Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Gi Oh!, Stargate SG! or any of their affiliates. Anything that you recognise is property of its respective owners. Any relations to persons living or dead are purely coincidental.
Base/s: Yu Gi Oh! & Stargate SG1
Title: Exposé
Summary: Daniel, needing a little help in translating some interesting riddles on an uncovered tablet, calls in a specialist from Cairo. One Dr. Marik Ishtar. No slash.
Music used for inspiration: My Prerogative – Britney Spears (No, I don't know why either),
A/N: This begins sometime after 'Message in a Bottle' (Season 2) but before 'Family'.
"I can't do it."
Jack blinked.
Daniel ran a frustrated hand through his messy hair. He was pointedly not looking at his superior officer.
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me? Did I just hear what I think I did?" he asked, not entirely sure.
The archaeologist shot him a dark look and leaned back in his chair, his hands over his face.
"I. Can't. Do. It." He enunciated clearly, apparently less than pleased at his own failings.
Jack turned on his swivel chair to fully face his teammate.
"Why? This is like, your thing."
Daniel sighed and righted himself, shooting the offending tablet a dirty look.
"It's just that while the hyroglyphs are usually easy enough to translate, this is like a completely different language!" he rubbed the bridge of his nose while Jack listened. "Imagine this," Daniel started, gesturing with his hands. "It's like English and Old English. They're almost totally different from one another. And I've never even heard of this before." He took of his glasses and cleaned them absently, staring at the tablet as though it would up and translate itself for him.
Jack nodded.
"So you don't know what it says?" he prodded uncertainly.
"No Jack," Daniel sighed. "I don't know what it says."
Jack frowned. The tablet was apparently important. It had been behind some of the most elaborate traps he, or any one of his team, had seen. They'd picked it up on a desolate planet a few days ago and Daniel had been bid to translate it. The planet, a windswept desert, had apparently been a base of some minor Goa'uld Jack couldn't remember the name of. The carvings on the walls indicated that the crumbling ruin they had been in was relatively recent, only about two thousand or so years old.
He stood up and stretched, yawning.
"Get some sleep," he said, making for the door. "You might have better luck tomorrow."
Daniel nodded, his face downcast. In all his many years experience of studying ancient artefacts, and translating scriptures, he'd never come across something that couldn't be solved with liberal applications of time and coffee. He sighed.
Stupid tablet.
Tomorrow came and tomorrow went. Daniel still couldn't decipher the tablet. He'd called in Teal'c who had confessed he knew nothing of the words either. Daniel was close to pulling his hair out in frustration.
He had contemplated calling a friend or two to help, but without knowing what was on the tablet, he couldn't take the risk of something sensitive being revealed.
The General was still pushing for him to translate it, but he was all out of ideas.
So, when he dragged his feet to the next meeting, his arms full of messy notes and bags under his eyes he resigned himself to giving bad news.
"So, you still don't know what it says?"
A vein in the archaeologists eye twitched.
"No, I don't."
Jack sat back, apparently satisfied.
General Hammond broke in.
"Doctor Jackson," he started, "Are you sure you can't translate that tablet?"
Daniel sighed.
"General, I've been working on it for fifteen hours a day for the past week. So no, I don't think I can." He responded, wincing at how snippy he sounded, and rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Sam voiced her opinion.
"What makes this one so hard?" she asked.
"This is like a completely different dialect. I've never seen it before."
She made a face and nodded.
Hammond frowned.
"We need that tablet translated. Is it possible for you to contact outside help on this one?"
Daniel shook his head.
"If we did, we'd have to be absolutely sure of their co-operation. Seeing as we don't know what it says, it might contain senseti-" he paused as he had a brainwave.
Jack raised an eyebrow and waved a hand in front of the archaeologists face.
"Daniel...?" he ventured.
Daniel swatted the hand out of the way and turned to the general with a faint smile on his face.
"Sir, I've just had an idea." He said, barely containing his glee.
The General motioned for him to continue, an interested expression on his face. Sam was hiding a small smile behind a hand and Teal'c was looking faintly amused.
"There is someone who might be able to help us." Daniel said quickly. "I met him when I was in Egypt a couple of years ago. I'd never met anyone who knew more about ancient Egyptian culture and tradition, needless to say, we bonded over ancient scriptures." He said dryly and Jack snorted.
"Is he trustworthy?" Hammond asked seriously.
Daniel bit his lip.
"I don't know. When we met, it was a couple of years ago and while we became friends..." he trailed off.
"You didn't really know each other that well." Sam finished. The other nodded.
Teal'c put forward his opinion.
"This tablet may contain secrets of the Goa'uld, it would be wise to procure assistance in its translation." He said, looking at the General.
Sam shrugged.
