The Danger Zone

Chapter 7: Back in Black

The funeral came and went faster for Melissa than she could ever imagine. To her, everything was one giant blur. She couldn't remember the last time she had been up in an airplane, or simply over in Rooster's bunker. She had been able to take a few days, as the entire place had shut down but now she had to get back in action. They were only a few days away from leaving for deployment, and there was still quite a bit on the list that she and the others needed to master. 

Rooster, Sav, and Carter walked in with her to the classroom and all sat together. Soon, everyone else followed in and took their seats, all waiting to see how Mel would react to everything, or be treated. 

Soon, Cyclone walked into the room. "Good morning. As of now Maverick is no longer your instructor. Time to target will increase, speed will decrease." 

Phoenix looked at him confused, "You can't be serious?" 

Hangman nodded in agreement, "You're giving the enemy time to shoot us down?" 

Before Cyclone could respond, beeping could be heard on the simulation screen, as well as familiar voices from the radio. 

They watched as Maverick had the timer set to 2 minutes, 15 seconds and started toward the simulation. 

"2:15? That's impossible..." Melissa mumbled, looking at the screen, "He'll have to bend the frame.." 

The group watched at the edge of their seats, waiting for what they thought would be an inevitable failure. However, they were wrong as Maverick was able to beat the timer with 0:0:16 seconds. 

They all watched as Cyclone walked out, going to find Maverick and figure out their next steps. They then all looked at each other, talking about what was bound to happen with the group. 

"We need to get back in the air. We can't sit here and let everything we've done go to waste." Melissa piped up, looking at the others. 

"But we can't listen to Cyclone either. When we don't listen to him...we can be kicked for insubordination." Coyote piped up. 

"No you won't." Warlock piped up. "Whamo is right. You all cannot sit here, but I'm not letting you all listen to him and mess yourselves up. Go with what you've been working on." 

The group got up, walking out to the tarmac and getting suited up. Those who weren't working in the air were studying the terrain, making sure everything would work out. 

Melissa, Rooster, Carter and Sav, and Phoenix and Bob were all in the air working on their simulation and getting Mel used to it once more. They were all in the air, going for the dive when a voice came over their radio, "All pilots land immediately. No more practice will be necessary, early departure." 

All of them landed their aircraft, confused as to what was causing the early departure. However, once they were inside, they were quickly briefed on the status of the plant. All of the pilots quickly walked out to their bunkers, getting their things packed. 

Rooster looked at the others, "You three go ahead, I'll be right there." He smiled at Mel, walking to Warlock and Hondo as the other three walked off. "Sir, can we talk?"

Hondo and Warlock looked at him, giving him their undivided attention. "What's going on?" Hondo asked. 

Rooster sighed, "I promised Admiral Kazansky years ago that I would protect Melissa with everything in me. I can't let him down now, not after everything he has done for us. With that being said, I was working with her all day. She isn't ready for this mission. I can't in good favor with my promise let her go up without trying to stop it." 

Warlock nodded, "Thank you, Lieutenant. I will pass that off for consideration." 

Rooster nodded, "Thank you." He walked off, going to his bunk to pack his gear for their departure. 

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A/N 

Okay! Hi!! It's been a hot minute but I had a lot of events over the holidays! This was kind of a rushed chapter, I didn't really know how to fill the void! See you soon!