When school arrived Solasta was still having somber moments, but they were fewer between as she distracted herself with schoolwork. She had done as she promised and let her heart grieve before trying to move on, but the memory of her mother would sneak into her day, from the vacant spot at the dining table to not having her there just to talk with when she got home from school.
Tasa did his best to cheer her mood by sharing how the Cathar honoured the passing of someone in the tribe with a celebration that was filled with feast, drink, and lasted all night to honour the deceased. She accepted that life required the Elders to join with the Spirits to make room for the Kii and Merai, and found peace in the Cathar teachings of the continuing cycle of death and rebirth. Deep down she had long known these days would come and needed to be prepared for when her father passed next.
The first five months of school passed by and all seemed to return to normal with Solasta and Tasa's classes, part-time jobs, and social schedules. So much so, she didn't notice that her father was struggling or the subtle changes that he was going through, until it was too late.
At first Sandoval was strong. He had seen more than his fair share of young soldiers and old friends buried in his lifetime, but his subconscious was having a difficult time dealing with the loss of Aisii and accepting that Solasta was now a grown woman who didn't need him to dote on her anymore. Gone was the little kitling that would ride on his shoulders when they were out, or hold his hands and stand on his toes to dance when Aisii practiced her music. She had claimed Tasa for her Life-Mate, would soon be leaving to join the Navy, and Sandoval didn't know where his place in the galaxy was anymore.
Where he previously would be awake and ready to face the day at 06h00 every morning, even in retirement, he began to sleep late and didn't get out of bed well after Solasta had left for school, or simply didn't get out of bed until she returned home. Those days he did get up were often spent sitting alone in the dark with the HoloNet to keep him company. Without Aisii there, there just didn't seem to be any reason to get out of bed or spend the day outside tending to the garden.
For several season's now, Solasta had taken over the weekly, and sometimes twice weekly in the rainy season, chore of grooming the grass so it wasn't obvious that the garden was being neglected until the day she came home from school noticed the state of things.
Parking the Desler and grabbing her bag, she climbed out and began walking towards the house when she became aware that something was wrong. "When did the flower beds become overgrown?" she wondered, and "What's going on with the grass over there?" noticing the flat yellow stalks from the weeds that were creeping out from under the bushes, which were also in desperate need of pruning.
Once inside the house she called out, "Dad?"
She could hear the holo in the common room and walked down the hallway to find her father. Noticing the disarray of containers and dishes that had accumulated on the counter in the kitchen at the end of the hall it began to dawn on her that it wasn't just outside being neglected.
Rounding the corner into the dark room she found her father asleep in his chair. Looking at him, she noticed his usual rounded shape and broad shoulders betrayed a thinning frame, sharper features in his face, and he hadn't changed out of his nightclothes yet. Taking his hand and gently squeezing it, she asked, "Dad? Are you awake?"
The Commander opened his eyes, "I... I was just resting my eyes. How was school today?"
"It was fine. Come, let's get something for dinner," she said while helping her father stand.
They had taken only a few steps before Sandoval's balance faltered and Solasta caught him before he fell. Shocked at how much weight he had lost, she helped him back to his chair. "Here, sit back down Daddy," she said, but Sandoval protested, "I'm fine, I just tripped on the edge of the carpet."
Solasta raised the lighting and was struck hard with just how old he had grown in the months since her mother passed, and wondered how she hadn't noticed before today. "You wait here, I'm going to wash up and start dinner. We can watch the news while we eat," she told him, and making her way to the refresher stopped at her room to make a holo-call to Major Gegne.
"Hello Major, I think something's wrong with Dad. I'm not sure he's eating and... Well, could you just come and visit him please?" The Major could sense the worry in Solasta's words, and also knew that Solasta was independent enough that a call to him for help meant things were serious. "I'll get a speeder and be right over," he told her.
She called Tasa next, "I need you come over right now, something's wrong -" but before she could finish, Tasa ended the call and ran out the door telling his parents, "I'll be back later." Solasta returned to check on her father, who had fallen back asleep where she had left him.
Tasa was the first to arrive and they stood in the hallway, looking in at the Commander, while Solasta whispered all that she had discovered. The Major's arrival interrupted them, and she opened the door to beckon the Major inside and led him to where the Commander was seated.
