ZSROTU 04 - "Fire From Heaven"

"Okay, a short burst." John warned. "We don't want to melt the saucer in a pool of fire. Just enough to stabilize on my mark ... mark !" Don hit some buttons on the brightly lit console ... (more)

PRESS CTRL = (EQUALS) TO INCREASE THE PAGE SIZE AND CTRL 0 (ZERO) TO RESET THE PAGE SIZE THIS PAGE VIEWS BEST IN FIREFOX   Lost In Space       Want to read this in a different language ? Change the TO field to your own country and click the TRANSLATE button after going HERE LOST IN SPACE Zachary Smith - Ruler Of The Universe © February 2017 Written by David Wicker Please do not reprint without permission This will be my new main Tuesday writing until the story is complete. [ CHOOSE A DIFFERENT CHAPTER ] * * * These entries are Rated: EVERYONE FIRE FROM HEAVEN Last week as you recall Dr. Smith was just about to turn into bed for the night, when he had thought up the very wish he wanted to make on the crystal lamp he won while cheating at Galaxy Poker against a rogue gambling machine found on the planet surface. "I wish ... I wish - to be - ruler - of the universe !" Dr. Smith was silent to see if there was some reaction. There wasn't any. "Well really, and considering - " but that was as far as he got. Suddenly the Jupiter 2 ship was struck by an enormous force, powerful enough to rock the entire ship off at an angle. Everyone on board screamed. And while the girls shrieked their loudest, it could only be Dr. Smith himself who shrieked louder than all of them put together, and in the pitch of perfect soprano for a teenage girl. "No no no ! What have I done !" he cried. The lamp suddenly flung out of his hands and dashed into pieces on the floor. The pieces quickly melted like crystal ice on a hot skillet. As for the Jupiter 2 and its crew, the ship now careened crazily at a 22 degree angle and stayed that way. John and Don were the first up to look at the monitor to see if there was a storm or anything. "See anything, Don ?" John asked. "Nothing at all, John. Maybe it was a freak meteorite that hit ?" "The robot should know." John suggested and hit a button to open the side of the saucer. He carefully climbed out and looked at the saucer. It was still tilted badly on its side. The robot had been surveying since last night. Seeing John, it rolled towards him. John spoke directly, "Robot ! Did you see or hear anything that could've caused damage to the Jupiter 2 like this ?" He pointed to the ship. "Negative, John Robinson." the robot replied. "Any space anomalies ? Stray meteors or space storms ?" "Negative, John Robinson." the robot repeated. Don came out the door too, almost jumping down to get clear of the entry. "What'd you find, John ?" he asked. "Nothing. Nothing. That's what the robot says." Don laughed weakly, "Well, SOMETHING happened !" John nodded, "Yes it did, and I don't like it." Don squinted his eyes angrily, "I'll bet it has something to do with Smith." John looked back to the entry. "What ? No. Surely he was asleep, just like the rest of us." Don pointed at the view screen. "Then why isn't he out here moaning about what happened ?" John was quiet for a moment. "You have a point there. Let's go see him." They entered back inside and knocked loudly on the outside wall of Dr. Smith's quarters. "Smith, are you awake ?" Don couldn't want anymore and pulled back the shutters. Inside it showed Dr. Smith bound up in covers. "I am now, Major." he replied darkly. "Nevermind that, Smith. Do you know anything about this ?" "What ? That ghastly racket earlier ? As you can see, I'm in bed." "Before that, Smith !" "Before ? I had dinner like the rest of you and turned in for bed early." Don was flustered and frustrated. He started to yell something to Smith when John put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Don. He really doesn't know." Don was not to be stopped. "Smith ! Anytime something bad happens, you are usually the cause of it. We'll get to the bottom of this but I guarantee you had something to do with it !" "Raawly Major." Smith drawled. "Now if you don't have anything else, I'd like to get back to sleep thank you !" And with that he pulled the covers over his head. Don sighed. Both him and John left his quarters. The girls, of course were up too. "What happened ?" Maurine asked ? "We don't know. But we should be able to right the Jupiter 2. Don ?" Don scratched his chin thoughtfully. "A controlled burst from the C5 rocket should do it." John nodded, "I was thinking the same thing. Girls, Maurine, strap yourself in. We're going to try to level the saucer." Maurine hugged John, "Oh be careful !" John pulled away. "We will be." He then approached the console. "Robot ! Get clear of the Jupiter 2 ! We're going to fire a few retro rockets to try and upright it." "Confirmed." the robot said and rolled back a short distance. "Ready, Don ?" John asked. "Ready !" Don replied. "Okay, a short burst." John warned. "We don't want to melt the saucer in a pool of fire. Just enough to stabilize on my mark ... mark !" Don hit some buttons on the brightly lit console and suddenly there was a rumbling and shaking in the saucer. "Ambient temperature ?" John asked Don. "6,000, no, 6,500 degrees." "Any problems with that ?" Don pointed to a meter. It showed 7.5. "It's not a problem until it gets past 10." "How soon before we reach that ?" Don looked up, worried. "Less than a minute." "Can we do it ?" John asked. * * * Don looked at the meter and hit a few more buttons. "It's going to be close. If we don't do it right, we'll burn a hole right through the Jupiter, and then, even if we DID have enough fuel, it wouldn't matter. The