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Chapter 10
A high-end vehicle raced through the busted up guard station and onto the airfield. With 13 open hangars as a backdrop, it sped toward the wreckage of three charred security vehicles. Other emergency personnel had already been on the scene for some time when the high-end vehicle stopped and a side door opened.
Brile has been sleeping when he received the news that this incident had occurred, and he had received the information in a state of semi-drowsiness. Perhaps that was why he felt so unprepared for what he saw.
"How many dead?" he asked the leader of the emergency crew.
"Twelve, it would appear," the crew leader replied. "Two at each of the three guard posts, and two in each of the three destroyed vehicles. And the vehicles were hit with a missile from one of the departing spacecraft. They weren't waiting around to explain where they were going."
"I don't think there's any question where they were going," Brile said glumly. "How many spacecraft are missing?"
"Thirteen," the crew leader said. "You say you know where they were going?"
Brile had started to walk toward the empty hangars, but he stopped and turned to answer the man.
"They are going to Alpha Prime," he said. "They didn't want to wait for the rest of us, and it's just as well because they clearly have their own agenda. Neyora may be better off without them. Unfortunately, they are now guilty of murder, and we can't simply let them get away with it."
And again he turned, embarking on a lonely walk toward the empty hangars that had once housed the spacecraft he built with his spectacular wealth. He thought about the discomfort he had felt throwing in with Nickas and the others in his movement. But he had reasoned to himself that you can't pull off something so ambitious without assembling coalitions and making compromises. He knew Nickas was a radical, but he didn't envision him perpetrating this kind of evil.
As Brile entered the main hangar, he gazed at the large, empty expanse where the spacecraft once rested. His fleet was not terribly depleted when measured in numbers. Counting the one that had been taken to Ferhinth, he had lost 14. That still left 236 spacecraft. The colonization vision was far from defeated.
But the realization that his spacecraft had been used by such people for such nefarious actions was near impossible for Brile to come to terms with. He sat on the floor, leaned up against the interior wall of the hangar – and wept.
"Tcialiando, may I speak with you?" said Holkri, a crew member on the ship Tcialiando had piloted from Neyora to Alpha Prime.
"Of course," the pilot said.
"Can you give me some insight," Holkri asked, "into why Nickas has established the radar and defense system as the highest priority for the colonization group? It just seems like a strange choice as opposed to the construction of housing, a food production system and everything else we will need to survive here. Is there reason to expect a threat from unwelcome visitors?"
Tcialiando thought back to that moment back on Neyora, when Eblemeltha stepped forward to express a concern and immediately met his end as the searing laser from Nickas's pistol took him down. Tcialiando wasn't sure what Nickas knew, or might be expecting, about unwelcome visitors. But he knew Nickas probably wouldn't take kindly to being questioned about it.
"I'm not sure exactly what he knows," Tcialiando told Holkri, "but if we don't ensure our security, none of the rest will matter. I suggest we finish it as quickly and completely as possible. Then we'll be able to get to the other priorities. Dismissed."
Holkri indicated his acceptance of the answer and returned to his work on the radar and defense system.
The basic idea was to take half the missiles mounted on the spacecraft and ground-mount them in various locations to protect the initial Neyoran compound. The rest of the planet would be protected by the spacecraft themselves, which would detect any incoming spacecraft and move aggressively to engage them wherever they might attempt to land.
Holkri wasn't the only colonist who wondered why Nickas insisted on destroying any ship that would attempt to land on Alpha Prime – regardless of its location. It was an awfully big planet, after all, nearly as big as Neyora. But Nickas insisted that any infestation at all of invaders from other planets would unacceptably alter the ecological balance of Alpha Prime. So as best they could, they developed a system of defending it with a mere nine spacecraft. They would obviously have no chance of stopping an arriving army, but one or two ships, conventionally armed, should not be a problem.
Holkri looked up from his work to see his two children playing a running game with a group of other young Neyorans, alongside a glistening river. If it was possible, Alpha Prime had exceeded his decidedly high expectations. It was more beautiful than anything he had ever envisioned. Nickas may or may not have been paranoid, but Alpha Prime struck Holkri was more than worthy of defending.
"Dr. Smith," Judy said. "I need to speak with you. Let's go in your quarters."
Not sure what to make of this, Smith nodded and followed her in. She stepped behind him and closed the expanding door.
"What is it, dear?" Smith asked, his voice clearly nervous.
"Dr. Smith," Judy said, "when we reach Alpha Centauri, Dad and Don are going to try to reach Alpha Control. This is going to happen in less than an hour. I don't know if they'll be successful in making contact, but if they are, I'm quite sure that two things will happen. The first will be that Alpha Control will be very surprised to hear from us, since I imagine they probably think we've all been dead for three years."
"True," Smith said.
