Lost in Space: Galahad

by G. L. Payne GLPAYNE07@GMAIL.COM

(based on the television series "Lost in Space" by Irwin Allen)

Premise: Set in the same time-frame as the original "Lost in Space", this concept concerns the

adventures of the crew of the Jupiter Series colonization ship, "Galahad". Originally intended as

the follow-up launch to the Robinson Expedition in the weeks following the highly publicized

launch of "America's First Family in Space", the Galahad expedition is rush-launched within 72

hours of the loss of the Jupiter II. After the trouble-plagued Gemini 12 program and the

destruction of the experimental Jupiter I with all hands on board (later demonstrated to be the

result of sabotage), Alpha Control was well aware that security of the organization was

thoroughly compromised. It had been a vain hope that the high level of attention and public

scrutiny surrounding the launch of the Robinson Expedition would insulate it against further

sabotage. Following the disaster and undoubtedly facing Congressional Inquiries, hearings,

possible budget cuts and, perhaps even the elimination of the Alpha Centauri Colonization

Program, officials at Alpha Control decided to rename the Jupiter III flight and inaugurate it as a

classified expedition (resulting in the ship being re-christened "Galahad") as soon as the vehicle

could be made launch-ready and the crew assembled. The desire in this effort was two-fold; first

to continue the program before government machinations might cause interruption and, second,

by launching the craft weeks before the scheduled lift-off and without any publicity, it was hoped

the saboteurs could be off-guard and the craft safely away before hostile interests had any chance

to regroup, reorganize and engage in and operations which might harm the effort. The other

main concession was, in view of the role played by the Robinson Expedition's B-9

Environmental Control Robot in the loss of the ship, the Galahad's unit was disassembled and

placed aboard the Galahad in crates.

Characters:

Professor Roy Jackson "Jack" Lockhart: 39 Astrobotanist and Exobiologist. Commander of

the Galahad Expedition, husband of Ellen Lockhart and father of two children, Anthony

Lockhart and Angela Lockhart. A thoughtful but somewhat nervous man. He was comfortable

with the expedition as planned as a colonist for Alpha Prime, but when things go awry, he

privately often feels he's in over his head.

Dr. Ellen Lockhart: 37 Exometeorologist and Doctor of Planetary Body Physics. Wife of Roy

Jackson "Jack" Lockhart and mother of two children, Anthony Lockhart and Angela Lockhart.

She has a rather cold personality and is a much more strict disciplinarian toward the children

than her husband.

Anthony Fremont Lockhart: 14 Son of Jack and Ellen Lockhart. Shy, introverted and

somewhat small and slightly built for his age, his aptitude testing shows him with more potential

than he usually demonstrates. Often self-conscious, he lacks confidence and is something of a

loner. Insists on being called "Anthony". Sister Angela calls him "Tony" for spite. Sometimes,

in moments of closeness, his family members call him "Ant".

Angela Kristen Lockhart: 11 Daughter of Jack and Ellen Lockhart. She is the polar opposite

of her brother--adventurous, a tom-boy, frequently smart-mouthed without being precocious.

She is aggressively bright and her over-confidence tends to make her occasionally

argumentative. She insists on calling Cypher--the Lockhart's B-9 Robot--by the name "Stupid".

She "proves" her point in one demonstration by asking it, "which is better to eat, rocks or

strawberry ice-cream?" Cypher begins to respond that rocks have no nutritional value and she

interrupts, saying, "no, which TASTES better?" When Cypher 's response is, "That does not

compute", she rolls her eyes and says, "see? It's not even smart enough to know you're supposed

to eat ice-cream instead of rocks. STUPID!"

Dr. John Harris, MD: 53 Medical Doctor. Widower, his wife and two children were killed in

an auto accident 12 years earlier. He was a colleague of Dr. Zachary Smith at Alpha Control

Medical, a fact that casts some suspicion on him, though he personally did not consider Smith a

"friend" and often states he was the sort of person whose company you endure. Medical officer

for the expedition and was supposed to be Chief Medical Officer for Alpha Colony. Immensely

intelligent. Because he is still grieving for the loss of his own family, Harris would like to see

the Lockhart's as a surrogate. Somehow the fit just isn't right and he ends up being closest to

Cypher, who he privately sees as his only intellectual equal on the journey.

