Three Strikes [✓]

Prologue

Prologue

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Fort Grays Island, East of Usea.
May 15th, 2019.
1545hrs.

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The idea of an attack hadn't seemed possible earlier in the day. It was late spring, the sun was out for most of the day, and the weather was pretty much perfect. It was a slow day on the ground, even slower for the pilots considering they were left to entertain themselves with what few things they had. A few members of the esteemed Golem Squadron held a few measly rounds of poker along with two members of Gargoyle Squadron, mechanics checked out the planes and cleaned them up a bit, and everything was basically a normal Wednesday aside from the soldiers having nothing to do.

Watching the poker game from a short distance away, not caring too much to get involved with all the roughhousing that came with, the rookie pilot Lieutenant Naomi Foulke was taking note of the rules of the game and working to memorize them. Should she ever decide to play, she wanted to know how it all worked. The game paused for some banter and some light shoving on part of Golem 3 and Gargoyle 4, and she debated joining in to tease the two but only chuckled slightly.

Brownie, her roommate and the only other woman on base, did not look as amused by the interruption. "At this rate, we might finish the game by Christmas," Brownie stated dryly, holding her cards close to her to hide them from her wingman as he was nearly knocked into her after a playful shove. Brownie was Golem Squadron's number two, pretty close to her flight lead as well. Both of them possessed calm determination and a professional demeanor.

"Aww, c'mon, Brownie," Boggard (Golem 3) said as he finally quit laughing and put his head back into the game. Sort of. "Lighten up a little. Trigger's having more fun than you are and she isn't even in the game!"

Naomi smirked as her more familiar moniker was called, and she tilted her head forward slightly so it was no longer resting on the edge of the half open hangar door. She was known around the base — just like her comrades — by her call sign. The nickname was earned by the fact that she had a somewhat short temper and was an excellent shot — she wasn't afraid to pull the trigger, either. She knew when she had to, as well.

Her father had been a pilot in the Belkan War just a few years before she was born, and when she was ten he taught her how to defend herself and that included how to use a gun. She owed what little respect and reputation she had managed to earn for herself to him and all the hours of training she originally thought would serve no purpose in her life. It was no surprise that she joined the Air Defense Force, honestly

"Brownie has a point, though." Naomi cocked her head to one side, pushing herself away from the hangar door and sitting on the only empty makeshift chair they had left. "You guys are taking forever to finish this game. You started it almost three hours ago, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't long after lunch." Boggard waved a hand at her dismissively as she leaned forward to get a closer look at the game.

Several minutes passed and it seemed to Naomi that they were close to finishing when the game was interrupted yet again, this time not by a scuffle or because someone was being called on their bluff and didn't like it, but because Golem's leader — Knocker or Captain Turner, depending on the day — was making his way towards them, his expression blank. Once he reached them, the questions among the group about what he was doing there ceased. "Sorry to interrupt the fun, but we've got to get to a briefing. Something's come up."

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Upon arriving in the briefing room, Naomi was promptly greeted by darkness and confused chattering. The room's windows had been closed, blinds drawn, and the base commander and briefer were already standing by a display screen. A few empty seats remained, and some of the other pilots were standing towards the back of the room. With everyone talking over one another, it made the room seem mildly chaotic.