Hawk hid a yawn behind her hand, keeping her head low to try and keep the other graduates from seeing it. She was sat beside Rooster in her flight suit, her best friend lounging happily beside her. She lifted her hand and placed it on top of Roosters', stopping his fingers from tapping on the desk in front of him. She scoffed as he eyed her with amusement, proving he'd been doing it to annoy her.
Phoenix had woken her an hour earlier than she was used to for a morning run around base, one that she hadn't had the heart to refuse since it had been a while since she'd had a woman to go running with. It had been a nice change from trying to sprint after Rooster and his long legs, but hadn't been much easier with the other woman taking them the longest route possible. After the run, she'd been in a bit of a rush to shower, put her hair up, get into her flight suit and eat. Hawk had made it, just. Only problem was she hadn't had time to get a coffee.
Hawk sat up a little straighter as some senior figures began heading towards the hanger turned makeshift classroom, lightly nudging her pilot who was still smugly smiling at her for her state. Seeing her gaze, Rooster also sat up straighter.
"Attention on Deck!" Was called out, every recruit jumping to their feet at attention as Admiral Solomon "Warlock" Bates came up to the podium that had been set up at the fling of the class. The group kept their eyes front aside from Sophie, who frowned to herself as she noticed who she believed to be Hondo off to the side.
"Morning, Welcome to your special training detachment. Be Seated." The Admiral ordered, all the recruits staking a seat at the order. Sophie leaned forward, crossing her arms on the desk as she focused, Rooster relaxing beside her with a smile.
"I'm Admiral Bated, NAWDC commander. You're all TopGun graduates. The elite. The best of the best. That was yesterday." The Admiral explained, all previous smirks and smug smiled on the graduates faces disappearing, "The enemy's new 5th generation fighter has levelled the playing field. Details are few, but you can be sure we no longer possess the technological advantage.
now its technological advantage. Success, now more than ever, comes down to the man or woman in the box. Half of you will make the cut. One of you will be named mission leader. The other half will remain in reserve."
Sophie fell back in her chair, her thoughts spiralling as she wondered what kind of mission this could be to have recalled so many TopGun graduate, let alone the highest scoring ones. She glanced up in time to see Hangman throwing a challenging look back at Rooster and narrowed her eyes at him.
"Your instructor is a Top Gun graduate with real-world experience in every mission you will be expected to master." Admiral Bates continued, Sophie's gaze drifting back to the man as a pit in her stomach formed, "His exploits are legendary. And he is considered to be one of the finest pilots this programme has ever produced."
Sophie felt her stomach drop as she twisted to see her father walking up between the two rows of desks. He caught her gaze, an almost silent apology on his face as he saw her stare. Sophie pulled her eyes away, twisting back around and forcing herself to stare at the table in front of her as she felt Rooster tense beside her.
"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." Admiral Bates finished, all the candidates looking at their new teacher with mixture of interest or embarrassment after last night. Hawk and Rooster were the only two refusing to look at their new trainer, one hiding their gaze by staring at the desk while the other stared at the wall angrily.
"Good morning." Maverick started, cheekily smiling at the graduates that had thrown him out the bar the night before. Sophie glanced up just in time to see her dad offering a smile to Rooster, who had braved a look over only to looked away again. She watched her fathers gaze drift to her and silently shook her head, letting out a thankful sigh as her Father took it as a sign to move on.
"The F-18 NATOPS." Captain Mitchell started, lifting up a folder that every recruit there and read backwards and forwards, "It contains everything they want you to know about your aircraft. I'm assuming you know the book inside and out."
"Damn right!" Payback called out.
"Damn straight." Hangman added.
Sophie rubbed a hand over her face as her father lifted the manual in the air before throwing it into a nearby trash can, biting her lip to keep in a groan of embarrassment. She averted her gaze to the left hand side when her dad looked over, sitting up straighter when her eyes met Admiral Beau Simpson, who was clearly watching her and Rooster for reactions. Shuffling slightly, she purposefully sat further forward, covering Rooster and his tense posture from their gaze as much as possible.
"So does you enemy." Pete reminded the group, trying his hardest not to stare at the two people trying to avoid him, "But what the 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."
Sophie's eyes narrowed as her father's seemed to focus his final words on Rooster, her back straightening at the silent challenge in his words. She listened as he relayed the type of exercise they would be doing today and shared a look of determination with Rooster. The two of them nodded their heads silently at the news they'd be first up along with Payback and Fanboy and stood from their desks with the whole group to get suited for their flight training. As they got towards the locker room where their flight gear was stored, Sophie allowed Rooster to take the lead as she got lost in her thoughts. Uncertain about her father being allowed to teach, but even more uncertain and concerned about him being allowed to teach her and Rooster. She kept her head down as she opened her locker and pulled on her gear, ignoring Hangman as he tried to bait her and Rooster into an argument.
Feeling a hand fall on to her right shoulder, Sophie jumped, her head twisting to the side only to smile lightly as she saw a worried Rooster staring back at her. Offering a simple pat on the hand he'd placed on her shoulder she pulled out her royal blue helmet, Hawk plastered over the front and a picture of a cartoon hawk on the back. Rooster watched her methodically check her gear, tap her helmet twice before kissing her fingers and placing them on a photo of them with her mom. Once she'd done her ritual, she closed her locker, smiling at him.
