of leader kills his own people?"

"One who knows our ways," the first speaker said, and there was a wave of assent. I looked at Father, and I could see that he looked sickened, for just a moment.

He laid down his weapon and said to them all, "No. I will not do this. You will follow my lead in this matter, or you may select another leader in whatever way you choose, but I will not shed the blood of a warrior barely out of childhood. The world is changing. Our ways must change as well."

"Tau'ri," someone hissed.

Comments

[katie-m.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the rec!

I cannot tell you how tickled I was when they actually called him Teal'c of the Tau'ri in... Reckoning, maybe? Whichever one it was, anyway.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Was that after you'd written this? I first discovered Stargate sometime after the 8th season ended, even though I'm a staunch classic teamy goodness fan. Isn't it nice when TPTB get something right? :)

And I can't tell you how pleased I was to rec this! It was on my list to rec the month I did my Teal'c recs, but the reccer before me selfishly recced it first so I couldn't.

Thanks for writing such a lovely story.

[katie-m.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wrote this in... S7, I think? Yeah, I remember I started it before Death Knell aired, and then had to put the AU warning in the header because of it.