{"id":23462,"date":"2025-06-01T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T15:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/?p=23462"},"modified":"2025-05-25T14:16:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T21:16:28","slug":"sylum-snippet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/sylum-snippet\/","title":{"rendered":"Sylum Snippet: Last Flight by Bj Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Finishing off the tribute to Val Kilmer, a final snippet in honor of ‘Iceman’.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter waited until most of the guests had left.\u00a0 He sat stiffly in the front row, watching as each mourner walked by the casket.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky was his rival, friend, and protector.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two had stayed friends after Top Gun, Iceman building his career to Admiral, getting the respect he deserved.\u00a0 \u00a0Maverick was a pilot, he had never wanted rank, just wanted to fly.\u00a0 \u00a0Kazansky’s influence let him slide through the Navy as a pilot and covered his ass many times.\u00a0 \u00a0Some were surprised the two were still close, Peter had been a groomsman at the man’s wedding.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He glanced over to see Sarah and the kids, once he had gotten word he had reached out to see if there was anything he could do.\u00a0 The woman was resilient, she had to be to marry Tom in the first place, and deal with his ego.\u00a0 \u00a0Whatever she or the kids … well adults who had careers and families of their own … needed he was there.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was at this moment he was feeling the weight of his immortality.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He had known his time with the Navy, Top Gun, was going to be ending.\u00a0 \u00a0Loosing Iceman, was the final door that had closed.\u00a0 He had been the last connection to Nick ‘Goose’.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each of the kids stopped at the casket, saying their goodbyes, then left through one of the side doors.\u00a0 \u00a0There would be a graveside service in a few hours, family only.\u00a0 \u00a0Sarah placed her hand on the casket, tears streaming down her face, as she leaned over and kissed it.\u00a0 \u00a0As she walked to the side door, she stopped by Peter.<\/span><\/p>\n

“You’re family you know.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter laughed slightly, his smile a bit wobbly.\u00a0 “I’m the annoying cousin who stops by for free beer.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The laugh was genuine.\u00a0 “We’ll be having a more private dinner in a few days.\u00a0 More relaxed where we can talk about how much of a dork Tom was, not just the hotshot Top Gun and Admiral.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“I’ll be there with pictures.”\u00a0 He stood taking a calm deep breath.<\/span><\/p>\n

“You have a few moments.\u00a0 I knew you would want to say your goodbyes privately.”\u00a0 Sarah reached out and pulled him into a hug, then left him to say his goodbyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maverick slowly made his way to the casket, laying a hand on the warm mahogany wood.\u00a0 “There was so much I wanted to tell you, but never had the courage.”\u00a0 \u00a0He looked around the chapel, taking the calm of the building.\u00a0 \u00a0“You kept me going after we lost Goose.\u00a0 \u00a0I was never sure if you goaded me purposely to keep me going or was just an asshole.\u00a0 \u00a0I have met members of your family, and I’m going with likely just being an asshole.”\u00a0 His laugh was strained, but he continued.\u00a0 “I know you had questions, you figured out quickly something was different about me.\u00a0 \u00a0The comments on my age, and the ability to stay young.\u00a0 \u00a0I couldn’t tell you.\u00a0 \u00a0Not sure if I was afraid you would hate me or want me to Turn you – either scared the shit out of me.”<\/span><\/p>\n

He stepped back and saluted.<\/span><\/p>\n

“You were my best friend.\u00a0 I will miss you.\u00a0 Now go enjoy the peace, say hi to Goose for me.\u00a0 But I expect to see both of you, soon.\u00a0 \u00a0Someone has to keep me grounded.”<\/span><\/p>\n

He lowered the salute, then turned to head for the door, when he saw a figure sitting in one of the back pews.\u00a0 “How the hell did you get in here?”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Why I walked through the door like a civilized person.”\u00a0 John stood up, wearing a very smart suit, his normal black flatop hat in his hands.\u00a0 “The family felt one of us should be here, to say our own goodbyes and to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.\u00a0 \u00a0Well actually Speed demanded one of us show up, as he couldn’t make it and new you would do something stupid.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Maverick rolled his eyes.\u00a0 “I’m surprised they didn’t send Ethan.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Oh then something stupid would’ve been had.”\u00a0 Holliday gave him a slight smirk.\u00a0 “We got a suite at the hotel, it’s not often the family is together.\u00a0 \u00a0I’ve been ordered to drag you along, no complaints.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“And why did they send you?”\u00a0 He asked as they went out one of the back doors.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I could walk in less conspicuously, the hat throws everyone off.”\u00a0 \u00a0He smiled putting the hat on.\u00a0 \u00a0“Just to make you feel better, Ethan is at the hotel, along with the tall one Reacher.\u00a0 \u00a0I didn’t realize you came in extra large.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“It was quite the surprise.”\u00a0 Peter laughed as the two headed off to the waiting car.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He suddenly stopped and turned.<\/span><\/p>\n

There just under the tree was two figures, both in flight gear looking young and invincible.\u00a0 \u00a0Maverick gave them a nod, then turned back to his companion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not many had known he was officially retiring.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter ‘Maverick’ Mitchell was going to disappear into the sunset.\u00a0 \u00a0Waiting for the day to return to the skies.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finishing off the tribute to Val Kilmer, a final snippet in honor of ‘Iceman’.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[975],"tags":[50,849],"class_list":["post-23462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-snippets","tag-bj-jones","tag-sylum-snippets"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Da1M-66q","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21228,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/throwback-thursday-mi6-snippet-by-bj-jones\/","url_meta":{"origin":23462,"position":0},"title":"Throwback Thursday: MI:6 Snippet by Bj Jones","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"August 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Link to Archive","rel":"","context":"In "Snippets"","block_context":{"text":"Snippets","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/sylum-stories\/snippets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bar-banner_ThrowbackThursday.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24507,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/throwback-thursday-middle-of-fucking-kansas-snippet-by-bj-jones\/","url_meta":{"origin":23462,"position":1},"title":"Throwback Thursday: Middle of Fucking Kansas – Snippet by Bj Jones","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"January 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 This throwback is from one of the Snippets ... 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Peter graduated high school in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Character Introduction"","block_context":{"text":"Character Introduction","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/character-introduction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sylum_maverick-without-name.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23006,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/throwback-thursday-rogue-nation-snippet-by-bj-jones\/","url_meta":{"origin":23462,"position":3},"title":"Throwback Thursday: Rogue Nation Snippet by Bj Jones","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"January 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 This was last year's snippet on Ethan's family helping him out of a tough spot \u00a0 Link to Archive","rel":"","context":"In "Throwback Thursday"","block_context":{"text":"Throwback Thursday","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/throwback-thursday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bar-banner_ThrowbackThursday.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21149,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/throwback-thursday-dreaded-phone-call-snippet\/","url_meta":{"origin":23462,"position":4},"title":"Throwback Thursday: Dreaded Phone Call (Snippet)","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"July 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Link to Snippet","rel":"","context":"In "Snippets"","block_context":{"text":"Snippets","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/sylum-stories\/snippets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bar-banner_ThrowbackThursday.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22245,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/throwback-thursday-lizard-signal-snippet\/","url_meta":{"origin":23462,"position":5},"title":"Throwback Thursday: Lizard Signal – Snippet","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"June 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 Link to Archive","rel":"","context":"In "Snippets"","block_context":{"text":"Snippets","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/sylum-stories\/snippets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bar-banner_ThrowbackThursday.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23462\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}