Keep Your Eyes On Me

- 10 -

"Good morning," Warlock said, looking over the 14 aviators. "The uranium enrichment plant that is your target will be operational earlier than expected." Liz looked over to John before looking back towards the front. She had wondered why both admirals had decided to come in for their morning briefing. "Raw uranium will be delivered to the plant in ten days' time. As a result, your mission has been moved up one week."

Everyone adjusted in their seats, looking at one another. They barely have been able to do the speed runs through the canyon. How were they supposed to get the training they needed in only a week?

"Sir, no one here has successfully flown a low-level course," Javy spoke up saying what was on everyone's mind.

"Nevertheless, you've been ordered to move on. Captain," Warlock called to Pete, who had been standing to the side.

"We have one week left to focus on phase two. It's the most difficult phase of the mission," Maverick spoke quickly and precisely as he walked in front of his students. "It's a pop-up strike with a steep dive, requiring nothing less than two consecutive miracles." He held up two fingers. He had mapped out this entire flight plan the minute he received the target information. "Two pairs of f-18s will fly in a welded wing formation. Teamwork. Precise coordination of these aircrafts is essential to both the mission's success and your survival." Liz glanced over at Jake, who glanced over at Rooster, before shifting back to Mav to continue listening to their plan. "As you know the plant rests between two mountains. On final approach, you'll invert directly into a steep dive. This allows you to maintain the lowest possible altitude and the only possible attack angle."

The aviators closely watched the screen behind Maverick show the flight plan as he spoke. Their target only being a little under 3 meters wide was not exactly the best. Liz was a sharpshooter in the army. But even with a laser-guided strike, she didn't think she would be able to make such a tight shot with a plane.

"The two-seat aircraft will paint the target with a laser bulls-eye. The first pair will breach the reactor by dropping a laser-guided bomb on the exposed ventilation hatch. This will create an opening for the second pair," he explained, stepping in front of the screen again as he held up one finger. "That's miracle number one." Liz rubbed her face, wondering how the hell they were going to pull this off. "The second team will deliver the kill shot and destroy the target." He held up two fingers. "That's miracle number two."

"How the hell do they think we are going to do this?" John whispered into her ear.

"I have no clue," she mumbled as her father continued.

"If either team misses the target, the mission is a failure. Egress is a steep high-g climb out to avoid hitting this mountain."

"A steep climb at that speed? You're pulling at least eight Gs," Jake spoke up, making Maverick turn to him.

"Nine, minimum," he said with a slight attitude.

Liz smirked a bit. Only her father would want them to pull off something as insane as this.

"The stress level of the f-18s airframe is 7.5," Liz said next, causing Mav to look over to her.

"That's the accepted limit. To survive this mission, you'll pull beyond that, even if it means bending your airframe." Liz leaned back in her chair, looking at Pete before scribbling down some information on her notepad. She had never pulled that much weight at that steep a climb.

"You'll be pulling so hard you'll weigh close to two thousand pounds - your skull crushing your spine, your lungs imploding, like an elephant sitting on your chest - fighting with everything you have just to keep from blacking out," he explained in detail. The thing was, Elizabeth lived for that feeling. It's one of the few things she looked forward to when she flew. "And this is where you will be at your most vulnerable. This is coffin corner." He looked at his team closely, hoping what he was saying was sinking in for them. "Assuming you avoid crashing into the mountain, you'll climb right up into enemy radar while losing all of your airspeed. Within seconds, you will be fired upon by enemy SAMs." The graphic on screen showed just how quickly it will happen. "You've all faced sustained Gs before but this... This is going to take you and your aircraft to the breaking point."