[COLOR=GRAY][INDENT][INDENT][i]Adrianna Dahl sat at the head of the conference table, looking down the line of turncoats and backstabbers who had just entered their vote against her. Not one of them had any practical knowledge in engineering. Not one of them was remotely proficient in any of the sciences. There was five doctorates in the room. None were even peripherally related to anything STEM. Two were in Economics, Two more in Business Management / Administration... which Adie still could barely believe was a thing a person could become a Doctor in, and the fifth was in Management Information Systems and Business Statistics. When she'd put these people on the board, she'd filled it with pliable 'Yes' men, with no practical knowledge in the company's products' fields of technology and research and development. Her justification being that she already knew her field, and that it wasn't there where she needed hands and eyes. They'd out-manoeuvred her in a field that was outside of her own specialty, and the most galling thing was she hadn't recognised any of the signs, had no awareness of it as it happened under her very nose. Like she was the butt of a joke, but even on the outside of the punchline. [color=lime]"Not one of you could have even come close to building this. And I'm supposed to let you drag me out?"[/color] [color=white]"Adria--"[/color] [color=lime]"Shut up. You've made millions off of dividends and vested stock options. You've never created a thing in your life. None of you have. None of you could."[/color] She'd built this place alone. And let them maul her and drag her down and tear her heart out as a scrambling, clawing team... whilst she stood alone. [/i] [/INDENT][/INDENT][hr][CENTER][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1070792705547980842/1116812153186422854/Adrianna_Dahl.png[/img][/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=SILVER][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=SILVER][b]First Class: # 2.63[/b][/COLOR] [I]FileName# 'Lutra' Not Found. Try Again? Y or N?[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][sub][color=SILVER][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] Nil[/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=SILVER][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [I]This Computer Isn't Configured For Fast User Switching[/I][/right][/SUP] [INDENT] Looking for a distraction from the dramatic proceedings in the latest Teledrama episode of 'Blackjack!', Adrianna opened her envelope to see what the other two houses to offer her placement, not named Lutra. Only to find there were three such houses. There must have been some kind of mistake... She upturned the envelope and shook it, the two other team armbands shook out to the floor. Okay. Okay. Maybe you got somebody else's envelope... or maybe, you're missing something. Maybe there's something to these three that makes them an even better fit than Lutra that you just hadn't thought about. She looked at her three cards. [color=white][table=bordered][row][/row][row][cell=active][indent][b]Greetings and Salutations Adrianna,[/b] We are pleased to announce that after review, we have found you to possess great assertiveness, a trait that we truly hold dear and revere in House Gulo. We hope that you'll make ours your House of choice upon receiving your offers. Sincerely, [i]Robert Priest Jr.[/i][/indent] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1047910123206627378/1070121926682488892/House_Gulo.png[/img][/center][/cell][/row][/table] [table=bordered][row][/row][row][cell=active][indent][b]Greetings and Salutations Adrianna,[/b] We are pleased to announce that after review, we have found you to possess great observation, a trait that we truly hold dear and revere in House Strigidae. We hope that you'll make ours your House of choice upon receiving your offers. Sincerely, [i]Theron Demetrios[/i][/indent] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1070345118718099546/1070345755564453919/Strigidae.png[/img][/center][/cell][/row][/table] [table=bordered][row][/row][row][cell=active][indent][b]Greetings and Salutations Adrianna,[/b] We are pleased to announce that after review, we have found you to possess great creativity, a trait that we truly hold dear and revere in House Myotis. We hope that you'll make ours your House of choice upon receiving your offers. Sincerely, [i]Robert Priest Sr.[/i][/indent] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1047910123206627378/1070864055759278090/Myotis.png[/img][/center][/cell][/row][/table][/color] Assertiveness, observation and creativity. Well... okay. Although 'observation' kind of seemed like a cruel joke right now. Gulo. The intense loner house. Myotis. The aloof creative artiste house. Strigidae... she hadn't even considered Strigidae. This was a nightmare. She'd come back to school for a different experience than her own high school life had been. She was successful now. She could be cool now. So how was she winding up getting forced into the same pigeon hole all over again. She was supposed to collect some bits of paper that said she knew how to do stuff that people who were actually [b]IN[/b] the industry knew she could actually write the book on, even without the official qualifications that said so... and live it up and party some, whilst doing it. So how was this all happening again? The second whistle blew, and the teams re-settled into their new status quo. To Adie's bafflement a number of her own teammates had jumped ship. Was that-- were they unhappy? Had they ever expressed that? How did this keep happening? How and why were there always all these hidden machinations she never knew about which saw people wanting out, or wanting her out, or wanting something different? And how was it always less surprising to others than her? If Lutra was in there this wouldn't have even been a choice. She'd have just viewed it as 'meant to be', 'oh, of course', 'well, it was an inevitability'. But without them, perhaps she'd been granted an opportunity? She thought back to what she knew about the three houses. Gulo and Myotis had a touch if the distant, individual genius. Brilliant, but isolated. Hadn't that always been her problem? Strigidae. Dependable. Observant. Tenacious. It sounded a lot like her father. A lot like the values he'd tried so hard to drive into her, and a lot like how he carried himself as well. Maybe this Theron Demetrios had picked up on a hint of that, even if individual brilliance seemed to shine to the fore. And maybe... maybe a bit more of that was what she needed. A person who her company and board felt they could depend on... maybe they don't force that person out. An observant person... maybe they would have seen it coming and found a way to stop them. And a tenacious person... would almost certainly have dug in and put up a longer fight than she had been able to. Maybe this was more than just a selection for who she was. Maybe it was a way she could develop these burgeoning traits even further, and become something greater than she had been? She approached the team Captain who stood underneath the orange banners. [color=lime]"Hi. Adrianna Dahl. I'm reporting in to accept your invitation and drive Strigidae into the future."[/color] [center] - - - [/center] [/INDENT][/INDENT][/color] [color=SILVER][SUP][table][row][/row][row][cell][color=#2c2c2c]- -[/color]|◄ [url=First Post URL][COLOR=GRAY][b]FIRST[/b][/COLOR][/url][/cell][cell][color=2c2c2c]-[/color][/cell][cell][color=2c2c2c]-[/color][/cell][cell][color=2c2c2c]-[/color][/cell][cell][center]◄ [url=Previous Post URL][COLOR=GRAY][B]PREV[/B][/COLOR][/url] || [url=Next Post URL (Edited after a subsequent post is added, can be linked to current post is current is latest)][COLOR=GRAY][B]NEXT[/B][/COLOR][/url] ►[color=#2e2c2c]-[/color][/center][/cell][cell][color=2c2c2c]-[/color][/cell][cell][INDENT][right][url=Latest Post URL (Edited after a subsequent post is added, can be linked to current post is current is latest)][COLOR=GRAY][B]LATEST[/B][/COLOR][/url] ►|[/right][/INDENT][/cell][/row][/table][/SUP][/color]