Date: November 15, 2026.

Even though her mother told her to pack lightly, Sarah checked her travel bag one last time to make sure she had everything she needed for a week's vacation. Satisfied that she didn't forget anything important, Sarah walked over to her dresser and looked at herself in the mirror. Mindful of her mother's information about Shili's warmer climate, she wore an orange tank top, maroon shorts, and black sandals. As she continued to look at herself, a knock on her bedroom door interrupted her thoughts.

"Sarah, is it OK to come in?" her father asked.

"C'mon in," she replied.

After he entered, he began to say, "Sarah, I just wanted to—," and abruptly froze. After looking at Sarah, he quickly turned away, covered his eyes, and screamed.

"Sarah Alicia, why'd you let me in when you're half undressed?" he asked.

Sarah's jaw dropped. "What?! How can you say that?" she replied as the blue stripes on her head-tails darkened in embarrassment.

"Look at you... on second thought, don't. Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

Sarah looked at herself and sighed.

"Father, I am, too, wearing one," she assured him.

"It sure doesn't look like it."

Sarah reached up to her left shoulder and pulled the strap away so it would be visible. "Look at this. See, I'm wearing something!"

Tim nervously turned to face his daughter. He blushed slightly to see her holding an orange shoulder strap in her fingers. Upon seeing a second white strap on her shoulder, he quickly made direct eye contact with her.

"Sarah, if you're going to wear orange outfits, try not to get a shade that blends in so perfectly with your skin." he told her.

"Fine. But you really need to stop freaking out over my outfits so much," Sarah replied with a slight giggle.

"Well, I had come to ask if you're ready for your trip. It's almost time to go."

Sarah nodded, answering, "Ready as ever. I just hope they like me."

"Me too, princess. It's been quite a fall, huh? You got to meet your grandparents for the first time on your birthday. Now, you have the chance to meet relatives from your mom's side."

"Yeah. I'm just glad I got the week off."

"True, but remember the agreement. You get the week off so long as you make a presentation about your experiences and any similarities and differences you found important."

"That doesn't give me much time," Sarah answered.

"True, but you've always completed your academic assignments quickly. I'm sure you'll do the same here, and do a good job."

Peeking her head into the doorway, Ahsoka asked, "So, are you ready?"

At the Jedi Hangar, the family gathered one last time before parting ways.

"Well, Sarah, this is it," Tim said. He gave her a parting hug and kissed her gently on her forehead.

"See you soon," she replied.

"Have fun, and come back safely," he added before kissing Ahsoka one last time.

"We'll be fine," Ahsoka stated before she and Sarah walked up the gangway.

As the doors closed and the gangway retracted, Ahsoka said, "Put your gear over there with mine and come sit down next to me."

Sarah nodded and did as her mother asked.

Ahsoka started the engine and activated the controls. "Secure yourself. I don't need anything happening once we start flying. It's gonna be a fast ride once we get moving."

Tim looked on as the ship slowly taxied out to a runway. Inside, Ahsoka radioed her request to take off. She smiled to hear a voice on the other end reply, "Shili-1, you're clear for take off. Have a safe flight, and may the Force be with you."

Ahsoka looked at her controls as the ship traveled through an intergalactic conduit at lightspeed. Upon feeling the gentle ripples of tapping through her montrals, she looked over at Sarah.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Well, now that I started a journal, I thought maybe I could write about my experiences. You know, I could use them as notes for my presentation."

"That's a good idea. But don't use it too much. There won't be a way for you to recharge it once we get there."

"I'm only going to make my entries. If I can't do it every night, I'll do it every couple days," Sarah replied.

"I sense nervousness," Ahsoka stated.

"Mom, I'm worried a little. What happens if they don't accept me—or us?"

"Aside from having thinner head-tails, you look like any other Togruta girl your age. But don't worry. If they do reject us for some stupid reason, we'll both come straight home, and we won't ever go back there again. If your human grandparents can finally accept us as a family after 12 years, our people should accept us, too."

Ahsoka chuckled. She never thought she'd see the day her in-laws would accept her and their granddaughter. Sarah even spent a weekend with them, a weekend where Sarah boldly asked her grandparents why they hated her for 12 years. She definitely inherited my outspokenness, Ahsoka thought.

A short time later, Sarah looked out the ship's front window. The pulsating blue color nearly hypnotized her.

"Can we do something so it's not so quiet and boring?" Sarah asked.

