Trapped

Disclaimer: Do I look like I'm from MGM? Okay, stupid question. Well, I'm not. I don't claim to own anything about Stargate SG-1.

Rating: G

Summary: Because of an alien device SG-1discovered on a friendly planet, Daniel is trapped, observing himself in a variety of different realities. When the remaining members of SG-1 discover how Daniel can get himself out, will they be able to find him in the maze of realities before their time runs out?

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"Whatcha got there, Daniel?" Jack squatted next to his friend, wincing as his knees cracked loudly.

Daniel glanced up for a just a second before returning to his work. He was sitting cross-legged in front of a large octagon. It had a diameter of about six feet and a height of about half a foot. The sides were covered in writing and most of the center consisted of a large red button. Jack had the inane urge to press it.

"While I was speaking with the elder about technology, he said that this was something the Earliest had left behind. He didn't know what it was or how it worked but he did warn me not to press the button. He said I was free to try and translate it and if I were to discover its use, we would be welcome to come and use it."

"What happens if you press the button?"

"I'm not exactly sure. He said that the last person to press it disappeared but that's all he knows."

"And what do you know?"

Daniel smiled. "Not much more than him. I've only translated one side. The language appears to be a mix of..."

"Ep," Jack interrupted. "Don't want to hear it. What does it say?"

Daniel moved so Jack could see the side he was working on. It had a straight line and what looked like a u. "I believe this is the symbol for one day, equivalent to about thirty-five Earth hours. They used a system of dashes in a circle to represent numbers. This one represents five."

"So, five days. What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know but you can make the numbers change." He reached out and grabbed the line, small crevices on either side for the fingers and the thumb. Daniel then turned it forward a few notches. "This would be seven," He turned it back, past the original number dash. "And this would be two."

"Good work." Jack patted Daniel on his shoulder then used it as an aid to stand up. "Give me a holler when you've figured out what it is."

"Will do." And Daniel was once again lost in his work, oblivious to Jack leaving to watch Sam.

"Carter."

The woman in question jumped at the sudden appearance of her CO. "Sir?"

"Find anything useful in the dirt?"

"Well, Sir," Sam looked down at her instruments as if they knew something she didn't. "There are trace amounts of Naquada in the topsoil but that thing Daniel's working on has a much higher concentration."

"Would it be worth...?" The colonel was abruptly cut off by a violent earthquake. It was short, lasting only a few minutes but so brutal that no one managed to keep their feet. As soon as it was over, Jack questioned a nearby native, "Do those happen often?"

"Yes. There's one nearly every day."

That's when Jack looked over to where Daniel had been working. The man was no where in sight.

"O'Neill."

Jack turned to face Teal'c who'd appeared quite suddenly by his side. "DanielJackson has disappeared. He fell onto the device during the earthquake and then vanished."

"Let me guess, he pressed the button."

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