ℳ𝒾𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓁𝑒 𝒩𝓊𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒 | Top Gun Maverick

Chapter 14: Moment that never comes

Maverick and Rooster had finally gotten near the base. They were assessing the damage of the base, but through the smoke, they noticed a plane that was still intact. At least it looked like it.

"You've got to be shitting me. An F-14?" Rooster could not believe Maverick's plan.

"I shot three MIGs in one of those."

"We don't even know if that bag of ass can fly."

"Let's find out!" Maverick took off and headed to the base.

"Mav!" Rooster whisper-shouted, but it was pointless. "Okay..." He said, giving up and following after him.
They were trying to blend in, but Rooster looked silly instead, looking around like a scared child trying to act cool. "There's guys up there, Mav."

"Yeah."

"There's more over there."

"Okay! Let's start running."

"Yeah! Run, run!" they ran towards the small hangar.
Maverick turned on a panel in the hangar.
"Once I give you the signal for air, you're gonna flip the switch until the needle gets to 120. When the engine starts, you get to pull out the pins and disconnect everything. Do you understand?"

"Yeah." Rooster said confidently even though he looked confused. Maverick pushed a button.
"Yes!" he exclaimed when the air started flowing in the pipe attached to the plane.
He pat his shoulder and walked to the plane. "Once I'm up, stow the ladder." He instructed but stopped when he saw Rooster looking towards the forest, his mind elsewhere from what Maverick was saying.
"Rooster?" He called out to get his attention.

"Yeah, yeah, stow the ladder. Got it!" But he kept on looking harder and harder into the forest. Maverick looked behind him to see what he was looking at. He was confused until it hit him. He was looking for her. He still hoped that she would run towards him, and they'd have a happy ending.

"Rooster, we gotta go!"
Rooster simply nodded. Maverick got up the ladder, and he stowed it as instructed.

"Ok, wow. It's been a minute, huh, Mav?" He talked to himself.
He gave Rooster the signal, he flipped the switch, and the plane turned on.
Rooster quickly removed the pump from the plane and got inside.

"Oh my God! This thing is so old!" He exclaimed in shock when he saw what it was like inside.

"Alright!" The plane started to move forward. "Canopy?"

"Clear!"

The canopy closed, and they positioned themselves on the runway. Up ahead, there were two towers close to each other.

"Both runways are cratered." Rooster pointed out. "How are we gonna get this museum piece in the air?"
Maverick didn't say anything. He just opened the wings of the plane. "Why are the wings coming out, Mav?"
The engine turned on, and he was ready to go.
"Mav, this is a taxi way, not a runway! This is a very short taxi way, Mav!"

"Just hang on."
He pumped the pedal, and the plane accelerated.

"Holy shit!" Rooster was shot back by the sudden speed.

"Come on, come on, come on. Needle's alive."

"Mav?"

"That's it! Come on, come on! Alright!"

"Mav?"

"Here we go!"

The plane took off.
"Holy shit!" Rooster exclaimed once again, squeezing his eyes shut. They had successfully taken off, it cost them the landing gear but at least now they had a chance to come home. And yet Rooster wasn't all that happy.
He couldn't stop thinking about his girlfriend. His hand travelled to his neck where he felt the chain to which was attached a ring, that was the ring he wanted to propose Emily with.
That was when he realized that Hangman was right. He was always waiting for just the right moment, that never comes.
He wanted to marry her, have kids, maybe. A beautiful house on the beach. But now, none of that could become reality.
He snapped out of the thoughts when he remembered about his ESAT, letting the carrier know his location.

╚»★«╝

"Sir, we're receiving a signal from Rooster's ESAT. But there seems to be a malfunction."

"Have you lost him?" Warlock asked.

"No, sir, he's supersonic."

"He's airborne."

"In what?" Cyclone asked Warlock.

"Sir. Overwatch reports an F-14 Tomcat is airborne and on course of our position."

"Maverick!" Cyclone said in shock.

"It can't be. It can't be." Warlock was in disbelief.

"He's alive. They both are." Hondo said, feeling joy bubbling up inside of him.

"And what about Snow-white?" Warlock reminded him, and joy quickly turned into sadness again.

"Let's just hope that at least they make it home." Cyclone answered, looking back to the screens.

╚»★«╝

"Ok, Rooster, get us in touch with the boat!"

"I'm working on it! Radio's out, no radar. Everything's dead back here. What do I do? Talk me through it."

"Ok, first the radio. Throw the...the UHF-2 circuit breaker. Try that."

"There's three hundred breakers back here, anything more specific?"

"I don't know, that was your dad's department."

"I'll figure it out." Rooster looked at the breakers behind him when he spotted two enemy aircrafts closing in on them.

"Mav, tally two, 5:00 low. What do we do?"

"Ok, listen, just be cool. If they knew who we were, we'd be dead already."

"Well, here they come. What's your plan?"

"Just put your mask on. Remember, we're on the same team. Just wave and smile."
They put the masks on and lowered the visors. The aircraft was now next to them.
"Just wave and smile." Maverick repeated.
The pilot started to do signals with his hands.

"What's that signal? What's he saying?" Rooster asked in confusion. He had never seen anything like that before.

"No idea, I have no idea what he is saying."
The man kept on signing.

"What about that one? Any idea?"

"No, I've never seen that one either."
The plane started moving away from them.
"Oh, shit! His wingman is moving into a weapons envelope. Alright, listen up. When I tell you, you grab those rings above your head. That's the ejection handle."

"Mav, can we outrun these guys?"

"Not their missiles and guns."

"Then it's a dog fight."

"An F-14 against fifth-gen fighters?"

"It's not the plane, it' the pilot. You'd go after 'em if I wasn't here."

"But you are here."
Maverick promised his daughter that he'd keep him safe, but he also felt it was his duty towards Carol. Towards Goose.

"Come on, Mav. Don't think. Just do." Rooster still tried to encourage him.
And so the dogfight began.