
04/07/2025
(I know my ideas are sometimes strange ... but damn let me get unconventional here and there !)
“Major Anya Rostova. Callsign: Valkyrie. Unofficial sortie debrief and status report. Current location: Grid 7, Ghost-Head peaks. We are grounded for rapid metabolic refuel pending re-engagement.
My partner, Bio-Dynamic Sky-dominance platform BDS-01, callsign ‘Ghost,’ is in a low-energy resting state. His metabolic rate is normalizing after the high-output burn required for the last engagement. Core temperature for the primary plasma-breath weapon has cycled down to nominal levels. My visual diagnostic confirms minor stress impacts on the forward horn-plate armor, and the port-side wing membrane shows three small perforations from enemy shrapnel. Nothing that will compromise combat effectiveness. He’s solid.
The last sortie was… intense. We engaged three hostile Manticore-class flyers over the valley. Their flight pattern was predictable, textbook academy stuff. Amateurs. We went vertical on my mark, broke the sound barrier, and I pushed Ghost into a high-angle attack vector they never saw coming. He didn’t need the plasma cannon for the first two. A clean intercept with primary claw and talon systems. Fast. Efficient. Textbook.
The third bogey was different. Smart. It had a tail-gunner with a good eye. I felt Ghost’s frustration through the neural link-a flicker of primal rage against the cold logic of the RIO connection. Talk to me, Ghost, I sent back. And he did. He showed me a maneuver, not from any flight manual, but from pure, ancient instinct. I gave him flight control. He inverted, pulling a negative-G roll that would have torn the wings off any machine. He came up under their belly. End of story.
They tell us in the briefings, ‘Trust your equipment.’ But this isn't equipment. I can feel the ground vibrate with every one of his slow, powerful heartbeats. I can see the heat still shimmering from his scales. You can't run a hand over the fuselage of an F-22 and feel it press back against you in acknowledgement. He's not a jet fighter. He's better.
The coffee is gone. The wind is picking up. Down below, the enemy is regrouping, their comms chatter lighting up my display. The danger zone is about to get hot again.
I feel the need… the need to ensure air superiority. To finish the mission.
I stow the recorder and run a hand over Ghost’s warm, armored scales. He opens one golden eye, the pupil dilating as it focuses on me. The deep rumble starts in his chest. He’s ready.
Alright, Ghost. Let’s go give them hell.”