"If it's as important as everyone says it is, it might be wise." She said. "besides, Daniel is overworked as it is. We might be able to convince this guy to stay on permanently."
As the archaeologist tried to protest, she levelled him with a look.
"I've seen your office." She reminded and he paused, conceding the point.
Jack was more cautious.
"I gotta say, I don't like the idea of revealing the program to a civilian." He said cautiously.
General Hammons nodded, understanding where he came from.
"Doctor Jackson, see what you can pull up on your friend. If he checks out, well, we'll see where it goes from there." He looked each of the team in the eye.
"Dismissed."
There was a soft knock on the door. Marik scowled as he perused the paper in front of him. He had to physically stop himself from nibbling on his pen, he was trying to stop the habit.
"Come in." He ordered, not bothering to look up. His secretary opened the door and walked up to his desk, her heels clicking on the wooden floor.
"Doctor Ishtar?" she ventured, her voice professional and clipped.
Marik looked up irritably.
"Yes?"
She ignored his tone and set down a sheaf of papers on his desk.
"Someone is running checks on you." She informed him bluntly. He raised an eyebrow. She continued. "They're pulling all information they can on you. Birth records, medical records, everything."
He set down his pen and leaned back, surprised.
"Do we know who it is?" he asked.
His secretary's face didn't change from it's stony mask as she answered.
"One Doctor Daniel Jackson."
Marik wracked his brain for the name and after a few moments, remembered. He was about to speak when the girl in front of him continued.
"However," she said, a tiny smirk appearing on her painted lips. "I did some digging and I found something interesting. He's going through American government channels."
Marik raised both his brows in surprise.
"The American government? What do they want with me?" he wondered. He frowned.
"Sabah." He called and the girl turned her head in his direction, awaiting his request. "Do some more digging. I want to know exactly who is looking for me and why."
His secretary nodded curtly and made to leave.
"Oh, and Sabah?" he called as she was about to leave. She turned. "Be discreet."
She nodded, that upturn of her lips making her expression sharp.
"Always sir."
Marik frowned as he dialled a number in his phone and waited for his sister to pick up. He remembered Daniel, he'd rather liked the American archaeologist when they'd met. Marik had been working towards his doctorate and Daniel had been there for a conference. The younger had been interested in the archaeologists theories on the pyramids. He hadn't believed them, but to Daniel's surprise, he hadn't labelled him a complete nut job. He had of course, no idea this was because of Marik's own little secrets. But that was years ago. They had kept in contact with a few e-mails now and then, save for one year in which he'd dropped off the face of the earth for some reason, and they'd pretty much kept contact.
He was jerked out of his memories when he heard his sisters voice on the other end of the phone.
"Ishizu." He greeted and smiled when he heard her exclamation.
"Marik! I haven't heard from you in ages!" she admonished and he could hear her tutting in the background.
"I've been busy." He said, not expanding. He heard her sigh.
"The University still boring?" she asked sympathetically.
"As hell."
She snorted, making the speaker crackle.
"Poor you. Now, I'm sure you didn't just call to catch up with your sister. What do you need?" she asked, sighing. He could hear the smile in voice though.
He allowed himself his own little smile.
"I was wondering if I would speak to Seto."
Marik could practically hear the raised eyebrow on the other side of the phone.
"Oh? So you're more interested in speaking with my husband than your own sister?"
"Right now? Yes."
She laughed.
"Typical. Alright, I'll pass you over." She said and he heard the familiar click of being patched through to another number.
"Seto Kaiba." Came the curt voice from the other end.
"Hello Seto, thank my sister for passing me over would you?" Marik greeted.
He heard Seto sigh.
"What do you want Ishtar?" he demanded. "I'm a busy man."
Marik gave a small laugh.
"Aren't we all? I need you to help me with something."
On his end, Seto narrowed his eyes.
"It's not illegal is it?"
Marik chuckled.
"No, no. Not really." He reassured. "But would you really care if it was?"
"I suppose not. It's too much to ask for you to go on the straight and narrow." Kaiba admitted. "So, what is it? Bear in mind I haven't said yes yet."
"I need you to find me some information on someone."
He heard Seto sigh.
"I thought you were the one who's supposed to provide information for me." He said.
"I am. But like I said, I'm very busy and I need this done well."
"You still haven't told me what you need done yet." Seto noted, shrewd as ever.
"I'm looking for information on one Doctor Daniel Jackson. Age thirty three, born July 8th 1965, American, archaeologist." Marik responded, easily rattling off the information.
"Oh? And what has this poor sod done to warrant your attention?"
"He's somewhat of a friend." Marik admitted. "But he'd been checking up on me."
"I see." He heard Seto say before he continued. "But what makes him special?"
"He's using government channels."
That got the CEO's attention.
"What? Are you sure?" he questioned.
"Of course I'm sure." Marik snapped.
