"Unbelievable. How the hell did that programmer, Harry, develop software like this?"
The technical director from Lockheed Martin's New York division had just returned to the local office. After urgently connecting with company headquarters, he and the test pilot—who had flown the simulator for ten minutes the previous night—began reporting their findings to the top executives.
As the technical director personally examined the simulator's operating software, he couldn't stop himself from exclaiming in shock.
"You're sure Castle handed this to you personally?"
The CEO of Lockheed Martin was present in the video conference. While he wasn't a technical expert himself, he had plenty of board members who were.
These people—seasoned veterans of military aviation—might not have built such software themselves, but they knew true genius when they saw it.
Even the hardware schematics and installation instructions in the files were groundbreaking. The only downside?
The cost was astronomical.
Castle and the chubby kid hadn't cut any corners. Every component used in the simulator was top-of-the-line, meaning that even the cheapest version of this machine would cost over a hundred million dollars to manufacture.
And that didn't even include development costs, labor, or Castle's intellectual property.
If those were factored in, the true value of this simulator easily exceeded several billion dollars.
But cost wasn't the issue.
The test pilot's reaction said it all.
The video conference continued well past midnight, with a single agenda:
Secure Castle's cooperation at all costs.
The technical director was ordered to immediately return to Castle's estate in the morning and begin extracting as much knowledge as possible from both Castle and Harry.
The goal?
To fast-track production of this simulator under Lockheed Martin's technology-sharing agreement with Castle.
If they could deploy these simulators before the F-35 was officially ready for service, they could train pilots in advance—meaning that by the time the aircraft was delivered, the Air Force, Navy, and Marines would already have combat-ready pilots.
This was a billion-dollar opportunity.
And as for the foreign countries who had invested in the "Joint Strike Fighter" program alongside the U.S.?
They were about to get fleeced.
Want your air force to be combat-ready the moment you receive your F-35s?
Want your pilots to be fully trained before your jets are even delivered?
Then hand over your wallets.
This simulator was not included in the original JSF development contract.
If they wanted it, they'd have to pay up.
At that moment, Lockheed Martin's board members saw golden dollar signs flashing before their eyes.
By sunrise, the technical director—along with the test pilot and an army of engineers—was already back at Castle's estate.
---
Castle, still wearing his bathrobe, yawned as he greeted them.
The chubby kid, however, was not present.
After getting wasted the night before—thanks to Castle and John—he was passed out in the supercomputer lab's lounge, trapped beneath his blankets like a mummified corpse.
---
This time, Lockheed Martin's testing process was far more rigorous.
With trained specialists handling the evaluation, Castle sipped his coffee and watched from the sidelines.
Meanwhile, the test pilot ran the simulator through its paces, flying every aircraft he was familiar with.
John—who had planned to continue flight training with Big Ivan—made a quick stop at the estate to drop off Onona, leaving her in Castle's care for the day.
Gianna, needing to visit New York City for corporate business, tagged along to see the action before heading out.
The result?
Castle babysitting his little goddaughter while Lockheed Martin's engineers scrambled to document the simulator's inner workings.
The chubby, giggling toddler—who was usually chasing dogs around the estate—was surprisingly calm, nestled in Castle's arms as she watched the simulator in wide-eyed fascination.
Castle, still in his bathrobe, kept a tight grip on her.
She had a habit of pestering the estate's four massive dogs, and today, with Big Ivan's security team at the airport and Ramsay still asleep, Castle had no choice but to play babysitter.
Luckily, Onona was mesmerized by the whirring machine in front of her.
So, for an entire morning, she sat quietly in Castle's arms, watching Lockheed Martin's engineers climb all over the simulator.
---
The test pilot flew at least five different aircraft models within a few hours.
By the time he stumbled out of the cockpit, his body was exhausted, but his eyes burned with excitement.
Only professional pilots could fully appreciate just how legendary this machine was.
With a maximum overload of 5 Gs, it could faithfully replicate nearly every aerial maneuver—except for post-stall supermaneuverability.
For a fighter pilot, this was a dream come true.
Many risky combat maneuvers could now be safely practiced without the fear of dying in a real crash.
The test pilot was certain:
If this simulator became widely adopted, it would revolutionize combat aviation training.
---
Castle, however, didn't care.
He had already informed Lockheed Martin's CEO that building this simulator at full scale required a supercomputer.
If they wanted to replicate his technology, that was their problem to solve.
Now, he had a bigger issue.
Since Lockheed Martin was moving so aggressively, Boeing and Northrop Grumman had caught wind of the situation and were sending their own teams.
That meant even more work for Castle.
So, he gave both companies a simple message:
"Send your teams as fast as possible. I'm not doing this three separate times."
His plan?
A joint training session for all three companies.
Teach them everything at once, get rid of them, and go back to flight school.
---
As for the test pilot's offer to personally train Castle in aerial combat?
Castle shot him down instantly.
"Hell no."
"Dude, you're already fully kitted-out with legendary gear."
"I'm still a level 1 noob who hasn't even left the tutorial zone."
"If I train under you, I'll just get my ass kicked and humiliated."
---
What Castle didn't know was that the test pilot didn't actually care about teaching him.
The guy just wanted an excuse to stay longer.
By "training Castle," he could spend more time flying the simulator before Lockheed Martin finished building their own version.
Because even though they now had Castle's schematics, actually replicating this "divine machine" would take a very long time.
______
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