Academy of Arkanis [Translation]

Chapter 6

The shrill sound of the start signal resounded through the labyrinth's cluttered hall. 

From the command bridge, Officer Davids looked at the youngsters in the center of the hall. He flicked a few switches and buttons, and the first cadets were already running as the center side walls began to move. A sly smile streaked across the officer's motionless face. Even though he sometimes hoped for more out of his 
officer's career, training new cadets was a welcome change every time. He turned away from the window and glanced at the holo table in the center of the room. The holo showed the entire labyrinth. The walls that were to move next flashed red. Each cadet wore a GPS tracker on their wrist, so their whereabouts in the maze could be closely monitored. 

The "whoosh" of the door opening made Davids flinch. Commander Hux stepped onto the command bridge. With determination, he walked past Officer Davids to the holotable. His pale green eyes wandered over the maze and to the names of the cadets written above their whereabouts. His bushy gray brows drew together thoughtfully. "Tell me officer," without looking at him, he tapped through the cadets' files, "which one of them will make it out of the maze first?" 

As Davids approached the holo table, a faint smell of alcohol hit him. He wrinkled his nose and opened the students' files. "21029, Leonidas Pryde and 20904, Chyler Dane. These two are very competent and cunning. Dane records only good grades and fabulous combat technique, Pryde and Dane are the best of their class when it comes to practical." The commander nodded mutely. " But if you ask about theory, there are other students who stand out.16114, Quincy Lynn, in his preliminary exam he scored 89 percent, he is one of the best students in his year in theory. The commander stood up, walked to the window and clasped his hands behind his back. " And who is the best of the year in theory, officer?" David's shoulders stiffened as he glanced at the table of grades.

He cleared his throat slightly," 12583, Armitage Hux."

The officer's hands tightened around the datapad in his hands, unsure how the commander would react to this information. 

"Armitage?" 

"He scored 95 percent on the preliminary exam." The commander laughed dryly. " At least he's got something in his head." 

Davids frowned. He knew the commander was not well disposed toward his son, for whatever reason.

"We'll see if he even makes it out of the maze," the commander turned and headed for the door. In the doorway, he turned again to Officer Davids. His eyes flashed," Armitage is a failure, thin as paper and just as useless.

After a short sprint, Hux finally came to a halt. He looked in all directions to see if anyone had followed him on his way. But no one seemed to have had the idea to run after the redhead through the corridors. Panting, he put his hands on his knees to gasp for air. He should definitely work on his stamina in the next school year! Once again, he let his eyes wander through the identical-looking corridors of the labyrinth. If he had memorized the layout of the labyrinth correctly, he could reach the exit before the prescribed time. In his preparations, he came up with 7:43 minutes when calculating the sufficient time. The only problem with his calculation was the moving walls. Just the fact that Hux knew in advance that the walls moved randomly during the test gave him a big advantage. In one of the other meetings between Chyler and Hux, Hux had told her about the moving walls in the labyrinth. Knowing Chyler as well as he did now, she would rely mostly on instinct. Briefly he thought of the brown-haired girl. How far had she come? Hux's thoughts were interrupted, however, by a loud yell. Someone seemed to have gotten between two walls. He turned into another junction, his gaze fixed on a wall ahead. If everything did not deceive him, this wall would have to move in a few seconds... Before he could finish his thought, the wall trembled slightly and quickly hissed to the side. Triumphant over his correct calculations, Hux ran as fast as he could through the now open passageway.