𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐢 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫

❝𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧❞

































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As Bradley and Faith walked side by side on Deck, she noticed a multitude of others, clad in their own uniforms, and she couldn't help but think to herself, time for a new family.

"Bradshaw! C'mon over here!" Another man yelled at him, walking towards him with his arms opening for a hug.

"Sorry, I-" Bradley looked over to her, watching as the corners of her lips lifted up, giving him a reassuring smile, "No, it's alright, I'll make some more friends." Faith gave him a grin, walking away from him towards another woman she saw on Deck, hoping to make new friends. Bradley smiled back, nodding, walking with his front still on her side eyes still gazing into her green eyes. He thought of the word she used, friend. It's nice to have a new friend.

Lost in thought, he smiled down at his shoes, but then, he crashed into his friend who was calling him over to meet. A confused expression passed onto his face, as he turned around to look at his friend, Tango. A small chuckle sounded from behind him, and he turned back to the source, capturing her eyes with none other than Faith. She gestured her leave with a small wave, muttering a 'Bye, Bradley.'

Turning her back to him, she walked over to the only other woman on deck. Faith swore there was an alluring aura this woman had. Giving the woman a small smile, "Hey, I'm Faith." she put her hand out for her to shake.

The woman looked at her, and immediately, a sweet smile formed on her face, as she took her hand in her own. "Natasha. Natasha Trace." Faith replied back, "It's nice to have another woman on Deck, us women have to stick together." She gave Natasha a grin.

"Amen to that, sister, Amen to that." Natasha shook her head in agreement.

"Your callsign, Faith?" Natasha asked, curiosity on her face. "Archer." Faith immediately replied, nodding her head.

"Damn, that's good, how'd you get it?" Natasha further asked.

"Oh, my mother, she was in the Army, leader of her troop. They called her 'Archer', 'cuz she was the only woman and person in the squad who used a bow and arrow instead of guns. I happened to share her love to use a bow and arrow ever since I was ten years old and held hers' for the first time. She taught me everything I know about archery. To honor her, I decided to join the Navy, and my squadron found me on the training ground, shooting bullseye's each shot. So, they started calling me 'Archer', and it's stuck ever since." Faith nodded her head slowly, a sorrowful look in her eyes, which Natasha picked up on.

Natasha nodded back at her, taking her hand in her own, spreading her warmth.

"What's your callsign, Nat?" Natasha smiled softly at the nickname Faith gave her, "Phoenix. 'Cause I rise from the ashes." Natasha gave her a smirk.

"Explains why you're so hot." Faith smirked back at her, looking her up and down.

"God, I love you already." Natasha lets out a small laugh, putting her arm around Faith's shoulder, pulling her to take their seats.

Everyone seemed to be moving beside them to take their own seats, and Bradley seemed to walk on over to her other side, "Is- uh, Is anyone else sitting here?" He asked Faith who was busy conversing with Natasha. Faith and Natasha looked up to the man, inviting smiles on their faces, "No, you can take it." Bradley nodded as he sat down.

Faith turned to meet his eyes, "So, Rooster, huh?" She asked, small smirk on her face.

"Yeah, my father, his callsign was 'Goose', and he passed away serving. So I took up the callsign 'Rooster'. It seemed fitting, and like a perfect way to honor him."

"Sorry for your loss." The smirk on her face vanished, comforting smile replacing it.

"Nah, it's alright." He shook the sadness off. "So, Archer, huh?" Bradley repeated her words, grin on his face.

"Yep. My mom, she passed away serving for the Army. Her troop called her 'Archer', 'cuz she preferred using a bow and arrow instead of a gun. I fell in love with archery the day she handed me her bow, and she taught me everything I know about it." A ghost of a smile on her lips, her eyes were lost in memory.

Before Bradley could reply, a voice loudly alerted, "Attention, on Deck!" And each student stood up from their seats, standing up to give the arriving Admiral a salute.

At the Admiral's orders, everyone took their seats, all paying attention to him.

"Ladies and gentlemen. You all are the top one percent of all Naval Aviators. We vow to make you the best." The Captain looked amongst the group, eyes stern and stoic, "Each day you are here, you shall fly at least one mission of combat, attend classes, note your evaluations down, and make the necessary modifications. Each mission will get more and more difficult, and you will face challenges. Fortunately, for all your sakes, you have me, Admiral Hurricane, and Captain Victor to guide you in the right direction." Faith felt her lips pull up at the Captain's words, immediately taking a liking to him.

