Chapter 6
"The vibration sensors are going off, they have to be frozen. There is no way the mine suddenly became unstable when no one is working in it," Marwa was just as confused as Lea but she shut off the auditable alarms. Upon shoring up the sides of the mine, Panthro had installed sensors that were similar to those used to determine earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. These sensors were then wired into an alert panel, both at the mine and inside the radio room, so everyone could be alerted whether the mine was occupied or not. The wiring had been buried underground three feet underground so it could not be frozen but the sensors were inside the mine and not unaffected by temperature changes when things got below freezing.
"Which ones are going off though? The ones closest to the entrance should be the only ones affected. The ones deeper in the mine should be warmer than them," the panther pointed out.
"The entire panel is lit up. Somehow it's malfunctioning," the reptile explained as she attempted to reset the panel with no luck. Panthro got up from the radio and went over to the panel. He frowned and said,
"We're going to have to check it out."
"Outside in a practical blizzard? To do what exactly? If the mine has actually collapsed we can't do anything. If someone is actually out there wrecking sensors, they'd have to be out of their minds. All that aside, we can't fix them, whether they are frozen or wrecked. I'm not sure it's worth the safety of anyone here to try," Marwa objected to the idea.
"She's right. We need to wait for the weather to clear. Once that happens we can see what we're dealing with. We could be walking into something that we're not prepared for," Lea agreed. The door to the radio room opened revealing Ben-Gali, Ayşegül, Hamza, and Mumm-Rana.
"Wizz-Ra was able to reach the Lair but now he's trying to recoup by resting. It's not his pyramid but a nice quiet room helps," Mumm-Rana spoke up as they took seats around the small room.
"What did the Lair have to say?" Panthro wanted to know.
"The weather will affect the landing attempts by the Evil Chasers. If the weather doesn't clear, the equipment will have to be dropped off away from the mine. Possibly the other side of Hook Mountain," Ben-Gali said.
"How is that going to work? The Beach of the Crabmen is over there," Lea raised an eyebrow.
"Lion-O was concerned about that as well but the weather seems to be using Hook Mountain as a backstop. Once you're on the other side of it, planet scans show that it's not nearly as bad. With the cold weather the Crabmen will probably be hibernating or at the very least, not interested in leaving their hiding places. Besides it's better than leaving the caves where the Trolls and Giants make their homes," Ayşegül said.
"I think everyone is forgetting how we'd get the pieces over Hook Mountain – we do not have the equipment to do so," the panther pointed out.
"The Evil Chasers realize this and are attempting to figure something out. We have two days before they reach us, so with any luck the weather will clear," Hamza explained.
"Ben, we've got sensors going off inside the mine. They're either reading something that isn't there due to the weather or the mine is in danger of collapsing. The ladies think it's a bad idea to try and find out but I can't shake that something is going on," Panthro said.
"A reset hasn't helped?" The white tiger asked.
"No, not at all," Marwa shook her head. This caused the tiger to frown.
"The ladies are right. There is no way to attempt something like that," Ayşegül said.
"It's only one hundred feet away. If we were talking five hundred feet, then I'd be more cautious but if we don't see what's going on, it might not matter if we get that equipment," Panthro told them.
"I will offer my assistance. Perhaps a little magic will go a long way," Mumm-Rana offered.
To Be Continued…