In the end, the crew members of Enterprise fail to achieve their mission, and Earth is destroyed. Our heroes decide to stay in the past and open a quirky bed-and-breakfast.

We had you going for a second there, right?

As usual, Enterprise saves the day. After the humpbacks are released into the ocean, our heroes have a brief convo with the probe and send it packing. The weather clears up, and power is restored. The day is saved.

With that taken care of, the crew members can finally complete their initial mission—to accept punishment from Starfleet for their actions in The Search for Spock. Given the whole saving-the-world thing, though, all charges are dropped. Except one, that is:

FEDERATION PRESIDENT: James T. Kirk, it is the judgment of this council that you be reduced in rank to captain, and that as a consequence of your new rank, you be given the duties for which you have repeatedly demonstrated unswerving ability—the command of a starship.

This, of course, is no punishment at all. Since the first film in the series, Kirk has struggled with the rigid expectations of his position as an admiral. He loves the cred, of course, but he wishes he could spend less time on paperwork and more time on adventures.

Now, he can do just that. This open-ended conclusion represents a fresh start for the crew of Enterprise as they prepare for the final two entries in the original Star Trek film series.