By Don Farnsworth

CHAPTER 12

"You know this man?" questioned Prather.

"Yeah – sort of my ‘ace-in-the-hole.’ But he’s supposed to be one of the good guys," answered Will staring harshly at the android.

"Oh, he is! He’s been very, very good," interjected Maaxll, "for a machine, that is."

Drykr simply stood in front of Will with a blank look on his face. He neither spoke nor reacted to Will’s questioning gaze.

"Quite a resilient piece of machinery you’ve got here," taunted Maaxll. "We thought we’d disposed of it earlier. But like a bad coin, it just seems to keep coming back. And guess what ‘Captain Prather?’ I have you to thank for my finding it."

"Come again?" asked Prather.

"The new duty roster," gloated Maaxll. "I guess you and your little friend here got a few laughs thinking you’d get me out of your hair by assigning me patrol duty down in the caverns, eh Ghelan? Well, who’s laughing now? We discovered this thing snooping around down there not too long ago. You’ll be happy to know it put up quite a fight, but, too bad – it was just no match for these new experimental circuit disrupters."

"Ensign Maaxll noted the android’s uniform as belonging to one of our missing search crew," interjected Sarghona, entering the conversation. "Part of a team that ‘Captain Prather’ earlier reported had been found and transported to medical facilities off-world. He became suspicious and came to me."

"What have you done to him?" asked Will motioning to Drykr. "He’d never willingly betray us."

"Ah! So true," replied Sarghona eagerly. "That is why I instructed one of our technicians to install a mind wash implant chip into the android’s central processing unit. Upon reactivation, the robot was only too happy to cooperate and tell us of his directives, as well as your plans of infiltration and noble, yet foolish, rescue attempt. I find nobility is better saved for children’s stories. You Earth people are much like the Ghelans – far too sentimental. It will be your eventual undoing – as the whole lot of you are about to learn firsthand."

"I disagree, your highness," remarked Prather sarcastically. "You couldn’t be more wrong, you ugly, bulbous sac of scum. You’re nothing but a bunch of spineless cowards. You’ll never win. We will persevere because in a battle of wits, you and your whole stinking race of thieves are totally and utterly defenceless."

Sarghona appeared taken aback by the insult, but Maaxll had been anxious for a reason to act, and struck Prather in the face sharply with the back of his gloved hand. Prather reeled, and Will started to react, but two of the guards restrained him.

"I see we’ve got ourselves a feisty little Earthman here," sneered Maaxll. "Let’s see now… if I’ve been told correctly, you’ve got yourself a bum right leg, now don’t you?" Maaxll kicked Will’s bad leg, sending him reeling to the ground in agony.

"Hmm, now wait a minute," he continued, "I also heard your back has been giving you some problems," he said kicking him in the lower back and then sharply again on the leg.

"Stop it!" shouted John Robinson from across the room. "Leave him alone, coward! You want a piece of someone, come over here and get it!"

Maaxll ignored the Professor and turned to Prather. "Got any more wisecracks, Ghelan filth, because you’re next," he growled contemptuously. "Shame. Your little buddy here seems to have passed out. I wonder – is that what you meant by… ‘persevering?’"

"Enough," interjected Sarghona. "There will be time for you to have fun and games later, Maaxll. Right now, I want to be certain once and for all that we have all of these troublemakers in captivity. Though it escapes me as to why they were bringing the final members of the Earth crew here, I still want it done immediately."

"The Transporter Chamber reports they’ll be ready shortly, sir," advised one of the guards.

Prather began to bend down to check on Will, but was restrained by the guards.

"Leave him there," insisted Maaxll. "That way when he wakes up, maybe he’ll realize that’s where he belongs."

Realizing something had gone dreadfully wrong, Will’s family could do nothing but painfully watch this drama unfold before them. Trapped helplessly behind their cells’ containment force fields, their pleas, their threats, their very existence were all seemingly ignored as if they weren’t even in the room.

A light flashed on the security console. The guard acknowledged the signal and spoke into his communicator.

"Sir, the Transporter Chamber is ready," reported the guard. "They want to know if you still wish the subjects to be beamed directly here to the Detainment Sector."

"Tell them I most certainly do," answered Sarghona before Maaxll had a chance to respond. "Maaxll, you and your men prepare yourselves. We are about to have some new guests."

"Their environmental control robot has defensive programming," droned Drykr in almost a mechanical-like voice.

"Can you deactivate it quickly without damaging it?" asked Sarghona. "I should like to add it to my own personal collection of primitive robotic technology."

"I have superior programming and strength," answered Drykr. "I will stand ready."

"Very well," replied Sarghona. "Guard? Commence the transport."

No sooner did the guard relay this information, than a portion of the room began to glow. The very air seeming to shimmer, distort and then come alive with violent colours and movement. Three figures began to take form within the mass of colour and movement. Then came the sound like a container depressurising and the colours and glowing subsided. Left in its wake was the Robot and the slightly dazed personas of Dr. Smith and J.D. West.

"Look!" shouted Penny, "It’s J.D., the Robot and… Dr. Smith?"

"J.D., look out! Guards!" shouted Don. But it was too late. The guards were practically on top of them as soon as they materialized.

The Robot however was ready for action. His sensors told him what was happening when the transporters mass hit the Chariot. His defensive circuitry was charged, and as soon as he’d fully materialized, his lightning quick processors pinpointed an alien target and he unleashed a bolt of high voltage electricity, knocking one of the guards away from J.D.

Drykr struck from behind. The Robot’s sensors had always had trouble pinpointing the android’s particular energy signature, so he was caught off guard. Drykr tried to knock the Robot off balance, however he miscalculated the effectiveness of the mechanical man’s internal gyros.

The brawling B-9 swivelled around and his visual sensors recognized Drykr.

"My primary programming directive is to protect the Robinson family," asserted the Robot, energy bolts flashing from his red claws. "If you continue to impede my efforts, I will compute you to be a threat, and I will destroy!"

"You are inferior, robot," replied Drykr, smashing his fist into the Robot’s side and denting it. "I am superior. I have always been superior. You are no match."

Perhaps it was damage inflicted by the android’s blow. Perhaps it was malfunctioning circuits not yet fully stabilized from the abrupt transport. Perhaps it was the strange programming virus that would so often become active in Drykr’s presence. Or perhaps the Robot just "lost it." Whatever the reason, something snapped internally in the mechanical man, and nearly 15 years of bottled up cybernetic rage surfaced and manifested itself in his circuits.

Drykr let loose with another swift blow directed at the Robot’s chest plate. With lightning fast reflexes, the mechanical man intercepted the blow with his right claw, while landing an electrically charged left hook into the jaw of the android. The blow was so powerful, Drykr was catapulted across the chamber and sent crashing through the wall. While his superb material engineering prevented serious damage, the electrical shock and concussion short-circuited his motion circuits into immobility.

