Indian Ocean. Present Day.
"Well, that didn't work, Scoob," muttered Shaggy. The Mystery Machine was sinking in the distance, the typical result of dropping a passenger van into a large body of water.
Scooby Doo let out a quiet whine of frustration, and also hunger.
"Well gang, I think we're in trouble," said Fred. It would have been more helpful if his remarks were, well, helpful.
"I've already rigged sails and we're on course to reach Diego Garcia within a few hours," Velma said, having taken charge of the situation.
"Who's Diego Garcia?" asked Daphne.
"More like what," answered Velma. "Despite the name, Diego Garcia is an island. More importantly, it's the nearest land. The United States has a lease for a facility there, but before you ask, no, there isn't a tropical resort."
While Daphne pouted, Fred put his arm around her. He looked up. "We brought an emergency radio, right?"
"It's in the survival kit," Velma replied. She opened the emergency box, finding to her surprise that it was filled to the brim with snacks. Even behind her glasses, the look she gave Shaggy and Scooby was more than a little stern.
"Hey, this is how we survive." Shaggy grinned. Scooby giggled.
Velma dug through the assorted treats until she eventually found the radio. It didn't work. The battery compartment had been filled up with snacks.
"Well, at least we won't die from starvation," she commented.
"What was that you were saying?" Shaggy said, wiping his lips with the last, empty, candy wrapper. He and Scooby were surrounded with paper, plastic, and foil.
Before Velma could start making up straws to draw for determining who would get to eat who first, there was a rumble in the distance that built into the roar of a fighter jet passing overhead. The grey airplane banked to the side, its wings spreading wider as the jet slowed down.
"An F-14 Tomcat!" Fred shouted excitedly.
"The configuration indicates it's loaded for an air-to-air mission," Velma added. "Based on the markings, I make it to be a US Navy jet operating from the USS Enterprise."
"Well, who else would it be?" Fred asked.
Velma shrugged. "It could have been the Iranians. With external fuel, it's not impossible for a sortie to reach this far out. They're the only other operator of the Tomcat. At last count, they still had plenty of airframes in operating condition."
Nobody was willing to ask how she knew that. She might tell them.
Overhead, Maverick, the pilot of the Tomcat, said, "Is that a bunch of kids and their dog?"
Goose, the Radar Intercept Officer in the back seat confirmed, "Sure looks like it, Mav."
"Report it to the ship. I'm going to keep circling." Maverick put the jet on its wingtip and completed another orbit over the small life raft. The occupants hadn't responded to radio calls, but they looked pleased to see Goose and him. The seemed to be rigging something to the top of the mast. Maverick circled closer. It looked like a sturdy loop of rope.
Realization dawned on him as all of the stranded passengers, even the dog, began gesturing invitingly toward the rope. Maverick grinned and reached for the tailhook lever.
In the backseat, Goose noticed a change in the indicator lights. "Hey Mav, what's with the tailhook?"
"We're going to give them a tow."
"What?! This is a really bad idea, Mav! We're not authorized to do this!"
Ignoring his RIO, Maverick dropped the jet lower and pulled the throttle back. As slowly as he was able to go, he overflew the raft and snagged the rope.
The tailhook was designed to catch the airplane when it was landing on the aircraft carrier. It had no problem pulling along the life raft. However, it must have been a very rough ride. The Tomcat was still going faster than just about any boat could under its own power.
Goose looked over his shoulder towards the back of the jet to see if the crazy plan had actually worked. He reported, "It's working. I don't believe it, but it's working. Also, the dog's water skiing."
The buffeting from the waves and the jet exhaust made the ride in the raft more like riding inside a washing machine, water and all. However, they were making outrageous speed and would soon make it to dry land. In just a few minutes, the shoreline of Diego Garcia came into view. Fred cut the rope loose as they approached the beach and the raft coasted forward, sliding to a halt upon the sand.
Daphne was the first to get out of the raft, falling facefirst into the sand. She sat up, wailing, "My hair's ruined!" Fred, again, put his arm around her.
Velma's glasses had been swept off her face at some point and not even enlisting Shaggy and Scooby to help find them worked. She stumbled up the beach, only vaguely able to tell where the waves and sand were.
