Padme had no peace of mind after Anakin's abrupt transmission. She remained in the living space with the nail of her thumb in between her teeth, and her nerves jittering. She barely slept throughout the night, and C3-PO constantly offered to make some warm tea to help her worries. But it was no use, so the senator remained standing in her night gown until the early hours of the morning staring at the destroyed Jedi Temple.

'My Lady, there's a speeder docking on the veranda,' C3-PO said as he approached her with hissing joints. Padme turned from the window with wide eyes before rushing through her bedroom to reach the hidden space at the back of the building.

She stepped out into the cold, pre-dawn air and shuddered at the feeling of the icy cement that had been exposed to its elements throughout the night. Padme had left the door to Anakin and Sol's shared bedroom open in hopes that either of them would return, but instead, it acted as a way for Padme to rush through to the balcony without needing to pause.

On the landing platform, there was a speeder that Padme didn't recognise. It wasn't the yellow speeder that she knew was Sol's, but was a plain, boring grey colour. But she didn't care about its unfamiliarity, as its occupants were the most important.

'Oh, Maker... oh, kriff...' she muttered as she ran around the living space and towards the landing platform.

Revan helped Sol out of the vehicle once he turned off the controls. With cuts and bruises covering their bodies, the two Jedi rigidly made their way onto the platform and towards the senator who let out all kinds of exasperations. Sol muttered that she was okay to walk on her own to Revan, before she collided with the body of a frantic Padme.

'Sol! I've been so worried all night!' she cried with her arms crushing the Jedi's top half. Sol let out a small yelp at the pain in her shoulder, and Padme pulled away just as quick as she had embraced the woman.

'Oh, I'm sorry!' she said, but squeezed Sol's arms as a sign of affection. 'Are you alright?! I heard there was an attack on the Jedi Temple! You can see the smoke from here-'

'We're okay, Padme...'

Padme could see that that was not true. She saw Sol's heavy-lidded eyes that were bloodshot and glossy with past tears. Her brown hair that had been in a neat, braided ponytail down her back was now frizzing out of its pattern. Sol's bangs were caked in white dust and mattered to her head. And not to mention the blood that stained her robes and the cuts that lined her bare arms and dirty face.

With tight lips, the senator glanced to the Jedi beside Sol that she didn't know. He was in a similar state to Sol but seemed to be standing more alert. But just like Sol, the black-haired Jedi looked exhausted, broken and pained. Something had happened at the Jedi Temple, and Padme knew that Anakin would want to hear about it.

'Threepio!' Padme turned to the bedroom behind them. 'Contact Anakin's ship! Sol is here with-'

'No! Do NOT contact him!' 

Padme whipped around at Sol's sudden outburst. She eyed the woman who had suddenly perked up from her sagging state and  noticed how Sol looked with wide eyes to the bedroom where C3-PO stood confused. Padme could feel the quivering arms underneath her hands and could see the pools that formed within Sol's already glossy eyes. There was a fear that Padme had never seen in a Jedi before, but after a moment, it dwindled into a crippling sadness.

'Don't call him here...' Sol's voice was broken, and Padme was beyond worried and confused.

'Why? He called saying that he was looking for you everywhere!' Padme said and lowered her head to try and meet Sol's wandering gaze. 'Sol, what's going on? No one is telling me anything...' 

Revan left the two women to a conversation that he knew would be painful. He stopped in front of C3-PO to advise him to not contact the man who was responsible for all the chaos, before he disappeared with the droid into the apartment.

'Padme... we have been so blind...'

Sol wanted to crumble to the floor and cry until she could no longer stay awake. She yearned for sleep and the pains in her body were yet to subside. But at the awaiting expression on Padme's face, Sol knew that she couldn't leave the senator in the dark any longer. The cries that echoed in her head made her want to cover her ears, and the darkness in the Force was growing by the second. Sol longed for Satele to appear and tell her that everything was going to be okay, but at the memory of the destroyed temple walls, and the countless bodies of Jedi that littered the halls, she knew it wouldn't be okay for years to come.

'It's Anakin... he's... turned to the dark side.'

'What? No... not Anakin. He would never...' 

With a loud cry, Sol threw her face onto Padme's shoulder and with tears streaming down her cheeks. Sol's shoulders shook and Padme held her friend as the words settled in. She thought about the tone in Anakin's transmission, and about how he sounded different from the many times Padme had spoken to him. The fall of the temple didn't seem to worry him, and at Sol's difficulty to speak without crying, Padme felt her own tears spring to her eyes.

'He killed younglings, Padme...' Sol said into her shoulder through hicks. 'The clones killed everyone... and I saw... so many Padawans dead...'

'What about Obi-wan?' 

Sol heaved her face up from Padme's shoulder and gave her a hopeless look. Tears had begun to fall from the senator's face, but her voice of reason was still present.

'I don't know... he went to Utapau before it happened,' Sol was able to say. 'I don't know who is left...'

