Chapter 8

When and if...

The press conference was set for three o'clock in the afternoon, and Don hoped to shop for rings in the morning. He had to talk his way into getting special permission to leave the base. The security chief only agreed when Mrs. West suggested that they make an early morning appointment at a jewelry store. Although Tony had been on duty the night before, he volunteered to cover their security for the trip off the base.

As Tony drove Don and his parents into town, Mrs. West asked, "I don't understand what all the fuss is about. Why don't they want to let you off the base, Don?"

Don glanced at Tony before he answered. "The paparazzi, for one thing."

"Aolis Umbra, for another," Tony added.

"Do they think Aolis Umbra might try to stop Don from going back?" she asked.

"That could be a possibility," Colonel West stated.

"There has to be more to it than that," Jan said. "If they take Don out of the picture, Alpha Control would just send another pilot to rescue the Robinsons."

"Now, Jan, you've been a military wife long enough to know that there's always more to the story than meets the eye… and that questions can't always be answered," her husband finished.

She laughed. "You're right. I suppose I'm out of practice. After all, it's been a few years since you've retired."

Tony turned the music up and Don started to chuckle.

"Almost paradise

We're knocking on heaven's door

Almost paradise

How could we ask for more…"

Then he started to laugh outright. A broad smile crossed Tony's face. "So, you remembered!"

"How could I forget?"

"So… was it?"

"Was it what?"

"Almost paradise?"

Don looked off into the distance. "Paradise and then some…"


John called before the women turned in for the night to tell them that he had yet to find water. He sounded frustrated and exhausted, but Maureen wasn't sure if it was due to the water situation or Dr. Smith. "Don't worry, Dear, I'm sure you'll find water soon," Maureen told him.

"How are my girls?" he asked.

"Oh, Penny's fine, but Judy's still having morning sickness."

"Is she drinking the water?"

"Yes, John. She takes care of herself. I'm afraid that the garden is looking worse. Can we give it some extra water?"

"No, not yet, Maureen. I think it'll last a few more days."

"I don't know, John. It's getting awfully hot."

"Just a few more days."

"Well, all right. Call me when you find a water source."

"I will. I love you, Maureen," John said.

"I love you, too."

Judy overheard her mother's conversation. "Mom? What if Dad can't find more water?"

"Oh, I'm sure he will, Judy."

"But what if he doesn't? What will happen to us?"

Maureen sighed. "We'll deal with that if and when the time comes."

Judy lay in her bed that night and worried that this water crisis might be something that they could not survive. Don would come back and find them… what… all dead? She could hear Don's voice in her head tell her, 'Come on, Judy, your father will come through… he always does.'

"He's always come through, but you've always been here with him, Don. Dr. Smith is with him this time," she murmured.

'Oh… well… your dad will find water… as long as he survives Smith.'


The ring shopping had gone well. Tony had remained outside the shop on security duty while Don and his parents met with the jeweler. Don would have loved platinum wedding bands, but they were way out of his price range. He settled on two simple gold bands trimmed with a thin line of platinum on the edges. The purchase took less than twenty minutes.

When Don signaled that they were done, Tony drove the car around to the front of the building. As Tony ran around to open the car doors, the hair on his neck stood up. His eyes searched the vicinity, but couldn't spot the danger. He waited a few more moments, but still... nothing… He wished Debbie were here with him as a second pair of eyes, but he couldn't keep the Wests trapped in the store with no obvious threat.

He opened the door and Colonel and Mrs. West exited, followed by Don. Then Tony saw it – the glint of steel across the street. He yelled "Get down!" and drew his weapon. Shots were fired and Colonel West knocked his wife to the ground while Tony shoved Don behind him and returned fire. The assassin continued to shoot and a bullet caught Tony in the chest. Don grabbed the weapon from Tony's hand and fired at the escaping perpetrator, shooting him in the leg. The incident took less than twenty seconds.

Colonel West crawled to the car and used the radio to call for help while Don and his mother checked on Tony. Thankfully, Tony had been wearing his vest and only had the wind knocked out of him. Shrugging off Tony's objections, Don left him with his mother and carefully approached the downed shooter. "Who are you working for," Don asked while pointing the gun at the suspect's head. The man remained silent.

Police and air force security converged on the scene and Don was hustled into a van, where he found his parents waiting. Tony refused to be taken to a hospital to be checked out and retrieved his weapon from Don. As he rode in the van with the Wests, Tony removed his vest and an ugly red welt developed over his heart. Tony felt the bruise and said, "Shi-." He glanced at Mrs. West and said, "Man that smarts."

