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

him.
    Maybe celebrate with him, toasting his success. She’d rather he toasted hers instead, but…
    “Ciena?” Kendy shot her a look as they walked toward their room. “Your brain was in orbit for a second there.”
    “Sorry. I think my head’sstill scrambled from that time you flipped me.” Ciena began untying the belt of her martial arts gear as the door swished open for them. “Think
you could show me how that’s done?”
    “No way,” Kendy said with a laugh. “It’s one of the only things I’m better at than you.”
    Next morning came the inspection of the laser cannons.
    Ciena stood at attention before her cannon, which she’d assembledto perfection. She’d made a point of using the most ungainly salvage parts possible so the instructors would see
that she could build one under even the most unfavorable conditions. Her gut told her Thane might not push as hard to make his own task more difficult. If she could gain an edge anywhere, that was
it.
    Commander Harn walked along the rows of laser cannons, each one matched witha cadet at full attention. Although the repair bay was by its nature a place to work hard and get dirty, the gray
rubberized floor and walls remained unstained by grease or scorch marks. Imperial discipline demanded perfect cleanliness, the erasure of every task as soon as it was done. Only Cadet
Windrider’s cannon displayed any smudges whatsoever—as usual.
    Harn nodded approval as Kendy’scannon powered up. He opened her control panel, then nodded in satisfaction at her choices of new parts. He didn’t smile, though, not then or during
the next several inspections—though he did murmur, “Innovative,” when he looked over Ved’s work. That made Ved smile so smugly that Ciena wanted to groan.
    She awaited her turn, started her engine, and watched as Harn checked the efficiency ratingsand overall power. Although he did not speak, his eyes met hers as if he were assessing her
anew—and well. She’d impressed him. Somehow she managed to keep a straight face, even when Kendy mouthed,
Way to go,
over the commander’s shoulder.
    When Harn looked over Thane’s cannon and reached for the starter, Ciena held her breath—
    —but the laser cannon didn’t power up.
    At all.
    Thecolor drained from Thane’s face. Ciena didn’t feel so good herself. She’d wanted to beat him but not to see him fail completely.
    How is that even possible?
she thought, gripping her hands together more tightly behind her back.
Thane’s not an instinctive mechanic, but he works hard and he’s thorough,
and he would have checked his cannon dozens of times. This can’t be happening.
    “Thisis unlike you, Kyrell,” said Harn as he made a notation on the tablet he carried in one hand. “Let’s see where you went wrong.”
    Harn flipped open the control panel of Thane’s laser cannon, then froze, his sharp features hardening into a look of displeasure, even anger.
    Whatever it was, Thane saw it, too, and it made him swear out loud—right there, standing at attention, a commander rightin front of him. A few people gasped.
    But Harn didn’t reprimand Thane. Instead, with a gesture, Harn released everyone from attention. Cadets crowded close, blocking Ciena’s view at first, but she pushed through until
she could see inside the open panel of Thane’s cannon and realized just why everyone had begun muttering and looking around suspiciously.
    The wires inside had been cut.Straight, clean—the marks made it clear that this wasn’t bad wiring or an accident. Someone had done it on purpose.
    Sabotage.
Academy competition could be cutthroat, but up until then everyone had apparently played fair. A chill ran along Ciena’s spine at the thought of it. How could anyone, much
less an Imperial cadet, be so devoid of honor? She was nearly as offended at the thought asshe was sorry for Thane.
    “We’ll solve this quickly enough,” Harn promised, his voice sharp and cold as an ice pick. “Whoever