Danger Zone - Top Gun: Maverick

1. Where It All Goes Down

"Would you give me a chance to take you out to dinner sometime? It could change your mind. You know, it's good to be optimistic." He offers, but she just smirks at him.

"Im afraid I can't help you."

"And why's that?"

Nova shrugs at the man, leaning against her car and rejecting him with the utmost confidence. On the inside, she's shaking. Maybe she could make an exception just this one time, he'll be leaving after this mission anyway. What does she have to lose?

"I don't date aviators." She tells him the rule she made for herself. Well...and that her father made for her.

"What a shame." He sighs lightheartedly, putting a hand against his chest. "I guess we'll never know if we were meant to be."

Nova searches her brain for a comeback, but can't find one. She's not really sure what to say to this rather attractive man, so she decides on sharing a whole new idea that just formed in her brain.

"Guess not. I'll see you at the Hard Deck tonight, though." The girl says before climbing back in the drivers seat, waving goodbye to the pilot.

As Nova drove away, she thought of how the man she had met looked just like her dad's former RiO and best friend. It was like she was looking right at him. She never got to meet Goose, but she's heard countless stories about him, and her father keeps pictures of him everywhere. Her mind clicked when she realized that Goose had a son, and maybe that was him, but she quickly shook the thought off when she remembered that Carole and the boy had lived in Texas, far away from where it all went down.

Nova quite likes it here at Miramar, where it all goes down.

As she nears the front gate entrance, she passes security and heads straight to the parking lot, not wasting any time to get to the conference room. Admiral Simpson called this morning and gave her no time to ask questions. All she knows is that a very important mission is coming up, and her job at Top Gun as an Avionics Engineer requires her to be a part of the planning.

The girl rushes into the building, half saluting at the picture of a close family friend, Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, in the hallway before abruptly reaching the tall oak doors. When she enters the meeting room, she's met with something she never expecting to see at Top Gun again. Her father.

Her jaw drops as she locks eyes with him, glancing at the other two men in the room for an explanation.

"Ms. Mitchell. So glad you could finally join us." Admiral Bates nods to her.

"Always a pleasure, Warlock." She curtly nods to the man. "You...not so much." Her eyes then land on her father.

Maverick and Nova's relationship over the past 25 years has been rocky to say the least.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you haven't missed me!" He shortly responds to his daughter's comment with a wide grin.

"Why is he here?" She then turns to Simpson.

"For the mission, allow me to explain. The target is an unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant built in violation of a multilateral NATO treaty." The admiral clicks a button that displays an image of the plant on the screen.

"The pentagon has tasked us with assembling a strike team to take it out before it becomes fully operational." Bates announced.

"And this is who you got?" Nova points her thumb back at her father.

"The plant sits at an underground bunker at the end of this valley." Bates continues, ignoring the girl's comment. Nova zones out until she hears the words fifth generation fighters. She then decides to pay full attention to the screen along with the admirals words. He then mentions the enemy having some old F-14's.