As Penny was packing up the hydroponic garden in anticipation of leaving, Will joined her. He wanted to help his sister, but mostly he wanted to talk.
"Hey, Penny? Have you noticed anything strange about the Robot lately?" he asked.
"Not particularly, why?"
"I don't know," Will couldn't place his finger on what was wrong, but something in his gut insisted there was. "He's been less talkative lately. And when he does talk, it's like… Well, like there's less personality there. I don't know how to describe it."
Penny paused for a moment and then looked at her brother. "Yeah, now that I think about it, he has been a little different lately. Do you think there's a problem with him?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Will promised. He picked up the boxes Penny had just packed and headed into the Jupiter 2.
Major West, Professor Robinson, and Kai, who were busy packing away the forcefield generator and relay equipment, paid little notice to the children.
"What are we going to do about Smith?" the Major asked. In his gut, he knew the family wouldn't leave Smith behind. That would mean certain death. And since Penny was fine, the Professor would never deal out that sort of punishment.
"Once we're done here, I'll go have a talk with him," the Professor replied. "We may have to leave some equipment behind. Maureen won't enjoy doing the dishes or laundry by hand and I'm certain we'll all miss the microwave, but we can make do without them."
The Major shook his head and chuckled, "Speak for yourself." He pushed the forcefield generator up the ramp and into the Jupiter 2 as the Professor followed along carrying power cables and the tool box.
Kai knew it was almost time to put his plan into action. He must not let the Professor get to talk to Smith. They were almost packed and prepared for launch. Now was the time he'd been waiting for.
Will had found the Robot standing near Smith's, or rather Kai's, cabin. "Robot, are you feeling ok?" he asked, hoping the Robot himself could provide the answer as to why he was acting a little off.
"I am fine, Will Robinson," the Robot replied.
"You just don't seem like yourself lately," Will stated.
The Robot's bubble dropped. "What do I seem like, Will Robinson?"
Will struggled to explain. "I don't know. It's just… well, since you started spending more time with Kai, you seem… distant. More Robot and less human."
"I AM a robot."
"I know, but…"
"Could it be that you are suffering from the human emotion of jealousy?"
"What? No. I mean…"
"I have been helping Kai with important work related to launching the…"
"I know, Robot, but…"
Suddenly, urgent shouting interrupted them. Will ran to the ladder and bolted up it. The Robot followed behind using the elevator.
"What's going on?!" Will shouted.
The Major was busy powering up the ship, while the Professor was rounding everybody up and getting them onboard.
"Stampede!" the Professor yelled, as he ran in carrying the last of the equipment. He threw it into storage quickly and joined the Major at the flight consoles. Penny, Judy, and Mrs. Robinson ran in carrying the tables for the hydroponic garden. Kai was last, closing the hatch behind him.
"There are hundreds of gigantic creatures headed towards us! They'll damage the ship! Get below and get ready for lift off!" the Professor commanded.
"But Doctor Smith!" Will yelled and ran toward the hatch. Kai picked him up and carried him, kicking and screaming, toward the elevator. Mrs. Robinson ushered Penny and Judy to the ladder and they all hustled below. They had done this often enough that they were settled and strapped in less than twenty seconds after the Professor had told them to.
The vibration and sound of hundreds of the elephantine creatures running in a blind panic woke Smith from a nap. By the time he located where the commotion was coming from, he was in the midst of clouds of dust and hysterical trumpeting. He tried to run for safety, but he was buffeted by the terrified animals. He managed to roll out of the way of one rampaging creature only to find himself sideswiped by another, crashing through brush and slamming against a boulder. He slumped the ground unconscious, but safe from the tangle of tree trunk sized legs and long, sharp tusks. Kai's sonic drones buzzed behind the panicked herd, driving them towards the intended target with sharp, shrieking tones.
The Professor called to the lower deck on the radio and Mrs. Robinson confirmed that everyone was safely strapped in. The countdown was skipped and the Jupiter 2 shot rapidly skyward as soon as the Professor signaled to Major West.
Smith sat up, groaning. He shook the fog from his head and looked around. The stampeding herd was gone, but another loud, though familiar sound caught his attention. He looked up to see the Jupiter 2 streaking towards space at a fantastic rate. "NOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!" he screamed. His hand shot towards the sky, as if he could pluck the ship from the heavens and bring it back to him. As he watched the ship shrink and disappear into the vast reaches of space, his hand dropped and rested over his heart. "They left me," he whispered, in shock. "They left me."
As soon as the Professor informed the family it was safe to unbuckle their restraints, Will ran to the upper deck. He watched out the viewport as the planet receded from view. "We have to go back!" he yelled. "We have to go back and get Doctor Smith!"
"I'm sorry, son," the Professor consoled. "That's impossible. If we touched down again, we won't have enough fuel to lift off again."
"We'll be stranded," the Major chimed in. "Permanently."
"When we get to my planet, I can procure another refiner for you," Kai offered. "Then you will be able to come back here and get Doctor Smith."
"But that will take months. Doctor Smith won't be able to survive that long by himself, without the safety of the Jupiter 2," Will explained. "We have to go back!"
Mrs. Robinson came up behind Will and put her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to calm him. He turned to face her, in a last ditch effort to get her to persuade his father to go back. "Mom, we can't just leave Doctor Smith there."
Mrs. Robinson looked to her husband and knew there was no straying from their current course of action. Then, she looked at Will with a loving and sympathetic expression. She knew in her heart that Will was right. Without the scientific instruments and safety of the ship, it would require a miracle for Smith to survive the predators and many other dangers on the planet. "I'm sorry, Will. I'm afraid Doctor Smith will have to fend for himself until we get back."
