The pieces of my puzzle.

Three.

(Azara's POV)

I'll admit, I was kinda surprised that Cyclone actually agreed that I select the pilots. It doesn't really seem like his style.

He told us to take a seat and then he pushed a button on the remote control, which projected the first pilot's file on the wall in front of us.

"Natasha Trace. Callsign: Phoenix.
She prefers two seaters and she only flies with her WSO." He explained as Phoenix's file came on screen.

"Yeah I know her. She was my roommate at Top Gun, we were best friends." I nodded. "I also am friends with her WSO." I explained as Bob's file came on screen next to Natasha's. After my dad agreed I continued. "Put them both on the list please."

Cyclone nodded and then flicked through the files until I stopped him. "Jake Seresin. Callsign: Hangman." He said, looking over at me.

"Yeah I know him. He's an amazing pilot, but he lets his ego get in the way most of the time." I explained and looked over to my dad for input.

" yeah, he did make up for that on the Uranium mission, but he's gonna be a pain in the ass to teach." My dad said.

"Let's put him as a maybe." I stated. It went on like this for the next few minutes.
We chose Payback, Fanboy and Coyote.

I stopped Cyclone once more on a familiar file. "If I understand correctly, you Miss Mitchell, prefer flying with a WSO. Is that correct?" He asked looking over at me.

I nodded. "Yes it is, sir."

"Lukas Meyers. Callsign: Inferno." Cyclone read before looking at me and speaking again. "Do you trust him?"

I nodded again. "Yes, sir. I trust him with my life. I don't trust anyone more than I trust him. We were inseparable until my accident and he said if he wasn't flying with me he wasn't flying at all." I explained, my eyes getting misty at the thought of my backseater. "He took a job repairing jets until I got back on my feet." I felt my dad take my hand under the table and give it a comforting squeeze.

Cyclone nodded. "Would you like me to add him to the list?"

"Yes please, sir."

We continued on until we landed on the last person.

My breath hitched in my throat and my stomach dropped as I looked at the person on the file.

"Bradly Bradshaw. Callsign: Rooster."

My dad nodded, before looking at me. Confusion crossed his face as he saw my behavior change.

"Az?" He questioned quietly. "Could we have a minute?" He asked the admiral, who nodded as we stepped out of the office.

"Hey Azara." He said cupping my face in his hands. It was then that I realized that my dad probably thought I was having a PTSD episode.

"I'm fine. I need to tell you something, dad." He nodded for me to continue. "Did you think Bradly and I were still together?"

"Yeah. Aren't you?"

I shook my head, sighing at the thought of retelling the story. But I told it anyway. "About 4 days after my accident, he told me that it had scared him and that he couldn't see me get hurt, he told me he loved me and he left." I summed up.

"He really just left? Just like that?" I nodded.

My dad pulled me into a hug. "I'm so sorry sweetheart. Do you still want him on the team?" He asked me.

"Yeah, I haven't spoken to him in a year so it's not like it's a fresh wound. I'll keep it professional. Besides, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't let him on the team just because of our history." I explain before we went back in and told Cyclone to put him on the list.

(A week later)

Today, the pilots were arriving for the training. The mission was six weeks away, so at least we had a longer training period than the Uranium mission had.

I was pretty excited for them to arrive.
Most of them were my close friends that I hadn't seen in a long time. But one person in particular, I was not as excited to see.

But, everything would be fine as long as I kept it professional, Right?

I shook the thought from my head as I walked up to the base and checked in.
I smiled at the guy that had to check in everyone before they could enter the building. "Morning Al, how are you today?"

The tall man returned my smile. "Good morning Miss Azara. I am good thanks. How are you?" Al was a tall, slim man, with jet black hair and warm brown eyes.

"I'm good thanks, Al. Sorry I can't chat for longer, I have a class. Have a good day Al."
I told him with an apologetic smile.

He shook his head. "No problem, Miss. Enjoy the rest of your day and good luck with the class." 

I winked at him, before making my way down the hall, towards the classroom. I stopped in front of the door and listened to admiral Bates through the thick wood of the door.

I was told to wait until I was announced before entering. And besides, I wouldn't be a Mitchell if I didn't make a dramatic entrance.

"You all know Captain. Pete Mitchell from your last mission, but we have called in a very special pilot for this very complex mission. She may not be very high in rank, but she has even more accomplished than Maverick, she is an even better pilot than he is and she has the knowledge and experience to train you on this mission." Cyclone was saying.

"Meet your head instructor, Captain. Azara Mitchell. Callsign: Hellfire." He introduced.

"Well I guess that's my cue." I muttered to myself as I opened the door and strode down the aisle way. I glanced at all of the pilot's faces and struggled to contained a smirk, but I kept my professional poker
face.

They knew me as the sensitive, crybaby pilot that was only there because of her dad. But I wasn't that person anymore. Even though I still cry in front of my family and am still over emotional sometimes, at work that all changes. At work I am able to  have authority over my students and not let my emotions interfere.

They were either shocked or excited to see me. Phoenix and Bob had small smiles on their faces, Hangman had a smirk on his and Rooster looked both, guilty and shocked at my presence.

Despite their smiles, my expression remained neutral. "Good morning Luitenant-Commanders." I started, my voice boomed through the room with a calm, yet authoritative tone.

Everyone looked shocked at my change in demeanor since they last saw me. "You have been called back for a special ops mission. You will be trained in certain flight techniques, aswell as weaponry use." I informed them, flicking my hard gaze from person to person.

"The training time for this op is 6 weeks. If you thought the Uranium mission was difficult you were wrong. We will go father beyond your limits than you thought possible, we will push you so far past your breaking point that you go home every night and cry your eyes out. We will do all this to ensure that each one of you comes back from this alive." They all looked slightly nervous at my words.

"After class you can follow Maverick where he will debrief you on the mission. Then you have the rest of the day off to settle in. You are dismissed." I finished, not meeting any of the pilot's eyes as I left the room.

I heard whispers behind my back as I left. "What the hell, she's a whole different person."