A\N: This is after Revenge of the Sith, around the same time as 'The Last of the Jedi'. Honi was a little girl in 'The Captive Temple', whom Obi-Wan rescued.
Darkness filled the cave. She stumbled over rocks and dirt. Her eyes stung with the dust that swirled in the air. As her eyes began to adjust, she made out a small figure, curled in the corner of a cave, wrapped in a thermal blanket.
She approached the figure, and said quietly, "Who are you?"
The face that appeared from under the folds of the thermal blanket was young and innocent, curly, red hair tied into two braids. Her pale skin shone in the darkness.
"My name is Honi. Who are you?"
"Siri. Siri Tachi."
The girl stood up, and Siri saw that she was older then she had first appeared. She was around sixteen years old, and had a long red Padawan braid.
"Have you heard about the Temple?" Honi asked the Master respectfully.
"Yes. I have received a call to return to the Temple."
"Me too! I'm on my way there now. I just stopped here," she spread her arms to indicate the cave, "to rest."
"I'm not going." Siri said firmly.
Honi's mouth opened in shock. "Why not?" she asked, confused and surprised.
"Think about it. Why would the Jedi call us back to the Temple, when that's where the Sith will come to look first?"
"Well, if we all come, maybe we could amass forces and fight them." Honi suggested.
"Unless the Sith are waiting there to ambush us, and this is just a ploy to get us there."
"Oh. Well then how are we supposed to know?" Honi asked weakly.
"We'll go to Corusant and see the Temple. Then we'll know." Siri said firmly. "Are you with me?"
Honi sighed. "Yeah, sure. How are we supposed to get there, though?"
"I have with me a small starship. It's slow, and I got it through the black-market, but it'll get us there."
"Great!" Honi said, smiling for the first time as she leaned down and picked up her pack.
"I hope," whispered Siri into the inky blackness, as she followed Honi out through the mouth of the cave.
"Honi," Siri whispered, shaking the girl awake. "It's your shift."
Honi sat up and shook herself awake. She slipped out of the small cot, made out of two thermal blankets, tied to two armrests of seats. Honi made her way to the cockpit and took hold of the controls. Siri perched on the edge of the cot, and tried to gather the calmness inside of her to meditate. As she slowly slipped into a meditative state, she pondered on all the friends she had, all the Jedi. Obi-Wan. Garen. Bant. Tam-Li. Could they all be dead? No. It was impossible. And the rumors floating around about Anakin. Had he really turned to the Dark Side? No! It couldn't be!
Siri was jarred from her thoughts at the shout from the cockpit. "We're here! We've landed on Corusant!"
Siri glanced at her chromo. She had been meditating for almost two hours!
She headed towards the cockpit, and stared out the view screen at the dumps that they had landed in.
"What's this?" She asked Honi.
"The only place to land on Corusant undetected," Honi answered matter-of-factly.
"Ah," Siri said, blushing slightly at her oversight. 'Come on."
She led the way out of the small ship and the two headed for the aboveground of Corusant.
Nearly two hours later, Honi and Siri reached a small area where they could sit and watch the Temple, undetected. After arranging themselves and their things in the cramped space, Siri took up the turbonoculars. Last then a second after putting them up to her eyes, she dropped them with a sharp gasp.
Honi looked at her curiously as she picked up the 'noculars. The sight that met her eyes was terrible. The once beautiful and grand Temple was in ruins. The vast destruction tore into Honi's heart. So much beauty, so much work, gone. The home of Jedi for hundreds and thousands of years was destroyed. As Honi watched, a piece of cloth fluttered from the top of the half standing tower, where the Jedi Council had once met, and landed on the branch hanging above Siri's head. She reached up and gripped the cloth, tearing it from the tree. As she gently folded it and placed it into her utility belt, she looked up at Honi, and there was a fire, burning in her eyes.
"We'll track down the person who did this," she said dangerously. "and we'll kill him."
With those words, Siri reached out, and took the speechless Honi's hand.
"Come, my friend. We have a mission. One last mission."
TBC…
