Stars - Iceman (Top Gun)

Ten

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Outside of Viper's office, Sarah and Tom started talking to each other about this new assignment.

"So, you were actually giving a letter of request to Viper that same day then? When we walked to his office together?" Sarah started.

"Yes, but I had no idea you were doing the same!"

"Well, this begs the question. Who will be the RIO?"

"That is a tough question. How about we both train to be each other's RIO? That way, if one of us cannot be the RIO on a certain day, then the other can take over."

"That's a good idea, better to have all the bases covered. So, we can ask our old teammates for guidance."

"Sure, that will work."

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Sarah's POV:
She hopped out of the plane and walked over to the back, where Jacob jumped down. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Could you train me how to be an RIO? Ice and I were debating who was going to be the RIO, but we are not sure yet. Also, we have two days to do this until the switch happens," She said this in a fast voice.

"Of course, we can get started now."

After asking permission from Viper to get back up in the air, they were in the sky once more. This time, Jacob was in the front seat, and Sarah was in the back. She looked at the controls. They seemed easy enough, but she waited for Jacob's guidance before touching anything.

"Okay, you will want to hit the green button to do a radar scan. It is labeled 'Rad'," Jacob said, keeping the plane steady. A sonar circled around the little map, scanning for any activity.

"We are all clear Glory," She reported.

"That's great. Now, a good RIO is observant and has a knack of spotting things out of the ordinary."

"Okay, how am I supposed to do that?"

"Since there are no bogies around, it's kind of hard to."

Suddenly, another plane ascended in behind them. It wasn't an enemy MiG, rather a plane from their same division. "Hey, what's going on?" Sarah asked.

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Tom's POV:
"Hollywood, watch out!" He yelled from the back of the plane as he flew near another plane. He chose Hollywood to be his pilot, as Slider cannot fly a plane to save his life. Getting closer, he realized it was Sarah's plane.

"Now that we are near another plane, you will want to hit the green button labeled 'Rad', that's the radar that will signal if any aircraft is nearby," Hollywood said, steadying the plane.

"How do you know all this?" Tom asked him.

"I ask Wolf a lot of questions because if he isn't able to be an RIO, I want to be able to take over."

"That's understandable," Tom hit the green button and a sonar scanned the area, showing Sarah's plane close by.

"Another thing about being an RIO is that you have to be observant. Anything could come out of the sky, and it is necessary to be prepared to fight."

Tom hit the green button again, but this time it showed two more figures on the radar.

"Wood, we are in trouble."

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Mixed POV:

Sarah hit the green button again, wondering who was in the plane beside them. Two extra figures showed up on the radar screen.

"Glory! There are two MiGs incoming!" She screamed.

In the other plane, Hollywood was giving Tom directions. "Try to identify the direction the MiGs are coming from!"

"One is coming from the South, and the other is coming from the East!" He yelled from the back.

Both Jacob and Hollywood pulled up, dodging the MiGs. One latched onto Jacob's tail, and Hollywood had to break right after Jacob went higher.

"Shit! We have one on our tail!" Sarah looked around. "It has a radar lock on us!"

"Hold on!" Jacob went into a low dive, the MiG still behind them.

Hollywood saw what was happening and turned down to see them, but the other MiG was coming in fast. He made the split-second decision to follow Jacob. "Riser, do you copy?" He asked into the comm.

"This is Glory, over!"

"Okay, Glory, I have your MiG, but you have to move out of the way so the missile won't hit you!"

Jacob pulled to the left, allowing Hollywood for a clean shot.

"The MiG is still behind us, but he no longer has a radar lock!" Sarah said.

"That isn't good enough!" Hollywood said into the mic. "You are still in my sights!"

"The other MiG is gaining!" Tom said, looking to the right at the speeding plane.

Jacob pulled up into a loop, and Hollywood aimed the missile lock onto the MiG. "I've got good tone, taking a shot!" He pressed the red button and the missile hit the MiG. "That's one!"

"You celebrated too soon! The other MiG is on our tail and has a radar lock on us!" Tom yelled.

"Glory, do you hear me? Can you take the shot?" Hollywood asked.

"I can, but I don't have good tone! Bring him up a little more!"

Hollywood ascended. "It's still following us, but the radar lock is gone!" Tom reported.

Jacob latched his missile lock onto the MiG. "I've got good tone! Taking a shot!" He pressed the button and it hit the other MiG. "That's two!"

The pilots all cheered. Another voice cut through the comm. "This is Control Tower One. You are to land your planes immediately and report to Viper's office."

The channel got deadly silent. Jacob and Hollywood landed the planes and all four of them got out, walking to Viper's office in silence. They knocked on the door.

"You may enter."

The group entered the office. It seemed to get smaller every time Sarah walked in. Viper looked at them seriously and then gave them a rare smile. "Congratulations."

They looked at each other, confused. What had they done now?

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Thanks for reading!