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 [pronounced ˈtiːəlk] 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 is 161 years old in the year 2010, after aging 50 years trapped on the Odyssey. Teal'c was formerly in the service of the System Lord Apophis as his First Prime.

Early life
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 banished 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 a female United States Air Force officer 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 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 General 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, Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter were able to acquire another symbiote, which was given to Teal'c.

1998
When SG-1 successfully thwarted Apophis' attempt to invade Earth, Apophis chose to take his revenge by brainwashing Ry'ac. SG-1 was able to rescue Ry'ac, but the brainwashing was harder to overcome. Teal'c eventually was forced to zat Rya'c, freeing him. Drey'auc and Rya'c were then taken to the Land of Light.

1999
After Apophis claimed sanctuary on Earth, Teal'c revelled 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 General 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, Daniel Jackson's wife, as the Goa'uld who possessed her (Amonet) was killing Daniel with a hand device.

2000
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, 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.

2002
After Daniel Jackson died and ascended, Teal'c retreated into himself to manage his grief. Unlike O'Neill and Carter, Teal'c bore Jonas Quinn no ill will, and actually took his desire to join SG-1 seriously. However, Drey'auc soon 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 rebel 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. 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. 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. 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 O'Neill became commander of the SGC, 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, and was framed by the Trust for murdering her boyfriend. However, Teal'c was exonerated thanks to the efforts of Carter and Pete Shanahan.

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 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 honour 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 gaining a foothold in 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. 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, to prevent the Ori from tracking them. He aged 50 years. The only visible sign of his age is a streak of grey hair on his right head, but kept his skills and physique.

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.

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

2008
Carter requested that he come to Atlantis to teach Ronon Dex on how to handle the IOA. 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 Midway 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 weapon. The two, while initally 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 good-naturdedly joked about it afterwards.

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

Humor
Teal'c frequently misquotes common Earth clichés.
 * "Are you considering the tactic I am considering?" (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, Dr. 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 Seth, 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."

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 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 naqahdah 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.

Family and love life
While still in service to Apophis, Teal'c was married to Drey'auc (now deceased) of the Cordai 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 the zat 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.

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 soon thereafter.

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.

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

"Indeed"
The word "Indeed" is the catchphrase and one of the most frequent words spoken by Teal'c. He said this several times over the years, although he didn't say it often in the first few years he was involved with the SGC. 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.

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. Jack O'Neill might have convinced Teal'c to change sides had he not sent a nuclear weapon to Chulak. The alternate Teal'c was killed when Cheyenne Mountain's auto-destruct device went off. The Teal'c from this reality had a large hair bun. When Daniel 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.


 * 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. The Teal'c from our reality impersonated him until Apophis discovered the deception. The Teal'c from this reality had a small beard.


 * In an alternate reality Teal'c, along with Daniel Jackson, learned about the sterilization of the Earth's population by the Aschen from 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 altered time-line 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 Daniel Jackson after he had been implanted with a Gou'ald. Teal'c traveled back to ancient Egypt with Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter to fix the timeline.


 * A version of Teal'c came to our reality in an attempt to steal a ZPM and return it to their reality for securing their Earth.


 * 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 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 Mitchell to escape through the Stargate to 1929.  This Teal'c was mortally wounded and left behind.  He was offered the posistion 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. 

Other versions

 * Teal'c (robot)

Trivia

 * At 213 episodes, Teal'c has appeared more times on Stargate SG-1 than any other character.