Chapter 3 – Doing the Hardest Thing
The sun glistened on fresh fallen snow from over night. The Thunderkittens groaned at breakfast when they were asked to help clean up the snow. Cheetara couldn't do her morning run as she spent her hour getting rid of snow. The only spot yet to be cleaned off was the drawbridge. Alana slightly chuckled at their displeasure. She didn't think it was right for the ThunderCats to have the Thunderkittens do so much work but the kids were part of the team so they had to work just as hard as the others.
"Sometime kids I'll show you a way to have fun while working," Alana said when she finished eating. "When my sisters and I were kids, we used to have certain chores to do and we made a game out of it."
"Alana, how are you feeling today?" Lion-O asked.
"Ready to see the ship," she said with confidence. "It's been a couple of weeks since I've fallen in your good graces. It's time I get this done and over with. I know my fallen friends cannot be buried until spring but I'm tired of being on the sidelines."
"After the drawbridge is cleaned off, we'll head over. Wilykit. Wilykat. You two can stay here and look after Cats' Lair," Panthro suggested. "I should warn you there are a lot of holes in the hull"
"Holes?" Alana questioned as she heard the kids groan again. "There shouldn't be. We only took one major hit, which caused a hull breach, but it was contained."
"There were several holes and when you crashed, your ship was on fire," Lion-O said.
"Well yeah that was true. The flight deck was on fire. The fire first broke out in the engine room, source unknown. But it was after our first minor…" she paused. "…Hit." She went quiet.
"Is something wrong?" Wilykit asked. She noticed, as did the others, Alana's face turned white.
For several minutes, Alana went through her mind everything about the fight. When the color returned in her face she slowly answered more to herself. "If you say there were many holes and the fire only broke after the first minor hit…that would mean…damn it! Those Bastards!" She bent her head, slamming her fist on the table hard enough that everyone's glasses slightly vibrated.
"What?" Lion-O questioned, confused at the words.
With glassy eyes, Alana lifted her head at the Lord of the ThunderCats. "Sabotage. The ship was sabotaged before take off. Someone must have found out I was about to escape and knew I was looking for help. I have someone in mind who did it."
"Before we saw the ship crash," Panthro started. "What were the reports?"
"For the first little bit, it was smooth sailing. On the tenth day through, strange events started to occur. Minor systems were shutting down, but my youngest brother was able to get them back on line in no time.
"After a couple more days of going through system malfunctions, the attacks began. At first we couldn't see where the attacks were coming from. But we were only getting warning shots. I ignored the warnings. My fiancé figured I ignored him so demanded we surrender or he would shoot us down.
"The cat and mouse game lasted for a couple more days until I lost him in a nebula. We stayed there until we thought it was safe. Tony is scared of nebulas and knew I knew that. When we emerged, the real attack began."
"How long were you traveling before ending up here?" Tygra asked.
"A month. I don't even know where the nebula is. When the attack began, that's when things really started down hill. As soon as we exited, we were hit, that was fine. I ordered all weapons fire at will."
"I suppose that went on for a few days," Panthro offered.
"Yes. Both ships were built well. Tony wanted it that way. I never knew why he praised his ships but I do now. But suddenly we had a power drain and from that, Tony fired a shot. It was only a minor hit. A small fire began in the engine room but it quickly manifested when we were hit again, which then caused a hull breach. More minor damages happened shortly afterwards until the flight deck started was up in flames.
"Soon afterwards I was about to order abandon ship but quickly learned that the escape pods were malfunctioning and that was when I ordered a damaged report. There was a hull breach from levels two through six; emergency force fields were in place. I then ordered what our heading was; navigation was out. Suddenly we were in a pull downward, we were being pulled down."
"You were entering the atmosphere," Tygra concluded.
"That's what we guessed. I then ordered 'brace for impact'. I had already had known there were already lives lost. My eldest brother grabbed me and pulled me off to side and a bulkhead was pulled over top of me." A few tears unwillingly fell.
"I checked the ship all over, hoping not to disturb your fallen friends," Panthro said. "But I found the living quarters were untouched by the fire. Why is that?"
"Tony has all his ships made like that. He wanted to make sure if he or anyone else was trapped in their quarters when attacked, they would be safe. He is also greedy. If anyone loses their life, he would take their belongings."
"That's heartless," Tygra spat out. "Why would someone do that? That is something I'll never understand with humans."
"Humans are not the only beings out there who can be heartless," Alana said with slight anger. "There are other alien races who would be just as heartless and some even merciless as well."
"After today, I could start moving the bodies to a location so they're all together for when we help you bury them," Panthro suggested.
"Are you sure, you'll be all right with that?" Alana asked. "I know it would be hard on me to move…"
"It won't be too hard," Lion-O offered.
