CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Not long after they got underway, Daniel yet again found himself experiencing the strange sensation of having his mind merged with the computer onboard the ship that bore his name. Because he knew exactly what he was looking for this time, it took less time to find the information within the massive Ancient knowledge in his subconscious mind.
Daniel made a hologram of himself appear before Thor and his teammates.
"I've got it," he said. He turned to a screen, which began displaying data. Thor studied the information.
"Yes, this is the information you need," he stated. "With this, you will be able to activate every Stargate in the galaxy simultaneously."
"Great," Sam said. "At least we managed to get that."
"I will transmit the data to Stargate Command."
"About this plan to capture a Replicator," Daniel said. "It wouldn't be able to take control of the ship's systems like that human-form Replicator did?"
"No. Human-form Replicators are far more advanced. A lone Replicator of the type we will capture could not interfere with this ship's systems unless it was to physically gain access to them. Your power will prevent that from happening."
Twenty minutes later, the ship dropped out of hyperspace.
"I have located the Landvaettir, an Asgard ship that was taken control of by the Replicators several days ago," Thor announced. "It appears to be alone." He looked at SG-1. "We must act quickly. The Replicators are no doubt aware of our presence and preparing to attack."
Sam turned to Daniel. "Daniel?"
The archeologist turned his attention to the Replicator-controlled ship. Seconds later, his mind was inside it. Using the instructions Thor had given him, he found and destroyed the ship's shield generator.
"It's done," he said. "Let's go."
In the next moment, SG-1 was onboard the Replicator ship. In the moment after that, they were under attack. Dozens of Replicators swarmed toward them. The things were mowed down by Sam's and Teal'c's weapons and the power of Daniel's mind. The archeologist focused on one individual among the hoards. The spider-like machine suddenly found itself floating helplessly in the air. Daniel quickly brought it to him and rather nervously took hold of one of its immobilized legs.
"We've got one, Thor!" he called into the communicator the Asgard had given him.
Seconds later, he and his teammates were back on the Daniel Jackson, along with the captured Replicator. Thor then opened fire upon the Replicator ship with the full force of his weapons. With its shields still down, the ship could not withstand the weapons fire and exploded. Thor took his ship back into hyperspace.
"Well, that was easy," Sam said, setting down her P-90. She looked at the Replicator that was once again floating in the air, its legs moving about frantically.
Thor was looking at a computer screen. "As we anticipated, the Replicator is sending a distress call to its kind. It will not be long before one or more Replicator ships respond. We must hurry."
Teal'c picked up another weapon, the prototype disruptor that Daniel created months ago with the aid of the ship's computers. He pointed it at the Replicator and fired. The energy wave struck the machine and continued past, doing no damage.
Thor studied the data his sensors had gathered. "I will now compare the data I just retrieved to that which was gathered before the Replicators were made impervious to the disruptor. We no longer need the Replicator."
That's all Daniel needed to hear. He immediately blasted the machine to bits, silencing its silent call for help. He had to wonder, though, if it was in time to prevent other Replicators from coming after them.
After several minutes, Thor announced, "It appears that some form of cipher has been introduced to render the disruptor weapon ineffective."
"Were you able to isolate it from the data you gathered?" Sam asked.
"No. It will be necessary to search for the cipher among the communications data that was transmitted to and from this Replicator through its subspace connection with the others. It may take quite some time to process the data."
"Quite some time" proved to be a bit over three hours. After that, Thor worked on altering the disruptor technology to overcome the cipher. He explained that they must test it under battle conditions to see if it worked. Among the data he'd gathered from the captured Replicator were the locations of every Replicator ship presently in the galaxy. Sam, Daniel and Teal'c were surprised by the numbers, and the archeologist got a bad feeling that they were witnessing the start of something big.
After contacting the SGC and telling Jack what they were intending to do, Thor and SG-1 headed for a lone Replicator ship, dropping out of hyperspace once they were in range.
"Firing weapon," the Asgard said.
On the viewscreen, they watched the disruptor wave strike the ship.
