Lost on Planet G889 Chapter 3
I've provided background info and photos for Lost in Space as well as Earth 2.
http://scifijoan.livejournal.com/3051.html and http://scifijoan.livejournal.com/3145.html
Chapter 1 http://scifijoan.livejournal.com/1639.html
Chapter 2 http://scifijoan.livejournal.com/2561.html
Chapter 3
Tuesday August 2nd
“What about the Keeper?” Penny excitedly reminded Will. The Robinson family, along with Don, Dr. Smith and their four guests, remained seated about their outdoor dining table, even though the meal had been finished more than an hour ago.
“Who could forget him? He had this amazing collection of exotic animals. They were really neat! But he wanted to add Penny and I to his collection. He had this staff which some how hypnotically drew us to him. It worked on Dr. Smith too,” Will smirked at that memory.
“It most certainly did not.” Dr. Smith tried to flatly deny it but the Robinson’s good natured chuckles, along with the Robot’s loud guffaw, indicated that he wasn’t fooling anyone. Trying to shift the focus of the conversation he mentioned, “What about that unusual fellow, Mr. Zumdish?”
“The Celestial Department Store,” John Robinson rolled his eyes. He explained to the men, “Doctor Smith accidently ordered an android from a remote unit. He couldn’t pay for her, so Zumdish and his goons came to collect. That was an interesting experience.”
John Robinson studied their guests seated around the table. They’d been friendly and talkative until the conversation had turned to describing their alien encounters while traveling in outer space. Suddenly, they were reserved, making few comments. The thin man called Morgan Martin, who sported a long dark pony tail, deliberately hid his expressions, often covering his mouth with his palm.
“So most of the aliens you’ve run into on your travels have been human?” The tall curly headed blonde named Danziger asked.
“Humanoid,” the Robot corrected. “Resembling humans, but anatomically not the same.”
“That’s right, “John Robinson agreed. “Though, we’ve encountered plenty of other types of life forms as well.”
“Like those creatures in the colony ship when the Jupiter first went out of control right after we launched,” Will eagerly volunteered.
“Good heavens, those slimy bubble-like things? Must we go on about them?” Dr. Smith objected, making a face.
Perking up for the first time that evening, Don teased, “As I recall Dr. Smith, their Galaxy Tribunal of Justice almost locked you away in intergalactic prison.”
The Major had spent most of the evening sulking while Judy had been showered with attention from Walman and Alonzo, who flanked her at the table.
“Must you remind me.”
“What about the alien from the beauty contest? He was made of fire and the planet he came from had a methane atmosphere,” Penny explained.
“Beauty contest?” Alonzo perked up, turning to Judy.
“Is there something you haven’t told us?” Walman added.
Her blush deepening, Judy protested, “It wasn’t much, really.”
“I don’t know, being declared “Miss Galaxy” seemed like an honor to me.” Penny added. “You looked so beautiful in that dress with your hair arranged all fancy.”
“You won, of course,” Walman stated.
“But the winner had to go away with the flame alien and live on his planet. Judy couldn’t survive there but they didn’t seem to care about that. Don saved her before they could take her away,” Penny relayed with pride.
“Come now,” John Robinson prompted, curiosity getting the better of him, “You’ve been listening to our stories for a while now. You must have similar adventures to share. You’re space travelers too.”
Earlier during their meal, the men had shared that Alonzo was a pilot and Danziger and Walman had done Ops work on space ships.
He noticed the men looking cautiously towards Danziger, whom he suspected was their leader. John Robinson believed that they were concealing something but he wasn’t sure what. Or why. The Robot had privately confirmed they were fully human, so he wasn’t concerned in that respect.
Perhaps they’d had some rough experiences which were difficult to talk about. Earlier John Danziger had spoken of his daughter True, who was near Penny’s age, yet he hadn’t mentioned his wife. If she had been killed during such an encounter, it might account for their reticence.
After a moment, Danziger responded, “Most of our ‘alien’ encounters have been with the beings on this planet.”
“Like Grendlers,” Morgan spoke with disgust.
Walman directed his comments to Judy, “Huge, hulking, mangy creatures. Drooling constantly. They’ll steal anything they can get their hands on. Be careful with your drilling gear. They’re strong and they’ll walk right off with it.”
“They looted our cargo pods,” Alonzo added. “Even took a VTO aircraft. That’s why we’re stuck essentially walking across this continent to reach the rendezvous point in New Pacifica.”
“And then there’s the Terrians,” Morgan reminded them.
