Sol made sure that her seatbelt was secured over her chest and across her waist. The cruiser was nose-diving towards Coruscant and judging by the engine levels that beamed on the screen in front of Anakin, they were coming in hot. R2 was able to lock himself down to the floor with his wheel clamps, but his frantic beeps could be heard over the warning alarms that continued to sound throughout the cockpit.
'Pressure rising. We've got to slow this wreck down. Open all hatches, extend all flaps, and drag fins,' Anakin ordered Obi-wan, who was in front of the second set of controls. The Jedi Master was the learner for the first time and listened to his ex-Padawan.
'Temp steady. Hatches open, flaps extended, drag fins-'
A rumble cut Obi-wan off. The Trade Federation cruiser shook, and the Chancellor let out a whimper. Sol glanced over her shoulder to see that Palpatine was looking towards the corridor. The cruiser was breaking up from its huge size failing against the the speed at which it plummeted.
'We lost something,' Anakin attempted to appear confident as he side-eyed his Master and fellow Jedi but kept his attention on the rising levels.
'Not to worry,' Obi-wan kept up the slight sarcasm. 'We're still flying half the ship.'
'Oh, Maker,' Sol mumbled. She threw her face into her palms at the sight of the windshield showing the light orange skies of Coruscant. There was no longer the aimless void of space with its dots of stars that were too far to reach without the wonders of lightspeed. There were loads of obsticles to hit on Coruscant, and its gravity was the culprit of the cruiser's downfall. Its plummet could be catastrophic if Anakin's piloting skills lucked out on him in this situation.
'Now we're really picking up speed,' Anakin stated. 'I'm going to shift a few degrees and see if I can slow us down.'
'Careful, we're heating up-twelve thousand, thirteen thousand...'
'What's our speed?'
'Eight plus sixty-forty. Eight plus sixty-twenty. Eight plus sixty. Temp ten thousand, nine thousand, we're in the atmosphere.'
The clouds of Coruscant were growing thin. Through their gaps, Sol could see the tallest buildings of the city. She gripped the edges of her seat with sweating palms and R2's beeps as he helped power the ship was the only thing that Sol could understand. The technical talk about the cruiser's levels were not only complicated, but they created a deep hole of fear and dread in Sol's stomach. The cockpit was growing hot and Sol's bangs were sticking to the sides of her face. Puffing air out of her cheeks, she leaned her head back and tried not to think about how suffocating it was now to breathe.
'Five thousand, three thousand... two thousand. Fireships on the left and the right,' Obi-wan read off the screens.
'We'll take you in,' a voice sounded from the controls.
To put out the small fires that burned on the sides of the cruiser, were emergency fire speeders that exhausted water from their hulls. They attempted to guide the monstrous cruiser through the large buildings that skimmed past the grey sides of the ship, but the landing was still up to Anakin. The fires could be extinguished, but the impact of such a large vessel coming in at such speed could leave immense damage.
'Copy that,' Obi-wan replied before pointing out through the windshield. 'Landing strip's straight ahead.'
'We're coming in too hot,' Anakin gripped the controls to pull the cruiser up to try and slide it along the landing strip. As it dropped down, a horrible scrapping noise was heard as the cruiser disrupted the tar of the strip with its belly.
The port side of the cruiser collided with the landing strip's control tower. It crumbled to the ground without hindering the cruiser's landing and the fireships desperately followed with water continuously spraying. Smoke bellowed into the skyline and city-goers watched from their high-rise buildings with their hands cupped over their mouths. They heard about Chancellor Palpatine's abduction from the city, and they prayed that the falling cruiser was his rescue, and not an invasion.
Sol held her breath as the cruiser drew closer to the end of the strip and prayed that the Force would help it in its stop. With a jolt, the Jedi and Chancellor lurched forward and were pulled back by the lock of their seatbelts. The harsh scrape that had continued throughout its landing stopped and a collective sigh of relief sounded in the cockpit.
Anakin let out heavy breaths and looked to his left, signaling that he couldn't believe that he had actually stopped the cruiser from creating carnage. The party were glad to be back on Coruscant and had succeeded in their mission in rescuing Chancellor Palpatine, and had in turn, defeated Count Dooku at last.
'Another happy landing,' Obi-wan grinned as he looked to his team. R2 beeped in agreement and relief.
