Lt. Sadie 'Casper' Perez walked into the Hard Deck after being called back to Top Gun for a dangerous mission, only to be met with a glare from another Top Gun pilot. Will the hate between them bloom into something more? (Hangman x OC)
The next morning Sadie woke up early to head out for a run, wanting to blow off some steam before needing to be at the base. She queued up her workout playlist and set off along the beach, thankful for the coolness of the waves on her feet as the sun warmed her back. She had only run a couple strides when she saw the shadow of someone running up behind her. A brief glance over her shoulder allowed her to see Hangman steadily gaining on her. Determined to remain ahead of him, she quickened her pace, but from behind her she could hear the faint sound of Hangman speeding up as well.
Looking back again she saw the determined look on Hangman's face and decided the only way she would be able to get through the rest of the day is if she wiped that look off his face. Slowing down to a steady pace she allowed Hangman to catch up and slightly over-take her. He flashed a smug smirk in her direction as he passed but Sadie ignored it. She kept this up until the dorm houses were back in sight, then she took a deep breath and sped up, passing Hangman easily. The surprised look on his face as she ran by was worth its weight in gold. Rushing up the deck steps with Hangman hot on her heels, she reached the door tagging it before he could. Breathing heavily, she grinned smugly at the panting Hangman who looked back at her in frustration.
"What, couldn't keep up Bagman?"
He huffed, pushing past her into the house and ignoring her comment. Sadie stood there for a moment feeling proud of herself until she realized that Hangman was about to take over the only shower in the house. She darted up the stairs only to see Hangman's smirk disappearing behind the closing bathroom door.
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Sadie walked up the aisles between to the tables arranged to face the front of the room, juggling the manuals for the F-18. Settling down into the seat beside Fanboy, she leaned forward dropping her head to the desk.
"Casper, I hate to say this, but you smell like shit," Fanboy said leaning in to close to her.
"Buzz off. Someone," Sadie said, looking pointedly at Hangman, "took forever in the shower this morning so I didn't have time to wash off before we had to leave."
Hangman smirked from his seat across the aisle. Fanboy reached across under the table handing Sadie a piece of banana bread that she happily accepted while they waited for the admirals to start their training.
Up front, Cyclone looked as serious as ever deep in conversation with Warlock. Sadie looked around to see who else was in the room. She was sure that neither admiral was the one going to be leading the training. They were both known to be outstanding soldiers, but all of the candidates in the room were sure to be able to fly circles around either of them.
Cyclone seemed to have had enough waiting because he cleared his throat loudly, commanding the attention in the room.
"Good morning, welcome to your training detachment. You were all top of your Top Gun class, the best of the best," he paused slightly looking at each of their faces. Everyone sat up a little taller in their seats at the acknowledgement of their skills. With his next statement, he brought the energy right back down again, "but that was yesterday. The enemy's new fifth generation fighters have levelled the playing field."
Cyclone let everyone sit in silence as the news settled in. Sadie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had been in a dogfight or two in her time but a fifth generation fighter was a whole different ballpark. If this was the preamble for the mission she dreaded hearing what the actual mission parameters might be.
"Now that we don't have the technological advantage, success now more than ever will depend on the man, or woman, in the box," Cyclone continued. Sadie couldn't help but think that even if they sent out their best pilots, they were still at a serious disadvantage against fifth generation fighters. "Only half of you will make the cut, and only one of you will be the team leader. The other half will remain in reserve."
Sadie looked around at Coyote, Hangman, and Rooster. This meant that of the four of them, only two would be chosen for the mission. She was confident she could beat out Rooster for a position, he was a cautious pilot, never willing to take a risk to succeed, and while that made him a great soldier it did not make for secret mission material. She didn't know much about Coyote so she would have to be on the lookout for him as they practised. As for Hangman if in the air he acted anything like he did on the ground it was going to be easy to throw him off his game. Sadie was sure she could be chosen for this mission.
The door closing behind them caused everyone to look back at the man walking up the aisle. He looked familiar to Sadie but she couldn't place him right away.
"Your instructor for this mission is a Top Gun graduate with real world experience in all aspects of the mission that you will be required to master. Pay attention, what he has to tell you may very well be the difference between life and death," Cyclone said holding his arm out to welcome the man to the front of the room. "I give you Captain Pete Mitchell. Call sign, Maverick."
It wasn't until she saw the embarrassed faces on Hangman, Coyote, and Payback that she remembered. It was the man they had thrown out of the bar the night before. Sadie couldn't stop herself from smirking over at Hangman, this was a point in her book.
