R2 was left in the cruiser's hanger. Powering some of the ship's controls through the wall socket, the droid was given a commlink that would allow him to communicate with Anakin, Obi-wan and Sol. With the droid connected to the Trade Federation's files and plans, the Jedi headed into the halls to find where Chancellor Palpatine was being held hostage. But unbeknownst to the rescue party, they were being watched by General Grievous, who had planned for their arrival at the premonition of Count Dooku.

Sol stood behind the two male Jedi as they waited for the elevator to reach their floor. In silence, she kept up the rear and was sure that they were bound to run into some hostility, as she had before Anakin and Obi-wan had arrived. She looked into the Force and pushed past the obvious presence of Count Dooku on the ship, as his dark-sided Force signature was unnervingly black, and felt some incoming obstructions. Sol's attention fell over her shoulder where she spotted three droidekas that rolled their way.

'Destroyers!' Sol called out and grabbed her lightsaber from her belt. As she ignited its blade and turned to face the droids, Obi-wan and Anakin were at the ready behind her.

The droidekas transformed into their attack mode and began to fire their blasters. The blasterfire was child's play to the three Jedi and they rotated their weapons to block the attacks. At the sound of the elevator doors sliding open, Anakin and Obi-wan backed into the elevator and gave Sol the cover she needed to follow in after them. Sol ran through the doors before they closed, and they were cut off from the droidekas' ambush. With a sigh, Sol thought they were out of the woods for now but paused in front of Anakin and Obi-wan at the awaiting battle droids that stood behind them.

'Drop your weapons!' the front battle droid ordered; their blasters aimed at the three Jedi. 'I said drop 'em!' 

Anakin, Obi-wan and Sol exchanged a look before they continued their rein of blue and cyan throughout the elevator. Careful of each other, the Jedi cut through the battle droids that barely stood a chance in the cramped space. Sparks flew and the floor was soon littered with the beige parts that were fated to be a part. With molten cuts on the metal, the Jedi sheathed their lightsabers and turned to each other.

'Roger, roger,' Anakin joked, and Obi-wan and Sol chuckled as they faced the doors of the elevators once more.

As Sol stood next to Anakin, she glanced down to Obi-wan at the end of the line. She remembered how frantic he was through the commlink when they were first told that Chancellor Palpatine had been captured. He said that they were assigned to the mission by the Council, but it wasn't until they left Coruscant and Sol had infiltrated the Trade Federation cruiser that she found that that wasn't the case. Anakin and Sol were by told by R2, who had been delivered the mission plans from the Order through his systems, that Obi-wan had put the three of them forward for the task. Sol recalled the conversation she had with Anakin through the private channel on her wrist commlink about Obi-wan's decision, and was still irritated by the Master's suggestion. 

'Why would he do that, Ani? Now we've got to deal with the senate when we get back; with or without the Chancellor!'

'Relax, Solaris, this will be a piece of cake. We'll make him deal with the politics, and I know that he hates playing the hero.'

Before long, the elevator pulled to a grinding halt. Sol wobbled at the sudden stop in their ascent but regained her balance with a shift of her feet. She looked at the buttons lining the wall in confusion and saw that they had stopped before the elevator was able to arrive at their desired floor.  

'Did you press the stop button?' Obi-wan inquired to Sol who was closest to the wall.

'No. Did either of you?'

'No.'

'Well, there's more than one way out of here.'

Anakin ignited his lightsaber and pierced the blade through the roof of the elevator. Sol stepped back to avoid the melting metal that dripped from above and watched as he drew a circle to help with their escape. There was no doubt that they were being blocked off from the rest of the ship on purpose, and if they didn't escape soon, the cruiser could enter hyperspace and they would be as trapped as the Chancellor was.

'We don't want to get out of here, we want to get moving!' Obi-wan cried before pulling out the commlink to R2 in the hanger. 'Artoo? Artoo, do you copy?! Activate elevator three-one-one-seven-four.'

Appreciative of Obi-wan's more professional attempts to escape, Sol was more inclined towards Anakin's brash method. They could be waiting ages before R2 was able to find the correct elevator and override the systems to get it moving again. Anakin was able to create a man-sized hole in the elevator's ceiling and the remaining metal crashed against the floor with a loud clatter. With a call to the Force, Anakin leapt through the hole and landed softly on top of the elevator.

'Artoo?' Obi-wan could be heard calling helplessly into the commlink, before he sighed at the sight of Sol crouching and leaping through the hole after Anakin. 'Always on the move, those two...' 

