>>455542
As you pulled out of the hanger, Kay started talking.

"Freelancer 4-2 to Freelancer 2-1. Good to be flying with you Razor."

"Likewise Kay." You responded as Kay turned onto the runway, pausing to let you catch up.

"How do you want to play this Razor?" Kay asked as you pulled up next to her.

>"I'll lead. I have the most experience."
>"You lead. Might as well change things up."

>>455543
>"You lead. Might as well change things up."

>>455543
>>"You lead. Might as well change things up."

>>455543
>"You lead. Might as well change things up."

Good to see you man

File: F-14 climb.jpg (36 KB, 624x467)

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"You lead. Might as well change things up." You say as the pair of you wait for takeoff clearance from the ACT.

"Freelancer 2-1 and 4-2. You are both cleared for takeoff. Follow your flight-plan until you reach the combat range." The aircraft controller ordered mercifully few seconds later.

You and Kay took-off at high speed. Both of you kept at 500 feet off the deck until you had roared over the interstate, before pulling back hard and climbing vertically, riding your afterburners like a missile. You know that there was always a crowd watching the takeoffs, and the pair of you gave them a show.

As you passed over the crowd, you could have swore you saw someone familiar, but at such speed and separation it was almost impossible to be sure.

You and Kay climbed to 23,000 feet before levelling off. The pair of you left the airspace around the airbase on-course to the combat range.

"How do you want to play this one Kay?" You asked as you get into formation on her right.

"We'll come high and search with our radar. That way we can bound anything there." Kay outlined her game-plan. "I need you to cover my ass."

>"Will do. Might as well try going by the books."
>"Yeah, no. That's why Davenport's flight keeps getting their asses handed to them."

>>455766
>"Will do. Might as well try going by the books."

>>455766
>"Yeah, no. That's why Davenport's flight keeps getting their asses handed to them."

If we've got evidence that the tactic hasn't worked we need to change it. This is TOPGUN after all, changing things up is what they trust us to do at this point

>>455766
>"Yeah, no. That's why Davenport's flight keeps getting their asses handed to them."

>>455766
>>"Yeah, no. That's why Davenport's flight keeps getting their asses handed to them."

File: F-14 pair.jpg (78 KB, 812x650)

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"Yeah, no. That's why Davenport's flight keeps getting their asses handed to them." You immediately shoot down Kay's idea, slightly worried that you made the wrong decision when you made her flight-lead for this Hop.

"Then what do you suggest Razor? Split up like some dumb, movie character?" Kay asked sarcastically. You couldn't help but snort at the notion that you were a fictional character, created for the entertainment of someone else.

"No. I say that we stick together for now, then engage at will." You lay out your plan. "Davenport and his wingmate stick together too much, and while it means that they can guarantee one at a time, they leave themselves wide open. We need to be able to engage at will."

"Understood." Kay responded, sounding a bit miffed that her plan had been shot down.

That plan deserved to be shot down. It was a shit plan.

The pair of you stumbled onto the OP-FOR flight only a few minutes later. The diamond formation of 2 A-4s and 2 F-14s could be seen ad 4 black dots on the deck. Roughly around 10,000 feet away.

"Tally 4 aircraft. Low, heading East to West." You announced out to Kay.

"Hello, good morning folks. It's a balmy 104 degrees out here in good-old California." A cheery voice called out over the radio. Your blood ran cold at the sound of that voice, to say that you were shocked was an understatement.

"Is that CINPAC?" Zeus said, sounding just a shocked as you were. "Isn't he supposed to be in a meeting?"

"I guess it was cancelled." Is all you could respond with.

As you flicked through your simulated load, you contemplated what you could do.

>Keep with Kay until contact. She's the flight-lead and you have to respect that.
>Fuck that noise, dive on in. Might as well start the show with a bang.

>>455957
>>Keep with Kay until contact. She's the flight-lead and you have to respect that.

>>455957
>Keep with Kay until contact. She's the flight-lead and you have to respect that.

>>455957
>>Keep with Kay until contact. She's the flight-lead and you have to respect that.

>>455957
>Keep with Kay until contact. She's the flight-lead and you have to respect that.

File: fast-cat (1).jpg (78 KB, 1024x768)

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"How do want to play this?" You ask Kay as you drift away from her. You gain 250 feet of separation, enough so that you both had room to manure in a dogfight.

