Osprey: A Topgun Fanfic

RIO

An: not spell checked.

I stride through the facility, saluting at higher-ranking officers as I pass them. They all pretty much know who I am, and they each give me a smile.

It is late in the afternoon, and many of the other pilots have headed home. I don't know where Iceman or Slider are— they disappeared after one of the flights.

An idea has been sitting in the back of my mind since our first class this morning. Topgun is down two RIO's in the last two weeks. That leaves them with a woman pilot and a grief-stricken man to try to find good matches for.

I watched Maverick loose his mind on his substitute RIO on the tarmac. The RIO was mad at him for not initiating missile lock and was tearing into him when Maverick snapped.

"I will fire when I am damn good and ready!" He snapped, leaving the RIO looked dumbstruck and my heart hurting.

My idea... is to become Maverick's temporary RIO.

***

  I knock on the door for Viper's office, nervously fiddling with my beige uniform.

  "Come in," Vipers deep voice echos, and I take a deep breath before stepping into the room.

  "Ah, Osprey." Viper says, looking up at me. "I wasn't expecting you."

  "Good evening, sir." I say, standing at attention. He waves his hand, telling me to take a seat.

  "What's on your mind, Lieutenant?" He asks, placing a hand on his desk.

  "I would like to request something, sir." I say. He nods, telling me to continue. I take a deep breath, before opening my mouth. "I would like to request to become Maverick's RIO, sir."

  Viper stares at me, his eyebrows slightly raised. He is quiet, and my heart his thumping so loudly in my chest I wonder if he can hear it.

  He sighs, leaning forward in his seat.
  "It would be a shame to not have you as a pilot." He says slowly, and I nod.

  "But I have never seen a pilot like Maverick, sir." I say. "He has an instinctual drive that not many of us have."

  He is quiet again.

  "I will have to go over this with Jester, Lieutenant. It is a very selfless- thing you are proposing."

  I nod, swallowing a lump in my throat.

"I am aware, sir." I say slowly. "But my RIO is back in Delaware, asking the girl he loves to marry him. I can sleep peacefully at night with that, sir... but Maverick's RIO is dead, and he needs someone he knows in the back seat."

"Is Mr. Kasansky aware of this?" Viper asks me.

I shake my head.
"In all honesty, sir, this is my decision, not his."

***

I basically crash into Iceman at the door, grunting in surprise.

  "Hey," I say jokingly, "I'm walking here!"

He grins at me, looping his arms around my waist. My hands rest on his shoulders, and I smile at him.

"Where did you and Slider go?" I ask, tilting my head. "You both disappeared after the flight."

He shrugs.
"I tried to talk to Maverick, but then he wasn't in the mood..." he trails off. "Well, then I showered, and Slider disappeared to who knows where."