𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐯 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫

❝ 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐭 ❞













































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NOT TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER, THE SQUADRON WAS IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS ON THE PACIFIC FLEET.

Faith found herself staring at the horizon, watching the water lap back and forth against each other. The wind blew through her open hair, she'd decided to let it down until the briefing, deciding to put her hair up in a sleek bun before she'd go up.

Her emerald eyes remained focus on the clear blue water ahead, too many thoughts racing in her mind, unable to focus on a single point. The wind was cold as it blew in her direction, and she closed her eyes, knowing it was a sign from an angel.

She smiles, feeling pressure on her shoulder, before it fades, remembering he remained unable to speak to her even now, but she could only request, "Talk to me, Ice." Her heart skips a beat, shivers running down her spine at the cold wind hitting her face and flight-suit clad body.

There's silence, and all she could hear was Tom's words, he'd always tell her.

Fly ice cold. No mistakes.

The words repeat in her mind, the tiny voice saying them back again and again, as if placing a brick wall one stone at a time.

"Captain Kazansky. I hope you're not thinking of jumping off?" An unexpected voice calls out loudly.

She turns back to face the intruder, brows shooting up in surprise, voicing out their name, "Hurricane." She salutes, right hand to the arch of her brow, legs together and knees locked. A nod from the Admiral is enough to make her fall back.

"No, sir, I was just, there's-" Unable to voice her words, she lets out a dejected sigh. Hurricane nods, stepping a few steps in her direction.

"There's a lot on your mind, I get that, everyone feels that way." Hurricane pats a hand on her shoulder.

Hurricane stays silent, and Faith does too, showing her vulnerability. He knew how she felt. He'd been right there for each mission, right there before she'd set off in the sky to encourage her. And here he was again, no doubt here to do some work, but also take time to talk to her.

He pats her shoulder once more, pressing gently, brows furrowed in complete honesty, and he tells her in a fatherly tone, "You're where you belong. Make us proud." And then he steps behind a few feet.

Faith takes several steps behind, holding her gaze with Hurricane, smiling at the superior, making her way onto the platform with two F/A-18's on it.

With a nod they both share, and a salute Hurricane proudly gives her with a smile she'd never seen him give, except during those times anyone needed reassurance, the platform raises, bringing Faith a level higher on the fleet.

A face of stone, ice cold as her father, the Captain turns around from the cloudy sky, making her way to the briefing room.











































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"IT'S BEEN AN HONOR FLYING WITH YOU." FAITH'S VOICE ECHOES IN THE BRIEFING ROOM, WHERE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THE CANDIDATES STOOD POISED AND DETERMINED.

She stood beside her uncle, hands folded at her back and chin upwards, as she looks over all of them. They were the best of the best. The success of this mission will prove that.

"Each one of you represents the best of the best. This is a very specific mission. Our choice is a reflection of that and nothing more." Faith ends, clearing out the air of the room.

Cyclone calls out from her other side, turning his upper body to Maverick, "Choose your two foxtrot teams."

Maverick looks over everyone once again, with a small nod, he announces "Payback and Fanboy." He looks on over to Faith, who continues, "Phoenix and Bob." She meets the duo's eyes, giving them a nod with lips pressed in a line.

"And your wingman, besides Archer." Cyclone calls out once again. The room is tense, and a silence settles. Faith's eyes meet Bradley's before she looks down at her shoes, and Bradley lingers his gaze on her for a second, before his eyes fall down to the ground. Jake maintains his chin upwards.

Then, Maverick calls out, "Rooster."

Bradley's brows pinch together for a brief second, before he looks up at his name, meeting Maverick's eyes.

Warlock ends the meeting, "The rest of you will stand by on the carrier for any reserve role that's required. Dismissed."

Everyone shakes the hands of the chosen ones, congratulating them for their selection. Faith moves towards Natasha and Bob, meeting their eyes with a reassuring smile as she sees the hint of panic on their faces, "You'll be fine."

With a shake of their hands, and a smile, she makes her way towards Bradley from behind, tapping on his shoulder. He turns around, tiniest bit jerking at the unexpected touch. When he meets her eyes with his panicked ones, they soften.

Everyone files out of the room, the squadron moves to gather their gear.

Bradley moves in for a hug, but Faith understands what he wants to do, shaking her head in discreet, and he nods understandingly, stepping back, and instead putting his hand out for her to shake. She does so, lingering her touch on his fingers, not missing the way his eyes darkened.

She gives him a smirk over her shoulder, before walking towards the other Captain and wrapping her hand around his shoulder.

Once they'd grabbed their gears, they stood poised once again, Captain beside Captain and team with team, listening to Warlock's intricate details of the mission.

"Your target is a clear and present threat. A secret uranium enrichment sit under rogue state control. It's an underground bunker tucked between these two mountains." Warlock points back to two mountains on the screen behind him, continuing the debrief, "Your route of ingress is heavily descended by surface-to-air missiles backed up by fifth-generation fighters. Once your F/A-18 strike team crosses the border, Tomahawk missiles from the USS Leyte Gulf will launch a synchronized strike on the enemy's airfield here." The screen behind the Admiral shifts to one of a satellite image of the airfield.

