Head Trip – Chapter 30 "Endgame"
Daniel awoke slowly, a blade of grass tickling his face. He felt lethargic but relieved to notice that his hands and feet were no longer itching and swollen. He lay there contentedly, gazing up at the vivid blue sky and floating clouds framed by the pointed edges of the tall grass which surrounded him. Stretching his lazy limbs, he stifled a yawn, and then sat bolt upright with a startled cry.
"My God ... Jack? Teal'c!"
Recollection collided with reality. Daniel's disorientation soon cleared as vivid memories returned: running down a gravel highway covering Jack's six, crossing the road and bracing himself against the citadel, replicator blocks and the warmth of the sun …
What was he doing here? He vaguely recalled someone, a deep voice, talking to him about staying here, being prepared …prepared for what? Teal'c – it was Teal'c's voice, giving directions.
Daniel felt in the grass for his glasses. Finding them, he saw a note attached to the frame. "Daniel, you have experienced an adverse reaction to your medication which caused you to collapse. Do not consume any more of the drugs unless you are in dire circumstances. I have gone to help O'Neill extract Colonel Carter from the citadel. He wants you to collect our equipment, guard the road, and be prepared to exit quickly upon our return."
Letting out a sigh of exasperation, the now fully awake archaeologist rose to his feet and crumpled the paper in his hand. I let them down … Sam's in that building facing God knows what … and I'm here taking a nap in the grass.
With thoughts of guilt and regret racing through his mind, Daniel did a quick sweep of the hiding place, gathered all remaining equipment for quick pickup on way back, checked the road for clearance, and began running down the gravelly path, fully armed and ready for action. He wanted to make up for lost time.
Teal'c saw neither Carter nor O'Neill as he glanced upwards at the figure on Level Three. There seemed to be something strangely familiar about the man who was now shouting some type of command. Teal'c stepped back farther into the deep shadows near the stairwell, concealing himself while he observed the bizarre drama unfolding two flights above.
"Come forth, my children, come forth."
At the sound of Fifth's command, the holding cells, made up of replicator blocks, began a massive transformation. The outer covering of each cubed cell began to liquefy and dissolve as newly formed Replicators stepped through in obedience to their creator. They stood stiffly, staring out of glazed and emotionless eyes, automatons awaiting their next command. The bluish-white light which emanated from the cavernous ceiling and bathed the figures in its eerie glow added to the surreality of the moment. Teal'c guessed that there were about 80 glistening bodies standing around the entire perimeter of the third-level walkway … standing at attention in deference to their master … Fifth! Yes, that was Fifth at the edge of the walkway!
Knowing that the C4 was about five minutes from self-detonation, the mighty Jaffa did not wait for Fifth's next action. Instead, he turned and ran up the stairway looking for his friends.
O'Neill's head was spinning, his thoughts could not seem to focus … his senses awakened first. He was lying on his side, the pain in his head was subsiding but being replaced by the pain in his bruised ribs. He could hear a man's voice shouting some kind of command, and then he felt a brief touch on his shoulder, a gentle, but firm touch with a whispered "sir, hang in there". He winced as he moved and opened his eyes. What he saw quickly brought him back to reality. Sam, looking bloodied and beaten, was limping towards the Replicator form of Fifth with the wave disrupter cradled in her arms.
Jack tried to find his weapon and rise to his feet, but the sudden movement of trying to get up sent him tumbling onto his back. The grogginess and pain in his head refused to release him. Instead, he was forced to watch, helplessly, as Carter lifted the disrupter and pointed it at Fifth.
Fifth looked at what he had wrought. His children, his brothers and sisters, came forth at his command and were now awaiting the final word, the word of approval and activation. These were truly his creations, not those of First. He was now in charge of his world. He would take these new beings with him to a planet far, far away. Perhaps, in time, the pain would lessen, his anger and rage already being replaced by an immense sadness and hollowness.
As he gazed upon the Replicators surrounding him on the walkway, Fifth's rage had turned to grief. Samantha Carter was supposed to be at his side for this moment of birth. The new order of creation was to be shared with the woman he thought he loved. Were these human emotions worth the cost? In some ways, First and those who followed him, were to be envied for their inability to feel this kind of pain - the pain of love and betrayal and despair. Tears came to his eyes, another human sensation. He felt them burn his cheeks as they ran down his face.
Just as Fifth was ready to give the final command, he sensed her presence and turned to look into Sam's face. Their eyes met and held for what seemed an eternity.
By the time that Sam had struggled over to the observation tower, the Replicators had appeared from their cells. Her worst fear had materialized. Scores of Allerian elders were now standing, in zombie-like formation, awaiting their new orders as human Replicators. An entire planet had been transformed from human to alien life forms intent upon further domination and control. She had to end this now. These were a race of peace-loving and trusting people, wise men and women who valued learning and knowledge. They were now shells of their former selves. Those who had been captured and replicated seemed beyond any help, at least, any help that she could give. Indeed, she only knew of one human being who had returned from this stasis intact. Herself! Fifth released her after making his copy. He had spared her life. Why?
She found her answer in his pained eyes. "I loved you … I really loved you." The words were said in a whisper as the Replicator prepared for what Sam was about to do.
