There were odd noises coming from the kitchen.

Ed Straker, gun in hand, moved with perfect stealth toward the sounds, peering around the edge of the open doorway and fought very hard not to let his lower jaw drop. Whatever the alien plan was in general, he had doubts that the somewhat lozenge shaped, bright yellow figure clad in old-fashioned dungarees and what looked like goggles, who was engaged in cooking and cleaning out his cupboards was a part of it.

The about three foot tall figure turned and did drop its lower jaw upon seeing Ed, his gun trained on the room in an efficient manner.

"Wha?" Its tiny arms dove straight up, hands above its head as it babbled incomprehensibly

Ed lowered the gun, flicking on the safety as he did so and gestured for the being to lower its arms. "I take it the lurkers are at it again," he said with a resigned sigh.

"Arthur," the minion, for that was indeed what the entity was, introduced itself with a quaint bow before bursting into speech with wild gesticulations for emphasis.

Ed discovered that while the sense of the words bypassed him entirely, the gist of the ... complaints? ... seemed to be that he did not have a well enough stocked kitchen for Arthur to perform up to standards.

Tirade over, Arthur turned back to the stove where mouthwatering smells were wafting gently out into the room. Ed contented himself with leaning against the door frame and watching the small figure work energetically to produce a meal.

When the imperious "sit" motion occurred, the head of SHADO found himself complying without complaint. While he was used to being served at fine restaurants, when he managed to go to one, the experience in his own humble kitchen was a new one.

Arthur apologized for the lack of table cloth, promising to remedy that as soon as he could and then proceeded to tempt Ed's notoriously fickle taste buds with dishes he didn't recognize, but that both smelled and tasted heavenly. The dinner was leisurely, ending when Arthur cleared the last of the dishes away and shooed his ... Master? ... out of the kitchen with a snifter of brandy and a slim cigar.

While Ed didn't approve of the lurkers who kept leaving things for him and his people, he had to admit that this evening was a good one. Over the next few days, he found dinner or a snack waiting for him when he arrived home.

It didn't occur to Ed how much things had changed until he came home to a dark house a week later and was instantly worried that something had happened to Arthur. The lights came on abruptly as he crept through the place, gun in hand again. The door to the basement opened and Arthur stepped out, dusting his hands. They both jumped.

Arthur burst into another of his explanations. He'd fixed the wiring in the basement. Dinner was waiting.

Minions. They had minions