[Counselor's office]
Amynta and Jackie had just about gotten the passed out cadet onto the couch to lie down when the ship jerked to the side as if it had been rammed. Clearly someone at the helm had no clue what they were doing--how could anyone have convinced Ardy to--oh. Cadets.
Jackie shrieked. Jazper dropped. The door opened, and another flustered cadet appeared in the doorway. Amynta's smile never wavered, she simply waved over the new addition. "Welcome to the Counselor's office. Would you mind giving us a hand? That last bump in the road made things a bit more difficult.
Soon the boy was laying on the couch, still dead weight, although a medical tricorder made it clear that he was in perfect health, save for an overabundance of adrenaline. The two girls joined the young counselor sitting on cushions on the floor. They seemed calmer now, enough for Amynta to finally ask what she really wanted to know.
"How is it going out there?"
"Awful." "Terrible." The cadets spoke over each other as they answered, looked at each other's faces, and the newer arrival, Cadet Ashley Peterson, began to weep. That was about what she had expected, and Amynta's smile was still in tact.
"It's alright, both of you, that's what this practice is for. You can't know what it will be like until you're there. And you know what, I'm sure both of you can be stellar members of this fleet, no pun intended. It just takes practice, and confidence. And I'll tell you a secret--if you don't feel confident, just fake it til you make it."
Cadet Peterson didn't seem to be too impressed with this advice, her face went from confusion, to horror, to disgust.
Great, a perfectionist who doesn't want to work for it. Amynta thought with horror that only barely dimmed her smile. Thankfully, just as the cadet opened her mouth to reply, the flashing lights and sirens ceased, replaced with a calm green light.
The captain's voice alerted them to the time it had taken to effectively destroy the ship, and the weeping from the Cadet Peterson resumed as expected.
Things seemed to be returning to normal for the next few minutes, until she felt the rhythm of the ship change beneath her feet. Not wanting to frighten the children waiting out the storm in her office, who were now swapping academy stories and giggling, she stepped out into the hall before tapping her comm badge.
[Hallway]
"Hey, Alyssa? Do you know what's going on? I don't want to pester the captain, but I could have sworn I felt the ship speed up."