Sincerely, Yours

Chapter 8

A day later and they were back in the classroom. "Captain Mitchell is no longer your instructor. And as of today, there are new mission parameters. Time to target is now four minutes," Cyclone told them, earning glances between the aviators. "You'll be entering the valley level at reduced speed. Not to exceed 420 knots," he adds after clicking the button to pull up the simulation on the main screen. "Sir, won't we be giving their planes time to intercept?" Bob asked. "Well, Lieutenant, you have a fighting chance against enemy aircraft. What are the odds of surviving a head-on collision with a mountain?" he asks and Ria clenches her jaw. It will never work with these new parameters. This really will be a suicide mission now. "You'll be attacking the target from a higher altitude, level with the north wall. It's going to be a little harder to keep your laser on target, but you will avoid the high-g climb out," Cyclone continued, pointing at the screen. "And be sitting ducks for enemy missiles," Fanboy whispers as he leans over to Payback. Ria and Elliot share a look of worry. The screen behind Cyclone shows a jet approaching a mountain range, drawing the aviator's attention as it beeped. "Who the hell is that?" Cyclone turns to look at the screen too. "Maverick to range control. Entering point Alpha. Confirm green range." The familiar voice of their Captain rang through the room. "Uh, Maverick, range control, uh, green range is confirmed. I don't see an event scheduled for you, sir," the base ATC officer replied. "Well, I'm going anyway." Phoenix and a few other aviators leaned forward in interest. "Nice," she muttered. "2:15? That's impossible." Ria shook her head, knowing that if anyone could do it, it was Maverick. "Final attack point. Maverick's inbound." Mav's F-18 hugs the tight twists and curves, he knifes through the final ridge gap. "Popping in three, two, one." He swoops into his pop-up climb, pulling severe G's as he tops out, rolls, and plunges into the bombing dive. "No wingman to laze the target. Dropping blind. Bombs away." He drops a training round as he dives, and swoops into a climb at the last possible second. "Bullseye. Holy shit!" Fanboy yelled and several of the aviators cheered. "Target is destroyed. Maverick is RTB." The team can see the readout on their screen. 10 Gs, far beyond the accepted limits of the F-18. "10 Gs... Damn," Jake murmurs  to himself. Cyclone stares at the screen, his expression impossible to read. Warlock eyes the trainees. "You're all dismissed," the Admiral tells them and they nod before leaving swiftly. 

"You've put me in a difficult position, Captain." A sudden storm set in. Rain is pouring outside. Thunder rolls. Maverick sits beside Warlock in front of Cyclone's desk. Cyclone stares out the window, hands behind his back. "On the one hand, you've demonstrated that the mission can be flown. Perhaps the only way, it can be survived. On the other hand, you did so by stealing a multi-million dollar military aircraft and flying it in such a manner that it may never be airworthy again." Cyclone turned to him. "Iceman is no longer here to protect you. And I have everything I need to have you court-martialled and dishonorably discharged. But then I would be disposing of the one man with a ghost of a chance of completing this mission." Maverick blinks, stunned. Did he hear that correctly? "So, what do I do? Risk the lives of my pilots, not to mention the success of the mission, by sending them without you? Or risk my career by appointing you team leader?" Cyclone asks. Maverick moves to speak, "Sir." Warlock stops him, "I believe the Admiral is asking a rhetorical question, Captain." Maverick nods and steps back. "You'll choose your team on the carrier. You ship out in the morning." Maverick nods before he's dismissed and he sends out a message to his aviators.

When Ria showed up at her mother's house in her dress whites Sarah Kazansky almost burst into tears. "Hey, hey, hey, mama, you know the drill," Ria said as she hurried to hug her. "That doesn't make it any easier," she replied, wiping at her eyes as Ria pulled back. "Is that Ria?" Tj yelled from down in the basement. "Yes!" Ria yelled back and she heard thundering footsteps before Tj and Mari skidded to a stop in the main foyer. Atlas wasn't far behind them except he came and sat at her feet. Ria pet him on the head though she was careful not to get a bunch of hair on her uniform. When she was done giving her dog attention she looked up at her younger siblings who stood almost frozen. Ria offers them a sad smile and Mari's eyes well up with tears. Tj moves into action. Sarah went to Mari, rubbing her shoulder as a way to comfort her as the only male Kazansky embraced Ria quickly, knowing she probably didn't have long to stay. Ria clutched onto him tightly, pressing a kiss to his golden brown hair. "You'll take care of them for me right Tj?" Ria whispers into his ear. Junior squeezed Ria as tight as he could before responding with, "Always." Ria nodded and let go of him before walking over to Mari and kneeling down in front of her. "Mari, I'm only going to be gone a week at the most. There's a possibility I won't even be chosen but no matter what I will condo my best to come home. That is my promise to you." Mari nodded before throwing her arms around Ria and holding her tightly. Mari eventually lets go and steps back into their mother's waiting arms and Ria stands up and looks at her watch. "I need to head out to meet with the others," she tells her family with another sad smile. "You know where my emergency papers are mama. I love you guys." Sarah nodded. "Fly safe, fly fast, come home," she told her eldest daughter. Ria nodded before giving Atlas one last pet before heading outside to her truck, ready to head to the Hard Deck to meet up with the other aviators for a drink.

