Last week, as you recall, an evil admiral tried to kidnap Will. Then the Robinsons ran into a troop of space Vikings and then a magician whose ship Dr. Smith tried to steal. The Jupiter crew lost their best chance to escape the planet when Dr. Smith was taken over by an ancient being who expected him to restore their society to its former glory. He was able to escape the influence of the being, but not in time for the Robinsons to hit their escape vector. Their chance for a direct route to Alpha Centauri was gone and they would have to wait for another window of opportunity. Then, while teaching the children how to play roulette, Dr. Smith found a gold coin on the ground and suddenly fell through a hole…
Treasure of the Lost Planet (Written by Carey Wilber)
Dr. Smith found a treasure chest in the hole he had fallen through, and within that chest was another, and within that one was a smaller box. He brought it above ground when he climbed out of the hole and opened it, only to find a golden head. He thought it was gruesome and left it in its place, but its eyes started to glow and it said, "Good evening."
The four adults were sitting around the table finishing their after dinner coffee when Don asked Judy, "What do you say? How about a short walk around the planet?"
"That's the best offer I've had all evening. As a matter of fact, it's the only offer," she replied.
"Oh, you really know how to hurt a guy!"
"It isn't that I'm not flattered," she said, "but it would be nice, just once, to have one other offer."
"Okay, some other time."
"Well, I didn't say I didn't want to go,"
"Oh, like, wow!"
"Well, just be sure you have her back by midnight," Maureen teased.
"Yes, you do that, and next time I'll let you have the keys to the Chariot, fella," John jokingly stated.
Don hustled Judy away from the table, as he heard Dr. Smith, the Robot and the children return from their walk. Penny glanced at Judy and Don as they left and Dr. Smith complained that the Robot made it impossible to have a peaceful walk because of his jabbering. The Robot then announced that there were aliens underfoot – four and one-eighth to be exact. "Four and one-eighth?" Maureen repeated.
"The disembodied head measure exactly nine inches. That computes to exactly one-eighth of an alien."
Maureen wondered what he was talking about and Dr. Smith gave up on the entire scenario and went to bed, soon to be followed by the rest of the family, except for Don and Judy, who were enjoying their time alone.
As the rest of the family debated the meaning of one-eighth of an alien, Judy and Don settled into their private spot. Judy wrapped her arms around Don's chest as they nestled against the rocks. "Goodness, you rushed me away from there," Judy complained. "I thought we were going for a walk, not a jog."
"I could hear the kids coming, so I wanted to get you out of there before Penny saw us. We're still in the 'cool it in front of Penny' mode – remember?" he reminded her.
"Oh, well, I was going to tell you that Penny and I had a talk."
"Really?" He wasn't surprised. "So, tell me."
"Well, Penny asked if there was something wrong between us."
"I knew she'd wonder what happened. She's too perceptive with people. What did you tell her?"
"I reassured her that we're fine."
"You didn't tell her that you were just trying to make things easier for her?"
"Of course not, she would have felt guilty."
"And that was my argument against your idea from the beginning!"
"Well, you were right."
"Could you repeat that?"
"Repeat what?"
"The 'you were right' part. I'd like to hear that again."
She picked her head up. "Donald West! What are you insinuating?"
"Just that you don't appreciate me."
"That's not true!"
"Then what was the 'you're the only offer I've had' bit at the table tonight?"
"Oh, I was just teasing you. You know that!"
"Well, I'm not sure my ego has fully recovered from our encounter with Morbus."
"You're not going to let me forget that, are you?"
He didn't reply right away. It had hurt him… deeply… "It was the first time I thought I could lose you to another man. It scared me, Judy."
"I know… I'm sorry, Don."
"Well, I'm sorry I brought it up. I guess my ego is still kind of fragile."
"What can I do to build it up again?" she asked.
He looked into the depths of her eyes that were open and unguarded and shone with love. "Just look at me the way you're looking at me now." He waited for their souls to touch and then leaned his head forward. Their lips met and erased a little bit more of the dark memories. He didn't fool himself into thinking that there would be no more hurt because in a relationship as deep as theirs, hurt was as inevitable as love, but love would always triumph in the end.