"The ship's systems have shut down," Thor announced.
"Then it worked," Daniel said in relief.
"Yes, the weapon appears to be effective."
The words were barely out of Thor's mouth when another ship appeared.
"Another ship," Sam said. She noticed that this one looked like it was created entirely from Replicator blocks.
"They are firing on us," Thor replied.
The Daniel Jackson shuddered as it was hit.
"Targeting the second ship."
Again, Thor fired the weapon, but, this time, to everyone's surprise and dismay, there appeared to be no effect. They were fired upon again, the Replicator ship bearing down on them.
"It's still coming," Sam said.
"They have adapted themselves to our modifications," Thor responded.
"Already? That was fast."
"Yes."
The ship rocked from another strike.
Thor took his ship into hyperspace. However, moments later, the failure of the hyperdrive engines, as well as other key systems, testified to the fact that they had been boarded.
SG-1 hurried off to go take care of the invaders. On the way, Thor informed them that the shields were not working and that the Replicator ship had pursued them and was closing in.
It didn't take long to find the Replicators, and SG-1 immediately attacked. It was only seconds later that something horrifying happened. With a flash of light, Daniel was beamed away right before his teammates' eyes.
"No!" Sam cried. "Thor, they took Daniel!"
"There is nothing I can do, Colonel Carter. The ship appears to be leaving." A moment later, the Asgard said, "It is gone. I am sorry."
All during the minutes that followed, as Sam and Teal'c destroyed Replicator after Replicator, the thought that filled their minds was what was going to happen to their teammate.
The file Jack had been holding nearly went flying when Sam and Teal'c suddenly appeared before him in his office.
"Jeez, Carter," he said. "Tell Thor to give me a warning ahead of time." Jack noticed the look on her face. Then something else occurred to him. "Where's Daniel?"
"He was taken by the Replicators," Teal'c replied.
'Crap,' Jack silently cursed. "Why just Daniel?"
"There's only one reason I can think of," Sam answered, "the duplicate of me that Fifth made. She would know that the disruptor technology is Ancient in origin and would be worried that there's other Ancient technology out there that could be a threat to the Replicators." Sam looked stricken. "Thanks to my memories, she knows that Daniel's mind contains all the knowledge of the Ancients. She'll try to get at it." Her look of distress changed to horror. "Oh my God. The device on Dakara! If it could be used to destroy the Kull Warriors, it could probably also be used to destroy the Replicators. All it would take was to adjust the frequency accordingly. Once she finds out about it, she'll send Replicators to destroy it."
"Oy!" was Jack's response.
"She could have easily destroyed Thor's ship after she captured Daniel Jackson," Teal'c stated, "but, instead, she departed."
"Probably because she figured that she didn't have to bother with us," Sam said. "We managed to destroy all the Replicators that had infested the Daniel Jackson, but that may have only delayed the inevitable. With Daniel's knowledge at her disposal, she could become even more powerful. Sir, we have to change our plans. We have to try and set that device on Dakara to kill the Replicators. It's the only hope we have."
Slowly, Daniel's eyes opened. He looked up at the ceiling, which he realized belonged to a Quonset hut.
"Daniel," said a voice. He turned to see Sam coming toward him with a relieved smile.
"Thank God you're awake." She sat beside him and took his hand. "I've been so worried about you."
Daniel frowned. "Sam? What happened? Where am I?"
"We're at the new Beta Site."
"New Beta Site?"
"The old one was destroyed, as was the Alpha Site. Daniel, the Replicators are overrunning the galaxy. They've already decimated the Goa'uld and have all but wiped out the rebel Jaffa. They're now attacking human populated worlds." Tears filled her eyes. "Daniel, Earth . . . Earth has fallen. It was attacked by hundreds of thousands of Replicators. We couldn't stop it."
Horror and grief struck Daniel a crushing blow. The vision he'd had of the Replicator attack had come true. They hadn't stopped it from happening.
