Celebrations Found

Part 1

Return to Marvenius

Chapter 1

Marvenius loomed ahead with its bands of green and red spinning before them. The family gathered in front of the flight console for one last meeting before landing and took a moment to admire the view before them.

"It looks like a Christmas ornament," Penny observed.

"It is beautiful," Maureen agreed.

"Indeed, but a beauty that is only skin-deep," Dr. Smith added.

Judy placed her hand on Don's shoulder and countered, "All I see is a planet that harbors a sexist society that exterminates the weak. There's nothing beautiful about that."

Don reached up and squeezed her hand. John looked upon his daughter and son-in-law and hoped that he wasn't making a mistake returning to this planet.

"Alright, family meeting time," John declared. He stood with his back to the view port and addressed the expectant faces before him.

"We all know that we are walking into a dangerous situation."

Don couldn't resist interrupting. "Have I mentioned how much I disagree with this mission?" An exasperated look from John drew an immediate, "Sorry."

The Professor continued. "We need to have some guidelines understood before we proceed. Our mission's goals are: first to determine if the rebellion is in existence and locate its forces; second to work through them in finding medical help for Don. Agreed?"

He waited for nods of assent and received them from all but one. "Don?"

Judy crouched down and stared at her husband, who glanced at her and then reluctantly nodded.

After silently praying for patience, John proceeded with the most difficult part of his directives. "We have to prepare for a worst-case scenario. You all know how to take off and fly the Jupiter. Once we land, the navigation computer will be set to automatically take you back to Carmella's planet. Each one of us will have a communication unit. If it happens that any of us are captured, the priority will be to save Penny and Will. Do you all understand this?"

This statement upset both children and Will shook his head in disagreement. "I don't understand. Why are we any more valuable than the rest of you?"

"It's not that you're more valuable, son, it's that you both have a longer future ahead of you. In addition," he stared at his wife and eldest daughter. "If Don or I are captured, I want no heroics from either of you. Your job is to protect the children. Is that understood?"

Judy and Maureen exchanged a knowing look and simultaneously stated, "Yes."

Dr. Smith interjected, "You can count on me to protect the children, Professor. I will lift-off with them at the first sign of trouble."

"Hold on there, Dr. Smith. I also don't want us to strand anyone who can easily return to the ship. If any of you decide it's time to leave the planet, give the all call signal on the communicator to warn us. I think a twenty-minute window of response should be enough to allow us to check-in before lift-off. Any questions?"

After waiting a few moments, he directed, "Let's get strapped in."


"Have we located the best place to land, Don?"

He nodded. "Robot?"

"We have, Professor Robinson," the Robot explained. The main settlement of Marvenius is the metropolis of your last visit that is located in the most fertile area of the planet. Other settlements are few and far between with minimal technological advancements as compared to the metropolitan area. Major West and I believe that the best location for landing without detection is the desert area immediately outside of the metropolis, as it does not appear to be monitored. It will, however, be an inhospitable place to camp for an extended period of time."

"Sounds perfect," John replied as he took in Don's countenance. He suspected that the stress of the mission would take its toll on him and was not surprised to see the pilot's face drawn in pain as they started the landing sequence. "Are you going to be all right?"

"Give me a minute." Don closed his eyes and brought his hand to his forehead, rubbing at the line between his eyebrows. Active visualization gave him limited relief and he brought his mind back to his last swim with Judy. That was enough to tone down his pain level so that he could concentrate on the task at hand. "Okay. Same procedure as last time."

The landing went smoothly and the family was as ready as they would ever be to begin their next adventure.