Shaggy and Scooby were unharmed, of course. Not finding Velma’s glasses, they had already turned to other pursuits. They soon discovered coconuts by the beach and began the process of trying to break them open. There wasn’t much available to use as tools. Teeth didn’t work, either.
Meanwhile, Maverick and Goose found themselves in a predicament. Having ignored orders, towed a boat with their jet, and gone off course, they were low on fuel. It would be a stretch to get back to the ship. Fortunately, there were a pair of 12,000-foot runways at Diego Garcia and it was no trouble to land there.
In only a few minutes, island security had picked up the visitors - all of them, and brought them to the HQ building. It had a large "HQ" painted on the wall.
The military police officer in charge introduced himself as Petty Officer Branson. He didn’t say much else. He had a gun and a badge, and that said enough.
The two aircrew and the five sleuths were escorted into a small, rather drab military-spec room to await the base commanding officer.
Maverick and Goose were still wearing their bulky flight gear and were sweating in the tropical climate. The kids from the Mystery Machine were still wet from the ocean and sandy from the beach.
They had a few minutes to wait. The two groups appraised each other. Maverick used his perfect movie star smile on Daphne. "Hi. I'm Maverick."
"Nice to meet you," she said, slightly envious of his tooth whitening treatment.
Velma squinted in his direction, but without her glasses was only able to make out a vaguely pilot-shaped blob. "I have a question, sir. Why in the world didn't you jettison your ordnance before trying that dangerous stunt?"
Taken aback, Maverick hesitated, but Goose jumped in. "We were getting low on fuel, so there was no need to get rid of anything to get down to maximum landing weight."
"Be that as it may, I'm talking about a safety issue," Velma said. "If I remember correctly, you had Sidewinders and Sparrows on the pylons and Phoenix missiles under the fuselage. You were already pushing the envelope by also taking on the load of pulling our boat. You're dangerous."
Before Maverick could retort, the door to the commander's office flew open. A man in a Navy uniform stood there, looking very displeased.
Maverick and Goose shot up. Angry officers were nothing new to them. "Captain," Goose greeted, recognizing the man's rank.
"Whose bright idea was it to bring civilians here?" the Captain growled.
"Well sir..." Velma trailed off, squinting and taking a few steps closer until she could read his nametag, "...Smuth."
"Smith," he corrected crossly.
"Captain Smith, these two aviators may have saved our lives," Fred said. "We had nowhere else to go."
It was a flimsy argument, but the gang had gotten away with more for less. Grumbling under his breath, Smith pointed at Maverick and Goose and ordered, "They're your problem now. I want you two to stick with them for their entire stay on the island."
He turned and walked back into his office, slamming the door.
"So, like, is there a food court or something around here?" Shaggy asked.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Scooby panted.
Maverick and Goose traded glances. Goose suddenly frowned and turned back to Scooby. "Did that dog just talk?"
Shaggy frowned. "Is that a big deal? Nobody else has ever said anything."
"And you," Maverick said to him. "Why does your voice sound so familiar? Have you been on the radio or something?"
Goose gestured to Fred. "Plus, who wears ascots these days?"
"Hold on," said Velma, holding up her hands, "before we start a comparison of representative phallus quantity, let's just calm down."
"Why are you talking to the wall?" Daphne asked.
"I still haven't found my glasses," Velma snapped.
"Iceman would know what to do in this situation," Goose muttered.
Maverick got in his face. "Don't you ever say he's better than me!"
Everyone started shouting at once.
That was when a tremendous crash shook the building. A blast wave rattled the windows and pelted the building with sand kicked up from across the island.
"What could that have been?" Daphne asked.
"Well gang, it looks like we have a mystery on our hands," said Fred decisively, putting his hands on his hips.
Maverick stared at him. "It was a sonic boom."
"Mystery solved."
"But where did it come from?" Velma asked a chair.
Goose was standing closest to the door and poked his head outside. "Uh, guys? I think you're going to want to come see this."
Everyone pushed out of the building. There was a dark hole in the sky. Streaming out of the hole was a trail of rainbow that spewed from the back of a fast-moving aircraft . As they watched, what appeared to be a small chariot pulled by pegasi also came through the hole. Both the airplane and the chariot began to converge on the island.
"Ruh-roh," remarked Scooby.