"Some of us managed to get through the gate before the base was overrun." Sam's grip on his hand tightened. "General O'Neill is dead, Daniel. So is Teal'c. They both died fighting the Replicators."
Daniel's grief sharpened. God, this couldn't be real. It couldn't be happening.
"What happened to me?" he asked hoarsely, tears filling his eyes. "I don't remember any of this."
"Do you remember Thor's ship being attacked by the Replicators on the mission to capture one of them?" Daniel nodded. "You were seriously injured. We came so close to losing you. You've been in a coma for over a month."
Stunned yet again, Daniel looked off at nothing. That's when he realized something.
"I can't sense you."
Sam's gaze dropped to the bedcovers. "There was brain damage, Daniel. Janet didn't think you'd ever come out of the coma, but your healing ability slowly began healing the injuries. It's taken all this time for you to reach this point. We didn't know how this would affect your other paranormal abilities. It's possible that, in time, all of your powers will return." Sam's expression grew intense, and she leaned forward, staring into his eyes. "Daniel, we need your help. The knowledge of the Ancients is still inside your mind. There has to be something in there that will help us destroy the Replicators."
"Thor wasn't able to change the disruptor again to work?"
Sam shook her head. "No. Every time he did, the Replicators simply adapted again. Daniel, you're our only hope. If you can't help us, this entire galaxy will fall to the Replicators."
"But I don't have conscious access to that knowledge. Can the Asgard do what they did before and hook me up to one of their computers?"
Sam's expression turned even sadder. "The Asgard are gone, Daniel. The Replicators killed them all."
Daniel's eyes closed tightly. The Asgard were gone. Earth was gone. The rebel Jaffa, Jack and Teal'c, all killed as he lay in a coma. All his powers, and he'd been unable to do anything to stop it.
"There's still hope, Daniel," Sam said. "You can give us what we need."
"How?"
"Before Thor was killed, he gave us a device that the Asgard had been working on for a while now. Its purpose is to allow you to safely gain access to the Ancient knowledge in your subconscious. It wasn't quite finished when he gave it to us. I've been working on it almost nonstop since then, and I think it's finally finished." She pointed at a strange-looking device across the room. "That's it there."
Daniel studied the thing. "What do I need to do?"
"Once it's activated, you only need to allow it to enter your conscious and subconscious mind. If you fight it, you'll block it from doing its job."
Daniel nodded. "Okay, let's do it."
Sam smiled grimly and got the device, wheeling it over to the bed. She placed several round pads on his head, somewhat like when an EEG was being taken, except that there were no wires leading from the pads to the machine. She then pressed a button, and the device lit up, a low hum emitting from it.
"Ready?" she asked. She got a nod from Daniel. "Okay, just relax and open your mind. Let the machine in."
Daniel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He relaxed, attempting to open himself to the device, allow it entrance into his mind. He had just begun to feel something, a tentative probing, when, suddenly, a warning of danger struck him powerfully. He gasped and jerked back, wide eyes locked on Sam.
"Daniel, what's wrong?" she asked. "It was starting to work."
"Something's wrong."
"Wrong?"
"Yes, something's not right. My sixth sense has been warning me since I woke up, but I thought it was because of the threat from the Replicators. But just now, it sent great big alarm bells ringing. Something. . . ." Daniel's voice trailed off. "Where is everyone else?"
"They're all outside and in other parts of the camp."
"Why isn't there a doctor here? I just wake up from a month-long coma, and there's no doctor? Where's Janet?"
Sam looked away. "She's dead."
Daniel should have been saddened by the news, but he was beginning to suspect something. "And were all the other doctors killed, too? Who's been treating me?"
"There are some medics, but they're all busy with other patients. There was another Replicator attack recently."
Daniel shook his head. "Sorry, Sam, but I'm not buying it. These walls are only corrugated metal, so I should be able to hear something going on outside, but I haven't heard a thing. It's completely silent out there. And you should have called at least one medic in here to monitor my condition while that thing was being used on me. That's standard practice, and it would only make sense in case something went wrong." He stared narrowly at the woman before him. "Who are you?"
