Supernal

Chapter 22

"That," Rob said emphatically, "definitely creeps me out."

#

The sight that greeted Toby in the main assembly bay made him laugh out loud.

Six figures drifted slowly in line abreast towards him. It reminded him of a Peter Pan cartoon he had seen as a child.

Mutu was nearest the sidewall where he could pull on the grab handles if necessary. Then came Sasha, Charlie and Aliya, and then Jayal with Sara at the end.

As they drew closer he could see the expressions on the children's faces. Sasha was grinning broadly while Aliya looked unconcerned and relaxed. Sara was the only one who seemed unsure of this new experience and she clung to Jayal with both hands.

Jayal hauled Sara in the direction of the sidewall and her momentum pulled all the others into a loop until they slowly reached the grab handles.

"Phew!" Charlie exclaimed to Jayal. "That's harder work than it looks. Now that Toby's here, I need a break. I'll leave you youngsters to it."

Toby immediately found he had a problem. He couldn't put the neurological case down without it floating away.

"This is impossible," he complained.

"You need something to stick it to the floor," Jayal suggested.

"Ah! Good idea. I know just the thing!" Toby said. "I'll be back in five minutes."

#

A few minutes later he was back with a roll of Velcro tape and some scissors. He'd already stuck pieces on the case and on the soles of his shoes. He tramped across the bay and attached his case to the floor.

"Ta-da!" he sang with a flourish.

Jayal and Mutu both stared at him as if he'd lost his marbles.

"Okay, I guess you guys don't know that one."

"Cut some lengths for me to stick on our bottoms so we can sit down," Jayal instructed.

Toby handed her pieces of Velcro and she pressed them onto each child's rear in turn, then did the same to Mutu without a hint of embarrassment.

"Your turn," Jayal told Toby. "Turn around."

"Oh! Okay. Nothing like getting hands-on is there?"

"You're not shy, are you Toby? Mutu can do it if you prefer?"

"Go ahead."

Jayal gently smoothed the tape onto Toby's behind.

"Why, Toby, your ears have turned red!" she said, unashamedly giving him a final pat. "Whatever is the matter?"

"Nothing," Toby croaked.

"Good. Now it's your turn to do me!"

Jayal turned around as Tony cut some more tape.

I'm going to enjoy this," he whispered as he began to press the Velcro firmly onto her shapely rear.

"I'm glad to hear it," she whispered back.

#

Jayal got everyone sitting in a circle on the floor and asked Toby for one of the head caps. She tried to put it on Sara but she struggled and kept moving her head away. Jayal said something in Spanish but Sara shook her head. She held out the cap towards Aliya who said "no" firmly.

Sasha accepted the head cap without a fuss and Jayal praised him warmly in Russian. Toby got the notebook connected, saw a window open on the screen and some wavy green lines appear.

"It's working," he confirmed. "I'll start recording the data."

"Mutu, could you take Sasha flying?" Jayal asked.

As soon as Mutu took Sasha's hand the boy stood up eagerly. He would have shot up to the ceiling if Mutu hadn't held on to him. Mutu pushed off and they both floated away. Toby watched the wavy lines on the screen change to jagged peaks and troughs. It was obvious even to him that Sasha was thrilled by the sensation of flying. As Mutu drifted further away Toby took his chance to speak privately with Jayal.

"I can see you love children," he said quietly. "Do you want children of your own?"

"Yes, but not on Vitu," she answered.

"Why ever not?"

"On Vitu, children are sometimes taken away from their parents. I couldn't bear that."

"Who takes them?"

Jayal glanced around to make sure Mutu was out of earshot.

"The Atikas."

"What do they want with children?"

"The intelligence units need constant renewal. They last for several years but the Atikas need a regular supply of donors to replace them."

"But Velan told us they only used deceased people ... old people?"

They both saw that Mutu and Sasha were on their way back and Jayal leant close to him.

"As I said before," she whispered. "You should not believe everything Velan tells you."