Earth Date: 2030-08-08

Sarah sat down with her family and Molly for breakfast. She remained hopeful the day would go better than yesterday.

As the group ate, Ahsoka couldn't help overhearing chatter from people at adjoining tables. Without warning, she scowled.

"Ahsoka, what's wrong?" Tim asked.

Ahsoka ignored her husband and stood up.

"OK, I've had enough of your lies and malicious rumors about my daughter!" she yelled. Nearly everyone stopped eating and looked at her.

"I get that a lot of time, her injury is associated with something personal, but that's not the case here. Last year, she had it bruised because her back struck a hard object. Why are you so quick to jump to conclusions?

"While I can understand other teens spreading rumors, the adults I've heard spreading them should be ashamed of themselves. What would you do if she was your daughter and everyone started slandering her? Would you just sit idly and let them? I don't think so!"

As Ahsoka sat back down, Sarah cracked a small smile for her mother sticking up for her. However, she buried her face in her hands and her lekku stripes darkened. A moment later, she took a deep breath and looked at her mother.

"I want to go home," Sarah said softly.

"Why?" Ahsoka asked.

"If everyone hates me so much they want to lie about me, I don't want to be here. You told me the first time if they didn't accept me, you'd take us back home. I want to go—the sooner the better."

"But what about the rest of the trip we planned?" Tim asked.

"Yeah," Molly said. "My parents would want to know why we came back so soon. I'm not sure you'd want me telling them the reason why we didn't even stay a week and not the two we planned."

Sarah shook her head, not sure what to think to say.

"We'll think about it, OK? But we still might decide to stay," Ahsoka told Sarah.

A few minutes later, the group finished breakfast. As they left the central meeting area, another male from a different table stood up and followed them from a distance.

At the guest hut, Ahsoka said, "Girls, take Emilina inside. We've got stuff to talk about outside."

Once the girls entered the hut, Ahsoka prepared to speak, but the male following them caught up and interrupted her.

"Ahsoka, is it really you?"

Ahsoka turned around. The male looked unfamiliar to her. Sure, he had markings suggesting he may be related to the Tano—markings on his cheeks and arches above his eyes—but so did a number of the tribe. Ahsoka noticed he also wore an akul-tooth headdress, though that only meant he passed his rite of passage and that he possibly was a warrior.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Akuno Tano, your brother. But tell me, why are you with humans?"

Ahsoka froze as she thought, Brother? I have a brother? Nobody ever told me that. Wouldn't someone tell me if I had a brother when I visited before?

"This is my husband—or my mate as you say here," she finally told Akuno.

Akuno's eyes narrowed.

"You'd mate with an off-worlder who thinks we're nothing more than venomous inbred savages?!"

Where did that come from? Tim thought as he observed and listened to the conversation.

"Excuse me?" Ahsoka asked, taken aback by the question and its tone.

"Are there not enough good warriors for you to choose a mate from?" Akuno asked.

Ahsoka was set to reply, but Sarah walked back outside, hearing the argument.

"Mom, what's going on?" she asked.

Akuno looked at Sarah, and then looked at Ahsoka again, saying, "Not only do you mate with an off-worlder, you let him sire a half-breed with you? I expected better from my older sister. Have you no sense of honor?"

Sarah grew upset upon hearing the words "half-breed." She turned and ran back inside.

"You talk about honor, but you sure aren't acting very honorable if you ask me!" Ahsoka snapped back. "If you're my brother, that means the girl you just insulted is your niece. I may not know much about our ways, but each time I've been here, I've tried to learn what I could. One of the first things I learned is family is first and foremost. If that's true, you need to act like it." Pointing to Tim, she added, "Not only am I your family, but he's your family, and so is our daughter—and our younger one, too. If you can't accept that, maybe it's you that has no honor!"

Akuno froze. He was raised to trust nobody outside other Togruta. But his sister was correct—the general rule was that family came first.

"You're right," he replied softly. "Family is foremost. But it's going to be difficult to accept having a human family member... and a half-breed one as well."

Tim was set to speak up, but Ahsoka gestured for him to stay quiet and let her speak for now.

"We prefer our daughters be called hybrids," she stated firmly.

Akuno nodded.