The two headed back out onto the air strip, following the other graduates as they checked over their planes. Sophie couldn't help smiling at the familiar smell of jet fuel in the air, excited just at the thought of getting back up in the air. She turned to speak to Rooster when her fathers voice cut through the air.
"Rooster? Bradley?" Pete shouted, seeing Sophie and Bradley making their way towards their jet for the morning. He frowned as Sophie glanced back nervously, "Lieutenant Bradshaw?"
Sophie stopped when Rooster did, her eyes flickering between her father and her best friend, the slight warning in her eyes aimed at both of them. Rooster tended to loose his cool when any topic close to his father was mentioned, never mind thrust in front of him, and she didn't want to see him getting kicked out (and thus kicking her out) if he couldn't keep a lid on it. She was also concerned about her father letting slip their relation, she was Collins for a reason, she didn't want to be tarred with the same brush or have the level of expectation weighing down on her. She hadn't meant to never tell Rooster but it had never come up, why would it? To Rooster, her dad was just someone who knocked up her mom, got back in touch when she was about 5/6 and then just made contact when he could, with letters sent and fore in the gap. She'd only found out about Roosters dislike of her dad through his drunken ranting one night, and she hadn't had the guts to admit the truth to him since then.
"Yes, sir." Rooster replied as he turned, breaking Sophie from her thoughts.
"Lets not do it like this." Pete asked, trying to break down some walls that had been created a while ago. Sophie looked away, pretending like she wasn't listening.
"You gonna wash me out." Rooster asked quietly, keeping a respectful tone as he tried not to look at Pete. Sophie heard her father sigh but didn't look back at him, instead focusing on a jet.
"That'll be up to you, not me." Maverick finally replied, feeling somewhat disappointed at the reaction from both Rooster and Hawk.
"Am I dismissed?" Rooster asked, Sophie twisting her head to the side to look pointedly at her father. Maverick let out a breath.
"Rooster I don't want to," Maverick began, his gaze moving to Hawk as he silently asked for help to try and get through to him.
"Am I dismissed, sir?" Rooster tried again, his voice tightening slightly as he tried to hold his frustration back for Sophie's sake. Sophie turned her head back around, noticing the look from both her dad and Rooster, both men trying to get this conversation out the way for her sake.
"Dismissed Lieutenant." Maverick eventually breathed, seeing no help from Sophie and Rooster just getting more frustrated. Sophie's shoulders dropped in relief as Rooster nodded and twisted around, marching off towards their jet. She watched him go, knowing how annoyed he was just by the fact he didn't pause for her.
"Dad, you can't just, just," Sophie muttered to him before sighing, "You're not gonna wash me out either, right?"
Maverick turned his eyes to his daughter who was still facing towards the jets, away from him, and shook his head.
"As I said, that'll be down to you." He offered, letting out a breath.
"Dad?" A voice questioned from the pairs left. Sophie's head snapped around, glare on her face as she saw Hangman smirking at the two. Maverick let out a sigh but couldn't offer any sort of apology to Sophie who quickly marched off after Rooster.
Sophie caught up to Rooster just as he finished his checks around the jet, nodding his head as he pulled his helmet on. Sophie offered a tight smile as she pulled her own helmet on, climbing up the ladder to get settled in the cockpit. She silently began her own checks as Rooster climbed in, the two not speaking but working in sync to get the jet up and ready to fly. Rooster relayed to flight control as he started to taxi towards the runway, Sophie double checking her belts and the weapons systems. She sat back in her seat as the jet pulled into the runway, feeling herself smiling as Rooster took them up into the air.
The two of them spent the time waiting for Maverick, Payback and Fanboy by going through basic systems checks. Hawk took her chance to get her bearings, offering a wave to Fanboy as their wingman appeared beside them. Hawk and Fanboy began watching the skies for Maverick as Payback and Rooster got into basic wingman formation. Having a feeling this was going to be a very intense lesson, Hawk pulled on her mask as the communications burst to life.
"Good morning, Aviators. This is Your captain is speaking. Welcome to basic flight manoeuvres. As briefed, todays exercise is dogfighting. Guns only. No missiles. We do not go below the hard deck of 5,000 feet." Maverick briefed, Rooster pulling on his own mask as he listened, "Working as a team, you have to shoot me down or else."
"Or else what, sir?" Payback called over, Hawk swearing she could hear the smirk in his voice.
"Or else I shoot back. If I shoot either one of you, you both lose." Maverick finished, Hawks eyes narrowing as she continued to search the skies.
"What say we put some skin in the game?" Payback called over, Hawk just able to hold back a groan over the radio, just imagining her father's smug face at the challenge being issued.
"What do you have in mind?" Maverick called back.
"Whoever gets shot down first has to do 200 push-ups." Payback challenged, Hawk turning to glare at their wingman with frustration, aware that they wouldn't be able to tell. She knew her father was a good pilot, had plenty practice all over the country and world with different machinery and she could admit – she didn't like their chances.
"Guys that's a lot of push-ups." Maverick responded as he pulled on his own mask.
"They don't call it an exercise for nothing, sir." Fanboy teased over the radio. Hawk rolled her eyes, pulling down her visor to cover her eyes.
"You got yourself a deal." Maverick called back, "Fights on. Let's turn and burn."
"Hawk, Fanboy, you see him?" Rooster called out as he searched the skies. Hawk twisted her head as she tried to get a visual.
