𝐉𝐈𝐍𝐗 | 𝐛.𝐛.

(𝟎𝟎𝟎)

  JULIETTE JOHNSON recalls the day she got her callsign vividly. It had been the first week of flight school, and whilst all the other soon-to-be pilots were wracked with nerves, she was calm; she was prepared. Maybe that was why she had set off in her jet at a speed that her wingman wasn't ready to keep up with - maybe that's why he ended up crashing the jet and having to eject.

  Despite the fact that she argued time and time again that it was in no way her fault that someone else was unable to keep up with her, the accident was still deemed her doing. She had been reckless, and she got grounded for a week. An entire week without so much as stepping into a jet was torture. She yearned to have her hands on that control stick - to feel the speed in her bones.

  It was labeled that due to her insubordinate and careless demeanor, flying with her was basically a death wish. She found it rash - after all, when they went on actual missions, things were bound to get a bit dangerous. Being prepared shouldn't be a crime. But people still hold it against her with the argument that although she had nothing to lose, they did.

  And so the name "jinx" came to life. Flying with Juliette "jinx" Johnson was a certified way to get yourself into a wild ride - but it was also a certified manner in which pilots could be sure that they would be faced with the unluckiest circumstances. 

  She hated her callsign - it had been plaguing her from the moment it was set. The name left a lasting impression that she herself was unlucky - that flying with her was a bad idea. And that's why Juliette always flew solo. She had learned during her training that since most people refused to trust her up in the air, she should just do things herself - depend on nothing and no one.

  It was odd to see; how someone that was so social and talkative outside of the jet could suddenly shut off whenever missions and sped were mentioned. And that's exactly what Juliette did - no matter how big-hearted and light-humored she could be, it seemed as though there was a switch within her mind that just clicked when that suit and helmet got put on.

  It didn't matter if she got hurt - no one would mourn, no one would cry. Juliette knew that, and that's the exact reason why she wasn't afraid to push the limits. And boy did she push them. 

  She never had to worry about whether or not her family would be waiting for her at home. Her father had never been around, and if Juliette were to ever see the man face to face, she would not even recognize him. It had hurt during her teen years - she had often wondered why he had left, and then she suddenly stopped caring; or at least, she stopped thinking.

  As for her mother, Juliette recalled her being a strong woman. She had been a pilot, one of the very best of her class; and it was her that had taught Juliette to love flying. Ever since she was little, Juliette recalled the feeling of sitting on the tarmac and watching as her mother's plane flew away on another mission. It had always been exhilarating - the sound of the engine roaring and the wind that blew through her hair long after the plane had flown away.

  Until her mother didn't come back one day.

  Juliette had been finishing high school the day that happened. The worst part of it all was that for that fateful mission, she hadn't gone to see her mother off. Out of all the times she had gone to wish the woman good luck, that was the one time she didn't - and look what happened.

  It was her luck that her mother had made many friends during her time in the navy - and one Pete "maverick" Mitchell had offered to take her in after the accident. It turned out that her new guardian was just as reckless as she was - just as focused on the goal and willing to self-sacrifice as she was.

  It didn't take long for her to decide that she wanted to join the navy just as her mother had done. She wanted to do her proud. As much as Pete Mitchell had argued with her at first, speaking of how she would be putting herself in danger, Juliette would hear none of it. And a few months later, she was on her way to flight school - on her way to earn the fated name of "Jinx."

  As flight school came and went, Juliette had managed to graduate top of her class - earning her a spot in that year's TOP GUN class, made for the best of the best. She had gone, of course, having had history from her mother and Pete Mitchell graduating - it was in her blood, after all.

  It came to no one's surprise that Juliette graduated at the top of her class at TOP GUN. She never feared flying - never thought of the consequences, and that made her a damn good pilot. 

  With a well-deserved break, Juliette had gone on to work on a project with Pete Mitchell, eager to learn more, fly more, and still rest from the hectic years she had encountered. No more TOP GUN, no more flight school, no deadly missions for a while.

  But then Maverick screws up and they both get called into an office.

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