Shadow
May 7 2004, 05:40 AM
The drones look like the were simply vaporized by something. No burn marks, or blast damage is visible.
Morgannah
May 7 2004, 08:23 AM
Whisper blinks again. As she was rolling to one side she chanced to catch a glimpse of something. It was odd for her to squint though she did out of sheer reflex as she zoomed in on a .. building.
"C-Can anyone else have a look at this? It looks as though it may be a temple, over a kilometer and a half that way ... with a c-crystal embedded in its roof."
A small hand pointed in the direction of the phenomenon as she clearly wanted to be certain she was seeing things correctly.
Moonstone Spider
May 7 2004, 11:03 AM
Torque turns to see where Whisper is pointing and zooms in to take a better look.
kevyn668
May 7 2004, 05:04 PM
Chase readjusts the goggles on his face. "CLear," he calls out.
"James, I can't be sure but it looks like there's been some activity around here lately. No sign of them now but someone was here. Probably the same someone that did in the spider drones."
A Clockwork Lime
May 7 2004, 05:08 PM
Cosmo just stared at James for a few beats.
"Oh my stars and garters, what is with that guy?" the Mad Hatter cried out in the deep, dark recesses of Cosmo's shattered mind. "Wait, wait... I completely understand now. All that magic down in Amazonia was the direct result of the deforestation needed to cram that much wood up this guy's ass. It all makes perfect sense now..."
"Like, stop it man... he just seems like he's, yanno, scared and maybe just a li'l bit uptight. He only needs to get laid or have someone hug him or sumfin' and I bet he'd be just peachy."
"Humbug. He's an uptight jackass who needs to be knocked down a few notches. First the whole 'Oh look at me, I'm placing a mine in my locker to show how much I distrust all of you! Nevermind that any one of you could kill me in my sleep since we're going to be working in close quarters for a long period of time! Ooooh!' And then the whol..."
Cosmo interupted his persona with a surprising burst of confidence and clarity rarely seen in the dwarf's dominant personality. "I said stop it." The Mad Hatter was momentarily stunned by the authority of the dwarf's words. "We, like, have stuff to do and your babblin' ain't helpin' or nuffin'."
"Well! I never..."
When first Os and then Ran knocked him out of his reverie, Cosmo just mumbled a "yeah, whatever, man" in James' general direction while hopping off his skyboard. "All right, lemme go look the thingamabob o'er and I'll letcha know."
He waddled over to the DHD. It was incredibly dusty but a few swipes of an old rag cleared most of that right up. He looked to be tapping a few crystals or something on the device, several of which lit up in response to his manipulations.
"Yeah, it's, like, what I thought, man. Everything looks like it's in pretty good shape and its fully charged. We just gotta find a workin' address and stuff and we shouldn't have no problem gettin' back."
Cosmo powered the DHD back down and maneuvered back over to his skyboard just in time to hear Whisper performed her namesake about the temple she found. He looked up and followed her point towards the building the distance and zoomed in with his own enhanced peepers. Not satisfied, he jacked into the BigKahuna and used its onboard sensors to see what they were picking up as well.
crechebaby
May 7 2004, 05:44 PM
Ran uses the binoculars at her chest to zoom in on the glinting mystery in the distance.
"Any idea how long it's gonna take, Cos?" Ran asked the little dwarf, not taking her eyes off the target. "If we're here for very much longer, I'd say this bears investigation."
Shadow
May 7 2004, 05:51 PM
For those with vision magnification:
It looks like a ziggurat made of clay and stone. Adorning the top, where the four corners meet, is an immense crystal that is reflecting light in all directions.
The heat from the desert flows in waves that seem to crash upon you every few seconds. You have no idea how hot it is, but it is certainly hotter than Seattle has ever been, and easily above ninety.
Snoopy starts to pant and slowly waddles his way over to the tree, seeking shade.
A Clockwork Lime
May 7 2004, 05:51 PM
"Uhh, considering we need to find somethin' that has an address written on it," he pauses for a moment to point to the rune-covered gate and DHD, "with symbols like those, I'm guessing that it'll, yanno, take 'bout as much time as that. Maybe a few ticks more."
He looked over at the smashed spider drones. "Maybe you guys can, like, go see if you can find somethin' o'er there while I see what I can salvage from these things? If they were, uh, programmed to record stuff and send the data through in bursts, maybe they recorded whatever it was that totally fried them."
