It was a waiting game waiting for the ship to travel to another planet.
They spent several week in flight in space that was a familiar experience for most of the Robinsons.
The experience was more pleasant than it had been before and it wasn't as grueling.
This time, that were games that were participated in by the older of the crew. Needless to say, Maureen found herself grinning at the man's exaggerating acting during the game play. And stirred laughter from her family. This time everyone was at ease around him or wary around him. Little problems arose from him asides to him pacing back and forth with nothing to do but wait at odd hours that turned into shuffling back and forth as his feet were changing.
"With the stories that Robot has told us," John said. "Doctor Smith should have stirred up some trouble awhile ago."
Maureen looked toward the stars.
"He hasn't had the opportunity." Maureen said. "It hasn't opened itself up."
"Hm." John replied. "But if it's. . ."
"But if it is, what, John?"
"But if it is something simple and doesn't involve robotic organic lifeforms, I wouldn't mind." John said. "I could do with meeting some strange dressed humanoids."
"Me too." Maureen smiled. "I could do with meeting some aliens for once."
The couple laughed.
Locksmith was resting in a couch with his fingers clasped together in his lap and slouching under the sun lamp with a snore that carried through the small shuttle. It was a element of the ride that brought some spice into their long and mundane ride. It was a element that reminded them, instead of holding someone prisoner, they were willingly coming along and not plotting against them at every turn. Nor was he staring at them in a menacingly way as he squeezed the stress ball.
The Robinsons were playing a game of go fish in the kitchen with B-9 up front keeping a eye on what was ahead of them. Debbie was seated on Locksmith's figure, sprawled out, blowing a feather up and down above her lips with each snore that was louder than Locksmith's. Don looked up from his cards looking toward the snoring duo with a puzzled look. Penny looked over toward the chimpanzee then back toward the game at hand.
Locksmith stopped snoring from across then grunted.
"I can't seem to get up. Can someone water me? I am very thirsty."
Everyone looked toward Will - who blinked - then John grinned.
"Will will do it." John said. "We'll hold."
Will got up from the table then went over to the bucket and filled it in water.
"Penny, bring Debbie the Bloop over." John said.
Penny went over and picked up the monkey from the older man's lap as Will came over then tipped the bucket over spraying water all over the man's figure. Locksmith was stripped down to a short sleeved black shirt and black shorts with green skin, coated in leaves, with freshly developed raspberries, and thorns that stood out against his figure. Locksmith licked his lips then had a relieved sigh.
"Ah, thank you, my dear boy." Locksmith said looking up toward the young boy.
"Are you sure about not having shoes fitted for you with fertilizer?" Will asked.
Locksmith raised himself up in the chair then glared toward the boy.
"Certain!" Locksmith said.
"They weren't wearing shoes." John said, then looked down toward Locksmith's feet noticing that they had lost their humanoid feet shape and became sprawling long vines. They had been bent into shape and formed into large stuffed and oversized slippers with bunny ears. "And seemed to have been with having tree roots for feet."
"How close are we to the nearest planet?" Judy asked, filing through her cards, then eyed at her family.
"Another two weeks." Will said.
Locksmith whimpered as he slunk further down the chair.
"Two more weeks!" Locksmith cried, throwing his arms out then folded his arms against his chest. Locksmith slid up in the chair. "What a tragedy!"
"Here, Doctor Locksmith."
Locksmith took Will's out reached hand and was lifted up to his feet then shuffled his feet together moving forward.
"Ah, thank you, my dear boy." Locksmith said as Don slipped on a pair of garden gloves. "Ah, where was I?"
"It's a tragedy." Judy said.
"It's horrifying!" He shuffled toward the front half of the bridge then Don picked a raspberry off and popped it into his mouth and began to chew. "It makes our ship more pleasant by several kilometers!"
"How big is your ship, anyway?" Don asked.
"Almost a hundred feet." Smith said. "Ninety-one feet. No, a hundred eighteen." he tapped on his lips. "No, a hundred one feet."
B-9 whirred toward them then bobbed his helm up.
"Eighty feet, Doctor Locksmith!" B-9 said, sharply.
Don looked toward the duo and his eyes flashed open wide.
"Eighty feet is a entire starship!" Don said. "What kind of saucer do you live on?"
"A tin can!" Locksmith replied.
"What kind?" Don repeated.
"Hauntingly roomy and very mundane to stare at for long periods of time." Locksmith replied.
"You could host balls with a ship that big and throw the best kind of parties." Don said.
"There are times where we had the opportunity to hold these kind of events." Locksmith said as he seated down in the pilot chair then Don put down his cards then slid them over to Judy. "And it was fun for a time."
"Tell me about it." Don said joined the older man's side in the passenger chair. "Royals?"
"We were forced." Locksmith said. "I . . may have had a hand in that. But," he pointed toward the machine beside him. "it was all HIS fault!"
"I recall it very differently, Doctor Locksmith." B-9 said as Don cackled.
"How did it go?" Maureen looked toward B-9.
"We were scavenging with the children," B-9 replied. "Doctor Locksmith and Billy came across a Chariot of a different era with royals standing around complaining about the dancing ball. We tried to leave only to be stopped by their royal guards. He plead for his life, plead to be spared, hiding behind Billy and insisted that he would do anything to be spared. And gave permission to allow them to stay for the night. Boy! What a night! The professor was not happy."
