The instructor's door whooshed open just in time for the hallway late chime to sneak into the room. Commandant De'Lann strode in, staring at a blank white board in one hand. I realized what it was when she tapped the surface with her free hand. Way before direct neural interfaces were commonplace, essies could still manipulate optic nerves enough to superimpose visuals on a blank surface. Imperials from that era still carried small white boards to project displays and control surfaces on.

I'd seen some Cadets doing so as well. I had no idea if they did so to try and look retro or to curry favor with De'Lann, but either way the regulations didn’t say anything about them, so I'd let it slide when Middies carried them. I didn't carry one myself, of course. Until I had contact with my essie, I couldn't get the projection, and after I did, I'd be able to use a direct connection.

She wasted no time. When she reached the center of the classroom, she hung the whiteboard in front of her, then unfolded it twice to quadruple its size. It hovered in front of her, supported by the ship's gravitics. Glaucus wouldn't have wasted the power, but Tiamat indulged her captain and crew.

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Captain," the three of us chorused. ATT was traditionally a two-person class; the Middie Captain and her First. Seniors on the Command track took a whole curriculum of similar courses, but for Middies this was it. The reminder of Guy’s presence in the room set my teeth on edge.

"Since you're all here and hooked up, let's get started."

The world went dark, and my gut clenched. My nightmares always started in the dark. I clutched at the armrests to reassure myself, but I felt nothing. I floated, alone and bodiless in the void. Gravity pulled at me, and I fell screaming, battering myself against acceleration couch doors and cliff faces. Just when I thought I would crash into the ground, the back of my head smashed against some unseen obstacle and darkness claimed me once more.

Cadet Dabig!

Guy's voice rang through my head, pulling me into a sea of soupy, suffocating goo. I needed to breathe it, but I couldn't force my mouth open, couldn't force my lungs to take it in. I held my breath until my lungs burned for air, and then a mountain settled on top of me. The goo forced its way through my lips, filling my throat, my lungs, and my belly, but it didn't matter. I still got no oxygen. Thunder filled my ears, light sparkled across my closed eyelids, lasers that fell from the sky and lashed me with heat and concussion no woman could survive.

Dustie, open your eyes!

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I mustn't open my eyes, or the forces ravaging my body would filter into my head, into my brain, ripping every bit of me from my body. Despite my intentions, they started to open on their own, but I forced them shut again.

Stop fighting me, Middie! I give you my word; I will not hurt you.

Desperation filled Guy's voice. I wanted to believe him, but opening my eyes still terrified me. The memory of pain flickered across every inch of my body. I tried to scream, and thundering silence filled my ears. I mustn't open my eyes. I wanted so much to trust someone.

I'm trying to save you. I will never hurt you.

The raw need in those simple statements shocked me. My control slipped for just a moment, and in that sliver of time my eyes slid open. I flew along one of Tiamat's corridors. Someone carried me under one arm. I caught a glimpse of a door as we hurried through it, the ancient snake and stick of the caduceus adorning med bay. Before I could force words through a throat raw from screaming, Quick lay me gently on an exam table.

"Are you with us now, Dustie?" Tiamat's concern filled the room. Before the tech at the controls did anything, blunt ended probes descended from above, some blossoming into miniature parabolic dishes, others swinging about my head, forming a dancing halo. A few of the little beige oblongs settled against my skin in the places essies tended to congregate; heart, stomach, liver, brain.

"Dustie?" The ship's voice shook me from the trance I'd slipped into watching the dance of the medical probes.

"Yes, Tiamat. I'm here," I croaked. "Could I have some water, please?"

Footsteps moved away from the side of the table, and water splashed from a tap. A huge paw slipped under my neck and lifted my head enough to slip a straw between my lips. I sipped, gulping the water down to fight back sudden nausea. Throwing up on my First would put another nail in the coffin of our working relationship.

"Thank you, Quick."

"No problem, Sir." The worry in his voice surprised me.

"What happened?"

"We're not sure, Sir. The Commandant has Senior Armorer Mac Elroy checking the seat you were using, but Tiamat didn't detect any equipment failure."

"That's because there wasn't one," Tiamat interrupted my First. "Cadet Quick, I commend you for bringing your Cadet Captain to med bay so promptly, but your presence isn't required. Captain De'Lann will be starting her lesson again as soon as the Senior Armorer has completed his check."

"I'd prefer to remain here until we're sure Cadet Captain Dabig is going to be okay, Ma'am."

Tiamat let out an incredibly human sounding hum, managing to convey curiosity and amusement in equal measure. "I can clear that with the Commandant, but first, Cadet Dabig, you do know what comes next?"

I knew. The head shrinks. Part of me wanted to keep Quick by my side; he was the closest thing to a friend I had here. More of me couldn't bear for him to witness the evidence of yet another failure on my part. "Cadet Quick," my voice came back quickly, my essie repairing the damage given a little water to work with, "return to class. I appreciate the gesture, but I'll be fine."

"You heard your Cadet Captain, Tomas. To class with you."

"Yes, Sir. Yes, Ma'am." He turned, far slower than he'd moved bringing me here. "Let me know if you need me, Sir."

"Will do, Quick. Get out of here."

He left, and Tiamat let me be alone with my thoughts until the psych doctor arrived.