Leowulf
May 7 2004, 08:01 PM
Ghost Dragon smiles to himself. He takes a look at Snoopy before returning his vision to the physical realm.
The gaiasphere flows so cleanly. It is practically untouched. I must be one of the only awakened creatures on this entire planet!
His smile disappears.
I wonder how that happened. It could be that magic is simply in a state of hibernation as it had been on Earth until only recently. Wait. That does not make sense either because I can assense.
Ghost Dragon chimes into the conversation, "We should check the structure for some sort of written record of addresses. Since it is the nearest building to the gate, it will probably be related to its use. A guard post perhaps. Anyone insides of it may be hostile toward us."
Looking at the drones, he continues, "We should be careful. Scouting the building before we approach it would be a good idea."
He takes a moment to see if he can use magic.
The lowest force.. I need to test the waters..
He concentrates and casts a spell of improved invisibility on himself.
Moonstone Spider
May 7 2004, 09:04 PM
Torque: "I'm seeing the same thing you are, Whisper. A pyramid, stair-stepped. I'm trying to remember if I've ever seen anything like that before.
"You can get heatstroke in this weather pretty easily. Everybody should remember to drink, it's surprisingly easy to die of thirst with water still in your canteen in this kind of weather. We should set up shelters right away, if just for the shade, I think. I'll do that now unless there's a need for my skills elsewhere. Ghost Dragon, how does the manasphere around here work? Can you summon a watcher spirit to scout the Pyramid before we go in ourselves?"
Morgannah
May 7 2004, 10:13 PM
Nodding slowly as Torque mentions setting up shelters, she turns yet again to the drones and begins dragging their remains a fair distance from the gate.
*subvocalizing* "I can help you once I've finished figuring out what happened here, if Mr Cosmo would be good enough to see if any of their recordings can be salvaged.... Oh, and use the subvocal microphones; save your saliva if at all possible."
Without another word, Whisper crouches down beside one of the drones and regards it carefully.
kevyn668
May 7 2004, 10:48 PM
Chase starts appling the sunscreen to the visible portions of his skin.
"Hey Os, wanna take a walk? You and me can secure a small perimeter while these guys get the base camp set up. From there we can regroup and check out the pyramid."
He sets the inertial compass to recognise the Gate as "home" [or noth, or whatever] and starts looking for the best direction to begin the recon.
Morgannah
May 7 2004, 11:30 PM
Whisper smiles rather broadly and rises, brushing the fine white sand from her knees.
"No one 'got' the drones. They were too close to the gate when it opened."
In spite of the fact that she was subvocalizing her tone was clearly satisfied. She grinned at Chase, hefted a shelter and whatever waterbags were lying around and began looking for an ideal spot for a base camp.
BGMFH
May 8 2004, 12:20 AM
James now speaks only on radio. "Okay, everyone. I see the big Mayan Pyramid. I want you all on Radio comms. Ran, can I get you on patrol with me? Ghost Dragon, would you please assist as well? I would like a perimeter established, while everyone else sets up the base camp. We don't know who may be listening, but hopefully they don't have our radio frequency under surveillance."
James then discards his trenchcoat, laying the water bags and shelter from his back on it, and weighting the sides with the two duffels.
"Ready to go?" Some may notice that James' never seems to be subvocalizing on the radio, indeed only the lack of mouth movement betrays the fact that he is not talking aloud.
kevyn668
May 8 2004, 01:14 AM
Chase makes a *what the frag?* face when James countermands him buts shrugs it off and goes to help set up the camp.
Typical brass "yours-not-question-why"-bulldrek...We do the diggin' and he's off in east bumble-frag clockin' the elf chica...Just typical. He's nuttin' like Hammer.
He sighs then focuses on the here and now, sliding the HK on its sling until it rests at the small of his back.
"Nice call, Whisp."
BGMFH
May 8 2004, 01:26 AM
Without checking whether anyone follows his orders, James starts moving out. He starts with the trail he has noticed, jogging down it looking for any signs of recent passage.
As he runs, he calls out, "After you have the shelters set up, someone please figure out whether any of these dunes are solid enough to dig out and half bury a shelter in the side. I've done the job before, but I dont know how to check the dunes... Get back to me on that ASAP. I've found a trail, checking now to see who or what made it."
kevyn668
May 8 2004, 01:33 AM
I knew it. Its always digging.