The Robinsons laughed in bemusement.
"A ball." Judy said. "That must have been fun."
"It was," Locksmith said. "Until one of the courtiers fell in love with Jenny and wanted to take her with him and threatened the expedition."
"Sounds relatively stress free," John said.
Locksmith furrowed his brows as he turned away from the front screen as B-9 whirred toward John.
"Stress free? You call life and death stress free? What kind of adventures have you been on before we were predestined to cross paths?"
"Something not as simple as love and a desire to rent some place." Maureen said. "Complicated, sophisticated, dark, grizzly, and horrifying."
"And terrifying." Penny said.
"Some of it is beautiful." Don said. "I will give it that."
"Me too," Maureen snickered.
Suddenly the ship fell forward jostling everyone forward.
"Warning! Waring!" B-9 warned. "We are being tractor beamed into a craft."
"REMAIN CALM, WE ARE INSPECTING YOUR VEHICLE FOR ILLEGAL CONTRABAND, ILLEGAL WILDLIFE, AND ILLEGAL PLANT LIFE."
Locksmith shrieked digging into the chair.
"Everyone, to the storeroom!" Maureen announced.
Locksmith stumbled to his feet landing with a crash then Don grasped him by the back of the shirt and lifted him up as Locksmith gave out a renewed shriek. The door to the crew's room was closed then Don threw the man in the animal room. Debbie the Bloop was surrounded by the peeping chicks as Locksmith flung himself against the wall panting with a tremble and B-9 moved himself to the corner of the room across from the man.
"We're doomed!" Locksmith cried. "Doomed! DOOMED!"
Don put his back against the wall and watched as the light illuminated from beneath the door. A large rounded object came out with a bright blue glowing piece around the pitch black lens. Don was scanned then the head flew toward toward the other side of the room then the blue light illuminated from the center of the head then turned to red at first contact. Locksmith shrieked as his eyes flew open.
"ILLEGAL FLORA!" The head raised up and four claws retreated out of the orb. "Prime Directive has been breached!"
Locksmith ducked out of the line of fire.
"Evidence will be neutralized!"
B-9 sent a jolt of electricity after the flying orb that missed as it changed in every direction.
"Ninny!" Locksmith cried. "DO SOMETHING!"
"I am trying!" B-9 replied.
Don crashed forward on to the orb then took out his pocket knife and stabbed into the fine long edges of the orb.
"I am trying harder!" Don slid off the panel. "Take this!" he punched into the wiring. "And that! And this-Are these blood vessels?"
"That is a organic machine," B-9 reported. "Warning! Do NOT shove your fist in!"
Don opened his fist then grinned looking toward B-9
"I got GLOVES!" Don yanked his arm in to the machine then yanked it out and fell to the ground with a scream.
Locksmith shrieked as the machine rolled his way then the center of the machine glowed red and so did the older man's eyes. Locksmith fell down to the ground then landed as if all the strings above him had been cut off. Don came over to the man's side then checked for a pulse. Don sighed in relief lowering his head don. B-9 wheeled out of the room then came up front watching as the craft entered the bright gray starship. B-9's sensors indicated the interior of the starship was problematic and full of cables that resembled thick roots including pipes.
Don slapped the side of Locksmith's face, in a attempt to wake him up, only getting little to no response. Don frowned then picked him up sliding him on to his shoulder and came out of the room. Locksmith was dropped on a chair then he slouched forward crashing his forehead on the table. Locksmith raised his head up with a groan and slouched in the chair, his eyes struggling to open, a tint of red in the center of his eyes that was visible for a moment then it faded.
"The scout is gone!" Don looked around. "But, we're are being tugged somewhere."
The Robinsons joined Don then John and Maureen exchanged a glance.
"Let's slip out of their grip," Maureen said. "Don, did you install the material that I asked?"
"Uh huh," Don said. "Should be able to get out of the way and head toward the nearest planet that is just a hour away."
"Maureen, what material did you find on Afterstep?" John asked.
"Just something that disturbed a force field that Penny and I found." Maureen said. "It should break the grip."
"And we're free!" Don announced as the ship jostled to the side fleeing the larger ship. "This experimental interference field is working well! Uh, Professor? How about you do the honors with the self defense mechanism."
"You installed what I found?" John asked.
"I take everything you find, John." Maureen said. "You never know what the oddities we find these days can do for us."
Maureen slid a leveler out and the top half of the ship retracted then released a large cannon that flew after the approaching ship.
"How did you get a cannon into the top half?" John asked.
"You found a cannon?" Will asked.
"B-9 and Don's help." Maureen replied. "While you were playing racquet ball a week ago with the children."
"How come no one told me that something as cool as that was in the ship?" Will asked.
"It was at a battleground," John said. "A very abandoned one. And you do get stuck into things I told you not to get into."
"Which is why we didn't tell you." Maureen said.
"You think I was going to get my head stuck in that?" Will pointed over his shoulder.
"Remember the railing that you got your head stuck in a few months-" Judy started.
"I get it!" Will said. "Let's not talk about that."
The shuttle threw three cannons back at the ship causing it to pause and remain in idle as the cannons rolled further inside of the ship leaving crackling wiring and exposed pipes. The space shuttle flew toward the planet becoming distant to the starship's sensors then became a small flickering flare that dived into the atmosphere of the planet and everyone was strapped in for the landing as Don struggled to make a controlled crash.