My, Study of the Chronos System, is in a small classroom, like all of the Advanced Study classes. Not many students are permitted to continue their education. I heard the largest class size was fifteen students, back when my mother was in it. I look around me, the small room has eight student desks and the teacher's desk. Year two of Advanced Studies, the year above me, has exactly eight students.

         Our class only has five students, so three desks sit unused in the back of the class. The front of the classroom has a wall that is a floor-to-ceiling touch screen computer. All a teacher has to do is double-tap a spot on the screen and the room will be filled with 3D images.

       "Astra? Hello?" Professor Kalmin asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

           "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you." I mumble.

            "I asked, what kind of star system Chronos is?"

              "Um." Think Astra, think! You and Amlican just studied this, last night! "Chronos is a... Binary Star System."

              "Very good. And what kind of life forms live in this system?"

           "Uh." Good grief, why is he asking me all of the questions? "I don't know."

            While I may have excelled in my Advanced fighting class, trivia and science are not my things. Facts, facts, and more facts bore me to tears. This is why Amlican and I are such great friends. He gets this stuff, but he is a terrible fighter. My mother wants me to learn all of these facts and his father wants him to learn how to fight.

              "Come on, Talfarians, this is a General Studies question." He says, as his eyes sweep over the small class. But no one seems eager to answer the question. Either everyone is either exhausted from our Advanced Fighting class, or no one studied last night. Probably the former. "Amlican, tell everyone what kind of life forms exist in the Chronos system."

             "Aridus life forms such as the Telkan people. They can survive six months without water." Amlican answers.

            "Very good. And why do we even need to learn this in the first place, Amlican?" Professor Kalmin asks.

           "Because the Telkan home world is the only known planet to produce the Kapien Jewel, the most powerful energy source in existence."

             "And?" Kalmin asks.

              "And due to the rarity of water on the planet, if one doesn't bring plenty of water, one can't possibly hope to survive, there, longer than half of a day," Amlican explains.

              "Exactly," Kalmin says looking at me. He turns around and double taps a planet on the middle of the screen. "Telkan is a major trading partner of Talfar. We do a ton of business with them, but they hardly leave their home world. This is important information to know. Each of you, in this room, are children of high ranking Talfarian diplomats, which means each of you has to learn how these people work and how to negotiate with them. If you offend these people in any way, you would be responsible for the destruction of our own way of life. Do we understand each other?"

               "Yes, professor." The class says in unison.

            The room fills with a 3D image of a desert wasteland. Rolling sand dunes surround us and small orange reptilian creatures, the same color as the sand, can be seen scurrying about. Above us, on what used to be the ceiling, you can see two equal-sized suns, high in the pale green sky. Compared to home, where you can hear the Lovtil sing in the afternoon sun; here, is silence, broken up only by the occasional croak of the small reptiles.

        "Can anyone tell me why they hardly leave their home world?"

         I know this one, thanks to my mother making me sit in on several negotiations. "One reason is that they are cold-blooded, of course that could be easily accommodated. The main reason they barely leave their planet is because of their suns." I answer.

         "Explain." the professor states. "What I mean is, due to the make-up of their Binary suns, they are almost entirely blind outside of their star system. They are used to substantial amounts of light, so in the absence of that light, they can't see."

           "Very good." Professor Kalmin says. "Can I ask how you came across this information?"

            "There was one Telkan, who visited with my mother, last year. She was testing an innovative technology that would filter in extra light to help a Telkan see off-world. They wore a special kind of glass, worn on the face, that covered the eyes. I think they were called Sun filters?" I explain, happy to know more than the other students, for once.

           "A Telkan ambassador, that makes sense. But back to the hologram. If only technology existed to allow you to feel a small sense of the climate of these two worlds. But sadly, it does not. So, until that day arrives, you will have to take my word for it. It is an extremely hot and dry place. Do not go to this place without several gallons of water. And make sure to take a thermal jacket. These jackets didn't exist when I went there, one hundred years ago. Would have been nice to have a jacket to regulate my body temperature. During the day, the temperature skyrockets to a high of 50 Centine, which is hot enough to fry a Droggle egg. But at night the temperature drops down to –5 Centine, cold enough to freeze that same Droggle egg. Trust me when I say, I almost died on Telkan Prime."

            A loud rapping, at the door, interrupts his lecture. Kalmin walks over to the door and opens it. He briefly whispers to someone at the door, then stands back. A very tall man walks in, ducking his head so he won't hit it on the doorframe. I recognize him immediately, it is the head of the school, Ravdra.

             Once inside, he straightens up to his full height, looks at the class, and then at the board. "I see you are studying Telkan Prime," Ravdra says. "Are you telling them about the time you almost died there?"

          "Well, yes, actually, I was," Kalmin says, giving a small laugh. 

          Ravdra laughs as well before saying, "I hate to interrupt but, Princess Astra. I need to speak with you, immediately."

        "What did you do this time?" Amlican whispers to me.

            "Nothing," I whisper back. Behind me, I can hear the other three students whispering as well.

             "Now, please!" Ravdra demands. He has dark skin, dark eyes, and dark hair. His position alone, demands respect. His large stature and deep booming voice ensure that all of the students under his command, obey him.

              I stand up and walk past Amlican and Professor Kalmin.

               "Get your things. You will not be back, today."

              I turn back and collect my books, and pens, then return to Ravdra. I follow him out the door, through the narrow hallways of the Advanced Studies section of the school, through the much wider hallways of the General Studies section, and into his private office, in the front of the school. He doesn't say anything the whole way, leading me to think that I am in serious trouble.