Celine tensed up as she followed Bradley Bradshaw, call sign: Rooster, with her eyes. Her hazel eyes meeting the sea green ones of Maverick who quickly tuned away from her when Rooster seemed to be behind her. Celine turned in her seat to look at the boy she had heard a lot of but had never met. He looked exactly like the photographs she had taken with her to the house in Miramar as Maverick often looked at how far the boy came he had loved like his own son even after he had pulled his papers.

"Bradshaw!" was called through the bar by Jake as she continued to have her eyes on the brunet boy that had his aviators on his eyes as if he could be blinded by the sun inside of a bar. He had a beard that reminded her of the few photos she saw of Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw in Pete's hangar, her eyes followed him as he walked towards the group of aviators. The hawaiian shirt he had put over his white top. "That you?"

Celine slid from her seat as she patted the counter with a soft smile. Penny walked over to her, giving her another root beer that was being paid by Pete. She shook her head with a chuckle as she took the beer, blowing another kiss to Pete while moving towards the pool table so she could listen in to the conversation between the other recruits, all that were below her own rank because she had been promoted, a promotion she still had to tell Maverick about. She simply did not want to stress Pete more than he had already been simply being called back to Top Gun as well as the whole conversation that had happened with Admiral Cain.

"This is how I find out you're state side," the woman, Phoenix as Jake had called her, said to Bradley. Celine was leaning near them against the wall so she would be able to see everything and hear them, just because she wanted to learn about the people she would have to train with does not mean she wanted them to get to know her. She was a shadow of herself since 5 years, the only one that did not see her shadow but the body that was casting it had been Pete for many years. She did not want that change.

"Yeah, I just thought I'd surprise you." The faint smirk on Rooster's lips as he took of his aviators and stuck them to his top was noticeable to someone with keen eyes, eyes like her own. The hazel iris took in everything she could about the boy she had seen photos of in her home. Celine rolled her eyes at him as she watched the smirk grow on the lips of Phoenix as she leaned down to use the stick she had been given for the pool game. She thrust it backwards, making Bradley keel over. His arms wrapped around his stomach as Phoenix perfected her shot, a chuckle leaving Celine's lips as she took a swing of her root beer.

"I guess I surprised you back." Celine liked Phoenix, a smile on her lips as she had her eyes on the duo speaking to each other. She brought a hand to her lips to wipe a bit of root beer that had slipped past her lips away, after all she could also hide how big her smile got. "Good to see you too."

Celine could see her and Phoenix becoming fast friends when they spoke for the first time, after all she had been like the younger woman when she had been in Top Gun. The sound of the music being switched from the Jukebox standing near the pool tables made her turn her head to look at the person that had decided to change the song resonating with the air. Celine rolled her eyes as she saw Jack walking up with the four beer he had gotten from the bar, he had that stupid smirk on his lips that she had already once taken from him.

"Bradshaw, as I live and breathe." Celine rolled her eyes at him, she would really have to get used to doing that when she was around Jake, as he took the pool stick the man with big glasses on his nose had tried to use to hit the white ball at that exact second. At least he had not hit Jake in the stomach or this story would have turned out different, he seemed cute especially when his eyes behind the glass looked up at Jake with a surprised expression.

"Hangman," Bradley said to the man that stood before him. Celine let her eyes go back to the boy that had been like a son in Pete's mind since Nick Bradshaw had died while they were at Top Gun. And yet Celine could not yet get over the mustache he had decided to wear, it looked a lot like the ones men would wear in the 80s, like something his father had on his face. It might remind him of Goose and yet it seemed to be ridiculous in their current time. "You look good."

"Well I am good, Rooster," Jake leaned forward onto the pool table to position him properly to hit the white pool ball. His eyes looked up at the man as he shot the ball, hitting the ball he wanted into the hole without even having his eyes on it. Celine raised her eyebrows, she might be impressed by that because she would not be able to do it and she had never seen Pete try pool whenever they had gone out. "I am very good. In fact, I am too good to be true."

"In your dreams," Celine said as she shook her head. She did not want to see the woman he seemed to love. The flowers that were still in his pocket even after their conversation indicated that he also liked her so she would really consider what kind of person could deal with a man with so much ego that he talked as if the world belonged to him.

"Not interested, what you doing here?" Jake smirked as he leaned on the stick, his green eyes stuck on her as she took another swing of her root beer. Hazel eyes meeting his as the smirk grew on her own lips as she off the wall.

"Looking at the competition." Celine had not scruple when it was about her career as a naval aviator and she would not stand to listen to more of Jake being a right pain in the ass. "Or maybe companions." She swirled her beer a bit in the bottle as she took steps towards the group of pilots, stopping next to Phoenix.

"You're a fighter jet pilot?" Phoenix asked as she turned her head to look at Celine. Their eyes met, dark brown and hazel mixing with each other as they both took in an understanding because they were the two women in this field. Celine nodded her head as she took another sip from her root beer.

"Yeah, I am."

"You don't look like one." Celine leaned a bit back to look past Phoenix and at at the Bradley Bradshaw. Her eyes were narrowed as she heard his words only for him to raise his arms in defense, ending his sentence in a better way. "Not because you are woman, of course, but you don't wear the uniform."