"Save us now, you ninny!" screamed a frantic Dr. Smith.

"Same old Smith," commented Don.

The Robot swung around and headed toward the guards that had subdued Dr. Smith and J.D. Just as he was within a few feet of them, Maaxll jumped out from behind the security station and pulled out the Robot’s power pack. Powerless, the fearless metallic hero stopped in his tracks and shut down.

"Good thing the android warned me about this thing," commented Maaxll breathing hard and trying to catch his breath. "What a powerhouse."

"Indeed," agreed Sarghona, re-entering the room, having fled it during battle. "We shall have to study its programming. Perhaps we have underestimated our adversaries."

"First intelligent thing I’ve heard you say," remarked Prather.

"Uncle Will!" shouted J.D. as he turned toward Prather and spotted Will unconscious on the floor. He began squirming and struggling to free himself from his captors, protesting, "Let me go, you jerks! He’s hurt! I’ve gotta…"

"It’s okay, son," interrupted Prather, trying to calm the lad. "He’s should be okay."

"Will? They’ve hurt my William?" Smith spun around in dazed concern to see the still form of a young man whom he still could not help thinking of as a boy.

Maaxll was about to reply, when Smith, noticing Sarghona for the first time, interrupted him.

"You – I know you," said Smith in a strange, chilling voice to Sarghona. "We’ve met before…somewhere, sometime. I know we have… it was on Earth."

"Ah yes… Colonel Smith, is it not?" replied Sarghona. "You exhibit remarkable recollective abilities for one of your species. The mind wash implant should have erased that meeting from your memory."

"You know this creep, Dr. Smith?" asked J.D.

"Yes Jay, I believe I do," answered Smith in an ice-cold tone. "It’s… all coming back to me now."

J.D. could sense something was terribly wrong with Dr. Smith. Not only was he totally calm and not shaking anymore, but his complexion had also turned bright pink.

"Dr. Smith, you look like you’re gonna pop out of your skin," said J.D. "What’s wrong?"

"What’s wrong?" Smith repeated the question. "What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong," he said, his tone turning from ice to simmering rage.

"This… this… creature is what’s wrong. He is what’s always been wrong," seethed Smith. "He has been the bane of my existence for the past 18 years, and until this moment – I did not even remember it. Even in suspended animation, I could not escape the torment this… this thing had wrought upon me."

"Colonel Smith," replied Sarghona. "Your anger is of no importance to me. You have served your purpose. There is no reason for you to be agitated."

"You think me agitated?" interrupted Smith. "My dear sir, this is not agitated. Agitated might be what I would be if I started reflecting upon the day you approached me on Earth. ‘We can help each other,’ is what I believe you said.

"Agitated is what I might become if I remembered how you then abducted me against my will," he continued, "and strapped me to that cursed machine of yours and used your brainwashing technology to violate my mind and control my very thoughts and actions."

J.D. was becoming quite concerned. His new friend appeared possessed and positively alien. His features were rigid, complexion beet red and his eyes! Were they… actually glowing?

"Do you know what is positively ironic?" asked Smith, not waiting for an answer. "I probably would have been able to endure the bitter humiliation of being labelled a villain and outcast, shunned by my native planet. I probably could have lived my life out with you having robbed me of my past and career. I could have lived with all of that -- it didn’t really matter. We were lost in space, but I had found something I never thought I would have – a family. But then, you somehow even managed to rob me of that."

The guards holding Smith back released their grip on the man and mysteriously fell to the floor. J.D. could actually feel heat radiating from the doctor. The guards restraining J.D. then became spooked and, releasing the boy, backed away.

"Back away from him, J.D.!" shouted Will who had regained consciousness. "It’s the anti-matter chip in his brain! It’s become unstable. Prather, we have to remove it quickly or we’ll all be killed!"

"Stay where you are – both of you!" shouted Maaxll, jabbing the muzzle of his weapon into Prather’s back. "I give the orders around here now!"

"Then you’d better order up an anti-matter mind wash chip extraction pretty damn quick," replied Prather, "or you won’t be giving orders to anyone much longer."

Maaxll hesitated for a moment, then finally ordered the technician standing next to him, "Do it!"

"He’s got to be restrained first, sir," replied the technician, "so he can be connected to the dialysis probe."

J.D. cautiously backed away from Dr. Smith, who was slowly moving toward Sarghona. Everyone’s attention in the chamber was now focused on the doctor. No one even noticed when J.D. slipped over to the detainment cells that held his family and deactivated the containment force fields that held them captive.

Upon Maaxll’s orders, two more guards moved in to restrain Smith in an attempt to begin the chip extraction procedure. The doctor made no effort to stop them. However, like the two guards before them, after a few seconds of contact, they fell to the floor unconscious.

"Would you like to know what really ‘agitates’ me, you pompous, prevaricating package of alien filth?" Smith’s simmering rage was now coming to a full-fledged boil. "You robbed me of 15 years of my new life with my new family. You robbed me of being able to watch two beautiful young children, whom I had come to regard as my own, grow into adults! Do you know how that feels? Do you?! ‘Agitated’ does not begin to describe it. I woke up yesterday to find myself a veritable stranger to a young man who should still be 14 years old to me! You cheated me out of growing older with him as he grew up! You caused me to perform vile acts against people who somehow cared for me in spite of what I was – and injure an innocent young girl that was like the daughter I never had! You say I’m ‘agitated’ – you’ve no idea the rage I embody at this moment! It has substance, it is tangible, it is pure, unadulterated power and, so help me, it will put an end your miserable existence!"

The anti-matter chip inside Smith’s head was nearing critical mass. It was emanating enough radiation to cause the doctor’s body to glow. Horrified, Sarghona was backed against a wall as Smith continued to approach him.

"No, stay back!" pleaded the Aeolian official. "Maaxll, you idiot, do something!"

"Nothing will stop me from avenging my loss," hissed Smith.

"All hands," shouted Maaxll to his men, "move into attack formation and fire upon my command!"

"No!" shouted Prather. "You’ll kill us all, you fool!"

"Shut up! I’ve had just about enough of you, Ghelan," barked Maaxll, drawing his weapon and without hesitating, fired it at Prather.

Will was not even able to rise to his feet, and helplessly looked on as Prather fell to the ground. Maaxll hurriedly joined the remaining Aeolians at the other end of the chamber, readying themselves to fire upon Dr. Smith.

"Dad, Mom, everyone! Get down!" shouted Will to his family. "Cover your eyes! Now!"

