Title: Emerald Ignition (5/7)

Author: Cyclone

Feedback: Please be gentle.

Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.

Rating: Just a little bad language.

Spoilers: Anything and everything.

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Summary: All the cards are on the table. It's time to change the future. Part two of Emerald Flame.

Author's Note: Nothing to say here, really. Hope you enjoy.

"This must be the most insane mission proposal I've ever seen," the Brig muttered.

In truth, the proposed plan itself was deceptively simple. SG-1 and SG-3 'gate to a planet near the target, and then Green Lantern would ferry them to the target planet. SG-3 would then secure the stargate with SG-5 reinforcing them through the stargate, while SG-1 and Green Lantern proceeded to the objectives. Green Lantern would serve as primary extraction for SG-1 and the primary objective.

The problem was in trusting a comic book character with the lives of three of his teams. Not to mention the fact that SG-1 was hardly qualified for deep penetration behind enemy lines. They were an exploration team, not hostage rescue, damn it! Dr. Jackson had barely qualified with his sidearm, Teal'c was clearly in favor of the mission for revenge, and Capt. Carter was compromised by a goa'uld!

The general picked up and leafed through another file, the results of the medical examination of the presumed former host. That he had been a goa'uld host was certain, based on McCoy and O'Neill's testimonies of the Ashrak's attack outside the suite Jolinar/Carter was being held in. The examination had given the man a clean bill of health and indicated that there was no sign of a current goa'uld possession.

But then again, they hadn't be able to detect the symbiote in Kawalsky after his surgery last year either. While the autopsy had apparently identified what they had missed last time, this would be the first time they'd put that knowledge to the test.

"Penny for your thoughts, General?"

He looked up in surprise. "Green Lantern," he identified the intruder. "How did you get in here?"

The superhero shrugged and answered, "I'm pretty good at the stealth thing. Hung around people who love that dramatic sneak-away-while-you-aren't-looking stunt long enough to pick up a few tricks." He leaned over on the general's desk, "You don't trust me, do you?"

"Frankly, I can't see how I can trust a fictional character."

"You want something real, then?" Xander said. "Something tangible? You want to know who I am?"

This is unwise, Alexander!

His hand was halfway up to his mask before the Brig answered.

"No."

Xander paused, "Why not?"

"What I don't know, I can't reveal," Lethbridge-Stewart admitted quietly, staring the mission proposal, "and I won't be obliged to report." Xander got the feeling there was something more going on.

Probably doesn't trust the politicians he has to report to, Xander thought grimly.

Why not?

Don't ask, E, Xander replied. It's... complicated. Suffice it to say that most militaries tends to have a certain sense of honor. And politicians don't.

So why would an honorable man serve one who wasn't?

Because he's honor-bound to, E, Xander answered. No one likes politicians, but ironically, they're the ones who keep the generals honest. His duty is to queen and country first, but since he heads a multi-national task force, he'll have to answer to not just the Crown, but also Parliament, and probably the US government as well at minimum. Congress is probably footing the bill for most of this operation.

"You have a go," the Brig interrupted the silent conversation. He pinned Xander in place with a glare, "Don't make me regret this."

"I won't, General," Xander promised. He grinned, "Though I can't speak for the Tok'ra."

Alexander!

Hey! You saw Anise! he retorted as he left the room.

So did you, came the dry response. In great detail, as I recall.

So Freya was hot. Sue me.

"Sue"?

Xander spent the next twenty minutes trying to explain the concept of a lawsuit to the voice in his head. In the end...

You Tauri are mad, she concluded. Utterly, utterly mad.

The Jaffa turned as the chappa'ai powered up and began to rotate, chevrons locking into place.

"Jaffa! Kree!" bellowed the ranking Jaffa warrior. Staff weapons crackled to life and were leveled at the stargate. There were also a pair of turret emplacements that mounted powerful support versions of the staff weapons.

Not a single one of the Jaffa realized the wormhole was outgoing until the grenades went off.

SG-3's assault to take the stargate went off without a hitch as the Jaffa were caught off-balance and with their weapons pointed the wrong way. Xander had used his ring to remote dial the stargate, something the power rings of this universe apparently were designed to do, which his was able to now, thanks to a software update courtesy of Cortana.

"Stargate's secure," Col. Makepeace declared as the stargate engaged again. "SG-5 and ELC-1 are coming through."

"What's ELC-1?" Xander frowned... then stared as the light tank emerged from the event horizon.

"That," Jack said, pointing at the tank, "is ELC-1. First Extraplanetary Light Armored Cavalry Battalion, Alpha Company, First Platoon. Four FV101 Scorpion light tanks, each upgunned with a ninety-millimeter main gun. Malaysia cancelled an order, and the Brig snapped them up for the First Battalion." Jack decided against mentioning the fact that most of First Battalion only existed on paper; in terms of actual soldiers, A Company was all there was, mostly made up of UNIT personnel.

Xander nodded, then turned to their objective. It was a large pyramid structure that dominated the surrounding forest. He quickly dismissed the few outlying buildings; they were looking for the planet's commanding Underlord, and ego made it clear exactly where she would be.

"Let's go," he said, breaking out into a jog. SG-1 was right behind him.

As they approached the pyramid structure, a trio of staff cannon emplacements were quickly torn from their positions and tossed aside like children's toys. Xander barely paused in his drive onward.

"Carter."

"Sir?"

"Remind me not to piss him off."

