She had researched him thereafter, determining that he had been a classmate of hers at the Academy, but had mustered out of Starfleet after a brief tenure, moving to a Federation colony world named Penthara IV. Eventually, concluding that anyone she felt so strongly about deserved at least some response, she had sent Shastri a brief message informing him of her memory loss. His response had been terse, angry, and disbelieving. As she had still been in a vulnerable state in the wake of her trauma, she had been deeply hurt and offended at the suggestion that she would lie about it, so she had deleted all his messages, giving him no further thought.

That man was one of my friends? she thought with disbelief. The emotions she associated with his name were too bitter, too fraught with betrayal. What kind of friend would turn on her so readily after learning of such a trauma? How could he just dismiss it as a lie?

“Oh, dear,” said Omar, studying her face. “Perhaps that friendship turned sour somewhere.”

“I’m sorry,” M’Umbha said. “I fear I’ve upset you.”

Nyota shook her head. “No, no, it’s all right. I needed to know. Whatever the history is between me and this Shastri, he may still be a lead to the answers I’m seeking. I’m grateful to you for that. If… if only I’d come to you a dozen years ago, maybe I’d already know what was behind all this. Maybe we could even have stopped it sooner.”

M’Umbha rose. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for this, binti. We all respond in our own way to trauma. What you went through was terrible. You coped the best way you knew how.” She took her daughter’s hands. “I’m just grateful that you had such loyal and caring friends aboard the Enterprise to help you rebuild your life. To help you become the strong, wise, dedicated, and caring woman I see before me.”

Nyota hugged her. “Oh, Mama. You shaped me too. Even if I don’t remember the events, the knowledge, values, and habits you instilled in me remain. You’ve always been with me—even when I didn’t know it.”

Chapter Eleven

Starfleet Academy

Commander Sulu wore a heavy expression as he entered the classroom, and Zirani Kayros wondered why he was looking at her. She soon got her answer, once the students in the piloting class had fallen silent in response to their instructor’s uncharacteristically somber manner.

“There’s been a new vacuum flare,” Sulu told the class. “It began a short while ago in the Tiburon system.”