Solasta gently rubbed her father's shoulder saying, "Daddy, Major Gegne has come to visit you." The Commander half opened his eyes and said, "Hi Rusty, is it time to go back on duty already?" before closing them again.
The Major looked at Solasta and Tasa, "I think we should get him to the Base Hospital," and pulled out his holo communicator to call for a medical transport while Solasta rushed to her father's room to pack a bag for him. Tasa sat with the Commander to watch over him, and within twenty minutes they could hear the sounds of the transport's engines flying low and sirens chirping.
As the Major opened the door to step outside and wave down the transport, he was followed out by Tasa who had gently picked up the Commander and had him cradled in his arms. They met the Medic's at the transport and Tasa gently laid the Commander on the medical bed inside where a droid began taking vital signs and running scans. Solasta rode with her father in the transport while Tasa and Major Gegne followed in their speeders.
Once at the Base, the medical personnel at the hospital ushered the Commander's medical bed into an examination room, and directed Solasta to a seat in the waiting area. In those minutes before Tasa and the Major caught up, Solasta made peace with the fact that her father was not likely to return home.
Over the days that followed, the Commander's condition declined rapidly. He would sleep for long periods, or wake in an agitated state demanding to see Aisii, or disoriented thinking he had been injured in the field and was in a Med Bay on the Fleet. Solasta returned to classes knowing that if anything changed she would be contacted immediately, or a transport would be sent to the school for her.
Into the second week of the Commander's stay he had a brief period of lucidity during one of their visits and asked Tasa if he could speak to Solasta alone. Standing and leaving, Tasa closed their door behind him and sat on the bench in the hallway, and Solasta moved from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed next to her father.
When the door clicked shut, the Commander looked at her and said, "I've had a good life, probably better than I deserved, if I think back on all the places the Republic has sent me, and all I've seen." Solasta began to speak, but he took her hand, and squeezed it before continuing, "You need to do what makes you happy, whether or not it includes the Navy. Whatever it is, always be true to what you know is right in your heart. I lie here thinking back on all the orders I followed like a good soldier, but not all of them would make me a good man."
Solasta's eyes filled with tears, "Daddy..."
Sandoval's eyes softened, "Solasta, I'm an old and tired man. I miss your mother and look forward to being with her again. She spent a lifetime waiting for me to come home. I can only pray her patience hasn't run out, and she's waiting for me now. Promise me that you will get yourself Soul-Bound to Tasa, have litters of kitlings, and love each other."
Tears streaming down her face, Solasta could only nod and hug her father.
He patted her on the back and said, "I'd like a moment to speak with Tasa now."
When Solasta stepped into the hallway Tasa could see the tears and went to hug her. "My Dad wants to speak with you," she said.
Solasta watched from the window as Tasa entered the room and approached her father. She couldn't hear what was said, but after a brief moment of the Commander speaking, Tasa simply nodded his head and turned and returned to Solasta. When he got into the hallway she asked, "What did my father say to you?"
Tasa said, "He told me he was proud to call me 'Son' and to love you always."
Solasta looked back in and saw her father had closed his eyes to rest and looking back at Tasa was about to suggest they go to the Mess Hall to get something to eat, but was interrupted by the medics rushing past her into the room. As the door swung open they could hear the alarms from the monitors and Solasta knew.
The Commander received a military funeral service on the base. Those attended to pay respects numbered fewer than those who showed up for Aisii. Aside from a few remaining naval friends and Tasa's parents, the Honour Guard nearly matched the guests in numbers. Major Gegne delivered the eulogy, and the Base Commander read Sandoval's service record before the Republic flag that draped over his casket was crisply folded and presented to Solasta.
When the service conclude, Tasa's father did something unexpected. He approached Solasta and placing his hands on her shoulders canted his head forward to press his forehead against hers, and in Catharese said, "Rejoice and Honour your father's deeds. While many warriors seek a glorious death it battle, it is only the strongest and wisest warriors who yield to time itself, and he is worthy of our respect, not sorrow."
Major Gegne hugged Solasta, and with tears in her eye's she asked, "Can I ask for that help now?"