The canopy opened several seconds later.
A single pilot climbed out of the cockpit.
He wore a dark flight suit fitted closely around his frame, with reinforced sections around the chest, shoulders, and legs. A helmet rested beneath one arm, its visor wider than the ones used by Falcon One’s crew.
The Ground Guidance Crew had already positioned an access ladder against the aircraft.
The pilot descended and approached Hans.
"Raptor One reporting, Commander."
Hans looked past him toward the aircraft.
The Raptor carried only one person.
Everything else appeared to have been built around keeping that person alive long enough to reach a target, destroy it, and return.
Hans opened its information panel.
------
[ Vehicle Name: Raptor One ]
[ Vehicle Type: Raptor Air Superiority Fighter ]
[ Crew: 1 ]
[ Flight Characteristics ]
[ Maximum Combat Speed: Mach 2.0 ]
[ Loiter Speed: Mach 1.4 ]
High-speed fixed-wing aircraft designed for aerial interception, precision strikes, and rapid reconnaissance.
Capable of high-altitude flight and extreme maneuverability.
[ Primary Armament ]
[ 25mm Internal Rotary Cannon ]
[ Ammunition: 920 rounds ]
[ Effective Range: 1.2 kilometers ]
Designed for aerial combat, strafing attacks, and suppression of lightly protected ground targets.
[ Precision Missile Bays ]
[ Air-to-Ground Precision Missiles: 4 ]
[ Air-to-Air Interceptor Missiles: 4 ]
Internal weapon bays preserve the aircraft’s flight profile and reduce external detection.
Missile targeting is assisted by onboard Radar systems.
[ Defensive and Stealth Systems ]
Radar-absorbent composite airframe.
Infrared signature suppression.
Electronic countermeasure system.
Six chaff-and-flare deployments every twelve hours.
[ Local Radar ]
[ Detection Radius: 2.5 kilometers ]
Operates independently of fixed Radar Facility coverage.
[ Aircraft Systems ]
Fly-by-wire controls.
Terrain-following Radar.
Encrypted System uplink.
[ Remarks ]
Designed for precision rather than sustained bombardment.
Aircraft ammunition and defensive countermeasures are replenished every twelve hours.
------
Hans read the panel again.
Falcon One’s weapons existed to protect the aircraft and the soldiers it carried. Raptor One carried a cannon and eight missiles inside its frame.
Its Radar also reached five times farther than Falcon One’s. Combined with its speed, the aircraft could inspect distant sections of Grefort without waiting for his ground forces to clear the roads leading there.
Hans closed the panel.
"How useful are you for reconnaissance?"
"Very useful, Commander," the pilot answered. "Give me a route and I can cross it before a ground platoon finishes clearing one block. Roads, rooftops, fires, blocked approaches, survivor signals, infected movement. If it can be seen from the air, I’ll find it."
The pilot smiled slightly.
"And if it’s trying not to be seen, I’ll probably find that too."
"Can you inspect buildings?"
"Only from outside. Entrances, rooftops, structural damage, movement around them. I can tell you which buildings deserve attention, but your ground units still have to open the doors."
Hans nodded.
"What do you need from me?"
"A route and priority sectors. Flight Operations will handle departure and recovery. Once I leave the Radar boundary, the rest is mine."
The pilot glanced back toward Raptor One.
"Then you let me fly, Commander."
Hans entered the nearby operations building and unfolded a physical map of Grefort City across one of the tables.
The southern platoons already had secured roads, established positions, and Recon Teams ahead of them. Hans wanted Raptor One to begin with the areas his ground forces had not reached.
North of the main base, the fixed Radar coverage ended long before the Nuclear Power Plant.
"Then we begin with the Nuclear Power Plant. Circle the facility and inspect its outer perimeter. Do not descend near the security zone."
The pilot glanced toward the marked location.
"Keeping the expensive aircraft away from the armed machines. Sensible."
Hans looked at him.
"That was an order."
"And a sensible one, Commander."
The pilot’s smile remained.
Hans moved the route westward across the northern industrial sectors, then continued it along the eastern side of the city.
"Inspect the industrial roads, large facilities, bridges, and anything moving between them."
"Easy enough."
"After that, make one pass along the edge of central Grefort."
The pilot looked toward the central districts.
"Now we’re talking."
"You are not entering the central districts."
"That hurts."
"The buildings are denser there. If your Radar becomes unreliable, withdraw and continue east."
The pilot studied the route for several seconds.
"High-rise clutter will reduce identification quality. I can still mark movement and major concentrations, but I won’t promise clean details between the buildings."
"That is enough."
Hans extended the line toward Pandora.
"Continue southeast. Inspect Pandora District, then the southern districts."
The route crossed the outer residential sections and reached the Colony.