"They don't see us." Kay noted as the OP-FOR flight continued on their way. "Bounce 'em?"

"On your dive." You respond, giving her full control over when you both wold engage.

"I'll go after the leaders, you get the Tomcats. We'll use our speed advantage to stay out of gun range." Kay outlined the engagement plan before she dived, you followed close behind her.

Your dive started at around 25,000 feet, give or take 100. As the pair of you dived, the OP-FOR group scattered like a flock of birds.

The A-4's broke right and dived, heading into the weeds. The F-14s broke left and climbed, coming in underneath you, which would force you to have to split from Kay to engage them.

"Keep on 'em!" Kay ordered over the squad-channel.

"Ah, there you are!" CINPAC said aggressively over the open frequency, his voice was no longer the calm and caring voice you knew before. It was the voice of a pilot who had just returned to the air after being grounded for too long.

You knew the feeling, your last posting had barely let you fly any training ops, you were pretty sure that in the last few days at TOPGUN, you had flown more missions that at your aggressor posting.

You were armed with a pair of simulated sidewinders and a full guns load. It was much less than you were used to, but you weren't worried too much. You had more gun "kills" than missile "kills".

>Keep on the Tomcats. They are more of a threat than those A-4s.
>Those A-4s are just speed bumps. The quicker you can help Kay over them, the quicker you can engage those Tomcats with support.

>>456170
>Keep on the Tomcats. They are more of a threat than those A-4s.

>>456170
>Keep on the Tomcats. They are more of a threat than those A-4s.

>>456170
>Keep on the Tomcats. They are more of a threat than those A-4s.

>>456170
>Keep on the Tomcats. They are more of a threat than those A-4s.

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You track your nose in front of the Tomcats, carefully controlling your airspeed so that you don't overshoot them, under shoot them or rip your jet's wing off.

"Kay, keep on those A-4s. I know this trick, we're dead if those F-14s go unopposed." You called out to Kay as you separated from her.

"Understood. I'll mop up those A-4s and come over to assist you." Kay responded as she hit her burners, punching clean through the sound barrier.

The pair of 'cats saw you coming, the flight lead dived away on full afterburners while his wingmate broke into a hard right turn.

You saw the trap they were trying to pull, they were trying to lure you into following the lead aircraft so that his wingmate could hit you from behind.

You countered their trap by simply not falling for it. Instead, you went after the wingmate. He saw you as you got closer and quickly reversed his turn with a Split-S maneuver.

As he began his Split-S, you cut your engines, rolled your bird slightly to the left and pulled the stick into your stomach. You weren't able to get onto his tail, he'd gained too much separation and was pulling up to get his bird's nose towards you, hoping for a sidewinder kill.

You however, you had a lot of leftover speed from your dive. You closed the gap in the seconds it took to switch to guns.

He saw you coming again, but this time there was nowhere he could go. You dragged your gun's pipped down the length of his bird, starting at the nose and ending over the right engine.

Had you been firing live rounds then the pilot and his RIO would have been pasted. However, you weren't firing anything. All weapons and kill allocation was handled by the range computers.

"Freelancer 2-1, splash 1 bandit." You call out as you passed him going almost mach 1. Barely missing him by a few hundred feet.

"BREAK, BREAK, BREAK!" Zeus yelled from his position in the back. You responded by snap-rolling and pulling a pair of split-S maneuver in a row.. Barely saving you from the OP-FOR lead aircraft that came screaming down in your previous flight path.

>Get some distance, this motherfucker is crazy.
>"You wanna dance?"

>>456331
>"You wanna dance?"

Let's show them why we're TOPGUN material

>>456331
>"You wanna dance?"

>>456331
>"You wanna dance, Sir?"
Let's be frank - who else would it be?

>>456361
This.

File: F-14 turn.jpg (197 KB, 2100x1500)

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"You wanna dance, Sir?" You called out over the open frequency as you banked hard, dragging your jet so that it faced the now rapidly turning enemy fighter.

"Of course." CINPAC's smug voice responded as your sidewinders gained a lock. As you pressed the missile release button, CINPAC's bird pulled up and dumped flares. When the range officer didn't call out the kill, you knew that the range computers had counted that as a successful evasion.

