Disguises:
-x-
Late at night, a small band of four marines from Navarone held a floodlight on the Going Merry as they recapped the spooky situation that they were now in the middle of.
"Is what they said about this ghost ship falling from the sky really true?" the marine holding the floodlight asked.
"I don't buy it," the marine next to him insisted.
"But if Navarone is supposed to be this big impregnable fortress..." a third marine pointed out, "How else could it have gotten in here if it didn't fall from the sky?"
"I heard that there wasn't a single crew member on board," the fourth marine said cryptically. "But the table was set for coffee and was still warm. Like people had been there until that exact moment. But that's not all... inside the cargo hold..."
"They found gold?" the first and second marines exclaimed.
"Ssshh!" the third marine shushed them.
"They found gold alright," the fourth marine continued, "Ancient gold dug up from some old ruins somewhere."
"I don't know about you guys but that's the creepiest story I've ever heard," the second marine admitted.
"So... so it really is a ghost ship?" the third marine asked.
"Those poor saps must have been cursed from stealing all that gold," the first marine resolved.
And so the rumors of the Going Merry being a ghost ship continued to spread across the base well into the night.
-x-
Early the next morning, the G-8 Marines began to take action.
"Attention Units 4, 6 and 10 under Lieutenant Commander Drake," Ensign Christopher's voice sounded through the base early in the morning. "Assume battle stations for Yellow Alert!"
In a changing room, one marine was struggling to pull on his uniform pants while another adjusted his tie in the mirror.
"I don't care what kind of ship it is," the marine looking in the mirror insisted. "No one picks a fight with our fortress."
"Hurry it up!" the other marine exclaimed once he'd pulled up his pants. He grabbed the first marine by the collar and dragged him out of the room.
-x-
"Lieutenant Drake's Units 4, 6, and 10 are to report to Control Room 1 in the Central Base," Ensign Christopher's voice continued to sound through the base.
Sanji watched through the grate of a ceiling vent as a group of marines ran down by beneath him.
"I think I know where we are and it isn't good," Sanji said as he stared down at the marines. "If I'm right-and I hope I'm not-then we've landed right in the middle of an invincible fortress that the marines' call Navarone. So what's our next move, Captain?"
Sanji look up from the grate and glared at Luffy who was sleeping soundly in the vent.
"Ugghh..." Sanji groaned in annoyance. He'd grabbed Luffy to keep the Captain from getting into trouble. "As usual... our Captain could care less..."
"On the double men! This is an emergency order!"
-x-
Vice Admiral Jonathan watched from the balcony outside his office as the large marine ship pulled the Going Merry across the water way.
