Below The Hard Deck | A Top Gun Fanfiction

CHAPTER XII

The recruits have pretty much the same response Maverick and I had to learning about the shortened training timeframe. Even Hondo is taken by surprise. He looks over at me as if to ask if this is some sort of joke. Boy, I wish it was. I glance over at Cyclone, who is siting in the back of the room in deep thought as Warlock is bombarded with all the same concerns we'd voiced just an hour earlier. I can practically see the cogs in his head turn faster with every repeated point.

"Admiral," Warlock says, causing me to snap my head forward once more, "Captain, if you'd please." He vacates the front of the room, signaling for Mav and I to take his place. My fellow instructor gives my hand a discrete squeeze before we step up to the podium.

"We have one week left to focus on stage two," Maverick starts, wasting no time getting into things. "It's the most difficult stage of the mission. It's a pop-up strike with a steep dive requiring nothing less," he holds up two fingers, "than two consecutive miracles."

"Two pairs of F-18s will fly in a welded wing formation," I continue. "Teamwork and precise coordination of these aircraft is essential to not only the success of this mission," my gaze lands on Hangman, "but your survival."

"As you know, the plant rests between two mountains." My partner motions to the screen behind us highlighting the simulated path. "On final approach, you'll invert directly into a steep dive. This allows you to maintain the lowest possible altitude and the only possible attack angle."

"Your target," I point to the screen, a small rectangle representing the plant barely visible under my finger , "is a small impact point less than three meters wide. The two-seat aircraft will paint the target with a laser bullseye. The first pair will breach the reactor by dropping a laser-guided bomb on an exposed ventilation hatch. This will create an opening for the second pair." My eyes dance over the overwhelmed faces of the recruits. "That's miracle number one."

"The second team will deliver the kill shot," Maverick follows, "and destroy the target." He takes a breath. "That's miracle number two. If either team misses the target, the mission is a failure." I can see the pilots deflate more and more with each word. They're all thinking the same thing I was; this mission is impossible. We haven't even gotten to the hardest part yet. "Egress is a steep, high-G climb out to avoid hitting this mountain."

"A steep climb at that speed," Hangman scoffs, "you're pulling at least eight G's."

"Nine, minimum," I correct, my voice hard.

"The stress limit of the F-18's airframe is 7.5," Rooster jumps in, a skeptical look on his face.

"That is the excepted limit," Pete stresses. "To survive this mission, you'll pull beyond that. Even if it means bending your airframe." At his words, Cyclone's expression grows concerned, his eyes finding the ground. This is what you wanted us to teach. "You'll be pulling so hard, you'll weigh close to two-thousand pounds, your skull crushing your spine, your lungs imploding like an elephant's sitting on your chest, fighting with everything you have just to keep from blacking out." Geez Mav, I know we said we weren't going to hold back about how hard this will be, but let's try not to scare them too much. "This is where you'll be your most vulnerable. This is Coffin Corner."

I have to resist letting out a groan. He came up with that name when we were figuring out how exactly to teach everything today and refused to drop it. It's catchy, in a eerie sort of way, but not exactly the most uplifting thing for the recruits to hear it be called. I should've known me just telling him to not call it that in front of the class wouldn't stop him from doing so. When has anyone ever telling Maverick 'no' actually worked?

"Assuming you don't collide with the mountain, you'll climb straight into enemy radar while loosing all your airspeed. Within seconds, you'll be fired upon by enemy SAMs." I turn back to the group, hoping that I'm hiding my own stress about the mission. "You've all face sustained G's before. You wouldn't be here if you hadn't. But this—this will take both you and your aircraft to the breaking point."