“Those Diggers,” Walman said derisively, shaking his head.
“Have you had unpleasant interactions with them?” John Robinson asked.
Morgan answered, “It’s hard to explain. We just don’t speak the same language.”
“Now that’s interesting,” Maureen Robinson, the red haired matriarch said. “During most of our encounters with aliens, we’ve found that the concepts of family and love are universal.”
Morgan sputtered, laughing, “Well…not necessarily for the Terrians.”
“What are these Terrians like?” Will asked rather intently. He wondered if those were the beings he and Dr. Smith had a run in with earlier in the cave.
The men looked towards Alonzo. He grinned, “I’m sort of the resident expert.”
“He’s the only one who can talk to the Diggers. He does it in his dreams,” Walman explained.
“How unusual,” commented John Robinson.
“What are they like?” Penny asked.
“I guess you could say they were humanoid - in some manners resembling humans in form but definitely not human otherwise. They have some sort of bond with this planet. They can easily travel through the ground. If the ground is damaged, it hurts the Terrians as well,” Alonzo explained.
Will wondered. “Are they friendly?”
“They can be. They’ve helped us out. They healed a young boy in our group. I told you earlier that many children at the Stations have been afflicted with a disease called The Syndrome. We still don’t understand how or why the Terrians did it. But it’s easy to cross them without even realizing you’ve done it. Be careful if you come across them,” Danziger advised.
John Robinson rose. “It’s getting late, but would you like a tour of our ship, the Jupiter 2?”
“Sure,” Danziger enthusiastically responded, standing up as well.
As others began to rise, Walman boldly asked Judy, “Perhaps you’d like to go for a walk?”
After a brief hesitation, Judy answered, “I’d love to.”
“John, you’re not gonna let Judy just walk off with this guy? We barely know him,” Don objected.
“Don!” Judy warned, embarrassed by his behavior.
John Robinson was fully aware of the rising tension in the young pilot. As much as he liked Don and considered him part of the family, it wasn’t his place to dictate the terms of the relationship between Don and his daughter. He hated to see her hurt Don in this fashion. However, as hard as it was for him to admit, Judy was an adult now and needed to be treated as such.
“It’s her decision.”
Putting her hand about Walman’s proffered arm, she walked off without a backward glance.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Don hung back by the viewport, under the pretense of examining a blinking console as John showed Danziger and Alonzo about the main deck of the Jupiter 2. It irked him that John was so trusting. Inviting complete strangers to dinner? How did he know these men wouldn’t try to steal the Chariot or their space ship in the dead of night? From their ragged appearance, it was apparent these men had been living under rather primitive conditions.
His resentment simmered as he wondered how Judy could’ve run off so eagerly with Walman. Hadn’t the past three years meant anything to her? Once again, Smith’s meddling had brought them nothing but trouble.
John Robinson gestured to various panels and then led the men to the central astrogator, a large circular instrument residing in the center of the deck. A clear dome covered the unit. In many ways, it resembled a sun dial.
“You mentioned you had some expertise in mechanics. Perhaps you can take a look at our astrogator. Doctor Smith damaged the controls, resulting in our crash.”
Damaged? That was a gross understatement. Unbidden, the memory returned to Don. Smith was holding the control lever for the astrogator hostage as he tried to blackmail them into changing their coordinates to those for Earth. Of course, no one, not even the Robot, could substantiate his bearings, and even if they had been valid, the Jupiter lacked sufficient fuel for such a course change. But common sense had never been one of Smith’s strong suites.
After Smith refused to listen to reason, John called his bluff, thinking the man wouldn’t be foolish enough to endanger their lives. Naturally, expecting the good doctor to act rationally was equally foolhardy. He did the unthinkable, mangling the controls and in the process sending them into a massive hyper drive. They were lucky they hadn’t been killed.
With a puzzled expression, Danziger examined the unit. “I’d…have to play around with it.”
“Of course. Maybe we can check it out in the morning. We’d appreciate any assistance you could provide. Usually Don and I do a pretty good job figuring things out, but we’ve been stumped by this.”
“Smith really did it this time,” Don mumbled, his anger starting to choke him.
He and John had tried everything, without success. Even if they were able to obtain sufficient quantities of deutronium fuel, without a functional navigation system, they would be permanently grounded. The eternal optimist, John had withheld this information from the family, hopeful that he and Don would eventually figure things out. He didn’t want to worry them. However, it was enough to keep Don awake nights.
“Your Doctor Smith sounds a little like our Morgan Martin,” Danziger commented.
