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

Chapter Nine

Honor
We came up beside Ice and Mav, flying parallel to them as they flew after the bogey at a safe distance. From where we were, I noted Tom was too high and too close to get a proper shot.

"John, keep an eye out on that third bogey."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Take the shot, Ice," Mav encouraged.

"Ice, take the shot or get out of there," Goose complained.

"I can't get the angle," He reported through the radio. "I'm too close for missiles, switching to guns." I would have done that ten minutes ago.

"Ice, fire or clear," I ordered. "John, where's that bogey?"

"Still looking."

"Look at this!" Maverick yelled. "Jesus Christ, I can take the shot right here."

"I need another twenty seconds then I've got him."

"Ice, move off, let Maverick take the shot, now."

Ice's blue helmet moved as he glanced across the airspace at me. "I'm off. Shit." He cursed and flew his plane out high right, as the A-4 went left.

Making sure I was a safe enough distance away, I watched Mav slide into Tom's place before his plane started rolling. "Shit!" Maverick's distressed voice came over the radio as his plane rolled through the air.

"We're in his jet wash."

"Maverick?" I questioned over the radio, wanting to know if he was alright. Ice appeared on my left wing, flying beside me.

"This is not good!" Goose's cry came through next. "We got a flameout, Mav. Engine one is out. Engine two is out."

"Goose, I'm losing control, I'm losing control. I, I can't control it. It won't recover!"

"Maverick?!" The plane, running on no engines began to somersault and spin, dropping from the sky. "Alright, I'm calling it. Mayday, mayday, Mav's in trouble. He's in a flat spin, heading out to sea."

"Eject! Eject!" John was shouting as their altitude dropped.

"Ice, left, we're following them down." He started the turn and we spiralled in wide circles, watching the plane and our friends spin towards the ground. "Get out of there, Maverick! Eject!"

The g-force must have been unimaginable. To be in such a tight, flat spin, they would have been pressed up against the window, no seatbelt or amount of buckles would hold them in. "I'm pinned forward, Goose, I can't reach the ejection handle."

"Star, we can't go any lower." I heard Ice say and he was right, the altitude wasn't compatible for the planes, too low and they'd cut out.

We straightened out, watching as the plane still fell, the canopy flying off. "Watch the canopy!"

I saw two figures fly up into the air, one of them slamming straight into the canopy as they were ejected. "No!" I cried.

"Star! Star! Starlight!" Someone was yelling over the radio. The ringing in my ears muffled all the other sounds. A choking panic was taking over my chest, I couldn't breathe.

"I think she's in shock!" I heard John say.

More yelling. I think it was my father. I couldn't get my brain to work, it wouldn't focus on what the voice was saying. What's happening?

"Star?" A new voice. "Star, can you hear me? Look to your left, can you do that for me? Look out to the left." My eyes flicked around first, my head following them.