There was utter pandemonium in the hangar when Lioness-A arrived with Tygra and it was clear that this had been one of the larger patrols. Thirty or forty Thunderguard were in the hangar and of them, about ten or so were injured and two were being carried out on stretchers with Pumyra leading the teams holding the gurneys. Tygra went to work pulling out supplies from a box and Lioness-A followed him to one of the Thunderguards, sitting on a bench against the wall.
"Where were you ambushed?" Tygra asked the Thunderguard, a margay.
"We were on one of the side roads out from the main road to the south of the capital," the margay said. "That road leads back to a couple of villages and they were reporting problems with these parties."
"Who's doing this?" Lioness-A asked as she knelt to help Tygra bandage an injury.
"We don't know yet but we're seeing a lot of different cats involved from the reports coming in," Tygra said. One soldier was obviously in shock and Lioness-A waved Tygra over when she heard him muttering.
"Grune has been reborn," the cheetah said over and over in a low voice as Tygra frowned at this.
*What's going on down there sis? You're my eyes and ears on this,* Lion-O spoke suddenly in her mind.
*I'm not sure I know but it's something that one of these soldiers was saying even though they're in shock. Something about 'Grune being reborn',* she said as he growled.
*Come see me when you get a minute free from all of that,* Lion-O said as she nodded.
"Wasn't Grune a saber?" Lioness-A asked.
"Yes he was and he used to be a Thundercat until he snapped and grew greedy for power. Jaga had to banish him and we ran into his ghost on Third Earth and he's turned up a few times since then to cause problems," Tygra explained to Lioness-A. "Why?" he asked.
"Lion-O was wanting a sit-rep from what was going on down here," Lioness-A said as he nodded. She was able to help Tygra treat some of the injured. Those that weren't injured were cleared to leave the hangar for their barracks after a debriefing that was being led by Panthro. Tygra saw that Lioness-A had gone quiet and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb to reassure her as she managed a smile for him.
"Don't worry, we'll figure out what's going on," he said.
"I hope so," she said.
A short while later Lioness-A was finishing gathering the supplies and packing them back up when she happened to overhear part of the debriefing that was going on in a room off the hangar. Panthro had forgotten to close the door when he had gone in there and she listened briefly. A couple of things caught her attention then. One being that the sabers seemed to be in charge of the parties and that one of them looked suspiciously like Grune but he had both of his sabers intact.
'I think Lion-O ought to hear of this since he was worried about those parties and who was leading them and hearing what I heard that soldier say seems to have worried him further. This patrol found out more than the previous ones did,' Lioness-A thought as she carefully sealed the box she had and she left the hangar after letting Tygra know. He was still tending to a patient but waved at her.
.::~*~::.
Lioness-A arrived outside Lion-O's office and heard him talking to Cheetara and Lynx-O about a few things so she now knew of the books in the library from Claud-Us and their grandfather in addition to others.
"Come on in here Lioness-A," Lion-O called when he sensed her as she sighed and entered the room as the door closed behind her. This room always surprised her as big as it was with floor to ceiling shelves along one wall and cabinets along the other with a set of windows behind his desk. On the wall above the file cabinets was a map of New ThunDera with the cities marked and known landmarks. A large oaken desk graced the middle of the room with a smaller table holding his telecom on it. "What's on your mind?" Lion-O asked his sister as he was finishing up some typing.
"I overheard one of the debriefings down in the hangar after that patrol got back. There were ten injured but the rest are alright," Lioness-A said. "And I got confirmation that it's the sabers leading the parties."
"Someone actually said Grune was reborn?" Cheetara asked in shock. Lioness-A sighed.
"I think they were in shock but Tygra seems to think it's credible and based on what else the other soldiers were saying, it's the only thing that fits," Lioness-A said.
"That could fit with several things in that some of the sabers are beginning to return to their valley," Lynx-O said as Lion-O nodded.
