〖 chapter three 〗
mission: march 10
Celine tightly wrapped her arms around Maverick as he speed up the bike. She could hear a faint laugh coming from him in the speed while she closed her eyes, letting her eyes rest from the very bright sun beating down on the streets they drove across. She felt her hair style getting lose and patted Maverick's stomach twice as she felt him slow down a bit before reaching out with her hand and take the hair tie out of her hair and wrapped it around her left right wrist. She patted his stomach again, letting him know that he can speed up again.
The blonde opened her eyes to stare at the dessert they were passing through with the speed that they had. Small smile tugging on her lips as her hair flew behind her as she listened to the heartbeat of Maverick while they enjoyed their travel together. The dessert was as bare as any dessert was in someone's mind when hearing of it, a few bushes at the side of the street as they rushed past them.
Minutes passed as they rode alongside the breeze of the wind and the heat of the sun that annoyed Celine as much as it was able to do. She melted into his back, she simply enjoyed how she was able to cling to Maverick while they made their way to the test base they had been both assigned to for many years. The bike slowed a bit as the facility got into their view. Her arms tightening around his body as she did not want to leave the warm body bringing her so much comfort even in the situation of them rushing through the deserted streets at the highest speed the bike was able to drive.
They drove past the fence that surrounded the facility, a man holding his hand up as greeting to them as they drove past. Celine snuggled her head into the jacket that Pete was wearing, arms slightly tightening as she felt the touch of a rougher hand on her own. Maverick stroke his thumb over the back of her hand as he turned a corner and slowed down at the bike drifted towards the open hangar in front of them.
The bike slowed down until it fully stopped in front of a small group of men, that stood next to the dark grey plane that was used for the speed testings. The testing for the day was MACH 9, something that was not yet achieved for any of the fighter jets that the aviators used to defend their homes. Celine let her eyes travel over the men that turned to look at the duo as she swung her leg over the bike and took a few steps away from the machine and taking of her sunglasses and tugging them to the stolen shirt that she wore.
"Hey." Maverick got off the bike, glancing at Celine as she looked at the three men that all already stared at her as if she had done something wrong arriving with Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell when they knew she did it most days if not every day, as if they knew that she was not supposed to be there when they talk. Celine felt Pete's eyes on her but did not acknowledge him.
Hondo was the only one that did not look at her in the way of not belonging, he had learned about the relationship between the two pilots in the hard way and then spoke to both of them individually. He was their confinement, their one person on the inside that had a 100% certainty about their relationship because she would be accused of the usual thing as sleeping with someone higher up to get a higher rank (even though both of them did not see how sleeping with a captain would give her a higher rank while she was not in active duty), that she was with him only for the money or other stupid arguments she had gone over at the beginning of their relationship even after Maverick had often told her not to think of them.
Celine rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest after she opened her leather jacket properly to have it sit the way she wanted. She shook her head once, letting the blonde strands fall all over her before she took the hairs into her hand and twisted them and curved them so that she could create a tight bun out of them, a tight bun that would not be appreciated by the military but a bun she had been using since she had started her flying career and had never let her down except when she was on a bike with Maverick.
"What is it?" Maverick asked as he stepped towards the men. Hondo stood at the front of the group of four, the only one wearing the known camouflage green uniform of the American Army. Celine narrowed her eyes as she looked at the four men, the three behind the black man scared of the words that would be spoken so she took steps towards the two friends to stand with them. Celine met Maverick's sea green eyes with her hazel ones before turning to look into the face of their common friend. "What?" She saw a small grin on his lips as he held his sunglasses in his hand instead of putting them away as she had done after entering the enclosed space of the navy hangar.
"We've been ordered to stand down," Hondo said to Maverick with a regretful expression. His eyes glancing at the stormy ones of the woman standing next to the Captain. Celine was trying to make sense of the situation. "They're scrapping the program." Dread filled her body as she turned her head to look at the man that could only live in the sky thanks to the testing facility. He had been longer banned from active duty but would never leave the cockpit behind, it was his home more than anything and she knew that. Her eyes glanced at the other men that still looked sheepishly away until meeting her gaze while trying to see what the reaction of the legendary naval aviator Maverick was.
Celine wanted the reach out to him, her hand had slightly moved at her side but she had stopped herself. She knew that they could be more open about their relationship after five years of them spending time together and yet she also knew that she could never be as open as she wanted to as long as both of them were on the base. She stopped her hand before it could move from her side, leaving her hand to turn into a fist. Clenching strongly as she also bit on the inside of her cheek to not say anything she was not supposed to even when she really wanted to as she was not really known for keeping her mouth shut, not even in situation in which most knew that they should not say anything.
"They say we fell short. To contract threshold is Mach 10." Celine furrowed her eyebrows at the words she heard coming from Chief Warrant Officer, Bernie 'Hondo' Coleman. Everyone knew that today was the day to test Mach 9, that had been made up for months. Months that Maverick had worked into training and working on everything that was needed for the test flight. Pete glanced at Celine by his side, her fingers tightening on his sunglasses as he saw the confusion cover most of her confident face.