"Confirm the Colony’s surroundings. After that, follow the western bypass north."
His finger stopped beside the Conservatory Park.
"Inspect this location from above. Something might be inside the Central Dome."
"Observe only?"
"Observe only."
Hans moved to the captured military post, then marked the smaller army base northeast of it.
"Check both before returning to the Airfield."
The pilot looked over the completed route.
"A full circuit around Grefort."
"Can you complete it?"
The pilot gave him a strange look.
"Commander, I could complete it several times before Falcon One finished carrying passengers along the same route."
Hans stared at him.
The pilot cleared his throat.
"Yes. I can complete it."
"There is one more priority."
Hans moved his finger back toward the central districts.
"A giant infected was reported near Pandora District several months ago. At least six stories tall."
The pilot’s smile slowly returned.
"Six stories?"
"Dmitri reported that it followed a large meteorite shard out of Pandora. No one has confirmed where it stopped."
"That should be difficult to hide."
"It has remained hidden until now."
The pilot looked toward central Grefort again.
"Then the buildings are hiding it for us."
"If you find anything matching its size, mark the location and leave."
"No attack?"
"No attack."
The disappointment on the pilot’s face lasted less than a second.
"Understood, Commander. Find the giant, admire it from a respectful distance, and let someone else have the fun."
"Exactly. Don’t give it a reason to notice you either."
The pilot glanced down at the center of the map.
"At the altitude I’ll use, it shouldn’t get much of a look."
"Shouldn’t?"
"If it notices me from that far away, Commander, then we’ve learned something important."
Hans stared at him.
The pilot raised one hand.
"I won’t provoke it. No low pass, no weapons, and no second attempt if the first view is obstructed."
"That is better."
Hans traced the route one last time.
The Nuclear Power Plant and much of the northern industrial sector lay beyond the fixed Radar Facility’s coverage. The same applied to several sections of the eastern route, Pandora, and the western bypass.
Hans would not be able to follow Raptor One’s marker through most of the circuit.
"Report whenever you are still within communication range," Hans said. "Once you leave it, record everything and return."
"Yes, Commander."
"Do not change the route unless the situation requires it."
The pilot looked offended for a moment.
"Commander, I may enjoy flying, but I do know what reconnaissance means."
"Good."
Hans folded the map.
The pilot studied the last few markings before stepping away from the table.
"I’ll inform Flight Operations of the intended circuit. They’ll know where I’m supposed to go and when I should return, even if they can’t follow me the entire way."
"That will do."
The two of them left the operations building.
Raptor One remained on the apron outside its hangar. The Ground Guidance Crew had finished checking the landing gear, control surfaces, and concealed weapon bays. One of them stood beside the access ladder while the others cleared equipment away from the aircraft.
The pilot put on his helmet.
Its dark visor lowered across his face.
"Try not to miss me too much, Commander."
Hans stopped.
The pilot paused halfway toward the ladder.
"Return with useful information."
A faint chuckle came through the helmet.
"That was already guaranteed."
He climbed into the cockpit.
The canopy lowered and sealed above him. Several seconds later, Raptor One’s systems came alive.
The Ground Guidance Crew withdrew the ladder and moved into position around the aircraft.
"Raptor One to Flight Operations," the pilot reported. "Beginning preflight. Intended route is north toward the Nuclear Power Plant, west across the northern industrial sectors, east around central Grefort, then south through Pandora and the outer districts. Western return through the bypass, military post, and army base."
"Flight Operations receiving," the controller answered. "Route extends beyond fixed Radar coverage."
"I noticed."
"Maintain scheduled return window. Report when entering and leaving coverage."
"Understood. Don’t shit your pants when I’m five minutes earlier than you expected."
The engines started.
A low whine rose from the rear of the aircraft, growing sharper as the turbines gained power. The sound remained controlled inside the apron, though Hans could already feel it through the concrete beneath his boots.
Raptor One began moving.
The Ground Guidance Crew directed it away from the hangar and toward the connected taxi lane. Its dark frame turned slowly, then followed the painted markings toward the runway.
Hans watched from beside the apron.
The aircraft stopped at the threshold.
"Raptor One ready for departure."
"Runway clear. Departure approved."
The pilot paused.
"Finally."
The engines roared.
Raptor One accelerated down the runway.
Its landing gear left the surface before reaching the far end. The aircraft climbed north, retracted its wheels, and gained altitude until its dark shape became difficult to follow against the sky.
Several seconds later, the pilot’s voice returned through the command channel.
"Raptor One airborne. Beginning northern circuit. Don’t blink or you’ll miss me, Commander."
Hans looked toward the empty runway.
Raptor One’s marker continued north across the Radar map.
It was already moving toward the edge of the fixed coverage.
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