Mindful of the midnight scare, Tarpals let everyone sleep later than usual the next morning, but eventually sent Orrin and one of the militiagungs around to rouse everyone so they could forage for breakfast. At last all but those on sentry duty gathered in the middle of the camp.

"Last night, as yousan all know, wesa had a zalaaca tryin' to attack oursan animals," Tarpals announced. "Thanks to Naamana Peskis, the guards stopped it in time and drove itt'n away. All'n oursan animals are safe.

"This morning, four of ussan left for Splitrock," Tarpals continued. "Theysa goin' to scout the area, pick up supplies, and report back. My'm expecting them bekk tomorrow 'round midday. Inna meantime, wesa gotten work to do he-ah.

"The area 'round Tendesay is open, and wesa kenn see everything around ussan. Course'n, that means everything 'round ussan kenn see ussan, too. Wesa needs to be ready for an attack, either to fight bekk or run. Wesa gonna be practicing diff'rent skills – working with the animals, finding places to hide, hitting targets, that sort'n thing."

Tarpals divided the group; the militiagungs would train with him, and the Naaboo would work with Orrin and Peskis. He set his troops, which included Sen Tal, to target practice; with the scarcity of ammunition, they used stones instead of the buumas. It might just come down to that, he mused grimly. We don't have much ammunition left.

He gave Orrin and Peskis the task of training the Naaboo to respond to an attack. With the children aboard, Hela Brandes's job would be to get them out of the fighting as quickly as possible. If an attack came while they weren't astride a falumpaset.... Tarpals shook his head. The best thing the Naaboo could do would be to hide and hope the maccaneeks overlooked them.

None of them are really ready for this, he thought, watching his people fling stones and cesta poles at their targets. We need a way to rig moving targets as well, since I doubt that the maccaneeks will obligingly stand still for us to shoot at them....

Orrin was having her own doubts about the group's ability to survive an attack. The two tsanin, Yané and Saché, were good riders, but had a difficult time turning the falumpaset's head. It took a strong arm to put enough pressure on the creature's mouth to really get its attention. Brandes fared better, but not by much. Still, by the end of the morning's session, all three of them had managed to move the falumpaset through a short obstacle course Orrin had devised, although the animal tended to trample the obstacles, rather than go around them. The exercise could have gone better, she decided, but it could also have been worse.

The best practice group had been the children, she and the older Naaboo had discovered when they went to find them. The group included Peskis, Hanar, and all of the human and Gungan children, as well as Edvic. Orrin and her companions found Peskis easily enough, but there was no sign of either Hanar or the children.

"What's that humming sound?" Saché asked as they approached Peskis.

"Iss oursan maccaneek," the Gungan replied, grinning.

Puzzled, Orrin and the three other females glanced around; they finally located Hanar, who was literally up a tree.

"Wesa practicin' hidin'," Peskis explained. "An' Hanar iss the maccaneek, lookin' for ussan." Hanar grinned and waved, still making a "nnnnnnnnn" sound that imitated the droid's vehicles rather well. "The sprattlings, deysa all out'n sight, as yousa kenn see."

"Or not see," Brandes remarked.

Peskis chuckled. "Oursan maccaneek counts to fiff'teen, an' by den, ever'one's supposed to be hid," he continued. "Deysan all right good at diss'n by now. Wesa gonna stop practicin' after wesan ett – the kippton, hesa wants ussan to gather as much food as wesan can. Wesa gonna be out inna open on da way to Tendesay, and wesa might not hev time to find much."

"I thought your people had sent a group to get supplies," Brandes said. Peskis waved to Hanar, who whistled to signal that the practice was over; children began emerging from beneath bushes, under logs, and behind rocks.

"Yiss. The kippton, hesa liken bein' prepared for as much as wesan can," Peskis answered. Hanar slid down the branch and dangled for a moment; Temmis grabbed him by the cuffs of his trousers and pulled, causing Hanar to swing back and forth.

Finally the adult let go and dropped, laughing, to the ground. "All right, all'n yous. Ever'body look 'round for some-att to ett, and den wesa gonna start collectin' food to tekk with ussan." He turned back to the adults. "The scouts, deysa gonna try to bring t'ings bekk from the waypost, but deysa also goin' to see iff'n deysa enny maccaneeks 'round. Dat way wesa know iff'n it's safe to ride 'cross field to Tendesay, or iff'n wesa needin' 'nother plan."