"I never knew I had a brother. Nobody else told me I had one when I was here before, either. But, what made you come here to look for me?" Ahsoka asked.

"I heard rumors of your survival, and I couldn't believe it. I had to check for myself."

The revelation left Ahsoka nervous; she didn't want word to spread of her presence—or her survival. Still, she remained curious about her sibling.

"Does anyone else know?" she asked.

"No. My mate and daughters are back home. I told them I wanted to visit the Tano, but I didn't say why."

"I'd prefer that word not spread outside your family, if possible."

Akuno nodded.

"I can understand why. You understand I'll want to know more about that, too," he said.

"Only if I know you'll accept my family and not judge me as harshly as you did before."

"You know it will take some getting used to, but I will accept your mate—and your half... err, hybrid daughters. Is the human girl your daughter as well?"

"No, she's Sarah's closest friend, she wanted to come learn about our people. My youngest is only two years old. And I warn you, she looks a bit more human than her sister, so don't say anything rude about her when you meet her."

"And perhaps as a sign you accept her, you can apologize to Sarah," Tim interjected.

"Yes. I owe it to my niece," Akuno replied.

"And after what she's been through, she needs it," Ahsoka stated.

"What happened?"

"She was kidnapped. And people started spreading false rumors about her and what happened."

"Who did that? Tell me and I'll set them straight!" Akuno insisted.

"No, it's OK. I already did that. Sarah is still embarrassed about it, though. And what you said to her didn't help any."

"All the more reason to apologize."

"Oh, and Tim has never thought about me as a savage, either. He's been good to me since the day we first met. Sure, we don't always agree, but what couple doesn't experience that? And he most definitely doesn't think I'm venomous or inbred."

Akuno nodded and turned to face Tim, saying, "I can only hope you've been the good mate to my sister that she says you have. I apologize for suggesting you weren't good enough for her."

"I've certainly tried to be good to my family. Let me go inside to tell Sarah you want to apologize to her."

As she sat in the hut's front room, Sarah silently activated her datapad to see if there was anything important to take care of while she was away from home. Molly and Emilina remained in their bedroom.

"Sarah?" Tim said, entering the hut while Akuno waited outside.

"What?" Sarah answered.

"Someone wants to apologize to you."

"Tell him to go away!"

"Normally, I might, but not this time. He really wants to apologize to you."

"He called me a half-breed!" Sarah reminded her father. "I'd rather be called a freak than a half-breed."

"I get that, Sarah. He's apologized to your mother and me, and he wants to apologize to you. He's also your uncle."

Sarah looked on in shock.

Uncle? Mom never told me she had a brother, Sarah thought.

"Will you at least hear him out? I can't make you accept his apology, but at least give him the chance to do it," Tim said.

Sarah nodded. The idea of seeing her uncle again still left her unenthusiastic after his earlier comments.

Akuno entered the front room and stood a short distance from Sarah.

"Sarah, I'm sorry for what I said about you. It was wrong of me to say what I did to a family member."

"You shouldn't have said that about anyone," Sarah replied.

"You're right. I've already apologized to your parents. And now I'm apologizing to you."

"OK," Sarah answered with a nod. "But why did you say it to begin with?"

"I was raised with strict traditions. Seeing you and your father was a shock for me because of what I was taught growing up. But you being my niece means I'll do what I can to accept you as family."

"OK. I take it you haven't met Emi yet?"

"Your sister? No. I've just seen her walking with you."

"She has a small patch of hair on her head, so she looks more human than I do. I won't be happy if you insult her or her appearance."

Akuno chuckled and replied, "For being half-Human, you certainly have the protective nature of a Togruta."

"Molly, can you bring Emi out?" Sarah called into their bedroom.

Inside the guest hut's front room, Akuno greeted Emilina fondly upon learning her name. Much to Sarah's surprise, he said nothing about the small patch of hair on Emilina's forehead. Everyone listened intently as Akuno shared more about himself.

"My parents missed Ahsoka a great deal after she was taken away. A little over a standard year later, they were pleased to learn they would be having another youngling—me. I imagine that makes me five years younger than you, Ahsoka, more or less. Anyways, our parents were especially pleased to know I wasn't like you, ensuring I wouldn't be taken away from them as well. They apparently had great hopes for me; the name Akuno is an Old Togruti word for 'akul killer.'

