Savel - Ki'sarlah (It Has Come)

[Savel]

"If you've come to the end... 

you've only found another beginning."

 

A simple phrase, one that logically did not make sense. An end and a beginning were two separate events, no matter the time that passed between them. Yet, it stuck with Savel throughout his life. A life that was now coming to an end. The memory of where this saying had come from was distant, nearly forgotten. Those words still rang in his mind as if it were a puzzle that needed to be solved before he could move on. Before he could find his next beginning. 

 

The long-since retired Vulcan was nearing what would be two centuries of life. He stood in his bedroom at his home on Vulcan, looking out over Lake Yuron, contemplating the words he still had not found an answer to. 

 

“Another beginning…”, the end of the phrase being softly spoken aloud to no one but himself. Was there indeed another beginning for Savel after all of this time? Something else out there for him to find? He was long past the age of being able to adventure away from his home in search of new beginnings. Perhaps that meant he missed his chance to find it. Here he was, near his end, and there were no new paths before him. 

 

“Father.” A female’s voice came from the doorway of his room, which broke the elder Vulcan’s train of thought. He turned to see his daughter, T’Ara,  standing at the entrance, waiting to be told to enter. He had summoned her earlier in the day, requesting that she visit him after she finished her work.

 

“Come,” Savel responded, causing T’Ara to nod before she was in the room standing at her aged father’s side. The two stood at the window of Savel’s room, staring at the lake, silent for many moments. Savel was the one that eventually broke the quietness that had enveloped them. “I am at the end of my life, T’Ara.” Blunt, for those that were still burdened with emotions. 

 

T’Ara’s response was as one might expect of a Vulcan but not that of a woman whose father had just shared he would soon be dead. At first, another deep nod in acknowledgment of what Savel had just said. “Then this shall be the last we see each other.” T’Ara looked away from the window and to her father now. “I leave soon and will not return for some time.” She had spent the last few decades as a healer at the Vulcan Medical Institute but knew she wanted to set out beyond Vulcan. “Starfleet Academy is expecting me; I depart tomorrow.”

 

The news was sudden, though not wholly unexpected by Savel. They had conversations in the past about his career in Starfleet, so it was logical that she would follow a similar path. “Come with me.” Instructed Savel as he walked to the center of the room, lowering himself slowly to the floor and gesturing for T’Ara to sit in front of him. Once T’Ara had joined him, he leaned forward to place both hands on either side of her head, his fingertips touching particular areas. She mirrored his actions, immediately knowing what her father wished to do. “My mind to your mind. Your thoughts, to my thoughts.”

 

Suddenly, Savel and T’Ara’s minds were joined together as one. It visually manifested to them in a room similar to the home where T’Ara had grown up. “I wished to bring you here so we could say goodbye,” Savel explained to her. “Here, we are more free to share thoughts and emotions. Ones we usually cannot without allowing them to affect our physical selves.” 

 

There was a sadness felt by both of them, slightly amplified as it was shared between them. T’Ara was the first of them to show it outwardly. She approached her father and looked up at him. “Your presence was always a welcome one. Without it, life will feel different. I will miss you.” A single tear rolled down her cheek, which her father quickly wiped away.

 

The historically stoic Vulcan allowed a smile to find his face inside the illusion created for them inside the meld. “I depart from you as a father proud of your accomplishments so far, knowing there are many more to come.” His hands reached out to find her shoulders, gently holding them as he looked into her eyes. “The love I have for you will travel with you wherever life may take you. It is the last gift I shall give you, just as you are the last give I shall leave for the world.” 

 

With that, the pair embraced into a hug that lasted a few moments before the meld ended. There were now back in Savel’s room at his home on Vulcan, with the energy sapped from his body. “I must rest now. I will accompany you to your shuttle tomorrow.” He then stood from the floor, with the assistance of T’Ara, before he made his way over to his bed. 

 

T’Ara watched her father move across the room after she stood and offered him a deep nod. “Pash tah, father.” Wishing him goodnight before she left the room to prepare for her trip. She left the room with the knowledge her father had shared during their meld. Even if being Vulcan did not allow her to feel what had been given to her, the memory would always remain.

 

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The following morning, T’Ara was set to depart from Vulcan to attend Starfleet Academy. Savel had decided to go with her, intending to see her off since this would be the last time they would see one another. It wasn’t much different than when he left Alpha Centauri for the same purpose. Their goodbye was not a long one; logic dictated that be the case. T’Ara had a purpose for being there, and there was no sense in delaying it. 

 

Just before she joined the queue to board the shuttle, T’Ara turned to her father. “Chaya t’not,” thanking him for what he had shared in the meld. Savel then raised his hand to gesture, saying, “Live long and prosper, T’Ara. And, vokau.” Wishing for her to remember what it was he said to her during the meld as well. 

 

With their versions of goodbyes exchanged with each other, T’Ara turned to board the shuttle after checking in. Savel watched as the shuttle took off, remaining there until it was completely out of sight. Once his daughter was gone, Savel turned away to begin his journey home. 

 

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Savel’s home was now empty once more, aside from his presence. The last of his family had left, and he was the only remaining of his line on Vulcan. He returned to his room, finding a spot to sit on the floor nearby the window overlooking the lake. Once he had settled in, he centered himself into a deep state of meditation. 

 

His thoughts were occupied with T’Ara, specifically of the last few moments they had spent together before she left. He had been able to get a chance to tell her a proper goodbye and share some of his innermost thoughts and feelings with her. He replayed the memory of the mind meld as he thought. A calmness washed over him, something deeper than he had ever felt, as if he was complete. It took a moment for him to realize where it was coming from.

He pictured himself again watching as T’Ara boarded her shuttle, and it left the surface of Vulcan. It was a new chapter in her life. That was when he had his epiphany. He had found the answer. “If you’ve come to the end… you’ve only found…” It started as a thought in his mind before he finished it out loud, “...another beginning.” The realization began to dawn on him as he finally understood what that meant for him.

His life had come to an end, but for T’Ara there was much more to come. The next part of her life was just beginning. With his love for her now a permanent part of her memory, the beginning was his to share even if he would not be around to see it. Those thoughts alone dared to bring a smile to the old Vulcan’s lips. With a deep breath, he settled into his final meditation. His end.