'Are you sure this will be enough ration packs? The cold can eat away at your stomach, you know?'

'Yes, Anakin, we are well aware of the climate on Hoth. This will only be on one ship and another load with be on the other. Thank you for your concern, though.'

Anakin narrowed his gaze at his ex-Master as he moved about the hanger. Underneath the Jedi Temple, Obi-wan made the last round of checks on his ship before they departed to the ice planet on the outer-rim. His ship was smaller than Sol's, which would carry the 336th division, but his interceptor would hold most of the supplies that would support the party for the duration of the mission. As Obi-wan stood with his tablet, the Jedi Master glanced to the Skywalker who made a surprise visit to the hanger with R2-D2 in tow.

'I'm just making sure you're stocked, alright?' Anakin threw up his hands in defense. 'Hoth is at least a thousand light years away. If you run out, it's a long way to come back. And you know how Solaris can get when she's not had her protein pouch in the morning.'

'How will you survive without her here?' Obi-wan mumbled with his eyes on his tablet, but the reaction he received was one he hadn't expected.

'What makes you ask that?' Anakin whipped around to face Obi-wan with his face full of defense and fake disgust. 'I'd prefer it if she wasn't here every morning. In combination with Snips, the cafeteria is always so tiresome when she's babbling about her recent troubles.'

With a crease of his eyebrows, Obi-wan looked up from his tablet and eyed the young man next to him. A few beeps sounded from R2, who rolled forward to nip at Anakin's heels, making him shuffle forward with a glare thrown down at his droid. As Anakin looked back to his ex-Master, he realised how much he had overdone his act. Obi-wan had let his tablet fall to be down by his side and he was yet to say anything about his ex-Padawan's sudden outburst. He had heard Anakin rant about Sol before, and he had made it clear that he wasn't her biggest fan, but Obi-wan seemed to have paused completely at Anakin's recent ramblings about the female Jedi.

'I just mean that it'll be nice to have some time to myself in the temple,' Anakin said, adding a sigh for good measure. 'Although with Snips still around, I don't know how much of that I'll actually get.'

Obi-wan appeared to relax at Anakin's addition and pulled the tablet back up to his eye-level. He shook his head with a sigh, which Anakin was thankful to see and hear, before he completed the checklist for his ship.

'One minute, you two get on like jawas in a scrapyard, and the next, you're at each other's throats. I don't understand it,' the man said in deep thought. 'But you two are a good team, so I suppose it doesn't affect anything. She'll miss you, though.'

'She will?'

Anakin tried not to sound excited nor uninterested in Obi-wan's admittance. He tried to appear as if shocked, arching an eyebrow up and curling his upper lip to show the top of his canine. Not that Obi-wan looked too hard at Anakin, as he was too busy sliding his tablet into the opening on R2's head, where the droid would deliver it to Captain Des on the landing pad of the temple.

'Of course, she will. Sol actually shows that she cares about you, unlike your attitude towards her. She says that she wouldn't know what she would do without you most of the time. Maybe if you two tried to be nice to each other, you would know that.'

Anakin made a mental note to mention this to Sol when he saw her off later that afternoon. He was unaware of how Sol spoke about him to others, but he thought they were upholding the frenemies situation with an emphasis on the 'enemy' part. While he had been pulling faces of disgust at the very mention of Sol, she was saying how she will miss Anakin while she was away on Hoth. A pit of regret formed in his stomach, and he hoped that Sol hadn't heard how he talked about her. If he had known, he wouldn't have been so harsh at her mentions.

'Anyway, if we have to get in contact with you when the Council is unavailable, we'll send a transmission through Artoo,' Obi-wan changed the subject and Anakin was thankful for it. 'But I have a feeling this won't be an ambush mission. We're there to establish a presence on another outer-rim planet, so I hope we'll be back by the end of the week.'

'Whatever happens, may the Force be with you, Master.'

'And with you, Anakin.'

---

Sol packed the last of her things in a travel bag before she left her sleeping quarters. She made her way through the temple halls to the landing pad. Captain Des would be waiting with the legion to take off with Obi-wan's ship in tow, and she would be co-piloting with the clone captain. When they would land on the ice planet that was covered in snow, Sol knew that she would miss the Jedi Temple and Coruscant's average weather. Her over robe would not suffice on Hoth, and she had packed multiple insulated coats to counteract this. She hoped that she would return with all her toes and fingers, as she wasn't sure if they made robotic digits to replace them.

'I was wondering if you were coming to see me off,' Sol hummed as Ahsoka appeared around the corner. There was less than twenty metres left before she would arrive at the landing pad, and she was beginning to doubt the appearance of Anakin's Padawan for a farewell. But the Togruta grinned and turned to walk beside Sol.

'Hoth's got some crazy climates, so I had to see that you were prepared,' Ahsoka said as they approached the sliding doors.

'Oh, kriff, you and Anakin need to meditate some more. He already interrogated Obi-wan about the ration packs, so please don't give me the run down about how we're not prepared for Hoth. Have you even been to an outer-rim planet, yet?'

'I have! I've been to Yavin with Master Skywalker-'

'That's mid-rim, hun.'

