"We'll divide up based on who does and doesn't know how to pilot a shuttle. There are vehicles parked out back for us, or will be momentarily. I ordered them brought around before I came in here. Fei, you're with Ardiente. Ghalen, Elektra is with you. Jeran, you'll take Etain. Alev, you're with me."
Fei may have to find a way to communicate faster with his new colleagues, if the drills they just went through were any indication. The measured cadence of his speech comes across as a bit...ponderous, perhaps. (^-^)
The young monk committed his simulator schedule to memory, making sure that he has nothing on the books after sundown.
He was about to query his neural lace for any results on the scans being run in Assembly 1 when James entered the room with news of a kidnapping, and the resulting buzz of activity afterward.
"James - if I may have a moment to center myself, I may be able to locate Raelle without spreading ourselves too thin in such a wide search."
"Alright, Fei. Do what you need to. I'll do whatever it takes to find my sister," he said, firmly. "Whatever help or suggestions any of you have, I'm willing to try just about anything."
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"Just a moment, if you could stick around for me to cast a couple spells, I know a bit of divination that whatever scrying specialist her father chose is unlikely to actually cast." He whistles a mournful bird song and birds flock to him as he channels the magical powers of nature through him self in the form of the spells commune with birds and commune with nature, asking the land and sky itself for details on the attack
Hallways
Andromeda holsters her pistols. "Alright, guys, joke's over. Move along," she said, lightly shaking the shoulder of the staring kid. She's worried that he hasn't snapped out of it already, but she stays upwardly calm. No need to escalate the situation.
Shaking the kid nearly immediately makes Andromeda entirely too aware of all her emotions over charged at once.
The second bully that's still there snorts and starts walking off, "Whatever-- this is boring." Either completely stupid or fearless, Darwin will get him one day, perhaps.
The focused kid doesn't seem to 'snap' out of things, he's locked onto looking towards Tryko'Sam without stopping. Perhaps a quick subdue will do, he hasn't blinked since this started either and his breathing is getting labored. He's thankfully not drooling, nor passing out anytime soon.
Tryko'Sam is standing up slowly, quietly, but doesn't 'look' around yet, looking healthy, as always.
The young monk nods, then closes his eyes. He pulls up maps of the surrounding area via his lace, then shuts out the rest of the room as he centers himself.
Fei casts his Champion senses out across the area, seeking out Raelle's unique 'light' of courage...
During the initial training, Ardiente tries to reign in the sarcasm and tomfoolery of his fellow firebirds. He knows that a lot of it is nerves and coping, but he does his best to remind them to be as professional as possible.
He doesn't mind his nickname of 'Scorch' finding it fitting. Could have been far worse in his mind.
And then Jiminiy interrupts them with news that his girlfriend has apparently been kidnapped. It takes him several long moments to process that as he tries to keep himself from exploding.
"Kidnapped? By who? For what? Are you sure she's alive?" He rapid fire asks Jiminiy.
Stands up, almost at attention as soon as Jiminy goes into the impromptu briefing. He listens, then nods. "Alright 'Spitfire', let's go", he says to Elektra. As they walk the glammer on his armor shifts to reveal his combat armor, which can double as a flight suit for him.
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Hallways
Andromeda holsters her pistols. "Alright, guys, joke's over. Move along," she said, lightly shaking the shoulder of the staring kid. She's worried that he hasn't snapped out of it already, but she stays upwardly calm. No need to escalate the situation.Shaking the kid nearly immediately makes Andromeda entirely too aware of all her emotions over charged at once.
The second bully that's still there snorts and starts walking off, "Whatever-- this is boring." Either completely stupid or fearless, Darwin will get him one day, perhaps.
The focused kid doesn't seem to 'snap' out of things, he's locked onto looking towards Tryko'Sam without stopping. Perhaps a quick subdue will do, he hasn't blinked since this started either and his breathing is getting labored. He's thankfully not drooling, nor passing out anytime soon.
Tryko'Sam is standing up slowly, quietly, but doesn't 'look' around yet, looking healthy, as always.
"Hey," Andromeda called after the departing kid. "Go get Miss Jones. I think your friend accidentally got into more than he could handle here. He's stuck."
She puts the kid into a 'Moment of Pause' to try and break the connection.
