"What?"
Jack wasn't the only one with a stunned look on his face. Daniel and Sam were both staring at her as well, and even Teal'c, who normally was unflappable, was looking at her in surprise.
She smiled.
"I'm going to take out a couple more minor system lords, and force the Major ones to pay attention to me, then I'm going to insist I be given the title of Major system lord."
"Which will put a huge target on your back." Daniel told her.
She nodded.
"I know."
"Then why do it?"
"Because they will have to gather to discuss it. All the Major system lords will have to come together to confirm or deny my demand. Or at least a majority of them."
"And then what?" Jack asked, his face an emotionless mask, since he had an idea of what was coming next.
"Then I use the shield weapon to lower their shields all at once, and pull out the final weapon."
"Which is...?"
"Big."
"An explosion?" Daniel asked. "With the ships so far from each other - as they'll definitely be - you won't be able to destroy them all."
"Oh, I'll destroy them all, Daniel."
There was no doubt in her expression. She could do it, and she knew it. "The crystals will amplify the explosion itself, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve that will make sure that any secondary explosion from the ships going up will be amplified as well."
"You'll be destroyed."
She looked over at Jack, whose voice was soft. He liked the idea, just not the plan itself.
"Probably not, Jack. We think - Talon thinks - that our shields will protect us from the blast. It'll be modulated to explode outward from my ship, and hopefully that'll be enough."
"And if it's not?"
"Then it's not."
"I hate this plan."
"I knew you would. But it doesn't matter. It's the plan I have, and it's already in motion. The major system lords can't ignore me, now. I've built up too much power, and I've killed too many minor system lords too easily. They'll want to know how I managed it, and they'll demand that I share the information. All of which they'll have to come to me to tell me.
"What if they decided to just send someone to kill you?"
"I have a decent sized army, Major Carter. And a ship that no one can get anywhere near without being destroyed immediately. They won't be able to get through both to get to Talon and me, and they're not so arrogant as to try, now."
"That lesson's been learned?" Jack asked.
She nodded again. "One of the minor lords I killed was sent after me by his superiors. It's his Jaffa that are protecting us, now, for the most part."
"I don't like having Jaffa so close to me..." Jack said.
Mitchell looked over at Teal'c, pointedly, and O'Neill scowled.
"You know what I mean..."
"You're changing the subject, Jack, and I don't have time for that." She stood up, restless. "I need a few things from you guys."
"What?"
"I'm not going to kill any Tok'ra if I can avoid it, so I need you to tell Jacob that something big is coming down, and to get the operatives the Tok'ra have with the Major system lords figure out a way to get clear." She looked at Teal'c. "Does Bra'tac have any Jaffa operatives with the system lords?" She didn't think the Jaffa movement had reached that far, but it was best to know. There would be no innocent lives lost if she could avoid it.
"I am uncertain."
"Can you find out?"
Teal'c nodded, but Jack interrupted.
"You could use a Tok'ra operative or two to tell you which system lords were coming to your little party. And to let you know in advance if they're planning anything."
Mitchell shook her head.
"I can't shield anyone else, Jack. Whoever is in the area is going to get killed if things go right. There aren't that many Tok'ra that I'd risk losing any needlessly."
"And if they go wrong, you're going to get killed..."
"It's worth the risk."
"No, it's not." He stood up as well. "There has to be a plan B."
"There isn't."
"Figure one out."
She shook her head. She'd expected this, which was why she was the one doing the talking and not Talon, who could have explained the plan far better than she had. And this was also why Brad Anderson had been kept away. Melony needed to be able to discuss this, and without the hassle of allowing it to get personal. She loved Jack O'Neill, but he wasn't her lover – and never would be – and she could argue with him in a manner she wouldn't be able to argue with Brad.
"There's nothing to figure out, Jack." She told him. "It's a good plan, and it has every chance of success. I'm not asking for your permission, I brought you here to let you know what was going on, and to make sure that the technology for the weapon isn't lost if the worst happens."
"Damn it, Melony, I'm not going to let-"
"Jack. Stop." She didn't have time for this, either. "There's a good chance we'll survive this. The shields are incredible, as Major Carter can tell you once she's had a chance to take a look at the notes I've written. If this works, the Goa'uld are going to be scrambling for years – decades and longer – to get back into any semblance of what they are now, and by then we'll have everything in place to keep ourselves and our allies safe from them."
"Not to mention you'll be able to take command of any surviving Jaffa of all the system lords present that you kill." Daniel said, speculatively. "They won't be bringing their entire complements of Jaffa and other followers. The ones that remain will be at your command once they learn of the defeat."
She nodded.
"You'll probably be the most powerful of the lot – even if not all the major system lords show up."
She nodded again.
"So you're going to sit around playing God when this is all done?" Jack asked. It was a sign of just how upset he was by her dumb plan that he'd even bring such a thing up, since he knew her better than that. Now he was just trying to anger her, so she could be as mad as he was. And it worked, despite her best efforts to remain calm.
"That effectively ends this conversation," She told him. "You know the plan. Do whatever the hell you want with the notes I gave Carter, and if I get killed, well, then, at least there'll be one less would-be god running around. Hopefully more, because we'll take out as many of them as we can on my way down."
She turned on her heel and headed back for her ship.
