The walk down the red glowing hallway was long and suspenseful, walking over the corpses of the crew felt a tad bit disgusting with items impaled into parts of their body in grizzly ways and some were just barely hanging on. Struggling to get up to their feet, to move, to talk, and cover their injuries, and to live. It was one of the sorriest sights that Smith had seen in his career as a medical professional. Smith raised his head up keeping his eyes off the floor and the wall. It was difficult not to look around as it was searching for a corner to turn. There was a thud from beside him once entering a corridor that didn't have that many corpses.

Smith looked down to find the lieutenant on the floor face first breathing but bleeding badly. Prentiss was propped up to his feet and moved against the wall then turned in the direction of the doctor. Smith tore off his own sleeve then stripped off a section of it then repeated taking off another section, carefully folded then sliding them into layers underneath each other, until it were a thick rounded piece of cloth, and replaced the wad of crumbled wet fabric that was dropped to the floor.

"Leave me behind. . ." Prentiss said, weakly.

Smith's eyes grew big, clenching the cadet's hand, then shook his head.

"No," Smith said, pressing the replacement into the wound with a bloody hand. "I am not leaving you alone."

Prentiss briefly closed his eyes.

"I am fine," Prentiss said.

"Save your breath," Smith said.

"I am bleeding out," Prentiss said. "And dying."

"Are you certain that you want to die alone?" Smith asked.

"This ship may get attacked any moment by the army," Prentiss reasoned.

Smith briefly considered the thought then straightened his head.

"I accept that risk," Smith said, placing a hand on Prentiss's shoulder.

Prentiss briefly closed his eyes then looked over at the red text on the threshold frame.

"We are on deck fifty-six," Prentiss said. "You need to take four turns left, five turns right, go straight forward for three blocks, turn left, and then you're in the hangar bay." he looked up toward the concerned man.

"Don't want me to take you with?" Smith asked.

"No," Prentiss said. "I rather . . . I rather. . . I rather return to what I was made of."

"And what was that?" Smith asked.

"Space dust," Prentiss said. "To become one with the stardust."

Smith took the cadet's hand.

"You made your family proud serving the academy," Smith said.

Prentiss grew a smile.

"Not bad yourself, Colonel," Prentiss said, then the light went off from his eyes.

Smith used the tip of his fingers to close the cadet's eyes then got up to his feet and turned away. Smith made his walk down the corridor appearing to be lost while rubbing his shoulders. The temperature in the ship had drastically fallen around him keeping his gaze fixated ahead of him. He wiped off a tear from his cheek with his arm making his way down the corridor.

The only thought that comforted him was that the Robinsons had returned to the safety of the Jupiter 2. Smith stopped in his tracks. It couldn't be the Robinsons but it could be Don manning the space drill leading the attack on the dragonship. What kind of misunderstanding had the cadets gotten into with the Robinsons? The only feasible answer was that they had lied and they had been found out. He rubbed his forehead lowering his head with a sigh.

Why didn't they come to him about this matter?

Prentiss wouldn't be dead had they told the truth.

Smith made it to a corridor that was crowded by survivors.

All of whom ranged in the color of their fur and their faces.

Panic settled in observing the settled, resting group paying attention to each other rather than on him. It was a matter of time before one of them looked in his direction. Suddenly everyone was thrown to the side from the unexpected attacks focusing in on the dragonship. Figures were sent flying hitting the walls with cries and sent falling down the corridor on the repeated episode of attack. Smith dug his fingernails into the floor paneling leaving a long series of scars and looked over his shoulder with terrified eyes. Smith hit the wall then was out.

The screaming stopped and the crewmen got up to their feet, tense, terrified, and scared. One by one they checked the pulse of those who were laid around the scenery. Some were still pinned against the wall with a large thorn protruding out of their stomach that a mourner fell down to their knees loudly weeping. One of the crewmen took out a hidden device then fired at the body that became limp. They searched to find the ones who would not be able to make it to those who could make the trip. They tossed bodies into a pile then eventually found Smith. His improvised headband still wrapped around his head but in his black and silver outfit instead of the commander guise. They shifted him on to his back then watched his chest move. The wound was bleeding through the fabric.