Morgan was conveniently below deck with Maureen and Penny while Will, Smith and the Robot had disappeared outside, claiming some project that needed attention.
“What’s this?” Alonzo gestured to an analog display on an instrument panel.
“Our atomic clock. It was also damaged in the crash. Can you believe it says the current year is 2214?” John laughed.
Their visitors didn’t seem to think it was funny.
The elevator connecting the two decks arrived with Morgan, Maureen and Penny.
Morgan stepped out. “They have a fully functioning galley. And a bathroom with a sonic shower.” Barely concealed envy filled his voice. He even sounded a little like Smith.
“Well, certainly. Don’t you?” John Robinson asked.
Danziger reminded him. “Like we said, our ship was damaged. There was a problem with the cargo release circuit. We barely made it out alive in the escape pods. We’re still finding our jettisoned cargo containers strewn across the continent. We’ve managed to recover a few vehicles but for the most part, we walk.”
“Do you have far to go?”
Wearily, Danziger nodded.
Morgan turned sad eyes towards Mrs. Robinson but Danziger interrupted.
“No! You are not imposing yourself on these people. Don’t even ask.”
Despite his foul mood, Don grinned. If only Smith were that easy to control.
“But, we certainly wouldn’t mind.” Kind hearted Maureen took pity on the man.
Danziger’s tone dramatically changed as he turned toward Mrs. Robinson. “Thank you but it’s not necessary. You’ve already done more than enough sharing dinner with us and we appreciate that. We’ve imposed enough. We need to check on the Dune Rail anyway.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Judy hadn’t felt this alive for a long time. After the tedium of repairs and monotonous daily chores, meeting new people was always a welcome change. And to have not one but two handsome men flirting with her? It was better than she could’ve dreamed. The attention made her feel pretty. Special. Desirable. She hadn’t felt that way for months. The sensation was so intoxicating she could almost ignore her poor behavior with respect to Don.
“Are you cold?” Walman asked.
“No, I’m fine. It’s such a beautiful night,” Judy answered. The two had walked along the valley and found some rocks to sit on while they watched the stars.
It wasn’t as if she and Don hadn’t done this hundreds of times before. On Priplanus, they’d even worn a groove in the rocks from sitting in the same positions for so many nights. Yet, for the first time in weeks, she was with a desirable man in the moonlight and his attention was fully focused on her rather than obsessing about problems.
Of the two men, clearly Alonzo was more comfortable around women. His compliments flowed easily while Walman stumbled while making conversation. It was also a little difficult to find common grounds, given they’d come from such divergent places. That didn’t bother her. In fact, it made him more appealing. She enjoyed the special effort Walman made to please her. It was sweet.
“How do you like Planet G889?”
She laughed, “Not a very imaginative name- is it? I like it. It reminds me of Earth. What about you?”
“It’s okay. I’m used to the Stations or space ships. You know - climate control, bland but relatively constant supply of food and water. It can be a pain dealing with some of the day to day survival issues here. The summer heat. The snow in winter. Having to buddle up every day was a pain in...” He cut off his sentence, remembering he was with a lady.
“Weren’t you expecting that?”
Walman reminded her, “I wasn’t supposed to land on this planet. I was part of the Ops crew. The crash changed all that.”
“Is there some one at your stations waiting for you?”
“With over forty four years passing by the time we would’ve gotten back to port, it wouldn’t have mattered if I did.”
Judy’s eyes widened. “Don’t you miss your family?”
He shrugged. “You take opportunities where you get them. It’s hard to find good paying jobs so you put up with some inconveniences.”
Astounded, Judy replied, “But twenty two years in suspended animation? And that’s only one way. That sounds like a major inconvenience. We were supposed to be in freezing tubes for five and half years, but it ended up being less than eight hours.”
Sensing that Walman was curious, she assured him, “You don’t want to know.” She wasn’t about to put a damper on the evening talking about Dr. Smith and the events which had condemned them to being lost in space.
“What’s it like being out that long?” she asked.
“It doesn’t feel any different than normal sleep. It just takes a while to adjust when you first wake up. What about you? How did you come to be a…” he searched for the right words. “A space family?”
She loved the way he always turned to conversion back to her. “It wasn’t easy. We went through test after test. I didn’t want to go at first but..” She couldn’t tell him her attraction to Don was part of what had changed her mind.
“I’d miss my family too much. Aunts and cousins just wouldn’t be the same as my parents and Will and Penny. We’re a close family. Besides, in many respects, it seemed like a grand adventure.”
