Chapter 25
A cheer went up from the troops as Lion-O unsteadily made his way down the stairs of the Lair and onto the ground. His friends rushed to see him, unsure how he was walking out to the battle field as his surgery was just completed not too long ago.
"Lion-O!" Cheetara was at his side in an instant. He pulled her into a hug which morphed into a kiss very quickly. Catcalls went up from some of the troops and the King and Queen pulled apart.
"It's good to have you standing on your own two feet but you cannot be ready to do so physically," the cheetah said.
"I need to be here for the troops. Tygra promises to give us an update on everyone's medical condition when things have calmed down," he smiled but did not give her an answer.
"There are prisoners to interrogate, soldiers to get into medical care, and a battle field to clean up," his mate explained.
"I'm sure Colonel Suket can handle the interrogations. Isn't that right?" The lion asked the panther who strode up to the King and Queen.
"Military intelligence will be more than happy to interrogate the prisoners. If I could speak to you a moment sire," the Colonel asked.
"But of course. Tara, can you find Basheer and have him report on the double? We need to talk. Lucius is waiting inside," Lion-O explained.
"Of course. Be back in a flash," she winked and was gone.
"What is it Colonel?" The lion wanted to know.
"The Queen has said to treat the prisoners according to the Convention of thirty twenty-five, however I highly doubt that Lunatacs would answer questions without some incentive," Suket said.
"I'm inclined to agree but we cannot be seen breaking Convention rules. It could cause an intergalactic nightmare for us," Lion-O pointed out.
"The Convention doesn't say anything about using truth serum," the Colonel told him.
"Do it but don't let anyone know what it going on. If Mandora finds out, she won't hesitate to stop us," the lion said.
"Yes sire," Suket nodded and was off. Cheetara was back with Basheer a few minutes later and the three headed inside while Ben-Gali and Panthro took control out on the messy battle field.
"What is going on?" Basheer asked as they entered the ThunderCats' council room.
"While Lion-O was in surgery, I spoke more to Mila and the other Mutants. Those ships didn't leave any moon of Plundarr. They left Pundarr," Lucius said.
"You can't be serious! Mutants have always hated Lunatacs. What would make them think they could get launch codes for takeoff?" Basheer was very confused.
"My guess is that they didn't need launch codes. Had a ship left the planet's atmosphere without the codes, alarms would be triggered. Originally the system was built so that prisoners or slaves could never escape the planet. When the leadership changed hands, the system wasn't disabled but repurposed so that all ships could be accounted for in case of trouble, parties could be sent to look for ships that did not return on time," Lucius explained.
"So that means someone with access allowed the ships through the system so no one would notice," Cheetara said.
"Indeed. That person was also ok with selling off their brethren to be rid of the ThunderCats and their Mutant allies," Lucius pointed out.
"We need to tread lightly. This relationship is still in its infancy and the moment we bring this up it could start a war," Lion-O told them.
"He's right. The traitor could be anyone higher up the food chain," Basheer nodded.
"How exactly does the system work?" Cheetara asked.
"Satellites that circle the planet in orbit, had sensors on them. At any point, unauthorized objects that shot passed them and headed toward the atmosphere would be targeted and the people on the ground notified. That is why a sneak attack never worked on Plundarr," the older reptile explained.
"We need to invest in something like that," the cheetah remarked.
"An excellent idea but first we need to deal with the problem at hand which…" Lion-O paused in midsentence and grabbed his chest.
"Lion-O!" Cheetara grabbed him and Basheer quickly hit the medical alert button on the wall.
"It's Sahara!" He shouted. This machine was supposed to fix their problems not make them worse. The monitor on his hip started beeping wildly. Suddenly the doors burst open and there were two medics. They quickly rushed to the King and began assessing the situation.
"We have to get him to the med bay!" a cheetah urged. Basheer and Lucius stepped in and helped lift the King up and the four took off, carrying Lion-O with them.
To Be Continued…