The flarebird is a large raptor (front wingspan 6 fyt, rear wingspan 10 fyt) indigenous to the Ascacian Wastes. Related species may be found in almost any hot climate. A Bazrahin legend holds that flarebirds are born from solar flares and fly to the Wastes through interplanetary space. While fanciful, this story does justice to the creature’s exotic appearance: flying across the lava fields of the western Wastes, the flarebird’s reflective wings make it look like a bird shaped from living fire, swooping and soaring above the pyroclastic flow.

The SF-19 Flarebird is named for this creature. First introduced in 5264 and deployed in the assault on Estyria, the Flarebird Space Superiority Fighter distinguished itself by its inertia-defying maneuverability and remained in active use well into the Parallax Urgency. In 5293, scandal erupted when it was discovered that a fleet of Flarebirds had been sold to a militant faction—ironically enough, the Bazrahin, who used the threat of air strike to push their new agenda.

—Thucydides Plutonium