PROLOGUE
Another explosion on the surface could be felt in the bunker. Everyone inside knew that the wraith would be coming soon. The time to act was now.
"My lady you must activate the weapon before it is too late. The wraith are quickly approaching and will be here soon. They have already broken thorough our defenses and will reach the bunker before your sister returns. You must activate the weapon now! " her military advisor said.
"I will not activate the weapon now General Kento! You know I can not activate it until my sister arrives and we have not received word from the Lanteans that our families have made it safely aboard their ship." Maihari walked over to her friend and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You know as well as I do my friend that if I activate the weapon now that it will only be at half strength and will not last as long without her. Not only that but, anyone left on the surface or in orbit will die once the weapons is activated. To calm your mind please sound the retreat and have all our people report to their assigned shelters. Once we have received reports that everyone is safely inside the shelters I will activate the weapon with or with out my sister."
Maihari could see the tension leave the man's body at the sound of her words. He walked over to the counsel and gave the order for everyone to retreat and head for their assigned shelters. As the order went out she could hear the word spread over her ear piece. The screen on his counsel started to light up as the shelters filled. As the doors on the shelters closed and became secure they lit green on the screen. Finally all the lights on the screen were green letting him know all shelters were secure.
"My lady all reports are in. Everyone is in the shelters." General Kento said.
"No word yet from my sister or the Lanteans?" Maihari asked with sadness in her voice.
"No my Lady. What will you do?" General Kento asked.
Maihari took a deep breath and looked at her friend. She knew her duty was to her people. She and her sister had been taught that before family, before love, came the duty to their people.
"I will activate the device and release the weapon. Please-" her words were cut off by the bunker doors opening. Everyone pulled their weapons out and aimed at the door thinking it was the wraith.
"Weapons down everyone. It's just me and Namora." All weapons were lowered as Maihari ran to her sister Niya and Namora their spiritual leader. She put her forehead to her sisters and then to Namora's. She looked down and saw blood coming from a wound on her sister's side.
"What happened to you? I thought the route to the Lanteans was secure? Did everyone make it to the ship alright?"Maihari asked. Panic gripped her heart at the thought of her children and her husband dying at the hands of the wraith.
"Take comfort sister. They are well. But, I believe it is as you feared. We have been betrayed by someone. There were only a few of us who knew we were going to meet the Lanteans and what route we were taking. Our party was ambushed. That is how I received this injury. We were able to get everyone aboard the ship before the wraith took any more lives. Our husbands did not want to leave but I advised them this for the best. It took great convincing to have them leave with the Lanteans. I had to remind them that they and the children would be much safer among their own people. Since ours can no longer be trusted. The Lanteans would welcome our family with open arms since we married to two of their own. Seeing that they could not argue with my logic and not wanting to chance another ambush they quickly boarded. There ship was attacked as they left orbit but, the ship was able to break through and get away before it sustained anymore damage. Now, you and I have a task to complete or all this death and destruction will be for nothing. Come help me. My strength is leaving me." Niya said
Maihairi grabbed her sister's arm and helped her walk to the counsel with Namora close behind. They walked over to counsel where General Kento stood. Looking at the screen and reconfirming that all the shelters were secured they began entering the code that would activate the weapon.
She turned to General Kento and watched as he entered his code. They all turned and watched as the back wall of the bunker opened up and two stasis chambers emerged.
The two sisters looked at each other with great sadness in their eyes. They knew this would be the last time they would see each other. The last time they would hear the other's voice. They would never see their children grow. Never know what became of them. Each sister squeezed each other's hand for strength to make it through what needed to be done to save their people.
"Namora, we are ready." Namora stepped forward to the sisters and placed her hand on each sisters head. She said a silent prayer asking the ancestors to give each sister strength for their journey ahead and asked the ancestors to watch over them so they could protect their people.
The two sisters turned to each other and again placed their foreheads together. Tears were coming down their faces.
"I love you Maihari. I never told you that enough while we were growing up. I was always jealous of you when we were children because you were first born. I thought father and mother loved you best. It wasn't until this moment that I know that I wasted much of my life hating you when you never gave me cause to. You are my leader, my sister, and I am a better person for having known you. Please forgive for any pain that I have caused you." Niya said.
"Niya...there is nothing to forgive. You are no longer the wild spirit you once were in your youth. You have channeled that energy you had into your fighting and have become a great warrior. I have loved you from the day you were brought into this world and I will continue too in the here after. I am honored to share my fate with you." Maihari said smiling at her sister.
There was another loud explosion on the surface and the knew that there was no more time for words.