"He is a human," Bahosky hissed.

"We have lost, Dragos has given up," Sachun said. "we must take this human with."

"The one who stopped Dragos from what was rightfully his?" Bahosky asked.

"Yes," Sachun said.

"Leave him behind," Bahosky said.

"It would be wrong to leave a survivor behind," Sachun said. "No matter what they did!"

"Dragos wouldn't want to see the face of the one who defeated him," Bahosky said. "The shame he feels right now is incomprehensible."

"You're mistaking that for bitterness," Sachun said.

"The least we can do is have one victory," Bahosky said.

"Revenge?" Sachun asked.

"Yes," Bahosky said.

"Does it benefit anyone other than you?" There was silence as they locked eyes. "One of you, get the human, and go to the hangar bay. There must be some lifeboats in there. If there isn't, we can use the academy seekers and improvise a solar sail." Sachun scanned the crowd of survivors. "Are there any engineers in here?"

Several hands raised.

"That's enough to cover the other survivors who didn't make it to the life boats," Sachun said.

Bahosky turned toward the brown crewmember.

"And it has to be done quickly," Bahosky said, as one of the crew member placed Smith over their shoulder.

"Let's move out!" Sachun said, then turned away from the group leading the way. "Now which deck are we on now?"

Sachun looked up toward the doorway frames searching for the distinctive gold symbols.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Spent years in this ship," Baktok commented. "It's hard to believe. . ."

"That it will be destroyed?" Dragos asked. "Not hard."

"It has been near utter destruction itself," Baktok said. "Many times in your conquest."

"She has given it her all," Dragos said. "In our last conquests, she has been showing signs of faltering."

"She is old," Baktok agreed, while the allies boarded the lifeboat. "You had this the longest."

Dragos looked toward the corridor.

"The longest. . " Dragos said, stroking the wall with a fond smile. "You have been the greatest ally," he patted on the wall. "Rest easy. . ." he looked up with pride taking his hand off the wall visualizing the golden reconstruction of the loyal starship with decorations of dragons ranging in style seen about the corridor with a few alterations. "Dragonship."

"Evil," Baktok called. "The lifeboat is ready."

Dragos turned away to face his loyal allies.

"To the next chapter," Dragos said, sporting a evil grin.

Dragos seated down into the seat that had a window view then Baktok waved his hand in front of the panel then the door slid open. He applied his hand on to the device then moved toward Dragos seating beside him. The two crewmembers piloted the lifeboat away from the falling apart starship making way toward Priplanus up into one of the starships forming a group with he surviving members of the army. In one of the arms of the crewmembers was a unique device that was rounded like a egg with a clasped structure around it hooked into a larger machine that was in the arms of another that was connected to a series of other devices in other allies arms.

Dragos was watching the dragonship flicker on and off observing how damaged that she was. His hands rolled into fists. The scarring, the burns, and the holes that made the starship a shadow of herself once proud and powerful appealing. The large dish fell off floating away. The architecture resembling a destroyed city that had suffered a rather unique but devastating war. The rounded heart of the ship breaking apart before Dragos's eyes. The support beam to the dish was destroyed in a fury of lasers summoning flames that ate up the hull. Dragos appeared to be very confident as the camera backtracked to reveal the lifeboat resembled a egg heading toward the underbelly of the other starship.

I will rise again!, Dragos thought.

///////////////////////////////////////////

The scene changed into the hangar bay where there were were a few drones scattered about. The additional parts were being ripped out of the cockpit by several of the crew members tossing away material to the floor. With each drop of tech, the ship gently rocked from side to side. The red lighting turned on and off above their heads. The sound of familiar groaning was heard once a series of figures entered the hangar bay. The groaning belonged to Smith who was coming to, his eyes opening to see that ahead of him were strange creatures in dark robes.

The creatures squeezed into Space Academy undercover vessel.

Smith was laid in the back then dropped slowly opening his eyes.

There was a series of brown and black tall humanoid monsters fitting in the escape pod. The escape pod had a circular frame with wide space. Notably, there was no chairs. Had the undercover seeker really been that long and spacious? The crewmembers were feeling around on the wall searching for what was undoubtedly the button to close the door. Smith let out a terrified scream raising himself up observing the door to the escape pod close feeling panicked. The escape pod was now full of crewmembers taking up all the space that turned in his direction. He slid down in horror to the floor.

