Below The Hard Deck | A Top Gun Fanfiction

CHAPTER IX

Maverick and I haven't been able to get together to come up with a lesson plan thanks to the fiasco that was yesterday's training. I'm not surprised. Quite frankly, the mission is probably the last thing on either of our minds. I was fully ready to walk onto base and completely wing it, maybe even just repeat what we did the previous day. So, you can imagine my surprise when I woke up to a text message from my fellow instructor.

It didn't say much, just that he had messaged the entire class to meet at the beach in front of the Hard Deck in workout clothes by nine o'clock. What exactly this has to do with training for the mission, I have no clue. Maybe he's taking a page out of the Marines' book and planning some sort of workout. All I know is I'm not about to question him and risk him shutting down again, not when I still have so much to talk to him about.

Dressed up in biker shorts, a sports bra, an old Navy tank top, aviators, and flip flops (because I will not wear tennis shoes on the sand), I put together a quick beach bag and start the relatively short walk to the Hard Deck. On any other day I would drive, but the feeling of the nice breeze trailing in from the coast line quickly changes my mind. It's a beautiful day and I don't have to spend it in a jet, might as well take advantage of it. By the time I arrive, five minutes to nine, all the recruits are there, but the man who summoned us is still missing.

"Ma'am, what exactly are we doing here," Bob asks when I join the group on the sand.

"Your guess is as good as mine." I set my stuff down, stretching my arms above my head. "Maverick planned this, not me. I didn't even know about it until I woke up this morning."

"And you're okay with this?" Bradley asks, the tone of his voice suggesting that he's still pretty on edge after yesterday's events.

"There's a method to his madness. If he went through the trouble of telling all of us to come here, it's for a reason. Besides, I didn't have anything scheduled for us to do today." I look down at my watch, resisting the urge to roll my eyes as Maverick officially becomes late. "Fair warning, if he isn't here in the next few minutes, I'm finding a log and we're going to become our sister branch for the day."

"He better get here within the minute," Payback mumbles, his WSO nodding along. "I don't have the upper body strength to pull that off."

"I'm down." Hangman smirks. "You know, thought about joining the Marines before becoming a pilot."

"All in favor of just dropping the log on Bagman raise your hand." Every hand goes up in response to Phoenix's idea. Bob even lifts both of his arms.

Luckily for the group, Maverick comes strolling up before I can start looking for a solid piece of lumber. Hondo, clad in a football jersey with a whistle around his neck, follows closely behind him carrying a duffel bag. "Sorry I'm late. Had to pick up a few things." He sends me a small smile and nod when he joins my side, which I happily return. At least he seems to have gotten whatever brooding he needed to out of his system.

"Sir, I've never been more happy to see you." Fanboy sighs in relief before pausing. "Please tell me you don't plan on having us do log PT."

Mav smiles, reaching into Mondo's bag and pulling out two footballs. "You guys know what dogfight football is?"

I don't even remember the last time I've heard of that game. It's basically the same premise as the regular sport, but offense and defense are played simultaneously, forcing a team to really work together and come up with a good strategy on both ends to win. Pilots played it all the time when I was in the academy, but judging by the confused looks on most everyone's faces, it's since declined in popularity. The only person who seems to recognize the name is Rooster, who perks up a bit at the prospect of competing in the game. Pete, despite Carol's wishes, introduced him to the premise when he was five and he became instantly hooked.