Smith peeked through the gaps in the door to his makeshift home, clutching his spear tightly to him. Artemis hadn't sensed fear this strong in him for some time.

"That ship that passed overhead?" Smith explained. "It bore a strong resemblance to Kai's. His people must be looking for him." Smith paused, not knowing if Artemis knew who he was talking about. "Kai was the alien that killed your mother and tried to kill me. I suspect by now he's also..." the doctor couldn't finish his sentence. He didn't want to give voice to the possibility that Kai had destroyed the only real family he'd ever had. Artemis could feel his sorrow and concern.

Disturbing images of Kai's attempts to kill the doctor burst into her mind. She went to Smith's side and leaned against him, hoping to calm his fears while hiding her own. She tried her best to peer through the gaps in the door too, but could see very little in the darkness.

"We must remain vigilant, my dear," Smith warned. "Kai's people have natural armor and sharp claws. I'm not sure my spear nor your teeth and claws could harm them. They are bound to have superior weapons, so we must stay 'under the radar' as they say."

You mean hide?

"Yes."

Smith mentally reviewed how much food they had in storage and realized they only had enough to feed the cubs in the morning. He hoped the aliens would soon realize Kai wasn't here and would leave.

Early in the morning, as John and Don were preparing to search for Smith, Will came to his father. "Can I come too?"

The Professor put a hand on his son's shoulder. "I know he was your friend, Will, but we don't know what we will find. The Vilkai are here as well and I don't completely trust them right now despite their polite overtures. I need you to stay here and protect your mother and sisters. Do you understand?"

Will nodded, though he was disappointed with his father's decision.

With provisions packed and laser pistols strapped to their sides, they each grabbed a laser rifle as well. That well armed, they appeared as if they were heading off to battle.

They had decided on a search pattern that spiraled out from camp. The Robot had detected no human life signs, so they didn't expect to find anything. They were hopeful, though, that the Robot's sensor readings simply meant Smith wasn't near enough to the camp to be detected.

A few hours into their search, they found evidence Smith had been there. Don pulled Smith's laser pistol out of the dirt, cleaned it off, and then showed it to John. It was completely drained of power. Don stowed it in his pack to bring back to the Jupiter 2 where it could be recharged and put back into use. The two men said nothing, but a look of concern passed between them.

As they spiraled farther and farther from camp, they came upon more artifacts, a broken bow, a piece of Smith's old uniform, piles of small animal bones in what appeared to be a long abandoned fire pit.

"Well, he survived for a while," John stated. "Had a few successful hunts at the very least."

Don smiled at the thought. He never saw Smith as the resourceful type, but the good doctor had surprised him on more than one occasion. He found a spark of hope growing that they might find him, somewhere on the planet, safe and sound.

They marked the position of each area where they found an artifact, hoping that if they didn't find the doctor today, the Robot might be able to spot a trend in the data that would lead them to where the doctor may have gone.

The two men stopped for about half an hour to rest, have some lunch, and to hydrate. They talked very little and when they did, it was to discuss where to search next. Even without the Robot's calculations, they could see that all the artifacts they found were concentrated in a particular section of their search pattern. They decided to give up on the spiral and search outward in that section.

Rested and fed, the two set off again on their search. The sun was getting low in the sky. It would be evening in a few hours and they'd have to return to the ship. As Don was pondering that thought, he tripped over something loosely buried in the sand. He picked himself up and dusted himself off. He glanced down and saw something white sticking out of the sand. He knelt down and brushed the dirt away to reveal the object.

"John!"

The alarm in Don's voice startled the Professor. He immediately jogged over to see what the pilot had found.

"Looks like it might be..." he started.

"...a human femur," John finished.

Don stood and held it against his leg for comparison. "It's about the right length," his voice betrayed his sense of defeat.

"We don't know it's Smith's, though," John replied, desperately hoping it wasn't. "It could just be an animal's... or a humanoid alien's."

"Yeah," Don said, not buying the Professor's argument.

"Did you find any more bones? A skull, perhaps?" John asked.

"No, I haven't looked yet," Don replied.

"Let's search the area," John suggested as he immediately started to do just that.

Don held the bone in his two upturned palms, staring at it quietly. For all his quarrels with the doctor and threats to rid the family of his troublesome presence, he realized in that moment that he never wanted something like this to happen to the man. The thought that he died alone, feeling abandoned by those he had begrudgingly grown to trust, made his heart sink.

"You ok?" John asked, as he noticed the pilot hadn't started searching.

Don looked up, "Yeah," he lied. He stowed the bone away in the pack and started looking for any additional remains.

After some twenty minutes, John remarked, "I'm not finding anything. The other bones must've been scattered by scavengers."

Don cringed at the thought. No, he wouldn't wish that fate on his worst enemy.

