It was strange to be sitting with the Jedi Council while Anakin was standing in the middle. Sol was yet to feel relaxed enough to lean back in her chair like the other Jedi Masters did. Her back was stiff as it held her posture rigid and with her hair falling over her shoulders, Sol still didn't feel like she belonged on the Council yet. Especially with the current conference, where they would break the harsh news to Anakin, who stood with a hopeful smile on his face.
'Anakin Skywalker, we have approved your appointment to the Council as the Chancellor's personal representative,' Master Windu addressed him first. He was lounging back in his chair with a particularly unimpressed expression.
'I will do my best to uphold the principles of the Jedi Order,' Anakin said, trying to appear prideful but not smug in front of Master Windu. The two were never able to get a long.
'Allow this appointment lightly, the Council does not,' Master Yoda said from his small chair. 'Disturbing, is this move by Chancellor Palpatine.'
'I understand...'
Sol knew that Anakin didn't like how Master Yoda spoke about the Chancellor, but he resisted his argumentative side for the sake of the situation. Sol saw the strained smile on Anakin's face, and he hid his hands in the sleeves of his robe that were undoubtably clenched into fists. At the thought of the promotion, Anakin held his tongue, because he could jeopardise his opportunity of becoming Jedi Master on the Jedi Council. While knowing this, Sol began to find it difficult to keep her stare on the centre of the room.
'You are on this Council,' Master Windu started, and Anakin's smile began to grow. 'But we do not grant you the rank of Master.'
Sol felt Anakin's shock through the Force. As if a thud sounded throughout the conference room, Sol's heart jumped, and her feet fidgeted against the tiled floor. Through the strong Force signatures that circled the orange glow of Anakin Skywalker, Sol felt Obi-wan's teal flame quiver at the intensity of the room. There was doubt that Sol's white glow did the same as Anakin's dropped jaw and his betrayed-glazed eyes looked around the room at Master Windu's statement.
Anakin's eyes fell on Obi-wan and Sol, the two people he trusted the most within the Council, but they struggled to meet his eye. Obi-wan put his hand to his beard, which showed he was deep in thought, or perhaps he felt awkward under his ex-Padawan's stare. He knew that Anakin wanted to walk over and force the man to look at him, but no matter the outcome, Obi-wan couldn't bring himself to look at his student.
When he saw that he wouldn't receive his ex-Master's support, Anakin looked to where Sol squirmed in her chair. Through the burning hole he seared through her cheek, Sol glanced up once and immediately regretted joining the Jedi Council. He looked hurt that she had known this would happen, but that she kept it from him. He understood that Council meetings and topics were confidential, but his judgement was disturbed by the blunt force of betrayal.
'What?!' Anakin looked back to Master Windu. 'How can you do this?! This is outrageous. It's unfair!'
Sol glanced at Master Windu and Master Yoda, who made sure to stare back at Anakin without faltering in fear. Anakin intimidated most, but the Grand Master knew about the Skywalker's unpredictable outbursts. And Master Windu had a certain dislike for Anakin that everyone knew about, so any attempt by the hysterical young man to appear above him, was futile.
'I'm more powerful than any of you! How can you be on the Council and not be a Master?!'
'Take a seat, young Skywalker,' Master Windu's tone was daring. He gestured his hand to the free seat that was made on the other side of the room, which Sol was relieved about.
'Forgive me, Master...'
Sol's chest ached when she saw Anakin's crestfallen face turn and trudge over to the chair. The outrage and betrayal that radiated through the Force had calmed but were now replaced with the shame and embarrassment from Anakin's outburst. The silence among the Council didn't help, as besides Master Windu and Master Yoda, everyone felt discomfort after Anakin's outrage. With shifting eyes, Jedi Masters avoided looking at Anakin who was hunched in his chair with his attention on the tiled floor.
'We have surveyed all systems in the Republic, and have found no sign of General Grievous,' Master Ki-Adi-Mundi's hologram saved the Council from the uncomfortable silence.
'Hiding in the Outrer-Rim, Grievous is,' Master Yoda turned to the hologram. 'The outlying systems, we must sweep.'
'It may take some time. We do not have many ships to spare,' Obi-wan said, dying to leave the room and confront Anakin away from the Council.
'We cannot take ships from the front line,' Master Windu shook his head.
'And yet, it would be fatal for us to allow the droid armies to regroup.'
'Master Kenobi, our spies contact, you must, and then wait.'
Sol tried to concentrate on the back and forth but couldn't stop her attention from wandering to the other side of the room. She wanted to leap across the chairs and embrace Anakin in front of the Jedi Masters. Her excitement about being on the Council had weltered away at the sight of Anakin's crestfallen face and she wanted to take Anakin away from the embarrassment that he had just endured.
'He's right, that is a system we cannot afford to lose,' Obi-wan's voice tuned Sol's ears back into the conversation. 'It's the main navigation route for the southwestern quadrant.'
'I know that system well,' Anakin piped up surprisingly. 'It would take us little time to drive the droids off that planet.'
