Chapter 11

"Well that's reassuring," Luna uttered. "It means we can get help from there."

"I DO NOT THINK SO," Helia answered with a frown as she pulled up a holographic image from her wrist interface. The crew stood up and approached the twins to check the intelligence they had gathered. "THE AREA IS HEAVILY FORTIFIED AND THERE ARE PEOPLE PATROLLING. THIS SITUATION IS MUCH MORE DIFFERENT THAN WE HAD INITIALLY THOUGHT."

"Has Arcadia fallen?" Captain Mala asked with a frown as she looked at the activity the scouts had recorded. "Our intelligence indicated that only three researchers where living there up to the time the terraformation rocket was launched."

"That doesn't matter right now," Davis said as he picked up some of his equipment. "They obviously heard the crash so we are sitting ducks here. It's highly likely that they aren't friendlies."

"Davis don't get all trigger happy. For all we know these people are no threat." Mendia warned. "They've been living on a planet with minimal resources."

"I'll consider anything hostile until proven otherwise," Davis shot back. "You're too soft Mendia."

"Captain," Telmia spoke up. "While it is good to hear that there are so many survivors on the planet I would err on the side of caution as well. I agree with Sergeant Davis's assessment. We should treat this as a hostile situation until we can assess the natives' intentions."

Mala groaned as she had a decision to make. First contact was hard. They couldn't go in guns blazing without assessing the situation and they couldn't appear unarmed in front of the inhabitants even if they were the same race. Either option would put her team at risk. "For now we'll camouflage ourselves and observe the ones that come investigate."

Meanwhile back at Berk the crash had sent the Berkians into a frenzy. Weapons were being distributed and the guards were on high alert.

"Okay who ruined my beauty sleep?" Dagur asked as he came outside and saw the commotion.

"You'll need more than sleep to get any beauty," Camicazi uttered with a roll of her eyes as she too had been woken up. The other delegates were up as well and many were also armed to the teeth now.

"Is it another attack?" Madguts asked as he cocked his shotgun.

"By who? We're all here." Heather muttered as she glared at the somewhat triggerhappy Chief.

"We're forming a search party right now. Some of our guards detected movement in the shrubs nearby." Hiccup approached them.

"Woohoo search party!" Dagur exclaimed.

"Uhm..... actually......" Hiccup mumbled "Maybe you guys should stay here,"

"Aaauuuw but I want to go search!" Dagur whined. "Brother pleaseeeeeeee!" And there were the sad puppy dog eyes. Hiccup took a step back as Dagur kept pleading.

"What are you? Five?" Heather rolled her eyes at her brother's antics. "Let the Berkians do their thing. This is their place and we're just guests."

"But sis!!!!" Dagur uttered. "It's a search party! I haven't been in a search party since we chased the grain thief!"

"Oh my Thor you are incorrigible!" Heather groaned as Camicazi stifled a laugh.

"Hiccup are you coming or what?!" Astrid shouted from atop the ATV. She had an axe strapped to her back and was a bit more excited than she should be. Hiccup supposed it was because there was hardly any action lately and according to Astrid her axe needed a good workout. It was usually Mulch and Bucket who got the brunt of that axe when she was sparring.

Toothless was also atop an ATV with Hookfang while Windshear was in a jeep with Snotlout and the twins. Hiccup had to do a double take because he thought he saw Ruffnut brandishing a crossbow. Hiccup got on the ATV that Astrid was driving while the second jeep contained Gobber and Fishlegs.

"Fish any idea on what we're dealing with?" Gobber asked as the search party set out. Hiccup could see Stormfly in one of the lookout towers armed to the teeth. She gave them a little wave before looking back through a set of binoculars.

"I have no clue. Several alarms sounded in the Control Center but they weren't ones we saw before." Fishlegs explained over the roar of the jeep engine.

"Which ones lit up?" Astrid now asked as she rode closer to the jeep.

"The long range atmospheric sensor and the Ion detector." Fishlegs summed up and Astrid actually cursed prompting everyone to look at her. Even Toothless was curious now.

"We're going to need to be very careful," Astrid announced. "The thing that crashed was likely a ship from up there."

"The clouds?" Tuffnut asked before Ruffnut smacked him on the back of the head.

"Space you dingus!" She uttered. "Space!"

