It was now midnight, and everyone was about to begin the operation to retrieve their gold.
"All right, guys," said Astrid. "Enough waiting, let's go and get our gold back."
"Wait just a minute," said Hiccup.
"What's the problem now?" Snotlout asked.
"We can't just rush off like this, we need some kind of plan of action," said Hiccup folding his arms. "I mean don't you think those Marines will notice 10 people sneaking around their fortress?"
"He does have a point," said Fishlegs.
"Also we can't leave the Going Tiger by herself, even though we disguised a pretty well," Hiccup added.
"Yeah, it won't fool them for long," Ragnar agreed.
"Wait, you don't think so? Why not?" Chopper asked.
"Yeah, it looks pretty good to me," said Ruffnut.
"I don't see a problem, it looks exactly like a warship," said Tuffnut.
"Only if it remains dark and only from a distance," said Hiccup and then his eyes turn to Fishlegs. "Also, what happened to the Waver?"
Fishlegs looked at him blankly and then his eyes widened. "Oh, crap. Me and Astrid hide it in some tall grass."
"Getting all the excitement we forgot about it," said Astrid.
"Proving my point," Hiccup sighed. "Now I think the best course of action would be to split into two teams. First is the Gold Recovery Team will consist of Astrid, Snotlout, Toothless, Heather and myself. The second team will be the Waver Recovery Team consisting of Fishlegs and Ragnar."
"Uh, what about us?" Ruffnut asked.
"Yeah, why can't we go on any recovery team?" Tuffnut asked.
"Because it requires stealth," said Astrid looking at the two of them. "And the two of you are quite a pair of troublemakers."
"Can't argue with that," said Tuffnut looking at his sister.
"Yeah, we do like to cause trouble," Ruffnut agreed.
"But what about me?" Chopper asked. "Why do I have to stay behind?"
"Because I need someone in order to keep the twins under control," said Hiccup. "Besides, if any of us get hurt we're going to need you to patch us up."
"I suppose you have a point," said Chopper.
Hiccup then laid down a map on the ground. "Okay gang, this style represents where we are right now. The Gold Recovery Team will need to avoid the heavily guarded routes and take the shortest path along the coast to the storage vault. Now Fishlegs do you happen to remember the spot with you and Astrid hide to the waver?"
"Yes, on the eastern side of the island," said Fishlegs as he pointed at the map. "Along this space here just at the base of these cliffs."
"That's almost opposite of us," Hiccup frowned. "It will take you guys too long to get there if you go by land." His eyes then spotted an old boat among the supplies. "I've got it, you can use that boat to get both you and Ragnar across the bay in a jiffy. Once all omissions are complete will meet back here at the Tiger, got it?"
"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.
Jonathan was currently in his office with the Chief Petty Officer, and his eyes were fixated on the meal presented him by Sam.
"You still here, huh?" said Jonathan looking up at him. "I thought that I said dismissed."
"Sorry, Sir. But the head chef gave me very specific orders," said Sam apologetically. "'Don't leave until the Commander's cleaned his plate. Even if your dining in your private quarters, rules are rules. You know the credo, plus she was very adamant that you finish every last bite."
Jonathan groaned as he stared at the broccoli. "Jessica…"
The Chief Petty Officer sniggered, but it was short-lived.
"You too, Sergeant," said Sam.
"What?"
"The head chef made dinner for you as well," said Sam and presented him his plate. "Bon appétit, sirs."
"Not a fan of the broccoli either, hey," said Jonathan.
"No, for me it's the tomatoes and carrots."
The door then opened on Drake entered the office.
"Oh, Lieutenant," Jonathan beamed.
"Oh, you're eating. Sorry, I'll come back later."
"No, no, not at all. You couldn't have come at a better time."
"Sir?" said Drake, confused as Jonathan rose from his seat.
"In fact, I was just about to send for you Drake," said Jonathan approaching him.
"Yes, Sir, about that. I accept full responsibility for losing the Dragon Riders."
"It doesn't matter," said Jonathan patting him on the shoulder. "Say, have you had dinner yet Lieutenant Drake?"
"No."
"Not good," Jonathan smiled. "Not good at all, you can't fight the enemy on an empty stomach. You have to set an example for the men that serve under you. They won't eat if you want, am I right?"
"Huh-uh?" Drake frowned as Jonathan sat him down at the table.
"Bon appétit, Drake be sure to eat every last bite."
Sam said nothing as Jonathan gave him his food.
Eventually, both Drake and the Chief Petty Officer finished their food, though the chief looked as if he was going to throw up.
"Tell her it was more delicious than usual," said Drake looking at Sam.
"Understood, sir."
Sam then began taking the tray back towards the mess hall. Along the way, he passed Shepherd, who was now back in his proper uniform.