A Clockwork Lime
May 8 2004, 01:35 AM
While everyone is busy doing their thing, Cosmo just plops down in the sand like the veteran beachcomber he is. With his skyboard hovering overhead and providing shade, he begins tinkering with the spider drones to see what he can do with them.
crechebaby
May 8 2004, 02:04 AM
Ran falls in step beside James and starts speaking low enough that her voice only reaches his ears.
"James, I'm sure you're a decent guy..."
She pauses.
"Scratch that. From what I've seen, you're a total jackass. But in our positions, we need to be able to trust each other, and I don't trust you. That means when the drek hits the fan, you're the only one who's going to be safe. I don't know how we're going to solve that, but the team will run much more smoothly under your direction if you treat them with some respect."
Morgannah
May 8 2004, 02:11 AM
Whisper winks quickly at Chase and promptly turns beet red.
Indicating an ideal spot just under 50 meters from the Stargate, she pulls the rest of their gear onto her back and slowly begins to set up their base camp.
*subvocalizing* "Cosmo, there's a self-inflating cushion in your survival kit .. you might be better off sitting on that then on the hot sand."
*softly to Chase, Torque, and Os* "It might be best to take it easy so long as we're under the sun, gentlemen. Save our sweat, as it were."
kevyn668
May 8 2004, 02:18 AM
[subvoc]"Roger that. Maybe we should follow snoopy's lead and grab some shade."[/subvoc]
Chase slips out of pack as he walks over to Whisper's posistion and looks up at the sun, "Do you think the days are the same here?"
BGMFH
May 8 2004, 02:29 AM
James talks without looking behind himself.
"Ran, I'm ex-military. Do you know who these people are? I don't. I don't even know who you are. Don't expect me to trust any of you farther than I can throw you, but I will haul everyone one of you back through that gate, even if it means spending a day or two chucking your corpses through one at a time. I leave no man behind. Keep that in mind please."
Tziluthi
May 8 2004, 02:34 AM
Os unfolds a floppy, broad-brimmed hat and puts it on.
"Yeah, Chase, I'll take you up on that offer," Os says. "You good to go now?"
Morgannah
May 8 2004, 02:35 AM
Shrugging lightly, she wrestles one of the shelters from its travel bag and works at setting the poles, obviously not in too much of a rush.
"Once we get these shelters up we'll have all the sh-shade we need .. it will help keep the water reasonably c-cool a-as well."
Glancing skywards, Whisper shrugs again. "I suppose we'll find out, hmm?"
A Clockwork Lime
May 8 2004, 03:39 AM
| QUOTE (Whisper) |
| *subvocalizing* "Cosmo, there's a self-inflating cushion in your survival kit .. you might be better off sitting on that then on the hot sand." |
The Mad Hatter responds via their transducer. The voice is identical to Cosmo's, but his syntax is completely different. "So kind of you to think of my comfort, ma cherie, but I'm quite comfortable here in the sand. It brings back memories of days bygone, it does.
"Out of curiosity, and if you don't mind my asking, but why are you all so concerned about our supplies? We easily have enough for a week, and with regular contact with our fine sponsors at Gates Technology, extra supplies will be nary a problem. So very curious."
All the while, Cosmo looks like his full attention is on the little drones he's working on as is made abundantly clear by the tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth as he concentrates.
Leowulf
May 8 2004, 03:59 AM
Ghost Dragon follows behind Ran and James, still invisible. He speaks on his radio, "I am with you, though invisible."
Following the conversation between Ran and James, Ghost Dragon says into his subvocal microphone, "You each annoy me, though I am pleased by your lack of squeamishness. I will not take sides in this debate. All I will say is that we were hired to work as a team because of our special talents. Whether we like one another is irrelevant. The sooner we finish the job we were sent here to do, the sooner we get paid.
"I recommend sending a watcher spirit in for an initial reconnaissance. I can summon a weak one easily. The mana flow here is remarkable. Pristine even. I doubt that anyone who might be inside the structure will even be aware of a spirit travelling inside. Such a pristine mana flow suggests little to no awakened life forms present here. The watcher can give us an idea of what to expect before we enter. We may also wish to go to radio silence aside from essential chatter."
