Bra'tac

Master Bra'tac

Summary

Bra'tac is a former First Prime of Apophis, a fabled warrior and teacher, a wise, courageous and spiritual man, deeply honorable, the first of the Jaffa rebels and Teal’c’s revered mentor and father figure.

Character Biography

Son, Warrior, and Mentor

Bra'tac was trained in the Jaffa warrior tradition under his father, who would tell him stories that made young Bra'tac question the godhood of the Goa'uld (3.20 "Maternal Instinct"). His father told him once of a place called Kheb, and Bra'tac told this story to Dr. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c several years later:

The Goa'uld fear and despise Kheb. They forbade anyone from speaking of it long ago. It is something my father once spoke of to me. An old tale about a place discovered long ago by a few Jaffa and kept secret from the Goa'uld. When they could no longer carry a primta, they would make their journey to Kheb. There their calak would learn the path through the darkness into the next life. When some of the Goa'uld finally found out about Kheb, they made their way there. They did not return. It was forbidden to speak of ever again. My father enjoyed telling me this story. If the Goa'uld truly are all-powerful gods, he would say, how is it that they fear anything?

Bra'tac trains Teal'c to become First Prime of Apophis

From those early seeds of doubt, Bra'tac learned that the best way to help others was to become a First Prime and exercise mercy. When training Teal'c toward the position of First Prime for Apophis, Bra'tac told him that he could use the position to make a difference, just as he had done. Bra'tac also realized that he would have to do some things of which he could never forgive himself. (5.02 "Threshold")

Bra'tac believed that "a warrior's true strength comes from his heart and his mind." He emphasized quiet observation and quick thinking ("Observe and learn."). He carried the warrior's spirit way down into his very core, applying the rules of battle in his everyday life. When trying to teach a young warrior in working with the staff weapon, Bra'tac said, "The weapon is balanced, but the warrior is not. When one overcommits, one becomes vulnerable to counterattack. When one achieves balance in combat, one will survive to achieve balance in life." (2.01 "The Serpent's Lair Part 2", 5.18 "The Warrior", 7.04 "Orpheus")

When the Tau'ri, humans from the First World, were captured and placed in a prison to which Bra'tac and Teal'c had access on Chulak, Teal'c recognized that his time to act against Apophis had come, seeing that these humans had known freedom from the Goa'uld for thousands of years. Bra'tac, however, chose to stay behind when Teal'c made his decision to betray Apophis. (1.02 "Children of the Gods Part 2", 5.02 "Threshold")

First Prime of Apophis

For 133 years, Bra'tac served under Apophis, knowing that the Goa'uld was a false god. When Teal'c betrayed Apophis, Bra'tac stayed behind on Chulak and continued in his position as First Prime and highly-respected warrior. He knew Teal'c would return to his homeworld to locate his wife and son and to prevent his son from going through the implantation ceremony (to receive his first Goa'uld larval symbiote). Bra'tac found Teal'c and SG-1 at the site of Teal'c's burned home and guided Teal'c to where his wife and son were banished. Teal'c arrived too late to stop the priest from creating Rya'c's symbiote pouch, and the boy, without a proper immune system, became severely sick with scarlet fever. Rya'c would die if he didn't have the healing powers of a symbiote. With great regret, Teal'c gave his son his own symbiote in order to save his life. Bra'tac was present to hear Teal'c's last will, but fortunately, Carter and Daniel obtained a larval symbiote and gave it to Teal'c. Bra'tac helped the team escape, but stayed behind to look after Teal'c's family. (1.12 "Bloodlines")

It took a while, but eventually Bra'tac was able to get back into Apophis's good graces after he helped the team escape. He was assigned to Apophis's son Klorel, the Goa'uld hosted by the Abydonian Skaara. Apophis and Klorel were in the process of taking their two motherships to attack Earth as retribution for the death of Ra. Daniel knew about this attack because he had experienced it in an alternate reality. Using his intel, the team defied orders and went through the Stargate, ending up on one of the motherships. They were captured, and Bra'tac was there to rescue them. (2.01 "The Serpent's Lair Part 2")

"I die free!"

Bra'tac had a few loyal Jaffa with him on Klorel's ship, and he joined SG-1 in trying to stop the attack. He used his position as First Prime against Jaffa guarding the corridors by simply walking past them in full view and then executing a surprise attack against them. When they wanted to gain access to the ship's navigation station, Bra'tac and his men walked right into the room where Klorel stood. Klorel called him to his side to witness his "god's" power, but Bra'tac finally said the words that he had been holding back all of his life: "Because you are not a god. You are a parasite within a child, and I despise you." Klorel lashed out with his ribbon device, and Bra'tac uttered the words that would soon define the defiant cry of the Rebel Jaffa: "I die free!" (2.01 "The Serpent's Lair Part 2")

Forunately for Bra'tac, SG-1 knew that Bra'tac's words were a signal for them to rush the room. They managed to get to the ship's navigation console and put it on a collision course with the second ship. Unfortunately, Apophis and Klorel escaped through the Stargate, and Bra'tac was the only one of his group to survive when he and the team escaped the ships' destruction. (2.01 "The Serpent's Lair Part 2")

After this defeat, Apophis returned to Chulak in shame. He was so weakened that the other System Lords were ready to take over his domain. Apophis wanted to capture Teal'c as a demonstration of power, and in order to do this, he kidnapped Teal'c's son and brainwashed him. He was prepared to announce to the planet that it was only rumor that he had been defeated. Bra'tac came to the SGC with this news, and he and SG-1 went back to Chulak to rescue Rya'c. After the team found Rya'c, they took him back to the SGC to be deprogrammed, and Teal'c asked that Bra'tac join them, but he said, "Another time." (2.08 "Family")

