had been holding and turned to the tall

cond-floor window, where he had a clear view o

ghed. "Three years ago, she gave up everything for that b

rs. He was Professor Sterling's most brilliant former student, now a major investor in the aerospace sector and a

Caddie's file. "She wants to come back and finish he

e was calm and detached. "But if she's lost the spark she

e left, she was at the top of every class. Her final project on adaptive flight control sys

d at the pages. "That was thr

ng tapped a page. "Even now, no one has broken

said

continued, his voice quieter now. "Brillia

p. "And the

, but there was the faintest flic

k. "She left this. A proposal for an alternative energy propul

s moved over the first page, then

was precise. Several of the concepts were ideas his own tea

asking for a chance to prove herself. That's the diff

tion and closed the document.

week to refine it. If it passes review, I

ed. "That's m

t doing this for her. I'm doing it because good engineers are

is chair. "But she'll prove you wro

down at the empty courtyard. "We'll s

is footsteps silent o

ooked at the proposal still lying on hi

rise you," he murmur