[attr="class","spiral"] Nimble fingers get to work and the constant clicks of keyboard keys mask the sound of Najwa's approach. The screen flickers as multiple windows open up: first task manager, then the general file directory as Fernando navigates between the different drives. Despite the League's internal network sharing most information between different branches and computers, some information is best kept locally. It makes it easier to secure and requires perpetrators to be on location. Fortunately, Fernando has little to worry about. He's one of the good guys, after all.

"Oh?" The sound of her voice is startling but Fernando refrains from flinching. There's nothing for him to be afraid of on his home turf and so far he's done nothing wrong. There's no guilt or remorse when technically League property is considered his own. With a bright smile on his face, Fernando turns his head to address her, practiced patience melding perfectly as he answers her with the same warm expression he shows on television.

"Hello. I'm fine right now." He has an inkling that either she has no idea who he is or she's responsible for overseeing the lab. Maybe it's a mix of both. While figures such as Lucas Lane, persephone amavi, or Olivia Abbiati may be more closely associated with research, in a time before Slateport that role used to be synonymous with Silph. Not necessarily Fernando but rather his company's hand in joint operations with the League. With Devon out of the picture, that relationship has only strengthened.

"Did you need something from me?"

[attr="class","spiral"]Why are you smiling like that. Fernando resists the natural urge to narrow his eyes, unable to discern if she's socially inept and that's a genuine question or some sort of sassy reply. The lack of tone and facial expression to accompany the inquiry points toward the former and Fernando considers his next words carefully. While ingenious, the scientific type tend to take things literally, hence their aptitude in understanding plain logic and how strict laws work within the natural world. It is the power of creativity and understanding that adds to social interaction and Fernando toes that line very carefully

"Because it's rare that people approach me in a setting like this." There's no question of her intention and Fernando can feel the growing pain of being observed. He decides to detract from any unrelated discussion and try to bombard her with information. By telling her the drawn out truth, hopefully she can't deduce his primary objective.

"Believe it or not, I like to keep up to date with all types of matters. Specifically, I'm looking into some research Mr. Lane had conducted some time ago. His research into the incident in Mossdeep, along with Mega Evolution — prior to when we knew that Mega Evolution was a reproducible phenomenon — may help me find some more information I had about Legendary Pokemon."

The minute the pen and paper come out is the moment Fernando takes initiative. In his opinion, typing has always been faster than writing. In raw speed, he's sure to outdo her and leave her behind his trail. This is the opportunity he needs and he cycles through a variety of window's hotkeys, spinning up new instances of exploring various directories and copying over various files as he sees fit. Unsure of how technologically literate she is, he even opens up the computer's command line, spitting out standard syntax to enact the same commands while making it look more complicated than it really is.

[attr="class","spiral"] "I prefer visuals," Fernando answers without missing a beat. While the command prompt is faster and allows him elevated access to certain permissions the array of text that sprawls across the screen every time he enters a new command isn't as digestible as the normalized view that most computer users are used to. While he may know his in and outs at a high level Fernando hasn't dedicated the time to know how to parse the text by eyeballing it hence repeating his actions after he's gotten a visual of the folder hierarchy. At least that's his excuse and considering the nature of the field, it's entirely plausible.

What he does derive is that Najwa understand the scope of what he's doing. While that doesn't provide him any real trouble, that just means he needs to be thorough. Rather than take exactly what he wants, he'll have to take it all, sorting through what he's truly after once he's alone and away from prying eyes. "I find it faster to do that than sit there and try to blindly work my way through a new environment."

Multiple windows appear on the corner of the screen detailing how much time it'll take to copy over the bulk of the information he's transferring. Some of the windows clear instantly, mostly text files that take very little space, while others continue with a detailed estimated time until complete. Rather than wait, Fernando starts to open up several files of interest. Nothing pertaining to what he's here for but things that seem interesting nonetheless. He opens up a video log of some documented experiment and leans back into the chair to listen to the audio.

Despite the sound of someone droning off about the premise of their findings, Fernando decides to question Najwa farther, never taking his eyes away from the screen. "So what's your field of expertise?"

[attr="class","spiral"] The missing backslash means little to his overall work. Without missing a beat it corrects itself, deleting the extra on the console without Fernando having to do it himself. The occurrence happens naturally and only the most observant will notice. Her worry is misplaced and Fernando otherwise ignores the comment, knowing full well that his data will be as presentable as humanly possible. After all, there's only one thing more reliable with a computer that's not himself.

"What a pinpoint timeline," he answers with an amused smirk. So she's one of those type. It reminds him of Lucas Lane in some aspects but also drastically different in another. Perhaps it's an obsession with numbers but the precision behind her answer warns him on several fronts about what type of person he's dealing with and he carries on with caution.

"Replicating genes can be a challenging issue," he comments idly, closing the lecture before turning his chair to look back at her. "So many Pokemon can exhibit such behaviors under specific scenarios but replicating them consistently and for our own personal use has proven immensely difficult."

Fernando's by no means a scholar in the world of academia but the topic of replication is one that perks his interest. Having grown up with a Ditto since childhood — the crux of his own experiments, an essential core of Project Avalon, and as the most capable user of TRANSFORM — the topic happens to be one that he knows his way around. While most of his knowledge rests at a high overview level derived from being submersed in frequent conversations from experts, this one happens to be one that he's well versed in. Hours in a dark laboratory sampling how to turn Pokemon DNA digital has its usage even if it ended in failure.

[attr="class","spiral"] Oh. What a smooth transition. Fernando keeps his chuckle to himself, resounding mentally as Najwa shifts from genetics to generic questions about him. How much did she know and how much was it her playing dumb, if at all? Typically, Fernando would assume the later but with his meeting with @noblesse still fresh on his mind, the former becomes a very real possibility.

"Shortly after the Slateport Invasion. I never really wanted to get my hands into politics but I couldn't bear to see Hoenn fall to the same fate as Kanto due to negligence." He clasps his hands together, fingers interlock as the chair pivots with a small swivel back and forth. "And unfortunately I've yet to find a suitable successor to relieve me of this duty."

[attr="class","spiral"] Fernando lets out a mild laugh when she restates his answer with her own personal twist. "Well, if you want to put it like that, then you could argue that, sure. It would be more accurate to say that I didn't envision myself taking up such a role but did so once I realized it was something I could do and excel at."

Despite the increasing invasiveness of her question, which he can only presume she does out of good faith, Fernando smiles. This isn't the first time he's been probe but the longer they converse the more it feels like a one-sided interview. "I also wouldn't say that I'm trying to pass it off either. People in positions that impact others should always have a successor in mind should anything happen."

Najwa gets one last question and Fernando claps his hands together, sitting upright as he stares back at her. "If you'd like to know more I'm afraid I'll have to charge you. HNN would hate me forever if I gave away my life's story to someone else when I've been ducking them for weeks."