Hi everyone! This is my first attempt at writing fanfic. I hope you guys enjoy it! This is a three-way crossover between Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, so I don't expect that this will be very popular but whatever! We shall see…
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this series except my original character(s).
Major Donald West bowed his head soberly as he stood in the cemetery watching his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew being buried. He had been in a meeting with Alpha Control three days ago when he had received word that Danny West, his wife Katherine, and their one year old child Daniel had passed away in an auto collision. Upon hearing the news, he canceled all of his upcoming appointments and was on a late night flight to Arizona to attend the funeral of his older brother. His death had been so sudden and so tragic but Don wasn't afforded much time for private grief. Arrangements needed to be made and legal matters settled. There would be time for tears later.
His gaze shifted to the three year old girl he held in his arms, his niece. Bethany West had been the only survivor of the crash. Her soft blue eyes were filled with tears as she watched the men bury her family. The Major stroked her hair in a vain attempt to comfort her. She looked from the gravesite back up to him. He gave her a sad smile. She in turn leaned her small head against his chest and sobbed.
After the burial Don took Bethany back to his hotel for the night. The next day, he met with a lawyer for the reading of the will.
As expected all of Danny's earthly goods were passed on to him and he was awarded guardianship of Bethany. He returned to California three days later with her in tow and resumed his duties at Alpha Control. He cut back significantly on his work there however to spend time with his growing niece. Time heals many sorrows and it wasn't long before his initial grief over his brother faded away and instead, he focused on being a good father to Bethany. She too had gotten used to her new life and was quite content to be under the care of "Uncle Don". Before either of them knew it, the first anniversary of Danny's death was upon them. It was on that day that their lives would take a turn down a path that would forever change them.
Major West was in his office packing up and getting ready to leave for the day when a knock on the door caused him to look up.
"Come in," he said.
A young private entered the room, "Colonel Morgan wants to see you in his office before you leave sir.
"Thank you, Bennet, I'll be with him in a moment."
Colonel Morgan was pacing the floor of his office when Don arrived.
"You wanted to see me sir?"
"Yes," the colonel said excitedly, hurrying over to him, "I wanted to let you know that I received word from the President of the United States today about our plan to send a family into space to colonize Alpha Centauri."
"What did he say?" Don asked anxiously.
"He has given us permission to proceed."
A sigh of relief escaped Don's lips "Finally we can get down to business now." He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
"There is one condition though."
"What is that?"
"He has requested that you accompany the chosen family into space to serve as their navigator and pilot."
The major's face fell, "But why me?" He asked.
"Oh come now, West. You know the answer as well as I do. You're the best pilot the military has to offer. Not only that but you are also one of Alpha Control's most knowledgeable astronomers. With these two skills, how could the president not ask for you to accompany the family into space?"
"But the ship's autopilot will be able to guide the family to Alpha Centauri," Don countered, "So really there is no need for me."
"I'm afraid there is Major," Colonel Morgan replied, " Accidents do happen and we need you to go along as a backup in case (God forbid), something were to cause the autopilot to stop working."
"I see," Don nodded his head.
The colonel eyed him curiously, "What's wrong West? I expected you to be more excited about the possibility of being a part of the first attempt at colonization of an unknown planet. Instead you are acting like you don't even want to go."
"Oh believe me sir, I want to." Don chucked, "It's just that I have a four year old niece to think of. Her parents and brother passed away last year and I am the only family she has left. I can't just leave her in order to colonize a planet" he sighed.
The Colonel's next words surprised him, "Well then why not bring her along?"
Don's eyes widened in shock, "Bring her along? I can't do that! She's just a child. And a young one at that."
"What difference does that make?" The colonel asked, "Look West, our mission is to bring families into space, remember? And that includes small children."
"I understand sir, it's just-"
"Well understand this West, the president has refused to allow us to launch a ship into space without you as its pilot. If you do not agree, then all our work here, all our research, will have been for nothing. The mission lies in your hands."
"Yes sir,"
"Tell you what," said the Colonel, "why don't you go home and think about it. I understand it's a big decision and you shouldn't have to make it in one day. Give it a week, then come back to me with your answer. You are dismissed."
"Yes sir," the major gave Colonel Morgan a salute and quickly exited the office.
It was about a thirty minute drive home. When he finally arrived he found Bethany at the front door eagerly waiting for him. He scooped her up in his arms and turned to the child's nanny.
"How was she today?" He asked.
