"Alright, beautiful, now moving swiftly along." The lieutenant said, nodding to the personnel near the door to turn the lights off. They did so and closed the blinds to prepare us for a film. My eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly and I pulled out a small pocket-sized notebook just in case it would be required for notes. Unlike Maverick I took pride in my studies and enjoyed the opportunity for learning.
"During Korea, the Navy kill ratio was 12 to one. We shot down 12 of their jets for every one of ours. During Vietnam, that ratio fell to three to one. Our pilots became dependent upon missiles, they had lost some of their dogfighting skills. Top Gun was created to teach ACM, air combat maneuvering. Dogfighting, if you will. At the end of Vietnam, that ratio was back up to 12 to one." The lecture he gave was quick, but he showed examples of dogfighting on the small TV at the front of the classroom. I smiled knowing that this was what we were going to be perfecting here with the program.
"Blinds, please. Now 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 will not find a finer fighter pilot anywhere in the world. Commander Mike Metcalf. Callsign, Viper." The doors we had come through not 30 minutes ago reopened to reveal a grizzled officer probably in his mid-50s by now. He walked through the aisle looking at every one of us with an intensity that I couldn't describe. When he got to the front, he turned towards us.
"Gentlemen," He paused looking directly at Doe and I.
"And ladies... I apologize, it is the first time we have had women in this program. Though I'm certain you will live up to your callsigns." He continued with a bit of discontent in his tone. I actively stopped my jaw from dropping at his remark. I had been expecting this, but not from a commander. Well, it was no real surprise to me that we would have to prove ourselves to everyone who did not want us here. It was a brand-new concept for many of the old command.
"All of you are the top one percent of all naval aviators, the elite, the best of the best, otherwise you wouldn't be here. We'll make you better. You'll fly at least two combat missions a day, attend classes in between, and receive evaluations of your performance."
"Top Gun is not an opportunity to slack off, get drunk, and go on romantic outings." He added as he saw Iceman grinning ear to ear. The smile was quickly wiped from his face, his head snapping back to his notes as his fingers twirled the pen he held.
"It is an opportunity, that your commanding officers thought you fit to journey on. Now, in each combat sequence, you're going to meet a different challenge. Every encounter is going to be much more difficult. We're going to teach you to fly the F-14 right to the edge of the envelope. Faster than you've ever flown before and more dangerous. Now, we don't make policy here, gentlemen, elected officials, and civilians do that. We are the instruments of that policy." He paused, I saw Maverick look at Iceman and they locked eyes, glaring at each other.
"And although we are not at war, we must always act as though we are at war." I'm sure he felt he made his point among everyone present as he started walking again towards the back of the room. I turned to face where he was.
"What are you doing?" Goose leaned over to Maverick asking him the question in a whispered tone. I rolled my eyes knowing this could only lead to my annoyance growing.
"The tip of the spear." Viper continued.
"I'm just wondering who's the best," Maverick answered Goose's question with an arrogant remark.
"In case some of you wonder who the best is, here, they're up here on this plaque on the wall. The best driver and his RIO from each class has his name on it." Viper turned back around facing the front and walking towards the whiteboard. He had no doubt heard Maverick's question and answered it amused.
"And they have the option to come back here to be Top Gun instructors. You think your name's going to be on that plaque?" He turned to face Maverick who was tracking him delicately with his eyes now, no longer distracted.
"Yes sir." He answered him quite confidently.
"That's pretty arrogant considering the company you're in," Viper replied to him, gesturing around the room at all the other pilots that were now in competition with each other.
"Yes sir." He said again looking briefly down towards the floor and back up to Viper.
"I like that in a pilot," Viper said, a trace of a smile on his face.
"Remember when it's over out there, we're all on the same team. Gentlemen this school is about combat. There are no points for second place. Dismissed." He said finishing his monologue, and letting us go about our business. I gathered my things again, putting my notebook and pen away in my front pocket. I got up quickly ready to leave the room with Doe right behind me. Maverick and Goose following, I couldn't stand the testosterone that was practically oozing from these feral pre-pubescent males.
