I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING.
"I hope you are all excited! Because this universe is one of my personal favorites!" Garfield said with a face splitting smile on.
"Why?" asks Ruby, innocently.
"Because it's…it's just so badass." the god replies. He cleared his throat and spoke loudly so everyone could hear him. "For context, in this world. Aura, and Grimm don't exist. So most conflict is between Humans & Faunus and other Humans & Faunus." seemingly not noticing or caring about how many of the viewers wilt at the news of conflict without the Grimm.
Garfield snapped his fingers and the lights dimmed again. As the lights dimmed he seemed almost giddy as he sat down in the back.
On March 3, 60 AGW, The Valen Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to ensure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world.
"But, Vale doesn't have a Navy. At least, I don't think it does?" Yang said, mildly confused.
"You're right. Vale doesn't have a Navy. The closest thing it has is a regional coast guard. S'what keeps Patch and some of the other coastal settlements relatively safe from the Grimm, It also helps keep piracy and grimm attacks down on shipping lanes." Taiyang confirmed.
They succeeded.
Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School.
The flyers call it :
TOP GUN
A jet fighter is taxiing to a take off position on the deck of a Valen Aircraft Carrier. Piano music plays in the background, As the plane makes it to its catapult its two jet engines roar to life. The music changes to that of rock on a dime as the jet launches.
"Ooh! Whatisthat? Dowehavethose? Howcanwemakethose? Tellme! Tellme! Tellme!" Ruby begged.
The Atlesian general coughed into his fist. "I would also like to know. That doesn't look like a standard Bullhead or Manta."
Garfield hummed. "That's because it's not a Bullhead or Manta, It's called an airplane in that world. More specifically a fighter jet. Maybe, I'll give you some details after the viewing is done." he said, scratching his chin.
Winter took out her scroll and decided to take notes. At least they could get some information.
Revvin' up your engine
Listen to her howlin' roar
Metal under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go
"This is some good music!" Qrow and Yang said at the same time.
Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into the Danger Zone
Headin' into twilight
Spreadin' out her wings tonight
She got you jumpin' off the deck
And shovin' into overdrive
Highway to the Danger Zone
I'll take you right into the Danger Zone
As this music plays the carrier is shown launching and receiving aircrafts at dawn.
Winter took note of what seems like a catapult system, on top of a flat decked water navy ship. Atlas only has an air navy so the design is interesting to say the least.
North Manageran Sea. Present Day.
Ghira raised an eyebrow at that. "Why are they there?" he asked the god.
"In this world, Vale and Menagerie are allies. Reluctant allies at that, but still allies." he said, confusing Ghira and Kali more.
"Still, why is the Valen Navy in our sea's?" Kali asked
"Pfft, That's easy. Because of the rising tension between the Kingdom of Vale and the Mistral Soviet Socialist Republic." he replied. He received more unamused stares but said nothing more.
A man wearing a high ranking uniform walks up to a radio operator with glasses on. His hat has CVN-65 on it, On his left breast is the name Stinger.
The operator begins speaking
"Ghost rider, this is Strike. We have unknown aircraft. Inbound, mustang. Your vector is 090 for bogey"
An ominous black aircraft with a Mistrali star on its tail is shown flying at high speeds.
"Ooh! Another
The man in the hat looks at the machine, then asks
"Who's up there?"
"Cougar and Merlin and Maverick and Goose."
The admiral gives the operator a deadpan look
"Great. Maverick and Goose."
"Two trouble makers no doubt based on his response." said the general, who seemed to be having flashbacks to his stint in the Atlesian air navy.
A two seat fighter is shown in flight. Inside the aircraft Qrow 'Maverick' Branwen and Nicholas 'Goose' Arc, are piloting the craft.
"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby and Yang both said
"Dad?" the two Arc's said in confusion.
Qrow's flask slipped out of his hand as he suddenly became more interested in the viewing.
"Why am I working with Nicky here?" he asked the god. "Not that I have any problems with the guy, but C'mon?"
"In this world Nicholas is your RIO or radar intercept officer, He runs the Comms and Navigation on that jet. You are actually pretty good friends in this world." the god replies.
"Wait, Saph. Don't tell me Dad had actually had a stach like that." Jaune said stifling a laugh.
Saphron began cackling. "He did indeed. I gotta get a picture of this." she took a picture with her scroll while evilly giggling.
"Talk to me goose."
"Roger, I got him. Contact, 20 left at 30 miles. Nine hundred knots closure."
"Cougar, You got that?"
Their wingman aircraft flown by Taiyang 'Cougar' Xiao-Long and Bartholomew 'Merlin' Oobleck, responded immediately.
"Dad?!" Ruby and Yang said once again stunned.
"So, In this world Qrow, Tai, Nick and Bart joined the Navy? This should be interesting." Ozpin said to himself.
"Roger. Merlin, you got him?"
"Roger. I've got radar contact."
"Roger. I'll get a visual ID. Cougar, you hook him."
"Roger. and I'll clean 'em and fry 'em." Goose chuckles
The two jets bank left. Their wings now folded in. Back on the Carrier dark clouds are beginning to form
"Mustang. Mustang, this is Ghost rider, 203. I've got him inbound, bogey heading 2 7 0. We're at ten miles, 900 knots closure."
"Ghost rider, take angels 10 left 3 0." The operator responds.
"Are we supposed to have visitors today?" Stinger asks.
"Negative, Sir."
"Wow. He does not look happy about that." Sun said, stating the obvious.
"Well, they might be entering a combat scenario. Why wouldn't he be annoyed?" Weiss said.
The streaming engine of the black jet fills the theater, only matched by the engines of the Valen planes. Their wings now folded out.
"Why are the wing's in different orientations now?" Winter asked the god.
"To add or reduce air resistance aka drag." he said, slightly surprised winter didn't already know about that.