Jack wasn't the only one with a stunned look on his face. Daniel and Sam were both staring at her as well, and even Teal'c, who normally was unflappable, was looking at her in surprise.
She smiled.
"I'm going to take out a couple more minor system lords, and force the Major ones to pay attention to me, then I'm going to insist I be given the title of Major system lord."
"Which will put a huge target on your back." Daniel told her.
She nodded.
"I know."
"Then why do it?"
"Because they will have to gather to discuss it. All the Major system lords will have to come together to confirm or deny my demand. Or at least a majority of them."
"And then what?" Jack asked, his face an emotionless mask, since he had an idea of what was coming next.
"Then I use the shield weapon to lower their shields all at once, and pull out the final weapon."
"Which is...?"
"Big."
"An explosion?" Daniel asked. "With the ships so far from each other - as they'll definitely be - you won't be able to destroy them all."
"Oh, I'll destroy them all, Daniel."
There was no doubt in her expression. She could do it, and she knew it. "The crystals will amplify the explosion itself, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve that will make sure that any secondary explosion from the ships going up will be amplified as well."
"You'll be destroyed."
She looked over at Jack, whose voice was soft. He liked the idea, just not the plan itself.
"Probably not, Jack. We think - Talon thinks - that our shields will protect us from the blast. It'll be modulated to explode outward from my ship, and hopefully that'll be enough."
"And if it's not?"
"Then it's not."
"I hate this plan."
"I knew you would. But it doesn't matter. It's the plan I have, and it's already in motion. The major system lords can't ignore me, now. I've built up too much power, and I've killed too many minor system lords too easily. They'll want to know how I managed it, and they'll demand that I share the information. All of which they'll have to come to me to tell me.
"What if they decided to just send someone to kill you?"
"I have a decent sized army, Major Carter. And a ship that no one can get anywhere near without being destroyed immediately. They won't be able to get through both to get to Talon and me, and they're not so arrogant as to try, now."
"That lesson's been learned?" Jack asked.
She nodded again. "One of the minor lords I killed was sent after me by his superiors. It's his Jaffa that are protecting us, now, for the most part."
"I don't like having Jaffa so close to me..." Jack said.
Mitchell looked over at Teal'c, pointedly, and O'Neill scowled.
"You know what I mean..."
"You're changing the subject, Jack, and I don't have time for that." She stood up, restless. "I need a few things from you guys."
"What?"
"I'm not going to kill any Tok'ra if I can avoid it, so I need you to tell Jacob that something big is coming down, and to get the operatives the Tok'ra have with the Major system lords figure out a way to get clear." She looked at Teal'c. "Does Bra'tac have any Jaffa operatives with the system lords?" She didn't think the Jaffa movement had reached that far, but it was best to know. There would be no innocent lives lost if she could avoid it.
"I am uncertain."
"Can you find out?"
Teal'c nodded, but Jack interrupted.
"You could use a Tok'ra operative or two to tell you which system lords were coming to your little party. And to let you know in advance if they're planning anything."
Mitchell shook her head.
"I can't shield anyone else, Jack. Whoever is in the area is going to get killed if things go right. There aren't that many Tok'ra that I'd risk losing any needlessly."
"And if they go wrong, you're going to get killed..."
"It's worth the risk."
"No, it's not." He stood up as well. "There has to be a plan B."
"There isn't."
"Figure one out."
She shook her head. She'd expected this, which was why she was the one doing the talking and not Talon, who could have explained the plan far better than she had. And this was also why Brad Anderson had been kept away. Melony needed to be able to discuss this, and without the hassle of allowing it to get personal. She loved Jack O'Neill, but he wasn't her lover – and never would be – and she could argue with him in a manner she wouldn't be able to argue with Brad.
"There's nothing to figure out, Jack." She told him. "It's a good plan, and it has every chance of success. I'm not asking for your permission, I brought you here to let you know what was going on, and to make sure that the technology for the weapon isn't lost if the worst happens."
"Damn it, Melony, I'm not going to let-"
"Jack. Stop." She didn't have time for this, either. "There's a good chance we'll survive this. The shields are incredible, as Major Carter can tell you once she's had a chance to take a look at the notes I've written. If this works, the Goa'uld are going to be scrambling for years – decades and longer – to get back into any semblance of what they are now, and by then we'll have everything in place to keep ourselves and our allies safe from them."
"Not to mention you'll be able to take command of any surviving Jaffa of all the system lords present that you kill." Daniel said, speculatively. "They won't be bringing their entire complements of Jaffa and other followers. The ones that remain will be at your command once they learn of the defeat."
She nodded.
"You'll probably be the most powerful of the lot – even if not all the major system lords show up."
She nodded again.
"So you're going to sit around playing God when this is all done?" Jack asked. It was a sign of just how upset he was by her dumb plan that he'd even bring such a thing up, since he knew her better than that. Now he was just trying to anger her, so she could be as mad as he was. And it worked, despite her best efforts to remain calm.
"That effectively ends this conversation," She told him. "You know the plan. Do whatever the hell you want with the notes I gave Carter, and if I get killed, well, then, at least there'll be one less would-be god running around. Hopefully more, because we'll take out as many of them as we can on my way down."
She turned on her heel and headed back for her ship.