The floor beneath the craft fell apart letting go of several drones and the escape pod falling without direction. The escape pod twirled as a wail echoed loudly in everyone's ears. Smith was thrown away from the back end to the floor then looked up to see the others were on the cieling making a dark mass that nearly was mistaken for a void. There were beeping coming from the front end as a creature was hanging on making strange noises that sounded frantic. Was it screaming? Smith couldn't be sure as he shielded himself from the expected crowd. But it had to be screaming.

No one knew how to operate the console, it became apparent, as the horror solidified in his mind. It was as though the level of technology that the Space Academy had packed in wasn't the kind the crewmembers were familiar to. Dying in a fierce, blazing crash landing on the surface of Priplanus rather than in his golden years surrounded by wealth and at the most beautiful scene on Earth. Perhaps in front of a peaceful lake in his rocker looking on back at his career for the united states and for his patients as the sun set over the trees. Not resting his head against a rock with clasped hands listening to the Robot droning on about his daily chores enlisted to him earlier while Will was doing Smith a favor by doing them.

Smith found it difficult to breathe during the fall that felt like it lasted forever as it tumbled through coming into the atmosphere. A thought entered Smith's mind. At least, the space cadets were going to be let to breathe. The escape pod rolled, twisted, swayed moving in different directions moving further and further away from the dragonship. The escape pod soared past the space drill in making the entrance to the atmosphere. It wasn't his first crash landing; the space pod and the Jupiter 2 came to mind. But it was all the more terrifying being surrounded by strangers who didn't know what to do.

The craft came closer and closer toward the ground full of screaming, panic, and terror then had a hard crash landing breaking into two pieces sending figures flying to the dirt and the back half did numerous flips until it landed on its back end into a pile of sand. The view went into the half where the hot sun was beating down into. Smith was pinned down by a pile of crewmen. There was unique blood that decorated the interior. Groans were coming from the figures on the top that were struggling to lift themselves up. Smith's turned his head, feeling a heavy weight on his chest, then turned to face the familiar blue sky. Smith grew relieved, his muscles relaxing, a smile spreading on his face. Hysterical laughter came from the man then rested against the floor to regain his strength.

His entire body ached.

It had been a long time since he ached.

Ached from being thrown around and hitting hard surfaces.

Too many to count, anyhow. It felt like Smith had survived a vicious tidal wave, a powerful cosmic wind thrown him in his sleeping bag inside the tent into a sand dune, and a fall from a cliff that should have killed him on impact. If Smith had told Aunt Maude about what he had gone through in the last few hours then she might have patted him on the shoulder and said, "Sure, sure, it did," in a way that sounded condescending. Her skepticism about it all was forgivable. Smith would have been the same way if told everything that had occurred in the last . . . .

Smith's smile began to fade as the seconds ticked by.

He placed a hand above his eyebrow gently rubbing it in a circle.

In the last what?

More specifically, when?

Smith found himself struggling to remember what exactly that he was proud of. His eyebrows knit together for a moment looking back at the chain of events that brought him here. Something about a Space Academy that gave him a opportunity to return to Earth. What did he just do in the last few hours? It was night the last that he recalled tending to his dying fire before calling it a night. And suddenly it was morning when it should be the twin moons staring back down on him.

Smith placed a hand on the side of his forehead head to feel a hard, unexpected wrapping on it. He found the section that had been taped on then unrolled it from around his head. When Smith finished unwrapping it then looked down to ward his hand, the gauze was gone. What there was on his hand was some blood that surely came from his head. He reached his hand out feeling around to feel a square item then peeled it off and once it was off to see the dressing, there was nothing in his hand only a little more blood. Smith stared at his hand as the ground rumbled beneath.

Smith looked up to see the sun growing smaller before his eyes.

"Huh?" Smith said, as the groaning crewmembers began to climb out of the escape pod with shrieks.

Like they were running for their lives.

He couldn't see any smoke rising in the sky from the crash landing.

