Chapter 15
It was another long day as Lion-O sat down to dinner with Cheetara. Snarf had hurriedly served them as they were eating just after everyone else. He wanted to be sure they got food that hadn't had to be reheated too much.
"He's still babying you," his wife chuckled after the little helper disappeared back into the kitchen.
"Here I am, King of the Thunderians, Lord of the ThunderCats, and married, and he's still treating me like I'm a cub. Old habits, I suppose," Lion-O nodded before tucking into his meatloaf.
"I suppose you'd be eighty and Snarf one hundred and he'd still treat you like a little child. Your father gave him a responsibility and he would never disappoint Claudus," Cheetara smiled. Lion-O nodded again but he seemed far off.
"You still with me?" She asked, before taking a bite of her salad.
"I am, sorry," he said.
"You don't like all those weapons that the Evil Chasers gave us," the cheetah said. They had been spending all day getting the new weapons installed outside the Lair. Three were large anti-aircraft laser blaster guns and the other two were anti-ground vehicle blasters. Thankfully, with the Lair built into a mountain side, they were easy to place – two laser blasters and one anti-ground blaster out front of the Lair and the remaining weapons were placed on top of the mountain. Ben-Gali, Lynx-O, Hamza, and Lea had gone up the mountain to camp for the night so they could man the weapons if need be the next day. Panthro, WilyKit, WilyKat, and Esen would man the lower weapons with Lion-O and Cheetara manning the Control Room weapons. The Warrior Maidens made up the ground troops and Snowman and Snowmeow had joined them.
"I don't like that we might have to use them. It seems that more and more we are dragging the peoples of Third Earth into something they would normally not be having to worry about," Lion-O explained.
"Like we're the problem?" She wondered before scooping some of her mashed potatoes.
"Exactly," he said.
"Wrong. The Mutants would have come here first, like we did. They would have enslaved all the peoples of Third Earth. They would have used up all of their resources as they have on Plundarr and then moved on, leaving nothing but destruction and death in their wake. If we weren't here, Third Earth would have become a wasteland," his wife pointed out.
"You're probably right," Lion-O nodded for a third time while pushing his food around on his plate, which made Cheetara wonder if he was really listening.
"These new weapons will allow us to help protect them all. We may not be able to save them all, but we can certainly try," she told him.
"Being King is not all it is cracked up to be," Lion-O frowned.
"If you weren't prepared for it, you wouldn't be King. The weight of the world is on your shoulders, but they are also on mine. Let me share your burden. Don't bottle it up," the cheetah put down her silverware and put her hands on either side of his face, turning his head to face her. His eyes met hers.
"I am a very lucky man," he said.
"Yes, you are. Don't forget it," she teased. They went back to eating but only for a few minutes when Panthro entered the room. He'd been manning the Control Room until they could take over.
"Hey guys. Got word from the Evil Chasers. We've got only two ships approaching from the direction of Plundarr. Not much of a fight," the panther said.
"Whatever happens to them, Rattigan will respond. Best be on our toes," Lion-O told him.
"Agreed. Slythe is being transported to the surface and Tygra is going to take over his care. Arzu will remain on the Farragut and Ayşegül is heading up to join her. Esen has been educating the Kittens on the weapons," Panthro gave a full report. There was Lion-O nodding again.
"Very good. Now since we have a few minutes…" the lion gave him a look.
"Yes, why was Lea calling us the other night while you were on duty?" Cheetara wanted to know.
"She wanted to visit. We hardly see enough of each other during all this," the panther gave nothing away, but the two other cats could sense there was more to it.
"All righty… we'll be down to the Control Room soon," Lion-O smirked and Panthro practically ran out of the room.
"Control Room nookie or at least they were attempting it," Cheetara said.
"Oh, I have no doubt," he chuckled.
To Be Continued…