So he knew a few tricks. Rather surprising for someone you had thought was a desk jockey.

However, you were expecting a miss. And you forced him into another dive. He dragged you into the terrain, forcing you to worry about not hitting the ground while you pursued your prey.

"Freelancer 4-2. Splash 1 bandit." Kay called out over the squadron frequency. "This last one is a slippery son-of-a-bitch." The last part of Kay's sentence was quickly compressed as she grunted with exertion. She had likely been dragged into the weeds as well.

You were having just as much trouble as she was. CINPAC was a much better pilot than you thought, always diving between hills or in places where you would either have to fly over or bleed a lot of airspeed in order to catch up to him.

However, the hilly and dangerous terrain slowly gave way to open flatlands, you had this in the bag. Now it was only a case of dragging your gun-sights over his engines and-

You don't even have time to finish your thought, as CINPAC did something that you wouldn't even do. At such close separation, he cut his afterburners, deployed his airbrakes and brought his nose up. Dragging his Tomcat to an almost dead stop.

For any newbie pilot, this might have caused them to immediately evade, rather than risking a collision. But you had to advantages, firstly you were more experienced and secondly you already had your gun-sights on him.

You let off a quick burst and rolled away. Waiting on the word from the range control officer.

"Marauder 1-1 and Revolver 1-1. KIA." The range officer announced calmly.

"Aw shucks." CINPAC said as his bird levelled off. "I thought I had you for a second there."

>"You almost did sir."
>"No, you were just delaying the inevitable."
>"You're pretty good."
>Other (write in)

>>456481
>>"You're pretty good."
The Cobra is not a combat manoeuvre.

File: PRETTY... GOOD.jpg (55 KB, 1280x720)

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>>456481
>"You almost did at the start, sir. But you shouldn't have let me get on your tail after that."
>"You're pretty good."

>>456481
>>"You're pretty good."

>Revolver 1-1
heheheh

>>456514
This.

>>456481
>"You almost did sir."
>"You're pretty good."

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"You almost did at the start, sir." You said as you formed up with CINPAC, positioning yourself just behind and to the right of him.

"You had my number in that dive. But you shouldn't have let me get on your tail after that." You continue as you look over at your unlikely adversary's bird. His aircraft was much like yours, in that it was painted in aggressor colours.

You should have probably talked with your crew chief about getting it re-painted.

"You're pretty good." You pause for a couple of seconds, before adding. "Though Pugachev's Cobra isn't a good combat maneuver when facing experienced pilots."

CINPAC only laughed for a couple of seconds, before responding.

"I'll admit I was getting pretty desperate." He admitted as the pair of you turned back to base.

"I used to fly back in 'nam." CINPAC began. "I made ace before I got grounded."

He sighed, and remaining silent for a couple of seconds before continuing. "BAck then we didn't have to worry about all of this modern gear. Missiles were still unproven tech and aerial radar wasn't as good as it was now."

He remained quiet for a couple more seconds, before he spoke again. "You've got the makings of an ace Poole, you and the rest of your unit."

>"Thanks sir. It really means a lot to hear that."
>"That's a given, sir."
>"I honestly didn't know you were a pilot sir."
>"Say, me and Zeus were planning on heading out for some grub after this. You want to come with us?"
>Other (write in)

>>456634
>"Thanks sir. It really means a lot to hear that."
>"Say, me and Zeus were planning on heading out for some grub after this. You want to come with us?"

>>456634
>"Thanks sir. It really means a lot to hear that."
>"Say, me and Zeus were planning on heading out for some grub after this. You want to come with us?"

Spin us some stories about the better days when pilots where real pilots

>>456634
>>"Thanks sir. It really means a lot to hear that."
>"Say, me and Zeus were planning on heading out for some grub after this. You want to come with us?"

CINPAC probably parties too hard for us.

"Thanks sir. It really means a lot to hear that." You respond. "Say, me and Zeus were planning on heading out for some grub after this. You want to come with us?"

CINPAC was quiet for a couple of seconds, probably because he was trying to remember if there were any pressing meetings coming up.

"Might as well." He finally responded as the pair of you came into view of Miramar. "I don't have any pressing meetings to attend today, and there's surprisingly little paperwork to do."

