Chapter 11
Cheetara called a meeting of the ThunderCats at the ThunderGuard barracks which lay beyond the damage to the Lair. Night had fallen but that did not stop the rescue crews looking for survivors. Perhaps it had been lucky that the Lair's construction was so sturdy as it had allowed many to be pulled out before a major portion of the damaged building collapsed. The cheetah knew however that at this point, they were digging for bodies and not survivors. Frustrated that they could not call upon their allies for help with Ta-She still on the loose, they did what they had to do as quickly and safely as they could do it but it would not be enough.
"What's the word on Lion-O or Wizz-Ra?" Panthro asked as he entered the barrack's lunchroom. It was much like a school cafeteria but in olive drab colors. The panther had his right leg in a cast up to the middle of his thigh and he leaned heavily on his crutches.
"None. I fear I will have to tell my children and the nation that my husband is dead," Cheetara swallowed hard. The panther placed a hand on her shoulder. Ben-Gali was wheeled into the room by Pumyra. While the puma had escaped with only minor cuts and bruises, her husband had not been so lucky. He had broken ribs, which punctured a lung, and a fractured left arm. The white tiger looked incredibly uncomfortable in the wheelchair but he said nothing and Cheetara suspected that the doctors had advised him against leaving the hospital.
"Tygra is doing rounds at the hospital. He told me to take notes," Pumyra smiled slightly.
"How are Lynx-O and Lak?" Cheetara wanted to know.
"Lynx-O was glad to be visiting Pali's parents when it happened and he's watching over Lak for us. He's still in a coma," Pumyra struggled to say the words and Ben-Gali put a hand on her shoulder. The young cub had been with his father at the time of the explosion and though Ben-Gali had tried to protect him, Lak was still small, and he'd sustained a head wound. It would have been much worse if Ben-Gali had not been there.
"Cavan, I'm surprised to see you," Panthro spoke up as she and Li-en came through the doors. She was leaning heavily on her husband as the floor was moving on her thanks to the concussion.
"And miss this meeting?" She went to shake her head but stopped herself. Li-en pulled out a chair and helped her into it.
"How are the kids?" Cheetara asked.
"Fine. They are with Sahara and Leo under the watchful eye of Snarf," Li-en smiled slightly.
"Sorry, I am late. My parents wanted to be dropped at the hospital. They are keeping an eye on Mandora, Alexei, and Presidents Zhukov and Kachi," Pali said. He limped and his tail had been bandaged but he didn't look too much the worse for wear. The Mutant was tough and he had informed Tiberius of the situation and despite Cheetara's concerns, the Captain and most of his crew had landed on the planet to help with the search for survivors. President Mwende had been informed of the trouble and had sent troops to help guard the airspace around the planet so that New Thundera would not be vulnerable to outside forces.
"How are they?" Cheetara was worried.
"Mandora has a broken right shoulder and broken ribs while Alexei has a nasty head wound as does President Zhukov. President Kachi is in bad shape. They are not sure if he will make it," the Mutant swallowed hard. He considered Kachi to be his Uncle and it hurt to see him in such bad shape. Cheetara offered a concerned look before turning to Panthro,
"Where is your wife? Is she with the children?"
"Lea is on her way. Layna and Milo are still in the Natal Unit being looked after. She's having a hard time leaving them," he explained.
"Are they going to be all right?" The cheetah was concerned.
"The doctors say only time will tell. They breathed in a lot of dust and they have cuts and scrapes," Panthro said. Cheetara nodded and as if she'd heard her name, Lea walked into the room.
"I think all are here who are able," the cheetah said.
"How bad is it?" Cavan asked.
"It's bad. We have two hundred ThunderGuard in the hospital and at least one hundred are confirmed dead. We lost thirty civilians and another thirty are in the hospital. We did not lose any ThunderCats but Lion-O and Wizz-Ra are still missing. I've been told by the rescue site coordinator is that the structure is no longer stable and he will pull all teams off of it, should it start to shift. He feels that one more shift will lead to utter collapse. Once that happens, the Lair will cease to exist and all those trapped inside will be forever buried there," Cheetara stopped, not sure how to continue. Panthro put a hand on her shoulder and she placed her hand over his.
"I have been asked to call to the Sword so that it may be saved and it could possibly give us a location on Lion-O. Or calling for it will cause it to shift the debris and it will…" she couldn't say it but they all knew what she was getting at.
"How long until you have to make a decision?" Lea wanted to know.
"As soon as we're done here. The longer we wait the worse it could be," the cheetah said. Before they could get any further a soldier came running into the room.
"We've found him! We found him!" They all followed the soldier out as quickly as they could, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lion-O.
To Be Continued…