{Aubree's POV}

I could not believe my eyes when the man before us took off his helmet that seemed to double as a mask also, and it turned out to be Hanson Haddock. The man we haven't seen in eight years because he just didn't show up one day and although we called and texted his number, even asked his father where he was, Hanson just vanished without a trace, and we had been wondering where he was ever since. Now here he was standing before us as our Drill Sergeant and to top it off, Hanson was introduced to us as the Lieutenant Colonel and base leader of Fort Riddari. That meant to us that Hanson is the Lieutenant-Colonel and commanding officer of this station we were at for the next few months for training. So many things didn't make sense, and I know that Sawyer, Franklin, Raelyn, Taylor, Grant, and myself all wanted answers.

"Wait a second. You called him Hanson, is this the guy you were talking about on the bus ride here? The friend you haven't seen in eight years?" asked Dustin curiously.

"Hanson, I don't understand this. Is this where you've been all this time? An hour and thirty minutes away?" I said looking at him.

"Yeah, what gives? You ride a freaking Night Fury?!" Sawyer added to the list of questions.

"You're the base leader of Fort Riddari?" Grant chimed in.

"You're Lieutenant Colonel?" Franklin asked.

{Hanson's POV}

I honestly expected something like this to happen after I saw the master list of the ten recruits coming to this base for training. I knew they would be surprised and ask a bunch of questions about where I had been, why I didn't tell them, why I have a Night Fury. I'll admit that it was superb to see them again after so many years. However, they weren't here to learn about me and why I did the things I did. I would tell them eventually, just not today. There was a lot to do, and this was going to suck for me to do, I didn't have a choice.

"That is enough!" I yelled at them as they instantly silenced themselves and stood quiet, my six old friends looking at me in shock that I raised my voice to them of all people considering that we all used to be close friends. Given how one of the soldiers had asked if I was the one they were talking about on the bus ride to Fort Riddari then it seemed to me that they had still wondered what happened to me eight years ago. "I understand you are shocked to see me after so long, but you are not here to question me. I'll answer this one set of questions, and that is it. Understood?"

I watched them nod slowly, "Yes, this is where I have been for eight years. Toothless here is my bonded dragon, we've been together since I was fifteen. I am the base leader of Fort Riddari and holding the current rank of Lieutenant Colonel. There isn't anything more to understand about this. I joined the military eight years ago after bonding with Toothless; my father knows where I am and he lives ten minutes from base." I stated firmly.

"But why-" I put my hand up to stop Franklin from asking the inevitable question of why didn't I just tell them before I left or stay in contact.

"I was busy between training, tours of duty, and jumping ranks. I didn't exactly have time to pull out my phone and call old friends of mine to say 'Hey, I'm in the military, so you know. Oh, and I bonded with the rarest of dragons. Also, I'm living on base at Fort Riddari'. You would do what you are now, demanding answers that I don't have to give you." I saw their eyes widen at how I spoke to them; it was rare back then that I ever got mad. I closed my eyes and took a breath before looking to them again, "As I said, you are not here for me. You are here for training, and that became my job to do, grab your bags from below the bus. And yes, that is an order,"

Seeing as they didn't have a choice in the matter, they slowly turned to get their bags they received at Reception Battalion plus their personal belongings and then faced me once more. I gave the nod to the bus driver and dismissed him with a head nod to the left, he saluted me and then got on the bus to leave. "Follow silently," I stated as I turned heel and began walking towards the barrack that was beside my office. It was actually where my team and I stayed at since they were never far from me and it was easier for the four of us to be in one place at the end of the day to talk.

Reaching the barrack, I stopped and faced them. "This is where you will be staying. The small building beside it is my office. As you can tell, my office is set up close to the infirmary the courses, forest, fields, and chow hall. Other barracks or Drill Sergeant quarters are located around the area too. If it isn't obvious already, you're sleeping co-ed and sharing with my unit and me." I heard to door to the barrack open as I glanced over to see three other males standing there and offering salutes while at the position of attention. "At ease guys," I sighed after giving a salute back and the relaxed before me.