"It sounds dangerous," Brandes remarked.

"Berry. Wesan all be gledd when deysa come bekk."

Tarpals released his own practice group to forage; once they had eaten, they would have some time to rest, then would go relieve the sentries, who would come in for a meal and a practice session of their own. In the meantime, the captain went in search of his own meal. He pulled nuts and berries from bushes, and took some extra time to fish in the river. With a full stomach, he began to feel at least marginally more optimistic about their chances for reaching Tendesay and eventually the Sacred Place in good condition.

At that point, one of the militiagungs interrupted him with the message that one of the Gungan children, Temmis, had turned up missing.


~*~*~*~


Peskis had set his foragers out, with instructions to look for Temmis as well as food. Something tugged at his tunic; smiling, he turned to see Zanté standing behind him. The human girl let go of his leather garment and pointed into the woods. "Found somet'ing, heh?" asked Peskis, and the girl nodded. "Less go'n see, den."

The girl led the way into the woods, pushing through green stems and leaves that made seeing any distance nearly impossible. She stopped at a tree, stood up on one of the roots to look around, and then continued on to a second tree. There she halted and turned to the Ankuran, putting a finger to her lips. Peskis repeated the gesture, nodding to show he understood, and the girl leaned around the tree to point to a small form sitting huddled amidst the leaves.

Peskis stepped forward and peered at it; the small form turned out to be Temmis, sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, arms around his legs, rocking from side to side. The young Gungan was whimpering softly. Peskis glanced at Zanté and nodded, then held his hand up, palm toward the girl, as if to push her away. "Stay heah," he told her. "Dass hand-sign for 'stay'. Unnerstand?"

Zanté nodded, and Peskis waded through the broad-leaved plants to where Temmis sat. "I'm glad to see you, Temmis. You've got a number of people out looking for you," the older Gungan said gently in High Gungan. Temmis curled up a little more and buried his face in his arms. "It must be something very powerful, to make you come out here where it's so dangerous," Peskis continued.

Still rocking, Temmis murmured, "I don't want anyone to think I'm still a baby."

Peskis knelt, resting one arm on his knee. "And why would anyone think that?"

"I -- I want -- I wish my maatra would come back." Temmis whimpered again. "I know the Captain sent her on a mission, a-and she's doing something important, but what if -- what if -- she doesn't come back?"

Peskis put a comforting hand on the youngster's shoulder. Then he turned and beckoned to Zanté. The human girl waded through the undergrowth to their position. Peskis continued, this time in Bassic "Sometimes, wesa all gott'n do t'ings that tekk ussan 'way from ones wesa love, an' sometimes wesa don' have any control over dose t'ings. No mattah what, the people who love ussan always love us, even when deysa gone. An' yousa still gott others to tekk care of yousa. Wesa gott one 'nother, yoursan fam'ly, friends. No mattah what, deysa always someone to tekk care of yousa. Sometimes iss luck brings dese people to ussan, like now." He put one arm around Temmis, and the other around Zanté. Tears were running down her face. "Yoursa parents gone too, aren't dey?" Peskis asked softly.

Zanté stood shivering; her hands clutched the string that held the blue peko-peko feather in her hair. Temmis uncurled slightly and shifted so he could look up at her. The human seemed to be staring at something in the distance. Peskis drew her against him, and she suddenly turned to bury her face in the shoulder of his uniform. The Gungan gently eased her into a sitting position and held her with one arm; the other hand was still on Temmis's shoulder. The younger Gungan twisted to face the human girl.

Zanté was still weeping silently, clutching the front of Peskis's tunic with one hand. Temmis whimpered again, and uncurled completely to pull himself onto his knees. One arm slid around Peskis's ribs, and the other around Zanté. The human hesitated for a moment, then let go of the string and reached to hug Temmis.

"None of ussan have to be 'lone," Peskis murmured, his arms drawing both of them into a comforting embrace. "Wesan all gott each other to tekk care of now."

And for a few minutes the three of them knelt together, the two children clinging to one another, and the adult Gungan holding them in the protective circle of his arms.


~*~*~*~


"Sen Tal," said Hanar, a relieved tone in his voice, "we've got company." Thinking Temmis might have returned to their family's shelter, the two adults and Plirri had stopped to check before moving out into the forest to join the search for their missing youngster.

