The sun began to peak over the horizon, it was early, too early for this.
My nerves doubled because with every passing second, I was closer to this test.
Deep breath in, deep breath out.
Three squeezes on my central flight stick.
"Mission Control, this is Avalanche. Requesting Runway 1 for take off."
"This is Dive from Mission Control. Access granted for Runway 1. Good luck Avalanche."
Fake it until you make it.
I smirked, "I don't need luck."
I steered my plane to the runway, and made sure all systems were running properly. I didn't want a repeat of yesterday.
It felt weird in this cockpit, I had to use another plane because mine wasn't fixed yet. And it would be bad luck if I used the plane that blew out an engine only the day before.
But it would all be okay.
I just had to pass this course.
Commander Metcalf was too old to actually fly, so he sent in Vice Admiral Beau Simpson in his place, he's better known as Cyclone. His wingman however, was Warlock, or our main instructor, Admiral Bates.
They had the best scores on the base, and they were both my direct superiors.
"Avalanche this is Warlock. You understand the rules of this dogfight?"
"Yes sir."
"The hard deck is 4,000 feet and we stay in Sectors 1 through 4. The only way to get out is to go below the hard deck or to be shot out. It's a basic two on one." Admiral Bates repeated.
I nodded, "Affirmative sir. When do we start?"
Vice Admiral Cyclone says, "Now."
He suddenly descends from above, from his hiding spot in the clouds.
Warlock starts to curve around and I realize that I'm in major trouble.
I take evasive maneuvers.
Cyclone is above me, and I'm trapped between him and the hard deck. Warlock is coming from my right, in an aggressive manner of piloting.
So I do what I do best.
I pull my central flight stick and go up and around, so I'm the one chasing Cyclone.
Warlock speeds right past us, so close I was worried that we would clip each other's planes.
I'm so close that my finger hovers over my trigger, but Cyclone knows my style, so he banks to the left.
I follow, and Warlock is directly behind me.
I'm sandwiched between the two.
I have to take one of them out, they were playing me like a fiddle at this point.
Breath, Zoe.
I don't know how they fly; they've studied and instructed me for weeks.
They have the advantage.
I have to take away that advantage.
I have to try something new.
Instead of going up an around, I go as close as I can to the hard deck before hitting it. I flip on my breaks and they both zoom past me.
Realizing what I've done, they regroup and fly in formation.
Then they split.
I have to choose who to go after.
Feeling ballsy, I decide to go after Admiral Bates. I head for Sector 4, which is pinched up against the mountains and canyons.
I blink and he's gone.
Shoot.
I'm in the open, and I can't find either of them.
I look behind me, and it's Vice Admiral Cyclone.
And he won't get off my tail.
Think, Avalanche, think.
Try something new.
Spinning's a good trick.
I gulp, and I pray I don't puke up my breakfast.
I pull my steering to the right and I begin spinning.
This will mess with their scanners, which meant that they had to shoot me down manually.
And it would be harder for them to follow me.
The problem is that spinning would causes stress on my air frame, so I could only do it for so long.
I lead him to the edge of the mountain, and he follows me super closely.
If he was smart, he would follow at a distance, knowing I'd be laying all my cards on the table soon.
I swing hard left, evening out my plane, and I shoot him from behind.
Bullseye.
Vice Admiral Simpson was out. I smiled. One down, one to go.
If I could find him.
If I were Warlock, where would I be?
I wouldn't be circling around or hiding, I'd be waiting until the moment was right and—
At a speed too fast to almost register, Warlock came out of a small canyon, facing me.
Shoot.
I went to the left, the only place I could stay in bounds.
I shook him off my tail, getting as far away as possible.
And then I had an idea.
If it didn't work... I could never show my face around here ever again.
I came in from the left, which was almost impossible to get a shot in.
But I wasn't trying to get a shot from this angle.
As soon as I got close enough to his F-18, I flipped the plane sideways so I went up and over, close enough to see the white in Admiral Bate's eyes.
Then when I was underneath him, I shot the belly of his plane.
He was out.
I had just won against two of the best commanding officer pilots in the navy.
❅
I landed my plane, and I had a bright smile on my face. A real one, not a smirk or a forced one, but a smile.
Though I tried to stifle it as I stopped my plane, and saw the rest of my classmates standing outside of the building.
They had been watching me the entire time, and must've come out when they found out I beat both of our instructors.
I get down from my plane, and slip my helmet off. I'm covered in sweat, and my baby hairs are stuck to my face, and my braid is a mess, but I couldn't be happier.
I did it.
Most of the students go inside, roasting in the California heat, but a few of them come over.
Mainly, Phoenix, Rooster, Coyote and Hangman.
Phoenix approaches me first, and gives me the biggest hug.
"You did it." She said, punching me in the arm.
"Was there ever a doubt?" I asked her, slightly out of breath.
"Sometimes." Rooster said and Phoenix elbowed him hard in the gut.
We look over head to see another F-18 landing, which was probably Admiral Bates. His engine shook the sky, and I wondered what was to happened when my instructor would land and tell me my results.
"That was some piloting up there Avalanche." Coyote offers.
"I know. Why do you think I'm ranked the highest in our class?" I say with the highest flair of confidence.
There was no way I wasn't going to win the finals.
Hangman says, "I guess we'll find out on test day, huh?"
Vice Admiral Simpson is already walking over, and Admiral abates is approaching from another runway, in a small runway car, usually used by our maintenance and engineering teams.
How did they get over here so fast?
We all stand at attention, and Admiral Bates says, "At ease."
We relax physically, but my mind is still doing somersaults.
"Lieutenant Kazansky." Admiral Bates commanded.
"Yes sir."
"That was the best flying I've seen from a student." Admiral Bates admitted.
I beamed, "Thank you sir."
"It'll be interesting to watch your career from now on." Vice Admiral Cyclone said vaguely.
"Thank you again, sir."
The Admiral and Vice Admiral left, and I was shocked at their words.
"You were saying?" I teased Hangman. Our arguing or bantering became more playful ever since... our dancing at the Hard Deck.
"All I need is our final exam. You're going down Avalanche." He assured me, but the taunt doesn't exactly meet his blue eyes.
There's something else there.
"You've been hanging everyone out to dry, Jake. Wonder what exam day will look like?"
"I'm too good for that."
"Sure Bagman." I patted him on the back, ready to head back to my dorm for a well deserved sleep.
Jake reaches up to grab it, which stops me from walking away. Shocked by his own movement, he snaps out of it, and he let go of my hand.
I wish he didn't.
"You heard me Avalanche. We'll see who's on top." Hangman forced himself to walk off stiffly, and I'm left to my own confusion.
❅