Misdirection
by Setcheti

"O'Neill, I must speak with you."

Jack O'Neill sighed. He'd been collecting his thoughts in the empty briefing room, slumped comfortably in one of the expensive padded chairs as he tried to sort out his dealings with Aris Boch; consequently, he had a splitting headache. He glanced up at the big Jaffa hopefully. "Can it wait until after the briefing?"

"It cannot."

Jack sighed again, kicking out the chair next to him and waving Teal'c into it. "Shoot."

Dark, worried eyes bored into his. "It is about what Aris Boch said to Daniel Jackson regarding his value. I spoke with Aris Boch on his ship..."

"Oh, that," Jack said, cutting him off with a snort. "We all knew he was lying, Teal'c; it was no big deal. Daniel's a little embarrassed..."

"Aris Boch did not lie."

O'Neill was startled by the grim tone in his friend's voice. "What do you mean, he didn't lie? Teal'c, first he said that Daniel was worthless, then he said he was worth as much as anyone else! He was obviously lying the second time."

"No. Aris Boch does not lie." The Jaffa raised an eyebrow at O'Neill's disbelieving look. "He says only what he wishes to be known, in a manner calculated to foster misunderstanding. But he does not lie."

"'The truth depends on your point of view, huh?" Much as he didn't like it, Jack knew Teal'c was right; Boch was a master of misdirection. "So...how could both statements be true? It sounds to me like they contradict each other..."

"Only because you are not in possession of all necessary facts." Teal'c looked down at his hands, frowning. "Daniel Jackson is indeed worth 'as much as anyone else'--meaning that he is not worth less."

Jack started to get a sinking feeling in his stomach.. "So when he mentioned a day's rations, he wasn't talking about MREs, was he?"

Teal'c shook his head. "Boch was speaking of the drug Roshna," he explained. "A day's rations...for those of his race he provides for, perhaps fifteen or twenty individuals all together."

The sinking feeling became an icy pit. Jack straightened slowly. "I take it...that's a lot?" Teal'c nodded solemnly. "Do I want to know how much?"

He had never seen Teal'c so disturbed. "No, O'Neill, you do not."

Jack was silent, letting it sink in. When he spoke again, his voice was almost a whisper. "Did he tell you why?"

"He did." Jack could see the Jaffa steeling himself. "Daniel Jackson is desired by many powerful Gou'ld as a host." Jack gasped, and Teal'c shook his head. "And by some others as a...possession. Hathor's obsession with him has had far-reaching consequences."

"Oh god." Jack ran a shaking hand through his hair. "So...Boch was trying to lull us into a false sense of security."

"It was his 'backup plan'," Teal'c rumbled. "Believing Daniel Jackson to be worth little, we would believe him to be in no danger..."

"...And we'd never see it coming--until it was too late," Jack finished for him, swearing softly. "And Boch told you this because...?"

"I am not sure, O'Neill...but I believe him to be honorable, in his own way."

"Maybe." Jack's thoughts were racing in a direction he didn't like. "But Boch doesn't tell everything, only what he wants known...what if this whole incident was part of his plan? He already knew a lot about us, about how we think, how we would react. What if he was just feeling us out, seeing if he could gain our trust while he..." just saying the words made him feel sick, "waits for the right buyer."

Teal'c nodded. "It is a distinct possibility," he agreed.

"Ya think?"

The Jaffa leaned closer to him. "O'Neill, we cannot share this knowledge with the others."

"I know, Teal'c." Jack shook his head. "God, I don't even want to think about what would happen to Daniel if the powers that be found out about this. No, this stays between us--I don't even want Carter to know unless something else happens. Okay?"

Teal'c nodded. "I believe that to be a wise decision, O'Neill."

"What's a wise decision?" Startled, both men turned toward the door; Daniel was standing there, looking at them. He shrugged and came into the room, dropping into a chair across the table. "What's going on?"

Jack sighed. "Well, Daniel...Teal'c and I were trying to figure out what to do about our little problem. We thought that maybe if we went after another System Lord..."

"WHAT?!"

Jack grinned at his flabbergasted 2IC, who was standing in the doorway with her mouth hanging open. "Oh hi, Carter, have a seat. I was just telling Daniel..."

"What 'little problem', Jack?" Daniel looked suspicious. "This wouldn't have anything to do with..."

"It has everything to do with it, Daniel," Jack said seriously, leaning on the conference table, his gaze level. "We have to think about the team's reputation here! How's it going to look when people find out that you're worth about as much as a McDonald's value meal? This could have serious repercussions for SG1!"

Daniel glowered at him and buried his flaming face in his coffee cup; Jack saw Sam's eyes twinkle as she sat down next to the embarrassed archaeologist. "Which System Lord did you have in mind, sir? We'll have to make it look like Daniel took him out all by himself to catch him up with the rest of us..."

Teal'c settled back in his chair as the game progressed, an almost imperceptible grin quirking one corner of his mouth as he watched O'Neill enlarge on his 'plan'. Perhaps misdirection was not solely the province of Aris Boch.

Fin