"There's nothing ahead on the radar." Fanboy responded, "He must be somewhere behind us."
"I don't think so…" Hawk couldn't help but mutter just as a jet shot between the two of them, forcing Rooster to bail left to avoid. Hawk couldn't help but grunt as the sudden momentum threw her for a moment.
"Damn it!" She heard Rooster curse as she worked on keeping a visual on both Maverick and Payback while also prepping weapons.
"He's on you Fanboy!" Hawk called over, alerting the other WSO, trying to allow the pilots to focus.
"Tally Tally Tally! Maverick is coming in! Break left!" Fanboy communicated to his pilot. Hawk watched as her father followed close on their wingman's tail.
"Rooster 10 o'clock." Hawk called, Rooster adjusting course to try and get back with Payback.
"Payback, where's your wingman?" Maverick called almost tauntingly as Payback began a few manoeuvres to try and loose his pursuer.
"Rooster, where are you?" Payback questioned, trying not to sound too panicked as Maverick refused to give up chase.
"I got your back, man. I'm coming. Hang in there! Hang in there!" Rooster called, eyeing the situation as they got closer. Hawk leaned to her left to try and get a better view, but also working out what could potentially come out of the very few options they had open.
"Hurry up man! Hurry up!!" Payback continued as he manoeuvred just in time to avoid what Hawk was sure had been a killing shot. She watched her father fly for a moment, knowing Rooster was silently considering her safety but knowing what they had to do.
"I'm with you Roost." She called over, breaking him out of his silent debate and throwing them into the fight. Hawk twisted her head, trying to keep an eye on Maverick as they blasted past.
"Payback! Break Right!" Rooster ordered, giving the other pilot a rest.
"Breaking Right." Payback repeated back as he broke off, Hawk paying little attention as she tilted her head to keep an eye on the main threat.
"Rooster and Hawk just saved your life, fellas. But it's gonna cost them." Maverick warned them, Rooster twisting to glare back at the jet chasing them at the threat.
"Not this time old man." Rooster challenged, before throwing them into a dive. Hawk let out a grunt as she was pushed back slightly at the sudden change in Gs but said nothing as they continued down, twisting again to try and get a view of Maverick.
"Rooster, we're too low! We need to pull up or we'll hit the hard deck!" Hawk warned as altitude warning started to appear on her screens, drawing her attention from searching the sky. Rooster swore as the vocal alarm kicked in and pulled back on the joystick to try and pull them back up above 5000 feet. Hawk felt herself getting pushed back again.
"Rooster our six…" Hawk started to warn when the familiar targeting warning blared and Mavericks voice filled their ears.
"That's a kill."
Hawk let out a sigh as Rooster levelled out the jet, breathing deeply. Hawk ripped off her mask first, quickly followed by Rooster as they both took a moment to breathe. They remained silent as they watched Mavericks attention turn to Payback and Fanboy, not surprised when the inevitable kill shot came. Hawk was the only one to reply with an affirmative as they received their orders to return to the strip and Hondo would see about Hawk and Roosters push ups.
Once they were down and out the plane, Hawk was the first to stand up and pull herself out, giving Rooster a chance to work through the frustration. She pulled off her helmet, nodding thanks to the engineers that came over and tugging a few stray hairs that had fallen out her bun behind her ear as she started walking back to the hanger. She hadn't even got to the hanger when Rooster appeared beside her. They walked in silence, helmets keeping a gap between them.
"I'm sorry soph." Bradley offered just as they got to their lockers, Sophie glanced over at him frowning.
"What for?" She asked, sticking her helmet in her locker and beginning to pull off her flight gear. Sophie watched as Rooster stared at her locker door and turned her head to see what had caught his attention. She felt herself smile at the image of them messing on a piano in a bar in California but moved the door to break his focus.
"Getting us killed?" Rooster sighed, taking off his own flight gear. Sophie shrugged her shoulders; her gaze being drawn to a photo of her sleeping in Roosters jeep.
"It was just training." She offered with a small smile, knowing it wouldn't be enough to satisfy him but just trying to remind him why they were there in the first place.
"But it's not just any training." Rooster muttered before letting out a breath, already knowing Sophie wouldn't be changing her mind, "let's get these push ups over with."
The two walked out, careful to avoid drawing attention as they passed the break room where they could hear Mavericks voice calling out the next squad he wanted to test. Roosters face screwed up in slight frustration at the mere sound of the voice that had just whooped their team's ass. Sophie watched her best friend, her easy smile falling as she remembered the interaction between her and her dad that Hangman had overheard, a small pit in her stomach opening. Rooster disliked her father so much, and to have Hangman have that tiny bit of information about her and not understand how important it was for it to stay hidden, worried her immensely.
The two remained lost in their own thoughts as they headed back to the hanger, Sophie offering a half smile to Hondo who seemed to be expecting them. The older man led the two of them out the hanger to their jet.
"You know what to do." The man shrugged, both Hawk and Rooster nodding as they got down and silently began their push-ups, Hondo counting them through it.
"I take it back. You can apologise for this." Sophie muttered under her breath as they hit 100. Rooster glanced over at her, smirk on his face as he pushed himself up with ease. Her eyes narrowed at the wordless challenge and turned her head back to the tarmac, trying her best to ignore the tightness across her shoulders as she continued.
"Down. 109. Down. 110. Down." Hondo counted loudly, signalling to Sophie he had heard her. Sophie kept her head down as they continued, her breathing coming out a little more strained.
