𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐱𝐱𝐯𝐢 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫

❝ 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐬 ❞

✈ ✈ ✈

A COUPLE OF DAYS HAD PASSED, AND THE SQUADRON WAS SOMEWHAT READY FOR A DOGFIGHT.

From this day, they'd begin to train according to the actual mission and it's parameters, and by the looks on their Captain's faces, it seemed it was not at all going to be easy.

"Time... is your greatest enemy." Faith rolls her eyes at Maverick's dramatics. "Phase one of the mission will be a low-level ingress attacking in two-plane teams." The screen shifts, showing a higher view of the canyon, "You'll fly along this narrow canyon to your target. Radar guided missiles surface-to-air missiles defend the area. These SAM's, they're lethal."

Faith continues, looking at the screen herself which zooms in to show the course the team was going to have to fly, "But, they were designed to protect the skies above, not the canyon below."

An unexpected statement from an unexpected person makes Faith and Maverick turn away from the screen to face him, "That's because the enemy knows no one is insane enough to try and fly below them."

Faith raises her brow, narrowing her eyes at Bradley, "That's where we come in." She shakes a finger between herself and her uncle. Bradley rolls his eyes at her.

"On the day, your altitude will be 100 feet, maximum. You exceed this altitude, radar will spot you.. and you're dead." As Maverick mentions, on the screen, an F/A-18 flies above the radar, and a missile hits it not two seconds later.

The atmosphere in the room changes. Everyone's tense in their seats as Maverick continues listing the mission parameters, "Your airspeed will be 660 knots."

Faith cuts in, "Minimum. Time to target, two and a half minutes." An image of a fifth-gen is up on the screen, and Maverick waves his hand around it, as he continues his explanation, "That's because fifth-generation fighters wait at an air base nearby."

"In a head-to-head with these planes in your F/A-18's, you're dead." Faith jerks her head to the side as she calls out.

Maverick nods, "That's why you need to get in, hit your target, and be gone before these planes even have a chance of catching you. This, makes time your greatest adversary."

Faith explains the simulation the squad was to fly for the next several days, "You'll fly a route in your nav system that simulates the canyon. The faster you navigate the canyon, the harder it'll be to stay under the radar of these enemy SAM's. The tighter the turns, the more intensely the force of gravity on your body multiplies."

Maverick mentions the obvious, "This will compress your lungs, forcing the blood from your brain, impairing your judgement and reaction time."

"So, for today's lesson," Faith and Maverick share a quick glance, and the woman carries on, "We're gonna take it easy on you. Max ceiling, 300 feet. Time to target, three minutes. Good luck." They look around the room at the tensed crowd, but they can't do much to make them relax. They need to feel the pressure. They need to understand just how serious it all was. They need to understand that there's a high possibility someone's not going to make it home. Even if they made a single mistake, it'll be over.

Yes, the mission could be a success, but was it really worth it to celebrate the victory if there was one less person returning back home?

✈ ✈ ✈

THE IDEA WAS TO MAKE EVERYONE GO UP IN THE AIR, PERFORM THE COURSE, AND THEN REVIEW WHATEVER WENT WRONG.

Some did not make it to the target, but they survived. Some made it to the target, but would have engaged into a suicidal dogfight between their F/A-18 and a fifth generation fighter jet. What mattered at the moment, was knowing where they went wrong.

Everyone had flown already, and returned back to the brief room, staring at the screens as they watched their squad-mates' simulations.

First up, Phoenix, Bob, and Coyote. They did not make it to the target. A missile hit the dual seaters. Their mistake? No communication. And no communication, meant no team.

A beeping is heard in the room when the screen show's Phoenix and Bob above the radar being hit by a missile.

"Why are they dead?" Silence. No answer. Faith pushes on Coyote, pointed look on her face. Phoenix answers her, "We broke the 300-foot ceiling and a SAM took us out."

Until Natasha completes her statement, Faith keeps her eyes on her, but she doesn't accept the answer she gives, returning her gaze to Coyote who leans forward as she stares at him with a void face filled with some anger.

"No. Why are they dead?" A question direct to Coyote. He understands his mistake, announcing it, "I slowed down and didn't give her a warning. It's my fault." Faith doesn't stop there.

