"Mom, dad, I am going on a walk." Will announced.
"Come back before your bed time." Maureen said.
"Laser pistol on you?" John asked.
"Yes, sir." Will said with a nod. "On me at all times."
"Be careful where you step," Maureen warned. "Cosmic sand pit might in the way."
"I will. See you later." Will turned away then walked on holding on to his flashlight and had a grip on his laser pistol walking on into the night.
Maureen looked on.
"I miss Robot." Maureen admitted.
"Me too." John said. "Will wouldn't be going with a laser pistol if he were still alive."
"Because he was the laser pistol." Maureen said.
"Are you ready for that stargazing, Doctor Robinson?" John asked.
"Ready as I have always been, mayor Robinson." Maureen replied warmly with a laugh facing the professor. "Penny, did you get the stargazing basket packed?"
"Yes, mommy." Penny said.
"Then we're all set to to go." John said. "And Joshua?"
"Joshua is all packed in the Chariot with Judy's breast milk." Penny replied.
"Settled then." John said. "Don and Judy get to have the Jupiter 2 to themselves."
"For the first time since the Kavalarians entered our lives." Maureen said. "I have complete faith that it won't happen a third time."
"So do I." John replied. "Penny, get to the Chariot. We will be right after you."
"Sure, daddy." Penny walked back to the Chariot then John unexpectedly planted a kiss on Maureen's cheek and followed her.
Maureen smiled, putting a hand on the side of her cheek, then chuckled and walked after her husband. She joined John's side in the Chariot, buckled up, then Penny closed the side door. The Chariot rolled away from the Jupiter going further into the dark leaving the beacon of light behind. The inside of the Jupiter 2 blended in among the dark as it rolled through the natural barren hills leaving the Jupiter 2 behind as it had done once before decades ago in the daybreak for a rock climb.
"Professor, madame, thank you for coming here as I have asked." Smith said, graciously. "Thanks in part to the medical scanner, Robot and I have come up with a troubling prognosis for the Professor."
"And that is?" John asked.
"You have a unrupted brain aneurysm and I can treat it with the minimal technology that you have." Smith said. "It can go at any time."
"How do you treat that back in your world?" Maureen asked, squeezing John's hand.
"We program the aneurysm to shrink until it is no more." Smith said. "You don't have that level of biological technology around."
"What is the treatment?" John asked.
"There are two." Smith said. "20th century but practical."
"Tell us the treatment." Maureen said.
"First one is going into taking half of the professor's cranium off then clipping it," John's brows rose in alarm and Maureen's eyes widened in shock. "and the other way is sending a wire from your husband's groin then I thread it to the aneurysm. I will use a guide wire to push a soft platinum wire through the catheter and into the aneurysm. The wire coils up inside the aneurysm, disrupts the blood flow and essentially seals off the aneurysm from the artery."
"What are the risks if we don't treat it?" John asked.
Smith looked down upon the couple in a moment of silence.
"Death." Smith replied, grimly.
"If you do?" Maureen asked.
"A small accident, blood loss, bleeding in the brain." Smith said. "It won't be sudden or abrupt as dying in the middle of the day or in your sleep."
"Equally as painful for those in the operation room." John said.
"I understand this is a lot to take in." The couple exchanged a glance toward each other then the older man with a goatee got up from the table. "I will come back later."
Smith headed toward his stateroom.
"Wait." John said. "Would I be under during the second option?"
"Yes." Smith replied. "We have the medication for this operation."
"Can you do it in a few hours?" John asked. "Before we go out hiking."
Smith glared toward them that was deathly then shook his head.
"Madame, professor. I rather not." Smith said. "Your children and the major should be aware of this operation and be part of it. Not be out of it."
"We don't want them to know of it." Maureen said.
Smith narrowed his eyes toward John and Maureen with a frown.
"Is there secrets they don't know of that you did for them?" Smith asked
"Plenty." John said, softly.
"Don't make this one of them." Smith advised. "It is quite life changing to your children. I will do it when they know."
Smith went into his stateroom then John sighed with his gaze on the table.
"He is right." Maureen admitted. "We can't make this operation one of our secrets."
John closed his eyes, squeezing them shut, nodding in agreement.
Don and Judy spent a few hours star gazing on the roof of the Jupiter 2 with head gears beneath their heads that comforted their neck during the observation. It was quiet underneath the stars. Stars that were travel destinations and familiar friends. Once strangers, now very familiar. Their hands were interlaced with each other as they pointed out star systems at a time. They burst into fond chuckles then stopped laughing at once and sighed. They lifted up from their perch looking on. Judy leaned against Don's shoulder and sighed.
Don smiled then looked down beside his life partner then he gazed upon her. The brightly shining diamond of his life. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. They sat there for thirty minutes until the sound of small soft laser firing in the distance caused Judy to bolt halfway awake and stare on. Don got up to his feet then looked down toward the valley of rocky towers ahead of them. Don took out his laser pistol then froze at the sound of a familiar shriek.
Judy bolted down the recently installed stairs to the craft then landed with a thud and adjusted her long locks of hair into a pony tail with a few hand swift movements that had became familiar to her over the passing centuries searching for Alpha Centauri. She stood up on a boulder then aimed and fired at strange humanoid beings with half of their faces painted in a long painted shape on the right side of their face.
She fired warning shots sending the attackers fleeing in the dark and some returned fire. A loud and abrupt sting caused Judy to yelp. She stumbled back and rubbed at her jaw. She charged right back with renewed rage and fired at them. Don covered her then she looked over spotting three fallen figures on the ground without paint on their faces.
"Are you okay?" Don asked.
"Doctor Smith is here!" Judy said.
"What?" Don was stumbled.
"He is over there!" She pointed on.
"I hope you're not-" Don's eyes widened as he looked in the direction that she pointed in. "Judy, get him before it's too late. I will cover you."
Judy nodded then slipped her laser pistol into the belt then lowered herself down as Don covered over her with his return fire.
"Ryai-um . . . ryai-um. . . ryai-um . . ." Groaned the familiar figure then his bright blue eyes flashed open with panic, fear, uncertainty. "Is he okay? Are Ry-anne and Val-tor-ium okay?"
"Just breathe, breathe." Judy said, soothingly, over the whimpering older man. "Easy, easy there. It's okay. Ssssh."
The older man smiled, weakly, then relaxed and fainted. Judy frantically felt for a pulse then relaxed. She looked on toward his companions. These people were important to him so she had to share the same kindness to them. Judy walked past the older man then lifted the younger man by the shoulder. His arm was draped over her shoulder as she carried his weight away from the firefight.
Don looked over watching as he was exchanging fire with the enemy combatant. She returned then grasped the other companion then carefully dropped him in front of the Jupiter 2 in the second seat. Don lowered his laser pistol them joined Judy's side and they helped the older man into the chair where he slumped and rested. The duo took turns lifting the men down to the lower decks. Moments later, the scarred scenery of clustered rock towers changed replaced by a natural path way leading to the Jupiter 2 with the Chariot rolling on toward the craft.
Judy arrived to the front door, panting, with one hand on her laser pistol. She took her hand off once seeing her mother be helped out of the Chariot then run toward her.
"Mother!" Judy's defenses lowered then she, too, began to lower caution.
Judy and Maureen shared a hug with the young woman clinging to her mother's figure with silent happy tears coming down her skin.
"Did something wrong happen?" Maureen asked.
The hug broke off then Maureen looked at her daughter, questioningly.
"Something good happened, mother." Judy squeezed her mother's hands as John was handed Joshua by Penny.
Judy took Maureen by the hand then guided her down to the decks and Don passed back up the decks heading to the conn. The women were followed by Penny behind them then came into the residential deck and Don filled in what had happened only moments ago. The men retreated into the ship then turned the forcefield on with the Chariot parked closer to the Jupiter 2.
Maureen was shown the first two visitors with Judy being silent but smiling from ear to ear in a way that Maureen paid little attention to the burned top. Judy slid open the door to Smith's stateroom then Maureen stared with a small notable gasp turning her attention on to her. Then she lowered her attention on to her uniform. There was little to say, except, a smile. It didn't need to be communicated but the injuries on the men told the story and the one worn by the woman equally told one as well.
Maureen smiled, putting a hand on Judy's shoulder.