During the initial training, Ardiente tries to reign in the sarcasm and tomfoolery of his fellow firebirds. He knows that a lot of it is nerves and coping, but he does his best to remind them to be as professional as possible.
He doesn't mind his nickname of 'Scorch' finding it fitting. Could have been far worse in his mind.
And then Jiminiy interrupts them with news that his girlfriend has apparently been kidnapped. It takes him several long moments to process that as he tries to keep himself from exploding.
"Kidnapped? By who? For what? Are you sure she's alive?" He rapid fire asks Jiminiy.
"We don't know who has her. But yes, she is definitely alive. Grandma saw that much," he said quickly as they walked towards the shuttles.
"Weird stuff. Looks like we are in the right place." Vickory wanders around the point as her most recently modified flying ball warbles gently.
Stands up, almost at attention as soon as Jiminy goes into the impromptu briefing. He listens, then nods. "Alright 'Spitfire', let's go", he says to Elektra. As they walk the glammer on his armor shifts to reveal his combat armor, which can double as a flight suit for him.
"Nice threads. Obviously whatever unit you used to be part of had better fashion sense than ours ever did," she joked, half-heartedly.
Fei can feel Raelle's courage signature, but it is scattered, as if an image were being bounced among mirrors. But he is quite certain that it is west of his current location.
Fei's eyes open, and he rises from his seat...to an empty room. (^-^)
Patching into the communications system to update everyone who has left, he lets them know his findings.
"She is west of here. But she is either being magically moved between multiple locations, being held by another Champion who is interfering with my abilities...or something more powerful. I cannot pinpoint her location more precisely than that, and that has never occurred before."
"When Ephebe was kidnapped the first time, she was nearly impossible to locate because she was being kept in some kind of pocket dimension. Point being that Champion abilities aren't foolproof. But at least we know more than we did," Jiminy said over the radio.
"Control to Sunbeam, did you hear all that? Concentrate your search west of the factory, over."
"Do you want the rest of us to wait on Sunbeam, or converge on his location?"
"Everyone should head west as well. Same basic plan, but now we have a lot less ground to cover."
"Understood - heading to the hangar now."
Fei races for the hangar to catch up with Ardiente and the other teams.
Stands up, almost at attention as soon as Jiminy goes into the impromptu briefing. He listens, then nods. "Alright 'Spitfire', let's go", he says to Elektra. As they walk the glammer on his armor shifts to reveal his combat armor, which can double as a flight suit for him."Nice threads. Obviously whatever unit you used to be part of had better fashion sense than ours ever did," she joked, half-heartedly.
He laughs "If anything, the Empire is well-funded..." as they climb aboard, he sits in the pilot's seat and gets ready to leave. He hears the radio chatter, and responds: "Copy that, headed west."
When he has clearance, and Elektra is strapped in, they'll lift off.
"Control to Sunbeam, did you hear all that? Concentrate your search west of the factory, over."
"Copy that, control. Altering course."
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Lucas thanks the birds and the will of nature in the area, He turns back to raelle's fruend... Mor... Something "well I can confirm that the the attackers were firebirds, one small child and a group of guardsman five total. They used deception and numbers to drug her unconscious before teleporting away, and they don't know where."
"Weird stuff. Looks like we are in the right place." Vickory wanders around the point as her most recently modified flying ball warbles gently.
"Oh, thank goodness, you're here," she said staggering up, leaning on a pole with an IV bag hanging from it. She looks very pale and a beleaguered nurse is dogging along behind her trying to convince her to go back to bed. "Place the device. And don't forget to put up the shields."
Stands up, almost at attention as soon as Jiminy goes into the impromptu briefing. He listens, then nods. "Alright 'Spitfire', let's go", he says to Elektra. As they walk the glammer on his armor shifts to reveal his combat armor, which can double as a flight suit for him."Nice threads. Obviously whatever unit you used to be part of had better fashion sense than ours ever did," she joked, half-heartedly.He laughs "If anything, the Empire is well-funded..." as they climb aboard, he sits in the pilot's seat and gets ready to leave. He hears the radio chatter, and responds: "Copy that, headed west."
When he has clearance, and Elektra is strapped in, they'll lift off.
