Author Note: Many thanks to lilnudger82, Harute9595 and anon guest for leaving reviews as well as to everyone who favorited and/or put the story on their alert.

I also got a private message pointing out a major mistake I made. To quote: "A comet would destroy the planet if it hit, I think the word you wanted was meteor". They were of course right insofar as regards the wrong use of the word 'comet.' Upon checking the issue again, I found out that a 'meteor' disintegrates in the atmosphere, never reaching ground. The ones that do touch down on earth are called 'meteorites.' I went back and edited the story summary, prologue and first chapter. However, I decided to leave the story's title as it is because it's spiffy as well as ambiguous. And Jack made the same mistake I made. ;p

Enough of the scientific babble. I present you the second chapter. Enjoy!

– chapter two –

On The Hunt

As soon as Sam ended the last phone call, SG-1 headed back toward the car. This time, Daniel sat behind the wheel. "All right, where to?" he asked after starting the motor and setting the vehicle in motion.

Sam powered up her laptop. "We should check out the footprints on the street this one person mentioned, see if they match with the ones we found at the impact site." She opened the internet. "Where did you say you read this?" Daniel gave her the address and Sam then quickly found the relevant entry which made her pensive. She pulled up a map of the area. "There are four highways through the city. Which should we take?"

"Isn't there anything in the local news about a highway blocked or something?" Daniel mused.

"Haven't thought of that." She quickly pulled up the traffic information for the area. "Found it. Looks like they closed off quite a bit."

"Then we check this one out," Daniel stated the obvious. "You have to direct me."

Sam zoomed into the map. "Turn left at the next intersection, then keep to the right. The highway should be signposted."

They drove in silence for several moments until they reached the on-ramp. Then Teal'c offered, "I am not certain it has any relevance, but I just remembered some old lore that has been told from father to son and mother to daughter among the Jaffa."

Daniel glanced at his friend via the rear mirror. "Like the lore your people knew about the Ancients? Those proved true so why not this one either?"

Sam nodded, still busy researching the strange phenomenon of the meteorites. "If we learned anything at all over the last years, it is to never dismiss folklore as something unimportant."

"I agree, Colonel Carter," Teal'c said solemnly. "The following story I heard only once as a very small child and never again afterward; I can barely recall it. However, what I do remember is that there is a region in space that even the Goa'uld avoid – and not because it was once Ancient territory, because it wasn't. Apparently, even the Ancient's avoided this area. They call it No Man's Land. It is said that this area is inhabited by beings that no weapon can kill."

Hearing this, Sam's head jerked up. She stared at their alien friend. "They cannot be killed?" she asked, incredulous.

"That is what I remember," Teal'c replied, "but I cannot say whether there is any truth behind this lore – or if it has any significance to our current investigation. As common with our legends, they are only told to young Jaffa to be careful about where to go and what to do."

Daniel pursed his lips while overtaking a truck. "I'd like to presume this lore isn't just an old wife's tale but the truth and has enormous significance to what we're checking out."

"Then the jackpot question would be: How do you battle beings that cannot be killed by weaponry?" Sam leaned against her seat's backrest and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I simply cannot believe that there is nothing that can't kill such creatures. The Asgards were able to create technology to eject a Goa'uld from its host, and the Ancients developed the gate system. There must be at least one weapon that can at least seriously wound someone. Anything else is scientifically not explainable."

Before the others had a chance to reply, they encountered a police block. Daniel drove to the side and parked, then he and Sam got out while Teal'c was to wait in the car. Several police men were busy redirecting the traffic, and two tried to keep onlookers at bay. When Sam and Daniel neared one of them, he turned around to shoo them away as well, but Sam showed him her Air Force ID and briefly explained that they had been sent by the government for investigations. Eventually, they were let through.

It became quickly obvious why the road was blocked. The asphalt was dented in regular intervals by what appeared to be giant footsteps. Neither Sam nor Daniel needed to say it aloud that although the shape of the footstep wasn't exactly the same as the one they had found at the impact site, the size definitely was.

Before they could become engrossed in their investigations, a police man approached them. "Sir, ma'am," he said, "may I ask what you're doing here?"

Sam showed her ID again. "The Pentagon sent us," she explained. It was only half the truth, but details weren't important. "What exactly happened here?"

The man shrugged. "That's what we're trying to find out. We asked the population to contact us when they witnessed something, and there've been some pointers, but if you ask me, it all sounds like a prank someone's playing on us. They say they've seen a giant chased by a helicopter." He laughed before shaking his head incredulously. "As if giants exist."

