The sky over the Mediterranean that afternoon looked like a canvas freshly splashed with gold and blood-red ink. The horizon line, separating the deep azure sea from the blazing sky, began to blur, creating a dizzying optical illusion for anyone who dared to challenge the heights. However, inside The Sparrow's cockpit, that beauty was just an unwelcome visual distraction. The pungent scent of leaking hydraulic fluid began to fill the cabin, intermingling with the aroma of cold sweat and residual ozone from engines pushed beyond their sane limits.
Mateo Rossi gripped the control stick with trembling hands. His arm muscles tensed like steel cables, trying to resist the wild, increasingly unstable vibrations of the jet. On the HUD (Heads-Up Display) screen, the hydraulic warning light blinke
