Free Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens Lost Stars by Claudia Gray, Phil Noto

laser cannon project a few months later.
    Even the best battle plans put soldiers at risk, and at any time you could find yourselfseparated and in danger, your squadron pinned down or otherwise unable to help you. Your blaster could be
damaged and, at any rate, couldn’t defend you from an enemy ship on its own. If you quickly constructed a larger weapon, however, you could continue the fight alone—perhaps long enough
to be rescued but certainly long enough to make your enemy pay. A laser cannon could be built out ofstandard Imperial-issue parts, if you knew how.
    Thane disliked mechanical work; flying and shooting were more his speed. But he was determined to ace this project. He and Ciena had held on to their top rankings so far; the only question
remaining was which of them would finish the term at number one. If Ciena beat him, he’d be the first to congratulate her…but hopefully she’d be the firstto congratulate
him
.
    “Look at that grin,” said Nash, who lay under his own laser cannon in progress, a couple of meters over in the enormous repair bay. “Thinking about our off day? Ready to
explore the Coruscant nightlife?”
    From his place at the bench, Thane shrugged without looking away from the stormtrooper helmet he was currently cannibalizing for its power cell. “I’m working onmy cannon, like you
ought to be. Come on, Nash, focus.”
    “How can I focus when we have a chance to go to clubs, cantinas, and a hundred other places where we’ll finally have a chance to meet girls?” Nash protested. “Girls who
aren’t forbidden like our fellow cadets. Touchable girls. Kissable girls.”
    “I understand, okay? But I’m trying to concentrate here so I can keep my ranking. Plentyof people have put in extra time on this.” Thane gestured to the rest of the repair bay
for emphasis.
    A couple dozen other laser cannons sat all around them, protected by the small sparkling hemispheres of low-charge force fields. Every single one of those machines might have been repaired more
ingeniously than his own, with more inspired use of random spare parts that might be found inalien spaceports. Every single one of them counted as competition.
    Nash slid away from his own repair table, the better to give Thane a withering look. “We’ve been working for a couple of hours now. We can’t talk about the one day of real fun
we’ll get before the next term starts?”
    “I guess.”
    “You sounded excited enough the other day when Ved told us the best clubs to visit.”
    “I was. I mean, I am. I’m excited, definitely.”
    At this, Nash stood up and faced Thane across the array of spare parts spread across the worktable. “And yet you don’t
seem
excited—not about meeting girls, at least.
That means one of two things. Either you’re interested in men instead—which I doubt, given your reaction to that risqué holo of Ved’s—”
    The curse of fair skin was that eventhe faintest blush stood out. Thane tried to pretend he was still looking at the stormtrooper helmet.
    “—or there’s a girl you’re already interested in. A girl you already know.” Nash leaned on the table, resting his chin on his hands, eyes wide open in mock
innocence. “Could this girl’s name possibly rhyme with the syllables
lie-henna see
?”
    “It’s not like that between us,” Thane insisted.“It never has been.”
    Nash’s grin had turned wicked. “But I suspect it will be.”
    The subject irritated Thane more than it should have. He still wasn’t sure what to make of the way his relationship with Ciena was changing, and he didn’t want Nash sticking his long
nose into it. Besides, even if Nash meant well, his insinuating tone reminded Thane too much of the way Dalven had teased himabout there being only one thing he could want from a girl of the
valleys.
    Talking about Ciena that way disrespected her. And made Thane think too much about things he couldn’t even begin to change until graduation.
    “We take