"Merlin, See if he's a single."
"Roger. Goose, you see a trailer?"
"Negative, Merlin. Looks like he's a single."
"Uh Cougar, I'm gonna go head-to-head with him."
"Take it easy, Maverick. I don't like this shit. I'm Gonna break high and right, See if he's really alone."
"Damnit Qrow. There are other ways of dealing with a target." Tai admonished
"This is coming from you. Taiyang 'scream as loud as possible and charge the grimm' Xiao-Long?" Qrow responded. Tai just huffed.
Cougar and Merlin break off meanwhile Another black fighter identical to the first joins its wingman and flies in formation.
"Welp, looks like he wasn't a single." says Scarlet.
"We've got 1,000 knots closure, mav. He's coming right at us."
"Okay buddy, what's on your mind?" Qrow asks himself.
The two black planes break formation, revealing to Mav and Goose that they are outnumbered.
"Holy shit, there's two of them!" calls a surprised Qrow
"MIG-28's. No one's been this close before." Nicholas said excitedly
"MiG?" Ironwood asked the general.
The god sighed. "MiG is a manufacturer of Jet aircrafts in that world."
Back on the carrier Admiral Stinger is worried and agitated
"What the hell are they doing here? What's the position?"
"Two hundred and fifty miles out, Sir."
"Two hundred and fifty miles. Get them out of here."
While Mav and Cougar are coordinating Mav banks right.
"Cougar, you've got MIG one. I'm going after MIG two."
"I've lost him in the sun" spoke Tai as the sun glare was seen reflecting off of his helmet and the glass canopy. Through the glare he can just make out an outline, startling him.
"Shit, what's he doing! You got him Merlin?"
Oobleck cranes his neck to see the MIG, and sees it coming around towards Himself and Cougar.
"He's coming around. He's coming around on our tail."
"Gods dammit this bogey all over me."
Over the skies the Valean F-14 is seen with the MiG tailing it over the serene & calm waters of the North Manageran sea. Back in the carrier CIC, the admiral is talking to the radio operator.
"What's their range now?"
"Two hundred miles sir."
Admiral Stinger recoils at this information, then turns to another officer.
"They break 150 miles, Launch the alert five craft."
"Yes, Sir."
Back in the skies, the two Vale jets are still flying. Cougar sweating a bit more and his voice is slightly more shaky
"Tai, Are you doing okay?" Qrow asks.
Tai smirks. "I'm fine." he points at the screen. "Him on the other hand. I don't know."
"Air speed, 300. Go get him mav."
Qrow smirks behind his mask. "I'm going for missile lock. Let's see if we can scare this guy out of here."
As he fiddles with the various knobs and buttons of the aircraft he begins to speak
"Come on, Lock up, Baby. Lock up, Baby."
A targeting system is shown. The crosshair slowly moves towards the MIG, before locking on. A missile lock ring begins to ring.
"I got him locked. Bingo."
The enemy MIG sharply roll's right to break off. Qrow and Nicholas celebrate inside the cabin.
"Well, credit where it's due. Qrow seems like a good pilot. Honestly, I'm still surprised to learn he's in the military at all." Ironwood says
"You and I both. I'd need to have one hell of a stick up my ass to join the military." Qrow grumbles.
"We got him, mav. He's bugging out and going home."
"Mustang, this is Maverick. MIG two is headed home." Qrow reports to Admiral Stinger on the carrier. Who is now smoking a cigar
"WHAT? WHY IS HE SMOKING!?" Ironwood asks, agitated by the audacity of an admiral to smoke inside of a CIC.
"In this time period, It was accepted." the god responds.
"I thought this was set in modern times. It says so earlier." the general counters
"Yeah, about that. It's kinda out of date." Garfield scratches his neck sheepisly
"Alright what's their position?"
"180 miles, bearing 0 1 0, Sir."
MIG one is seen coming in behind Cougar and Merlin. A high pitched sharp ringgin is heard.
"Cougar, he's got a missile lock on us! Get away from this guy!" Oobleck exclames startled
"The hell is this shit, he's engaging me."
Cougar's jet violently moves from left to right trying to shake the missile lock. But the lock stays on.
"Gods dammit Mustang. This is Ghost rider. One, one, seven, This bogeys all over me. He's got a missile lock on me. Do I have permission to fire?" Tai asks, clearly nervous.
The admiral leans forward in his chair and removes his cigar from his mouth "Do not fire, unless fired upon."
Looking down from the side of their canopy. Qrow and Nick can see Tai and Oobleck along with their unwanted tail.
"Goose, They are right below us."
"The Mig's in perfect firing position. He's right on Cougar's tail."
"No, way goose. He'd have fired by now. He's just trying to piss us off."
"Maverick, get down here and get this asshole off me." Tai says in a shaky voice
Qrow maneuvers his F-14 behind Cougar and the Mig.
Most of the audience are on the edge of their seats.
"Easy, Cougar. Bring it back hard right. Help me engage. I'm on my way."
Tai, doing as instructed, moves his aircraft. While Qrow and Nick fly behind the Mig.
"I can't shoot this son of a bitch. Let's see if we can have a little fun with him." he says, getting an idea.
Inverting his aircraft he accelerates until his canopy is above the enemy Mig's canopy. Giving the two pilots an unobstructed view of the other.
"What the hell?!" Ironwood says outraged. "Qrow, This is your idea of fun?!" he continues glowering at Qrow
Qrow smirks, "It's fun if it annoys you tin-man." he responds.
"Is this your idea of fun Mav?" asks Nick.
"The students all laugh at how similar Nick and Ironwood questioned Qrow.
The two pilots make eye contact. Qrow flips the enemy pilot off. While Nicholas pulls out a polaroid camera and snaps a picture
"Greetings."
"Watch the birdie."
Qrow, roll's the jet away from the Mig.
