Chapter Text
Warning. Fuel level at 15%.
“That’s okay, 15% should be enough to get us out,” said Maureen.
John was frowning. Judy had her head in her hands.
“What about those things ?” asked Penny, eyes wide.
“They should burn up on ignition,” said Maureen.
“Everyone hold tight,” said John. He reached forward and pulled the ignition lever towards him with a forcible jolt. The Jupiter gave an enormous groan of whirring sounds, shuddered, and fell still. The Robinsons stared around at each other, hearts pounding.“What -”
Warning. Fuel level at 10%. No reserves.
A deafening crash resounded above them. The Jupiter lurched to one side.
“The ice is falling,” Penny said, voice wavering, “We’re going to get crushed.”
No, Judy gulped. Not again. Her chest was burning. I can’t breathe , she thought desperately.
A series of tapping sounds came from where Maureen was checking the Jupiter’s system for errors. John’s frown had crept so low that he may as well have morphed into a grizzly bear.
Breathe, Judy thought. I have to just - I have to - to -
“I’m dumping the fuel,” Maureen said. She stood up purposefully. “The eels may be clogging the intake valve - so whatever’s left of it can’t get into the combustion chamber. We’ll dump it, and hope there’s enough fuel in the lines to get us out of here.”
“Do it,” said John.
Maureen pushed a button to her left and typed something into the system, confidently, as if she’d been doing this all her life. In some ways, she had.
Fuel ejection system: activated.
A guttural, gurgling sound divulged from somewhere beneath their feet. Everyone held their breath.
“Now,” said Maureen. Decisive.
John shot her an uncertain frown, grabbed the ignition lever and gave it a tug. And then there was that groaning, whirring sound again, the shuddering, and before they could strap themselves in - The Jupiter was in flight. Tremors, crashes, lurches. It was a wonder they didn’t die a horrific death right there and then; but John was clasping the controls like the lifeline that they were, plunging the Jupiter up, and down, and around the falling sheets of ice and rock with narrowed eyes and a steadfast grip. As they dodged a last falling boulder, a panorama of trees opened up ahead of them, unimaginably green, and glorious and alive. The sky swept over it all as a painting of delicate blues, and yellows, and two moons rose in the distance.
Everyone’s eyes were wide with wonder. It was beautiful .
“Brace yourselves,” John yelled, over the clamor of machinery.
Behind him, Judy hyperventilated through the flashes of ice and entrapment that still swarmed her mind. Breathe. Breathe. Just BREATHE for sky’s sake!
With one last crunch of impact, the Jupiter collided with the ground. As the dust settled, everyone was quiet from the shock of adrenaline wearing off. Then, Penny began to clap, slowly.
“Well, well, if we haven’t survived yet another near-death experience,” she said, voice saturated with sarcasm, “Seems to be the Robinson family specialty. How to crash-land on alien planets. ”
Maureen shared a knowing glance with John before turning to her, exasperated, but with a smile playing across her features.
“How I love not being crushed to death,” Penny added, and for good measure, “Maybe I’ll name the next chapter ‘Eel-Slaying Mayhem’!”
“Wait, where’s Will?” said Maureen. She looked worried, all of a sudden, “Will. Will!” she called out, and disappeared towards the back of the Jupiter.
Judy peeked out from where she’d nestled her head over her knees, shivered with anxiety, and wiped away a tear. Seeing her dad turn towards her, she forced a smile and gave a measly thumbs-up. He returned the thumbs-up, but didn’t look convinced.
“Judy, are you alright?” he asked, gently, crouching to where she was sitting, folded in on herself.
“Of course,”
"You know, you don't have to be. It would be totally understandable if -"
"No, really Dad, I'm fine. What about Will?”
“Yeah, I’ll go check on him,” John still didn’t look convinced, but left to find his son nonetheless.
As soon as the coast was clear Judy rushed to her room, closed the door, shrunk down to the floor on the other side, and tried to slow her breathing. The whole day had been a nightmare; none of this should have been happening. She didn't understand why she was reacting like this - she'd trained for all of it. Several months of stress tests, endurance running, diving, reaction checks… It should have been enough. She should have been fine. But here she was, head on her knees again, eyes pricking with tears. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. I have to be strong. I have to pull myself together, and help mom figure out how to get us out of here. She wrung her hands in frustration.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Judy, do you wanna play cards? Will’s fine, and Mom’s setting up the perimeter fence. So we can chill now!"
She'd worried that it might've been Dad, checking up on her, considering his probing questions earlier. She’d felt him observing her a lot, recently, and frankly, wished he’d leave her alone. He has enough on his mind without having to worry about me, too, she thought. Everyone does. Thankfully, it was just Penny.
"Nah, I'm just going to take a nap," Judy said, carefully keeping her voice steady.
"Boooring," Penny replied playfully, though she left her alone after that.
