AN: I am not making any money off of this, I don't own any of this. I just like borrowing them from Mr. Lucas. I hope you all enjoy
Siri stared out at the booming metropolis beneath her. She and Master Adi had only been back a few short hours and yet, she was being sent off again. This time it was different, however. She would be going on a mission alone, and she didn't know if she would return from it.
Sighing, she activated the holo that was in her palm, revealing a fear inducing individual. Krayn. A slaver trader. Someone she despised, and here she was, being told she had to work with him. Be an informant. No one could know either. Not even Obi-Wan, her best friend. He was more now though. It was only a month after Qui-Gon's funeral, and he had pulled away from everyone. Now he was just starting to confide in her about it. He would be devastated. She just knew it, remembering their conversation after Qui-Gon's funeral…
"Siri?"
The young woman turned to him as he joined her outside. "How are you doing?" Siri asked him, looking up at him, concerned.
Obi-Wan just shook his head. "I just can't believe he is gone."
Siri was silent and patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"Do you know what the last thing he told me was? It was to train Anakin…" There was an almost bitter tone in his voice.
"I heard from Adi that Qui-Gon thinks…thought, that he is the Chosen One," Siri replied, almost hesitantly.
"Well, the Chosen One can't bring my Master back," Obi-Wan made his hand into a fist before dropping it with a deep sigh. "I know I should be fine with this. Jedi are supposed to be alright since death is natural. I just miss him," Obi-Wan admitted quietly.
In a gesture rare to her character, Siri reached up and hugged him. "He is with the Force, and he can still help you through it."
Obi-Wan smiled down at he, almost sadly. "When did you learn the right things to say?" he asked
"Since I grew up," She responded looking at up at him. In that brief moment, their eyes met and something was changed forever. Siri was unable to pull her gaze away from his.
"Siri, I…" Obi-Wan trailed off, as if he forgot his words, eyes locking with hers.
"Yes?" Siri asked after a moment. She could feel the two of them being pulled a bit closer, his head moving ever so slightly closer to her own.
A few moments passed, and all of a sudden, Obi-Wan straightened up. "Thank you," he told her. "Yes, thank you. You are a good friend," he quickly added
Siri gave a deep inner sigh. "You too," she replied, quietly. She bit back a lump in her throat and all of a sudden wondered why she had it. Could it be disappointment because it seemed they felt differently? Obi-Wan treated her like a sister while she loved…
Siri shook her head of these thoughts, coming back to the present. It was over and that was all. Leaning her forehead on the cool glass of the window, she sighed again, closing her blue eyes. She had to do this. She was a Jedi, and these were not just her trials.
It was a fight. A fight to help bring freedom to all. And if it meant leaving without a trace, then so be it. She vowed then and there to return. She would leave the Temple as a Padawan, but come back a Jedi Knight. A protector of the Galaxy.
She remembered how Mace had cut Obi-Wan's braid in the ceremony to signify his Knighthood. It was strange to see him without it, she remembered. He had worn it since they had first met. He looked older without it though, but it didn't take away from his charm.
Absentmindedly, Siri played with her own braid. She wouldn't be getting hers cut. Not like the others. She finally looked down at the array of items spread over the bed and table.
New clothes, they were black, she noted quickly. There was also blaster padding as well as a long furred cape. There was also a pair of knee high boots at the foot of the bed.
Siri changed, almost regretfully as she did, not knowing the next time she would be wearing her Jedi robes again.
Looking into the mirror, she frowned. It was strange, and she wasn't sure she liked it. She had to look mean and tough though. There was no way around it.
Siri looked at the assortment of other items at the table. She knew she should use them all to the best of her ability, but shook her head. She was not one to wear a lot of makeup, if any.
Looking back in the mirror, her braid brushed her cheek and an idea formed. Quickly, she went to work, braiding the rest of her hair so there were about a dozen braids that hung down her back.
Something was still missing however and Siri glanced over at the other hair supplies. One was for darkening hair and she quickly poured some onto her palm
It was cold but she rubbed it between her hands and ran it over each braid, darkening it to a medium brown color, instead of its normal light blonde.
Still, there was something missing. Siri frowned until another idea came to mind. She got down on her hands and knees and pulled out a small box filled with bits of metal and washable touch up paint that she had used on her droid, an R4 unit that Adi had promised to take care of.
Pulling out a few small pieces of metal, Siri slid them between the strands of the braids. With a few of those in place, she was almost ready, with just one thing missing.
She was unable to figure it out until she noticed the red touch up paint. It was washable she remembered and an idea came to mind.
Quickly, she took out the brush that came with it, and started to put a few markings on her face. They were symbols of power and to strike fear into the hearts of others.
When she looked back in the mirror, Siri couldn't even recognize herself. It was almost frightening. She just had one last thing to do, she reminded herself as she slung the rifle over her back, tucked the vibroblade in her boot holster and put her blaster in her hip holster.
It was something she had to do. She knew that. Yet it would be so hard. Taking a deep sigh, Siri picked up the scissors. They felt even colder than usual.
Her Padawan braid was still longer than the rest of the braids and that would bring up questions. Holding her braid between the blades, she closed her eyes tight. "I pass from a learner to a keeper of peace. May the Force always be with me and may I always use it to bring order and peace to the Galaxy," she recited the part she would have if she had been allowed the ceremony as others were.
After just a moment of hesitation, she tightened her grip and there was a snip as the scissor blades met and the braid floated to the floor.
Siri picked it up sadly. That had been hard. One of the hardest things she had to do. Walking over to the garbage, she paused. She couldn't throw it away. It was the only part of her left that was still a Jedi. Quickly, she tucked it into her pouch on her belt. It would remind her of who she was and her heritage.
She was Siri Tachi, Padawan.
A frown played over her face as she shook her head. "No," she told herself quietly as she grabbed her bag, hiding her lightsaber and putting in the bottle of red paint.
She was Zora now. She had to keep reminding herself of that. Zora who had no ties or allies. It hurt Siri to think this and she thought it over in her mind over and over.
She walked down the halls of the Temple one last time. No one was awake at this late hour. The Council had told her they had a ship ready, a one person ship. It was fast and would get her where she needed to go. The nighttime was the perfect cover, because no one would see her. Not even her Master was supposed to tell her goodbye.
In case anyone asked, this entire situation was going to be said to be caused by a falling out between Adi and Siri. That Adi had cut Siri off without suggesting her to Knighthood. Still, Siri was almost certain Obi-Wan would see through it. She hoped he would so he would know that she was still a Jedi and would return. The other part of her wanted to spare him. If he thought that she had turned to the Dark Side, then he wouldn't try to help her or protect her. It was safer for him this way.
"Goodbye Obi-Wan," she whispered in the dark, glancing down the hall where his room was. Reaching out with the Force she could tell he was sleeping peacefully finally. "I will never forget you…"
This was going to be a hard life, Siri was sure. One that would never completely leave her. As she entered the empty hanger bay, she caught her reflection once more. Instead of seeing Zora, however, she saw herself once more.
She smiled as she walked towards the ship. While there were many unknowns to this mission, she did know one thing. She was not Siri the Padawan or Zora the slaver.
She was now, and would forever be, Siri Tachi, Jedi Knight.