The Rooster and The Wolf | Bradley 'ROOSTER' Bradshaw

TWENTY FOUR

"Dagger one, away."

"Dagger two, away."

"Dagger three, away."

"Dagger four, away."

You stood in the control room, headset on and connected to the communication system. Hondo stood to your left, and Cyclone stood to your right, all listening as the mission was underway. Every pilot was silent. 

Every person in the control room was silent.

"Comanche, dagger one for standby check in." Maverick spoke.

COMMENCING CHECK. PICTURE CLEAN, RECOMMEND DAGGER CONTINUE.

"Copy, daggers descending below radar." his voice was clear and unaverred, which made you feel a little more at ease.

DAGGERS NOW BELOW RADAR. SWITCHING TO E-2 PICTURE.

"Here we go, enemy territory up ahead. Feet dry in 60 seconds. Dagger one picture."

COMANCHE. PICTURE CLEAN. DECISION IS YOURS.

"Copy...dagger attack."

With that, the carrier rumbled and shook as the tomahawks were released from below deck, and once again, your fingernails were in your mouth as you chewed on them nervously. You silently thanked Phoenix for getting you into having them professionally manicured, or you were sure you'd have none left by now.

You continued to listen as each dagger marked their entry, sneaking a look to Hondo who clicked his own stopwatch. You could hear their laboured breathing, feeling their anxiety swirl with yours. 

The silence continued until Maverick communicated the first SAM sight. 

There was no turning back now.

"Looks like we're clear on radar, Mav." Phoenix recited.

"Let's not take it for granted."

"I can't lie guys, think I'm more scared of (Y/N) than anything we'll find out here."

You audibly laughed at Payback's attempt to lighten the mood, secretly feeling a little flattered at his compliment.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Payback." You said into your mic.

"There she is!" Payback laughed.

"She's lying," Hangman's voice came from the spare, "Flattery gets you everywhere." 

You chuckled as Payback bantered with Hangman some more.

"You're looking good, boys, keep it up." you said, leaning over the tech-nerd sat in front of you to look at his screen.

Unbeknownst to you, hearing your voice through his radio sent Rooster into simultaneous calm and panic. 

You'd always had a calming effect on him, but in this scenario, inches away from deadly missiles, all he could think about now was the possibility of not coming back to you. All he could think about is you crying as you looked at pictures of him, just like his mom did. 

His hands released some of the pressure on his drive shaft, and quickly himself and dagger four dropped in speed.

"We're a few seconds behind Rooster, we gotta move!" Payback said.