'Skywalker, your assignment is here with the Chancellor, and Kenobi must find General Grievous,' Master Windu said, and the reaffirmation of Anakin's dislike for the man was apparent.
'Go, I will,' Master Yoda said. 'Good relations with the Wookies, I have.'
'It is settled, then. Yoda will take a battalion of clones to reinforce the Wookies on Kashyyyk. May the Force be with us all.'
With Master Windu's dismissal, the holograms of Master Adi-Mundi and Master Plo Koon fizzled away. Jedi Masters stood from their chairs as a general talk started and the doors of the conference room opened for their exit. Obi-wan and Sol stood at the same time and glanced at each other for the storm that was about to erupt. They headed for the door with Anakin's raging signature on their heels, and they dreaded the conversation that was about to unfold.
---
Obi-wan, Sol and Anakin reached enough hallways away from the conference room and the other Masters before their talk ensued. Sol found herself in between the two men whose brown over robes skimmed the carpeted floor. She chose not to wear her over robe today, leaving her arms bare, but the warmth of the oncoming summer of Coruscant made it that Sol was content with the general temperature of the temple. But she almost wished she had brought it to bury her hands in its sleeves to cover her fidgeting hands.
'What kind of nonsense is this? Put me on the Council and not make me Master?! That's never been done in the history of the Jedi. It's insulting!'
'Calm down, Anakin. You have been given a great honour,' Obi-wan said as the three walked side by side.
'There's never been an advisor for a politician on the Council before, either, Ani,' Sol added with a pointed look. Anakin glanced down at her and scoffed in irritation, knowing it to be true.
'And the fact of the matter is that you're too close to the Chancellor,' Obi-wan turned to stop the three on their walk. 'The Council doesn't like it when he interferes in Jedi affairs.'
'I swear to you, I didn't ask to be put on the Council,' Anakin said with his attention mostly on Obi-wan. Sol knew that he didn't want to directly talk down at Sol in front of Obi-wan, but she knew that Anakin would privately rant about the situation to her when they went back to Padme's that evening.
'But it's what you wanted!' Obi-wan said the truth. 'With Sol now on the Council, I know that you thought it was your time next. And rightfully so! But you can't deny that this was your desire.'
'And your friendship with Chancellor Palpatine seems to have paid off,' Sol added, and Anakin's
head turned down to her.
'That has nothing to do with it,' he said carefully.
'Anakin, regardless of how it happened, you find yourself in a delicate situation,' Obi-wan said, turning Anakin's stare back to him.
'You mean divided loyalties.'
'I warned you there was tension between the Council and the Chancellor. I was very clear. Why didn't you listen? You walked right into it.'
'You also know that it is not the Jedi way to be involved so closely with politicians,' Sol said.
'What about Padme?'
'That's different, Anakin. We're acquaintances, but her work is separate from our relationship with her. With the Chancellor, you're visiting the Senate building and he's asking you to be an informant in the Jedi Council,' Sol sighed, and Anakin turned his gaze to her again. This time, there were words behind his eyes and Sol knew he meant more than he was about to say.
'Remind me whose side you're on here, Solaris. You've been on the Council for what, two weeks?'
Sol was thrown back to one of the first times she encountered Anakin Skywalker's arrogance. She remembered the argument in Padme's apartment where the young Skywalker Padawan looked Sol up and down and said,
'Remind me why you're here, again?'
The same fury Sol felt then returned and boiled in her stomach. The way Anakin looked down at her with his eyebrow raised, causing the cut that was yet to heal to stretch from its arch. Sol wanted to stomp her foot and call Anakin all the derogatory names that popped into her head. The years' worth of meditation and growth that Sol and Anakin had gone through from their childish rivalry vanished, and the two glared at each other with a poor Obi-wan in the middle.
'Anakin, your jealousy and pride are not Jedi thoughts,' Obi-wan forced himself into the tense exchange and Anakin was made to look to his ex-Master once more.
'Master, you of all people should have confidence in my abilities. I know where my loyalties lie.'
'Well, your loyalties to the Order shouldn't be hindered with this new assignment,' Sol butted in. Anakin's brow furrowed in confusion while Obi-wan looked to Sol with haste and panic.
'Please, Sol, just wait a-'
'The Council wants you to report on all of the Chancellor's dealings. They want to know what he's up to.'
Obi-wan would have groaned aloud if he wasn't so civilized. He wanted to break the news gently to Anakin to avoid upsetting him even more, but Sol was on edge. She didn't want to tiptoe around Anakin for much longer, because the truth was that he had upset her. He was letting his emotions get the better of him again, and Sol had to admit that hers were also clouding her judgement. In the moment, she didn't care if Anakin grew more upset, and she didn't want to spoonfeed him the new assignment.
'They want me to spy on the Chancellor?!' Anakin was flabbergasted at Sol's admittance. 'That's treason!'
'We are at war, Anakin,' Obi-wan said. 'The Jedi Council is sworn to uphold the principles of the Republic, even if the Chancellor does not.'
'Why didn't the Council give me this assignment when we were in session?'
'This assignment is not to be recorded. The Council asked us to approach you on this personally.'
