The Past

Sparrow's mind wander as she thought what Maverick was going to do today.

Maverick made his way to front which everyone had their focus on him. He stood in front of a monitor that displayed a flight simulation. "Phase one of the mission will be a low-level attack. You'll be flying along the narrow canyon walls to the target. The surface-to-air missiles defend the skies above, not the canyon below." He explained.

"That's because no one is insane enough to fly below." Rooster commented. "That's exactly what I'm going to train you to do." Maverick responded. He described the low altitudes and high speeds the pilots would be flying for today's simulation. It was an improvement from the actual altitude and speed required for the mission, but it was still worrying. No pilot had ever flown a mission like this before, not even Maverick. "Time to target is two and a half minutes." "Fifth-generation fighter jets wait at a base nearby. You need to get in and you need to get out. This makes time your greatest adversary." Maverick explained.

..................

Sparrow was frustrated as she didn't succeed... no one did. Sparrow looked up at Maverick then Maverick looked at her. She sighed. "Sparrow... why are you dead?" He asked her. "First thing, I made it to the Target... a minute late, I know I am not the only one who made. The reason why I am dead, is because I didn't communicate with Bob and Phoenix and out there, I froze as my mind began to wonder, meaning I was stumped. But that isn't an excuse to give to their families, because believe me, if anything were to happened to those two on my watch... I wouldn't forgive myself." Sparrow explained her answered to Maverick. Phoenix and Bob listened to the woman. Maverick seem please with her answer so he didn't question her no further and questioned Hangman.

"What happened?" He questioned Hangman. A prideful smirk evident on his face, "I flew as fast as I could. Kind of like my life depended on it." He answered and Sparrow rolled her eyes. "Yeah and your put your team in danger and now your wingman is dead." Rooster criticized him. "They couldn't keep up." Hangman answered. "Time is the thing to worry about, not whose the fastest." Sparrow said to him. "Isn't that the thing your mom taught everyone, including your dad?" Hangman questioned her.

Her brows furrowed. "How did you know that?" Sparrow questioned him. He didn't answer her. "She was aid to Blackwood, she met my dad at Top Gun... I never gotten to meet my mother because she died giving birth to me, so if I were you, I would keep your mouth shut about my mother." Sparrow spatted. Maverick sighed. He remember her and Charlie were incredibly close but Maverick never knew her and Wolfman gotten together.

Maverick then turned his attention on Rooster, "Why are you dead?" Maverick questioned him. "Sir, just like Sparrow, he also made it to the target." Phoenix responded. "A minute late, which gave time for the enemy aircraft to shoot them both down." Maverick replied to Phoenix. "You don't know that." Rooster argued. Hangman sighed. "You're not flying fast enough." He replied. "You aren't thinking, one wrong move, someone is going to end up dead, I won't let that happen so think smarter." Sparrow spatted. She was already frustrated with Hangman, he was just pushing it at this point.

"Sparrow and I made it to the target." Rooster stated. "And superior enemy aircraft intercepted the both of you on your way out." Maverick stated as he looked at both Hangman and Rooster. "Then it's a dog fight." Rooster said. "Against Fifth generation fighters?" Maverick questioned.

"We still have a chance sir." Rooster said not taking a defeat. "In a F-18?" Maverick questioned once more with rueful chuckle at him. "It's not the plane, sir. It's the pilot." Rooster replied. "Exactly!" Maverick flings back. Rooster looks at him for a moment and sighs in stress. "There's way more then just one way to fight on this mission."

"You really don't get it do you?" Hangman turns his head back once again at Rooster. "This mission. A man like Maverick here or He doesn't come back." He looks over at Phoenix and Sparrow. "No offense." He winks at them. They both scoffed. "Yet somehow, you always manage." Bob said as he made eye contact with Hangman. Sparrow couldn't help but smile at Bob and gave him a fist bump.

"I don't mean, by any chance to criticize your conservative, that's all. We're going into combat. on a level no living pilot has ever seen. Not even him." Hangman said as he looked at Maverick. Maverick gave him a look. "It's no time to be thinking about the past Rooster." Hangman said. Sparrow's eyes widened as she knew that he was about to bring up Goose. "What's that suppose to mean?" Rooster questioned him.

Sparrow shook her head and bit the inside of her cheek.

"Rooster." Maverick called out but he ignored him."Hangman, please just stop while you ahead." Sparrow spatted. "I can't be the only one that knows Maverick flew with his old man and Sparrow's..." Hangman said. "Okay that's enough." Maverick warned Hangman. "And that Maverick was flying when his old man-." Before Hangman could finish, Rooster leaped out of his chair and tried to go after him, Sparrow, Phoenix and Bob helped grabbed him while Fanboy, Payback and Coyote grabbed Hangman.

"That's enough!" Maverick barked. "You son of a bitch!" Rooster exclaimed at Hangman. "Hey, I'm cool, I'm cool." Hangman said with a smile on his face while looking at Rooster. "Relax he's not worth it, just relax." Sparrow assured him. "You know I'm right." Hangman said to Maverick as he left. Sparrow rolled her eyes. "You are far from right... far from it." Sparrow responded. "You're all dismissed." Maverick said.

Sparrow sighed.

..........

As she is walking to her car, "Wait!" She turned to see Fanboy. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked her. "Yeah and no." She tells him. "It was about your mom is it." Fanboy said and she nodded.

"My mom taught at Top Gun, that's how she met my dad. Was it allowed, no but my mom didn't care. I think the love shows because my dad never fell in with someone else after that." Sparrow said.

"Hangman needs to learn." Fanboy said as Sparrow scoffed. "I don't think he's ever gonna learn." Sparrow said. "Probably not."Fanboy said as Sparrow chuckled softly.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Sparrow said. "See ya." Fanboy said as he walked off. She smiled.

......