"While the whole world was led to believe that we had suffered from a natural disaster, there were a few of us that knew the truth: that this disaster was anything but 'natural.'" Adler tells us.
"The crashed alien ship." Maureen speaks.
"Not just a ship... a pilot." Adler corrects.
We watch as a team of soldiers contain Scarecrow in some kind of metal box.
"Are you telling me that thing... has been flying the Resolute?" Maureen asks.
"In a manner of speaking." Adler confirms.
I sigh as they use some kind of machine to calm Scarecrow down.
"Secure." A man calls out.
"Before we go in, perhaps we should invite your son to join us." Adler suggests.
"Will?" I ask.
"We've been struggling to re-establish a connection with Scarecrow." Adler explains. "From what I've heard, Will has a unique-"
"Will is fine where he is." Maureen cuts in.
"I'm afraid Ben's getting a little ahead of himself." A man joins us. "Hastings."
Hastings shakes our hands, but for some reason I really don't have a good feeling about this guy.
"You were CC'd on the classified emails during the build." Maureen points out. "I always wondered what you were in charge of."
"Ready to find out?" Hastings asks with a smirk.
He opens the door that separates us from the team detaining Scarecrow and walks in. We follow.
"I'm trusting you with this information. Please don't share it." Hastings says.
The lights come on to reveal some kind of circle that looks to be a bit taller than the robot. In fact, it seems like the perfect height for him to fit in. There was a spot on the furthest wall that looks like it's missing something. It looks oddly like the alien engine that is in our Jupiter's garage as we speak.
"The real Christmas star." Hastings states. "Able to travel across galaxies at speeds we couldn't even dream of. First, we thought we could reverse engineer their technology, but we were like Cro-Magnons trying to rebuild an air plain when we hadn't even discovered fire."
Maureen climbs up to the circle and examines it with recognition in her eyes.
"So you built the Resolute around the crashes ship?" I ask as a rhetorical question.
"I found Scarecrow right there. Right where Maureen is standing. Still in the process of navigating." Adler states. "It was badly damaged, as you can see, but I was able to communicate with him, in a rudimentary way, and get him to take us where we wanted to go."
"The robot is like a key. Without the key, the engine won't start." Hastings says and we look towards the missing engine space on the wall.
"But you don't have an engine anymore." Maureen says.
"The second robot, the one that commandeered our ship and brought us here, it took it." Hastings explains.
Maureen, John, and I all look at each other, knowing we have an engine.
"If you had another engine, could you get us all to Alpha Centauri?" Maureen asks.
"Another one?" Asks Adler.
...
We showed them to our Jupiter and told them we had an alien engine in the garage. Now they have absolutely everything covered in plastic and we have to stay in another Jupiter.
"Is it weird to any of you that everyone's walking around in hazmat suits and covering everything in plastic when we've been living here for seven months in T-shirts and flip-flops?" Penny asks as me and the kids pack our clothes to move to another Jupiter.
"Hey, wait! Is that my shirt?" Judy asks as Penny picks up a shirt.
"Is it technically yours if I'm the only one who's ever worn it?" Penny asks.
"Um, technically, yes. And I'm gonna need it. They say it's like a desert out there." Judy says.
I look up to see a glimpse of the planet the rest of the survivors are on.
"Okay. Why do you have to go?" Penny asks.
"They need doctors." Judy responds. "There are five-hundred and seventy-three people waiting to re-board the Resolute, and all of them need medical clearance first."
"The Robinsons are supposed to stick together." Penny mumbles.
"Yeah. Well, it's only a week." Judy says with an excited smile on her face.
"A lot can happen in a week." Will says.
"A lot did happen in a week." Says Penny.
I sigh.
...
"Do you think Smith will come back for her stuff?" Will asks as we walk through her room.
"She can try. Radic knows she's here. It's only a matter of time till they find her." Maureen says.
"What if she finds us first?" Penny asks.
Maureen turns around and looks at her daughter seriously.
"Don't engage. No. If either of you see her or if she tries to approach you, call security." Maureen orders.
"Hey." Will says as he stands up holding one of the Lost In Space books that Penny wrote. "How'd Smith get a copy of this?"
"I don't know. She probably picked it up somewhere." Penny responds.
We leave our Jupiter and head to the Jupiter we are supposed to stay in with another family.
