❝no offense intended❞



"𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐘." Intently watching the screen in front of them, the aviators felt their chances of success dwindling. They sat in the briefing room, Maverick at the front. Harper slumped against the blue chair, resisting the urge to get up and leave as she stared at the 3 minute timer on the screen.

Maverick turned back to the screen, which now showed a simulation of the course. "Phase one of the mission will be a low level ingress attacking in two plane teams. You'll fly along this narrow canyon to your target. Radar guided surface-to-air missiles defend the area. These SAMs, they're lethal. But they were designed to protect the skies above, not the canyon below." Harper felt a small sense of dread as she watched the simulation. She imagined others felt the same.

"That's because the enemy knows no one is insane enough to try and fly below them." Rooster's voiced most people's thoughts. Maverick turned away from the screen to look out at the crowd of worried faces.

"That's exactly what I'm gonna train you to do. On the day, your altitude will be 100 feet, maximum." At Maverick's words, everyone exchanged alarmed looks. "You exceed this altitude, radar will spot you and you're dead." The plane in the simulation exceeded the altitude and was struck by a SAM. Harper exchanged a worried look with Bob.

"Your airspeed will be 660 knots minimum. Time to target: two and a half minutes." People started to shift in their seats, alarm in many aviator's eyes. "That's because fifth generation fighters wait at an air base nearby. In a head to head with these planes in your F-18s, you're dead. That's why you need to get in, hit your target and be gone before these planes even have a chance of catching you." The words ran through Harper's head as she tried to process the chance of success. It was slim.

"This makes time your greatest adversary." Those words replayed in Harpers head as the G's weighed down on her, watching the clock run out as she weaved her way through the course.

"You'll fly a route in your nav system that simulates the canyon. The faster you navigate this canyon, the harder it'll be to stay under the radar of these enemy sams. The tighter the turns, the more intensely the force of gravity on your body multiplies, compressing your lungs, forcing the blood from your brain, impairing your judgement and reaction time." Harper felt like she wanted to throw up.

"So for today's lesson, we're gonna take it easy on you. Max ceiling: 300 feet. Time to target: three minutes. Good luck." The Top Gun graduates exchanged alarmed looks. Harper's eyebrows raised in surprise. They still have a lot to learn.

The drop in her stomach as she took off the runway mixed with the butterflies in her stomach, not the good kind. Her breath came quicker, the air leaving her lungs as she set the course. She gripped her joystick, trying to focus on the navigation system. With every tight turn, it felt like her chest was being pressed down on. Bob's voice sounded in her ear, reminding her of the time. She needed to go faster. Harper increased to 480 knots, ignoring the increasing pressure.

"Why are they dead?"

"I didn't anticipate the next turn soon enough and skimmed a wall." Harper admitted reluctantly. It felt bad to admit it out loud, although many others had failed before her.

"Why are they dead?"

"We broke the 300 foot ceiling and a SAM took us out." Phoenix said, glancing at the simulation that showed her and Bob's F-18 hit with a SAM.

"No. Why are they dead?" Maverick's gaze turned to Coyote.

"I slowed down and didn't give her a warning. It was my fault." Coyote sighed.

"Was there a reason you didn't communicate with your team?" Maverick demanded.

"I was focusing on-" Maverick's voice cut Coyote off.

"One that their family will accept at the funeral." The silence after was heavy. Harper looked away from Maverick.

"None, sir." Coyote mumbled.

"Why didn't you anticipate the turn? You were briefed on the terrain." Maverick asked, turning his attention to Phoenix.

Phoenix began to speak but Maverick cut her off. "Don't tell me. Tell it to his family."

Harper looked down, lost in her thoughts. The weight of the mission, the matter of life and death, was beginning to sink in. She looked around the room at her teammates. Someone could possibly not be coming home.

While others flew the mission, the team sat in the room watching the screen. In the back of her mind was the idea. She just had to pitch it to Hangman. She glanced at him to her left, two rows in front of her. He was probably going to be insufferable.

She cringed to herself as she made her way over to Hangman, plopping down in the seat next to him. He looked surprised when he looked up and saw her.

"I was thinking-" She began.

"That's not good." Hangman interrupted, earning a glare.

"Operation Set it Up." Harper stated, smiling eagerly.

"What?" Hangman snorted, looking confused.

"You know like Cyrano? You know what that means right?"

"Of course I know what that means." Hangman scoffed, but the confusion in his eyes betrayed him.

"No you don't." Harper smirked. Hangman sighed in exasperation, meeting her gaze and waiting for her to continue.

"Set Maverick and Penny up, like you said." She whispered the words like it was some big secret. She would get killed if Mav found out anyways.

"That was a joke." Hangman chuckled.

"But it doesn't have to be! You know Penny relatively well, I know Maverick...kind of. We could be the men behind the curtain!" Harper insisted in a loud whisper. She quieted her voice, looking around.