"Is that normal sir?" You ask as you both await landing clearance. "I would have thought that the commander of all USN units in the Pacific would have a lot more paperwork."

"Yes. The mountain of paperwork is usually par for the course." CINPAC trailed off, deep in thought about the lack of something so critical to his station. "I'll have to ask my staff about it. Maybe most of the paperwork is still being sent to Davis–Monthan Air Base."

"Revolver 1-1 and Freelancer 2-1. You are cleared for landing." The aircraft controller notified both of you. As-such, both of you began your landing runs. Keeping quiet and focused while you landed. The both of you continued your conversation when you were both safely on the ground.

"So Razor." CINPAC began. "Where are we heading for food?"

>"I was thinking one of the local restaurants."
>"I know this great bar and grill that's only a few miles out."
>"You have any recommendations sir?

>>456793
>>"I know this great bar and grill that's only a few miles out."
It's Frank's, right?

>>456793
>"I know this great bar and grill that's only a few miles out."

>>456793
>"I know this great bar and grill that's only a few miles out."

>>456793
>"I know this great bar and grill that's only a few miles out."

File: F-14 hanger.jpg (309 KB, 1000x667)

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"I know this great bar and grill that's only a few miles out." You respond. "It's called Frank's."

CINPAC was quiet for a few seconds, before he spoke again, this time he sounded very interested all of a sudden.

"Tell me, is the owner of this Frank's a former pilot?" CINPAC asked.

"Yeah, why?" You respond. Slightly intrigued by CINPAC's sudden interest in the bar and grill.

CINPAC was silent for a couple more seconds, while the both of you taxied towards the hangers.

"Well, if my hunch is correct. Then we may meet an old friend of mine." CINPAC responded as the pair of you reached the hangers. You taxied inside and shutdown your 'cat, waiting for the engines to spool down before popping the canopy open and climbing out.

As you climbed out, you noticed that CINPAC had already left his aircraft and was walking over. His RIO sat in the back of his 'cat, labouring away at his station.

"Well Poole, I've talked with my RIO and he's got a meeting with his girlfriend, so he won't be joining us." CINPAC started as the pair of you began walking, you knew that Zeus wouldn't be long. "I have to check in with my staff to see if anything has come up. If not then I'll meet you at your barracks. If I can't make it then I'll send a runner."

The pair of you reached a parked jeep, usually used to transport personnel around. The driver saw CINPAC coming and hastily saluted, CINPAC returned the salute and climbed into the front passenger seat. You climbed into the seat behind the driver while Zeus, who had just managed to catch up, took the seat behind CINPAC.

"In any case, if you want to invite anyone else, then go ahead. Make sure that you're ready to go when I get there." CINPAC ordered, you and Zeus nodded in response as he looked at the both of you.

The jeep pulled up outside your barracks, both you and Zeus climbed out and went inside.

"You know." Zeus began as you both climbed the stairs as quickly as you could. "I never expected to be dining with the fucking CINPAC today."

"Quit your whining." You ordered Zeus as the pair of your reached your room.

"What's the worst that could happen?" You say as you open the door. Only to find a large white box, wrapped with gold ribbons sitting on your bed with a letter on top of it. The window having been left wide open.

You and Zeus both stood there staring at it, before Zeus said what you were both thinking.

"Never tempt fate asshole."

>Open the box and get it over with.
>Fuck the box. Get changed and see if anyone wants to get some good grub.

>>456929
>Fuck the box. Get changed and see if anyone wants to get some good grub.
Let's not mess with this right now.

>>456929
>Open the box and get it over with.

>>456929
>>Fuck the box. Get changed and see if anyone wants to get some good grub.

>>456929
>Open the box and get it over with.
You have to admit the crazy ex has skill.

>>456929
>Fuck the box. Get changed and see if anyone wants to get some good grub.
Just toss this one in the corner of the room somewhere. And the next one. And the next one.

You just sighed on the spot. It was shit like this that make you broke up with that crazy bitch in the first place.

Well, sort of. The whole stabbing your RIO incident was the main reason.

You decided that you just couldn't be fucked with whatever shit she had sent you now. Even though part of you was curious about what was in the box. You remembered that you mentioned WW2 firearms around her once and the box was certainly large enough to hold a rifle.

