Chapter 2: Saving Penny Robinson

When the banquet was over, Cora cleared the table with a simple wave of her hand.

Dr. Smith said, "A splendid repast, Your Majesty! One truly fit for kings and queens!"

Maureen said, "It was a very fine meal, Cora. I can't remember eating a meal like this since shortly after Penny was born. It was Christmas Dinner, 1985. We had a real roast Turkey with all the trimmings. But this meal made that dinner look like what we normally eat."

"Surely people who can build a ship that sails between stars would have no problem growing crops and raising cattle?" replied Cora.

"Our world is severely overpopulated, Cora," said John. "That is why we went into space, to begin the colonization of a habitable world around the star Alpha Centauri."

"We hope to give our people a fresh start, where we will not repeat the mistakes of the past," said Maureen.

"By moving everyone on your world to another?" said Cora.

"Not everyone," said Don. "A lot of people will follow us, once we complete the initial surveys. But for those who remain on our world – Earth – conditions will improve due to less crowding, and then we can begin cleaning it up; make it more hospitable, again."

"That's why we need the deutronium for our ship, the Jupiter 2, Ma'am," said Will. "We won't be able to go too much further without it."

"You left your home world without taking along sufficient fuel? Curious . . . ." said Cora. "And Will, please; it is alright to call me "Cora."

Will looked over at his parents, who smiled and nodded – the way he was brought up, he would need to be told one more time that it was permissible to address an adult by her first name if she so requested - and then turned back to Cora and continued. "Well, you see, Ma'am, uh, Cora . . . we had an unforeseen problem when we blasted off."

"What Will is trying to say so politely," said Don, turning his attention to Dr. Smith. "Is that, unbeknownst to us, our ship was heavy one stowaway at liftoff."

"Not by choice, I can assure you!" said Dr. Smith quickly, who then turned to Cora, and added, "My presence aboard the Jupiter 2 was completely accidental!"

"To make a long story short, Cora," said Judy. "One thing kind of led to another, and we ended up getting lost in space. And we have been searching for Alpha Centauri ever since."

"It is very important that we complete our mission," said John nodding. "So many people are depending on what we are able to accomplish."

Cora nodded solemnly. "It is a good thing that you are doing. But if you are not able to complete your mission, please know that you are all welcome to live here on Wonderland, as guests, here in my Royal Palace!"

"Why, thank you, Cora," said Maureen smiling. "Of all the worlds that we have been to in our travels, yours is undoubtedly the loveliest."

"And your Royal Palace is so beautiful, Cora!" said Judy.

"I wish that we could stay," said Penny wistfully. "I've always wanted to live in a castle and be a princess! Silly girlish dreams, I know . . . ."

Will rolled his eyes. "You'll have to excuse my sister, Cora. She kinda has a thing for Fairy Tales!"

"Well, I like the way they live, Will," said Penny. "The pageantry; the good manners; the balls where everyone dresses up in their finery . . . . And besides, what girl wouldn't want to meet a handsome prince, become a princess, herself, and live happily ever after . . . ."

"Well, if you like Fairy Tales so much," teased Will. "Then maybe you should marry one!"

"Well, maybe I will, one day!" replied Penny, turning up her nose.

"I think that that may be arranged, Penny dear," said Cora. "How would you like to live here in my Royal Palace, and even become a Princess for real, and one day, even become a Queen?"

"Oh, I would . . . ," sighed Penny. "But . . . I can't. We have to continue to our destination on Alpha Centauri."

"Why, certainly you could, Dearie," said Cora cheerfully. "There is absolutely no reason why you cannot stay here while the rest of your family completes your mission." Cora looked at John and Maureen, whose own faces were a mixture of surprise and concern. "Penny will make a wonderful Princess, and an even better Queen, one day."

John said evenly, "Cora, we want to thank you for your hospitality. But Penny cannot stay with you for any reason. She belongs with us."

"Nonsense!" said Cora. "Your daughter has expressed her desire to be a Princess, and I can give her that. I would say that that is a fair trade for a little – what did you call it – deutronium?"

John and Don exchanged a quick glance. It was then that they realized that they no longer had their radios or laser weapons.

Cora stood from her seat, and said, "Now, why don't the rest of you say your goodbyes to Penny, and then I will return you to your ship on the sky island. There, you may mine for deutronium and take all the drinking water – and anything else – that you may need to continue on your journey."

Both John and Maureen stood up, and Penny ran over to them, putting her arms around her mother. "Please, Your Majesty," said Penny. "I want to go home with my family!"