---

 A day went by. Padme went to the Senate to hear Chancellor's Palpatine's announcement of the Jedi's betrayal to the Republic. The remaining Jedi in the galaxy were to be hunted and killed to squash the coup d'état that could ruin all they have worked for in the clone wars.

Bail Organa, the senator representative for the planet Alderaan, spoke with Padme about how the betrayal was a lie put forth by the Chancellor himself. Padme didn't know who to believe, as she heard from Sol that Anakin had slaughtered younglings in the temple, while the clones had turned on the Jedi and attempted to genocide the faith.

Padme believed Sol's experience, who remained at the apartment with Revan, the Jedi who she had escaped the temple with. But whether the Jedi were plotting to overthrow the Senate, Padme was unsure. Senator Bail Organa was adamant about the fact that the Chancellor was lying but wouldn't reveal how he knew.

'In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganised into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society, which I assure you will last for ten thousand years,' Chancellor Palpatine announced from his podium. He was hooded to conceal his Sith yellow eyes and grey, wrinkled skin, and grinned at the roars of agreement that grew from the neighbouring planets.

'An empire that will continue to be ruled by this august body, and a sovereign ruler chosen for life,' there is a roar of applause from the Senate. 'An empire ruled by the majority, ruled by a new constitution!' 

The Senate Hall broke out into cheers and applause. The Chancellor stood with a grin on his face at the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire that would be run by the evils of the Sith. With his new apprentice, Palpatine would be feared across the galaxy, and there would no longer be the happiness of democracy. Any rebellions would be suppressed to be non-existent, and no one would challenge the Empire. They would live victoriously with full power and control of everything that happened within the galaxy.

'So, this is how liberty dies...' Padme said from her seat with a shake of her head. 'With thunderous applause...'

---

Sol and Revan were sitting in the living space of Padme's apartment. The previous night was filled with attempts to contact any of the Jedi they knew across the galaxy. Their wounds had been treated with bacta gel and they had rested enough to be able to try and regroup the Jedi. Despite Padme's insistence to rest for longer, the two Jedi jumped to their contacts and began going through the list of their closest friends on her personal HoloNet transmitter.

But it was an empty and unsatisfying act. No one answered the transmissions, and Sol and Revan were left listening to the ominous beep that played at the end of a failed transmission. Sol tried to contact Master Aayla Secura, Master Yoda, and even Obi-wan, but there was nothing. She tried not to lose complete hope, as it could mean that their ships had been destroyed, and that the Jedi Masters were on the run, but alive. But she had no other way to contact them with the galaxy now on the hunt for Jedi. 

'Almost every Jedi went with a legion of clones. It would be reasonable to assume that... they were ambushed and killed,' Revan said from his place on the sofa. He faced Sol with his hands together in his lap and his robes clean after a generous wash from Padme's service droids. 

Revan was worried more about Sol than himself. He had lost his fellow Jedi and had watched clones that he had worked with try to kill him without remorse, and he had been the one to confront Anakin at the academy. But when he saw the way Sol broke down after learning about Anakin's descent to the dark side, Revan knew that there was more to their relationship than just being bickering co-workers. 

'We can only hope that they went quickly...' Sol mumbled while absently staring at the coffee table between them. 'And that they became one with the Force...'

'Sol, you don't have to keep up the front with me,' Revan leaned forward, and Sol looked up at him with watering eyes. 'I know that you and Anakin were in a relationship. You hid it from the Order well, but the Order's gone now. I know you're in pain, and that Anakin has betrayed you the most of all. So, please don't feel like you need to be the Jedi you had to be before this. We're family, now, remember.' 

Sol was touched. While Revan looked at her from the opposite sofa with sincerity in his eyes, Sol felt the first pinch of warmth in her chest. The past few days had been filled with physical pain and aches, as well as a mental strain that was so wearing, that Sol thought she could never feel happiness again. But with a small mention from Revan about being considered family, Sol knew that there was still something left within the light side of the Force.

'Thank you, Revan...' she said, her voice small and on the brink of cracking. 'When did you work it out? About me and...' 

'Don't worry. It was only when he asked where you were in front of the academy that I realised. No one else would have known. Not that it matters now...'

She swallowed and nodded her head lowly. She didn't mention that she was also pregnant with Anakin's children, as she wanted to keep some things to herself for now. But with Revan's understanding nature, Sol knew that she would eventually break the news to him. He and Padme were the only ones left in the galaxy that Sol knew were alive and that she could trust. She didn't want to think about what would happen when she inevitably had her children. The galaxy was no longer safe, and Sol hated the idea of bringing children into a world where the light was dying, and the Jedi were extinct.

'So sorry to interrupt-' Sol and Revan turned to C3-PO who stood on the stairs of the lowered living space. '-but there is someone who has just docked on the landing pad. The alarms have gone off-'

'What?' Revan said as he got to his feet. 'Who is it? If it's Skywalker, you cannot let him-' 

'It is not Master Ani, sir. But they are in Jedi robes from what I saw on the holograms.'