"Jeez, I crack myself up."
The Mig banks left and breaks away.
"This is a great shot, mav. Maybe I should be a photographer." Nicholas chuckles
"Cougar, your tail is clear Mig One has bugged out." Qrow says while getting back into position with Cougar.
Tai is seen in the cockpit shakeology inhaling, while closing and opening his eyes rapidly, clearly having a panic attack.
"Well, that's not good." Winter says dryly
"You don't say Ice-Queen. I think he looks just peachy." Qrow says sarcastically.
Winter bristles at his comment but ultimately ignores it.
"Cougar, This is Maverick. We've had enough fun for one day, don't you think? I'm getting a little low on fuel, so we're heading home. We'll see you on deck."
Tai meanwhile is trying to get control of his breathing. While Qrow turns left and breaks off. Oobleck looks at the gauges and speaks up
"Cougar, we're running a little low on gas. We gotta get outa here." he says tapping the gauge. While Tai doesn't respond.
"Cougar. We're on vapor Cougar." he says while Tai reaches up and unclasps the Oxygen mask from his face hyperventilating. Oobleck noticing the state of his friend speaks.
"Man, Dad isn't doing well. Why is he having a panic attack now?" Yang asks, also voicing Ruby's question.
"Let's do it. Cougar. Come on Cougar."
Tai looks lost on all the instrument panels but zeros in on the picture of Summer holding a baby Ruby. Back on the carrier the admiral is pacing. Oobleck can be heard over the radio
"So, that's why he's like that. He's thinking about Rube's and Mom." Yang says, satisfied with the reason. "Look at lil' Ruby. Isn't she just adorable!" Yang cooed While grabbing her little sister.
Ruby squawked in protest and tried to pry herself free of her elder sister's grasp. But ultimately she failed.
"Let's take it back to the ship man. Come on Cougar."
"Get him on deck as soon as possible. He's gotta be low on fuel." The admiral said to the operator
Back in the air, the camera shows the front of the aircraft. Its twin air intakes prominently shown
"Cougar, We gotta land this thing. We are way low on gas. You understand me?" Oobleck asked
The admiral takes a big puff of his cigar, while Oobleck can be heard on the radio again
"Are you alright man?"
Meanwhile Maverick is beginning his descent on the carrier. The screen shows the landing gear fold down.
"Maverick, you're at three-quarters of a mile, call the ball." the Control Tower operator says to Qrow.
"Roger, Maverick has the ball." he declares.
Back in the CIC Oobleck can be heard now shouting at Tai. "Cougar. It is time to land. Let's do it."
Qrow, still in the cockpit, can hear the distress his wingman is in. "Goose, Cougar's in trouble."
"Uncle Qrow. you have to save dad." Ruby begged.
"Don't worry, I will."
Nick, knowing Qrow well enough to see his idea from a mile away interjects. "Come on, Mav, We're getting low on gas. Let's land this sucker." He hates the idea of not helping their wingman, but the fuel gauge has him worried enough. Maverick however, was still able to hear his wingmen. Furrows his brow.
" COUGAR!" Oobleck says, trying desperately to snap his friend out of it. And like that Qrow's decision has been made. Just as quickly as his wheels touch the ground, the throttle is pulled back. They begin ascending again. Admiral Stinger groans before yelling in frustration
"Gods damn it, Maverick." Qrow's reputation for doing stuff like this proceeds him. He likely would have been court martialed by now if he wasn't such a damn good pilot.
Nicholas, alarmed by the sudden acceleration, questions his friend. "What're you doing, Mav? We've got no fuel for this."
Qrow knew the risks, He knew they were low on fuel. But his resolve held. "We're going after Cougar." he stated cooly
As his Jet rockets through the sky, the admiral in the CIC is fuming. "You tell him to land that plane. That's an order."
"Ghost Rider, you are instructed to land. Land immediately." the man in the tower commands.
"Yeah, No. I don't follow bad orders."
Qrow, ignoring the order, flies up next to Tai and Oobleck.
"Have any of you boys seen an aircraft carrier around here?" Qrow asks them with some snark
"Mav, we got a little problem up here. That MiG really screwed him up. I don't think he can make it back." Oobleck said
Meanwhile Tai, sweating profusely inhales sharply and blinks tightly. Qrow, who can see his friend from his cockpit, looks over with worry.
"You're okay, Cougar. Just stay on my wing. I'll take you all the way in. Just stay with me." Qrow says in a calming manner, trying to help his friend get control
Tai blinks again, and focuses briefly on the picture of Summer and Ruby again. Before he regains his breathing and follows Qrow's lead. As they approach the carrier Qrow tries to talk to him again.
"All he can think about is his daughter. If he can't regain control they won't be able to land." Winter advises
"Can you blame him? I mean, I'd lock up too." Saphron defended the Xiao-Long.
"It's less blame and more 'if he doesn't land he might die in the crash.' so if he wants to see them again he needs to get a hold of himself. I've seen my fair share of pilots die because they panicked, or lost focus." Winter replied to the older Arc.
"Easy Cougar. Just a walk in the park, buddy." he says in a calming tone.
Back with Tai, he's still breathing heavily. He hears Qrow talking to him. "A little low there Coug. Come on, buddy, pull up." He clenches his eyes shut and opens them again. "Pull up Cougar." he hears Qrow say again.
Qrow watches Taiyang's aircraft sway lightly as Tai pulls up. "That's it, Almost there."
The man in the tower speaks to Tai now. "Cougar, you're well below glide path, three-quarters of a mile. Call the ball. The flight crew on the deck watch as Tai's jet sways back and forth haphazardly.
Tai finally speaks to the carrier. "Roger, Ball."
As Tai's jet comes closer to the carrier, it continues to sway, As it rocks violently the carrier is getting closer. Tai blinks tightly.