"Why don't we practice some of those words and phrases we learned," Ahsoka suggested. She then asked Sarah, «How are you doing?»

«I'm fine,» Sarah replied.

«How old are you?»

«I'm 12 years old.»

«Standard years,» Ahsoka reminded Sarah.

Sarah nodded.

After a little more back and forth, Ahsoka asked, "Are there any other words or phrases you learned that might be useful?"

«Where's the bathroom?» Sarah asked.

"Sarah, why would you ask something like that?"

"Father said it's a useful question in any foreign language."

Ahsoka shrugged her shoulders. Maybe, but it's not something I'd think about learning, she thought.

A moment later, the display chimed and the ship slowed down. Ahsoka checked the display and set new coordinates.

"It won't be long now, we're almost there," Ahsoka told Sarah.

Sarah looked on curiously as the ship approached the planet in front of them.

"Is this it?" she asked.

Ahsoka nodded, replying, "Yeah. This is Shili. Now that we're here, remember what your father taught you."

Sarah nodded as her mother entered information into the ship's navicomputer. Unknown to Da'Meon, his hololetter contained geolocation data. Ahsoka decided to play a hunch that the recording was recorded at or near the tribe's location and she set her coordinates accordingly. Shortly thereafter, Ahsoka landed their ship in an open space with an adjoining canopy forest.

"Well, Sarah, if I'm right, the tribe is in that forest. Let's grab our stuff and find out."

Sarah checked the time. Back home, it was in the middle of the night. On Shili however, it seemed to be the middle of the day.

"Something wrong?" Ahsoka asked.

"It's after midnight, but it's still daylight," Sarah replied.

"I guess Shili is in a different time shift."

"I think you mean 'time zone,'" Sarah corrected her mother.

"Yeah, that." Ahsoka pushed a button on what appeared to be a remote control. The ship slowly faded from sight.

"Wow, I didn't know you could do that," Sarah stated in awe.

"Just something else to keep us safe. Let's get going."

The pair walked towards the forest. Sarah looked around at the red and white turu-grass that gently fluttered in the breeze. As she looked at herself, she realized her mother was right: their skin color and markings made it easy to crouch down into the grass and blend into their surroundings. As Sarah continued to look around, she didn't see anyone, but she felt some kind of activity in her small-but-now-functional montrals.

"Sarah, if you feel anything moving very heavily, get to safety. That could mean there's one or more akuls active. Many of them are nocturnal, but some do come out during the day," Ahsoka stated.

Upon entering the forest, Sarah felt as if people were watching her mother and her. As her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, she saw other people watching them curiously and speaking to nobody in particular.

«Who are they?» one of them asked.

«Are they of us?» another asked.

Spotting Ahsoka's headdress, yet another Togruta asked, «Who is this warrior woman?»

Ahsoka seemed surprised to have nobody stop Sarah and her; most tribes had sentinels that kept watch where the forest and the scrub lands met. Maybe they know I'm a Tano and let us pass without question, she thought.

Finally, the pair made their way to a large open area in what seemed like the center of the settlement. Various small huts encircled the space. Now, various individuals walked to the area to examine Ahsoka and Sarah. Sarah noticed the majority of them didn't wear shoes, consistent with another of her mom's facts about tribal life. Sarah found it curious that the males looked different from her mother. They had shorter head-tails and their montrals seemed longer and more spread out, unlike the females that had much longer head-tails with shorter montrals that seemed to curve inward. She couldn't help thinking, Will I look like that?

As more individuals spoke in Togruti, questioning who Ahsoka and Sarah were, the crowd parted to leave space for an adult male and female—and two children—to make their way to the center. As they approached Ahsoka and Sarah, the latter thought the male looked familiar. Eager to make a good first impression, she opted to speak in the native language.

«Is that you, Da'Meon?» she asked.

Making eye contact with Sarah, he answered her in Basic, saying, "So, you know the language. Impressive, young one, but who are you?"

Ahsoka placed her hands on Sarah's shoulders from behind. "It's me, Ahsoka. And this is my daughter, Sarah," she said.

Da'Meon looked surprised. If what he thought he knew about Ahsoka was true, she shouldn't have a daughter. However, the fact she somehow received his message and decided to travel to Shili impressed him.

"Welcome to Shili," he finally told them. "This is my family: my mate, Cayanna; my daughter, Shalene; and my son, Amarti,"

"How do you do?" Ahsoka responded. "Sarah is 12 standard years old."