"Guess I better get used to flying from the inside of a machine," she said, looking around the cockpit with interest as they took off. "Only my second time in one of these, and the first time I wasn't allowed near the controls."
"Just as an educated guess, what do you think our chances of finding her are?"
Lucas thanks the birds and the will of nature in the area, He turns back to raelle's fruend... Mor... Something "well I can confirm that the the attackers were firebirds, one small child and a group of guardsman five total. They used deception and numbers to drug her unconscious before teleporting away, and they don't know where."
"We need to tell her family that. It might help them locate her sooner. You can fly a lot faster than I can run. You should go," she urged.
"Do we need to go over a checklist? Was there supposed to be a checklist. I've never actually seen the checklist. I've never seen the cockpit of a shuttle before. I was shoved way at the back when we came down from the sun. Am I supposed to be doing something?"
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Jeran sighed. He was starting to understand the call sign. Etain was pretty, but not really so bright. "Just get buckled in, and leave the driving to me this time. Also, if you must engage in nervous talking, please allow occasional pauses so I can hear the radio," he said dryly.
Stands up, almost at attention as soon as Jiminy goes into the impromptu briefing. He listens, then nods. "Alright 'Spitfire', let's go", he says to Elektra. As they walk the glammer on his armor shifts to reveal his combat armor, which can double as a flight suit for him."Nice threads. Obviously whatever unit you used to be part of had better fashion sense than ours ever did," she joked, half-heartedly.He laughs "If anything, the Empire is well-funded..." as they climb aboard, he sits in the pilot's seat and gets ready to leave. He hears the radio chatter, and responds: "Copy that, headed west."
When he has clearance, and Elektra is strapped in, they'll lift off."Guess I better get used to flying from the inside of a machine," she said, looking around the cockpit with interest as they took off. "Only my second time in one of these, and the first time I wasn't allowed near the controls."
"Just as an educated guess, what do you think our chances of finding her are?"
"Pretty good, actually. We have some pretty good tech and aerial surveillance. She'd have to be hidden pretty deep under ground to avoid detection. I think her captors are either too used to having the aerial advantage, or kidnappings aren't a thing they normally do, and didn't think about it over much. Finding her won't be the problem; the extraction will."
"Pretty good, actually. We have some pretty good tech and aerial surveillance. She'd have to be hidden pretty deep under ground to avoid detection. I think her captors are either too used to having the aerial advantage, or kidnappings aren't a thing they normally do, and didn't think about it over much. Finding her won't be the problem; the extraction will."Stands up, almost at attention as soon as Jiminy goes into the impromptu briefing. He listens, then nods. "Alright 'Spitfire', let's go", he says to Elektra. As they walk the glammer on his armor shifts to reveal his combat armor, which can double as a flight suit for him."Nice threads. Obviously whatever unit you used to be part of had better fashion sense than ours ever did," she joked, half-heartedly.He laughs "If anything, the Empire is well-funded..." as they climb aboard, he sits in the pilot's seat and gets ready to leave. He hears the radio chatter, and responds: "Copy that, headed west."
When he has clearance, and Elektra is strapped in, they'll lift off."Guess I better get used to flying from the inside of a machine," she said, looking around the cockpit with interest as they took off. "Only my second time in one of these, and the first time I wasn't allowed near the controls."
"Just as an educated guess, what do you think our chances of finding her are?"
Elektra looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, probably. This is normally where I would make a smart-alec remark about hoping you were fireproof, but the thing is that I have information that I think might be important. At least it's probably important if she was taken by firebirds. And I can't think of why anyone else would take her. But I'm kinda hoping I'm wrong. Anyhow, the thing is that the noble houses...all of their servants and guards have these marks tattooed on their arms that can be used to compel obedience. That's common knowledge. But the thing is, that some of the noble houses, not all of them mind you, but some of them...there's another level of mark. It doesn't just compel obedience. It basically totally removes any free will. It's not widely known. I don't think even Ardiente knows about it. But the del Sols use it. Their most trusted guards all have it. That's the other half of the reason why we ran when we had the chance. We three were due for the upgrade and didn't want it. I don't know if it can be reversed. But I thought it might be important information to have, knowing that we might have to fight people who aren't actually in control of their actions," she said glumly.