"Ooooh.... Wait... Don't call me a dingus you trollface!" Tuffnut shot back.

"How dare you call me a trollface you lardbrain!" Ruffnut now shouted before punching her brother.

"DO NOT MAKE ME TURN THIS JEEP AROUND!" Windshear warned as she sent a glare to the twins. Miraculously the twins quieted down. No one wanted to get on Windshear's bad side while she was driving. Hiccup remembered a year ago when she had left Stoick and Mildew in the middle of nowhere when they were arguing nonstop and getting on her nerves.

"Alrighty, you guys know the drill. We'll split up and search the area in groups of two. Don't lose sight of your teammates." Gobber announced as they were nearing the grassy area where their scouts saw movement. Gobber and Fishlegs would continue on in the Jeep. The same went for Windshear and Snotlout. The twins disembarked and started heading towards the right side. Hookfang and Toothless went towards the left on their ATV while Hiccup and Astrid went up the valley cliff.

"Astrid what makes you think it's a spaceship?" Hiccup asked as they were nearly on the cliff where they would get a good overview of the area.

"The Ion detector. It was designed to track objects that give off a faint Ion trail." Astrid explained. "If the thing was just a meteorite then only the atmospheric sensor would have detected it. And it looks like I was right." Astrid said as she pointed at something on the horizon. Hiccup's brows shot up as he saw the long trail up upturned earth, smoke and what distinctly looked like a small metallic ship, or the remains of one.

"Gobber, Windshear come in." Hiccup used their radio. "We've spotted the remains of a ship North East of where you guys are. Approach with caution." There was some static over the radio but Hiccup heard both Gobber and Windshear give an affirmative.

"We should go too," Astrid said as she revved the ATV before turning it around. "If it has an Ion trail then there is bound to be a pilot and crew." They were on their way down when Toothless radioed in.

"We might have some movement here," Toothless announced. "Hookfang and I are going to investigate."

"We're at the crash site," Gobber announced over their radio. "It looks abandoned. Windshear and Snotlout went to take a look inside."

While Astrid and Hiccup made their way towards the site, Toothless and Hookfang had parked the ATV and were scouting the area on foot.

"I see nothing," Hookfang announced as he peered behind another shrub. They were in an area that had some older trees that were planted years ago. These trees were already pretty big so the ATV couldn't go through as easily.

"I'm telling you, there's something here." Toothless muttered. "I have this gut feeling."

"You and your gut feeling." Hookfang huffed. "The last time you had a gut feeling I nearly ended up underneath a chandelier!"

"That was one time! One time!" Toothless pouted. He stopped and took out his gun when he heard some rustling. Hookfang did the same thing as they saw a shrub rustle not too far away from them. With guns aimed they carefully approached the rustling shrub. Hookfang wordlessly indicated for Toothless to take the left while he took the right side. Slowly the pair approached the bush. The tension was high as their fingers were on the trigger. Slowly with bated breath Toothless pushed some of the leaves away to reveal a squirrel that dashed past them out of fright.

"I hate those things," Hookfang grumbled as he held a hand over his heart. "Why did Astrid even decide to clone them. Stupid rodents....."

Toothless too had been taken by surprise by the squirrel and he leaned back against one of the larger trees. "You and your gut feeling," Hookfang then grumbled. Toothless pouted but then looked up when he heard a branch breaking above him.

"What in the-AAAAH" Toothless shouted as something white fell on top of him along with the branch. The scream of that something happened to be distinctly female and he looked up in surprise at clear sky-blue eyes. The moment lasted for only a few seconds as the mysterious woman got up and before Hookfang could get her in his crosshairs. She then pushed something on her white suit and disappeared before their eyes.

"THE HELL WAS THAT!" Hookfang shouted as he blinked at where the woman stood moments ago.

"An angel," Toothless sighed dreamily.

AN: The first extinction of 2020 has been announced. As of 5 days ago the Chinese Paddlefish (Psephurus gladius), the world's largest freshwater fish (reaching up to 23 feet in length) has been declared officially extinct after no live specimens were seen since 2003. The fish species had been around for approximately 200 million years, surviving the meteorite that killed off the dinosaurs as well as several ice ages. It however could not survive humans. Overfishing as well as dam construction (which cut the fish off from it's spawning habitat in the late 70's) were the cause of its demise.