Revan turned to Sol and the two eyed each other in uncertainty, but also in anticipation. With their lightsabers in hand, the two climbed out of the living space and headed through to the balcony. C3-PO followed the Jedi at a slower pace and looked over Revan's shoulder to try and see who waited for their arrival on the balcony.

Sol was glad that she was at the front, because at the relief she felt at the sight of their visitor, she was able to run across the balcony without any obstacles. She attached her lightsaber to her belt at the lack of use for it and she threw her arms around the man's robbed middle. It was the first Jedi they had seen since the attack, and judging from his appearance, he had escaped the ambush unharmed. 

'Oh, Obi-wan... thank Maker you're alive,' Sol gasped. She wanted to cry for the hundredth time in 48 hours, but was already irritated at the soreness in her eyes and at the dryness of her throat. It was a moment to be happy, and boy was she overjoyed.

'Are you alright? I've been at the temple with Master Yoda. It's a massacre...' Obi-wan said into Sol's shoulder. He accepted the embrace without the pretense he would usually have as a Jedi. He was just as relieved to see Sol alive as she was to see him, as he had searched through the countless bodies in the temple for a trace of her. When Obi-wan didn't sense her presence nor find her body, he was fearful that he would be in the state of not knowing if Sol had made it out alive. 

'We made it out a few days ago. We're fine, but...' Sol pulled away and looked up to Obi-wan with hesitancy. 'Obi-wan... our worst fears have come true. The Chancellor was the Sith all along, and Anakin... has turned to the dark side.'

'I know... I saw the holograms of him... killing younglings.' 

Sol grimaced at the memory, and she saw that it pained Obi-wan to speak about what he had seen. His kind eyes were filled with the terror and disappointment he had experienced in the ruins of the Jedi Temple. Sol had only seen the youngling mass murder through the eyes of Anakin, but Obi-wan had seen a hologram of Anakin committing the crime. He saw his face and had seen the evil in his eyes as he cut down youngling after youngling, and Obi-wan questioned where he had gone wrong as Anakin's Master. It pained him to think of all the moments he saw conflict and anger in Anakin's heart, and he never thought that Anakin would betray the Order like this. Anakin was a good soul, and Obi-wan saw that from the moment Master Qui-Gon Jinn introduced him on Tatooine. How could Anakin have fallen so far, when he had fought so much for the good of the Galactic Republic? 

'He was deceived by a lie. We all were,' Obi-wan said with a deep sadness in his voice. 'It appears that the Chancellor is behind everything, including the war. Palpatine is the Sith Lord we've been looking for. After the death of Count Dooku, Anakin became his new apprentice.' 

'How could this be, Obi?' Sol shuttered with the thought of Anakin wielding a red lightsaber with yellow eyes. 'Where did we go wrong? How could he... change like this?'

'Sol... do you know where he would go? I have to find him.' 

Slowly, Sol took a step backwards at Obi-wan's words. She felt his teal Force signature simmer with something hesitant but frightening. Revan watched Sol's reaction and was unaware of what she sensed through the Force. He looked back and forth between the Jedi Masters and wanted to ask what it was that they wordlessly said to each other. While Sol looked at Obi-wan with pleading eyes, Obi-wan looked down at her with regret. 

'You're going to kill him, aren't you?' Sol bit back the urge to burst into hysterics.

'He has become a very great threat. He is too dangerous, and there is a bounty on all of our heads. He knows that we are still alive.'

'He won't... he won't kill me, Obi-wan,' Sol said, her words quivering. 'Not if he knew...' 

Obi-wan and Revan exchanged a look before they saw Sol place her palm on her stomach. They weren't fools, and judging by Sol's crestfallen expression, they understood why Sol was reluctant to speak. Glazes of realisation passed over their faces and Sol looked away from their stares. She didn't want to reveal her pregnancy to them in this way, but at the mention of finding and killing Anakin, she couldn't help but try and make them see that he was more than just Sol's lover. 

'Anakin is the father,' Obi-wan stated aloud in slight surprise. But once that passed, his expression graved with his eyes turning low and his beard frowning with the downturn of his mouth.

'I'm so sorry...' 

Obi-wan turned away from Revan and Sol and headed back to his speeder. There was guilt in his walk and Sol almost hoped that he would stay. With heavy shoulders, Obi-wan got into the cockpit and rose from the platform. Sol and Revan watched him fly into the city and C3-PO headed back into the apartment at the sound of Padme returning from the Senate. 

Revan bit his lip as he turned his gaze to Sol. Her hand remained on her stomach and with the new information, he noticed the slight bump from underneath her robes. He didn't know how long Sol knew that she was pregnant, but he wouldn't have put it past her to be oblivious to the fact judging by her small stature. The bump wasn't big, but its visibility wasn't the worry, it was the presence that Anakin would soon sense in Sol if he ever looked into the Force. 

'You're in grave danger, Sol,' Revan moved to stand in front of her. 'We have to help Obi-wan find him.' 

'I know... but I can't let him kill Ani... I just can't...'