DISCLAIMER: The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-1, the goa'uld and all other characters that have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.

Acquisition

Part three

'Got anything Carter?' Jack asked in desperation. His own investigations had turned up nothing, it was as if Starsky and Hutch - the ones that had turned up at the SGC - had never existed. He'd already made several visits to Alison's office where Sam was working until she had threatened him with bodily harm if he didn't get out of her hair.

'As a matter of fact…' Sam turned her attention back to the computer screen for a few moments then looked up at her CO. 'It looks like Dr Trethewey was working on that tablet we found in the temple on P39 6SX. According to her notes, Daniel thought it was a historical record but Alison figured out that it was actually a set of instructions for operating some kind of device.'

'I thought all her notes had gone?' Jack asked.

'The hard copies and discs are, yes, but I retrieved the temporary files from her computer. It looks like she made some progress while we were on our last mission. Just a moment,' Sam broke off as she scrolled to the end of the notes before looking at Jack, concern in her eyes. 'She thinks it's a weapon and that the tablet tells you how to operate it. Sir, if the NID managed to find this out, that's where they must have gone. They have access to all our reports and would know we only brought back the tablet, they must have taken their chance to get through the 'gate before we sealed it up.'

Jack considered this for a moment before speaking again. 'If the NID think there is a weapon on P-thingy, then they'll do their best to retrieve it. They've also taken Daniel and his assistant, the tablet and all the notes so it looks like they need help to work it. I guess our next step is a return visit to the planet.' Jack sighed, not liking where this was going at all. He knew the NID were unscrupulous and had no qualms at injuring or killing others in order to achieve their own goals.

An hour later, the mission had been cleared with General Hammond and SG1 and SG2 were geared up and walking up the ramp towards the open gate.

XOXOXOX

Daniel was vaguely aware of being in a car, then of being strapped into an airplane seat. After that he must have fallen asleep as the next thing he knew he was being shoved roughly into a cold stone room with the only objects a sleeping bag and a crude latrine in the corner. Shivering with cold and still feeling too groggy to figure out what was going on, he crawled into the sleeping bag fully dressed and closed his eyes, willing the room to stop swimming around, which it eventually did when he lost consciousness.

Several hours later Daniel could feel hands shaking him roughly, pulling him out his sleeping bag and forcing him to sit up. A cup of water and a plate was thrust into his hands and he was left alone once more. Putting the cup and plate to one side, he stood up carefully, fighting the feeling of dizziness that swept over him again, steadying himself against one of the walls. Allowing his body time to adjust, he took a look around.

The room was constructed of roughly hewn stone; it was a small room around three metres square. There were no windows, the only source of light was filtering through the barred opening of the wooden door. Moving to the door he could make out a corridor with other doors leading off it and windows set high on the wall opposite the doors but could see no sign of anyone else. Trying the door handle, he was not surprised to find that although the handle turned the door would not open, realising on looking down that there were a couple of bolts keeping the door closed - one right at the top of the door, the other about two-thirds of the way down with no way of reaching them through the bars of the door. Grasping the bars firmly in his hands he shook them as hard as possible but could feel no movement.

Frustrated at the situation he found himself in, Daniel's thoughts turned to Alison, who he could vaguely recall being dragged along on this little field trip with him. Taking a good look to either side of the hallway and seeing no one around, he hissed loudly 'Alison! Are you there? Alison? It's Daniel.' He paused, listening carefully but could hear nothing and hoped he had been mistaken in thinking she had been brought along. What if she was here, though, but not a prisoner like he was? Maybe this was all some elaborate set up designed to get some information from him. Damn! He cursed to himself. He'd been around Jack too long and was beginning to look for the worst in everyone.

He turned and paced up and down the room for a while, then figured he was helping nobody by doing this, so forced himself to sit down, to eat the food he'd been brought and slowly sip the water, conserving his energy, waiting for his chance to act.

Hours passed and no one had come near him but as his senses adjusted he could make out voices talking faintly from somewhere further down the corridor. Eventually, just as the light started to fade, a door at the far end of the corridor opened. Daniel scrambled to his feet and hurried to peer out of the window in the door.

Two men dressed in standard issue combat gear were coming down the hallway, supporting a third figure between them, a figure that looked decidedly the worse for wear.

'Alison!' Daniel called as they passed his door, earning himself a glare from the guards for his troubles, it also got him a glance from Alison, looking at him from the corner of her eye, an eye that was already beginning to swell shut. He could also see that her nose had recently stopped bleeding. There was no time for anything else, the door to the room next to Daniel's was opened and he could hear a faint thud as Alison was flung without ceremony on to the floor.

Once the coast was clear Daniel called out once more, but received no response. He listened and heard the sounds of muffled sobs which eventually faded away and he realised Alison must have fallen asleep. Figuring that he may as well follow her example, Daniel curled himself up and was soon asleep.

XOXOXOX

Daniel could have sworn he'd only been asleep for five minutes when he felt someone prodding him with a foot.

'Come on, time to get up and earn your keep. Come on.' It was one of the guards he'd seen last night, the words accompanied by a kick on his arm making him to roll away with a hiss of pain. 'If you don't want any more of that, you'd better look lively.'

Daniel stood up hurriedly and immediately found his arm held securely by the guard, a zat gun pointing right at him. He was led out of the cell and into another room at the end of the corridor.

This room was larger than the one he had been kept in and had a window set into the wall that allowed natural light to filter through. There was furniture here as well, basic, but serviceable. Five men and a woman were scattered around the room. His escort thrust him into a chair opposite one of the men and took up his own position just behind him and to one side.