"Hey!" Xander called over his shoulder. "What are you waiting for? We've got time to kill!"

Sam and Daniel both snickered.

"Wow," Jack muttered, "that was worse than the worst I ever said."

"No, Jack," Daniel disagreed, "it really wasn't."

Jack scowled.

Kryse, underlord to Cronus, cursed as the silver-tattooed Second Prime assigned to this planet reported the Tauri intrusion.

"Stop them!" she commanded. "Deal with them yourself if you must!"

Xander ducked back behind the wall as a flurry of staff weapon blasts flew past. "Man," he muttered, "this room to room fighting sucks."

"As compared to..." Jack asked curiously.

Xander looked at the colonel strangely and answered, "As compared to flying overhead with impunity, raining death and destruction upon my enemies, like unto an invincible god of war."

"Riiight..." Jack said, stepping back from the obvious megalomaniac.

"Oh, come on, Colonel," Xander snorted. "You're a combat pilot. Don't try and tell me you haven't felt the same." He glanced at the corner and shook his head, "This is getting us nowhere."

He stepped out into the line of fire and sent a stream of green energy pulses in response to the staff weapon blasts. A trio of the yellow pulses slammed into his chest and sent him flying back.

There was silence.

Jack peeked around the corner. "Clear."

Jolinar/Sam moved forward and knelt by the fallen Green Lantern, who blinked up and grinned at the blonde, "Now, that's a sight for sore eyes.

"Are you all right?" she demanded. "You've been shot."

"Yeah," Xander said, sitting up. "I kinda noticed. I'm fine."

"But I thought your ring didn't work against yellow?"

"It doesn't," he shrugged. "But the uniform isn't just for show. It's not spandex, you know. It's energy absorbent and stab resistant. Less effective against blunt trauma and not too good against ballistics, though."

"Why?" Sam asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Mostly because bullets didn't exist when the material for these uniforms was invented," Xander replied. He chuckled and added, "Millions of years of development, hundreds of thousands of civilizations, and only recently, on Earth, did someone think flinging small, blunt bits of metal at supersonic speeds was a good way to kill someone."

Jack turned, an incredulous look on his face, "So, wait, you're telling us your uniform's one weakness is bullets?!"

"And your armor's weakness is plasma," Xander retorted. "And guess what kind of weapons everyone else in the galaxy's using."

Teal'c held up his hand as they were confronted by a small contingent of Jaffa. The leader's silver tattoo identified him as a Prime.

"Shel kek nem ron!" Teal'c called out.

The Prime's nostrils flared, "Shol'va!"

Before anyone else could react, Teal'c charged, staff weapon firing, and soon, he was in melee. Xander watched, evaluating, as the Jaffa warrior dealt with his brethren. Teal'c's skill with the staff weapon in melee was considerable.

He'd give the new Buffy a good run for her money, Xander thought, impressed. What do you think, E?

I think... he has potential, Alexander.

He's certainly got the 'overcome great fear' part down pat, Xander agreed.

"That's her," Sam said. "Rosha."

The woman turned. "So, you know my host," she said, her voice with the distinctive echo of a goa'uld. "It appears she still has her secrets. I was unaware of any contact with the Tauri."

Sam snarled.

A green mallet bopped Kryse on the head before Sam -- or more likely, Jolinar -- did something rash.

"Well," Jack commented as the objective slumped to the ground. "That was anticlimactic."

"Would you prefer a running gun battle, Colonel?" Xander asked dryly. "Perhaps with a few Death Gliders making strafing runs? Or a Ha'tak making with the orbital bombardment while we're at it?"

"No! No. Anticlimactic is good," Jack said. "Let's get out of here." He turned back toward the door they had come through, only to dive out of the way as staff weapon fire began pouring through. "Just had to open my mouth," he muttered sourly.

Sam fired a quick suppression burst from her MP5 before ducking back behind cover. She looked over at Teal'c and Xander, "Any ideas?"

"Just one," Xander shrugged, turning away from the door. He raised his ring hand and sent a construct smashing through the wall to the outside. The battering ram quickly shifted to a giant hand which grabbed the smashed segment of stone wall and yanked it back into the room. He turned and stuffed the section of masonry into the doorway, blocking off the entrance. He turned to look at SG-1, "Shall we?"

Jack shook his head and muttered, "I gotta get me one of those."

A short trip in a green bubble later, and they were at the stargate. As they dialed out, Xander looked back at the pyramid they had raided and said, "You guys go on ahead. I've got something to do first."

He shot into the sky again, then began pouring energy down toward the ground, leveling the pyramid and razing the planet's surface. He blasted the ground as the UNSC personnel 'gated out, until finally, he looked down, satisfied.

Carved into the surface of the planet, recognizable only from above, was the image of a circle with two tangent lines: the Green Lantern symbol.

Enjoy yourself, Alexander?

A message needs to be sent, E, he answered. Rumors are all well and good, but it's time to put the System Lords on notice. The Corps is back.

After a moment, she agreed, Indeed.

Author's Note:

Just so it's clear, the silver tattoo for Prime stems from four things. One, Fro'tak had a silver tattoo, so they do exist. Two, if a gold mark means First Prime, then a silver one probably means something special too. Three, if there are First Primes, then logically, there should also be Second Primes and Third Primes and so on. Four, the System Lord and his First Prime can't be everywhere, so there has to be some sort of chain of command in place, even if we never see it, or the whole empire would devolve into chaos.