“Good. Now then, any messages for me? Anyone aboard the station looking for me?” The girl turned and tapped a few keys on the computer’s control console. A row of lights flicked briefly across the console’s face. She turned back to Leoh: “No, sir, I’m sorry. No messages and no one has asked for you.” “Hm-m-m. That’s strange. Well, thank you ... and I’ll expect to see you at the end of this week.” The girl smiled a farewell. Leoh started to walk away from the booth, back toward the slideway. The young man took a step toward him, stumbled on his own traveling kit, and staggered across the floor for a half-dozen steps before regaining his balance. Leoh turned and saw that the youth’s face bore a somewhat ridiculous expression of mixed indecision and curiosity. “Can I help you?” Leoh asked, stopping at the edge of the moving slideway. “How ... how did you do that, sir?” “Do what?” “Get that girl to agree to visit the university. I’ve been talking to her for half an hour, and, well, she wouldn’t even look straight at me.” Leoh broke into a chuckle. “Well, young man, to begin with, you were much too flustered. It made you appear overanxious. On the other hand, I am at an age where I can be strictly platonic. She was on guard against you, but she knows she has very little to fear from me.” “I see ... I think.” “Well,” Leoh said, gesturing toward the slideway, “I suppose this is where we go our separate ways.” “Oh, no, sir. I’m going with you. That is, I mean, you _are_ Dr. Leoh, aren’t you?” “Yes, I am. And you must be—” Leoh hesitated. _Can this be a Star Watch officer?_ he wondered. The youth stiffened to attention and for an absurd flash of a second, Leoh thought he was going to salute. “I am Junior Lieutenant Hector, sir; on special detached duty from the cruiser SW4-J188, home base Perseus Alpha VI.” “I see,” Leoh replied. “Um-m-m ... is Hector your first name or your last?” “Both, sir.” _I should have guessed_, Leoh told himself. Aloud, he said, “Well, lieutenant, we’d better get to the shuttle before it leaves without us.” * * * * * They took to the slideway. Half a second later, Hector jumped off and dashed back to the communications desk for his traveling kit. He hurried back to Leoh, bumping into seven bewildered citizens of various descriptions and nearly breaking both his legs when he tripped as he ran back onto the moving slideway. He went down on his face, sprawled across two lanes moving at different speeds, and needed the assistance of several persons before he was again on his feet and standing beside Leoh. “I ... I’m sorry to cause all that, uh, commotion, sir.” “That’s all right. You weren’t hurt, were you?” “Uh, no ... I don’t think so. Just embarrassed.” Leoh said nothing. They rode the slideway in silence through the busy station and out to the enclosed berths where the planetary shuttles were docked. They boarded one of the ships and found a pair of seats.