Siren In The Sky // Bradley Bradshaw

Chapter 2

I take a deep breath before walking into base. I knew seeing Rooster was going to be hard, but I never expected him to run after me and say he loved me too. Now my thoughts are chaos. The larger part of me is angry, angry that we wasted all this time we could've had and angry that he didn't even try. But the smaller part of me craves his touch, craves to just forget everything and run into his arms. But I can't. 

I silently take my seat while everyone talks, ignoring his pleading eyes on me. "Attention on deck!" We all immediately silence and stand from our seats as Hondo, Cyclone, and Warlock waltz in.  "Morning, welcome to your special training detachment. Please be seated." Warlock begins. "You all are the elite, the best of the best. That was yesterday." The smiles in the room begin to droop. "The enemies new 5th generation fighter has levelled the playing field. Details are few but you can be sure that we no longer posses the technological advantage. Success, now more than ever, comes down to the man or woman in the box." Hangman gives me a grin in which I discreetly flip him off by pretending to scratch my forehead.

"Half of you will make the cut, one of you will be named mission leader. The other half will remain in reserve." I can almost hear the one thought pulsing through everyone's heads. Who's going to teach us? Almost reading our minds Warlock continues, "Your instructor is a Top Gun graduate with real world experience in almost every mission aspect you will be expected to master. His exploits are legendary, and he is considered one of the finest pilots this program has ever produced." I feel excitement rush through me. 

Footsteps begin to echo in between the rows and I refrain from turning my head to see who it is. "What he has to teach you may very well be the difference between life and death." The heavy boots pass me and I see the back of his head. My body tenses and my heart beat thunders against my rib cage. Please don't be who I think it is. "I give you Captain Pete Mitchell. Call sign: Maverick." 

Once my dad is standing on the podium I finally see his face. My heart is lodged into my throat and I feel like I'm going to be sick. He begins speaking but all I hear is ringing in my ears as he throws the manual in the trash can. Fuck this shit. Fuck everything. I feel like I'm suffocating as I sit in the same room as the only two men that have ever broken my heart. "What the enemy doesn't know is your limits, and I intend to find them." This situation right here; this is my fucking limit. It takes every ounce of will power I have not to leave this room right now.

"Today we'll only start with what you think you know." His eyes that are identical to my own land on me for the first time before quickly averting their gaze. "Show me what you're made of." "Isn't this kind of unfair, though?" Fanboy asks. "Why do you say that?" my dad asks him. "I mean Siren is your daughter. Doesn't that make you biased?" I scoff. Folding my arms and leaning back into my seat I glare at Maverick. "You don't have to worry about that."

We make our way to the hanger. Rooster catches up to me and walks next to me. "Are you okay?" Bradley keeps his eyes forward. I sigh. "Not really, you?" I peer at him from the corner of my eye. He half heartedly smiles, only slightly lifting one side of his mouth. "Not really." When he glances down I give him a tight lipped smile in return. We may have our issues, but the last person either of us want to see is my father.

"Siren. Rooster." The small smiles drop off our faces and we continue walking, ignoring Maverick's call. "Bradley! Selene!" I stop and turn quickly, Bradley halting next to me. "You call me Siren. Only people who know me get to call me Selene." My face is expressionless but my voice comes out with venom. His mouth forms a firm line. "I'm your dad." I chuckle, no trace of humor in it. "You are my father," I say looking him in the eyes. "But you stopped being my dad 10 years ago." I storm away leaving Rooster and Maverick behind. The two of them have a short conversation before Bradley walks away too, seeming as angry as I am. 

I'm sitting in the room next to the radio with the other pilots. Payback and Fanboy with Rooster are up first. "Good morning Aviators, this is your Captiain speaking." I roll my eyes at Maverick's confident voice. "Welcome to basic fighter maneuvers. As briefed, today's exercise is dogfighting. Guns only; no missiles. We do not go below the hard deck of 5000 feet. Working as a team you have to shoot me down, or else."

"Or else what, sir?" I'm glad when I hear Payback say it. "Or else I shoot back." ooo so scary. "If I shoot either one of you down, you both loose." All of us look at each other as we listen in. "This guy needs an ego check," Hangman says. Then he looks at me like he shouldn't have said it in my presence. Hangman knows we don't talk, but not why. I shoot him a grin. "Tell me about it."

After uping the stakes with 200 push ups the fight is on. Mav almost gets Coyote out quickly, but Rooster saves him. It costs him, though, because he gets out right after. It goes like this all day. Mav gets everyone out, some quickly and some less quickly but it all ends the same with 200 pushups counted by Hondo. We each have time for about two runs. For the first one I was partnered with Hangman, and we almost got him, but lost him in the sun when he pulled up. I was livid while I did my pushups. Everyone else has gotten out, sure, but I've studied my dad's flying my whole life. I know his moves, his weaknesses. My judgement was clouded by anger. 

The second time I'm partnered with Rooster, which is much worse because both of us are angry. During the dogfight Maverick and Rooster end up circling each other as they plummet towards the ground. "How low do you want to go, Rooster?" They are past the hard deck and I can only watch. "I can go as low as you, sir! And that's saying something." The space below them is dwindling. "What's past is past, for both of us!" "You'd like to believe that, wouldn't you?" Anxious nerves surround my body when they continue to bicker and refuse to pull up. "Pull up, you idiots! You've got less than 3000 feet! You're running out of room!" Striker screams over the comm. They ignore her.

 "Pull up or else I'm never speaking to either of you again," I say with a steely voice, hiding how scared I am. They finally pull up with less than a thousand feet under them. I'm pissed at both of them for obvious personal reasons. But that is nothing compared to how pissed I am at their recklessness. 

They're dogfighting again and I join, but keep my distance a little behind Rooster. Like I said, I've studied Maverick's flying my whole life. Rooster may not know it but my dad is about to do a move to go over and behind him. When my dad starts to move I smirk.  As soon as the move is completed my guns are in perfect position to lock on him. The alarm blares out. 

"That's a kill. Maybe if you two weren't so focused on your raging male testosterone you'd remember that I'm fucking here," I grit out over the intercome before turning to fly back to base.