The woman smiled, "Great, as usual." She replied.
"Thanks for watching her this week," said Don and reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a signed check. "Here is your pay." He handed it to her.
After a few more minutes of conversation about next week's schedule, she said goodbye and drove back home leaving Don and Bethany to themselves for the night. As he helped himself to the leftover supper that the nanny had fixed, his mind kept going back to the conversation that he had with Colonel Morgan. On the one hand, he was excited about the possibility of colonizing and exploring space,not to mention that he would be taking Bethany with him. He hated leaving her with a nanny even if it was only for a few hours a day. With her in space too, there would be no need for that. However, he had to consider the downsides too, there was the risk of perishing in space. There was also the fact that she would never have a normal life as a child on earth. She would never have friends her own age and would never be able to have the same experiences that they had. He was not sure that he had the right to deprive her of a normal life. His heart was heavy all weekend as he mulled over the decision he must make. When Monday came and the nanny arrived she noticed that something was wrong. Upon asking him about it, he explained his dilemma to her.
"I see," she said nodding, "You know Mr West, I understand your wish to give Beth a normal life, but have you ever considered that 'normal' may not be better?"
"What do you mean?" Don asked.
"You and Beth are being presented with an incredible opportunity to leave our world and go explore space! Think of all the experiences you will have together out there. Bethany may not grow up as a normal child but she will grow up knowing things that the rest of us dream about. What you will be doing will far outweigh any benefits that she might have living a normal life here on earth."
There was silence for a long moment as the major considered her words. "You know Miss Wood," he answered finally, "I had never thought of it like that before. Thank you." And with that, he got in his car and left for work.
Colonel Morgan was busy filing paperwork with his secretary when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he said. Much to his surprise, it was Major West who entered his office.
"Why West!" He exclaimed, "This is a surprise. I did not expect to hear from you until Friday."
"Yes sir," answered Don, "but I made my decision this morning and I didn't see any reason to delay telling you."
The Colonel put down his pen expectantly, "What have you decided?"
"Beth and I will accompany the selected family into space." Don said.
A huge smile lit the colonel's face, "Excellent!" He got up from his desk and went over to Don and shook his hand, "Congratulations Major!"
That afternoon, he telephoned the president and informed him of the news. Almost immediately after, plans for the launching began.
The most pressing issue was finding a volunteer family willing to explore another planet. The family would need to have some standing in the scientific community as well as be healthy mentally, emotionally, and physically. There were hundreds of applicants for the mission and each of them were subject to a lengthy interview with a five man panel. Of all the applicants, twenty were chosen as possible subjects. These twenty were then required to be subject to numerous tests designed to check their psychological and physical capabilities as a group. The five families who had the best results were then selected for further training on survival in space and running the ship. At this point in time Major West also got involved in getting to know the future candidate families as it was important that there be good chemistry between him and the family that would be nominated.
"Major West," said Colonel Morgan one afternoon, "tomorrow we will be choosing the family that will be going into space. What do you think of them? Any recommendations?"
"We'll sir," said Don, " all five families would make great candidates, but the one I would recommend would be the Robinson family. They seem to have a stability as a family unit that I saw in none of the others. Not only that but we get along quite well. That's who I would pick if it were up to me."
"Thank you Major, the Robinson family will receive special consideration by the panel as they determine who to send into space."
The next morning the five families arrived at Alpha Control and had to undergo a written test on all that they had learned the past month. Once the test was completed each of the families' scores would be added up as a group and would be presented to the panel. Based on all the information that the panel had gathered, they would then determine which family would be going to Alpha Centauri. After about an hour, they had decided and all five families were escorted in.
Colonel Morgan was the first to speak, "First of all," he said, "I want to congratulate you all on how well you did. All of you would be ideal candidates for space. It is a shame that we can only choose one of you, but after reviewing everything, the panel made a unanimous decision. We would like to congratulate the John and Maureen Robinson family. You all have done an exceptional job and as a result, this panel has chosen you to be the first family in space."
There was a buzz about the room as each of the contestants congratulated the Robinsons on their nomination and began to exit the room. Finally everyone else had left, Colonel Morgan began to talk with them about preparations for going into space.
The next few months were busy as the Robinsons, Don, and Bethany began training for their flight. Meanwhile, their ship was in the process of being built. About five months later it was finished and christened the Jupiter 2. Finally, after nine months of preparation, the day of the launching arrived.