The roar of jet engines drowned out the fast, hard beating of Clarke's heart. Each jet soared off the carrier with a deafening woosh. Everyone quickly scrambled to prepare the standby aircraft. All the pilots began walking towards the planes, but Hangman noticed that Clarke still hadn't moved.
"Broadway!" he yelled over the commotion happening around them. "You coming?" Clarke shook herself back to reality and nodded, slowly walking to her jet. Her movements throughout all of pre-flight checks were painfully slow. She told herself that if she took her time it would be a good distraction. In reality, she finished the checks and was seated in the jet quickly. As Hangman got into his jet he looked over to her. Adm. Bates then came over the comms.
"Daggers, move to position." he commanded.
"Copy that." Maverick responded. Once Bates saw that the jets were in position he ordered for the other missiles to be launched on the enemy runway. Everyone on the carrier watched as the missiles soared over them. The radar screens showed that they quickly made contact with the runway, doing exactly as they had planned.
"No turning back now, they know we're coming." Cyclone said as he and Warlock both took a deep breath. On the carrier runway, both Hangman and Clarke sat in their jets. Clarke was shaking with anxiety. Hangman looked over, very unsure of how to help, so he said the first thing that came to his mind.
"Take a deep breath." She tried, and annoyingly, it worked for a moment. But hearing her dad's voice over comms reactivated her anxiety.
"Approaching entrance in 3...2...1!" Maverick said over comms. Everyone took a collective sigh as the radar screen changed to show that the jets had entered the canyon. They maneuvered the canyon, all pilots thankful that the simulation was so exact. Clarke anxiously watched the blips on the screen move through the canyon, but her eyes narrowed and she leaned in as the back two blips slowed down.
"What is he doing?" she mumbled to herself as she leaned in even closer. She looked over at Hangman, who was also watching the screen intently. They shared a quick glance of confusion before turning back to watch, hearing everyone talk over each other on the comms system.
"Rooster, we're falling behind." Fanboy yelled.
"Come on, guys!" Maverick urged.
"Don't lose steam!" Each exclamation made Clarke more and more worried. Her heart started racing even more and her breaths got short. She could hear her dad's voice in her head, yelling at she and Bradley when they were younger-don't think. just do.
As if by some miracle those were the exact words Maverick uttered into the comms. Bradley sucked in a breath and throttled the joystick forward, shooting through the straightaway.
"Not that fast, Rooster! Jeez!" Fanboy shouted. Clarke chuckled to herself as she watched the blips catch up to the others. Hangman let out a sigh and looked to Clarke to check in on her. She held a thumb up and he nodded. The jets were now at the pop up, all four of them inverting perfectly over the peak, and now heading to the bomb site.
"Ready on that laser, Bob!" Maverick said.
"Yeah, I got it! I got it!" Bob responded quickly. Everyone watched at the first two jets lowered deep into the valley. "Dropping in 3...2...1!" Everyone held their breath. "Contact, yes!" Everyone cheered. Miracle one complete. Rooster, Fanboy, and Payback quickly inverted over the first peak and down into the valley.
"How's that laser, Fanboy?!" Rooster asked frantically as the small target grew as they zoomed towards it.
"This laser is shot! I can't get it! Deadeye, deadeye!" Fanboy panicked. Clarke and Hangman shared a look, both sets of eyes filled with worry. Clarke didn't know what would happen. Both bombs needed to make contact or this whole mission would be for naught. All of the heartache, worry, and stress for nothing. Anger and sadness began filling her, but the sound of Bradley's voice quieted her thoughts.
"I'm dropping blind! We have to do this!" he said and began aiming his laser.
"Rooster, no! I'll get it." Fanboy assured.
"Too late, bombs away!" Rooster yelled as he released the missile. It was silent as everyone waited for the bomb to fall. "It's in!" Rooster confirmed as he pulled up for the climb out.
"YES!" Clarke yelled and landed both fists on the sides of her jet. She smiled at Hangman. Their celebrations were cut short by all the pilots frantically yelling over the comms. The S.A.Ms! Clarke thought to herself and immediately turned back to her screen.
"Smoke in the air, Phoenix!"
"Break right!"
"Behind you, Mav!"
"Watch it!" They were all simultaneously yelling at each other. It was a viscous dogfight as the automated enemy missiles followed their every movement. Clarke's shakes returned, worse this time though. It killed her to be forced to sit there and listen to everything happening and not be able to help.
"We're almost out of this!" Bob said with a sliver of hope in his voice. Hangman let out a sigh and put both hands on the sides of his head in anticipation.
"I can see the last S.A.M!" Payback confirmed. "We got this, guys!" Instead of more words of encouragement, the comms system picked up a loud crash followed by multiple screams. The one that stuck out most to Clarke was Bradley's voice.
"Mav, no!"
YOU ARE READING
ALPHA STRIKE |rooster x oc|
Fanfictionclarke mitchell, daughter of the infamous Maverick, had always dreamed of being in the Navy like her father. lucky for her, her best friend had the same dream. but all of it could change when they get assigned to an almost impossible mission I do NO...
