'How is this possible? Shan's ancestors were two of the most powerful Jedi there ever was.'
'It appears that Theron is skilled in other areas, like combat, but without a connection to the Force, we cannot train him.'
'I suppose it can't be helped...'
'Satele has accomplished a great deal in her years, but I fear that General Malcom has hindered her focus.'
'That is out of my control. For now, I will guide the child to his rightful destiny.'
---
With a jolt, Sol awoke from her dream. It was the same as before; she couldn't see who was talking nor hear anything other than the words exchanged between two people. At least this time, she was aware of who Satele Shan was, and that the child they were referring to, was her child and Sol's ancestor, Theron Shan.
Arching her back, Sol realised that she had fallen asleep while in the cave of the first Jedi Temple. Still trapped by a droid separatist army on the island of Ahch-To, Sol sat against the uncomfortable wall near the opening of the cave. Her head had lolled to the side in her sleep, making her neck ache, and her arms were crossed to harness some warmth inside her dark brown over robe.
At the sound of mumbles, Sol shuffled around to look into the cavern, where she saw Anakin stood with his back to her. From the position of his forearm up to his mouth and his gloved hand on his hip, Sol assumed he was talking on his commlink.
'Looks like there are four ships on the island, sir,' Captain Rex could be heard through the wristband. 'We were able to retreat into a small cave on the side of the mountain. But there are droids everywhere, sir. I don't think we'll be able to make it through them to get to you and Commander Sol. I'm sorry, sir...'
'Thank you, Rex. They won't search through the night, but let's hope that Obi-wan is on his way,' Anakin replied quietly, but Sol stretched her hearing with the Force to listen. 'Stay safe, Rex.'
'You, too, sir. Over and out.'
At the silencing of Captain Rex's voice, Sol felt an ache in her chest; not from the Force, but from the guilt. Just as they were, the 501st legion were trapped. The clone captain didn't sound panicked nor hopeless, but Sol was aware that the clones withheld their true emotions for the sake of battle, and for their allegiance to the Jedi Order. They were soldiers, and death was just a consequence of war.
Sol pushed her back off the wall and looked down at her legs. Her lightsaber was beside her and the sky outside had dimmed for the night. Stars were twinkling and the two small moons that sat in the Ahch-To system could be seen rising high. She heard the waves crash and foam, and the winds whistled past the cave's opening. If Sol hadn't found the temple, they would have frozen without the proper insulated clothing that was back at the camp.
At the sound of scuffed footsteps, Sol angled her gaze up to see Anakin approaching. His boots were loud as they echoed throughout the temple and Sol yearned for his eyes to meet hers. She wanted to talk to him, apologise to him, say anything that would ease the anxiety ball that weighed on her chest. She knew Anakin was upset with her actions and feared for the safety of his clone legion, who were alone without a commander. At the knowledge of this, the guilt ate at Sol's being, almost to point of tears pinging to her eyes.
She watched Anakin stop at the wall opposite Sol before he lowered himself down to sit at her level. With his back against the rock wall, Anakin's legs stretched out in front of him, making the soles of his boots to be a metre away from Sol's. Sol winced when the back of Anakin's head thudded against the rock wall, but when he made no noise with his neck stretched back, she swallowed dryly.
'Where's Artoo?' Sol tried, the weakness in her voice surprising her.
'He's in there. I powered him down for a while.'
Sol hadn't expected to get a reply, much less one that was given with a soft, tamed tone. She glanced into the cavern where Anakin had motioned his head towards, seeing the dome outline of R2-D2's head, before looking at the man opposite her. Through the light the moons emitted, Sol could see that Anakin's eyes were heavy lidded. His shoulders were slack, and his hands sat in his lap, his bionic limp covered, but noticeable when Sol watched the way his fingers rigidly tapped against his leg out of habit.
'Don't feel bad,' Anakin stated, making Sol's eyebrows shoot up. 'I know you do. I can feel it from here. What I said before was abit harsh, but worrying is not worth your energy, and it can't be helped now. We should have suspected that there would be a base in the water.'
'But I... I've jeopardised the lives of everyone on this mission...' Sol mumbled, the weight on her chest becoming unbearable. 'You were right. We have no ship and not enough men to fight an entire droid army. We should have left with Obi-wan, but because of me... we're trapped, and... I'm so sorry-'
'Hey, come on, bright eyes. We're not dead, yet.'
Sol's head fell into her hands in despair, and Anakin felt a wave of sadness at the sight. From where he sat, Anakin saw that his attempts to sooth her weren't enough. A feeling of helplessness overcame him, and his lungs felt tight, forcing his lips to part to try and take a deep breath of air. But his throat formed a ball and the air that entered his mouth dried its inside, making his lips sting.
With her eyes squeezed shut in her palms, Sol heard a scuffle against the cave's floor. Looking up, she saw that Anakin had gotten to his feet and was making his way over to her. Tears had formed in Sol's eyes, but she was able to hold the pools at bay when Anakin descended into the space next to her on the ground. Anakin took hold of Sol's hand and held it in his, while Sol rubbed her eyes with the ball of her free palm. He didn't hesitate to squeeze her palm and Sol looked to him, realising that this was one of the first times Anakin had ever held her hand.
'I know it seems dim, but one of us is the Chosen One, remember? We can't possibly die now, right?' Anakin attempted to joke, his voice containing a hint of sarcasm, but it made Sol remember how she had found the cave in the first place.
