DAMIANA shouldn't feel that way, flying the F-18 as if her life depended on it. Adrenaline coursed through her veins with every tight turn she took, tossing the aircraft from side to side with mastery.

Rooster, in front of her, had a certain reflection of her, and he had never felt so guilty as he did now that he was flying beside her. Schneider could drive well. Maybe she was a little rusty, but nothing that climbing on one of those ships a few times wouldn't solve.

"I'll make sure you don't have to suffer seeing Admiral Kazansky's biggest disappointment on this base ever again," she'd said.Whatever she meant by that, Bradley didn't understand. She'd been to all the training, watched all the tapes, and always sat alone in the front of the room.

He wished he could have sat next to her, seeing what emotions she must be expressing as she meticulously analyzed the fatal mistake the designated pairs made. Part of him couldn't sleep at night for fear he'd wake up to a new day and Damiana was gone, but another part of him hoped she'd go away just so he wouldn't have to face the mean words he'd thrown in her face.

"Rooster, we're twenty seconds late," she exclaimed over the radio.

Damiana's voice was filled with hate, he realized. He must have been trapped in his own thoughts, for he swore they'd told him more before Damiana's angry voice roared through the communicator.

"We're fine," he said back, seeing the map on his display. "The speed is good."

"Increase to 500 knots," she ordered.

"Negative, Supernova," he replied. "Keep."

"Rooster, we're late!"

"We're alive," he reminded her, sure he was infuriating her more and more. "Let's make up for it on the straight."

"We're not going to make it!" she yelled.

Poor Fritz. Rooster could barely imagine how he must be sitting behind Damiana on fire. He could almost imagine smoke rising from it, irate at Rooster's choices. However, all he wanted to do was make sure they were alive. Even just completing the quest wouldn't make a difference if one of them died.

"Trust me," he pleaded, or rather begged. "Keep that speed. We can.

"Trust you?" she shouted. Ah, Damiana was beyond furious now. "You Must be kidding. This strategy of yours will end up killing us!"

◈

BRADLEY could practically feel Damiana's angry gaze on him. If one look could kill, he'd be buried an hour ago. Damiana was no longer sitting alone, as Fritz was now beside her—he had the impression that he was supposed to hold the pilot in place in case she decided to jump on her neck at any moment.

"Why did you die?" asked Maverick, staring at them but mostly Rooster.

Everyone had heard the unfriendly audio they exchanged over the radio. Maverick knew that Rooster and Supernova had some sort of rivalry with each other, but he didn't fully know why.

"You're the leader up there." He continued to stare at him. "Why did you and your team die?"

"Sir," Phoenix called, stepping in before Rooster's own temper could condemn him. "They were the ones to hit the target."

"A minute later," Maverick recalled, "when Supernova kept urging them to speed up, and you decided to ignore your wingman. He gave the enemy plane time to shoot him down, and they died."

Rooster knew he should keep quiet, but he spoke before thinking:

"Not sure," he denied, shaking his head.

"You're not flying fast enough," Hangman exclaimed. "You don't have a minute to waste."

"We hit the mark," Rooster repeated.

"And a superior enemy aircraft intercepted us on the way out," Damiana grumbled, teeth gritting as she spoke.

"It's just hunting there," Rooster replied, as if that were obvious.

"With fifth-generation planes?"

"Yeah, and we'd still have a chance."

"In an F-18?" Maverick interjected, not believing the direction this discussion was taking.

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

"Exactly."

That one word from Maverick carried more weight than expected. The few seconds of silence were agonizing. He didn't know what else to say, and Rooster was also speechless. Something inside him was unsettled by the fury Damiana felt for him, and Bradley hated it. He knew what it was like to have adversaries and "enemies," but this would, for a while, be his wing. If he was chosen for the mission, he might even be selected with her... If only Damiana hadn't given up sooner and gone back to Washington.

"There's more than one way to fly the mission," Rooster said, not giving up.

"You really don't understand," laughed Hangman, teasing him even more. "On this mission, either the guy drives like Maverick, or the guy isn't coming back." He swept his gaze across to Phoenix, Swan, and Damiana with the worst of his smiles. "No offense."

"But you always offend," Bob hissed, rolling his eyes.

Hangman ignored him, turning back to face Rooster. Besides Bradshaw, Swan let out a grunt, calling Hangman an "idiot".

"I'm not here to criticize."

"Aren't you here to criticize?" Swan repeated. "You can't keep your mouth shut, even for a second. Something so simple and you can't."

"Lieutenants," Maverick called in warning.

"You're never on your own either, so I don't think you're so right in judging me," she snapped. "We're going into combat at a level no pilot alive has ever seen," he continued, turning to Maverick. "Not even him."

Rooster clenched his fists, nearly puncturing the callused skin of his hand.

"And your unresolved feelings between you and your wingman could get worse."

Damiana's eyes widened, fury boiling in her blood faster than the shame she felt at the attention most directed at them now. What was Hangman thinking? What universe would Rooster be interested in in Supernova? He hated her, she hated him... Only that feeling was mutual. Without a second thought, she got to her feet, stomping her feet hard on the floor as she left the room as quickly as possible—before she gave Top Gun a bigger reason to kick her out: strangling Hangman until his eyes popped out at her. out of the skull.

"I think that was a no." He laughed again. "And now is not the time to think about the past."

"What do you mean?" Rooster asked, knowing well what Hangman was referring to.

"Rooster," Maverick called, but was ignored.

"Jake, no," Swan asked to stop, but Hangman refused.

"Is it just me who knows that Maverick flew with his parents and Damiana's as well?"

"Lieutenant, that's enough," Maverick ordered, flustered.

"Or that Maverick was the pilot who flew when his father died..."

Rooster was on his feet and lunging at Hangman before he could finish his sentence. Bradley was upset, furious, and ready to end Jake Seresin's once and for all. He came close to hitting him, but other riders were just as quick as they got in front of him, preventing him from breaking Hangman's perfect face.

The pilot, who had no filter for teasing, took several steps back, a victorious smile on his lips. Rooster cursed Hangman vigorously as they tried to separate them, but they were having a hard time. Rooster was strong and impeccably conditioned. His uniform didn't allow them to see how well-defined and well-built the muscles beneath the suits were.

Part of him was grateful that Damiana was no longer there. He knew Maverick had tried to call her back, but her hot head didn't hear him. For once, her stubbornness was good for Bradley. He was trying to apologize to her, and seeing that brutal side of him wasn't something he wanted Damiana to see.

━━━━━━

10.16.22

❆  ✈  ❆

[ Uᴘʟᴏᴀᴅs ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ Sᴀᴛᴜʀᴅᴀʏ ]
I'ʟʟ sᴇᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇxᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