When news of Apophis's death while at the SGC reached Chulak, chaos erupted and Bra'tac was attacked and left for dead by the last of Apophis's personal guard. Teal'c happened to find him badly beaten when he was in search of those who would help him free his teammates who were being held by the Goa'uld Hathor. Teal'c actually resigned his position at the SGC so that he could return to Chulak to form a rescue party. It was at this time that Teal'c called for the Jaffa to rally against the false gods — the beginning of the Jaffa Rebellion. Very few answered his call that day, but Bra'tac remained loyal to the cause and did all that he could to rescue the Tau'ri. (2.17 "Serpent's Song", 3.01 "Into the Fire Part 2")

Unfortunately, Apophis did not stay dead, but was revived in a sarcophagus by Sokar. He managed to get control of Sokar's domain when SG-1 and the Tok'ra inadvertently helped him when they killed Sokar. Apophis became powerful once again. His son, however, was removed from Skaara after Klorel crash-landed on Tollana and was supposedly sent to a Goa'uld-controlled planet where he could obtain another, presumably willing, host. (3.13 "The Devil You Know Part 2", 3.15 "Pretense")

Continuing to feel that his place was on Chulak to train and recruit more Jaffa, Bra'tac was present when Apophis returned to Chulak in search of his son, a Harsesis child born of his host and his mate's host, Sha're, Daniel Jackson's wife. The Harsesis had the Goa'uld genetic memories of his parents' symbiotes, and Apophis desired to take him as his new host so that he'd become more powerful among the System Lords. Because a Harsesis as a host could throw off the balance of power with this great knowledge, the System Lords always sought them out to kill them. Apophis's son was taken into hiding by his mate's loyal servant following her death, but Apophis wasn't sure where. He slaughtered many Jaffa on Chulak, whether they were loyal or not. Among the severely wounded was Moac, Bra'tac's new apprentice. Bra'tac took Moac to the SGC where he hoped that he could be saved, but Moac's injuries were too severe. Upon witnessing Moac's death, Bra'tac's heart broke and he felt that the fight was no longer meant for someone of his age (135 years old). (3.10 "Forever in a Day", 3.20 "Maternal Instinct")

Teal'c and Bra'tac stand in awe and reverence at the power of Oma Desala

Because Daniel had promised Sha're that he'd take care of her child upon her death, he wanted very badly to find Kheb, the place where Sha're said that the boy was taken by Amaunet's servant. It was at this point that Bra'tac told the story his father had told him about Kheb, and after combining Jaffa and Earth mythologies, Daniel and Bra'tac found the Stargate address for the planet. Once there, they tracked the boy's hiding place to a temple in the valley. Kheb was a sacred place to the Jaffa, and Bra'tac was especially awed by it. His resolve was renewed when he realized that the legends concerning the Path to Enlightenment (ascension) were true and that he could one day realize a life after death. He witnessed first-hand the power of the Ascended Being Oma Desala who took the baby to a safe place and destroyed Apophis's Jaffa troops who would have killed him. (3.10 "Forever in a Day", 3.20 "Maternal Instinct")

Bra'tac wasn't witness to the final death of Apophis at the hands of the Replicators (and SG-1 and Jacob Carter/Selmak), but that day was one of great victory on Chulak for the Rebel Jaffa. Unfortunately, right before his death, Apophis had managed to capture and brainwash Teal'c. Bra'tac was called to the SGC to save Teal'c's soul, and he did this by performing the Rite of Mal Sharran, the removal of a Jaffa's symbiote so that on the edge of death, "the events that forged him wash over his mind like a great wave." Bra'tac said that in his 137 years, he had attended the Rite twice, but the Jaffa undergoing the Rite didn't have the strength to survive it, but they did "die free." With great persistence, the team saw Teal'c through the Rite and he denounced Apophis and declared him a "dead, false god." (5.02 "Threshold")

Bra'tac said that old warriors die when they can no longer carry a symbiote. The symbiote he carried at 137 was about to mature in two years and there could be no replacement because his body would be rejected as too old. (5.02 "Threshold")

Rebel Jaffa

"Our time will come, old friend, but not this day."

Following the death of Apophis, Bra'tac dedicated himself to the recruiting of Rebel Jaffa. He thought that a new leader had been found in Kytano, who claimed to be the former First Prime of Imhotep, a Goa'uld he claimed to have personally killed. Kytano was a charismatic leader who managed to obtain unwavering loyalty and devotion of several warriors at Cal Mah. Kytano proposed raising an army to oppose the Goa'uld directly and wished to form an alliance with the Tau'ri for food and supplies, including weapons such as the P-90. Bra'tac and Teal'c were very supportive of Kytano, until Kytano sent Teal'c on an extremely dangerous mission. When Teal'c was captured by Lord Yu, he was told that Kytano was actually Imhotep who had tried to betray Yu, but Yu in turn used him to assemble the Rebel Jaffa in one place for slaughter. Angered, Teal'c returned to Cal Mal and challenged Kytano for leadership, a joma secu, which is fought to the death. Teal'c was victorious, but there wasn't time for regrouping as Yu's ha'tak began to fire upon the planet. The Rebel Jaffa had to evacuate through the Stargate, and as they were about to step through, Bra'tac consoled an injured Teal'c, "Our time will come, old friend, but not this day." (5.18 "The Warrior")

