Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters.

Chapter 11. The search is on! (Dramatic: dun dun dun!) I'm running out of chapter intro ideas. Hope you enjoy it!

Maria's point of view:

Maria groaned when she felt Samantha try and wake her up, tapping her shoulder again and again. Why was her bed so hard and cold? She tried to curl up and stay warm. She felt Samantha hit her shoulder extra hard. "What the he-" she cried, sitting up. Where was she? What was going on?

Then she remembered what happened, and where she was. She was still in the outer part of the forest, near the road. Selmak had been tapping her shoulder frantically with his tail, trying to wake her up. And Sam was... somewhere. Probably looking for her.

"What?" She asked Selmak in an annoyed voice.

Something is coming down the road, in our direction, very fast, he wrote. Dang, he had good hearing.

"So? What's wrong with that? It's probably just some late night commuter or something. Go back to sleep, will you? You can't wake me for every passing car or truck."

Just look out and see what's coming. I will not bother you again, unless I must.

Maria could tell by the way he was moving around and looking at her that he was truly scared. But of what? The NID?

She cautiously poked her head over the bushes and peered out at the road. She could hear the sound of an engine, maybe even more than one. The sound got louder as they approached. She ducked down below the bush as the headlights lit up the section of road by their hiding spot. She watched through the branches as two huge, black Hummers and a camouflage colored army truck rumbled past. She saw the logo on the side of lone of the Hummers, and her stomach twisted in fear, her heart pounding.

They were the NID. And, to make matters worse, the three vehicles stopped not fifty feet down the road. The doors of the three vehicles opened, and men poured out, then gathered together in the middle of the road. They were dressed like the military, not to mention armed like the military, from what she could see.

An older looking man in a black suit and tie addressed them, and Maria strained to hear what he was saying.

"Alright, men, this is a grab-and-go mission. The girl, Maria Carter, is on the run with an alien, and was last seen in this general area by one of our satellites. You are to find them, and bring them back to headquarters. Go!" He barked. The men slowly started to fan out into the woods, away from them. But soon they'd turn around and go the opposite direction, toward them.

Maria swore silently and looked at Selmak. "What do we do? Run?" She covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to shriek.

No, they will see us, he wrote. He quickly looked around. They are looking for us on the ground. Try climbing a tree, very high. They will not be looking for us up there.

Maria admired him, once again, for being able to stay so calm in dangerous situations. She nodded, then motioned for him to get back in the backpack. He did, and she zipped it up as quietly as possible. Then she put it on, still kneeling. She looked around for a tree she could climb easily. It was almost too dark to see.

She spotted a tall cypress tree not too far away. She crawled until she was right beside the trunk, and she slowly stood up, carefully to keep the trunk between her and the men.

She hadn't climbed a tree in years, she thought, slowly reaching up and grabbing the lowest branch. She hoped she could still climb as well as she used to. She braced one foot against the trunk, then put her other foot above it, using the friction to push herself up, then she swung herself over another branch, so she wound up sitting on it. So far, so good, she thought.

Before she moved again, she glanced at the NID men They were still heading away from them. She stood up on the branch, holding on to the surrounding branches for balance. She needed to get much higher up. She was only about five feet from the ground. So she started to climb, careful to use only the branches that she was sure was strong enough to take her weight. She figured she needed to get at least three-fourths up the tree before she stopped. It was a good thing she wasn't afraid of heights, she thought.

Suddenly, a large twig snapped off the branch she was standing on, and she froze, her head ducked down. But nobody seemed to hear. A few excruciatingly long moments later, she sighed quietly in relief, and continued her climb.

Finally, she came to a stop, and rested on a sturdy looking, thick branch. She started to lean against the trunk, then remembered Selmak was still in the backpack and immediately sat up. She had almost crushed him!

She took off her backpack carefully and, setting it in front of her on the branch between her knees, unzipped it quietly. Selmak poked his head out, looked around for a moment, then looked at her. He cocked his head to the side, and Maria figured he had a question.

"I think we're okay here, for now. Do you think we should go higher up?" She whispered.

Selmak shook his head, then cocked it to the side again, which meant she hadn't answered his question. She wished that there was something he could write on, but there wasn't, unless he wanted to spell it out with leaves. But that would be too risky.

"Are you trying to ask how high we are? Or how long are we going to be up here? If it's the first question, stay upright. It it's the second question, go back down inside the backpack." And if it was neither...? Maria was out of ideas.

Selmak stayed where he was, his head no longer cocked to the side. So he meant the first question. Maria looked down at the ground, trying to estimate.

"I don't know, maybe about twenty-five to thirty feet, I guess. Are you going to go back to sleep?" Maria was tired, and hoped she could sleep without falling out of the tree, or being seen.

Selmak nodded, and sank down into the backpack. He looked up at her as she zipped up the backpack all the way, except for a small opening so he could breath. He didn't look happy at being shut up.

"Sorry," she explained, patting one side of the backpack lightly. " I know you don't like it in there, but if we have to move fast, I don't want you to fall out." She heard a cross between a growl and a hissing noise come from Selmak.