Sam and Daniel shared a look that spoke volumes. Then she inquired, "Anything else or are these… dents all there is?"

Shrugging again, the police officer answered, "Someone reported a wrecked SUV further south from here, in the industrial area, just below the highway bridge. As it is off the road and not interrupting any traffic, we've been concentrating on this block."

"Then you probably won't mind if we check this out," Sam surmised with a winning smile.

The police man shook his head once. "Of course not, though I doubt the Pentagon's been interested in a wrecked car."

"You would be amazed what the Pentagon can be interested in," Daniel muttered under his breath, loud enough for only Sam to hear him. She sent him a brief grin. After taking some quick pictures of the footprints, they said their thanks and goodbyes.

Back in the car, Daniel followed the redirected traffic route until they found the sign pointing toward the industrial area. On their way there, they passed by the local football team stadium. Daniel would have driven on – no time for sightseeing – but Teal'c speaking up, "Colonel Carter, Daniel Jackson," made him stop.

Sam turned in her seat to look at him. "What is it?"

The Jaffa pointed out of the window. "Over there, by the building."

With the traffic going strong, they had no chance to get a good look at whatever Teal'c had noticed while moving. Therefore, they parked the car in the next gap, got out and crossed the street and almost immediately noticed what their friend had seen:

Just across from where they were parking, the letters on the roof of a car dealership were half demolished, and in front of the building, there was a sizeable dent in the pavement. Daniel whistled at the damage done. "If you ask me, it looks like something heavy dropped onto the concrete."

Sam looked up to the top of the building. "I agree, and my guess is that whoever or whatever created that crater is also responsible for the broken letters." She glanced back down and pointed to a dent outside the crater. "There's a footstep. It's smaller than the ones in the field and on the highway, but looks quite similar in form."

"So we have several aliens," Daniel concluded quietly while looking around to make sure they weren't overheard. "One crashed into the field, one wracked this garage which was shown in the news feed of last night's late news, and the third dented this pavement. So far, one meteorite equals an alien. Question is: Where did the fourth come down?"

"Beats me." Sam turned left. "Let's check out the stadium for now. Whatever dropped onto the pavement came over the roof. And behind the dealership is only the stadium."

They were lucky: the stadium was unlocked. In front of the main entrance stood a small truck and they encountered its owner inside the tunnel that led into the heart of the sports arena, deep in discussion with another man who might have been the manager. Not wanting to intrude or being thrown out in case they should not be there, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c climbed into the stands and stopped in the shadows of the overhang. From there they had a good look around. It only took them one sweep around the grandstand to notice the damage. "The meteorite apparently barreled into the wall up there," Sam said and pointed the other two, "then crashed into the playing field." As far as she could see from where they stood, Sam measured the impact crater's depth to be equal to the one in the field outside the town. "I'd say these meteorites were not only quite sizeable and heavy, they came in hot."

Daniel pulled out the camera and shot a few pictures to document their findings. That was when the stadium manager came upon them. "I hope you have permission for these photographs," he snapped, clearly not in the mood to be welcoming.

Retreat seemed in order. "We were already leaving," Sam hastily said – though not without brandishing her Air Force ID – before hurrying out, closely followed by the other two. Thankfully, the manager didn't pursue them.

"Where to now?" Daniel asked while quickly taking a few more pictures of the crater in the pavement and destroyed letters on the rooftop of the car dealership.

"Industrial area to check out the SUV the police man mentioned."

A little while later, they stood in front of the wrecked car beneath the bridge. "Wow," Daniel said when seeing the damage. "Someone's been pretty thorough with this one."

Sam took a few pictures of the site, license tag included, then pulled out her cell and called Major Davies. In the meantime, Daniel and Teal'c closed in and properly examined the vehicle. "Looks like something very powerful tore the roof off," Daniel noted. He glanced up at the Jaffa. "Maybe it really is Nick's giants."

"Maybe, though I doubt it," Teal'c offered.

Daniel could only raise his eyebrows in surprise at his friend before both their attentions turned toward Sam when she barked into her cell, "Sector what? Say that again." There was a moment silence, then she said, "Never heard of it," and waved both over before putting the call on speaker.

"There's not much info available," Major Davies was saying, "only that it had been founded a century ago."

Daniel and Sam shared a look. "What about their occupation?" he asked.

"There's nothing in the files except something about 'experimental development.' Quite fishy if you ask me."