"Whoo! Wow!" Some voiced jeered as they got closer. Sophie's focus dwindled for a moment as her eyes flashed them a glare.
"Hold that tarmac down 'til we get back, brother, all right?" Harvard called to Rooster before smirking and pulling out his phone.
"Get in there, boys." He called, taking a selfie with his squad, Rooster in the background. Sophie felt herself scoff, trying her hardest to keep in rhythm with Hondo as she glared. Harvard and Yale continued to laugh.
"Smile." They called to her, taking a photo of her before jeering some more and heading towards their own jets. Sophie glared after them, Rooster doing the same before focusing back on his push-ups. Hondo began counting louder as he saw Sophies face begin to mirror her fathers, bringing her back to what she should be focusing on.
"Assholes." Sophie breathed, collapsing on her chest as Hondo announced they'd made it to 200. Rooster pushed himself up to sit, shaking his head at his best friend and nodding to Hondo who'd advise they heard to the break room once they'd taken a moment.
Sophie let out a light grunt as she pushed herself onto her back, lifting her right arm to block the glare from the sun as she watched the dogfight on above her head. Rooster shook out his arms, watching her with an amused smirk before pushing himself to his feet. He held out his hand to Sophie, who grabbed it, her eyes never leaving the sky as he pulled her to her feet. Rooster was about to ask her what was so interesting when she let out a small laugh.
"Yale's dead." She announced, Rooster's eyes flying to the sky to try and work out how she knew. Seeing nothing obvious, he turned his questioning gaze on her.
"How'd you work that out?" He questioned. Sophie lifted her left hand up, tilting Roosters head so he could see the jet that was clearly out of the fight before smirking.
"I'm a WSO, we know everything." She teased, before immediately turning and heading back to the Hanger. Rooster stared after her, before rolling his eyes and following.
Rooster caught up with her just before she entered the break room. She smiled up at him, chuckling to herself as he nudged her. As they entered, Sophie smiled across at Phoenix deciding to go over to stand beside the woman who had taken a perch close to the window. Rooster watched her go and made a move to follow but was intercepted by Payback who offered him his thanks for saving his ass. Sophie, noticing Rooster not following, glanced back and smiled at Fanboy and Payback, the other WSO tossing a water bottle to her in thanks.
Sophie took a drink of her water as she turned her attention back out the window, the buzz of the radio in the background filling her in on the decisions being made in the air. She felt herself smile as she heard her father pronounce that the squad in the air was dead, and that they should land now. Phoenix nudged her, giving her a look for smiling to which Sophie shrugged.
"Looking a little hot there, Hawk." Hangman called over as he came into the room with a smirk, the implication clear to most of the graduates in the room. Sophie let out a breath and rolled her eyes, turning her head to look at the man.
"Hangman." Phoenix cut in, seeing Rooster tensing and Hawk trying her hardest to play it cool.
"What? Am I not allowed to observe now?" Hangman teased, still smirking as his eyes flickered between Rooster and Hawk, wondering who would crack first, seeing them both keeping their mouths shut he decided to press further, "Was that your first time back in the air?"
There was a tense silence, all the graduates staring between the three as they waited for the outcome. Roosters hands curled into fists at his side, but Hawk was the first to break.
"Shut up Hangman." She demanded her shoulders now tense, not needing the constant reminder of what had happened being thrown in her face. Hangman however just continued to smile smugly, lifting a leg up to sit on the pool table as his eyes focused on her.
"Oh! Come on, I can't be the only one who's curious." He pressed, "We all heard the rumours after it happened."
Rooster moved to block Hangman's view of Hawk, trying his hardest not to react violently at the jibes towards her and the accident. Hawk took a step to the left of Rooster, a glare on her face as she stared down the other airman. Seeing the man look pointedly to his left, she followed his gaze, her glare dropping as she saw the curious looks on everyone else's faces. Letting out a sigh, she glared down at the floor.
"I don't have anything to say. Reports out there if you want to read it." Hawk eventually bit out, Rooster glancing down at her before looking around the room and frowning at everyone who was watching with interest.
"Hawk, come on! Give us something!" Hangman laughed, secretly delighted he'd gotten such a reaction from both Rooster and Hawk. He watched as the woman glanced around the room again before glaring at him.
"Soph, you…" Rooster started to mutter under his breath to her but before he could finish, she'd started speaking.
"It was just a training exercise, I'd been asked to cover another WSO's shift. We were halfway back from target when I warned of an approaching flock of birds, but I warned him too late, before we could manoeuvre, they'd hit us. He panicked as I relayed procedures to get the fire out and bailed without telling me. I left too late, got hit by some burning fuel. End of story."
Everyone stared at the woman who was breathing slightly heavier at the memory, but no one dared open their mouth. Rooster glared at Hangman who had the grace to look slightly taken aback, clearly having not heard the full story before or even read the report. The room remained in a tense state until Maverick walked in, his smile falling when he noticed the tense atmosphere and the stare off between Rooster and Hangman with Hawk in the middle. He waited for a moment to see what would happen, but seeing no one making any moves or saying anything, he let out a cough.
"Hangman, Phoenix, Bob. Let's go." Maverick called before quickly turning and leaving. Rooster glared after Hangman, his gaze dropping when he felt a nudge from his left and frowned at Phoenix until he saw her looking pointedly at Hawk as she passed. His eyes moved to his best friend, lifting a hand and setting it on her right shoulder, only to frown feeling how tense her shoulders were.