The Robinsons and Wests did as Will instructed. Dr. Smith, having been alerted by Will’s frantic cry, turned to discover the firing squad that had now assembled behind him. His features were obscured by the iridescence that enveloped his form.

"Fire!" shouted Maaxll. The beams from the Aeolian weapons looked more like shadows as they struck the radiant form that Dr. Smith had become. A blinding flash filled the room as six positive matter laser rifle beams acted as conduits to the anti-matter energy pent up and contained within the body of Dr. Zachary Smith. The anti-matter energy release burst forth from Smith like water from a dam, travelling down the laser beams’ path of hard light energy and grounding itself in the Aeolians, causing an instant implosion as positive and negative matter collided and, in doing so, ceasing to exist. All six guards, Maaxll included, simply vanished in the silent flash.

A few moments later, Will felt himself being lifted into an upright sitting position by a pair of strong hands and arms. Looking up, his father’s gentle smile and concerned look made him feel better and more relieved than any dose of BET he had taken in the last few days.

"You all right, son?" his father asked.

"Yeah, I’ll be okay," Will replied.

John and Maureen Robinson attended to their injured son. Don, Judy and Penny had already scooped up discarded weapons from the floor, while J.D. located the Robot’s power pack and re-activated the mechanical man. They knew the disturbance was bound to have set off alarms throughout the complex and cause a flurry of reinforcements to flood the detention sector at any moment.

"Will! Is there any way to lock down the entrance to this room?" shouted the major.

"Hit the red triangle on the upper right hand side of the door! That’ll slow them down for a couple minutes," came a response, but it wasn’t Will’s voice. Prather was sitting up, clutching his left side and trying to get to his feet. Seeing that Will’s ally was in need of assistance, Penny rushed over to his side to help him stand. As their eyes met for the first time, Prather suddenly felt a renewed burst of energy. His wounds were suddenly not so painful.

"Hi… I’m… Penny," she said as she helped him to his feet.

"You’re okay?" asked Will in amazement. "But I saw Maaxll…"

"Just like everything else he did – Maaxll was a lousy shot…," interrupted Prather, turning to Penny and smiling, "Lucky me, huh?"

Will’s sister blushed slightly and replied, "Come on cowboy, pull your boots back on. We’ve still got a trail ride ahead of us."

Will looked around the room as his parents helped him to his feet. The six Aeolians that had formed the firing squad were gone. Somehow, Sarghona had escaped being vaporized by the anti-matter blast, as miraculously had Dr. Smith. Both lay in a heap, either unconscious or dead. The four remaining Aeolian guards still lay unconscious where they fell after coming in contact with the anti-matter Smith. Will could not be certain if any of them were even alive.

After re-activating the Robot, J.D. turned his attention to the fallen Dr. Smith, and dragging the Robot with him, cautiously approached the place where Smith lay.

"Is he alive?" asked the boy.

"Affirmative. My sensors indicate that Dr. Smith is unharmed," reported the Robot.

"Is it safe to touch him?" inquired J.D. "I mean, well, while you were out of it, Dr. Smith started glowing and these alien guys here" pointing to the fallen aliens, "they sort of, well, got zapped when they touched him. And the rest of the guards kind of vaporized when they shot at him."

"My sensors detect trace residue of what could only have been an implosion caused by the meeting of positive and anti-matter energies," concluded the Robot. "The ion trail left behind indicates the anti-matter energy emanated from Dr. Smith. Whatever the force was within Dr. Smith that caused this is now gone. I detect no residual anti-matter energy in him."

"Great," responded J.D. "So help me get him up then."

As J.D. got down on his knees next to Dr. Smith, he heard a moan behind him. Turning, he noticed Sarghona stirring. The Robot immediately activated his defensive circuits.

"Warning, J.D. West!" he resounded. "Alien is reviving!"

"Hey!" shouted J.D. to family members standing nearby speaking with Prather. "This ugly dude’s starting to wake up and the Robot’s kind of freaked out about it. What do I do?"

Looking over the rubble on the floor, Prather located the discarded Aeolian "cleansing ray." Retrieving it and a nearby weapon, he had Penny help him over to where the fallen Aeolian dignitary lay, and turned the purple beam on Sarghona.

"Just in case you get any ideas of shape-shifting your way out of here," he said scornfully.

Judy and Maureen had moved over to help J.D., and the three of them were now fussing over Dr. Smith, trying to get him to sit up.

"Hey, Robinson," called Prather.

Four heads simultaneously turned toward him in response.

"Sorry folks – I meant… Will," explained Prather sheepishly.

Will was able to stand, but only with assistance. So, with the aid of his father, he limped over to where Prather and Penny stood over the prone alien.

"He’s our ticket out of here," said Prather motioning to Sarghona.

"Wait a minute," interjected the Professor. "Just who are you?"

"Dad, it’s okay," answered Will. "There’s no time to explain. Just know that he’s a good guy, he’s on our side and he knows what he’s doing. You’ve got to trust me on this."

It was neither easy nor natural for John Robinson to follow orders or place the control of his family’s well-being in the hands of another person, let alone a stranger. He was used to being in command – used to being the leader. But he could only imagine what his son and this particular stranger must have gone through over the past few days to make it here, and knew it was the right thing to do.

"All right, son," conceded the elder Robinson. "You’ve certainly earned it." Turning to Prather, he continued, "Okay then – ‘Prather’ is it? What do we do?"

"It would probably be best if everyone was present for what I have to say," began Prather. So they summoned Maureen and Judy, and sent J.D. to get his father who was still at a security station in the anteroom near the entrance. In spite of Maureen and Judy’s best efforts, Dr. Smith refused to budge from where he sat, saying he was "completely spent." Moments later everyone, save Smith, had gathered around Prather.

"I guess the first thing I should tell you is that, well, time is of the essence. We’ve only got about 15 minutes to get out of the complex," said Prather.

"Why 15 minutes?" asked Will.

"As part of the preparation for my assignment here, certain… backup procedures were included in my directives to ensure the ultimate success of the mission in the event I ever got caught or killed," explained Prather.

"Where’s the bomb, Prather?" asked Will sombrely, knowing full well what H’rlaxian "backup procedures" meant.

"It’s well hidden and totally undetectable to scanning – and it can’t be deactivated once the detonation sequence has begun," answered Prather. "I activated it remotely about two minutes ago when it seemed they had us. I couldn’t risk their finding the remote on me. I had to do it to save my people. I’m sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for, young man," declared Maureen. "Any of us would have done the same thing. The important thing right now is getting to safety."

"What’s our best option?" asked Penny.

"The Transporter Chamber," interrupted Will before Prather could reply.

"Where’s that and how do we get there?" asked Don. "They’ve got to be on to us by now."

