Eternal - Iceman (Top Gun)

Four

After the hop.

Tom and Danielle sat beside each other in the briefing room. They chose a spot near the front, hoping that no one would disrupt them. Tony walked in and sat down on the couch on the opposite side of the room. He shot an annoyed look at Danielle. She thought it was because she was still here and wasn't kicked out yet. She shot him a wink and turned back towards Tom.

"Let's hope we are good enough to keep doing this," she glanced at Tony.

"I'm sure we are. We were one of the only teams to shoot down the other plane," Tom said, putting an arm around her. "We got this."

Tom had been... different these past few days. He has become more cocky and arrogant. Danielle shrugged it off, thinking it was just a phase and he would grow out of it soon.

After the rest of the pilots filed into the room, the instructor walked in and stood at the podium. He looked around at them, his face neutral. Danielle didn't know if this was a good or bad thing.

"I am here to brief you on your individual skillsets. Everyone will know your weaknesses, because it is imperative that you work as a team. Now, to start things off, let's go with Tom and Danielle," he read from his paper. The rest of the people looked at them.

"Tom, your flying was cool and collected. You make it boring, so the enemy will tire out and you can go in for the kill," he stated.

"Hey, that's kinda like how ice is! You know, you have to wait for it to melt unless you put it near a heat source. Let's hope Tom here doesn't crack under pressure," Tony chimed in, earning snickers from the other pilots.

"You know, that sounds like a great callsign for him! How about it Tom, want to be Ice? Short for Iceman?" Danielle asked him, her eyes bright. She was trying to save him.

"Sure, it's a cool callsign anyways," Tom replied.

The instructor cleared his throat and everyone stopped speaking immediately. "As I was saying, Tom, or Iceman, your flying was great, your only weakness is that people can take advantage of it." He finished.

"Thank you, sir." Tom saluted.

"Now... Danielle. You had an interesting strategy, using the mountains. You laid low and waited until the plane passed through, then went for the kill," he read from the paper. "That is outstanding, and you have the skill to think on your feet. However, what if there was no terrain? If it was just flat ground?" He questioned her.

"Well, I would use loops and corkscrews or other tricks to try to shake them off my tail, sir," she replied confidently.

"We'll see about that." The instructor finished.

"Hey, those moves were stealthy. You could have a callsign related to that. How about stealth?" Tom asked her.

"Sure, I don't mind." Danielle nodded in agreement.

"If I have ANY more interruptions during this, you are going to the Admiral's office!" The instructor barked. "Next up are Tony and Drake."

"Tony, you managed to shake the plane off by doing tricks. You are reckless though, and that will be your downfall. Who knows what would happen?" The instructor directed to him. "Furthering my point is when you dented a whole pole when landing!"

"Yeah, that's why we call him 'Pole'," another pilot said. "I came from his school, he has a knack of running into them, sir."

The instructor gave him an icy glance and turned to Drake.

"Yeah, bro? I mean, sir?" Drake answered.

"Ha! Bro! Good one! That sounds like a callsign I can get behind." A pilot chimed in.

"ENOUGH!" The instructor yelled. Danielle's eyes widened and she looked to the ground. Tom slightly tightened his arm around her to comfort her.

"Drake, your flying was nice, but you need more speed. You could have gotten caught if it wasn't for that loop." He stated.

"Of course, br- sir." Drake nodded in understanding.

The instructor went down the list, telling the class everyone's weaknesses until he was finished.

"That is all for today, you are dismissed." He said.

Danielle and Tom walked outside and sat on a bench together.

"Iceman and Stealth, I like those callsigns." Danielle said, laughing.

"Me too, glad we got the good ones." Tom laughed with her.

————————

Sorry if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes, I wrote this in a little bit of a rush. I wanted to show the origins of their callsigns!