"The second thing," Judy continued, "will be that they'll tell us they uncovered the plot to sabotage our mission, and your complicity."
Smith just thought about that for a second. He started putting it together. His disappearance would surely prompt them to investigate him. With the investigative tools available today, it wouldn't be difficult to trace the huge transfer the Chinese government had made to his offshore bank account. Ever the shrewd businessman, Smith had secured the first 10 million as an upfront deposit.
At the very least, they would suspect him. And when they heard from the Jupiter 2, they would probably say so.
"Dr. Smith?" Judy said, sensing his attention was drifting.
"I'm sorry, dear," Smith said. "I was just considering the implications of what you're telling me. I suspect you are correct."
"Dr. Smith, how do you want this to play out?" Judy asked. "You have an opportunity to come clean now, before they hear it from Alpha Control. I can't guarantee the reaction will be any more positive, but at least it would allow you to take the matter into your own hands."
Dr. Smith felt butterflies in his stomach. He started to teeter a bit, and had to sit down on his bunk. His face was glum.
"When I confessed to you – my deeds," Smith said. "I suppose I realized a day of true reckoning would follow not far behind. Perhaps I wasn't prepared for it to come this soon."
"I'm not going to force you one way or the other," Dr. Smith. "And I suppose there's a chance we can't make contact, or that if we do, it won't come up. But I don't think either one is very likely. Penny did a fantastic job fixing the radio, and Alpha Control doesn't just leave its receivers unattended –"
Smith stood up.
"You don't need to say any more, Judy," he said. "I know what I need to do. It's time for me to face it. Will you be so kind as to gather the others?"
"Of course," Judy said. "I'll try to clear the path for you, but you're the one who's going to have to step up and tell the truth."
He put his hand on her shoulder. That made her pull back a smidgen, a bit uncomfortable with the contact, but understanding what prompted it.
"Judy," Smith said. "I want you to know I respect you, not only for what you did back on the planet, but because you have always been kind and fair to me. Thank you."
Judy moved toward the door and opened it.
"We'd better get started," she said. "There isn't a lot of time."
On the upper level, John, Don, Will and the Robot were watching for their first visual of Alpha Centauri. The flight plan indicated it should still be about 10 minutes away, but they couldn't resist trying. They weren't that premature. The star would be similar to the Sun, and once they could see it, they would be able to start gauging the orbit of the planets surrounding it.
"Do we have any idea how many planets there are?" Will asked.
"No idea," John said. "We don't know for sure that there are any, although every model Alpha Control developed indicated it should be the kind of star system that would have planets. It's a bit of a leap of faith, but I think we can feel reasonably confident about it."
"I'm going to keep the automatic navigation system on until we reach the inner core of the system," Don said. "If we slow down before we get to the inner ring of planets, it will take us forever to get where we're trying to go. But I'll stay at the controls in case we need to duck any objects."
"Well we all know you're the master of that," Will said.
"Maybe," Don said. "Or maybe I've already used up all my luck. I hope not."
The men turned to hear the elevator coming up, carrying Maureen, Penny and Dr. Smith. Judy was climbing the ladder.
"Everyone, can I have your attention for a moment?" Judy asked.
Everyone gathered behind the control panel. John and Don swung their chairs around.
"As you know," Judy said, "before we left the planet, Dr. Smith put his life on the line to help us escape from the aliens who were attacking us, and I think we all feel grateful for that. Before that happened, while we were holed up in the cave, Dr. Smith told me something important, and he feels that this is the appropriate time to share it with everyone."
Maureen gulped. She hadn't seen this coming.
"Dr. Smith," Judy continued, "the floor is yours."
Before Dr. Smith could speak, Don interjected, "Do we have to do this right now?" He accentuated the point by motioning toward the outside, as if to remind everyone of the momentous events about to transpire.
Judy snapped back impatiently: "Yes, we have to do it now, Don. Pay attention."
Don asked no further questions. Dr. Smith stood near the guidance control system and looked at the group.
"My dear friends," he said, "it is necessary for me to make a terrible confession to you. There are no words sufficient to describe my regret for what I'm about to tell you, but nevertheless I am responsible for my actions, and it is time that you must know them. Three years ago, I accepted 50 million from the government of China to sabotage the Jupiter 2 mission."
The faces of the Robinsons and Major West were a combination of stunned surprise and abject rage. Dr. Smith continued.
"Judy has known about this since just before our recent launch. It is now time for everyone to know. My plan was to program the Robot to destroy the ship eight hours after liftoff. I obviously did not plan on getting trapped aboard, and once I did, it was obviously no longer in my best interests to see the plan carried out. This is why I brought Major West out of his freezing tube, and why I cooperated in the disabling of the Robot when he began carrying out the tasks I had programmed him to undertake."
Don stood up, breathing heavily, paused for a second, and lunged toward Dr. Smith. John and Will stepped in and held him back.