"Thank God you were wearing your vest, Tony," Mrs. West stated.

"Debbie won't let me leave the house without it. She's had two miscarriages, so until the baby is born, I'm under strict orders to stay alive… just in case she needs me again." He turned to Don. "Major…"

"Yeah?"

"You need to learn to take orders. You shouldn't have approached the shooter."

"I outrank you."

Tony shook his head in frustration. "Did he tell you anything?"

"No."

"Who else knew that we were going on this buying trip this morning?" Colonel West asked.

"Only security staff," Tony replied. The four of them looked at each other and didn't have to voice their fears, for they all knew… This was an inside job…


The press conference went on as scheduled. Don barely had enough time to debrief with the security chief and don his uniform. General Bowers walked with him down the corridor to the pressroom and said, "A press secretary from the Defense Department will be joining us for this press conference. Things are going to be said today that are going to surprise and anger you, Major. Keep your cool and follow my lead." Don's eyes narrowed as they entered the room and cameras flashed in his face. Reporters simultaneously called his name, but he remained silent. The press secretary was already standing near the podium.

General Bowers raised his hands for silence and read from a prepared statement. "As you all know, Major Don West has returned from the Jupiter 2 expedition, alone. He has reported that all personnel from the Robinson family are alive and well and confirmed that Colonel Zachary Smith was trapped on board and is with the family. Major West's intention is to gather needed supplies and return to the Robinsons. I will now open the floor to questions."

He pointed to a reporter who asked, "Major, how was the Jupiter 2 disabled and how did you return?"

The general nodded for Don to reply. "We ran into a meteor storm that threw us off course due to Colonel Smith's extra weight. The Robot – malfunctioned – and caused damage to the ship and threw us into a hyperdrive. We had to crash land on a small planet that we named Priplanus. Professor Robinson developed an engine that runs on plasma. We refurbished the Jupiter's reactor core into a space ship of sorts. We called it the SS Space Raft and… here I am."

"Will you use that ship to return?"

General Bowers answered for Don. "That has not yet been decided. Alpha Control needs to study the plasma fuel system. It would be an invaluable asset to our fleet of ships."

'Surprise number one,' Don thought.

"But, Major, what will you fly to return to the Robinsons?"

"I'll take whatever they give me. I'll hitchhike back there if I have to," Don replied.

The general pointed to another reporter. "Major, explain how you could allow Smith to live among you when you know he sabotaged your mission?"

The press secretary stepped up to the mike and spoke before Don could open his mouth. "It has not been confirmed that Smith is a saboteur."

"Oh, come on, there is no other explanation. Major, even if it's not confirmed, do you mean to tell me that you didn't suspect he was up to no good?"

Don wasn't about to let Smith get off Scot-free. "Oh, I suspected him, all right. All I can say is that the Robinsons have a bottomless well of forgiveness…" He turned away from the microphone and added to himself, 'Especially Judy…'

The general pointed to another reporter. "What of the rumors that you ran into humanoid aliens and even an errant astronaut."

"All true," Don replied. "We encountered Jim Hapgood of the Saturn missions." He was going to go on, but the general touched his arm and pointed for another question.

"Have you encountered aliens that would have the capacity to invade us?"

The press secretary again stepped up to the microphone. "That is classified information," she said.

'Surprise number two… Nobody told me that was classified,' Don told himself.

She stepped back and the general allowed another question.

"What about the attack outside the jewelry store?"

The general held Don back and the secretary answered, "That attack is still under investigation."

"Did you buy an engagement ring, Major?"

The general allowed Don to answer. "Wedding bands… Yes, Judy Robinson has become my wife…"

"When will you be returning to her?"

This time the press secretary moved both Don and the general aside and said, "That timetable had not been set. When and if Major West returns to the Robinson family will be decided in conjunction with the United Defense Command and the Secretary of Defense. If it is determined that Major West will not remain with the now defunct colonization program, he will be reassigned and issued new orders. This conference is at an end."

Surprise number three… Don was dumbfounded. His muscles tensed up and his face reddened. If the press secretary wasn't a woman, he would have decked her then and there.


The garden was withering a little bit more with each passing day. Maureen had decided to store half of her water rations to add to the garden. They couldn't live without water, but neither would they survive for very long without food. She finally had enough to add to the reservoir, but when she checked the water levels. She saw that it hadn't dropped from the previous day. She added her contribution and tightly closed the container making sure that its insulation was in place, and then she sought out her girls.

