The Ultimate ThunderCat
By 18lzytwner
Chapter 1
Lion-O sat at the sensors in the new Cat's Lair on New Thundera. He wondered why he had to watch anything. As far as the ThunderCats could tell they were the only intelligent life forms on the newly formed planet.
Behind him the door opened and in walked another ThunderCat. Her soft padded feet and her extreme speed made no sound as she approached the Lord of the ThunderCats.
"Bored?" She asked, making Lion-O jump out of his seat.
"Cheetara! You scared me have to death!" He exclaimed. The cheetah laughed and sat down next to him.
"Another quiet night?" She asked. The Lord of the ThunderCats nodded.
"What are you doing up? You're watch isn't for another couple hours." He asked looking at the clock.
"I couldn't sleep." Was all Cheetara offered. She looked into his light reddish-orange cat eyes. Something about him had always made her feel funny. Not funny like laughter but all bubbly, was the best term she could come up with.
Lion-O stared back at the cheetah not sure what she was looking for. It had been obvious to him that since the very beginning that there was something about her. Perhaps the first clue came when all those years ago that strange alien craft had taken hold of her sixth sense. When it was saying goodbye, it pushed the two together. He had always been curious as to what the ship had said, but afraid that it might reveal his feelings, he never asked her. Jaga knows the ThunderKittens had done enough asking for days afterwards. The beeping of the video screen pulled his attention away from his thoughts and Cheetara.
"This is Third Earth Cat's Lair calling New Thundera." Tygra's face popped up on the video screen.
"This is New Thundera. Go ahead." Lion-O replied.
"I think I've worked out a solution to our problem." Tygra's said cryptically. The look on his face was one of excitement. Lion-O's puzzled look gave away that he had no idea what his old friend was talking about.
"Say again, Tygra." He said.
"I said I think I've worked out our problem." The tiger repeated. Lion-O looked at Cheetara and then back at the screen.
"And what problem would that be?" Cheetara asked the other ThunderCat.
"You know how we've wanted to send signals out to any surviving Thunderians around the galaxy? Well I think I've come up with a solution." Tygra continued to smile. "What about satellites that orbit Third Earth and New Thundera? They could send out signals and hopefully Thunderians will pick them up."
"Have you run this idea by Panthro?" Lion-O asked. The tiger shook his head.
"He's not due for his watch for a few more hours. You're the first to hear my idea."
"Well it sounds good to me. Talk to Panthro then when you have more specific plans, contact the Tower of Omens and us." Lion-O told him. Tygra acknowledged and the video conference ended.
"He's always thinking. I wonder how he sleeps." Cheetara smiled. Lion-O laughed.
"His brain never shuts off. Why don't you try to get some sleep? You still have a couple hours before your shift starts." The lion suggested.
"If my Lord commands it." The cheetah smiled again. She was off in a flash. Lion-O sat in his chair trying to think about Tygra's idea but his thoughts kept reverting back to Cheetara. There had been plenty of times that she had saved his backside. When he was younger, he had been impetuous and it had gotten him in plenty of trouble. Snarf had been sure to remind him all the time.
Going over all the times she had reminded him that his pride wasn't worth his life, Lion-O recalled the time that Mumm-Ra had tried to use Excalibur to destroy the ThunderCats. Cheetara had told him that the joust was foolish. The cheetah had been right, of course. He had fallen right into Mumm-Ra's trap and if Merlin hadn't stepped in then he nor any of the other ThunderCats would be there to talk about it. She had truly worried about him, more so than the other ThunderCats. It wasn't that his other friends didn't care, because they cared a lot, but for some reason she seemed to care more.
Two hours later, Cheetara once again appeared in the control room. Lion-O smiled and asked her if she got some more sleep. She answered that it was more like a nap. The lion said he'd see her in the morning and went to bed.
The sun rose over the distant mountains on Third Earth. Panthro had heard Tygra's idea and even seen the drawings that he had created.
"It's a great idea, Tygra. I'll contact the Tower of Omens and New Thundera. Why don't you grab some breakfast. You know how Snarf gets when we don't eat properly." The panther joked. Tygra laughed and headed down to the kitchen.
After getting some breakfast and a lecture from Snarf about being on time for a meal for once, the tiger headed back to the control room. He found Panthro talking to Cheetara.
"Ok, I'll talk to Lion-O when he gets up. Call you in a few hours." The connection ended and the panther got up from his seat.
"Cheetara says that the plans look great and she'll let Lion-O know as soon as he's up. Lynx-O says that he'll have the Braille Board translate the copies I sent him."
"Excellent. Let's get started then." Tyrga said. The tiger and panther ran to the workshop down the hall. The ThunderKittens were left to watch the sensors.