"Well we better let the kids get the bridge done so we may inspect the ship," Cheetara said. "In the meantime, I'm going to be in the control room." Cheetara stood and quickly sped away out of the room.
"Does she do that all the time?" Alana asked.
Panthro crossed his arms and smirked. "Yup. It's one thing you'll get used to. Well you two better get started."
"We're going," Wilykat whined. The two kids stood and left.
"That is if I'm here that long," Alana sighed.
Tygra looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"Well I don't want to impose or anything. I'm not a Thundercat, I doubt I'd fit in."
Lion-O looked at her. "You are more than welcomed to stay here for as long as you wish. You may not be a Thunderian, but I'm sure you'd be useful here and even if you aren't, we could always use other companionship."
"Lion-O's right," Panthro agreed. "And you would not be imposing."
"But what can I do? I don't have super strength. I wouldn't be able to help you if you were in trouble."
"That may be so about strength," Tygra said. "But you never know about helping us if we were in trouble. You are the daughter of Safari Joe, you may know a few tricks from him that could be useful."
"But I'm not Thunderian."
"Even though you're not Thunderian." Lion-O and Alana turned from the table. Before their eyes was Jaga. "You can be useful and with some work, you could become a Thundercat without being a Thunderian. Lion-O has the power to allow you to become a Thundercat and with his words, the Sword of Omens would call for you as well when danger is near."
"I can do that?" Lion-O asked, surprised.
"Yes, Lion-O," Jaga smiled. "With the Sword of Omens and a test, she can become a valued Thundercat, considering Snarf is one."
"But I don't find I'd be worthy," Alana said. Through the corner of her eyes, she could tell the other two ThunderCats were intrigued in what Jaga had to say. They were leaning back, smirking.
"Never say you are not worthy, until you try," Jaga said as he disappeared.
Lion-O turned back to his friends as Alana leaned her head down.
"That's the second time he's appeared in front of Alana," Tygra stated.
"I'm having a hard time believing, with a successful test, you could make Alana a Thundercat and the Sword of Omens would summon her if needed," Panthro said.
"Me too," Lion-O looked down at the sword.
Tygra stood and walked over to the woman. "Even Jaga says you are not imposing."
"I don't deserve your kindness," she replied with sadness. "But I am grateful. How long does it take the kids to clean off the bridge?"
"Usually a half hour," Panthro answered.
"Perhaps I'll go and help them." Alana stood and walked away as tears came to her eyes. She needed to leave the room before Tygra or the other two noticed she had tears forming in her eyes.
Tygra, as he watched her turn away from him, noticed her eyes were blurred with tears. He closed his eyes for a second and sighed. "She is still hiding her grief from us."
"Give her time," Lion-O suggested. "She has only known us for a short time. She isn't going to tell us what is on her mind over night."
"That is true but her grief is starting to drain her and if she soon doesn't talk to someone, it's only going to get worse."
"There's no sense in talking to her," Panthro stood. "She is about to get the biggest shock of her life and we're going to need to be there to help her through this. It is hard for me to work around those bodies. But it's no worse than helping Willa when the Mutants attack her village or when they attack anyone else's village. They are friends."
"Tygra, perhaps you should be with her. Out of all of us, she's more comfortable with you," Lion-O suggested.
Tygra nodded. "She is also comfortable with Cheetara. This is going to emotionally drain her."
"All we can do is give her any support she will allow us to offer," Panthro answered. "In my opinion it's too soon for her to see that ship."
"Even so," Lion-O intervened. "We have to respect her wishes and it's for the best in the long run. If the mutants were to get wind of the ship, they would not have any regard for the deceased."
Tygra nodded in agreement. "Well we better get ready. Today will be a long day."
The ride to the crash was silent. Alana, still feeling like she would be imposing didn't feel like striking a conversation. A few times Cheetara or Lion-O tried to strike a conversation but she would just apologize and didn't feel like speaking. While she waited for the worst to come, she glanced around the small space.
She and Cheetara sat at the very back as Lion-O sat in one of seats in front. Snarf lay on the floor near the opening to the front where Tygra and Panthro were. She could hear the two silently talking amongst themselves, but couldn't make out what they were saying.
When the tank stopped and the top hatch opened. She watched Cheetara jump out and noticed Lion-O had a hand out towards her. She slowly stood, taking a few quick breaths. She didn't bother to look behind her knowing she would see part of the ship.
"We can come back on another day," Lion-O offered softly while he gently grasped her hand so he could pull her close to him.
"No. I want this over with. I need to be strong. If I don't do it now, I never will have the stomach to do it."
Lion-O nodded. "Careful now. I'm about to jump."
Alana nodded, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. When she was secured on the ground, she slowly stepped away from the Lord of the ThunderCats, keeping her eyes averted to the ground.
She slowly bent down in the snow and clasped her hands together, bending her head further before saying a prayer. When her prayer was finished, she stood back up and turned to her new friends.
