Starlight :||: Duty. Family. Honor. #1

Prologue

The crackly film played on an old box set TV in the corner of the room, showing a fighter jet being blown to a million pieces in the sky. Rick 'Jester' Heatherly was the Lieutenant Commander at Top Gun and would be the main instructor of the men sitting in the hot, stuffy room, currently doing a successful job of filling it up with BO. "During the Korean War, the Navy kill ratio was 12-to-1. During Vietnam, that ratio fell to 3-to-1."

The men around the room were trying but failing to subtly glance around, both excited and nervous to be at the prestigious naval pilot school. One of them, a handsome bleach-blonde haired man in the second row from the front, didn't seem too concerned with the others, but he kept glancing down at his watch.

"Pilots had become dependent upon missiles and lost some of their dogfighting skills. Top Gun was created to teach ACM: Air Combat Maneuvering. Dogfighting. By the end of Vietnam, that ratio was back up to 12-to-1. Blinds please." The dark room was thrown into light and the TV was turned off, Jester standing up straighter, puffing out his chest. "I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our commanding officer at Top Gun, the very first man to win the Top Gun trophy. You will not find a finer fighter pilot anywhere in the world. Commander Mike Metcalf, callsign 'Viper'."

The seemingly unimposing man who had been standing at the back during the introduction now walked calmly but surely down the aisle of men to the front. "Gentlemen–"

The commander's speech was cut off as the door of the lecture room opened. A stunning young woman with thick black hair running down her back, dressed in nothing but a white tank top and cargo pants, along with a tall solid man with dark brown hair, walked through the door. The pair took up an at ease position, their legs spread apart, hands behind their back. Viper's lips pressed together in a disapproving frown but brought up his hand to his forehead and saluted the two as they returned the gesture. 

"Lieutenant Commander Metcalf and Lieutenant Boardman, nice of you to join us," He said, a slight scowl written all over his face.

The young woman nodded. "Apologies, the chopper just landed, father."

There were a few surprised and disgruntled looks amongst the young men, realising she not only ranked above them but was also the daughter of their commander. The commander straightened. "Take a seat, Starlight, Eagle-Eye."

The pair slipped into the empty back row, the woman winking at the blonde from the second row. He smirked and turned back to the commander. "As I was saying, you are the top one percent of all naval aviators. You're already the best of the best. We're here to make you better. You'll fly at least two combat missions a day, attend class in between and evaluations of your performance. On each combat sequence, you're gonna meet a different challenge."

The girl took a long sweeping glance around the room of men, her eyes meeting the curious ones of the dark-haired boy in the front row, his own gaze swift before returning to the front. Having sussed everyone out, meeting all their curious gazes she tuned back into what her father was saying. "We're going to teach you to fly the F-14 right to the edge, faster than you've ever flown before and more dangerous."

The commander slowly made his way up the back once more, moving amongst the students, their gazes following him. "In case any of you are wondering who the best is, they're up here on this plaque." He gestured to the huge, decorated mural hung on the wall, displaying multiple golden emblems. "The best flyer and his RIO from each class has his name on it. They have the option to come back here and be Top Gun instructors."

Viper turned back to the room, all eyes on him. He had this easy ability to command a room, hold its attention and use a steady voice to address people. A natural leader. "This school is about combat. There are no points for second place. Dismissed."

The room became a bustle of movement as all the pairs of men stood, everyone but Starlight and her RIO. Their gazes travelled over her, curious about her status, ability and her relationship with their commander before their focus shifted to the plaque behind her. Her gaze was focused on the god-like blonde from the second row standing up and stretching, no doubt making a show for her. A mischievous grin passed over his face as he made his way towards her. Eagle-Eye glanced at her, wanting to make sure she was alright. With a confirming nod from her, he stood and vacated his seat, making his way out of the room. Starlight stood and embraced the man walking towards her. "Tom," She breathed into his neck. "Been a while."

He pulled back, grinning at her with infuriating nonchalance. "Three years was the same amount of time we hadn't seen each other the last time we caught up."

She rolled her eyes and glanced at the tall and broad man standing behind him. "Who's your RIO?"

The man stepped out from behind Iceman and held out his hand towards her. "Ron Kerner, 'Slider'. A pleasure to meet you, Starlight. I was wondering why Ice was watching the time all morning, I guess I found my answer."

Though she had enough dignity not to blush, Star was grinning wildly on the inside. "You reckon?"

The three made their way towards the back of the room, eyes set on the plaque. Ice gave a near-invisible dismissive nod to Slider, who took the queue and disappeared. It was just the two of them standing in front of the board now, the rest of the room, bar the instructors had emptied out. Starlight reached out her hand and ran her fingers over three names, the last gold plaque had just been put up three years prior. Each name had Metcalf at the end of it and each name felt like a knife was being stabbed and twisted repeatedly into her heart.

Ice gave her a sidelong glance. "You're good, Honor, your name will be up there with them." He vowed.

She scoffed. "I got to compete with you and Pete Mitchell first, noticed he was in class. He's said to be an exceptional flyer, despite being an idiot. Besides, we've always been competitive, I expect you to give it your all to give me a run for my money."

"Of course," He grinned. "But you've always been better than me. It's cause you want it more."

Behind them, loud imposing footsteps made their way towards them, letting the pair know they were about to be interrupted. Ice leant over and pressed a kiss to her temple, causing Honor's entire body to tense up. "I'll see you in a bit." He simply turned and nodded to the man he'd known since he was just starting out as a pilot. "Sir."

Mike Metcalf stepped up beside his daughter as Ice left, gaze on the same three names. "Honor," He sighed, his daughter turning towards him with a blank expression, almost cold. All traces of pleasantries from earlier were gone. "I just want you to know I'm so proud of you for being here. And they would be too. Congratulations on your promotion, I hear your commander is beyond impressed with your skills." Honor didn't say anything to her father, just looked back at the three names. "I wish your mother was here to see how far you've come, she'd be proud too."

Having enough of all the dreary and depressing conversation, Honor pushed past her father on her way to the door and couldn't stop the wave of bitterness that made her say over her shoulder, "They were always proud of me because they always knew I'd get here."

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Hello everyone!

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