Hawk stared at the pool table, trying to work through the emotions and push them back. It hadn't been easy since her accident, after months of recovery, she'd had to then try and get back in a jet without panicking. Rooster had been there for her the entire time, as her best friend and pilot, and had been the one to take her back up 2 months ago, but it had been hard for her. Rooster had fought for her to remain with him when the Admiral on their ship had thought it best she moved on, he'd refused to take on any other WSO and flown solo while she'd been recovering, he was the only reason she still flew, the only one who'd believed in her. She knew she was only where she was now because of how much effort Rooster had put in to help her, and she wasn't going to throw it in his face by freaking out on him.
"You ok, Hawk?" Payback asked, sharing an uneasy look with Rooster. He might not have known the girl long, but she was a great at her job, had kept him and Fanboy alive in the exercise. He didn't want to see her crumble like he had so many pilots and seamen that had had a terrible accident and couldn't recover.
The group watched the girl let out a breath, before nodding. Everyone bar Rooster, Payback and Fanboy averted their gaze as Hawk glanced around. Rooster squeezed her shoulder in support before dropping his hand, he watched as she silently walked to the window, her eyes squinting as she stared at the jets taking off into the sky. The room started to fill with quiet conversations again.
"Say, Phoenix, how about we tell everyone 'Bob' stands for something? Other than Robert, I mean." Hangman's voice teased over the radio. Sophie rolled her eyes, trying to loose some tension as she turned so her back was to the window and eyeing Rooster who was leaning beside the radio.
"He always has to start something." She sighed.
"Don't take the bait, Bob. Wanna know why we call him Hangman?" Phoenix interrupted before Bob could utter a reply.
"Oh wait, I got it 'Baby on Board'." Hangman laughed. Rooster and Hawk shared a glance, rolling their eyes.
"SHIT!" Hangman cursed, a small smile growing on Hawk and Roosters face at the tinge of panic. Hawk pushed off the window to stand beside Rooster.
"Greetings, aviators. Fight's on." Maverick called over the radio.
"All right, Phoenix. Let's take this guy out!" Hangman encouraged,.
"Watch your back, Phoenix." Rooster quietly offered, Hawk humming in agreement. Both knowing Hangman's reputation from a mixture of experience and hearsay.
"Break right!" Hangman called.
"Breaking right!" Phoenix confirmed, Sophie took a look back towards the window, frowning as she could just see the two jets split.
"Wheres he going?" Bob asked, Sophie shaking her head as she watched on.
"That's why we call him Hangman. He'll always hang you out to dry." Phoenix explained to her new WSO.
"So glad we had you Payback." Hawk called over, as she watched the two jets. The man smiled in return, shaking his head at the group in the sky.
"Leaving your wingman. There's a strategy I haven't seen in a while." Maverick admitted to them.
"He called you a man, Phoenix. You gonna take that?" Hangman teased.
"So long as he doesn't call you a man." They heard Phoenix answer before she turned her attention back to the mission at hand, "Talk to me Bob, Where's Maverick?"
"Jesus, his nose is already coming around." Bob informed her, Sophie glancing over at Rooster who was staring intently at the radio.
"Get him off me, Hangman!" Phoenix ordered,
"For all you folks at home, this is how you bury a fossil." Hangman quipped, Sophie frowning as he managed to get behind Maverick by using Phoenix as bait.
"All right, Hangman. It's time to teach you a lesson." Maverick muttered just as a familiar dull tone came over the radio, "You're out, Phoenix."
"Son of a bitch!" Phoenix shouted.
"Let's go, Mav! Let's see what you got!" Hangman shouted, not concerned in the slightest that his teammates had just been killed.
"Come get me!" Maverick muttered
"Evil be gone. Hangman's coming." Rooster rolled his eyes at the man's inability to take it seriously and pushing himself from the radio to stand by the window, Sophie following as they watched Maverick pulling up into the sun.
"Yeah, you're good. I'll give you that." Maverick offered, Sophie smirking to herself as she quickly concluded what his plan was.
"Shit. Phoenix, I can't see him. How close am I? Phoenix?" Hangman questioned, the glare of the sun clearly in his face.
"I'm dead, dickhead." The heard Phoenix call back
"See you in the afterlife, Bagman." Bob called over, making Rooster, Phoenix and Hawk let out a chuckle.
"Where is he? Where is he?" Hangman called out desperately before the familiar tone came over the radio.
"That's a kill." Maverick called out cheerily.
Rooster and Hawk shared a look, both admittedly happy that Hangman hadn't passed but also concerned. Maverick was killing the teams within minutes and no one had been able to return any fire. They stayed at the windows as they watched team after team go up, only to shake their heads as they all got shot down. Sophie felt herself sigh as she worked out the pattern that had come about and concluding they'd be up with Hangman next. The man hadn't said anything outright since he's come back from his push ups, focusing on messing with Harvard and Coyote rather than bothering them, which Hawk was thankful for. She could already tell that Rooster wasn't in the best of moods with all that had happened and pushing that further before they got off the ground wouldn't be ideal – getting back in the air with Maverick would frustrate him enough and she didn't think she could cope with another 200 push ups.
They'd silently left the room to get their gear just as Payback and Fanboy had took off into the air teamed up with Yale.