"Come Niya. We must enter the stasis chambers now!" Maihari grabbed her sister and placed her in one chamber first. She then laid down in her own stasis chamber. Namora approached the two and placed a stone on each women's head.
" I need both you to concentrate like I have taught you in the past." She watched as both women closed their eyes and began to concentrate as they had been taught too so many years ago. Namora watched as the stones started to glow. When they became a bright fiery red she knew that the transfer of their energy was complete. The stone contained each women's memory. In essence, the stones contained their souls.
Namora removed the stones from each womens head. She called out to them. "Maihari, Niya, can you both hear me?"
Both women's eyes shot open. Their eyes were white which let Namora know that they were still in a trance like state.
"We hear you Namora. Is the transfer complete?" they said in unison.
"Yes, it is complete. I will take the stones and place them in the temple once the weapon has been deployed. Once done we will revive you both and place you back into your bodies."
"Namora, General Kento, once the weapon is deployed you will not be able to revive us. Niya's wound is too severer. The weapon will have used all of our life force once deployed. We will not have enough left afterwards to repair the damage to her body. As you know, the process is very draining on the body and demands great concentration so we do not loose the connection between us. Her body is already weakening and we are already loosing the connection. Once it is lost we will not be able to find our way back to our bodies." the sister said in unison.
"Meaning you will die once the weapon is activated?" General Kento asked through a lump in his throat.
"Yes." again in unison. "Do not grieve for us General. We have been taught that the lives and glory of
our people come before all. We are honored to give our lives to save our people. Do not mourn us. Celebrate and remember the sacrifices made today by all that lived and died. That is how you could best honor our deaths. One last thing General. The effects of the weapon will not be infinite like we thought."
"Why? All our test showed the effects would last for many generations." General Kento said.
"That is correct but, that was when we both were healthy. Now since one of us is not, the time has been cut drastically. The weapon's effect will only last for 10,000 years and then will shut down. Leaving our people once again vulnerable to wraith attacks."
"What will our people do when this happens? You will not be here to activate the weapons again? Who will they turn to for help?" Namora asked scared for the future generations of her people.
"When this happens. Our people must go to Atlantis and contact the Lanteans. There they will find the descendants of our children. Once found, they should be given the stones that possess our essences so we can guide them on their journey towards the power that is locked inside of them. They will also find out who betrayed us."
Niya started to cough and started to taste blood in her mouth. Due to the connection the two shared Maihari tasted the blood in her mouth as well.
"General Kento, Namora, we do not have anymore time. Close the chambers, get your shelter, and we will activate the weapon. You have 2 minutes. Glory and Honor to the Naharran people." they said.
General Kento closed the chambers and grabbed Namora's hand. "Come we must leave." As they two ran towards the shelter that was close by Namora wept for the two women that she would never see again. She helped raise each girl from the day they were born and now it felt like she was loosing her own children. Once safely inside the shelter. General Kento looked at Namora and felt her pain. He too had known the women since they both were brought into this world. He had become like a second father to Niya. It was her loss that would stay with him the most. He watched as Namora wept for them.
"Do not cry for them. They will be honored for generations to come. I will see to that. They will never be forgotten and who ever betrayed them will be brought to justice" General Kento said.
Namora looked at the two stones she had in her hand and watched them glow from the essences that were inside of them. "No General, they will not be forgotten because they will always be with us" she said holding the stones close to her heart. "But I fear that we will never know who betrayed them. Not in this life time at least. It will be their descendants that will find the traitors and bring them to justice."
Maihari and Niya looked at each other through the glass of the stasis chambers one last time. They used what little energy they had left to scan the planet. Once they found that all their people were no longer on the surface. They began to open their minds. Concentrating their thoughts on one thing. Killing all wraith on the surface and in orbit around the planet. Their thoughts turned into a huge ball of energy that was filled with their life force. They released the energy and it left the bunker like a wave. Killing all wraith in it's path. With each wraith death the wave grew. It spread like a huge tidal wave across the planet. When all the wraith on the planet were dead. The sister re-directed the wave towards the hive ship. The energy shot up towards the hive ship. The hive ship blew up and the pieces plunged towards the atmosphere where it started to burn up finally crashing into the ocean never to be seen again. Feeling their life force almost gone. They used what little energy they had and created a shield over the planet using their life force and the atmosphere of the planet. Any wraith trying to enter the atmosphere or come in by using the gate would die instantly.
"Hear us ancestors. We beg of you with our dying breath to protect our people. Watch over our families and let them know that we did this for them so they could live another day. We ask that you avenge our death. Help our descendants find out who betrayed us. Glory and Honor to Naharra."