Rename Thayla to Tilahun. Ethiopian name for "Guard" or "Shadow," which is approriate and close enough to Thayla to work. Maybe Thayla as Grimm Shifted name?

Braids are not actually military regulation (spoilers!). We should see others in the RINC world wearing them. Many males and females wearing them in the bar. In the Two Generals story, perhaps show a civilian advisor wearing them advising them on key points in the area. Something so we see the braids conspicuously before Dana actually gets them.

Dana should not have the braids until perhaps the end end of the second episode. She's finally settled into town, and has her own officer's quarters. She sits down and catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Noticing the decidedly Zakiri tattoo, she decides to wear the decidedly RINC braids.

New character: Kelile (Ethiopian for "Protector")
Kelile was a menber of the "Gafana Underground" and anti-RINC force trying to remove Dana and her RINC soldiers from Gafana. While the underground gets quickly taken out, he dodges a guilty verdict and becomes a very loud and eventually prominent member of the Citizen's Brigade. He's a true patriot with a heart of gold plated lead. He's very much on making Gafana a livable place for all Zakiri, but is not above being underhanded about it, or use the letter of the law to defeat the spirit.

His thread will be going from a misguided underground fighter to a leading member of the city. The Civilian Branch of a three tiered system, with Dana as the Military Branch and Thayla/Tilahun as an over-arching "city-state" leader directing the two.