"Dad-"
"Robbie, I have to go," Flake said.
"You said that we were having movie night together," Robbie said.
Flake stopped at the door then bitterly closed his eyes.
"Son. . ." Flake turned toward Robbie. "we'll have all the movie nights in the world after tonight."
Robbie shook his head.
"You always say that," Robbie said, growing tears. "and you never keep it! Ever!"
Robbie turned away then stormed up the stairs vanishing from Flake's line of sight. Flake heard the sounds of the old wheels to the personal robot squeaking his way. To think that he had acquired it for his son from a antique store when Robbie was five. Flake looked toward the worn, aged Bobit. Flake knelt down to the old machine then slid out a old keyboard from the drawer like half with large keys then inputted a new series of commands. Unexpectedly, Bobit's rusty left accordion arm fell to the floor. Flake reattached Bobit's arm then slid the small keyboard back in.
"Mr Flake, do you require my assistance?" Bobit's old grill glowed a faint red as it spoke.
Flake stood up then patted on Bobit's chest plating, fondly.
"No, Bobit," Flake said, with a smile.
"My sensors detected that you are in need of assistance," Bobit said. "I also detect a new program."
"It's for your personal personality matrix," Flake said. "Don't want that sharp personality being hacked."
"I cannot be hacked," Bobit argued. "I am a model that requires manual work," Bobit followed Flake to the door. "I will not allow anyone to tamper my programming other than by you or Master Robbie."
"That is the treasure of you," Flake said.
"Robbie is in distress," Bobit said, its fragile glass head bobbing up.
"Go comfort him," Flake said. "and tell him. . . Tell him. . . I'll be back in the morning."
Bobit's antique glass head whirred as it turned away from Flake's walking figure then hovered up the stairs.
"Robbie Flake. . ." Bobit called.
"Hello historians," Penny said, with a wave toward the camera. "If anyone is curious what my favorite snack on Earth is-was," Penny corrected herself. "it's chocolate."
"Penny, is your room packed up?" John called.
"Packed to the brim, dad," Penny said. "Anyway," she sat onto the edge of the window holding up the device in the air. "Will and Judy have gone to the holographic zoo to see some Earthly animals before we never again see them." She looked both ways as though making sure she was alone. "To be honest, I think we're going to have a trip out there."
"Penny!" Maureen called. "Principal Cartwright just called me about your suspension!"
"Oh, that, that," Penny said. "I forgot to mention that," she stared back at the camera unphased. "I did it as a last hoorah," she gestured her hand to the right in the direction of the window. "Cartwright should have expected something from me."
"Penny!" John called. "You're grounded for the next ten years!"
"Like I said," Penny said. "Expected."
Penny lowered her wrist bracelet then lowered it down into her lap.
"It's night out," Penny said. "It's like a beautiful mess of technology and towering pens that has bugs flying through it."
She had a sigh then ruffled her short black hair making it seem to be disarray just like her life at this point. The static from her hair jolted the camera vision model. One half of the room was painted black and the other was painted orange with a long plastic divider between the room. The gray plastic made it hard to see the color of the other side of the room. She helped the wrist bracelet up giving a good view of the city from across. It was a very warm night in the summer.
"I am going to miss the hot, boiling summers of Earth," Penny said. "I am going to busy the heavy, bitter snowfall of winter." she shrugged then moved it toward her. "Maybe not," her eyes were fixated on the dark night sky. "My grandmother told me that winter used to be just five inches of snow back in her day. She used to make snow angels and walk away from it. The only threat in her day was something called black ice that caused car accidents. She even claimed hurricanes didn't eliminate whole parts of a continent until recently. Everything is a hurricane nowadays."
"Penny, are you ready?" Maureen shouted.
"Five minutes!" Penny replied.
"You got five minutes to be in the hover car!" Maureen replied, then walked past the stairs.
"What can I do in five minutes. . ." Penny said, looking toward the city on contemplation.
The Jupiter 2 was under last minute inspection by the United Global Space Force Corps engineers. The Robinsons were supposed to be there in any minute. So no one was quite sure how in how long they would be there. The Jupiter 2 was packed supplies to last it for generations. Some of the engineers were checking a section of the deutronium double thrusters. One of them was a rather short man by the name Robert Flake. He looked in both directions then tampered with several panels when his colleague was looking away. He tucked in several explosives that had a set time to detonate. The Global Sedition wanted it to be made it seem the Jupiter 2 was destroyed out of orbit and by a oncoming asteroid at a specific time. The last time that Global sedition had failed was over fifty some years ago with the Gemini 12.
It was a text book example of what not to do.
Don't stay long in what you are sabotaging.
Or else you are going to die with the assignment.
Flake stood up to his feet then replaced his gloves.
"Flake!" Swimmer called. "We got another thruster to check. Something about a internal system failure."
"Tomorrow can't come soon enough for the Robinsons," Flake said. "I thought we fixed that problem."
"Unfortunately, we didn't," Swimmer said, rubbing her arm.
"You should get that sting treated," Flake said, as he got up to his feet.
"It's nothing big," Swimmer said. "Hey, your son got my comn number again."
"Shit," Flake said. "I gave him the wrong number."
"Bobbie, you gave him that intentionally," Swimmer said.
"I admit," Flake said, holding his hands up. "I'm guilty," he shook his gloved hands then picked up the glove box. "Guilty of not wanting noise to disrupt me."
"Don't we all," Swmimer said. "Apologize to the kid, please? I would love to listen to his theories on time travel."
"Time travel?" Flake said. "Preposterous. That is not possible."
"Listen, it's just a theory," Swimmer said, climbing up the ladder. "However," she looked down toward Flake. "It does sound damn good. Don't understand half of it," she turned her attention up then made it to the adjoining walkway. "He is onto something."
"Those kids are always onto something," Flake said. "Love Robbie, just can't have him in my ear all the time."
"Robbie adores you to pieces," Swimmer said, as they went into the next thruster. "I can't see the reason why you don't show him your approval."
"I would when I am not busy," Flake said.
"Life is fleeting, Robert," Swimmer said. "You could lose him forever in one moment you are not watching him."
"I don't worry about him," Flake said. "I got one of those first gen robots acting as his personal best friend."
"Do tell me you are not using that one," Swimmer said.
"Yes!" the two came into the second thruster.
"You're the worst," Swimmer said.
"At least someone is giving complete attention to him," Flake said. "Something I can never give."
"Don't say that about yourself," Swimmer said. "The only reason why you don't is because you spend your money on the sex workers. Things turn around pretty quickly after a leaf has been turned."
Swimmer began to attend to the system failure.
Flake scanned for weak points in the plating using the plate scanner. At the edge of the thruster was a long line of plates easily removed. He put several detonate devices along the ridge. The ship would not be to fly out there for long with that damage. He tapped on his forearm console sending the clear that his part had been done. He made sure that he added all of the additions underneath the plate one last time. He made sure to firm them down and make them not loose. These detonations will send the vessel on a destructive path that killed everyone aboard. No one would suspect Global Sedition of such a task. If he were being realistic, anyone would be up to be a suspect.
"Done," Swimmer said. "Finally. . ." She faced the massive circular end of the thruster. "Now all the hard work is up to the Robinsons."
The scene backed out to display the Jupiter 2 in the shape of a saucer was encased into a large shell with two dome like windows at the top within a protective large shell that was within a large building that had the shape of a closed flower. That was the launch pad. The scene dived back in to show Flake coming to the side of Swimmer.
"Let's go home," Flake said, patting on Swimmer's shoulder with a smile.