Vheman chuckled. “You didn’t like to share it with people until they earned your trust. Apparently you were afraid of being teased because it meant ‘star’ and you were in Starfleet. Also it annoyed you when people mispronounced it.” The Arbazan shook her head. “I can’t believe you of all people lost your memory. I guess that’s why we fell out of touch, huh?”

Uhura winced. “I’m sorry. It was—”

“Don’t worry about it. People drift apart, even without such a good excuse.”

Uhura’s crewmates aboard her second starship posting, the Azrael, gave much the same answers. Yongnian Shen, the retired commodore who had been Uhura’s commander during her stint in Starbase 32’s communications center, could offer little more despite beaming in personally from Shanghai for his interview. “No, Commander. While you did conduct various research projects under my command, they pertained more to practical matters like improving subspace signal range and clarity, or straightforward probing for subspace communications from uncontacted civilizations beyond known space. All properly logged and on the books, and too routine to warrant pursuing them privately as you’ve described.”

The thin, wizened retiree paused to reflect, and Uhura wondered what he had been like as a commanding officer. When she had mentioned Shen in her personal logs, it had been with an air of disapproval and frustration, but as usual, she had recorded little detail, presuming her keen memory would fill in the blanks. Had she simply been dissatisfied at not being assigned more challenging and varied work, or had there been some more personal reason for her low opinion of the commodore?

“As far as personal leave goes,” Shen went on, “Starbase 32 is parsecs away from any inhabited planet. There wasn’t really anywhere to go beyond the station’s own recreational facilities, or those of visiting ships.

“When you took leave, Commander, you generally returned home to Earth. It was a fairly long trip, but you must have been very close to your family, from the way you spoke about them when you returned.” He smiled. “That must have been a blessing for you, to have your loved ones to fall back on after such a trauma. I would have found myself far more alone. But then, I had fewer memories I would have regretted losing.”

Uhura was stunned and embarrassed by his words. She regretted having any doubts about his worth as a person.