"Orders for us, sir?" Thatcher inquired.

"Stay put. Listen up recruits because this moment here starts the rest of your military career. I am Lieutenant Colonel Hanson Haddock, and Fort Riddari is my base. You will address me as Drill Sergeant or sir, following so far?" I asked.

"Yes, Drill Sergeant," the ten of them replied.

"The three males with dragons behind me are Second Lieutenant Thatcher Hedsen with his Thunderdrum, Thornado. Beside him is Master Sergeant Vincent Grimborn and his older brother, Staff Sergeant Ricky Grimborn. The two of them share a Hideous Zippleback by each riding a head, rather a neck belonging to a head. Vincent has the left who he calls Smoke and Ricky has the right who is named Spark. The four of us have been together since our Reception Battalion days, and we reside in this barrack as a team, as will the ten of you with us. Any questions?" I asked and saw Taylor raise his hand, "That aren't about me, where I've been, or that I ride a Night Fury?"

Taylor slowly put his hand back down as I heard my team snickering, "He always knows," Ricky mentioned.

"Hush you three," I warned and they were quiet.

"Sorry, sir," they stated at the same time.

"Now then. You're going to file in one at a time and grab a bunk with your battle buddy. After that, you're free to start unpacking and preparing your beds, same protocol that you followed at Reception Week. We'll take the next steps when we get there. You may begin," I ordered. Without an argument, the ten recruits made their way inside to follow their orders. As soon as they entered, I groaned heavily. This was going to be a long few months for me having them here to be trained while right now all they wanted were answers.

"You okay, Haddock?" Vincent inquired.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'll be back in an hour, keep an eye on them." I said as I climbed onto Toothless's back and patted his neck before he launched into the sky and seconds later we were above the clouds, I needed to clear my head.

{Normal POV}

Twenty minutes into setting up their bunks and areas, Heather and Sylvia noticed that Aubree looked upset. None of the six who had yelled Hanson's name in shock had said a word since the Lieutenant Colonel yelled at them to stop asking questions. During Reception Week they paired off as battle buddies. Heather and Aubree, Sylvia and Raelyn, Eli and Dustin, Sawyer and Grant, Taylor and Franklin. From what the three outsiders to Berk knew, Hanson was a good friend to the six Berkians until he joined the military at fifteen and didn't tell anyone. Also, Heather knew that Aubree had a crush on Hanson, but appeared she never got to tell him because he left eight years ago without a word to anyone except his father.

"Aubree, are you alright?" Heather asked gently.

"I don't know right now. I always wanted to see him again, but I didn't think it would be because of this. I honestly hoped he had just been accepted into some private school or whatever. I never imagined it would be because he bonded with a Night Fury and joined the military." Aubree sighed heavily.

"So, you're the six friends he always used to brag about," Ricky said from the bottom bed of his bunk.

"He talked about us?" Raelyn questioned.

"Yeah, all the time when we met him and talked about our lives during personal time," Thatcher informed.

"He's different, he looks the same except taller and filled out a lot..." Aubree looked down.

"Hanson hasn't changed from the guy you knew; it just seems that way because of how he talked to you. Hanson's rank brings on a lot of responsibility, mainly to the base because he's the leader. All of us work under him; he's just stressed out is all. There's been talk of another deployment coming up, and the last one didn't go so great," Vincent said calmly.

"We lost about fifteen people in the course of ten months," Ricky sighed.

"You guys just get back?" Sylvia inquired.

"Six months ago we did, been here since training new recruits," Thatcher nodded. "Hanson has missed you six, mentions it all the time when we catch him looking at the picture on his desk of you all."

"He has a picture of us?" Aubree looked over now.

