Author's note: just a side note here; the weapon Ian is using is the same kind of weapon that Dotty used to kill the Ashrak in Scions.

OOOOOOOOO

Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell couldn't believe what he was seeing. One minute, he was sandwiched between two alien ships. One that he was about to blow out of the sky, and the other that was undoubtedly going to return the favor as soon as it could. The next instant there were twin flashes of a brilliant light, and what looked like some kind of miniature comet went swooshing past his F-15 and blew the hell out of the alien ship he'd been targeting. An explosion behind him and a quick glance back told him that the same thing had happened to the alien ship that had been chasing him. Before he had a chance to sort any of what he'd just seen out, however, he realized he had another problem entirely. The twin explosions had completely knocked his own plane out of the sky and he was losing altitude fast.

"Shit!"

There wasn't time to call in a mayday and there really wasn't any point to it, he knew. No one could help him, and the other aircraft in the area were just as busy and distracted as he was. Instead, he took another quick look around to make sure nothing was above or behind him, and hit the ejection switch. The canopy on his fighter vanished and he found himself shot into the air violently enough to take his breath away. A moment later he was rocked again when his 'chute opened, and then it was simply a matter of holding on and watching the other explosions light up the sky as the odd comet-like things took out the rest of the alien vessels.

He keyed his mike, noticing as he did so that he was bleeding – although he didn't feel any pain.

"Situation command, this is Alpha 201…" his voice was breathless, but that was just because of the wind sheer around him. "You're not going to believe what's going on up here!"

OOOOOOOOOOO

He couldn't believe it when he didn't run into any more Jaffa on his way to the bridge. Of course, he didn't know it but they were all out looking for him – and were all avoiding the area anywhere near the bridge until they'd found the source of the scan that they'd been sent to look for. None of them wanted to admit they hadn't found what – or who – they were looking for. They all knew what had happened to the First Prime, and none of them wanted to be the first to get summoned to the bridge to admit their failure to discover what they were looking for.

None of that meant anything to Ian. All he knew was that he was suddenly outside the bridge of the mother ship, completely unnoticed. Which hadn't been part of the plan he'd had. Of course, Bra'tac was always fond of saying that a plan never lasted past the first battle – which had usually proven to be the case, Ian knew.

So it was time to improvise, he decided. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the doorway of the bridge. There were four Jaffa around the various stations of the ship, and one figure sitting in a chair being given a very wide berth by the Jaffa. This person was wearing a hooded robe of heavy black fabric, and was facing away from Ian when he entered the room.

"My lord!"

Ian flinched, thinking that one of them had spotted him, even though none were looking his direction at that moment.

The robed figure turned towards the speaker – as did all the other Jaffa. None of them were looking at him.

"The ships are being destroyed!"

"What!"

Now Ian wasn't the only one to flinch. The Jaffa who had spoken actually seemed to cringe – something Ian had never seen a Jaffa do. It made him hate the system lord for doing that to someone who was a member of such a proud race as the Jaffa.

"They're being destroyed! By some unknown energy-"

"The Asgard?" The figure interrupted.

"We are not picking up any Asgard vessels, my lord. The readings show the source to be coming from the planet."

"What?" Now the figure stood, and Ian could see that it wasn't as tall as most of the Jaffa – although he couldn't tell how big the guy was with him wearing the bulky robe. "The Tau'ri do not have any technology to-"

"Things change…"

Every head on the bridge turned at the sound of the new voice, and Ian stepped impassively into their sight. He'd had to suppress the initial surge of relief when he'd heard about the death gliders blowing up. That meant that Jack and the others had found – and figured out – the Ancient weapon. Which meant that no matter what else happened, Anubis wasn't quite the threat to the Earth that he had been – even if he managed to get past Ian. There was very little that the Ancient weapon couldn't handle – at least close up – and the Jaffa didn't control any of it. If the Goa'uld mother ship blew – and it was going to no matter what happened in the next few minutes – Anubis would have to build another one. And by the time he did that, the Asgard and everyone else – including the other system lords, most likely – would be ready for him next time.

The figure had turned as well, and now Ian could see Anubis for the first time. And again he felt his stomach clench – although this time it was in disbelief and amazement. The guy didn't have a face. Before he could register much more than that, however, the system lord reacted, flinging his hand out towards Ian.

"You dare!"

A bolt of light shot out of the system lord's hand, and slammed into Ian's chest. A perfect strike – except that it was absorbed harmlessly by the energy shield that was protecting him, and Ian didn't even feel much more than a hard shove.

He raised his own hand, but it wasn't empty. The zat fired twice in quick succession, taking out the Jaffa closest to Ian – and the only one holding a staff weapon. The Jaffa went down, and the rest of them charged him, not even needing a command from Anubis to drive them forward.

Ian dropped the zat. As quick as it was, it couldn't fire fast enough to kill all three of them before they reached him. Instead, he gestured toward them with his right hand – which would normally hold his Glock, but now held the Ancient device. All three Jaffa froze instantly. And died only a moment later. As they collapsed to the floor of the bridge, he turned to Anubis, just in time to see the system lord raise his hand once more.

Again a shot of energy flew from the system lord's hand, and once more the shield protecting Ian absorbed it. Ian made a gesture of his own, turning the device in his hand against Anubis – and found himself flung backwards as the energy from the device backlashed as it hit some kind of shield that surrounded the system lord. He hit the ground rolling, already turning to look at Anubis.

"Fool! Did you think I would be as unprotected as those around me?"

Anubis' voice was taunting, but there was also something else in it. Something Ian couldn't quite read. He picked himself up off the floor and shrugged as nonchalantly as he could.

"It was worth a shot."

"Who are you, boy? Where did you get the-"

"Ian Michael Brooks," Ian interrupted.

"You're human?"

"Duh."

If Anubis had a face, he no doubt would have scowled.

"Where did you get the technology you are using?"

"Found it under a rock – right next to your mother… How about you? Where did you get yours?"

"Insolent pup!"

The hand gestured again, and again a bolt of energy blasted into Ian. Once more, it didn't do anything as the shield absorbed it.

"Fuck you."

"Where did you get it!"

Before the question was even finished, yet another bolt of energy was coming at Ian. This time he dodged it, and it struck a panel in the far wall. Sparks flew and machinery whined as several circuits were destroyed and others were shorted out. The ship gave a slight shudder.

"Better watch out, shit for brains," Ian said, bringing his arm around for another shot. "You'll destroy your ship…"

"If that is what it takes to destroy you…"

Which confirmed what Ian had suspected – and what little the Tok'ra had been able to find out.

"So you are ascended… at least a little…"

And with that single question, Anubis stopped cold in mid attack.

"How did you know that? Who are you?"