The sun was getting smaller than before. The reason why it was getting small was mainly because the crashed craft was falling away from it. His mind came to a stop once the only way that it was plausible stood out. The transport had crash landed into a cosmic sand pit. He struggled to slide himself out from underneath the pile of empty shells that were heavily weighing down on him. Smith reached his hand out for a visible crack in the wall paneling catching on to the edge stretching his fingers out to catch the edge grasping on to it then tugged himself forward only instead he tugged the wall paneling off sending it falling to the floor.

Sand began to trickle into the seeker through the sides pouring over the signs of visible disaster as the escape pod trembled from side to side unsettled from being sucked into the cosmic sand pit. It made Smith even more uneasy while struggling to lift up one of the crewmember's bodies up off him. He was only able to slide up the corpse a inch then let it fall back. Smith looked up, helplessly, trapped watching the golden sand pour over the mangled corpses.

Smith grasped his hands on to the wall paneling that was still there digging his fingernails into them reaching for the crevices that he could tug himself out of the trap. He looked up hearing a humming as the crashed craft was trembling dipping sideways allowing in a influx of sand. His fingernails left long curved scratches into the wall. Smith could see saucers in the sky bearing strong resemblances to the Jupiter 2 chasing after spacecrafts and some that were just fleeting by.

"Help me!" Smith shouted. "Please, help me!"

Smith watched the sand pouring in from the other side.

"Someone," Smith called. "Help! I am here!"

Smith grew panicked as the sand reached to the back.

"I AM RIGHT HERE!" Smith began to scream. "HELP! HELP! HEELLLPPPP MEEEE!"

A lone silver dot in the distance came to a halt from above the crashed vessel but the hum was distinctively loud and watched the crashed craft continue sinking into the cosmic sand pit. The camera came closer to reveal that saucer was part of a cone shaped ship.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////

From outer space, above Priplanus, as the escape pod passed by the space drill headed in the direction of the falling dragonship hundreds of lifeboats came soaring out of the dragonship fleeing it in great speed.

The space drill tore through the middle leaving behind a trail of destruction.

Flames passed through the halls eating away at the corpses strewn about the hall with silent rage engulfing even the smiling shell that once belonged to Prentiss facing the direction of oncoming flames. The flames crashed upon the shell then ate away at the peaceful figure in the matter of seconds to leave not a trace of recognition behind. Decks upon decks were charred, scarred, and bent in ways like it were paper being disturbed by hands that had toyed with them and covered them in black barely letting a sign of the original color stand out. The space drill sliced in half the various pieces of the dragon piece until it were falling apart in smaller versions that posed no harm to the planet. The wall paneling were being sucked out of the already weakened structure.

Don looked over to see the army was headed toward the void being surrounded by a blue light leaving out the others that were staying behind aimed right at the planet. It had to be the emperor that the cadets had talked about leading the army into the army into the present. He was certain that the military branch could easy take care of them. The space drill floated in space giving him a view of the other army being outlined like a Phoenix then bolting into the void that vanished taking away the reflection of Priplanus as well. There had to be easily a hundred members of the army still sticking around the orbit of the planet. One by one, Don watched the saucers leave the battlefield going of in different directions. The army that had been gathered finally scattered. Don looked toward the fuel gauge. There wasn't enough fuel in the tank to take them all out one at a time.

Starships that resembled swords appeared blocking access to Priplanus to the remaining members of the army.

"And who's army is that?" Don asked, then put the ear bud in his ear.

"This is Quano, the king of Priplanus," Quano said. "Surrender now and I will provide you mercy."

There was laughter over the line.

"A child!" there was howling. "A child!"

Don put the ear bud away whistling innocently then turned the spaceship away sending it toward the planet and prepared to figure out his exact crash landing plan to the planet. From behind, the fleet attacked the army relentlessly acting united with precision and decisiveness. The triangle starships visibly suffered from behind Don.

The square windows displayed the golden lights turned to black blending in with the scene of outer space. The camera showed lifeboats flying out of the triangle starships fleeing from battle following in the direction of others then it turned to display the escape pod was further away from Don now a golden blip that was turning white from the paint peeling off being eaten in flames coming from the sheer speed taken by the space craft and Don braced himself for the landing going through the atmosphere.