"Food for the old badger, huh?" he huffed. "Well, I hope you enjoyed it, Commander since it will be one of your last meals here."
Jonathan was looking at his pocket watch and saw that it was nearly midnight.
"It's almost time," he said and looked to the others. "Let's mobilise units and get them into position."
"So the plan is to hurry ahead of them and block their path, sir?" Drake asked.
"Correct," Jonathan nodded and looked at the Chief Petty Officer. "Sergeant, pass along the orders to the units that are standing by."
"Sir," he said saluting and then made his way to the transponder snail. "Attention all warships! Urgent orders from the Commander, procedure your designation areas around the Seagate and the bay."
"What about my unit, sir?" Drake asked.
"Let them finish their dinner first," said Jonathan. "As soon as they're done take them and your ship to the Seagate."
"Yes, sir."
The door opened, and everyone turned to witness Major Shepherd entering the office.
"Hold it!" Drake yelled.
Jonathan quickly raised his hand. "Well, hello there, Condoriano. Oh, I'm sorry, pardon my mistake. I meant to say Special Inspector Major Shepherd."
"Commander Jonathan, the word around the base that the Dragon Riders slipped through your fingers," Shepherd smirked.
"No, no, they haven't escaped yet," said Jonathan calmly. "In fact, I am sure that they're still in the base somewhere."
"Oh, and yet you're able to sit here and enjoy a leisurely meal knowing that? I guess the whispers about you and Navarone are true. They say you wouldn't know what to do in an attack since you haven't seen action in so long. No offence."
Jonathan merely smiled. "No, none taken, Major."
"So Commander, what makes you think those pirates are still here?" Shepherd asked curiously.
"Well, for one thing, I have their gold and no self-respecting pirate will ever leave their treasure behind."
"Gold, huh?"
"The recent downsizing here has cut our forces in half. Navarone needs all the help it can get to capture these pirates. Is there any way I can persuade you to give you a hand in that area, Major Shepherd? I'm even willing to put you in charge of a specially skilled unit if you agree."
"Don't be absurd," he said as he began to make his way to the door. "You're the only one here where the commanding the skilled units of Navarone, don't you agree? Speaking of your men, I need the names of all those who mistook me for Dragon Rider."
"May I ask why you need to know their names?" Jonathan asked as he picked his ear.
"So they can all be court-martialed, of course."
"You shouldn't blame them, I'm the one who gave them the order to arrest all suspicious-looking people on site. Those men were just following my orders."
"I look like a suspicious person?" Shepherd sneered.
"Under the circumstances, yes."
"Well, I couldn't disagree more. I just remembered something that I need to do, we'll take this matter up later."
He then walked out the door and closed it behind him.
Drake looked at Jonathan, concerned. "Pardon me, but is that prudent, sir?"
Jonathan gave a dry chuckle. "He's one of those pompous windbags from HQ who think Navarone has outlived its usefulness. I knew he would never seriously consider leading one of our units."
"That's not what I meant, Commander."
Jonathan then rose to his feet. "Oh, well…" He then went to grab his coat. "Lieutenant Drake prepared to dispatch the most powerful squad of all of G-8."
"Another one of your jokes, sir?"
"No, I'm serious," he said, giving him a smile.
Drake nodded and saluted.
Shepherd was making his own plans, plans that involved capturing the Dragon Riders.
'What an idiot,' he said, referring to Jonathan.
He then looked at a Marine. "You! The Stan Malay docked in this backwater base this morning where is its Captain?"
"Sir!" said the Marine saluting. "He's been in the infirmary since we docked."
"The infirmary? Why is he injured?"
"No, Sir. But many of his crewmen were hurt, he seemed pretty concerned. I'm sure that's where you'll be able to find him."
"Go get him! Right now!" Shepherd demanded.
"Sir!" said the Marine then rushed down towards the infirmary.
"So the pirates are after their gold are they?" Shepherd smirked. "Well, there's only one place in this fortress way could be hidden."
He then began making his way down the corridor. 'Just watch you worthless old badger. I'm going to catch those Dragon Riders and your career and shut down this useless base down.'
Ragnar and Fishlegs were currently rowing their way towards the other end of the bay in order to achieve the waver. Ragnar was doing the rowing while Fishlegs was given a lookout and he noticed several warships moving out.
"Those warships are moving out, I've got a bad feeling about all this," said Fishlegs.
"You have a bad feeling about all of everything we do," said Ragnar. "Still, the sooner out of this base, the better."
Jonathan was currently in his office with the Chief Petty Officer.
"Uh, Commander," said the Chief Petty Officer. "Not to second guess you, but wouldn't relocating those units leave the base itself relatively undefended?"
"It can't be helped," said Jonathan. "Besides those pirates have proven that they will go where ever they want when they want."
"Sir, we can't just let those Dragon Rider Pirates run around like they owned the place. If I can make a recommendation, why don't we mobilise the new recruits?"
