The construct struck the floor before Kellan finished placing the brace.
A strip of tile broke loose and flew toward the maintenance alcove. Kellan raised his shield between the fragments and Edda, the mobile worker. The impact shuddered through his arm. Edda ducked behind the panel that still pinned Remy’s leg.
“Stay there,” Kellan called. “We’re holding the entrance.”
The second response group had arrived by the service lift. One responder held the short brace; another slid a board beneath its foot. Martin Reeve sat at the lower landing with the responder assigned to monitor him. Tessa had warned him to stay behind the rescuers, but his knowledge of the lift’s emergency control might be needed if the ordinary call failed.
Eli focused on the construct without activating Sight again. The brief look had shown strain at an internal joint beneath the armored casing. Now he watched the plates themselves: a seam widened when the machine turned toward the evidence device, then narrowed as the arm settled. He had a location to report, not a fresh reading of the joint’s condition.
“Left side, under the armor,” he told Kellan. “I can’t reach it from here.”
“Don’t try. Get the workers’ route.”