Capt. Dawn Goddard: 29 United States Space Corp. Pilot of the Galahad. She's a straight-up

hard-core military officer. She was, for a time, engaged in a fairly serious romantic relationship

with Major Don West of the Robinson Expedition. She has mild contempt for Jack Lockhart and

sees him lacking as Commander of the Expedition. She feels he is a "space farmer" and, after

certain events play out, she decides he is either untrustworthy or weak-willed. Anthony rapidly

develops an unrequited crush on her and is subtly and inadvertently influenced by her opinions

regarding his father.

Lt. Mark Ballard: 34 United States Space Corp. Pilot. Dispatched by Alpha Control after the

launch of Galahad to intercept the craft because of fears of sabotage. A man of exceptional

skills, his performance has frequently been compromised due to hyperemotional responses.

Because of this, Ballard was never intended for Deep Space service and was not planned to be

part of crew or expedition to Alpha Centauri. He was considered unsuitable for long-term flight

and was selected to intercept Galahad based on availability and the urgent need for a pilot--any

pilot--capable of performing the mission. Because of certain events occurring, his relationship

with Jack Lockhart is extremely strained.

Cypher: The Lockhart Expedition's B-9 Environmental Control Robot. Disassembled and parts

crated at the time of launch as a result of the damage caused by the same model robot on the

Robinson Expedition. Unlike Will, his counterpart on the Robinson voyage, Anthony Lockhart

is afraid of the robot while his sister, Angela, considers it "Stupid" (the name she uses for it

instead of "Cypher") and a noisy, annoying toy. At least in these early stages, Cypher does not

demonstrate a fraction of the personality of the Robinson Robot and is a rather cold and

intimidating presence--much more "Gort" than "Robby".

Plot Synopsis:

Six weeks after the successful and uneventful rush-launch of the Galahad, the craft is

approximately 16 light-hours from Earth and rapidly increasing velocity in order to reach the

Alpha Centauri system in 5.5 years of flight. On-board, the Lockhart family, Dr. John Harris and

Pilot, Captain Dawn Goddard, are in a state of suspended animation in freezing tubes. The

expedition's B-9 Environmental Control Robot is disassembled and its components crated. All

seems well. It is not.

Alpha Control's in-house security as well as US Law Enforcement and Governmental Agencies

have identified Dr. Zachary Smith as the architect of the sabotage which resulted in the loss of

the Jupiter II, the Robinson Family and Major Don West. What is unknown is whether Smith

was accidentally trapped aboard the Jupiter II at launch or if he intended to stow away, in effect

staging a suicide mission. Troubling intelligence indicates a number of "Aolis Umbra" agents

may have penetrated the inner ranks of Alpha Control and, even though the Galahad is safely

away and nearing the edge of Earth's solar system, the ship and crew may yet be in peril.

Counter espionage measures have determined that the security of the expedition has been

compromised and, though the saboteurs were, in fact, caught off-guard by the premature lift-off

off the vessel, they were still able to lay the groundwork for the destruction of the ship. Amid a

great deal of governmental red-tape, hearings and inquiries following the loss of the Jupiter II

expedition and the hasty launch of Galahad, the Alpha Colonization program is in disarray and

put on indefinite hold. However, extremely compelling evidence demonstrates the Galahad is in

immediate danger. Suspicion is focused on Dr. John Harris, a colleague of Zachary Smith at

Alpha Medical. It remains unknown how he could possibly sabotage or otherwise damage the

vessel as he remains, like the rest of the crew, in a state of suspended animation. Insistent chatter

on spy-networks, however, as well as reports from undercover operatives within Aolis Umbra

repeatedly peg Harris as the agent of destruction on-board and claim time is running short to

prevent the loss of the ship. So seriously are these reports taken that Alpha Control considers

remotely terminating Harris' life-functions by shutting down life-support on his freezing tube.