Sol landed next to Anakin while Obi-wan continued his attempt to connect with R2. Anakin looked around the elevator shaft for some sort of vent or opening, and Sol decided to look into the Force for Chancellor Palpatine's Force signature. Even though she disliked the man and hoped that she wouldn't have the job of calming his hysterics when they rescued him, they still needed to return Chancellor Palpatine to Coruscant. He held extreme power and if he was in Count Dooku's control, the war could continue until there was no Galactic Republic left. 

'He should be at least thirty floors up from here,' Sol mentioned, and Anakin spotted the next floor that was a small leap away. If they could reach it, they could find another way to make it up those thirty floors.

It was lucky that both Anakin and Sol were Jedi, otherwise they wouldn't have sensed that the elevator was about to be activated by R2, but in the wrong direction. By miscommunication, the droid sent the elevator plummeting downwards and Obi-wan let out a yelp at the drop. Sol and Anakin had their wits about them and jumped before their floor fell away. As Anakin grabbed the ledge of the next floor, Sol underestimated the distance and only grazed the ledge with her fingertips.

'Ani!' she gasped aloud and felt herself drop to follow the elevator down the shaft. With Obi-wan already ten floors away, Sol's fall would be fatal if she wasn't able to call to the Force to cushion her lower half. But before she could fall out of reach, Anakin's left hand dropped to grip her wrist. With his bionic hand holding the ledge, he let out a grunt at the strain of his muscles. But at the sight of Sol dangling below him with frightened, wide eyes, Anakin gritted his teeth together and held the two in the air.  

'Don't worry. I got you, bright eyes,' Anakin attempted to sound nonchalant, but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep the both of them dangling forever.

'Yeah, but not for long,' Sol hissed as the doors to the ledge's floor opened and two battle droids looked down at the hanging Jedi.

'Hands up, Jedi! Don't move!' one cried with a blaster aimed down at the two.

'Roger, roger,' the other continued.

Anakin grumbled at their entrance and tried to think of a plan to get him and Sol out of the situation. With Sol dangling and her panic filling his senses through the Force, Anakin hoped that R2 would come into clutch soon. There was an almost immediate answer to his call, as the sound of Obi-wan's elevator came rushing up the shaft and a dangerous speed. 

Sol looked down and she saw the elevator that had dropped away was now barreling in their direction. With a glance up to Anakin, the two wordlessly agreed to let the Force guide their next leap. Anakin mustered all his strength to throw Sol upwards, his one arm thrusting the woman past him and freeing himself to leap after her. With the help of the Force, the two flipped over the elevator and retained their places on its roof without a scratch. An 'uh oh' sounded from the battle droids that weren't intelligent enough to just step back into the hall, and their heads were cut off as the elevator soared past the floor. 

One after another, Sol and Anakin dropped through the hole and landed back in the elevator. At the sound of their entrance, Obi-wan whipped around with his lightsaber ignited. In fright, his wide eyes observed the two and before he realised that they were his fellow co-workers.

'Oh, it's you two,' he mumbled and sheathed his lightsaber with a relieved sigh. Sol knew that Anakin wanted to ask if she was hurt, but couldn't because of Obi-wan's presence. To relieve his nerves, Sol slipped her hand towards his and squeezed his pinkie with her forefinger and thumb. It was subtle and out of sight of Obi-wan, but Sol saw Anakin's broad shoulders slump at the contact, meaning that he had felt the contact and didn't have to worry about her. Anakin turned to Obi-wan, who was oblivious to the action, and was much more relaxed about Sol's wellbeing.

'What was that all about?' Anakin asked, while Sol watched the buttons light up as the elevator took them to the correct floor.

'Well, Artoo has been-'

'No loose wire jokes,' Anakin stopped his Master before he could insult his droid. 'He's doing the best he can.'

'Did I say anything?' Obi-wan defended, feigning innocence.

'He's trying!' Sol came to the aid of Anakin and R2, who wasn't present to defend himself.

'I didn't say anything!' 

---

Anakin, Sol and Obi-wan had found General Grievous' quarters after exiting the elevator. On their guard, they stuck together as they entered the large room where Chancellor Palpatine was held captive. In a rotating chair, the Chancellor was turned to face the three with his hands bound by purple restraints. He eyed the three Jedi who made their way down the steps and visibly swallowed at what he knew was to come.

'Chancellor,' Obi-wan bowed to the distressed-looking man. Anakin stepped forward to help the man while Sol hung back, grateful that she wouldn't have to interact with the Chancellor.

