Chapter 2
March 5, 2000
We're back on Marvenius. The landing was the easy part. Now we have to find the rebellion, if it exists. Will volunteered to go into the town center and see what he could find out. No one seemed to notice him the last time we were here, so Dad agreed. We darkened his hair and I covered his freckles with make-up, so I don't think anyone would recognize him. Dad took him out to the edge of town on the hover bike and will wait for him there.
Will can't do all of the spying himself, so Penny and I asked Dr. Smith to help us disguise ourselves as men. That got a good laugh out of Don. Well, I'll show him. The sooner we locate the rebellion, the sooner we can move out of this place. The desert is an awful place to be. We covered the Jupiter with sand, to camouflage it from any aircraft, but I think the sand found its way into every nook and cranny on board. One good sandstorm could sweep the outside of the Jupiter clean, but I think that it'll take years to get it all out of the interior.
It took little time for Will to discover that the Rebellion was indeed in existence. He and his father returned within two hours to share what they had discovered. The family gathered around them as John hopped off the bike.
"I am happy to report that the Rebellion is alive," the Professor stated.
"There were soldiers everywhere and I even saw a 'wanted' poster of Kairon," Will expounded.
"An increased military presence is going to make it hard for us. It's not too late to abort this mission, John," Don suggested.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Major. Now, where would be the most likely place for the Rebellion to hide?" John queried.
"In plain site?" Maureen offered.
"I don't think so, Maureen. Their sympathizers could, but Kairon and his closest men would need cover to operate." Don ventured, "My best guess is that they're in a place similar to where we are. Maybe one that has a cave system where they could set-up a base."
"Robot, are there any other areas around the perimeter of the metropolis that possibly has a cave system?" John asked.
"There are two, Professor Robinson. One is directly to our north and another is on the other side of the metropolis. The terrain is difficult to navigate. I would suggest that we take the Chariot to investigate."
An hour later, they found the northern cavern, but there was no sign of the rebels ever having been there. It was just large enough, however, to house the Jupiter out of the scorching sun. It was a tedious process to move the ship, but, after hearing every curse that Don knew, not once, but twice, they finally tucked it safely within the cave, although at a slightly odd angle.
As Don shut down the engines, he growled in frustration. "John, I'd like to add a third goal to our mission."
"Third?"
"To get that damn landing strut fixed."
Finding the rebellion was proving to be a bit more difficult than they expected. They decided to split their forces. John and Dr. Smith took the Chariot out to the other cave site. Don was supposed to take Will out to the edge of town so he could gather more information. When he went in search of the hover bike, it was nowhere to be found.
"Will, didn't your father store the bike in the Chariot's bay last night?"
"Yeah, isn't it there?"
"No." Realization dawned on him. "You don't think… Judy!"
He and Will raced through the ship calling her name and only found Maureen working in the makeshift lab.
"Mom, where are Judy and Penny?" Will asked.
"They're not here?"
"We can't find them."
Don rubbed his eyes as his pain level escalated "When they get back…"
"I am going to give them a piece of my mind!" Maureen finished.
Leaving the hover bike at the edge of town, Judy and Penny sauntered through the streets in their male disguises. They tried their best to look like forlorn teenagers and hoped that they could explore the city without confrontation from the military, just as Will had. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before they were accosted by a soldier.
"Waron li positus?"
They had no idea what they were being asked, but Penny produced the translator that Kairon had given her. She pointed to it and the soldier spoke again.
"Where's your armband?"
Speaking through the translator, Penny replied, "We were brought to this planet this morning and are looking for our sister and parents. Can you help us?"
"I will bring you to the men's barracks and you will be given shelter and an armband. You need an armband to travel about the city. Do not worry about your women. They are being well taken care of by our society."
They were loaded into a van-like hover vehicle and transported to the facility. After being discharged from the soldier's custody at the men's barracks, a clerk registered them and gave them brown armbands. Judy used the pseudonym of 'Jay North' and had Penny register under the name 'Dennis North.'
After the process was completed, they were brought to a cafeteria for the mid-day meal. It didn't take long for them to discern the meaning of the armbands. Most of the men eating wore brown ones, which they deduced signified off-worlders. The servers wore green, as Tier 3 males, and soldiers wore orange, as Tier 2. Only children wore no armbands at all.
While eating, she heard a number of different languages being spoken, but could have sworn that she heard the name "West" more than once. Using the translator, she and Penny were amazed to hear the story of "West and Appolus" from one of the servers. She glowed with pride as she realized that Don was considered a hero among the lowest classes of the society.
Anxious to get to their original reason for coming into town, which was to steal a hover bike, Penny and Judy tried to leave, but were stopped by a rather large soldier at the door.
"Gee, Jay, this must be like school. You can't leave until you're excused," Penny commented. They nonchalantly returned to their table and waited with everyone else while a soldier read a list of names and what they hoped were assignments for work details.
"Hey, Dennis, if we get separated, you do whatever you have to do to take care of yourself."
Penny knew that meant to return to the Jupiter and report what they had done. "Alright, Jay, I know what to do."
"North! Laundry. Ministry of Extermination."