Enter Lt. Mark Ballard, who volunteers to pilot a specially rigged one-man craft (code-named

"Zorro") in pursuit of the Galahad, where the plan is that he will board the ship, take custody of

Harris and place him into suspended animation in the freezing chamber of the Zorro. Goddard

will assume Harris' place in the freezing tube of the Galahad for the duration of the journey to

Alpha Prime, from where he and Harris (under arrest) will then return to Earth on the first flight

back from the Alpha system. The intention and expectation is that Harris is to remain in

suspended animation until he arrives back on Earth, a time frame of approximately 12 years.

Because the Galahad has been accelerating since lift-off and is approaching light-speed, Ballard's

ship is a high-performance vehicle which has been modified to reach fantastic speeds in order to

allow it to overtake the Galahad, but the strain of which in doing so will render the craft

damaged beyond repair. The chase will take several weeks before Ballad can catch the ship and,

should he fail to do so in time, there will be no way of returning him to Earth and he may remain

decades on the outskirts of the solar system in suspended animation before he is either rescued or

the power fails and he dies in his sleep in the freezing unit. Alpha Control considers this best of

a number of bad options and Ballard sets off in pursuit of the Galahad.

He awakens from his freezing chamber as the Zorro docks with the Galahad. Boarding the ship,

he recovers a laser pistol from the Galahad arsenal and releases Harris from his freezing tube.

Harris is completely confounded by Ballard's appearance and gets no answers from the man as to

why he is there or what his intentions are. Ballard grows increasingly nervous and shows signs

of cracking under some kind of strain he is experiencing. Harris, unsatisfied with Ballard's

responses, decides to radio Alpha Control for instructions even though he knows he is looking at

minimum 32 hour turn-around time before any transmissions can arrive back to him from Earth.

Before he can make the transmission he is stunned to find a huge cache of incoming

transmissions from Alpha Control which name him as a suspected saboteur on the voyage.

Ballard apologizes to him and raises the laser pistol, his intention obviously clear to murder the

man in cold blood.

Ballard breaks down, however--unable to pull the trigger. He lapses into an almost hysterical

state, muttering repeatedly, "I've killed them. I've killed them". Unable to get any more

answers from Ballard and no longer content to wait a day and a half for instructions from Alpha

Control, Harris decides to release the Lockharts and Pilot Dawn Goddard from their freezing

tubes in order to determine the next course of action.

Jack Lockhart orders Goddard to take Ballard into custody and then requests she check the ship

top to bottom for any evidence of tampering or sabotage. He radios Alpha Control for guidance

but faces the same delay as Harris did due to distance. Meanwhile, Ballard has begun to recover

some from his emotional breakdown. He confesses under questioning that he is there on a

mission of sabotage, the victim of blackmail by agents of Aolis Umbra. They have his family, he

states, his wife and children and will kill them if the Galahad is not destroyed or lost like the

Jupiter expedition before a rapidly approaching deadline. Double-agents inside Alpha Control

planted evidence to implicate Dr. Harris in order to set the stage for Ballard getting access to the

Galahad. The saboteurs, he says, were caught off guard by the Galahad's early launch and, while

there was another plan in place, the final details were not yet established sufficiently for it to

have taken full effect. Ballard was supposed to murder Harris (making it impossible for Harris

to deny Ballard's explanations to the Lockharts later). Then, in order to spare his own life as

well as that of the rest of the crew, he was throw the Galahad off course, plunging it on a path

into deep uncharted space, thus preventing the ship and crew from reaching Alpha Prime while

later still being able to blame the sabotage on the doctor. Because of the nuclear engines on the

Jupiter series spacecraft, the vessel might travel light-years and centuries before the crew

emerged from stasis. While Ballard would never see his family again, their lives would be

spared if he performed these actions. At the crucial moment, however, Ballard lost his nerve and

was unable to pull the trigger and kill Harris in cold blood.

Goddard reports to Jack Lockhart there is no apparent damage to the Galahad. All systems are

operational and the ship is on course and schedule, though compensations will have to soon be

programmed for fuel/weight ratio changes due to the presence of Ballard and his ship. She also

reports reviewing transmissions from Alpha Control implicating Harris and finds them quite

damning. Alpha Control is adamant he is a saboteur and she requests to take him into custody as

well until it can be proven otherwise. Showing signs of stress and fatigue, Lockhart is uncertain

how to proceed. It seems unlikely to him that if Ballard and Harris had the same objectives, that

any of the rest of them would have ever left the freezing tubes. He questions Ballard further,

demanding to know his knowledge of other plots or agents threatening the ship with harm.

