Howard stepped out of the shadows. The tactical ghille being a near perfect tool in this environment. Fronds of ferns and bits of grass and other fauna hung upon it. He literally looked like a walking bush as he reappeared in the compound. He calmed stepped up into the evac vehicle, as if nothing mattered. A job well done after all. He let his carbine swing, the muzzle pointed towards the floor of Osprey. He smiled broadly, "I left quite a few squads out there. Natures way will take it's course." He sighed and leaned back, relaxing, intending to catch a little shut eye before they had to board the C17 home.

[i]A few days later, back on Bouvet Island[/i]

Howard carefully stalked the ice shelves of the island. There wasn't alot of wildlife on the islands, some penguins, seals and ocean birds for the most part. He had a rifle on hand, but it wasn't loaded with rounds of any kind. They were non-lethal tracer rounds. A good way to practice was to take these rounds, and take shots at penguins and seals that were unmarked and untagged by ecologists. Performing a sneak up on a pod of seals or a colony of penguins, without letting them know you're there really helped the skills. Animals being more observant then humans by a long shot. It was here, when he was observing some penguins that he spotted an Osprey, heading towards home base. He quirked an eyebrow, whispering very quietly, "New blood? Or is one of our current group moving on I wonder..." He shrugged and turned back to the penguins, he brought the unscoped, Mauser M98 hunting rifle down up from under his left arm. And took aim at the penguins. The low velocity, sound-dampened round didn't need to hit the penguins. It's send out coordinates to notify, anonomously various scientists about the location of the penguin population.

He pulled the trigger, and the rifle bucked.

He moved on before he could spook the penguins any further, having done his job, and not hurt a single bird. Maybe he could head back to base. Yeah sounded like a good idea. To check out who is coming in, or going out.