Either way, you picked up the box and put it under your bed. You were sure that your ex wasn't hiding under there as it was too obvious. She liked more elaborate places, as such you checked the ventilation shaft. Nothing was there aside from dust and what looked like a set of old sunglasses.

Safely secure in the knowledge that your ex wasn't hiding anywhere. You felt safe enough to change without getting jumped. You got the feeling that she had been through your locker when you noticed a few things out of place, and an old picture of you and her together.

You changed quickly into casual clothes, thankfully, your gun hadn't been tampered with because you kept it on you all the time.

You walked out of your room in time to see Kay, Miller and Scorpion walking up the stairs.

"Hey Razor, what's with the change of clothes?" Kay asked as they reached the landing and walked over to you.

"Finally decided to get some easy pussy?" Rekker asked sarcastically, though that didn't stop you from glaring daggers at him.

>"I'm getting some grub with Zeus and CINPAC. Want to come along?"
>"I'm just going for a walk."
>"I'm going hunting."
>Other (write in)

>>457004
>>"I'm getting some grub with Zeus and CINPAC. Want to come along?"

>>457004
>"I'm getting some grub with Zeus and CINPAC. Want to come along?"
We should mention the ex breaking in so they can make sure their rooms are secured.

>>457004
>"I'm getting some grub with Zeus and CINPAC. Want to come along?"

>>457004
>"I'm getting some grub with Zeus and CINPAC. Want to come along?"

>>457009

Seconding this

>>457009
yes, this

"I'm getting some grub with Zeus and CINPAC. Want to come along?" You announced to your 3 comrades. You had to stifle a laugh as they all did a double-take, trying to process what you had just said. After a few seconds they realised that you weren't kidding.

"Why? What do you stand to gain by going for lunch with CINPAC?" Scorpion asked.

"Better question, was he actually flying any of those aircraft or was he just fucking with us via-radio?" Kay asked as she opened the door to her room and walked inside.

"Yeah, he was flying one of the 'cats. Apparently he flew in 'nam too." You slightly raised your voice so that Kay could hear you.

"Wow. I never knew that." Scorpion responded. Sounding slightly impressed. "Where were you planning on going?"

"We were planning on heading to Frank's." The moment you mentioned Frank's. The door to the French girls room opened and Bats poked her head out.

"Did someone mention Frank's?" Bats asked hopefully, having only just entered the conversation.

"Yeah, we were planning on heading there for some grub. You want to come with?" You extended the deal to Bats, even though you already knew the answer.

"Yes. I'll just go ahead and change." Bat's shut the door as quickly as she had opened it. You couldn't help but chuckle at her response. You had recommended Frank's to her on the last day of leave. And she had instantly fell in love with it.

"Hey Razor." Scorpion asked, sounding slightly concerned. "Is everything alright?"

"My ex managed to drop me off a present." You revealed, there was no sense in hiding it. "Check your rooms for anything out of place and make sure that they are secured when you leave them."

Scorpion didn't pause this time. She nodded in acnowledgement of the situation.

"Ok then. We need to make sure that everyone knows." Scorpion responded, before heading into Kay's room. Together you were able to spread the warning to everyone in your unit who was in the building, Rekker agreed to stay in the building to ensure that anyone coming back from flight-ops would get the message.

Then again, he was mostly staying behind because he was lazy and didn't want to go out for food.

About 30 minutes after you first arrived at the barracks, CINPAC pulled up in a jeep, acquired from the motor pool.

"Damn, I didn't know you would be bringing so many people Razor." CINPAC said as everybody piled in.

"What can I say, I said that we were going to Frank's and that was all it took." You clarified as everybody put on their seat belts.

CINPAC just chuckled at the statement. "Sure, if my suspicions are correct, then hopefully there will be more than food there."

>"What suspicions sir?"
>"The food is a good enough reason on it's own."
>Other (write in)

>>457092
>"What suspicions sir?"
CINPAC please don't tempt fate, crazy ex will show up if you do.

>>457092
>"What suspicions sir?"
>"The food is a good enough reason on it's own."

>>457092
>"What suspicions sir?"

>>457092
>"What suspicions sir?"

>>457092
We have a restraining order on crazy ex, right?

>>457176
You filed for one, but nothing came of it.