Ballard admits knowing another plot--the primary plot--was in place and required action by

someone on-board the ship. Who it was or whether it was to be a member of the crew or a stow

away saboteur like Smith is unknown to him. The only other knowledge he has is that the

"action phrase" ordering the saboteur to perform the deed is the phrase, "Alpha Control to

Omega Control." At this point in the discussion, Jack Lockhart is suddenly taken ill and nearly

passes out. Goddard reluctantly allows Harris to check him out but finding nothing obviously

wrong with him, the doctor ascribes the episode to lack of experience with space-flight

conditions and lingering effects from the suspended animation process. With Lockhart ill,

Goddard assumes full command of the Galahad and orders Ballard and Harris under "house-

arrest" and to be confined to quarters below deck until instructions can be provided by Alpha

Control. Ballard and Harris are cooperative and go below to a shared stateroom while Goddard

and Ellen Lockhart begin assembly of the B-9 robot because Goddard has a feeling they might

need its "muscle" before things settle down.

In their shared cabin, Ballard and Harris talk. Harris is uncomfortable being confined with a man

who, just a short time earlier, had intended to kill him. All Ballard can consider is his family.

He's not exactly certain what the time is but he knows that the deadline for completion of his

mission has almost certainly already passed. He tells Harris that he is no longer a threat to

anyone as the hostile agency has no leverage over him without the threat against his wife and

children. At least the Galahad ship and crew are safe, he says, looking for comfort there. They

didn't end up suffering the same horrible fate as the Robinson Family. Hearing the activity on

the lower deck outside the cabin, Harris steps out and suggests it is dangerous and mistake that

Goddard and Ellen Lockhart are assembling the robot. Daughter Angela is also helping but

Anthony wants nothing to do with the machine. Harris argues that the role played by the

Robinson's robot in the loss of that ship is without question. Dawn Goddard says that as Harris

is a suspected saboteur, he is not in a position to give advice. Harris counters that the claims

against him are ridiculous and that none of them would be there to discuss it if he and Ballard

had been working together. In fact, Harris suggest, it might be considered suspicious that

Goddard is in such a hurry to assemble the robot, considering the what happened aboard the

Jupiter II when their B-9 unit was activated. And there is good evidence to suspect at least one

other saboteur was intended to bring harm to the expedition. Outraged, Goddard orders him

back into the cabin under threat of a laser pistol.

Alone on the Flight Deck, awaiting any incoming communications from Alpha Control, Jack

Lockhart's illness seems worse than ever. He appears feverish and nearly delirious. Over and

over, he hears in his head the phrase "Alpha Control to Omega Control" , repeating like a loop.

He seems like a man struggling to wake from a nightmare. He then suddenly slips into a trance-

like state.

Below deck, Anthony is agitated by the arguing between Goddard, Ellen and Harris. He slips

away, climbing the ladder to the flight deck where he finds his father entering the Galahad

through the airlock, having been doing something in Ballard's one-man craft. Jack Lockhart

seems not to recognize him, even when Anthony calls to him. Anthony is disturbed by his

father's lack of response and becomes openly frightened when his father steps out of the armory

with a laser pistol in hand. Moving like a machine, Jack fires the laser at the Galahad's main

controls and series of explosions results. The deck pitches wildly as Jack fires at the astrogator

and alarms are triggered as the vessel begins to careen out of control. Anthony tackles his

father, trying to wrestle the laser pistol away from him but Jack knocks him aside shouting,

"Alpha Control to Omega Control." He is clearly under an external influence.

