No turning back now.

"Daggers, assume attack formation." Maverick ordered and we fell into place. "Daggers set. Proceeding to target. Two minutes and 30 seconds in three, two, one, Mark." Maverick hit the point to start the countdown.

"Two Mark." Rooster said pressing the button.

"Three Mark." Phoenix added.

"Four Mark." Payback finished.

"Going in." Maverick claimed letting out a breath. We all breathed heavily as we made the twists and turns of the valleys, entering the real life version of our range we had practice on.

"First Sam site overhead." Maverick reported in warning and we all glanced up at it with worry.

"Looks like we're clear on radar, Mav." I reported to him.

"Let's not take it for granted." Maverick reminded everyone.

"More sams! Three o'clock high!" Fanboy called out and Rooster glanced at it with panic.

"We got two minutes to target." Bob reported out, following the timer we had each set.

"Copy." Payback replied.

"We're a few seconds behind, Rooster. We got to move." I warned him while glancing at the timer.

"Dagger, comanche. We're picking up two bandits. Single group, two contacts."

"Comanche, what's their heading?" Phoenix asked back.

"Bull's-eye 090, 50, tacked southwest."

"They're headed away from us. They don't know we're here." Rooster said with slight relief.

"The second those tomahawks hit the air base, those bandits are gonna move to defend the target. We have to get there before they do. Increase speed." Maverick gave us our next orders.

"We got you, Mav. Don't wait for me." Phoenix told him as they increased their speed. Roosters breathing grew heavy as he kept his speed and glanced at the Sam's above us.

"Tomahawk impact in three, two... Impact. Enemy runway is destroyed." We got the report from the command ship.

"Bandits are switching course to defend the target."

"Rooster, where are you?" Maverick worried that we wouldnt complete the mission in time, putting us in more danger.

"Come on, Rooster. Bandits inbound. We got to make up time now. Let's turn and burn." Payback called out.

"Heads up, Phoenix." Maverick warned as they had to slip under a bridge.

"Whoa!" Bob gasped as they passed under it.

"Sir, bandits are two minutes from target. Daggers are one minute from target."

"Guys, we're falling behind. We really gotta move." Fanboy called out in warning.

"Im, working on it!" I called back.

"If we don't increase our speed right now, those bandits are gonna be waiting for us when we reach the target." Payback warned Rooster.

"Come on, Rooster" I begged him with panic.

"Talk to me, dad." Rooster whispers to himself.

"Come on, kid, you can do it. Don't think, just do." Maverick replied softly.

"Come on, Rooster" I urged again and he let out a deep breath of focus before speeding up. "Oh shit!" I cursed out as my head hit the back of the seat from the sudden speed increase.

"You alright there darlin?" He called back and I just laughed in response, rolling my eyes at him and feeling slightly more comfortable about the mission.

"Jesus, rooster, not that fast!" Payback shouted as he tried to catch up to us.

"That's it, kid, that's it." Maverick cheered him on with support.

"All right, let's go." Rooster told Payback as we tried to catch up with the others.

"Damn, Rooster, take it easy." Fanboy laughed as we took a corner sharply.

"Sir, dagger two is reengaging."

"All right, now hit your target and come home." Cyclones voice came over radio.

"Thirty seconds to target. Bob, check your laser." Maverick ordered.

"Air-to-ground check complete. Laser code verified, 1688. Laser is a go!" Bob told him.

"Watch your heads." Rooster warned as we came up on the bridge too.

"Rooster!" I shouted as I ducked my head thinking he was cutting it too close.

"Holy shit! Shit!" Fanboy shouted back, only the backseaters reacting with panic for the bridge.

"Payback, you with me?" Rooster asked back.

"Right behind you." Payback replied.

"Phoenix, stand by for pop-up strike." Maverick told her.

"Dagger three in position." She nodded back.

"Popping in three, two, one." Maverick counted down.