///////////////////////////////

The ground trembled above the giant cyclops.

Pieces of rock fell on to their heads then slipped down their long hair.

One by one they began to move toward the corridor climbing up to the surface.

Their large hands were in fists.

Their heads were throbbing with headaches from the repetitive crash landings.

Once was a enough when it came to the circular starship that crash landed into the ground leaving a bad tremble in the young children, some of the young males were scared, and the females were up in arms about this strange oddity. Concern was mostly there on what exactly was happening. It hadn't came around the time of winter when the earth split apart, bad lighting, and cold temperature controlled the land. It was typical how it was one of the beings from the sky that had given the young the scare. So one of them went out one day to see what they were, chased them, got shot, and killed by the small beings from the sky. It was their own fault it happened. The body was picked clean by the scavengers leaving only giant skeletons that had to be moved back underneath and moved into the ancient tomb. A bumbling fool, they were, but they deserved to be buried with their family.

The giants spread out in a neat, long line getting onto the rock.

One by one they reached their hands out for the oncoming metal that was releasing smoke, flames, and annoying noises.

The cyclops stood their ground side by side with their attention aimed in the direction of the falling objects.

They caught the falling unique, strange items with small pests screaming inside that resembled one of the man wildlife on the surface. The tall giant aimed into the sky where there were other shapes like it in the distance then threw it watching into the atmosphere leaving a trail of smoke behind. The others were doing the same throwing them away where they had came. Saucers flew away from the scene heading into the sky from whence they came.

In celebration, the cyclops cheered by shaking their fists in the air.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

The crashing landings had stopped.

Slowly, one by one, they moved out of the hiding place.

John was the first one to go to the bridge to find the Robot standing by the doorway humming to himself. The Robot turned away from the door. The Robot was covered in dark shoot that decorated his figure with a series of claw marks dug into his frame that traveled coming to a stop above the more vulnerable part of the Robot. John raised his eyebrows observing the Robot's appearance that had a strange light yellow device where his energy pack should be. The others followed suit observing the remains of claws dug into his armor.

"Robot!" Will shouted. "What happened to you?"

"And start from the beginning," John said, stopping the Robot from starting.

"That is not long of a story," The Robot started. "In the middle of the crash landings, I appeared in the Space Academy surrounded by survivors in a cavern and there were less than six thousand people in it instead of ten thousand. I met up with the acting senior staff of the academy consisting of Professor Parsafoot, acting Commander Soom, and Lieutenant Prentiss after discovering the time loop had been severely compromised. I volunteered to help in order to repair the time loop. Lieutenant Prentiss was sent then returned with the mission a success."

"Why did you appear in the academy?" Judy asked.

"And what happened to us?" Maureen asked.

"You were sent to Earth in a seeker the next morning," The Robot said. "The Jupiter 2 was destroyed during the crash landing. My next part in the plan was to neutralize the dragonship after being used as the energy conductor to the machine."

"So your power pack was destroyed," John said.

"Affirmative," The Robot said. "I was returned shortly before the space drill could hit me," then added for dramatic emphasis. "Again."

"What upset the time loop?" Penny asked.

"The murder of Commander Gampu, Lieutenant Gentry, Captain Gentry," The Robot said. "And there was no Commander Stone, no Loki, no Samantha, but a few details remained the same such as Professor Parsafoot's crash landing even as going far to the rescue of Jason according to Lieutenant Prentiss. The ship was under attack by Queen Medusa shortly before Major West's ride appeared."

John went to the front console then flipped the switch and the barrier slid away to reveal the smoke in the distance. There were so many tunnels of smoke that rose in to the air that it could not seem real. It seemed surreal against the mundane blue sky contrasting against the barren, sandy scenery. Judy played with her fingers looking on in worry. The Robot simply remained where he was by the doorway acting as a silent guard beside the rounded window. Will went to the door coming to a stop by the Robot then pressed the side button making it open including the other door before him and looked out the threshold.

Don leaned against the chair rubbing the side of his head.

"Ow!" Don yelped.