"Our parents died when I was nearly six standard years old. They died with the greatest honor our people know—defending the tribe from a large pack of raging akuls. Our paternal grandparents felt they were too old to raise a youngling my age. So, I was sent to live with our maternal grandparents. Their tribe is very strict with tradition. I was raised learning that off-worlders are not to be trusted because they hold unbecoming prejudices against tribal Togruta."

"The savage thing you mentioned?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yes. That's why I reacted the way I did to learn you mated with a human and had another present with you. In my mind, you disrespected everything I was ever taught."

"You said you had a family. How many kids do you have?"

"It's my mate and two daughters—14 standard years and 12."

Akuno stayed with the group through lunch. As Ahsoka finished, eating she said, "It's a shame to learn I have a brother if we have to leave so soon."

"Really? Why leave now?" Akuno asked.

"As I mentioned before, Sarah's had some bad experiences, and she wants to go home sooner than we planned."

"That is a shame, Sarah. If you leave now, you'll miss the upcoming festival."

"Is it really that important?" Sarah asked.

"If you've come to learn more about our people's traditions, it's probably one of the most important traditions you can learn about."

Sarah thought for a moment.

"I guess we can see if things get better. But I hope you'd stay to teach us more about it. Who better to teach us than someone raised respecting tradition?" she asked Akuno.

Akuno smiled and answered, "As much as I'd love to celebrate with you, I can't stay here by myself until then. I must return to my family. But we can return in a few days so our families can meet each other and celebrate together."

"I'd like that."

"Me, too," Molly added. "This festival sounds very interesting."

"It's just as interesting to see off-worlders taking interest in our customs. It's an unexpected surprise."

"I've always had an interest in different customs and cultures, so this will be a good learning experience for me, too," Tim said.

Akuno nodded and looked at Emilina.

"I hope she eventually learns more about our ways once she's old enough to appreciate it. But for now, I must leave. I promise to see you again in a few rotations." Turning towards Ahsoka, he told her, "And I hope you will share what you can of your story."

"We'll see, Ahsoka replied."

"Until next time."

Akuno then left the Tano settlement to return to his own.

Sarah spent her afternoon with the warriors again. Before she joined them, however, she removed the bandage on her rear lek. Thankfully, the bruise was small enough that she hoped it would go unnoticed. Although Tim expressed concern about what people said and might still say, Sarah reminded him that they might not say more after Ahsoka's public scolding. Fortunately, Sarah was greeted warmly by the rest of the warriors not otherwise busy for the afternoon.

"As I was telling the others, we shall begin preparing for our exhibition," Zinubra told Sarah.

"Oh, what kind of exhibition?"

"I'm sure by now you've heard of the coming Ullumbana festival. We alternate hosting events with the Ti; this year is our year to host. Part of the festivities include exhibitions performed by a select number of each tribe's warriors—separately and with a combined group of the two. As part of our lessons today, I and others will look at the rest of you to see who we feel is skilled enough to be part of the exhibition this year."

"That's interesting, when will you pick?"

"We'll make our decisions both today and tomorrow. But let's get back to today's lesson."

Sarah nodded and thought, I wonder who will qualify?

Later that afternoon, before the evening meal, Sarah and Molly changed for another run together.

"Are you ready?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, let's tell your dad so he doesn't worry."

As they left the hut, Tim and Da'Meon talked together a short distance away.

"Father, Molly and I are going on a run before dinner," Sarah said.

"Alright. Just watch out for the akuls, or you'll set personal bests out there," Tim replied.

Molly rolled her eyes and said, "C'mon, Sarah, let's go before he thinks of something else witty to say."

As the teens left, Da'Meon asked Tim, "What's this running they do?"

"We have what's called a cross country team," Tim replied. "People run a five kilometer [3.1 mile] race to see who finishes first. Ideally, teams of five compete together and the best team score wins."

"I've never heard of that kind of sport, but perhaps it would be something to keep our warriors prepared for action at a moment's notice."

"Maybe, but keep in mind that not everyone enjoys running, and not every able-bodied warrior may be capable of running that distance, either."

"Valid points. Still, you've given me something to consider."

