ℳ𝒾𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓁𝑒 𝒩𝓊𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒 | Top Gun Maverick

Chapter 2: New instructor

"Attention on deck!" a woman shouted and the cadets all got up.

"Morning" a man greeted them as he walked up to the middle of the room "Welcome to your special training detachment. Be seated!" They obeyed and all sat down immediately. Emily was sat at the table next to Rooster's, she looked over to him and saw how giddy he was, you could tell from a mile away how excited he was to be here. In front of her, there was Phoenix and Bob.

"I'm admiral Bates. NAWDC commander." He continued "You're all TOP GUN graduates. The elite. The best of the best. That was yesterday. The enemy's new fifth-generation fighter has leveled the playing field. Details are few, but you can be sure we no longer possess the technological advantage. Success, now more than ever, comes down to the man or woman in the box."

Of course hangman turned to look around towards Phoenix and then to Emily, Phoenix subtly gave him the finger and Em smiled as she concentrated back to what Bates had to say

"Half of you will make the cut. One of you will be named mission leader. The other half will remain in reserve." and once again Hangman turned to look at Rooster as to 'subtly' hint that he won't make the cut.

"Your instructor is a TOP GUN graduate with real- world experience in every mission aspect you will be expected to master. His exploits are legendary. And he's considered to be one of the finest pilots this program has ever produced. What he has to teach you may very well mean the difference between life and death. I give you Captain Pete Mitchell. Call sign: Maverick"

Emily felt her heart drop as soon as she heard the name. She thought it was going to be him, after all he is a notorious pilot, but she was hoping to be wrong. She was hoping that it could be someone else but luck was not on her side. Seeing him in front of her made her feel sick, he walked in like he did not have a worry in the world. "Of course it had to be him." she whispered to herself, then looked over to Rooster who did not seem happy to see him either.

"Good morning!" Maverick greeted, people nodded back to him but when his gaze met Rooster, his smile faded. Rooster was looking back at him as if he was ready to fight him, which is probably what he had in mind anyway. Emily could see Maverick's disappointment with the corner of her eye, he then looked at her, the eye contact was brief as she directed her gaze elsewhere. She could not stand the sight of him.
To continue on with the lesson, he lifted a book, the cover facing us. "The F-18 NATOPS." He started to talk and Emily looked back up towards him as he continued. " It contains everything they want you to know about your aircraft. I'm assuming you know the book inside and out."

"damn right!" "damn straight!" " you got it!" everybody was assuring him that they knew it off by heart but her and Rooster remained silent. He proceeded to throw the book in the trash can next to him, shocking most of the class.

"So does your enemy." Maverick continued "But what your enemy doesn't know is your limits. I intend to find them, test them, push beyond. Today we'll start with what you only think you know. You show me what you're made of."

Emily and Rooster exchanged a worried look. This was gonna be a long day for everyone.

╚»★«╝

They all headed towards their respective planes. Emily and Rooster were walking side by side, a bit behind everyone else.
"Rooster, don't do anything stupid." She could sense how tense he was.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He retorted back, looking ahead.

"Just...I know how you are, don't let him get to your h-"

"Rooster" They heard Maverick shout behind them.

"Speak of the devil." She said quietly.

"Maybe if I ignore him, he'll go away." He mumbled to her.

"That is not how it works, honey."

"You don't know until you try."

"Bradley!" He shouted this time but Rooster still ignored him. "Lieutenant Bradshaw!" his voice now stern, this was getting serious.

"Sorry babe, you gotta handle this on your own." She mumbled to him and picked up her pace, abandoning Rooster to his fate as she was trying to gain some distance between her and Mav even though she knew he'd eventually have a talk with her as well, but the longer she could avoid it, the better.

Emily watched them converse from her plane, noticing Phoenix and Hangman eyeing them up and down in curiosity. As soon as they finish the short talk, he looked straight at her. "Snow-white!" he called for her.

Snow-white was her call sign, she wasn't exactly a fan of it but they called her that because of her pale complexion and dark hair but also because of the fact that she was Iceman's daughter.

He started to walk towards her, she looked away and sighed, preparing herself for what was going to happen but when she looked back at him, she noticed he was hesitant and stopped a few feet away from her, he opened his mouth to say something just to close it right away. He gave her one last look before lowering his gaze and walking away. She was confused, so confused about what just happened. She had never seen him like that, he was always confident and sure of himself and yet now he couldn't even talk to her, yet she was not complaining about that.
She looked across to see Rooster, who also seemed to be taken aback by Maverick's behavior, they exchanged a concerned loom but shrugged it off and got ready for training.