Fight's On (Top Gun: Maverick)

Phase One.

The group of fighter pilots sat in the classroom looking at the screen at the front. Three minutes was displayed in front of the 3D scan of mountainous terrain. "Time is your greatest enemy. Phase one of the mission will be a low-level ingress attacking in two-plane teams. You'll fly along this narrow canyon to your target. Radar-guided surface-to-air missiles defend the area. These SAMS, they're lethal. But they were designed to protect the skies above not the canyon below." Maverick explained as he showed them the scan of the location. "That's because the enemy knows no one is insane enough to try and fly below them." Rooster said as Maverick turned to face the group. "That's exactly what I'm gonna train you to do." The older man stated. "On the day, your altitude will be 100 feet maximum. You exceed this altitude... Radar will spot you and you're dead. Your airspeed will be 660 knots minimum. Time to target: Two and a half minutes. That's because fifth generation fighters wait at an airbase nearby. In a head-to-head with these planes in your F18s, you're dead. That's why you need to get in, hit your target and be gone before these planes even have a chance of catching you. This makes time your greatest adversary." Maverick explained. "You'll fly a route in your nav system that simulates the canyon. The faster you navigate this canyon, the harder it'll be to stay under the radar of these enemy SAMS. The tighter the turns, the more intensely the force of gravity on your body multiplies... Compressing you lungs... Forcing the blood from you brain... Impairing you judgement and reaction time. So, for today's lesson, we're gonna take it easy on you. Max ceiling: 300 feet. Time to target: Three minutes. Good luck." He finished. Phoenix, Bob and Coyote were the first two plane team to go up, while the rest of the team watched their progress on the screen in the classroom. "Time to target is one minute thirty. We are two seconds behind. Increase to 480 knots." Bob told the woman in front of him. "We gotta move, Coyote." Phoenix told her wingman. "Copy. Increasing speed." Coyote stated before he accelerated before pulling back. Phoenix and Bob didn't expect him to slow down so quickly without any form of communication. Phoenix pulled up to avoid to going straight into the back of him. Once they were safely back in the classroom Maverick looked at group as he asked, "Why are they dead?" "We broke the 300-foot ceiling, and a SAM took us out." Phoenix said. "No. Why are they dead?" Maverick asked as he turned to Coyote. "I slowed down and didn't give her a warning. It was my fault." Javy stated as he looked at their instructor. "Was there a reason you didn't communicate with your team?" Maverick asked the young pilot. "I was focusing on..." Coyote started to explain before Maverick interrupted him, "One their family will accept at the funeral." The older man said. "None, sir." Coyote told him truthfully. Maverick then turned to Phoenix and asked, "Why didn't you anticipate the turn? You were briefed on the terrain. Don't tell me. Tell it to his family." Maverick told the dark-haired girl as she opened her mouth to say something. Hangman, Payback and Fanboy were up next, leading to the conversation they were currently having. "What happened?" Maverick asked the fighter pilot. "I flew as fast as I could. Kind of like my ass depended on it." Jake stated cockily. "And you put your team in danger, and your wingman's dead." Rooster told the man, who turned to him and said, "They couldn't keep up." Olivia, Omaha and Halo were next. They worked well together until the last moment of the course when Ghost panicked as she went around a turn and flew up, where she was spotted by radars. "Where did you go wrong?" Maverick asked his daughter, who couldn't even look at him. "I panicked and lost focus, sir and no I know that isn't a good enough excuse to tell their families. I fucked up. I get it, sir." She snapped at the man angrily. Bradley watched as Omaha and Halo both placed their hands on their wingman's shoulder in comfort. He knew she was angry at herself for panicking. She had only ever done it once in their whole career as a fighter pilot and that was after she lost her wingman, George 'Tacoma' Barnes, back before they went through Top Gun. As soon as they were told who was next, which was Rooster, Harvard and Yale, Olivia practically jumped out of her seat and left the room with Bradley following after her. Maverick watched after them confused before focusing back to the task at hand.