But Uhura laughed. “Jen, don’t be embarrassed that our friendship includes a taste of intimacy. It’s over now, but it happened. It meant a great deal to both of us at the time, and there was nothing about it that we should regret or be ashamed of.” She took his hand again. “I’ve learned that we should honor our memories. Celebrate them, cherish them, not hide from them.”

He smiled and nodded, clasping her hand in both of his. “You’re right, Nyota. God, it’s good to have you back. Even if you’re not quite the Nyota I knew. But then, I’m not the Jen I was.”

“I’m proud to know the Jen you are now. You really came through when it counted.”

They emerged onto the grounds of Headquarters, gazing up at the clear sky. The world felt normal again, like all the pieces were mostly put back into place. Everyday life was resuming, as it always did.

Shastri turned back to Uhura. “Speaking of cherishing our memories, I need to go back home and make some new memories with Sudo and Kiran. This is the longest I’ve been away from them since Kiran was born.”

“I understand.”

“So what about you?”

She smiled, understanding what he was nudging her to do. She still remembered only fragments of the events they had experienced together as friends, but she recognized every nuance in his voice, every unspoken sentiment and implication, as if they’d never been apart. It was immensely comforting.

“Yes,” she said in answer to his tacit suggestion. “I’ve got a few weeks of leave saved up. It’s about time I used them properly. I’m going home, to be with my family.

“It’s time for me to build some new memories of my own.”

Starfleet Academy

“Do you really have to go?”

McCoy walked alongside Ashley Janith-Lau through the Academy gardens, watching the students as they passed by—some jogging or doing t’ai chi, others chatting and laughing as they caught a quick lunch between classes, others studying under the shade of the same elm tree that McCoy remembered as a popular study spot from his own day. Perhaps the students were more subdued than usual, still absorbing the tragic events of the past week, but their lives and their studies had to go on regardless. At least, they would for most of the students.

“I mean, we’ve only been dating a few weeks,” he went on. “I was just getting the hang of it again.”

“Oh, I think you did fine from the start,” she teased, tousling his hair. “Believe me, I’m not crazy about it either.”

“Then why does it have to be you? I agree the Warborn deserve someone to offer them support and guidance, someone to speak for them now that Rakatheema’s gone. But there are others in your organization who could do it.”