Fierce, Swift and I pace through the portal into the compounds. Digger-packs have installed a permanent, shored, tunnel through the barrier, so we can bring tools in, and finds out. No-dog challenges us. We are known as well as rapidly rising. We were all notched after The Cleansing. We were first to cross the barriers and we ensured that World and Soil were free of the alien menace. Many a dog wants to be close to us. We are still closed-eyed pups to high-notches making the decisions, but even grizzled dogs whose ears are in tatters sniff us, as subtly as they can. We will be the next generation of high-notches, maybe even Pack Guider^. Plus, we are an integrated pack and some dogs have not yet achieved this, with many scraps breaking out between Rises and Sets over provision and den-sites.
Our attack-pack is now 12 littersworth^ and we have been offered our choice of dogs recently of Service-age. Every-dog wants to be part of what we do next. We have selected some to replace those who Walked at The Cleansing. But when we den, the three of us pack-bonded notch-mates are all that matters. We are not ready to let more join our bond. We should expand our pack-bond soon, let in some new recruits.
We are guiding the search and clearance of the insect compound. Pack-mates are smelling for signs of the buzzers in the wider compound then disposing of leftover pests if found and taking their bodies for disposal (there was suggestion of using them as provision but I would not feed alien-flesh to a deserting Set – they are cast into the big-saltwater – they cannot poison Soil or Their pups). Meanwhile, we and three littersworth of our pack, are serving with scientists in the giant, unnaturally regular structure they left behind. Like humans, they place their dwellings on Soil rather than digging, as Soil taught us. Fierce and Swift and I enter the hexagonal chamber we use as an entrance. I am still blown down by how quickly they made this huge, interlocking den. They brought technologies with them. We are trying to make them serve us. There are very few that we can operate as they would.
( Pack should have kept a littersful alive to show us how they function. If they made this in 10 days, then all these tools must be full of power. ) Fierce mutters in the pack-bond. I feel the jar of questioning decisions made by dogs with more insight and wisdom than we. We consider aliens being left alive and share a shiver.
( We could not let those things touch World and Soil for one more moment! World was dirty and now we can shake them off like fleas, ) I burst out to shake off the feeling of pollution ( even if their flea-dirt does look tantalisingly useful. )
( If we had, just one alive, then we could clear out of this place and let Soil take it, we end up here day after day because we don’t know how any of it operates! ) Swift and Fierce seem closer bonded to each other even than the pack-bond we all share. They share a real horror of this place. I don’t like the eerie, sweet structure and their fear trickles down our pack-bond and makes it harder to tolerate. But, I am still eager to find out how we fight these monsters from the sky. There is something in what they left that will allow us to defend against further attack. We spend enough time now, in the company of high-notched dogs (who are all certain there will be more; that the ‘overseers’ will keep sending them until we are defeated) to know how important it is to understand their technology.
We are going through the individual den-chambers, digging through wax walls, looking for anything they thought important enough to bring with them. We have found caches of tools all over the network of waxy chambers. When we find a new cache, we scent-mark the chamber and move onto the next. Scientists follow behind us investigating what we find.
We are striding to where we left off yesterday. We pass small clusters of scientists investigating and scent-recording the chambers. As we get near to where we will begin another day of digging Fierce and Swift, as one dog, both stop and sniff. I smell it with my own nostrils as the thought comes streaming down the pack-bond –
( Carelessness!^ ) Dogs in the next chamber are not exuding the concentration and focus we have smelled from every other chamber. But there is some delicious, unknown scent. We run together to them.
“What are ye doing in here?”
“Why are ye not focused?” I stand silently as my bond-mates interrogate the wayward scientists.
The two young scientists jump up; they didn’t even smell us coming. They were definitely not focused on the research they are here to conduct.
“Sorry, Notch. We found this,” says the gangly young scientist, showing us some horrifying device releasing a completely irresistible scent, “We investigated it and, then…” He drops his ears and tail and sinks to his belly. Fierce does not let him slink away,
“Then, what? We must know, what you did next.”
“We tasted it,” says the other scientist, tail and head held high in defiance, “It is delicious, and… it makes you feel nice…. Pack. I don’t apologise. There is nothing here we can use, buzzer-tech needs 6 legs to operate! This is the first thing we could actually interact with and it gives a bit of pleasure.” She is a Set and she is looking to Fierce, ignoring Swift and me. Fierce lunges forward and pins the scientist down onto her belly.
“You are young,” she growls, “you will never get to be old if you behave so intensely stupidly. Species were only allowed to take limited items. So what do you think they brought with them? Might it be weapons? Might it be poisonous? Might it be some kind of chemical compound^ that will, in tiny amounts, cause your fur to fall out and your bones to wither?”
“You are both fools,” Swift joins in with the disciplining, “just because something smells delicious, does not mean it is good to eat! Pups in creche know that! Have ye never smelled bitter berries? If you listen to your nose they need to be eaten, but if you do, most dogs are lucky if they die in the first week. Are ye not scientists? Aren’t ye worried about finding out how to defend Pack against buzzers?” One scientist goes belly-down and accepts the reprimand, the other is silent for a heartbeat, then she explodes with rage,
“What are you doing? You are a strong Set dog, why are you with these Rise mongrels? You let them talk for you when they are typical Rises, all brawn, no thought? Do you let this Rise runt-maker mount you? Are you a pervert?” The defiant scientist howls at Fierce. She is wild-eyed, panicking. Swift and I stalk out of the chamber without audible communication with Fierce. We hear the screaming and howling of the scientist, continuing to snap insults at us all. Through the pack-bond, we taste the blood in Fierce’s mouth. And we think the words she speaks to this insolent apprentice-researcher. She then grabs the not-for-Pack by her mane and drags her to the entrance, where a pack-mate can take her to Field-HQ. The high-notches there will decide what is best for Pack. We share the sadness of knowing she will probably be cast out. She will be without-Pack.
Swift and I ask the remaining scientist a series of questions to try and find out if this was the result of them eating this thick paste or if she was already a puff-ball waiting to throw spores of rage into the air. It seems, she was dissatisfied having to serve with a Rise. Many dogs are still not open to integration. She is called Wilful Set, which suggests she was exceptionally so, from before her eyes opened; no whelper or pack would be pleased to call a pup Wilful. Scrawny Rise, is willing to help us and stay nearby so we can monitor any further effects of eating the paste. He only licked a small amount where Wilful Set took a large bite so it is difficult to tell if he didn’t consume enough paste to be not-for-Pack or if she was just an angry pup who couldn’t control herself.
When Fierce catches up with us she scents sad. The three of us draw together and groom briefly while I feel Scrawny Rise trying to not observe this moment of pack-closeness.
Once we had settled ourselves, we scent-marked danger loudly around the entrance of the chamber then set off to take Scrawny Rise and the paste to Field-HQ, 2.5days^ away. Fierce had already set up a security detail to guard the entrance. The scientists have been evacuated until we know what kind of danger this is. I remember thinking humans had Wilderness gas during The Cleansing. We have no idea what these animals brought with them. We are bringing the warped container in a cache pouch, still exuding mellifluous^ paste. Scrawny Rise picked it up, so we did not get contaminated. No-dog comes within a dogslength of our small pack. Many dogs heard Wilful Set’s screaming and can smell blood and fear on us. We let the fear-scent spread so our pack-mates know the seriousness of the situation. Maybe it will cover the trail of compelling siren-scent we leave as we go.