A/N: Sorry it has been so long since I posted. I have been working on this story and trying to finish another for a while now. I'm gonna try and post two chapters today to make up for my absence. Just a little warning. This chapter might be a little boring. Thanks to all those that have been reading and keeping up with this story. Take care and Happy Reading.
"Welcome to Naharra everyone." was what John heard after he stepped through the gate.
The sound of the gate deactivating behind John sent a shiver down his spine. He had heard the gate close thousands of time before but never had it sounded so final. It felt like that was the last time he would be seeing Atlantis or at least seeing it like they all are now. John couldn't shake the feeling like from this point on it would all start to go down hill.
John looked around the dimly lit room they were in and saw that it looked like they were in some of kind of hall.
"Where are we?" John asked.
"We are in the Hall of the Fallen, Colonel. Every warrior or citizen that has given their lives for the continued glory of the Naharran people has their name forever etched in stone." Tollara said.
Tollara walked over to the nearest wall and waived his hand over a device. The room suddenly became bright when the windows changed from black to translucent allowing the rays of the sun in.
John and the others now could see that the hall was actual bigger than then they originally thought.
"Please feel free to roam the hall while I see what is keeping the others who are supposed to be meeting us." Tollara said with Colar right behind him.
The sun was shining through the large glass windows in the hall. As John stepped closer to the windows to get a better look of the surroundings his eyes went up towards the sky. The sky he noticed had an eerie glow to it. It stretched out as far as his eye could see. That must be the shield he thought. It reminded him of the Aurora Borealis back on Earth. It was amazing to see the same affect during the day.
"It is beautiful." Teyla said walking up beside him.
"Yeah and kinda spooky at the same time." John said.
"Spooky?" Teyla asked not sure of the word.
"Um...scary. It's a term we use when something frightens us. Like during Halloween." John explained.
"Ah...the holiday you told me about where children and adults dress up in costume and get candy from strangers. Then return home and eat them until they get sick." Teyla said.
"That's the one. I miss that holiday and this sky would be perfect for it." John said.
"I think you miss the candy more." Teyla smiled.
"I am a big kid so of course I miss the candy. The throwing up afterward...not so much." John said.
Teyla looked out the window and noticed that they were very high above the tree line. As she looked down she couldn't see past the canopy of the trees. The foliage was very thick.
"I wonder how high we are?" Teyla asked.
"It looks like we're pretty high up." John said.
John looked over his shoulder and saw that Tollara was talking to someone through the device on the wall and it looked like he was getting upset. John nudged Teyla so she could see the meltdown Tollara was having.
"He looks very upset about something." Teyla said.
"Yeah. He looks like he's about to explode. I'm surprised he's able to talk so low. I can barely make out what he is saying." John said.
"Well what ever he is saying I am sure we will know soon enough. Where is everyone else?" Teyla asked.
"They must be looking around the hall. Let's go gather them up while Tollara's distracted." John said.
As John and Teyla walked through the hall to find the others they noticed that as they pasted by each wall it would light up and a hologram of a person would appear. The hologram said the name of the person being shown and then gave a brief history about them.
Just as Teyla and John were about to move on Ronon started walking towards them.
"You both need to follow me. There's something you both have to see." Ronon said.
"What's up big guy?" John asked.
Before Ronon could answer Rodney came up on John's radio.
"Sheppard, did Ronon find you yet?" Rodney asked.
"Yeah, he said there is something we gotta see." John said.
"Um yeah. You need to get over here now." Rodney said.
In the background John heard someone talking but couldn't make out what they were saying. The voice sounded a lot like Campbell's.
"McKay who's there with you? Is that Campbell talking?" John asked.
"Yes and no. Look you just really need to follow Ronon over here." Rodney said.
John sighed in frustration and knew that it was just better to walk over there than try to get what ever it was out of Ronon or Rodney.
"Ok, lead the way big guy." John said.
As Ronon led the way John felt his patience growing thin. He really wished someone would just tell him what was so damn important. His question was finally answered as he rounded the corner.
"By the ancestors." Teyla whispered.
"Holy crap." John said.
John couldn't believe what he was seeing. In front of all them were two chambers and inside them were bodies that looked female. As John stepped closer to get a better view he all to quickly realized who it was in the chambers.
"Is that who I think it is?" John asked.
"If you mean the weird sisters? I'm not sure." Rodney said.
" It is not them. You are looking at their likeness'. Their final resting place is closer to the city. " Mina said.
