Head Trip – Chapter 26 "Liberation"

Fifth looked around at the silent Replicators surrounding him and Sam as they stood on the third-level walkway of the citadel. As he clapped his hands, the prisoners stepped back and were reabsorbed into their individual cells.

"Soon, very soon …."

"And then what? Will you allow First to just return here and regain control over what should rightfully be yours?" Sam persisted in goading the Replicator into the realization that his power would be short-lived and limited. She reached for his hand and placed it against her warm cheek.

"Fifth, you have let me into your mind as I've let you into mine. I know the greatness that lies within you and I want to share in what you've become … together we can find our own new worlds, far from First and his brethren. These Allerians, here, in this room are your own creation … our children … we can teach them all they need to know, just as I can continue to teach you the human emotions of love and pleasure. First will never ridicule you again … you'll be safe. Let me help you find these new worlds with the knowledge you've acquired from the prisoners. I can help to map out the coordinates and the directions of our escape. Do you trust me, my love?" Her lips softly brushed across his hand as she looked up at him.

It seemed that everything he had desired was now within his reach, including the beloved whom he thought he had lost. She was standing here pledging her loyalty and aid in overthrowing the bonds that had linked him to those of his brethren who did not really understand, nor care, about the needs of the human heart. He and his beloved would teach their children well; they would teach them that human emotions were not to be feared nor despised, but to be welcomed.

Fifth held Sam to his chest and a tear glistened in his eye. It was time to begin …time to be free ….

They were beamed directly into the control room where the three remaining Replicators continued to scan the computer monitors and manipulate what seemed to be a three-dimensional map of ever-changing galaxies. Sam was fascinated at the depth of vision on the map which added to the realism of the planets and stars which rotated before her. But she was not able to identify the constellations. Fifth watched his brethren as they continued to eye the woman in their midst suspiciously. He went to one of the computers and thrust his hand into the monitor; Sam observed that massive amounts of data seemed to be spilling onto the screen. She realized, with a start, that Fifth was downloading the memories and knowledge and life histories of the Allerians on Level Two. Soon the scrolling device on the monolith came to life and more and more symbols and codes appeared. Again, Sam concluded that these were the newly acquired Gate addresses. After he had successfully downloaded all he had learned from the Allerians, Fifth removed his hand and called the remaining Replicators to the center of the room.

"Our work on this planet is nearly finished and you must now make a decision. Do you wish to serve me or serve First?"

Sam moved cautiously to the rear and leaned against the wall, scanning the room for anything that resembled a weapon. Before the Replicators could answer, Fifth raised his hand and released a powerful beam of bluish-white light which seemed to vaporize all three. Nothing remained on the floor, no particles of metal, no building blocks. They had vanished completely.

"I knew their answer; I knew what was in their minds. I could see the way they looked at you. They would never have been loyal to me." He extended his hand to Sam and proudly walked her around the control room, explaining the many screens and maps before her. This was, indeed, the Replicators' base of command. Fifth began to show her the coordinates and codes of what he believed to be their best possibilities of escape, of relocation, but Sam needed to know more than his future projections. She had to know the whereabouts of First and the probable relocation sites now being explored. This is the information she wanted to take back with her through the Gate.

In the end, the captor became the captive.

Sam continued to feed Fifth's almost childlike desire for affection through her physical touch and soft whispers of endearment. She convinced him that it would be safest for them to not only have their own plan of escape, but also have all of First's possible points of relocation so that they were completely sure they were moving far beyond his power and jurisdiction. Fifth and she worked quickly on massive amounts of data and, within an hour, they had successfully covered all contingencies.

Sam now held disk files which were a compendium of Replicator knowledge: plans, coordinates, and Gate addresses. The data revealed galaxies totally unknown to the Tau'ri. She could not believe her good fortune, but felt a pang of guilt and regret. Much of this knowledge was stolen from the minds of the Allerian people, a race of people eliminated by the Replicators' insatiable need to dominate and destroy.

Somehow, she would not let the Allerians' sacrifice be in vain. She would get this valuable intel into the right hands. Thor may be able to find First and eradicate the threat completely if he had the information she had just gained. What did he tell her, years ago, when she first helped him destroy an immediate replicator threat? It was just one of many small victories …. Now, with the wave disrupter, perhaps the tide had turned in their favor. Maybe, with the knowledge she just gained, Thor and the Tau'ri would be able to free themselves, once and for all, of the Replicator menace.

Before that freedom could be won, however, she had one more small victory to win - here, in this room, with her own mortal enemy. How would she free herself from Fifth?

Author's Notes:

Thank you all for the kind reviews and I hope you continue to stay with the story. The best is yet to come!

For those of you who asked, the English translation for the quote at end of Chapter 20, "Heartfelt", is "the heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing." - Blaise Pascal

The concept of Replicators' downloading and uploading knowledge directly to a computer via inserting their hands is based on a scene from S8, "Gemini". Credit goes to the writers of that episode. Thank you!

Carter is remembering what happened onboard Thor's command ship from S4, "SmallVictories".

The Replicator wave disrupter has been referenced primarily from S8, "New Order Part 2". It, and all main characters and the Stargate belong to MGM/Gekko Productions. I intend no copyright infringement whatsoever and am writing this purely for pleasure, not for profit. The story is mine.