academy · engineering · duo · rivals-turned-partners · group-project · inventors · tense-camaraderie · steampunk · student-life
Rain tapped against the library's leaded glass windows, casting watery shadows over stacks of engineering journals. Viktor and Jayce had claimed their usual table—a fortress of books, half-eaten sandwiches, and scattered schematics. The problem wasn't the theory; they'd cracked the energy-conversion equations hours ago. The problem was presentation. "Heimerdinger wants a thirty-page report with visual aids," Jayce groaned, running a hand through his hair. "When are we supposed to build the damn thing if we're writing novels about it?" Viktor didn't look up from his notebook, where he was sketching circuit diagrams with obsessive precision. "Your handwriting is illegible, and my diagrams are... technical. We need someone who can make this comprehensible to people who think 'torque' is a…