The voyage back to Earth seems to take only a half an hour or so.
Soon you are landing in the front yard of Occa's mansion.
The door to the mansion opens and a crowd of people come out to greet you.
It is a typical gloomy late winter afternoon in Sandas.
Equinox waves idly at them both before continuing his preparations for his trip to the Great Druid.
Aldarin says, "Welcome back my friends. I hope your journey was pleasant."
"DOES NOT COMPUTE," replies the robot.
Tully says, "Yes, it does not."
He turns to Aldarin, "Thanks, Aldarin. We discovered some space stations and other wondrous things. In fact, we were hoping to take another expedition back to clean out some infestations and set it up as a base."
"Does anyone know if Ray Jay is in town?"
Occa says, "I think he is on the moon right now."
Tully goes over to Occa and starts to chat with him.
Salaam is busy making holy water and cure light wounds potions for sale as the magnificant edifice to Thoth is being built with Lo Wang, cleric in training, at his side.
Al is hanging out with Equinox.
Zanax joins Tully and Occa.
Zanax asks Occa, "What about Stiff or Hardboard?"
Occa shrugs, "Heck if I know."
Zanax sighs, "Any chance you could contact or scry for them?"
Occa says, "I don't think I know Hardboard, but I could probably try to scry Stiff."
Zanax smiles, "Thank you."
Occa says, "Oh, wait, I know Hardboard."
Zanax rolls his eyes a bit, but says nothing.
He casts magic mirror at the next opportunity he has.
Zanax waits patiently for Occa to cast his spell.
"I didn't realize that you got this thing working, Zanax." Equinox says of the Jupiter 2. "Last I remember Tully was trying to find a chicken to test the thing in one way or another. Or was that some other kind of infernal metal contraption?"
Zanax shrugs, "I didn't have anything better to do."
Occa leaves for awhile...then he comes back.
He shrugs and says to Zanax, "No luck finding either of them."
Tully says, "Maybe we three should talk about this space station we found a few light years from here."
Occa says, "Space station?"
Tully and Occa head back into the house...
Zanax shrugs and follows them inside.
Occa finds a quiet place to talk to Tully and Zanax.
Brennon, interested in the conversation up to that point, follows them inside as well...as does Equinox.
Occa turns on Tully and Zanax and says, "Well, what is it?"
Zanax clears his throat, "Well, Tully and I visited this space station about a half-hour away by spaceship. We need some assistance in clearing out the vermin, but don't want to open the station up to everyone just yet. It may be too dangerous and the temptation for abuse is huge."
Occa nods, slightly interested.
Zanax nudges Tully and looks toward his bulging pouches.
Tully pulls out the gems and shows them to Occa.
Occa says, "Let me see one of those."
He examines it.
"It looks perfect. That is very rare. This would be very valuable for spell casting."
He looks at the two. "Did you find these there?"
Zanax shakes his head, "No. Tully had them made. This station can make almost anything..."
Occa says, "Really? Hmm, the possibilities are interesting. So what do you need besides having it cleared out?"
Zanax looks over at the newcomers, as if he hadn't seen them before, and pauses. He then looks back to Occa, "A Wish spell. It seems that the station, Amalda, is sentient and is already degenerating. Additionally, we had thoughts about installing some sort of gate or portal to make transportation easier. It's quite far away."
"Sentient, huh?" wonders Equinox out loud. "Is it a natural being, or some kind of magical or mechanical construct?"
Zanax shrugs, "I think mechanical. They don't believe in magic."
"Wow! A remnant of the Mystiks? You might want to talk to it about the climate change going on. After all, if Ray Jay is right, and the climate is not natural and is controlled instead by machines we are all presently relying on - that aren't working so well anymore - that thing up there have some useful information for us."
He looks at Occa and Zanax.
"I am preparing now to go talk to the Great Druid of Thor on the same issue. It might be good to get both perspectives on it: magical and non."
Zanax looks confused, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Ray Jay recently told us of the history of the Wizards, how they overcame the Mystiks who were the champions of technology," Equinox says with a nod to the spacecraft sitting outside.
"The Wizards were successful, but the Mystiks left certain artifacts behind, including, maybe, some kind of weather machine that controls the climate of this world ensuring that ice ages do not come to cover the planet with glaciers again. Those machines, if they do in fact exist, may be starting to wear out. Ray Jay has asked me to speak with the Great Druid of Thor on this continent to see what he, or, I guess maybe, she, knows about it."