"A moment ago, you said that you wanted to become a Princess," said Cora. "And I can make that happen. I can tell that you were born to be a Princess, unlike my own daughter." Cora shook her head. "I spent eighteen long years grooming that girl to be Queen. And how does she repay me? She tried to run off with one of our stable boys . . . ."

Maureen said evenly, "Well, I'm sorry that you and your daughter did not see eye-to-eye. But Penny is our daughter, and she belongs with us – her family."

"This is not negotiable," said John firmly as he put a reassuring hand on Penny's trembling shoulder. "If the price of Wonderland deutronium is our daughter; then we don't want it!"

Cora smiled again, and said, "Oh, Professor Robinson, don't be so obtuse. You told me that your space-ship has nearly exhausted its supply of this deutronium fuel that it needs to fly, and that the only source that you were able to locate nearby is here on Wonderland. Without my deutronium, you will not be able to leave Wonderland and go very far.

"But you can have all the deutronium that you want! All that I ask in return is that Penny remains behind to be my new daughter. Is that asking too much? You will still have your two, other children to care for. And you heard Penny's desire to be a Princess. I can offer her that, and more; for one day, Penny shall be Queen. What can you possibly offer her that is better?"

Simultaneously, John, Maureen, Judy and Will said, "Love . . . ."

Cora laughed. "Love? Love is weakness! Only true power endures! And that is the first lesson that I plan to teach my new daughter, Princess Penny. A lesson that I shall begin, now . . . !"

"We're leaving!" said John. "Keep your stinking deutronium!"

Cora sighed. "You want to leave? Oh, very well. If you absolutely insist . . . ." Cora waved her hand, and the Robinsons, Major West and Dr. Smith were again enveloped in dark blue smoke. When the smoke cleared away, Penny found herself alone in the magnificent dining room with Cora, the Queen of Hearts.

"N-no . . . ," said Penny. "NO!"

"Oh, Penny," said Cora as she approached the frightened girl. "There really is no need for all this drama! I'm not going to hurt you! I meant every word that I said! First, I shall make you a Princess! And then, I shall make you a Queen!"

"But I don't want to be a Princess or a Queen," sobbed Penny. "I want to be with my family! Oh, please let me go with them!"

Again, Cora waved her hand and blue smoke encircled Penny. When the smoke cleared, Penny and Cora were standing in a magnificent bedroom. Like the rest of the castle, the bedroom was like something out of a Fairy Tale, complete with a fireplace, rich tapestries on the wall, a finely crafted wooden furniture, a balcony, and a four-poster canopy bed, complete with luxurious blankets and pillows. Penny blinked. The room was larger than the flight deck of the Jupiter 2.

"Well, I see that you like your new room, Penny," said Cora cheerfully.

"I-it's very nice, Your Majesty," admitted Penny. "But I wouldn't trade my berth in the cramped room that I share with my sister on our ship for your entire castle, or even your entire kingdom!

"Oh, please, Your Majesty! Please let me go home!"

"Penny, this is your home, now," said Cora smiling. "Oh, come now, Penny. It's not so bad! Think of how many girls would gladly trade places with you and become a Princess! I can't wait to throw a ball in your honor as I present you to my subjects!"

Penny sniffled, wiped her eyes, and tried a different approach. "Your Majesty, I cannot be your daughter. I already have a family that I love very much! I can never love you; especially if you force me to stay here against my will!"

Cora's smile never wavered. If anything, it became broader. "That's alright, Penny. It's not necessary for you to love me! One of the most valuable lessons that I can teach you is that love is weakness - an impediment to true power!"

"But I don't want power!" said Penny. "I want my family! I don't want to be a Princess or a Queen!"

"My, my," said Cora shaking her head. "Such the little drama queen, aren't we! You're almost as bad as my own daughter!"

"And you wonder why she tried to run-off with a stable-boy!" said Penny. "You – you are evil! You are nothing but an . . . an Evil Queen!"

Cora laughed. "Actually, it's my daughter who is the Evil Queen!"

Now Penny became defiant, and said, "You must know that my family will come for me, no matter where you sent them! They won't give up until they find me! And we have laser guns and a Robot, and . . . and . . . . And they will find me, no matter what!"

"I hope that they do, Penny," said Cora as she let herself out of the bedroom, locking the door behind her. "I sincerely hope that they do . . . ."

When the blue smoke cleared, the Robinsons, Major West and Dr. Smith found themselves on a dirt road some distance from Cora's Palace, and they immediately realized that Penny was not with them.

