Blue team, that's a fail.

Damn it. Rooster cursed a little under his breath. It was worse enough they hadn't completed phase one of the mission, but now that phase two had been going not so smoothly as well, his mood was thoroughly soured. It gave him, however, an excuse to not think about the whole Iceman-Maverick-Roosterproblem. This was also helped by the fact that Hangman had not told anyone else of it, which was a surprise, but a welcome one.

Level out, Coyote. Maverick's voice cut through the room as the other pilots were trying to keep positive as well.

"We'll get it next time, guys and in the mission there probably wouldn't even be two bogeys near," Payback said.

"Yeah, right," Hangman muttered, but without real humor.

"Did you know how that sentence is the only one in like any language that-" Fanboy's rambling (to no one in particular) got abruptly interrupted by the radio.

Coyote? Do you copy? Bradley''s head shot up from where he was leaning it on his hand at the bar. There was an urgency in Maverick's voice that Bradley hadn't heard in a long time. Something was wrong and Bradley quickly shushed Fanboy.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked while Bradley heard Maverick repeat his request. Bradley shushed him as well, which made Jake's face shift to genuine worry as well. The other pilots stopped with what they were doing (which wasn't that much to be honest) and gathered around the tiny radio.

Coyote, level wings. Maverick sounded more and more worried by the second.

"Oh god, he's in G-LOC," Bradley and Maverick said at the same time. Several pilots cursed (a bit louder than Rooster had done before) and others silenced them with quick elbows in the ribs as no one wanted to miss a thing from the comms. Maverick shouted for Coyote, but the answer was a deafening silence.

He's gonna burn in! I'm going after him! Bradley started and sucked in a breath. He tried to imagine what was happening in the air, but all that filled his mind were explosions. He felt the blood run away from his face as he heard Maverick pleading for Coyote to wake up. Someone grabbed his arm and he grabbed back, releasing his building tension by strangling the other one's arm. His breath quickened. This was supposed to be a training. No one was supposed to be harmed by this!

Damn it. Coyote! Coyote! Maverick sounded as panicked as Bradley felt, but the iron grip he had on the arm prevented him from slipping into a bigger fit.

Coyote! Coyote! After that it was silent for a few agonizing seconds. The whole room held their breaths and Bradley gripped even harder.

Coyote, you okay? You okay? Bradley sighed from relief and the rest of the room followed suit when they all heard Coyote answer. He was out of breath and sounded pretty spooked, but at least he was still alive.

Good, good. Maverick sighed.

That is enough for today. Iceman sounded as cool as he ever was, but Bradley could very clearly hear the terror in his voice as well. Maybe he was the only one though, as Fanboy chuckled weakly.

"How the hell can he stay so cool, man?" The other pilots huffed with him, all pretty taken aback by the terrible way the day had progressed. Bradley closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. His heart slowly regained its old rhythm and he slowly opened his eyes. They locked with Jake's worried ones. Bradley flashed him a small smile and let go of his arm (apparently it had been Jake's all along).

"They are all right, Roo," Jake said softly and Bradley wanted to huff something back about the nickname (could he just stop with that, please?) but the radio sprang to live again.

Bird strike! Bird strike! Maverick yelled.

I'm ok Maverick quickly added, but Bob's panicked voice interrupted him.

Phoenix, left engine's on fire! Could this day get any worse? Bradley wanted to grab Jake's arm again when his heart jumped again in his throat, but he didn't dare. When Phoenix kept shouting about her countermeasures (which all didn't work), Jake made the choice for him, as he grabbed his hand. His rough callouses brought Bradley back into the present and he shook his head, keeping all his focus on the radio.

Phoenix, it's on fire. Iceman said calmly.

Don't start- he started, but Phoenix yelled through it throttling up!

Shit  Iceman's curse added to the tension as everyone wondered what had happened.

We're on fire! Damn it! Phoenix cursed.

Phoenix, the fire has spread too far, you can't save it. Maverick yelled suddenly, but Phoenix ignored him as she yelled out more countermeasures.

I'm too far away, Mav, Iceman said softly and Bradley suddenly felt like this was not meant for anyone else than Maverick. He had no time to feel ashamed for eavesdropping though, as Iceman came over the radio again.

