Chapter 11
Pali entered the secure conference room and Cheetara could sense something was up. Her whole body had felt like it had been wired this whole time and she'd been pushing it aside to function. Now she grabbed Lion-O's arm and he didn't even need to look at her to know what she was thinking.
"What's going on Pali?" Lion-O asked.
"I am sorry to interrupt but Lord Tygra thought I should speak to you," the lizard said.
"We're just waiting on news. If you'll excuse me, I believe the good Thunderian doctors should be brought up to speed," Mwende smiled slightly and exited the room.
"All right tell us what's up," Panthro said.
"My mother has taken a turn for the worse. She won't survive a mass evacuation," Pali spoke so quickly that the words just tumbled out. Before he knew what was happening, Cheetara had her arms around him in a big hug.
"What can we do to help?" She asked after releasing him from the hug.
"President Kachi says that the medical transport is scheduled in an hour but the doctors won't let my father join her. She could die before reaching New Thundera. He must go with her," Pali's shoulders slumped.
"Ok. Does she need some sort of procedure? Is there any way we help to get her stable until Tygra and Pumyra can help her?" Lion-O asked.
"The equipment that is helping her breathe is sensitive and these earthquakes have been disrupting them. If we can stabilize the equipment she might have a better shot so that the doctors can switch her to a more robust apparatus that would survive travel and perform the necessary surgery to fix her lungs. They don't want to chance her having to deal the with pressure differential inside the ship when they evacuate without the surgery. Everyone at the hospital has been trying their best but they can't get her stable," he explained.
"Let the way kid. Ben-Gali and I will get the equipment stable," Panthro told him.
"Thank you sir. You have no idea how much this means to me and my father," the Mutant said. Panthro clapped him on the back but before they could leave the room, Lion-O spoke up,
"Be safe out there. If need be, evacuate with Pali's people. Tara and I can fly the Feliner home." Panthro nodded and then led Pali out the door so they could grab Ben-Gali. As they left, Mwende walked back into the room with Doctors Summa and Centi.
"The progression algorithm is complete. We've entered the last quake data and so far the numbers are promising. If the last quake was in fact the last one, the tremors should ride themselves out by tomorrow afternoon and then we'll have to check for planet stability and other factors. Once we've done that then we can determine if the planet is safe," Centi explained.
"Then I think it would be foolish to stop the evacuations that are already scheduled. Should the markers not prove in our favor or there are more quakes then we will have wasted precious time," Mwende said.
"I concur. Any thoughts on the holes created for those earthquake machines?" Lion-O asked.
"Well trying to fill them won't work. The best thing I think that could be done would be to provide some sort of safety enclosure around them. Since they are outside the biospheres, it isn't like people will be travelling near them. Though President Mwende explained Doctor Sven and Doctor Ali's concerns, and I have to admit, they are right. It will take more thought on our part for a solution," Summa spoke up.
"Very well. See what you can come up with," Lion-O urged them. They nodded and headed back out to the laboratory.
"We need to find the people responsible for this," Mwende clenched his fists.
"They're betting on us being distracted by evacuations. Which makes me wonder if the people responsible haven't already left," the lion frowned.
To Be Continued…