He nods. "Yes, I'm immune to fire, and that compulsion bit is unfortunate. I often worry about such countermeasures with the Empire, to be honest."
"Weird stuff. Looks like we are in the right place." Vickory wanders around the point as her most recently modified flying ball warbles gently."Oh, thank goodness, you're here," she said staggering up, leaning on a pole with an IV bag hanging from it. She looks very pale and a beleaguered nurse is dogging along behind her trying to convince her to go back to bed. "Place the device. And don't forget to put up the shields."
"What shields? How would they help?" Vickory seems more perplexed by what she said than by the her state of appearance, then again, maybe she just doesn't recognize the signs of a human needing bed rest.
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Lucas thanks the birds and the will of nature in the area, He turns back to raelle's fruend... Mor... Something "well I can confirm that the the attackers were firebirds, one small child and a group of guardsman five total. They used deception and numbers to drug her unconscious before teleporting away, and they don't know where.""We need to tell her family that. It might help them locate her sooner. You can fly a lot faster than I can run. You should go," she urged.
Lucas frowns. "very well" he says ater a short pause "but I recommend you get something to eat, maybe go find Igni and tell him what all we know, perhaps he will have guesses as to where a group of guards could have taken them, or perhaps just find some of your other friends and do homework. something to occupy you while you wait" he says to her before taking off to where Sorchan went.
Hallways
"Hey," Andromeda called after the departing kid. "Go get Miss Jones. I think your friend accidentally got into more than he could handle here. He's stuck."
She puts the kid into a 'Moment of Pause' to try and break the connection.
Andromeda's request for help gets her a rude hand gesture just prior to hear moving up, and easily touching the fellow with the intense gaze. No brainer there, as he's too focused or committed to this act to actually dodge, or much else.
On continued contact, the sheer intensity of his powers only grew stronger, but it was resisted before -- so she can sustain her intentions further, but prolonged exposure would only add to the effect. Thankfully, however...
Time envelops the youth, and puts all things around him on HOLD. He, of course, senses no difference in perception, or intent, but, even his mental abilities do not transcend the temporal existence most beings are limited too.
In that space of six second, the connection clearly severs between nameless psionic and Tryko'Sam, who glances back towards him with a snarl on his features- holding back any raging emotions within, just barely.
"Cogito." he intones, and then suddenly drops from view-- through the floor. No hint of magic, a gate of sorts beneath him, the blue sky and clouds visible in the brief instant that it's open before shutting as silently as it opened.
Within that instant, there's some kind of 'presence', perhaps an after effect of his means of travel which Andromeda feels the oddest impression of being 'perceived', or 'considered', yet just as quickly as it grazes her senses, it's gone. An intelligence, most certainly, and given her heightened sense of focused emotion from the now-frozen youth, a keenness to disgust, standing out more than anything else.
Then the 'Moment of Pause' ends, and the third boy blinks as he snaps out of where he is, looking up at the pretty girl who's actually touching his arm. He flusters for a moment and stammers, a combination of manga like 'near nose bleed' shock and attraction, then years of fear from being touched due to his abilities, combining into him pulling away and really not saying anything intelligent. His efforts to correct his embarrassment fails, perhaps that's why he's in the school; learning to be a confident young adult.
The hallway remains quiet otherwise.
He nods. "Yes, I'm immune to fire, and that compulsion bit is unfortunate. I often worry about such countermeasures with the Empire, to be honest."
"Are you telling me that the Empire mind controls its troops?" she asked, looking a little ill. "That's..." she struggled for words. "My dad is one of the controlled guardsmen. It was bad enough thinking that we might be facing off with those. Even if it's from another house, it's almost impossible not to think of that, because they don't have a choice in what they do anymore. But if you're talking on a larger scale...I'm not sure I can do this," she said, turning her face away.
"What shields? How would they help?" Vickory seems more perplexed by what she said than by the her state of appearance, then again, maybe she just doesn't recognize the signs of a human needing bed rest."Weird stuff. Looks like we are in the right place." Vickory wanders around the point as her most recently modified flying ball warbles gently."Oh, thank goodness, you're here," she said staggering up, leaning on a pole with an IV bag hanging from it. She looks very pale and a beleaguered nurse is dogging along behind her trying to convince her to go back to bed. "Place the device. And don't forget to put up the shields."