Tziluthi
May 8 2004, 04:02 AM
Picking up on Cosmo's reply via the radio, Os says, "And how, exactly, are we going to contact them, what with our current inability to open the gate back to Earth? If they happen to open the gate here, then we have ten seconds to rattle off a list and a 24 hour wait before they can send the supplies over. At least. It's probably better to err on the side of caution."
Morgannah
May 8 2004, 04:46 AM
Whisper smirks.
"S-Sitting on hot sand makes you more prone to heat stroke, C-Cosmo."
A Clockwork Lime
May 8 2004, 04:58 AM
| QUOTE (Os) |
| "And how, exactly, are we going to contact them, what with our current inability to open the gate back to Earth? If they happen to open the gate here, then we have ten seconds to rattle off a list and a 24 hour wait before they can send the supplies over. At least. It's probably better to err on the side of caution." |
The cool fans of Cosmo's skyboard were billowing across the dwarf's dark skin, causing his light sweat to vaporize only to leave him nice and cool in the shade. When Os replied on the radio, he showed absolutely no reaction throughout the following response. Indeed, his focus appeared to be completely on the drones he was tinkering with.
"Mustard? Mustard?! Don't let's be silly! Come, let's gather around the hearth and have a good look at our situation. Here we are, a handful of brave adventurers flung from the cool embrace of Orion's arm only to land in this burning sea of silicate and death. But hark! What's this? Could it be?! Do our dashing heroes have a magical looking glass at their disposal? Oh my stars and garters, it appears they do! And what's that? Could the cruel, uncaring slavedrivers who banished these tin gods from their home turn out to be the very antithesis of their undeserved label? Could they... no... there's no way they planned to open the looking glass on a daily basis in order to keep apprised of the perilous odyssey they had sent their stalwart legionaires on, nor would they even contemplate the idea of making sure these valiant, gallant heroes of theirs had all the supplies they needed in order for them to succeed at their quest. No! The chances of that are simply astronomical, they are..."
There was a slight pause, almost as if he were trying to catch his breath.
"But on second thought," the digitized voice continued, "my watch always seems to be off by two days and seven nights, so what do I know? Please, feel free to indulge in this fetish for frugality with my most sincere of blessings. I'll be more than happy to accompany you as soon as I finish with these little sundries. But for now," there was another pause as he shifted to a bad W.C. Fields impersonation, "get away from me kids, you're botherin' me..."
Oddly enough, that little harangue of his was accompanied in the middle by a mellow vocalization of "darn robots" from Cosmo himself as he wiggled his butt to get more comfortable in the sand, all without interupting the aforementioned reply. He did pause to check his wristwatch in time with the speech, however, which only seemed to verify the authenticity of the message.
crechebaby
May 8 2004, 06:17 AM
Ran behaves as though Ghost Dragon hadn't spoken a word.
"Hey, I'm just telling you how it is," Ran murmurs to James, her voice still low. "You can be a one man band if you like, or you can be a leader and take advantage of the very skilled group that's been brought together, for better or worse."
With that, Ran lets a few paces grow between her and James, although she doesn't drop any further back.
A Clockwork Lime
May 8 2004, 07:37 AM
After about fifteen minutes of tinkering, Cosmo's more familiar voice breaks the eerie silence that had fallen on the airwaves.
"Whoaaa. Whisper, it looks like you called it, man. These things were totally nailed by the gate. 'Least that's what this video feed sorta looks like. I'll see what else I can, yanno, recover."
kevyn668
May 8 2004, 07:57 AM
The dwarf may become a liability...
Chase turns off the mic and walks over to Os, "We've been rasigned. Grab a shovel." He turns the mic back on.
With that, Chase goes to work assisting Wisper with the shelter. "I didn't get a chance to answer you earlier--when you asked what we do," he says between [whatever steps are involved in setting up a shelter in the desert on a distant planet]. "I'm pretty much just a soldier, but 'running pays better. If ya know what I mean." Chase shurgs and gives her a sheepish grin, "I don't know how else to put it." He goes back to working for a few minutes.
"Hey Cosmo," Chase says between breaths. "What kinda chips did you get from Alex?" He rests his hands on his knees and takes another breath, "I got a knowsoft link, maybe I can lend a hand, so to speak."
