******
They found a good camping area, well away from the ship in a copse of trees, got their tents set up, and assembled at the hover-cart, which would serve as meeting hall and mess tent until more supplies arrived. Sparrow was waiting, having set up and activated a force shield around the camp area.
It settled itself into one of the seats it had raised from the floor and indicated they should do the same. Rachel had broken out the coffee maker, and the smell of the brewing liquid permeated the air. Maggie was making herbal tea in another pot.
“As you know,” began Sparrow, “I examined the mouse Jade and Tally discovered back at the cottage. I discovered he was not an inhabitant of the Dome at all.”
Jade burst out in surprise, “But where did he come from, then?” She had wondered why the mouse had no bar code, but still…
“He came from out here,” answered Sparrow, quietly.
“How did he get in?” asked Kendis, frowning. He had been the last to arrive at the cart and was perched on a stool-like column between Ro and Jade. Jade was acutely aware of his nearness. Alex was sitting on the other side of Ro in one of the chair-like seats. Dots lounged at Ro’s feet, and Tally was parked next to Jade’s chair.
“We are not sure,” answered Sparrow.
“I thought the Leader said he and his kind had been living in the woods behind the cottage for as long as he could remember,” said Kendis, bewildered.
“And he was correct,” said Sparrow. “He did not know he was any place other than where he had always lived. He had no concept of the Dome wall, he just thought he was a little farther than usual from his home nest. Apparently, his kind has always lived outside the Dome. We speculated that the Dome wall behind the cottage is either permeable to small creatures - at least from the outside - or the ancestors of these were left outside when the Dome formed. Finding those bones helps explain why there are not more of them out here.” He looked longingly at the coffee maker.
Rachel noticed and said, getting up, “I’ll get you a cup, Sparrow.” She added, “Keep talking, I’ve already heard this,” she nodded towards the young people, “they haven’t.” She saw Ro staring too, and grinned. “Ro, I’ll bring you some too. Anyone else? Alex?” He nodded enthusiastically. “Be right back.”
“I’ll go with you,” said Maggie. “Jade, Kendis, I’ll bring the tea.”
Tally got up and followed them over to the table. He would drink his tea there from a saucer. Dots went for a drink of water.
“Well, what was the mouse running from when he went into the cottage to hide?” asked Alex.
Sparrow regarded them silently for a moment. “We do not know what to call it,” it finally said. “From the image in his mind, it appeared to be a kind of large, slug-like creature. We estimated it to be around ten feet long, perhaps six feet wide.
There was a stunned silence.
“W-wha-where’d sucha thin’ come from?” stuttered Ro, white faced. “How come somethin’ like that wuz outchere an’ we din’t know ‘bout it? Ain’t somebody all times watchin’ for movement outchere or somethin’?” Ro’s accent had a tendency to get heavier when she got nervous or upset.
“Yeah,” interjected Jade. “I can kind of see where we could miss something as small as a mouse but we should’ve been able to see something that large.”
They stared at Sparrow, waiting for its answer.
“There are two main reasons we never saw them,” it began. “One, these creatures apparently live in the sea, coming out at night to hunt. Only recently have they become more active, mainly in the early morning and late evening. They were never out when we were observing this area. The other reason is very simple: since we were not aware of their existence, we were not looking for them.”
They digested this information.
Then Kendis asked, “You said “two main reasons”. Is there another, minor one?”
“A very reasonable question, Kendis,” Sparrow noted, with an approving smile. By now, Rachel and Maggie had returned with the drinks, and it took an appreciative sip of coffee from its cup, wondering again how its ancestors had ever managed to get along without it.
“Yes, there is another reason we did not see them. It has to do with their coloring or rather, their lack of coloring. As near as we can see, these creatures seem to be able to blend into the environment, to hide in plain sight as it were. They are either transparent or able to change their coloration to that of the background.”
More info digesting.
“So in other words,” mused Alex, “they could be all around us and we wouldn’t even know it because we can’t see them.”
“Oh, we would know it,” corrected Sparrow. “According to the mouse, we would be able to smell them quite well.”
It did something that only the Elvwists could do: it sent them a mental scent. It was not overpowering but all of them recognized it instantly: an aroma of almonds.
Astonishment flashed across Alex’s face.
“Are these…beings intelligent? Are they, then, the Dome builders?” he asked in wonder. A question that was in all their minds.
Sparrow hesitated. It wanted to ensure they understood exactly what it was about to say.
“No, I do not think these are the Dome builders and I cannot tell at this point if they are intelligent.” It held up its hand to quiet them as they began to protest. “However, I do believe they are connected in some way to the Dome builders.” It sighed as it dropped its hand, “Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to ascertain exactly how.”
Morgan, who had remained silent up to this point, leaned forward and said, softly, “Look, it’s getting late. I propose we all rest and eat. After that, I know everyone is anxious to investigate the ship, so I suggest that we all go aboard rather than leaving it to a few. We can activate the shield around the campsite to keep any intruders out while we’re gone. I’m not saying we should get in there and stay all night, just that we go look around for, say, a couple of hours, then leave. We can go back tomorrow and make a more thorough inspection.”
He gave a crooked smile. “I would suggest we wait until tomorrow before going in, but I, for one, don’t want to wait. It’s been over two thousand years since we were banned, as it were, from going aboard. I don’t think we should wait another day!”
No one gave him an argument.