Supernal

Chapter 40

2:00 pm Sunday, 15th July 2029

Crew Room on the OCF

The last couple of days had been the happiest of Toby's life. While Summers and Rob had continued with the routine work needed to keep the OCF operating smoothly, he and Jayal had been free to do whatever they pleased.

They had spent much of the time just talking and making plans for a future together.

Toby had told Jayal about his childhood, growing up as an only child in the lowlands of Scotland and then going to university in the city of Edinburgh.

The memories of his parent's pride, when he had been awarded his PhD and was able to put 'Dr' in front of his name, made Toby tear up. His father had worked in a shipyard all his life and his son's academic success had been his greatest wish.

Toby told her how he'd been devastated when both his parents died in 2020, during the first coronavirus pandemic. They had been in their sixties and particularly susceptible.

He briefly mentioned his first marriage to a woman who was deeply religious. How, when he had first mentioned his theories about intelligent design, she had been horrified. She'd been furious that he would try to prove there was no God and it had soured their relationship. When he'd dared to publish his paper and it was ridiculed she couldn't bear the shame. In the end, he had agreed to a divorce, signed their home over to her, and had gone island hopping in the Hebrides until he found his derelict cottage on Oronsay.

#

Once Jayal knew his life story and he felt they had no secrets they devoted the rest of the time to enjoying one another's company.

They spent hours flying in the weightless main assembly bay. Jayal had performed elegant aerial acrobatics and then giggled helplessly as Toby tried to copy her.

Toby had challenged her to a race in the OCF's exercise room and it had been Toby's turn to gloat as she tried to match his speed and endurance on a running machine.

They had explored parts of the accommodation module Toby hadn't known existed and had found a small cinema with a collection of digitized movies. The designers of the OCF had thought a lot about the welfare of the engineers who would be living in space for long periods of time.

Jayal had been fascinated by the older movies. She cried all through the classic romances and was delighted by the Disney animations. She had told Toby she wanted to watch every movie ever made when they got to Oronsay, and then watch them again in case she'd missed anything.

Toby laughed and told her that would probably take about a hundred years. Jayal had shrugged and said they had a hundred years. Toby asked her if she was serious. He had never broached the subject of the Manitan lifespan in case Jayal said something frighteningly short. He knew she was thirty-five but, for all he knew, the Manitan might only live to fifty. He had no idea how being born in low gravity affected longevity.

"One hundred and fifty years is quite normal for a Manitan," she announced in a matter-of-fact voice. "A few live to two hundred but that's exceptional."

Toby didn't know whether to feel happy or sad. He had to admit to Jayal that he would be lucky to live to ninety.

"That gives us the next fifty years together," she said philosophically. "That is a long time."

"But you'll be left alone on a strange planet," he pointed out.

"Don't worry," she smiled reassuringly. "I'll only be eighty-five. I'll soon find myself a new man!"

And Toby hadn't been convinced she was joking.

#

It had been agreed that Jayal, Charlie and Toby would go to the blimp to wait for the communication from the courier. If Velan had been telling the truth about the journey time, it should arrive in Caranal in the next few hours. Summers wanted confirmation as soon as possible.

Charlie wanted to take the opportunity to do some more star gazing from the flight deck and had asked to accompany them. She knew she would never have another chance to study the solar system at such close quarters.

Before they left, Summers told Jayal that they should take anything that hadn't originated on Earth and leave it on the blimp. No evidence of the Manitan's visit was to be left on the OCF, or on their person. That included Jayal's tunic and other clothing.

The two women went off to find something for Jayal to wear and came back thirty minutes later with Jayal's Manitan clothing wrapped up in a bundle. Nothing of Charlie's would fit Jayal, but Aliya's spare sweat suits were still in her cabin and had fitted okay, if a little short in the leg.

"What do you think?" Jayal asked Toby.

He considered her carefully. She looked about fifteen.

"I'll just have to tell everyone you're my daughter," he concluded.

#

When the pod compartment on the blimp had pressurized Jayal asked them to wait a moment while she checked for pathogens. She unclipped the handheld detector, partly opened the circular hatch between the front seats of the pod, and stuck her arm through.

"It's safe," she announced but kept the detector switched on all the way to the flight deck. She switched on the viewscreen and Charlie immediately began to edge slowly around the deck, taking in the view from every angle.

Jayal checked the communicator in case the Atikas had sent any messages. There were none. She came and sat in the seat next to Toby, then watched Charlie who was muttering the names of stars and planets to herself.

"We might be here for a few hours," Toby sighed after looking at the panorama for half an hour. "Can you think of anything useful we could be doing?"

Jayal raised an eyebrow.

"How about a shower?" she suggested.

#

When they returned an hour later Charlie said she hadn't even realized they'd been away. Toby was sure she was telling the truth. It wasn't like Charlie to be discreet about his and Jayal's relationship. She had encouraged it from the beginning.

He had brought one of the pagers with him from the OCF. It was out of range but still showed the time on its tiny screen. He glanced at it impatiently. It was almost 6 pm. He urged Jayal to check the communicator again and she told him to relax. If a photon packet arrived a green light would blink on and stay on for a short time.

Toby asked Jayal what time of day it would be in Caranal and she concentrated on working it out.

"Right now, it's late evening. It's summer at Caranal and the days are long so it will just be getting dark."

"Damn, that means they might not open the containers until tomorrow morning."

"No, it's perfect. The Atikas are nocturnal. They'll be at their most active in the next few hours."

Just as Jayal finished speaking, a green light appeared on the communication panel and they looked at each other triumphantly.

"Looks like we're in business," Toby said.