Walman laughed dryly. “I think I’ve had enough adventure for this life time.”
“Me too.”
He cautiously asked, “So, are you and the Major a couple?”
Why did he have to spoil it all and bring up Don? She was having such a nice time. She didn’t want to talk about that. She had strong feelings for Don, no doubt. Those had never faded. However, it was complicated. Don was furious with her and she’d hurt him tonight. But he didn’t own her. He needed to learn to control his temper and stop blaming Dr. Smith for all his problems.
“It’s not that simple,” she sighed.
Not wanting to push his luck, he merely replied, “Okay.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“I agree, Will Robinson. The flashing lights may be a code,” the Robot stated. He, Will and Dr. Smith were gathered about a folding table. They’d set up their makeshift lab in a rock alcove, just out of sight of the Jupiter 2. Samples of the glowing orange rocks sat on the table top, along with a microscope, test tubes and several bottles containing chemicals.
“Nonsense! It’s a rock,” Dr. Smith firmly claimed.
“Do you think you can crack the code?” Will asked.
“I shall do my best,” the Robot solemnly promised, raising his claw to his bubble brow in a boy scout salute.
Will wondered what they would learn. It was always exciting to interact with unusual species. “I wonder what they’re saying.”
“Balderdash. They are not alive,” Dr. Smith emphatically stated.
“You don’t know that. Maybe it goes beyond our standard definition of life - breathing, eating and sleeping. Perhaps our definition has been limited by our experiences.”
“Come, come. Enough of this theoretical mumbo jumbo. What about Lunite’s more useful properties?” Dr. Smith asked.
Will checked the thermometer adjacent to the sample. “The temperature around this rock hasn’t changed since dinner, remaining at least five degrees higher than the surroundings. And the temperature in the insulated container is still almost ten degrees higher than ambient.”
“Source of heat as well as light,” Dr. Smith mused.
“You could use it to warm up your tent on a camping trip,” Will claimed.
“Pish, posh. Don’t limit yourself to the banal. Think grander, my dear boy. Picture a ceremonial hall, filled only with the warm orange glow of Lunite. What a marvelous sight that would be.”
Will asked the Robot, “What is it composed of?”
“Silt and clay. Typical components of sedimentary rocks,” the Robot rattled off.
“That doesn’t account for the glow,” Dr. Smith spoke more to himself.
“Warning! Warning! Alien life form approaching!” The Robot waved his claws in the air.
A rumbling disturbed them. A tall tan creature, similar to the ones they’d encountered in the chamber earlier that day, had appeared from the ground.
Dr. Smith cowered by Will and the Robot.
“Do something you incompetent booby!” Dr. Smith shouted at the Robot.
“Wait,” Will bravely stepped forward towards the creature.
“What are you doing?” Dr. Smith cried.
Addressing the being, Will explained, “My name is Will Robinson. And this is Doctor Smith. We crashed on to your planet a few weeks ago. We are friendly, we mean you no harm.”
Odd sounds issued from the creature. “Didididi.”
“Robot - can you translate?”
“As you are aware, I am well versed in many languages and received my diploma in linguistics from Robotic U. Unfortunately, this language is not in my data banks.”
“Didididididid.”
“Do you think he wants the rocks back? Alonzo said the Terrians had a relationship with the planet. These could be an important part of that.”
Dr. Smith began to relax since the creature merely watched them.
“Nonsense. He’s just curious. That’s all. And how do we even know if he’s one of those ‘Terrians’? Maybe it’s an entirely different species with rather limited intelligence.”
Dr. Smith took a minuscule step towards the creature. “We are space travelers stranded on this dreary planet and we will be leaving. Soon.” Gesturing with his hands, he waved to dismiss the creature. “Shoo.”
It didn’t move.
“Maybe I’ll test out my theory,” Will mumbled.
Before he could grab an orange rock, Dr. Smith slyly mentioned, “Didn’t you tell me that Lunite, er… these rocks were a potential source of energy? Don’t you want to help the family? Imagine if, God forbid, we’re stuck in this retched place this winter. What if there are problems with our power source? We could use these rocks for heat and light. Don’t you want to be a hero?’
Although Will was getting too old to fall for Dr. Smith’s lines, he had a big heart. He always wanted to do his share to help the family. His hand fell to his side.
The creature returned into the earth, leaving no evidence of its visit.
Dr. Smith heaved a sigh of relief. “There boy, you see. He was only curious. That’s all. However, I suggest we store the samples on the space ship for safe keeping.”
