River's eyes jerk open suddenly. She feels strange, dizzy and queasy almost. Her breath comes in and out rapidly and she's broken out in a cold sweat. River blinks slowly as her eyes scan her surroundings. She is not in her bed, or even in her bunk. She is lying on her back, against an icy cold surface that feels like metal. All around her is an infinite darkness, not the thick blackness of smoke but just nothing. River wonders if she's been dumped out of the airlock in her sleep, but then she tilts her head and realizes she's completely naked.

River looks around her, staring at the world all around her. I must be dreaming River decides as she slowly pushes herself to her feet, standing up in this infinite emptiness. She stares around, trying to interpret her surroundings. River prides herself on having a highly analytical mind that relishes a challenge, however this is beyond her experience. It's not like the dreams she had before Miranda, which were sickening but fairly clear in thier meaning. This however...

River is distracted from her musings by a sudden gentle whispering noise "Where are you?" the voice whispers, River looks around, unable to pinpoint the source of the sound. The voice has no accent at all, but at the same time no inflections or nuances, as if it's coming out of a computer. "Where are you?" The voice asks again, each word sounding like the crack of a nail gun.

River feels fear ripple through her veins as she hears the voice repeat itself again and again. "WHO ARE YOU?" she screams at the blackness as she starts to run through the infinite darkness, running away from whatever it is that is seeking her.

Suddenly River crashes full steam into something soft, fleshy and unmoving. River's own momentum sends her sprawling to the ground and she looks up at the thing standing before her.

It is tall and skinny with snowy white skin and long silvery blue hair that hangs down to the floor. Its flesh is unmarked by scars or age. Four bright red eyes with four black dots for pupils in each one observe her with something between pity and sympathy. It is dressed in a fairly simple black dress uniform jacket and trousers, silver trim on the cuffs and a raised collar, there are several ribbons on its breast and on its left cuff are five ruby stars.

River is pretty sure this creature before her is an extraterrestrial, and whilst she should be in awe, right now she's just embarassed... First confirmed contact with an alien life form was with an eighteen year old girl in her birthday suit. River looks up at the alien "So... this is a dream right?" She asks at last and the Alien nods calmly "This is a dream, River Tam, a suggestion implanted in your subconscious" The Alien says, its voice betraying its gender as a she. River glances at the Alien. "What's going on?" River asks and the Alien pauses "I am merely a projection of sorts, a hologram if you will, the reason I am here is because I seek your aid" The Alien explains and River feels a pulse and a sharp stabbing pain run through her skull. She collapses and everything goes black.

Whoever said injuries incurred whilst in a dream state didn't hurt upon waking needs to get thier facts straight. River screams as she opens her eyes, her head feeling like it's been split in two. Simon leaps out of his bed and moves over to her. "Are you alright?" He asks, his voice filled with panic and River wants to smack her idiot brother in the face right there and then. Would she be screaming at three in the morning if she was alright?