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And indeed, Hector’s suspicions were thus far proving true. Despite how much Haqq Najir had been examining the different pieces of armor that Hector materialized for him, the man had not been able to tell him much.

“This metal defies explanation,” said Haqq. “In many ways, it mimics the properties of your iron. Weight. Density. Electric and thermal conductivity. All almost identical. And yet its tensile strength seems to match, or even surpass, that of the metal that Abbas and I synthesized for the Amir-9 prototype.”

“Surpass?” said Hector, doubtful. “What makes you think that?”

“I did say ‘seems to,’” added Haqq. “That particular property is quite difficult to fully test. I would need more equipment to know that for certain.”

“Okay, but what makes you think that could even be possible?” said Hector. “There’s no reason to think that this armor could be any stronger than the Amir-9, is there?”

Haqq’s nose twitched. “I took one of the many spare prototypes from your armory in order to compare and contrast it with these armor pieces. And by that, I mean I have been bashing them against one another for hours on end, among other crude tests. And while it was difficult to be certain, I thought I spotted the occasional scratch on the shield but not the armor.”

That was news to Hector. He didn’t know if he believed it, though. “Are you sure about that?”

“No,” said Haqq. “That is my point. More extreme testing methods are needed.”

“...Extreme in what way, exactly?”

“I will require a hydraulic press,” said Haqq. “And a hydraulic drill. And a plasma drill. And a laser cutter.” He paused. “And an ECM machine.”

“ECM?”

“Yes.”

“...What does ECM mean?”

“Electrochemical machining.”

“I...” Hector suddenly had a feeling that he knew where this was going. “And how much would one of these ECM machines cost, exactly?”

“In your Atreyan troas? I’m not sure.”

“And in your Sairi escaltos?” said Hector.

Haqq stared at him a moment. “...Can anyone truly put a price on science?”

Hector's expression flattened. “I don’t think I’m that curious to know just how ‘mathematically’ tough my new armor is.”

“My heart weeps at your lack of academic curiosity, Lord Goffe.”

“From the sound of it, if your heart isn’t doing the weeping, then my bank account will be. Can you not use the Candle for these sorts of tests?”