Mina had been with Rodney since there arrival through the gate. When Rodney wanted to see more of the hall she had offered him a personal tour which he was all to happy to except. While walking through the hall she and Rodney talked about the Naharran and Ancient technology that the hall used to created the holograms they were seeing.
Rodney had been enjoying the tour and Mina's company until they came upon the bodies of the sisters. Mina didn't understand the look on Rodney's face. He looked shocked at what he saw. Before she could ask him what was wrong they were joined by Ronon and Danielle. Mina looked over to them and they also shared the same look.
"What the hell is this?" Ronon asked.
Mina looked over to Danielle and saw that all the color had drained out of her face and that at any moment the women looked like she was about to be sick.
Rodney stepped closer to the chambers and almost jumped out of his skin when the hologram of the sisters was activated.
"I think Sheppard needs to see this." Ronon said.
"Me too." Rodney said.
Ronon walked over to Danielle who was quietly looking at the hologram. "You ok?" Ronon asked.
Danielle shook her head no and let a small chuckle.
"Hell no. I can't believe they forgot to mention this." Danielle said.
"You gonna be ok while I find Sheppard?" Ronon asked.
"Yeah. Go on." Danielle said.
Without another word Ronon headed off to go find Sheppard.
When Ronon arrived with Sheppard and Teyla Mina knew by the look on their faces that no one had told them about the sister look a likes being in the hall. She couldn't believe how stupid and callous it had been of them for not telling the others about what to expect when they walked through the hall.
Before Rodney could warn Teyla not to step closer to the chambers the holograms of the sisters appeared taking her by surprise. Teyla watched as the holograms of Maihairi and Niya appeared before her. She was about to move a step closer when Danielle came up behind and put her hand on Teyla's shoulder causing her to jump a little.
"Spooky." Danielle said.
"Yes. I have heard that more than once today." Teyla said.
"Just wait. It gets better." Rodney said.
"What do you mean?" John asked.
"They talk." Rodney said.
"They talk?!" John said.
"Yes. It took us all by surprise. Apparently they are interactive holograms." Rodney said.
"You mean we can talk to them?" Teyla asked.
"Yes, you can. They have been programmed to answer any questions you may have about the hall and the sisters." Mina said.
Teyla's curiosity got the better of her and she again started moving towards the hologram of Maihairi. She wanted a better look at the mystery woman that she resembled. John was about to pull Teyla back to him and tell her not to approach the hologram but she told him not to worry. There was no way it could harm her and if they were to learn more then they needed to start here.
John knew Teyla was right but there was just something very unnerving to him about watching Teyla standing in front of a hologram of a dead woman that looked just like her.
Teyla looked at the hologram of Maihairi very closely. She was trying to see if there were any differences between herself and Maihairi. From what she could tell there were only subtle difference between the two. Teyla's eyes were brown while Maihairi'swere as green as the leaves on the trees outside. Maihairi's hair was also much longer than Teyla'sown and was a darker shade of brown with reddish highlights.
The hologram showed Maihairi smiling proudly with the Naharran flag behind her waving in the background like it was being moved by a holographic wind. The flag behind her was white with a red circle rising above a horizontal black line. Right below that line but not touching was a lone black line vertical line that went down the middle of the flag.
Maihairi was wearing a beautiful brightly colored jeweled crown and a long black shoulder length gown. Teyla marveled at how regal and elegant the women looked.
She wondered what it would feel like to wear such clothing against her skin and what John would have thought of her if she would have been wearing this when they first met. The side of her mouth curled into a smile because she did not think that John would have waited so long to start a relationship with her if she had been wearing a dress like the one she was looking at. It hugged every curve of Maihairi's body and showed how well toned and fit she was.
John looked away from Teyla over to Danielle who hadn't moved from her spot. He noticed that she just kept staring at the hologram of Niya. John stepped over to Danielle to get a better read on her.
"You ok?" John asked.
"You're the second person to ask me that and the answer is still no." Danielle snapped.
As soon as the words left her lips Danielle regretted how she sounded and knew she had to fix the mistake she just made.
"I apologize sir. I didn't mean to snap like that." Danielle said.
John nodded his head and smiled.
"No apology necessary Campbell. If I were staring at a long dead version of myself, I don't think I could keep from snapping either." John said.
"Thank you sir." Danielle smiled.
"Your welcome." John said.
