CHASING SUNSETS: A Top Gun story

          This story takes place five years after the events of the movie Top Gun, alternating between NAS Miramar and the USS Nimitz. A lot can happen in five years, with this story showcasing a rendezvous between two former rivals turned friends, as well as reflections on past events that led to this.

          The sky started to glow orange as the sun set over the hills that stood near Naval Air Station Miramar, a naval base not far from San Diego that went by the name 'Top Gun' in military circles. The last mission of the day had already returned and landed on the massive tarmac, being ushered by ground crews to their hangars. 
          Sleek and powerful Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter planes, fresh from a training sortie and flown by young pilots training to become the best aerial combat experts in the world were now being looked over and refueled for the next day's exercizes. Every pilot that had been sent here by their commanding officers were the best, and were brought up to an even higher standard at the base also known as 'Fightertown USA'.
          Standing near an open hangar and looking out over the tarmac, Captain Pete Mitchell - known as 'Maverick' via his callsign - couldn't help but admire the sunset for a short time from under his aviator sunglasses before turning and heading off towards some of the base's main administration buildings. It was time to finish up for the night and lock up his office before enjoying some alone time for a little while.
          It didn't take long to get to his office and set everything up for the next day, changing into his street clothes while there and throwing on his leather jacket and leaving. His next stop was a favourite watering hole to unwind, a bar that had a lot of sentimental value and held many memories of his over the years.
          'Spent a lot of time there with Charlie, long before we split up.' he thought to himself, recollecting his passionate relationship with the woman that had brought him back to Miramar originally.
          'And Goose....my dear departed friend, and those times we sang at the piano and enjoyed every minute of it.'
          Maverick frowned, and his demeanour changed to that of a man fighting back emotion at the thought of his deceased best friend, Lieutenant junior grade Nick Bradshaw, callsign 'Goose'. Even though he had gotten past the death of his friend just over five years prior, he was still troubled by that fateful day in the air, and the flat spin that led to the death of his friend.
          Every so often, something would trigger the bad memory and bring back all the despair and sadness of the incident, much to his dismay. 
          Letting out a sigh as he walked, Maverick tried his best to put the image out of his mind as he got closer to the bar, resolving to try and relax as best he could. It had been a tough day of instructing, complete with arrogant young pilots who thought they knew everything and were quick to judge, much like he was before becoming an instructor.
          'They kind of remind me of me.'
          Rounding another corner, he was now in sight of the bar and could hear one of the hits of yesteryear playing on the jukebox inside. Without hesitation, Maverick walked up the door and entered the establishment.

          "Would you like another?" asked the middle aged bartender of Maverick, noting that the glass before the younger man was now empty, as was the bottle of beer next to it. 
          "Please." was the reply.
          The man hurried off to get another bottle of beer, the pop and hiss of the bottle being opened in the background able to be heard. Maverick read a copy of a newspaper that had been left behind while waiting for his beer, briefly skimming some of the headlines and other stories it contained.
          Once the new bottle of beer was in front of him, he thanked the bartender and carefully poured some of it into his glass. After taking a sip of the cold liquid, Maverick took a moment to savour it before swallowing, and let himself enjoy the here and now. He pushed any and all thoughts about work out of his mind, and focused on the relaxation aspect of his evening.
          The bar wasn't terribly busy, but people came and went from time to time. Every so often, he could hear a quarter drop into the juke box to start another song. Turning his attention back to the newspaper for a moment, Maverick didn't notice a man sit down to his left, two barstools away. 
          "You. You're still dangerous!" said a familiar voice out of nowhere.
          Maverick turned to his left and was shocked to see his former rival and now friend, Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky sitting there, a big grin on his face.
          "Ice!" said Maverick happily, before high-fiving his friend while moving to the barstool next to him.
          "It's good to see you, but how did you end up here?" he asked.
          Kazansky smiled. "I'm on leave for a couple of weeks from the Nimitz." he replied. "Decided to stop by Miramar to see how you were doing. It's been a while since we last got together for a drink."
          "Yes it has." said Maverick. "We're both Captains now, and you look poised to move up even further the way you're going!"
          Kazansky laughed. "Says the man who shot down three MiGs and became an instructor at Top Gun overnight. You really take the cake!"
          Maverick grinned, and took another sip of his beer. "How is the carrier life these days, anyhow? It's been a while since I've been on one."
          Kazansky ordered a beer of his own when the bartender was near, before responding to his friend. "Ah, a mission here, a sortie there. Navy life, right?" 
          Maverick raised his own glass and held it close to Kazansky.
          "Navy life, my good friend. Cheers." 
          Both glasses clinked together, right before both men downed a gulf and started to catch up on several years of events and happenings.