"I think you might recognize this one," Peskis said, nodding to Temmis, who was peering sheepishly around the Ankuran's leg. Sen Tal gave the youngster a stern glance. "Yes, that one's ours." Temmis hung his head.

"We'll take the other one, too," Hanar added. Sen Tal shot him a startled look. Hanar jerked his head in a shrug. "The older Naaboo female seems to have her hands full with the rest. It would be just as easy for us to take this one."

Peskis smiled. "All right." He shifted Zanté against his shoulder and handed her to Hanar. "Deysa gonna tekk care of yousa for while," he told her in Bassic.

"Thank you," Sen Tal said to Peskis. "I'm sorry if he was a bother."

"No bother." Peskis lowered his voice. "You might want to talk with him about his mother being gone."

Sen Tal's stern look changed to one of sympathy. "Of course."

"I'll let everyone know he's been found," Peskis said. He patted Temmis on the back and moved away.

Hanar, with Zanté still in his arms, sat down with the two Gungan children. "Plirri, we're going to have Zanté staying with us for a while."

Plirri sniffed at Zanté and made a face. "She smells funny."

"Plirri!" snapped Temmis.

"She can't help it, Plirri," Hanar said. "She's a mammal, like the falumpasets. She's always going to have more of a scent than we do." He stroked the girl's hair thoughtfully. "Although I think a bath might help."

Plirri perked up. "Go swimming?"

"Yes, I think going swimming would be a good idea. The river's not far, and there should be a least a couple of pools where the current's not too strong. Sen Tal?"

"Yes, good idea."

Plirri squealed happily, hopping up and down. "Quietly," Sen Tal added firmly.

"The Naaboo do swim, don't they?" Hanar asked.

"I think so. We can ask Rep Brand-ess on the way. In fact, we should tell her where we're going, and get this poor sprattling a new set of clothes."

"I'll ask," Temmis volunteered.

"Not this time," Sen Tal replied. "You and I are going to have a talk first."

The youngster's haillu drooped. "Yes, sir."

Hanar stood up. "Well, this should be a challenge. I don't speak any Bassic, Plirri only knows a few words, and the sprattling here doesn't seem able to speak at all." He set Zanté down and took her by the hand. "Come along, you two. Let's see how long it takes us to explain to the Naaboo that we're going for a swim and that Zanté needs some new clothes."

Sen Tal watched them approach Hela Brandes, then turned his attention to Temmis. "What were you thinking, going off alone like that? The maccaneeks aren't the only dangerous thing out there. We are in veermok country, not to mention stray nar-gletch or zalaacas." The ape-like veermok and the grey-skinned, lion-like nar-gletch were two of the swampland's fiercest predators.

"I know," Temmis said, scuffing the ground with one foot.

"Why did you do that, Temmis?"

"Because -- because I was worried about Maatra," Temmis murmured. Sen Tal's expression softened.

"We're all worried about her, Temmis. Everyone's worried about all of their families. Bad things are happening, and it's normal to be worried." He crouched down to lift Temmis's chin. "But running off by yourself isn't the way to deal with it. When you disappear, we worry about you, too. Next time, come and talk to one of us, all right?

"Yes, Paatra."

"Hanar and I need to know where you are at all times, Temmis. Promise that you'll tell us before you go off by yourself again."

"I promise."

Sen Tal patted him on the shoulder. "You're a good boy, Temmis. All three of us are proud of you and we love you. Remember that." He stooped to sweep Temmis up in his arms, and the youngster hugged his neck.
"Good. Now, let's go catch up with everyone else. By now Hanar will have either have figured out a way to talk without words, or he'll have convinced the Naaboo that we're all crazy."

By the time the two Gungans reached the human gathering, however, unexpected help had arrived in the form of Tarpals, and Hela Brandes was unpacking several sets of clothing, in search of something that would fit Zanté. Tarpals turned away from the activity and approached Sen Tal. "Found him, did you?" he asked, eyeing Temmis, who hung his head again.

"Yes, thank you." Sen Tal gave Temmis's shoulder a supportive squeeze.

"Good. It's bad enough having four people where we can't help them, let alone a fifth."

"Captain?" asked Temmis. "Is my maatra going to be all right?"