Hours later, Snarf brought some lunch into the workshop for Panthro and Tygra. The two were debating over where to go from here.
"You guys should take a break. It's not good to work constantly." Snarf nagged. Panthro rolled his eyes and Tygra was about to say something when WilyKit came running into the room.
"Ben-Gali is on the video conference line. He wants to talk to you about the satellites." She told them. Quickly, the two raced out of the workshop down to the control room before Snarf could object.
WilyKat brought the white tiger up on the screen. Standing next to him was Snarf's nephew, Snarfer.
"We'd like to help you with the satellites." Ben-Gali told them.
"We can use all the help we can get." Tygra replied.
"There are some engineering difficulties. I've never tried to build a satellite before. But can Lynx-O and Pumyra handle the Tower of Omens by themselves?" Panthro asked.
"If you want you could sent the ThunderKittens over. Uncle Snarf could watch the sensors while we worked together." Snarfer suggested.
"Great idea, Snarfer. See you guys in about fifteen minutes?" Tygra asked.
"We'll be there." The white tiger confirmed and the video conference ended. WilyKit and WilyKat grabbed their space boards and headed to the Tower of Omens. Tygra and Panthro left Snarf to the sensors and returned to the workshop.Snarfer loaded some tools he thought they might need into the ThunderClaw while Ben-Gali went to take care of something. He walked down the hall and knocked on Pumyra's bedchamber door. The puma bid him to enter.
"I'm leaving with Snarfer for Cat's Lair to help with Tygra's satellites. The ThunderKittens are coming over to help you and Lynx-O out if you need it." The white tiger told her.
"Ok then I'll head down to the control room. How long do you think you'll be gone?" Pumyra asked as she stood up and came over to him.
"I don't know. None of us has ever tried to build a satellite before. But don't worry; I'm sure the four of us can get things done quickly." Ben-Gali promised giving her a hug. The two had grown close when they were living on that island before the other ThunderCats found them. It was up to them to not only protect themselves but Lynx-O and the Berbils as well.
"All right as long as you're that confident then hopefully I'll see you soon." Pumyra smiled. Ben-Gali returned a smile and kissed her forehead. The two then headed for the control room.
About ten minutes later, Snarfer and Ben-Gali arrived at Cat's Lair. They went to the workshop and found Panthro and Tygra deciding on how to rig the tracking functions. The cylindrical part of the outer shell had been completed and now it was up to the electrical components inside to come together.
"Have you decided on how to track it on the sensors inside Cat's Lair and the Tower of Omens?" Snarfer asked.
"We're hoping that once we activate the locator chips that the sensors will pick up on them. Panthro thinks that he gave them enough range to reach either place while they're in orbit." Tygra explained.
"What about the solar panels? I don't think they fit inside the workshop. In fact, we should probably move them out to the bigger workshop out near the ThunderTank." Ben-Gali said.
"We were just waiting for you to help us move them. It's not that we couldn't lift them we just want to be careful where and how we set them down so as to damage the sensitive material." Panthro told them.
"Good idea. Ok let's move them." Ben-Gali said. The three lifted the first satellite gingerly and walked it out to the workshop under the Cat's Paw, near the ThunderTank. Setting the first one down on a work table, they went and retrieved the other one. Now that they were in the bigger area, Tygra, Panthro, Ben-Gali, and Snarfer got to work.
Lion-O tapped Cheetara on the shoulder. The cheetah had fallen asleep at her post. The Lord of the ThunderCats didn't blame her. It was hard being the only two there and watching nothing but blank screens.
"I'm sorry Lion-O. I can't believe I fell asleep." She apologized.
"It's ok. I'm sure watching the boring surroundings doesn't exactly stimulate one's brain cells." He smiled but he could tell that something wasn't right. Cheetara had big bags under her eyes and she had been falling asleep in the weirdest places. The other day if he hadn't moved her bowl of oatmeal she might have dropped her face in it.
"Cheetara, tell me what's going on. The last few days you have been sleeping everywhere but your own bed. At breakfast, at your post, in the library, what's wrong?" The lion asked concerned. She looked if she wasn't going to discuss it but then something changed her mind.
"I've been having these horrible nightmares. I'm afraid to go to sleep and when I finally do sleep, the dreams come back." Cheetara confided in him.
"What kind of nightmares?" Lion-O asked. Again the cheetah hesitated before answering.
"The kind of bad dreams where I wake up drenched in a cold sweat. Where I want to rush to save someone that may already be dead." The answer finally came out.
"Who dies?" He asked.
"You do, Lion-O." Was all Cheetara said. The cheetah was usually very strong but the lack of sleep and the horrible dreams forced her to break down into tears. The dreams were quite disturbing and Lion-O could only try to comfort her.
To Be Continued…