 Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell woke up on the first day of class. The 24-year-old fighter pilot was excited not only to get back in the air but also to pass on his knowledge to the new batch of young fighter pilots. To Maverick, it felt strange that his new students weren't much younger than he was. But he also wasn't sure who his RIO was. After he lost Goose, the Navy assigned Merlin to be his RIO for a dogfight mission. So he called Merlin just to check with him.
"Hey, Merlin. Did I wake you?"
"Hey, Mav. No, you didn't wake me up. What's up?"
"You're still my RIO, right?"
"Yeah, the Navy told me you're heading back to Top Gun as an instructor. So per my orders, I'm heading back there, too."
"Awesome! Are you looking forward to working together again?"
"Yes, I am! It's an honor to fly with you, Mav."
"It's an honor flying with you, too, Merlin," Maverick said.
The two aviators said goodbye and hung up. Maverick got ready and put on his Navy uniform. It was 5 minutes to 0800 when he arrived at the TOPGUN facility. He waited at the back of the classroom as Viper, his old mentor, welcomed a fresh bunch of young fighter pilots to Top Gun and gave them the "you're the best of the best" speech.
"Your instructor is one of the best graduates this program has ever produced. Even though he is a recent graduate, you may have heard of his exploits already. May I introduce Lieutenant Pete Mitchell. Callsign: "Maverick."
After Viper said those last words, Maverick made his way toward the podium.