:"I’m certain they are. But we’ve got the trump card right over there," added Prather, motioning to where Sarghona now stood. The alien was not near enough to overhear their hushed conversation, but knew they were speaking about him when all eyes darted his direction.

"Whatever it is you are planning," he proclaimed in his haughtiest voice, "it will fail. You misguided miscreants do not stand a chance against our superior military and intellect…"

"Stuff it, Sarghona!" interrupted Prather, shooting a blast from his weapon at the wall directly above the Aeolian’s head. The alien immediately complied and fell silent.

"The Aeolian High Council, of which he is a member, is considered next to godhood in their culture," explained Prather. "With him as our hostage, no one will dare challenge us. The Transporter Chamber is not terribly far from here, but it is two levels up. I can notify the acting commanders from here of our demand for safe passage to the chamber. Once there, we should be able to transport to your ship."

John spoke up in protest. "I don’t approve of the idea. From what I’ve seen of this place, hundreds of people will be killed when the bomb goes off. We should alert them to the fact that the bomb is in place before we leave."

"Sorry, Dr. Robinson," answered Prather respectfully, "but that is not an option. This base’s purpose is ultimate evil, and must be stopped at any and all costs. The lives of millions on Ghela and throughout the galaxy depend upon the success of my mission here. Your humanitarian ideals are misplaced on these warmongers, as I’m certain you’d agree if you knew the facts. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time right now to review them."

"Warning!" interrupted the Robot. "My sensors indicate that alien forces are attempting to bypass lockout sequences to secure entrance to this chamber!"

"We’ve got to act now," said Prather. "Everyone grab yourself a weapon and be ready to move out. I’m going to communicate our demands to the Aeolians. Someone bring Sarghona over to the communications console. We’ve got to prove to them that he’s alive and a hostage."

Will was in no condition to be much of a convincing threat to the alien, so John and Don "escorted" the Aeolian dignitary to Prather’s side. By the time they arrived at the console, the H’rlaxian agent had already established communications with the active leadership and issued their demands. The Aeolians were awaiting proof of Sarghona’s well-being prior to making any decision.

Sarghona spoke into the communications microphone to the officer. Voiceprint technology confirmed his identity. Once convinced that Prather’s threats were indeed real, the acting base commander issued an all-out cease fire, hands-off declaration throughout the complex, and even offered them an armed "escort" to the Transporter Chamber.

"That won’t be necessary," replied Prather to the offer, "We know the way. Just keep your trigger-happy denizens out of our way, or you’re liable to have some serious explaining to do in front of the remaining members of the High Council. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly clear, sir," replied the officer, responding as if Prather were still in command of the base. "You have my word – you’ll have no trouble. Just don’t harm the Deputy Supreme Chief."

Prather shut off the communications console, lamenting, "Great – we’ve got an Aeolian’s ‘word.’ I feel so much better. Everyone, grab an extra weapon and gather over by the main entrance in the anteroom. Will, can your robot tell whether the Aeolians outside the door have retreated?"

Before Will could reply, the Robot answered, "My sensors indicate the hostile forces outside the exit are no longer present, Captain Prather. Additionally, I am programmed for interactive communication – it is not necessary to communicate your inquiries through Will Robinson as if I were not present."

"Understood – and, um… sorry," replied Prather, who turned to Will and quietly added, "Sensitive lug, isn’t he?"

J.D. ran over to where Dr. Smith still remained seated and tried to hand him a pistol. "Here you go, sir. We probably won’t have to use these, but just in case, you’d better take one," he said.

"My dear lad, I’ve no intention of moving from this spot on my own accord," replied Smith. "My back is a disaster area, my head is pounding and my feet ache. Do be a good chap and fetch the Robot to carry me."

Just as he voiced the request, the Robot whizzed by the two of them with the inert, android body of Drykr slung over his titanium alloy shoulder.

"Nice try Smith, but it looks like that trolley’s already full," chuckled Don, who had come up behind the two of them to hurry his son along. "Guess you’ll just have to dog it with the rest of us common folk."

"I see the years have done nothing to polish your corrosive personality or sensitivity, Major," snapped Smith drolly.

"If you mean I can still see through the likes of you, I’ll consider that a compliment, doctor," replied Don. "Come on, J.D., we have to get moving. Don’t worry about Smith – he’ll find his way. He always did before."

"Dad, give me a minute – okay, 30 seconds… please?" pleaded J.D. "I know I can get him to change his mind."

"Okay, buddy – you’ve got yourself half a minute," answered the major. "I’ll go stall the others."

As he started to walk away, Don could hear his son’s attempts to first reason, then plead with Dr. Smith. It stirred up almost-forgotten memories of years past when he would overhear similar discussions take place between Will and the old troublemaker. He could not help smiling inwardly in spite of the grave circumstances. Those times seemed like a lifetime ago, but at this moment, the flash of memory was so vivid, he felt as if he could almost reach out and touch it through time. However, their present predicament almost immediately regained control of his thoughts, and the Major decided he had better offer his son some assistance. After all, he’d known Smith a lot longer than J.D.

Don turned around just in time to see his exasperated young offspring kicking Dr. Smith in the seat of his pants, to which the doctor indignantly rose to his feet, pointed his finger in the boy’s face and sternly reprimanded him. J.D. grabbed hold of Smith’s extended finger, then his hand and bodily dragged the man along with him toward the exit, all the while with the doctor giving obligatory updates on the amount of pain he was enduring.

As they passed the major, J.D. turned and cheerfully said, "See Dad? I told you he’d come around."

Dumbfounded and beside himself, the Jupiter 2 pilot marvelled at the sight, scratching his head and mumbling out loud, "Is that all it takes to get him going? I should have done that years ago!"

Smith heard the comment, threw a cunning glance over his shoulder and replied quietly, "But then, I’d never have let you get away with it unscathed, Major."

The others were all prepared when the last three members of their party entered the anteroom to join them. Everyone was armed with two weapons, except Professor Robinson who was using one arm to support Will.

"Never fear, Smith is here!" proclaimed the doctor, puffing himself up heartily as he entered the anteroom and approached the group. Maureen let out an audible chuckle, not having heard that supercilious declaration spouted off in over 15 years.

"Indeed, you are sir," she said with a smile. "And it’s high time, I might add!"

"Dear lady," replied Smith, "It is most gratifying to see that some of the most pleasant things in life never change. You remain as charming and delightful as ever."

J.D. guffawed. Penny and Judy joined in, while Don and John merely rolled their eyes at each other trying to suppress their amusement. Only Will showed no sign of acknowledgement toward the doctor, refusing to even look at him.

Noting the tension of the young man’s uneasiness, Smith spoke directly to Professor Robinson. "My dear Professor, I daresay you would probably better serve the interests of your family if you had full use of your arms. I am more than capable of supporting our stalwart young hero here. That is," he added turning slowly toward Will, "if he doesn’t mind an old friend’s assistance."