                                                     *          *         *          *

          Two F-14 Tomcats screamed by overhead near the base, part of a training exercise involving an introduction to dogfighting, a staple of what the instructors at Miramar taught their young students in order to survive in the skies against hostile forces.
          Sitting in a viewing gallery on the roof of one of the administrative building that was usually reserved for high-ranking officers performing evaluations, Mitchell and Kazansky watched several more of the sleek, swept wing fighter jets zip past, before continuing the conversation they had started the night before at the bar. 
          "Can't believe that you and Charlie split up." mentioned Kazansky quietly. "You hurried back here after our mission on the Enterprise to be with her, and now it's over just like that. I feel for you."
           Mitchell nodded solemnly. "We had some great times together, and I'll never forget her either way. Things happen for a reason, I suppose. What about you, Ice? Didn't you say in your last letter that you met someone?"
          Iceman grinned. "Yes, her name is Sarah." he confirmed. "I met her on leave in Honolulu the last time around. She's a special one, for sure, and the only reason that brings me down from the clouds on occasion."
          Maverick patted his friend on the back and chuckled. "Happy for you. Maybe you'll introduce me one day and I'll tell her what a pain in the ass you were back in the day."
          Iceman laughed, and playfully pushed Maverick a little, the two sharing a moment of pure friendship and happiness after so long.
          "Ever thought about getting back out onto carriers?" he asked of his friend.
          Maverick stopped for a moment to think. "Not really. I'm happy being an instructor, and I don't really want to leave Miramar anytime soon, orders permitting of course."
          Iceman raised an eyebrow and pondered his friend and former rival for several moments, knowing how much flying meant to both of them. He wondered if it was something deeper that kept Maverick at Miramar and not back out on a carrier flying the important yet dangerous missions.
          "Tell me Mav, what about Goose? Have you made peace with yourself?"
          There was a stark silence for several minutes, before Maverick sighed and bowed his head a little, unable to look at Iceman to answer the question.
          "I think about him a lot, Ice." he replied softly. "I don't know if I'll ever find this 'peace' you mention. I've accepted the fact that it happened, but he was my best friend in the whole world, and has left a big void in my life."
          Iceman put a reassuring hand on Maverick's shoulder. "Understandable, but you can't blame yourself or try to wonder what could have been. Goose never struck me as a man that would worry about so many things. It's time to move on, Maverick."
          Maverick got to his feet and looked out at the blue skies surrounding the base, his back to Iceman at the moment.
          "Some day, Ice. But not today."

