Top Gun Rooster

Chapter 14: My Name is Thunder

I'm a white light that's burning
(Right across your sky)
Gonna light up the city
(And light up your night)
Like a flame that keeps burning
(Shining on bright)
I'm a flash across the sky
My name is Thunder

"My Name is Thunder" - Jet

Pete borrowed Bradley's truck and brought a bunch of boxes to The Hangar. It would be sad to leave it all behind, but it was time. There was no reason to stay at The Hangar. He didn't need a hangar to house his Airstream. The Airstream was meant to be mobile after all. It didn't need to stay in the Hangar. But that didn't really matter. He liked it that way, it was his space, and so it was sad to leave it behind. He opened The Hangar doors and brought in a stack of boxes and a roll of tape, and looked around for where to start.

What was the easiest thing to pack? He looked around and sat on the chair. There were lots of memories here. What to pack up first?

He had considered subleasing the Hangar to someone who could use his tools and maintain their plane. But that would feel too weird. He had thought about using the hangar and working as an aircraft mechanic. He could put out the word and work on other people's planes. It would be depressing to work on planes but not fly them, but he could do it. He could afford to stay, but that felt odd to live in an empty hangar. So after considering his options for a while, he felt that he should just move on. Even if he decided to stay and be an aircraft mechanic, the place could still use a cleaning up.

He had watched Rooster and Hangman fly. Damn, those kids were good.

Watching Rooster fly made him grin. He felt so proud of Rooster. It wasn't that he himself had anything to do with Rooster's prowess, at least not much. He wasn't proud of Rooster for Pete's own pride. He was proud of Rooster for becoming who his was, nearly on his own. But watching him, he realized that it was time to put flying behind him. Maverick's time was past. It was time for the younger generation to take charge. He had had a good long run of it, hadn't he? In fact, he had a longer run of it than most pilots. There weren't many fighter pilots or test pilots out there his age. Heck, if he were honest, there weren't any fighter pilots out there his age still going on missions. Or test pilots for that matter.

He knew that he would have to do it sooner or later. He wasn't getting any younger. It was time, he reminded himself, even though he didn't want to do it. He had decided that it was time after sailing with Penny. It wasn't like life was over. Just this part. There was still a lot of life there to enjoy.

He hadn't told anyone that he was going to move out. He just told Bradley that he was going to pack some of the old things up. It made it sound less serious. Just do it, Pete, he told himself. He would start by sorting things. What to keep, what to throw out, and what to sell. He put himself to work.

After a while Pete had picked up momentum. He had sorted out his bookcase, and had boxes filled of things that were outdated, or not useful anymore. He had some crates of books to donate to the library. He found some old manuals that he thought he had lost, but he didn't need them now. He started on his desk.

His smartphone rang. The screen said that it was Iceman's widow, Sarah Kazansky.

"Hi Sarah, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Pete answered.

"Hey Pete." Sarah sounded resigned. "Have you got a minute?"

"Sure, for you, of course."

"Well, I'm finally going though some of Tom's things, and figuring out what to do with it all..." she started, then uncomfortably laughed a bit. "Well, I'm not really calling about Tom's things. Just one thing. What I'm really calling you about is Tom's plane."