"Dear Joan,
Captain Tucker returned and he brought his crew along with him this time. He said that he was searching for Beelibones' lost treasure and the box that Dr. Smith found could lead him to it. Dr. Smith fell into a hole and found a box that held a golden head in it. The head would say "Good evening," when it was activated. The head was supposed to turn in the direction of the treasure. They did find the treasure, Joan, but it was just a box full of pig iron. Since Beelibones' planet has a wealth of gold and little iron, gold was worthless and iron was valuable. Tucker swore off his pirates' ways and went on his way."
Dr. Smith was collecting rubies when an abominable snowman type of creature chased him for the jewels and ate them. Dr. Smith ran away from the creature, but tried to talk the Robot and Will into helping him collect more rubies from the cave of the hungry monster when the Robot warned them that a super android was approaching…
Revolt of the Androids (Written by Bob and Wanda Duncan)
The android appeared in a flash of light, but it wasn't functioning. When Will put the android's control panel back on its belt, against the warning of the Robot, it came to life and started repeating… "Crush! Kill! Destroy!" When it tried to attack Will and the Robot, it was clear that it wasn't as dangerous as it portended to be. He claimed to be 'all-powerful,' but when it tried to crush rocks in its hands it wasn't even able to break off a crumb.
The Android wore a shield with the letters, 'I-D-A-K,' which he said stood for "Instant Destroyer and Killer," or Idak for short. He was programmed to destroy an Android Model 110, also known as Target Android 105. Little did they know that his target android was indeed in the vicinity.
Judy and Penny were gathering flowers for their mother when they heard groaning nearby. Penny wanted to get back to the ship, but Judy insisted that they find whoever was in trouble, and they did… It was Verda!
"Dear Joan,
Our android, Verda, has come back and she is almost totally human now! She's beautiful. Penny and I brought her back to the ship. She is being hunted down by a super android because the Celestial Department Store is under new management and all "B" model androids were ordered to be disassembled. I'm sure Mom and Dad will want to protect her."
Don returned to camp while Judy was talking in her diary and Penny told him how she and Judy had found Verda. "You mean to tell me that you and Judy heard this moaning and went to investigate on her your own… without weapons?" Don stated.
"Yes, Don. Judy said that it sounded like someone was in trouble and we had to help. I'm glad we did," Penny answered.
"Let's find Judy," Don said. He took Penny into the ship and found Judy putting her recorder away in her room. "Judy, Penny told me how you found Verda. Do you know how dangerous that could have been?"
"I knew someone was in trouble and we had to help," Judy said.
"But you had no idea what you could have been getting into. You could have found the android who's hunting her down instead of Verda, and then what would you have done?"
"Oh, Don, that didn't happen, so there was nothing to worry about."
"But it could have happened. You and Penny could have been hurt!"
"But we weren't!"
Penny interrupted their argument. "Can I go now?" she asked. Don nodded and waved her away.
"Don't you get it, Judy? You can't just go off like that! You should have come back for me or your dad!"
"Stop yelling at me, Don! I knew what I was doing, so don't lecture me!"
John overheard their argument and came into Judy's room, "What are you two arguing about now?" he asked.
"Don is lecturing me about helping Verda," Judy explained.
"Not that you helped her, but that you went off on your own without a thought to your own safety!"
"Don has a point, Judy," John said.
Judy was indignant. "Dad! I can't believe you're taking his side."
Don gleefully stated, "That's because I'm right!"
John knew they wouldn't settle this argument easily. "Don, we need to get the force field working if we're going to protect Verda. How about going out to work on it?"
Don stared at Judy for just a second longer before replying. "Sure. See if you can talk some sense into her."
Judy crossed her arms and fumed at that statement. John waited for Don to leave and then said, "You know, he is right, Judy. You didn't know who or what you were going to face when you and Penny went to investigate."
"But, Dad, there wasn't any danger," Judy said.
"Did you know it was Verda?"
"No, but…"
"But… you could have been walking into a dangerous situation. Isn't that correct?"
Judy couldn't deny it. "Yes, it is."
"So, next time, come back and get help before you go off blindly investigating. Deal?"
Judy smiled. Of course, her father was always right. "Deal," she said.
"All right, let's get out there and see how Don is doing.
John and Judy walked out of the ship and Judy walked past Don without a glance. She wasn't about to let him think that he was right… even though he was. Don ignored her too, and he had to report that the force field would be down for another twenty-four hours.