TBC
http://scifijoan.livejournal.com/3051.html and http://scifijoan.livejournal.com/3145.html
Chapter 1 http://scifijoan.livejournal.com/1639.html
Chapter 2 http://scifijoan.livejournal.com/2561.html
Chapter 3
Tuesday August 2nd
“What about the Keeper?” Penny excitedly reminded Will. The Robinson family, along with Don, Dr. Smith and their four guests, remained seated about their outdoor dining table, even though the meal had been finished more than an hour ago.
“Who could forget him? He had this amazing collection of exotic animals. They were really neat! But he wanted to add Penny and I to his collection. He had this staff which some how hypnotically drew us to him. It worked on Dr. Smith too,” Will smirked at that memory.
“It most certainly did not.” Dr. Smith tried to flatly deny it but the Robinson’s good natured chuckles, along with the Robot’s loud guffaw, indicated that he wasn’t fooling anyone. Trying to shift the focus of the conversation he mentioned, “What about that unusual fellow, Mr. Zumdish?”
“The Celestial Department Store,” John Robinson rolled his eyes. He explained to the men, “Doctor Smith accidently ordered an android from a remote unit. He couldn’t pay for her, so Zumdish and his goons came to collect. That was an interesting experience.”
John Robinson studied their guests seated around the table. They’d been friendly and talkative until the conversation had turned to describing their alien encounters while traveling in outer space. Suddenly, they were reserved, making few comments. The thin man called Morgan Martin, who sported a long dark pony tail, deliberately hid his expressions, often covering his mouth with his palm.
“So most of the aliens you’ve run into on your travels have been human?” The tall curly headed blonde named Danziger asked.
“Humanoid,” the Robot corrected. “Resembling humans, but anatomically not the same.”
“That’s right, “John Robinson agreed. “Though, we’ve encountered plenty of other types of life forms as well.”
“Like those creatures in the colony ship when the Jupiter first went out of control right after we launched,” Will eagerly volunteered.
“Good heavens, those slimy bubble-like things? Must we go on about them?” Dr. Smith objected, making a face.
Perking up for the first time that evening, Don teased, “As I recall Dr. Smith, their Galaxy Tribunal of Justice almost locked you away in intergalactic prison.”
The Major had spent most of the evening sulking while Judy had been showered with attention from Walman and Alonzo, who flanked her at the table.
“Must you remind me.”
“What about the alien from the beauty contest? He was made of fire and the planet he came from had a methane atmosphere,” Penny explained.
“Beauty contest?” Alonzo perked up, turning to Judy.
“Is there something you haven’t told us?” Walman added.
Her blush deepening, Judy protested, “It wasn’t much, really.”
“I don’t know, being declared “Miss Galaxy” seemed like an honor to me.” Penny added. “You looked so beautiful in that dress with your hair arranged all fancy.”
“You won, of course,” Walman stated.
“But the winner had to go away with the flame alien and live on his planet. Judy couldn’t survive there but they didn’t seem to care about that. Don saved her before they could take her away,” Penny relayed with pride.
“Come now,” John Robinson prompted, curiosity getting the better of him, “You’ve been listening to our stories for a while now. You must have similar adventures to share. You’re space travelers too.”
Earlier during their meal, the men had shared that Alonzo was a pilot and Danziger and Walman had done Ops work on space ships.
He noticed the men looking cautiously towards Danziger, whom he suspected was their leader. John Robinson believed that they were concealing something but he wasn’t sure what. Or why. The Robot had privately confirmed they were fully human, so he wasn’t concerned in that respect.
Perhaps they’d had some rough experiences which were difficult to talk about. Earlier John Danziger had spoken of his daughter True, who was near Penny’s age, yet he hadn’t mentioned his wife. If she had been killed during such an encounter, it might account for their reticence.
After a moment, Danziger responded, “Most of our ‘alien’ encounters have been with the beings on this planet.”
“Like Grendlers,” Morgan spoke with disgust.
Walman directed his comments to Judy, “Huge, hulking, mangy creatures. Drooling constantly. They’ll steal anything they can get their hands on. Be careful with your drilling gear. They’re strong and they’ll walk right off with it.”
“They looted our cargo pods,” Alonzo added. “Even took a VTO aircraft. That’s why we’re stuck essentially walking across this continent to reach the rendezvous point in New Pacifica.”
“And then there’s the Terrians,” Morgan reminded them.
“Those Diggers,” Walman said derisively, shaking his head.