"I knew it! I knew it!" Don raged. "I never trusted you! Never! You tried to kill us all!"
Judy joined John and Will in restraining Don, who was finally forced back into his chair.
"That's enough, Don!" John demanded. "Not another word! Dr. Smith? Do you have any more to say?"
"Only that I am deeply, deeply sorry," Dr. Smith said. "As I told Judy, and as I will tell you now, my actions of three years ago were pure evil, and I can hold no one responsible but myself. Any action against me that you feel is appropriate, I am prepared to accept. But I desperately want you to know that in these three years we have spent together, I have come to love and admire you all. I don't expect you to think of me as family, because I surely have not earned such a designation, but this is how I think of you. My regret is all the more because I have learned the kind of people you are – and that includes you, Major. I don't hold your anger with me against you at all. It is entirely understandable. And all of you, I pray, you will find it in your hearts to forgive me."
And Dr. Smith put his arms to his sides, his words finished.
The rest of the group was silent. They looked at Dr. Smith. They looked at each other. Finally the silence was broken when Will, no longer able to restrain himself, broken down and burst into tears – his conflicting emotions toward this man, his friend, now revealed to be his would-be murderer, simply overwhelming him.
"Well," Maureen began, "it's certainly hard to know how to respond to that."
"I know how to respond to it," Don muttered under his breath.
"All right," John said. "Dr. Smith, your confession is appreciated, whatever prompted it. I'm sure it's too soon for any of us to know how we will react to this in the hours, days and months ahead. But at this moment, I am confining you to quarters. Robot, I am instructing you to guard Dr. Smith and prevent him from leaving his quarters."
"John," Don said. "We're going to need the Robot up here once we enter the Alpha Centauri system."
John thought for a second.
"You're right, Don," John said. "I'll guard him myself."
"Dad!" Will said. "You need to be up here too. Let me guard him."
"Oh, I don't know, son," John said. He knew how close Will had gotten to Dr. Smith. He wasn't sure of Will's objectivity. Will figured as much.
"Dad," Will insisted. "I get your concerns. My first and only loyalty is to my family. Now you and Don stay up here and get us to Alpha Centauri, and I'll guard the prisoner."
Dr. Smith winced at being described in that way, especially by Will. But what could he say?
"Penny," John said, "I want you to join your brother in guarding Dr. Smith. Now the both of you take him to his quarters now."
Penny nodded, then went to the weapon-supply compartment to get two laser rifles – one for her and one for Will. Then they escorted Dr. Smith to his compartment below. Once they departed, Don looked up at John, Maureen and Judy.
"To think that he's been with us for three years, knowing now the real story," Don said. "It just makes me – "
"Don," Judy interjected. "No one understands that better than I do. In the cave I damn near killed him. But in fairness, you should have seen how he was. It was during the attack by the aliens and he thought he was going to die. The guilt was killing him. I mean, I did have to sort of drag the whole truth out of him, but he was so regretful. And it was right after that he almost got himself killed running those deutronium canisters up to the alien ship."
"What are you saying, Judy?" Don demanded. "Are you defending him?"
"I'm not defending what he did at all," she answered. "I'm just saying that he expresses remorse, and I do think some of his actions – at least of the past few days – tend to give credence to that."
"Why didn't you tell us right away?" Don asked impatiently.
"Because he had just saved our lives, and because we had to get the spaceship up in the air and you didn't need the distraction – and because I knew you would react like this," Judy said.
"React like what?" Don asked.
"Like you had the right to act as judge and jury over him," she retorted.
"He tried to kill us!" Don shouted.
"And he just saved all our lives too!" Judy replied.
John and Maureen had been watching this entire exchange, occasionally glancing back and forth at each other as if to say, How bad will this get? John decided it was time to step in.
"If you two think you could put this conversation on hold for a bit," John said, "don't we have a star we need to keep an eye out for?"
Don flung back in his chair.
"You're right," he said, and turned back to the controls. Judy paced the interior of the upper deck a bit, prompting Maureen to approach her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you OK, dear?" Maureen asked.
"I'll be fine, mother, I'll be fine," Judy insisted, as if trying to convince herself.
"I see it!" Don proclaimed. "I see the star! It has to be Alpha Centauri!"
Maureen and Judy ran to the front. John and Don fixed their eyes on the star in the distance, coming at them rapidly.
"Robot, report!" John said.
"Data confirms the approaching star is Alpha Centauri," the Robot said. "Entering star system. Recommend disabling of automatic navigation system in exactly three minutes."
Don prepared to take over the controls. As he did, he took a look at the fuel gauge. It was near empty again.
"John, how many more fuel canisters do we have?" Don asked.
"Five," John replied.
"Boy," Don said. "This is going to be close."
"We have now entered the Alpha Centauri star system," the Robot said. "Recommend disabling of automatic navigation system in two minutes."
