killshot (bradley bradshaw)

IV

Captain Mitchell walked down the pathway between the desks and stood at the podium in front of the group. "Good morning," he said, smiling at them. Jenna smiled back, recognizing him as the guy Penny was talking to at the Hard Deck. She noticed that Hangman was looking anywhere except at Maverick, probably embarrassed that he threw his new instructor out of a bar last night. Jenna turned to Rooster to make fun of Hangman, but he was glaring harshly at Maverick, so she decided to just keep her mouth shut.

Picking up the F-18 manual, Maverick said, "The F-18 NATOPs. You pilots know this book inside and out. But so does your enemy." He then dropped the manual into the trash can on the side of the podium.

"You're all experts on your aircraft, am I correct?"

"Yes sir!" The pilots all responded.

"Good. Moving on then. Today's exercise is where you show me how good of a pilot you really are." He stared them down.

"So what exactly are we doing today, sir?" Jenna asked. Maverick turned his head to her and said with a smile, "Basic fighting maneuvers."

Everyone sat up a little straighter. Basic fighting maneuvers? They learned and mastered this ages ago.

"Dismissed." Maverick declared. "See you in the air, aviators."

Jenna turned to talk to Rooster, but he had already stomped away and was already halfway to the locker room. Jenna found Phoenix in the group and they headed out of the hangar. 

"I see you've met Rooster," Phoenix said as they walked.

"Oh yeah, I met him this morning on my way in," Jenna said with a smile.

"And?" Phoenix prodded while Jenna laughed.

"I haven't quite come to a full conclusion yet. So far he's been nice, but that's really it." She explained.

"Well if you figure out that he's more than just nice, let me know. I'll put in a good word for ya." Phoenix said with mischievous grin. "He is single the last I heard."

"Then why don't you make a move on him then?" Jenna asked, curious.

"Well first off, he's basically like my brother. We graduated from the academy together. And, I've kinda sorta got something going on with Jake..." Phoenix said, sheepishly.

"Wait what?! You and Hangman?!?" Jenna gasped.

"Shhhhhh keep it down, Killshot. Nobody else knows." Phoenix said, looking around quickly to see if anyone else heard. "We hate each other, but also, we don't? If that makes sense?"

"Okay okay I am gonna need a full debrief on this at a later time," Jenna laughed.

Arriving at their lockers, the girls pulled on their flight gear, grabbed their helmets and headed out to the tarmac. Phoenix and Jenna separated and walked to their planes. Jenna began doing final checks on her aircraft, making sure everything is where it's supposed to be.

"Rooster!" Jenna heard Maverick yell. She looked up from her checks and saw Rooster walking away from Maverick.

"Bradley!" Rooster ignored Maverick and kept walking. "Lt. Bradshaw!"

Rooster stopped abruptly and turned around to face Captain Mitchell. Jenna glanced across the tarmac to see Hangman looking at the two men curiously. She turned to find Phoenix and Bob and gave them a questioning look. Phoenix looked just as confused as Jenna was, and Bob just shrugged his shoulders.

Rooster walked away from Maverick and towards the F-18 next to Jenna's. She climbed up into the cockpit, looked over the machinery in front of her and breathed a small sigh of relief. This is where she felt most like herself. Everything washed away and it was just her and the open sky.

Jenna glanced to her left and saw Roster settling into his cockpit as well. Clearly, there was some sort of history between him and Captain Mitchell, but now was not the time to try to figure it out. 

Her canopy lowered down and secured into the edges of the box, and Jenna began doing engine checks. Once everything looked good, she pulled her aircraft onto the taxiway.

"Tower 1, this is Killshot, requesting takeoff on Runway 4," She said over the radio.

"Killshot, this is Tower 1. You are cleared for takeoff."
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AN: Dogfighting next chapter!! Thanks for reading!!!