"I am only suggesting that just maybe this sentient thing you found in space - if it is a leftover artifact of the Mystiks - might have some thoughts on whether there are such machines or how to repair them, if that is what we ought to be doing."
Zanax looks curiously at the Equinox, "That seems contradictory. As a druid, wouldn't you want to just get rid of this weather machine and let the planet weather take it's normal course?"
"I don't know that I don't," Equinox admits, "and that will be one of the questions I pose to the Great Druid. There may be much destruction of natural areas should the ice ages be permitted to continue."
Occa says, "I am willing to go, but I need some time to tie up some loose ends. Once that is done, I am happy to go with you. It shouldn't be too long."
He looks over at Tully and says, "Do you need those gems? I could use them."
Tully laughs and says, "I am not going to part with them out of hand. I could trade, though, if you have something worth it."
Occa says, "Let me think on it."
Tully looks over at Zanax and says, "Do you want to see if Ray Jay is interested as well or has some useful information?"
Zanax frowns at Tully, "Firstly, I don't think it's a good idea to be selling those gems, yet. Gems that size are likely to attract unwanted attention. Secondly, I thought we were going to use the gems to hire people to clear out the vermin from the station...not trade for personal gain. Thirdly, I'm sure every archmage is going to be interested in the space station...I'm just concerned that Ray Jay may not have the same motives as us in clear it."
Tully sighs and says, "I am not really worried about attention...I am a bard afterall. We love attention!" He starts to juggle the gems and laughs. "Finally, you didn't want to get anyone to the station except for people we can trust, so that sort of cuts out hiring people, doesn't it?"
Zanax nods, "I mis-spoke. I meant that the gems would be used to provide supplies for those who would clear out the station."
Zanax sighs, "That being said, do you think we need more archmages than Occa?"
Tully shrugs. "I don't know what kind of vermin there was up there. Probably not, though."
Zanax replies, "Then there's little reason to involve Ray Jay. Shall we determine who we need to clear the station?"
Tully says, "That sounds like a plan."
Zanax nods, "Actually, didn't Amalda1 say that if the station were fully operational that they could eliminate the vermin? If that's the case, then maybe all we really need is Occa for now. Then we can figure out the best way to populate the station...and maybe move it nearer to here!"
Tully says, "That is true. However, it wouldn't hurt to have some others there just in case he isn't able to fix it. Actually, if he can't, then we will probably head to a library near the core. Maybe we could find a Nernal there. I think a regular party might be the way to go."
Zanax replies, "Sounds reasonable. Of those at the mansion and not currently involved in an adventure, that leaves Jesse, Darian, Salaam, Lo Wang and Kailar. I don't think Jesse should go, which means that Darian may not be able to go. Salaam and Kailar would be good additions, but I don't know anything about Lo Wang."
Tully says, "I don't know. Think of the medical facilities they have on the station. It might be better for Jesse to be there. That would allow Darian to go. I expect it would be a good break for him."
Zanax shrugs, "Maybe, considering that time seems to flow differently here and on the station. We might only be gone a few days, but that might be a month or more here. Do we think it's safe for her to travel and to be alone at the station while we're clearing the vermin?"
Zanax shrugs again, "Not sure, as I wasn't really keeping track...but we left here on the 8th and it's already the 17th. Now, he trip each way took a half hour and we stayed only 5 nights...so that's 4 days unaccounted for, I think. I was never very good at math..."
Tully says to Zanax, "What do you want to do then while we wait for Occa? We could head back to the station and try to kill some vermin. Of course, that might get us killed. We could just bum around Sandas for a while till he isn't busy. Maybe we should go see if Ray Jay has anything to sell that might be helpful."
Zanax shrugs, "We could buy almost anything, you realize. Of course, I've always wanted to take some time and map the various lands from above, too. Such a map might be useful to many people down here. We may even see some of the armies marching..."
Tully says, "That sounds nice, but we can do it from my flying carpet. I would rather not use the fuel from the Jupiter II unless necessary."
Zanax shrugs, "We can always send Robot to refuel the The Jupiter II."
"We could, but we don't know what is out there or what could come to the base. He is too impressionable."
"Then maybe we should go and find out where he re-fuels..."
Tully adds, "Maybe next time, though, we should bring back a scout ship. We could fly all over the planet once we do that."
Zanax nods, "That's agreeable with me."
You head back out to the Jupiter 2 to talk to the robot.
