Three Strikes [✓]

Running Out Of Time

Chapter Five: Running Out Of Time

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Gunther Bay, Usea.
June 6th, 2019.
1947hrs.

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"Mage 2 fired that!" Gargoyle 3 and the rest of his squadron formed up beside Golem Squadron. Everyone seemed to be in shock from what they'd just witnessed. Naomi could hardly process it herself. What had happened? Had she just killed Harling? Gargoyle Squadron didn't seem too phased. It was almost as if they were expecting the mission to fail.

"It was Osean. A friendly missile hit them!" Gargoyle 4 spoke up.

"Verifying the situation," Sky Keeper said, sounding level-headed but concerned. "Stop speculating."

"Friendly fire!" Gargoyle 3 nearly yelled, only now sounding upset by the situation. "I saw it!"

"Mother Goose One exploded in air. No one could have survived..." Sky Keeper's voice was low and a mix between anger and grief. He didn't turn on Naomi like she'd been expecting. A great man, one he looked up to, had been killed and she was the prime suspect. But he was being fair about the situation.

Stunned and trying to regain herself, Naomi began to stutter, defending herself almost pointlessly. "Knocker...Clown...Sky Keeper...I—I swear I didn't kill him. I didn't try to...I was aiming for the drone on his tail...maybe he just got in the way of the missile?" She was starting to panic. If they thought she killed him...even she wasn't entirely sure she hadn't, even if it hadn't been on purpose. She didn't wake up that morning thinking about how she could kill Harling.

"It looks like it tried to protect the elevator..." Footpad observed.

Boggard spat, "Erusean bastards! They just killed a hero! It had to be them. There's no way Trigger would have done something like that!"

"Knocker, what do you say?" Faun asked.

Knocker let out a sigh at his wingmen's words and Naomi felt her mouth run dry. "Mage 1, was it Trigger?" He didn't want to believe that she was guilty of killing Harling in cold blood. At least she hoped he didn't. If it was in fact her missile, Harling hadn't been the intended target. Surely they'd let her off on account that it was an accident. Naomi began to wonder if Knocker would try and keep her out of trouble.

It was Clown's turn to sigh. With a moment's hesitation, he finally said, "...Trigger was the closest. As far as I know, nobody else on our side was near enough to make that shot." Naomi lowered her head, staring down at her hand and controls. That was the nail in the coffin right there. He was giving a report, just as he was told, and all evidence pointed at her being guilty. "UAVs were crawling all over our objective and —"

"I told you to keep a goddamn eye on the hatchling!" Knocker interrupted him. "You're lucky we didn't lose her today, but now she's got an ally's blood on her hands!" Naomi couldn't help but flinch at his words.

"It must have been a mistake." Clown was trying to keep his cool, unlike the rest of them it would seem. Naomi trusted him enough to know he was on her side. Boggard and Footpad didn't seem convinced she was guilty, either. Knocker didn't reply to Clown after that, but maybe he was as unsure as the rest of them were. Then again, all of the evidence they had pointed at her being the criminal mastermind.

In the distance, emerging from the clouds, a massive, sleek white figure was approaching. It was the Arsenal Bird, the craft that had deployed the drones that caused all of this chaos. "Arsenal Bird is entering! All aircraft, withdraw immediately!" Sky Keeper ordered. The three squadrons wasted no time breaking off from each other and making a break for the return line. As Gargoyle left the area and Golem and Mage were by themselves, Sky Keeper said to Naomi, "Trigger, you can't fly for a while. You understand why."