"Get me eyes on that target, Bob." Maverick ordered as they came over the crest.

"Dagger three. Stand by, Mav." Bob panicked as the laser was locking on.

"Come on, Bob, come on." Maverick encouraged.

"Stand by."  He repeated. "I've got it. Captured!" Bob reported back as the buzzing sounded through the jet.

"Target acquired. Bombs away." Maverick made the first drop before starting the climb upward.

"We've got impact! Check, direct hit! Direct hit!" Bob cheered out as he faded in and out during the G climb, but saw the explosion.

That's miracle number one.

"Dagger two, status." Maverick orders out as he continued the steep climb.

"Almost there, Mav. Almost there." Rooster reported with a rush in his tone.

"Fanboy, where's my laser?" I asked back, knowing I would be the one making the shot while Rooster flew.

"Sunshine, there's something wrong with this laser! Shit! Dead eye, dead eye, dead eye!" Fanboy panicked as he failed to get a lock.

"Come on, guys, we're running out of time." Rooster urged, knowing I would doubt myself without it. "Get it online!"

"I'm trying!"

"Come on, Fanboy!" Rooster told him.

"Nearly there! Nearly there!" Fanboy tried to reassure us.

"Come on, Fanboy, get it online." Payback urged him this time as we came over the crest.

"There's no time. I'm dropping blind." I claimed with the shake of my head.

"Rooster, I got this!" Fanboy tried again.

"No time. Pull up." Rooster ordered. "Sunshine, its all you" He told me with hope and support.

"Bombs away! Bombs away!" I made the drop, unable to see if it hit due to Rooster pulling up the steep climb immediately.

My chest felt like it was crushing in on itself as black spots formed at the corners of my vision.

"Bull's-eye, bull's-eye, bull's-eye!" The commander on the ship reported as it echoed though my head and I fought to stay awak.

Miracle number two.

Now we're in coffin corner.

"We're not out of this yet." Maverick reminded before he broke out of the climb and into the range of the Sam's. "Here it comes." he warned. "Radar warning! Smoke in the air. Phoenix, break right." Maverick shouted over to her as missiles came at them.

"Emergency jettison. Dagger three defending." She reported, swerving to the side.

"Here comes another one!" Bob warned her as he looked back.

"Dagger one defending." Maverick reported before dropping some flares. "Rooster, status." He demanded.

"Oh, my god." Rooster gasped as we broke past the climb to see the chaos above us.

"Holy shit" I cursed out while looking around at the chaos of the SAMs and fighter jets in the air.

"Smoke in the air! Smoke in the air!" Rooster started shouting out.

"Break right, Payback!" Fanboy shouted.

"Breaking right."

"Oh, my god, here they come!"

"Sam on your six, Rooster!" Payback warned us.

"Deploying countermeasures." Rooster reported, dropping some flares.

"Negative contact." I reported next, looking at the screens.

"Dagger one defending." Maverick swerved out of the way.

'Talk to me, Bob." Phoenix started.

"Break right, Phoenix! Break right! Mav! Nine o'clock! Nine o'clock!" Bob shouted out as Maverick narrowly avoided it.

"Rooster, two more on your six." Maverick warned us.

"Dagger two, defending." Rooster dropped more flares to protect us.

"Payback, Sam on your nose." Maverick told him.

"Dagger four defending."

"Rooster, tally, seven o'clock!"

"Talk to me, Bob!"

"On our six!"

"Dagger two defending."

"Phoenix, break right!"

"I see it!"

The sky was a war zone of jets avoiding Sam's in an attempt to survive.

"Behind us, Roos" I warned.

"Dagger two defending." Rooster replied. "Shit, I'm out of flares!" Roosters eyes went wide as he flew to avoid the missiles, not knowing how to save us from this one.

"Rooster, evade, evade!" Maverick shouted over at us.

