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Yesterday, the Navy canceled the detachment's training for the funeral of Tom "Iceman" Kazansky. Though Emerson didn't know the Admiral personally, she knew he was once an excellent pilot and a respected commander of the Pacific Fleet. Not to mention, a close friend of her father's.
At the funeral, Emerson and Maverick were both caught sneaking glances at the other, yet they still hadn't spoken since the hospital. Emerson considered offering Maverick her condolences, but she decided against it; unsure of where they stood. Yet, she was sure it had to be painful to lose another friend. Emerson figured that was just another thing she and her father had in common; they both managed to lose the people closest to them. It got her thinking about her mother. Bradley stood quietly beside her, distracted by what she assumed were thoughts of his father. She intertwined their fingers and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. He sent her a warm smile back.
The next day, Admirals Bates and Simpson summoned the special training detachment earlier than usual. Emerson entered the room, scanning it for signs of Maverick, yet he was nowhere to be found. Though her doctor cleared her for flight training, Emerson still winced in discomfort at the sporadic sharp pains from her crash injuries.
"Emmie Raye, back from the dead."
Emerson paused. 'Emmie Raye' was a nickname specifically used by her mother and Bradley, yet it came from the voice of neither. Her blood began to boil as she matched the face to the voice.
"I just knew you couldn't get enough of me," Hangman finished.
"In your wildest dreams, Hangman," Rooster muttered.
Emerson approached the pilot, "You know Seresin, both of my fists survived the crash. You wanna see?"
"That's enough! Sit down, Lieutenant Blackwood," Admiral Simpson called. Emerson took her seat behind Bradley. "Captain Mitchell is no longer your instructor. As of today, there are new mission parameters. Time to target is now four minutes."
Whispers erupted amongst the group, all trying to guess the reasons behind Maverick's untimely departure. Bradley turned around, shooting Emerson a confused look. Her eyebrows were furrowed, just as confused as the rest of the aviators. She shrugged her shoulders at Bradley.
From altitude to speed, Admiral Simpson completely changed the framework of the mission. If Emerson was being honest, it put the pilots at risk more than Maverick's plan. "Sir, that exposes us to the enemy," she stated.
"You have a fighting chance against enemy aircraft, much more than the odds of surviving a head-on collision with a mountain."
"In an F-18?" She repeated the phrase Maverick had said earlier in their training.