'Well, Dr Jackson, it's nice to meet you at last. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Jonas. I trust you are feeling well rested?' Daniel glared at him as he realised this was the second lunatic he'd met called Jonas. 'Well, no matter. Now, that tablet you had Dr Trethewey working on is of considerable interest to us. We weren't able to keep the Touchstone from Madrona but we think that the artefact this tablet refers to is of far greater importance than some weather control device.'

Daniel must have looked surprised at how much he seemed to know about the tablet because Jonas went on to speak about it further. 'Lieutenant Jones here happened to be outside Dr Trethewey's office the other day when you were discussing the tablet and took the liberty of reading her notes. It wasn't easy, I may add, he had a lot of trouble trying to read her writing. You know, for someone who is an expert in ancient languages, I would have thought her writing would be a bit better. Still, that's not important now. What is important is that we know enough to want that artefact and you're going to help us get it. Where can we find it?' He barked the question out.

'You haven't got a chance of finding it, and besides, the tablet was incomplete and I'm not even sure if we got the translation right. It wouldn't do you any good at all,' Daniel replied, feeling nothing but contempt for these people having seen what had nearly happened to the people of Madrona.

'That is not what I want to hear. Now I'm going to ask again - where is the weapon?'

Daniel glared at his questioner, refusing to answer. A sharp blow to his face that nearly knocked him off his chair achieved nothing more than another glare and still no answer.

'Well, if you won't co-operate, perhaps Dr Trethewey will be more willing than she was yesterday.' Jonas smiled coldly at Daniel. Daniel began to protest, wanting to save Alison from any more of this, realising what Alison had already been through at the hands of this madman whose eyes glinted with a hint of maniacal obsession, but his protests fell on deaf ears and he could do nothing but watch helplessly as Alison was brought in and placed in another chair.

'You can't do this!' Daniel yelled at Jonas. 'I'll tell you what I know.'

'I'm sorry, you had your chance, let's see if I have better luck with your assistant.' Jonas stood in front of Alison and began his questioning. 'Where can we find the weapon?' He asked again, and again and again. Each time she hesitated or tried to say something he didn't want to hear, she received a blow to her face until frustration seemed to get the better of him and he raised his fist, hitting her with as much force as he could put into it, knocking her off her chair.

Daniel tried to get up to go to her, but found himself restrained by two of the guards and all he could do was watch as Alison lay there stunned, seeing blood trickling from the side of her mouth, shaking her head as if to clear it. He could also see her wrist beginning to swell, the one she had landed heavily on, and he hoped nothing had broken.

'You didn't have to do that!' Daniel snapped fiercely, trying to draw attention away from Alison, to save her from any more of this punishment. 'I told you I would tell you what you wanted.'

'Don't worry, Dr Jackson,' Jonas said. 'You will help us. Tomorrow. Now. Is there anything you want to tell me?' Jonas returned his attention to Alison, his voice calm, as though he hadn't just knocked her off her chair in anger. Alison searched for something to tell him, anything to stop him from hitting her again and she remembered something else that Daniel had told her.

'Daniel - Dr Jackson said they didn't have chance to recover anything else from the temple before it collapsed. It must be buried there somewhere.' Alison, her head drooping down as though her neck could no longer support it, glanced up at Jonas, saw him considering her words and move towards her again. He lifted his arm and she cowered away, but instead of the expected blow, she could feel his hand patting her shoulder that made her almost wish he had hit her again; if anything this was worse than the blows she had received earlier.

Daniel could see the revulsion in Alison's face and wished there was something, anything he could do. Instead he found himself being propelled along behind Alison and thrown back into his cell, unable to help her. Daniel flung himself down on his sleeping bag, his mind working desperately to figure out what they could do. Hopefully SG1 would already be on their trail, but knowing they'd had two days of downtime before anyone would even realise he was missing, he wasn't expecting the cavalry any time soon. That meant he had to figure a way to get them both out. Unfortunately, being locked in this cell wasn't exactly affording him many opportunities. Hearing a small movement from next door, Daniel was on his feet and at his own door in no time.

'Daniel?' He could hear his name being whispered.

'Alison?' Daniel called back softly. 'Are you alright?' He could hear a snort, whether of laughter or pain he wasn't sure.

'What do you think?' Alison snapped back, then Daniel could hear her sigh. 'Sorry. I think my wrist is broken but apart from that I've just got a load of cuts and bruises. What's going on? Where are we?'

'We must be on P39 6XS, where I found the tablet you were working on,' Daniel replied. 'I'm guessing we were brought through the second 'gate before General Hammond had chance to seal it.'

'How are we going to get home?' Alison asked.

'Well, we'll be missed some time soon and Jack and the others will come after us any time now,' Daniel tried to sound positive, the role Jack normally played when SG1 had been captured and working out how to escape. He was finding it difficult, having to be the one in charge and began to appreciate something of what Jack went through every time they stepped through the 'gate. 'In the meantime, I guess we just tell them what we can…' Daniel's voice trailed off, his unspoken concerns picked up by Alison.

'But you don't think that's going to help us because we don't know anything to help them.' Daniel could hear the catch in Alison's voice.

'It's going to be alright - we'll be out of here in no time, you'll see.' Daniel tried to sound as though he believed what he was saying and figured it must have worked.

'Well, I guess we better get some rest then, ready for our big day tomorrow. Good night.' Alison said

'Night,' Daniel replied and soon silence fell.