Morgannah
May 8 2004, 08:44 AM
Smiling bemusedly, Whisper subvocalizes to Cosmo.
"Both drones were in the exact same place when I landed on them and had similar 'injuries,' if you will. I examined the surface of the 'injury' and found trace amounts of the elements I picked up travelling through the gate. Since both were the same distance from the initial opening of the gate, before it pulled back to fit its 'frame,' I surmised that ...." She trails off and just shakes her head. "Let us know if you find anything interesting on that feed, all right?"
Offering a shy smile of her own to Chase she nods before focusing back on her work. "I know what you mean."
Moonstone Spider
May 8 2004, 11:48 AM
Largely ignoring most of the radio traffic around him, Torque finishes erecting his first Shelter and stashes most of his water in it, having grown tired of lugging the extra weight around. He also tosses in his riot shield and medkit, of the opinion they won'tbe needed in the immediate future.
Hey, great military thinking. Leave the Medic behind, and if you happen to get shot, hope you survive a couple of clicks of hiking back to him. Oh well, if I don't get shot at, all the better for me.
Torque moves over towards where Whisper is working to see if she needs any help setting up the remaining tents.
Tziluthi
May 8 2004, 12:21 PM
Good one: leaving the only two riflemen back in camp. He'd better not piss anyone off out there.
Os begrudgingly sets himself to digging shelters.
I hope Jimmy-boy doesn't make a habit of this.
Leowulf
May 9 2004, 01:11 AM
Ghost Dragon remains quiet for the rest of the hike. He pockets his gloves and opens up his survival kit, fishes out the sunblock, and begins applying it to himself. He has to guess how much he puts into his hand by touch, but putting it onto his exposed skin, which is only his face really, is much like putting it on without a mirror. After putting on a coat of sunblock, Ghost Dragon puts the tube away and wipes his hands off with some sand before putting back on his gloves.
He follows Ran and James the whole time, not speaking to them and just maintaining his invisibility spell as he observes the world around him with astral vision.
Idiots!
kevyn668
May 10 2004, 04:23 AM
Chase finishes up his work and takes a sip from the mouthpiece that conects via tube the Camelpak strapped to his back. He wipes the sweat from his brow and turns off the mic.
"Hey Os," he nods toward the pyramid, "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Chase smiles.
Tziluthi
May 10 2004, 04:52 AM
Os reaches around to the back of his waist and switches off his radio.
"Probably not, mate. But I might be inclined to take a, um," Os pauses as he considers his words and a grin forms on his mouth, "a short stroll, if somebody'll come along with me."
kevyn668
May 10 2004, 04:57 AM
"I could use some air," Chase shurgs. "Torque, you in?"
Moonstone Spider
May 10 2004, 11:29 AM
Torque raises an eyebrow at Chase and Os.
Torque: "They do say exercise is good for the mind and body. But on the other hand I rather feel a need to make sure our way home is guarded."
Torque mops the sweat off his face.
Torque: "This is a lousy place to visit, I'd hate to live here."
Morgannah
May 10 2004, 01:23 PM
Whisper tilts her head to one side and steps beneath the shelter she'd finally finished setting, smiling lightly as she crouches low to pull up the sides and wrestle with the ties for a few moments. That being done, she pulls the considerable amount of gear she was carrying inside, whistles for their canine companion, and locates her small cooking pot. A small amount of water from her canteen is poured into the lid and left out for Snoopy.
Shadow
May 10 2004, 04:15 PM
The sensors in the fabric of Whispers shelter detect that it is inhabited and the internal cooling system kicks in. Within moments the air inside the shelter is ten degrees cooler.
@ James, Ran, GD.
After twenty minutes of walking the temple doesn't look that much closer. It is close enough to see the outline with the naked eye though. Range finding equipment pegs it at three kilometers.
A Clockwork Lime
May 10 2004, 05:04 PM
After a few more minutes of fidgeting around with the drones, Cosmo gets to his feet and dusts his shorts off. His transduced voice filters through the radio, and it appears to be back to his usual syntax.
"There's, like, no signs of intelligent life for at least several dozen kilometers around here, and that pyramid thingie's about as dead as they come. Just a lotta sand and a lotta light, man."
He continues on a bit while finally starting to unpack his skyboard and set up his own little hut. Some oldies from the early 30's starts filtering through the speakers as he works. At one point he seems to remember something and goes on for a good five minutes about a monitor-like lizard one of the drones picked up.
