Changing Seats
Though the two mech designers eventually returned to studying the phasewater that their expeditionary forces obtained from the pakklaton refugee fleet, Ves no longer became as excited about phasewater as before.
He even figured that this entire meeting was an excuse for Professor Benedict Cortez to have a heart-to-heart talk with him. The way that a Senior Mech Designer made a formal bow left a strong impression on his psyche!
Professor Benedict was not the sort of person who acted frivolously. Just like his specialty, he prized efficiency and tried to make every action or word he said as meaningful as possible.
From beginning to end, Benedict did not treat Ves as a Journeyman that he could boss around.
Instead, both of them spoke on an equal level most of the time. While there were instances where Professor Benedict's considerable expertise and experience put him on a higher level, he shared more knowledge than was strictly needed.