It wasn't long after this major blow to the Rebel cause that Daniel Jackson died of radiation poisoning and was helped to ascend by Oma Desala, the Ascended Being from Kheb. Teal'c was present to witness the event, but Bra'tac wasn't. Most likely, Teal'c told Bra'tac of Daniel's great accomplishment, since both of the Jaffa endeavored for the same form of life after death. (5.21 "Meridian")

Bra'tac retrieved Teal'c from the SGC when Drey'auc became seriously ill after refusing another symbiote. Teal'c arrived after she died and had to face his son Rya'c's anger and wish for vengeance. Bra'tac was able to talk to Rya'c as his mentor, but Bra'tac told Teal'c that he needed to talk to Rya'c as only a father could talk to his son. The Jaffa camp grieved for Drey'auc, but soon there were other issues as Anubis attacked Earth through the Stargate, keeping its wormhole open as it built up an excess amount of energy toward a massive explosion. Rebel Jaffa Shaq'rel informed them of the attack and brought a ship for them to use. Bra'tac knew the addresses of the planets that Anubis controlled and began dialing each one to find the one to which they could not establish a connection, the supposed origin of the attack. They found one, took their ship there, and destroyed the Ancient technology that was being used to send the destructive energy beam through the Stargate. (6.01 "Redemption Part 1", 6.02 "Redemption Part 2")

Bra'tac and Tok'ra Malek lead their people in the alliance

The Rebel Jaffa moved to the Alpha Site, but found that they were sharing space with not only the Tau'ri, but the Tok'ra as well. Although they had an alliance with the Tok'ra, their relationship was still uneasy, because, as Jacob Carter/Selmak worded it, "For 2,000 years, every time a Tok'ra died at the end of a staff weapon, a Jaffa was holding it." The Tok'ra sought safety at the Alpha Site because Anubis had just attacked their facility in the Risa System. Unknown to them, a cloaked assassin, an Ashrak, came through the Stargate with them. Seeing that relations between the Rebel Jaffa and Tok'ra were uneasy, the Ashrak killed certain individuals in order to set the two sides off on each other. (6.09 "Allegiance")

Fortunately, Bra'tac was there to exert his influence to calm the Rebel Jaffa. He also used his extraordinary tracking abilities to go after the Ashrak. Because he posed such a threat to the Ashrak, the assassin attacked him and left him for dead. Bra'tac healed long enough to make it back to the camp where the Ashrak had been cornered, firing the final, fatal blow with his staff weapon. He made an appeal to the Tau'ri, Tok'ra, and Rebel Jaffa: "This single blade did what we could not. It has brought us together. This blade has spilled the blood of Jaffa, of the Tok'ra, and of the Tau'ri. By the hand of our common enemy, it has made us brothers. Together, we have ensured it will never spill our blood again." (6.09 "Allegiance")

Teal'c and Bra'tac survive the ambush at Kresh'tar by sharing a symbiote

Bra'tac and Teal'c continued to lead the Rebel Jaffa and went to Kresh'tar for a summit, but were ambushed. The attackers removed all of the symbiotes from over a hundred Jaffa and left them for dead. Teal'c and Bra'tac managed to share one symbiote that was somehow overlooked. Severely weakened, Teal'c's mind began to wander and he dreamt that he was a human fireman and that Bra'tac was his "step-father" who looked after him after his father's death. In this dream, Bra'tac was in need of a kidney transplant, and Teal'c had volunteered to give him one of his. This dream was his way of keeping himself motivated to survive as he switched the symbiote back and forth to keep Bra'tac alive. Daniel Jackson, as an Ascended Being, visited Teal'c in his dreams and never left his side for the three days Bra'tac and Teal'c suffered. The rest of SG-1 rescued the two in time, but the symbiote died. Jacob Carter/Selmak came to the SGC to offer the Tok'ra's newly-formulated Tretonin, engineered specifically for the Jaffa to replace the symbiote as a Jaffa's immune system. Bra'tac and Teal'c were the first Jaffa to end their dependence on the Goa'uld for their very lives — one step closer to true freedom from the Goa'uld. (6.19 "Changeling")

It wasn't too long after Daniel was with them at Kresh'tar that he returned to human form. Bra'tac's reaction to Daniel's return wasn't known, but it is possible that his ideals concerning ascension were tainted from Daniel's experience. Because Daniel and his friends weren't aware of the circumstances of his return, they felt that perhaps Daniel was being punished for his actions against Anubis when Anubis attacked Abydos in the search for the Eye of Ra. (6.22 "Full Circle", 7.01 "Fallen Part 1")

Still recruiting for the Rebel cause, Bra'tac took Rya'c to Erebus, a planet under the control of Ba'al where the Jaffa who would not pledge allegiance to their new master were sentenced to hard labor building new ha'tak. It was a prime location for finding Rebel Jaffa, but Bra'tac and Rya'c were discovered and forced into labor. Their capture was witnessed by Daniel Jackson when he was an Ascended Being, but Daniel was prevented from intervening. Once Daniel returned to human form, he began to remember a few things from when he was ascended, this instance being the main one. He had witnessed Bra'tac send the code to lower the Erebus Stargate's energy defense shield and was able to remember key details about the lay of the land. Together with Rak'nor, he devised a plan to retrieve the two Rebel Jaffa. (7.04 "Orpheus")

Bra'tac and Rya'c as prisoners on Erebus

Bra'tac and Rya'c had been in the labor camp for three months, and Bra'tac ran out of Tretonin. He began to grow weaker, unable to keep the work pace. Unfortunately, on Erebus, if you do not work, you die, usually by firing squad. Bra'tac held on for Rya'c's sake, encouraging him with the hope of a rescue. SG-1, SG-2, and SG-3, along with Rak'nor, went on the rescue mission. Rak'nor and Teal'c were captured and severely beaten. Bra'tac saw Teal'c's faltering confidence when Teal'c admitted to Rya'c that he felt weak, something that he noticed was a result of being on Tretonin. Bra'tac had to remind him that a warrior is not defined by his physical strength, but by his heart and mind. Later that day, the SG teams destroyed the ha'tak being built and freed all of the laborers, who were sent to the Alpha Site to join the other Rebel Jaffa. (7.04 "Orpheus")

