Come Back To Me // Top Gun: Maverick

[Hangman] Drinking with an old friend

"The hard deck is 5,000 feet above ground level. A parameter is set not just for the safety of our pilots, but for the safety of their aircraft. 5,000 feet is not just a rule. It is a law, as immutable as gravity." Cyclone says.

Cyclone sat behind his desk while Warlock, Maverick, and I stood in front. He was clearly not happy with us.

"The hard deck will be much lower for the mission, sir." Maverick then says.

"And it will not change without my approval! Especially not in the middle of an exercise. And that cobra maneuver of yours? That could've got all four of you killed. I never want to see that shit again."

"What exactly do you suppose you were teaching, Captain?" Warlock asks.

"That as good as they are, sir, they still have something to learn." Maverick says.

"You are talking about the best fighter pilots on the planet, Captain."

"And they've been told that their entire career, while they've been dropping bombs from a high  altitude with little to no dog fighting."

"The parameters of this mission call for something they have never encountered." I then say.

"Okay, you have less than three weeks to teach them how to fight as a team and how to strike the target."

"And how to come home." I say. Cyclone stares at me blankly and I and I turn to a slight whisper. "And how to come home, sir."

"Every mission has its risks. These pilots accept that."

"I don't, sir." Maverick then says. 

"Every morning, from this day forward, you will brief us on your instructional plans in writing. And nothing will change without my express approval."

"Including the hard deck, sir?" 

"Especially the hard deck, Captain."

"Sir." Mav says while placing a folder on Cyclone's desk. 

"What is this?"

"It's a request to lower the hard deck, sir, to practice a low-level bombing run per the mission parameters."

"You could learn a thing or two about timing, Captain." I then say walking out of the building. 

🗲 🗲 🗲

I sat down at Mum's bar taking a drink of my beer. I was out of my Navy uniform and in a nice summer dress. I just needed a drink to shake off today. Dad and I may not be able to fly this mission but he has a chance to fly again before getting rid of him for good. I had my head in my hand and the other hand held the beer bottle in my hand.