The observation gallery was quiet for a moment.
Then Instructor Varga's voice carried across the room.
"One hundred and eighty-five. That's a respectable result for a first attempt, particularly on a desert map. Most cadets who draw the desert on their first run don't survive the landing." She glanced down at the pod as its hatch opened. "That's not bad at all."
The cadets from the other two academies did not seem to agree.
"A hundred and eighty-five," one of Hale's classmates said, loudly enough for everyone to hear. "That's the lowest score of the day."
"I told you," another said. "A first-year like that should have stayed home. It's embarrassing for her academy, honestly."
"At least now we know why they keep sending upperclassmen who score two hundred," someone else added. "Compared to that, two hundred looks good."
Laughter rippled through the gallery.
