Best Of

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A young woman sits hunched over a work bench, completely focused on the task in front of her. The room is dimly lit, save for the bright light that illuminates the immediate spot in front of her. Grease tracks streak across her light blue short-sleeved top, as if she has used it to wipe off dirt from her fingers, or possibly massaged a sore spot on her lower back without realizing she will cause a stain. Her coverall has been pulled down to her waist, the arms used to tie it in place above her hips. This, too, shows stains and rips from wear and tear, with bottom hems frayed near the heel as if being stepped on often.

Pausing in her work for a moment, she raises the back of her hand to her forehead, wiping away some sweat. The motion continues up into the long blond hair, which streaks back across her scalp in a mohawk fashion, nudging a few stray strands of hair out of the way. Gripped between her fingers is a small silvery wire, which seems to roll up into a coil in her palm. 

Cen shifts a little in her seat, rolls a shoulder, then leans forward to peer through a mounted looking glass. Once more, she slides the soldering iron in place, adjusting the flux-tipped end to rest against the nearby component before dabbing with the thread of solder against it. Smoke rises for a moment, but clears quickly with a puff of air that passes her lips. Shifting the soldering iron out of the way to get a better look, Cen lets out a disgruntled, "Bah!", as she notices her mistake. She had just secured the wrong wire. Correct spot this time, but it would still short-circuit the bloody thing. Frustrated, she tosses her tool away across the bench, perhaps just a little bit too carelessly.

The hot end of the soldering iron rolls away and comes to a stop against a forgotten wad of grease-stained rags. It doesn't take long before the combination causes a rather spectacular result. In a whoosh, the cloth lights up with a green flame, which then spreads rapidly in the other direction, as a spill of some kind has only been hastily wiped up. "Oi!" In startled panic, Cen shoots up from her seat, tossing the solder away as she rushes over towards the fire. Undoing the knot of her overall, she wrests a sleeve free and furiously begins patting at the flames.

Sadly, this only exasperates the fire, as whatever was dumped on the bench has also soaked into the coverall. With a shrill-sounding "Eep!", the young woman lets go of the now-burning sleeve and instead begins to tug at the few remaining buttons. Fumes rise from the green-tinged flames, causing her to cough as she struggles to free herself of her burning clothes. Once she can allow them to fall to the ground, she stomps energetically all over them, puffs of smoke rolling out from underneath the pile.

Standing in her underwear and a greasy top, she slumps her shoulders and looks back at the work bench. The fuel there has already been exhausted with nothing having been damaged by the initial mistake. Her eyes travel back to the charred clothes at her feet and she rolls her eyes. "Well shoot, there goes another one," she grumbles, stomping off towards her sleeping quarters.
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