Dr. Smith was the first one to speak. "Oh, dear! Oh, woe is me! Where are we? Where has that horrible witch sent us?"

"Doctor Smith!" said Maureen. "Please get a hold of yourself! This is no time to panic!"

"Oh, Mrs. Robinson, I heartedly disagree! This is the perfect time to panic! Where are we? Where is the Jupiter 2?"

"Calm down, Dr. Smith!" said Will. "Queen Cora still has Penny, and we have to find a way to rescue her! As for the Jupiter 2, I think I know where it is."

"And where would that be, son?" said John.

Will pointed up, where there were several of the weird sky-islands floating above them. "I'm pretty sure the Jupiter 2 is on that big one, dad. I kinda recognize the tree line from when I scanned it before we landed."

"But we have no way to get up there, Will," said Don shaking his head. "Much less have a way to contact the Robot to let him know our situation. When Cora brought us to her castle, she left our lasers and radios behind."

Smith gulped. "No way to contact the Robot for rescue? No way to defend ourselves on this hostile, alien world . . . ?"

"Actually, Dr. Smith," said Will. "We are the aliens, here."

"Spare me your semantics, William!" moaned Dr. Smith. "The point is we are unable to defend ourselves and have no way to get back to the ship!"

Judy said, "Dad, won't the Robot start to look for us if we do not contact him after a certain amount of time has passed?"

"That is in his programming, Judy," said John nodding. "But we have too little fuel for Robot to perform an extensive search pattern with the Jupiter 2 to try and locate us."

"Oh, we simply must get back to the ship," said Dr. Smith. "That should be our first priority, before we attempt to rescue dear Penny!"

"With Penny in danger?!" Don snarled, and said, "Why, Smith, I oughta . . . ."

"No, Don!" said John. "In this instance, Dr. Smith actually happens to be right!

"Now, there is no way that we can rescue Penny without the resources aboard the Jupiter 2. And the sooner we can get to them, the better it will be for us and for Penny." John looked to the darkening sky as the Wonderland System's Primary was setting on the horizon. "I don't think that we have much daylight left, and I would rather not be out in the open on this potentially hostile planet come nightfall."

"No weapons," said Dr. Smith. "No shelter, no food, no way to contact the Robot for help! We're doomed! Doomed, I say!" And then, Dr. Smith screamed as a large insect flew in front of his face. "We're under attack!" The insect, which looked like a large dragonfly, hovered in front of him, making him back away from it. Then, Dr. Smith noticed that what he initially took to be a rather large insect was in fact a rather small dragon! "Somebody do something!"

No sooner had Dr. Smith spoken; he felt that he had backed into something soft and mushy. But before he could say anything else, a ring of smoke came floating over his shoulder. Then a second smoke ring followed the first. And then, there came a third; each smoke ring passing around the little dragon, making it fly away. In front of him, the Robinsons and Major West stared incredulously. But they were not looking at Dr. Smith. They were looking at something that was behind Dr. Smith.

And then, from behind Dr. Smith, a voice said, "Who are you . . . ?" Slowly, Dr. Smith turned, and found himself face-to-face with a large caterpillar sitting atop a mushroom as big as the astrogator on the Jupiter 2's flight deck. The caterpillar wore a fez and rose-colored glasses as it serenely smoked a hookah water pipe. Again, the creature said, "Who are you?" blowing a smoke ring with each word. The sight of the creature made Dr. Smith let out a yelp before sprinting to get behind Will.

John stepped up to the creature, which was clearly intelligent, and said, "Hello. My name is Professor John Robinson of the Earth Ship Jupiter 2." Then, in turn, John introduced the sentient caterpillar to the rest of his family, and to Major West and Dr. Smith (who was still hiding behind Will.)

The Robinsons explained what had happened to them at the Palace of Queen Cora, and how she took their youngest daughter, Penny, to force her to remain with her as a replacement for the daughter that she had apparently lost (or disowned,) some time ago.

When they were finished, the Caterpillar said, "I may have a solution for your problem, Professor John Robinson. For I have no love for the Queen of Hearts any more than you do. To assist your return to your ship will be my honor and privilege."

Will said, "With all due respect, Sir, how will you be able to get us back to our ship so we can rescue my sister? Our ship is way up there on that sky-island, and I saw no signs of aerospace technology on your world that you could use to get us back there."

"I have no need of a flying machine," said the Caterpillar, who then removed a small, ornately carved wooden box from . . . well, from somewhere, and said, "Here are three magic beans. These beans, when thrown down on the ground or into water, will make a magic portal to wherever you want to go.