They both stood up, horrified.
The soldier gave them a confused look and called, "North, Jay!" and waved Judy over.
Penny tried to calm her panic as she watched her sister being ushered out of the room. No other announcements were made, and she decided to bide her time until she could escape and return to the Jupiter.
Even though Judy knew she was entering the building to work, her fear escalated as she was brought down to the basement laundry facilities. She was shown how to operate the machinery and told to return to the barracks when she was done. Picking up a piece of clothing, she wondered who had worn it and why they had been exterminated. Nausea welled up, but she was able to beat it down by telling herself that she had a job to do and decided to turn the situation to her advantage. She procured several armbands, as well as two translators and a soldier's uniform. Slipping out a side door, she found it rather easy to steal a hover bike and make her way back to camp.
She breathed much more easily once she entered the desert area, and she congratulated herself on a job well done. Unfortunately, Don didn't share her enthusiasm. They crossed paths as she neared the cavern, and he swerved recklessly as he did a U-turn to confront her.
She had never seen him so angry. "What the hell did you think you were doing?!"
She spread her arms and held up the armbands. "Gathering supplies for our mission."
"Do you know what could have happened to you and Penny if they found out you were women?"
"Well, they didn't, did they?"
"You were just lucky this time. Don't you ever do that again!" He was trembling with rage and, if he could have, he would have left the bike to shake some sense into her.
She refused to stave off her own anger. Who was he to give her orders? "Just because you married me doesn't give you the right to tell me what to do! Now we have another bike and armbands that we'll need to get around undetected. I think we did a pretty good job. Instead of yelling, you should be thanking me!"
"In case you haven't noticed it's dangerous here, Judy. Going off on your own goes against all military protocol!"
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not in the military and don't have to take orders from you! I just think you're upset at being shown up by a woman!"
The lines in Don's face deepened and he muttered, "If you think that's the reason…" His eyes narrowed into slits and he took off in the opposite direction of the Jupiter without another word.
Judy was tempted to chase after him, but decided that they both needed to let off some steam before talking again. She made her way back to the Jupiter to celebrate her success with Penny.
It was quite late when the Chariot pulled into the Jupiter's cavern. Everyone was asleep except for a lone figure sitting in a chair outside of the vehicle bay.
"Are you all right?" John asked as he approached Don.
"No," was the reply. "I guess Maureen told you what the girls did today."
"She did. That was quite a risk they took."
"How could Judy be so... stupid? And to take Penny along with her?"
"I agree, Don. It was reckless, and I'll give her a stern lecture in the morning. But what's done is done and there's nothing we can do about it now."
Dr. Smith interrupted. "Now, Major, the girls did not go off on a foolhardy escapade. They knew exactly what they were doing and were well prepared, which is why they were successful in their endeavors."
Don's anger erupted again. "You knew and didn't tell us!"
"They swore me to secrecy! I saw no reason to worry you or Mrs. Robinson with their plan. Should it not have gone well, they would have communicated immediately."
"And they would have been stuck there with no one to help them! You and John were gone in the Chariot, and they took the hover bike, so there was no way I could have gotten to them. I should wring your neck!"
Smith stepped behind John and wagged his finger at Don. "Temper, temper... All went well so there is no reason to be upset."
"No reason? What if they try that stunt again? Then what?"
John interceded to stem the growing argument. "Look, Don. We're all tired and upset. I think we all know that things could have gone wrong for them, but they're back with us. Why don't you go to bed and kiss your wife because she's safe. We'll talk more in the morning."
"I'm sleeping in the medical bay. I need a sedative anyway, so I'll just stay there."
John gave an exasperated sigh. Don and Judy had so much to learn yet about marriage. "All right, Don, if that's what you want."
"Wait. What did you find out today?"
"I think the rebellion is there, but they're well hidden. We'll have to get more information on how to contact them before we can do anything else. Goodnight."
The cave was dank and dark and they heard the rustling of wings above their heads. He and Will ignored the sound and continued to hike through the tunnels without making a sound. They encountered a split in the path and a decision had to be made. Go to the right or the left? He turned to Will, but before he could speak, a giant bird swooped down and snatched the hat off his companion's head. Long golden hair cascaded down his partner's back and he realized that he had been treading through the cave with Judy, not Will. Before he could vent his anger, the bird returned and dug its claws into Judy's shoulders and lifted her off the ground. The bird cackled an abusive epithet at him as it carried her deeper into the bowels of the cave.
Don awoke in a cold sweat, the burning sensation in his legs worse than ever. He reached over for Judy and found that he was alone. His head felt heavy and thick as he lifted himself into a seated position. Although the effects of the sedative were still in his system, he found sleep to be elusive. He knew he'd find no comfort until Judy was by his side.
He made his way onto his chair and motored into his room, carefully lifting himself into the bed he shared with his wife. She snuggled next to him as he lay down and took her into his arms. She awoke for a brief moment and smiled sleepily. Kissing her passionately he whispered, "Please don't scare me like that again."
She nestled her head against his neck and replied, "I won't." She snaked her arm over his chest and they both drifted into a soothing sleep.