"That debriefing confirmed that the main leader of this group has a resemblance to Grune but this one has two saber teeth and not one," Lioness-A added as the three growled.
"Figured it would be that tribe that's causing the trouble," Lion-O said and hit his desk communicator. "I need Panthro to my office pronto," he said as the Thunderguard on the other end acknowledged it.
"What are you planning?" Lynx-O asked.
"I'm gonna send out a few Thundercats to see if we can try and find this valley and get a look at what's there," Lion-O said. "The elder of the sabers is going to have to come forward at some point to meet with me and I rather have a heads up on who that is."
"Don't tell Panthro that I overheard the debriefing," Lioness-A said. "The door to the room was left open," she said sheepishly. Lynx-O chuckled.
"He does that all the time but I don't think it'll matter cause if he hears that Lion-O knows of it then he'll know that you gave Lion-O a warning and Panthro might appreciate that," the lynx told her.
"It'll speed up the process some and save him from having to explain more," Cheetara said as Lion-O nodded.
.::~*~::.
Far to the south were rugged mountains and valleys that stretched for miles in any direction and as far as most eyes could see. Here and there were remnants of the cities that had once graced those areas and some were showing signs of rebuilding. Others were already done and roads connected them to the main roads that were already branching out and heading northwards toward the capital.
Down one of those roads was the way toward where the saber clan had made its home many eons ago. The entrance was located between two of the mountains that bordered this area of the main continent A'chvwylla. The Grimalkin Mountains was an extensive mountain range but broken in smaller areas due to rivers and the Athellian Sea. The road went along the side of the Athellian Sea and made a sharp curve at the Thelasyria Falls that bordered the sea before it joined with the Southern Ocean. The saber valley bordered one edge of the sea on one side and the mountains on the other. The valley of Syla Serin had withstood the destruction and had reformed pretty much as it had been before and there was a city there. Even though the sabers were nomadic, there was always a city of some kind to allow for the king to come and visit with the elder of the clan. Sylnlond wasn't much to begin with but it had a few houses and the city hall which was nearly as big as most of the other clan houses on ThunDera. Not far away was the elder home itself and it was modest compared to those of the lions and tigers but still showed the power of the sabers.
Near the edge of the entrance to Syla Serin was a narrow road that led up a ridge to a series of caves that were part of a small cave system. It was here that the renegade saber and his group met daily to go over their spoils and where they had been on their raids.
The head of this band was a saber that was from Grune's family tribe and made it his mission to fulfill Grune's quest to take over ThunDera. To do that he had to stretch out his feelers to find men, supplies and those willing to back him and many came from the surrounding clans and a few of the lesser ones. He also had discovered where Grune's club had been put and had devised a plan to get it.
.::~*~::.
Late one afternoon about a week later, Panthro and Bengali headed out in the Thundertank to where the saber valley was located to see what was going on regarding the rumors that Lion-O had been getting. On the way there, the two talked about what had been going on.
"Do you actually think that there's any truth to these rumors that Lion-O's been getting from the outposts?" Bengali asked in his growlly voice.
"I don't know, but it's worth the look around. If there's anything there, we'll see it," Panthro replied. "Keep an eye on those scanners. They'll tell us if there's anything out there."
"Right," Bengali answered and paused as the scanner blipped. "Panthro, there's something to the west of our position. It looks pretty big from here and I think it's Syla Serin by the size."
"Let's go see what's there cause that looks about right for the location," Panthro responded and revved up the tank.
.::~*~::.
After a short while the two arrived at the valley to see that there was a caravan ahead that had broken down and a team of marauders were there attacking it. Panthro was about to radio in the news and get a group of Thunderguard out there when a sabertooth came through and fought off the marauders.
"You are giving us sabers a bad name!" he yelled to the attackers as he sent them running. Panthro was hoping to catch one of them to ask questions but the marauders were too quick. Bengali went to talk to the sabertooth who was checking on the people in the caravan.
"That was pretty good on what you did there," Bengali said as the saber smiled.