Teal'c wasn't the only one who was struggling with his identity during this time. Daniel was also questioning himself and why he had returned to human form. He thought that maybe he had done something wrong and was being punished. Recognizing Daniel's uncertainty of his place and his feelings of guilt for not having acted when he had the power, Teal'c tried to reassure Daniel that he believed him about this recalled memory, knowing that he would have done anything to help Bra'tac and Rya'c if he could have, just like he had helped him survive at the ambush of Kresh'tar. Bra'tac thanked General Hammond for saving their lives, but Hammond said that it was Daniel who deserved the credit. Bra'tac smiled at this as Daniel reacted humbly to the attention. It's possible that Teal'c told Bra'tac that Daniel had been with him at Kresh'tar, but it is also possible that Daniel had visited Bra'tac's dreams just as he had Teal'c's. For whatever reason, from this point on, Bra'tac appeared to grow in his love and appreciation for the human whom he claimed he could "snap like kindling" when they met on Chulak only five years before. Perhaps Bra'tac realized that Daniel was a warrior, too, just as Teal'c had when he said to Daniel at his deathbed, "If you are to die, Daniel Jackson, I wish you to know that I believe that the fight against the Goa'uld will have lost one of its greatest warriors." (1.12 "Bloodlines", 5.21 "Meridian", 6.19 "Changeling", 7.04 "Orpheus")

The growing Jaffa Rebellion might have been the reason why Anubis created his Kull Warrior army. No longer could a Jaffa be considered one hundred percent loyal. The Kull Warriors took the Jaffa's place in this regard: they were programmed with a Goa'uld symbiote blended in, but not meant for long life and health like the Jaffa had been. The Kull Warriors, in fact, were not natural beings, but animated creations grown in a laboratory and given life by Ancient technology similar to the Telchak Device. (7.11 "Evolution Part 1")

The Telchak Device was a small, cubical piece of technology that emitted healing energy and was used by the Goa'uld Telchak to fashion the sarcophagus. Because the technology was meant for Ancients who had a different physiology than the human hosts and the symbiotes of the Goa'uld, its effects became more detrimental than helpful after continued, long-term use. As a matter of fact, the sarcophagus would cause addiction and madness in humans, and this was one of the reasons why the Tok'ra refused to use it to heal, resurrect, or prolong their lives or those of their hosts. The SGC, however, wanted to find the Telchak Device so that a technology could be developed that would cancel out the Warriors' life-giving energy. (2.05 "Need", 2.11 "The Tok'ra Part 1", 7.11 "Evolution Part 1")

Bra'tac and a Kull Warrior struggle for control of a staff weapon

The first of these Kull Warriors was encountered by Bra'tac and Teal'c on a planet where the Goa'ulds Tilgath and Ramius were having a summit to form an alliance. Anubis sent this lone Warrior to kill all who attended, but Ramius barely escaped and his First Prime survived long enough for him to warn Bra'tac and Teal'c about the danger this one Warrior posed. Bra'tac struggled for control of his staff weapon against the Warrior who was there to finish the job it had started, but eventually the Warrior collapsed of pulmonary failure or a heart attack. His body was studied by Jacob Carter/Selmak and Carter back at the SGC, and they decided that they needed to capture a live Warrior to make any headway in determining its true nature since they weren't aware that Anubis was behind their creation at that time. (7.11 "Evolution Part 1")

Bra'tac and several of his fellow Rebel Jaffa joined SG-1, SG-3, and SG-12 at Ramius's homeworld to capture one of these Warriors. They believed one would show up to finish the job the other Kull Warrior had started at the summit. Bra'tac coordinated the ambush with a Rebel Jaffa in Ramius's ranks, Adal. When the Warrior took the path Adal recommended as the prime location to get to Ramius's headquarters, it was much more powerful than they had all imagined, and their attempt at capturing it was a failure. They were captured by Ramius's patrols and confined, but the Warrior killed Ramius and many of his loyal Jaffa as Ramius attempted once again to flee. The teams obtained Ramius's cargo ship and ringed the Warrior aboard, having to evacuate life support in the cargo hold just to get the Warrior to pass out. They brought the Warrior back to the SGC where they interrogated it. (7.11 "Evolution Part 1")

The captured Kull Warrior revealed its homeworld when Jacob used a memory recall device on it, and Bra'tac joined Jacob/Selmak, Carter, and Teal'c on a mission to this planet, Tartarus. Bra'tac flew a cloaked cargo ship while Jacob/Selmak, Teal'c, and Carter infiltrated the base. The team destroyed the Goa'uld queen that was producing the Warriors' symbiotes and determined the size of the Warrior army before they were discovered. As they fled the base, Bra'tac rescued them in his cargo ship and ringed out a Kull Warrior into midair when it had gained access to the ship through the rear. They realized that this Warrior was going to be hard to combat through its shielded armor that made it impervious to energy weapons' fire and its one-track, persistent mind toward a specific goal — namely, the deaths of those targeted by Anubis. Normally, when a Goa'uld conquered another, he absorbed the vanquished Goa'uld's Jaffa army, but in the case of Anubis, he no longer needed to preserve the Jaffa once he eliminated his rivals. This put the Jaffa Rebellion in serious jeopardy because they could no longer count on growing in number as Anubis became more powerful with his new, loyal, yet disposable, army of Kull Warriors. (7.12 "Evolution Part 2")

