Kozantei, Fourth Quadrant, Andromeda Galaxy.

Mya's heart stuttered, she did not want to be kicked out of training, she'd finally felt like she'd found her place, and fulfillment. She was so close to learning how to operate those great warrior ships she'd seen flying across the skies and possibly one day a battleship like the one that had brought her to this planet.

"Are you going to kick me out of the trials?" she asked softly to her surprise Mara's eyes softened imperceptibly.

"Why would I do such a thing? You've managed to succeed despite your..." she gave her another once over, but this look was not dripping with its usual distaste, it was merely assessing as if Mya were a prize or something that could benefit her. "Human-ness"

Mya snickered, "How much did it hurt you to say that?"

Mara's lips curled into a smirk, revealing a sharp fang protruding over her lip, "The meeting will begin in a few moments, come with me."

She stood and walked out of the room expecting Mya to follow, she ground her teeth but of course she followed the lieutenant, her curiosity was too great to ever allow her to miss such an opportunity. They walked down the gold decorated hallways, passing the depictions of the many things Mya still didn't quite understand and pushed through large black ornate doors. Her eyes travelled around the room, it had the same ivory stone walls with depictions, and it housed a large slab of dark rock that was shaped into an roughhewn form – it looked like it had been lifted directly from the ground and then placed in the room to be used as the table, big enough for the four others gathered in the room, Ravanna, Nezerra, Azazel and Zogan who had stopped midsentence at their entrance.

Mara motioned her forward as she'd paused by the doors, but her eyes were locked onto the large creature that sat at Zogan's feet, the creature whose glowing amber eyes had also locked onto her. It had four short, curled horns on it scaled head – they all pointed upwards like a crown, and its face structure reminded her of a shorter version of an alligator's. Its neck was long, and its blue green scales glimmered as it slowly rose to its feet. Mya watched dumb founded as it rose – of course it would be bigger than her, everything on this damn planet was. There were four large spines that jutted out from its hip bones and a spiny muscled tail that tapered off into a pointed end. It slowly walked toward her on four muscled feet that sported three long talons and a shorter thumb like but also clawed toe. It had wings! Massive leather protrusions that looked like they could blow Mya away with one flap. Mya shuddered and shuffled back a few steps, the beast exhaled a smoky breath and cocked its head while continuing to move forward. She was being stalked.

"Zar." Zogan's voice was soft but commanding, the beast whined and looked back at him, and stomped its foot. Surprise flickered through Mya who recovered a bit from her fear as they lost eye contact, she reached out with her senses to the beast on a whim and felt, love and devotion, aimed towards Zogan. It turned its amber eyes back to her and she felt curiosity. There was no ill will and before she knew it her legs shuffled her forward. She was reaching for it, him, Zar. His long neck bent, and he nudged into her hand, a sharp intake of breath was heard around the room while she rubbed his head between his horns. A slow smile spread across her face as the beast curled its tail around her arm to hold it in place over his head. Demanding more attention.

Mara hissed, "Well that's unusual."

Ravanna and Azazel's eyes were still on the beast and Mya asked, "Why?"

Zar was now sitting on his haunches before her, he was still a head taller than her, and she scratched around his neck lost in her study of the magnificent animal. She had never seen any of the real animals on earth she'd only studied them in her classes, sad at all the loss the war had brought.

"Well, usually, if someone tries to touch another's Kyeet without their owner's permission, they'd be dead before the hand could even land." Azazel said, his eyes scrunched in confusion as he said it.

"This is a kyeet?!" Mya said, fear returning as she remembered the loud growls in the ship when she'd been lost, Zar whined, and her fear fled. He only wanted attention and she gladly gave it to him, he wheezed and settled onto his side revealing a yellow softly scaled under belly, her grin grew as she scratched until her arm ached.

"Well unless the person who attempts it is the kyeet owner's ma-" Nezerra began but was cut off when Mara snapped from her seat at the edge of the table, "Human, I didn't bring you in here to soften Zogan's kyeet!"

Mya stood up at that and eyed Zogan who was looking between her and his kyeet with a perplexed and almost stricken expression.

She shrugged, "Sorry."

There was only one remaining seat adjacent to Zogan, his kyeet seemed happy at the arrangement and plopped down near her feet, its tail swaying lazily, brushing against her calves.

