Back on New Thundera, Tygra looked at the plans that had been drawn up all those years ago whilst they were making temporary homes on New Thundera. They were good plans but the tiger wondered if they could be finished in time. Time. They didn't have much of it and despite all of the volunteers and trained personnel; things were going to be tough.
"Lord Tygra, we have a call from Mars. It's Pali. He says he needs your help," Punthar told him over the phone.
"Patch the call through," Tygra said. In a few moments the reptile was on the screen.
"I would ask what is going on but that's a pretty loaded question," the tiger gave him a half smile.
"My mother is not doing well. I worry that she will not survive the evacuation," he said.
"Can you move up her timetable? I know that your people aren't scheduled for evacuation for a little while but perhaps a less strenuous trip would be more beneficial," Tygra wanted to know.
"I have asked President Kachi. He is trying to see what the timetable is for people who need medical attention. The doctors are doing what they can but…" Pali trailed off.
"Stay strong my friend. Alert Lion-O. He may be able to help. Also, send over your mother's medical files. I'll prep for her arrival," Tygra told him.
"Thanks my friend. I…" again the reptile couldn't find the words.
"I know. We'll do everything we can," the tiger gave him a slight smile. With that the call ended and Tygra got up, moving for the exit of his office. He headed down to the Med Bay and told Pumyra the news.
"Oh that doesn't sound good," the puma shook her head. The two of them heard an alert that there was a file incoming via Pali's personal computer. They had set up a special connection for him when he would go to Mars to visit his family.
"I hate to admit it but he's right. His mother won't take the stress of being mass evacuated," Pumyra said as she scanned the file.
"I told him to talk to Lion-O. Hopefully they can do something on their end. I'm afraid that we can't do anything until she gets here," Tygra heaved a sigh. Pumyra nodded, hoping that things were going well on the Red Planet.
"How goes it Doctors?" Mwende asked from the video feed.
"Detaching it shouldn't be a problem because it seems that our saboteurs didn't actually attach anything to the plates. They put what I would call a large tuning fork in a hole they had created using the latest in laser digging equipment," Sven explained.
"Will the hole create a problem for us?" Mwende wanted to know.
"Considering how deep it is and the fact that it is near the planet's core, I would say yes," Ali told him.
"What kind of problem?" Lion-O spoke up.
"Essentially they have created a baby volcano. Lava from the planet's core could travel up this smooth shaft to release pressure from below, especially now since they've created new faults where there were none before. Worse still, another good sized earthquake and the hole could widen and cause things, including people, to fall in," Sven shook his head.
"Great Jaga's Ghost," Panthro murmured. Before the President could comment another tremor hit the building. Sven's picture disappeared from the screen and the second leader of one of the other security groups appeared.
"We've stopped a second machine and the other crews have reported finding nothing at the other sites given to us. The men operating the machine are down. What should we do?" He asked.
"Send your coordinates to the first group. We need to get both of these things shut down as quickly as possible," Mwende told him.
"Yes, sir!" The screen then pulled Sven back up who had completely removed the machine from its hole thanks with the help of the security forces. The large tuning fork portion seemed to be missing.
"They have a retraction button on them but it apparently was only meant for a one time use. The fork fell into the hot magma," the fair skinned man explained.
"I need you to head to a second location where we have stopped a second attempt. You should be getting coordinates now," Mwende told him.
"We're on the move but we are leaving a few men behind to guard the hole," Ali spoke up.
"Good call. Contact us again when you've reached the second site," the President ordered. With that the call ended and Lion-O was about to suggest speaking to the two Thunderian doctors when there was a knock on the door of the secure conference room.
To Be Continued…