SGC
Cheyenne Mountain AS, CO
Two hours, four topics of discussion and two breaks later, the dialogue turned to one of O'Neill's pet projects, the Rapid Reaction Force (RRF). He was prepared with arguments that he had been trying out on Carter for some time. In fact, he was comfortable with laying his career on the line over this issue if, as he knew it would, help to save the lives of US personnel and their allies.
Hammond started the discussion. "Now if I may, the next item on the agenda is the RRF proposal. Mr. President, both General O'Neill and I feel that this is critical. It has…" The State Department representatives rolled their eyes. They saw the plan as a potential escalation.
The President cut Hammond of and said, "General, you will find that all relevant parties are in agreement on this issue. General Maynard?"
"Thank you sir. General O'Neill, we've looked at this idea and think we've found a suitable means of addressing the issue. How would you like a Ranger battalion?" The Rangers were the US Army's premier infantry formation. There were three battalions dispersed throughout the United States. They maintained a high state of readiness and were trained to fight in any environment. The Rangers were skilled in multiple types of operations and would be the most capable large-formation military unit the Goa'uld had ever encountered.
O'Neill was stunned. Merry Christmas, Jack "Sir, that would fit the bill really well. How would we do it though?"
"We're ready to go ahead with a plan. It calls for the creation of a new unit, the 7th Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. They would be home based at Peterson. Like a regular Ranger battalion, it would be 660 men strong with three rifle companies and a headquarters company. They would be under the operational control of the SGC, not the Regimental HQ at Fort Benning or JSOC. They would be a standard light infantry unit with their heaviest weapons being mortars and machine guns. They're built for mobility. What do you think?"
All that ran through Jack's head at that moment was Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday! "I like the idea a lot sir. This is exactly what we need to back up the teams."
"Jack, we're also prepared to reinforce the Alpha Site with at least a company-sized element of Marines. The recent struggle with Anubis has convinced us that we're either all in or not."
About freaking time…"
Jack looked over and saw huge grins on the faces of his staff, including Carter. As usual, Daniel was more interested in the diplomatic issues…
SGC
Cheyenne Mountain AS, CO
Two months later
"…and in conclusion, let me just say again how proud we are that you have concluded this phase of your training. You will now join a team and begin integrating into SGC operations. Your career from here on out will be marked by exciting challenges, dangerous assignments and the satisfaction of knowing you're performing the most important mission in the world. Again, congratulations. Dismissed." O'Neill thought immediately that it was one of the better speeches he ever gave.
Joyce stood and turned to his fellow classmate, Petty Officer DiSpirito. "Congratulations, Tony." They shook hands in the knowledge that it would get a lot harder from here on out.
"You too Pat. Do you know what team you're going to?" DiSpirito was slated for SG-12.
"I'm going to SG-19. We'll see how it goes." Joyce harbored no illusions that it would be easy. The last three months had been extremely challenging. The training had been some of the most intense he had ever encountered and that was coming from a graduate of Ranger School. The emotions that he hid all too well were not that of fear, although that certainly occupied its own little space. Instead, it was more a feeling of uncertainty that was both exciting and anxiety-inducing.
While Joyce never really talked-the talk, as the saying went, he knew from his experience that he did pretty well at walking-the-walk. But it only takes one idiot with one bullet to ruin your day and he knew there was little you could do to prevent it except following training and instincts.
As Joyce was celebrating with his classmates, a stern looking naval officer came walking up to him. On his uniform he wore the badge of a SEAL and looked like one as well.
"Congratulations Sergeant Joyce, I'm Commander John Rexford, US Navy. I'm the team leader for SG-19. I just wanted to welcome you aboard."
"Thank you sir. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm really anxious to get started." Joyce had met his share of officers during his time in the military. Some were better than others. He immediately began sizing-up Cdr. Rexford. Rexford looked the part, about six feet tall and built like a tight end. Joyce would have bet good money this guy played college football somewhere. Rexford seemed straight away to have an air of quiet intelligence about him. That gave Joyce a good feeling to start. Whether he used it or not was another matter.
"We'll be spinning up in mission-prep for about a month. Then we're kicking off a critical assistance mission to a potential ally. This mission has been under consideration for a while. I think you'll like it."
"Sounds great sir." We'll see about that. They said the same thing to us in Kabul…
"It's a planet called Langara…"
One week later…
The SGC Briefing Room was pretty full on this morning. The topic of discussion was to be a long-term FID mission, FID meaning Foreign Internal Defense. The Langarans were hoping to cultivate better relations with Earth and the US Government. Their last few entanglements had not gone well however, and there remained a fair amount of mistrust on the US side. O'Neill's exact words in discussing the situation with the Commanding General of US Space Command had started with the phrase "Screw those asses…" General Robichard, knowing the Langaran's story, agreed, "I wouldn't give them the design to a powered can opener…"
The Langarans had appealed directly to the State Department and had used Jonas Quinn's good relationship to try and build a bridge of trust. Helping the matter was the fact that a new vane of Naquadah had been discovered. This turned even Carter to back a rapprochement.
This was the atmosphere as O'Neill met with the teams assigned to the mission as well as the State Department's official representative to Langara, Ambassador Geoffrey Howe. Joining Howe was Lieutenant Colonel Drew Steinbach, an Army artillery officer who would be acting as Defense Attaché, and coordinating the SG team's movements. SG's 19 & 29 would be in the field, instructing Langaran officers and men. If it went well, assistance would be given in other areas, such as the economic and industrial fields.
O'Neill was his usual self. "Mr. Ambassador, I must reiterate that trusting the Langarans will need time. They've shown a propensity for looking out only for Number 1 and we're not Number 1."
"I appreciate the concern General, and I can promise you that at the first sign of trouble, we'll pull the mission and come home. And before you say it, I know that all tactical decisions are in Lt. Col. Steinbach and Commander Rexford's hands." A career in Foreign Service had shown Howe the way to calm people down. O'Neill was nothing compared to an angry Colombian official, Howe thought.
Carter spoke up with some urgency, "Ambassador, the Naquadah is the key item that we can always need more of. I hope you can negotiate a trade for that." The larger the amount of the valuable mineral the US could procure the better.
"Colonel Carter, I think we'll be able to come to a very advantageous arrangement."
O'Neill piped up, "We'll just have to see who gets the advantageous side of the deal."