Aananda gives the nurse a glare, like see? this is why I need to be here. "Andromeda gave you a box. There are a series of little tripods inside. Set them around the area where you're placing the device. They'll shield the rest of the infirmary from any excess radiation. Not sure why my daughter had them in her pocket, but that's not currently pertinent to what's going on."
Lucas frowns. "very well" he says ater a short pause "but I recommend you get something to eat, maybe go find Igni and tell him what all we know, perhaps he will have guesses as to where a group of guards could have taken them, or perhaps just find some of your other friends and do homework. something to occupy you while you wait" he says to her before taking off to where Sorchan went.Lucas thanks the birds and the will of nature in the area, He turns back to raelle's fruend... Mor... Something "well I can confirm that the the attackers were firebirds, one small child and a group of guardsman five total. They used deception and numbers to drug her unconscious before teleporting away, and they don't know where.""We need to tell her family that. It might help them locate her sooner. You can fly a lot faster than I can run. You should go," she urged.
"My friends are either confined to the infirmary or dead," she said glumly after he left, walking back towards the school. "Or kidnapped. Because we needed more problems right now."
"Even if I believed that," she said, hands on hips, "which I totally don't, that is just...That's the story you decided to go with? I mean if you're gonna be crazy at least do better than that. Hi, I used to be your great-great-grandfather...wanna be friends? Creepy."Lang gives a little laugh, well to some, I guess I could be, but no. I guess I should explain. You see, I am a reincarnation of Voltair, the firebird that created the sun. Which is also one of Ignace's ancestors.Phaedra gave him a disdainful look. "Is that what you and Ignace had a fight about? Because you're totally insane?"Phaedra fidgeted after they left. "Something bad happened," she said, biting her lip nervously, forgetting in her anxiety that she was supposed to be ignoring Lang because he wasn't a firebird. "I know that look. My mom had that expression right before she told us that we had to leave home forever."Lang greets Ephebe with a bow, good to see you again. but he leaves her to have her word with Ignace.
As they start to leave, goodbye Ignace, I hope to see you again.
turning to Phaedra, I do hope everything will be alright. I remember I tried to at first stop the destruction of the sun. I took a trip there with Ignace and that was when I discovered how I helped in its creation. he says, forgetting that Phaedra has no idea about Lang's reincarnation thing.
Lang ponders what she said, you know I never thought of that, I guess it does sound kind of creepy. I'm sorry for that.
after a bit of a pause, look, I may not be firebird, and I really do understand your general attitude. my people used to be very much the same way. But I discovered that reaching out to others can prove to be much more rewarding. maybe we can start over and I am willing to try and be friends if you are.
Hallways
"Hey," Andromeda called after the departing kid. "Go get Miss Jones. I think your friend accidentally got into more than he could handle here. He's stuck."
She puts the kid into a 'Moment of Pause' to try and break the connection.
Andromeda's request for help gets her a rude hand gesture just prior to hear moving up, and easily touching the fellow with the intense gaze. No brainer there, as he's too focused or committed to this act to actually dodge, or much else.
** spoiler omitted **...
Andromeda reaches out and grabs the now very embarrassed boy by the wrist and starts dragging him along. "Okay, first things first, I'm taking you to Miss Jones to get checked out. What were you thinking? You don't go messing with someone's head without permission. First off, it's wrong, and second, around here you never know what you're going to find. Seriously, you're going to get yourself seriously hurt. Or worse. There is literally no universe in which that was a good idea. And I would know. So we're just going to make sure that you don't end up suffering any long-term side effects. And then I'm gonna go find Tryko'Sam and try to convince him to come back for the same reason. There's lots of people here who have been through some really traumatic experiences, you know. Making them feel worse to make yourself feel better is just....ugh. It's awful, okay? I don't know who convinced you that it was a good idea, but they have really, really, very poor judgment. Don't listen to them anymore," she lectured as she pulled him along, stopping to pound on Miss Jones's door.
