John stared at a small screen, monitoring for any indication of deutronium in the ground below. The Robot, who had been reassembled, scooped up soil samples and tested them.
"How's it look, Robot?" the Major asked.
"I detect a small amount of deutronium in the samples I have collected," Robot replied as a printout rolled out from a small cavity in his torso.
John tore off the strip of paper and analyzed it. "Not a robust vein, but it'll do in a pinch," he commented. "Robot, make note of the coordinates for later drilling."
"Affirmative, Professor Robinson," the Robot replied.
"Let's take a break and have some lunch," John said.
Don eagerly pulled the cooler full of food from the Chariot. As soon as he set it down, the Robot started flailing his arms. "Danger! Danger! Alien life form approaching!"
Don drew his weapon from its holster. "Is it Kai?"
"Affirmative," the Robot responded. "He is approximately 50 yards to the southwest."
The Major climbed a nearby rock formation to get a better vantage point. He spotted the alien and took some shots at him. One beam managed to hit Kai, which elicited a cry of pain.
"Well," Don said, "looks like the adjustments Will and I made to the laser pistols worked. We know we can hurt him now."
Kai hid behind a boulder, watching for movement and planning his next move.
"Don, I think Kai came to our camp to keep an eye on us, waiting until we were split up so he could strike."
Don nodded. "That makes sense. He knew the Robot would sense him no matter what, so he put on a show to catch us off guard while he did a little surveillance."
"He was probably checking to see if we were at camp. And when we were, he waited and watched until we left. If he could catch us out here and eliminate us, it'd be easier for him to get the Jupiter 2," the Professor explained. "How else would he have found us so quickly after leaving camp if he wasn't watching us?"
"Robot, charge your defenses," Don ordered.
Electricity crackled between the Robot's claws.
The men waited anxiously for Kai to reappear.
"Where is he, Robot?" the Professor asked.
"I cannot detect him. He must still be hiding behind some rocks," the Robot answered.
"We should split up," Don whispered, "attack him from two angles."
John nodded in agreement and the two headed in opposite directions. John didn't get twenty feet before Kai tackled him. One of Kai's claws raked across the Professor's side, eliciting a grunt of pain.
"DON!" he cried, knowing he couldn't handle Kai by himself and was in real trouble. John managed to grab the alien's wrists as claws targeted his neck. He struggled to keep the claws at bay and pushed Kai as far away as he could to keep out of the range of his fangs. He didn't hear the laser pistol discharge, but Kai's howls of pain and relaxed grip signaled Don had come to his rescue. He shoved hard and Kai rolled off of him and ran off.
Don began to kneel at the Professor's side to check on him, but he motioned for him to keep after Kai. With a hand pressed to his side, John picked up his laser pistol, which he'd lost in the scuffle, and ran after Don.
The Major was hot on Kai's heels, firing as he ran. He turned the power to his pistol to maximum, hoping to put an end to Kai's attacks once and for all. He stopped, aimed, and squeezed off a shot aimed at the alien's head. Kai hit the dirt before he even knew what had happened to him.
John pulled up alongside Don just as he was kneeling to check Kai's vitals. As he turned him over, claws flew at the pilot. Turning just in time, Don received only a glancing blow. John pulled the trigger on his laser pistol, disabling Kai. Don fired too and the two men kept firing until the alien no longer moved.
"I'm going to make sure this time," Don announced. He shoved his pistol into Kai's open mouth and aimed upwards towards his brain. He glanced at the Professor and saw no look of protest, so he fired. The soft, unprotected flesh sizzled and smoked. Kai's body jerked involuntarily for a second and then was still.
Neither man took pleasure in ending Kai's life, but a sense of relief washed over them. He would no longer be able to harm their loved ones. They had removed the threat. With no shovels with which to bury him, the two covered him in rocks they found around the area. They stood quietly for a moment. The Professor broke the silence first. "I admit I don't understand," he said. "We would have taken him back home. He didn't have to do all of this."
"I don't understand either, John. But we've gotta get you back to the ship to take care of that wound," Don said, gesturing at the Professor's side.
"Yeah," John replied flatly. He slumped noticeably as the pain ramped up and the adrenaline wore off.
"C'mon, I got ya." Don offered John a shoulder to keep him upright on the way back to the Jupiter 2.
Will's brow furrowed as he spotted the Chariot rolling into camp. They shouldn't be back yet. They'd barely started their mission.
"Mom! Dad and Don are back!" Will yelled down the stairwell to the lower deck.
Mrs. Robinson climbed to the upper deck, "So soon? I hope there's nothing wrong."
Will ran out of the ship and down the ramp, followed shortly by his mother and sisters.
"Is everything alright?" Will asked. He could tell immediately that it wasn't as Don hurried around to the passenger side of the Chariot to help his father disembark. He also noticed the Robot was not in the vehicle either.
"Not exactly," Don explained. "We had another run in with Kai. He took a swipe at your father."
Will could see the growing patch of red where his father clutched his side.
The Major could see the concern on the Robinson's faces. "It looks worse than it is," he said, even though he wasn't completely sure of the extent of John's injuries.
Calmed by Don's reassurances, Will asked,"Where's the Robot?"
"We didn't have time to put him in the Chariot. We had to get back here to stitch your father up as soon as possible. He's on his way back to camp on his own power."
Maureen kept pressure on John's side as she and Don took his arms over their shoulders to support him as they walked him into the ship. Maureen voiced her concerns, but John convinced her with a simple "I'll be ok".
They got the Professor comfortable in bed. Judy handed her mother the first aid kit and Penny brought in a pot of warm water. Will stood in the doorway and watched as his mother cleaned and dressed the wound, then administered some antibiotics as a precaution, as she had for Will.
"Well, the good news is it isn't as deep as I feared," she announced.
"And the bad news?" John queried.
"I'm going to make you stay in bed and rest for a few days to heal up," she replied.
The Professor laughed, "That doesn't exactly sound like bad news to me."
"Fortunately, mapping of the deutronium deposits can wait," Don added.
"John, can't the Robot handle that himself?" Maureen asked. "I'm concerned Kai may attack again and you might not be so lucky the next time."
"Don't worry about that, Maureen," Don assured her. "Kai won't be giving us any trouble anymore."
"You mean, he's dead?" Will asked.
Don nodded.
"We had little choice," his father chimed in.
"The modifications you helped me make to the laser pistols saved our lives," Don added. And ended Kai's, he thought.
Will nodded in understanding. He hated Kai for the horrible things he had done, but a part of him wished the alien could have remained friends with them. Judy and Penny both put a hand on one of Will's shoulders, knowing he was feeling the same conflict of emotions they were. He put a hand on each of theirs, grateful for their show of support.
The children and Don left the room to give the couple some privacy.
Maureen handed John a pill and a glass of water. "A little something for the pain," she explained.
The Professor eagerly downed the medication.
"Try to get some rest," she ordered before planting a kiss on his lips.
His hand slipped behind her head and held her in that kiss longer than she had anticipated. When he finally let her go, the two were smiling and the look between them communicated pure love and renewed hope.