"He's not gonna be able to land safely. He needs to focus!" Ironwood says worry in his voice.
"We're too low, Cougar. We're too low, Cougar." Oobleck says. As the flight deck of the carrier is rapidly approaching the two of them.
Oobleck begins to feel his own fear rising. "Increase power. Some more power! Higher! Higher! Higher, damn it!" Oobleck screeches.
"Bart's not helping with the added panic." Tai says
"Can you blame him? He probably thinks he's about to become a human pancake." Jaune said.
As the wheels touch down, Oobleck recoils when the plane catches on the arresting wire. In a panic, Tai powers down the engine of his aircraft. Relieved to be back on 'solid ground'.
Some time later, Tai, wearing a blue graduation ring, knocks on Admiral Stinger's door. The admiral tells them to enter.
"Sir." he says, quickly falling into a parade rest.
"Cougar, you should be in sickbay. What's on your mind?" He asks empathetically.
Without flinching, Tai replies. "My Wife and Kid, Sir. I almost orphaned her today, and I've never even seen her." he says, voice shaky. Taking a moment to breathe, he continues looking straight ahead. Avoiding eye contact. "I don't know what happened up there, but I was so scared."
"Wait, Dad's never seen me?" Ruby asks, a little heartbroken.
"You were born while he was on deployment. He hasn't had any leave since before you were born." Garfield replied.
Ruby hugged her father.
Stinger waves his hand. "Come on, we've seen this before." attempting to dismiss the issue.
Tai refuses to budge. "No, Sir. I'm holding on too tight. I've lost the edge." The admiral narrows his eyes. Worry on his face. "I'm sorry sir." Tai says as he slides his Navy Wing's onto the admiral's desk. Before Stinger can react he turns around and begins to exit. "I'm sorry." Admiral Striker, sighs at the resignation of a good pilot.
"He just can't do it anymore." Neptune says plainly
Taiyang wilted slightly, this sight was all too familiar to him. Especially after Summer died. He remembers his talk with Ozpin that night, he lost two of his love's to his war. He doesn't want to lose his daughters too.
Exiting Stinger's office, he passes Qrow and Nicholas.
"Cougar." Nick says. Taiyang turns around, and looks at Qrow.
"Thanks Maverick." He nods his head before turning and walking away. Before Qrow or Nick can say anything else they are interrupted.
"Maverick, Goose, come in here." Stinger orders the two. Baffled Qrow looks up at Nick briefly, before looking at Tai's retreating form.
"What the hell's going on?" he asks.
"I don't know."
"Shit"
The two of them enter side by side and stand at attention in front of the admiral, who is doing paperwork. Cigar smoke can be seen lingering in the air.
Ironwood's face is split by a gigawatt smile. "I know that look all too much." he said, referring to Admiral Stinger's face. "You are about to get a dressing down so badly." He said glee evident in his voice. The Atlesian general pulled out his scroll to record it. This is the happiest he has been in a long time.
"Maverick, you just did an incredibly brave thing." his hand falls harshly onto his papers. "What you should have done was land your plane. You don't own that plane, the taxpayers do." Stinger begins chewing Qrow Branwen out. "Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash. You've been busted. You lost your qualifications as a section leader three times." Qrow remains stone faced while this is said. "Put in hack twice by me. With a history of high-speed passes over air-control towers, and one admiral's daughter." he says, Nicholas turns to Qrow.
"Robyn Hill?" he asks a stone faced Qrow.
"Hahahahahahaha." Ironwood starts to wheeze laughing. Followed not too long after by Winter, Ozpin and Taiyang.
Qrow simply crossed his arms and started to pout.
Admiral Stinger turns his attention to Nicholas Arc now. "And you asshole. You're lucky to be here."
"Thank you, Sir."
"And let's not bullshit, Maverick, your family name ain't the best in the Navy. You need to be doing it better and cleaner than the other guy. Now, what is it with you?" He interrogates
"My family name is one of Bandits. Of course it's not the best." Qrow says exasperated.
The god clears his throat garnering the viewer's attention. "Actually, in this world your father left the Tribe before you were born. Duke Branwen joined the Valean Navy to clear his name. He became a well known fighter pilot. He was killed in action in the Faunus War." he said
Qrow was stunned, Sure Duke wasn't his dad's name. But to learn that he left the tribe surprised him. He got over the revelation quickly, remembering how he helped kill his father when he and Raven were in their early teens.
"Just wanna serve my country, be the best fighter pilot in the Navy, sir!" Qrow responds, Strike leans on his desk and glares into Qrow.
"Don't screw around with me, Maverick. You're a hell of an instinctive pilot. Maybe too good. I'd like to bust your butt, but I can't. I got another problem here. I gotta send somebody from this squadron to Miramar, Mountain Glenn."
Ozpin perked up when Mountain Glenn was mentioned. "So, was Mountain Glenn successful here?" He asked.
"Yep. No Grimm, means no Merlot. No Merlot, means no fall of Mountain Glenn." the god replied. This explanation confused many of the students.
"But, I thought Mountain Glenn fell because of the lack of natural barriers." Weiss asked
"That is only partially true. You see, the full truth was covered up by the council. Merlot Industries quickened the fall. Due to Merlot's experimentation on the creatures of Grimm. He eventually released the captured Grimm into the city. Which caused mass panic, which brought more Grimm."
The students and civilians were stunned.
"H-H-How could someone do such an evil thing?" Velvet asked.
"Dr. Merlot was delusional. He was convinced that the Grimm were better and more evolved than Humanity. He sought to improve them, he mutated them and even added cybernetics to some of them. In truth, as long as Merlot Industries was there, Mountain Glenn never had a chance. But let's get back to the viewing."
The young huntsmen in training were outraged, but they refocused on the screen soon enough.
Nicholas glances at Qrow quickly before refocusing on Stinger.
