The present, also referred to as the "here and now" or "nowadays", is the time that was associated with the events directly perceived for the first time at any particular moment. It was the period of time between the past and the future; events previously experienced or recalled, or those that remained yet unknown, unperceived, or simply yet to happen.
Following the Kzinti theft of a Slaver stasis box in 2269, Spock found it "Strange, how the past sometimes breaks through into the present," and "that ancient war could have sparked a new war between Man and Kzinti." (TAS: "The Slaver Weapon")
After the USS Enterprise-C time traveled twenty-two years into the future, from 2344 to 2366, her Captain Rachel Garrett explained to her crew, in her decision to stay, "that in the here and now, the Federation needs another ship against the Klingons. And we'd better get used to being in the here and now." When Picard suggested that their presence there may actually be the reason for their current timeline, he confided that "One more ship will make no difference in the here and now. But twenty-two years ago, one ship could have stopped this war before it started." (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise")