Victor and Hiroki return to the chariot to find Vijay and Will still aren't back.

Least of their Worries

Hiroki and Victor returned, loaded down with samples. They stowed them in the chariot as Penny continued reading her book. Purposefully avoiding Victor's attention.

The two hour time limit had long since passed. It was closing in on four actually.

"Where are the boys?" Hiroki asked as Victor double checked the straps around the samples. His head popped up, turning to survey the camp.

"Not back yet," Penny cleared her throat. She pursed her lips as she lowered her phone from her face.

Victor was indeed not happy. His face was twisted into a scowl, eyes wide and that ashy fire scent rose lightly in the air. Hiroki sighed, palm rising to his face.

"I don't suppose they told you why they're late?" Hiroki asked Penny as Victor reached for the speaker.

"Robot was missing. There were drag marks. Vijay said they were going to go a little farther, check for clues," Penny pulled her foot back from the passenger seat as Victor started calling for Vijay.

"We're on our way back," Vijay's voice crackled over the comms. Victor breathed out slowly, muttering something in yet another language Penny didn't know.

Maybe it was time to learn another language. Everyone else seemed to know at least one.

"We're about an hour from the river," Will came over the line. Voice light and almost raw.

Oh no. Penny grabbed the speaker out of Victor's hand, "Did you find Robot?"

"No," Vijay was the one to answer. Penny winced. She handed Victor back the speaker.

"We'll worry about the robot once we get back to the jupiters," Victor said, eyes on the horizon out the window, "When we're inside the perimeter fence."

"Got it," Vijay responded. Victor clicked the speaker back into place.

Ducking his head, Victor sighed, "We won't be back before dark if we wait for the boys." He turned his head to look at Hiroki, leaning over the passenger seat of the chariot, "You take the samples back in the ATV now. It won't be safe to drive that in the dark. I'll stay with the kids."

Hiroki nodded, giving Penny a quick glance and a smile before he got to work transferring the samples to the other vehicle. Penny slipped out of her seat as Victor pulled down the speaker again.

She didn't exactly need to witness him informing her parents that Penny had left camp without permission and Will had disobeyed orders. Robinsons, the origin of half of Victor Dhar's headaches at this point probably.

"Need any help?" Penny asked Hiroki as she approached the ATV. He shook his head.

"Just about ready," he look up at her, then down at her ankle, "You're welcome to come with me, get off your feet sooner."

Penny shrugged, a feat with her crutches, "I'm okay. I'll wait for Will and Vijay to get back. " Hiroki's lips twitched into a soft smile.

"I'm sure Victor will appreciate the company."

"Sure," Penny snorted and started back towards the chariot, "Have a safe drive back."

Hiroki nodded and he was gone before she climbed back up into the chariot. She took a seat in the back, propping her foot up in the seat beside her.

"Hiroki will be back with his samples soon," Victor was telling someone, "We'll discuss our options once he finishes his analysis."

"Understood." Penny was shocked to hear her mother sounding so agreeable. "I'm running some simulations based on the amount of fuel we have, the thrust we need to punch through the atmosphere. With any luck, I'll have some results by the time Hiroki is done as well."

"Excellent," Victor nodded, lips pursed tight. His gaze shifted to Penny, "We'll speak further when I return."

Now that was some suspicious dialogue there. Penny is officially curious. Given Victor was already peeved though... Probably not the best time to ask.

"So..." Penny drew out the word. The chariot was far too quiet. "What'd ya think we should do for dinner?"

Victor chuckled, head ducking low, "Probably the same as we all had for breakfast, Miss Robinson."

"You can call me Penny, ya know," she offered, leaning back in her seat. He nodded mutely, eyes drifting over the console and the various scans the computer was running.

Outside the communication system, Penny wasn't technically qualified to operate the chariot. She might have downloaded the manual to her phone though, after the whole 'driving down a mountain' fiasco.

"Life sign scan is only a kilometer," Penny sucked on her tongue, fingers tapping on the edge of her seat.

