Author's Note: Yes, Sam's pregnant, but she's far enough along now that it's safe for her to go through the gate without hurting the baby.

OOOOOOOOOO

Had he harbored any lingering doubts that they'd been messing with his head and making everything up, Ian's doubts would have fizzled the next moment. He stepped from a concrete bunker – basically – into a wormhole and a moment later came out in open air that was fresh and looking at a field that was flat and green, and a sky that was as blue as any he'd ever seen. Since he knew it was after 8PM and that it had been dark out when they'd gone into the mountain, he knew they weren't in Colorado anymore. When he saw what looked like two faintly gleaming moons and who knew what else up in the blue sky, he was also fairly certain they were no longer on Earth.

He stopped short the moment he stepped out of the gate, and was promptly run into by Teal'c, who had followed him through. The Jaffa's bulk was plenty to knock him down, but Teal'c's reflexes were better than that, and he caught Ian before he could go tumbling. Which was just as well, because Ian was so busy staring at what was in front of him that he wouldn't have even noticed if someone had come up and chopped off his ear.

The field in front of him was filled with… people. All wearing odd clothing and more than a few of them wrestling around, or beating at each other with sticks, or standing off to the side watching them carefully and holding weapons similar to the staff weapon Teal'c was carrying. More importantly, they all looked like Teal'c – in mannerisms, at least – and Ian's eyes were sharp enough to see that most of them looked to have symbols similar to the one on Teal'c's forehead n their own – although there were different patterns besides Teal'c's.

"Where are we?" Ian asked, as a form separated itself from one of the bands that were sparring with the sticks and headed their way.

"Chulak," Teal'c said, smiling at the person heading their way. "This is where I am from."

"Where you're from?" Ian repeated, looking at the Jaffa. "You're not from Earth?"

"I am not."

Ian looked over at Jack, who was watching his reaction carefully.

"Are you?"

Sam smiled.

"Teal'c's a Jaffa, Ian," Sam said. "A race of beings who are – for the most part – warriors."

"Yeah… I can see that…"

Ian reached out and poked Jack, though, slowly.

O'Neill scowled and moved to the side, rubbing his arm.

"Stop that. I told you I'm from Chicago."

"Teal'c!"

The form had arrived, and turned out to be an old man with a scarred face and a thing on his forehead just like Teal'c's. His dad, maybe? Ian wondered, turning his attention from Jack to the newcomer – as did the others, although Sam was grinning at Jack, who was still rubbing his arm.

"Master Bra'tac." Teal'c held out his arm, and Ian watched as the old man clasped it warmly, grabbing his forearm and not his hand in a traditional handshake. There was a quiet moment between the two, but it passed quickly, and the old man turned to Jack, and held his hand out, and as Ian watched Jack took it in a similar fashion and with just as much of a smile as Teal'c had had.

"Human! It is good to see you, O'Neill," Bra'tac said, smiling at Sam and Daniel before turning his attention to Ian, who shifted his shotgun into the crook of his arm – hunter style – and waited to see what Jack wanted from him. "Who is your young companion?"

"Master Bra'tac," Jack said formally, still grinning. "May I introduce you to Ian Brooks, cadet at our Air Force academy and roommate to Shawn."

Bra'tac nodded. He knew what an Air Force cadet was, since he had been told Jack's son was now one – and of course that was all he'd heard about from Shawn himself the many times the boy had been to visit and receive instruction from the Jaffa.

"You are welcomed here, Cadet Ian Brooks," Bra'tac said, giving the young man a formal bow, which Ian returned, feeling a little foolish.

"Thanks," Ian said, uncertainly. "You can call me Ian…"

Bra'tac nodded, and turned to Jack once more.

"This is Ian's first time through the gate, Bra'tac," Jack told him. "We wanted him to meet you and maybe see what you and your fellow Jaffa were up to." Not to mention giving him a chance to find out that there were other races in the universe. Although he didn't say that aloud.