"I gotta do something here. I… I still can't believe it." He says frustration clear. "I gotta give you your dream shot. I'm gonna send you up against the best. You two characters are going to Top Gun." For the first time, a small smile splits Qrows face. "For five weeks, you're gonna fly against the best fighter pilots in the world. You were number two, Cougar was number one. Cougar lost it, turned in his wings." He says with a frown. He looks over at Nick, then back to Qrow. "You guys are number one. But you remember one thing. You screw up just this much," He pinches his fingers together. "You'll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Oniyuri."
"I thought that Mistral was an enemy state?" asked Ren.
"You would be correct young Ren. Mistral is an enemy state for the most part. Oniyuri however was an Atlesian colony at this time. The people there were for all intents and purposes Atlesian. If Mistral attempted to reclaim Oniyuri, there would likely be a global war. Due to the alliance between Vale, Atlas and Menagerie."
Some of the audience flinched at the thought of a global war.
"Yes, Sir!" Qrow declares. Noticeably more excited.
Stinger takes a breath before looking the two over again. "That is all. You can tell me about the MiG some other time." he concludes. As Qrow opens the door to leave he calls out to them.
"Gentlemen. Good luck, gentlemen."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Thank you."
Miramar, Mountain Glen. Fightertown Kingdom of Vale.
Out along the edges
Always where I burn to be
The further on the edge
The hotter the intensity
"Hell, yeah. We're back to the music." Yang cheered.
Qrow is racing a jet on his motorcycle. His face split in a grin. As he is overpassed he waves at the pilot.
"That's a nice bike, Uncle Qrow." Yang said.
"You're right about that firecracker. Maybe I should get one?" Qrow mused to himself
"Only you would be daft enough to ride at high speeds without the proper equipment." Winter scolded.
"Chill out Ice-Queen. Clearly I'm just having a good time." Qrow replies unaffected by Winter.
Highway to the Danger Zone
Gonna take it right into the Danger Zone
Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into the Danger Zone
Revving the engine he speeds up, He chases after it. Towards the setting sun,
Highway to the Danger Zone
Gonna take it right into the Danger Zone
Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into the Danger Zone
Footage of a jet exploding is shown. "In the last Great war, the Navy kill ratio was 12-to-1. We shot down 12 of their Jets for every one of ours. During the Faunus War, that ratio fell to 3-to-1. Our pilots became dependent upon missiles. They had lost some of their dogfighting skills."
A younger Ozpin is shown twiddling a pencil in his hands, and chewing gum. Qrow and Nick are seen sitting next to each other during the lecture.
"Geez Oz, Could you chew any more obnoxiously?" Qrow asked.
Ozpin smirked and sipped his coffee just a bit louder to annoy Qrow.
"Now Top Gun was created to teach A.C.M. Air Combat maneuvering. Dogfighting" The lecturer says while a jet is shown exploding into a fireball.
Ozpin leans over to another young pilot, His RIO named Slider. "This gives me a hard on."
Ozpin paused nonplussed at what his counterpart just said to Slider.
"Eww Eww Eww Eww." Yang and Coco said simultaneously
Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha seemed to turn green. Most of the guys cringed and Velvet covered her face with her ears.
"Uh… Oz, not that we're judging you or anything. But I don't think this is the time." Tai says.
Qrow, who is wheezing from laughter nods his head at Taiyang's assessment.
"By the end of the Faunus War, that ratio was back up to 12-to-1."
Slider smirks and looks back at Oz. "Don't tease me."
"Whelp, looks like Oz has another one in his 'inner circle', heh heh." Qrow says quietly to Ironwood. Who chuckles at Qrow's comment. Unfortunately for Qrow, Ozpin heard his comment and sent a withering glare towards his subordinate.
The lecturer ignores this "Blinds, please." The room is relit by the light of the sun. "I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our commanding officer at Top Gun. The very first man to win the Top Gun trophy. You won't find a finer pilot anywhere in the world. Commander Peter Port. Callsign, Viper."
A surprisingly in shape Port walks down the center of the classroom.
Silence, The room was completely silent for about 30 seconds. The students had to absorb the fact that their jolly obese professor was actually fit.
"I almost forgot how Port looked when he was actually in shape." Tai says under his breath.
"What are you talkin 'bout. Round is a shape." Qrow snickered.
Ozpin frowned. Maybe it was time he made Peter get back in shape.
"Gentlemen. You are the top one percent of all naval aviators. The elite. The best of the best. We'll make you better." Port declares with clarity. "You'll fly at least two combat missions a day, attend classes in between and evaluations of your performance. Now, in each combat sequence, you're gonna meet a different challenge." Ozpin and Qrow make eye contact. "Every encounter is gonna be much more difficult than the last. We're gonna teach you to fly the F-14 right to the edge of the envelope." The two break eye contact and look back at Commander Port. "Faster than you've ever flown before and more dangerous."
Port paces at the front of the class glancing at all the pilots before him. "Now we don't make policy here gentlemen. Elected officials, civilians do that. We are the instruments of this policy." He walks up the aisle towards the back of the class.
Qrow turns to listen to him, until he is met by Ozpin's smug grin.
"No offense, Oz. But I wanna punch your other in the mouth." Qrow says annoyed by the on screen Ozpin's smugness.
Ozpin sipped his coffee, "None taken Qrow. My other is quite aggravating."
"And although we're not at war, We must always act as though we are at war."
"That doesn't make any sense!" Ruby blurted out.
"Yes it does, It's a constant readiness. Atlas has it all the time." Weiss said, trying to correct her team leader.
"That's not a good thing mini Ice-Queen." Qrow says. Weiss just glares at him.
Nicholas, seeing Qrow acting oddly, leans over to him. "What are you doing?" he asks.
Port continues, "The tip of the spear, best be sharp."
"I'm just wondering…Who's the best?"
