Legacies •Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw•

Chapter 8

Everyone was filling the room, waiting for their morning debriefing to start. Rooster was already seated as Silver and Winter walked in. "There is your boyfriend," Silver whispered as he nudged his pilot. Lani shook her head as she scanned the room. "Oh, sorry I should specify which boyfriend. The one with the good-looking mustache," Xavier whispered. She was about to respond but her RIO cut her off, "you're blushing." Lani turned to him and started consistently smacking his arm. Xavier laughed as he tried to cover himself, but Pheonix walked in. "Try not to go for the face Winter, it's pretty and I have a date tonight," Phoenix said. "Why thank you Phe," X said with a cocky smile. "But by all means, whack away, just not the face," she added. Xavier looked offended while the two girls laughed. "So, the two of you? On a date?" Lani asked curiously with a bit of shock. Phoenix shrugged with a smile and light red cheeks. "Sit with me, Phoenix?" Silver asked as he held his hand out. Lani shook her head with a smile, "dork." She made her way over to the empty seat next to Rooster. "This seat taken?" She asked as he looked up at her. "It is now," he said with a smile as he patted the seat. She sat down as he watched her, "you usually sit with Silver?" Winter shrugged, "usually do, but I am being replaced," she said jokingly as she nodded to the back in Silver and Pheonix's direction. "Replaced by Pheonix, damn. I didn't know they were a thing," Rooster said as he turned back around. They both laughed, "they got a date tonight. I think they would be a cute couple" Lani responded.

"He is kind of a dick," Rooster stated. "What? No, he isn't," Lani defended. "Do you remember the first day on the tarmac?" He questioned. "Oh, no, don't take that personally. He was just messing with you; he was also taking care of me. But he actually likes you more than Hangman," she answered with a giggle. "Shocking," he replied sarcastically with a smile. Lani nudged him in the shoulder, and he nudged her back. Soon they were nudging each other back and forth like children, laughing. But not long after the instructors walked in, and everyone straightened up.

Warlock took the stand, "good morning. The uranium enrichment plant that is your target will be operational earlier than expected. Raw uranium will be delivered to the plant in ten days' time. As a result, your mission has been moved up one week in order to avoid contaminating the target valley with radiation." Rooster and Winter looked at each other in disbelief before looking around the room, watching their fellow aviators do the same. "Sir, no one here has successfully flown a low-level course," Coyote stated. With regret in his eyes, Warlock continued, "nevertheless, you've been ordered to move on." Lani closed her eyes and let out a long breath, all of a sudden, she felt a hand gently rest on hers. She opened her eyes to see Bradley's hand, gently holding hers. She glanced at Rooster, but he was looking forward, as Warlock called their uncle to the stand. Winter held in a smile as she looked toward Maverick.

"We have one week left to focus on phase two. It's the most difficult stage of the mission. It's a pop-up strike with a steep dive, requiring nothing left than two consecutive miracles. Two pairs of F-18s will fly in a welded wing formation. Teamwork," Maverick emphasized as he looked to his niece and nephew before continuing. "Precise coordination of these aircraft is essential to both the mission's success and your survival." He turned to the screen and Rooster leaned over toward Lani and whispered, "I feel a little attacked." Lani smiled, "you feel attacked? Pretty sure that was directed more at me." He whispered back, "don't be so self-centered, Kazansky." The two were holding in a laugh as Maverick continued. "As you know, the plant rests between two mountains. 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 is an impact point less than three meters wide. The two-seat aircraft will paint the target with a laser bull's-eye. 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. That's miracle number one."