He could almost hear Seto smirking.
"Temper temper. Why can't you do this?"
"Because while I have my contacts in America, none of them have same political muscle you do. Or the hacking expertise." Marik admitted.
While America was by no means a blind spot for him, Marik had to admit that his hacking skills were no match for the CEO of Kaiba Corp's.
"Consider it payment for that incident in Quatar." He sweetened the deal. He smirked when he heard Kaiba curse softly on the other end of the line.
"Fine. But remember, we're even now." Seto growled before slamming the phone down, effectively ending the call.
Marik chuckled and put the phone down. He stood and walked over to the window, looking out over Cairo.
Sighing, he made his way back to his desk and the mountain of papers sitting there. Ignoring them, he booted up his laptop that sat, half buried by paper, and trawled through his e-mails while he waited for his secretary and Kaiba to dig something up.
Daniel hurried towards the briefing, weaving in and out of people in the hallways, careful not to drop the stack of paper he was carrying.
Swerving out of the way of Sergeant Harriman, he entered the briefing room and set down his load. The rest of his team, plus the General, were already there.
Muttering a quick apology for his lateness, he set up his presentation.
Picking up the top sheet, he began.
"I managed to dig up some information. It was surprisingly difficult, even with what I already know." He admitted. "Right. Dr. Marik Ishtar Ph.D, Egyptian national, born on December 23rd 1975. There's almost nothing on his early life save for his birth record, but what I can find says that his mother died on the day he was born. The only records of his father are birth and death records, he died about twelve years later. He drops off the grid until about sixteen years later when he pops up in Domino City, Japan where he took part in the Battle City Duellist Tournament under an alias, got to the final too." He read, which earned raised eyebrows.
Duel Monsters was a very popular game, not so much in America, but they'd at least heard of it. Getting to the final, they also knew, was no mean feat.
Daniel continued. "It seems he flew back to Egypt with his sister, who'd also participated..." he skimmed the rest, murmuring. "Ishizu Kaiba nee Ishtar, married Seto Kaiba CEO of KaibaCorp three years ago, it's interesting to note. He graduated from Cairo University with top honours in ancient linguistics, went on to work for the university doing research on ancient Egyptian artefacts..."
"Sounds boring." Jack commented.
Daniel ignored him. He fished out a specific paper from the pile and looked it over.
"However, I did find something I think you'll find very interesting. The Ishtar family is rumoured to be a family of tomb keepers."
Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Tomb keepers? In this day and age?" she asked sceptically.
Daniel shrugged.
"It's nothing concrete, but..." he trailed off.
Hammond nodded, his brow creased.
"It's enough to warrant investigation." He completed. The archaeologist nodded.
The General was silent for a moment before coming to a decision. He turned to the archaeologist.
"Contact him, try to find anything we can use. If you feel he's trustworthy, bring him in. I'll make it so that we don't have any trouble from the Egyptian government." He ordered firmly.
Daniel nodded.
"I'll get right on it."
"Dismissed."
Marik skimmed through the information that his secretary had sent to him. Most of it he already knew but a few titbits reminded him why he kept her around. Other than her ability to make good coffee.
The e-mail from Seto however had proved much more fruitful. After scrolling past the rant about how hard it was to get, he greedily consumed the information.
Dr. Jackson was indeed on the government payroll. At first glance, he was working in Cheyanne mountain, where they did something with deep space radar telemetry. Marik scoffed. And he was the Easter bunny.
Seto, in his nigh on infinite resources, had only managed to figure out the name of the top secret operation.
Apparently, the mountain was the base for something called 'Stargate Command'.
Unfortunately, that was where the information stopped. There was nothing about anything relating to the program anywhere. Marik had pulled most of his contacts up but they'd found nothing. He was officially intrigued.
Marik typed his reply. He thanked the CEO and sent along a few bytes of info that Seto had requested. The funds would be transferred to his account via electronic transfer sometime later. Seto was lucky he trusted him, Marik usually insisted on a down payment.
If there was one thing Marik hated more than losing, it was not knowing something. A scowl creased his brow and he took a sip of the steaming coffee in his mug. Still looking at the computer screen.
He briefly thought of e-mailing Dr. Jackson, but quickly dismissed the idea. It wouldn't do to have Daniel know he was onto him, especially if he had government connections.
So Marik would wait. He'd trained himself to be patient after all. He'd get his answer in a few days.
Sender: d. jackson _ work '' googlemail . com
To: m. ishtar _ cairouni '' hotmail . com
Attachments: excerpt-no# 7869 . pdf
Subject: How's it going?
Marik,
We haven't spoken in far too long, how's everything going? Are you still working at the University? I hope you'll forgive me but I had a bit of a snoop and saw your book isn't out yet. Are you still writing that thing?