You find him on the bridge of the ship, polishing his chrome with a rag.
"DOCTOR SMITH, WILL ROBINSON, DON WEST AND JUDY ROBINSON," he says. "ARE YOU READY FOR ANOTHER VOYAGE?"
Tully looks over to Zanax and says, "We have some time to kill before Occa is ready to go. Why don't we do some training for the next few weeks? Robot can teach us how to use the things on this ship."
He turns to the robot and says, "Robot, can you teach us about all the devices on this ship?"
"AFFIRMATIVE. IT SHOULD TAKE SEVERAL YEARS AND AN ENGINEERING DEGREE WOULD HELP."
"Uhh, I'm going to pass on this trip, if you don't mind," Equinox says. "I think I'd better head off to see the Great Druid instead."
"AFFIRMATIVE, JUDY ROBINSON."
"Thanks a lot," Equinox says grumpily to the robot. He stomps away back towards the house. "Stupid machine," he mutters under his breath.
Tully says, "Judy, please ask him about the weather machines. If he happens to have a repair guide, that would be great."
Zanax asks, "Robot, do you know if there is a weather machine on this world?"
"YOUR QUESTION DOES NOT COMPUTE."
Zanax asks, "What doesn't compute? Do weather machines exist?"
Equinox pauses on his way back into Occa's mansion to hear the robot's answer to this question.
"WHAT IS A WEATHER MACHINE?"
"A machine that controls weather, stupid," Equinox mutters under his breath.
Shaking his head, he speaks in a normal voice to the metal man: "Do you know whether a machine exists on this planet that controls the climate and/or the weather?"
"NEGATIVE."
"Robot, can you scan for technology?"
"THE JUPITER 2 IS EQUIPPED WITH THE FINEST SENSORS TO SCAN THE ENTIRE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM."
He turns to Zanax, "Since we have enough for 25 light years and Almada1 is only 5 away, I think we could spend a little time mapping out this world. Robot, how much fuel would it consume to fly around this planet a few times?"
"THE FUEL EXPENDITURE WOULD BE NEGLIGIBLE."
Tully says, "Would you be able to pick up other technology with these elcomoaganataoishism specy scan thing?"
"MAYBE."
"Good enough!" Tully exclaims. "Let's go exploring."
Tully says, "We have a few weeks, Zanax, let's go exploring and mapping then!"
Tully seems eager to hit the road again.
Zanax nods, "Yes. I would like to see this world from above so that I may make a map...unless you already have one."
"I DO NOT HAVE A MAP."
Tully says, "What a second. Robot, how much fuel do we have to play with and still have enough for a trip back to the Almada Space Station?"
"THERE IS SUFFICIENT FUEL FOR FOR TRAVEL OUT TO 25 LIGHT YEARS. THE JUPITER 2 USES AN ISOTOPE OF HYDROGEN FOR FUEL. IT IS READILY AVAILABLE BUT SOMETIMES HAS TO BE REFINED, WHICH CAN BE TIME CONSUMING."
Zanax asks, "What is a light year and how many light years is the Amalda Space Station from here?"
"A LIGHT YEAR IS THE DISTANCE THAT LIGHT TRAVELS IN A YEAR. APPROXIMATELY 5.86596 X 10^12 MILES. ALPHA CENTAURI IS ALMOST 5 LIGHT YEARS AWAY."
Zanax slaps his forehead, "Ah, I forgot. We were going to get one of the scout ships and do that. Maybe we should go back and do that now."
Tully says, "Yes, we could do that. We can train on the way."
Tully and Zanax reenter the Jupiter 2 and the hatch closes behind them.
A few moments later Equinox and Brennon hear a growing whine emanating from the space ship, and they beat a hasty retreat. Soon after that the Jupiter 2 lifts off and heads for Earth orbit.
Tully says, "It is good to be in space again!"
He smiles and says, "Ok, Robot, can you start showing us around this place and how to use some of the more simple things? Might as well make this an educational trip."
"AFFIRMATIVE. I WILL START BY TEACHING YOU HOW TO USE A FLUSH TOILET."
Tully says, "Excellent! I look forward to learning the wonders of this technology."
As the Jupiter 2 climbs out of Earth's atmosphere and then accelerates out of the Sun's gravity well, the robot takes you to the back of the control cabin and demonstrates the plumbing as best he can. He has barely finished showing you how to use the toilet paper dispenser when a chime sounds.