Judy complimented Penny on the wonderful job she was doing on the garden when the Idak appeared from behind a rock. She glanced back at Don and her father, who told her and Penny to slowly back up and make their way into the ship, and then he instructed Don to get out the laser rifles. John shot at the android, but the laser weapon had no effect.
"Dear Joan,
Verda is just amazing. She talked to the android that was trying to destroy her into believing that his control mechanism was faulty and she wasn't his target because she was human. It turns out that Idak, that's what he calls himself, has human qualities so it can make decisions. Verda is teaching him how to be human. She has started out by having Will teach him how to play baseball, but she showed him how to hold a bat. He has quite a swing! He put a hole in a rock that's at least a foot deep!
By the way, I'm mad at Don. He reprimanded me for helping Verda without having any weapons. I think he was just being a chauvinist. He wants me to be the helpless female so that he can be my big strong protector… and don't tell me that there's nothing wrong with that. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
Dr. Smith let slip that Verda was indeed an android and Idak tried to destroy her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it and short-circuited. A machine appeared and delivered a second, stronger Idak, the Omega 17 model. This second Idak was programmed to destroy, not only Verda, but also anyone who got in its way. It could also destroy the original Idak, model Alpha 12.
Don and John were waiting for the Omega 17 with their laser rifles, although Don asked John, "If the lasers didn't work against the first Idak, what makes you think they'll work against the second?"
"They may not, but we've still gotta try," John answered. When the Omega 17 approached, John shot him with the laser to no effect. He shouted for Will to get the Robot and Don tried hitting the thing with his rifle and John did the same. Judy and Maureen were in the hatch way and saw the Omega 17 take the weapons from the men, but John and Don were able to push the Idak away from them. John threw sand in the Idak's face and instructed Don to get back to the ship. Don picked up the rifles and ran after John, who closed the hatch.
"Are you all right?" Judy asked her father, who replied, "We're fine. Where's Penny?"
"She's here, but what about Will?" Maureen asked.
"I sent him for the Robot." He should be safe as long as the Idak keeps trying to get to us."
"Let's hope he can't break through the hatch," Don commented.
Will sent the Robot to help, but he was easily disabled by the Omega 17. Verda tried to talk the original Idak, Alpha 12, into helping, but he doubted himself because he had lost his powers. He was no longer a 'super android.'
Verda, Dr. Smith and Will returned to the Jupiter to find the Omega 17 throwing huge rocks at the Jupiter's hatch. The Alpha 12, however, surprised her by coming up behind them and offered to have the Omega 17 chase him and finish him off, giving the rest of them time to get away.
As the rest of the Robinsons watched from the viewport, Verda handed the Alpha 12 a rock and reminded him about how well he did with the baseball. She told him that he didn't need super powers to destroy the Omega 17… and that she believed in him. He took the rock from her hand and replied, "If you think I can do it... then I will try."
He squared off with the Omega 17 and was quickly disarmed and thrown back towards Verda, who helped him up. "I can't," he told her.
"Yes, you can. You can. You must believe that," she encouraged.
"I believe," he replied.
Judy's hand crept towards Don's as they watched the scene unfold before them. He wrapped his fingers around hers and gave her a grateful smile. The Alpha 12 was on the defensive, but managed to grab a rock in his right hand. The Omega had him down on the ground for the fifth time, but the Alpha 12 was able to throw a perfect fastball at the Omega's access plate and disabled him.
John opened the hatch and they left the Jupiter, with Don carrying his laser rifle. A machine appeared and vacuumed up the Omega 17. John instructed Don to get a disintegrator capsule. The machine then turned it's attention to the Alpha 12 and started to suck him up. Don handed the capsule to John, who instructed the women to stay put. Don hung onto Idak to keep him from being sucked in while John threw the capsule into the heart of the machine and he returned to help Don. Together, they were able to break the suction and get Idak away from the machine before it exploded and disappeared.
Don and John returned to the women and Idak approached Verda who reached for his hand. "Why do you seek contact of our digital senses?" Idak asked her.
"It's something humans do when they want to be close to another human," she replied.
"Oh," he said and covered her hand with his. "I like it very much."
Smith offered to become Idak's manager and said that he would take him to Earth.
"Athletes? Managers? You must be kidding Smith, you couldn't manage a flea circus," Don stated while Idak and Verda looked into each other's eyes.
