Somebody left the gate unlocked. That was careless. Somebody handed me the chart. Even worse. I drew a course through crooked water, put a question mark where north belonged. The instruments began complaining— Dramatically. They’ve been dramatic all along. Voltage steady, pressure climbing, something’s rattling down below. Is that normal? Normal’s never been my department. Thought so. There’s an unsupervised Raven in the engine room tonight, turning every wrong direction till the wrong one comes out right. Black feather. Blue flame. Saltwater running through my name. If the whole damn system trembles, let it tremble when I fly— there’s an unsupervised Raven and she’s feeling overqualified. Found a warning on the bulkhead: “Do not touch under any circumstance.” You touched it. Barely. Twice. Now the compass speaks in riddles and the radar wants to dance. Every gauge is leaning sideways, every circuit’s acting strange. Should we panic? Give it five more minutes. She likes to watch the pattern change. Current shifting, bearings turning, hear that stubborn diesel sing. We may be lost. We’re not lost— She misplaced everything. There’s an unsupervised Raven in the engine room tonight, turning every wrong direction till the wrong one comes out right. Black feather. Blue flame. Saltwater running through my name. If the whole damn system trembles, let it tremble when I fly— there’s an unsupervised Raven and she’s feeling overqualified. I don’t need your little rulebook. She used it for a fan. I don’t need a perfect heading. She has something like a plan. Let the careful keep their distance. Let the sensible stand by. I was never built for harbor— There she goes. There she flies. There’s an unsupervised Raven bringing midnight back to life, with a wrench between her fingers and a challenge in her eyes. Black feather. Blue flame. No permission, no restraint. If the whole damn system trembles, that just means I got it right— there’s an unsupervised Raven at the controls tonight.
