Smith returns returning to the Jupiter 2 through the forest and stops to admire an insect attracted to her flashlight. It hovers in the air before it, and then a larger animal snatches it out of the air. Smith lies quiet and flat on the ground, and the animal passes on.
The next day, Maureen is checking her telescope out the cabin window. She runs simulations on her computer and goes through and tears up papers with multiple calculations. She then checks on Will, who is in sleeping in bed, and gently strokes his forehead.
Years earlier in the nursery, Maureen looks at her newborn Will and worries that he's losing weight. She tells her son that she will fight for him as long as she's alive.
Maureen kisses her sleeping son on the forehead.
After getting her gear, including a high-altitude balloon, Maureen leaves and hears Penny and Judy arguing about Penny's attraction to Vijay. She then goes out where the other settlers are establishing a base. Smith is watching and John approaches her and points out that they're assembling a transmission tower. She wonders how it will work, and John tells her that the Resolute will see the visual transmission from the light tower, as long as it coincides with the base ship's orbit. John worries about the Robot wandering in, and tells Smith that the kids said that it just walked off. He figures that with the colonists on edge, the last thing they need is the Robot wandering in.
John sees Maureen getting into a Chariot and goes to talk to her. They discuss the Robot's disappearance, and Maureen says that she needs to check on something. She says that the sun is rising earlier every day and the rate is too fast, and she needs to figure it out. John offers to go with her, and Maureen tells him to work with the kids and make up for the time he lost. Victor comes over, complaining that she's taking the Chariot when they might need it in case of emergency. Maureen quickly drives off before he can arrive, and Victor asks John what Maureen is doing. He says that she'll tell them when she's ready, and reminds him that he's starting a meeting.
At the meeting, Victor reviews the progress of the tower construction with the other colonists. One colonist, Evan, says that one team member shorted out the lights. John offers the Jupiter 2 lights, and Evan agrees. Victor reluctantly says that they're good, and they go back to work attaching the foil to the tower.
In the Jupiter, Penny and Judy tell Will that they should bring the Robot back so it can do the tower assembly and prove how useful it is. Will reluctantly agrees but wants to wait until John is in a good mood. John comes in and hears the tail end of the conversation, and asks what they're talking about. Penny covers for her brother, and Will walks off. When John figures that Will is avoiding him, Penny suggests that he talk to Will before leaving.
Smith finds Will working with the other colonists in the hub, comes over, and offers to help. She asks if he misses the Robot, and asks Will to bring her the Robot because there's something that she needs it to do. Before Smith can explain further, Don comes over and Smith leads him off. He accuses her of stealing his flare gun, and Smith says that she took it out of his pack but then put it back in the wrong bag. She hugs Don in relief, and he tells her not to beat herself up. Smith says that she saved him, claiming that her St. Christopher medal brought him good luck. Don admits that he lost it in the storm, and Smith tells him that she forgives him.
Maureen sets up the balloon, but a wind blows it away. The guy line snaps, snagging Maureen's lab, and the balloon drags Maureen with it. It goes off a cliff, and Maureen manages to catch the line and save herself just in time, keeping the balloon from falling to the valley far below.
Maureen tells her children that the new world won't be dangerous, and says that it's an important family decision. They discuss the pros and cons, and Maureen warns that if they stay there then they won't see another blue sky and there won't be much life there. Alpha Centauri is habitable and they can be whatever they want to be there. Penny asks what John thinks, and Will wonders if he's coming. Maureen says that he'll come if he can, and says that anyone who passes the test can go. She assures Wil that he'll pass.
Maureen catches her breath and recovers.
Judy is in the cargo bay going through equipment and hears someone moving in the darkness. She hears the person move awayf, investigates, and finds open containers holding whiskey bottles. She turns and hits Don in the nose, breaking it. They go to the med bay and Judy tends to Don's injury. She explains that John is her father, and realizes that Don is a smuggler. She asks about Angela, and Don says that she doesn't come out of her cabin or talk about what happened on the Resolute. Don explains that he didn't think that any of them would survive, and Judy relates to him based on when she was entombed in the ice. Judy abruptly snaps his nose back into place, and Don says that Smith was with him. When Judy says that Smith told them that she was alone, Don isn't surprised.
Will is working on the tower when John tracks him down and apologizes for missing so many Christmases. His son says that it's okay, but John tells him that he knows that it bothered him just like something is bothering him now. John figures that it has to do with the Robot just leaving as the kids claim, just like it hurt when John left. He assures will that he's not going anywhere and he's there now. Will nervously agrees, and the two of them go to work. Smith is watching from where she's packing MREs.
