CHAPTER FIVE ━━ we say we're friends but i'm catching you across the room it makes no sense 'cause we're fighting over what we do
"Time is your greatest enemy."
Maverick stood in front of the aviators, the screen behind him showing the details of the mission. Snake was right by his side, her hands clasped behind her back in the same way her uncle held himself.
"Phase one of the mission will be a low-level ingress attacking in two-plane teams. You'll fly along this narrow canyon to your target."
"Radar-guided surface-to-air missiles defend the area," she stepped forward, explaining as she looked to the screen. "These SAMS, they're lethal."
"But they were designed to protect the skies above, not the canyon below," Maverick added.
"That's because the enemy knows no one is insane enough to try and fly below them." Sage looked ahead to see it was Rooster who had voiced out, making her glance back at Maverick. One look at the man was enough for her to take the floor back.
"That's exactly what we're gonna train you to do," she held his gaze, not an inch of hesitation or resistance as his eyes pierced through her own. It wasn't rivalry or anything hurtful, it was simply flying.
While Sage may not have been in a plane for a long time, that didn't mean she was no longer capable of it. She could fly solo, without needing to carry the weight of having mates flying alongside her. But it wouldn't happen. Not on this mission.
"On the day, your altitude will be 100 feet maximum. You exceed this altitude-" the screen showed the radar as it started blinking and beeping; "-radar will spot you and you're dead."
"Your airspeed will be 660 knots minimum," Maverick told them. "Time to target: Two and a half minutes."
The aviators visibly gulped. Even Sage could feel the anxiety in the room.
"That's because fifth-generation fighters wait at an air base nearby. In a head-to-head with these planes in your F-18s, you're dead," she explained, looking over each and every one of them.
"That's why you need to get in, hit your target and be gone before these planes even have a chance of catching you. This makes time your greatest adversary. You'll fly a route in your nav system that simulates the canyon. The faster you navigate this canyon, the harder it'll be to stay under the radar of these enemy sams. The tighter the turns, the more intensely the force of gravity on your body multiplies," Maverick glanced at Sage, but she looked straight at the group of aviators in front of them.
"Compressing your lungs, forcing the blood from your brain, impairing your judgment and reaction time," he continued.
"So for today's lesson, we're gonna take it easy on you," Sage stated. "Max ceiling: 300 feet. Time to target: Three minutes."
The aviators looked at their instructors like they had grown an extra pair of heads. Sage had to admit; it wasn't easy. It was never going to be, which is why she'd made Maverick promise they'd teach them everything they could. Especially, how to get home.
"Good luck."
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