"Sometime's it's all we've got." Her voice goes dry, much like her humor appeared to be in the moment. Hope had been a dream behind the Jaeger program, leading from schematics to the first working versions of the Pons up to the breakthrough in the dual piloting system, and the success of the first Jaeger Ranger team against the Kaiju. Hope is what kept people cheering when the Jaegers were causing only acceptable levels of collateral damage in cities, when the Kaiju weren't stopped outside the miracle mile.

She shook her head, pushing back on her chair. "Make it through the first three months and you'll know firsthand."

It wasn't a promise, but it was a fact. Simulations ran after getting through basic training. It wasn't a true Drift, but the real deal had several tons of mechanical body linked in. Nothing was like a true Drift in a Jaeger.

"Have you worked with teenagers before?"