Teal'c of Chulak

"Teal'c, I saw you stand up to a god. You refused to kill. I saw you make that decision... In that moment I learned everything I needed to know to trust you."

- Jack O'Neill

Teal'c of Chulak [pronounced ˈtiːəlk] also known as Teal'c of the Tau'ri is a Jaffa in the service of Stargate Command and devoted to the cause of the Jaffa Rebellion. Teal'c is a Jaffa from the planet Chulak, a planet orbiting a binary star system. He will be 162 years old in the year 2011, after aging 50 years trapped on the Odyssey. Teal'c was formerly in the service of the System Lord Apophis as his First Prime.

Background information
Chosen because it means "strength" in the Goa'uld language, Teal'c was named by his father, Ronac. He was born on a world under the control of Cronus circa 1899, where his father served as Cronus' First Prime. After failing to win an unwinnable battle, Cronus killed Ron'ac, and exiled Teal'c and his mother to Chulak. Vowing to become First Prime of Apophis, Teal'c was taken under the wing of Bra'tac, Apophis' current First Prime. Bra'tac planted the seeds of doubt about the Goa'uld in Teal'c's mind. Teal'c later married Drey'auc, and had a son, Rya'c.

1997
"I can save these people!"

- O'Neill

"Many have said that! But you are the first I believe could do it!"

- Teal'c During the year of 1997, Teal'c was the First Prime of Apophis, despite the want for freeing the Jaffa from Goa'uld rule. During this year, Teal'c joined Apophis in the search for a new host for his mate, traveling to Earth and kidnapping Senior Airman Carol Weterings along with Abydos where he and his other Jaffa kidnapped Skaara and Sha're. Watching on with the ritual of choosing Apophis' mate, Teal'c had to hide his distaste for the events. When Teal'c and his other Jaffa had to kill other prisoners along with the Earth team SG-1 in a jail cell, Colonel Jack O'Neill was able to convince Teal'c that his task of freeing the Jaffa could be possible through the Humans, and defected to them allowing all to escape back to Earth. Despite concern about his loyalties, O'Neill was able to convince Major General George S. Hammond to allow Teal'c to join SG-1.

When he realized that his son Rya'c would undergo his Prim'ta, Teal'c and SG-1 returned to Chulak to prevent the ceremony, meeting up with Bra'tac. Rya'c, however, had contracted scarlet fever, and Teal'c was forced to give his own symbiote to Ry'ac. However, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Captain Samantha Carter were able to acquire another symbiote, which was given to Teal'c.

1998
During a visit to the planet Cartago, Teal'c briefly faced execution when Hanno, the son of a man that he had killed on his last visit to the planet, had Teal'c put on trial, but after Teal'c saved Hanno's life during a Jaffa attack, Hanno claimed that he had been mistaken, recognising that Teal'c was no longer the Jaffa who had been responsible for his father's death.

When SG-1 successfully thwarted Apophis' attempt to invade Earth, Apophis chose to take his revenge by brainwashing Rya'c. SG-1 was able to rescue Ry'ac, but the brainwashing was harder to overcome. Teal'c eventually was forced to shoot Rya'c with a Zat'nik'tel, freeing him. Drey'auc and Rya'c were then taken to the Land of Light.

1999
After Apophis claimed sanctuary on Earth, Teal'c reveled in his former god's fall from power, vowing that the day would become a holy day on Chulak.

When SG-1 was kidnapped by Hathor, Teal'c left for Chulak to raise an army to free them. He made an impassioned speech to the Jaffa, urging them to rebel. Only a few joined them, but with Major General George S. Hammond's help, SG-1 was rescued.

When Cronus, Nirrti, and Yu came to negotiate with the Asgard, Nirrti framed Teal'c for attacking Cronus, but Teal'c was soon exonerated.

Teal'c was forced to kill Sha're, Dr. Daniel Jackson's wife, as the Goa'uld who possessed her (Amaunet) was killing Daniel with a Kara kesh.