Fortunately, Jacob/Selmak and Carter studied the Telchak Device found by Daniel and Dr. Bill Lee in Hondorus and designed a working prototype weapon to combat the Kull Warriors in about a month's time. The SGC gave their teams small attachments for their weapons, such as the P-90, that were one hundred percent effective against the Warriors in one shot. Unfortunately, Anubis learned of this weapon's development and attacked the Alpha Site to destroy it, but Carter managed to save the technology. It was at this point, however, that the Rebel Jaffa and Tok'ra both decided to leave the Alpha Site to strike out on their own: The Tok'ra wished to return to their old ways of isolation, and the Rebel Jaffa, to form their own culture that would make them more of an equal in the alliance. (7.16 "Death Knell")

Jack heals Bra'tac with Ancient powers

Not long after this, Bra'tac had to bring bad news to the Tau'ri: Anubis was about to attack Earth in three days with an incredibly large fleet. Ever since Anubis attacked Abydos, the SGC had been searching for a cache of Ancient weapons said to be located in the Lost City. Anubis was also looking for this place, and the two parties had been in an intense race to find the Lost City of the Ancients first, for whoever possessed its technology was ensured galactic dominance. As Bra'tac delivered the news, he grew concerned because Gen. George Hammond was not present to greet him as the commander of the base. Instead, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, a civilian appointed by the President of the United States, was in charge. Bra'tac asked if "Hammond of Texas" had fallen in battle, showing that ever since Bra'tac had heard of him, he had the greatest respect for the "very good, very bald man" as a just leader and honorable warrior. (1.12 "Bloodlines", 6.22 "Full Circle", 7.21 "Lost City Part 1")

Bra'tac and Teal'c returned to Chulak to gather support for the defense of their ally. Unknown to them, Anubis sent one of his loyal Jaffa, Ronan, into the Rebel Jaffa ranks. Bra'tac knew Ronan's father and trusted him when he offered to help the Tau'ri and Rebel Jaffa by providing a cargo ship for them to use. Jack led the team, Bra'tac, and Ronan to Praclarush Taonas and revealed that the Lost City was on Earth. After learning of the Lost City's location, Ronan attempted to kill Bra'tac while they stayed in the cargo ship with the team still in the faltering Ancient Taonas Outpost on the lava-covered planet. Ronan thought that Bra'tac would be weak in his old age and stabbed him in the way a Jaffa would another — in his symbiote pouch. But, since Bra'tac no longer carried a symbiote, he survived the wound long enough to kill Ronan with the same bladed attack. Bra'tac barely had the strength to ring the team off of the planet in time as the encrusted dome of the Outpost began to collapse. Jack, having had the Ancient download from a Repository of Knowledge stuck in his brain, placed his hand on Bra'tac and healed him, showing that the download had altered his physiology to be similar to that of an Ancient. Upon returning to Earth with the power source from the Taonas Outpost, Bra'tac managed the flying of the cargo ship in Antarctica while the rest uncovered an Ancient Outpost buried in the ice. Jack and his team activated the Outpost's defense weapons against Anubis's fleet, destroying it completely with Anubis still onboard his mothership. (7.22 "Lost City Part 2")

SG-1 and Bra'tac continued to have strong connections in their effort to bring down the power structure of the Goa'uld System Lords. Joining the Rebel Jaffa in their fight were the female warriors of the Hak'tyl, who contacted SG-1 for assistance in saving Jaffa baby girls from the sacrificial fires of the Goa'uld Moloc. Moloc wished to control his Jaffa population in this fashion. The leader of the Hak'tyl was Ishta, a priestess who had access to several of Moloc's planets. For a couple of decades, she and her lieutenants built a warrior army that raided Moloc's patrols for their symbiotes. Upon meeting Teal'c, they were given the choice of switching to Tretonin so as to prevent themselves from attacking their fellow Rebel Jaffa. (7.10 "Birthright")

Bra'tac officiates at Rya'c's and Kar'yn's wedding

Bra'tac and Rya'c joined Ishta and her female population in the Hak'tyl, and Rya'c found his bride, Kar'yn, among them. Unfortunately, Hak'tyl's location was discovered, and they all had to flee to the SGC for refuge. Rya'c and Kar'yn were already in the midst of planning their wedding, with Bra'tac officiating, and decided that they'd still hold the ceremony in the base. Bra'tac also mediated in the relations between Rya'c and his father when Teal'c disapproved of his son's early marriage and in the relations between the Hak'tyl and Stargate Command, now under the command of Brig. Gen. Jack O'Neill. Bra'tac approached Jack about holding the wedding at the SGC with respect, albeit in an obvious "buttering up" fashion. He addressed Jack as "a wise and gracious leader" and "O'Neill of Minnesota" to parallel his "Hammond of Texas" title he had given with respect to Maj. Gen. George Hammond. Jack responded to Bra'tac's salutation and praise with "old coot", showing that their relationship had developed to be more familiar, lighthearted, respectful, and equal (at one time, Bra'tac once identified Jack as Teal'c's apprentice). This meant a lot to Jack, since Bra'tac used to called him "human" like it was a bad thing and a hassak, which was definitely meant as an insult. (1.12 "Bloodlines", 4.04 "Crossroads", 8.09 "Sacrifices")

Ishta, Teal'c, and their new friend Aron, managed to kill Moloc with a missile sent through the Stargate by the SGC. The wedding was held in the Embarkation Room, and the entire Hak'tyl was evacuated to a new planet. Unfortunately, Moloc's domain was absorbed by Ba'al, much to Teal'c's disappointment since he had advised Ishta that they needed to build their numbers and that the time was not yet right for them to overthrow Moloc. (8.09 "Sacrifices")

"Be proud, Teal'c. Today we are free."