"Let's take the bone back to the ship for the Robot to analyze," John suggested.

The Major simply nodded and followed the Professor back to the Jupiter 2.

When Will saw the search party returning, he ran out to greet them, trying to decipher the news by the looks on their faces.

Maureen, Penny, Judy, and the Robot followed Will outside, hoping to hear good news.

"Did you find anything, dad?" Will asked expectantly.

"Yeah," John replied. "We'll need the Robot's help in analyzing it."

"I am at your service, Professor Robinson," the Robot said as he rolled toward the man.

"Don?"

Don opened the pack and reluctantly removed the bone, knowing the shock it might have on the family. He handed it to the Robot.

Looks of alarm grew on the faces of Mrs. Robinson and her children. Judy gasped and brought her hand over her mouth.

"It can't be," Will whispered.

The Robot took the bone. Feelings he hadn't experienced before paralyzed his central processor for a nanosecond and his bubble dropped. His sensors analyzed the bone. "It is of the right length, shape, and density to be the femur of a human male," he concluded. "But I will have to extract and analyze DNA from it to determine if it is indeed human."

"Please do, Robot," the Professor requested.

The Robot rolled back into the ship, toward the elevator, as everyone watched in stunned silence.

In the hours it took for the Robot to perform his analysis, the family tried their best to stay occupied, though it was clear they were all worried the Robot's findings would confirm their worst fears.

When they heard the lift activate, they all stood and prepared themselves for the news.

The Robot rolled forward onto the deck and announced, "I have determined that the DNA extracted from the bone is... not human."

"You mean it's an animal bone?" Major West asked.

"Affirmative," the Robot replied. "...of alien origin."

The group breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"So, he could still be out there, alive," Judy stated.

"Affirmative."

"The search begins again at dawn," the Major declared with renewed hope.

Meanwhile, the Vilkaians had located the wreck of their prison ship and had begun the search for survivors. By their calculations, the ship still had plenty of supplies to sustain the inhabitants.

The Vilkaians did not have the resources to get the wreck spaceworthy again, so some of the rescue crew salvaged what technology they could, consoles, wiring, relays. Their biggest challenge was to open the door that the Professor, Major, and Smith had failed to open. Beyond it lay the prison cells, guard quarters, and storage facilities.

The Vilkaian captain radioed the Jupiter 2 and informed the Robinsons their operation would take much longer than anticipated. They would be unable to join the search for the doctor for a few days.

Several Vilkaians started cutting through the thick metal with lasers. It was very slow going. They worked through the night, in shifts, until they had finally cut away enough to allow entry.

The captain stepped through the gap. Slime molds and other adaptable vegetation had begun to colonize the ship. The Vilkaian moved his flashlight back and forth through the dark hallway. There were no signs of life, just mostly decomposed corpses. The captain realized that his rescue mission had just become a recovery mission.

Once he'd determined the situation, the captain summoned others to follow him in and begin the process of burying the dead and salvaging what they could.

Smith had kept vigil by the door for hours. Soft snoring alerted Artemis to the fact that his body had finally succumbed to exhaustion. She gently nudged him.

"What?" he exclaimed as he was startled awake.

Go to bed. I'll take the watch.

Smith thought for a moment, his still groggy mind sluggishly trying to process the situation. "Alright," he agreed. "Wake me up if you see anything out of the ordinary."

I will.

Smith set his spear against the wall and settled into bed. Aurora stirred to the sound of Smith's voice and movement. Seeing him in bed, she hopped up and nestled herself against his stomach. The other cubs awoke and realized where their sister had gone. Soon, the doctor was surrounded by all three bundles of fur and he gently surrendered to sleep.

Artemis kept watch. She realized that if she rested her head on the floor, she could see more through the gap under the door. Nothing came near the cave that night, with the exception of some small nocturnal animals scavenging for food.

The following morning, Smith was roused by something touching his face. He opened his eyes to see a blurry white furball and a set of curious blue eyes looking back at him. "Aurora?" He sat up and the cub crawled onto his lap.

Hungry.

The doctor's eyes widened as he realized it was Aurora communicating with him. "Are you hungry?"

Yes.

Two other small voices joined in, sending images and words to his mind.

Hungry.

Me too. Hungry.

Artemis turned from the door and came to the bed, as she heard the voices speaking to Smith, too.

They've matured enough to form a bond with you, Artemis beamed.

Matured. Yes, matured, they mimicked, causing the doctor to chuckle.

"Odd that they are sending images and words all at once," Smith mused. "As I recall, it was just images with you for quite a while."

Your language is not native to my species, Artemis explained. I did not have a mother to translate for me. I had to learn it all myself.