"John," Don said, "can you add the other five canisters? We're going to need everything we can get to make it."
"I'm on it," John said, rising to get the canisters.
A planet passed them on their left. Then another. The star grew brighter.
"Recommend disabling of automatic navigation system in one minute," the Robot said.
"OK, I'm ready," Don said as two more planets passed. Maureen and Judy gazed out at Alpha Centauri, hardly believing that it was finally in front of them after three years. Don counted down the last few seconds and re-took control of the Jupiter 2.
"OK," Don said. "If you see a planet you like, holler."
"William, please," Dr. Smith implored, practically begging. "I would rather you scream at me than be silent. Please try to understand. I am not the man I was."
Smith's compartment door was closed. He spoke from behind it. Will and Penny, sitting outside armed with their laser rifles, looked at each other.
"Are you going to say anything to him?" Penny asked.
Will looked down.
"I have nothing to say," he said glumly.
"William," Dr. Smith tried again, "don't you remember when you and your family were heading south to get away from the cold, and I warned you to take shelter from the heat that only I knew was coming? Would I have done that if I wanted you dead?"
Will looked up.
"By that time you needed us alive because you couldn't fly the spaceship!" Will replied. "Besides, it was right around that same time that the Robot tried to kill me, when you were still controlling it! Do you think I've forgotten that, Dr. Smith? Do you think I've forgotten how I ended up being taken by those aliens who wanted to use my brain to fly their ship, while you stood safely outside? Do you think I can't figure out that you made a deal with them? So don't talk to me like I'm some gullible kid, OK, Dr. Smith? I'm not having it. I'm not having your bullshit anymore."
Penny just watched. She had rarely, if ever, seen her brother feel so angry – so betrayed.
"William, you're right," Dr. Smith said. "At that time, my priority was nothing but myself. But in the past three years that I have come to know you and your family, you must believe me that that has changed, dear boy. I have changed."
Will threw open his compartment door and got in Dr. Smith's face.
"How have you changed?" he demanded. "Because you step up to prove yourself when you have no choice? Why did you decide to tell us now? Why? Because Judy made you? Because Judy threatened to tell us all if you didn't?"
Smith paused for a moment. He knew his answer wouldn't help him.
"Because the imminent contact with Alpha Control likely would have yielded the truth," Smith acknowledged. "My choice was to come clean or be exposed. Your sister Judy recommended that I take matters into my own hands, and I agreed."
Will nodded disgustedly.
"Of course," he said. "You tell the truth when you have to, and only when you have to."
"Will, please," Smith said. "I beg you to consider our friendship these past three years. All the experiences we have shared. Please."
"Friendship?" Will repeated, getting angrier. "We are not friends. We are not friends! We were never friends! Our 'friendship' (Will air-quoted) occurred under false pretenses, because someone forgot to tell me that you had first tried to kill me!"
As he uttered those words, Will shoved Dr. Smith in the chest and knocked him to the floor.
"So you can forget about trying to make yourself feel better by telling yourself how you've been my friend," Will continued, ranting. "There was no friendship. Just a three-year-long act of fraud. Now exposed."
Still lying on the ground, Dr. Smith began to weep. Outside the compartment, Penny wept too.
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
The white-haired man, in his late 50s, wore tan slacks and a golf shirt as he ran a piece of sandpaper across a four-foot-long model ship. The garage door was open on a breezy, relatively warm fall day.
He and his son had begun building the model as a father-son project – one of their many – and the man was determined to finish the project to honor his son's legacy. Day after day he stood in the garage working on the model. He hoped to finish it this year before winter set in and it became too cold to work in the garage.
Taking a break from sanding, he looked up to gaze at a photograph of his son. A lump forming in his throat, he took the sandpaper in his hand and went to resume sanding, when his wife's voice interrupted him.
"Bill," she said, standing in the doorway holding the cordless phone, "there's an urgent call from Col. Greenway at Alpha Control."
Bill looked up, surprised.
"Alpha Control?" he said. "What could they want?"
"I don't know," his wife said. "But she said to put you on speaker phone because we would both want to hear it."
She brought the phone out, stood next to him and hit the speaker button.
"Col. Greenway?" she said. "I'm here with Bill."
"Bill?" said the voice on the other end.
"Yes," the man said. "This is Bill West."
"Bill? Joanne? I have amazing news. We have just received a transmission from the Jupiter 2. We are in communication with your son right now."
The Wests looked at each other in stunned amazement, neither knowing what to say.
"Bill? Joanne? Are you there?" Col. Greenway said.
"Yes," Joanne said, fumbling for words. "Yes! We're here!"
The next words they heard were not in the voice of Col. Greenway.
"Mom? Dad?"
Their hearts leapt.
"Mom? Dad? How are the Browns looking this year?"