"Mine are 14 and 10," Da'Meon answered as Ahsoka and Sarah exchanged small bows with Da'Meon's family.

Da'Meon continued to look at Sarah curiously. He didn't understand the meaning of the small cross Sarah wore around her neck, but he noticed something more peculiar.

"She's obviously not full-blooded," he said.

Sarah looked on nervously. Would she be welcome even though she was half human?

"Her father is human, yes. So, she's a hybrid. Even though he couldn't join us, it was his idea for us to come here, even if it was risky," Ahsoka replied.

"Most impressive."

"Sarah is very impressive. She's quite smart for her age. My husband and I are both proud of her. He felt she should have the chance to learn more about our culture. I'm looking forward to it as well, as I left Shili at a young age and only returned once when I was Sarah's age."

Da'Meon smiled. "I assure you, for however long you stay, you'll definitely learn more about our people's ways. I can only hope you don't find them too foreign," he told them.

Sarah continued to look on curiously. Finally, she had the courage to ask, "Do you accept me?"

"Why would you ask that, young Sarah?"

"Mom and I are the only ones of our kind. I've been treated unfairly at times growing up. I don't want to feel that way here," she told him.

"If you're here to truly lean more about your heritage, and come with an open mind and sincere heart, you have a place with the Tano, hybrid or not. Between my family and the rest of our tribe, you'll learn a lot more from us. For now, it's meal time. Come, join us as guests of honor."

As the group slowly assembled in what might be called a corner of the central area, Ahsoka felt proud when she learned the greeting she received from a few natives translated as "warrior sister." obviously, they recognized her completion of her rite of passage, as shown by her akul-tooth headdress.

Sarah and Ahsoka got in line for their meal. Ahsoka sniffed the meat gingerly.

Thimiar. I can only hope it doesn't disagree with me too much, she thought. Looking over her shoulder, Ahsoka looked on in surprise as Sarah took a bigger helping of the meat. However, Sarah's enthusiasm to follow local customs pleased her.

As Sarah ate, Shalene sat beside her and spoke with her.

"I see you're dressed almost like we do here," she told Sarah.

"I wanted to look like anyone else, as much as possible," Sarah replied.

"You may have been better choosing something with a darker color. Clothing that matches one's skin color can be a bit embarrassing."

Recalling her recent run-in with her father, Sarah's head-tail stripes darkened. "I know. My father told me the same thing before we left," she replied.

"Don't worry, Sarah. I think I have something that might fit you. I'll give it to you tomorrow and you can try it on."

"Thanks."

"Does your name mean anything?"

"Well, the name 'Sarah' means 'princess' in another Earth language."

"Mine translates as 'sweet little one.'"

Sarah smiled. Parents here must take pride in their daughters, too, she thought.

For the rest of the afternoon, Da'Meon showed Ahsoka and Sarah around the tribal settlement and introduced them to the more important members of the tribe.

That evening, Da'Meon escorted the pair to a hut next to his own.

"I know it looks very simple, but it's reserved for guests of high distinction. Suffice to say, it's yours as our guests," he told them.

"Thanks, Ahsoka replied."

"And whatever you do, don't wander too far away. The akul do their hunting at night. You may be a warrior, but it's too dangerous on your own."

Ahsoka nodded. "We'll see you in the morning."

Da'Meon nodded and then left to rejoin his family.

As Sarah and Ahsoka unpacked, the latter asked, "What do you think so far?"

"I feel a lot better to know they accepted me. I wasn't sure what to think once they learned I was half human."

"I was concerned, too. But, you are a Tano. And I'm glad they've welcomed us. You miss him, though, don't you?"

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever been away from father for an extended time—unless you count my retreat and the weekend I spent with my grandparents."

"True. But this is a chance for you to learn more about yourself... away from him."

"I know."

"It's been a long day, Sarah. I guess we better get some rest now because I think tomorrow is going be just as busy."

"I will, mom. But I want to write about today, first."

"That's fine, but don't stay up all night."

"I won't," Sarah replied with a yawn.

After her mother left and returned to her room. Sarah turned on her datapad and recorded what she felt were the important highlights so far. Satisfied with what she wrote, she shut it off, placed it on a hand-carved nightstand, and curled up in her bed. It didn't take long for her eyes to close as she fell fast asleep.