The next day, Sarah joined the warriors for another training session that doubled as rehearsal for their upcoming exhibitions.

"Alright. Everybody's doing a good job, but I can only select so many of you for the exhibition," Zinubra said as he and another colleague stood together. "After this session, we will select the last four of you. Keep in mind we also try to combine veterans with new people so we have a mix of warriors representing the present and future generations."

Sarah nodded, eager to begin. Over the past couple of days, most people were polite to her again. Sure, a few of the teen girls ignored her now and a few of the boys seemed to pay more attention to her as she walked past, but Sarah did her best to not be bothered and learn what she could.

On cue, Sarah grabbed a spear and held in both hands as if she was defending the group from an imaginary foe. A short time later, she shifted her feet and crossed her spear with the person beside her.

You know, this almost feels as if I'm dancing, Sarah thought.

With that in mind, Sarah completed the remainder of the rehearsal imagining she was dancing as she did her various moves with her spear.

"Very good," Zinubra told everyone. "While we will still have practice for our joint exhibition, we can't do that until the Ti join us with their group. And, I need to select that last of ours."

Zinubra and his colleague once again discussed something in near-whispered Togruti. Sarah could make out an occasional word, but not enough to learn anything about their decisions.

"OK, here is the next group we've selected to represent the Tano in this year's Ullumbana Exhibitions: Paalos, Zasha, Shalene, and Sarah. It wasn't an easy choice, but you've all shown great skill we wish to recognize this year. The rest of you did well, and we will select the rest of our group tomorrow. I hope the rest of you will support your warrior brothers and sisters during the festival."

Sarah looked to see that the first two selected along with her were an adult male and female respectively. She joined the others in congratulatory applause as she smiled knowing both she and her cousin would be part of the group.

"We did it, Sarah, I can't believe it!" Shalene said.

"I know. But we're cousins and warriors, so it makes sense," Sarah replied.

"Ladies, congratulations," Paalos told Sarah and Shalene. "If you do as well as you did today, you will proudly represent the Tano."

"Thanks," Sarah replied as she bowed respectfully.

"Alright, we still have more to work on this morning. Some of you could benefit from learning how to use a bow and arrow. Let's take some time to work on that," Zinubra said.

Earth Date: 2030-08-10

Sarah grew more excited for the upcoming festival. With her Uncle supposedly returning to the Tano the next day along with his family, Sarah found herself eager to meet them—provided they were more welcoming of her this time.

As she finished breakfast, she noticed some tribe members seemed to work on different tasks than usual.

"What's going on today?" Sarah asked Shalene.

"Everyone is slowly preparing for the festival, Sarah."

"I thought it was just something for remembering the dead."

"No, there's more to it than that—and our exhibitions. The Ti will come here each day and our people will spend the first part of the day bartering their goods while our younglings will learn more abut the night's activities in group settings. There will also be entertainment."

"Wow, there's more to it than I thought. And it's more than one day?"

"It's three days in all."

"Cool. Now I see why my uncle said it was so important."

«Where Uncle Kuno?» Emilina asked.

"He's coming tomorrow, little sis," Sarah replied. «Tomorrow,» she repeated, remembering to help Emilina remember what she learned of the language so far.

Emilina smiled as Sarah looked at her.

I'm surprised her hair really hasn't grown much since she was born, Sarah thought.

"Do you have festivals like this?" Da'Meon asked Tim.

"Not exactly. But every four years, we spend a few days in various competitions where the competitors are grouped by age."

"You seem to enjoy sporting competition more there, it seems."

"Perhaps, but people have different beliefs at home. So, it would be difficult to have a festival such as this there. Sporting competition is more universal back home. But we do have an event that would be similar to your people showcasing their skills as warriors. So maybe that counts as common ground."

"I guess there are many ways to celebrate," Da'Meon conceded.

"Indeed."

Later that night, Sarah recorded another entry in her journal covering the past couple of days. After writing about the upcoming festival, she added,

Today, Molly and I went for another run. Father seemed a bit flustered to see us wearing just our bra tops because it was too hot to wear shirts over them. When we teased him about it, he just made a comment about Molly having more freckles from being out in the sun so much since we've been here.

I know this is short, but I'm trying to conserve power so I can write more about the festival.

~ Sarah ~