Round 134

Silra set down her tools carefully, then straightened up with deliberate patience, though every nerve ending screamed at her to hurry. "Jeane," she said, voice even but sharp as a knife, "hovering doesn't help the structural integrity of this wall any more than it helps my focus. If you're going to stand there radiating impatience like a heat lamp, find something useful to do or step out of the way." She met Halie's warning look with a shrug that barely moved her shoulders. "Your faith in me is touching, but I've done this kind of work before.

"Now—" she turned back to the wall panel, fingers already moving through the air as she visualized the calculations, "—someone hand me that laser level and the friction welder, please. And try not to breathe on my equipment." The building's demand pulsed again, a low throb that felt like desire made manifest, coiling around her senses and promising release if only she'd give in. Silra gritted her teeth and pushed it away, focusing every ounce of willpower into the technical problem in front of her.

This was just physics and engineering. Not... whatever else was going on here. She could handle this. She had to handle this. The alternative wasn't worth thinking about.