2000
During a trip to a planet caught in a civil war between the Bedrosians- who believed that they had evolved on their world- and the Optricans- who believed that they came from another planet-, the rest of SG-1 were captured by the Bedrosians and Teal'c was badly injured when his staff backfired in a fight, leaving him blind and 'Junior' forced to focus on healing itself before it could heal Teal'c. Fortunately, Teal'c was aided by Nyan, a Bedrosian archaeologist who had discovered the Stargate, Nyan recognising that, even if Teal'c was proof that his beliefs were wrong, as a scientist it was just as exciting to be proven wrong as to be proven right. Nyan was able to use a device to repair Teal'c's vision to a point where he was able to rescue his friends. Although Nyan was then forced to return with SG-1 to Earth after such an open betrayal, he expressed hope to Teal'c that he would some day be able to return and share his discoveries with them.

Shau'nac, a priestess and an old friend of Teal'c, came to Earth claiming that she had convinced her symbiote, Tanith to join the Tok'ra, Teal'c refused to believe her. However, after kelno'reeming and communicating with his own symbiote, he was convinced to take her to the Tok'ra. Teal'c, however, was forced to endure Tanith's presence after he murdered Shaun'ac, Tanith having never been swayed by Shau'nac's words and simply being used by the Tok'ra to provide disinformation to Apophis.

Teal'c was captured by the Jaffa of Heru'ur, who planned to give him as a gift to Apophis. However, Teal'c convinced the Jaffa Rak'nor to defect and help him.

2001
Teal'c finally had his revenge on Cronus when his robotic duplicate was able to kill the System Lord, which also allowed the Tau'ri to gain his personal Ha'tak. Teal'c was killed in an ambush orchestrated by Tanith, but Apophis revived him with the Sarcophagus and convinced him that he was still his First Prime. Apophis was killed, but Teal'c still refused to believe the truth. Bra'tac was forced to perform the Rite of M'al Sharran on Teal'c, which succeeded in breaking the hold by helping Teal'c recall the events that had lead to him recognising that Apophis was not a god.

2002
During a mission, Teal'c was able to kill Tanith by destroying his ship with a staff cannon, but the ship subsequently crashed into the still-active Stargate just as Teal'c was travelling through it, resulting in the wormhole being shut down before Teal'c could exit through the other end, leaving his pattern trapped in the Stargate and forcing the SGC to try and devise a way to safely extract Teal'c without dialling another wormhole that would have erased his pattern from the gate's memory. Despite the odds against them- and the recommendation of Doctor McKay that Teal'c's pattern would have already degraded too significantly to be recovered-, SG-1 were able to recover Teal'c using the Russian DHD and advice from the Goa'uld using Adrian Conrad as a host.

After Dr. Daniel Jackson died and ascended, Teal'c retreated into himself to manage his grief, noting that he had lost a great friend as well as the fight against the Goa'uld losing one of its greatest soldiers. Unlike Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter, Teal'c bore Jonas Quinn no ill will, and actually took his desire to join SG-1 seriously. However, he found himself in a difficult emotional situation when he learned that Drey'auc had died, and Rya'c resented his father. After learning that Anubis was attacking Earth, Teal'c, Bra'tac, and Rya'c went on a mission to destroy the weapon. They succeeded, and Teal'c and Rya'c bonded.

2003
While attending a meeting of Jaffa Rebellion leaders, the Goa'uld attacked them, removing the symbiotes from the shol'vas. Teal'c and Bra'tac shared Junior between them, causing Teal'c to hallucinate. Dr. Daniel Jackson watched over him during that time. When SG-1 found them, Junior was already too overtaxed to save either of them, so Teal'c and Bra'tac went on Tretonin.

After being injured, Teal'c began to doubt his prowess as a warrior without his symbiote. Dr. Daniel Jackson, who had since descended, helped Teal'c to overcome his fears. During a meditation, Daniel had a subconscious flashback, seeing Rya'c and Bra'tac as slaves on Erebus. A rescue mission was successfully undertaken, and Teal'c found his confidence renewed.

Later, SG-1 encountered the Hak'tyl Resistance. Teal'c helped to convince Ishta, their leader, to take Tretonin instead of stealing symbiotes, and they developed affection for each other.