Tarpals studied him for a moment. Then he crouched to look the youngster in the eye. "Your maatra volunteered to go because she thought what she was doing would make this journey easier for all of us. She seems to be an intelligent, capable female. She has trained with some of the best our people have to offer, and she takes her duty very seriously. If anyone will be all right, it will be your maatra. I doubt the entire maccaneek army could stand between her and her family."

Tarpals rose, nodded to Sen Tal, and walked away.


~*~*~*~



The river meandered around stones, tiny islands, and the roots of trees. The water flowed quickly and clear, but there were a couple of pools deep enough to swim in where the current slowed. Sen Tal and his family located one of them, cradled by deep, grassy riverbanks.

Plirri, with the unselfconsciousness of the very young, peeled off his clothing, dropped it in a heap, and scurried for the pool.

Hanar grabbed him before he could jump in. "We need to make sure there's nothing dangerous in there," he warned the youngster. "Sit." A few minutes later Hanar had stripped off his own clothes and slipped into the water, swimming from one end of the pool to the other. He surfaced and waded out. "It seems to be safe." A moment later he was foraging along the riverbank.

With a whoop, Plirri dove in. Temmis waited until Sen Tal had removed Zanté's clothes and lifted her before wading into the pool as well. Zanté clung to Sen Tal's neck as the Gungan sank into the water, seating himself on the bottom; the water came to about the level of his chest. "Dere, see? Wesa gonna stop heah."

He shifted Zanté so that the girl was kneeling in the water beside him. Then he accepted the root that Hanar had dug out of the earth. Chewing the side of the root, he peeled off the skin and raked his wet fingernails over the soft inner material. Exposed to both water and air, the inside of the root began to froth. "Diss what wesa usin' for a bath," he told Zanté‚ demonstrating on his own arm.

The human cautiously took the root and began rubbing it over her own arms, chest, back and legs. Satisfied, Sen Tal turned his attention to Plirri and Temmis, each of whom were busily scrubbing (or, in Plirri's case, being scrubbed) with roots of their own.

"Make sure he gets inside his ears," Sen Tal called to Hanar. Hanar made a show of looking in Plirri's ears, nipping the youngster on the underside of his haillu‚ causing Plirri to squeal with laughter.

Sen Tal turned back to Zanté, who was watching the play solemnly. She held the root out to Sen Tal. The only thing that hadn't been scrubbed was her hair. Sen Tal mimed holding his breath, then putting his head under water. Obediently, Zanté squeezed her eyes shut and submerged, soaking her hair and coming back to the surface gasping.

"Kipp yoursa eyes clos't," Sen Tal said, and proceeded to lather her hair. Then he pushed gently on the top of her head and Zanté ducked her head back into the water.

The young Gungans swam back and forth in the pool, but the human girl remained in the shallows, watching. At one point Hanar and Sen Tal traded places; Sen Tal swam back and forth across the pool, racing the children, and Hanar sat in the shallows with Zanté.

Eventually the Gungans climbed out of the pool and settled themselves on the grass to rest. Brandes had sent a large cloth with them, with instructions to use it to "dry" Zanté. Hanar had blinked, puzzled. "Don't the Naaboo dry off naturally?"

Sen Tal had tilted his head in a shrug, but had also accepted the cloth. "Hopefully the sprattling will know what to do with it."

Sure enough, Zanté set about drying herself off, then wrapped the cloth around her. The two adults stared at her.

"Must be she's feeling a draft?" Hanar suggested. He picked through the pile of clothing Brandes had provided and held the items out. Zanté began pulling on undergarments, then outer garments, still keeping the large cloth wrapped around her. The Gungans stared at her.

"Gods above and below," Sen Tal remarked. "She really needs all that clothing?"

"Apparently so," Hanar replied, distractedly. He was fingering the clothing the human wasn't using. "What is this made of, anyway? I've never seen anything like it."

"We can ask when we get back to the Naaboo," Sen Tal suggested. He nodded to the old clothing the girl had discarded. "What should we do with that?"

"I think the kindest thing we could do with it is bury it," Hanar replied. "It's seen a lot of wear, and the smell is rather noticeable. Besides, the Naaboo seem to have enough clothing for now."

Once she had finished dressing, she was persuaded to lay the cloth aside. The sleeves and pant legs of her outfit were obviously too long, and Hanar carefully rolled them up. "Need to tack those in place. I'll have to see about getting an awl and maybe some sinew so I can sew them."