"Was there a reason you didn't communicate with your team?" A silent request for Coyote to announce his complete mistake, and he shakes his head, trying to give an explanation, "I was focusing on-" Faith shakes her head sharply, and Coyote stops speaking, "One that their family will accept at the funeral." It hits Faith that he hadn't even thought of this.

"No, ma'am." After she's satisfied with Coyote's answer, Faith turns her gaze to Phoenix, tone the tiniest bit softer and lower, "Why didn't you anticipate the turn? You were given a clear brief on the terrain."

Natasha looks away from Faith, shaking her head as she tries to stutter out a reason, but she's cut off the second she opens her mouth, "Don't tell me, Tash. Tell his family." Faith points to Bob sitting beside Natasha, and the woman simply looks at him, unable to form words.

Faith hated being rough on her friends, she really did. But they need to understand just how real it was. Soon, they'll actually be flying this mission, and they need to learn how to look out for one another. Right now, they were an utter and complete mess, let alone a team. This was it. This was the harsh reality they all had to accept. Yes, they were humans, and yes, humans made mistakes. But the one mistake they cannot afford to make right now was to make a mistake. At least not on the final day.

Next up, Hangman, Payback and Fanboy.

The dual seaters hit the walls of the canyon, and Hangman, as always, left them out to dry, speeding far ahead for the target.

Their simulation ends with Payback and Fanboy's jet crashing into the side of the canyon, but Hangman was still flying ahead, though he didn't reach the target on time. And yet, he had the audacity to give the Captains his smirk when they turned away from the screen to face him.

"What happened?" Maverick wastes no time. Faith remains quiet, looking to Payback, who was scowling at the blonde, and Fanboy, looking to the side out of frustration as Jake replies, "Well, I flew as fast as I could. Kinda like my ass depended on it." Faith lets out a scoff before she can stop herself, absolutely annoyed by the way Hangman was behaving these past few days.

"And, you put your team in danger, and your wingman's dead." Bradley speaks up, pointing out Hangman's arrogant mistakes.

The asshole of all blondes still smirks at the Captains, eyes shifting between them, as he responds without even looking at Bradley, "They couldn't keep up."

Maverick has to pull Faith back by her arm when she's stepping forward in Jake's direction, no doubt wanting to do something everyone must want to at this moment. The blonde's smirk falls, leaning further back against his seat.

And then, the final team of the day, Rooster and Yale. They, were just too slow, but made it to the target. And gave a bogey the chance to shoot them down with a clear shot.

"Why are you dead?" At this point in time, as Faith asks Bradley this question, there's not much patience in her body. The man questioned looks up when he feels her burning stare, pulling his hand away from his chest to put it around the hand-rests of his chair.

Faith says nothing forward, expecting an answer, when Maverick strikes up, "You're team leader up there. Why are you, why is your team, dead?"

Phoenix tries to pull Bradley out of the cross-fire, "Sir, he's the only one who made it to the target."

Faith fires back, "A minute late. He practically gave the enemy an invitation to intercept him. He is dead." Her voice is heavily coated with a nonprofessional, hidden sense of vulnerability.

Something about all this, brings her back to eight years ago, and the sight of Bradley in the hospital bed after they'd flown into jet-wash became crystal clear to her. Then, the image of him still in the salty ocean water. Lifeless. No movement.

Bradley shakes his head at her words, uttering, "You don't know that." Hangman takes the chance to open his big mouth, "You're not flying fast enough. You don't have a second to waste." He looks down at Jake's words, waving him off silently, looking back up into Faith's eyes, "We made it to the target."

"And superior enemy aircraft intercepted you on the way out." Maverick jumps into the conversation too, stepping forward as he speaks in a scolding tone.

"Then it's a dogfight." Bradley snarks back at him.

"An F/A-18, against a fifth gen. Please, do tell me how you plan on surviving." Faith retorts in a seething manner.

Bradley still does not get it, calm and cool with his reply, "Yeah, we'd still have a chance."

"In an F/A-18." Maverick points out, voice raising at his last words.

"It's not the plane, sir, it's the pilot." Bradley smugly smiles and replies, pulling Maverick's own words on him.