But on the plus-side, you and almost everybody else in the unit has a gun.

>>457176
like thats going to stop her

>>457195
What happens if she attempts to assault someone like CINPAC? Will her father's billionaire status still protect her from legal repurcussions?

>>457211
I doubt even her father's money could prevent her from trouble for assaulting CINPAC in frank's

>>457211
If she somehow managed to do it and not get shot, then she would probably be jailed. Not to mention that news agencies would spread said information around. There would be both legal, social and business repercussions for her daddy.

Even then, he would probably be able to hire a team of lawyers to at least get the sentence reduced. Though it would depend on how badly she hurt the CINPAC.

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"What suspicions sir?" You ask. Slightly on edge from earlier incursion.

"I think I might know, and have served with the owner of that establishment. Back in 'nam." CINPAC responded as he drove up to the gates and flashed his ID. The guard at the gate checked the ID before saluting, and letting you all on your way.

"Really? What makes you think that?" You asked as you began pointing out directions for him.

"Well back in 'nam, one of the guys in my unit was called Frank. He was from California and he said that he wanted to start up a restaurant when he was eventually too old to fly." CINPAC shrugged. I get that it seems like I'm grasping at straws, but I might as well take a look."

You had to admit, it seemed pretty likely to you. Frank was a former Navy pilot who'd served in Vietnam. He'd flown F-8 Crusaders and was rumoured to be an ace pilot. It sounded like he fit the bill.

You pulled up outside Frank's just after 13:00. Most of the lunch-time hustle had cleared off, though there was still a few cars in the lot.

Everybody piled out and headed for the large, double doors that sat at the entrance. You were at the head of the group, but only because you walked slightly faster then Bats, who looked like she could eat a whole cow, provided that it was cooked at Frank's. You entered to find Frank's wife working the bar.

"Hello Bradley." She announced from the bar as you entered.

"Hello Mrs Kerner. Table for 6 please." You responded as you walked over to the bar.

"Of course, Frank will be out to greet you soon. He's just helping the guys in the kitchen." Mrs Kerner said as she grabbed her notepad and pencil. "Where will you be sitting?"

>"We'll take one of the corner booths."
>"It's a good day to take one of the patio tables."

>>457238
>"It's a good day to take one of the patio tables."
It'll give us an excuse to wear our aviators without looking like a complete jackass.

>>457244
This

>>457238
>"We'll take one of the corner booths."
i have a feeling that our ex will try something, and being inside is better for us right now

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"It's a good day to take one of the patio tables." You said before turning to your unit. "You guys want to order your drinks now or later?"

Almost everyone responded with a definitive no, apparently contented to wait for their drinks.

"Looks like the decision is made." You turned back to Mrs Kerner. "We'll be up on one of the patio tables."

"Of course. Do you still want me to keep an eye out for that one lady with the ginger hair?" Mrs Kerner asked as everybody began heading towards the stairs.

"That would be grand, If she arrives could you also keep her off the patio floor?" You stopped and asked while everybody else made their way up the stairs.

"Of course." Mrs Kerner nodded. She and Frank were nice enough not to ask questions about why you were keeping distance between you and your ex. You could trust them to help you.

You arrived on the patio deck. To say it was a patio was a bit of an understatement, Frank had converted the entire roof into a dining area. It was one of the few places in the restaurant that wasn't plastered with fighter jet art. Though it wasn't like it needed any more art, it had a great view of the sea.

Everybody had selected a table at one of the corners of the roof. CINPAC had chose to sit with his back to the stairs, likely to keep his identity hidden from a cursory glance. You sat down at the table and as a pair of Eagles screamed overhead, heading to the test range on full burners.

That was one of the reasons why Frank's had so many customers. It was so close to NAS Miramar, so anyone who wanted to watch would usually come to Franks, and thus he would get more customers.

"So." You said to Admiral Harper as you popped your aviators on. "You think he's your guy?"

"I'm sure of it." Harper responded. "A lot of the memorabilia was of my last unit. Hell, one of his pictures showed my old bird."

"Bradly!" Frank called out from by the stairs. He noticed you immediately and began walking over. "It's been too long my boy."