"Chances of survival?" Bradley asked quietly. Sophie glanced over as she pulled out her helmet, knocking on it twice before kissing the photo as she had done earlier. She debated her answer as she closed her locker door.
"I have faith in us. But we are with Hangman." She answered politically with a shrug. Rooster smirked at her, nodding his acceptance with the answer.
The two kept silent as they walked to their jet, Hawk waving to a Payback and Fanboy who were finally feeling the pain of the challenge they'd set originally. The two glared at her as she smirked with amusement. Once they made it to their jet, Rooster began some preflight checks as she climbed the ladder, pausing after climbing in to look back at the group doing press-ups.
"Roost, can we just make sure we don't die first?" She asked, glancing down at Rooster who'd just appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He chuckled and nodded his head.
"Try my best." He offered, knowing it was probably because her shoulder was killing her that she wanted to avoid it. She sent him on final smile before sitting down and buckling herself in, and doing system checks.
It wasn't long until the two of them were in the air, Hangman on their left as they flew over the training ground. Hawk began checking for Maverick, wanting to have a head start for when the battle started.
"So, Rooster, mind if I ask you a personal question?" Hangman questioned, highly amused as he saw Hawks head twisting to get a view.
"Would it matter if I did?" Rooster responded, internally thankful he was asking him and not Hawk this time.
"So, what's your story with you and Maverick? It seems like he's got you rattled." Hangman asked, smiling to himself as he saw Hawks head freeze before twisting to his direction. Inside the cockpit of the other plane, Hawk was as tense as could be and Roosters hands had tightened around the joystick.
"That's none of your business." Rooster responded, "Now where the hell is he?" He continued, trying to keep focused on the mission, keep his cool and not react like he knew Hangman wanted.
"Been here the whole time." Maverick called, appearing from underneath Rooster and Hawk, and rolling until his cockpit was directly above theirs. Hawk looked up, shaking her head at him as she felt the anger from Rooster increase.
"Holy shit." Hangman complimented.
"You see me now?" Maverick called, "Come on, let's get this over with."
Hawk narrowed her eyes as she looked up at him, wondering what on earth he was thinking in riling up Rooster like that. Moving her focus to her pilot, she could see his head focusing on the plane above and head his breathing increase as he became frustrated, and knew what he was probably waiting for. She let out a breath and leaned back in her seat.
"With you Roost." She okayed. Rooster shouted for the fight to begin and immediately spun into a dive. Sophie grunting, not having expected that manoeuvre.
"What's with these two?" Hangman called out, watching from above as the two pilots and accompanying WSO dived through the sky circling one another.
"Alright, you put us here. How you gonna get yourself out?" Maverick challenged Rooster, eyeing the younger pilot as Hawk focused on watching the altitude and skies for anything that could cause a problem.
"You can bail out anytime!" Rooster called back, breathing heavily from the Gs and emotions going through him.
"How low you want to go, Rooster?" Maverick asked, Hawks eyes finding her fathers as she shook her head again.
"I can go as low as you, sir. And that's saying something." Rooster bit out, glaring wholeheartedly at the man responsible for holding him back and in his mind killing his father.
"What's past is past. For both of us." Maverick tried, watching Rooster intently as he tried to get through to the younger man. Hawk eyed the altitude meter, glancing around Rooster to try and see the ground and how fast it was approaching.
"You'd like to believe that, wouldn't you?" Rooster continued, no longer focusing on anything but Maverick.
"We're getting close to the Hard deck, Roost. Running out of room." Hawk tried, seeing what she had been concerned about coming to pass. Her worry increased as the altitude warning began to kick in, blinking and screaming at her. She lifted her head to glare up at her dad with frustration.
"Your strategy is about to run us all into the ground. What's your move?" Maverick called, his own altitude warning coming to life.
"4000 feet." Hawk breathed, turning her head back to her instruments before biting her lip to keep from calling out again to Rooster. She glanced over at the ground again as the automated voice began to demand they pull up. Watching as the numbers got lower and lower, she felt her body begin to tense in preparation only to let out a sigh of relief as her father pulled up first then Rooster, giving them the advantage for the moment.
"You got it. Don't think, just do." Maverick muttered into the radio. Hawk and Rooster breathing heavily from the situation as they followed behind.
"Come on, Rooster, you got him! Drop down and take the shot!" Hangman shouted down to them. Rooster eyed the situation, not feeling confident as he had been a few moments ago.
"It's too low!" Rooster called back, thinking of both his own and Sophie's safety as he watched Maverick fly ahead. Hawk peaked to the left trying to get a visual on Maverick only to gasp as he suddenly manoeuvred his jet, slowing down over the top of them so he was now directly behind. Hawk let out a small groan as the dull tone of target locking came over the speakers.
"That's a kill. Knock it off." Maverick called over to them. Rooster letting out a string of curses.
"Same old Rooster." Hangman muttered, Hawk twisting her head to glare up at the distant jet. Her gaze moved to her fathers, glare intensifying as the man pulled up along side them.
"Go see Hondo about your push-ups." He ordered before breaking off to go hunt down Hangman. Hawk fell back against her chair, her shoulder already hurting at the mere thought of more push ups.