Anakin was sick of explaining the same thing to different people. He couldn't believe that the Jedi Council were wanting to go against Chancellor Palpatine after they rescued him from his capture. The Chancellor was so caring and kind to him that Anakin believed his intentions with the executive powers were nothing but for the greater good of the Republic. He wanted the war over, why couldn't the Jedi Council, or Obi-wan and Sol for that matter, see that?
'The Chancellor is not a bad man. He befriended me. He's watched out for me ever since I arrived here,' Anakin looked between Sol and Obi-wan as he spoke.
'That is why you must help us, Anakin. Our allegiance is to the Senate, not to its leader who has managed to stay in office long after his term has expired.'
'The Senate demanded he stay longer-'
'And that doesn't seem strange to you?'
Sol could see that Anakin still didn't believe their reasoning. No matter what they said, Anakin would defend the Chancellor until the end. Sol wondered that if they were to leave the Jedi Order like they planned and go to a faraway planet, would Anakin still be in contact with the Chancellor? Would he invite the man over for tea or ardees? Sol couldn't think of anything worse than Chancellor Palpatine sitting in their living space with his sickly smile and overly kind voice babbling about nonesense.
'You're asking me to do something against the Jedi Code,' Anakin said in finality. 'Against the Republic, against a mentor... and a friend. That's what's out of place here. Why are you asking this of me?'
'The Council is asking you...'
Obi-wan was pleading to Anakin, but it was falling on deaf ears. With a shake of his head, Anakin turned away from Obi-wan and Sol and walked down the hallway. The two stayed by the window and watched Anakin disappear, taking his heavy cloud of emotions with him. Sol didn't like to admit that she felt lighter in the shoulders without him beside her, and she felt awful saying that she was glad that Obi-wan was still nearby. They knew that Anakin felt betrayed by the Council, and by them, for not making him a Jedi Master and for asking him to spy on the Chancellor.
'Times are certainly changing in the galaxy,' Obi-wan muttered as he looked out the window to the city. It went about in its normal business of speeders and business endeavours in the nearby buildings, but the air of change was felt by everyone on Coruscant.
'Anakin can play a large part in this, but he doesn't see the Chancellor as anything but a kind friend,' Sol said, staring at where Anakin had departed. Obi-wan turned from the window to look at Sol, seeing the longing in her eyes and the worried frown on her lips.
'Do you have confidence that he will make the right decision?' Obi-wan asked and Sol looked at the Master.
'Of course. He's stubborn but he's intelligent to see when things aren't right. It'll just... take time.'
'But if it were to come down to the choices with you, do you think he will make the right decision?'
Sol stepped backwards. The look on Obi-wan's face mirrored the one he wore when they arrived at the temple from the Chancellor's rescue mission. It was a look that planted a seed of panic in Sol's nerves, and caused an eruption of pain in her stomach that would eat away at her if it were left to brew inside. The hallway of the temple was quiet, but Sol's ears filled with a mumble that she wasn't sure if it was through the Force, or within her own mind.
He knew. Obi-wan knew about Sol and Anakin's relationship, and Sol didn't know what to do about it.
'Please... please don't tell, Obi,' Sol whispered. Her eyes welled with tears, and she wasn't sure if she was going to drop to her knees and beg for Obi-wan to not tell the Order. Perhaps if she sobbed uncontrollably, he would feel bad for her. Or he would send her to the medics to be sedated and taken to the Master Yoda for the ultimate humiliation.
'Sol...'
Obi-wan stepped forward and Sol wanted to back away. But when Obi-wan reached out and took hold of her trembling hands, Sol waited for the downfall of her life as a Jedi. Through the blurs of tears that hadn't yet fallen from her eyes, she saw the kindness in Obi-wan's that Sol had found refuge in countless times. His lips twisted not in disgust or sadness, but into a closed lipped smile. Obi-wan looked at the woman who looked to be on the brink of a breakdown and held her hands in a firm grip to comfort their uncontrolable shaking.
'When have I ever betrayed your trust? I have not told a soul about your secrets, and I will not tell anyone about you and Anakin,' Obi-wan leaned close to make sure Sol could hear his sincerity. 'I only tell you this because you're the only person who could get through to him. I can see that you don't want him involved with Palpatine as much as the Council don't. I think he'll listen to you.'
'Oh Obi-wan... thank you. Thank you,' Sol wanted to sob. Never had she thought that he would be so accepting, despite his record of understanding her previously. She wanted to melt into a puddle of mush and rot there for all the stress and anxiety she had felt with even one person finding out about her and Anakin. But here Obi-wan was upholding their relationship that was a violation of the Jedi code. Sol didn't know if he agreed on the premise of their relationship, but that was a subject for another time. All that mattered was that Obi-wan wouldn't tell the Order, and Anakin and Sol would be safe a little longer.
'I beg you, Sol. I know that he is so taken with you that he will do anything. I've seen how he always looks for you and that he would drop everything at the mere thought of pleasing you. So, please, save him from this man.'
'I'm trying... Obi-wan, I'm trying so hard.'