Port apparently hearing Qrow's question answers it. "In case some of you wonder who the best is, They're up here on this plaque on the wall. The best driver and his RIO from each class has his name on it,"
Port turns and looks directly at Qrow. "And they have the option to come back to be Top Gun Instructors." He walks back to the front and looks at the entire classroom. "...You think your names gonna be on that plaque?"
Qrow is the only one to answer. "Yes, Sir."
Port looks right at Qrow. "That's pretty arrogant considering the company you have."
Qrow looks at his hand quickly before smirking and looking back at Port. "Yes, Sir."
"Military or no. It's still Qrow Branwen." Tai chuckles.
Port smiles "I like that in a pilot. Just remember, when it's over out there, we're all on the same team." He steps around and leans on the podium. "Gentleman, this school is about combat. There are no points for second place."
Ozpin scowls at Qrow. a silent anger in his eyes.
"Dismissed."
Nick looks at Qrow. "Nice going." he says sarcastically.
Ozpin smirks "The uh plaque for the alternates is down in the ladies room."
The women glare at him for that comment.
"What is that supposed to mean, Oz?" Asked Winter, who glowered at him.
"Uh..I..Umm.. Other me." he says deflecting the question
Nicholas dramatically and sarcastically laughs while holding onto Qrow's shoulder. "Oh, Brothers. Oh, you kill me. You really do."
Oz smirks and stands up. While Nick looks at the plaque.
"No, no, no, no. There's two O's in "Goose", boys."
Sometime later in the night Qrow and Nick are in a bar. Dance music can be heard from the building.
Both of them are dressed and rocking their Navy dress uniforms.
"This is what I call a target-rich environment." Qrow says to Nick.
Nick slaps his back with a grin. "You live your life between your legs, Mav."
"Eww. I didn't need to hear that." Ruby whines. While Yang cringes.
"Goose, even you could get laid in a place like this."
"I'm telling you, I'd be happy to find a girl who'd talk dirty to me." Qrow smiles and laughs at the comment, knowing Juniper Arc would not be happy with him.
Jaune, Saphron and Terra scowled at their fathers behavior. This was not the behavior befitting an Arc. Furthermore they knew that Nicholas was well and truly scared of his wife.
As they walk past the bar, Qrow can see Oz sipping a drink, with a woman on his arm.
"Mav, you want to know who the best is? That's him. Iceman." Ozpin takes another drink. "It's the way he flies, ice-cold, no mistakes. Just wears you down. You get bored, frustrated, do something stupid, and he's got you." Nick says while taking a swig of his beer. Nick sees someone he recognizes.
"Hey, hey slider. Though you wanted to be a pilot, what happened?"
"Goose, you're such a dickhead. Whose butt did you kiss to get in here?" slider responds
Nick's grin is all teeth. "Well, the list is long but distinguished."
"Yeah, well so is my Johnson." he responds and takes a drink.
The students snicker at that comment.
"So you're flying with Iceman?"
"It's Mr. Iceman to you." Slider corrects.
Ozpin walks up to the trio.
"Hey mother goose. How's it going?" Oz asks while shaking Nick's hand.
"Good, Oz. This is Qrow Brnawen. Ozpin Kazansky." Ozpin shakes Qrow's hand.
Ozpin blinked. "Kazansky?" he questioned.
Garfield just shrugged.
"Congratulations on Top Gun." He says pleasantly.
"Thank you."
"Sorry to hear about Cougar. He and I were like brothers in flight school. He was a good man." Oz says in past tense
"Still is a good man." Qrow gently corrects a little annoyed.
"Yeah, that's what I meant." he says while chewing on a piece of gum.
"Oz, I really wanna punch the other you. The gum is getting on my nerves."
"Thought so."
"Say, you need any help?" Oz asks, staring intently at Qrow and puffing his chest up a bit.
"With what?"
"You figured it out yet?"
"What's that?"
"Who's the best pilot."
"No, I think I can figure that out on my own."
"I heard that about you. You like to work alone."
"Damn right I do." Qrow cheered as he raised his flask to his mouth.
Qrow smirks.
"Mav, you must've soloed under a lucky star, huh?" Slider asks. Qrow and Oz finally break eye contact.
"I mean, first the MiG, and then you guys slide into Cougar's spot." he says.
"We didn't slide into Cougar's spot. It was ours. Okay?" Nick fires back.
"Yeah, well, some pilots wait their whole career just to see a MiG up close. Guess you guys are lucky and famous huh?"
"No you mean notorious." Slider taps his empty glass on the table before walking away. "I'll see you later." Oz says cockily before walking away. Leaving just Nicholas and Qrow at the bar.
"You can count on it." Qrow says as Oz leaves.
Nicholas decides this is the best time to make a dark joke. "They were abused children."
"Wow. I..I have no words." Tai says
"Yep, That's dads sense of humor." The two Arc's say.
Qrow smirks, "We're gonna have a good time." The two clink their bottles together.
"Always."
Later they are betting.
"Okay, I guess it's my turn isn't it? All right, the bet is 20 Ⱡien."
"20 Ⱡien. Right." Qrow repeats.
"You have to have carnal knowledge, of a lady this time," Nick smirks while pointing, Qrow chuckles slightly at that. "On the premises."
"On the premises." he repeats again. Scanning through the crowd he sees one. Long blonde hair, piercing green eyes, She's wearing a white dress shirt with the top button undone and a black pencil skirt.
"Is that…" Yang asks
"Yep, It is." Tai confirms.
"Drunkle Qrow, is gonna try and seduce Miss. Goodwitch?" Ruby ask, snickering at the implication that it could ever happen.
Ironwood scowled.
"Come on, Mav. A bet's a bet."
"I don't know, …it just doesn't seem fair. For you, I mean. But…" he grabs Nick's shoulder. "...She's lost that loving feeling."
