G Force

Dog Fight

Everyone gets suited up and we grab our helmets before we head out onto the runway where our planes await. Rooster and I walk together, but soon we hear someone call out to us, "Rooster," I glance to Rooster who doesn't stop, "Bradley." He still doesn't stop, "Lieutenant Bradshaw!"

This stops him in his tracks and he turns to Maverick, who had been running after us, "yes, sir."

"Let's not do it like this."

"You gonna wash me out?"

"That'll be up to you, not me."

"Am I dismissed?"

"Not quiet yet," Maverick shakes his head, "I know you two are good together, but I wanna see how you both fly solo. So Rooster, you will fly single, with Fanboy and Payback as your double. Bambi, you will alternate with Hangman and Rooster."

I shake my head a bit confused, "who are we going to fly with when we fly double?"

"I don't know yet."

"Can we go now?" Rooster tightens his jaw as we stand there. Maverick nods and Rooster and I continue walking to our plane, "he's been in charge for ten minutes and he's already split us up."

I shrug, "I mean, he has to give the others a chance right?"

"Yeah," Rooster nods and smirks over to me, "we'd have him down in a matter of seconds, wouldn't we?"

Maverick decides that he wants Rooster, Payback and Fanboy to go up first. Once they get the planes up in the air, Maverick comes on over the coms, "good morning, aviators. This is your captain speaking. Welcome to basic fighter maneuvers. As briefed, today's exercise is dog fight. Guns only, no missiles. We do not go below the hard deck of 5,000 feet. Working as a team, you have to shoot me down, or else."

"Or else what, sir?" Payback asks.

"Or else I shoot back. If I shoot either one of you down, you both lose."

The rest of us are sitting in one of the rec rooms, listening to the radio, waiting for our turn to go up. Hangman, who has been playing around with a model plane, is not impressed, "this guy needs an ego check."

"We'll see to that," two of the other officers, who are playing foosball, high five each other.

"What do you say we put some skin in the game?" Payback remarks.

"What do you have in mind?" Maverick encourages, something those three don't need.

"Whoever gets shot down first has to do 200 push-ups."

"Guys. That's a lot of push-ups."

Fanboy chuckles, "they don't call it an exercise for nothing, sir."

"You got yourself a deal, gentlemen. Fight's on, let's turn and burn."

I sigh softly, "something tells me I should clear my evening." Phoenix looks over to me and nods.

"Tell me something," Hangman leans forward a bit, "why do they call you Bambi?"

"Because of my big doe eyes."

Hangman nods as he looks me over, as he does I hear someone cough a bit behind me, I turn and see it was Bob, "oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I shake my head, "it's a stupid habit some alpha male has decided we need to take part in. You don't have to be sorry for anything, ever."

We got back to listening to the radio, "Fanboy, you see him?" Rooster asks, the three of them clearly not having eyes on Maverick.

"Nothing on radar up ahead," Fanboy answers. "Me must be somewhere behind us."