Stars - Iceman (Top Gun)

Twelve

In the meeting room, while Viper was talking about strategy, Sarah sat beside Tom. He leaned over the bar, listening to the lecture. It was smoking hot in the room because of their uniforms, but Tom made it seem even hotter. She wondered if he wanted Pete to say something stupid, because this was a lesson about tactics and he is notorious for making dumb but genius moves in the air.

"Moment of choice. The F-14 is defensive and has a chance to bug out right here. Better to retire and save your aircraft. Push a bad decision. Charlie, jump in here at any time," Viper explained.

Charlie walked in and took a sip of her drink. Pete looked at her with high concentration.

"You stay in there any longer, the bogey's gonna blow you out of the sky. You take a hard right, select Zone 5, you can extend an escape. You made a bad choice. Charlie?" Viper finished.

Charlie watched the screen as the aircraft flew in the simulation. Sarah looked confused but continued to listen as Charlie explained the maneuver. "Aircraft One performs a split S? That's the last thing you should do! The MiG's right on your tail. Freeze this. The MiG has you in its gunsights, what were you thinking at this point?"

"You don't have time to think up there. If you think, you're dead," Pete spoke up.

"Well, that's a big gamble with a $30 million plane, Lieutenant," Charlie looked at him.

Ice took his aviators off, smirking, knowing that Pete made a bad decision. Sarah elbowed him slightly and he looked at her. She inclined her head as to say "listen!"

Pete and Charlie had a stare down like they were challenging each other. The tension was so high that you could slice it with a knife. Charlie finally spoke up. "Unfortunately, the gamble worked. The MiG never got a clean shot. Maverick makes an impressive vertical move over here..."

Sarah glanced to Nick, who gave Pete a disappointing look.

"... the encounter was a victory, but I think we've shown it as an example of what not to do."

Tom looked to Slider, who whispered "gutsiest move I ever saw, Mav."

"Now, this is the perfect example of a textbook maneuver." Charlie pointed to the screen. Pete was lost in thoughts at this point. At the end of class, Charlie walked out and followed Pete, while Nick and the others went to the bunkhouse, leaving Tom and Sarah there.

A/N: How about we up the trauma, shall we? ;)

Sarah told Tom that she was going to ask Viper to do a training flight, but it would be alone. Tom protested, saying it was dangerous out in the sky, and if a bogey appeared, she would not be able to survive alone. She told him to stop being worried, and everything would be okay. He started to shake, thinking about what could happen if just the slightest thing went wrong. Sarah noticed that and touched his arm as a way to comfort him. His shaking subsided, but he was still scared.

She walked up to Viper's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

She opened the door and stood against the wall, saluting him.

"At ease. What's your question?" She put her right hand down and stood there, beginning to ask him her questions.

"Sir. May I have permission to take a jet out on a flight? I will stay on the radar and not stray away. Also, sir, may I do this flight alone?" She asked him, still rigid.

"Riser, you know that flying alone is dangerous. We would need to have someone as backup in case something happens." Viper said sharply.

"I choose Iceman to be my backup, sir." She replied, worried that he would not allow her to fly.