Listen to Maverick, Phoenix! Iceman had raised his voice a bit more than usual, which worried Bradley to pieces. He tried to prick up his ears even more.

I can control it! Phoenix bit back and Bradley was impressed by the certainty in her voice. Impressed, yes, reassured, hell no.

Lieutenant Natasha Trace, eject right now! Iceman thundered and even in the little resting room every pilot sat up a little bit at the demanding tone.

Ejecting, ejecting! Phoenix yelled back and for a moment it was silent.

The ejection won't work! The canopy is stuck! Bob screamed and Bradley could clearly hear a sob in his works. He covered his mouth with the hands that wasn't holding Jake's as dread filled his bones.

We're going down, Phoenix! We're going down! Bob added.

What do we do? What do we do? Phoenix yelled.

Phoenix, listen. Drop all your fuel immediately! Iceman said, having found a bit of calm somewhere (or at least pretending he had).

Why? It won't do anything? Phoenix sobbed.

Shut up and listen, lieutenant. Iceman used his admiral voice again and it worked as Phoenix let out a tiny ok.

Drop your fuel and glide to that lake on your tenth. Try to dive into the water nose first. It was a batshit crazy plan, but it could maybe work and Bradley felt a tiny bit of hope bloom in his chest. They all listened closely as Phoenix quickly did what Iceman had told her.

Gliding towards the lake now, she said and a bit of resolve had found its way into her voice again.

Ice, the canopy is stuck, how will they get out of the- Maverick said so softly that the pilots in the room could hardly hear it.

"Shit he's right," Payback said, but got shushed quickly by the rest of them. They had missed a bit of the silent conversation though.

-it's too dangerous, Maverick shout-whispered as Phoenix told them impact any second now.

I can- Iceman said, but he got drowned out by an overwhelming static.

"That must be their radio breaking down because of the impact," Halo muttered softly. Bradley noticed she didn't said that their plane had broken down, just the radio and he huffed a bit at the positivism. The static slowly died down as the mood in the room sunk to below the floor. Bradley squeezed Jake's hand and they locked eyes, both seeing the wetness of the other's and both deciding to not mention it.

ICE! If Maverick had been panicked before, this was him losing his mind completely and Bradley almost tumbled from his barstool from shock.

No, no, no, no, no, no, not you too! Bradley wondered what the universe was throwing at the four (no, two now) pilots in the sky this time, and Maverick wasn't really helping as he clearly muffled a sob instead of giving more clear information.

Ice, Ice? Please, sweetheart, come on! More sobs followed, but they were strained, as if it was Maverick falling out of the sky.

You gotta get up, Ice. Mav's voice sounded weak and Bradley swallowed. It was silent for a few seconds and Bradley sniffed. He felt that Jake silently embraced him and he laid his head against the other one's chest.

Pulling up, Mav, you got me back in time. Ice suddenly said shakily and the whole room erupted in cheers. Bradley, however, started sobbing softly. He had no clue how to feel about this. Jake rubbed his back slowly as he pulled him closer.

Don't you ever do that to me again, Maverick said, but the small grin was clearly present in his shaking voice.

Sorry, Mav, not enough to get back... Iceman said and his voice slowly drifted away towards the end. Bradley heard it, but had no mental capacity to wonder about it. He brought himself back together slowly while the hubbub in the room died down.

Maverick to tower, two planes have crashed, Iceman has pulled out in time but needs medical attention, no news on Phoenix and Bob. Maverick summarized, and he sounded a bit more collected than before. Apparently Iceman had been well enough to recover his aircraft, but had to punch out again immediately afterwards. What was going on there?

Medical teams are on their way, Maverick, tower said

I will circle around to the lake to see if I can spot Phoenix and Bob, but I'm low on fuel so requesting to land in a couple of minutes. Bradley wiped his eyes and leaned away from Jake a bit, missing the warm contact with the other pilot immediately.

"It will be ok, Bradley," Jake said softly as he squeezed his hand.

I have a visual on Phoenix and Bob! Maverick yelled suddenly.

They are not moving but out of the water, I repeat, out of the water.

"Shit, that plan of Iceman did work, unbelievable," Payback grinned. Bradley couldn't grin with him however. He was still shaking slightly, but he tried to cling to the little bit of hope Maverick had given them.

At least now the day wouldn't be going any worse now, right?