"Neither do you," Celine retorted with a smirk on her lips as she watched the defeated expression on the younger man's face. He was a bit younger than her and yet she could only see him as someone she had to protect if needed to. "Does that make you less of a pilot?"

"No." Celine nodded her head at his answer, she knew that she had caught him of guard and yet she did not stop until he averted his eyes from her. Leaning back to stand up straight as Phoenix leaned towards her with a smile on her own face.

"I've never seen him this embarrassed since Top Gun classes." Both women chuckled as they enjoyed the small interaction before Jake had to interrupt them again.

"So what is your name?" Jake asked with a stern voice. Celine rolled her eyes as she leaned away from Phoenix with a small smile on her lips. She would love to continue teasing the man after all they had started their first interaction with the same energy and yet she knew that the other's would deserve to hear a name.

"You can call me Comet." Celine decided to use her call sign. She knew how it would end if she were to use her real name. She had been bullied for it as long as she could think of. The kindergarten children had been more childish as they did not yet understand the last name having a different meaning except it being a last name and yet even then the people that had looked after her would sometimes use her last name in a way she had not been able to understand at that point. With her growing up everywhere and no where until she was moved to Miramar she had been teased about her last name more than there were stars in the sky at night.

"Comet?" Jake asked as if he was in disbelief. His eyes were wide and so was his mouth as he stared at the blonde woman in front of him. His green eyes were not sure that he was seeing his best friends favourite pilot in front of his eyes. "I heard of you."

"We all have," Rooster said as if he did not want Jake to seem like a creep. He might hate the man but he would not make him have a bad reputation before one of the best pilots that Top Gun had ever created before they had arrived themselves to be formed into the best version of themselves. "You are a legend."

"Don't flatter me!" Celine exclaimed with a chuckle. She tapped her fingers on the glass bottle in her hands as she realized that she hated having so many eyes on her — she had sucked at presentation in any of her classes.

"It's true," Phoenix claimed next to her making her turn her head once again to look at the other female. "They told us you were one of the best they had ever in their classes. You are a legend to anyone that got into Top Gun after you."

Celine smiled softly at them all, right now she wished she could go back in time and simply introduce herself with the her real name. The teasing was not as bad as being called a legend when she herself had called Maverick a legend when they had first met. A weird coincidence that made her chuckle when she thought about it, now she was in a relationship with a man she had always hoped to be as great as in the air.

"So . . . You might know what this special detachment is all about?" Coyote asked into the round, his eyes were set on the older woman that had been in the Navy longer than any of them. He was hoping that she had more information than the rest of them but Jake replied to the words of his friend.

"No, mission's a mission. They don't confront me." Jake had no regards for anyone as he bend down to get the angle right for the ball he wanted to hole. Celine took a few steps back because she did not want to end up like Bradley when Phoenix had slammed the stick into his stomach. He holed the ball he had pointed at before going around the table to position himself for the next one. "What I wanna know, who's gonna be team leader. And which one of ya'll has what it takes to follow me?"

Celine wanted to speak against his words, if anyone of the group would be team leader it would most likely be her because of the higher rank she had, she had been promoted this morning and no one could really argue with that logic in her mind but none of them knew that she was not just a Lieutenant. Rooster had also decided to say something against the assumption of the blonde man.

"Hangman, the only place you lead anyone is an early grave." Celine stared at Bradley with wide eyes, her mouth was slightly a gap but she had pulled it together soon enough though her hazel eyes stayed open as she stared at the younger man. The silence that followed those words was interrupted by one of the other men whose name she did not know. Jake made his way towards Rooster, walking past Celine and Phoenix with a soft expression and yet a smile on his lips as if he did not know that someone could look neutral.

"Well, anyone who follows you is just gonna run out of fuel." Celine had her eyes focused on Bradley, she would stand up for him even if she would seem a bit attached if she did. She would not let such words be simply thrown at him. "But that's just you, ain't it, Rooster? You're snug on that perch, waiting for just the right moment," Jake paused for a few seconds as he took steps towards Rooster until they were face to face, "That never comes. I love this song." He walks away from the group.

Celine was about to walk towards Bradley and make sure that he should not listen to the words of someone like Jake but Phoenix was already talking to him as she finally registered that no fists were thrown. She watched the friendly interaction until the boy that had interrupted the silence before walked past her to look at the other pilots arriving at the bar.

"The hell kind mission is this?"

"That's not the question we should be asking," Phoenix replied and turned to look at the two men staring at the other brown clothed pilots. "Everyone here is the best there is. Who the hell are they gonna get to teach us? Comet?"

"I ain't a teacher." Celine chuckled as if she was old enough to be an instructor. "The last time I did anything like that my brother failed his test."

Celine finished her root beer as she voices around them yelled in some kind of anger as the jukebox stopped from playing. The sound of keys of a piano being played made the aviators around her perk up before Phoenix told them to follow her to Rooster sitting at the piano.

don't mind me actually catching up with the chapters i forgot to post over the last few month