"You will sing a different tune, Major, once I get him back to Earth. I can see it now, blazoned across the sports pages – 'Idak Wins the World Series.' Or better still: 'Dr. Zachary Smith's Protégé Wins the world Series.'"
Verda interrupted his dreaming. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Dr. Smith, but neither one of us can stay here." She proposed that she and Idak escape to a small planet nearby where there are no people. They would never be found.
"Do you have to go?" Will asked Idak.
"I want to go," he replied. "Good-bye, Will Robinson."
Will extended his hand and Verda showed Idak how to shake it. She then said her good-byes to the rest of the family and gave Penny a hug. "Remember me," she said. "I love you all." She and Idak held hands and disappeared and the Robot revived.
After dinner, Don knew it was time to properly make-up with Judy. "Judy, would you like to take a walk and, uh, make contact with out digital senses?"
Judy glanced at her parents, who nodded, and John teasingly added, "Make sure that's all you make contact with."
Don grasped Judy's hand as they walked away from camp down the path to their usual spot. "So, still mad at me?" he asked her.
"Oh, of course not," Judy answered.
They remained silent until they settled against their boulder. Judy laid her head on his chest and listened to his heart. "So, am I forgiven for worrying about you?" Don asked.
"You know that worrying wasn't the problem… It was your assumption that I can't take care of myself. For your information, Penny and I aren't just helpless females. We've taken care of ourselves before."
"Like when that golden guy showed up? Or that thief, Ohan?"
"We did all right both times."
"Judy, I just want you to be more careful. You should assume the worst could happen and be ready for it. I mean, at least you could have come back to the ship for a weapon before you went looking for Verda… You have to agree that, if it wasn't Verda you found, you and Penny could have been in danger."
"Don, I knew that someone or something was hurt. I was afraid to take the time to go back to the Jupiter." She hated to give in, but he was right… "And I've already had this discussion with Dad. Next time, I'll come back for a weapon."
Don smiled. "Good. Now… how about some digital contact?"
"What part of me would you like your digits to make contact with?"
"You mean I have a choice?"
She smiled coyly. "Within reason…"
"Whose reason? Yours or mine?"
"I'll tell you what… if your 'reason' doesn't match up with mine… I'll let you know."
"Hm… sounds fair to me…" He leaned down and kissed her lips, letting his fingers lightly drift over her body. She did the same, but she untucked his shirt and ran her hand up his naked chest. He pulled back when she hit a particularly sensitive spot.
"Unreasonable?" she asked.
"Uh, no… not at all… I was just, uh… surprised, that's all.
"But I've touched you there before."
"Yeah, but not, uh, skin to skin."
"Too much?"
"No, no… I like it…"
"Can I continue?"
"With my blessings…"
John and Don had designed a system of relays that would enable them to communicate around the planet and beyond. There would be four stations, with the main station being at the Jupiter. Setting up the four stations had almost become a battle of the sexes. Judy was still smarting a bit from Don's excessive worry when she and Penny had found Verda, and Will was constantly proclaiming the superiority of males over females, especially in the area of electronics.
When John handed out the work assignments, he had assumed that Judy would want to be paired with Don, but she surprised him. She and Penny had complained about how they were sometimes treated as second-class citizens by the men and wanted to work together as a team. So he paired Will with the Robot and Don (much to his chagrin) with Dr. Smith. He and Maureen would work on the station at the Jupiter.
Don and Dr. Smith worked at station number one. Or, it should be said that Don worked at station number one. Dr. Smith ate and read while he handed tools to Don. When Don asked for a wrench, Smith handed him a hammer. Don commented, "Smith, you must have been reading my mind instead of hearing my words. 'Cause there's nothing in the world I'd rather do than crown you with this."
"But whatever for? I haven't done a thing."
"Exactly!"
Don called relay station two and Will answered. Both would be up and functioning within a few minutes. Judy and Penny had just about finished their work at station three, except for one thing, the battery – once that was in place, they were ready to go. They turned on the unit and it began to transmit to station two, but then a high-pitched screeching sound assaulted all of their ears, and none of the stations could be turned off, even with the batteries disconnected. Then relay station three exploded in a shower of sparks, knocking the girls to the ground…
To be continued…
NEXT WEEK!
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