All emotion dropped from her face. The hut disappeared from around Daniel, and he found that he was bound to a wall by what he recognized as Replicator blocks. The woman before him still had Sam's face, but it was not the real Samantha Carter. Dressed all in black, she gazed at him coldly. Daniel knew who she was.
"You're the human-form Replicator Fifth created."
"I see that you were already aware of my existence."
"I saw you in a vision I had a while ago. Where's Fifth?"
"He was weak, so I destroyed him. He would have hindered our domination of this galaxy. My plans are already underway. I intend to first destroy the Goa'uld and their Jaffa, remove them from my path and take their ships for our own purposes. Many ships controlled by my brethren are already in this galaxy, and more arrive by the moment. They will sweep across it, growing in numbers as we take the ships of the Goa'uld and use them to take still more."
Daniel was alarmed by the news but hid it well. "Okay, obviously, you want something from me, and, based upon the trick you just tried to pull, I'm guessing that you think the Ancient knowledge in my head might contain information about some other weapon that can be used against you. I can understand why you kept me unconscious since I'd never have let you come near me if I'd been awake, but why the elaborate ruse? You can do that whole hand in the head thing. Why didn't you just go in and take what you wanted?" A thought occurred to Daniel. "Or is it that you can't access those memories?" He stared at her closely. "That's it, isn't it. You can't get to them."
Replicator Carter stepped toward him. "Your mind is very strong, Daniel, far stronger than any human the Replicators have ever encountered. Even in your unconscious state, it fought to keep me out."
"And succeeded."
"In time and with patience, I would have succeeded in breaching the walls surrounding your memories, but I soon realized that there was an easier way."
Daniel nodded. "In that little playact you set up, that machine was supposed to access the knowledge, but I had to let it in. You were trying to get me to open the door to my mind and let you get inside."
"And I succeeded, if only for an instant. But that instant was enough. Now I have what I need to get inside your mind fully." The Replicator smiled. "Everything you know will be mine."
Angry, Daniel looked down at the blocks binding his wrists and ankles, shattering them with a thought. He stepped away from the wall, eyes blazing at the creature who wore the face of his friend but who possessed no soul, no heart, no compassion.
"If you think I'm just going to stand idly by and let you do this, you've got another thing coming," he said.
Replicator Carter smiled again. "You do not have the power to destroy me."
Daniel knew she was right. His previous attempt to kill a human-form Replicator had failed.
"You're right, but I can keep you away from me. And, if that isn't enough, I can destroy a big chunk of this ship. I can kill myself, which I think will make it pretty hard for you to get anything from me."
"You would kill yourself and rob this galaxy of the power and knowledge you possess? I know from Samantha's memories that you have accomplished much."
"Oh, come on. You and I both know that, once you get what you want, you're going to kill me."
Replicator Carter studied him. "What if I promise not to?"
Daniel laughed humorlessly. "Yeah."
"Do you really think I am that different from Samantha Carter?"
"In that you're a Replicator bent on galactic domination at the expense of all living things. . . ."
"Her thoughts, her memories, even her emotions, they are not meaningless to me. I do not wish to harm you, or destroy Earth, for that matter. I could have done that already, if I so desired."
Daniel frowned. "You're saying you'll leave Earth untouched?"
"I promise you that and your life."
Daniel stared at her narrowly. He shook his head. "I don't believe you. No deal."
The Replicator's expression hardened. "Very well. It would have been far easier for both of us if you had chosen to cooperate."
The archeologist shrugged infinitesimally. "Life is tough. Get used to it."
In the next moment, Daniel found that he couldn't breathe. It was as if all the air was being sucked out of the room.
Replicator Carter gazed at him without pity. "The oxygen in this room is being evacuated. I have no need for it, but you do."
Gasping, Daniel fell to his knees. Blackness was eating away at the corners of his vision, his head pounding from the lack of oxygen. His lungs screamed for air, but there was none. He fell the rest of the way to the floor.