---
Sol was ecstatic to be back on Coruscant, and even more excited to soon be rid of Chancellor Palpatine's presence. The rescue team and the Chancellor were being transported from the crashed Trade Federation cruiser in a shuttle. They would reunite the Chancellor with his senators, and he would be out their hair at last. Not that Obi-wan and Anakin didn't like being in the Chancellor's presence, but there was a lot of reports to be done, and no doubt, a press conference to address. The Jedi would be seen as saviours and the Senate would be most delighted to have their leader back. But they were not public speakers, so the three dreaded the moment the shuttle would arrive at the Senate building.
Chancellor Palpatine stepped out of the shuttle as it landed and was greeted by his closest senators and Master Mace Windu. The Master Jedi was relieved to hear that his appointed team had succeeded in their rescue and huddled with the senators as the Chancellor stepped into their circle.
Anakin stepped out of the shuttle and descended to the entrance of the Senate building. Reporters waited eagerly to hear from a Jedi about the mission, and Anakin looked nervously towards them. But when he turned around, he realised he was on his lonesome.
'Are you two coming?' he asked up to the two Jedi that stayed in the shuttle.
'Oh no, I'm not brave enough for politics,' Obi-wan shook his head as he leaned against the doorframe of the shuttle. 'I have to report to the Council. Besides, someone needs to be poster boy.'
'Hold on, this whole operation was your idea. You planned it, you led the rescue operation, and you have to be the one to take the bows this time,' Anakin said with a look of betrayal, before shifting his gaze to Sol. 'Come on, bright eyes, you remember what we said.'
'Sorry, old friend. Let us not forget that you rescued me from the buzz droids, and you killed Count Dooku, and you rescued the Chancellor, carrying me on your back, and you managed to land that bucket of bolts safely!'
'And I definitely think that you have the face for the holograms, Ani. You've got this, hotshot,' Sol followed after Obi-wan and the glare she received from Anakin was one for the books.
'That was all because of your training, Master,' Anakin tried to ignore Sol's sarcasm and obvious planning of this moment. 'You deserve all those speeches of your greatness.'
'The endless speeches, Anakin, let's be fair. Today, you are the hero, and you deserve your glorious day with the politicians,' Obi-wan waved his hand at the thought of public speaking.
Anakin sighed at his Master's unwillingness and eyed Sol who stood in the doorway beside him. With a smug smile on her lips, Anakin assumed that she had gotten over the indifference she had towards him when they were on the Trade Federation cruiser. She didn't seem to be avoiding his eye or giving him short answers like she had been, but it wouldn't stop him from questioning her about it when they were next in private.
'Alright, but you two owe me one,' Anakin pointed his gloved finger at the two Jedi. 'And not for saving your skin for the tenth time-'
'Ninth time,' Obi-wan cut him off. 'That business on Cato Nemoidia doesn't count. I'll see you at the briefing.'
The two exchanged smiles before Obi-wan pushed himself off the doorway and walked back into the shuttle. Sol made sure that he was out of earshot and eyesight before she sent Anakin her own smile. It was one that if Obi-wan were to see, he would be suspicious of its warmth and adoration. Anakin dropped the snarky replies and let his eyes send their own admiration to the woman in the shuttle.
'Say hello to Padme for me. She's hanging back for you,' Sol said through the Force, and it made Anakin look over his shoulder to where the Chancellor spoke with Master Windu. As the group of senators headed into the building, Padme Amidala hung back with anticipation. She wanted to speak to the two Jedi that she was friendly with but was unaware that Anakin would be the only one coming.
When Anakin looked back towards the shuttle, Sol had sat down with Obi-wan and the engines were powering up to take them to the Jedi Temple. He resisted a loud sigh before he headed into the Senate building to meet with Padme.
---
'Why does the Council want to speak to me? You were the leader of the mission.'
'Whatever reason it is, it must be good. Master Yoda sounded rather optimistic about your appearance.'
Sol and Obi-wan watched the city pass while the shuttle took them to the Jedi Temple. Before they would need to lodge the mission's report into the Jedi archives, Obi-wan would report to the Council with the main details, like with the happening of Count Dooku's death. But they had also requested for Sol to attend the Council meeting, which surprised and worried her.
'I'm sure they'll be glad to hear about our success. Some good news will do the Order some good,' Obi-wan nodded to himself. 'Especially about Count Dooku being gone. Now, it should just be General Grievous and a few separatist leaders, and the war will finally be over.'