In that brief moment of encounter, time stood still. Fifth's features softened and he looked at her, once more, with the yearning and trust she had seen when they first met so long ago on Halla. Emotions of love and grief played upon his face. The moment of truth had arrived for both of them, standing there on the precipice of decision. There was no redemption, no going back, for either one.
Carter had made tough choices all through this ordeal. She had a mission to fulfill, a mandate. She was a warrior and responsible to her commanders and her country. She did, in good faith, what was demanded of her given the extraordinary circumstances of her hostage situation and the very nature of the enemy itself. She was not proud of the methods that she had to use to resist her own torture and overcome the enemy. Playing psychological mind games and using deceit and seduction as weapons were not her normal methods of operation. She knew what she had to do to survive. And she had to survive in order to serve the greater good – the survival of her planet and many others. The knowledge she had been able to retrieve by Fifth's trusting her could now help in the final eradication of the Replicator threat. "De oppresso liber!" She believed in the integrity of that motto. But she also saw and felt the pain of the oppressor as he stood before her, looking more human, in his grief, than ever before. The humanity in her responded: "I am sorry, so sorry that it had to end like this. But I cannot allow you to enslave any more people."
He heard her and, as she clumsily shifted the wave disrupter to fire at him, Fifth yelled his final words of defiance to the static Replicator forms who lined the walkway, "Brethren arise!"
The wave disrupter swept over Fifth and his figure broke apart into inert particles. As if waking from a slumber, the other Replicators began to turn and slowly march towards the observation tower. Sam stepped over Fifth's remains and carefully took aim at the perimeter – her own anger and grief compelling her as she thought of what had been taken from the people on this planet. Beginning from one end of the walkway and continuing in a sweeping motion, Carter sent wave upon wave of disrupter beams into the Replicators dissolving them even as a new threat arose.
The sinister sounds of mechanical bugs could now be heard as the replicator cells, themselves, started to take on the shapes of the enemy's basic form. Carter moved back within the control room just as Teal'c came charging through the entrance on the far side with an automatic weapon in hand. Jack was now leaning on the side of the monolith, rubbing his hand across his eyes, still trying to focus and come to the aid of his comrades.
"Colonel Carter, we have little time left, O'Neill has planted C4 throughout this building." Seeing her bruises and the awkward way she was holding the wave disrupter, Teal'c added his concern, "Do you need my assistance in retreating?" He then looked beyond her towards the observation tower.
Knowing his unspoken question, Carter replied, "It's all right, Teal'c, Fifth is dead. I'm okay but the whole place is waking up … can you handle the wave disrupter and take the General while I retrieve my data and cover your six?"
The Jaffa nodded and reached for the disrupter while, at the same time, swinging around and anchoring O'Neill's arm around his broad shoulder. The General tried to push away and walk on his own, but almost collapsed once he was free of Teal'c's strong grip. Without hesitation, his comrade pulled the shaken commander closer and began the trip down the stairs.
Carter rushed to the computer consoles and swept up the valuable disks and maps, stuffing them into her shirt pocket. She then swung her P90 into position and proceeded to back out of the control room just as the first round of replicators began to race in from the observation deck. Adrenaline and anger were now coursing through her veins and she found herself swearing at the mechanical spiders as she ripped a round of ammunition into their bodies. It was a known fact that the low-tech weapons of the Tau'ri were actually more effective in stopping these mechanical forms than more sophisticated weaponry; that is, until General O'Neill was able to use the knowledge of the Ancients to provide a prototype of wave-disrupter technology. Thor then developed a mega-weapon which was now the ultimate solution. But Thor was not here, and Jack was still in shock from the mind probe; so the combination of one wave disrupter and their "primitive" P90s and explosives would have to cause enough damage to buy them time to return to the Gate.
Teal'c moved quickly down the stairs, using the wave disrupter to clear his path as the replicators started to swarm up the stairs from the lower levels. Once he reached the first level, he had to fight through the clattering bugs as they climbed over his boots on their way to the stairwell. Most of the ground was now covered with the menacing army of replicators. They seemed to be following a prescribed route to the observation tower. Of course! They may have had some type of internal sensor which had been activated when Carter killed Fifth. It was as if they were programmed to find their creator's assassin.
Knowing that she would need his help now more than ever, Teal'c dragged O'Neill out the back of the building so that he could leave him in a safe area while he returned to Carter's side.
Daniel was panting heavily as he rounded the corner of the citadel. He traced what seemed to be a line of Claymores leading to the back entrance. As he ran forward with weapon raised, two figures came stumbling out. He was close enough to recognize his comrades and shouted to them. Teal'c turned in surprise and quickly ordered the young scientist to take their fallen leader and retreat to safety.
"Daniel, you must move as far away from the citadel as you can with O'Neill. We only have minutes before the explosives will detonate. I must return to assist Colonel Carter!"
As Daniel slung Jack's arm around his shoulder, he locked eyes with the Jaffa and they both nodded. Words were not needed; the next few minutes would settle their fate, and, quite possibly, the fate of their planet.
While Daniel fell back with O'Neill, Teal'c returned to the citadel with the wave disrupter and swept the cavernous room of the encroaching mechanical forms. He had hoped that Colonel Carter would have been appearing from the stairwell by now but she was nowhere to be seen. With a concerned look, he rushed towards the stairs, prepared to help his friend escape.
"De Oppresso Liber" is the motto of the U.S. Special Forces and translation is "To free from oppression."