Penny comes out and sees Vijay unpacking supplies. Victor comes over and complains about how he's doing what he's doing. Once he walks away, a disgusted Vijay goes back to work. Penny walks over and apologizes for Vijay's dad sucking, and thanks him for keeping their secret. Vijay points out that she's blackmailing him, and Penny offers to help him. As they move MREs, they briefly touch hands and Vijay asks Penny if the Robot is sentient. Penny admits that she doesn't know, and says that he can't see it again when he asks. Vijay realizes that John and Maureen don't know that they hid it, and warns that it matters. Angry, Penny walks away.
Smith goes into the cargo bay and Judy tells her that she heard about her crash-landing from Don. She says that Don told her that she was waiting for her, and Smith tells her that Don isn't who she thinks he is. She says that when Tam died, he stole her boots off of her and didn't even bury her, and was the one who did. Smith tells Judy that Angela needed help and Don just hid under a rock like he didn't care if she lived or died. She claims that she said that she was alone to protect the Robinsons, and Judy goes back to work.
Maureen pulls the balloon back to the inflater and goes to work.
Maureen watches Will as he works in a hyperbaric chamber, trying to fix a puzzle under lowered atmospheric conditions. He fails and comes out, and Maureen claims that he did great. She says that it's just a practice test, but Will figures that if he doesn't pass then none of them go to Alpha Centauri. Maureen tells him that it's her turn to keep their bargain that she made when he was a baby.
Maureen suits up and ascends on the balloon.
Vijay tells colonist Peter Beckert that the light tower is ready to go, and Naoko reports that the Resolute will be in range in 20 minutes. The other colonists gat her, and John sees Judy come over. Victor has Evan light up the tower, and everyone applauds. Another insect like the one Smith saw flies over to the light, and more of the insects gather. Meanwhile, Smith sneaks off and uses Penny's stolen phone to turn on the lights, realizing that the insects are attracted to light.
Penny arrives and complains that the bugs are disgusting. Hiroki captures one as a specimen, and Penny asks if Join freaked out when Will told him about the Robot. She realizes that he didn't tell their father, and an insect lands in Penny's hair. She screams, and Vijay runs over and brushes it off.
As Maureen ascends into the atmosphere, sees the beam from the light tower. Once she's high enough, she filters her helmet and takes readings of the sun. She detects Hawking radiation at critical levels.
Smith approaches John and tells him that the kids took the Robot out into the woods while he and Maureen were away. John excuses himself and approaches Will, and asks him where the Robot is. Will says that he doesn't know, but finally says that he didn't want to lie. He explains that he hid the Robot because he learned that the Robot was the reason the Resolute crashed. Will insists that the Robot protected them and insists that he promised to protect it. John tells him that he's a kid and can't make that promise, and asks where Will is. Will refuses to say, and finally explains that he hid it because he was afraid of what John would do to it.
One of the larger animals crawls up on the light tower to feed on the insects. The colonists panic and run, and Smith takes Will away. John calls to Penny and Judy, while Victor gets Vijay to cover.
Maureen drives back in the Chariot and sees the beam flicker.
The tower collapses from the weight of the animal on it. It walks through the settlement and spots Penny running. In the Jupiter, Smith tells Will to call the Robot. Meanwhile, Penny ducks into a tent and turns off the lights. The animals walks by, trying to find her, and the radio in the tent comes on. Penny manages to turn it off, and John and Judy cut through the side of the tent. The animal comes after them, and John tells his daughters that if they turn their backs then they don't have a chance.
Smith tells Will that it doesn't matter if people see the Robot because his family is in danger. The animal charges at John, and the Robot smashes it away. The colonists stare at it in shock, and another animal approaches the settlement. Both animals advance on the Robot, and John tells his daughters to run. Meanwhile, the animals attack the Robot. It won't fight back, and Will realizes that it's following his orders not to harm anyone. Smith tells him that it's a mistake, and Will runs out and tells the Robot to be like it was before. The Robot hears him and turns into battle mode, knocking the animals away.
The colonists back away as the Robot prepares to fire on them. Will runs to it, just as Maureen arrive in the Chariot. The Robot shuts down its weaponry and Will takes its hand as it reverts to humanoid mode. Smith watches and smiles, satisfied.
Later, John is sitting in hub drinking.
The Robot stands guard outside of Will's quarters. Maureen goes inside and kisses her sleeping son.
Written by Gadfly on Jun 16, 2018