Jupiter would never fly again." "We can't afford to make a mistake then !" John said, slightly louder to compensate for the whining engines which vied for attention. "There ! Cut it !" Don said suddenly. The ship was still at a bad angle. "What, are you sure, Don ?" John asked in a confused voice. Don was insistent. "Cut it now ! That's all we need !" John nodded and hit some more controls. The engine started to wind down. The ship was still tilted on a crevice. John looked outside which showed they were still at an angle. "I don't get it, we didn't give it enough burn, Don. We'll have to - " "No, we did it, John. Just give it a moment." John waited. A full minute passed. With the engines off, suddenly the Jupiter Two started to slide back into a level position with a deep groaning sound. In moments, everything was normal again. "I don't get it." John puzzled. "What happened ?" Don explained, "We didn't need to burn a hole through the planet to right the ship. We just needed momentum. Enough to burn a space outside to start leveling the ship, but at a small level so it would cool and solidify quickly again making a firm foundation." "By doing so, the ship leveled itself naturally still caught in the momentum from the earlier engine thrust." He changed his tone to a darker one. "Now, if we just continued to burn the engines while waiting for the ship to level, we would've fried not only one of our rockets beyond repair but warp or melt the outer shell of Jupiter Two and it would've never been spaceworthy again." John was impressed. "That's some good thinking on your part ! Very well done, Don !" Don smiled sheepishly. "I just - I want to see us all go home too, when it's time." John looked back to the console. "Yes, our original goal was to reach Alpha Centauri. So far we haven't made too much progress in that direction." As for Dr. Smith, he had been hanging on to the frame of his bed for dear life to prevent himself from being thrown out of it. When the Jupiter was righted, Smith grumbled a little, but was soon fast asleep, dreaming of exquisite and rare foods and delicacies back on Earth. The next morning, Smith ruefully rubbed one of his fingers. All night long it felt electrified, as if a current were running through it. But not painful enough to rouse him from a deep sleep. Washing his hands and face in the morning, he noticed the ring. It was a pretty little thing, gold, and with tiny indelible writing on it. Smith tried to remove it, but to no avail. He then pulled out a magnifying glass to read the small text on it. It was 4 simple words. "Master Of The Universe." Beneath that was a long paragraph, written in some other alien tongue not known to Smith. Perhaps instructions for usage. "Lovely." Smith said to his mirror. "I wonder what it does ?" He used the elevator to ascend to the upper part of the ship when the robot outside started yelling, "Danger ! Danger ! Alien approaching ! Danger !" Smith was the first out the door and could see a short distance away that a strange looking creature was approaching. It could've been humanoid except that it had long black rubber tendrils where the hands, head, and feet ought to be. Don and John pushed their way past Smith and already had their pistols at the ready. The fearsome creature came closer and then started to speak, or well, attempted to. It sounded very threatening and angry but definitely not in English. Suddenly the creature took something from his belt and threw it on the ground. "Oh no, it's a bomb !" Smith cried. Don and John watched carefully. Smith could be right. Then the alien held up its rubbery tentacled hands and stepped closer. "It's going to attack !" Smith called out. John kept his eye on the invader. "Don ! Fire a warning burst, in front. Don't hit it. Let's see what happens." Don used the viewfinder on the gun and fired a perfect shot just inches in front the approaching alien. "Oh, go away, just go away !" Smith said, shuddering in fear. Suddenly an almighty blast of light came straight down from the heavens and hit the alien. The alien winked out in an angry red flash and all was silent again. The alien was gone. "Don ! I said a warning shot !" John yelled, confused at what just happened. "You saw it, John ! I did. I never hit the alien. That beam of light came from above. It was the sky." Don suddenly held the rifle facing heavenwards and looked all around cautiously. There was nothing to be seen, however. John spoke interrupting the silence, "Okay, Don. Sorry. It's just - I don't know what happened." Smith felt a little warmth on his hand and was shocked to see the ring he wore was glowing slightly. He hurriedly put it in his pocket so the others would not notice. "Smith !" Don said whirling around on him. Smith sighed in a mock tired tone, "Major ! I had nothing to do with this, nothing at all ! Perhaps you're a better marksman than you give yourself credit for." "Smith, you saw just like we all did, that beam came directly from the sky." "Perhaps it was a teleporter ?" Smith offered. John had picked up what the alien tossed aside and brought it to Don. "It's not a weapon, that's for sure. But I don't know what it is." Don turned it around in his hands. "We'll open it up inside the Jupiter. Smith, you can help us - maybe between the 3 of us we can figure out just what it is." "Breakfast !" Maurine called out, unaware of what just happened. "After breakfast." Dr. Smith said. "We will all need our energy, of course." With that he bee-lined to the table where Maurine was setting down some fruit, toast, and other assorted items. (to be continued) Return back HOME   You are Earth Visitor #