She called for them as she entered the ship and found them in the galley. "Girls, I just discovered a mysterious thing. The water level in the hydroponic garden reservoir didn't drop. It fact it seems a bit higher since yesterday. Do either of you know anything about that?" Penny and Judy took on their most innocent expressions and both shook their head. "Well, I must say that I do believe in miracles, but, somehow, I don't think this was one of them."

"Are you sure you measured the level correctly, Mom?" Penny asked.

"Penny, I'm a scientist, I know how to measure."

"It wasn't your day to check the garden, Mom. What were you doing there?" Judy asked.

Maureen sighed. "All right. I've been saving half my rations the past few days and went to add it to the reservoir. And you two?"

Judy glanced at Penny and confessed. "We've been doing the same thing."

Maureen shook her head in disapproval. "I know you both think you're doing the right thing, but we can live a lot longer without food than we can without water… And, Judy, you have your baby to think about. You need your water or you'll dehydrate, especially since you're still having morning sickness. No more saving rations… And that goes for both of you"

"And you, too, Mom?" Penny asked.

Maureen gave in… "And me, too."

The communicator signaled and Maureen rushed to answer it. John was on the other end. "I have good news, Darling, or, at least I hope I do. We found water. We're bringing as much as we can back, but it will have to be tested before we can use it. How's the garden?"

Maureen pointedly stared at her daughters. "I think it'll survive for another day or two," she replied. When will you be back?"

"We're planning on driving through the night, so we should be back by tomorrow afternoon."

"John, what if the water is contaminated?"

"Then we do what we can to de-contaminate it."

"And if we can't?"

"Pray that Don comes back sooner than we expected…"


General Bowers placed a firm hand around Don's bicep and steered him away from the podium and into the corridor. Reporters continued to shout questions towards the departing group:

"What about the Robinsons?"

"Why not send a rescue ship?"

"Major, will you go against any new orders?"

"Is money the real issue?"

"Is it because of the alien threat?"

All questions were ignored as the doors to the pressroom shut behind them. Don jerked away from the general and confronted him. "How long did you know about this, General? When were those decisions made?"

"The day of your reunion with your families," General Bowers replied.

"And while I was reassuring those families, you and the rest of the brass were signing the Robinsons' death warrants?"

The general couldn't disagree because it was true… so he nodded. Don lost whatever hold he had on his conscience at that moment and hit the general square in the jaw with his fist. The general fell backwards and Don was immediately restrained by security, but the general signaled for them to let him go. "General! He attacked a superior officer!" the press secretary stated.

The general shook his head. "I stupidly walked into his outstretched arm…. my mistake." He walked up to Don and stood nose-to-nose with him. "Meet me in my office in five minutes… And that's an order, Major."

Don stared at the general's back as he strode away. By all rights, he should have been thrown in the brig and wondered what had caused the general to give him a reprieve. He stopped by the video room where the families had been watching the press conference and was instantly surrounded.

Don's father was not as surprised as Don was at the press secretary's announcement. The attack at the jewelry store had raised his suspicions about the integrity of the current presidential administration. He had contacted the general and, together, they had begun to make clandestine plans to circumvent the government's ill-advised decisions. He pulled Don aside before he left to go to the general's office and whispered, "It'll be all right. Give Frank a chance." Don stared at his father and nodded and then was on his way.

General Frank Bowers sat behind his desk, and Don entered, saluted and stood at attention. "At ease, Major."

"General, I want to apologize to you and thank you for not throwing me out of the corps, but you should have told me."

The general stood and leaned on his desk. He used his most authoritarian voice when he reprimanded Don. "One more word out of you and I will throw you in the brig, Major."

He pushed a paper towards Don. 'Office bugged,' Don read.

"The only reason I didn't have security take you away is because I know you were shocked by what you heard at the press conference," General Bowers continued. "You are an officer of the United States Air Force, Major West. It is your duty to carry out orders, whether you agree with them or not."

'Meeting at Sherry Anderson's father's house. Tomorrow 7 pm. Mike Rivera will pick you and your parents up.'Don finished reading.

"Is that understood?"

Don nodded. "Yes, general."

"Dismissed."

As Don placed his hand on the doorknob, General Bowers warned, "Next time, Major, I will swing back."

Don smiled as he saluted his superior officer and left.