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

62.

The rescue team broke out into a sprint as they turned down yet another corridor. After flying out of the elevator shaft, the cockpit of the cruiser had been able to right their stabilising jets. The cruiser was yet to tip again, but the Jedi didn't want to get too comfortable. They had to get off General Grievous' ship before they had a run in with the cyborg, as they had been lucky to not cross paths with one of the most lethal separatist leaders so far.

Sol gripped the commlink in her hand in preparation for R2 to get an escape pod ready, as Anakin and Obi-wan's ships in the hanger were bound to have been noticed by droids by now. She had tried her hardest to ignore the presence of the Chancellor and was ready to get back on Coruscant, where she could stay far away from him in the Jedi Temple. Every dramatic gasp and whimper irritated Sol, and when she heard Obi-wan or Anakin ask if the Chancellor was okay, she rolled her eyes and looked off into the distance to ignore the interaction. If they asked her, Sol would say that the Chancellor didn't need to be worried about, as he was perfectly content with telling Anakin to kill Count Dooku in front of him, so a little running wouldn't hurt him.

At the sensing of something, Sol slowed her sprint and the two Jedi with her seemed to sense the same. With a hiss, grey mists dropped down in the shape of a square around the Jedi and Chancellor. The mist, although unsuspecting, ignited a deadly shock if its prisoners were to try and step through its barrier. From a projection in the ceiling of the corridor, the box of moving grey mist trapped the rescue party in its hold, and Sol didn't dare reach out to test its functionality.

'Ray shields!' Anakin cried. While the Chancellor looked at the Jedi with confusion and fear, Obi-wan let out a deep sigh at their helplessness. They couldn't under any circumstances break out of the shield as a lightsaber would be useless against its walls.

'Wait a minute, how did this happen?' Obi-wan turned to Anakin and Sol with an arched brow. 'We're smarter than this!'

'Apparently not, Master,' Anakin huffed. 'This is the oldest trap in the book... well... I was distracted.'

'Oh, so all of a sudden it's my fault?'

'You're the Master. I'm just a hero.'

Sol let out a 'ugh' at Anakin's usual arrogance and it drew the party's attention to her. While Obi-wan continued his disappointed muttering, Anakin raised an eyebrow at the woman who stood with her arms crossed over her chest. He stepped around Obi-wan, making the Kenobi back up into the Chancellor. The ray shields didn't leave much space for the group, but Anakin made sure to place himself in front of Sol and lean down into her space.

'Anything you want to suggest, Solaris?' he asked mockingly, and Sol glared up at him.

'No,' she said, before shamefully looking down at her feet. 'I barely sensed this before it happened. Usually I'm good at this stuff, but I, too, was distracted.'

'By what, may I ask?'

Sol had been partially feigning her dislike for Anakin in her reply before, but when it came to remembering Count Dooku's murder, she dropped the act. She didn't bite into Anakin's question like she usually would in front of Obi-wan, nor did she answer it truthfully like she would when they were in private. Sol just looked away and pressed her lips together; something she had been doing a lot recently. Anakin was surprised by this and straightened his neck from looking down at Sol. His lips parted at the thought of genuinely asking what really was bothering her, but in front of Obi-wan and the Chancellor, he knew it wasn't the time or place.

'Why don't we let them take us to General Grievous?' Chancellor Palpatine piped up at the silence. 'Perhaps with Count Dooku's demise, we can negotiate our release.'