"This will knock out their runway. But you'll have to contend with any planes already in the air. The moment those Tomahawks hit, the enemy will know you're coming. Your time to target will be two minutes and thirty seconds. Any longer than that, and you will be exposed to any aircraft the Tomahawks may have missed." Warlock concludes, sending nods to both team leaders.

"This is what you've all been training for. Come home safely." Faith's chin rises higher, icy wind hitting her open neck, hair put up in the sleek bun.

Cyclone meets her eyes. This was one thing they'd agreed upon. Another nod, which she returns.

Faith's face falls, eyes icy cold, shoulders rolled back. She throws out a quick breath, making her way to the runway.



































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ON THE RUNWAY, FAITH SWORE HER HEART NEVER BEAT SO FAST.

She'd flown dozens of missions, but maybe it was the fact that she was flying a mission with her friends. She'd done that only once before. Yes, it was a success, but this mission, it was one that took a lot of guts to pull. Yes, every single one of them here was the best of the best, but there's just that underlying fear of the tiniest possibility that someone might not make it back.

She was walking beside Natasha and Bob, gear in their hands as they walk down the runway towards their jets. Bob and Faith were busy nerd-ing off about perfecting the incline, and ways to try and avoid G-LOC, whereas Nat was just shaking her head at the two with an occasional chuckle.

Sweat beads were forming on their faces, but they did their best to ignore the moisture. Once they'd reached Natasha and Bob's jets, Faith gave them pats on their shoulders, pulling them both in a hug they returned with just as much of a tight grip. They pull away, yet her hands stayed on either of their shoulders, eyes shifting between them two. She felt proud of them. Immensely.

"You be safe up there, alright? If you get killed, I'll kill you both myself." Natasha and Bob chuckle at her words, looking at each other, before Nat punches her shoulder, "Aye, aye, Captain!" They both salute her, and she gives them a nod, making her way to her jet.

From ahead, she could see a nervous Bradley. He met her eyes as he looked up from his gaze on the ground, and his face becomes one of relief. Immediately, the both of them are moving in each other's direction for one last goodbye before they went up in the air.

But, Jake came up to Bradley, making him stop in his path. From not twenty feet by the two of them, Faith could see the blonde nod his head, before he told Bradley through the rumbling of the jets and helicopters and loud announcement on the loudspeaker and comms. Jake walks off with another few words.

Immediately, the two are making their way to each other, standing before one another. They could simply stare at one another. It hadn't hit until now, the possibility of losing one another. But it did, and it hit her like a truck that kept on running her over and over again. So she tells him one thing.

"I love you." Bradley nods, brows furrowing further down, as he steps forward, pulling her in a quick hug, arms wrapped around her waist. Faith complies as soon as his arms are around her, pressing her cheek to his chest and listening to his heart beat. They pull away just as fast, trying not to draw much attention to themselves. Bradley presses a kiss to her forehead, fast, but not too quick, leaving a lingering feeling on the spot.

Then, she tells him, "Talk to Maverick." He's shaking his head, opening his mouth to retort, but she cuts him off, "No, Bradley, if anything goes wrong, you'll beat yourself up over this, I know it." He's silent, contemplating. And then, he's walking in Maverick's direction, with Faith hot on his trail.

"Sir? Sir!" Bradley calls out for Maverick, and Faith stops beside him. Maverick turns his head to meet the younger man's eyes, as Bradley tries to word his feelings and all he wanted to say to his father's best friend, "I-" Faith puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I just want to say-"

Bradley gets cut off by an announcement on the PA system, and all three of them turn their heads towards the noise, "All aboard the aircraft, get 'em all." Maverick meets Bradley's eyes once again, nodding once, before telling him over the rumbles of the jets, "We'll talk.. when we get back."

The older man nods, before jerking his head in Faith's direction, "About this too." The woman quickly takes her hand off Bradley's shoulder, putting it back at her side.

"Hey, Bradley! Bradley!" Maverick calls out when Bradley turns around in the direction of his jet, walking towards it. The sandy blonde turns his head to look at Maverick, and the older pilot encourages, "You got this. Both of you." Her uncle looks at her too.

The younger pilots nod at Maverick's words, before making their way to their jets.

Faith salutes the team who'd prepped her jets, giving Hondo a hug, before stepping into her jet with a deep breath.

She's seated, readying the controls. She puts her helmet on, clicking the mask into place, checking the comms. With a deep breath, she watches the crew, patiently waiting for their go for runway. Her canopy falls from above, latching and clicking into place, she waves two fingers to the crew horizontally, before sending them a salute and a wink. The jet rumbles, and Faith can't stop herself from whispering, hands moving across the controls. "Just me and you, babe. Just me and you."

Maverick's voice is clear-cut on the radio, "Dagger One, up and ready on Catapult One."

"Dagger Spare, standing by." Hangman.

"Dagger Five, up and ready." Payback and Fanboy.

"Dagger Four, up and ready." Phoenix and Bob.

"Dagger Three, up and ready." Rooster.

"Dagger Two, up and ready." Archer.

They're ready for combat.