>"It certainly has been too long."
>"Not as long since you met my friend." (prompt CINPAC to re-introduce himself)

>>457292
>"Not as long since you met my friend." (prompt CINPAC to re-introduce himself)

>>457292
>"Not as long since you met my friend." (prompt CINPAC to re-introduce himself)

>>457292
>>"Not as long since you met my friend." (prompt CINPAC to re-introduce himself)

>>457292
>>"Not as long since you met my friend." (prompt CINPAC to re-introduce himself)
We'll get to witness such a heartwarming reunion

"Not as long since you met my friend." You respond, Frank only stood there confused for a second before Admiral Harper stood up and faced Frank.

You had to admit. It was rather Interesting to see Frank's face change from happiness, to confusion, and then surprised shock.

"Dick?" Frank said with disbelief, not believing his own eyes.

"It's me Frank." Harper said calmly. "It's been too long."

Frank was silent for a good second or so. Before his smile returned, now broader than ever. If you blinked, you would have missed both men closing the gap between each other in less than a second. They embraced each other like long lost brothers.

You supposed that was was a good enough analogy. Combat does tend to form that kind of bond.

"Dick, it's been too long. How the hell have you been?" Frank asked, his voice sounded more full of joy than you thought you had ever heard.

"I've been doing great Frank." Harper responded, he sounded just as happy as Frank.

"Damn, what even happened to you? You went out on a flight and never came back?" Frank asked. "Actually, belay that. You can tell me later. I should get your orders."


And with that, Harper and Frank returned to your table. Everybody ordered something different. You and Zeus ordered "bolters". While Admiral Harper was coerced by Frank into ordering the "Aluminum Cloud", an extremely large steak that was cut vaguely into the shape of an F-14. Kay and Bat's ordered the "Heater", which was spicy chicken. Finally, Scorpion ironically ordered a burger called a "Slider."

You can only guess why it's called that.

"Alright, I'll go get your orders in and be right back." Frank said as he finished writing down your orders and took off, heading for the kitchen with speed that you had never seen before from the man.

>Ask CINPAC about his time in 'nam.
>Take a quick look around to see if your ex is nearby.
>Chat with your comrades (topic?)
>Other (write in)

>>457377
>>Take a quick look around to see if your ex is nearby.
CONSTANT VIGILANCE

>>457377
>>Take a quick look around to see if your ex is nearby.

>>457377
>Ask CINPAC about his time in 'nam.
>Take a quick look around to see if your ex is nearby.

>>457377
>Take a quick look around to see if your ex is nearby.

File: Gunfighters VF-33.jpg (1.44 MB, 4979x3620)

1.44 MB JPG

You couldn't help shake the feeling that something was going to happen. So you decided that you might as well preempt the message and take a quick check to see if your ex was nearby.

"I'm heading to the bathroom real quick." You said as you got up from your seat and walked back downstairs.

The route to the bathroom was fairly simple. The bathroom was to the left of the stairs that lead up to the roof. This allowed you to check the indoors section of Frank's while passing.

Through your trip you checked to see if your ex, or anyone who looked like one of her lackey's was in the building. But thankfully, you saw nobody who fit the bill. The only people in the indoors section was a couple of cross-country drivers that had stopped off for a beer before they hit the road again.

You returned to the table in time to catch the start of one of Frank's tales.

"So me and Dick here, we were flying as support for Operation Rolling Thunder. Specifically we were covering a flight of A-6 Intruders on a bombing run against an NVA base." Frank explained, having appropriated a seat from another table.

"The mission was going smooth the A-6s were bugging out when a flight of MiGs came in to crash the party. If I remember correctly, they came up from the weeds." Harper continued, picking off where Frank had left off.

"Yep. We were sure that they were using ZELL systems. as we didn't see them coming in. They managed to slot one of the A-6s before we got stuck in. We managed to splash both of the attackers before they brought in reinforcements. And got on our tails." Frank cut in, before finishing and letting Harper speak.

"Yeah, so we had to set up a double thatch weave. I smoked the bandit on you, then you returned the favour." Harper rounded off the story. "If I remember correctly, I got 2 confirmed kills while you only got 1."

"I was so pissed about that." Frank admitted. "So let this be a short lesson to you kids. If you wand a confirmed kill then get it on your gun-camera."

While everybody either nodded or answered affermatively, Admiral Harper just laughed.