'Are you alright?' Anakin asked with genuine concern. The Chancellor looked at the three before looking behind them, his face solid with a prominent frown as he said,

'Count Dooku...' 

The three Jedi turned to see the said Sith Lord with two super battle droids behind him. The Count's white hair was slicked back, and his long cape billowed as he stopped at the top of the stairs. The battle droids had their blasters armed and they stopped as Count Dooku flipped over the stairs. He landed on the lower level and showed his misshapen teeth in a sickly grin. 

It had been years since he had faced three of the most notable Jedi of the Jedi Order, and he was prepared to slaughter them once and for all. Each of them had proved to be a headache to the separatist movement, as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-wan Kenobi and Sol, were some of the deadliest warriors of the Republic.

'This time, we'll do this together,' Obi-wan stated to his fellow Jedi as he threw off his over robe.

'And there will be no loss of limb, this time,' Sol mentioned and side-eyed Anakin, who she knew threw her a playful glare.

'Get help!' Chancellor Palpatine cried behind them. 'You're no match for him! He's a Sith Lord!'

'Chancellor Palpatine, Sith Lords are our specialty.' 

At Obi-wan's statement, the three Jedi ignited their lightsabers. With their over robes disgarded, they advanced towards Count Dooku, who tried to feign diplomacy at first. Sol could feel the evil radiating off the man, and she remembered the last battle where he had distracted herself and Master Yoda by threatening to crush Anakin and Obi-wan on Geonosis. She had then shown Master Yoda that she was capable of using the Force to the extent of holding the tremendous weight of the metal cylinder. The power she had then had doubled in her years of Knightship, and she would show Dooku that she was no longer a Padawan learner.

'I've been looking forward to this,' Count Dooku grinned as he too ignited his lightsaber. But unlike the Jedi, his was the crimson red of the Sith.

'My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count,' Anakin seethed, glaring at the man who had taken his right arm.

'Good. Twice the pride, double the fall.' 

The battle that ensued was tiresome. All of its participants used the extent of their power and once the super battle droids were taken out by Obi-wan, Count Dooku knew that he was outnumbered. He was being advanced on by three Jedi, one of which had been trained by the very Master that he himself had been trained by. Sol's use of the Force proved to be an advantage, as she leapt around the Count with her saber always aimed at striking him down. He had only barely been able to block her attacks, all while having to turn and block another blue lightsaber from Anakin Skywalker or Obi-wan Kenobi.

Obi-wan had attempted to attack Count Dooku from behind but was overcome by his powers with the dark side. With Dooku's hand cupped to choke, Obi-wan let out splutters as his throat was grabbed by the Force. His eyes were wide, and his mouth gaped in an attempt to draw air into his deprived lungs. Dooku felt the incoming attack of Anakin Skywalker and had no choice but to throw Obi-wan across the room. The Master soared towards the balcony on the opposite side and hit the railing, knocking him out and sending him to the floor below. As Anakin and Sol were kicked away by the Count, they watched as the Sith willed the balcony to detach from the wall and trap an unconscious Obi-wan underneath its weight. 

At the sight of his unconscious ex-Master, Anakin leapt towards Count Dooku and slammed his foot angrily into the older man's chest. Sol was regaining her feet after being slammed into the floor and saw the Sith land below. She and Anakin followed, and Sol decided to attack first, ducking low as Dooku's red saber attempted to swipe at her torso. Sol's foot slid across the tiles, and she spun to get behind the Count. But as she went to strike his back, which was destined to harvest a debilitating injury, she was caught off-guard by a sudden Force push.

Sol was sent across the floor and collided with the railing that lined the large window. She grunted from the collision and the pain that sprawled from her back forced her to lay on the floor for a few moments. Anakin didn't have the time to rush to Sol's aid as he was pulled into another battle with the Count. The Sith didn't even notice that Sol had been behind him, nor that she was now across the room with her lightsaber out of reach. 

'I sense great fear in you, Skywalker,' the Count chuckled as he faced Anakin. 'You have hate, you have anger, but you don't use them.' 

Anakin sneered at the Sith, and Sol was able to get to her feet. But at the sound of light chuckles, she looked to her left to where the Chancellor was bound to his chair. Chancellor Palpatine was eyeing the battle with narrowed eyes, and if Sol's vision wasn't slightly blurred, she would have the seen the hint of a smirk on his wrinkled face. Sol didn't know how she knew, because the Force showed no signs of anything different, but she knew that hadn't been Force pushed by Count Dooku.