"The plaque for the alternates is down in the ladies' room." Iceman joked with everyone, Goose let out a hysterical fake laugh. I continued forward not wanting to stay and came up with a witty reply. I let out a breath when I exited the room standing off to the side with Doe as we waited for Maverick and Goose.
"Oh Jesus, oh you kill me, you really do. But watch out for Reaper, man, she'll put you down fast and hard. Make no mistake, these ladies have balls bigger than you've got hanging between your legs." Goose told Iceman and the others, who immediately quieted upon hearing his remark. When Maverick and Goose walked out they immediately started leading the way. I was almost positive that Stinger had put in our applications for housing ahead of us leaving the ship.
"So where are we heading?" I asked the two men ahead of us.
"Stinger pulled some strings and got us a house we can occupy for the months that we're here. Seems like we'll all be together since he couldn't find two separate houses. It's 4 bedrooms and 2 baths so we all get our own room. He specifically mentioned no funny business, Mav." Goose replied to me, calling Maverick out. Maverick let out a light-hearted laugh shaking his head as we traversed one of the parking lot keys in hand. He walked up to a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle, sticking the key in the ignition. I watched as Maverick loaded his bags to the back of it, securing them down tightly so they wouldn't budge.
"You bastard, you had your bike delivered?" Goose asked him.
"That I did, you jealous?" He asked him, as he retrieved his aviator sunglasses and put them on. Goose simply stood there in awe of his friend and retrieved his own keys clicking the button to reveal his car a couple of rows away.
"Sounds amazing." I smiled happily as Maverick started the engine of the bike.
"You want a ride?" He asked me pleasantly surprised I had taken an interest in his mode of transportation. I nodded but stopped myself.
"I would, but let's get back to the house first, and then we'll talk about that later... Maybe you can take me down to the coast?" I asked him, just wanting to get to the house and relax for a bit. I left his side and went back towards Goose and Doe. We walked to Goose's 1985 Ford Bronco. When he unlocked it I opened the door and looked inside, I immediately wondered if I had made the right decision, there was not much room in the back for me.
"Goose, did Stinger get me a car? I can't help but notice there's no room for me." I told him, he smiled at me and took out another set of keys from his backpack throwing them to me. I caught them with ease.
"The arrangement had been made to have your Corvette brought out." He said, I smiled pushing the button to locate the car. It was a few spaces over from Goose's. I tried to contain my excitement upon seeing the car again. It was a sleek black model that I loved dearly and had in storage because I didn't need to use it much because I flew planes for a living. But it got me around in style, that's why I bought it.
"I'll follow you and Maverick over," I asked Goose but expressed it as a statement. He nodded as he and Doe entered his car.
I threw my things inside and got in, started the engine, and let the car warm up. I saw Maverick pull out of his spot and wait for all of us to get the show on the road, I pulled out next to him and Goose was behind me. I smiled as I shifted, and we got out onto the highway that led away from the base. I saw Maverick wanted to weave in and out of traffic so I let Goose in front of me so he could lead me instead. Once he got in front of me it was a very smooth ride to the house, we were only one exit off the highway to the base and a few turns away from the highway.
The house was in a very nice neighborhood, surrounded by almost identical houses. It was a two-story Victorian house, beige in color with a slate gray roof. I parked myself in the driveway next to Goose, looking at the wrap-around porch that had been decked out with a porch swing, sitting chairs, and a small table. I shut off the engine, got out of my car, retrieved my duffle bag from the back, and closed the door marveling at the house.
"Wow, it's beautiful." I breathed out, pressing the button on my keys to lock the door to my car. I left my flight things in there as I would not be needing those anytime soon unless I was on base or studying.
"I was not expecting Stinger to get us something this nice. I thought he hated us." Maverick said as he got all his items from his bike.