Finally, the day the Rebel Jaffa had been fighting for came in the Battle of Dakara. Several events went into the fall of the Goa'uld System Lords, but the main ones were Ba'al's efforts to become the Supreme Commander of the System Lords by eliminating his competition and the Replicators' invasion of the galaxy with the Goa'uld's ships as primary targets. Ba'al and Anubis (who, as an Ascended Being, survived the destruction of his fleet in his attack of Earth) were in league with each other, but when Ba'al found out that Anubis intended to use a powerful weapon hidden on Dakara, he contacted the SGC to prevent it. Ba'al cooperated with Jacob/Selmak and Carter in calibrating the weapon to eliminate the Replicators, but much of his fleet was lost in orbit over the planet. Bra'tac, Teal'c, and Aron led the Rebel Jaffa's efforts to take control of Dakara, since it was symbolic of the Goa'uld's power over the Jaffa, and after the weapon was successfully used against the Replicators, they took over Ba'al's fleet after he beamed himself off of his mothership. (8.16 "Reckoning Part 1", 8.17 "Reckoning Part 2")

Bra'tac and Teal'c were honored by the priest Tolok in the temple on Dakara for their leadership in the Rebel Jaffa's cause. Those attending the tapping ceremony that declared Bra'tac and Teal'c brothers to all Jaffa bowed with respect, but Bra'tac insisted that from that day forward, "no Jaffa shall bow before anyone, and never again before a false god." Teal'c was still hesitant to celebrate, since not all of the Goa'uld were dead, but Bra'tac basked in the victory, saying, "Be proud, Teal'c. Today we are free." (8.18 "Threads")

Free Jaffa

Immediately, the newly-freed Jaffa formed a High Council, and Bra'tac and Teal'c were among the first to be seated. Their new nation, the Free Jaffa Nation, was going to build a new center of government at the site of their victory over the System Lords — at the temple on Dakara. The Council wanted to keep the weapon that destroyed the Replicators in case it was needed again, so Bra'tac and Teal'c had to relay this information to the Tau'ri and Tok'ra, both of whom did not take the news well. Jacob/Selmak said that no one should have that kind of power, but Bra'tac assured him that the weapon would not be used by the Free Jaffa as a means of mass destruction or intimidation. (8.18 "Threads")

Bra'tac smiles at Daniel's return from death/ascension

Intelligence reports came in that Anubis was gathering his Kull Warriors at Tartarus to launch a final assault on the Jaffa at Dakara. Bra'tac and Teal'c led nearly half of their defenses to Tartarus in a preemptive assault, but found the base empty. The intelligence had been planted by Anubis, and they had just been duped into leaving Dakara only half-guarded. The Kull Warrior army raided Dakara, killing many Jaffa, and Anubis took control of the weapon. He was about to use it when he suddenly disappeared. No one knew that Oma Desala had engaged him on the ascended planes in an eternal struggle to prevent his wiping out all life in the galaxy. She was the only one who could do this because she was the one who had helped Anubis to ascend in the first place. She finally chose to take responsibility for breaking the non-interference rules of The Others, having been moved into action by a passionate plea given by Daniel Jackson, whom she had just saved from permanent death at the hands of the Replicators. The Others returned Daniel to human form once again, and Bra'tac was there to see him emerge from Jack's office at the SGC. Bra'tac's admiration for Daniel appeared to shoot up another level as he looked on with an approving smile. (8.18 "Threads")

With their enemies vanquished, the Free Jaffa Nation went about the business of managing their military assets and territory. Jaffa from all over the galaxy were joining, but some saw this as an incredible opportunity to rise in their own power. One such Jaffa was Gerak, an elderly Jaffa who rose up the ranks by eliminating his rivals. He had the seeds of doubt of the godhood of the Goa'uld planted at an early age when his father rose against Montu and died in the Battle of Tazek'sur on Chulak. Bra'tac and Rya'c traveled around the galaxy, hoping to gain more supporters for a democratic government, but Gerak had enough support on the Council to ensure his election based on military assets. (9.01 "Avalon Part 1", 9.02 "Avalon Part 2")

While visiting the SGC to open talks with the Tau'ri, Gerak met a Prior of the Ori who taught that his gods, the Ori, would show people the Path to Enlightenment (ascension). Gerak long believed in the Path to Enlightenment, as did many Jaffa, and was soon asking the entire Free Jaffa Nation to vote Origin in as their official religion. Teal'c was disgusted with this proposition because he knew that the Ori were Ascended Beings who were taking advantage of their human worshippers to build enough power to go after their ascended rivals, The Others (Ancients). The two groups had been at odds with each other for millions of years, back when both were still in human form and in the same society. But Bra'tac understood Gerak's desire to follow the Ori, saying, "Because of us, too many Jaffa now know that the Ancients of this galaxy will never offer us a quick path to ascension. Gerak is old, as are many of the council. For them, the Ori represent hope for life beyond that which we now know. For that reason alone, this proposal will carry weight." (9.10 "The Fourth Horseman Part 1")