2004
When Brigadier General Jack O'Neill became commander of Stargate Command, he allowed Teal'c to move off the base. However, Teal'c's code of honor forced him to intervene in disputes. He became close to his neighbor, Krista James, and was framed by The Trust for murdering her boyfriend Doug McNair. However, Teal'c was exonerated thanks to the efforts of Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter and Pete Shanahan.

Dr. Bill Lee and other scientists developed a computer training game program, using the virtual reality pods that SG-1 had been trapped in years ago, for personnel which they tested on themselves. However, when the game was played by Teal'c with his extensive field experience, it was found lacking. The nature of the chairs’ programming “learned” from the user, and Lee requested Teal'c continue to play the scenario to improve it. Unfortunately, the game quickly became too tough for Teal'c, drawing on his memories of combat to increase the danger he faced in each scenario, to the point that the game would not even let Teal'c leave via the game failsafe as it recognised that Teal'c would normally never quit. Carter, studying Teal'c's brain patterns from their original experience in the chair, worried that the game would not actually allow Teal'c to win as, when the original scan was taken, Teal'c apparently believed that the Goa'uld could not be defeated, causing her to worry that Teal'c's subconscious would eventually kill him. Even more seriously, Teal'c's continued failures in the game resulted in him receiving sudden jolts each time he lost, causing spikes in his adrenaline production, which, in turn, caused his blood pressure and heart rate to rise dangerously, to the point that Teal'c would eventually suffer a heart attack if he remained in the system. Lee and Carter, inspired by a comment made by O'Neill, exploited a fluke in the system by connecting a second pod up to Teal'c's system while removing the data recorder from the chair. This gave Daniel- chosen to prevent the game drawing on a soldier's tactical expertise and becoming even more difficult to defeat- a two second advantage, allowing him to perceive events in the game two seconds in advance, allowing him to join the game and give Teal'c vital information. After several attempts, they were able to defeat the scenario and the pod deactivated, O'Neill confirming Teal'c's assessment of his and Daniel's victory by simply noting that winning was what they did.

Rya'c, having met Kar'yn, an apprentice of Ishta, fell in love and asked her to marry him. Teal'c opposed the union, fearing that Ry'ac would soon have to choose between family and freedom, as he had. However, Teal'c eventually accepted Kar'yn, and approved of the union.

2005
When the Replicators invaded the Milky Way, they came into conflict with Ba'al, and wiped out most of the System Lords. Many Rebel Jaffa defected back to the Goa'uld. To stop this, Teal'c proposed that they take Dakara, to shatter the Goa'uld's image as gods. The plan worked, and with the use of a weapon on Dakara, destroyed the Replicators and brought about the fall of the Goa'uld Empire.

Teal'c is still part of SG-1, having rejoined with the efforts of Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell, although now not in an official manner. The Jaffa Rebellion has successfully pulled the plug for the Goa'uld and are now building their own society. Teal'c, however, is not glad over the way things are going, since the Jaffa High Council is based on military efforts and not on honor and integrity. Events came to a head when Gerak, the leader of the council, converted to Origin and became a Prior of the Ori. Teal'c was able to convince Gerak to abandon the Ori and help the Tau'ri.

2006
Teal'c was able to convince the Lucian Alliance to help stop the Ori from creating a Supergate to bring ships into the galaxy. However, the plan failed, and Teal'c was tortured by Netan. However, the Odyssey was able to rescue Teal'c.

After the beginning of the Ori crusade, they took control of many Jaffa strongholds including his homeworld Chulak, Dakara and several more worlds.

2007
He helped try to reform the Jaffa government on Dar Eshkalon, where the settlement fell victim to a series of explosions, caused by a faction of Jaffa who embraced the Ori cause. Teal'c went on a quest for revenge by killing Arkad, a Jaffa that he believed to be the one responsible for the attacks (Although Bra'tac noted that Arkad had also played a role in the death of Teal'c's mother). During the brutal fight, Teal'c managed to drive the sword through Arkad's shoulder into his symbiote pouch, killing him.

