Leoh sighed and put his self-contained argument off to the back of his mind. Trying to think logically near Hector was a hopeless prospect.
“Are you in, doctor?” Hector’s voice rang out.
“In here.”
Hector ducked in through the doorway and plopped his rangy frame on the office’s couch.
“Everything going well, sir?”
Leoh shrugged. “Not very well, I’m afraid. I can’t find anything wrong with the dueling machine. I can’t even force it to malfunction.”
“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Hector chirped happily.
“In a sense,” Leoh admitted, feeling slightly nettled at the youth’s boundless, pointless optimism. “But, you see, it means that Kanus’ people can do things with the machine that I can’t.”
Hector frowned, considering the problem. “Hm-m-m ... yes, I guess that’s right, too, isn’t it?”
“Did you see the girl back to her ship safely?” Leoh asked.