>the only thing that niggles me is the plane: it seems to owe more to
>the f-18 than the viper. i assume that's deliberate, seeing as it's a
>veritech and all, but i somehow imagined it still looking more like a
>lawn dart than something i'm likely to see landing at hanscom this
>summer...

That's because it's the VF-1-82 (aka SERAPH BLUE), not the VX. If you'll remember the last story, Admiral Adama pulled the VXs, and Max Sterling arranged for Kozue to fly SERAPH BLUE instead.