Will could feel his eyes welling up, and bit his lip to try to keep his composure. His emotions were completely raw. Even though, intellectually, he’d known over the years that Smith had not been responsible for the violent behaviour that led to his 15 year absence, Will realized that, emotionally, he was still harbouring the anger and resentment of a 14 year old boy suddenly abandoned by someone he looked up to, trusted and loved. But reflecting over Dr. Smith’s emotional outburst of a few minutes earlier, he also realized he was not alone in his pain and sadness. They had both been victims.

"You know…, he’s probably right, Dad," Will replied.

"Well if you’re so ‘capable’ Smith," interrupted Don, "why don’t you let Professor Robinson help his son, and you and I can be front gunners when we open that door and move out. I mean, after all it’s not like you’re the eldest anymore. You and John are just about the same age now, I’d guess."

"I have always considered the Professor amongst the heartiest of male specimens," replied Smith. "Fifteen years on him looks more like five to me. Anyone can plainly see his impressive physical attributes alone dictate that he is still far more capable than I in protecting our small group. Besides Major, I will always be senior member of our party."

"You mean senior pain-in-the- oww!" Don rubbed his smarting ribs as Judy removed her well-placed elbow.

Dr. Smith had taken the Professor’s place in supporting Will. Smith said nothing as he took position to assist his new charge.

"Dr. Smith," Will finally spoke quietly, and the doctor turned an inquiring head toward the young man. "I think I…"

"Now that has always been your problem, William," interrupted Smith with a false bravado that faded as he continued, "You think too much. Now, not another word out of you. I can see I have got my work cut out for me to undo about 15 years of questionable habits you seem to have developed during my involuntary absence."

Turning to J.D., who was standing next to him, Smith explained wryly, "You see, my boy, it’s just like I told you earlier – he has always relied upon my succour. It is honestly beyond my comprehension how he could have possibly become such a fine, capable young man without my astute guidance and influence."

J.D. chortled and shook his head. "What a piece of work!" he laughed nervously. His outspoken perceptiveness proved to be a great tension breaker, as they all got in a good laugh at Smith’s expense.

Smith pretended to be insulted. He could tell the young lad was anxious about the events that were about to unfold, even though he’d never admit it. Feeling pressure on his forearm, Smith looked down and noticed J.D. had unconsciously placed a hand on the sleeve of his uniform for comfort. In spite of the impending danger, the doctor found himself remarkably calm. For the first time in years, he was whole and he felt needed. That knowledge made him swell with strength and purpose.

"I suggest we get moving," interrupted Prather looking at his watch. "We’re down to about 12 minutes."

They positioned themselves in a defensive, diamond-like formation with Prather leading, and John and Don bringing up the rear. Prather had positioned Sarghona next to him, and held a laser pistol in plain view, aimed directly at the alien’s head. He’d also activated another device he pulled out of his uniform, explaining that it would emit a scrambling field that should effectively block the Aeolians’ ability to get a transporter lock on either them or Sarghona while in route. Unlocking the door, he opened it up and they headed out.

The first corridor was completely deserted. Rounding a corner to the first of two ramps they would take to the Transporter Chamber, they ran straight into a group of four armed Aeolian guards. Prather yelled and motioned for a quick retreat back around the corner.

"What the meaning of this?" shouted Prather into his helmet’s communicator. "I said free passage and no weapons in sight! I’m not kidding – you want a dead Deputy Supreme Chief on your hands?"

"Calm down, please," responded the worried voice over the communicator. "That is only the armed escort we spoke of."

"I told you we don’t want them!" roared Prather.

"I understand," replied the acting commander in the calmest voice he could muster. "However, I really think that – "

"I don’t care what you think, you jackass!" shouted Prather. "Call off your dogs now – or I start removing Sarghona’s internal organs one stinking piece at a time!"

There was a long silence as Prather awaited a reply from the alien commander.

"Well, what is it, commander?" challenged the Ghelan.

"Very well," conceded the Aeolian. "You may proceed. The escort has been ordered away."

"They’re going to try something," Prather warned the others. Turning to the captive Aeolian dignitary, he shoved the barrel of his pistol under the double chin of the creature and forced the alien’s head upward as he threatened, "But I guarantee you, if they do, you are going out with us."

He made quick check around the corner and saw that the "escort" had indeed disbursed. "Okay, the ramp’s clear," he reported. "When we get to the top, we’re going to head to the left. We’ve got to pass through two connecting corridors to make it to the next ramp."

The small band of fugitives made their way up the ramp and into the long corridor. There was a deafening silence throughout the complex that made the trek even more nerve wracking. Their footsteps echoed loudly and reverberated back at them. Reaching the end of the first corridor, they entered the coupling chamber that connected it to the second corridor they would take to the ramp. As they entered the chamber, the doors came crashing down behind and in front of them and the emergency lighting activated.

"Cut the pranks and open the hatch or Sarghona dies!" shouted Prather into his communicator.

The communicator remained silent.

"Why aren’t they answering?" asked John.

"I’m not sure," replied Prather, continuing to speak into his communicator’s microphone, "But if you think I’m bluffing, you’ve made a serious tactical mistake!" He adjusted the intensity on his laser pistol down so that the beam would only produce flash burns. "Open these hatches now, commander! I know you’re monitoring this frequency. Maybe the Deputy Supreme Chief’s screams will change your mind!" he shouted.

Again, there was no response. Prather pointed the pistol at the alien and fired one short blast. Sarghona screamed in agony as the laser beam scorched his arm.

"You fools!" the Aeolian screamed in outraged anguish. "Open the hatch as he says, or I will have your heads!"

The communicator bleeped and came back to life. "Stop! Don’t! I’m sorry – please don’t harm the Deputy Supreme Chief," pleaded the alien commander’s voice. "We had a power surge that temporarily disabled our communications systems and activated the fire doors throughout the complex."

"Get it fixed now!" shouted Prather.

"We have communications back online, it should take just another minute or so to override the emergency fire seclusion program," explained the alien.

Prather muted his communicator to speak to the others. "I don’t believe any of this for a second," he remarked pensively. "I think we ought to risk trying to blast these doors open. It’s pretty close quarters though, and it’ll eat up a lot of our time."

"What do you mean by that?" questioned Sarghona suspiciously.

"Shut up or I’ll give you a matching tattoo on your other arm," ordered Prather to the alien.

"Wait a minute," interrupted Will reaching for his gear pack, "I almost forgot I still have this with me. I think I’ve got just what the doctor ordered right here," he said as he began pulling out and assembling the components of his Atomizer.

"You’ve got an Atomizer?" asked Prather incredulously. "You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you Robinson?"