"Ah," The Jaffa warrior turned to the cadet again, who was watching him and the people down on the field with equal interest. Not from Earth, huh? They looked human enough. They certainly seemed to move like humans, and he didn't see any tentacles or fangs. He looked over at Teal'c, and poked him in a similar fashion to the way he'd poked Jack, and Sam stifled a giggle while Bra'tac himself smiled. "You have never seen a Jaffa before?" Bra'tac asked Ian.

"I've seen Teal'c…" Ian said, trying to act a little less like the tourist he was. "I just didn't know that he was… wasn't… human."

"It's not something we like to bandy about," Jack told him, smiling slightly. "It raises a lot more questions – which we prefer to not answer."

"Yeah…" Ian nodded. "I can see why…"

"Master Bra'tac here was Teal'c's first weapons teacher," Sam said.

"And my greatest," Teal'c confirmed.

"Now I teach another generation," Bra'tac said, shrugging off the compliment as his due, and turning towards the field of sparring Jaffa. "They are the leaders of our rebellion."

"Rebellion?" Ian asked, confused.

"Kind of like in Star Wars," Jack said. "I'll explain it later…"

"I never saw Star Wars," Ian said, following Bra'tac's gaze. "What are you rebelling from, Master Bra'tac?"

"You never saw Star Wars?" Jack asked, amazed. At the same time, though, Bra'tac had turned to Ian and answered his question, which had the cadet's attention far more than Jack did.

"We rebel against the teachings of the false gods," Bra'tac said.

"False gods?" Ian repeated.

"They who would use my people as their own personal tools for bloodshed," Bra'tac said, seriously. "Under the guise of a false religion."

"Bastards…"

Bra'tac had learned that particular phrase – having heard it from Jack more than once, and he smiled at the cadet as he nodded.

"Indeed. But we fight back, now. And more come to join us every day…"

"Are these all your rebels?" Ian asked, intrigued enough with the people and the story he was hearing to be able to shrug off the fact that they weren't human. It helped that they looked human.

"There are training facilities elsewhere," Bra'tac told him. "This is where I teach, however."

"Ah."

Bra'tac watched Ian as he watched the warriors – many of them not all that much older than Ian himself, although many were also old enough to be his father or grandfather though they didn't look it.

"Would you care to try your prowess against them?" He asked, slyly. It was always good for the Jaffa to know that there were other ways of fighting in the universe, after all.

Ian turned and looked at the warriors below him, but shook his head.

"I don't like to spar against strangers," he said. "It makes for hard feelings when they get their asses kicked."

"Their asses…"

"He means he doesn't want to arouse any animosity between himself and one of your warriors if he were to beat them," Daniel said, quickly, making it sound a little less boasting than it was.

Bra'tac nodded.

"Then you may spar with me," the old warrior said, tapping his chest. "I will not… have hard feelings when I defeat you."

Ian snorted, smiling despite himself. The old guy looked pretty fit, but come on… he was old… Old, old, too, not just teasing Jack about being old, old.

"I probably shouldn't…" Ian said. It'd probably look bad if he beat up an old guy – even sparring in good fun.

"Oh, go on," Jack said, making a shooing gesture and unable to hide a slight grin of his own. Boy was Ian in for a surprise…

"You're not afraid of an old man, are you?" Bra'tac said, raising an eyebrow, almost mockingly.

And of course, that was Ian's undoing. He handed the shotgun to Teal'c, and shrugged, smiling slightly – even though he really was going to feel bad about beating the guy.

"Bring it on old man…"

Bra'tac gestured for Ian to precede him down to the grassy area where the others were sparring, and smiled at Jack as the others followed the cadet.

"He has much spirit, doesn't he?"

"Oh, yeah," Jack said. "He's oozing spirit… he just doesn't have a lot of brains. Try not to kill him, okay? I'm going to need him in one piece…"

"I shall do my best," Bra'tac promised, heading for the grass as well.