"I guess I better go talk to myself now. Ya know sir, I might need some serious time on Doctor Heightmeyer's couch when we get back." Danielle said.
"Take a number Campbell. I think we will all need some time on the couch after this mission." John said.
Danielle nodded then stepped closer to the image of Niya. The resemblance was truly uncanny. It was like Danielle was looking at her twin. Both she and Niya had long jet black hair and were even wearing their hair the same in a nice tight bun.
Unlike Maihairi, Niya wasn't wearing a crown or an elegant gown. She was wearing a black military style dress uniform. It reminded Danielle of a marine dress blue uniform minus all the gold buttons. There were two red symbols on each of the lapels of her uniform. Danielle thought they might possible stand for some type of rank. She made a mental note to ask someone about that.
As Danielle continued to look over the image of Niya she looked over to the image of Maihairi and then back over to Niya. It was on her second look that she noticed that the flags behind them where different. Niya's flag was a dark almost midnight blue with a white circle above a black line but unlike Maihairi there were two black lines below that. That same symbol was also on the collars of Niya's uniform.
"I wonder why their flags are different? And why that design is on her uniform collar?" Danielle asked.
"That is a very good question and one that is asked often." Niya said with a smile.
Danielle almost jumped out of her skin when Niya answered her.
"Holy shit. I totally forgot she can understand me and talk." Danielle said.
"I did say they were interactive." Rodney said which earned him a glare from the group.
"What is your name little one?" Niya asked.
"Dr. Sona,why is she calling me little one?" Danielle whispered.
Mina stepped over to Danielle and Teyla in order to explain.
"Sometimes children are taken here and the holograms can be programmed to answer questions for a certain age group. There must be a class scheduled to come in today." Mina said.
Danielle nodded then turned her attention back to Niya and told the hologram her name.
"Danielle, that is a very beautiful name. Now, you had a question as to why our flags are different? The reason why they are different is because they represent the different sections of our government. Our leaders like Maihairi are represented by a flag which shows the rising sun. The flag behind me represents our military. Every member of the military wears this flag on their uniform. See here?" Niya said showing the Danielle her collar.
"What do the other red marks on your uniform mean?" Danielle asked.
"They signify my rank which is Commander of Legion II. I also serve as head of Maihairi's personal guard." Niya said.
"So, your flag represents the military and Maihairi's is for the leaders of your world?" Teyla asked.
"I see we have another inquisitive mind among us. And what is your name?" Maihairi asked.
"This is so weird." Rodney whispered to John.
"Tell me about it. It keeps getting weirder by the minute." John said as he watched Teyla tell Maihairi her name.
Teyla watched as Maihairi smiled when she said her name. She suddenly felt like a child the way Maihairi was looking at her.
"You are correct Teyla. The flags are very symbolic and quite personal to us both. Let me show what I mean." Maihairi said.
Suddenly Maihairi and Niya disappeared and their images were replaced by their flags.
"Let's break down each section of the flags starting with the colors of the flag behind me. The primary color of the flag is white. The white stands for fairness,clarity,and wisdom. All qualities that a good leader should possess. Next you see a red circle with two black lines underneath. The red circle has two different meanings. The first is to show that like the sun, our people will always rise. The second meaning represents the time of my birth and the meaning of my name, child of the morning sun.
"And the black lines? What do they mean?" Teyla asked.
"The black line that is underneath the sun stands for the horizon and for the straight path we walk as a people. Underneath that line is another black line that goes vertically. Both my sister and I have that line on our flags. That line shows that we are the center for our people and that she and I will always be one." Maihairi said.
Those words struck a deep cord in Teyla's heart. She found herself looking towards Danielle who turned back to look at her as she tapped her head. The connection they were feeling was much deeper and stronger since they arrived on Naharra. Teyla was pretty sure she could read what Danielle was feeling right now and wondered if Danielle could read her better.
"Then what's the second line on Niya's flag for?" John asked now curious.
Everyone turned to John surprised that he asked a question.
He shrugged his shoulders then rolled his eyes at the group.
"What? A guy can't ask a question?" John said.
"Of course you can John. It's just.." Teyla said
"Unexpected." John interrupted.
"Smart. I think the word she was looking for is smart. It kinda throws us all off guard when you say something smart right out of the blue." Rodney said.
"You're hilarious Rodney. Maybe in your next life you should be a comedian." John said.
"Guys. Shut up." Ronon said.
"Yes, I would really like to hear the answer to John's question. And it was a good question John." Teyla said.