"Good job, Judy." Maureen said. "Very good fast thinking."
Penny joined them then peered in and her eyes widened.
"Penny, get the medical kits out and the clothing synthesizer." Judy said.
"Will do." Penny slipped away from them.
"We are not going to play favoritism." Maureen said. "We start with the first person that was brought into the ship."
"It is the first person that I showed you, mother." Judy said.
Maureen walked on past the older man's stateroom and went into the guest stateroom and opened it observing the resting young man.
"This should be easy." Maureen said. "Judy, you get the second wounded. And measure your patient. And treat your wound."
"What wound?" Judy asked.
"You have a nasty laser burn alongside your mouth." Maureen said.
Judy tapped along the right side of her lip then winced.
"Ow." Judy said.
"Thankfully, we have a little antibiotics left over for that." Maureen said.
"Wounded must treat the wounded." Judy said with a small laugh.
"So it seems." Maureen said.
The men peered in Smith's stateroom then began to grin as the women began to treat the wounded and set about the pieces to the coming day.
Maureen finished tending to the older man's wounds with biodegradable stitches and gauze that wrapped his chest wounds. She left out a set of clothing on the table for the older man that was of a familiar color scheme with one minor difference, it was a similar color scheme to how Judy had seen him in. His old damaged two piece uniform was partially unstripped leaving him in his trousers with a partially covered hairy chest. Maureen left his stateroom then smiled once approaching the girls.
"He will be awake in the morning." Maureen said. "Penny, get Will."
Judy looked on into the stateroom of the resting older man then slid it close as Penny ran off.
"Good night," Maureen said.
"Good night, mother." Judy said.
Maureen went to the master stateroom and closed the do or behind her.
Will strolled through the environment on a lone walk hopping from one boulder to the next that lifted his spirits and laughed. He made a pattern with the leaping landing to the surface of each boulder then made his final landing to the ground. He fell, landing to the ground, then laughed with a trembling figure. He leaned his back against the rock then sighed and ceased to laugh. He looked up spotting a electronic horse sliding forward guiding a carriage forward.
Will jogged toward the strangely themed carriage.
"Hello there." the newcomer waved a hand at the young boy;
The traveler was a man covered in sheep like wool that sparkled beneath the moonlight and his skin was dark as the night with large floppy sheep ears.
"Hi, I am Will Robinson." Will said.
"I am the traveler." The traveler smiled.
"Good to meet you." Will said.
"You as well." the traveler grinned with a nod. "If you're Will Robinson . . then where is your companions?" Traveler was frowning as he was gesturing his finger from side to side. "Is Robinson Robot cooling your friend down as he relaxes?"
"No." Will replied. "They died a year ago."
"Dead?" The traveler frowned. "I heard one of your friends was alive . . . Do you mean to tell me that the rumors are true? That you had a imposter in your mist?"
"He wasn't a imposter!" Will closed his eyes then let out a sigh and opened his eyes turning his attention up toward the traveler. "He was his counterpart."
"Counterpart from the anti-matter universe as everyone was saying?" the traveler asked.
"A alternate anti-matter universe," Will replied. "Not ours."
"I see."
"He had to go back because he felt that he were making everything darker and going to get all of us killed. It wasn't true." He shook his head. "What was really happening was that we were making him brighter and alive."
"How did he," he swept his finger from side to side. "Go to and from?"
"He had a alien displacement wrist band made by Professor Eglardo," Will said. "He is a intergalactic law enforcement officer here."
"That law enforcement officer tried to help him." The traveler said.
"Doctor Smith had to volunteer." Will said. "He was desperate to get himself cured and get back home. A little too desperate."
"And what did this wrist band look like?" The traveler tilted his head
"Like-" Will picked up a long blade of grass and several rocks then knelt down and formed a sphere shape. He dropped the rocks on to the blade of of grass then looked up toward the traveler. "This." The traveler nodded in understanding. "Sometimes, when I were around Doctor Smith . . . I noticed that his wrist band glowed green and he had to pause then walk around the area. It wasn't often that we found weak multiphasic barriers in our time together but we managed to make a mental map of where not to go on our explorations together."
"He could freely go home at any time . . ." The traveler grappled the subject as he mused over it then frowned. "or go somewhere else and he didn't do that at all?"