The mention of Count Dooku's death made Sol remember the events that occurred while Obi-wan was unconscious. She hadn't had the moment to further dwell on what she experienced from Chancellor Palpatine and Anakin, but now would be the time to think about it, and voice her concerns to Obi-wan.
'Obi-wan, before we speak to the Council, I wanted to talk to you first,' Sol started. The change of Sol's tone made the Jedi Master shift in his seat to face her. With raised eyebrows, Obi-wan analysed her expression that looked pleading, yet hesitant.
'What is it?' he asked, careful of his tone and narrowing gaze.
Their previous talks have been enlightening to Obi-wan, and he was sure that the next would be equally as important. He was glad that Sol was comfortable with sharing her personal concerns, and Obi-wan wouldn't like to admit to the Council or himself, that it made him feel warm inside. He felt responsible for Sol's mental health and if she was concerned, he was concerned.
'While you were out of the fight, Chancellor Palpatine was adamant that Anakin should kill Count Dooku,' Sol said while glancing down at her fidgeting fingers in her lap. 'Anakin did say that he shouldn't, because Dooku could be brought to trial for his crimes, but the Chancellor was rather... aggressive towards the thought. And when Anakin did kill Dooku, his Force signature went... a little strange.'
'How so?'
Sol bit her lip at Obi-wan intense stare. They were approaching the temple, but Sol knew that Obi-wan wouldn't depart the shuttle without hearing the last of her explanation. She felt like she was dobbing Anakin in to his ex-Master, but she couldn't help it. The thought of the dark spots on the vibrant orange glow of his signature would not leave Sol's mind, and she didn't want to continue acting indifferent towards Anakin about it. Perhaps something could be done. Perhaps Anakin needed some training, and the darkness would never appear around him again. Sol told herself that this could help him, and that it wouldn't be betraying him by sharing her thoughts to Obi-wan, a member of the Jedi Council.
'Like there was darkness. He wanted to kill Dooku, and nothing else mattered,' Sol said with a slight quiver in her voice. 'I know that it could be signs of the dark side and... I fear that I have seen it in him before.'
Obi-wan didn't gasp or exclaim in shock like Sol thought he would. Instead, he put his hand to his chin and fumbled with the hairs of his beard. He faced the front of the shuttle as it pulled into the main entrance of the Jedi Temple and Sol prayed that she hadn't made a mistake in telling Obi-wan. She wanted to believe that he would be understanding, as he had protected her secrets before; even when they went against a Jedi code, but it was a different situation when it came to mentions of the dark side.
'I too have wondered about these things with Anakin,' Obi-wan admitted after some time. 'His emotions do get the better of him, and I've tried time and time again to teach him to let them go. He has gotten better, but he still struggles with his intensive feelings every day.'
Sol was relieved to hear that it wasn't something new to Obi-wan. But the worry still ate away at her stomach, and it was Sol's turn to shift in her seat to face Obi-wan. But he didn't speak again and she feared the worst as the shuttle lowered to the level of the temple. The engines died, signifying for the two Jedi to exit and Obi-wan was the first to stand.
'Obi-wan,' Sol jumped from her seat with large eyes and frantic thoughts. The man stopped on his pursuit to the door and turned to face her once again, seeing an expression that he knew he would see on the young Jedi's face.
'Nothing's going to happen to Ani... right?'
Obi-wan softened at Sol's pinched eyebrows and panicked eyes. He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder, letting a smile peak through his blonde beard. Even though he was concerned about Anakin, he had faith in the young boy. The war was changing everyone, and the Jedi were wearing thin. Anakin's intense emotions were expected of his character and the constant mission assignments would stress any Jedi out. Anakin was nothing to worry about.
'Don't worry, Sol, I've known Anakin a long time and I trust him,' Obi-wan said with a calm voice. 'This can stay between you and me. You can trust me with your concerns, and I mean all of them.'
Obi-wan pulled his hand away and turned to head out of the shuttle with a knowing smile on his face. Sol's jaw fell as he exited, and she realised what Obi-wan could have meant. With the combination of his expression and his emphasis on 'all' of her concerns, Obi-wan could be hinting towards Sol's best kept secret of all.
Did Obi-wan know about her and Anakin's relationship?