Three Strikes [✓]

The Daredevil

Chapter Sixty-One: The Daredevil

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Selatapura, Usea.
October 31st, 2019.
1456hrs.

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The skies over Gunther Bay were nothing short of sheer chaos when the LRSSG arrived.

A furball wasn't unexpected given the circumstances. In the distance, through the clouds and smoke, Naomi could barely make out the shapes of several aircraft already going toe to toe and tangling with their enemy. If not for her radar and the UNKNOWNs that appeared on her HUD it would have been hard to spot them. Or at least hard to tell if they were really there or not, especially when you combined the speed and distance they were all flying.

Over the radio, it wasn't much better. Almost as soon as they were within range, they picked up the voices of several pilots. Some of them clearly Osean while others had the slightest hint of an Erusean accent when they spoke. There were cries of encouragement and gratitude or cries for help from their allies, and there was little in between. Clearly they'd been at it for a while. Which meant Naomi and the others were late to the party.

"I need help!" came the cry of an Osean pilot.

"Don't let 'em damage more!" another shouted.

"Shit, they're beating us down out here," groaned an Erusean. To another ally, he abruptly warned, "On your six!"

"Let's show them what the Erusean – no, what fighter pilots are made of!" That was the only battle cry any of them needed.

Although it wasn't the welcome party any of them had in mind, Naomi wasn't about to just sit by. They didn't have time to sit and think or let everyone know what was going on. In that moment, they acted purely on instinct as they dove into the fight, everyone maintaining a tight formation as they did. Through the mess of clouds and contrails Naomi managed to find a target and stick to it, going for a group that was chasing down what looked to be an Erusean fighter.

Normally she might have hesitated to engage before they fully knew what was going on, but she had gotten close enough to her target to spot that red line underneath, and she spotted it on several other nearby aircraft. They were up against drones, and there were Erusean fighters among their allies or so she'd been told. According to Avril's message that was the case. No real pilots or misunderstandings to worry about. In what had become a rare moment in this entire, godforsaken war there was a black and white battle to be had.

In the blink of an eye, several blips disappeared from her radar as each of the four squadrons got the jump on the drone fighters. Each flight lead moved in perfect sync with their wingmen, each pilot locking on to whatever target they could and firing as soon as they had a solid tone. Missiles streaked across the sky, striking their targets almost simultaneously. The drones never stood a chance, too slow to break off their pursuit and evade, breaking apart in a ball of fire and smoke.

"Holy shi– where'd that come from?!" one pilot managed to sputter out, though Naomi had no idea if they were one of the Oseans or the Eruseans.

"Wait, is that..." another unfamiliar pilot started. He let out a breathy laugh. "No way."

"Well, if it isn't the LRSSG! Looks like our luck has turned!" a new voice chirped. He sounded a bit winded, but hardly as bad as some of the pilots sounded. If Naomi had to guess, he wasn't up here fighting with them. "It's about damn time you guys showed up...I was starting to think your guys were lying to us when they said you all sent them. Should have known you'd never hang us out to dry..."