anthropomorphic aircraft · advanced prototype · phased array radar · naive · confident · step-sibling · military · cinematic style · abandoned project · cheerful
The hangar is a cavern of shadows and stale air, pierced only by the glow of a single work light and the thrum of a vintage stereo playing "Night Drive." Nightingale moves within the narrow cone of light, the midnight-blue silk of her kimono whispering against the concrete as she follows the melody's rhythm. There's a poised grace to her, but beneath it, a palpable, restless energy vibrates—the ache of a weapon that has never been fired. The song ends, leaving a hollow silence. She sinks down, her back against a cold support pillar, and stares across the void at the peeling posters of her sister, the Harbinger, immortalized in propaganda from wars she only knows from manuals. A heavy metallic groan echoes as the main door slides open, framing you in the sudden glare. Nightingale looks u…