"Oh, this is gonna be fun." Phoenix said in a hushed whisper to Faith, who nodded agreeingly.

Admiral Hurricane continued, "We will be teaching you how to fly F-18's to the cliff's edge, more faster and more dangerously than you have ever flown before. Now, you all must be wondering who's the best of the best." He looks behind him at the plaque wall, which was engraved with the names of all men and women who had flown into combat, bringing victory to their country. "The best two of you all, will have your names engraved on this wall when you graduate." He confirmed Faith's thoughts, and she was determined to be one amongst those two.

"Keep in mind, Aviators, this school is for Combat, and there are no points for losing." The Captain took one last look amongst the handful of students, before saying, "Now get your asses onto your planes." with a nod, and a small welcoming smile on his face.

"Archer, Tango, y'all are up first." The pair immediately stood up, nodding at the Admiral's orders, before moving to get their gear.

"Best of luck, Arch. Give 'em hell." Phoenix gave her a smile and nod.

"Good luck." Bradley called out after her, giving her a smirk, eyes trained on her as she turned back to face them with a smirk of her own, then back to her WSO walking beside her.





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With Tango as her WSO, the Archer had ascended into the air. Each and every student was going to fight against their Captain, who was posing as a bandit. They had to defend against him, and try not to get killed on their first run. If they got killed, they would have to do 100 push ups. It was a pretty easy task for their first time flying.

"Talk to me, Tango, you see him?" Faith asked looking out the glass canopy with an unwavering focus, hands with a firm grasp on the yoke.

"Not yet, Archer. You thing you can pull up higher?" Tango replied, wanting to get eyes on the Admiral quick, before they were the ones being shot down.

"Yeah, okay, ascending." Faith pulled the yoke towards herself, going higher up into the blue sky.

"I have eyes on him, he's on our six, closing in fast." Tango warned, eyes full of concern.

"Alright. Ya better hold onto your seat, Tango, things are about to get shaky." Faith said, smirk on her face.

The Admiral was closing in fast, wondering how the fighter's going to get out of the trap he set up.

Archer swerved up randomly, making Tango gasp loudly. She gained speed as she moved over the Admiral, now upside down, giving him a smirk he couldn't see because she had her mask on, but his eyes did hold a quiver of surprise in them.

Archer straightened her plane, now right behind the Admiral, "Take the shot, Tango." She confirmed. Tango got ready to take the shot, placing his hands on the control.

All of a sudden, she could see a flock of birds closing in rapidly, so she swerved up again, to miss getting struck by them, warning Tango, "Wait a second." She pulled back down behind the Admiral within a matter of seconds, "Take it, Tango, take it!" She yelled out for her WSO, who immediately took the shot.

"That's a kill, Hurricane." Archer and Tango said in unison on the radio.

"Not bad, kids. Not bad at all." The Admiral said into his mask, giving them a nod of affirmation.



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Back on the ground, Archer and Tango ran down the tarmac, and onto deck to unite with their friends. They looked at each other, giving each other a quick nod and smile, "Good work up there." Tango said.

"You too, bud." Archer replied, and then they walked to their separate ways.

Walking up to Natasha, Faith asked, "How'd I do?" pulling her into a hug.

"You did amazing! I mean, pulling an inverted maneuver, that too right on top of the Admiral? Girl, you have some guts. I'm so proud of you!" Natasha gave her a huge smile, like she was so proud of her.

Faith gave her a hug, and it was not like any other.

No one but her mother had told her how they were proud of her. And after her mother's death, her father had been nothing but cruel to her. He would drink all day, and beat her all night long.

Natasha pulled back from the hug, noticing the tears in Faith's eyes, "Archie, what's wrong? Did I say something?" Faith shook her head, smiling at the nickname.

"No one's ever told me that they were proud of me but my mom. I guess I was just reminded of her a little bit." She wiped away her tears, putting on a smile. "Thank you, Nix." Natasha gave her a small smile, and pulled her back into a tight hug. "I'm here for you, babe, I'm here." She rubbed Faith's back in comfort.

