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They all quote the exact same lecture. I swear that it's the only one they went to."
    Xia asked her a little about the college while they waited. Panna was more than happy to talk and answered the Ixthian's questions at length. Duaal stared out the window at the wispy white clouds racing over the campus. A group of students sat at a table in the quad below. One of them held a large datadex and gestured emphatically with it. The others nodded in agreement with whatever he said and scribbled down their own notes.
    Even if I could go to a proper school like this, what would I study? Duaal wondered. Science? Literature?
    Gavriel made me, raised me up to be a tool for his magic. That's what I'm good at. That's all I'm good at. And I can't study magic here.
    Duaal was wondering if Arcadians went to school for their magic – Maeve often talked about the Ivory Spire, which sounded a bit like a fairy college – when Xen finally arrived. He was Ixthian, like Xia, with smooth silver skin and hair as white as the clouds outside. He was tall for a male of his species, but still stood as high as Duaal's shoulder. The professor's hair was cut close to his skull and his antennae were the longest Duaal had ever seen. He wore similar clothes to Panna's: dark gray slacks and a collared white shirt rolled up at the sleeves. There was a discarded vest tucked into the back of his belt.
    "Xen!" Xia jumped to her feet and hugged him.
    "Xia, you came," Xen said, returning her embrace. He sounded surprised, but pleased. "This must be your captain. Tiberius Myles, isn't it?"
    "And our copilot, Duaal Sinnay. I got your message anteday, on Axis. We came straight away."
    "I understand you're looking for someone to fly you out to Prianus," said Tiberius.
    Professor Xen raised his white eyebrows at the captain. "Your homeworld, to judge by your accent. Yes, that's exactly what I'm hoping to do."
    "Why do you need to go to Prianus?" Duaal asked curiously. "You and your lovely assistant seem to have plenty of work here."
    Panna blushed and grinned. Xen sat on the corner of the other desk and flipped open his computer. He touched something on the monitor and then, with a flick of his spindly forefinger, sent it up to one of the large wall screens. It was a colorful topographical map. Xen pointed to a large patch of dark red in the center.
    "Recent tectonic activity on Prianus has uncovered a new archeological site. It's located up here, in the Kayton Mountains. There's a local dig team up there now, but they lack the resources, equipment and manpower to do the job right. They've requested assistance from Tynerion."
    "And you're volunteering to go out there?" Tiberius asked, clearly surprised.
    "Prianus isn't exactly a popular site. It's remote, hostile and unstable," Xen answered. "No offense intended to you, Captain Myles."
    "None taken. Prianus is a hard world."
    "With hard people," the professor said, not unkindly. "The Alliance can't actually fund additional archeologists, but is offering a tax benefit to any institution willing to field a team. Vostra Nor owes the Alliance about three years back taxes at this point and could use the break. I've been given admittedly limited funding to hire and supply our part of the dig."
    "Do you know exactly what's out there?" Tiberius squinted at the map, scratching his bearded chin. "Prianus is covered in mountains. I don't know this area."
    "The head of the local team, Kemmer Andus, has disclosed very few details. I'm not quite sure what we'll find." Xen quirked a small smile. "It's made selecting my team and equipment an interesting challenge."
    "How many on your team? And how much equipment?"
    "There are five of us in total and about two tons of equipment. Is that going to be a problem?"
    "Some of you might need to bunk together," Tiberius answered. "There are only three spare rooms on the Phoenix."
    "I'm sure we can deal with being a little cozy. Accommodations on Prianus aren't likely to be plush, either," Xen