I don't envy you with all that paperwork, but I do envy your location! Colorado Springs isn't the most interesting of places to be studying 'rocks', as one of my co-workers calls them. Say, you wouldn't happen to be one another one of your business trips to the US would you? Specifically in the Colorado area? Do tell if you are planning to fly by, and we can arrange a meeting. E-mails are so impersonal.
Say 'hi' to your sister for me!
Daniel
P.S Have fun with the puzzle attached! I must admit, it gave me hell trying to figure it out. Seven hours.
Sender: m. ishtar _ cairouni '' hotmail . com
To: d. jackson _ work '' googlemail . com
Attachments: 6784 - J76 . pdf
Subject: Re: How's it going?
Daniel,
It was pleasant finally hearing from you; I was almost thinking you'd dropped off the face of the earth.
The University is still as dull as ever, although I'm trying to find ways of keeping myself occupied. And yes, I am still working on my book. We can't all write, edit and publish our masterpieces in a year or two now can we?
On a side note, I enjoyed the puzzle you sent in your last e-mail. And I smashed your time. Seven hours? Just who do you think you're talking to?
If you were in my shoes, you'd be begging for Colorado. Actually no, that's a lie to make you feel better. I'd much rather be where I am than where you are, doing whatever it is that you do. And on that note, I am indeed planning to fly into Denver on the fifth. I would very much like to meet up face to face, if only to personally share how badly your record was pulverized. Are you free on the seventh? I'll be busy on the sixth, so I'm afraid I can't entertain you then.
Ishizu is happy to hear from you and wishes for you to, and I quote: 'Forcibly drag that brother of mine to have some fun and extract the stick from his ass.' I believe she was particularly vexed that I'd interrupted 'alone time' with her husband to ask for a response. And for the record? I'm perfectly happy with the stick where it is thank you very much, and I'd mention that my brother in law's stick far eclipses my own, yet she has no problem with its presence.
All the best,
Marik
P.S. Three hours.
Sender: d. jackson _ work '' googlemail . com
To: m. ishtar _ cairouni '' hotmail . com
Attachments: excerpt-no# 9874 . pdf
Subject: Re (2): How's it going?
Marik,
Wonderful, I'll meet you at the train station at about one? We can find somewhere to have lunch and bond over ancient scriptures.
I'm sure the stick is fine where it is, and as I haven't met your brother in law, I can't comment.
Three hours? It was close, but I made two and a generous half.
See you on the seventh,
Daniel
P.S. Four hours for this one, I think you'll like it.
Sender: m. ishtar _ cairouni '' hotmail . com
To: d. jackson _ work '' googlemail . com
Attachments: 2126 - C19 . pdf
Subject: Re (3): How's it going?
Daniel,
You don't need to have met my brother in law to sense the stick, it resonates to all who have ever been graced with his esteemed presence. Or seen him on a television screen. Or seen a photo of him. Etcetera, etcetera, I could go on.
Two hours and a generous half? My, my, you are getting slow.
I'll be at the train station at one as ordered sir. I suppose I've changed, although you're unlikely to miss me.
Forty minutes. What's wrong with you?
Marik
P.S. One and a half hours. It's my speciality after all.
Sender: d. jackson _ work '' googlemail . com
To: m. ishtar _ cairouni '' hotmail . com
Attachments: excerpt-no# 9864 . pdf
Subject: Re (4): How's it going?
Marik,
If I had any doubts as the identity of the man on the other side of the screen, they've been erased. Only you could be so malicious towards family. And I know what you're going to say so, yes it is a talent.
I didn't quite make it. Three hours. I must be getting slow.
How on earth did you do that last one in forty minutes? That's got be impossible!
Daniel
P.S. Two days.
Sender: m. ishtar _ cairouni '' hotmail . com
To: d. jackson _ work '' googlemail . com
Attachments: 5492 - H69 . pdf
Subject: Re (5): How's it going?
Daniel,
You know me too well, you're getting old and pure, natural talent.
With ten minutes to spare,
Marik
P.S. Nine hours.
Daniel sighed as he finished reading the last e-mail. He felt slightly guilty for misleading his friend, but brushed it aside.
He got up and stretched before printing the e-mails and setting off for the briefing room.
Walking in and sitting down to expectant faces, he spoke.
"He's coming."
End Chapter
Oh yeah, this is gonna be a monster. I hope. It's obviously a little AU, but I tried to keep it as canon as I could. Other Yu Gi Oh! Character may pop in from time to time, but they likely wont have a major role.
Damn fanfic . net keeps censoring my clever fake e-mail adresses. That's annoying. Like, REALLY annoying. The 'at' symbol is illegal in any shape or form. Somehow. :(
I haven't been getting many reviews for my stories lately for some reason, so I'm hoping to make up for it with this one!
So please, review!