The two of them didn't stick around to watch Hangman getting shot out of the sky, Rooster instead putting the jet on the ground as quick as he was able. Hawk pulled off her mask and pushed up her visor as they landed on the tarmac, rolling her shoulders as she mentally prepared for her next punishment. They were quiet as Rooster taxied them back to where the jets parked up, the only noise being Roosters somewhat heavy breathing as he tried to calm down. Hawk releasing the canopy as they came to a stop. She quickly unbuckled and jumped out the jet, pulling off her helmet as Hondo arrived. Rooster jumped down beside her, pulling off his own helmet.
"You know the drill." He shrugged, allowing them to at least take off their kit.
"I'll take hers too." Rooster offered, earning a frown from Hawk and a glance from Hondo.
"Uh, no, no you won't." Sophie countered, getting into position, "Start counting sir."
"Sophie." Rooster sighed even as he joined her. She glanced over at him, eyes flickering to Hondo who looked elsewhere, in silent permission to speak.
"If I don't Brad then it'll be used against me later." She explained quietly, grunting as they hit the 20 mark.
"By who?" Rooster countered just as quietly, Sophie sent him a 'are-you-serious?' glance.
"Hangman? Admirals? Anyone who doesn't want me in the programme?" She countered, rolling her shoulder slightly. Rooster rolled his eyes but said nothing in return and allowing her to focus. She had counted to around 135 when she started to grunt and her arms began to wobble as they compensated for her shoulder.
"OK, that's enough." Hondo relented, not wanting either of them to be unable to fly. Sophie and Rooster ignored him, pushing themselves.
"Hawk. Rooster, that's enough." He repeated, Hawk letting out a shaky breath before collapsing on the tarmac, Rooster still going to her right. She looked up at Hondo, who shook his head at Rooster and his stubbornness before walking off. Sophie watched him go, rolling into her back and reaching her right hand out to gently touch Roosters arm. The man glanced at her, frowning in concern at the slight shake he could feel in her hands as they touched his arms. She sent him a small smile, her arm falling to the tarmac as she lay there. Rooster let out a grunt of frustration before he pushed himself so he was sitting facing her.
"Breaking the hard deck, insubordination. Are you trying to get kicked out?" Phoenix lectured as she appeared beside them. Hawk tilted her head, glancing at the woman and offering a measly wave.
"Don't worry about it." Hawk breathed, her arm reaching up to pat Rooster on the knee, him grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze in response. Phoenix looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't get me started on you encouraging it." The woman threatened before focusing back on Rooster, "Look, I'm going on this mission. But if you get kicked out, you leave us flying with Hangman. Talk to me! What the hell was that?"
Hawk sighed and used the hand Rooster was holding to pull herself up, grunting slight as she did so. Once she was sitting, she squeezed Roosters hand, offering a small smile of support before pulling her hand back and crossing her legs to sit opposite Rooster.
"He pulled my papers." Rooster answered, his eyes staying on Hawk who let out a few deep breaths to try and get her breath back as she massaged her left shoulder with her right hand.
"What? Who?" Phoenix asked, unsure of what he was talking about.
"Maverick. He pulled my application to the Naval Academy. Set me back four years." Rooster responded, staring at Hawk with guilt as she began rolling her shoulders, knowing it was his fault she'd 'died' first twice.
"Why would he do that?" Phoenix asked, looking between the two with a frown as they shared a glance. Rooster twisted his head away, watching an incoming jet as he signalled the conversation was over. Phoenix let out a sigh, standing back up when she noticed Hawk also twisting away to watch the jet, indicating she wouldn't be explaining either. She shook her head but left the two to head to the hangar.
The two remained seated on the tarmac, watching the last couple jets land as the sun began to set. Sophie's eyes drifted from the jets to Rooster, smiling when she noticed he'd been watching her. Rooster gave a small smiled back, before pushing himself off the ground, holding a hand out to his WSO. She took his hand without question, letting out a huff of pain as he pulled her arm to help her up.
"You ok?" He asked as he leaned down to pick up both their gear from the floor. Sophie nodded her head, reaching out to take her things and rolling her eyes as Rooster ignored her and started walking.
"I'm fine Roost, just need a cold beer and a hot shower." She admitted, not fighting him for the gear since she knew he'd just walk faster, "you ok?"
Rooster let out a frustrated sigh, not answering immediately as they headed past the hanger and to the gear room.
"I'll be ok." He eventually offered as Sophie pushed past him to open the door. Sophie nodded and smiled in understanding, taking her gear off his hands to put in her own locker.
Once their gear was safely stored away, they headed upstairs for debrief. Sophie stared at her desk as her father took his time to give everyone a lay down on what he had shown to be their problems and reminded them of the time constraints of the mission. She felt no comfort in the news they only had 3 weeks to work together to complete this mission. It worried her. She absently tapped her foot as she thought about their lesson and what she had messed up on, only stopping when Roosters elbow jammed into her side. Her head shot up, seeing all eyes on her, her fathers eyebrows lifted as if he expected an answer.
"Sorry sir. I was reflecting on my own mistakes." She admitted, ignoring a laughing Hangman.
"And those were?" Maverick asked, scanning his daughter who he'd noticed slip into her thoughts when he'd started speaking.
"I didn't relay messages as often as I should have, I forgot it wasn't just Rooster and I in the team. I also made the mistake of underestimating the enemy." She reported. She watched as Maverick nodded, turning his attention to a smirking Hangman and Coyote.
"Anything to add Lieutenants?" He asked the two men who's heads snapped around so quickly, Sophie swore she head something crick. She adverted her gaze to the table.