Bra'tac and Teal'c confront Gerak on Chulak

Bra'tac and Teal'c determined that they needed to form a resistance to Gerak's proposal, even if it meant a civil war. Gerak was sent by the Prior to quash this rebellion that was being formed on Chulak, but he couldn't bring himself to slaughter innocent Jaffa. The Prior was instrumental in having Gerak converted into a Prior himself, reinforcing his belief in the power of the Ori. Armed with this new strength, Gerak went again before the Council to propose that the Free Jaffa Nation vote Origin as their state religion and the Ori as their true gods. This pushed Bra'tac and Teal'c into having to prove once again that they meant to resist Gerak's proposal with force, if necessary. Teal'c felt wholeheartedly that Bra'tac should be the new leader of the Free Jaffa Nation saying, "There are many others who covet the position. But none who possess the strength and wisdom only you can offer." Teal'c managed to talk Gerak out of the battle, and Gerak perished by fire when he turned against the Ori by using his Prior powers to help the Tau'ri overcome the Prior Plague. (9.10 "The Fourth Horseman Part 1", 9.11 "The Fourth Horseman Part 2")

The Free Jaffa were rudderless. Bra'tac and Teal'c pushed for the Council to vote for a democratic government with an elected leader, but suddenly, Jaffa who had supported this position were delaying the referendum to dissolve the Council. Suspicious of this behavior, Bra'tac and Teal'c started an investigation. When Teal'c suddenly turned up missing, Bra'tac knew that there was deliberate manipulation of the Council's actions. Daniel joined Bra'tac in his investigation into Teal'c's disappearance, and they found out that someone was brainwashing the Council members to usurp control — Ba'al. (9.14 "Stronghold")

All Ba'al had to do was capture one Jaffa from the Council in order to get the process going. The brainwashed Jaffa recruited the next Council member, and so on. Bra'tac's long-time friend Maz'rai was one of those who showed signs of brainwashing, so Bra'tac and Daniel visited him to convince him that he had been targeted. Maz'rai was an elderly Jaffa, but like many of his generation, he embraced the prospect of freedom. He decided to put himself through the Rite of Mal Sharran, but Bra'tac and Daniel discovered him too late to help him survive it. Maz'rai did manage to give them the name of the Councilmember who had recruited him, Ka'lel of the Hak'tyl, and after tracking her movements, they discovered where Teal'c had been taken. (9.14 "Stronghold")

Bra'tac beams as he informs Daniel that the Jaffa have become a democracy

Bra'tac and the SGC mounted a rescue, with Bra'tac's flying an al'kesh to cover the planet's Stargate as the troops came through. During the assault, Bra'tac's al'kesh was downed, and Bra'tac was captured and brought before Ba'al. As a test to see if the brainwashing had really worked on Teal'c, Ba'al instructed him to kill Bra'tac with a staff weapon. Teal'c got the staff weapon right up to Bra'tac's face before turning it on Ba'al and his loyal Jaffa. He had not been brainwashed after all. Bra'tac and Teal'c returned to Dakara and told those on the Council what had happened, and overcoming this brainwashing, the Council voted for democracy. Bra'tac's face beamed as he held up the voting record scroll to Daniel and said, "For the first time in our history, we will have leaders voted upon by every free Jaffa." (9.14 "Stronghold")

It would take a few months for the entire Free Jaffa Nation to know of the referendum, so until the time when the elections could take place, the Jaffa formed an Interim Council on which Bra'tac and Teal'c still served. But while the Ori continued to pose a threat, Teal'c stayed with the SGC as a member of SG-1 as Bra'tac remained on Dakara to represent their common interests. (9.16 "Off The Grid")

The Ori managed to build a "Supergate", an intergalactic Stargate large enough for an Ori warship to come through, and they sent the first wave of their invasion forces into the galaxy. Bra'tac learned that the battle at the Supergate didn't go well, and convinced the Council to give him three additional ha'tak to determine the fate of their fleet. When he learned that the Ori had taken their ships to Chulak, Bra'tac took his small fleet there to defend the planet. SG-1 went with him, hoping that Daniel had managed to board one of the enemy's ships right before the ship he was on, the Korolev, was destroyed in the battle. (10.01 "Flesh and Blood")

Chulak was about to be the first planet to fall at the hands of the Ori's massive army, and Bra'tac couldn't allow it. He, Teal'c, Carter, and Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell, the new leader of SG-1, attempted to ring a bomb onto one of the nearest warships, but the bomb didn't detonate once it was sent over. One by one, Bra'tac's ha'tak were destroyed until only his remained. In his last act to defend his people, Bra'tac sent his ship on a collision course with one of the Ori warships, much to Mitchell's restrained disagreement. Mitchell stuck a locator beacon on Bra'tac's armor, and they were rescued at the last second by the Odyssey, the ship's commander deciding not to return to Earth for sorely-needed repairs, but to come to the aid of their allies at Chulak. Odyssey also rescued Daniel and Vala Mal Doran (the mother of Adria, the leader of the Ori army in the Milky Way Galaxy) who were onboard the warship that had landed on the planet. (10.01 "Flesh and Blood")

The Ori took Chulak and at least two more Jaffa strongholds before the new leader of the Free Jaffa, Se'tak, took desperate action. All around him, his people were dying and their current level of technology was not effective against the Ori's massive warships. His small Council decided to use the weapon on Dakara against a planet known to be where an Ori warship had landed. They evacuated the majority of the Dakara population and used the weapon's energy wave through their Stargate to this planet. They killed thousands of humans in the matter of a few seconds. SG-1 was on the same planet when the wave struck, escaping in the nick of time because the Odyssey beamed them out when the wave was first detected. (10.01 "Flesh and Blood", 10.02 "Morpheus", 10.07 "Counterstrike")

