Emerson Blackwood and Skye Kazansky had dreamed of becoming pilots for as long as they could remember.
Through an extensive amount of training at the Naval Academy and flight school, the two best friends had easily become some of the best Naval Avia...
This was Emerson's future. Everything that both her and her best friends had wanted was right there, waiting for them.
She could remember opening up her acceptance letter together with her two best friends surrounded by her godmother, godfather and her two cousins, who awaited the trio's news with pride, and now the day was finally here.
They were starting this new chapter together.
Her brown eyes glanced over at the families around them - parents saying goodbye to their sons and daughters with tears in their pride-filled eyes.
She smiled softly, despite feeling a small tug of jealousy, at the display. Her own father couldn't make it to see her off.
God only knows where he is or who he pissed off this time.
However, her thoughts were soon broken as she felt the familiar presence of one of her best friends and shifted her gaze towards a 5'4" blonde standing beside her.
"You ready?" Skye questioned, her green eyes shining with determination.
A smile glittered across Emerson's lips as she nodded her head, her eyes mirroring the same emotion as the blonde's. "Born ready." She responded before she playfully rolled her eyes and glanced over her shoulder. "Let's hustle, Bradshaw!"
"I'm comin'" A male voice responded before he made his way over to the two girls.
He had dirty blonde hair, dark brown eyes and stood at 6'0" in height - towering over Skye but not Emerson's 5'9" frame by much.
Emerson and Skye exchanged amused glances with one another before the brunette shifted her gaze onto the tall man - who she had heard was the spitting image of his father. A man that she had never had the chance of meeting.
There was an accident, one that she had heard of her father being involved in and her godparents being witnesses of; an accident that costed Nick "Goose" Bradshaw his life which ultimately left Kara Bradshaw without her older brother, Carole Bradshaw widowed and Bradley Bradshaw without a father.
That was why he was here.
She was here for a similar reason, having come from two generations of Naval Aviators - of which, didn't have the greatest of reputations. But from a young age, she, alongside her best friend, used to watch her godparents fly and was taught everything that they needed to know.
She wanted to be just like them. Especially such a badass like her Aunt Kara, who was one of the first female Naval Aviators to make it to Top Gun and graduated top of her class in 1986 alongside her Uncle Tom.
They were the best of the best.
"Finally." The brunette teased with an amused smile as Bradley came to a stop beside them.
"Took you long enough." The blonde added.
Bradley shoved the blonde playfully in response with a small grin before the trio shifted their gaze towards their future that awaited them.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The opening ceremony took place before either one of the trio had a chance to find their rooms and get themselves situated.
They stood beside each other as the Vice Admiral gave his opening speech, gaining every single recruits' attention as he stood before them in his dress whites, with the various medals and ribbons pinned to his blazer which showcased his accomplishments.
As soon as the opening speech had come to a close, the recruits were then separated into smaller groups - with a high ranking officer overlooking each group - before they were taken to different parts of the academy.
Emerson assessed the recruits that had formed part of her group. There were roughly about twenty recruits of which only three were women - herself and Skye included.
However, it wasn't long before a Chief Petty Officer approached the group and came to a halt in front of them.
"Fall in! Form a line, I want to see your heels on that line behind you!" He exclaimed, and the recruits scrambled - some going as far as tossing their bags to the ground, urgently forming a line and standing at attention before awaiting their next instruction.
"Recruits, I am Chief Petty Officer Clarke." The officer introduced himself as he strolled down the line of recruits. "For the next ten weeks, you will undergo physical examinations, drills, and academic tests before your graduation from basic training - which will be overseen by me. Now, when I say 'Understand', I expect everyone to respond with 'Yes, sir!'. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!" The group responded almost immediately, but it wasn't up to the Chief Petty Officer's standards.
"Louder!" Officer Clarke exclaimed.
"Yes, sir!" The recruits responded, much louder than the first which seemed to have pleased their ranking officer, as they stared ahead of them.
The officer stalked down the line of recruits menacingly as he assessed the group before him before he came to a stop in front of one of the men, who stood just a few meters away from the trio.
Using her peripheral vision, Emerson's brown gaze caught sight of the officer giving the recruit a friendly smile - which seemed to make this recruit relax slightly.
"Hi, son." Chief Petty Officer Clarke greeted.
"How you doing?" The recruit responded, causing the brunette to cringe internally at his mistake.
"Excuse me?" The ranking officer quizzed with a narrowed gaze.
"Uh.." The recruit stammered nervously.
"Where are you from, Cupcake?"
"Boston, sir!"
"Quit whispering, Cupcake!" Clarke exclaimed. "You're giving me a hard-on."
Emerson and Kara fought hard not to crack a smile at the remark which had reminded them of the stories that Tom and Kara used to tell about Hollywood and Wolfman - a remark that the pilot and RIO had used very often.
Unfortunately, the Chief Petty Officer had caught sight of this and tilted his head slightly as he approached the two women; Bradley silently cursing his cousin and best friend.
"Something funny?" He questioned as he came to a stop in front of the two women.
"No, sir." The best friends responded swiftly in unison.
"What're your names, recruits?" The ranking officer quizzed.
"Blackwood, sir." The brunette replied. "Emerson Blackwood."
"Kazansky." The blonde responded immediately after the brunette. "Skye Kazansky."
Recognition filled the Chief Petty Officer's eyes. "Well, well, well." He mused as his gaze shifted between the two women. "So, did Daddy slip you both into the program?"
"With all due respect, sir, my Daddy didn't get us in here." Skye responded, her green gaze focused ahead of her as the ranking officer stared at her. "My cousin, best friend, and I worked hard to make our own way into the academy."
"And we will continue to do just that to prove that we belong here just like the rest of these recruits." Emerson finished as the Chief Petty Officer shifted his gaze towards her. "Sir."
The officer stared at the two women for a moment longer and gave a slight nod before he moved on, stalking his way down the line in search of his next victim to try and break.
Bradley glanced towards his best friend and cousin - both women meeting his gaze before small smirks tugged across the trio's lips.
