Salvatore [Top Gun: Maverick]

15

The group of ten all stood in three lines facing Maverick, Warlord, and Cyclone. Each dressed in their fitted flight suit prepare to hop into an aircraft at any given moment. This was their time. The three weeks spent failing, rebuilding, and learning had all funneled down to these very moments.

When Stella arrived on the sandy beaches of San Diego she had assumed it would be a quick and easy trip with no thought or emotions put into the work. Instead the three weeks had taught Stella about the other fears that went beyond flying. She had finally gotten to uncover the hidden feelings she had kept bottled up for so long. It was silly to say. But she had learned a lot more than she planned on.

Bradley gave her one last glance before straightening out as Maverick announced the daggers.

"Dagger 1 tasked with the runway will be Jigsaw," Maverick stated.

A small smile grew on her lips as she mouthed a thank you to her old instructor. He returned the warm smile before moving down the list.

"The two fox trot teams are," he paused adding weight to his words.

"Phoenix and Bob. Payback and Fan Boy," ripples of congratulations rang through the room.

"And your wingman?" Cyclone asked.

"Rooster."

A silence fell upon the group.

"Alright," Cyclone said, "You have your tasks. The rest of you stay on the deck ready for any other standby tasks. To the others, good luck and fly home safe."

Then they broke off.

--

Stella quickly exchanged a few handshakes with Phoenix and Bob as they all disbursed to launch. Payback stopped her in the hallway to give his old classmate a warm hug

"I owe you a drink at the Hard Deck," Payback said.

"What for?" Stella questioned with a smile.

"You beat me eight ball that one time."

Stella never recalled but she didn't say anything. It was an excuse to make plans even when the future was uncertain. She pulled Payback into a second hug before letting him go and watched him climb into the jet.

Even Hangman offered a fist bump though the two had unfinished business to discuss about a certain brunette.

"Good luck," the blonde offered, she could tell he was slightly disappointed staying on deck.

"Thanks," she smiled, "Don't text Katie until after I land."

Hangman grew red but nodded in agreement. He then left her to finish her goodbyes.

Rooster had been occupied in a conversation with Maverick so she hadn't gotten a chance to give a proper sendoff. However as she was about to climb into her F-18 there was a tap on her shoulder.

"Leaving without saying goodbye? That's so like you Jigsaw," Rooster smiled, his aviators off his face.

"Rooster being the first to reach out? That's so unlike you," she joked, a nod to the pairs slow growth throughout the three weeks.

"You're going to fly great."

"That's the plan. I hope you follow it too," she smiled, crossing her arms.

He opened his mouth to say something but decided against. Instead he gave a light tap on the puzzle badge of her flight suit and put back on his sunglasses.

"Come back in one piece, Jigsaw," he stated.

She cheeks grew red as she try to maintain her cool facade.

"Only if you come back for me, Rooster."

"There's no one else I'd rather fly back for" he smiled before turning away.

As Stella climbed into the cockpit of her aircraft and the people slowly lead her onto the runway she felt her face grow warm. However it wasn't from the usual nerves and fears of before. Perhaps in the first time in Stella's flying career she had a desire to return back to the runway. It was a new and strong feeling that only grew as she saw Rooster's pin blink on the navigation system.

—

"Dagger 1 in the air," Stella announced as her aircraft.

"Copy," she heard, "Starting your time now."

She began her own watch which she set on the dashboard. Stella accelerated towards the canyon confirming that the mission was now in place. She lowered the volume to her radio to get rid of any distractions. The twists and turns proved to just be as difficult as they were in practice but Stella managed to keep her cool. As the time ticked by, she was two minutes away from the runway. Her hands were growing damp around the steering and the cycled air in the aircraft grew warm and stale. She needed to breathe.

"Dagger 2, 3, 4, and 5," the radio said, "You are ready to launch."

"Copy," she heard Maverick, "Getting into position."

"Your time starts now."

Stella blinked to realize she was heading into a valley. Thankfully she quickly turned away in time. Another second she would've been burning in the snowy mountain and the mission would've been a fail. She needed to focus.

The runway was coming in sight as Stella began to slow her speed. There seemed to be no one on the runway with only aircrafts sitting out.

"I'm approaching the runway," Stella spoke into the radio, "Do I proceed?"

There was some static before she got an answer.

"Dagger 1 you are clear to proceed," the voice spoke, it was Cyclone, "Destroy the runway and then get out."

"Copy," she then lifted the steering slightly so she could gain some altitude. Once Stella could see the first stoic aircraft was directly under her vision she hit the red button. Bombs dropped below causing loud explosions on the enemies runway. She caught a glimpse of the destroyed aircrafts. It was memorizing watching the orange and yellow contrast with the white snow. Flames erupted as alarms went off. Her mission was complete.

"The runway is destroyed," Stella said.

"Ok now get you home," Cyclone affirmed.

She carefully turned her jet around and punched it. The enemy were definitely aware of her presence as her jet zipped by. However they could only watch her fly away as there was no way to follow her.

Author's Note
We're almost to the end!!! I have two more chapters planned out so please stick around. After this book a finally completed I'm definitely going to edit and rewrite a lot of things. Also I have other stories that I would love to share so stay tuned for that. Thank you so much for the support and see you for the next chapter!!!