Allegiance
By 18lzytwner
Chapter 1
Summer was finally upon New Thundera and everyone welcomed the warmth. The winter had been harsh, even after Chilla had been stopped, and spring had proven to be wet and rainy. Chilla, Alluro, and Chilla's family had long been transported off of New Thundera and Mandora had promised to keep the ThunderCats in the loop as far as how things were going between Plundarr and her now separated moons.
Plundarr had resisted as was expected but when the new members of the High Council had seen the plans that the old High Council had begun to move into motion, they knew they didn't have much of a choice. The Space Council of Planets quickly went about getting each moon of Plundarr into shape to not only govern themselves but to also have a decent infrastructure. Still some called the loss of the Mutant's tax base to not be enough, citing that the loss could be easily recouped by having their own workers do the work that they had originally forced the Lunataks to do. Still the Council believed that, because most of the workers that would be needed to fill jobs that had been forced upon the Lunataks, were semi-skilled positions, the Mutants would spend more money on training and benefits than they realized. Benefits had been another item that they had forced the Mutant High Council to institute. Most workers without a higher education were forced into jobs that did not have benefits such as healthcare and sick leave. When a Mutant couldn't come into work because they were sick, they were simply fired and replaced, leaving many Mutant families in poverty and with no way to climb out of it. No longer would Mutant society be divided by extreme wealth and extreme poverty. A new middle class would emerge and life for everyone would get better.
Panthro figured that it was all a wasted effort because the moment that the Space Council and the Evil Chasers left the planet and her moons, things would eventually go back to the way they were on Plundarr, minus having the Lunataks to deal with. Lion-O wasn't so sure but only time would tell. In the meantime, New Thundera went back to business as usual, though they would stay on high alert just in case Panthro was right. For now, they would enjoy the calm and the nice weather.
There was a knock on Lion-O's office door and he quickly bade the person who was out in the hallway to enter. He was eyeball deep in paperwork and wishing he could be playing outside with his children instead.
"You wanted to see me sir?" Pali asked as he entered Lion-O's office.
"Ah yes. Please have a seat," the lion smiled. Pali nodded and quickly sat down in a chair that sat in front of the King's magnificent desk.
"I wanted to know how things are going for you since you returned from visiting your folks," Lion-O said. The Mutant turned Evil Chaser had taken a break as Mandora had ordered him to and had returned eager to help out in any way that he could. Tygra had helped get him an office inside the Lair and Snarf had made sure one of the guest rooms had been turned into his room. Lion-O, Cheetara, and Mandora had announced his presence and what he would be doing on New Thundera to the Thunderian people when the spring had come around. At first, people were unsure what to make of it but when they saw what a sweetheart the young reptile was, they were soon at ease with him.
"They were thrilled to see me after I had only been gone a few months. My time undercover forced me away for a long time. This second vacation was very kind of you and the Queen," Pali smiled.
"Think nothing of it. It's been quiet and with your folks on Mars, only an eight hour flight away, we knew we could reach you if we needed to. I wanted to ask you if you thought they would be interested in moving to New Thundera. That way they could see you whenever they wanted. I know they are getting older and you want to be closer to them," Lion-O told him.
"That is a most gracious offer sir. I could certainly ask them. Does Lord Tygra know about their medical needs?" Pali asked.
"We haven't had much contact with the humans of their planet but Tygra has been talking to the doctors over there learning as much as he can and then teaching Pumyra and the rest of the staff here at the Lair. He intends to send the knowledge over to our main hospital here in the capital as well. I have been working on getting some form of treaty between New Thundera, Third Earth, and Mars and I think we have something that would work for all of us," the King explained.
"You have been doing all of this?" The young reptile was very surprised.
"Well I should have been better about it once New Thundera was fully established but we have continually run into troubles with our enemies to do so. It's a good time to take the opportunity to reach out and offer assistance to our surrounding neighbors. Besides, we're intrigued how they took a planet once thought to be inhospitable and turned it into something hospitable. Our charts told us to head to Third Earth because they thought Mars was not actually livable," Lion-O marveled.
"Oh that is a little above my scientific understanding but I agree that we could all learn from each other and aide each other if need be," Pali nodded.
"Excellent. Now I…" the lion never got the chance to finish as an announcement went over the loudspeaker at the Lair.
"Red Alert! Man your battle stations! Red Alert!" The two looked at each other and bolted out of the King's office and toward the Control Room.
To Be Continued…