Will handed the assembled weapon over to Prather, and instructed everyone to move to the rear of the chamber. Don volunteered to help Prather brace himself for the blast, and John took over covering Sarghona.

As he did, however, something unexpected happened. The alien dignitary shimmered briefly and seemingly disappeared. He was actually still present, but had shape-shifted his form to that of a gnat-sized insect, and was winging his way unseen toward the ventilation shaft that had been pumping Antilian Nebula gasses into the chamber since the hatches were sealed off.

Sensing what had actually occurred, Prather quickly grabbed the Cleansing Ray out of his pocket and swept the room with its purple beam. But it was too late – the alien had made his escape.

"Whatever are we to do now?" asked Smith. "Without that creature, what’s to stop these monsters from killing us all?"

"Well, this little equalizer for starters, Zack," replied Prather, referring to the Atomizer.

J.D.’s eyes widened as he snapped his head to look at Dr. Smith, half expecting him to react sharply to the use of the nickname. The doctor winced at the captain’s presumptuousness, but bit his tongue in deference to situation.

"We can take out scores of them using the Atomizer," explained Prather, adjusting the controls on the weapon. "Should even the odds on our getting to the Transporter Chamber anyway. I’m sure they’re going to have a reception committee waiting for us outside these doors any minute. Speaking of time, how are we doing?"

"We’ve got about 5 minutes," Will replied as he began to close up his gear pack. Before he could, however, he noticed something flashing inside, and wasn’t terribly surprised to discover it was J.D.’s vid-game unit. J.D. noticed him retrieving it from the pack.

"Hey, it’s my vid-game!" he exclaimed. "How’d you get it? You know, there’s something really weird about it that I should tell you about…"

"It’s okay," replied Will to his nephew, "It’s been talking to me, too."

"Really William, this is no time for games," scolded Smith.

"What is it doing now?" asked Prather, walking over next to Will to view the screen.

The display of the vid-game stopped flashing and began communicating.

"Vid-game Emitter Requires Data port Access," the unit silently "typed" across the screen.

"I think it wants access to the base’s mainframe," announced Will. "Is there a data port in here?"

"This looks like one over here," answered Penny, point to an opening on the wall next to where she stood.

Will quickly patched the unit into the data port. The same strange feeling came over him, communicating with this unit again. Something was stuck in the back of his head – like he was just barely missing whatever it was. The unit buzzed as it accessed into the central computer.

"We’re wasting time here, people," warned Prather. "We’ve got to blast out of here and get to the Transporter Chamber."

"Wait!" shouted Will, "Hold off a minute. It’s doing something. It’s connected into the central mainframe and is accessing Facility Operations sub-routines. Prather, I think it’s tapping into Transporter Operations and is going to try to get us out of here."

The words "Verified. Eradicate Running Disrupter Activity" appeared on the screen in confirmation of Will’s deduction.

"Now I think it wants you to turn off your scrambling field so it can get a transporter lock on us," reported Will.

"Okay, but that thing had better know what it’s doing, or we’re all dead meat," admonished Prather, retrieving the unit from his pocket, and disabling the field that had been protecting them from the alien transporter technology.

Several moments passed with nothing happening. A sound could be heard on the other side of the hatch.

"Warning!" clamoured the Robot. "Hostile alien forces have positioned themselves outside the hatches of this chamber. My sensors indicate they are heavily armed."

"Okay folks, we’ve got to make a decision right now," said Prather. "We either disable the hatches from inside here and pray this little gadget of yours can do what it says it can do to get us out of here, or we blast through this hatch now with the Atomizer and try to make our way to the Transporter Chamber and operate it ourselves within… oh boy – 3 minutes."

Will suddenly figured out what had been gnawing at the back of his sub-conscious regarding the vid-game unit. "Disable the hatches – now!" he ordered. "You’ve got to trust me on this! Do it!"

Without hesitation, Prather and Penny fired their weapons at the two hatch access control panels, effectively shorting them out and disabling the mechanisms. Moments later, the room became aglow with a mass of swirling, violent colours. The vid-game unit had successfully and remotely activated the alien transporter. The eleven figures within the access chamber became engulfed in the storm of moving colours. The now-familiar sound like a container decompressing was heard, and the Robinsons, Wests, Dr. Smith, Prather and the Robot (still carrying Drykr) vanished from the chamber where they were held.

The flight deck of the Jupiter 2 was darkened when they materialized. As the others regained their equilibrium and faculties from the sudden transport, the Robot put down his android "passenger" and hastened over to re-activate all systems from the concealed control panel that he used to cut the power before leaving with Dr. Smith and J.D. in the Chariot. The ship immediately came to life and illuminated.

"We’re back – it worked!" exclaimed J.D.

"If this ship is operational and flight-worthy, we’d better get out of here now," advised Prather.

"Ship is at 90% functionality and fully capable of reaching escape velocity," reported the Robot, feeling a little proud of himself for the diligent repair work he was able to accomplish in Will’s absence.

"Good job, Robot," praised Will.

"I’ll run a pre-flight check of all systems," added Don. "Should only take a couple minutes. Meantime, everyone should go below and get strapped in."

"No time for that, Major," warned Prather adamantly. "It’s now or never."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" asked John.

"It means I didn’t want to needlessly worry any of your family before," began Prather, "But the bomb that’s about to detonate is… well, it’s a little more powerful than you might expect. It’s liable to crack the core of this planet."

"Do you mean to tell us sir, that this planet is about to explode?" exclaimed Dr. Smith.

"That’s a distinct possibility," answered Prather.

"All right, then – everyone prepare for emergency lift-off!" commanded John. "Hit the deck!"

John and Don jumped into the twin pilot seats, while the rest of the group positioned themselves throughout the flight deck on the floor next to any stable piece of equipment that could be used as a handgrip. J.D. had never actually gone through and emergency lift-off before, but knew exactly what to do as a result of his grandfather’s insistence upon the frequent and sometimes spontaneous emergency drills.

"What about the Aeolians’ Boarding Beam?" asked Will. "If they see we’re taking off, they might try to board us again before the bomb goes off."

"Negative, Will Robinson," replied the Robot. "The aliens’ boarding beam technology has been effectively disabled."

"How do you know that, Robot?" asked Will.

"The video entertainment unit still in your possession has electronically informed me of this fact," replied the mechanical man. "Additionally, it wishes me to inform you that the Chariot has now been transported back into its bay onboard the Jupiter 2."

"Get set, everyone!" shouted Don. "We’re powered up, and I’m firing the lift-off engines and thrusters in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, lift-off!"