"I doubt you're going to conveniently run across either of those out here."

"Probably not." Hanar paused thoughtfully. Temmis and Plirri began pulling on their own clothing. "Kimma's going to want to keep her, you know."

"I know. But I'm not sure it's such a good idea. For one thing, I don't think the Naaboo will agree to it, and for another, none of us know anything about raising one of them. They're not entirely like falumpasets‚ you know. We don't know what they eat, or how to take care of them when they're sick, or what kind of a life cycle they have."

Hanar laughed and rolled over onto his stomach. "That's what I love about you, Sen Tal – you're such an optimist."

"Someone in this family needs to be practical," Sen Tal responded.

"Please. Kimma's practical enough for you, me, and three other people." He lifted his head from his crossed arms and peered downstream at Plirri and Temmis, who were playing "find-me". "You two stay close by. No further away than that large rock."

A ragged chorus of "Yes, Paatra" echoed back upstream. Zanté stood up and took several steps on their direction, craning her neck to seek them when they disappeared from sight. "Iss all right," Sen Tal said. "Yousa go play, too." He cast about for his trousers and vest.

The girl began to poke through the brush and broad-leaf plants, looking for Temmis, who was the hider. As she parted the branches of a low-growing bush, Temmis scurried out from behind them and ran for another patch of brush. Plirri scampered after him, hand outstretched to touch him. Temmis outran his younger brother and disappeared into the brush, Plirri close behind. Zanté trotted after them, but stopped at the edge of the undergrowth. The two adult Gungans could hear Temmis's progress and Plirri calling after him.

"Yousa s'posed to tap himsa," Sen Tal told the girl. "Den his turn iss over an' yousa gettin' to hide."

Zanté turned and climbed to the top of the large rock that Hanar had designated as the boundary for the game. As Temmis ran past, she hopped down and ran after him, her hand catching the hem of his tunic. The Gungan yelped in surprise.

"Berry good!" Sen Tal exclaimed, rising. "Now deysa goin' to close dersan eyes and yousa go hide." Both Gungan children covered their eyes, Sen Tal watching to make certain no one was peeking. Zanté hesitated.

"G'wan," Sen Tal urged. "Mesa gonna stay right heah an' mekk sure yousa don' get lost." Finally the human disappeared into the bushes. Sen Tal counted to eight, and then said, "All right, yousan go find hersa." Temmis and Plirri immediately looked around the open area near the river, then began following the edge of the undergrowth, peering under the wide leaves for a sign of the girl. Sen Tal remained standing in the open.

A trio of riders paused at the top of the rise above the river, greeted Sen Tal and Hanar, and trotted down the hill to the water. By now, Hanar had also dressed.

"Never thought I'd see the day," one of the riders grumbled. "Wasting our time training the Naaboo! To do what? Run away while we fight?"

"We could be almost to the Sacred Place by now if we weren't fooling around here," a second added.

At that moment, Plirri flushed the hider; Zanté ran past Sen Tal, laughing soundlessly, and pelted up the riverbank toward Hanar and the riders. Temmis and Plirri ran along after her, Temmis outdistancing his younger brother. Hanar grinned and stood up, catching the girl by the arms and swinging her out of Temmis's reach.

"Hey!" Temmis protested, overshooting his target. One of the riders stepped back out of his way, frowning at the human girl. Temmis jogged in a circle and came back for a second try at tagging Zanté, who was now running toward Sen Tal. Coming from the other direction, Plirri threw himself at her and managed to catch her around the waist. They both went down in a heap in the grass, Temmis hurdling them and falling into his paatra's arms.

"You want to be careful about letting them touch her," one of the riders sneered. "Your children might catch something."

Sen Tal and Hanar exchanged glances. "Now that you mention it, there does seem to be something unwholesome in the air," Hanar remarked wryly. He stooped to pick up Zanté's drying cloth. "Perhaps we should go back to camp."

"Let's go ask Rep Brand-ess your question about the clothing," Sen Tal suggested, picking up Plirri and taking Zanté by the hand. Temmis took the girl's other hand. "I think we're finished here." The two children skirted around the riders, the frightened look returning to Zanté's face.

"And just when we'd gotten her to relax," Hanar grumbled as they topped the hill and left the river behind.

"Well, it was a start," Sen Tal responded. "When we get done talking to Rep Brand-ess, I think we should mention this to the Captain."