Lang ponders what she said, you know I never thought of that, I guess it does sound kind of creepy. I'm sorry for that.
after a bit of a pause, look, I may not be firebird, and I really do understand your general attitude. my people used to be very much the same way. But I discovered that reaching out to others can prove to be much more rewarding. maybe we can start over and I am willing to try and be friends if you are.
Phaedra crossed her arms. "I already have a friend. Sort of. Well, someone to spend time with. It's not like things like friendship are important," she said haughtily, no doubt echoing some of the more twisted views she had been taught.
Hallways-- Dragging Yout's
While the youth is haplessly dragged along by the humanoid dragon teen, he blurts out, "I'm -- sorry! I didn't mean anything, I was just doing what Alty said I should. He's one of my only friends... please! Don't get me in trouble," he pleads/wails.
After some more dragging and lecturing, he blurts out, "You look awesome when you're angry- all kinds of colors and sounds. It's too bad you're married and a teacher." Clearly he mistakes her for the sister look alike. He tries to flash her a grin.
Hallways-- Dragging Yout's
While the youth is haplessly dragged along by the humanoid dragon teen, he blurts out, "I'm -- sorry! I didn't mean anything, I was just doing what Alty said I should. He's one of my only friends... please! Don't get me in trouble," he pleads/wails.
After some more dragging and lecturing, he blurts out, "You look awesome when you're angry- all kinds of colors and sounds. It's too bad you're married and a teacher." Clearly he mistakes her for the sister look alike. He tries to flash her a grin.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're thinking of my sister. Ephebe. I know we look identical, but we're not the same person. I'm Andromeda. And I'm not doing this to get you in trouble. Well, you'll probably get detention. Miss Jones is pretty strict. But that's nothing compared to what she'll do to you if you let something fester and she has to clean up a bigger problem later. There's something not right in Tryko'Sam's head and you need to have Miss Jones look at you in case it messed you up too."
"Are you telling me that the Empire mind controls its troops?" she asked, looking a little ill. "That's..." she struggled for words. "My dad is one of the controlled guardsmen. It was bad enough thinking that we might be facing off with those. Even if it's from another house, it's almost impossible not to think of that, because they don't have a choice in what they do anymore. But if you're talking on a larger scale...I'm not sure I can do this," she said, turning her face away.
"Brainwashed would probably be closer to what I'm saying, instead of magical compulsion. I'm not 100% sure, but I plan on having myself checked out by a psion, because I would not put it past them. Last thing we need when fighting the Empire is having me go rogue in a 'mech."
He pauses with a glance in her direction"I understand your trepidation. I've come to love some of the people here, and would not want to wake up from the nightmare of being responsible for any of their deaths." He manages to maintain his cool and confident visage, but she can still tell this is something that worries him.
"Are you telling me that the Empire mind controls its troops?" she asked, looking a little ill. "That's..." she struggled for words. "My dad is one of the controlled guardsmen. It was bad enough thinking that we might be facing off with those. Even if it's from another house, it's almost impossible not to think of that, because they don't have a choice in what they do anymore. But if you're talking on a larger scale...I'm not sure I can do this," she said, turning her face away."Brainwashed would probably be closer to what I'm saying, instead of magical compulsion. I'm not 100% sure, but I plan on having myself checked out by a psion, because I would not put it past them. Last thing we need when fighting the Empire is having me go rogue in a 'mech."
He pauses with a glance in her direction
"I understand your trepidation. I've come to love some of the people here, and would not want to wake up from the nightmare of being responsible for any of their deaths." He manages to maintain his cool and confident visage, but she can still tell this is something that worries him.
She hastily wipes her eyes on her sleeve. "Yeah, that would be a nightmare," she agreed with a sniffle. "Sorry for getting all emotional. It's obviously a sore subject for me. One I'm gonna have to come to terms with it seems. And don't you dare tell the boys I got all emotional," she said. "They'll never let me live it down. It's hard enough keeping them in line as it is."
"I noticed the mother hen treatment. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. If we're to be comrades at arms, we need to trust each other without hesitation." he checks the instruments and confirms something before nodding. "Looks like we're close to where Sunbeam started his reconnoiter, heading due West. Call it in, please."
"TacNet err....I mean....control?" she said, trying to remember the radio protocols she'd only seen once. "This is Spitfire and Grunt. Heading due west, just passed point zero, and awaiting further instructions."