It was a few hours before launch time. Gathered in the ready room the aviators stand as Maverick, Warlock, and Cyclone enter the room and make their way to the front of the room. "Your target is a clear and present threat: a secret uranium enrichment site under rogue state control." All eyes are on Warlock. On a screen behind him, a detailed map of the target valley highlights the flight paths of various elements. "It's an underground bunker tucked between these two mountains. Your route of ingress is heavily defended by surface-to-air missiles, backed up by fifth-generation fighters. Once your F-18 strike team crosses the border, Tomahawk Missiles from the USS Leyte Gulf will be launched in a synchronized strike on the enemy's airfield... here." He highlights a spot on the screen with a laser pointer. "The moment those Tomahawks hit, the enemy will know you're coming. Your time to target will be two minutes and thirty seconds. Any longer than that and you will be exposed to any aircraft the Tomahawks may have missed." Cyclone looks at each other aviators before saying to Maverick, "Choose your two foxtrot teams. "It has been an honor flying with you. Each one of you represents the best of the best. This is a very specific mission. My choice is a reflection of that and nothing more," Maverick says before pausing. "Phoenix and Bob." There was a moment of tense silence as Phoenix and Bob looked at each other and nodded before looking back at their superiors. "Tempest and Denver," he continued and Ria bowed her head to Maverick. Elliot gripped Ria's hand and Ria squeezed his back in reassurance. "And your wingman?" Cyclone asked. Jake straightens, ready for the job as Bradley looks down, sure that Maverick wouldn't pick him. "Rooster." Bradley lifted his head in surprise. "The rest of you will stand by on the carrier for any reserve role that's required. This is what you've all been training for. Come home safely. Good luck to you all. Dismissed," Warlock said before Maverick, Cyclone and he left the room to give the pilots some privacy to gather any lingering thoughts. Those going on the mission got clapped on the back and well wishes from the others before they slowly filtered out heading to their various stations to ready. The five remaining pilots embraced in a group hug before stepping back, nodding, and leaving to finish putting on their flight gear.

It was a ballet of controlled chaos as various flight deck crews prepped all the aircraft involved in the mission. Rooster, Phoenix, Bob, Tempest, and Denver step onto the deck. It's for real now. No more training. They trade determined looks... and head for the planes... Rooster finds Hangman in his way. "You give 'em hell." Rooster nods. Hangman walks over to Tempest, leaving Rooster to contemplate the gravity of what's happening. Ria's running her hand along all of the groves on one side of her jet, checking it over and doing her preflight checks as Elliot does the other side. Jake waits patiently until she gives Elliot the all-clear on her side to approach her fully. "Come back to me," Jake yelled over the noise on deck. "I'll do my best," Ria yelled back, pulling him into one last tight hug. "Start the go aircraft. Start 'em up," came over the intercom and Ria reluctantly let go of Jake, turning to head to the ladder. Jake watched for a moment as she and Denver did a special handshake before they both saluted their crew and climbed into their jet before turning to go to his own craft, where he'd be on alert 5 in case anything went wrong.

"Dagger One, comms check," came Maverick's voice over the comms channel. "Dagger three, up and ready," Tempest calls out, shaking her wrists out as she waits for the order for her to hook up to the catapult. Phoenix and Bob are sweating, psyching themselves past the anxiety. "Dagger four, up and ready." Rooster shakes off the nerves before he replies, "Dagger two, up and ready on cat 2." There's a moment of silence on the comms. "Dagger spare is up and ready. Standing by," Hangman's voice chimes in. Maverick is about to respond but hesitates. The other pilots hang in awkward silence. "Sir, do you copy?" Rooster asks. "I want to thank you all for trusting me to lead you," Maverick says finally. "You're the best of the best. It's an honor to be flying with you." The pilots all nod, appreciating his words. "We're with you, sir. All the way," Phoenix responds for them all. "Forget the sir. We're all the same rank today. Dagger One up and ready on Catapult one." Maverick clips on his mask and takes a deep breath steeling himself for what was to come.