Hi all! First new fic in a while, and it's probably one that's been done before (though if it has, I've never seen one).

This story will focus on the feelings of the extended SG1 and SGA teams upon learning of the existence of the Stargate. For those characters whose discovery of the gate was shown in the shows, I've opted to extend those scenes slightly, and for the characters who have always known about the Stargate, I've put together chapters in which they contemplate life without the Stargate, or contemplate their feelings regarding the Tau'ri.

Each piece is written in the first person, and each chapter will focus on a different character.

Prologue: Teal'c

August 1997

The look of wonder on their faces is not one that I am accustomed to.

I am used to scared eyes as we would take humans to their new lives in our work camps, or indifference as we would travel to another world to visit a market.

But these Tau'ri are new to the Galaxy. New to the Chapa'ai and the life it entails. For so long now the Chapa'ai has just been there, engrained in our lives. The thought of it not dominating every aspect of who we are is as alien to me as my very existence is to theirs.

A journey through a wormhole to another world is no more exciting to the average Jaffa than a ride in one of their automobiles is to them.

I watch in mild amusement at their awestruck expressions every time the Stargate is activated.

They have decided that they understand the awesome power of this device, and it shows, the atmosphere of importance and pride in the work intensifying every time the Gate Room is bathed in the glow of the puddle.

I remember feeling that myself, though it was many years ago when my father regaled to me the story of how the Chapa'ai came to be, and I was first forced to imagine my life without the Chapa'ai present.

In Tau'ri terms, I would have been no more than nine years of age. Moska had completed five turns of our sun in my lifetime, and one evening my father had taken me to small grassy hill an hour's walk from home.

We knelt on the ground, dry from the fine summer weather, and chewed on pastries and dried fruits from the market. My father had brought a special treat with him – the Nectar of the Gods. It had been a gift from the great God Cronus to his most loyal Jaffa. A sweet drink made from a plant that could not be grown on Moska, but from the planet Chulak which was under the control of another God – Apophis.

The drink was highly prized and a favourite of Cronus himself. Whenever my father led his troops to victory, a small amount was gifted to him. He would normally share this with my mother, but I had watched with some amusement as he had insisted he had not received any for his service this time.

I giggled as I noticed him sneak it out of the house along with a satchel of foods my mother had bought at the market to celebrate my father's return.

We talked about many things as dusk descended. We discussed my schoolwork, my friends, the girl three houses along whom my father had noticed me gazing at, and many other things.

But as the sky grew black, and the great silken swathe of our galaxy arced from horizon to horizon, my father directed my attention to a point of light like no other I had seen.

I was never the best child in my school, but I did not lack intelligence, and I thought I understood the night sky well. My father had taught me my constellations, and had taught me which stars in the sky had Stargates. He'd explained that the moving points of light were our great ships, pledged to serve Cronus, and to defend us against the other gods that would seek to conquer us.

But this mark in the sky was different.

"It is a comet," my father smiled, answering my silent question.

"A comet?"

"It's a big ball of rock and ice that circles our sun much like our planet does, but it's turns are like an oval, rather than a circle."

I nodded at my father's explanation, but I wondered what made the stunning tail that streaked behind it.

"Because it's turn is oval, it's longer," he continued, "it takes it further from our sun and into the coldness of deep space to where the gas and ice planets are. When it gets closer, it is unaccustomed to our sun's heat, and the ice evaporates into space, giving the comet it's tail."

I nodded once more, my eyes fixed on this object that was like no other I had ever seen.

"I tell you of this comet as it is very special, and your uncle was there not long ago."

"Uncle Tor'nel went to that comet?"

"Yes. He left before the Comet's tail erupted once more. The Comet has many precious elements that our people need to thrive: Gold and Silver for barter or investment; and Naquadah to keep us strong and to make our forces the mightiest in our stars; to name but a few. Without the great God Cronus, we would never have known what a comet was, nor it's value to us, nor would have the means to get there to mine it.

"We have a God who loves us and nurtures us. He walks among us when we need him most, and he teaches us to be strong so that none may challenge us."

I thought about my father's statement for a moment. Never once had I truly thought about what Cronus meant to us, but in that moment my father's assessment rang true, and I felt great pride that our God would guide us in such a manner.

"Now son, I would like you to imagine our world, with no ships, and no Chapa'ai."

That statement pulled at something within my young soul.

"Impossible," I stated.

"For some it is the case," my father said, "There are worlds out there with no ships, and no Chapa'ai. They may look at the stars, but they will never understand them. They will look at a comet, and have no idea what it is. They will live in isolation on their worlds, with no connection to their other brothers and sisters in the Great Black. They cannot possibly live rich full lives like we do. Thanks to Cronus, our lives are full of purpose and full of joy. We reap the bounty of what he has provided us. You would not even have your Nectar, or your supper without him."

I looked at the satchel my father had carried our food in, and it struck me that all the food we consumed had indeed come from the other worlds under Cronus' protection.

"I took you out here tonight to show you the truth of who were are," my father said, a broad grin on his face, "we are so lucky and we must remember that. You must never become jaded by the awe of it all."

My father's words have stuck with me throughout my years. I understood and agreed with all he had said, until that fateful night, when my father would have no more words for me. When our 'God' killed him in a sadistic bout of childish rage, over the loss of an unwinnable battle. My faith in the Goa'uld was dented, and that faith would only proceed to wither and die within me as I grew, aided by talks with my trainer, the former first Prime of Apophis, Bra'tac, as he too had come to doubt the Gods.

But the rest of my father's message still stayed with me. Despite our lowly position, the Jaffa were indeed blessed to have a life in the stars. Blessed to know the riches of other worlds. Never having to ponder the seemingly all-consuming Tau'ri question of whether or not we are alone in this life.

The thought of not knowing the stars was and still is chilling to me, so I watch these Tau'ri closely, as they truly embrace the worlds for the first time. I will remain their ally for so long as I feel they can help my people end the oppression of the Goa'uld, and I will guide them in their travels to these 'strange new worlds' to ensure that I never become jaded with this life, nor ignorant. These Tau'ri know well what a comet is, but their gods did not tell them – they worked it out in their own time and they earned their discovery. Most Tau'ri have religious faith in some way, but they no longer wait for their deities to impart knowledge to them – they seek it out in their own time. Scientific discovery is their truth, and I must endeavour to share this truth with my people.