Sol let out a laugh as Ahsoka huffed in frustration. The two women stepped out into the city air and followed the strip that led to the ship on the landing pad. Clones of the 336th legion waited for the arrival of their commander and Captain Des stood with his helmet under his arm. Sol saw her captain at the ready and gave him a nod. She stopped before she and Ahsoka reached the ship and stayed just out of earshot for their last interaction. With her bag in her hand, Sol looked down at Ahsoka who stood waiting for the Jedi Knight's final word that she had already anticipated.

'I know what Revan's planning. If you don't feel comfortable, don't go along with it, Ahsoka. This is Revan's choice now and I don't expect you to break into the records for my sake. If the Order catches you, I know Anakin would be the first one to be pulled in for a review. So, for his sanity and your safety, please don't follow Revan,' Sol made sure to put emphasis on the fact that she didn't expect Ahsoka to do this for her. She stared into her large blue eyes, and was regretful to see that the Padawan's mind was already made up.

'Thank you, Sol, but I want to do this. Revan gave me the same speech. Maybe you guys are related,' Ahsoka joked, and Sol smiled. 'But don't worry about me. I'm sure if something does go wrong, Master Skywalker will be the first one to scold me. And when you're back, you can take over, okay?' 

'Okay,' Sol laughed. She felt the need to embrace the Padawan and even though it was frowned upon between Jedi, Sol felt it was appropriate. Going with her feelings, Sol raised her arms and wrapped them around Ahsoka's shoulders. To her surprise and relief, Ahsoka wrapped her arms around Sol's middle and placed her chin on her superior's bare shoulder. It felt nice to hug another woman after so long of no friendly touches with other Jedi. The two mutually agreed that they would embrace and pull apart at the same time, before putting their hands by their sides.

'May the Force be with you,' Ahsoka said with a warm smile.

'And with you.' 

Sol turned to the ship and continued down the strip. She greeted her captain before he ordered the legion into the ship to prepare for take-off. Sol turned back to the temple where Ahsoka had been stood and went to wave, but paused when she saw the sliding doors part for another individual and his droid.

Anakin stopped beside his Padawan and squinted at the sunlight that peaked over the top of the ship. As its engines powered up, Sol didn't climb the ramp that awaited her entrance into the hull. She stared at Anakin as he stood beside Ahsoka and R2 appeared behind his gloved hand that hung limply by his side. He held his stoic expression in the presence of his Padawan, but like Sol, he was upset to see the unbreachable space between him and the woman he would not see for a week or more. 

'Sorry I'm late. Artoo is slow,' Anakin's voice sounded through the Force and Sol, who was entuned enough to hear it without trying, deflated at hearing his disappointed tone in her head.

'I can't come over... not in front of Ahsoka,' Sol admitted sadly.

'I know. Don't worry, we'll have time when you get back.'

'Yes... of course. I love you, Ani.'

'I love you, too, Solaris.' 

Regrettably, Sol climbed the ramp and disappeared into the hull. Anakin's felt his heart sink at the silence of her voice in the Force and he watched the ramp close for the ship's take-off. He wanted to hold Sol's small hand in his bare one, feeling her skin against his before she left. He would even let her grip his gloved, metal fingers, all while pressing a kiss to her forehead and then to her lips. Even though they would be in view of the temple, Anakin would make sure to look into the Force for nearby signatures, before sealing her lips with his. But he had to watch the ship rise from the landing pad and power its jets to fly out of the planet's atmosphere.

As the ship containing the 336th legion and its commander flew further away, Obi-wan's interceptor appeared from below and soared off in its trail. The rush of the engines faded into Coruscant's natural ambience and Anakin's felt the Force darken at the loss of Sol's bright white signature. 

'Why were you late, Master? You didn't get to say goodbye,' Ahsoka asked and didn't fail to notice the way Anakin's eyes lingered on the sky where the ships disappeared.

'I ran into Master Windu on the way here.'

'Oh, that would have been fun.'

'You have no idea,' Anakin matched her sarcasm to coat his aching chest. 'But he said that we've been promoted to generals. I didn't get to tell her...'

'That's exciting! I'm sure you could tell her through a transmission.'

'I'll have to, won't I?' 

Ahsoka went to laugh at her Master's unimpressed look but couldn't help but notice the underlying aspects of his expression. She thought she saw a wince in his eyes, but it could have been from the sun's harsh glare that made his eyes appear see through. She could have thought more into it, but she chose not to, and looked away from her Master to head back into the temple.

--- 

The windscreen of the ship was graced with the black of space and the specs of far off planets and stars decorated its blank canvas. With the legion strapped into the hull, Captain Des and Sol operated the controls in the pilot seats. Their flight path was set with coordinates already in place, and Obi-wan's interceptor was on their scanners at a safe distance from their jets.

'Entering into hyperspace. Are you following, General Kenobi?' Captain Des asked through the intercom on the controls.

'Affirmative, Des. Waiting on your jump,' Obi-wan answered. Sol raised her eyebrows and looked to her clone captain in confusion. 

'General?'

'Did you not hear, ma'am? You, Kenobi and Skywalker were all promoted to general status,' Captain Des glanced to his superior before powering the jets to enter hyperspace. Sol's lips parted in surprise at the news but then remembered that the Council had a meeting that morning, as Obi-wan was absent from the cafeteria. Their promotion must have been a quick thought, as she was yet to hear about it.

'Wow...'

'It may have been what Skywalker was coming to tell you before we left.'

'Yes... maybe it was.' 

'Jumping to hyperspace in-' Des began the countdown as he pushed the handle down. '-three, two, one.'