Chapter 5
"Commander Tiberius, good to see you," Mandora shook the man's hand. The Evil Chasers had arrived as promised the next afternoon. They now gathered in the main tent. Medical help was being administered to all those who had been injured the night before. Shay was being ferried back to the main ship and some of the medical team went with her. Pumyra had gone with them in case they needed her help.
"As it is to see you, First Class. I hear you had occasion to discharge your weapon," the Commander gave her a look.
"I did. Per protocol, it was locked away in a storage container," Mandora said. She had indicated which one to a couple of Corporals and they had taken it aboard the ship.
"Good. The victims' bodies have been preserved?" Tiberius asked.
"As best we could. Without the Lair, we have no refrigeration. Witness statements were taken by the ThunderCats that weren't here when it happened," the blonde told him. Both of the bodies were being taken aboard the Evil Chaser's battle cruiser to be examined in an attempt to verify the events of the night before.
"Sounds like things were done appropriately. I've dispatched the science team to see what they can see with the Lair. In the meantime, we're going to see about shoring up the living arrangements. Even if we figure out what to do with the Lair, things won't be fixed lickety split. Now, why don't you tell me your side of the story?" The Commander wanted to know.
"So Wizz-Ra had this idea to trap Mumm-Ra. He, Lion-O, Panthro, Ben-Gali, and Slythe headed out to the black pyramid. We were in charge of keeping everyone safe along with the Warrior Maidens. While we knew that the Lunataks were out there, we figured that we were safe for a little while. Turns out, not so much," Mandora swallowed hard before continuing,
"The Warrior Maidens sounded the alarm and everyone came running. There was Alluro, Tug Mug, and Red-Eye. They started to attack and the Warrior Maidens formed ranks in an attempt to corral the Lunataks. That's when Vultureman just went off. Wizz-Ra was concerned that he would be mentally unstable but we all thought he was sedated. Apparently not. He charged across the tents and tackled Tug Mug. I had never seen something so crazed and so intense. Bol tried to intervene but Shay stopped him. I think she knew that getting in the way would get him killed. I fired a warning shot close enough that it singed Vultureman's feathers but he didn't react. I told Shay and Bol to go help the others and then I felt a whoosh of air and Cheetara was suddenly there. She had managed to move like that despite her damaged lungs and broken leg. Then she used her bo-staff on Vultureman. The crazed Mutant backhanded her and I went to her side. She was all cut up and bruised, her breathing was labored. Before I could get her out of there, Vultureman turned on us. He came at us and I just fired. Once. Twice. Three times. He finally stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. Then I heard Alluro shout, "Tug Mug is dead!" Red-Eye blasted the crowd and then they turned tail," Mandora explained.
"So Vultureman killed Tug Mug and then you were forced to protect yourself and another. Seems pretty cut and dry to me. We'll await the autopsies for final confirmation. In the meantime, no official Evil Chaser business for you. The psychiatrist will swing by later, right now though we could use your help. Lion-O refused to let us take Slythe into custody. Now we all know the Mutant is a wanted felon," Tiberius said.
"Slythe has actually been very helpful with everything going on. I've been trying to suss out what is going on with him but he seems genuine. Lion-O knows what he's doing. I'd say let this ride for now. He is King here and his people were the most affected by the actions of the Mutants so if he thinks Slythe is on the level then tend to agree with him," the blonde told him.
"I trust your judgement. We'll let it slide for now. He is outnumbered if he tries something anyway," the Commander pointed out.
"Good point. Now we better get a move on. Lots of work to do," Mandora winked.
To Be Continued…