"Mach 10 is supposed to be in 2 month. Today's test point is March 9," Maverick replied without a second thought. He and Celine were both two sides of the same coin. Both did not know when to keep their mouth shut, both were dangerous pilots if anyone listened to Admiral Kazansky and both of them cared deeply about flying in the sky and be free in it. Pete was not surprised when he heard her voice speaking against the next words that leave Hondo's mouth.
"That's bullshit!" Celine exclaimed in anger, her eyes on Hondo as if he was the one that was shutting down the only way that both of them could be flying as both of them were not on active duty for years. Hondo held up his hands as he tried calming Celine because he knew that she could be very animated especially when she was angry. The Spanish accent she had picked up from her father's side of the family coming through whenever she was truly furious, Hondo was scared of her whenever he heard it and that was such a situation. "They know how we prepare and how we work, they should simply give us time!"
"Comet, calm down." Hondo met her eyes but only saw raging flames in them especially when he tried to command her. She had respect for him and would take orders from him but not when she was in a certain rage. She felt bad for being mean to Hondo but she could not control her emotions and that had been what saved her many years before.
"Lieutenant!" Maverick spoke with a firm voice as he turned his head to look at her, really look into her eyes. Celine blinked a few times as she stared into his eyes. Her mouth closing as she felt even worse than she had before. Her teeth biting down on her lips as she let her gaze fall to her hand that were playing with the ends of her jacket that had been patched with threads where she wanted them to be because most pilots put their deployment on them. Her hazel eyes glossing over as she once again realized that she was an annoyance to Pete and should just learn to keep her mouth shut and not be such an annoyance to everyone she knew and cared for.
"Sorry," she whispered but her words were taken over by the louder voice of Hondo as if the man knew that she had not meant to be rude and did not want to start a lovers quarrel between the two especially when he saw the saddened expression on Maverick's face when he realized that he made Celine fell bad about showing her emotions or making her think that she was a problem to everyone.
"Well, that's not good enough." Hondo glanced between them, he could see their eyes speak so many emotions especially when he saw the apologetic expression in Maverick's eyes and the hatred and guilt in the younger woman. He often also felt bad about speaking to her a bit harshly but she was a naval aviator and should be used to it, he did not know what could have happened to her before he met her. Before Maverick met her and helped her be back in a normal situation, making her not feel as bad she always would whenever someone said something in her mind to be against her.
"Says who?" Pete asked, his head turning back to look at Hondo and the other three men that had not dared looking at Celine since she had started her small impulse session.
"Admiral Cain," a lanky man that looked more like a boy said as he met the eyes of Celine as she looked back up at them, fire still in her eyes and yet she was biting her tongue so that she would not ruin the relationships she had especially the one with Maverick so he would not leave her. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the boy still ready to fight him with her words or maybe even fists if she had to because she now knew she could not fight the person that had decided their fate. Verbal or physical abuse against an Admiral would be the end of her life because flying was her life.
"The drone ranger," Hondo said to the two standing in front of him. Maverick sighed softly, bowing his head while he slightly shook it in denial. Celine met his eyes and nodded before he turned his head away because he was also angry about the situation. "He wants our budget for his unmanned program."
"He's on his way to kill the test and shut us down personally."
"We have time," Celine spoke loud enough for everyone in the their small group to hear yet only two people understood the meaning of her words. Maverick turned his head to look at her, a soft smile on his lips as their eyes met before both of them turned to look at Hondo, who had already given up on trying to read their minds.
Maverick turned to look at the dark beauty, Dark Star, that he had been flying to get the testing speed. Celine walked up to step up next to Maverick and between him and Hondo. Their hands brushing against each other, fingers reaching for the other's warmth. Celine's finger tip brushed against the back of his fingers, head turning slightly to meet his eyes while she wrapped her index finger around his own to discretely hide the affection she wanted to show him as gesture for an apology. Both of them chuckled and turned to look at their colleagues and friend.
"Well, he isn't here yet." Maverick tightened the grip of his own index finger around the one of the woman next to him as the both of them turned to look at a very confused Hondo. Pete was not known as Maverick because he listened to everything anyone ever told him, he was called Maverick because he did what he thought was correct even if the authorities disagreed with him. Sometimes he was simply a wild card to everyone but to Celine he was her other half, the person that knew her well enough to know that she had thought the exact same thing.
"We will give them hell," Celine replied as a smirk grew on her lips. Hondo did not like the expression that showed up on her face especially when he saw Maverick turn to give him a smile that yelled danger. He should have known that Maverick and Comet both had different brains and yet would come to the same conclusions. Rather them doing what they need to do to keep Dark Star alive than them never being able to sit in a cockpit again.
"They want Mach 10. Let's give 'em Mach 10."