"Yeah, summer vacation or something where you were all were about to become freshman. It's on his desk in the office beside this barrack. He hasn't forgotten any of you; he's just had a lot going on the last few years. Try not to be mad at him for not telling you," Ricky mentioned.

"You have to remember right now that he's not a friend to you, he's your Drill Sergeant, and Hanson always stays professional. He is your commanding officer, and you need to do as your told and respect him as such," Vincent reminded.

"But like, after training is over, you think he would tell us about everything?" Raelyn asked.

"That's up to him, but no matter what happens, he is still the base leader," Ricky said.

"And as long as your part of the Berkian Military then Hanson will be you CO. Just like us, we're his friends, but when it's time be serious and get work done, we do our jobs." Thatcher told them, "You best be finishing up, Hanson will be back when the hour is up to do an inspection and give you a run down of your next few months here." Not having a choice again, they got back to work with putting their things away and setting up.

(An Hour Later)

Thatcher had heard Toothless's roar and knew that Hanson and Toothless were returning to the base, so he took it upon himself to have the ten recruits line up near their bunks at the position of attention. There was a loud thud outside signaling that Toothless hand landed and Hanson would be coming in shortly.

"Go on and rest, Toothless. I'll see you from the window," they heard Hanson say before the door to the barrack opened, and he stood there with his arms behind his back, a grave look on his face. "Not bad," he stated while walking down the aisle and checking over that beds were made, personal items away, and everything was tidy. "Good. Now I don't have to yell at anyone. Moving right along. Welcome to Dreki barrack, where you will shower, dress, and sleep during your training time on this base. Don't get comfortable in it because your entire day from 0500 to 2030 hours will be spent out training rain or shine. Breakfast is at 0630, Lunch at 1200, dinner served at 1700. Following?"

"Yes sir!" they replied to him.

"Excellent. For the next nine weeks, you will be in Basic Training. It's technically eight because the last week is all graduation rehearsal. After that, it's four weeks of Advanced Training than a graduation from that as well. The last of your training will be Dragon Training. There is no set number of weeks for this; it depends on how well you do. I'm aware that some of you already bonded to your dragons, that means less work for you to do. Not to worry, those of you who have bonded dragons will get to see them before Dragon Training starts. You are allowed fifteen minutes with them during your personal time from 2030 to 2130, and then it's lights out." Hanson explained. "Questions?"

Grant put his hand up now, and Hanson motioned for him to go ahead, "What's our daily schedule going to be like, sir?"

"I'm so glad you asked. 0500 Wake up, 0530 Physical Training, 0630 Breakfast, 0830 Training, 1200 Lunch, 1300 Training, 1700 Dinner, 1800 Drill Sergeant Time, 2030 Personal Time, and finally, 2130 Lights Out." Hanson informed calmly.

Aubree raised her hand nervously, and he nodded to her, "What is 'Drill Sergeant Time'?" she inquired.

"It's two and a half hours of one on one time with your Drill Sergeant. This is a window where he can explain army life, tell past stories of his time in, him yelling at you for how the day went, or even flipping bunks and barrack upside down and make you clean it all up. I'd say it depends on his mood," Ricky snickered.

"Fuck you," Hanson glared at him, and the other two started laughed as well. "All that aside, anything else you want to know?" he looked back to the recruits.

"Why do you wear a different uniform than the others?" Dustin asked.

"It's only for riding Toothless because it matches his scales, makes me blend in with him when we fly. I have a uniform the same as yours and the others; I just don't wear it unless I have to." Hanson replied. "Anything else?" It was quiet, Hanson assumed the rest of the questions probably had to do with him and the last eight years and they weren't asking so he wouldn't get mad again. "Alright then. I've got work to go do, the guys will explain the rest," Hanson then walked out of the barrack leaving the recruits with Thatcher, Vincent, and Ricky to continue getting their run down of how the next three months would go for training and then the added on time for Dragon Training. After all, this was the start of their military careers.