Then, shortly before the war, he switched to communication electronics. At Devon's suggestion he'd joined North State, but had spent most of his time as a field engineer. He had been as good as in the front lines during most of the war.
It was inevitable that their opposite natures combined with life-long acquaintance should result in strong mutual attraction. As a consequence, they had determined to take the step dreamed of by most top-flight engineers but seldom achieved. They planned to open their own consulting office as soon as their kitty grew big enough — and it was growing. They'd soon be ready.
But there was still work to be done for North State. And Devon was two weeks behind on a fairly routine project, a remote weather station. His prints had been in the model shop for three weeks now.
And Kennely's —
He squinted up from his propagation calculations as he saw the familiar pipe laid on the top or the desk next to his.
"Hi, Chris," Kennely's voice boomed. He took off his coat. "Trying to put a forecasting unit in that weather station of yours?"
"How can I put anything in it — when it's still a bunch of paper down in MacIllhenney's files?"
"Aw, don't be hard on Mac. He's got his hands full these days, so many boomers passing through his shop pretending they're mechanics."
"Sure, I'd find excuses for him, too, if my stuff were all finished after only five days."
"You mean he's got my job done? Say, that's nice going! Come on down and let's have a look at it."