"Good point," Smith said. "Well, our little ones are hungry. There is just enough food here to keep them satiated. If you and I want to eat, we'll have to hunt and gather," the doctor said with a tinge of worry.

Things were quiet last night. I do not think we have anything to worry about.

"I hope you're right."

Smith tested the cubs' newly formed bond by thinking of them lining up to receive their breakfast. No sooner had he had the thought, the cubs obeyed and lined up. Deimos, of course, taking after his namesake, pushed his sister's out of the way to be first. A smile spread across the doctor's face. "You've raised them well, my dear."

The doctor portioned out the meat they had left in storage and gave some to each cub.

"That's it," Smith said as he wiped his hands on his shorts. "Do you think it's ok to leave the cubs here?"

I've told them to stay inside and be quiet. They understand the danger, Artemis explained.

Smith sat on the bed as he tied his moccasins on. He wiggled his toes in the soft leather and wondered how he ever put up with those government issued boots. Though he was well tanned from hunting shirtless on the hottest of days, today he felt like wearing the leather vest he'd fashioned from left over hides. True, it didn't provide much protection from the sun, but having it on made him feel a little less vulnerable. He ran his hands through his almost shoulder length hair, working out a few tangles and wondering if he shouldn't cut it short for the summer. Running a hand along his beard, he imagined he'd have to trim it soon as well before it got entirely unruly.

Artemis was at the door, ready to go, as Smith picked up his spear. He opened the door and the cat sprinted out towards the tall grass with as much enthusiasm as in her days as a cub.

Being able to communicate silently had its advantages on the hunt and Smith had become an expert with his spear, hitting nearly everything he aimed at. Artemis' trust in him, plus the many hours he had to practice, had significantly boosted his confidence with the weapon.

Smith followed her into the tall grass and spotted patches of her black fur through the blades of grass some 5 yards ahead of him.

Grass pigs, Artemis told him. That was the phrase she had chosen to call them given their propensity for hiding in the tall grass and their physical similarity to feral pigs on Earth.

The doctor slowly and as quietly as possible circled around to get well ahead of their prey. When he was ready, he mentally gave Artemis a signal and she gave chase, forcing the grass pigs toward Smith. He could clearly see in his mind the number and size of the pigs and readied himself to spear the largest. He braced himself, spear poised over his shoulder. He could see the tops of the grass rustling in a wave towards him. In the matter of a second, the pig burst through the grass a few yards to his right, Smith let fly his spear, and Artemis pounced on the back of the helpless animal. He breathed a sigh of relief. They had done this same maneuver dozens of times, but he always feared he might miss and hit Artemis instead. Smith grabbed the spear, removed it, and delivered the coup de grĂ¢ce to put the wounded animal out of its misery.

Nice work, my dear.

We make a good team.

Smith hung the pig carcass in a tree away from camp for the blood to drain, then the two went back home. The doctor suggested they climb up the ridge above the cave to harvest vegetation that was similar to wild onions, greens, and starchy tubers. Smith had grown fond of supplementing his meat meals with them. He munched on some greens as he gathered the plants. Meanwhile, Artemis busied herself with digging for the fat worm-like creatures she had discovered up there months before. The doctor had cringed when he first saw her devouring them, but she seemed to consider them a delicacy, so he didn't discourage her. After all, on Earth, he enjoyed the occasional dish of escargot and he knew there were plenty of people whose stomachs turned at the thought.

After breakfast, Don and John again prepared for their search.

"I have a good feeling about today," Don said. "I think we're on the right track."

"I hope so," John answered. "C'mon." He patted Don on the arm and led the way back to their last search spot.

Once they had arrived at the spot where they had discovered the bone, they looked around trying to figure out where to search next.

"If you were stranded on this planet, where would you go?" John mused aloud.

"A cave," Don replied. "No need to build your own shelter. And we both know how lazy Smith was... is."

"Hey, how about that ridge there in the distance?" John asked.

"It's a good a place as any," Don agreed.

The two arrived at the ridge in about fifteen minutes. As they walked around searching for a cave, the Major spotted something that looked a little out of the ordinary.

"John? What's that?" he pointed.

"I don't know," John replied.

The two walked towards the structure.

"Well, I'll be damned." The pilot ran his hand over the wall. "Adobe brick."

As the Major inspected the structure, he heard a low, throaty growl that made his hair stand on end. He knew it came from behind him. He looked to the Professor and saw alarm clearly etched on his face.

In one swift motion, the Major turned and pulled his laser pistol to confront whatever had made that menacing growl. Before he could fire, a spear came out of nowhere and sank its sharp head deep into the dirt near the Major's feet. Both the Major and Professor jumped back, startled, nearly dropping their weapons in surprise.

They searched for whoever had thrown the spear. There, on the ridge above them, silhouetted by the setting sun, stood a distinctly humanoid shape.