"No, Sergeant, that would be too dangerous for them," said Jonathan firmly.
"I thought you'd say that Commander," said the Chief Petty Officer. "For the record, this wasn't my idea. It was the recruits idea, Sir. They volunteered, even though their new here they've quickly developed the same duty and dedication to G-8 like the rest of us have."
"Is that so?" said Jonathan and looked back at him. "Well then let's put them on surveillance duty. However, they are not to engage the enemy on any circumstances. Is that understood?"
The Chief Petty Officer saluted. "Yes, they will be delighted, sir."
"Pass the orders on, but before you leave, I have one other request for you, Sergeant."
"Sir?"
Jonathan smiled cunningly.
The Captain of the Stan Malay, who had his arm in a sling was not too happy with the orders given to him by Shepherd.
"What?" he yelled. "That's insane! You know that storm crippled the Stan Malay! She'll be stuck in the repair dock for weeks!"
"Your flagship might be down, but the rest of the ships in your fleet aren't out of commission."
"That's true, but we don't have the manpower. We suffered a lot of injuries, a lot of them are not in bad shape; some of them can't even walk yet."
Shepherd narrowed his eyes. "Now then, you wouldn't be questioning my judgement, Captain? An inspector assigned by no less authority then Marine Headquarters?"
"No, not at all. It's just that… I, well…"
"Then gather your men, Captain," said Shepherd as he rose to his feet. "Half will stay with me the rest will board the Pine Peak and wait for my orders. Get moving on the double, I've got a lot of work to do and just watch I'm going to show these useless G-8 fools how real Marine deals with pirates scum."
Hiccup and the others were making their way towards the vault and were currently moving through a small forest.
"Heather are we there yet?" Hiccup asked.
"Almost, just a little bit further," she said.
A few seconds later, they then came across a large cliff, and on the other side, they could see a large metal door that led to the vault.
"Is this the place?" said Snotlout.
"Behind that door?" Toothless asked, looking at Heather.
"If the map is correct, yes," she nodded.
"So the vault is pretty close, huh?" said Astrid.
"Yes, breaking through into that spot should be the shortest route."
"But how we supposed to get there?" Snotlout asked.
"I can fly us down, but I can only carry two at a time," said Hiccup as he transformed into his dragon form. "Any more will be able to fly properly."
"Okay, you take Toothless and Snotlout first, then you can come back for us," said Astrid.
Hiccup nodded and looked at Snotlout and Toothless. "You heard the lady, climb aboard."
They did exactly what he said and climbed onto his back, thankfully thanks to his dark scales, it was very difficult to spot him even if Marines looked at the window. He dropped Snotlout and Toothless off at the door and then flew back towards Astrid and Heather.
They then quickly made their way towards the large door avoiding the searchlights. They then opened the door and looked inside and found the coast was clear.
"We're in luck, not a Marine inside," said Snotlout.
"Then let's move," said Hiccup.
Ragnar and Fishlegs had reached the other side of the bay.
"Well we've made into the shore without getting caught," said Ragnar.
"Yeah, but now comes the tricky part," said Fishlegs. "We have to cut through this side of the base and hope those Marines don't spot us. With the way, they're searching the bay we better hurry."
"Then we better move," said Ragnar.
The two of them then ran.
Hiccup and his team were making good progress towards the vault, and so far they haven't run into any trouble.
"We're so close," said Snotlout. "Sweet, sweet gold here I come."
"Straight ahead," said Heather pointing ahead. "Straight through that door, guys."
"I bet that it's at the end of this corridor," said Astrid.
Heather felt uneasy. 'This is too easy, something's not right.'
Heather was right as unbeknownst to them the Marines were setting up yet another ambush.
In order to avoid getting spotted from the Marines on the warships, Ragnar and Fishlegs were making their way through the base itself.
"Clear," said Fishlegs looking round the corner.
They then went down the corner, but no sooner have they had done so that the door opened and a Marine stepped out.
"Pirates!" he yelled, grasping his sword with shaky hands. "Freeze, do not move another inch! I mean it!"
Ragnar looked at him and immediately recognised that he was a new recruit, judging by the sweat on the way that he was holding his weapon.
"Just take it easy, we're not here to blow up the fortress or kill you or your friends," said Ragnar gently. "So why don't you point that toothpick somewhere else?"
"Quiet! I will not let any pirate sabotage G-8!"
"Didn't you hear him?" said Fishlegs. "We're not going to do that!"
"Like I can trust the word of a pirate!" he said and then saw Ragnar taking a few steps forward. "Stay back! I'm warning you, I've been trained to do whatever it takes to defend!"
"So then, in other words, you willing to risk your life?" said Ragnar.
"Of course!"
