Bob pushed his arms up again, going into plank form. He wasn't sure which pushup number this was, he'd lost count after seventy-five. Sweat trickled down his brow and he breathed in shaky pants. His arms were killing him as Bob lowered himself again.
"Alright, that's enough!" Hondo called out.
There were a few groans of relief as the Daggers sat down, chugging water. Bob sat with his arms on his knees, eyes closed as he tried to allow the pain to leave. He grabbed his water bottle and drank a sip. They'd been working out since sunup, and it was now 0800. It had been a long morning.
Maverick stood up; his shirt soaked in sweat. He rolled his aching shoulders and took a deep breath. Hangman lay eagle-spread on the floor, his chest heaving up and down. Payback poured water over his head, shaking his wet hair like a dog. Fanboy stood with his hands over his knees gagging. Rooster looked pretty fine, except for a flushed face and quick breathing. Phoenix sat shaking slightly as her body tried to recover from the physical activity.
"Take a five minute break, then get ready for a closer look at our enemies." Cyclone commanded the Daggers, who nodded silently.
Bob dropped his head onto his chest for a second, clearing his mind. He could do this. He could make it. Five minutes seemed to pass by like a mere five seconds. Soon he was up and walking to his locker, grabbing a washcloth and running water from a nearby fountain on it. He wiped the cool, wet cloth across his flushed face, his heartrate finally starting to settle down.
Drinking some more water, Bob grabbed his notes and a pen, sitting down at his desk. The others soon made it there too, the only thing that was different was that Maverick sat with them. Since he was going on the missions as well, Mav had to go through the same training.
Settling down and allowing the large fan to cool him off, Bob started to pay attention to Warlock, who was telling them about the mission.
"As you all know, this mission involves nuclear warfare. Should things go…wrong, it could mean that we have started a war. This mission is all about stealth." Warlock paused, his eyes flickering towards Maverick, Hangman and Rooster before continuing, "It needs to go completely according to the plan, no sudden ideas. In addition, if anyone of you had to eject, you would be ejecting over closed in and heavily guarded enemy boarders. We wouldn't be able to get you back without the involvement of the President, which would result in questioning, which would then result in high tension."
"Isn't this the President's own orders?" Hangman asked, toothpick in-between his teeth as he smirked. There were a few chuckles around the room.
Warlock glared at him, "This mission is top-secret. In reality, this never happened. None of you are going on a mission. You best count your lucky stars your even here."
That shut Hangman up.
Warlock continued, "In order for this mission to work, we need to avoid radar detection for as long as possible. The nuclear weapons are located here, in this mountain, three miles below. Once you've breached the security, take out the main weapons. This is where it gets tricky. You'll have to land, get inside and defuse the weapons. During training, you'll be studying together how nuclear weaponry works."
"No doubt you'll meet some angry people on the way. We need you to prepare yourself mentally should you have to…end them. We don't want any depressed pilots. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Let's start."