Compromise-Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw-

Chapter Eight

I could feel my heart tightening, ready for the devastation to come. My breathing was getting uneven, my heart racing. I felt cold, but knew I was sweating. The open sky met my eyes as I twisted out of the bogies way, trying to escape its missile. Cranes voice could be heard on the comms calling out to me.

But then I felt warm. Something had tightened around me, pulling me closer and holding me in a comforting embrace. I took a deep breath, my heart slowing down. The swirling skies I seen stopped spinning and I was suddenly coasting slowly. I looked around, seeing another jet to my right, the familiar bright green helmet popping out from the inside of his cockpit. He turned, his identical blue eyes matching mind, looked at me. His hand came up in an excited wave.

"It's a beautiful day for a cruise." He chuckled, his voice soft and warm. Full of the life I so desperately tried to hold onto.

"You would say that even if it was raining." I argued with my own chuckle.

"That's true sister, very true." He agreed. "How about we show these kids what we can do instead of chatting." He added, I rolled my eyes.

"Pretty sure everyone watching is older then us. But I'll follow your lead." Crane offered one more chuckle, before turning to the left, and beginning an incline. I followed beside him, keeping up easily. We began flying a common dogfighting maneuver, before escalating into a more complex one we'd been practicing with in our own time.

"Easy on the decline Crane." I warned, as he began speeding passed me. He slowed down, falling back in line with me.

"Scared of a little speed?" He asked with a soft chuckle. I scoffed.

"No, but I am scared of you making a fool of yourself during our debut." I explained, he sighed.

"And here I thought you cared about me." His laugh echoed in my ear as we levelled out once more, coasting back towards base.

"That looked good you two. Prepare for a landing. We have much to discuss." Iceman said into the comms from base. He had been personally observing our debut, making sure it went smoothly.

Crane and I landed with ease, before getting out of our jets and meeting up. He took his helmet off, his dark brown hair longer then he normally kept it. His bright eyes met mine with excitement equal to a puppy given a treat.

"We're going to have our own team Sadie!" He exclaimed, I laughed, shaking my head.

"Dont jump to conclusions. Iceman could still tell us we're not ready." I said.

"He won't tell us that. He said it looked good, we are moving up in the world." I rolled my eyes at my brothers theatrics.

"You're entirely too optimistic." I laughed. Crane shrugged.

"And you're pessimistic, together we make the perfect realist."

"That's sound logic." I said sarcastically as we approached Ice, who was waiting for us with a beaming smile.

"We did it, didn't we?" Crane asked immediately, matching the older man's energy. Iceman nodded.

"You two both did everything flawlessly. This time tomorrow, you will have your pick of our finest dog fighters for your team." He explained with a proud smile. Iceman had spent years teaching us everything he could, all for this moment. Crane exclaimed happily, turning to me and offering me a very clumsy high five.

"We did it Sadie!" He cheered, his voice raising a few octaves. "We're going to have our own team, we're gonna be the best there is." I was still in shock. It felt so surreal. Seven years in the navy, I didn't think we'd ever get to this point. It always just felt like a moot point after a while.