Skylar's Wish • Rooster

Chapter 11: Quick Intermission

For the first time in three days, I slept through the night. I was on cloud nine after reading Rooster's letter. He's in love with me! I kept thinking to myself all morning. I was eating breakfast with Momma, Jackson, and his family went home early this morning, when I got a text from Admiral Simpson.

Cyclone: Meet me in my office at 1000.
Me: Yes sir.

I set my phone back down on the table before continuing with breakfast. "What was that about?" Momma asks. "Admiral Simpson wants to talk to me in his office. I assume about the mission." I drop my fork onto my plate and look up at her, "Momma, what if he wants me off this mission."
"Why would he do that, hunny?"
"Because I'm still 'grieving,'" I say, putting grieving in quotation marks. Momma looks me in the eyes, "Tell him about your father's rule."

...

I change into my flight suit before making my way to Cyclone's office. I knock on his door. Not even a second later, I hear him say, come in. Walking up to his desk, my posture straightens, my hands intertwine behind my back, my eyes are looking straightforward. "At ease Lieutenant." I relax at the command, shoulders are still straighter, but my hands have moved in front of me.
He looks up from the stack of papers in front of him. "How are you, Skylar?"
"I'm just fine, Sir." He sighs, "You're a great pilot, Skylar. Your father always thought so. "
"Thank you, sir."
"But even the best pilots need time to grieve. I have already told Maverick to take some time." I interrupted him, "With all due respect, sir. I had time."
"Two days isn't enough."
"Three days. Including the funeral. Today is day four," I corrected him. "Most pilots would take months. Why won't you?" He asks. "The funeral was my closure. After my sister and best friend died, my father gave me three days. Three days to cry, scream, and hate the world but on day four, I was supposed to be back to normal. Yes, I could still be sad and miss them, but I had to be doing normal day-to-day things. Like my job, Sir. My father would want me flying, not sitting on my bed crying and eating cookies." He leaned back in his chair, "I'm impressed. But Skylar, if I think for one second your head isn't in the game. I will pull you from this mission. You understand?"
"Yes, sir."

The walk to the old hangar was quiet until we got to the doors, where Cyclone reminded me again, one second, and I'm out. I walk through the door, "Believe me Admiral, I know. " Everyone turns at the sound of my voice. I take a seat in my normal spot behind Phoenix and next to Rooster. "Your father let you be around Maverick way too much," he says, walking up to the podium. I shrug, knowing it's true. "Welcome back." Rooster whispered in my ear. I try to fight the urge to smile, but fail.

"Captain Mitchell is no longer your instructor. Your new mission parameters as of today." I turn away from Rooster and look up to the screen. The timer on the screen changes from two minutes and 30 seconds to four minutes. "Destination time is now 4 minutes. You will enter the valley level at reducing  speed. You will not exceed 420 knots."
"Sir, won't we give their planes time to intercept?" Bob asks. "Well, Lieutenant, you have a fighting chance against enemy aircraft. What are your chances of surviving a head-on collision with a mountain?" Bob stays quiet, so Cyclone continues on, "You will be attacking the target from higher altitude. It's level with the north wall. Keeping your laser on target will be more difficult, but you will avoid the high G climb out."
"And then enemy missiles will turn us to dust," I whisper to myself. And from the snort I hear next to me, I assume Rooster heard me. "Lieutenant Bradshaw, Lieutenant Kazansky?" Rooster and I snap our heads back to the front. "What is so funny?" Cyclone asks, anger raising in his voice. "Umm.." but Rooster is cut off by a beeping sound coming from the screen. Cyclone shakes his head and turns to the screen, "Who the hell is that?" We watch as a plane comes onto the screen. I smile to myself, there is only one person who has the guts to do this. Maverick.