"I can't shake 'em! They're on me! They're on me!" Rooster panicked. "Sorry, Sunshine" Rooster said sadly. Maverick had flown back over us, launching his final flares to cover us.

"Mav! No!" Rooster shouted out as I watched Maverick get hit, his jet falling towards the ground.

"Dagger one is hit! I repeat, dagger one is hit! Maverick is down." Phoenix reported back to the others.

"Dagger one, status. Status!" Rooster ordered out sternly.

"Anyone see him? Does anyone see him?" I looked around desperately for him, not being able to lose anyone else.

"Dagger one, come in!" Rooster repeated.

"I didn't see a parachute." I announced nervously.

"We have to circle back." Rooster was determined.

"Comanche. Bandits inbound. Single group, hot. Recommend dagger flow south. One minute to intercept."

"All daggers flow to ecp. You have bandits headed for you."

"What about Maverick?" Rooster asked.

"Dagger, you are not to engage. Repeat, do not engage."

"Dagger two, return to carrier. Acknowledge. Acknowledge." They repeated when we failed to respond.

"Rooster, Sunshine, those bandits are closing. We can't go back." Phoenix told us both in a gentle warning.

"Guys, he's gone. Maverick's gone." Bob told us as Rooster was breathing heavy and I was shaking my head refusing to believe the truth.

"Sunshine?" Rooster questioned when I cut off the radio.

"We are going back for him" I stated with determination, fear gone.

~~~

"Down there!" I called to Rooster as we closed in on Maverick who was about to be gunned down by an enemy aircraft.

"Take the shot, Sunshine" Rooster gave me the order and without hesitation I shot a missile at it, burning it to the ground.

"Oh, no, no." Maverick shook his head seeing us fly through the smoke to save him.

"Shit, Roos!" I called out as the Sam's had come at us from behind and shot us down.

"Dagger two is hit. Dagger two is hit."

"Dagger two, come in. Dagger two, do you copy?" The woman repeated over comms. "Dagger two, come in."

"Sunshine!" I heard my name get called out as I winced in pain and tried to sit up in the snow, pulling my helmet off.

"Rooster!" I called back to him as I tried to get to my feet. Before I even had a chance Rooster was falling beside me and holding me close as though he was afraid to let go.

"You're okay" he promised, running his hand over my hair as I started to cry, everything overwhelming me. "You're okay"

Once I had calmed down we packed up our parachutes to hide them before the enemy found us.

"You all right?" Maverick called as he ran over to us in the snow.

"Yeah, I'm good. You all right?" Rooster asked back as he stood up from folding up his parachute. When Maverick reached him he immediately pushed him back into the snow harshly. "What the hell?" Rooster threw off his helmet as Maverick followed suit.

"What are you doing here?" Maverick demanded answers as Rooster pushed himself to his feet to stand against Maverick, me watching from the side ready to step in at any moment.

"What am I doing here?" Rooster repeated the question in shock.

"You think I took that missile so you could be down here with me? You should be back on the carrier by now!" Maverick gestured wildly with his hands.

"I saved your life!" Rooster reminded.

"Oh will you two give it a rest?" I groaned out, just wanting to get back now that I had them both safe with me.

"I saved your life. That's the whole point." Maverick pointed back at Rooster, ignoring me for a moment. "What the hell were you even thinking?"

"You told me not to think!" Rooster shot back simply. "In fact you told me to listen to Sunshine, and she told me to go back for you" he added.

The two of them breathed heavily as they stood in silence, Rooster raising his arms and throwing them down as if proving a point.

"Are you two done?" I asked over to them as I looked around the forest to make sure nobody was coming for us after their little argument.

"Well, it's good to see you." Maverick said through pants as he caught his breath

"It's good to see you too." Rooster shrugged casually.

"So what's the plan?" I asked Maverick bringing them back to the reality that we are stuck in enemy territory.

....................................................
Question of the day: do you think all three of them will make it back?

Only a few more chapters left!