As the ship tumbles, Goddard, Ballard, Harris and the others arrive from below deck. Just as the

Galahad appears to stabilize, there is a tremendous burst of acceleration, sending everyone

flying. Goddard is able to knock Jack Lockhart down and get the pistol from him while Ballard

tries to take control of the ship at the astrogator. Ballard is puzzled because, while the Galahad

continues to pitch and yaw violently, he is unable to restore control. Goddard turns Jack

Lockhart over to Harris, who restrains him as he struggles weakly. She checks the damaged

main controls and reports that the Galahad's engines are not causing the acceleration. At the

same time, she and Ballard realize it is his solo ship's engines that are causing the rampant

acceleration. She reports also the scanners show those engines are set to overload and will

detonate in seconds with the force of a tremendous nuclear blast, certain to destroy the ship and

kill all hands. Ballard starts for the ship to power it down but Goddard says there is no time.

They are seconds from detonation. She remotely jettisons the Zorro from docking and orders

Ballard to engage the Galahad's hyperdrive system. Ballard starts to argue that they are off

course and Goddard activates the system herself from main control, saying the need only a few

seconds at faster than light speed to avoid the blast. At that instant, the Zorro explodes with the

force of a small nova.

The Galahad clears the detonation but is now travelling at maximum speed without a set course.

When Goddard attempts to disengage the hyperdrive however, the damaged main controls won't

accept the shut down command. The ship continues to accelerate, the engines now in overdrive

and the vehicle completely off course and wildly out of control. Ballard attempts to shut down

the hyperdrive from the astrogator but the damaged mains override and won't accept the

command. The engines, Goddard reports, are headed for an overload that would result in an

explosion making the destruction of Ballard's one-man ship look like a fire-fly next to a

searchlight. Angela suggests shutting down the fusion core that powers the engines. It would

prevent the detonation of the engines and stop the acceleration. But it wouldn't slow the ship--

they need engine control for a braking maneuver to exit the hyperdrive. It would take several

minutes at least to reactivate the fusion core, during which time the Galahad would be travelling

at unimaginable speeds without any established course. By the time the core is back online and

they are able to use the engines to decelerate, the Galahad could be almost anywhere in the

galaxy. Like the Robinsons, they too will be lost in space.

Coming out of his fugue, Jack Lockhart agrees, giving the command to shut down the fusion

core. It really is the only hope. The engines are seconds from destruction. Seeing no

alternative, Goddard does as told. She immediately begins the start up process for the fusion

core, telling Ballard to do something with the controls so they can steer the ship once the engines

are back online.

Hours later, Harris has finished examining Jack Lockhart, confirming that he was apparently the

victim of a Manchurian Candidate style brainwashing. The cue for action was the phrase "Alpha

Control to Omega Control". He was not, in the doctor's opinion, responsible for his actions nor

does it seem likely Ballard had any intention or knowledge of what would happen when the

phrase was used.. Now that the saboteur's objective of the ship being lost has been obtained,

there is likely no more threat from Lockhart. Anthony is still frightened of his father while

Goddard and Ballard have come to something of a truce, a small degree of trust forged between

them during the hyperdrive crisis. They are having no luck at all attempting to learn their

position and Goddard wonders if they are still even in the Milky Way galaxy. The Galahad spent

at least 20 minutes travelling at an unknown velocity many multiples of the speed of light--they

could be almost anywhere in the universe. She also argues that Jack Lockhart should be taken

into custody but Harris points out that any one of them might have been brainwashed--might

STILL be so and just waiting for the appropriate trigger word. Anyway, the goal has been

achieved--the Galahad with all hands on board is Lost in Space and the expedition to Alpha

Centauri compromised. Ellen checks to make certain her husband is physically well but then

retreats from him completely, shutting him out and wanting nothing more to do with him at that

time. Ballard is also cold to Lockhart, now feeling like his own family has doubtless been

sacrificed in vain as the loss of the ship occurred well past the deadline the blackmailers had

given him. Ballard spared Lockhart and his family at the expense of his own, only for the ship to

become lost anyway and at Lockhart's own hands. After a survey of the ship. the conclusion is

that the command and control systems of the Galahad have been severely damaged and, while

the engines and drive are intact, they have no idea at all where in the universe they have been

thrown. As Ballard and Goddard begin to attempt repairs on the Galahad's systems and to

determine their position, Ellen and Harris complete assembly of the B-9 robot in the hope that it

might be able to use its own computers to assist in salvaging the mission. Jack, feeling useless,

broods with guilt regarding the damage he has done to his family and the mission, worrying that

if it happened once, could it happen again?