The Marine then swung his sword at Ragnar, who merely spun around and kicked right out of his hands. He then quickly kicked the Marine in the stomach knocking him out cold.
"How noble, it's just too bad that your training obviously didn't teach you how to dodge a kick," said Ragnar.
Hiccup's group meanwhile had finally reached the vault, and it was quite the complex mechanism.
"Wow, that thing is awesome," said Snotlout.
"Some serious security," Heather agreed.
"There's no doubt that our gold is locked in there," said Astrid.
"Along with who knows what else they might be storing in there," Hiccup added.
"So, now what?" Toothless asked.
"Maybe Hiccup can blow it up with a plasma blast," said Snotlout.
"He wouldn't even be able to scorch it, I'm afraid it requires a more delicate touch," said Astrid as she made her way towards the mechanism. "I think what we have to do is turn these dials in the correct combination. Once you do that the gears turn, the vault comes undone, and the door opened as easy as pie."
Before they could do anything else, lights immediately lit around them, and they saw that they were completely surrounded by Marines.
"That's far enough!" said a lieutenant and recorder they came down from began to seal itself.
"So they were waiting for us," said Toothless.
"It would seem so," said Heather.
"Just give up, you're trapped like rats," said the lieutenant. "There's no chance of escape. Surrender and we'll—"
"And what just give up our gold?" said Astrid sternly. "We'll take on each and every one of you!"
"Stop that, scum!" said the lieutenant.
"You heard the officer, stop them!"
The immediately fired their rifles down at them, but Hiccup quickly transformed into his hybrid form.
"Astrid get that vault open!" Hiccup ordered as he flapped his wings as hard as he could.
"On it," said Astrid making her way to the mechanism.
Hiccup's Wing blast caused the bullets to shoot off in all different directions, shooting out the lights and hitting a few gas canisters.
"Hiccup, give me a left," said Toothless.
Hiccup nodded and cupped his hands together. Toothless jumped into his palms, and with one good thrust, Hiccup launched into the air. Toothless then quickly drew two of his sword and cut through the Marines on the scaffolding above.
"Snotlout… Heather cover my butt," said Astrid as she went to work.
"Don't worry Astrid a knight in shining armour is here," said Snotlout causing to groan in disgust.
"You sure you can handle it?" Heather asked.
"Breaking into places is my speciality," said Astrid as she began operating the dials. No sooner had he said that that she managed to release the first dial. "One down."
They then heard the gears beginning to turn opening the bolt slightly. However, one of the gears then fell off the bolt and nearly crushed Snotlout.
"You'd be dead if that hit you," said Heather.
Snotlout turned to Astrid. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"It's not my fault they fall off," said Astrid.
"Plasma Blast!" Hiccup yelled, firing off a plasma blast at some charging Marines.
Many of them were blown away by the explosion the moment the plasma blast made contact. Toothless meanwhile was still engaging with the Marines on the scaffolding, he had just sliced a portion of the scaffolding causing the Marines to fall towards the ground.
Astrid continued twiddling the dials causing more and more gears to fall. "That's two down."
Out on the bay, Drake was manning several warships.
"Lieutenant Commander Drake, all ships have now reached their designated locations!" said a Marine.
"Good, tell them to hold their positions until further orders is that understood?" said Drake.
"Sir!"
Drake then pulled out his pocket watch. "50 more minutes."
Back at the vault, Astrid was on the last dial, but the Marines were closing in on her. Snotlout then began punching a few Marines hard in the face.
"Want to get to her you have to go through me," he said, raising his fists.
Heather found herself completely surrounded by Marines. "Looks like I'm surrounded."
The Marines then started to move towards her, but she jumped out of the way to a safe distance. She then crossed her arms and looked in all of them. Seconds later they found themselves being strangled by several arms which had appeared around their necks.
Toothless was on the ground battling the swordsmen. "I'm getting sick of these guys! Can we go?"
Hiccup was battling the Marines hand-to-hand. "Astrid, not to rushing but we are starting to get a little overrun."
"Just finished!" Astrid yelled as she finished telling the last dial.
Everyone watched as the bolt began to slide open, but instead of the vault door opening, it began to fall towards them.
"Full retreat!" the lieutenant yelled.
The Marines then immediately began running away as the vault door fell forwards and Astrid and Snotlout did exactly the same thing. The vault door slammed on the ground with a mighty bang.
"You guys still alive?" Hiccup asked as he flew over towards the door.
Astrid and Snotlout popped their heads out of the slot with the gears had been.
"We're good," said Astrid.
"We almost died!" Snotlout yelled.
Hiccup shook his head and in turn towards the vault in his eyes widened. "Guys, the gold isn't here!"
They turned and saw that Hiccup was right, the vault was completely bare.
Jonathan chuckled from his balcony. "You didn't think that I would let you escape Navarone that easily, did you?"