After he's done, including offering help for anyone else who needs it, he breaks out a burrito and sips on one of the super-chilly Gatorade packs he put in his mini-fridge in order to celebrate his astonishing accomplishment of menial labor.
While enjoying his snack, he spots a couple of people heading towards the pyramids even though they still have a lot of ground to cover. His digital voice, which could make Stephen Wright sound like a neurotic, wafts across the airwaves once more. "Uhm, like, you guys know I could be there and back in no time, right? Sensors ain't pickin' up nuffin', not even any signs of an EM signature from it. I could prolly go up high enough to get a better view of our terrain, too, like, if you want me to or whatever. I dunno, man. Nevermind, I'll just be over here and stuff... yeah."
Shadow
May 10 2004, 05:12 PM
@ Whisper,
The beagel suddenly appear at your side and makes its way inside your shelter. Once there it sighs audibly and collapses on the floor. Basking in the shade and cool temperature.
BGMFH
May 10 2004, 10:26 PM
Eventually James stops jogging.
"Okay everybody. We're a good click out, no sign of large animal life on this trail. Looks like it leads toward the pyramid though. We're coming back as soon as Ghost Dragon does what he needs to recon that pyramid. How are things back at base camp?"
A Clockwork Lime
May 10 2004, 10:55 PM
Cosmo just kind of stared as he heard James' response on the radio. A mental click turns his transducer off as he just mutters something incoherent under his breath, but it's bleedingly obvious as to whom its directed at by everyone nearby.
Moonstone Spider
May 10 2004, 11:18 PM
Torque switches his radio on and transmits back to James.
Torque: "Things are just great, we've got a few tents up, Cosmo's finished with the drones and. . . well. . . presumably somebody will start working on decoding the gate eventually I guess. Cosmo says the Pyramid is devoid of life and the only animal that's been around in days is a big lizard. Oh, Ghost Dragon, I was thinking, if the mana here's as pure as all that maybe you can find some good telesma. I understand they are found in areas free of pollution."
A Clockwork Lime
May 10 2004, 11:26 PM
"Dude, there's, like, nothing to decode at the moment. Unless you want me to just, yanno, start dialing random addresses and hope we nail one home. With thirty-nine runes and seven, uh, pointy things, that shouldn't take long. Let's see, assuming one address per minute, that'll only take..." he pauses to count on his fingers and toes "...give or take 147,488.43698630 and some-odd years of constant dialin'. So, uh, yeah... we totally need to find one of these alien creator guys' little black books or sumfin' to decode, man."
There was another beat.
"Aww wait, man, I left out a leap year." And with a sigh, he returned to counting on his fingers and toes...
kevyn668
May 11 2004, 03:40 AM
"Cos, see if you get a recon of the area. Don't bother with the pyramid--el capitane will have us march on that soon, no doubt. See what you can do about finding some other signs of civilization around here. Maybe in a 5 klick radius?," Chase smiles. "Ya know, a StufferShack or something. See if you can keep the hoverboard clear of the others. So ka?"
He turns the mic back on, "James, Chase. Sir, base camp is operational. We were unable to perform the 'dune digger' manuver you spoke of as we lack the neccessary equipment and knowledge. I suspect an ultrasound scanner would have done the trick. I have already noted that one should be requisitioned for the next sortie. Out."
He turns the mic off and looks to Os. "Nah, forget it. We'll rely on Cosmo for now. The last thing I want is to have a 'managment dispute' with the Master right now. We'll pick our battles."
He looks up at the clear sky and wipes the sweat from his brow for the ump-teenth time.
"Hmm. Cos, Wisp: the labcoats said something about the runes--or whatever--on the gate corisponding to star constilations. Do you guys think you'll have a better idea of the dial home digits after you get a look at the stars tonight?"
Tziluthi
May 11 2004, 05:54 AM
Well, the "CO" -the inverted commas are vivid in Os' mind- might be a simp, but at least everyone else here seems alright. He looks at the dwarf. More or less.
His mind rolls through the things that he has witnessed since taking up this job: the nervous, stuttering demolitions expert, the elf running around with a katana, and the requests for dikoted what was it, arrowheads? and APDS ammo.
Er, well, at least they haven't caused any sort of trouble.