Bra'tac was still on the Council when Se'tak decided to use the weapon. The more he spoke against it, the more he alienated both himself and his cause. Bra'tac went to Stargate Command to ask for help, but by then, the weapon had already been used. General Landry went back to Dakara with Bra'tac in an attempt to talk Se'tak out of continued use of the weapon, but Se'tak's suspicious nature and disdain for the Tau'ri prevented him from making any headway. Se'tak's intelligence reports that SG-1 was on the Ori warship with his own patrols made him even more paranoid. When the Ori warship took off and destroyed three of the Jaffa's ha'tak in the planet's orbit, Se'tak had Landry and Bra'tac placed under guard. When he realized that the Ori warship had arrived at Dakara, Se'tak decided to use the weapon once more against it because he believed that the Tau'ri were there to destroy the weapon. The last wave from the weapon killed his own Jaffa patrols who were onboard the warship, but SG-1 was successfully beamed out by the Odyssey once again after the commander ordered the ship to follow them there on a hunch that they were still onboard the warship when it unexpectedly took flight. (10.07 "Counterstrike")

Landry and Bra'tac witness the destruction of Dakara

The Ori warship was actually being flown by Adria, the Orici. She had great mental powers, as well as a personal shield that saved her from the deadly waves. After the wave hit her ship over Dakara, she opened fire on the weapon and the remainder of the planet. Se'tak and his men died inside the weapon's control room in a desperate attempt to fire it once more. Bra'tac and Landry escaped through the unguarded Stargate as Dakara fell. (10.07 "Counterstrike")

Adria destroyed Dakara completely and the Stargate was buried in the rubble. A scout was sent in a cargo ship to survey the damage — there were no suvivors. Bra'tac and Teal'c both mourned the loss of Dakara, but Bra'tac was especially heartbroken, saying, "The Council is in disarray. The Jaffa Nation is fractured. And without Dakara to bring us all together, I fear everything we have fought for all these years will be lost." (10.07 "Counterstrike")

Even with this setback, Bra'tac resumed trying to unite his people to oppose the Ori. Because of the fragmentation of the Free Jaffa Nation following the loss of Dakara, some Jaffa took advantage of the dire situation and rose in power, forming their own groups. One such Jaffa was Arkad, who chose to worship the Ori as gods and formed a group called the Illac Renin, "Kingdom of the Path". Arkad believed that the Jaffa should have the right to choose to worship the Ori. Under his orders, three bombs were placed at a Free Jaffa summit at Dar Eshkalon at which Bra'tac and Teal'c were present. (10.17 "Talion")

Bra'tac asked that they reorganize first before striking at the enemy because "entering into a war without leadership, without proper organization would merely be mass suicide. We must learn from our mistakes in overthrowing the Goa'uld. For generations, we have plotted and fought for our emancipation. Never once did we plan for what we would do with that freedom after it was ours… The resulting infighting and weakness after our victory over the Goa'uld is what leads us to this vulnerability at the hands of the Ori now." (10.17 "Talion")

It wasn't long after Bra'tac spoke these words that the bombs went off, killing twelve warriors, eighteen innocent bystanders, and two children. Bra'tac and Teal'c survived and were recovered by the SGC after Teal'c had failed to return to Earth as scheduled. Bra'tac's condition was extremely serious, and Dr. Carolyn Lam couldn't tell if he would survive. (10.17 "Talion")

"You are the son I never had."

Teal'c followed his instincts when it came to identifying the person behind the slaughter and resigned from the SGC to seek revenge for his fallen brothers and sisters. While Teal'c was tracking down all of those involved with the bombing, Bra'tac regained consciousness, with Daniel sitting by his bedside. Bra'tac told Daniel of Arkad: He had once been Bra'tac's student, but Bra'tac underestimated him. Bad feelings between Arkad and Teal'c went back to the time when they were First Primes opposing each other in battle. (10.17 "Talion")

Ultimately, Teal'c was successful in his revenge, and the bomber and Arkad were dead, but he was severely wounded from his one-on-one battle with Arkad. Bra'tac was back on his feet, though, and visited Teal'c as he recovered at the SGC. Finally the two warriors shared their true feelings for each other: Teal'c told Bra'tac, "I have learned from the best, old friend," and Bra'tac responded, "I have not said this to you before, and I should have. You are the son I never had. I could not be more proud." (10.17 "Talion")

Episodes

Gallery

Bra'tac helps Teal'c find his family on Chulak	Bra'tac in his Serpent Guard armor	Oma Desala saves Teal'c and Bra'tac from staff weapon fire
Bra'tac leads Teal'c through the Rite of Mal Sharran	Bra'tac, Teal'c, Shaq'rel, and Rya'c plan to save Earth	Bra'tac and Rak'nor at the Alpha Site
Bra'tac as "Brae", a human, in Teal'c's dreams at Kresh'tar	Rak'nor, Teal'c, and Bra'tac fire staff weapons at captors on Erebus	Bra'tac on mission to Tartarus
Bra'tac warns Earth of Anubis's imminent attack	Bra'tac leads raid on Tartarus	Bra'tac and Teal'c as members of the Free Jaffa High Council
Daniel joins Bra'tac in their search for Teal'c	Bra'tac is saddened at the death of a long-time friend, Maz'rai	Bra'tac's al'kesh is downed by Ba'al's ground forces
Bra'tac faces execution at the hands of Teal'c	Bra'tac tries to defend Chulak against the Ori	Bra'tac rams his ha'tak into the Ori warship, but to no avail
Teal'c tries to console Bra'tac after the destruction of Dakara	Bra'tac and Nisal at the summit on Dar Eshkalon	Bra'tac at Teal'c's bedside after Teal'c vanquishes Arkad