"Make use of one bean to get back to your ship on the sky-island. Use the second one to find your daughter, and the third to bring her safely back to your ship. And then, make ready to sail as fast and as far as you can, for the Queen of Hearts will not let you leave Wonderland easily."

John accepted the box and opened the lid. Inside, on a red felt pad, were three crystal clear bean-shaped objects.

The Caterpillar took another puff on his hookah, and said, "Remember, to open a portal, the bean has to be struck against a surface; be it the ground or water. Striking the bean releases the magic within. Then, just think about where you want to go, and the portal the bean makes will take you to that place."

After the Robinsons thanked the Caterpillar, John removed a bean from the box before putting the box with the other two beans firmly in his pocket. "Is everyone ready?" When everyone nodded, John said, "Well, here goes nothing!" John threw the bean down and a spinning vortex began to form and grow larger.

"Think of your ship, Professor John Robinson," said the Caterpillar over the noise of the spinning portal. "Think of going to your ship, and it will take you there! But make haste! The portal will not last for long!"

Without further ado, the Robinsons, Major West, and Dr. Smith (holding Will's hand and screaming all the way,) all dove into the portal. And once they did, the Caterpillar was enveloped in swirling, blue smoke. When the smoke cleared, Cora stood where the Caterpillar had been only moments before. Then, with a smile of satisfaction on her face, Cora was once again surrounded by blue smoke as she teleported back to her Palace to await the arrival of the final item she needed to cast the spell that would ensure Penny's cooperation . . . .

When the Robinsons, Don, and Dr. Smith arrived at the other end of the portal, they were relieved to find themselves back at the Jupiter 2 landing site; just where they had been hours ago when Queen Cora teleported them all to her palace. And then, the portal made by the magic bean disappeared as quickly as it formed.

The wooden bridge that Cora had conjured from the Jupiter 2 to the shore was no longer there, so the Robinsons, Don and Dr. Smith had to run to the landing gear steps in water almost a foot deep. Once inside, Don said, "What now, John?"

"Prepare the Jupiter for takeoff, Don," said John. "I want to be able to leave this world the moment that we have Penny back with us!"

Don shrugged. "You're the boss, John. But we don't have much fuel and we won't be able to go very far once we get out of Wonderland's gravity well and break orbit."

"We may not have to go very far at all, Don," said John as he removed the wooden box from his pocket, taking a look at the two remaining beans. Then he turned to his son, and added, "Will, help me get a jetpack ready for flight. And then, while I go to get Penny from Cora's castle, I want you to modify a couple of probe rockets to carry the last two magic beans."

Will smiled broadly. "I think I know what you have in mind, dad! We'll need to make something to strike the bean after the probe is launched ahead of the ship! Don't worry, dad; I think that I can come up with something before you and Penny are back!"

"What is it?" said Judy. "What are you planning to do?"

"Dad is going to use the jetpack to rescue Penny," said Will. "And when he gets back, we'll use the beans to open a portal directly to our original destination world orbiting Alpha Centauri!"

"Of course!" said Don. "We can open the portal to take us from where we are now within Wonderland's atmosphere, and go directly to the atmosphere of the habitable world orbiting Alpha Centauri! We won't even have to make planetfall when we get there; much less leave Wonderland's gravity well!"

"That's a very good idea, John," said Maureen. "But I have an even better idea . . . .

"While Don prepares the ship for departure, you and Will should work together on readying the probes while I use the jetpack to get Penny back to us."

"Maureen, I can't let you –"

"Can't let me 'what,' John?" said Maureen firmly. "I am a lot lighter than you are. I'll need less fuel than you will. That way, if I have to search for her aloft when I get to Cora's Palace, I will have more loiter time in the air than you would have." John was about to protest more, but Maureen said, "I insist on this, John."

John sighed and nodded. "Alright, Maureen, that makes a lot of sense.

"Judy, please help your mother get into the jetpack. Don, get the ship ready for takeoff. Will, it looks like we have a father-son project to work on . . . ."

Will nodded. "Yes Sir, dad!"

John hugged Maureen as Judy broke-out a jetpack. "Godspeed, Maureen."

"Thank you for letting me do this, John," said Maureen as Judy helped her strap on the jetpack. "I am lighter than you, and I can stay aloft longer."

"That's all very true, Maureen," said John. "But that's not the main reason for you wanting to do this, is it . . . ?"

Maureen nodded solemnly, and said, "I am Penny's mother. And she needs me now more than ever . . . ."