He, along with SG-1 was stuck on the Odyssey in a Time dilation field for 50 years, but was bought back to the moment before the Odyssey was about to be destroyed by the Ori, providing Colonel Carter with a crystal containing a program that she had developed in the intervening time to shut down the Asgard core and prevent the Ori from tracking them. Teal'c volunteered for this duty as, while all of the team had aged fifty years during their 'imprisonment' aboard the Odyssey, his Jaffa lifespan meant that the lost years were less of an issue for him than they would be for others. The only visible sign of his age is a streak of grey hair on his right head, although his skills and physique appear otherwise unaffected.

He was part of the team that went on the Odyssey to the Alteran Home Galaxy to find the Ark of Truth and stopped the Ori once and for all. During this time, he spoke with Tomin about their shared guilt over the crimes they had committed in the service of their respective 'gods', Teal'c informing Tomin that, while they could never forgive themselves for what they had done, it was important for them to always try and help others to make up for their pasts.

He later told Colonel Samantha Carter farewell and good luck for her new position as the leader of Atlantis, remarking that "undomesticated equines" could not stop him from visiting.

2008
Colonel Samantha Carter requested that he come to Atlantis to teach Ronon Dex on how to handle the International Oversight Advisory. On his visit there, they went on sparring match, where it was proven that they are an equal match. He teamed up with Ronon to prevent the Wraith from taking control of the Midway space station and reaching Earth. He was fed upon by a Wraith for only a few seconds, before Ronon killed it. He also had an interest in the firepower of Ronon's Particle magnum. The two, while initially not getting along, bonded over killing the Wraith and became friends with the result that Ronon finally accepted Teal'c's help in dealing with the IOA. The two joked about it afterwards.

He, along with the rest of SG-1 and Major General Jack O'Neill, attended the Extraction Ceremony of the Ba'al clone on the Tok'ra homeworld.

Alternate realities

 * In an alternate reality where SG-1 never visited Chulak, Teal'c remained First Prime of Apophis. Though he led the invasion on Earth, he seems, like the Teal'c from our reality, to hate serving the Goa'uld. Brigadier General Jack O'Neill might have convinced Teal'c to change sides- aided by Dr. Daniel Jackson's video recording of his SG-1, including O'Neill and Teal'c working together- had he not sent a nuclear weapon to Chulak, the bomb apparently killing Teal'c's family. The alternate Teal'c was killed when Cheyenne Mountain's self-destruct device went off. The Teal'c from this reality had a large hair bun. When Dr Jackson went to escape through the Stargate, this Teal'c hesitated in shooting him, aware of his story from O'Neill, but fired at the the last second. Alternate_beard_teal'c.jpg
 * In an alternate reality, Teal'c served Apophis and was apparently very loyal to his master. He was killed by his counterpart from our reality when he refused to betray Apophis, despite 'our' Teal'c offering to spare his life if he would renounce Apophis and aid them in the deliverance of Earth. The Teal'c from our reality impersonated him until Apophis discovered the deception. The Teal'c from this reality had a small beard.
 * A version of Teal'c came to our reality in an attempt to steal a Zero Point Module and return it to their reality for securing their Earth.

Alternate timelines

 * In an alternate timeline Teal'c, along with Dr. Daniel Jackson, learned about the sterilization of the Earth's population by the Aschen from Dr. Janet Fraiser and Samantha Carter. Later, they were able to convince Jack O'Neill to help with their plan to prevent it from ever happening. Teal'c went back to Chulak to avoid arousing suspicion and when it came time to put the plan in motion, Janet contacted him. He came back to Earth through the Stargate giving him the closest position to dial back out. He was able to do this successfully before being killed by the automated defense system. The Teal'c from this reality had his Apophis emblem removed.
 * In an alternate timeline, Teal'c was still the First Prime of Apophis. Like his counterpart from our reality, he believed the Goa'uld were false gods and after seeing the tape where his unaltered counterpart affirmed this and the Goa'uld's downfall, he changed sides. He killed Dr. Daniel Jackson after he had been implanted with a Goa'uld. Teal'c traveled back to ancient Egypt with Colonel Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter to fix the timeline.
 * In an alternate timeline created by Ba'al, Teal'c was his First Prime and bore Ba'al's Jaffa mark instead of Apophis's. He was won over by a promise of freedom for his people from Ba'al. After Qetesh killed Ba'al, he traveled to Earth to use the Stargate and encountered SG-1. He was surprised at their knowledge of him, but refused to listen at first until Colonel Samantha Carter promised they could free his people. After learning what they had in mind, this Teal'c sided with SG-1 and held off Qetesh's Jaffa long enough for Colonel Cameron Mitchell to escape through the Stargate to 1929. This Teal'c was mortally wounded and left behind. He was offered the position of Qetesh's First Prime, but he refused and saying "I die free," detonated an explosive that killed Qetesh, her Jaffa and himself as well as destroying the time machine.