"I'm aware," Victor hummed. He checked it again anyway.

Penny pulled her phone out, resigning herself to reading in silence again.

"Your specialty was communications, yes?" Victor looked back at her, one brow quirked up. She nodded. "Do you think we can tie the radio to the sensors? To listen for the robot? Or perhaps signal him?"

"Yeah, probably," Penny quirked her head, brow furrowing in thought. Her face split in a smile, "Definitely!"

"We have about half an hour before the sun goes down," Victor gestured out the front window as Penny slid out of her seat. She waved him off.

"I'll be inside before the carnivorous dinosaurs come out again," Penny said, ducking below the chariot to get at the undercarriage.

The wires were all accessible in the cab, but that required opening up the console. The undercarriage had a panel beneath the front of the cab that protected all the delicate bits and bobs. The console had tiny screws. The panel had bolts.

Bolts were way quicker than tiny tools.

A few wires split or crossed and some light reprogramming later, Penny was calling for Robot on speaker. There was no response (minus Will radio-ing in with excitement).

"Might not have a big enough radius?" Penny puckered her lips, frowning as she watched the screen show no approaching radios. They could see Will and Vijay though.

Celebrating small victories was much harder after you got your hopes up for a big one.

"We'll see about trying it from a jupiter tomorrow," Victor sighed, running a hand through his hair as he watched the two dots on the sensor move closer.

Penny nodded, ducking back beneath the chariot to resecure the panel on the undercarriage. Her head started swimming as she tightened the last bolt. Suddenly, she was seeing Will, running up ahead of her. And she was running, or Vijay was. He turned his head and Penny saw the creature chasing them.

It was one of the carnivorous dinosaur-like creatures. Smaller, dog-size even. A labrador with a colorful fin on its back would probably be less scary though.

Vijay turned his flashlight on and off, shining it into the creatures eyes as he turned towards the cliff. Out of the corner of his vision Penny could see Will, still running, moving down a steep incline.

"Why the hell are they splitting up?" Victor muttered in the cab. Her head was swimming again.

Before she even had a chance to process that she could see the undercarriage and the forest, Penny was crawling out from under the chariot and grabbing just one of her crutches.

She passed Will as she sprinted up the hill. He did a double take, but she shouted at him to get in the chariot and - perhaps miraculously - he listened.

The vision of the cliff was fading as Vijay seemed to duck around trees. Penny had no idea if a zigzag pattern worked on a dinosaur, but she approved of the attempt.

There was a yell and Penny followed it as her own sight came solidly into focus. Just in time for her to find Vijay on the edge of the cliff with a dinosaur gnawing at his arm.

Absolutely no planning went into her actions, she just swung her crutch like a bat and the dinosaur went toppling off the cliff.

"Nice timing," Vijay breathed, eyes wide as he looked up at her from the ground. There was blood dripping from his arm, and spattered onto his face.

"I just really hope they aren't like sharks," Penny huffed out, reaching to help him up.

Vijay looked down at his arm as they hurried down the hill to the chariot. Victor met them halfway, face equal parts fury and concern.

The ride back to camp was going to suck.

"Hey, you think we could avoid telling Judy about this?" Penny asked with a grimace as Victor closed the chariot door behind them.

He started the vehicle, turning off all unnecessary lights. His face was shrouded in shadow, but Penny was pretty sure Victor was rolling his eyes at her.

"Any particular reason?" Victor drawled, lips pursed as he watched Penny wrapping Vijay's forearm in a tight bandage to stem the blood out of the corner of his eye.

Will was sitting in the front seat, white as a sheet. There was probably a shock blanket in his future.

"Well, I might've broken my ankle running on it..." Penny chuckled nervously. She flashed Vijay a smile as his eyes widened, "...and if I broke the cast she's probably gonna yell at me."

"Oh, believe me Penny," Victor told her, chariot speeding back towards camp at a significantly too fast speed, "Judy is the least of all of our worries." Vijay paled.

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