CHAPTER NINE Damage Is Done

"Okay, gentlemen, this is hop 31. Two weeks to graduation. TOPGUN trophy is still up for grabs, so every point counts." Jester told them, engines starting roaring.

Kate stayed at the base, crossing her arms, making sure the radio was on to hear the pilots. She drank her coffee, immediately feeling a sense of happiness.

"Well, it's bottom of the ninth, the score is tied. It's time for the big one." Nick stated.

"You up for this one, Maverick?" Ice asked.

"Just a walk in the park, Kazansky." Pete replied.

"Contact. Multiple bogies, 1-6-5. Two miles. Looks like they're going away from us." Slider informed.

"Oh, I see them, tallyho, right 2 o'clock. I'm in." Pete responded to Slider.

"I'm in." Ice stated.

Kate looked at the screen with the radar, then looked out from the window out of instinct. Not that she could see the F-14s or F-5s.

"That son of a bitch cut me off." Pete muttered about Ice, making Kate laugh. "Come on, come on. Jesus Christ. Ice, take the shot." He continued.

"Come on, Ice, get the hell out of there." Goose told him.

"I can't get the angle. I'm too close for missiles. I'm switching to guns." Ice informed them.

"Ice, fire or clear." Pete instructed. "Look at this! Jesus Christ, I can take a shot right here!" Pete ranted.

"I need another twenty seconds, then I've got it." Ice told him.

Kate groaned. For flight training, sure, you can manage to get away with those seconds, but sometimes in an actual fight, you can't get that extra time. Those extra seconds can count as your first few seconds of death.

"I'm moving in. I've got the shot." Pete stated.

"Come on, Mav, let's get in there! Come on, Mav!" Goose urged.

"Maverick's getting impatient. Come on, take the shot." Slider told Ice.

"Mitchell, impatient? Never heard of that before." Kate commented on the radio, making sure they could hear her.

"Ten more seconds, then I've got him." Ice dismissed.

"Come on, Ice, get the hell out of there! Let's do it, Mav." Goose told him, also getting impatient.

" Ice, come off high right. I'm in." Pete ordered.

"Five more seconds." Ice pleaded.

"Come off high right, Ice. I'm in." Pete repeated.

"I'm off. Shit!" Ice said, backing off.

"We're in his jet wash!" Goose informed Pete.

"Holy shit!"

"This is not good. Shit, we got a flameout, Mav. Engine one is out. Engine two is out!" Goose said with panic in his voice, making Kate panic.

"Goose, I'm losing control. I'm losing control. I can't control it. It won't recover. Shit!" Pete told him frantically.

Kate narrowed her eyes to try to see any frame of the plane, but because it was far out and high, she couldn't see anything. "It's coupling up, Mav! We're out of control. This is not good! This is not good!" Goose exclaimed.

Kate couldn't think, and she barely felt like she could breathe. She gathered up all of the strength she could get and pressed a button to get a hold of any nearby coast guards. She knew how this worked, that's what terrified her.

"Mayday, mayday. Mav's in trouble. He's in a flat spin. He's heading out to sea." Ice called in.

"Altitude 8,000, 7,000. Six. We're at six, Mav." Goose yelled.

"I'm pinned forward, Goose. I can't reach the ejection handle. Goose, you're gonna have to punch us out. I can't reach the ejection handle. Eject." Pete told Goose.

"I'm trying! I'm trying!"

"Eject! Eject! Eject! Watch the canopy!"

Kate lost all contact with them. She felt everything stop around her. Viper walked in, not seeing the blank stare on her face as she looked out the window.

"Coast guard made contact. They found them." Viper told her. "There's no confirmation yet of their statuses."

Kate nodded, not completely focused on him. She saw a group of medics rushing out. Kate walked out of the room, he is not dead. She had to repeat that in her head. Neither of them are.

Kate made her way outside, and headed to the medical centre. She went to the desk. "Mitchell and Bradshaw?" Kate asked the lady.

"Mr. Mitchell is physically alright, minus a few scrapes as it says in this file."

Kate let out a visible sigh of relief. "And Bradshaw?" She asked.

The lady looked down at the file. Kate knew that look all too well. "He didn't make it."

Kate cursed, walking towards the back to find the bathrooms. Viper walked past her and into the men's one, sharing a look. She instantly felt sympathy for Carole and Bradley. Carole had lost her husband and Bradley had lost his dad.

Shortly after, Viper walked back out, sighing. Kate leaned against the wall, waiting for Pete. He walked out, throwing on his t-shirt.

"Goose—"

"I know." She said, knowing he was bound to be upset.

He wrapped his arms around her torso, "how did you deal with it?" He asked her.

"I drank lots of alcohol, denied everything, sobered up, got back to work." Kate answered. She looked at him, "you don't just 'get over it', Pete. He's your best friend, practically family."

They walked out of the building together, and Kate tried to not give him pity looks. They weren't really of pity, it was empathy, but she knew it did more harm than good sometimes. They went to her truck and she drove him to where Carole was.

"I think maybe it was my fault. I don't know what the hell went wrong." Pete said quietly.

"I'll be out here." She told him.

"God, I want him back." He whispered.

She stayed in park when he walked away, lowering her head onto the steering wheel. :]Everyone is clearly fineOkay, bye!

:]

Everyone is clearly fine

Okay, bye!