Bambi and Rooster

Surprise Visitor

14 Months had passed since my students graduation from Top Gun, and I had been recently been assigned to the USS Nimitz, an aircraft carrier stationed in the Persian Gulf. One day, as I was preparing for a mission, I received a surprise visitor: my best friend in the entire world, who had by the way flown all the way from his place in California to see me.
"Bradley! What are you doing here?" I exclaimed, running to embrace him.
"I wanted to see you," he replied, grinning.
As we walked through the carrier's corridors. My best friend quite similar to my father, he was very well known and was also a captain, but here he was taking time out of his busy schedule to walk/ maybe fly with me like we did on our way to school 15 years ago.
But sadly our reunion was cut short by an urgent message from the bridge. I was needed for a mission, and it was a dangerous one at that. Turns out A group of ISIS fighters had taken over an oil rig deep in the Persian Gulf, and they were threatening to blow it up unless their stupid ass demands were met.
I climbed into my F-18, my heart racing with fear and adrenaline.until I heard my com beep and I heard his voice "rooster" I say kinda confused. "What's up bambi"he says I can practically hear his smirk through the com. "Ok so heres the deal I'm going to assist you on this mission ok" I sighed it's not that I don't love him but I think I can do this on my own but never the less I let it go.

As we approached the oil rig, I could see the terrorists below, armed to the teeth and ready to fight. We both had to act fast.

I executed a perfect dive, firing a few missiles which took out the terrorists on the south side. While rooster too the north doing the same thing as me.But just as I thought we had succeeded, but then I heard a extremely loud explosion. The rig was going down.
We had to act fast. I swooped down, flying as close to the rig as I dared. I could see the workers below, trapped in the wreckage.
With hesitation, I flew down as close as I could but before I could make a decision the ruble collapsed.could feel the heat and flames all around my jet which told me it was time to go butI'mnot ready yet.Then roster comes onto coms". "Bambi, get out of there NOW! The rig's about to blow" I'm so addressing that later but I knew he was right so I pulled up a started on my way back to the ship.
We all landed back on the carrier, my heart racing and my hands shaking. I had done it we had done it.
As we climbed out of my cockpit, I was greeted by a round of cheers and applause from my fellow pilots. But the only person I cared about was my rooster.
He was waiting for me, a huge grin on his face. "That was amazing, Sammy, you did great".
We walked away from the flight deck, he put his arm around me. "You know, Sammy I think especially after today we need a drink" I chuckled or maybe we need 5.
Time Skip 6:45pm
As I flipped through the selections on the old jukebox in the corner of the bar, It was moments like these that made life worth it – from today's victory, and a chance to unwind with my best friend. Rooster returned with our drinks and a pool cue in hand. "Here you go, Sammy!"
We clinked our glasses together and took a long sip before heading to the pool table. As we set up the game, we continued to catch up on each other's lives and reminisce about the adventures we had been on during our time apart. It was like old times, and for a moment, the dangers we faced earlier that day faded into the background.
I took the first shot, sinking a striped ball into one of the pockets. "Heyy not to bad for someone who's been out of practice, huh?" I boasted playfully.
Rooster chuckled, lining up his shot. "Looks like You've still got it, Bambi," he agreed. He took his shot, and we continued to play, our laughter and conversation filling the dimly-lit bar.
As the hours passed, the weight of the day's events started to creep back into my mind. Images of the burning oil rig and trapped workers haunted me, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we could have done more.
Rooster seemed to notice my mood shift. "Hey,what's goin on you seem a little down," he said, resting his hand on my shoulder."I just feel like we could have done more today" he looked at me and said"You did everything you could today. You can't always save everyone, but you saved a hell of a lot more than if you hadn't been there. Be proud of that."
I looked at Rooster , and I knew he was right. We were both putting our lives on the line to make a difference, and sometimes, that meant making difficult choices. But in the end, we were doing our best, and that's all we cado.
With a deep breath, I let go of my lingering doubts and smiled at Rooster. "You're right. Thanks, Brad."please never call me that" I chuckled and made another shot.
8:15pm
The night wore on, and we continued to enjoy each other's company, sharing stories and laughter until the bar began to close for the night. We knew that we would be busy tomorrow , so for now, we were grateful for the free time we had together.
As we walked out of the bar and into the cool night air, Rooster turned to me and said, "You know, sam, I haven't had this much fun in a while. Promise me we'll do this again tomorrow ."

I wrapped an arm around him, pulling him in for a side hug. "You've got yourself deal a deal good sir"
I laughed."