The mighty Jupiter 2 hummed with the familiar sound of its engines and gyros crescendo in a harmonic atomic-powered peal. The ship lurched slightly as it freed itself from the rocks and debris it had embedded itself into upon its tempestuous, unmanned belly landing. Fortunately, there had been no structural damage, thanks mostly to Drykr’s insightful firing of the retro rockets just before he was snatched away by the alien transporter.

Clearing the planet’s surface, the major activated the secondary rocket thrusters that would enable the ship to enter the stratosphere and reach escape velocity of the planet’s gravitational pull. Flight computers instantly analyzed the planet’s mass and gravitational force, calculating the proper amount of thrust needed to offset the downward pull and strain.

The ship’s massive thrusters kicked in, and the Jupiter 2 began its ascent into the alien skyline. After a few moments, however, the ship began to shake violently and the general alarm blared.

"What is it?" shouted John.

"We’ve stopped climbing!" replied Don. "I think they’ve hit us with some kind of tractor beam!"

"Warning!" chimed the Robot. "Jupiter 2 is indeed being held in vehicular stasis net. Additionally, my sensors indicate alien complex is also attempting to lock on to our coordinates with their weapons systems!"

"Dad!" shouted Will. "We’ve got to activate the stealth shield! That should confuse their instruments long enough for us to fire a missile at their stasis net relay. We can trace its coordinates to our targeting system using a reverse magnetic beam!"

"Don and I have got our hands full here trying to stabilize the ship and hold altitude!" shouted the professor. "Can someone else handle it?"

"Warning!" alerted the Robot. "Alien complex has just launched a disrupter missile at the Jupiter 2! Impact will occur in 5 seconds!"

Will tried to rise, but was knocked back down by the concussion of the missile impacting against the ship’s force field. Prather, too, was on his feet when the missile exploded, and the concussion caused the Ghelan to stumble and hit his head sharply on pipe railing of the elevator, knocking him unconscious.

J.D. flung his mother’s protective arm off his back and started crawling on all fours across the deck to the main control console where his father and grandfather were desperately working to keep the ship aloft. Rising, he grabbed onto a control panel nearby where his father sat and activated the ship’s stealth shield emitters.

"Good boy!" shouted Don.

"Stealth energy field has successfully obscured Jupiter 2’s flight coordinates from alien weaponry," reported the Robot. "However, I calculate that it will take the aliens approximately 15.2 seconds to reprogram their missiles utilizing stasis net lock coordinates."

"I think I can make it over to the missile control panel, Dad!" shouted J.D. "I know how to do what Uncle Will said!"

But before Don could respond, they all heard the "whooshing" sound of a missile being launched from the Jupiter 2, followed by a hearty explosion on the planet’s surface. Turning around to see who fired it, they made out the figure of Dr. Smith through the foggy smoke that had filled the control room, clinging to the control panel where he’d launched the attack missile.

"How did he know –?" puzzled Don out loud.

"What are you waiting for, Major?" Smith interrupted in a caustic bellow, " Must I come over there and pilot this ship for you as well?"

"You heard the man," shouted John. "Get us out of here!"

J.D. and Smith both hit the deck again as Major West fired the secondary thrusters sending the Jupiter 2 into the outer reaches of the atmosphere. Free of the planet’s gravitational forces, Don fired the high velocity super thrusters, launching the ship into a sub-light speed trajectory away from the planet.

Once underway at sub-light speed, the ship’s artificial gravity and stabilizing gyros automatically activated, enabling the crew to rise and move about.

Penny grabbed her mother and dashed over to check on Prather, who was stirring and had begun to regain consciousness. Judy rose and made her way over by J.D. to offer assistance to Don and John, while Dr. Smith was already helping Will to his feet.

"You did good, Dr. Smith," praised Will. "You followed my instructions to the letter."

"My dear boy," replied Smith indignantly, "You forget I am a trained military scientist. Operating a simple defensive missile propulsion unit is child’s play."

Will looked directly into the older man’s eyes with a sardonic, knowing look, remembering all of the times that scientific machinery had befuddled the doctor in the past.

"Or then again… maybe I just got lucky," confessed the doctor with a cagey smile.

"According to my internal timing calculations," announced the Robot, "the Ghelan detonating device should become active at any moment."

John rose out of his chair and went over to the video monitor. He activated it and brought the planet on-screen. "Are we far enough away yet, if it should blow?" the Professor’s question was directed at Major West.

"At this speed, we should be able to out-race any debris and shock-waves," replied the major.

Everyone gathered around the monitor. Shortly, just as Prather had predicted, the blast indeed created a chain reaction down to the planet’s core, which cracked, causing the tremendous pressure of molten rock within to explode and destroy the celestial body in a silent, massive incandescent blaze of fire and light.

* * * * *

A week had passed since they had taken flight from the Aeolian complex, and things were settling down a bit on the decks of the Jupiter 2.

Dr. Smith had undergone a complete and thorough examination by the Med-dem, which revealed that, other than a few minute and harmless traces of residual radiation in his system, the Aeolian mind wash had been completely eradicated, and gave him a clean bill of health.

Limited activity coupled with treatment and daily therapy from the same medical unit had also healed Will’s injuries to the point that he could now walk again unassisted.

Having reported the success of "Prather’s" mission to the Ghelan government, they charted a four month course to return the H’rlaxian agent to his home planet. He finally also revealed that his true name was Riff Gant.

With the return of Dr. Smith and the additional passenger in the form of Riff Gant, the Jupiter 2 was becoming a little cramped for living space again, much as it was before Will had made the moderations in its size years ago on Ghela. Until further "remodelling" could take place to accommodate the extra headcount, Prather "bunked" with Will, while J.D. badgered his parents into letting Dr. Smith share his cabin with him. Smith initially fought the idea, demanding the Robot be evicted from his bay, which could then be turned into a stateroom for him, but upon closer inspection of the Robot Bay, Smith changed his mind.

"Much too drafty," he concluded. "Besides, I rather relish the idea of being able to lock that cackling canister in his bedroom."

The "connection" experienced between Penny and Riff Gant when they met, proved to be more than just a combination of adrenaline and nervous energy. They found themselves spending a great deal of time together, and Maureen confided to John that her motherly instincts told her this was probably more than just a friendship.

The subject of Dr. Smith’s treacherous actions of years past was not mentioned by any of the Robinsons or Wests in light of the emotional outburst that the doctor claimed was delirium caused by the anti-matter radiation.

Only once was the subject broached, and that was by Smith himself. On the second day after their escape, the doctor pulled Penny aside after dinner, intending to make certain she understood he’d never willingly try to harm her. He’d rehearsed the speech repeatedly in his head, but when he looked at Penny’s face up closely, and saw the scar on her left temple, he became overwhelmed by emotion and broke down.