“Have you had unpleasant interactions with them?” John Robinson asked.
Morgan answered, “It’s hard to explain. We just don’t speak the same language.”
“Now that’s interesting,” Maureen Robinson, the red haired matriarch said. “During most of our encounters with aliens, we’ve found that the concepts of family and love are universal.”
Morgan sputtered, laughing, “Well…not necessarily for the Terrians.”
“What are these Terrians like?” Will asked rather intently. He wondered if those were the beings he and Dr. Smith had a run in with earlier in the cave.
The men looked towards Alonzo. He grinned, “I’m sort of the resident expert.”
“He’s the only one who can talk to the Diggers. He does it in his dreams,” Walman explained.
“How unusual,” commented John Robinson.
“What are they like?” Penny asked.
“I guess you could say they were humanoid - in some manners resembling humans in form but definitely not human otherwise. They have some sort of bond with this planet. They can easily travel through the ground. If the ground is damaged, it hurts the Terrians as well,” Alonzo explained.
Will wondered. “Are they friendly?”
“They can be. They’ve helped us out. They healed a young boy in our group. I told you earlier that many children at the Stations have been afflicted with a disease called The Syndrome. We still don’t understand how or why the Terrians did it. But it’s easy to cross them without even realizing you’ve done it. Be careful if you come across them,” Danziger advised.
John Robinson rose. “It’s getting late, but would you like a tour of our ship, the Jupiter 2?”
“Sure,” Danziger enthusiastically responded, standing up as well.
As others began to rise, Walman boldly asked Judy, “Perhaps you’d like to go for a walk?”
After a brief hesitation, Judy answered, “I’d love to.”
“John, you’re not gonna let Judy just walk off with this guy? We barely know him,” Don objected.
“Don!” Judy warned, embarrassed by his behavior.
John Robinson was fully aware of the rising tension in the young pilot. As much as he liked Don and considered him part of the family, it wasn’t his place to dictate the terms of the relationship between Don and his daughter. He hated to see her hurt Don in this fashion. However, as hard as it was for him to admit, Judy was an adult now and needed to be treated as such.
“It’s her decision.”
Putting her hand about Walman’s proffered arm, she walked off without a backward glance.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Don hung back by the viewport, under the pretense of examining a blinking console as John showed Danziger and Alonzo about the main deck of the Jupiter 2. It irked him that John was so trusting. Inviting complete strangers to dinner? How did he know these men wouldn’t try to steal the Chariot or their space ship in the dead of night? From their ragged appearance, it was apparent these men had been living under rather primitive conditions.
His resentment simmered as he wondered how Judy could’ve run off so eagerly with Walman. Hadn’t the past three years meant anything to her? Once again, Smith’s meddling had brought them nothing but trouble.
John Robinson gestured to various panels and then led the men to the central astrogator, a large circular instrument residing in the center of the deck. A clear dome covered the unit. In many ways, it resembled a sun dial.
“You mentioned you had some expertise in mechanics. Perhaps you can take a look at our astrogator. Doctor Smith damaged the controls, resulting in our crash.”
Damaged? That was a gross understatement. Unbidden, the memory returned to Don. Smith was holding the control lever for the astrogator hostage as he tried to blackmail them into changing their coordinates to those for Earth. Of course, no one, not even the Robot, could substantiate his bearings, and even if they had been valid, the Jupiter lacked sufficient fuel for such a course change. But common sense had never been one of Smith’s strong suites.
After Smith refused to listen to reason, John called his bluff, thinking the man wouldn’t be foolish enough to endanger their lives. Naturally, expecting the good doctor to act rationally was equally foolhardy. He did the unthinkable, mangling the controls and in the process sending them into a massive hyper drive. They were lucky they hadn’t been killed.
With a puzzled expression, Danziger examined the unit. “I’d…have to play around with it.”
“Of course. Maybe we can check it out in the morning. We’d appreciate any assistance you could provide. Usually Don and I do a pretty good job figuring things out, but we’ve been stumped by this.”
“Smith really did it this time,” Don mumbled, his anger starting to choke him.
He and John had tried everything, without success. Even if they were able to obtain sufficient quantities of deutronium fuel, without a functional navigation system, they would be permanently grounded. The eternal optimist, John had withheld this information from the family, hopeful that he and Don would eventually figure things out. He didn’t want to worry them. However, it was enough to keep Don awake nights.
“Your Doctor Smith sounds a little like our Morgan Martin,” Danziger commented.