His hand traveled to the back of his neck briefly closing his eyes.

He placed the ear bud onto the console then got up from the chair but grasped on to the head rest feeling the weight of gravity contrasting against him. Don looked over to see that he had crash landed into a cliff side only barely enough to keep holding on. It became apparent that he had to make it carefully up the ladder, turn the hatch, and get out before the ship tipped into the ground drilling to its liking. It only went on to chance that he got out of there in time to catch a piece of rock. Don climbed his way up, feeling the space drill tipping back just for a moment then tipped forward.

Don quickly twirled the hatch then swung it open, climbed up the ladder making to the top then looked over to see the black abyss from behind.

"Nope," Don turned his attention away then began to run toward the ground ahead.

He jumped in the nick of time off the edge of the space drill landing to his side to the cliff edge and rolled away until he was clear from the edge.

"Ah, phew," Don wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead.

He looked off in the distance to observe the trails of smoke reaching out from the distance.

There were distant screaming coming from around him. Don looked back at his memory regarding the flight away from the Jupiter 2. He had to estimate that he had to be at the place where Debbie, the monkey, once tried to 'shove' Smith off the edge while Penny was scavenging for food for her pet with Will and the Robot. Don had to wonder if the dog's corpse was in the interior of the black crevice that laid beneath the cliff. If the monkey had 'tried' to kill Smith, as the doctor had hysterically claimed, it wasn't that far fetch to consider.

Don turned his attention off the area where the space drill had been.

What could have been used as extra fuel was no longer in their hands.

As it had turned out, the owner never intended to come back after abandoning it to the planet and taking another ride that was offered sometime after Smith's exile. The whole drilling episode was strange to get his mind wrapped around starting from believing it was Smith who was keeping everyone awake throwing rocks at the equipment when they were being used. Don had naturally assumed that Smith was hiding behind the largest rock then poked his head out from behind each time they were not looking and threw it at them just to get on their nerves or to get them to allow him back in after the annoyance. If only Don and the Robinsons had known they had more fuel in their hands then they would have all left earlier for Earth.

Don made his way down the familiar path rubbing the back of his neck. He could look up often enough to spot the scene up ahead in the sky consisting of space junk and remains. Don had a sense of satisfaction at the work. He lowered his gaze down to the distance ahead of him. His shoulders still ached from the shoulder straps pressing against his figure from the crash landing. The back of his head had a nice sore stump forming. It was worth getting the stump when it came to protecting the Robinsons, the unusual planet, and its inhabitants. Worth it all going up there into space. It was a shame that he couldn't save the one reason that brought him into the space drill in the first place.

Don made his slow trek to the Jupiter 2 as the sound of screaming died around him becoming part of the background noise that he paid no attention to. Slowly, the familiar sight of the Jupiter 2 began to appear from the desert, rocky environment before his eyes down the hill. As Don came closer, the crash landing marks still decorating the hull as a distant object became apparent. His heart soared at seeing the super spaceship, whole and unharmed from the battle that had raged above the planet. Not even a sign of a crash landed space jet remained despite the signs that they had been there earlier. Only long, out-of-place tunnels in the ground that headed directly toward the Jupiter 2 but stopped in their tracks.

Will's figure became more clear to his eyes then watched him go into the Jupiter 2.

A moment later, Judy came out of the Jupiter 2.

Don increased his pace coming closer.

"Don!"

"Judy!"

Don and Judy locked into a embrace once once they had returned to each other. The Robinsons grew big smiles once coming to the doorway of the Jupiter 2 at the sight of the relieved young love birds. Will had a bright smile then looked on expecting for Smith to pop up in hot pursuit calling for the major to have slowed down. His smile began to fade observing the lack of said jogging, but panting figure coming from the path. Will slowly came down the ramp as the two broke apart as they were surrounded by the others.

"Don," Will started, drawing Don's attention. "where is Doctor Smith?"

Don shook his head.

"On my way to the space drill, Dragos was destroying the space academy," Don said. "There was nothing left."

Will sucked it all in then let it go appearing to be disappointed shaking his head.

"Are you alright?" Maureen asked, concerned.

"I am okay, mom," Will said. "Just a little disappointed is all."