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Chapter One
"Don, do you have
the stabilizing units hooked up yet?" a muffled voice called out
from under the navigational console.
"Just made the last connection, John," Major Don West said
brightly. "I can safely say that we'll be ready for launch
tomorrow. And this time the Robot will be on duty to warn of meteor
showers, instead of playing chef for Smith."
Professor John Robinson slid out from under the console, and taking
the major's outstretched hand, got to his feet and dusted himself off.
"Robot, check out my figures and make sure the new parts are
calibrated correctly." The
B-9 environmental robot rolled over to the navigational computer and
made the necessary checks, but a loud cry interrupted his report.
"Oh, dear, oh,
dear. I tried, I really did...." Dr. Zachary Smith burst onto the
observation deck, wringing his hands and moaning. "I tried to
stop them."
"Tried to stop who?" John asked, anxiety creeping up his
spine.
"Those horrible aliens. White faces, wearing shrouds and long
robes. They didn't say a word, just took the children and left. I was
powerless...."
"The children?" John grabbed the doctor's shoulder,
interrupting the older man's moaning.
"Oh, yes, Professor. We were simply out looking at plant life and
these aliens just jumped out from nowhere, took all three of the
children and disappeared into the rocks," Smith answered, but he
was talking to empty air. John and Don had already rushed to the arms
cabinet and grabbed their weapons.
"Come on, Smith. Show us where this happened," Don called
over his shoulder. The
doctor reluctantly followed them, looking furtively at each rock and
tree. The Robot rolled out of the ship behind them.
The kidnappers' trail
led to a cave set in a rocky hillside. John started toward the
entrance. "Danger, danger! There is a force field just inside the
entrance, which is set to destroy all life forms," the Robot
called out.
John stopped and stared in frustration. "What about you, Robot?
You aren't a life form."
"My detectors indicate that the electrical field would damage my
circuits beyond repair," he intoned. "Otherwise I would be
more than willing to go after the children."
"Is there any way to deactivate it?"
"Yes, but my instruments have determined that there is another
protective force field and other dangers beyond it. The kidnappers
have devised a very strong protective barrier. I will try to use my
environmental diagnostics to determine the number and severity of the
force field devices."
"Yes, do it while Don and I get protective gear and the equipment
we need."
"John, I think it's time to contact someone on the other
continent," Don suggested. "Apparently this area isn't as
remote as we thought it was."
John nodded his agreement.
A short time later, with Maureen standing nervously by his side, John
found himself talking to a diminutive, amber-skinned alien. The man's
long fingers moved rhythmically as he talked, as though lending
emphasis to his words. "What do you mean, you can't help
us?" John said, his voice sharp with suppressed anger.
"It is just as I have said, Professor Robinson. The griforis do
not subscribe to our laws and regulations, and we have no jurisdiction
over them. The territory that your ship landed on belongs to them, by
agreement with our ancestors. And that contract allows them to govern
it as they wish with no interference from our government. It has been
thus for a very long time. They seek the young to raise as workers in
their underground cities...."
John paled at the implications he immediately saw in that statement.
His children, slaves?
"We had no choice but to land here; our ship was damaged,"
Don interjected.
"That is of no consequence to the griforis. All we can do is to
file a formal request to them," the small alien said.
His round, green eyes seemed sympathetic, but resolute. "I
hold little hope in your children's release, Commander."
"Isn't there anyone who can help us?" Maureen asked in
desperation. "Those are our children down there!"
The alien turned to someone beyond the communication screen. Turning
back, he said, "Perhaps there is. You will be contacted."
John and the others were left staring at a dark screen.
"John, do you think they'll be able to help us?" Maureen
Robinson asked, her voice trembling in her anxiety.
"I don't know, but I'm not going to sit around here waiting to
find out." He turned
to his second in command. "Don, let's get the tools and
protective suits. We'll dismantle that first force field and then
decide how to go about getting past the second."
Several hours later, John and Don had finally dismantled the first
force field. "Professor, there is no discernable control access
for the next force field," the Robot reported.