The last thing Daniel saw before the blackness consumed him was the face of Replicator Carter smiling down at him in satisfaction.
Jack entered Sam's lab. Unaware of his presence, she put several things in a backpack. Jack saw her wipe a tear from her face.
"Carter."
Startled, Sam turned to him. "Sir. I-I didn't see you there."
"Are you leaving soon?"
Sam nodded. "I need to work on getting the DHD on Dakara set up to dial all the gates." She resumed packing.
"Carter . . . Sam. It's not your fault."
Sam looked at him. "She has my memories, my knowledge. It's because of them that she took Daniel."
"Which is not your fault. You were an unwilling participant in that whole thing with Fifth. You couldn't have stopped it from happening."
"It's my fault that Fifth wanted revenge. If I hadn't betrayed him, he wouldn't have captured me, and he wouldn't have created that thing."
"You were under orders, Carter, my orders. If anyone is to blame for this, it's me." Jack's expression firmed. "We're going to get him back, Carter."
"How? He could be anywhere. He might already be dead."
Jack shook his head. "No. He's alive. I can't accept anything else. Daniel will figure out a way to get himself out of this. With all his powers, he should be able to do something."
"He can't kill her. He wasn't able to kill that other human-form Replicator."
"Then he'll do something else. Don't give up on him, Carter. Daniel has always managed to make it through, even in the toughest of situations. He'll do it again this time."
Sam entered the temple chamber and came up beside Jacob. He touched her arm comfortingly.
"How are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm really worried, Dad. Since Daniel gained his abilities, he has managed to beat unbeatable odds, but this is so different. Every time I think about what she must be doing to him. . . ."
"Hey, Daniel is tough, Sam, and he's resourceful. He'll find a way to get out of this."
"That's what General O'Neill said."
"Well, then maybe you should listen, kiddo. Daniel will be all right." Jacob turned to the device. "You know, getting the computer interfaced with this thing would have been a lot easier with your help. It took Selmak and I some time to get it working. Take a look at this." He showed her an analysis graph on the computer. "From what I've been able to tell, this is showing the frequency spectrum of the wave the weapon uses to disintegrate matter. You and Daniel were right that varying the height of these panels alters the settings. Watch this."
Jacob slowly pushed one of the panels down. The graph changed significantly.
"What we have to do is alter the settings on the weapon consoles so that the output wave matches that of the disruptor technology," he said. "Before you contacted me and told me that the plan had changed and we were going to target the Replicators instead, I playing around with it, trying to make some sense as to how each panel affects the frequency of the output wave, but Selmak and I have yet to figure out how to set it to a specific frequency, and we've been at it for hours."
Sam looked at the graph for a moment. She plugged a flash drive in and transferred some data to the laptop. She then brought up a new graph.
"This is the spectrum analysis that I just completed of the Replicator disruptor wave," she said. "As you can see, it's quite a bit different. I can run a program to compare the difference between the two waves. It should let us know if we're even going in the right direction."
"Well, that will definitely help."
"The thing is that, even if we can make this work, the Replicators were quickly able to adapt themselves to the frequency modulation Thor made to the original disruptor wave. That means that this will only work once, unless we can adjust the frequency again."
"Then you'll have to use what you learned about opening all the gates and hit every Replicator in the galaxy at the same time."
Sam nodded. "And hope that more don't come here later. If we can kill my . . . my doppelganger and Fifth, there won't be a human-form Replicator controlling them anymore. That will make it a lot easier to get rid of the ones in the Asgards' galaxy."
Sam got to work on her program, unable to stop the thought that, if Daniel was there, the Ancient knowledge in his mind might have given them what they needed to set the device to the right frequency. Instead, he was in the clutches of an evil machine with Sam's face and memories.
'Please be all right, Daniel,' she pleaded in her mind.
Daniel's head lifted, eyes opening. He looked about and saw that, yet again, he was fastened to the wall. He was also alone. Staring down at the Replicator blocks manacling his arms and legs, he attempted to free himself. He was shocked when it didn't work.
"Your power will not work here."