"You know, the Azevedos have a daughter your age." Maureen says to Will. "Maybe you'll have something in common."
"Yeah, maybe she's been swept over a waterfall, too." Penny says and I chuckle.
"You never know until you ask." I say.
A few soldiers head back the way we came rolling the metal box they used to trap Scarecrow in.
"Okay, give them space." Maureen orders as we stick against the wall.
"Yeah. What do you think I'm doing?" Penny says.
"Come on. Let's go." Maureen says as we start walking again. Will stands frozen watching Scarecrow get taken into our Jupiter, but I put my good hand on his shoulder to break him out of his trance.
"Will?" I ask.
"H-his lights. They moved." Will says as Penny and Maureen stop and turn around. "Like he was trying to say something to me." Will faces his mother.
"Maybe he wanted to apologize for trying to kill you." Maureen says.
"Maybe I can help with whatever they're trying to do in our Jupiter." Will suggests.
"There are other people taking care of this. It's not your responsibility." Maureen reasons.
"It is if I can do something no one else can do."
Penny continues walking and I follow knowing this is Maureen and Will's argument to settle.
"So, what about you? Are you ready to go back to school?" I tease Penny.
"No way. I never am." Penny says. "What about you? Are you ready to go back to work?"
"Nope." I pop the 'p'.
Penny laughs. "Have they even started you yet?"
"No. But they said they'd start me today because I have nothing else to do. I'm working under Radic so that's gonna be fun. Who knows, maybe I'll get Smith's case." I smile.
"I hope you do. So then a Robinson can put justice on her when we had to deal with her for seven months." Penny says and I chuckle.
"I hope I do too." I say.
...
We sit in the Azevedo's Jupiter hub.
"We really appreciate you taking us into your home like this." Maureen says. "It should just be for a few days. The Jupiter is... having maintenance issues." She lies.
"Honestly, it's not a problem." Mrs. Izabel Azevedo says. "You're helping us."
"When we received the message recalling the skeleton crew, Elise was nervous." Mrs. Aubrey Azevedo gestures towards their daughter who is sitting with Will and Penny on the couches.
"She didn't wanna come back to the Resolute." Izabel says.
"But when she heard Will Robinson was going to be her roommate, she was relived." Aubrey smiles.
"Really? Why?" I ask.
"He can control the robots." Izabel says. "We heard about it from the survivors you were on that planet with. They said what he did was extraordinary."
"He must be a very special boy." Aubrey says.
"Yes. He is." Maureen smiles.
I stand and decide to sit with the kids when Maureen, Izabel, and Aubrey leave to the systems hub.
"Hey." Will calls to Elise. "Can I ask you something? About the evacuation?"
"Yeah." Elise says.
"My robot, did you see him leave?" Asks Will.
"What do you mean?" Elise asks.
"Well, he was here... and now he's not. So where'd he go? Did he use a ship or was he alone?"
"Honestly, I was too busy running to notice. I'm sorry."
Will gets up. "I have to go, uh, check on Debbie."
"You do?" Penny asks.
"I wanna make sure she's okay." Will says.
"Okay." Penny says and Will leaves.
"Who's Debbie?" Elise asks.
"She's just a chick- uh, with... red hair." I lie.
"Yeah. She's so pretty." Penny sighs and I nod in agreement.
"She is." I say.
Safe.
...
I'm sitting in my room when Penny comes in.
"Aunt Y/n." She whispers. "It's Smith. She's here."
My eyes widen and I quickly call Radic and tell him what is going on. I walk back with Penny.
"If we're so similar, can you tell me how you turned into you?" Penny asks picking up their previous conversation. Smith gives me a slightly fearful glance.
"Afraid you might become me?" She asks Penny.
"Terrified."
"I'll tell you my secret: at some point in life you'll learn... it's better to be feared than loved."
"I mean, have you ever been loved?"
That seemed to strike a cord in Smith as she looks away. She stands up and picks up her bag.
"I'm glad we had this little heart-to-heart." Smith says then takes the Lost In Space copy that Penny is holding and tries to leave.
She stops to see Radic and another officer at the door of the hub.
"Appreciate the call, Lieutenant Robinson." Radic says and I nod.
Smith looks back at us with betrayal.
"Jessica Harris... you're under arrest."
*1669 words.