"She's lost…" Qrow nods. "No, she hasn't."
"Yes, she has."
"She has not lost that…"
"Goose, she's lost it." Qrow says as he walks towards Glynda Goodwitch.
"Mav. Come on." Nick whines. "I hate it when she does that. Shit." he follows Qrow.
A huge grin splits Tai's face. "Heh heh heh." he laughs to himself but refuses to tell anyone.
Qrow grabs a micro and walks over to Glynda. "Excuse me miss?" he asks
Nick interjects. "Hey, hey, hey. I'll take care of this." He blocks Qrow's view. Hiding what Qrow is doing from Glynda. Suddenly, Nick ducks to the left. And Qrow starts singing,
"You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips" Nick joins in on the singing now. "There's no tenderness like before in your fingertips." Many aviators and sailors around the two start snapping their fingers. "You're trying hard not to show it" then they all join in the singing. "Baby But, Baby. Believe me I know it. You've lost that loving feeling."
Glynda, surrounded on all sides by aviators and sailors, starts to laugh.
"Whoa, that loving feeling. You've lost that loving feeling. Now it's gone, gone, gone. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ba-doom, ba-doom ba-doom boom boom ba-doom."
Glynda smiling at the crowd looks at Qrow and nods at the seat next to her. "Sit down." all of Qrow's wingmen cheer, Nicholas shakes his hand. Meanwhile a dark skinned airman wearing shades continues singing, along with the rest of the gathered Navy Men "Baby, Baby. I get down on my knees for you," It seems to fade into the background as Glynda and Qrow start talking
"I love that song. I've never seen that approach. How long have you two been doing this act?" She asks while laughing.
"Oh, I don't know, since uh…"
"Puberty?" Glynda finishes for him. Qrow smirks
"Right, puberty."
She smiles. "I'm Glynda Goodwitch."
"I'm Maverick." Qrow responds
"Maverick? Did your mother not like you or something?" she asks
"Died at mine and Rae's birth, actually." Qrow corrects, making most of the other watchers a little uncomfortable.
"No, it's my callsign." Glynda takes a breath
"You're a pilot?" she asks
"That's right, a naval aviator." Qrow answers proudly
"Oh~" she responds.
"No, actually, we've only done this, Twice."
"Oh, How'd you do?"
"Crashed and burned on the first one, it wasn't pretty." Glynda gets a confused face.
"And the second?" she asks
"I don't know. I'll tell you tomorrow. But it's looking good so far." he chuckles nervously
"Well uh, Maverick~, My friend's just arrived, so it's been great talking to you." she looks over Qrow's shoulder. "Perry!" she says to an older Faunus man in glasses,
"Hi" is all Perry says
"Hi, Here you go. Oh, I'll be with you in just a second, okay? Listen, can I ask you a personal question?" she asks Qrow, whose grin is slowly grinning.
"That depends."
"Are you a good pilot?"
"I can hold my own."
"Great. Then I won't have to worry about you making your life as a singer." she says. Slightly wounding his pride.
"I'm gonna need a beer to put these flames out. Yo!" He calls the bartender. Then proceeds to reprimand himself. "Great Mav, real slick."
He turns his head and sees Glynda getting up from the booth. The two make brief eye contact.
As Glynda enters the ladies room Qrow walks around the corner just in time to see the door start closing. He smirks and walks towards the double doors. Briefly glancing at the couple talking to his left he swiftly follows Glynda into the bathroom.
Qrow's nieces swiftly slap him for even daring to do such a thing. It's not over as Coco and Nora punch him in the gut. And to top it all off, Winter and Saphron both kick him in the nuts.
Even Garfield winces at that.
Ozpin and James just look pale. Jaune, having grown up with seven sisters, shows no reaction to Qrow's beating.
Glynda who is re-applying makeup looks at him through his reflection, "It was a long cruise, was it, sailor?" she asks
"It was too long."
"Wha'd you wanna do, just drop right down onto the tile and go for it?" she asks incredulously
"No, I actually had…" he briefly leans on and presses the counter. "this counter in mind." he says smirking and laughing lightly, not really thinking about the creep factor.
"Great, that would be very, very comfortable. Yeah." shy says sarcastically
"It could be."
Glynda looks at him and shakes her head slightly
"Actually, I came in here to save you from making a big mistake with that older guy."
"Really?" she asks not believing a word he says. "So I can go onto a bigger one with a young guy like yourself?"
"Maybe." Glynda leans up to stand. "No?" Qrow asks
"I've gotta be at work very early in the morning,"
"Then what are you doing here?"
Nick was reading a beer bottle and leaning on a bar before Glynda walks past him
"Your friend was magnificent." he looks baffled briefly before seeing Qrow and smiling ruefully. "Nah." he exclaims.
"Nicky's right. Qrow struck out harder than a Beringel's punch." Tai said laughing.
The next morning there is a small class in a hanger, The flag of Vale is seen over 5 Jets.
Their instructor, who Qrow learned was callsign Jester began to speak to them.
"Now, you'll also be trained and evaluated by a few civilian specialists. The civilians are here because they are our very best source of information on enemy aircraft. One of our most qualified is our TAGREP, Callsign, Witch."
The clacking of distinctive heals can be heard on the concrete.
"No… No friggin way." Tai says as he starts to chuckle.
"This is awesome." Yang starts to laugh at her uncle's impending embarrassment.
"She has a Ph. D in astrophysics, and she is also a civilian contractor, so you do not salute her. But you better listen to her because the pentagon listens to her about your proficiency. Its all yours, Witch."
"Thank you." Finally, Witch turns around. "Hello."
In shock, Nick takes his aviators off and Qrow's hand falls into his palm. Standing before them is Glynda Goodwitch. The women Qrow tried and failed to woo last night.