Zogan's tongue flicked out as he eyed the interaction between her and Zar and there was a visible effort to pull himself out of somewhere deep within when he asked, "And why did you bring Mya to the council meeting exactly?" His voice was strained. He and Nezerra shared a look, Mya could not decipher what passed between them.

'What the hell is going on?' She wondered.

Mara looked around the room ensuring she had everyone's attention, "She can find the weapon."

Zogan hissed, "What?" He leaned forward in his seat, his expression darkening.

"We haven't been able to locate it before heading in, so I found a solution."

Nezerra, Azazel and Ravanna gazes were fixed on Zogan, whose energy felt like a building dark cloud to Mya, his shield was still there but what she sensed was like swirling smoke that had escaped through cracks in an enclosed fortress. "You want to send an unconfirmed trainee, Mya, into the Zon stronghold?"

Mara nodded, ignoring the wrath that was directed towards her. "She won't be alone, and she has excelled in all of the training components so far."

"Yes, but she hasn't done her trial." Said Ravanna who was now eyeing Mya with interest.

Confusion bubbled up. What the hell was happening? She wanted answers, "Um, can someone explain to me what the fuck is happening here?"

Zogan looked as if he were about to explode, Nezerra placed a hand on his arm, "We've been looking for the exact location of a stolen weapon that the Zon, the Ajal's allies, have taken," she rubbed her brother's hand slowly, "It has proven difficult."

"With your abilities, you could guide us to it," said Mara staring stubbornly at Zogan, the two were locked into a staring match, "We've wasted solars on this, it is the quickest way brother."

"What do you think Ravanna?" Nezerra asked, warily eyeing the two of her older siblings.

Ravanna's chin lowered in thought, "Based off of what I saw today at the test run, it is a plausible option."

Zogan closed his eyes and breathed deeply, when he spoke his voice was low, controlled, "You think I'm going to let you send Mya into Zon territory? Have you all gone mad?" His jaw clenched, eyes burning with rage, "No."

"You're not thinking from a logical standpoint," Azazel intercepted the response his mate, Mara, was about to make, "We will protect her, your elite combatants, or have you lost faith in us?"

Mya leaned forward, "I'll do it."

Nezerra nodded almost sadly, her slitted pupils danced, "Of course you would." Her eyes still flicked from Zogan to Mara and now to Mya.

Zogan looked down at her sharply, "You would put your life at risk, for what?"

"For Kozan and the fourth quarter what is one life to so many?" Mya shrugged, ignoring the thunderous look that bloomed across Zogan's features at her words, "Besides, I'll be well protected, and I'd get to kick some ass."

She'd hoped to lighten Zogan's mood with her last comment, but he pushed up from the table and stalked from the room, everyone sat in stunned silence and Zar looked up at Mya as if to say, Go after him. She did.

"What the hell was that?" she said to him as she joined him in the garden. She'd found him after following his kyeet through the writhing hallways. He was sitting on a bench under the swaying trees which were pregnant with flowers and insects. Zar began to rub his back on the wet grassy yard as soon as he flopped down onto it. The seven moons shone down, each in different phases, illuminating the space with a pale ghostly light.

He sighed when she sat next to him, "You are putting yourself in danger Mya."

"Yes, but I'll be safe and it's for the greater good, isn't it?" she moved closer to him, Zogan's eyes were fixed on the skies above. "I've seen what war and destruction does to a planet; I'm not going to let it happen to an entire quadrant Zogan."

He continued to look up, his throat moving as he swallowed, "On missions... you plan for everything but... so many things can go wrong." He finally looked down at her, "something could go wrong."

"Make sure that it doesn't." she said equally as soft, she took his hand and his powerful fingers curled around her smaller ones. She looked down at their hands, a study of different textures and colors as they were, intertwined with each other.

"Mya, I-" she stretched up and kissed him, scared by whatever he'd been about to say. If he said those words and she gave them back to him and something did happen on the mission it would make things immensely harder. Did it make her coward? Yes. She loved Zogan, had known it for a little while now. She still wasn't even sure about when it happened. During their copious amount of love making, talking, and spending time with each other over the past few months perhaps but Mya couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when realization hit – now she just knew. She'd fallen. Hard.

Zogan pressed his forehead against hers, the way he did with his family and closest friends and Mya smiled, a shy smile that Zogan gobbled up with his predatory eyes. She pressed her small hands to his two beating hearts, they thundered beneath her palm, offering her an odd feeling of comfort.

"I know." She whispered, "I know."