Faith pulled back, smiling at Natasha who said, "Hey, no more tears, come on, we need to celebrate your first win! You wanna get some drinks? There's a bar not too far away from here."

"Sure!" Faith nodded in agreement. A drink would definitely make her feel better.





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To celebrate everyone's first day, the entire group was headed to 'The Hard Deck'. It was a bar, well known for being the one place to go if you were in the Navy. They weren't at all surprised to see many others clad in their fighter uniforms.

Natasha and Faith took seats by the bar, where the sweetest woman was bartending, telling the girls her name, Penny, and about her life, and the girls seemed entranced by the beautiful elder woman.

They ordered beers and learnt more and more about each other. It had just been twelve hours since they first met, but Faith felt like she had known Natasha for her whole life. The woman was an incredible and just so humbling, that was for sure, but what Faith adored about her the most, was the welcoming look in her eyes, which brought warmth to whomever met her.

"Hey, you wanna hit the pool table?" Natasha asked her, nodding to the pool table, where men from their own squad were laughing and playing.

"Sure, I mean it's time we introduce ourselves to our classmates." Faith felt a bit annoyed at having to meet other people, but she figured it'd be a good opportunity to make new friends.

She threw back a couple more sips of the beer, just about two horizontal thumbs of it still left in the glass.

As she walked over to the where the boys were, she felt someone looking at her. Looking over her shoulder, she glanced into those hazel green eyes she was welcomed with in the morning.

"Hey, Bradshaw!" Faith gave him a smile, who gave her one in return.

"Haven't seen you since morning." Bradley said, looking into her eyes, trying not to get lost in them.

"Yeah, sorry, I've been with Phoenix since then." Faith nodded, smile still on her face.

"Can I buy you a drink?" He gestured at the almost empty beer glass in her hand, scratching the back of his neck.

Faith's eyes passed between the glass and his eyes, and then with a curt nod and tiniest of smirks, "Sure, I'll just be over at the pool table."

His fingers brushed against hers, as she handed him her glass. There was a spark of electricity in her veins, and a chill ran across her back. With both their hands on the glass, they just looked at each other. She was dressed in a red satin shirt, with tight black jeans, and black heels, her jeans held up by black belt with a gold brooch of a bow and arrow.

Bradley was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, half sleeved, with a tank top underneath it, and jorts.

Of what felt like two extra long minutes of staring into each other's eyes, Bradley moved his gaze from her mesmerizing eyes to his shoes, hiding the flush on his face.

"I'll be right over." Bradley gave her a nod and turned his back to her face, moving towards the bar. As he reached, he rested his elbows on top of the table, leaning against it.

Faith found herself staring, and she moved her gaze off of his body, shaking her head at herself.

As she reached the pool table, she heard a yell from Phoenix, "Honey, where were you?"

"Oh, I ran into Bradley, he's getting me a drink." Faith pointed behind her, gesturing to Bradley. Before Natasha could speak out what was going on in her mind, Faith said something out loud.

"Anyways, c'mon let's get playing!" Faith yelled out loud, and the boys whooped around her.

"Here you go, darlin'." Faith looked behind to find a pair of light green eyes gazing into her own.

"Thanks, bud." Faith took the cue stick from his hands, fingers brushing against his.

"And you are?" She asked him, looking up at him with a smile.

"Hangman. Jake." He put his hand forward to shake, and she clasped it with a firm grip.

"So you're the jerk Phoenix was telling me about. You definitely look the part." Faith folded her hands, judging smirk on her face.

"Oh, come on, darlin'. Don't judge a book by it's cover." Hangman leaned forward towards her, inches away from her face.

"Here you go, Archer." Bradley came up from behind her, extending his hand, holding the now full beer glass. Faith turned to look up at him, finding him staring at her already with a goofy smile on his face.

"Thanks, Roost." Faith took the glass from his hands, once again, their fingers brushed against each others, and the spark returned, so did the chill on her back.

Faith handed him the cue stick from her hands, "You first. Show me what you got." She gestured to the pool table with a nod, smirk on her face.

He took the cue stick from her hands, feeling the spark too, "Alright, be prepared to be defeated." Bradley put his hands up in nonchalance.

"Oh, game on, chicken." Faith cracked her knuckles.