"Hates you guys maybe, he loves us," Doe said to him matter of factly. I let out a small laugh. It was true, he loved us because we actually followed instructions and listened to him when he gave us orders. Maverick always disobeyed him and Goose being his RIO carried that reputation with him as well, even though Goose was level-headed about most things and kept his pilot in check.
"Well let's see the inside, shall we?" Maverick said, bouncing up the stairs to the door unlocking it with the key attached to his bike keys. I followed his lead as we walked through the door the stairs were off to the right in front of us, the kitchen straight back, the living room to the left, and the dining room to the right. I walked into the kitchen it was minimally decorated but perfect for what we needed, to the right was a washer-dryer tucked in a small room near the backdoor. Goose and Doe went up the stairs to claim their rooms as Maverick and I explored. I opened the backdoor to reveal a backyard with a smoker and grill on the patio with a small hot tub. It was quite honestly paradise.
When I grew up my parents tried their best to be good role models for me. However, the family background was shrouded in addiction and secrets. I yearned to get away from it and I managed to quite easily when I applied to the Naval Academy. The rest is history, I took a deep breath closing my eyes. I reached my fingers into my hair and pulled down the ponytails that held it in its bun. I felt fingers push the hair from the front of my face to the back tucking it behind my ear it brought me back to the present moment. Maverick was standing behind me I could feel his breath hitting my neck as he moved my hair to the side. I cleared my throat as his fingers wandered to the base of my neck gently massaging the skin.
"Everything you ever dreamed of having?" He asked in a soft voice.
"It's more," I smiled relaxing into his touch. He was getting bolder, it seemed as if he was trying to touch me every opportunity he could. I was still getting used to accepting him this close to me. I flinched as his fingers traced quickly over my scar and down to my lower back. The movement reminded me of the pain of getting the scar, the searing blinding pain, wet blood soaking the uniform I was in. I internally begged Maverick to pull me from the memory. He noticed the stiffness of my body and spun me around putting his forehead against mine so I could hear his calm breathing, before pulling me into a hug.
"I don't know what you're going through, I wish you would just tell me, so you don't have to suffer through it alone." He whispered into my ear. His sentiment to my welfare had me struggling to keep my well-adjusted composure.
"Maverick, maybe I will someday. But you have to stop pushing." I told him unhappily, lightly pushing myself from his grip and moving to go back inside the house.
"I'm sorry Maeve." He said switching back to real names rather than callsigns so I knew he was serious.
"Wait..." He started, grabbing my wrist before I could get much further, I turned around to look towards him wondering what else he wanted to say to me.
"What?" I asked him looking curiously into his eyes as if I was going to find the answers there. I could tell he wanted to say something more but he was struggling within himself to do so.
"I know we've only just started the program... But I want you to be careful flying with these guys. I don't trust them. I know you can handle yourself but please be cautious. We've all heard the rumors of how you got your callsign. I just worry." He said to me, I nodded contemplating his request.
"What're the rumors?" I asked him curiously; I hadn't heard any new ones recently. There were a couple that assumed I had killed a lot of people in a certain deployment, which wasn't entirely far off from the truth. Maverick had only met me a few years ago, the talk of how I got my callsign had died down since then, or so I thought.
"I heard that you killed your RIO, murdered actually. I've heard that you were engaged to him. I've heard so many different versions but they all end with him dead." He said to me looking skeptical, judging my reaction. My bottom jaw clenched involuntarily, and I let out a chuckle.
"It's interesting how people twist stories after some time has gone by." I smiled through the wound he had just reopened. My body itched to leave the conversation as quickly as I could.
"Fine, I'll be careful, but you need to heed your own advice Mav," I told him, he let my hand go and I walked back inside and up the stairs to see where Crystal had set up her bedroom. I got upstairs and heard her and Nick laughing about something or another. I would say I was the more serious one out of the group of us because I knew the dangers we faced all too well. I went into the empty bedroom furthest away from the laughter that filled the house. I deserved to be this way, alone, I was better off this way.