"That's insane." Hangman scoffed. He wore a unimpressed look, much to the frustration of Harper.

"But it could save us! Think about it, with Maverick and Penny rekindling their flame," Hangman cringed. "Stop cringing. We could help a man be happy, and when hes happy, he'll be distracted and there's a greater chance of one of us getting put as team leader. Flying, he'll be distracted, in the classroom, he'll be distracted-"

"Ok, I get it. My answer is still no." Hangman cut in. The three that had just run the course entered the room. "I gotta go." Hangman shot her a smug smile and left, leaving an exasperated Harper.

"What happened?" Maverick's frustrated tone filled the silent room. His gaze was focused on Hangman.

"I flew as fast as I could. Kind of like my ass depended on it." Hangman remarked. His blond hair was ruffled slightly, like in highschool after a football game. Harper refrained from rolling her eyes at his tone.

"And you put your team in danger, and your wingman's dead." Rooster added, earning no reaction from Hangman.

"They couldn't keep up." Hangman smirked, amusement in his eyes. The next trio, Rooster, Yale, and Harvard headed out.

"Why are you dead? You're team leader up there. Why are you, why is your team dead?" Maverick stared at Rooster. The air was tense.

"Sir, hes the only one who made it to the target." Phoenix cut in, looking away from Maverick's gaze.

"A minute late. He gave enemy aircraft time to shoot him down. He is dead." Harper's eyes flicked to Maverick. His tone was veering the line of personal.

"You don't know that." Rooster argued, taking on a stubborn look as he looked up at the front of the room.

"You're not flying fast enough. You don't have a second to waste." Hangman remarked, cutting into the argument.

"We made it to the target." Rooster ignored Hangman, staring at Maverick.

"And superior enemy aircraft intercepted you on your way out." Maverick stated.

"Then it's a dogfight." Rooster argued. Harper winced, looking between the two.

"Against fifth generation fighters." Maverick asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, we'd still have a chance." Rooster remarked. He wasn't making this any better for himself.

"In an F-18!" Maverick's voice rose.

"It's not the plane sir, its the pilot."

"Exactly!" Maverick yelled. Hurt crossed Rooster's face. Harper's eyes widened at his tone. An unspoken tension had built in the room. Nobody looked at the two.

"There's more then one way to fly this mission." Rooster's jaw was set. Nobody dared intervene, except for one person.

"You really don't get it." Hangman sighed, entering the argument. "On this mission, a man flies like Maverick here, or a man does not come back."

"No offense intended." He gave Harper and Phoenix a pointed look. Harper's fists clenched. She opened her mouth to say something, but Bob beat her to it.

"Yet somehow, you always manage." Bob leaned over Phoenix to shoot a look at Hangman, earning a small smile from Harper.

"Look, I don't mean to criticize. You're conservative, that's all." Hangman drawled.

"Lieutenant." Maverick interrupted, but Hangman kept going, looking at Rooster.

"We're going into combat, son, on a level no living pilot's ever seen. Not even him." Hangman turned to look at Maverick with a small smile, whose eyes slightly widened.

"That's no time to be thinking about the past." The silence after Hangman's words was deafening. Harper tried to meet Hangman's eyes, to tell him to shut up, but it was no use. Rooster's gaze had already turned to Hangman.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rooster's tone was cold. The others in the room looked at the two with wide eyes. Harper shifted in her seat, feeling like she was definitely interrupting something.

"I can't be only one that knows that Maverick flew with his old man." Hangman announced. Harper's brows furrowed, confused as to where Hangman was going with this.

"That's enough." Maverick snapped, but Hangman continued.

"Or that Maverick was flying when his old man-" In a second, Rooster lunged at Hangman. The tension snapped, the room exploding in a clamor of voices as everyone rushed towards the two. Harper followed the others, standing up and separating Rooster from Hangman.

"You son of a bitch!" Rooster yelled, pointing at Hangman. Bob and Harper, along with others, held Rooster back. The other half of the room held Hangman back on the other side. Maverick's commanding voice rose over the others.

"Hey, I'm cool, I'm cool." Hangman shrugged off the hands holding him back, still wearing a smug smile. His gaze was fixed on Rooster.

"That's enough." Maverick's voice held less strength. He looked shakened, eyes slightly widened. Hangman made his way through the crowd, towards the middle. Rooster's breath was heavy.

"He's not cut out for this mission. You know it." Hangman held Maverick's gaze. "You know I'm right." He walked past Rooster, holding eye contact with a small smile. He locked eyes with Harper.

"You're all dismissed." Maverick announced in a shaky tone. Harper held Hangman's gaze.

"You can be such a dick." Harper muttered in a cold tone. She shook her head and followed the others out of the room.