She looked around the table. “If I’ve learned anything lately, it’s the importance of memory. Without knowing our history, our context, we’re incomplete. Adrift. We lose the connections that guide us, that keep us on the right path. We’re blinded to the consequences of our actions…” Her gaze landed on Shastri. “And our inaction.

“That’s what we’ve really gained from this. We’ve recovered the memory of a lost era of the universe. Even if we don’t understand it, we’ve ensured that it lives on. That was what the plasma beings needed more than anything else, what drove them to strive so desperately to make contact. All they wanted, in the end, was to be remembered. What else do any of us ultimately have?”

Cartwright cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I’m still not pleased that you and Mister Shastri defied Starfleet orders in the name of that noble philosophy. However, I’ve been in consultation with Director Simok of the Department of Temporal Investigations. According to their Doctor T’Viss, Commodore Reppert’s fears of disruption to the timeline were in error. As Simok explained it to me, with so many interactions and events occurring in those first few accelerated minutes, so many species evolving and going extinct, any change to the history of one or two such civilizations would have been infinitesimal on the scale of the entire universe.”

“Logical,” Spock said. “After all, we had previously believed the universe to be in thermal equilibrium in that era, uniform and lacking in the dynamism necessary for life and activity. Therefore, whatever changes occurred in that era must have evened out to insignificance on the cosmic scale.”

“In any case,” Cartwright went on, “since the basis for that order was in error, Starfleet will not be penalizing either of you for violating it. It would look bad after you both saved the Earth.” He met both their eyes sternly. “On the other hand, none of this would’ve happened to begin with if you had followed Reppert’s orders and halted your research at the Academy. So it cancels out. Don’t expect any commendations for this.”

Once Cartwright dismissed the briefing, Uhura and Shastri walked out hand in hand, splitting off from Kirk, Spock, and Scott as they discussed repairs to the Enterprise. “So,” Shastri ventured, “we basically saved the galaxy. Does that happen a lot in Starfleet?”

She smiled. “Not as often as the vid dramas suggest. But often enough that it sometimes keeps me awake at night.”

“Hmm. I was right to become a civilian, then. There are much more enjoyable ways to be kept awake at night.” Realizing what he’d said, he cleared his throat and let go of her hand.