"What kind of field is it, Robot?" Don asked peering through
the thick darkness of the cave in anger and frustration. His
flashlight beam caught a glint and he leaned closer to inspect it..
A large pop sounded, a sharp acrid scent filled the air and Don was
flung to the floor of the cave. John knocked over the diagnostic unit
in his haste to reach his friend. He stopped suddenly, realizing that
he wouldn't help Don if he, too, was incapacitated by whatever that
device was. "Robot, is it safe for me to pull him out?"
"If you grasp Major West by the collar, you should be safe,
Professor."
"Smith, be ready to help me," John shouted over his
shoulder. The useless stowaway had been standing at the entrance
watching them or wringing his hands. Reaching in, John grabbed Don and
pulled him to safety. "Don! Don! Can you hear me?" John
shouted after he had dragged his friend well away from the influence
of the cave.
"It was a variant of the last force field, a bio-electrical field
meant to kill an intruder. It appears that Major West only got a
slight shock," the Robot informed them.
Smith checked Don's vital signs. "His pulse is a bit erratic and
his breathing somewhat rapid, but I believe there is no lasting
damage. It also appears that he may be suffering from a slight
concussion." John sat back releasing breath he had no idea he had
been holding. A short time later his friend was sitting up, groaning
and holding his head.
"Did someone get the number of that Mack truck that hit me?"
he murmured weakly.
"Are you all right? That was just the second field and it was
only a glancing blow," John told him.
"I think so, John. But I have a headache to rival anything on New
Year's." Don tried
to get up, hanging on to John and Smith while his dizziness passed.
His muscles felt like jelly and the ringing in his ears distracted
him. Slowly they made their way back to the ship.
Frustration and anxiety washed over John. How was he going to get the
children away from the griforis? Thoughts of failure began to creep
into his mind. He tried to push them away, but was unable to.
Maureen met them at the ramp. "What happened?"
"Don got a slight shock from the second forcefield," John
answered quietly. "A
bit more of a shock and it would have killed him." She glanced
into her husband's eyes and saw in them the same emotions she had been
feeling, but now she saw something that chilled her. Despair.
As Don collapsed into a chair, the communications panel lit up with
notice of an incoming call. Maureen activated the video screen and
they found themselves staring at a tall, thin, pale-skinned humanoid.
His eyes were crystal blue, his demeanor distant. By appearance, he
looked young, but there was something old about him, too, as though he
had seen much. "I am Dreel. I was informed that you needed
help," the alien said, his voice business-like.
"Yes, our children were kidnapped without provocation by
underground dwellers. The local government says it can't help us, but
there is no way on earth that I'm leaving my children down
there," John said vehemently, his voice masking the deep sense of
guilt and failure that raged inside his mind.
"I understand, Professor Robinson. The Lorent told me of your
dilemma. It is possible that my colleague, Arist, and I can help you.
I will land my ship within a quarter mile of yours. You may come to
negotiate at anytime after I have arrived," the alien said curtly
and then cut the connection.
Don sat staring at the now blank screen. Although still stiff and
entertaining a slight headache, he was feeling somewhat better.
"I'm not sure I trust him," he said.
"I going to talk to him anyway and see what he has to
offer," John retorted. "At
this juncture in time, I don't know what else to do. You could have
been killed, Don. We have to get the children out of there, but not at
the expense of your life."
"At least try contacting the griforis one more time," Don
suggested.
Nodding, John reached for the communications panel. To his surprise,
he found himself looking into the cold, hard eyes of a thin shrouded
man.
"You no longer have
any claim on these children. They are ours," the griforis told
him tersely.
"Like hell, they are," John retorted vehemently. "Those
are my children and there is no power in the universe that will keep
me from bringing them back home."
"If you are so adamant about reuniting with your children, then
you are welcome to come down after them. If you can." The screen
went blank as the alien cut the communication.
=================================
"You just wait! Dad will come and rescue us," Will Robinson
declared to the shrouded alien. A slight tremble in his voice belied
the strong front he was trying to maintain.
