The more Malu spoke of Traya, the more Aria felt a sudden case of the shivers coming on. The Champion was too young to remember hearing any real mention of the Sith Lord’s deeds, but mere mention of the name still made her blood turn cold. This was only affirmed as the Miraluka continued with her tale. 
“Sounds delightful.” the Champion scoffed. “Malevolent Force spirits and a creepy graveyard planet....pretty much a regular day at the office by now, isn’t it?” although from the way she crossed her arms over her chest tightly, it was clear to any of the people in the room that were well acquainted with Aria, that the snippish remark was her own way of covering up her fear. “So, I hate to be THAT person but what, exactly, are you going to tell the Chancellors when they notice both the Qyaari Champions are MIA?” 
“That is a concern for the Council and not yourselves.” Cheriss interjected, a knowing smirk painted across her facial features. “We cannot plan for every eventuality but we CAN assure you that we have contingencies in place to hopefully avoid you being discovered.”
“I don’t suppose anyone would be brave enough to try and follow us even if they DID find out.” the Champion responded gruffly. “Well...I suppose there’s nothing else for it then, is there?” 
A fair point, however, was made as to how exactly they would land on Malachor. If one thought Zinuthra’s atmosphere was taxing on a ship, then Malachor V’s weather patterns made the Qyaari homeworld look like a gentle summer breeze. 
“Perhaps we should not terrify the prospective Champions out of their first assignment before they’ve even left.” Ailel chuckled softly as Kytra stood up straighter as the conversation wore on, though to the Selonian’s credit she made very little verbal protest to the proposed scheme, beyond a muffled squeak of alarm. Aria shot her new apprentice a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. They actually make it sound a lot more dangerous than it turns out to be, half the time.” Of course, Aria could not be sure that this was true, but the last thing she wanted was to terrify the trainee Champions out of their wits before they’d even left Zinuthra in the first place. Kytra’s whiskers quivered dubiously as she mulled over the assurance, though thankfully she did not question it and offered a firm nod. As Matthew closed off the meeting, Cheriss spoke a few cautionary words of her own:
“Be careful, and don’t take unnecessary risks. We know you are more than capable of dealing with it, but none of the Elders can tell you what you may find out there. Remember your training, and good luck.” 

With little else to say on the matter, the Champions and their students were dismissed from the Chamber, the two youngsters keeping pace with the Champions as they made their way down the hallway. 
“So, are we leaving straight away?” Kytra asked at length, breaking the silence which had stretched out just long enough to begin feeling awkward. 
“Well, maybe not IMMEDIATELY.” Aria protested, “But certainly as quickly as possible...if it’s enough to get the Elders this worried then it must be important.” she offered another smile. “I won’t lie to you; as Champions you’ll probably spend more time off Zinuthra than you ever did as Knights. But it will be worth it, when your training is finished you’ll be leaders that every Knight, Apprentice and Acolytes will look to for guidance and Yerbol and I will do everything that we can to help you prepare for that.” With that, she waved the two youngsters off. “So, er...why don’t you go ahead and get yourselves ready, and meet us back at the hangar in the next hour or so, okay?” 
Kytra dipped into yet another obeisant curtsy, skittering away with a mumbled “Yes, Master” before disappearing from sight. After Ethan, too, had left them, Aria let out the breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding in, an involuntary shudder passing through her. 
“I am NEVER going to get used to that.” she chuckled nervously, turning her head to glance in Yerbol’s direction. “I mean, telling people what to do is one thing but having them depend on US solely for guidance and listening to everything we say? Please tell me I’m not the only one of the two of us that finds it REALLY weird?” she shook her head slightly, their pace slowed somewhat but not completely as she gave him a moment to voice any of his own thoughts on the subject before she followed up with:
“Come on, let’s go and find the dogs...cause I’ll be damned if we’re going to Malachor without backup.” there was certainly worse help to have at hand than a pair of Force-sensitive hounds who would rip apart anyone (or indeed, anything) unsavory on a simple command in order to protect their perceived pack leaders. It would likely be disconcerting for their apprentices, Aria assumed, but it wouldn’t help to have extra teeth on hand in a battle. Kytra and Ethan could get used to Chwuq and Taral on their own terms, what was most important was that at least the beasts no longer seemed compelled to attack anything on sight; in fact in most cases now they waited for a command before they made any move at all and in fact had even proved rather valuable in defending other Qyaari besides the Champions, when it suited them. They learned quickly and seemed to have picked up on which life forms they should consider allies. Hopefully, it shouldn’t be difficult to introduce Kytra and Ethan into that rubric. 
____________________________________

As promised, within the hour their apprentices arrived at the hangar where Matthew had claimed their pilot would be waiting for them, slowing to a stop before the two Champions and the Sith hounds. Ethan eyed the Tuk’ata from head to toe, while the hairs on Kytra’s tail stood on end as she tilted her head in their direction with equal parts curiosity and apprehension. 
“Do they bite?” she squeaked, her eyes not leaving the beasts as she shifted the small pack that she carried over one shoulder. The only other thing she appeared to have brought was the lightsaber strapped to her belt. She’d packed light, clearly expecting them to run into trouble of some sort. The Champion had to admire their courage, both apprentices had still returned to the hangar as ordered. There certainly wasn’t anything that had been said in the Chamber that implied they didn’t have a choice in the matter, if they were REALLY so against the mission they very well could have refused to join them. And yet, here they were. 
“Only when I tell them to.” Aria smirked good-naturedly, patting Chwuq between the ears and earning a low rumble of approval from the beast. “Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you. They’re well trained and well-fed.” 

“Uff! Uff Uff!” all four Force users turned sharply as Taral let out a warning bark, his ears shooting forward as he gazed intently at something, or someone, approaching the group from the other side of the hangar.