This caused another raised eyebrows. Daniel mused aloud, "Sounds like they're just what we're looking for."

Sam nodded. "Major, can you find out where their headquarters are located?"

"Give me a moment, ma'am." The major put the phone aside and left them waiting for a few minutes. There was some indefinable noise in the background. Eventually, Major Davies returned and said, "They're located out of Las Vegas, at Hoover Dam. As far as I could find out, access is granted only to a select few."

They sighed, almost in unison. "Leave that to us," Sam said, feeling optimistic. "Thanks for the help so far."

"Anytime, ma'am."

They ended the call, but Sam was already dialing up another number. "O'Neill," came from the still activated speakers.

"Sir, this is Carter. We need access to Hoover Dam."

Silence. Sam, Daniel and Teal'c shared confused and worried looks.

After what felt like eternity, O'Neill asked, "Why are you calling me? Can't Major Davies help?"

"Not with this, sir." She briefly explained what else they had found since the report earlier in the morning, among it what Major Davies had just told them about Sector Seven. "If this branch is secret enough that only a handful of people know about their existence, outside of Sector Seven I mean, then we need someone with contacts to the White House to get us access to Hoover Dam. And with all respect to Major Davies, he's not ranked high enough for that."

O'Neill sighed. "You convinced me. Let me see what I can do, but it may take a while." He cut the connection before Sam could say something else.

While they waited for the return call, they finished inspecting the broken SUV, then headed back to their car. They had just gotten inside when O'Neill called. "Little afterthought: While I'm trying to reach the SecDef or President, you could already head to Nellis. Makes it time-efficient."

"Thanks, Jack!" Daniel called before Sam could reply.

Putting away her cell, Sam concluded, "All right, back to the airport. I doubt we'd get close enough to that wrecked garage. And for pictures we can always fall back to the news feed."

The return drive took about thrice as long as in the night; had the streets been busy before, now they were literally cramped. They saw an exceptionally high amount of radio and TV station cars on the road. Most of the time, they stood in a slow-going jam, and not even with the GPS they were able to find a side track that was less busy. That and not having had a proper sleep in over twenty-four hours didn't improve their moods at all. "God, one might think there's a festival or something going on with that many people on the road," Sam grouched when they were moving forward a few inches after having stood still for about fifteen minutes.

Instead of Daniel or Teal'c replying to that, Sam's cell rang. "Carter," she barked into it, without checking the ID.

"Is it just me or are my calls that unpleasant to you?" came Major General O'Neill's voice. "I can call later if now doesn't work."

Sam sighed deeply and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, sir. I'm just frustrated. We've been stuck in traffic for more than an hour and made only half a mile in that time."

"Ouch, that sounds exciting." Anyone not knowing the general might have taken offense at his words, but after seven years of working side by side, Sam knew what he meant with what he said. "Well, while you were busy waiting, I got the Pentagon on the phone. They had no clue what I was talking about," he reported before musing aloud, "Maybe I didn't explain it right."

Sam couldn't help but smile. "Only a handful know, sir," she reminded him.

There came a sound like someone slapping their forehead with their palm. "I knew I was forgetting something…" He paused and Sam incredulously shook her head at his antics; trust the general to crack a joke at the most inopportune time. Then O'Neill continued, "Anyway, they said SecDef Keller is too busy with the aftereffects of the attack on Soccent to be handing out tourist passes for Hoover Dam. Therefore, just go there, show your badge – and get in. Worked before."

She raised an eyebrow. "This situation is not like others before, sir. What if we're held back this time?" Before she got an answer, though, the connection started to make white noise before it was cut completely. "Sir?" Sam asked, knowing it was futile.

"Colonel Carter, what happened?" Teal'c queried from the backseat.

Confused, Sam glanced at her cell. "Connection's been lost. Weird though; battery shows as fully charged."

"I doubt it's your cell that's malfunctioning," Daniel spoke up. He pointed at the radio – which was emitting the same white noise Sam had heard on her cell. "It went dead at approximately the same moment the call got cut."

"Hm." She powered up her laptop; it still worked. However, she no longer got an internet connection. "Okay… looks like it's a black-out. Locally? Or country-wide? And what do you think caused that?"

Daniel shrugged. "Beats me, but I'd bet a year's salary that it isn't Nick's giants."

They sat in silence for a few moment, then Sam decided, "All right, we head back to the airport and hope the captain can fly us to Nellis. From there we go directly to Hoover Dam."