Humor
Teal'c frequently misquotes common Earth idioms.
 * "Are you considering the same tactic as I?" (are you thinking what I'm thinking)
 * "Things will not calm down, Daniel Jackson. Things will, in fact, calm up." (things will escalate)
 * "I believe a "medical attack" could be successful." (surgical strike)
 * "I will purchase time for you..." (buy time)
 * "Undomesticated equines could not remove me." (wild horses) (This is not a direct misquote, as Teal'c was making a joke).
 * "I will, in fact, keep both eyes on it, Daniel Jackson." (Keep an eye on it)
 * "It is a lengthy tale" (Long story)

Teal'c has been known to show a humorous side occasionally. When discussing Setesh, he told a Jaffa joke about the different Jaffa guards: "A Serpent guard, a Horus guard and a Setesh guard meet on a neutral planet. It is a tense moment. The Serpent guard's eyes glow. The Horus guard's beak glistens. The Setesh guard's nose...drips."

However, he correctly said the phrase "Taking out two birds with one stone" and when Teal'c goes through the airlock on Thor’s ship and Colonel Jack O'Neill asks him to speak he says "One small step for Jaffa."

Abilities and skills
While not possessing any preternatural abilities as such, Teal'c makes up for it with his superior combat training and proficiency in Jaffa close-quarter combat styles, as well as his ability to quickly adapt to new weaponry. Because of his training as Apophis' First Prime, Teal'c has been trained in various skills that are essential to a System Lord's First Prime, which are now used in the services of SG-1. Teal'c is an accomplished tracker, having demonstrated this on many occasions, and has exceptional sensory skills. Occasionally this has inadvertently gotten him into trouble with local law enforcement - on one occasion, he prevented an assault, taking down three men at once. He was also able to throw an avocado precisely to hit a purse-snatcher from a long distance, knocking him out. These incidents nevertheless highlight Teal'c's lawfulness and reliability.

As stated by Colonel Jack O'Neill, Teal'c is physically much stronger than anyone he knows, even after having his Goa'uld Symbiote removed; a trait he puts to great use in combat. Before having his Goa'uld permanently removed, Teal'c possessed an impressive healing and recovery rate, a long lifespan, perfect health, an immunity to a great range of diseases, poisons, and toxins, and the ability to survive an extended period without oxygen under water. Because of the presence of Naquadah within his Goa'uld symbiote, Teal'c has the ability to sense the presence of other symbiotes and, because their presence disturbs the Goa'uld, the Reetou as well. Since he began to use Tretonin as a substitute for his symbiote, he has lost many of these traits, though some remain.

"Indeed"
The word "Indeed" is the catchphrase and one of the most frequent words spoken by Teal'c. He said this many times over the years, although he didn't say it often in the first few years he was involved with Stargate Command. The word "indeed" is also said by his teammates on a few occasions. In one instance, all of SG1, apart from Teal'c said the word before embarking on a mission. In another instance, Ronon Dex told Teal'c that he says the word a lot, to which Teal'c replied, "Do I? I had not noticed" indicating that while he did it and made a habit out of it, it was something he did subconsciously and it was likely never pointed out to him.

