Accismus⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.• Anakin Skywalker⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•

79.

'I think you can save him, Sol,' Padme said as the two held each other in the apartment. 'You can bring back the good in him. I know it.'

Sol only hoped that what her friend said was true.

---

Padme's Naboo skiff waited for its departure from a Coruscant landing pad. It had been prepared by Captain Typho, who objected to the journey avidly. While the reflective skin of the ship showed the surrounding city that was now under the rule of the Galactic Empire, C3-PO walked with Senator Amidala, Jedi Master Sol, and Jedi Knight Revan Shan from their transport.

'My Lady, please let me accompany you,' Captain Typho urged as they stopped beside the awaiting ramp. 'Remember that you are dealing with Jedi. I still think that you should consider turning them in-'

'I will not listen to this kind of talk from someone like you, Captain,' Padme said sternly. 'You have been my protector for far too long for you to suddenly object to my choices of friends just because of the Chancellor. Sol is my friend, and her fellow Jedi, Revan, sought refuge at the betrayal of their own army. I will not abandon them. They are mine to protect, and Anakin is nothing less.'

'I'm sorry, My Lady, but I only fear for your safety. No one is safe from the charge of treason, not even you...'

Sol didn't take Captain Typho's suggestion to heart. She knew that there was a bounty on all Jedi heads, and she and Revan were no exception. She knew Captain Typho was not personally against Sol as a Jedi, but he feared his senator's prosecution for not turning her in. From what the public had been brainwashed into believing, Sol wasn't sure if she would be adamant on the Jedi faith's innocence.

Captain Typho bowed his head in slight shame but looked up to Padme with his one eye. As Sol, Revan and C3-PO stood back towards the ship, the man pleaded for the senator to not go one last time. Padme softened from her defenses for her friends and reached up to place a hand on her protector's shoulder. She had known him a long time and knew that his intentions were always in her best interest.

'I'll be alright, Captain,' she said with confidence. She then turned to her skiff and walked with her friends up the ramp and into its hull.

Captain Typho watched as the engines powered and the ship rose from the platform. He held his cap that attempted to fly from the wind, and noticed that when the landing ramp began to recoil, a robed figure dropped from its belly and ran into the ship's hull. He could identify the facial hair and robes anywhere, and regrettably watched his senator's ship fly off with Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi now onboard.

---

C3-PO and Padme sat in the cockpit of the ship as it entered hyperspace. Planets and stars soared past the windshield and the protocol droid babbled about finally getting the hang of a starship's controls. Padme found peace in the light talk with her golden droid and kept an eye on the levels that were displayed on the screens of the control panel.

While the cockpit was a comfortable space to be in, the hallways of the ship were filled with tense anticipation and immense worry. Sol sat on a bench that protruded from the padded white walls and nibbled on the nail of her thumb. She didn't know what to expect on Mustafar besides the rivers of molten lava that ran from the planet's volcanic mountains. It was a baron place that was mostly unvisited on the Outer-Rim for a reason, but what awaited her arrival was what Sol feared the most.

Whatever was about to happen on Mustafar, Sol had to think about the future for her unborn children. If Anakin had turned to the dark side beyond return, Sol had to be prepared to walk away from him and keep her pregnancy a secret. It was not in the Sith values to raise a family in the way that Anakin and Sol had dreamed of. If Anakin wanted to raise their children, it would be in the denial of what he had done. Sol couldn't let their children believe that their father was a good man, while he held yellow eyes and wielded a red lightsaber.