"It's called a prayer," she said as she looked at their confused faces.
"Is it another human custom?" Panthro asked.
"Actually it is. It's a custom that dates back to when the humans were on this planet. The humans once called it the 'Lord's Prayer'." Bending her head back down, she turned to face the ship and slowly raised her head.
A slight gasp escaped her lips and she took a step back until bumping into a solid body. She felt Tygra's presence directly behind ready to give any support she needed. She took in a quivering breath before taking a step forward.
"We can start where ever you like," Panthro started very cautiously. He didn't want to scare the woman. "The flight deck and engine room took the heaviest damage."
"Start…" she paused. "Start from the bottom. My brothers are on the bridge. After I get this done, have all the…" she wasn't sure what she wanted to call her friends. "…Fallen placed neatly in the rooms until we can bury them."
"I have an idea on that," Panthro suggested. "I have been doing an experiment with the Thundertank. And I think I have found away to bury them now instead of waiting until spring."
Alana swiftly turned to the panther. "How?"
"I made a slight modification to the guns on the Thundertank. I believe I could thaw the ground to bury everyone. With the scrap I've been able to salvage so far, I made crypt for your fallen friends. From what I've found you had a crew of 69. And I made the crypt to fit all of them."
"Including myself there were 70. The ship looks small on the outside but inside is another matter. Tony wanted small looking ships but a crew capacity of more. So small bridges and engine rooms were built."
"All we have to do is get everyone in the crypt and create a burial sight."
"If it's all right with you, I'd rather the sight be here. Will this crypt be crowded?"
"No. Each person will have their own pocket as if it were a coffin."
"Thank you." She turned back to the ship and began a slow journey to where the engine room was located. She entered through one of the holes in the hull. Other than the hole there was no other light shining through.
Behind her, Tygra climbed in, though he had good eyesight, he produced a light for Alana.
"Thank you. I've always heard cats had good eyesight in the dark and I figured yours were no different."
"Not only do we have good eyes in the dark but we have a good sense of direction as well."
"Is it going to be hard to get to the engine room?" Though still saddened, Alana was able to control her emotions as if she was doing a salvage operation for another ship.
"No we already cleaned the debris away from all the major areas," Panthro answered. "Just be careful as you walk, there is some loose bulkheads and some of the floor could buckle."
Alana led the way down to the engine room. When they reached the room, Alana quickly noticed bodies. Some laid as if they were sleeping while others were leaned over consoles. Tears brimmed her eyes, but she refused to let them drop. She needed to get this over with so the ThunderCats could get use of the ship and so she could complete her grieving.
Closing her eyes from the pain. "Can anything in here be salvaged?"
"We haven't really taken much of a look," Tygra answered. "We didn't want to disturb anything until you looked at it. But I'm sure there is."
"Yesterday when I was here. I came across one of the quarters that may still have an operational computer."
"That would be the master's quarters, which would have been set for Tony."
"I take it," Cheetara said. "Tony is the guy you ran away from?"
"Yes. And he built his ships so certain rooms would withstand anything." Her voiced suddenly began to whisper, head lowered. "Megan, Trish, Michael, Dan, Tracey, Francine, Chris, Jason and Travis. May you rest in peace. I might not have known you for too long but you all understood my views. I wish you were all here but I need to live on and make sure Tony doesn't win by allowing my grief consume me."
She lifted her head up to look at Lion-O. "Over in the corner was the main console for the engine room. Later we if can get the computers back up and running we could find out if anything from the hyper drive is salvageable."
Lion-O nodded in agreement.
"Just beside the console there is a hatchway that leads to crawl space where you'll find most of the computer chips that ran the ship. There are many different crawl spaces across the ship." She turned and looked at her fallen friends again and quickly regretted it. "Can we leave this room? Please."
"Of course," Lion-O said. "We'll go to the next room."
They went to every room of the ship and whenever they came across a room with bodies, Alana whispered a prayer to them. When they finally reached the flight deck, she wasn't sure she wanted to go through with it but she knew she had to.
Tygra, for support, grasped her hand and gave it gentle squeeze before entering. She quickly closed her eyes as they entered, she didn't want to back out as they entered. When they stopped, she forcefully opened her eyes.
She quickly scanned the room and just as she came across her chair, she gasped. Before her eyes she saw her brothers. Her eldest brother lay beside the chair, eyes wide opened as dried blood stained his face. She gasped in horror and quickly turned, covering her face in Tygra's chest as heavy sobs came out.
Tygra wrapped his arms around her and with quick observation; he noticed her legs were starting to give away. He slowly lowered himself and her to the floor as he looked at Lion-O who
shrugged.
"Maybe you should take her home," Lion-O suggested.
"No," she cried in Tygra's chest. "I need this," she whispered.