Morgan was conveniently below deck with Maureen and Penny while Will, Smith and the Robot had disappeared outside, claiming some project that needed attention.
“What’s this?” Alonzo gestured to an analog display on an instrument panel.
“Our atomic clock. It was also damaged in the crash. Can you believe it says the current year is 2214?” John laughed.
Their visitors didn’t seem to think it was funny.
The elevator connecting the two decks arrived with Morgan, Maureen and Penny.
Morgan stepped out. “They have a fully functioning galley. And a bathroom with a sonic shower.” Barely concealed envy filled his voice. He even sounded a little like Smith.
“Well, certainly. Don’t you?” John Robinson asked.
Danziger reminded him. “Like we said, our ship was damaged. There was a problem with the cargo release circuit. We barely made it out alive in the escape pods. We’re still finding our jettisoned cargo containers strewn across the continent. We’ve managed to recover a few vehicles but for the most part, we walk.”
“Do you have far to go?”
Wearily, Danziger nodded.
Morgan turned sad eyes towards Mrs. Robinson but Danziger interrupted.
“No! You are not imposing yourself on these people. Don’t even ask.”
Despite his foul mood, Don grinned. If only Smith were that easy to control.
“But, we certainly wouldn’t mind.” Kind hearted Maureen took pity on the man.
Danziger’s tone dramatically changed as he turned toward Mrs. Robinson. “Thank you but it’s not necessary. You’ve already done more than enough sharing dinner with us and we appreciate that. We’ve imposed enough. We need to check on the Dune Rail anyway.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Judy hadn’t felt this alive for a long time. After the tedium of repairs and monotonous daily chores, meeting new people was always a welcome change. And to have not one but two handsome men flirting with her? It was better than she could’ve dreamed. The attention made her feel pretty. Special. Desirable. She hadn’t felt that way for months. The sensation was so intoxicating she could almost ignore her poor behavior with respect to Don.
“Are you cold?” Walman asked.
“No, I’m fine. It’s such a beautiful night,” Judy answered. The two had walked along the valley and found some rocks to sit on while they watched the stars.
It wasn’t as if she and Don hadn’t done this hundreds of times before. On Priplanus, they’d even worn a groove in the rocks from sitting in the same positions for so many nights. Yet, for the first time in weeks, she was with a desirable man in the moonlight and his attention was fully focused on her rather than obsessing about problems.
Of the two men, clearly Alonzo was more comfortable around women. His compliments flowed easily while Walman stumbled while making conversation. It was also a little difficult to find common grounds, given they’d come from such divergent places. That didn’t bother her. In fact, it made him more appealing. She enjoyed the special effort Walman made to please her. It was sweet.
“How do you like Planet G889?”
She laughed, “Not a very imaginative name- is it? I like it. It reminds me of Earth. What about you?”
“It’s okay. I’m used to the Stations or space ships. You know - climate control, bland but relatively constant supply of food and water. It can be a pain dealing with some of the day to day survival issues here. The summer heat. The snow in winter. Having to buddle up every day was a pain in...” He cut off his sentence, remembering he was with a lady.
“Weren’t you expecting that?”
Walman reminded her, “I wasn’t supposed to land on this planet. I was part of the Ops crew. The crash changed all that.”
“Is there some one at your stations waiting for you?”
“With over forty four years passing by the time we would’ve gotten back to port, it wouldn’t have mattered if I did.”
Judy’s eyes widened. “Don’t you miss your family?”
He shrugged. “You take opportunities where you get them. It’s hard to find good paying jobs so you put up with some inconveniences.”
Astounded, Judy replied, “But twenty two years in suspended animation? And that’s only one way. That sounds like a major inconvenience. We were supposed to be in freezing tubes for five and half years, but it ended up being less than eight hours.”
Sensing that Walman was curious, she assured him, “You don’t want to know.” She wasn’t about to put a damper on the evening talking about Dr. Smith and the events which had condemned them to being lost in space.
“What’s it like being out that long?” she asked.
“It doesn’t feel any different than normal sleep. It just takes a while to adjust when you first wake up. What about you? How did you come to be a…” he searched for the right words. “A space family?”
She loved the way he always turned to conversion back to her. “It wasn’t easy. We went through test after test. I didn’t want to go at first but..” She couldn’t tell him her attraction to Don was part of what had changed her mind.
“I’d miss my family too much. Aunts and cousins just wouldn’t be the same as my parents and Will and Penny. We’re a close family. Besides, in many respects, it seemed like a grand adventure.”