Daniel looked up to see Replicator Carter slowly approaching him.
"This place is not real," she said, "but, rather, another construction within your mind. Since it is not real, your telekinetic powers cannot damage anything."
Daniel glared at her. "Why are you doing this again? You said that you could get into my memories now. So, why haven't you taken what you want?" When she didn't reply, he looked at her more closely. "Ah. You were wrong. You still can't get in."
"It is only a matter of time before I succeed. I merely needed to prevent you from taking your own life." She drew closer. "I have decided that, instead of attacking the Goa'uld, my first target will be Earth."
Fear shuddered through Daniel. "No."
"Once your world is gone, I will not have to worry about your Stargate Command interfering."
Daniel was starting to panic. The images he saw in the vision he had all those months ago came back into his mind with stark clarity.
The Replicator gazed at him. "However, you can still save your world. Give to me what I want, and I will spare Earth and the people you love."
Faces began flashing through Daniel's mind, the faces of the people he cared about most. If he didn't do something, they'd all die.
Frantically trying to figure out what he could do, he wondered if the device on Dakara—
Too late, Daniel realized what he'd done. His eyes went to Replicator Carter, who was smiling in triumph.
"Yes. Your mind has revealed a weapon that could destroy me, the only one in the galaxy that could do so. Thanks to you, it will soon be no more."
Rage exploded inside Daniel, and he struggled against his bonds, furious at himself for falling into her trap. All at once, he was free. He lifted his hands and looked at them, knowing that he'd had nothing to do with his bonds being removed.
He took moved away from the wall, eyes on Replicator Carter. The desire to destroy her, to put an end to the threat she posed to all he loved, was burning in his mind, but it was an impotent rage.
"So, you have what you want," he said. "I suppose you're going to kill me now."
"On the contrary, you are far too valuable for me to kill, at least yet. In just the brief moment I had access to your memories, I saw some of what you already know of the Ancient knowledge. I saw the things you experienced when you were ascended. The extent of knowledge your subconscious mind contains must be far greater than even I believed." She approached him. "You have no idea, do you?"
"Actually, yes, I do. I can still quite clearly recall what it was like to have all that stuff filling my head so full that it felt like it was going to explode."
The Replicator nodded. "Yes. You've been afraid to attempt to access it on your own because of the danger that it would once again overwhelm you. I could help you. With my help, it could be done in a way that would not endanger you. The knowledge of the Ancients, the secrets of the universe, could be ours."
"I have to admit it does sound interesting."
Replicator Carter smiled slightly.
"On the other hand, you're an evil killing machine, so, no, I'll pass."
Daniel was suddenly struck by the feeling of someone attempting to force their way into his mind. He fought back, trying to thwart the invasion. The pressure grew stronger, and he fought even harder.
All at once, an image flashed into his mind of Jack, Sam and Teal'c being attacked by Replicators, which swarmed over their bodies, tearing them apart as they screamed in agony. Daniel cried out at the horrible sight, and his concentration wavered. He lost ground, and felt Replicator Carter make it inside his mind for a moment.
"No!" he yelled, pushing her back out with all his might. He opened his eyes and glared hotly at her, breathing hard.
"You cannot win," she said. "I will get inside, and then all your knowledge will be mine."
Not giving him time to refute that claim, she struck again with a double blow, filling his mind with more horrifying images as she rammed against the mental barrier he had constructed. Daniel fought to maintain his concentration on keeping her out, but he could not ignore the terrible sights she was bombarding his mind with and could feel her getting closer and closer to breaking through. He was going to lose. She would take all the Ancient knowledge he possessed and use it to do terrible things.
It was in that moment that he recalled something, a memory from his year as an Ascended Being. He was in a conversation with Oma about the danger of examining evil too closely. He'd quoted something from the nineteenth century philologist and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: "If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." The literal meaning was that if you looked at evil long enough, it would become a part of you, but it suddenly had an entirely different meaning for Daniel.
Knowing what he had to do, Daniel let Replicator Carter in.
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