"Lion-O," Tygra said softy. "As much as we don't like this, she needs this. With this out of the way, we can place her friends and brothers in the crypt and bury them."
Alana, feeling comfortable wrapped in Tygra's arms, cried. She tried to cry silently but the sobs just wouldn't stay silent. As she listened, she felt a cool breeze brush past her shoulder. Though she was wearing thick clothing, she was able to feel the breeze. It made her remember what Jaga said about her brothers always being with her.
She began to calm her tears as she remembered the good times with her brothers and the last few moments of their lives. Josh pushed her out of the way for her to live. He knew everyone's lives were gone but he wanted her to live.
She remembered back when they first departed…
[Flashback]
"Is everything ready to launch?" Alana asked.
"We are ready at your command. But we should soon hurry. It won't take Tony long to figure you are not in your chambers getting prepared for your wedding." A young woman with short black hair said.
Alana snapped her head away. "Megan, I don't need to be reminded of that. I will not marry someone I do not love nor will I allow my father to do what he pleases to me as he did with my sisters."
"I'm sorry," she apologized. Megan turned towards the ship and read the name. "Renegade. That's a fitting name for the ship."
"That's why I chose this one. It's befitting to our departure."
"Yo, sis."
Alana turned to see her eldest brother coming around the corner. She smiled as he approached. "Josh."
"Well I'd better make sure the engine room is secure," Megan excused herself. "I'll be chief of engineering."
When Megan was gone, Josh spoke. "Listen, what we are about to do is treason. Are you sure you want to go through with this."
"Josh you are the eldest sibling. You have seen our sisters be forced into marriages and we haven't heard from any of them and they were married off when they turned eighteen. My eighteenth birthday is soon arriving, I will not be like my sisters."
"I know. I just want to make sure that this is what you want. All of us are in this together and we back you up all the way. I just want to make sure you are not getting cold feet."
"I am not going to marry that monster. He locks me in my room when I'm not needed. I can't go anywhere without an escort. I have no private time."
"What is our heading?"
"Third Earth. I want to enlist the help of the ThunderCats. If what father says is true, they can stop father and we can finally be free."
"Are you sure these ThunderCats will help us. They are complete strangers."
"From what father has told his friends, the ThunderCats are a kind race who fight with honor and loyalty. They do not stand by and watch the helpless get hurt. Besides Manadora has said the same thing, when she visited last month. In secret, I had a private meeting with her and she told me the same thing father said."
"And Mandora doesn't lie."
"No, she doesn't. But I need to keep Mandora out of this as much as possible. When we meet the ThunderCats, I do not want them to know she knows our father."
"I agree. Well we better board. Tom, Terry, Steve, David and Carl are waiting for us. They are already aboard and waiting on the bridge for us."
"Six brothers, helping their youngest sister run away. How weird is that?" Alana asked but quickly changed the subject. "Then let us get moving before we waste anymore time."
"One more thing before we go. When he finds out you're missing, and he will, he will come after us. He'll either try and retrieve us or shoot us down, considering we are taking one of his best ships and he doesn't like seeing his ships in anyone else's hands.
"I just want you to know, if my life is lost during this, I want you to live. Tony will want to try and ruin your life and the best way to do that is by destroying everything that matters, including your spirit. That spirit was almost lost once and if it weren't for me and our brothers, that spirit would have been lost forever."
"And I thank you everyday for that."
"Yes and I don't want the spirit to die because of me or our brothers."
"Josh…"
"No. I don't want to hear buts or anything. I want you to promise me that you will live if we don't."
"I promise." Alana hugged her brother and the two entered the ship to begin their long journey to Third Earth.
[End flashback]
The words Alana said to her brother suddenly kept going through her mind over and over again. 'I promise'. She couldn't ignore nor break a promise. She looked up at Tygra as she realized they were on the floor.
"I need to be strong," she whispered. She gently pushed herself from the tiger's arms and slowly stood.
Lion-O was going to help but she held her hand up to stop him. He took the silent jester and backed away from her, leaving Tygra beside her. When she was completely on her feet, she moved towards the main part of the bridge where her brother lay, broken.
"You feared this would happen," she whispered to the body. "I will not break my promise but it will not be easy. I will allow these Thunderians to help me move on. I know you are standing beside me."
With shaky hands, she covered his eyes, to close them so she wouldn't have to look at the haunting look. When she removed her hands, she felt her body begin to fall. She knew darkness was about to envelop her as seeing her brothers was too overwhelming.
Before falling too far, she felt herself being slowly lowered. She knew Tygra had caught her before she fell too far and held her in his arms. She managed to look up with blurred vision to see the concerned look of her tiger friend as darkness fully consumed her. There wasn't anything more she could do. She wanted the darkness to take over. She needed peace and to get out but didn't want to venture back through the darkened tomb.