<strong>Location</strong>: ADAMS Headquarters (First Haven, Watcher’s Island). Central Command - Personal Office of Director Percival Yao<br/><strong>Date</strong>: 5 January 2099. Monday<br/><strong>Time</strong>: Afternoon<br/><strong>Who</strong>: Percival Yao<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Yao did already know. All he had to do was lean over his computer keys, type in a few security codes, and he could have brought up a detailed record of Julie’s entire life history ranging from her first moment of contact with the North American Union’s Department of Experiment Technologies to the press conference she had just attended. But passively reading someone’s background assembled from a thousand different sources and edited by hundreds of people without any input from the actual subject would never be as valuable as hearing it in their own words.<br/><br/>He made himself comfortable, rested his elbows along on his chair’s arms and stretched out his legs under the desk, as he let Julie speak freely and without interruption. She knew how to speak. Yao had to wonder if her DET boarding school had taught her that or if Julie was just a natural speaker. If life had turned out differently and she had ended up pursuing acceptance into Research and Development she probably would have passed the interview section of her hiring consideration with flying colors. But in this life it just made her an excellent candidate for more press conference appearances.<br/><br/>Yao appreciated her apparent honesty and her willingness to fully explain her answer. So many trainees and pilots became lost, suddenly laconic, or would only parrot practiced phrases when presented they were presented with such as simple and direct question. Yao gave a soft hum of acknowledgement as Julie pointed out how the world wasn’t fair. It wasn’t. Yao didn’t know if the world had ever been fair or right or just. Yao wasn’t exactly an optimist, but he knew that just because the world and the people in it weren’t always pretty or good didn’t mean it wasn’t worth saving.<br/><br/>Or at least trying to save it.<br/><br/>“That’s quite a well thought out and personal answer, Tanaka. Thank you for sharing it with me.” Yao sat up a bit straighter and took a casual glance at his wrist to look at his watch. He wasn’t in a rush to get Julie’s promotion over as he preferred to take a few quiet moments to size up trainees before he heaved the full responsibilities and danger upon them, though Luke was running a bit late. Yao’s dark brown eyes looked back to Julie. “Though talented scientists aren’t as rare as you might think. If you went down to the docking bay right now and started throwing around marbles you’d hit a talented scientist every time. Talent in something is a learned skill that anyone can have. But passion and teamwork? Whether you’re talking about scientists or pilots now that’s rare.”<br/><br/>Julie seemed to have the former, but Yao wasn’t so sure about the later. Nothing in Julie’s personality or behavior assessments indicated issues cooperating with others, though all that meant was she was good at staying out of trouble. “Within the program who is your best friend?"