'Did you notice that I found the first Jed Temple ever?' Sol changed the subject, hoping to stop her brewing of tears, and Anakin looked to the mosaicked Jedi.
'I did notice. Looks like they had a sparring circle, too,' Anakin said.
'It could be a meditation space.'
'Could be, but we could use it for sparring.'
'What do you mean 'we'?'
Letting Sol's hand slip out of his, Anakin stood up from the ground wordlessly. Her hand immediately felt cold at the loss, but Sol's attention was on the young man who stood above her. Anakin's looming figure made Sol gulp, and she felt the need to meet his level, making her get to her feet. Being shorter than the Skywalker, Sol's height reached his chin, making Anakin want to grin and make a snarky comment.
'Since we're in the birthplace of the Jedi-' Anakin took steps backward towards the cavern. '-and we're trapped here, you might as well continue your teachings.'
'My teachings?'
As Anakin stopped on the mosaic of the balanced Jedi, making it difficult for Sol to see him in the dark. But when a beam of electric blue extended, Sol realised what Anakin meant by her 'teachings'. Anakin's lightsaber shifted as the Knight moved to the side of the cavern and Sol bit her lip in hesitation. Not only was the temple too dark to properly see Anakin, but Sol had seen the advancements in Anakin's skills in combat and in his use of the Force. A spar between them would not be like it was when they were Padawans; it would be a challenging dual.
'You're scared,' she jumped at the echo of his words.
'I am not!'
'Then let's dual, Solaris.'
The hesitation died as Sol saw his lightsaber's blade rotate from the roll of Anakin's wrist. At the hum that filled the temple, Sol became aware of the flow of the Force from the walls of the cave. She threw off her over robe and let it pool on the floor behind her. She bent down to grab her lightsaber and pressed the handle's button, making the cyan light grow.
When she made it to the cavern, Sol faced the outline of Anakin and his blade from the other side of the mosaic. The fear of the droid army outside the temple walls were forgotten about for now, and the knowledge of Satele Shan fell away from Sol's mind. A dual would occupy her and since Anakin seemed adamant on the activity, Sol would not question his method of taking their minds off their possible fate. And besides, the strength of the Force inside the temple was exhilarating, and the Jedi wanted to take advantage of the connection they would likely never experience again.
'I would bow, but I don't think you would see it,' Anakin said, and Sol knew that he wore a smirk. Instead of grumbling like she normally would at his arrogant comment, Sol wore her own smirk.
Without warning or a mutual agreement, the dual began as the two lightsabers shot through the cavern towards each other. The opponents leapt into the air and their blades collided with a loud buzz. The side of Anakin's face was lit when his lightsaber's blue was raised to connect with hers, and Sol was sure that Anakin could see her in a bath of cyan. She knew that it wasn't the time to admire the way his cheekbones were emphasised from the shadow of his blade and slid her boot against the floor, allowing her to duck underneath Anakin's arm. With a spin, Sol used one hand to try and slice across Anakin's torso, but he jumped backwards to avoid her.
At Sol's surprise, Anakin crouched low before leaping high. The Force pushed him up and thrusted him down, making his fall quicker than Sol anticipated it would. She didn't have the time to properly block the attack that came from above, so with a slip to the side, Sol held her blade across herself and was able to use the edge to connect with Anakin's weapon. As he was stopped in his descent and was back on the floor of the temple, Sol spun around twice, moving to his left. When she finished her second spin, her lightsaber swung around with the Force in her swing.
With some more blocks and attacks from both offences, the clash of cyan and blue never faltered in speed nor power. Sol was impressed by Anakin's use of the Force, considering the last time she had sparred with him as a Padawan, he struggled to call for its guide while in battle. But he used its power and guidance in nearly ever move he performed, and that made it hard for Sol to anticipate and counteract his attacks.
After some time in the dark, Sol decided that she would end the spar. The cavern was nearly pitch black and she knew that Anakin was tiring, much like she also was. After a cluster of continuous clashes of blades, Sol let Anakin tear his saber downwards with both hands in an attempt to slice her from above. But she stepped aside and remembered how Anakin had put a halt to their spar in the meadows of Naboo.
Sol called to the Force and let her blade fall from her hands as she grabbed Anakin's wrists that were together. While he was leaned forward from the momentum of his attack, Sol immobilised Anakin with her hand full with his wrists. With the cyan light glowing from the floor, and Anakin's blue saber held to the left of the two, Anakin jerked his head to look at Sol. Her skin was glistening with sweat and layers of blue made a sparkle reflect in her eyes. Anakin's breath was caught in his throat at the sheer beauty of Sol's face, and with their closeness, an overwhelming rush hit his senses.
It happened with a duck of Anakin's head and a twist of his wrists. He slipped through her fingers and encased them with his, holding Sol's hands as he stepped to be standing straight. Sol didn't have the time to see how Anakin's head fell to the side before he pressed his lips against hers.
His eyes scrunched shut when the bliss of her lips burst through his, and the surprise that hit Sol nearly sent her stumbling backwards. Anakin's hold on her hands was firm to keep her up right, but was soothing and hot against her skin. It took a moment of pure shock before Sol's eyes closed from their widened state, but when she realised that Anakin Skywalker was kissing her, she melted against him.