Alone, at last. Judy got up shakily, checked the door was locked and stepped over to the chest of drawers. She pulled open the third drawer, reached for a little box in the back, and cautiously lifted the item from the bottom: a small razor-blade. She settled cross-legged on the edge of her bed and rolled up a sleeve. Finally.
There was a strangely warm, humming feeling in her head from the anticipation; heat crept up her neck and across her scalp. It was almost comforting, though her hands still shook. Focusing on steadying her hands again, she brought the blade to her forearm and pressed down. Not much - just enough to cause little beads of blood to well up across the lines. Just enough to cause that strangely warm feeling to spread to her chest. Just enough to calm her down properly.
She sat there, dazed, for a while. Then, as if nothing had happened, packed away the little blade in the box, dabbed away the blood, stuck on a couple of band-aids, and rolled down her sleeve.
I’ll admit it’s not my best work, she thought, but if there's ever a time I don't need to be all 'Doctor' Robinson, it's now.
"Penny, I'm ready for that card game now!" She called out, as she stepped out of her door.
***
Back in the control room, John was frowning again.
"Maureen, I think you should check on Judy. She seems… I'm worried about her."
"What? It's Judy. Judy's fine," Maureen replied. She was busy checking the pressure valves. Their recent rough ride (and that was putting it lightly) had not been kind on the mechanics.
"Really, Maureen…"
"John, we don't have time for this," she shrugged him off, and groaned in frustration as one of the valves gave an unsightly jolt and came loose. “We’re on an unidentified planet God knows where, with no fuel, no map, and no connection to the rest of humankind.”
John cringed at the harshness in her tone, but placed a gingerly hand on her shoulder.
Maureen glanced at him past a tangle of wires, and relented, "Did you ask Judy how she is?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"She says she's fine."
"Okay, so she's fine." Something sparked amongst the wires. “Can you go and disconnect the plugs from slot C? I need to check something."
John paused, wondering whether to press the matter further. He’d seen what stress like this could do to people when he was in the army. Trauma changed people - and their kids were in it now. If there was one thing John was sure of, it was that he would do anything to protect his kids. He gave a resolved nod. He'd just have to keep a close eye on her. Just like he was keeping a close eye on the robot. Just like he kept a close eye on everyone, nowadays. Heaven knew they needed it.
***
Will and Penny were already mid-game, grinning and beckoning from the table, with the robot positioned as if on guard behind them. Judy joined them, grabbed a hand of cards, and sighed. She could still feel the sting from her arm, keeping her steady. Focus on that, she thought, slamming down her first card. Will added his card to the table.
Something beeped across the hall.
“Communications!” Penny said, jumping up from her seat and grinning even wider now.
Maureen stepped in from the hall, radio receiver in hand. “Yep, someone else made it,” she said, smiling almost as widely as Penny, “Listen.”
“This is Captain Radic broadcasting from the Resolute. We’ve taken on heavy damage, but are still operational. Life support systems have been stabilized. Navigational capabilities are being assessed. Wounded are being tended to. Most importantly, we believe, in time, we’ll be able to get back on course -”
The shriek that Penny gave at this point was deafening. She rushed towards her mom, Maureen rushed towards Will, and the three of them met in the middle with a massive hug -
“- toward our new home on Alpha Centauri.”
Maybe it's going to be alright, John thought. Even Judy seemed calmer, now that there was no longer a several-foot-thick expanse of water and ice looming above them, taunting them.
“ - For those of you unable to return, know that as soon as repairs are complete, we will find you.”
John put an encouraging hand on Judy’s back as the others embraced, faces glowing with hope, and smiled: yes, it was going to be alright.
***
Watching through the glass as the children guffawed around the central table, Smith raised her eyebrows and pondered. They looked so joyful, all things considered; how curious, and infuriatingly resilient young minds were! And yet… John wasn’t the only one who had noticed something off about Judy; Smith may not have known the Robinsons very well yet, but she did know a secret-keeper when she saw one - especially a young, naive one such as this.
With the recent Resolute transmission, Judy should have been overjoyed and cheering, like the others. But as Smith watched, Judy just sat there, a faint smile on her lips that barely reached her eyes. She seemed… dazed.
Smith had hardly believed her luck when she’d slipped into the ship of none other than a doctor, a soldier, and a rocket scientist. Who better to be stranded with! But it seemed, perhaps, that this particular doctor may not be so capable - for what good was a broken doctor? She had a lot of hope in this family, so long as their righteousness and apparent hero-complexes didn’t delude them into a situation they couldn’t mathematize their way out of - and so long as that doctor could look after others better than she could herself.
Smith decided she’d have to dredge up a bit more information on them all, and find out whose heart hurt where. Besides, she had the perfect cover; that was a psychologist’s job, fake or not. And right now, Judy was top priority.
Smith returned to the room that Maureen had assigned her with a smirk, doing what she did best: plotting.