"That is too bad, young initiate, because if he does, he will
only die in the attempt," the whispery voice told him. "At
this moment, our force fields have successfully thwarted any attempts
at rescue."
Will was afraid their captor might be right. As they journeyed down to
this underground city, he had seen various devices, all of which
looked very deadly. Even the more primitive spiked traps had looked
more than capable of keeping out intruders. And he was sure there were
many unseen ones that were just as lethal. Some had been activated
after they had passed them; the rest had been activated as soon as
they reached their destination. He was afraid for himself, for his
sisters, his mom and dad and the others. "Why did you kidnap
us?" he persisted.
"Your ship landed on our territory. We have the right to take any
that come on our lands. There is a need for young ones who would be
able to fulfill many good years of service. No decision has been made
regarding the rest of your group," the alien said.
"I don't care what you say, you had no right to take us away from
our family," Judy burst out, her indignation causing her voice to
tremble.
"We griforis are your family now. Learn to serve well, and you
will be treated like our own children, but understand this, you will
never leave these caves," their captor said. Penny was unable to
hold her emotions any longer and began crying. Still glaring at their
captors, Judy reached over and gathered Penny in her arms.
============================
John approached Dreel's ship with a strange sense of foreboding, but
he walked up to the airlock door and signaled his arrival. The hatch
immediately slid open and he entered, walking onto a utilitarian,
somewhat darkened command deck. Dreel sat near a computer station and
with a slight wave of his hand, motioned John to a chair near him. The
professor got right to the point. "It is my understanding that
it's virtually impossible to penetrate the griforis' defenses."
"It would be impossible for you, Professor. Their devices are
deadly to living flesh. The griforis have added a defense against
robots as well," Dreel told him.
"I know. My friend and I dismantled the first force field, but
the second one almost killed him. If that's the case, then how do you
plan on rescuing my children?" John asked.
"Before you can
understand what I have in mind, you must understand me and my
people," Dreel said.
John nodded. He was intensely impatient, but would not risk offending
the only individual who might be able to save his children.
"My people, the nur-Vandir, have a long history. We have been to
many planets. We also have a reputation; some of it deserved, some
not. You are from Earth?" the alien asked. Again, John nodded.
"On Earth our name was corrupted somewhat and we are called
vampires."
John drew back in surprise. "Wh...what?" he stammered, his
shock at the revelation complete. "I thought that was just
fiction."
"No, Professor, we are real, although there is much exaggeration.
We are immortal. We are not alive by your standards." Dreel
paused to allow the human to assimilate this disclosure. The
nur-Vandir studied the humanoid carefully. The man, although greatly
taken aback by his disclosure, showed no repugnance of him, only a
slight fear, mingled with curiosity as well as anxiety for his
children.
"Then you are saying you could go down to the griforis' city and
get my children?" John asked hopefully.
Shaking his head, Dreel continued. "No, Professor, because they
have not invited me. That part of the lore is true. We cannot enter
where we have not been invited. That is a property that has always
been a part of the nur-Vandir. To be brief, this immortality was
discovered many hundreds of years ago by one of our scientists trying
to find a way to slow the aging process. He found that blood was the
river by which the aging factors were carried. The blood carries
microscopic life forms and contaminants that cause the tissues to
deteriorate and die. He experimented and discovered our immortality,
but there is a cost. We still have to have many of the properties in
hemoglobin in order to continue existing, hence the need to ingest
blood periodically." He paused and smiled, his fangs gleaming.
"That need is sometimes very powerful. That is the
greatest drawback to our immortality."
"I imagine it would be hell on interpersonal relationships,
too," John said dryly.
"Do not joke, it does make interaction with others difficult.
Many races are uncomfortable in our presence, some even hostile."
Dreel drew back, slightly irritated at the professor's comment, until
he realized that the man was trying to cover his own anxiety.
"Sorry. You seem to have the capability to go down and get my
children, but you are unable to. I can't go down or I will be
destroyed in the attempt. So
what is your proposal, Dreel?"
"You could go down if you were one of us, Professor, and with
your invitation Arist and I could come with you," Dreel said
quietly.
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