Wise statements
Time to time Teal'c showed his unruffled Jaffa wisdom through his statements. Here are some of them: It should be noted that this quality is not lost on the rest of SG1, as noted by Dr. Daniel Jackson in "Lost City, Part 1". (2004) Jackson: [drunk] Teal'c's like one of the deepest people I know. I mean, he's *so* deep. Go on, t-tell them how deep you are! You'll be lucky if you understand this.
 * A great Jaffa once said, "Exalted is the warrior who achieves victory without battle."
 * A mighty Jaffa warrior once said, "The greatest strategy is doomed to fail if there is no army to follow it."

Teal'c: [lifts one eyebrow] My depth is immaterial to this conversation.

Jackson: Ooh! See?

Drey'auc and Rya'c
While still in service to Apophis, Teal'c was married to Drey'auc (now deceased) of the Cord'ai Plains and had a son, Rya'c. He left his family behind when he betrayed Apophis, hoping to return and bring them the freedom he had found, and they were forced to live as pariahs. He returned to Chulak to prevent his son from being implanted with a symbiote, but Rya'c was too ill and ultimately Teal'c gave him his own symbiote. Teal'c later received another that SG-1 had captured.

After he left again, Drey'auc married Fro'tak, a childhood friend of Teal'c, in order to give her son a better life. However, even with such an influential new husband, Drey'auc was unable to prevent Apophis from abducting Rya'c and brainwashing him into publicly denouncing his father. Teal'c believed Rya'c would not succumb to such manipulation, but SG-1 eventually rescued Rya'c and brought him and Drey'auc back to Earth (Fro'tak was killed trying to betray SG-1) where Teal'c soon discovered Rya'c truly was brainwashed and conditioned to immolate himself to destroy Stargate Command. Teal'c had to shoot him with a Zat'nik'tel to break the conditioning. Rya'c and Drey'auc left to live in the Land of Light (P3X-797 by designation) soon after, and eventually moved to a rebel Jaffa camp, wherein Drey'auc died as a result of refusal of a new larval symbiote when hers matured, not wanting to deprive another Jaffa of life.

He was against his son's marriage to Kar'yn, a student of Ishta, believing he was too young, but he finally accepted it.

Shau'nac
Shau'nac of the Red Hills was a priestess on Chulak and an old love of Teal'c. They rekindled their feelings when she reappeared in his life, but she was killed by Tanith soon thereafter.

Ishta
Ishta is the leader of the female Jaffa on Hak'tyl. They rebelled against the Goa'uld Moloc because he ordered the murder of any female Jaffa baby, forcing her and her fellow priestesses to secretly smuggle female children off the planet instead of murdering them. She felt the Jaffa rebellion was useless, believing it better to indiscriminately kill any Goa'uld who posed an immediate threat (particularly Moloc). The other Jaffa Rebel leaders, meanwhile, tried to see the "bigger picture" and not allow a single Goa'uld to become powerful by killing too many prospective opponents. This difference in philosophies strained Teal'c's and Ishta's relationship for a time. After Moloc was eventually killed, however, Ba'al took over Moloc's territory, and Ishta came to see the wisdom of Teal'c and the other Rebel Jaffa's strategy. Teal'c and Ishta still keep in touch months later, however, as Rya'c tells Teal'c that things would be easier for everyone else if he and Ishta just admit they love each other.

Relatives

 * Teal'c's mother (Mother)
 * Ronac (father)
 * Drey'auc (wife)
 * Rya'c (son)
 * Kar'yn (daughter-in-law)
 * Jonathan J. O'Neill (foster brother)
 * Bra'tac (foster father)

Other versions

 * Teal'c (android)

Trivia

 * At 213 episodes, Teal'c has appeared more times on Stargate SG-1 than any other character.
 * Teal'c is the only original SG-1 member to not be mentioned by name or seen in Stargate Universe, though his brainwashing by Apophis is mentioned.
 * When SG-1 went back in time to 1969, Dr. Daniel Jackson taught Teal'c how to drive.
 * One of Teal'c's favorite foods is turkey.
 * Teal'c has seen the film Star Wars at least nine times.
 * Teal'c has a beard during the fourth season of SG-1, it is grown after being stranded for a week off-world and is lost to conceal his alien nature when SG-1 was forced into menial labour by use of a Memory Stamp.
 * When concealing his identity, Teal'c often goes by the alias "Murray".

References and notes
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