"He didn't want to burden his curse with anyone else or continue running." Will said.
"That is really sad." The traveler said.
Will nodded in agreement, somberly.
"And the truth is . . . " Will looked aside. "I miss both versions of him and Robot." he turned his attention toward the traveler. "If I could have one version of my friends by my side then the journey home wouldn't feel so bitter."
"Your frankness about it is very unique of you."
"I don't recommend telling Eglardo about his invention." Will said. "Not ever. It will only hurt and it won't fix your problems."
"That is something I will abide by." the traveler reached a hand out then put a hand on his shoulder and clenched it with sympathy. "I feel your pain, young Robinson."
Will closed his eyes, tears began to fall from along his eyes, then pushed the tears back with his sleeve and opened his eyes.
"Thank you."
The traveler went inside the carriage then returned with a ice cream cone in layers of chocolate and Reese cups sticking out.
"Here," The traveler handed the material to the boy. "Have a ice cream. No bolts, no poison, just chocolate and nuts."
"Gee, thanks." Will looked up with a smile toward the traveler and stepped back. "What are you doing here?"
"Traveling far and wide to be the very best listener in the galaxy! The best listener there ever was!" The traveler grinned then pointed at his chest. "It's my motive."
The traveler picked up the handle to the horse then smacked it against the electronic horse.
"Go!" The traveler cried.
The traveler and the carriage sped off leaving dust behind. Will licked his ice cream cone over the passing hour feeling better inside and the pain in his heart began to dull. The cone itself was finished after the ice cream was eaten away. Will licked at his hands then went to a nearby pond of water and wiped off the remaining nature of the meal then wiped it off on the side of his pant leg.
"Will!" Penny said. "You have to go back to the Jupiter2!"
"What is it, Penny?" Will asked.
"We got Doctor Smith back!" Penny said. "He is alive!"
"Where?" Will asked.
"At the Jupiter 2 in his stateroom!" Penny exclaimed.
"Really?" Will asked.
Penny nodded, rapidly, excitedly.
"Really." Penny said.
Penny and Will ran all the way back to the Jupiter 2.
Judy heard the door open to the residential deck then slid the door to the older man's stateroom close. The young boy came speeding her way with a grin that made his face bright. Judy extended a arm out causing Will to have a unexpected halt in his tracks in front of the stateroom.
"Is he awake?" Will looked up toward Judy.
"Fast asleep." Judy said as Will put his ear against the stateroom door then heard familiar snoring and grew a wide grin. "He is not ready for visitors."
"Despite sounding healthy," Penny added.
"Well, when is he going to be awake?" Will asked as Penny joined his side.
"According to mother, tomorrow morning," Judy said.
"Tomorrow morning!" Will said. "Sounds like that will be in forever."
"Me too," Judy said. "But, it won't be very long compared to the one we had before with him."
"It wouldn't," Penny agreed.
"What happened to him?" Will asked. "He wouldn't be fast asleep after coming back to the Jupiter 2 on his own will."
"He was in a firefight with some of his friends against alien foes." Judy said. "Their faces were painted and their weapons were very different. They looked so like a bunch of humans wearing capes."
"Different?" Will asked. "Like, our laser pistol different?"
"The model was odd but it was a lot like the ones that we used in the first year." Judy said. "Those small ones with the little glass cones behind the opening."
"I get what you are saying." Will said. "Before we switched over to the laser rifles-Wait, you are saying that is Alpha Centauri approved weapons!"
Judy became quiet for a single moment looking aside then her attention returned upon her brother.
"Yes." Judy said. "I suppose I am. . ." Then her eyes widened. "Alpha Centauri System weapons being used against him?"
"This doesn't smell right." Will said.
"He will explain everything in the morning," Penny said. "It will be okay."
"It will be." Judy nodded then went off to the second master stateroom that she shared with Don and closed it behind her.
"I am hitting the hay, Will." Penny said.
"Did you see him?" Will asked.
"He was hurt." Penny said. "You should see him when he is at his best."
"When you say it that way," Will said. "I like to see him at the top of his beat."
Will went into his stateroom then closed the door behind him and Penny turned the light off then went to bed.