"Fine," she said, too tired to bother being patient. "Be ungrateful. See if I care." With that, she hung the backpack on another branch, out of sight from the searchers. She stretched her legs out, slumped against the trunk, pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head, crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and waited for sleep to come.

Samantha's point of view:

Samantha watched to see what Garshaw's, Martouf's, and her father's reaction would be as General Hammond explained the news of Maria and Selmak, and the NID to them.

All three Tok'ra looked extremely surprised, and Jacob looked worried, more than the others, for obvious reasons. Garshaw spoke first.

"How viable is this information, General Hammond? We cannot just run off, only to find it was a false lead. There is no time for that, not with this NID involved."

"I received a call from the President confirming Samantha Carter's story. Maria Carter found Selmak, and we can be pretty sure that they're trying to make their way here. That's the good news. The bad news is, as you know, that the NID is after them both."

"And how would Maria get here? It is a long way from your home, correct?" Martouf spoke next.

"She took her bike, a man-powered mode of transportation," Samantha explained. "And, yes, it is a long way to get here. Twenty-five miles. What makes it worse is the terrain. It's uneven and hilly around the mountain area."

"Wow. Tough kid." Colonel O'Neil stated, leaning back in his chair, relaxed as usual.

"I know she is," Jacob finally spoke. "She's a Carter." He stated proudly. He turned to General Hammond. "George, I know it goes against every rule here, but I need to join the search teams," he was about to go on when General Hammond interrupted him.

"I insist on it, Jacob. I'd do the same for my granddaughters." General Hammond spoke to all three Tok'ra. "All three of you may go. You'll join SG-1 in the search in exactly fifteen minutes."

Her father looked almost like he couldn't believe his ears. He'd been expecting an argument over it.

"Thanks George," he said. The two men shook hands.

"Yes, thank you very much General Hammond, and Samantha Carter," Garshaw spoke.

Samantha smiled at her. "Anytime," she said. She saw Martouf smile, as well.

"Dismissed." General Hammond told told them. Everyone stood up to prepare for the search.

Martouf walked over to Samantha, smiling. As he reached her, his head dropped, so Lantash, his symbiote, was in control.

"Captain Carter, it's good to have a chance to speak with you. And I must say, it is truly a remarkable coincidence that your sister was the one to find Selmak."

Sam nodded. " Yeah, it is. I guess it's a small world after all." She always wanted to say that.

"I do not understand what you mean," Lantash looked confused.

"Oh," Samantha tried to think of a way to explain it, but couldn't. Where was Danial and his many explanations for things when she needed him?

"That's a little hard to explain." Lantash left it at that and changed the subject.

"What is your sister's age? General Hammond did not say," he asked.

"She's sixteen," Samantha answered.

Lantash nodded, thinking about something.

General Hammond called out, "Five minutes, people."

Samantha had gotten prepared as soon as she arrived at the base a couple of hours ago, so she just had to wait for everyone else to get ready.

Lantash ducked his head again, giving Martouf control. He smiled at her.

"Don't worry, Captain Carter. I'm sure we will find your sister, and Selmak. Although, Lantash is worried for them, because of this NID."

"Me too," she admitted, glad she wasn't the only one worried.

Martouf was about to say something, but everyone was filing back into the room, and General Hammond entered.

Samantha noticed how tired the General looked, not to mention everyone else. They'd gotten no sleep that night.

General Hammond spoke.

"If everyone is ready, I suggest that we move out immediately. We can't afford to waste any more time." With that, everyone headed out. They'd be in military trucks, with no weapons. This was a search and rescue mission.

Samantha glanced over to Garshaw, her father, and Martouf-who had gone over to them a moment ago. She noticed that Garshaw and Martouf looked almost excited at the prospect of leaving the SGC. She remembered that they'd never seen anything outside of the SGC before, and wondered what they'd think.

They took the elevator to the surface, then entered the section of the indoor parking lot where the military trucks were. Samantha, the rest of SG-1, Garshaw, Martouf, and her father all piled into one. The rest of the search teams took a few others.

When the truck engine started Garshaw and Martouf jumped. She saw that her father couldn't help but grin at their reaction.

"What is this device powered by?" Garshaw asked, as they rumbled out of the base and onto the road.

"Fossil fuels. In this case, petroleum. Also known as gasoline," Danial explained.

"Is this 'gasoline' flammable, as a mark I saw on the side of this device stated?" She pressed.

"Um, yes. That's why we use it," Danial answered. Garshaw did not look happy. Thankfully, Jacob changed the subject.

"Where's the NID searching?" He directed the question at General Hammond.

"About fifteen miles away. We're headed there now, of course. According to what the President told me, the NID satellite last spotted Maria in that general area, before it lost the signal."

Her father nodded, thinking.

"Why do they get a satellite?" Colonel O'Neil half-asked, half-whined. He was completely relaxed in his seat, with his legs stretched out in front of him, his head leaning back, eyes shut. When no one answered him, he opened one eye and looked at Samantha.

She sighed. "They have a lot more money than we do, Sir," she stated the obvious.

Satisfied that someone had answered him, Colonel O'Neil shut his one open eye.

It was almost dawn by then. Everyone was tired, and had a lot to think about, so Samantha wasn't surprised when no one spoke again for the rest of the ride.

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