Yerbol agreed with his wife's suggestion, the duo retreating to their room to meditate in peace. Their shared meditation technique was still something that they were continually improving on, but the calm that he felt now as opposed to when they first started it was serene. Of course, when they first started sharing their minds, they were far from married(or even in love) at that point, so both were keeping their guard up. Now, with no secrets between them, the process flowed much smoother. They had stayed in meditation until Neta broke them out of their trance with a blaring command to get to the shuttle and "strap in for a wild one!", which of course didn't do any favors for comforting their apprentices; however, Ethan seemed to be taking his first venture as apprentice rather well. His hands trembled ever so slightly as he slid into the pilot's chair upon Yerbol's request, nodding at Aria's question before responding:
"The three of us can focus on making sure the barrier stays around the ship as Ethan guides us through the debris...isn't that right, Ethan?" There was a moment of pause before Ethan answered with a slight wobble in his voice:
"R..right. We'll get through this. This shuttle has got all the bells and whistles it needs to get us through the field in one piece." His answer grew more confident in tone as he spoke, Yerbol noting that Ethan was already getting comfortable with the idea of a potentially suicidal operation, albeit he hadn't actually been deployed yet. If the young man kept up that confidence, he would be just fine. 

Yerbol strapped into a seat closest to the rear of the shuttle, eyes closing slowly, perception reaching outward into the vast currents of the Force. It pleased him to feel his grasp on the Force energy around him wasn't as loose as it was just a couple of days ago. Maybe being out in the field again was just what he needed or-

"Drop coming in two minutes, kiddos! Bay doors open from below, I drop you and then I'll pull out to a safe distance! Assuming I can't stay in radio contact, I'll be in a holding pattern until I catch word from you...or I get impatient and try to get down there myself. Whichever comes first." The pilot was silent for a moment before she said at a much lower decibel level:
"This risk you all are taking...I pray to whatever god is out there that this is worth it. Drop in one minute!"
"Ethan-"
"Engine power coming online. Primary and secondary thrusters activated...nav on!"
"Thirty seconds!" 

[i]Harmony with the Force. That is your calm.[/i]

"Drop...now!" 

The Champion felt like his innards contorted in several painful and unusual directions as the vessel left hyperspace and simultaneously dropped their shuttle into Malachor V's orbit, Ethan letting out a steady stream of curses as he slammed several buttons on the control panel in front to stabilize the thrusters, the viewport alarmingly filled with all sorts of floating debris that Ethan dodged by swiftly throttling downward, looping around shattered remains before he asked in a piercing shout:
"DO WE HAVE SOMETHING AROUND US?! BECAUSE THINGS ARE ONLY LOOKING WOR-OH COME ON!" The left side of the shuttle was rocked by a chunk of asteroid, Ethan compensating by rolling the shuttle to the right and down again, their speed accelerating vehemently towards the planet's surface. Yerbol didn't respond to his apprentice's harried query, instead focusing on balancing his own Force energy with the chaos around him, channeling the turbulent waves of power into a translucent sphere around the shuttle just in time to deflect an intact turret that somehow managed to survive Malachor's atmosphere. The deflection prompted a shooting pain to careen down his right side, distracting his focus. That hadn't happened the first time they did this. Why woul-

Another collision saw acute pain run down the Champion's spine, his teeth grinding together as he refocused.
"Entering the stratosphere now! Gonna need stabilization!" Yerbol was counting on Aria and Kytra to keep their ship from plunging into the rocky surface below, even more so when the shuttle began to vibrate menacingly. 
"Electrical storm! Son of a bantha feeder...HOLD ON!" Bolts of lightning jammed against the barrier, some of the currents seeming to run through the shuttle's surface into the Champion's body.
"Twenty thousand feet! Storm is dissipating...need a landing zone, need a FREAKING LANDING ZONE!" As they flew out of the remains of the storm, Ethan triumphantly shouted:
"THERE! A CLEARING! GOING IN FOR A LANDING! GONNA BE SOME SHARP TURNS!" As they would find out later, the clearing that Ethan spotted from so far above was marked by the shuttle's nav computer, which also warned that it was located between two mountainous peaks that provided little room for their shuttle to squeeze into. It would explain the stomach churning rolls, turns and profuse swearing. 

"ONE HUNDRED FEET! CLOSING IN ON...NOW!" The bottom of the shuttle collided with the ground, skidding several hundred feet across the desolate grey landscape punctuated by jagged mountain peaks and lightning jutting across the horizon. When the shuttle came to a halt, Yerbol slumped forward in his chair, eyes still closed. 
"We did it...we did it!" Ethan undid his safety harness, looking back at the retinue with a grin.
"WE DID IT!" The triumphant cry was what snapped Yerbol back to consciousness, eyelids crawling open, hands vibrating as he fumbled with his harness. He tried to voice his frustration aloud, but couldn't thanks to his throat feeling like it had been sanded down to almost non-existent. Instead, he reached out through he and Aria's bond, asking meekly:

[i]Ari...could you ...help me with this?[/i] 

"Wait, is Yerbol ok?"