"I don't like these marauders and they're getting too close to my home valley lately," the saber said. "By the way, my name's Sindaris."
"I'm Bengali and the panther is Panthro," Bengali said.
"Thundercats I see," Sindaris said. "The King must be worried to have sent the two of you here." Panthro walked up and his face told Bengali to remain quiet.
"We've heard some rumors about some of the sabers being involved," Panthro said as Sindaris frowned.
"That is most unfortunate but some of the clan is resentful after the treatment received when Grune was defeated," Sindaris said. "I could perhaps, offer some insight into this for your king if that is allowed?" Bengali and Panthro conferred with the other and Panthro made a call back to the lair after it was confirmed that the travelers were alright and on their way once the lead vehicle was repaired. The three boarded the Thundertank and headed back towards the lair.
.::~*~::.
At the lair later that same afternoon a council meeting was called soon after the Tank had returned. Wilykit and Wilykat were excluded due to their young ages. Lioness-A had been included due to her being Lion-O's twin and also because she was a full Thundercat and could speak for some of the newer ones who weren't there. The Thundercat council was mostly those that Lion-O had gone to Third Earth in addition to the three that had joined later plus Tillen as Lion-O's advisor. Lion-O was concerned about the presence of a saber given the history he had read earlier but both Tillen and Lynx-O had a different suggestion on this for him.
"I feel that Sindaris is good but at the same time there's something else going on with him that bears further watching and he could have some information on these raiders and marauders," Cheetara said.
"Even if we could validate his story why would we want him as part of the Thundercats?" Lioness-A asked which had several members thinking. Lion-O tapped his claws on the tabletop while considering this.
"The elders are clamoring for another saber Thundercat to join the ranks Lioness-A," Tillen said. "Which in theory could work but we would have to lay out something beforehand so we know if they are trustworthy. Since Sindaris is here we could start with him on trying something out."
"You're talking about something similar to those trials that I and the other new Thundercats went through a few months ago," Lioness-A said as he nodded.
"Something close to that and it would give us a chance to watch Sindaris and see how he responds in different situations," Lynx-O said. "The trials for new Thundercats are flexible in their setup so we can customize it as we need so it will work for this situation." Tillen looked at Lion-O.
"You have anything you want to add?" he asked.
"Just that I know most of the details from what happened in that war that Grune started and knowing the damage he caused," Lion-O said. "He not only damaged relations with the Thundercats, he also damaged the relations the saber elders have had with the Elders' Council." Lion-O frowned slightly as he thought a moment. "The only thing that I can think of for this is to allow Sindaris to come on board as a Thundercat-in-Training and see how he reacts to that and also as Tillen and Lynx-O have said, see how he handles certain situations, especially if the marauders were to try and attack as they have been doing."
"I like it Lion-O and it would work. He could work under either myself or Bengali or even Tygra as long as we work out something in the beginning for him," Panthro said as Bengali nodded.
"Then it's settled and I want either you or Bengali to be the one to tell him Panthro," Lion-O said. "We're treading into dangerous territory here so let's be cautious with it."
"Understood," Panthro said as the meeting broke up and everyone left the room except for Lioness-A when she saw her brother hadn't moved.
"Something wrong?" she asked him.
"Just wondering if we're doing the right thing with this," Lion-O said.
"Well we've met him so I guess all we can do is see how he does," Lioness-A said as he sighed. "There's more, isn't there?" she asked.
"Way Cheetara was watching him and talking to him after he arrived," Lion-O said as she sighed.
"It might be nothing or she's just using her sixth sense to gauge him," Lioness-A said.
"We'll see," Lion-O said as they left the room and went on their way.
.::~*~::.
Over in Syla Serin, a meeting was being held of the clan elders to decide whether or not they should let the Thundercats know they were back on New ThunDera
"Let's prepare for the journey and we'll call the main Lair in a week to set up a time and a place," Silaro said and dismissed the meeting so he could prepare for the meeting with King Lion-O.