Title: Nothing To Fear
Author: Wonderland
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em, wish I did, you know who does, yadda, yadda, yadda
Summary: It may be the hardest mission Jack O’Neill had ever undertaken.
Season/Spoiler info: one.

Nothing To Fear

I’d known when I volunteered for this mission that there was every chance I wasn’t coming out of it alive. I’d known that danger and terror lurked behind every yawning chasm in that wide plain of deceit and duplicity. Missions like this were the reason I was Black Ops trained, so I could shut my eyes to the danger, gird my loins and lead my team headstrong into what many could only see as certain disaster.

“Okay,” I asked my fearless team as we reconnoiter before facing the enemy. “Is everyone clear of their duties?”

Captain Carter nods her blond head with an enthusiastic expression I can only admit, with a sinking heart, appears to be anticipation. “I’m in charge of Dr. Jackson.”

“Hey,” comes the inevitable protest. “I’m not a kid.”

“Daniel, this isn’t something you’ve encountered before.”

“Jack,” he frowns in frustration. “I’ve been here before.”

I sigh heavily as I survey the vast expanse that awaits us.

The Chapel Hills Mall in all its glory.

*

My plan calls for Carter to get Daniel decked out while I do the same for Teal’c. Daniel initially fought the mission and its purpose until I told him he couldn’t continue to leave base in his BDUs and that came straight from General Hammond.

The old guy was quite a bit sneakier than I originally thought; he got the Air Force to pony up to Daniel for the original translation with interest; it was enough for a nice apartment and to get it kitted out in style.

The wily general has yet to get the Air Force to agree that Daniel spent the last year working as an off-site consultant (and really, can you get any more off-site than where he was?) and that they owe him a year’s back pay. If the general has his way, Daniel will have enough to buy a house. Hammond knows the kindest thing to do is to kick the baby chick out of the nest and force him to fly on his own. I can’t fault him for that.

*

So Carter took Daniel in one direction and I steer Teal’c in another. There are a couple of good men’s shops here in the mall; I’m just hoping they’ll have some bigger sizes or it’s online shopping for us.

In fact, standing there in the middle of the mall with a knit cap wearing alien, I wish I’d thought of that sooner.

“O’Neill, there appears to be something amiss with these humans.”

I turn and watch the people milling through the mall; most seem to have a mission and a limited amount of time in which to accomplish said mission. “Teal’c, this is pretty much what a standard Saturday at the mall looks like.”

“These people do not cower in fear. In fact, some have been bold enough to meet my eye without having been bidden to do so.” This seems to offend him mightily.

I motion him to follow me over to an unoccupied bench. “Well, see, Teal’c, the thing is, these people don’t know who you are, so they have no reason to fear you.”

“On those occasions when I would visit the local marketplace, my way would be unobstructed. Indeed, merchants would seek me out to offer their wares.”

I smother a smile at the picture of someone rushing to offer Teal’c a bolt of cloth or piece of jewelry. “I know that you spent a lot of time putting the fear of God into folks… Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best analogy. Trust me, if folks here knew who you really were, they’d make a path for you.” And probably beat a path to the nearest exit.

“They would fear me because I was the First Prime of Apophis?” His tone suggests that is as it should be.

“No, they would fear you because you are alien to them. People fear what they don’t know, they don’t understand. Saying you were the First Prime wouldn’t mean squat to these people.”

His frown deepens. “O’Neill, I have spent the best part of my life working to become First Prime and you now tell me it is of no consequence.”

This is one of those conversations I wish Daniel were here for. “’Fraid so. At least here. On the other side of the Gate?” I shrug. “You can scare the crap out of people to your heart’s content.” I give him a few minutes to take it all in. “Come on, we’ve got some shopping to do before we can introduce you to the world of restaurant dining.”

He follows me obediently. “This differs from commissary dining?”

“Oh, buddy, you have on idea.”