"Frank, they know to do that." He said jokingly. "Hell, if this was combat then they would all be multi-aces."

"Really?" Frank said mischievously. "And who is the best pilot out of them all?"

>"Yeah, it's totally me."
>"It's not me, It's (who?)"
>Other (write in)

>>457410
"come on, frank, dont do this to me, these are all pilots good enough to get to where we are, why can't we leave it at that?" or "we could find out, you know, if CINPAC agrees."

>>457410
>>"Yeah, it's totally me."

Need a tiebreaker.

>>457425
i will change to this

File: Your's and Zeus's burgers(...).jpg (127 KB, 703x528)

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"Yeah, it's totally me." You quickly responded.

"No, Dredd's the best out of all of us." Bats piped up.

"Dredd isn't here, so he isn't a part of the current group. Thus meaning that the title defaults to me." You lay out. "And In any case, he's only got a 1 point lead. I can make that up in no time."

All further conversation was cut-short by an announcement from the stairs.

"Your food is ready." Mrs Kerner said as she and a pair of staff-members ascended the stairs, lofting great trays of food with them. Mrs Kerner and her staff handed out everybody's orders and left, leaving everybody with their food.

You and everybody else wolfed down your food as quickly as you could. You polished off your meal first, and patiently waited for conversation to begin again once everybody was finished.

"So, Dick." Frank began as the admiral finished off his food. "Just what the hell happened to you anyway?"

"Well I can't really give you the specifics. But I was shot down when an op that I was on went south." The admiral began. "I ended up in the Hanoi Hilton for a year or so before I was transferred to a different camp."

"The conditions there were unspeakable. Those damn Gooks had absolutely no problem with torturing and brutally executing the POWs. Eventually we were rescued, but upon returning to the US I was forced out of the pilot's pipeline and into full officer's. From there I worked my ass of until I got to where I am now." Harper finished solemnly, talking about it had obviously brought up some bad memories.

The table was silent for a a few seconds, before CINPAC spoke again.

"Oh damn, look at the time." You snapped your head over to the nearest hanging clock, and noticed that it was getting on to 14:45.

"You all have flight-ops." CINPAC said sternly as he passed you the keys to the truck. "You all need to get moving. Take the truck and get moving."

>"What about you sir? How will you get back?"
>"Understood. We'll be back on time."
>Other (write in)

>>457451
>"Understood. We'll be back on time."

>>457451
>"Understood. We'll be back on time."

>>457451
>"Understood. We'll be back on time."

File: TOPGUN fuck yeah.jpg (314 KB, 656x650)

314 KB JPG

"Ok then, we'll be back on time." You respond as you stood up, everybody else following suit.

"Very good. I'll stay here for now. I need to catch up with Frank." Frank smiled and nodded at this, obviously happy that his old friend would be staying for a bit longer. "In any case, you need to get moving."

"Understood. I'll see you a base." You then turned to Frank. "Sorry that we didn't have spend as long as usual here. Though we might be back some time later."

"Sound's great to me. My wife will have the bill, so tell her that you are done and she will sort you out." Frank responded calmly.

As soon as he was finished speaking, you said goodbye and left without another word, only stopping to pay the bill at the bar.

As you climbed into the truck, Zeus decided to speak. "So, when are you planning on opening up that package?"

"Hopefully not for a while. I don't particularly want to be gassed again." You responded calmly as you started the car.

"Wait, what?" Kay spoke up, sounding more concerned. "What's this thing about gassing?"

"Remember that letter I got the same day as the barbecue?" You asked, even though you already knew the answer. You had told everybody about it the very next day.

"Yes, what about it?" Kay answered, still sounding concerned.

"Well my ex likes to mark her letters and packages with a LOT of perfume." You explained as you pulled away from Frank's. "So when you open it, it's like a gas attack."

"Oh." Was Kay's only response as yo continued back to Miramar, and the continuous dance of daily flight-ops.

==================================

I'm going to call the thread here. Sorry that It took so long to get a new thread up, I'm considering a set running dates, but I want to see what your opinions are.

If you have any questions then feel free to ask. I'll answer them as soon as I can.

Thanks for running thunder

>>457469
good times
hmmm i wounder when the exd will rock up

>>457469
might want to archive the thread Thunder

>>460307
Archived