〖 chapter five〗
don't be an idiot

          "Comet, Admiral Cane also asks for y—" Instead of answering Hondo or even letting him finish the sentence she reached forwards and turned the COMM 1 channel selector so that she would only be able to communicate to Maverick for a time as long as none of them would not notice what is going on.

"Honey, how is the air up there?" Celine asked in a sickly sweet voice before she heard a bit of shuffling and then the voice of Pete coming through the communication system of the two jets miles away from each other.

"Dangerous territory, Darling." Maverick chuckled after his words as if he had nothing else to do except enjoy the sky and the words of the woman somewhere in the sky behind him in a slower pace. "They could have heard you."

"They wish, I did not even let Hondo end his sentence."

"I heard, Admiral Cain is impressed by your confidence and ego." Celine chuckled at his words, head turning faintly to look at the sun that was already once again rising on their side of earth as if they had spent not spent most of their night preparing for this single mission, a mission that would end both of their careers.

"Who isn't? Wasn't that was attracted you to me?" Celine asked, pulling the control stick a bit back to rise a bit more above the clouds, her hand on the throttle pushing forward to speed up because no one monitored her while she was flying and even if she would not be able to hear a single word of the people yelling at her to be less reckless and not turn into an idiot.

"I might have to go back to leaving you behind, Lieutenant," Maverick said into the communication system with some worry in his voice, maybe concern and yet Celine had none as she inverted her F-18 so that the canopy was in the clouds, feeling as if she was in another universe or in cotton candy.

"It's okay, just don't be an idiot Maverick." Celine knew her words hit nothing, she knew Pete too well especially when his brain because she has the same one. The would do the thing that would be right, if it meant taking it over the goal to help the rest or for them to save one of their teammates even against the orders of their commander.

"Can't promise that, Comet." Celine could hear shuffling again, leaving her to hear his words back to the Control as if nothing had happened.

"Oh I know, Mav." She chuckled as she shook her head, reaching forward to get back to the communication with the Control because she did not want to get into more trouble than she might already be in because she had not even listened to a command from a commander. She had no fear, not since she had been a young teenage girl, well at least not from men in positions of power because they would always see her as small speck in the whole of the Navy.

"Control, Comet back in COMM 1, lost contact for a second in the sky." Celine could hear a soft chuckle coming from Hondo as she continued to make her way through the clouds before she turned back to not be inverted. She would want to watch the sunrise even if it were the last few minutes on earth because it was so beautiful from above the clouds, more than it could ever be when hidden by layers of them. She had her eyes on the SARI (standby attitude reference indicator) to see if she leveled out correctly as she continued her pace, she only stopped when she could see it stand at 0.

"Comet, still on course to follow Dark Star?" Hondo asked, he sounded nervous even though he should know that she would not leave Maverick alone because he was indeed an idiot she had fallen in love with.

"Control, allowed to go to speed up to Mach 1?" Celine asked as if she did not care to answer, because she did not. Hondo would know her answer with those words and could them rely to the Admiral that was most likely staring at the communication system with distaste in his eyes because she could not listen to commands and neither did Maverick.

"Comet, ready for Mach 1." She smiled, her teeth peeking out of her lips before she pushed the throttle until it was at Mach 1. Her chuckle seemed to echo in her mind as she rushed through the sky. The clouds splitting around her as she flitted through them. She would be slowly catching up with Maverick because she knew he was going to do exactly what he was not supposed to do. Mach 10 might be the goal but if Pete Mitchell would be able to go over it he would even if it meant crashing the beauty he sat in.

Celine could not hear a single word being uttered by anyone in Control, her eyes wide and bright with the wonder of the sky as she made her way through the clouds, faster than she was allowed the last few months because she had been too reckless in the eyes of a certain Captain. Her eyes had always seemed to hold galaxies that seemed to shine brightly when she was in the sky, stars staring at her as she made her way past many of them.

"Talk to me Goose." Celine's smile fell as she heard the words be spoken because she knew that both of them were flying for ghosts that had died in the air with them present. She turned her head to look at the outside, the sun rising in the sky slowly as the dawn started to vanish. Red and orange mixing as they were started to get pushed from the view of the pilot.

Celine listened to the rising number of the Mach that Maverick used on Dark Star as she flew higher to and a bit faster than Mach 1 to follow his route, she would not let him be that stupid and try to be at his side as fast as she would be able to so that he would not die alone if the crash of his plans would be too hard.

"Comet, you are going to fast."

"Control, just enjoying a small ride," Celine simply replied to Hondo as if he did not know what her thoughts where. Everyone in that control room probably could read her thoughts as she speed up more to Mach 1.2 without anyone telling her to and none spoke to her about it as far as she knew because the Admiral had no control about the communication.

"Windshield hot caution." Maverick was doing what he was best at, which was being a pilot that did reckless things for the greater good even if it meant his career ending. So when she could hear him speak more she knew that Dark Star was struggling to get to the Mach 10 that was needed. "Come on sweetheart, you a little more. Just a little. Come on."

Celine pressed her head into the seat behind her hearing the words leaving Pete's lips with such tenderness that she would hear often, yet she had missed having those words spoken to her especially when he had exchanged sweetheart with her last name which still sounded perfect but sometimes she wished that she had not let him call Dark Star it because it had a special meaning to her even if it was not to him. She did not really mind that he had called the fighter jet it because she had called her own some endearing names and he did not mind and so she was simply saddened to not hear it leave his lips when they were alone.