"We will be dealing with F-5's and A-4's as our MiG simulators. Now, then, as most of you know, the F-5 doesn't have the thrust-to-weight ratio that the MiG-28 has."
Qrow is pinching the bridge of his nose, having put his aviators on.
"And it doesn't bleed energy below 300 knots, like the MiG-28. However, the MiG-28 does have a problem with its inverted flight tanks. It won't do a negative-G pushover. The latest intel tells us that the most it will do is one negative."
Nick leans into Qrow's ear. "You gonna tell her?" Qrow leans back
"Nothing at all"
Unfortunately for them, she can see them. "Excuse me, lieutenant. Is there something wrong?" she asks with an annoyed look on her face
"Yes, Ma'am, the data on the MiG is inaccurate." The entire class looks at Qrow.
"How's that lieutenant?" she asks expectantly
"Well, I just happened to see a MiG-28 do…" He is interrupted by Nicholas.
"We, we."
"Sorry, Goose, We happened to see a MiG=28 do a four-g negative dive."
"Where did you see this?"
"That's classified."
"It's what?"
"It's classified. I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you."
"Lieutenant, I have top-secret clearance. The Pentagon sees to it that I know more than you."
"Well. Ma'am, it doesn't seem so in this case, now, does it?" Qrow smirks
"This is gonna backfire on you Qrow." Ironwood says.
"We'll see about that Jimmy." he says with a smirk.
"So lieutenant, where exactly were you?"
He looks at Goose, "Well, We…"
"Thank you" Nick says, happy to not be forgotten this time.
"Started up on his 6 when he pulled through the clouds, and then I moved in above him."
"Well, If you were directly above him. How could you see him?"
Qrow smirks and crosses his arms in an X. "Because I was inverted."
Ozpin fake coughs "Bullshit."
Qrow glares at the onscreen Ozpin. He is quickly growing tired of this version of his boss.
"No he was man, It was a really great move. He was inverted." Nick responds.
Glynda gave Qrow an incredulous look. "You were in a 4-G inverted dive with a MiG-28?"
"Yes, Ma'am." he says with a proud and cocky smile
"At what range?"
"No. About two meters." he says, looking to Nicholas for confirmation.
"It was actually about one and a half, I think. It was one and a half. I've got a great Polaroid of it. He's right there. It must be one and a half." Nick trail's off.
"It was a nice picture," Qrow says in defense.
"Lieutenant." Glynda says, trying to get his attention.
Qrow looks back to Glynda, with the same cocky smirk on his face.
"What were you doing there?" she asks
Nicholas clears his throat "Communicating." he declares.
"Communicating." Qrow echo's. "Keeping up foreign relations. I was, you know, giving him the bird."
Glynda rolls her eyes. And Nick jumps to Qrow's defense.
"You know the finger." he says, now flipping her off.
"Yep, It's definitely the same dad we know." Jaune says, not at all surprised at his father flipping the on screen Glynda off.
"Yes, I know the finger, Goose." she says slightly exasperated.
"I-I'm sorry, I hate it when it does that. I'm sorry." he says using his empty hand to push his finger down, getting some laughs from the class. "Excuse me."
"Damnit dad." Saphron mutters under her breath.
"So you're the one?" she asks.
"Yes, Ma'am."
Jester, having had enough of the joking, decides now is the time to get started with today's exercise.
"Alright Gentlemen, we have a hop to take. The hard deck on this hop will be 10,000 feet. There'll be no engagement below that."
The class of pilots and their RIO's all rise from their seats. As Qrow and Nick follow behind the other students Glynda walks in behind them.
"Lieutenant." she says getting both of their attention. Qrow and Nick turn around to regard her.
Nick decides now is a good time to try and embarrass Qrow. Grabbing and attempting to straighten his collar. "You look great, honey." he says with a smirk. Qrow decided to play along
"Thanks, dear. See you in preflight."
"Lieutenant, Why didn't you tell me you were a famous MiG insulter?" She asks
"Would it have made any difference?"
"Not in the ladies' room, no."
"What the hell possessed him to just walk into the women's room like that. What kind of pig is your uncle, Yang?" Weiss asks.
"He's a drunken one." Yang replies shrugging.
"And what would've?"
"I'm an instructor at this school. I see 20 new hotshots every eight weeks. Now, I'm sure you can figure that out. Look lieutenant. I'd just really like to hear about the MiG sometime."
"You've got security clearance. You can read about it." He says smirking
Walking up the stairs he is met with Ozpin sitting on a railing. "Maverick. I'm curious. Who was covering Cougar while you were showboating with this MiG?" Oz asks while looking intensely in Qrows eyes.
"Now that you mention it. Yeah, were you Qrow." Tai asks a little annoyed that he didn't notice earlier
"You were doing just fine, Tai." Qrow responds.
Qrow unphased responds. "Cougar was doing just fine."
Qrow didn't react to himself and his counterpart saying the same thing, but a few of the audience chuckled.
"You call a panic attack 'Just fine'." Winter asks, glowering at Qrow.
Qrow shrugged and took another swig from his seemingly unending flask.
Oz, not believing him in the slightest, nods his head "Uh-huh."
"Alright, that's enough of that for now." the god says, snapping his fingers the lights come back on and the projector cuts out."
A chorus of aww's seem to resonate from the excited students.
"Will we go back to that world soon, Gar-Gar?" Nora asks.
The god chuckles. "Indeed we will 'little lightning'." he says with a smile.
References:
Top Gun 1986
A/N:
Damn, that was a lot more work than I expected going into it. And that was just the first 30 minutes. If you have a way of watching it, you should watch or listen to Top Gun as you read this.
I had a lot of fun writing this. Although the reactions might have been a little bland this chapter, I'll try to improve upon that in the next chapter. I'm gonna try and take my time with part II of Top Gun (1986). But we will return to it.
Please leave a review. I love to read them!
Have a nice day! :D