Commander Anderson paused for a moment, allowing Mako and Iris to absorb the shocking revelation. The room fell silent as the weight of their achievement settled in. Finally, Mako mustered the words to respond.
"We...we had no idea," Mako stammered, his voice filled with a mix of astonishment and pride. "I mean, we were just doing our best to survive out there. We didn't realize it was such a rare accomplishment to actually make it through."
Iris nodded in agreement, her eyes still wide with disbelief. "We were just trying to work together and stay alive. We didn't think it would make us stand out so much."
Commander Anderson smiled warmly, his eyes reflecting admiration. "That's the beauty of it, Cadets. If we had told you a lot beforehand that no one had been able to clear the normal recruitment test in 3o years, you would already have your morale down and wouldn't try as hard to survive, knowing you might still get in."