She could hear the tenseness leaving Maverick, they had reached arch 10 when it was supposed to get tested 2 month later. Celine smiled at the achievement that they had reached but knew that the man she so stupidly loved was as stupid as herself and would push the Mach 10 even more to get a greater number when he did not have to. She could practically see the look on his face when he pushed the control stick a bit forward to get a bit more speed, Celine could also see the horrific expression Hondo had on his face when he realized that his friend would not stop even though he had told him to.

"My stupid Idiot," Celine mumbled and hoped that none of the people in the control room would be able to make out. She shook her head as she pushed the throttle fully forward as well as the control stick to get faster. She would not be as fast as Maverick put she knew how to take shortcuts to his position if she needed to especially when he was 10 times faster than she had been.

"Comet, Maverick is down. Catch up to him and beat some sense into him."

"Got it Hondo," Celine smirked as she sped up to Mach 2 and made her way to the last known position of the plane. She knew that everyone was terrified that Maverick had died to save their jobs but she knew that man, he was not going down even if it meant crashing a plane. Often times she questioned how any bone in his body was still functional especially after the stories he told her multiple times as if they had nothing to do with near death experiences.

Hours had past as she flew through the skies, the sky had turned from the sunrise to the simple sun beating down on her as Celine flew across the heads of hundred of humans. She saw few birds flying her way and would dodge them so she would not have a crash thanks to a bird strike. Celine had already pulled her throttle a bit back and slowed down from the Mach 2 that she probably should have not flown for multiple hours as the F-18 was not build for something like that for a long time.

"Control, Comet is lowering altitude to look for Dark Star," Celine called into COMM 1 through her mask while also inverting the plane so that she would be able to see below her. Her head was faintly tilted as she stared at the ground that she let come closer with every passing second, it felt like a free fall that she could stop at any point but it made her think of herself as a shooting star, like she was in this ship and would always be even without it.

"Shooting Star, any signs of Dark Star?" Hondo's voice filled her ears as she continued to lower altitude until she was at an appropriate height, at least a level that she would not be scream at for going to low and under the Hard Deck that was branded into her mind when she had been studying to be a naval aviator. 

"Control, Maverick seems to have escaped from the confinement of his cage. Can you tell me the nearest town?" Celine smiled as she spoke without really taking in that she would not know in what direction he had gone to, she would be flying landing either way so that she would not have to use the whole of the fuel. "Shooting Star is landing to reserve fuel for the way back." She did not care about what the Control or the Tower would say because she still had to come back with Pete in her backseat.

"The nearest town is 2 miles away and towards your north," Hondo replied to her with a sigh. Celine loosened her oxygen mask and opened the canopy to let the fresh air enter her lungs instead of the one she used from the jet.

"Thanks Hondo, making my way up there, leaving plane alone. Code word is: Old idiot." Celine could hear the chuckling of Hondo at the code word she had decided on. She turned of the engines and the rest of the technology, unstrapping herself from the plane and standing up. Celine reached for the the medical kit over her seat before simply jumping out of the jet, not taking the time to open up the ladder to take it.

"Nothin' better than the summer heat and a nice long walk, right sweetie?" Celine turned to the plane she had named after herself because a comet can turn into a Shooting Star. She reached to her side, patting the metal of the outside with her gloved hands before she took the compass out of her clothing kit. And looked down at it before following the needle towards the north while taking off her helmet and opening her bun so that she could let her head rest.

She slowed her walk when she reached the nearest town, she walked towards a sign that was big enough for anyone to see. A small smile on her lips as she leaned a bit forward, stretching as she read 'Cecil's Café' in red writing. If Maverick was able to find anything except a cockpit in the middle of nowhere of course it was a diner to eat at.

Celine walked towards the door of the small diner, her hazel eyes going over the people sitting on the inside to see if she was able to see the man wearing the same black flight suit as her even if it might now be a bit more ashy than the one she was wearing. She took the few steps up, tightening her grip on her helmet and pushed the door to the dinner open.

She felt eyes shooting to her as if she was the newest attraction in a theme park like Disney World. Her hazel eyes going over the heads of very country looking folks before they landed on a man that she knew all too well siting in a dark suit while a red haired boy sat in front of him and was talking to him. Celine exhaled as she simply moved through the people, stopping when she stood behind Pete with a soft smile towards the young boy.

"How was the flight, Honey?" Celine put her gloved hand on his shoulder, rubbing it softly but yet with a threatening touch as she tilted her head to look down at the man sitting in the booth.

"Hey Sweetheart," Maverick replied with a bright smile, his eyes focused on her as he turned around to look at her. His smile showed every perfect wrinkle he had from the many laughters he had over the many years of his years, that smile vanished the second he felt the contact of leather on his cheek and his head whipped around.

"I told you not to be an idiot!"

✈ someone make me come back into my hyperfixation on this movie because i really wanna finish writing this story but somehow are not?! Hell, I have not even written the volleyball scene! But at least we got a new chapter out (even thought i forgot for a few days)

✈ next chapter is my favourite chapter as far as i have written, it is just a small filler one but it is so entertaining in my eyes. you will have to wait and see!