          Having pushed the throttle forward to achieve more speed, Maverick then banked to the right and set his sights on gaining some altitude in the process. His twin-engined F-15E Strike Eagle continued to scream forward through the blue sky, the solo flight going very well and also relaxing him in the process. It wasn't very often he got to go up in an F-15E, especially since he spent most of his time around F-14's while instructing his classes of young pilots.
          'A nice change of pace, being up here by myself.' he thought to himself. 'Even the absence of a RIO takes getting used to.'
          When flying an F-14, a pilot had to work in concert with his RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) to ensure success on any mission. As the F-15E was a single seat fighter jet, he felt very much alone, and had more work to do. Still, with no one up in the air with him, the flight was very quiet, leaving him alone with his own thoughts. The words spoken by Iceman during their conversation the previous day had lodged in his mind, and had not only struck a chord, but gave him cause to contemplate.
          Banking to the left now and slowing the aircraft a bit, Maverick couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Goose hadn't died, and how differently things might have turned out when it came to his career overall.
          The sky outside the cockpit of the fighter jet suddenly looked exactly as it did five years ago, on the day that the accident happened. Unlike that day, Maverick was very much in control of the aircraft at present, and was banking it back to the right. Still, the thought of his best friend again filled his mind, giving him clout.
          "Talk to me, Goose." he said quietly, hoping he'd hear Goose's voice to reassure him that everything was going to be fine, but it never came.
          Realizing that there wouldn't be an answer, Maverick brought the plane into a slow, banking turn and headed back towards the base, his fuel indicator telling him that it was time to head back, and just enough fuel left to do so. Once in range, he contacted the control tower and requested clearance to land, before bringing the jet in for a careful landing and then taxiing it towards an open hangar.
          After the fighter jet was secure, he wandered over the administration building and headed to his office to go over paperwork, and prepare for the next day's classes and training sessions. 
          'Always something to do around here, no matter what.'
          Losing himself in some work, Maverick still couldn't help but think of Iceman's advice about finding peace, and how hard it was to do so. His emotional state had been fragile on and off, and held together at times by Charlie back when they were still together. Maverick had relied on her strength from time to time, and was having trouble finding his own from within to aid him in the constant struggle.
          'Viper was right. I still feel responsible, and if I'm not careful, it will turn into another confidence problem....'

                                                   *          *          *          *

          "Dismissed." said Maverick with an air of authority, before all his students left their chairs and headed for the exit of the auditorium. His final presentation before the latest class would graduate from the Top Gun program had gone well, and he was content in the knowledge that the current group of pilots had been the best yet.
          'They remind me of when I was the student here and not the teacher.' he thought to himself, grinning. 'Some are just as arrogant....'
          Chuckling to himself, Maverick picked up his slim, leather folder off the dais and headed to the exit. As he approached the door, a young man in a light khaki uniform with the rank of Airman First Class approached him and saluted. 
          The young man seemed to be a littlr nervous, with sweat starting to bead on his brow below his red hair.
          "Captain Mitchell, sir!"
          Maverick smiled. "At ease, no need for formalities right now, Airman."
          "Thank you, sir." replied the young man as he relaxed his pose a bit. "I have an envelope to deliver to you, sir." 
          Maverick accepted the envelope. "Thank you, Airman. Have a great day."
          "Thank you, sir!" replied the young man, saluting quickly before leaving. Maverick stared at the envelope in his hand, and resolved to read it back at his office before leaving the premises for the day. It was a plain white envelope, with both a U.S. Mail ink stamp and military postage on it.
          A little while later, while seated behind his desk in his office, Maverick put some paperwork in his folder and then put it aside before looking to the envelope and picking it back up. He carefully tore one end of it, and slid a single piece of paper out of it before unfolding it to read it's contents.
          "Maverick, hope all is well. Enjoyed our talk last month, and I just wanted to remind you of two things: One, let go of all that doubt and guilt you carry. Two, whatever you do, and wherever life takes you, never stop chasing sunsets."
          At the bottom was the familiar signature of Iceman, and a basic scribble that was meant to resemble the outline of an F-14 Tomcat.
          Maverick paused for a moment, the contents of the letter tugging at his emotions a little but. Iceman had been his most bitter rival back in their Top Gun days, but had become one of his most important and trusted friends. He knew that this letter wasn't written lightly, and that the meaning behind it were clear.
          "Thank you, Ice." he said softly, neatly folding up the paper and sliding back into the envelope before adding it to the contents of his folder that would be taken home. On the far left of his desk sat a picture of Iceman and himself back when they served on the Enterprise. He looked to the picture fondly, and smiled before getting up looking out the window at the nearby tarmac, some F-14s visible and gleaming from the setting sun off in the distance, giving him cause for reflection.
          'All of a sudden, those sunsets never looked so good...."

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