“Thank you, Bangor,” she said softly. “Anakin, wake up and tell me if I’m still dreaming!” Tahiri cried to her friend.
“You’re not dreaming!” Anakin croaked happily when he saw Bangor. Moments later the two Jedi candidates were on the bantha’s back.
“Please take us to the tribe, Bangor,” Tahiri said. The bantha began to lope across the sands. Anakin and Tahiri said little during the journey. Both were thinking about what fulfilling the promise meant. They had gained strength in the Force, and had learned that working together produced more powerful results than they had dreamed possible.
Bangor began to slow.
“Do you need some rest?” Tahiri asked the bantha. They had been loping across the desert for almost five hours. It was early evening, and Bangor had begun to weary. Now he quietly walked up a sand dune, coming to a rest only when he reached its crest.
“Is he all right?” Anakin asked Tahiri. But before she could answer, he saw why the bantha had stopped. Below them was Tahiri’s tribe. Anakin could hear Vexa’s words ringing above those of the rest of the Raiders. The tribe stood behind her. They appeared to be having some kind of meeting. Sliven stood apart from the Raiders. Only Tionne was by his side.
“What’s Vexa saying?” Anakin whispered to Tahiri as they slid off Bangor and hid behind the dune.
“She’s asking the tribe to declare us dead,” Tahiri began to translate. “She says that when the suns set, seven days will have passed and we will have failed to return.”
Sliven’s deep bark interrupted Vexa.
“Sliven says that we still have two hours. He asks the tribe to wait,” Tahiri explained.
Vexa began to grunt and bark angrily. She raised her gaderffii toward Sliven.
“She says Sliven is weak, and it is time he left the tribe forever.” Tahiri rose and walked to the top of the dune. Anakin followed his friend.
“Stop,” Tahiri barked.
All eyes turned to the crest of the dune. Vexa’s disappointed cry couldn’t be mistaken. Tahiri, Anakin, and Bangor made their way down the dune. Tahiri walked up to Vexa.
“There is no honor in your actions,” she said. Then she turned to the rest of the tribe.
“We have returned before the suns set on the seventh day. Sliven is still your leader.” The tribe members moved from Vexa to stand behind Sliven. A Raider brought two water jugs over to Anakin and Tahiri. Tahiri cupped some water in her hands and held them out to Bangor. The bantha drank deeply as Tahiri buried her face in the creature’s thick fur.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Bangor nuzzled against Tahiri, then moved back to the rest of the herd. After Anakin and Tahiri drank, Tahiri walked over to Sliven. Tionne joined Anakin, her worried eyes scanning his wounds. There would be time to talk about what had happened later, Pionne thought. For now, it was enough that Anakin and Tahiri were alive. Together Anakin and Tionne watched as Tahiri spoke softly to Sliven.
“He said that he’s glad in his heart that I survived,” Tahiri explained when she returned. “He hopes that all my worry about who I am has ended. In his mind, I’m a Raider. And he believes I should stay with my tribe.”
“And what do you believe?” Anakin asked. His heart skipped a beat. If Tahiri stayed on Tatooine, he would lose his best friend, and alone he might not be able to break the curse of the golden globe. Still, he wouldn’t try to sway her decision. She had to do what was right for her.
“I’m glad we succeeded,” Tahiri softly began. “I now understand that I was never a Tusken Raider. The skills we both used to survive weren’t the skills of a Raider. We used the Force. And now I know that I’m meant to attend the academy. To grow strong, and to use that strength to break the curse of the golden globe, and one day become a Jedi Knight.”
“What about Sliven? Won’t you miss him?” Anakin asked.
“That’s the hardest part,” Tahiri said sadly. “I love Sliven, but I know that I belong at the Jedi academy, not with the Sand People.”
“Then let us leave here,” Tionne said. “I’ve got to do one last thing, ” Tahiri said quietly. Anakin watched as his friend walked back to Sliven and told him her decision. The Raider nodded once, then reached inside his robes. He held out a roughly shaped pendant. In its center was his thumbprint. Tahiri unclasped the chain from her neck and threaded the gift through it. When she reclasped her chain, two sand-colored pendants hung from it. On them were the prints of her parents-all three of them.
“You will always be a part of me,” Tahiri said softly to Sliven. “In my heart, you’re my father. Please take care of Bangor for me-he’s yours, just like I’m yours,” she whispered, swallowing a lump in her throat. Tahiri moved forward and wrapped her arms around Sliven’s waist. The Raider hugged his daughter back.