"No sir." Was the reply, all the other graduates smirking at the pair.
"Alright, you're all dismissed." Maverick finished. He watched as they all filed out the room, smiling at the sight of Rooster lightly teasing Hawk for getting caught not paying attention, finding himself flashing back to the days where it would be him and Goose. He watched the pair a moment longer, letting out a sigh and shaking his head as he continued to regret his actions, accidentally pushing the pair together by holding Rooster back had never been his intention.
Maverick was so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice Hawk return the the debrief room. She frowned at her father as he stared off in thought, letting out a light cough to regain his attention. His head twisted to her, a small smile appearing on both their faces.
"When I said 'stay out of trouble.' This isn't what I meant." She sighed, taking a few steps into the room.
"You didn't exactly give me time to explain." Pete reminded her, making her sigh and nod.
"I guess not." She hummed before sighing, "Wish you had told me so I could have warned Rooster."
"He wouldn't have come back." Her father pointed out, jumping down from the pedestal to stand beside her.
"He might have, but you're probably right." She admitted, her eyes flickering to the door as she tensed, seeing a few bodies walk past.
"Still haven't told Rooster." Her dad observed seeing her freeze. Sophie let out a sigh, shaking her head as her gaze turned to the ground at the elephant in the room.
"No, I want to tell him, but I don't think he'd forgive me. I've had the chance for years and never brought it up. I know I should, especially now Hangman knows but, he'll hate me." Maverick frowned at Sophie's comment.
"He couldn't hate you." He offered, leading the two over towards the door. Sophie eyed him, before shaking his head.
"Did you ever fall out with Goose?" Maverick nodded his head.
"Yeah, I mean, we argued," He shrugged, not really wanting to relive his old memories with his daughter.
"Mom said the same when I asked her. Used to say I was being stupid for not telling him, and he'd never hate me, 'Goose never hated your dad after all the shit he pulled, I doubt his son could hate you.' But then she never saw Rooster talk about you." Sophie rambled, before shaking her head, "I know he doesn't hate you, not fully."
"Reassuring," Maverick couldn't help but mutter, before frowning, "what did your mom mean about the shit I pulled? She caused more trouble than me!"
Julie Collins, had been an naval engineer that had been on a few carriers working alongside him. They'd talked a few times on board carriers and knew each other well enough to call themselves friends. Sophie had been the accidental result of a drunken escapade while they'd been on shore leave, not that it made him love her any less. It had been Julies decision to not get together to raise her, Maverick having offered to put aside his career to help. However, Julie had known, while they had liked each other and were friendly, they'd never have been compatible in any way. They'd agreed to tell Sophie everything as soon as she was old enough.
Sophie rolled her eyes, chuckling as she remembered all the stories her mom used to tell about her own days working with Maverick. Her mom had known nearly everything about her dads career. All her bedtime stories had been about the navy and the pilots when she'd been younger, telling her about her dad who was off serving in other places. They might not have been together, but her mom hadn't hated her dad, well not until the day she found out her daughter wanted to sit in a plane, then she hated him for about a day.
"Captain Mitchell." A voice cut in, making the two turn. Sophie instantly stood to attention, seeing Admiral Bates in front of her, "if you'd come with me."
"Of course, sir. Dismissed, Lieutenant Collins."
Sophie nodded, standing at ease as she watched her father being led down the halls. Silently hoping he wouldn't be fired for the shit they'd pulled today. She'd been shocked last night when she'd seen him, frustrated this morning on behalf of Rooster, but after a day of letting it settle she realised how much she'd missed seeing him and having a parental figure around.
Her mom had passed about five years ago in a car accident. It had been hard for her, since she'd been overseas at the time and had barely spoken to her mom for months because of time zones. Rooster had been a big help, as he always was. Had helped her sort out the will, sort out the house, everything. It had been tough for him as well, her mom having practically taken him in after his own mother had passed. Thankfully for her sanity, her dad hadn't heard until the day before the funeral, he'd called to offer his condolences but he couldn't get back since he'd been overseas himself.
Shaking her head of her slightly morbid thoughts she headed to get changed, smiling as she passed Bob and Fanboy who were back in civilian clothing and heading towards the parking lot. She stuck her head in the door of the break room as she passed, not entering further as she saw Yale and Harvard. She continued down the corridor, shrugging off Roosters disappearance.
She'd made it to the locker room, jumping in the shower quickly. After her shower she headed to her locker pulling out her jeans, black long sleeved t-shirt and flight jacket. She got dressed quickly, hoping she'd be able to catch another graduate to give her a lift to the bar. She was just lacing up her combat boots when a knock on the door sounded. She finished her knot, smiling when she saw her favourite person in his signature Hawaiian shirt on the other side.
"I thought you'd left." She called back, leaving the door open as she went to grab her aviator glasses and slam her locker closed.
"I thought you went to apologise to Captain Mitchell." He retorted, poking fun at how long she'd taken before smiling, "Plus I couldn't leave without getting you one beer for having to do those push-ups."
Sophie nudged him at the insinuation it was his fault but smiled at the offer. The two fell into step as they walked out to the car, joking about Hangman and discussing some points Maverick had made, unaware of the older pilot watching from the window. He felt himself smile as the two climbed in the Jeep and Sophie turned up the music, the two belting out the song as they drove of.
"Maybe we didn't do too bad Goose."