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and returned to offer her his hand. “Morganti is a lovely planet. Perhaps it is not as lush as Tebr but a lot less poisonous spiders.”
    She laughed and took his hand. “I would love to see it. Let’s get to that tour.”
    Daylight struck her skin, and she turned her head upward to catch the rays. It filled her system far better than the food had.
    “Photosynthesis in a bipedal race is very rare.” Hosh murmured it as he watched her turn her head from the left to the right.
    “I know. We have a theory back home but no proof.”
    “What is your theory?”
    “The ancient Tebr were forced underground for warmth during a volcanic-inspired ice age. They lived for generations with no sun and only the phosphorescence of the underground minerals. Their skins went from pale like mine to the blue of silver-exposed tissue. When they came back to the surface, their eyes could not take the light, so they hid in the thick vegetation, gradually working their way back into daylight over decades. Their bodies needed the daylight to break down the food of the surface and to continue to balance the minerals of their systems. The more daylight they took in, the better they felt. It simply became the way things worked.”
    She smiled. “We have never gone in search of the caves, so we will never know. I mean, for all we know, there may still be underground Tebr living happily in their darkened existence. Enough about me. If you are a Wyoran off shoot, do you link to other people via your mind?”
    “Not personally, no. I try to keep my mind to myself unless I am doing triage in a disaster.”
    She laughed. “I can see how touching someone else’s mind would be a good thing on occasion.”
    He raised his dark brows. “Really?”
    “Sure. I mean, sex would be much easier if you knew right away that you were doing it right.” She laughed at his stricken expression. “The Tebr live naked. We are fairly open about sex.”
    “Oh. I didn’t notice it while I was there.” He looked abashed.
    “You need to attend my lecture on alien etiquette. It is going to take most of the day, but it will be one heck of an event. I am going to be studying for it after I return to my quarters.”
    He nodded. “How is the brainstorm coming along?”
    “There is plenty to feed it, so I am quite happy with how things are turning out here so far. Well, aside from the kidnapping attempt. That I could have done without.”
    He laughed again and continued the tour, her arm tucked around the crook of his elbow, their robes swishing in unison. She enjoyed their moment and hoped that there would be more in the future.

Chapter Eight
    Two days after her tour, she was standing in a lecture hall with fifty eager faces watching her.
    Yavil’s robes felt too hot, her skin felt dry and her stomach flipped the way it always did before she instructed anyone on a subject she had just learned about herself.
    “Today, we are here to discuss etiquette and taboos of a variety of cultures.” She continued, her voice lulling her students into a receptive state.
    She stopped periodically to take a drink of water but continued her lecture until she had covered nine very sensitive species that were out in the Alliance as active trading partners. It was quite likely that one of her students would run into one within the next five years based on the information Turnari gave her.
    When her lecture was complete, she clapped her hands and concluded. “Thank you for being here today. Feel free to ask questions that you may have about the subject matter. If your headache persists, please see the infirmary.” Yavil waited as the students held their foreheads and frowned as their minds grappled with the information she had just drummed into their thoughts. She always imagined the information as settling in and making room as if jostling for space at a family table.
    As the confused but impressed students began to file out, Hosh came up to her with his bright blue robes swirling.