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When Commander Hensley looked over at him to respond to his question, as rhetorical as it may have been, Cade drew himself up taller. He closed his fists at his side with as she delivered her words. Maybe he was being a little impatient, sure, but it was only so that they could trim the fat from this group and move on. The thought that he and CC might not make it through the first stage didn't cross his mind even once, so the quicker they got it out of the way the better.

As for CC herself, after she met Cade's eyes in turn she just had to make a snappy comment. Though to be honest, he was a little surprised it had taken her this long. He could tell she was playing around even if she hadn't smiled at him, and he sighed once through his nose and gave her a half-smile back, though it was fleeting. [color=8B98F2]"How long have you been waiting to use that one?"[/color] he said to her under his breath. 

None of the commander's responses came as a surprise to Cade, and though he listened intently regardless he did find his attention drawn more to Dr. Brandt when he realized the man was muttering some of his notes aloud. The doctor's commentary was pretty optimistic to say the least, though Cade could still feel himself preemptively stiffen when Brandt inevitably got to himself and his sister. Ultimately he didn't hear anything disparaging though, and he wasn't wrong either - even when they were little, the twins had made up for each other's weaknesses. 

And Cade was definitely going to push the 'operational boundaries.' If all went all they'd be giving him a new record in whatever they were about to do. The longer the pre-show questioning went on the more confident Cade felt, and by the time the room itself reacted and began to manifest the trial the red head was even more ready to get started. His eyes traced the mechanisms in the walls as they moved, his posture shifted so that it would be easier to charge in running when the test kicked off for real. There wasn't much that could throw him off at this point... save for Captain Redd's last minute mention of a key rule.

It turned out that the first of the second round of questions came from Cade, as he let out an incredulous, [color=8B98F2]"what?"[/color]

[i]Passing or failing as an entire team??[/i] That meant if even one of these dipshits messed up badly enough they'd ruin it for everyone else! 

Blindsided, Cade's eyes widened and he looked over the recruits in the room once more. Other than the lantern he spotted with one, he couldn't tell what their awakened weapons were; and besides the ones he'd already scrutinized there were three women and two men - at least one of each seemed ready for the task ahead, but there was also a space case and someone way too nervous to be here. The glasses girl was harder to get a read on, but judging solely by the rest of the group? Suddenly Cade didn't like his chances so much.

No, no, this was still doable. He could still do this. He [i]would[/i] do this. Like hell was he going to fail at this. Even if he had to drag the rest of the group uphill with him, he was passing. 

Doing his best to get over his initial bewilderment, Cade's gaze sharpened not on their proctors, but his fellow test takers. He didn't have to worry about CC, but the rest of them were a different story. And so he declared to all of them, his voice hard but determined:

[color=8B98F2]"I'm not letting any of you drag me down - we're all passing, even if I have to carry every single one of you."[/color] 

It was hard to tell if he was being sincere, but he was serious about making sure the group as a whole succeeded, even if his delivery left a lot to be desired. He did not try for a heroic, encouraging smile or anything like that. His words would have to be enough for now. Since they were technically supposed to work as one big team he even threw out an offer for help, even if it did end up coming out as, [color=8B98F2]"when you start slipping, call out for Sinclair."[/color]