Hold My Hand || J.Seresin

Chapter 18

Author's Note: Surprise update to celebrate the release anniversary of Top Gun. It's been 37 years!
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Even though Banjo and I had spent the rest of the day snacking, watching movies and definitely going to bed later than I should have, I felt decently well rested. It hadn't taken long for me to fall asleep and while I'd worried about a nightmare invading my sleep, none came. My goal was to focus on work and nothing else. I changed into my uniform quickly and headed to base. There were still some final decisions that needed to be made for the next Top Gun class.

I was halfway way down the hall when a male voice called out my name. I turned and stood up straight, seeing Admiral Bates.
"Sir," I greeted, tucking my hands behind my back.
"Cyclone needs to see you, immediately." The look on Warlock's face was hard to read. I hadn't done anything wrong, but he looked serious. I nodded in response and waited for Warlock to pass me before going back down the hallway towards Cyclone's office.

My fist hadn't even touched the wood door frame when Cyclone called me in. I took a deep breath before stepping inside, suddenly feeling nervous.
"Sir. You wanted to see me." I said, standing at attention. Cyclone looked up at me for a brief moment before grabbing a slip of paper off his desk.
"One last order from Iceman." He said, holding out the paper to me. I blinked, confusion evident on my face. Absent-mindedly, I took the paper from his hand and looked at it. My eyes scanned the page, reading over the order. The more I kept reading, the more shocked I became. My eyes darted back up to Cyclone,
"Sir." I hesitated, "This is the course for the special training detachment." I assumed there had been some confusion.
"That's correct. Iceman's final order for you was to fly this course. He thought the difficulty of it was sufficient enough to provide you enough points to finally graduate from Top Gun." Cyclone was silent, watching me.
"Commander, is something wrong?" He asked.
"I apologize for being blunt, sir, but you called back the best of the best for this mission. None of them have been able to complete the course. What makes you think I can?"
"Iceman believed you could do it and I have deep respect for him and his decisions. For what it's worth,  I do think you're capable of this." He paused briefly, seeing that the shocked expression hadn't left my face, "I assume graduating from Top Gun is still something you want?" That snapped me back.
"Yes, sir, I do. I apologize, this is incredibly surprising. Iceman never gave me any indication about this final test."
"You're scheduled to fly it tomorrow morning." Cyclone told me. Doubts had already flooded into my mind, making me question my ability. This was all happening so fast.

This was a chance to prove myself. To finally know I graduated Top Gun and earned my spot amongst the best naval aviators. Iceman had given me this opportunity and I couldn't turn it down.
"I'll be there. Thank you sir." I finally responded, finding there was strength in my voice.
"Good." While it was only there for a second, I swear Cyclone smiled. "You're dismissed, Barbie. It would seem you have a lot of preparation to get started on."
"Thank you, sir." I responded, folding the order and exiting his office. A smile spread across my face. I'd always wanted to complete the program, but I'd never had the strength to ask Uncle Ice for the favor. It meant more that he had done it this way, believing in me enough to make this mission my final task. While I wouldn't be competing against anyone else, I knew this would be the most challenging mission ever assigned in Top Gun.

Instead of heading to my office, I made my way towards the hanger. Most of the test flights I'd performed over the past few years were on a variety of planes. I needed to make sure that the plane I used tomorrow was in pristine condition.
"Where you headed?" Banjo asked, running a little to catch up with me. From the hallway she'd turned from, she must have been working in one of the training rooms.
"Hangar. I'm taking one of the planes up tomorrow."
"One final test from Iceman?" I nodded before speaking,
"I'm flying the mission course. It's the final exercise I need to officially graduate from Top Gun."
"You're gonna fly the mission course?" She asked, not bothering to hide the shock in her voice.
"Yeah. I was shocked at first, but this is the push I needed. And I made it into Top Gun because of my skills. It was an injury that kept me from finishing, not because of my abilities. I'm just as good as the aviators selected for this mission and I'm gonna prove it tomorrow." I told her confidently. Banjo squeezed my shoulder,
"Finally. I've been waiting for you to get your confidence back for years. You're gonna crush this mission." She told me with a huge smile.