Walman laughed dryly. “I think I’ve had enough adventure for this life time.”
“Me too.”
He cautiously asked, “So, are you and the Major a couple?”
Why did he have to spoil it all and bring up Don? She was having such a nice time. She didn’t want to talk about that. She had strong feelings for Don, no doubt. Those had never faded. However, it was complicated. Don was furious with her and she’d hurt him tonight. But he didn’t own her. He needed to learn to control his temper and stop blaming Dr. Smith for all his problems.
“It’s not that simple,” she sighed.
Not wanting to push his luck, he merely replied, “Okay.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“I agree, Will Robinson. The flashing lights may be a code,” the Robot stated. He, Will and Dr. Smith were gathered about a folding table. They’d set up their makeshift lab in a rock alcove, just out of sight of the Jupiter 2. Samples of the glowing orange rocks sat on the table top, along with a microscope, test tubes and several bottles containing chemicals.
“Nonsense! It’s a rock,” Dr. Smith firmly claimed.
“Do you think you can crack the code?” Will asked.
“I shall do my best,” the Robot solemnly promised, raising his claw to his bubble brow in a boy scout salute.
Will wondered what they would learn. It was always exciting to interact with unusual species. “I wonder what they’re saying.”
“Balderdash. They are not alive,” Dr. Smith emphatically stated.
“You don’t know that. Maybe it goes beyond our standard definition of life - breathing, eating and sleeping. Perhaps our definition has been limited by our experiences.”
“Come, come. Enough of this theoretical mumbo jumbo. What about Lunite’s more useful properties?” Dr. Smith asked.
Will checked the thermometer adjacent to the sample. “The temperature around this rock hasn’t changed since dinner, remaining at least five degrees higher than the surroundings. And the temperature in the insulated container is still almost ten degrees higher than ambient.”
“Source of heat as well as light,” Dr. Smith mused.
“You could use it to warm up your tent on a camping trip,” Will claimed.
“Pish, posh. Don’t limit yourself to the banal. Think grander, my dear boy. Picture a ceremonial hall, filled only with the warm orange glow of Lunite. What a marvelous sight that would be.”
Will asked the Robot, “What is it composed of?”
“Silt and clay. Typical components of sedimentary rocks,” the Robot rattled off.
“That doesn’t account for the glow,” Dr. Smith spoke more to himself.
“Warning! Warning! Alien life form approaching!” The Robot waved his claws in the air.
A rumbling disturbed them. A tall tan creature, similar to the ones they’d encountered in the chamber earlier that day, had appeared from the ground.
Dr. Smith cowered by Will and the Robot.
“Do something you incompetent booby!” Dr. Smith shouted at the Robot.
“Wait,” Will bravely stepped forward towards the creature.
“What are you doing?” Dr. Smith cried.
Addressing the being, Will explained, “My name is Will Robinson. And this is Doctor Smith. We crashed on to your planet a few weeks ago. We are friendly, we mean you no harm.”
Odd sounds issued from the creature. “Didididi.”
“Robot - can you translate?”
“As you are aware, I am well versed in many languages and received my diploma in linguistics from Robotic U. Unfortunately, this language is not in my data banks.”
“Didididididid.”
“Do you think he wants the rocks back? Alonzo said the Terrians had a relationship with the planet. These could be an important part of that.”
Dr. Smith began to relax since the creature merely watched them.
“Nonsense. He’s just curious. That’s all. And how do we even know if he’s one of those ‘Terrians’? Maybe it’s an entirely different species with rather limited intelligence.”
Dr. Smith took a minuscule step towards the creature. “We are space travelers stranded on this dreary planet and we will be leaving. Soon.” Gesturing with his hands, he waved to dismiss the creature. “Shoo.”
It didn’t move.
“Maybe I’ll test out my theory,” Will mumbled.
Before he could grab an orange rock, Dr. Smith slyly mentioned, “Didn’t you tell me that Lunite, er… these rocks were a potential source of energy? Don’t you want to help the family? Imagine if, God forbid, we’re stuck in this retched place this winter. What if there are problems with our power source? We could use these rocks for heat and light. Don’t you want to be a hero?’
Although Will was getting too old to fall for Dr. Smith’s lines, he had a big heart. He always wanted to do his share to help the family. His hand fell to his side.
The creature returned into the earth, leaving no evidence of its visit.
Dr. Smith heaved a sigh of relief. “There boy, you see. He was only curious. That’s all. However, I suggest we store the samples on the space ship for safe keeping.”
TBC