Bradley is met with two responses. The same word, but different underlying meanings. Different underlying perspectives. Different underlying susceptibility. Different kinds of care.

"Exactly!" Both Captains yell in response to his self-congratulatory words. Bradley's smile falls.

A moment of silence lingers around the room. Mixtures of sensitivity make their presence known. Faint rumbles of flying jets become louder.

"There's more than one way to fly this mission." What Bradley meant by this, was that he was not willing to follow the Captains' play. Neither superiors open their mouth after his retort.

"You really don't get it." The spotlight's back to Jake again as he speaks up, "On this mission, a man flies like our Captains here, or a man does not come back. No offense intended." Jake gives Natasha a pointed look at his statement. Once again, Faith is stepping forward towards him, only to be pulled back by Maverick by her arm.

"Yet, somehow, you always manage." Bob stands up for the women in the room, Faith and Natasha giving the asshole blonde matching scowls. Jake doesn't say anything to them, looking back at Rooster behind him as he opens his trap once again, "Look, I don't mean to criticize. You're conservative, that's all."

"Lieutenant." Maverick tries to break the ice, but Jake continues as Bradley raises his brows and leans against his chair, "We're going into combat, son," Bradley looks down, nodding once, as Jake gives him a pointed look, "On a level maybe a select few pilots must've seen." Jake jerks his head towards Faith, who narrows her eyes at him.

"That's no time to be thinking about the past." Faith's eyes widen to herself, looking at Maverick who can only watch the scene unfold as Jake crosses lines after lines. Bradley's jaw clenches, hand drawn above falling back to the hand-rest as he looks at Jake with red hot anger in his eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Faith calls out for Bradley to try and be civil, "Rooster." But her words go to no avail.

Jake's gaze is set on the Bradshaw as he speaks further louder, "I can't be the only one that knows that Maverick flew with his old man." Jake meets Faith's burning eyes, her calling out for him to stop, "That's enough." Once again, her words are to no avail.

Oh no.

Jake continues to further push Bradley off the edge he'd been trying to survive a fall from, "Or that Maverick was flying, when his old man-" Bradley's up within nanoseconds, hitting his fist on the hand-rest, taking two long strides towards Jake and pushing him behind as the blonde too stands.

Everyone else is up too, Maverick pushing Jake behind, as Faith brings her hands up to Bradley's chest to push him back. Phoenix and Bob are on their feet right behind Bradley as they catch hold of his sleeves to pull him back. "You son of a bitch!" Bradley seethes out, pointing a finger at the green-eyed blonde, brows furrowing in deep anger. Faith is doing her best to push him back as a chorus of loud 'hey's rush around the room.

"That's enough!" Maverick yells when Bradley and Jake are torn apart, putting his arm on Faith's shoulder once they're separated.

Jake waves Fanboy and Fritz off, chuckling it off, "I'm cool, I'm cool."

And then he's walking further towards both Captains, taking the chance to get in Bradley's face, as Faith once again steps in front of him, back towards Bradley's front, hand still on his chest to keep him behind her, facing Jake with a glare.

The blonde leans further towards Faith, "He's not cut out for this mission. You know it." Maverick tries shutting him up, "That's enough!", trying his best to keep his hands to himself and not pull him away from Faith.

Jake pushes to the final-most limit, keeping his eyes on Faith as he tells her, not wavering from his spot before her, "You know I'm right."

"You're all dismissed." A final declaration echoes around the room from Faith. Slowly, Bradley's chest stops heaving under her arm, as he looks down, pushing Phoenix and Bob off him. Faith meets his gaze when she feels him move under her touch, and he returns it, softening the tiniest bit, before he's making his way out of the room with heavy steps, the others follow behind him with a final look at their Captains.

When everyone was out of the room, Faith turns to Maverick with a solemn look on her face, "He's right." Her palm slides down her sweaty face.

"None of them are ready. They don't even behave like a team." She shakes her head at her own words, and Maverick nods in silent agreement, eyes falling to the ground.

He looks up, meeting her eyes, asking with furrowed brows, "What'd you have in mind?"

Faith just gives her uncle a little smirk, propping her hand over his shoulder, as they begin walking towards the exit, "Come on, I'll tell you over a drink."