Naysha ran it until the hour was up.
The asteroid field faded, and the dim walls of her room returned.
Naysha pulled off her helmet and sat there for a moment in the darkness, breathing hard. Her hands were trembling slightly and her shoulders ached, and she felt more tired than she had after any real simulation she had ever done.
Then she lay back on her bed, pulled the blanket over herself, and closed her eyes.
She fell asleep almost at once, exhausted and happy, with a faint smile still on her face.
The final site day began in darkness.
The long Jalun night had not yet ended when the cadets gathered at the assembly point, and the transport craft carried them away from the station through a sky that was still black and scattered with stars.
Most of the cadets dozed in their seats for the first part of the flight, and even the instructors seemed more relaxed than they had been on any of the previous days.