Penny gently kissed the man on the cheek, instinctively knowing what he was trying to say and do. She told him everything was all right and that they never needed to bring it up again.

Presently, the Robot was diligently working on his current project when Will and J.D. entered the lab. Using Aeolian data downloaded onto the mysterious vid-game, he was finally successful in his efforts to locate, isolate and extract the alien mind wash chip that had been implanted in Drykr.

"How’s it going?" asked Will.

"One down, one to go, Will Robinson" replied the mechanical man. "Additionally, after isolating the necessary programming for my task, I downloaded the remainder of the alien database into the mainframe of the Jupiter 2. Captain Riff Gant expressed an interest in making a copy of the database for the people of Ghela."

The vid-game unit lay on a tray next to where the Robot was working. Its screen was dark and the unit appeared powerless.

"One more adjustment to the central sensory capacitor and the android should become fully functional once again," reported the Robot.

"You do good work, Robot," commented J.D.

"Thank you," replied the B-9 turning from his work to address the boy. "I regret that I cannot say the same about your recent homework projects."

"Ah, come on!" whined the boy, "They weren’t that bad!"

"Look, he’s coming around," announced Will, noticing that Drykr’s eyes were beginning to open. "Stand back, guys – let him see her first!"

J.D. and the Robot made a slight retreat backward with Will. Drykr’s circuits became fully operational and the android sat up. Directly in front of him, to his surprise, stood Verda.

"What’s going on here?" he asked suspiciously. "Don’t think I don’t see the three of you over there in the corner. Either you have made an error in reconnecting my visual sensory units, or you’ve made a grievous error in believing I’d be amused by this."

"No errors at all Drykr," said Verda softly. "It’s really me."

"How can that be?" asked the stunned android. "I scanned you – you were… gone."

"You’re right," interjected Will stepping forward. "She was gone – from her android body. You remember how you told me that J.D. was the first person to be at Verda’s side after she took the blast aimed at Penny?"

J.D. tried to interrupt, but was cut off.

"Yes, that’s the way it happened," replied Drykr.

"You tell him what happened," Will said to Verda.

"After being hit by the gun blast, I knew my android form had sustained enough damage to send me into cybernetic shock – death to an android," continued Verda. "When he came to me, I saw his vid-game unit hooked on his belt and was able to digitally download my primary programming and 80% of my database into the unit."

"And I never even knew it!" added J.D. excitedly. "She did it like magic! But…"

"The vid-game’s memory limitations and the 20% data loss caused what the Robot calls ‘automated amnesia,’" explained Will. "We’ll have to fill you in on all the details, but Verda was functional within the unit, first helping J.D. to find his way back to the Jupiter 2. Later after I found the vid-game, she was able to interface with the Aeolian mainframe and eventually transport all of us back aboard the Jupiter 2."

"Uncle Will!" J.D. tried to interrupt again.

"But if Verda was functioning under this ‘automated amnesia,’ how did you ever figure out that it was her?" asked Drykr. "And how did you reconstruct her body? I left it hidden in a cavern on the planet."

"Even though she had ‘amnesia,’" answered Will, "her programming continued to blend acronymic messages into the vid-game’s communications. For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out what was bothering me about the way that it put words together in some of the phrases it would use. It finally struck me that it using words beginning with the letter ‘V’ much too often. Recalling a couple of the phrases, I realized the first letter of each word in the five word phrases spelled VERDA!"

"As for my android body, near the end I was finally able to restore the 20% data loss and my memory," continued Verda. "After I transported everyone back to the ship, I located both the Chariot and my android body and transported them and the vid-game unit back to the Jupiter 2."

"The last thing I seem to remember is battling the robot," recalled Drykr. "Why did I do that?"

"You were under the control of Aeolian mindwash chip technology," answered the Robot, rolling forward next to where Drykr sat.

"Then I apologize for my actions, robot," replied Drykr. "Did I damage you in any way?"

"Hah!" blurted J.D. "The Robot creamed you, Drykr! Man. you shoulda’ seen his left hook! POW! You didn’t know what hit you! He was awesome! I mean, you literally flew –,"

"I get the idea J.D.," interrupted the android.

"It’s Jay," corrected the boy.

Drykr looked at the lad slightly confused and asked, "What’s… ‘J’?"

Will stepped in to assist, "He means, he wants us all to call him Jay from now on – as in J-A-Y. It’s a nickname Dr. Smith has been using."

"Pretty cool, huh?" added Jay.

"Smith’s back?" questioned Drykr with a slightly concerned, almost nauseous look.

"Long story," replied Will.

"Fill me in on that one later," responded the android. "Right now, I’d like to know to whom do I owe my debt of gratitude for restoring the two of us back to normal operating parameters? You, Will? Your father?"

"The ROBOT did it!" blurted Jay. "He wouldn’t let anyone else get near either of you!"

Verda slid up next to the Robot and draped her arms around his titanium shoulders, adding, "Jay’s right, Drykr. My programming in the vid-game unit was starting to deteriorate, so the Robot restored me first. He’s been working on you non-stop ever since. He’s definitely my hero."

The Robot’s bubble retracted sharply in embarrassment.

"I – I don’t know exactly what to say," said Drykr. "I suppose I have seriously misjudged and underestimated you, Robot. There is clearly more to you than meets the eye. Please accept my sincere thanks – and gratitude."

Drykr extended his right hand to the Robot in an expression cybernetic friendship. The Robot accepted the gesture, then instructed his "patient" to lay back down so that he could make some final adjustments.

Later, up on the flight deck, John and Maureen Robinson had found themselves alone – a rare, quiet moment, just the two of them and the stars outside the main viewport. Everyone had pretty much retired for the evening. Sitting side-by-side in the twin pilot chairs, sharing a cup of coffee and quietly staring out the "living room window" together was one of the things Mr. and Mrs. Robinson liked doing best.

"It looks so peaceful out there," Maureen commented, breaking the silence. "And now, being able to look around, knowing that everyone is safe, and not seeing Dr. Smith in that freezing tube – I don’t know John, everything just seems ‘right’ in here as well – for the first time in a very long while."

John smiled and took a drink of his coffee. There was a small planetoid off in the distance that bore an Earthlike resemblance. Seeing it, Maureen Robinson’s thoughts drifted back to her home planet that she had left so long ago.

"Do you remember – many, many years ago, not long after we landed on our very first planet," Maureen spoke softly to her husband, laying her hand on top of his, "you asked me if I ever regretted bringing the children along with us when we left Earth?"

John Robinson remembered, and looking quietly over at his wife, gently nodded his head.

"I broke down in tears and said, ‘yes I did,’" Maureen continued, looking forward out into the cosmos lying before them. After a long, silent pause she whispered, "I was wrong, you know. I don’t regret a single day of it."

***