"Thank you." John smiled.
"She's only saying that because she's your girlfriend." Rodney muttered to himself.
"Enough! If you two boys are not able to get along then you will have to leave the exhibit. Do I make myself clear?" Niya said.
The intensity of Niya's statement caused the whole room to be silent. John and Rodney didn't know what to do. They never had a hologram of a dead person yell at them before. When they both looked at Niya it seemed like she was waiting for a response from them. John was the first to speak.
"Leaving won't be necessary. The both of us are very sorry for the interruption." John said.
Niya nodded her head and her face visible softened. She smiled and looked at John then replied.
"Well done. You took responsibility for your actions as well as your friends. That shows the sign of a true leader. If you keep those same traits into manhood, you will make a wonderful addition to our military. Perhaps one day you will be Commander of a Legion. I hope your friend will follow your fine example and be a bit more humble in the future." Niya said.
John couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face at Niya's statement. He knew that it would be very easy right now and would providing him a few more minutes of fun watching Rodney argue with a hologram but there were more important things going on right now. He needed to keep himself focused if he was to help Teyla and Campbell. Plus, knowing Rodney, there would plenty of chances during this fiasco to take full advantage of his social pitfalls. This time he thought it would be best to try and smooth the waters for his friend.
"Please don't judge my friend to harshly. He's a good guy just sometimes suffers from social awkwardness. He's in the lab a lot." John said.
John looked at Niya as she smiled and could have sworn that he saw some understanding behind that smile. It was really creepy to John how life like these holograms were.
"I say we get past this little incident and answer the question that was posed." Maihairi said.
"I agree." Rodney chimed in not liking being made the bad guy.
"Yes, lets. Now back to the question of what does the second line on my flag mean? Before I go into that I guess I better explain what my flag means. Just like Maihairi I will start with the colors and symbols on my flag." Niya said.
Like Maihairi, Niya's image was replaced by her flag.
"Now let's start with the color of the flag. The primary color is a very dark blue and just like Mahairi's flag, the color has two means. One is the time of my birth. I was born at night when the moon was full. I have been told it was a during a warrior's moon." Niya said.
"You mean a little warriors moon?" Maihairi chuckled.
Teyla couldn't help herself and laughed lightly at Maihairi's humor. When she turned she saw that Danielle and Niya where looking at her and Maihairi with their arms crossed and shaking their heads. Teyla laughed harder and so did Maihairi.
"I will never out grow that will I?" Niya asked.
"No. Now finish your story." Maihairi smiled.
"As I was saying, the color also stands for duty, honor, and sacrifice. These are the core principles of our military and why the colors were chosen to represent them. Now, here is the answer to your question about the second line. It means that where Maihairi is the beginning, I am the end." Niya said. Her face became very serious with those last words.
Danielle felt her heart start to race with those words. She couldn't help but feel there was a meaning in those words that she didn't quite understand but knew that at some point the meaning would be come all too clear to her. She turned to Teyla and saw the grim look on her face as well. Danielle knew Teyla was aware there was a double meaning behind what Niya was saying. The question was what?
John looked at both Teyla and Campbell and knew there was something he was missing. Something unspoken between them through their bond. Right now he would give his right arm to know what was going on with them.
Danielle smiled and pushed the bad thoughts out of her mind. The last thing she and Teyla needed were more worries on top of the mountain they already had. So, she decided a new topic was needed and right now. Something she had been wondering about for awhile now.
"Can you tell us about your families?" Danielle asked.
"What would you like to know?" Niya asked.
"Anything, everything." Danielle said.
Niya smiled and seemed very excited to talk about her family.
"I am very honored to share my life with my husband and soul mate Lennox. Together we have three children. Two boys and a girl." Niya said.
"And I share my life with my husband and soul mate Targus. We have two boys and two girls. Would you like to see our families?" Maihairi asked.
"Yes!" Teyla and Danielle said.
Before the images could appear the sisters disappeared.
"What happened?" Teyla asked.
Mina walked over to the control panel near the sisters display.
"It looks like it was shut down but not from in here. It was done by Central. Which is very puzzling." Mina said.
"Why is that?" Rodney asked.
"Well because something like that only happens when we are suffering from a power outage and that's only been when..."Mina stopped when she realized what the cause was.
"When what?" John asked.
"When the shield is showing more signs of collapse and people are being moved into a secure area. I have to get to my lab and find out what is going on." Mina said.